Blog Archives

Chat Abbreviations

Every industry has something of its own vocabulary. In its 2020 edition, the Duden has around 3,000 new words - an indication of how language is enriched (and sometimes also defaced) by a wide variety of influences. "Another shot, please!" - the waiter in the restaurant knows pretty well that it should be the same schnapps again.

However, the mass distribution of smartphones has led to completely new terms. Because typing on the small on-screen keyboard is quite tedious for many. Just the dots within or at the end of common abbreviations such as "etc.", "o. ä.” or “possibly.” are perceived as unnecessary effort. Therefore, more and more condensed abbreviations came up.

Abbreviations such as 4U or Hf are part of network jargon, especially among younger people, and stand for frequently used sequences of words. Many such chat abbreviations have found their way into everyday life, such as "Späti4U". Some have even become part of spoken language, such as "aka" or "lol". Still others serve to serve the actually nonverbal level of communication: winking, frowning, turning the corners of the mouth down. It all originally started with a few letter-character combinations - the so-called emoticons. For example, the character combination:-0 is modeled on an astonished face that goes "Oh!" (can be seen by tilting your head to the side). Today there are numerous such chat smileys. In addition, numerous abbreviations are used in chats. Jump into the language adventure of chat abbreviations. Our guide is sure to help you. So: "hf irl"!

How abbreviations led to their own slang

Shortening of words is not new. Abbreviations have been used for a very long time. They usually consist of the first letters of the abbreviated words or combinations of word components such as ("e.g.") "or", "etc." or "VAT.". And of course abbreviations are also used in digital communication.

The salutation "MfG", for example, made it into a song title by the band "Die Fantastischen Vier" in 1999. And they stormed the charts. In the last years of the 20th century there was often even talk of an "AKüFi" - the "abbreviation mania". In the meantime standard in many forms of communication, which can be found under the designations network or IT jargon, chat abbreviations or abbreviations or chat slang. In the field of computer games, there is also talk of gamer language.

Where were abbreviations first used?

In retrospect, it can be said that written sentence or word abbreviations were already used for message transmission with postal telegrams (not to be confused with the "Telegram" service!). A word in a long-distance telegram cost exactly 80 pfennigs in 1986, which meant that people kept it short: "I'm arriving..." became "Arrive...". On August 3, 1984, the first Internet e-mail was received in Germany. It heralded the end of the Post-Telegram and can be seen as the starting point of network jargon. The inconspicuous character @ began its triumphal march as an abbreviation for the word "at".

On December 3, 1992, a British engineer sent the world's first text message "Merry Christmas" from a PC to a Vodafone manager's mobile phone. A little later, this also worked from mobile phone to mobile phone. Readers who were already using mobile phones at that time may still remember the associated keystrokes: To write the letter "S", you had to press the 7 key four times. This alone explains the widespread tendency to abbreviate terms - especially since an SMS was only allowed to contain 160 characters.

The massive spread of smartphones has created completely new communication channels: Messenger services enable selected communication partners or previously defined chat groups to be addressed quickly and immediately. The spread of online computer games played together and the increasing popularity of e-sports have also led to the development of a specific gamer jargon. Where it is important to react quickly, there is not much time to type on the keyboard.

Where and by whom are the terms mainly used today?

From a technical point of view, the chat abbreviations are mainly used in messenger services on mobile devices, i.e. where “only” a displayed keyboard is available. WhatsApp is the undisputed leader here with around 95 percent of all users. Other such services are Skype, WeChat, Telegram or Snapchat. But alternatives to Facebook Messenger, for example, have certainly conquered market shares. Apple's iMessage, which is only available on iPhones as a pre-installed app, should not go unmentioned.

There is another aspect to this: the more personal the communication, the better you know the chat partner, the more inclined you seem to use chat abbreviations. This network jargon was established by younger users. On the one hand to differentiate oneself, on the other hand to keep up with the fast-paced communication. Spelling and grammar are not in the foreground, the focus is on speed including comprehensibility. German and English terms are often mixed up. Due to the mass distribution of smartphones, chat slang is now also reaching older users who are making this language their own bit by bit. This IT jargon has meanwhile even found its way into everyday speech. The advertising industry uses both messenger services and chat shortcuts to address specific target groups.

