Do you want a list of useful text message lingo or abbreviations? We’ve got you covered. In fact, this list is not just confined to texting because you may find some of this vocabulary on online forums or comment sections.
Just a word of caution, use texting slang sparingly, especially if you’re a beginner because you should learn the appropriate way of writing French before you ruin it!
First we’ll look at the creation of SMS slang and then we’ll look at a modest list of words.
The Methodology
The easiest way to make texting slang is to simply remove unnecessary letters in French or combine series of numbers and letters to mimic how the intended word sounds.
Original Text: slt jespr ktu va b1, j’T envoé 2 sms pk tu rep pa ?
Deciphered into real French: Salut j’espère que tout va bien, je t’ai envoyé 2 SMS pourquoi tu (ne) réponds pas ?
English: Hey I hope everything is going well, I sent you 2 texts, why didn’t you respond ?
Although the original text would be understood, Victor Hugo is rolling in his grave somewhere.
French Texting Slang
Text messages are not just composed of shortcut words but oftentimes are a mixture of verlan and other colloquialisms. Nevertheless, the list below can help you decipher some texting slang.
2rien (de rien): no problem / you’re welcome
adm1 (à demain): see you tomorrow
à+, @+, ++ (à plus tard): see you later, cya
bjr (bonjour): good morning
bsr (bonsoir): good evening
c (c’est): it’s
chu, chuis (je suis): I am
dc (donc): therefore
dac, dak (d’accord): okay
dcen (descend): come downstairs, get out, come outside.
dsl (désolé): sorry
G (j’ai): I have
jtm (je t’aime): I love you
k, kk, ok, kay (okay): okay
koi (quoi): what
L (elle): she
mdr, lol (mort de rire): laugh out loud
meci, ci (merci): thanks
mwa (moi): me
nrv (énervé): annoyed
ntm (n*que ta mère): **** your mom
o (au): at the
ouf (fou): crazy (technically verlan)
pa (pas): not
pd (pédé): homo
pk (pourquoi): why / because
spé (spécial(e)): special
slt (salut): hey
stp (s’il te plaît): please
svp (s’il vous plaît): please
v1 (viens): come
ya (Il y a): there is
This is the largest complied list I could find.
What does “ndk “ mean in a text?
What does kw mean
Pr en fait kw
I’d assume “quoi”
What does bh and ptdr mean
Okay I don’t know for bh but ptdr means lmao
pété de rire (equivalent to LMAO in english)
Additional common slang shortcuts: “bcp” beaucoup, “tjs” toujours, “cad” c’est-à dire, “jms” jamais etc..
It’s nice for beginners to have basic knowledge of these expressions, you never know when it can come in handy!
“NRV” can also mean “super bien” and “PK” doesn’t mean “because” but “why”
Hey Anonymous, actually PK mean both pourquoi and parce que. Wikipedia agrees with this notion: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/PK
Regarding NRV, I didn’t know that it had a secondary meaning. You learn something everyday.
Hey John t’es debile la sense principal de NRV est « trés fort » aka « tellement bien »
PK (or pq) is more often used as “why” than “parce que”. Parce que would be written “psk”.
I use pq for parce que
pkoi and psk are my standard.. to me anything with c or s is parce que; psk pcq pck
anything without is pourquoi pk pq pkoi
to me this is simplest
Can you help me know more about the relationship between siblings in France? How they stay together? their attitude towards their parents and each other? and what happens to them when their parents die at a young age?