Spanish Texting Abbreviations and Slang

A Quick and Easy Guide to Texting Abbreviations in Spanish!

So, you’ve completed Level 2 of Pimsleur’s Latin American Spanish, loaded up your Netflix queue with Spanish language movies and have just started to acquire Spanish speaking friends. But now when you receive a comment on your photo saying “k linda t ves! tkm, cdt”, you quickly realize you’re in over your head! Do you need help with Spanish texting abbreviations? Are you worried about sounding uncool or robotic via text message? We’ve got you covered. Let’s learn how to text in Spanish.

How to Text in Spanish

Before we get started, let’s just clarify that SMS is essentially a thing of the past in Latin America. Monthly or yearly cell phone contracts are almost non-existent. Many people pay-as-you-go and use apps like Whatsapp and Facebook messenger to send free messages.

When asked, “How do I say ‘texting’ in Spanish?”, I usually tell people that while some Latinos say textear, even though it’s not an official word yet, it’s more common to say Mándame un Whatsapp/mensaje. (“Send me a Whatsapp/message.“) A message is more universally accepted because it can be sent online.

Just because old-school SMS is gone does not mean the abbreviations have died. They’ve just moved to different platforms. Here is a list of all the abbreviations you will need to successfully text in Spanish.

Texting Hacks: Spanish Texting Abbreviations and Acronyms

Listed below are many of the most common Spanish texting abbreviations you’ll see:

Top 10 Spanish Texting Slang: Acronyms

1. gpi = Gracias por invitar. (Thanks for the invite.)
2. tkm or tqm = Te quiero mucho.  (I love you.)
   • There are two ways to say I love you in Spanish: te amo and te quiero. Te quiero mucho is the less formal way of expressing love. It literally means I want you a lot.
   • K often replaces q because it has a similar phonetic sound.
3. ntp = No te preocupes.  (Don’t worry. – informal)
4. npn = No pasa nada.  (No biggie. or No problem.)
5. pti = Para tu información  (FYI – for your information)
6. mdi = Me da igual  (It’s the same. or It doesn’t matter. Literally, “It gives me equal.”)
7. fds = Fin de semana (Weekend)
8. tlj = Te lo juro!  (I swear to you! – informal)
9. tqi/tki = Tengo que irme.  (I have to go.)
10. cdt = Cuídate.  (Take care. “of yourself”)

Top Spanish Texting Slang: Abbreviations

1. muy bn = Muy bien (Very well.)
2. pq, pk,xq, xk = Porque?  (Why?)
   • As you may know, there are actually four different ways to spell porque in Spanish (porque, porqué,  por qué and por que.) These subtle nuances are futile in the world of texting.
   • Turns out there are also four ways to abbreviate porque: pq, pk, xq, and xk.
   • As seen in tkm, the q is often substituted for the k.
   • The letter x replaces the word por in a reference to multiplication. Take, for example, the expression “3 x 4.” In English, you say “3 times 4,” but in Spanish, it’s “3 por 4.”
   • If you want to know more about the different porque’s, here’s a breakdown of the 4 Spanish porques!
3. xfa = por fa  (Short for por favor, or “please.” Again, the por is replaced with an x.)
4. tb = también (also see tmb and tmbn – “also“ or “too“, similar to the English abbreviation 2 as in “me 2“)
5. bs = besos  (“kisses”, not bull sh**. Also see bst for besitos, or “little kisses”.)
6. chic@s = chicos & chicas (boys & girls)
   • Because the only thing differentiating chicos from chicas is one letter, people use the symbol @ to represent both o and a. Same goes for amigos + amigas = amig@s. Pretty clever, huh?
7. kn = quien (who)
8. cnt = Conesta!  (“Answer!“ Either the phone or the question at hand)
9. maso = más o menos  (“more or less,” which may also be typed as using symbols + o -)
10. msj = mensaje  (message)
11. mñn = mañana (tomorrow)
12. atte = atentamente  (“attentively“ or “thoughtfully“ – more formal)
13. aki = aquí  (“here,” replacing q with k.)
14. estoy de vacas = Estoy de vacaciones.  (I am on vacation)
15. vdd = Verdad  (True)
16. gnl = genial  (great/wonderful – mostly used in Spain)
17. mxo = mucho  (a lot)
    • The letter x in Spanish slang is often used to replace the ch sound. Also, see xao = chao.)
18. kacs = Qué haces? (What are you doing/what are you up to?)
    • Since the h is silent, it often disappears while texting in Spanish.
19. ntnc/tons = Entonces (So, then)

Texting Hacks: How Do I Say “lol” in Spanish?

Many Latinos simply use the English term lol because of its sheer popularity. If you want to laugh in Spanish, you could write jaja (the j is pronounced like an h in English).

The more ja’s, the funnier the commentary.

Be careful not to miss the first j and type aja, as in “aha…” or “I agree/see your point.”

Text in Spanish Like a Native!

Now you’re ready to confidently go out into the digital Spanish-speaking / writing world!

Remember:

• q = k
  
• por = x
  
• o+a = @
  
• and no accent marks required!
  

If you didn’t remember everything, npn (no pasa nada)! Continue to use the guide above as a reference, but don’t forget to keep practicing your Spanish!

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