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Chat: What are the abbreviations and what do they mean?

HAND, kk or w8 - do you know what these abbreviations mean? Abbreviations in chat are now part of net culture. But the list is long. Each mood and action has its own shortcut in chat. The following article shows how you can keep an overview. With the most important shortcuts nothing stands in the way of your fun in the chat.

The chat has developed its own language. Shortcuts in chat used to be used primarily to save time. They are now part of the net culture. And they are always conquering new fields. Whether SMS or e-mail, the abbreviations from the chat have long since found their way into modern forms of communication. It's high time to familiarize yourself with the most important abbreviations in chat.

Abbreviations in chat: greeting and farewell

Abbreviations in chat at the end of a message are particularly popular:

• AFK: Away From Keyboard
• BB: Bye Bye/See you soon (Goodbye/Bye)
• BBS: Be Back Soon
• CU: See You
• EOM: End Of Message
• GN8: Good Night (good night; sometimes without "8")
• HAND: Have A Nice Day
• LG: Greetings
• TTYL: Talk To You Later
• VLG: Many greetings

Note: There are no proper abbreviations for greetings in chat. Instead of a greeting, abbreviations are usually used to indicate that the user is back in the chat:

• B2K: Back To Keyboard
• WB: Welcome Back
• WD: Back again (visitor reports back)

Chat Abbreviations: Popular idioms and expressions

Some fixed idioms have become established in chat. The abbreviations in the chat usually stand for English expressions, but are generally understood by all chatters:

• 2F4U: Too Fast For You
• 2L8: Too Late
• 4U: For You
• 4YEO/FYEO: For Your Eyes Only (Private)
• AFAIC: As Far As I`m Concerned
• ASAP: As Soon As Possible
• DND: Do Not Disturb
• FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
• GJ: Good Job
• Grats/Gratz/GZ: Congratulations
• HF: Have Fun
• HGW: Congratulations
• IC: I see (I see)
• IMO/mMn: In My Opinion
• IRL: In Real Life
• JFYI: Just For Your Information
• JK: Just Kidding
• k/kk/kay: OK, all right (but: after a number k = thousand; 2k = 2,000)
• kA: no idea
• CP: no problem
• kt/kwT: no (further) text
• mom: wait
• n1: nice one (Nice!/Well done!)
• nc: no comment
• np: no problem
• NSY: Not Seen Yet

Abbreviations in the chat - you've done it in a moment!

The list of shortcuts in chat is very long. But only those who know the most important ones can communicate effortlessly in the chat. Here are some common abbreviations you should know:

• NVM: Never mind (It's okay, forget it)
• O RLY?: Oh really (mocking: Oh really?)
• PLS/PLZ/PLX: Please
• PPL: People
• RE: Response or Returned
• Sry: Sorry (excuse me)
• TGIF: Thank God It's Friday
• THX/TNX/TX/TY: Thanks/Thank You
• TL; DR: Too long; Didn't Read (Too long, not read = reply to an overly long post)
• TMI: Too Much Information
• VLG: Many greetings
• w8: wait (wait)
• WE: weekend
• Y?: Why? (Why?)
• YAW/YW: You Are Welcome/You're Welcome
• YHBT: You Have Been Trolled
• YMMD: You Made My Day