Understanding chat jargon
If you're new to chatting and messaging online, you might be a bit bamboozled by the strange symbols and acronyms that you see cropping up in chat, message boards, emails and Instant Messages.
Fear not - these are simply abbreviations designed to save the typist time and make the best use of their limited screen space. They can also give a greater degree of personal expression to online conversations.
There are certain basic principles and rules observed by this type of chat language. Certain words may be represented by a collection of letters and/or numbers that sound the same when said aloud but which take up less space (e.g. m8 = mate). Smileys, also known as emoticons, can be used to represent a facial expression and add emphasis to a comment (e.g. :-) is a smile).
Other tips to remember include marking 'actions' between either < >, * * or :: :: symbols. For instance, if you want to show someone affection, you could type
Then there's typing in capitals. Although you might type a word in capitals for emphasis, to the online world, typing entirely in upper case is construed as SHOUTING and might make people
Our guide to the most popular symbols and phrases should see you through your cyber-conversations. It should also provide you with inspiration for your own abbreviations and smileys - these expressions can also be a lot of fun for users to devise and share. As well as being very easy to use, this cyber-shorthand is also respectable enough to have been recognised recently by the Concise Oxford Dictionary, which now includes several of these phrases!
You can also add more character to your online presence with My Expressions. You can choose a cool Buddy Icon from our colourful selection, pick out your own set of smileys and choose yourself a complete desktop theme.
:-) Ch@ing (happy chatting)!
Smileys
When you are chatting in chat rooms or via Instant Messages, the person or people you are chatting with can't see the expression on your face or hear your tone of voice. Therefore, they could misinterpret what you are saying. Using smileys (or emoticons) at the end of a sentence can remedy this. A smiley face or a wink can let people know you mean your comment light-heartedly or tongue-in-cheek, and you can even use a smiley to give someone a virtual hug or kiss.
Here is just a small selection of the many possible smileys available. There are lots of variations, and it can be fun to make up your own to trade with people you meet online.
General Smileys
:) or :-) or :o) - Smile
:D - Smile / laughing / big grin
:( or :-( or :o( - Sad face/frown
:| - Grim face
:* or :-)x(-: - Kiss
;) - Wink
:X - My lips are sealed
:P - Sticking out tongue
{} - A hug
{{{{{{{ }}}}}}} - Lots of hugs
:'( - Crying
O:) - Angel
':) - Raising one eyebrow
,:) - Raising other eyebrow
8^[ - Stuck up / fed up
}:> - Devil
>:-{ - Hurt and angry
:-` - Hint of a smile
:-@ - Not feeling too great
:-! - Used unrepeatable language
<------ - Referring to yourself
$) - I love money
:-& - Tongue-tied
<|:-) - Witch
":¢( - Punk smiley
Acronyms
If you want to send someone a quick message that gets straight to the point, you may not have time to type out a full sentence and punctuate perfectly. But quite literally at your fingertips are countless time - and space - saving acronyms that will instantly get your meaning across. They will not only help you to get your comments in quickly to a fast-moving chat room, but also lend an air of friendly informality to your conversations.
As with smileys, other members are always inventing their own expressions, but our guide to the most commonly used should get you started. The most popular are listed below, but read our expanded guide to acronyms for a more extensive list.
General Acronyms
A/S/L - Age/Sex/Location
AISI - As I See It
B4 - Before
B4N / BFN - Bye For Now
BRB - Be Right Back
CIO - Check It Out
CSL - Can't Stop Laughing
CUL8R / CYL - See You Later
F2F - Face-to-Face
GR8 - Great
GTG - Got To Go
HAK - Hugs And Kisses
HB - Hurry Back
IDK - I Don't Know
IDTS - I Don't Think So
IMO - In My Opinion
IOW - In Other Words
IYKWIM - If You Know What I Mean
IYSS - If You Say So
J/K - Just Kidding
KWIM - Know What I Mean
L8R - Later
LMK - Let Me Know
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
OIC - Oh, I See
OMG - Oh My Gosh
OTOH - On the Other Hand
PLS - Please
ROTFL or ROFL or ROTF - Rolling On The Floor Laughing
SWDYT - So What Do You Think?
THX or TX or THKS - Thanks
TYVM - Thank You Very Much
WB - Welcome Back
WDYS - What Did You Say?
WDYT - What Do You Think?
YGBK - You Gotta Be Kidding
For more information about courteous conduct in chat, see our guide to netiquette.