Even in live chats you can find chat shortcuts to process support requests.

Another user community is the gamer scene, specifically chat abbreviations are very common in e-sports. Terms have become established there that have to do with the processes, actions and results of computer games played on the Internet.

List of 50 common chat abbreviations

The Internet jargon is subject to constant change in the terms and abbreviations used, so that a list is always a snapshot. The markup language HTML is based on English terms, so that the chat slang primarily uses English words. It is mainly written in lower case to save yourself having to switch the keyboard. German-language terms have also conquered the terrain, albeit “only” within the German-speaking community. The following table presents more than fifty chat abbreviations and does not claim to be complete.

Chat shortcut	Advertised	Translation/Explanation
2g4u	Too good for you	Too good for you
2L8	Too late	Too late
4U	For you	To you
noble	After download	After downloading
afaik	As far as I know	As far as / as far as I know
afk	Away from keyboard	Not at the keyboard (G)
a.k.a	Also known as	Also known as
akla	Understood?	...
aldi	preferably you	...
asap	As soon as possible	As soon as possible
bbl	Be back later	I'll be back later
bg	Big grin	Grin wide
boon	Written backwards for "noob"	Disrespectful term for a beginner
brb	Be right back	I will be back soon
btw	By the way	By the way..., while we're at it...
bvid	I am in love with you	...
cu	see you	See you later, see you
cya	See Ya, See You Again	see you later
dafuq / dafuq? / wtf?	what the fuck	Puzzled "What's that about?" / What the hell?
dau	Dumbest adoptable user	...
dn	you're annoying	...
duw	Crouch and away	You said something cynical/ironic, now duck and dodge
it	end of reason	...
eod	End of Discussion	end of discussion
eom	end of message	End of message
ez (also izi)	Easy	easy
f2f	face to face	In person, face to face
FAQ	Frequently asked questions	frequently asked Questions
fg	Nasty (or: fat) grin	(Always pay attention to the context here.)
fyi	For your info	For your information
g2g	Got to go	I have to go
*gig*	giggle	giggle
gn	Goodnight	Good night
gj	good job	Well done, good job
gl	Good luck	Much luck
thx	Abbreviation for "congratulations"	Congratulations / Congratulations
rabbit	have longing	...
hp	Have fun	Have fun / Have fun
Hth	Hope that helps	Hope that helps
idk	I do not know	I do not know
imho / imo	In my humble opinion / In my opinion	In my humble opinion / In my opinion
Ireland	In real life	In real/real life
k or kk	OK or OK OK	...
kB	Don't feel like it	...
lamito	laugh me dead	(The German LOL)
lol	laugh out loud	I laugh my head off
noob (also: n00b or boon)	newbie	newbie. Also used pejoratively among gamers.
n1	Nice one	Well done, Great job
n8	"N eight" stands for Night	(Good night
nsfw	Not safe/suitable for work	Not suitable at work, do not open at work. Refers to sexually suggestive content.
omg	Oh my fucking god	Increase of "Oh My God"
omg	oh my god	Oh my God
Postcode	please	You're welcome
rofl	Rolling over the floor laughing	I'm rolling with laughter
rly?	Really?	For real?
scnr	Sorry, couldn't resist	Sorry, couldn't resist
tbh	To be honest	To be honest
thx	thanks	Thanks
tl;dr	too long; didn't read	(The text) was too long for me; I haven't read
xoxo	Kisses and hugs	Kisses and hugs

Conclusion

In our world of rapid change, it is important to stay up to date if you want to have a say – in the truest sense of the word. Maintain contact with your children and grandchildren, with younger people in general, in order to keep in touch - and vice versa. And: hopefully this guide was not tl;dr...

FAQs

Below we have summarized the most important questions and answers on the subject for you.

What does afk mean?

The abbreviation afk means: Away from keybord - Not at the keyboard.

What does xoxo mean?

The abbreviation xoxo means: kisses and hugs - kisses and hugs.

What does aka mean?

The abbreviation aka means: Also known as.

What does asap mean?

The abbreviation asap means: As soon as possible.

what does btw mean?

The abbreviation btw means: By the way - By the way / While we're at it.