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Chat abbreviations list

They are short, they are written quickly - and they are simply part of internet communication: Chat abbreviation. But it is not always immediately clear what FYEO, EDV (and this does not mean electronic data processing), HTH and all the other chat abbreviations mean. We have therefore compiled an alphabetical list of common chat abbreviations.

Chat abbreviations can be found again and again in SMS, WhatsApp and also in e-mails. They are just as indispensable in our communication today as a whole list of emojis. However, the chat abbreviations are not always that easy to understand. Often there are two or more abbreviations for one and the same meaning. Do you know off the top of your head what, for example, "akla" or "BF" means? By the way: The abbreviation "BF" shows us the opposite case. Here, an abbreviation can mean two different things. On the one hand, "BF" means "best friend" when written out. On the other hand, "BF" can also mean "boyfriend" and thus the "steadfast friend". Did you know?

But how did the chat language actually develop? And what are characteristic features? The answers to this and an overview of the most common chat abbreviations can be found in this article.

Origin of chat abbreviations: SMS

Do you remember the first SMS? Not only were they a popular form of quick communication. The short message service peaked in popularity in 2012: nine years ago, almost 60 billion text messages were sent in Germany. In the meantime, services such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have increasingly replaced classic SMS. In 2020, only seven billion SMS were sent - in the entire year. In contrast, 100 billion WhatsApp messages were sent every day in October 2020 alone.

But it doesn't matter whether the SMS has significantly lost its relevance in cell phone communication or not: it is the origin of our chat abbreviations. This is because SMS used to cost up to 55 cents (today around 28 cents), depending on the provider, and only a limited number of characters was possible in an SMS. If you used a lot of letters, you quickly had a fairly high phone bill. Therefore, one resorted to the abbreviations so well known today and used "OMG", "CU", "LOL" and the like to reduce characters.

Characteristics of the abbreviations

Reducing characters means for the chat abbreviation: It usually consists of only two to five characters. Upper and lower case letters also play a role. Anyone who writes a chat abbreviation entirely in upper case expresses particular astonishment or horror. Capitalization on the Internet is often interpreted as “yelling at” or “calling out”.

The two to five characters of the abbreviation form complete sentences and are therefore acronyms. The first letters of the respective words for the chat language are used. However, it can also happen that a few initial letters of a single term are used - for example in the chat abbreviation "mom" (moment ent). Often it is also important to consider the context to know exactly what the abbreviation means in a particular case.

Triumph of the chat language

Since the SMS, chat abbreviations have established themselves in significantly more areas of life than just in messenger services. We find them in e-mails (often also in newsletters), in social media posts – especially on Twitter, which also has a limited number of characters – and of course in the gamer community. Of course, not every chat uses abbreviations. But most of the population does. Over the years, more and more abbreviated terms have emerged. A complete list is hardly possible. Depending on the community, there are also very specific abbreviations. However, there are also general chat abbreviations that have found their way into our daily internet communication.

List of the most common abbreviations

Here you will find a list of the most common chat abbreviations including their English and/or German meaning in alphabetical order:

numerological

shortcut	English
2F4U	to fast for you
2L8	too late
2U / 4U	to you/ for you
4E	forever
4TW	for the world
4YO/ 4YEO/ FYEO	for you only