Here are common terms you’ll see:
LOL – Laughing out loud
ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing
IMHO – In my humble opinion
B – Back
BG – Big grin
VBG – Very big grin
FWIW – For what it’s worth
OMG – Oh my God
RU – Are you
U or Y – You
UR – Your or you are
TIA – Thanks in advance
WOT – What
Listing everything you could run across would take forever. Thankfully, you don’t have to memorize this stuff. If you get a cryptic message, go to LGDTXTR. This site can translate single terms into plain English. Or visa versa.
Another good source is Lingo2Word. It has a searchable database of texting terms. It can also do more than LGDTXTR. It can convert entire sentences between English and text speak.
Here are things you might send to your kids:
DY av heaps of hmwrk tonight? (Do you have a lot of homework tonight?)
r la Ny adults la W d kdz? (Are there any adults there with the kids?)
w@ tym S yr gme aftr skool? (What time is your game after school?)
WTWUBH 4 dinA? (What time will you be home for dinner?)
B safe n smrt. ILY. (Be safe and smart. I love you.)
You could also simply ask your kids for some tips. They learn a lot from you. They might be excited to teach you something for a change. Plus, this lingo isn’t set in stone. Every group of friends will have variations.
Most of this stuff is perfectly harmless. In fact, reading their text conversations could get mind-numbingly boring.
But there are a handful of phrases you need to watch out for:
BF and GF – Boyfriend and Girlfriend
ILU or ILY – I love you
HAK – Hugs and kisses
SX – Sex
TDTM – Talk dirty to me
Pron – Porn
420 – Party or marijuana
Happy Texting!!!!
by Kim Komando
