Translation into English :

Hi everyone.  Do you know the meaning of this SMS?  If yes, then perfect!  If no, don’t worry, it’s ok.  At any rate, we’re going to have a look now at something different which you perhaps do not know about… the world of the language of text messages.

Translation into regular French:

Salut tout le monde.  Sais-tu c’est quoi le sens de ce texto?   Si oui, parfait!  Si non, ne t’inquiètes pas, c’est pas grave.  De toute façon, nous allons maintenant regarder quelque chose de différent que peut-être tu ne savais pas… le monde de la langue des textos.

Just like in English, French also has many commonly used SMS acronyms.    An SMS is a “texto“ in French.

Not everyone uses texto acronyms, and sometimes your cell’s “type checker” makes it so there is no longer much use to use a number of them.  Regardless, they are still used — often more than regular words (some are used very often)

If you have ever exchanged a number of SMS in French, I’m sure you have ran into them:  “mdr” instead of “lol”, “qqn” instead of “quelqu’un”, etc.

Did you know…?

French SMS acronyms are sometimes different in France/Europe than here in Canada, owing to a difference in colloquial expressions.

Example from France (which we don’t say/use):  “gp“ (gros pigeon) = means a “looser” in English (we’d generally say “cave” in Québec / Canadian French).

Example from Canada / Québec (which is not said/used in France):  “cbr“ (crampé ben raide) = means “keeling over with laughter” in English.  In Europe, people may say “dcdr” (“décédé de rire” = “dead from laughter”).

The following are the most common text acronyms people use on this side of the Atlantic.

Happy texting!!

• A1 = A1, a+
• agreed = dac (d’accord)
• all = tt (tout)
• always = tjr (toujours)
• anyway = dtf (de toute façon)
• anyway = en tc (en tout cas)
• are = st (sont)
• b/c (because) = pcq (parce que)
• during = pdt (pendant)
• everyone = tlm (tout le monde)
• excellent = xl (excéllent)
• for = pr (pour)
• hahaha = hihi
• hello = bjr (bonjour)
• hi = slt (salut)
• hi again = rbjr (rebonjour)
• I don’t care = jmef (je m’en fous)
• I mean = cad (c’est-à-dire)
• I’m = chu (je suis)
• It’s = c (c’est)
• It’s fine, it’s ok  = cpg (c’est pas grave)
• listen = ect (écoute)
• LOL (laughing out loud) = mdr (mort de rire)
• long time = lgtmp (longtemps)
• lots = bcp (beaucoup)
• luv ya = jtm (je t’aime)
• maybe = p-e (peut-être)
• message = msg (message)
• now = mtnt (maintenant)
• OK = k, ok
• pls (please) = stp (s’il te plait)
• prob (problem) = prob (problème)
• ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) = ECDR (être crampé de rire) / RAL (rire aux larmes)
• serious = srx (sérieux)
• smooch = mouais
• sms = txt (texto)
• someone = qqn (quelqu’un)
• something = qqc (quelque chose)
• sorry = dsl (désolé)
• tmrw (tomorrow) = dm (demain)
• to be worried = etk (être inquiète)
• to worry onself = tkt (t’inquiète)
• that = q (que)
• unless = snn (sinon)
• us = ns (nous)
• what = koi, kwa
• what’cha doing? = tfq (tu fais quoi?)
• whatever u/I want= nptk (n’importe quoi)
• who = ki
• why = pk (pourquoi)
• with = av (avec)
• wtf = wtf (ouate de phoque)… smart, eh?
• yah, yup = wé (ouais)
• you (you plural or formal) = vs (vous)
• you know = tse (tu sais)
• you’re = t (tu es)
• yr the best = jtdr (je t’adore)