Understanding young people can be a difficult thing. Add in things like the new slang words, text speak, and constant abbreviations and it can feel at times like you’re reading hieroglyphics. We’ve got some of the most common ones here to make it just a little bit easier.
Here are some of the most common ones. Abbreviations can be used in both capitals and lowercase.
OMG: Oh my god.
Eg. “OMG did you see the AQI reading for today?”
GTG: Got to go.
Eg. “GTG sorry, dinner’s ready.”
BRB: Be right back.
Eg. “BRB, just going to the Summer Palace.”
ILY: I love you. (alternate: ILYSM as I love you so much)
Eg. “OMG ILY, thanks for the CNY gift.”
S2G: Swear to god.
Eg. “S2G if this traffic doesn’t clear up…”
IDK: I don’t know.
Eg. “IDK how to get to the Olympic Stadium.”
DM: Direct Message (on Instagram etc.)
Eg. “Check your DMs.”
YOLO: You only live once.
Eg. “OMG YOLO let’s go to Tiananmen Square.”
SMH: Shaking my head.
Eg. “OMG did you see what Sarah did SMH.”
Vine: A social media platform where people share videos seven seconds in length.
Eg. “OMG did you see that vine SMH.”
Snap: short for Snapchat, another social media platform where photos are shared for ten seconds or less.
Eg. “Did you see Sarah’s snap?”
Ceebs: From CBB, Can’t be bothered.
Eg. “Ceebs going to school today.”
Bae: Before anyone else.
Eg. “OMG this Baozi is bae.”
Woke: To be aware of current problems and issues.
Eg. “OMG Mrs Rogers is so woke.”
Lit: To be really good, on trend, etc.
Eg. “OMG this party is lit.”
Photos: Telegraph.co.uk
