Text Message Shortcuts

Most people send text messages from the very small keypads on their mobile phones, and most people who receive text message messages read them on the tiny screens of their mobile phones.

Because of those considerations, and because many service providers limit text messages 160 characters in length, most people who use text messages learn to type their messages using a number of popular text message shortcuts.

Text Message Shortcuts

These are some of the more common text message shortcuts.

2D	To Delete
2G4Y	Too Good For You
4E	Forever
4YEO	For Your Eyes Only
IOU1	I Owe You One
AAK	Asleep At Keyboard
AFAIK	As Far As I Know
AFK	Away From Keyboard
ASAP	As Soon As Possible
ATW	At The Weekend
AWHFY	Are We Having Fun Yet?
AYOR	At Your Own Risk
BB4E	Bye Bye Forever
BBB	Bye Bye Baby
BBFN	Bye Bye For Now
BBL	Be Back Later
BBN	Bye Bye Now
BBS	Be Back Soon
BF	Boy-Friend
BG	Big Grin
BH	Blockhead
BION	Believe It Or Not
BRB	Be Right Back
BTW	By The Way
BWL	Bursting With Laughter
CB	Ciao Bella
CM	Call Me
CMM	Changed My Mind
CU	See You
CUL	See You Later
CUSOON	See You Soon
CUT	See You Tomorrow
DAK	Dead At Keyboard
DK	Don't Know
DLTBBB	Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite
DTRT	Do The Right Thing
DWBH	Don't Worry Be Happy
DYSWIS	Do You See What I See
E2EG	Ear To Ear Grin
EMSG	Email Message
EOD	End of Discussion
F2F	Face To Face
FUD	Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
FWIW	For What It's Worth
FYA	For Your Amusement
FYE	For Your Entertainment
FYI	For Your Information
GA	Go Ahead
GAL	Get A Life
GF	Girl-Friend
GFN	Gone For Now
GIGO	Garbage In, Garbage Out
GMTA	Great Minds Think Alike
GTSY	Glad To See You
IAC	In Any Case
IC	I see
ILU	I Love You
IMHO	In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO	In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO	In My Opinion
IMPOV	In My Point Of View
IOW	In Other Words
IRL	In Real Life
IWALU	I Will Always Love You
J2LYK	Just To Let You Know
JK	Just Kidding
L8R	Later
LMHO	Laughing My Head Off
LOL	Laugh Out Loud
LTM	Laughing To Myself
LTNS	Long Time No See
LY	Love You
LYWAMH	Love You With All My Heart
MTF	More To Follow
MU	Miss You
NC	No Comment
NN	Nothing Ne
NP	No Problem
O4U	Only For You
OIC	Oh, I See
OL	Old Lady (wife)
OM	Old Man (husband)
OOSOOM	Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
OTOH	On The Other Hand
OTTOMH	Off The Top Of My Head
PC	Private Chat
PM	Private Message
POAHF	Put On A Happy Face
QSL	Reply
QSO	Conversation
QT	Cutie
RL	Real Life
ROTFL	Rolling On The Floor Laughing
RTFM	Read The Fine Manual
RUOK	Are you ok?
SC	Stay Cool
SO	Significant Other
SWAK	Sealed With a Kiss
TA	Thanks Again
TAF	That's All Folks
TNT	Till Next Time
TOY	Thinking Of You
TTFN	Ta Ta For Now
TU	Thank You
TUVM	Thank You Very Much
VBG	Very Big Grin
W4U	Waiting For You
WB	Welcome Back
WTH	What the hell?
WUWH	Wish You Were Here
YAFIYGI	You Ask For It; You Got It

Create Your Own Text Message Shortcuts

You can create your own text message shortcuts by combining other words with these common word translations:

Be	B
For	4
See	C
To	2
You	U
Why	Y

Warnings About Text Message Shortcuts

There are a couple of risks to keep in mind when using text message shortcuts.

The first risk is that the receiver won't understand what you are saying. Stick to the shortcuts that make sense to you and you should be fine.

The second risk involves using text message shortcuts outside of text messaging or in conversation with business associates. "Normal" people sometimes find text message shortcuts to be unprofessional.