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SMS English

Not only foreigners, but also native speakers have their problems with the English language. Quite often, teachers despair when reading their pupils’ texts. Most mistakes are made when words are pronounced the same, e.g. their/there, its/it’s etc.

When worse comes to worse, some students simply shorten their texts to SMS. This is what a 12-year-old Schottish girl in her 7th year did in her composition about her last holiday.

How good is your SMS English? Try to read the text below. Move the mouse pointer over the Information(i) sign to see the answers.

Would you like to send an SMS in English? Here is a list with useful characters and their meanings:

  • & - and
  • 0 - nothing
  • 2 - two, to, too
  • 2DAY - today
  • A - a / an
  • B - be
  • B4 - before
  • BC - because
  • BF - boyfriend
  • BK - back
  • BRO - brother
  • BT - but
  • C - see
  • D8 - date
  • DNR - dinner
  • EZ - easy
  • F8 - fate
  • GF - girlfriend
  • GR8 - great
  • HOLS - holidays
  • HV - have
  • I - I, it
  • Its - it is
  • KDS - kids
  • L8 - late
  • L8R - later
  • M8 - mate
  • NE1 - anyone
  • PLS - please
  • PS - parents
  • QT - cutie
  • R - are
  • SIS - sister
  • SKOOL - school
  • SMMR - summer
  • U - you
  • WR - were
  • A3 - anyplace, anytime, anywhere
  • ASAP - as soon as possible
  • B4N - Bye for now
  • BAU - business as usual
  • BRB - I'll be right back.
  • BTW - by the way
  • CUL - see you later
  • CWOT - complete waste of time
  • FTF - face to face
  • FYI - for your information
  • GMTA - great minds think alike
  • HAND - have a nice day
  • HRU - how are you
  • ICBW - it could be worse
  • IDTS - I don't think so
  • IMHO - in my humble opinion
  • IYKWIM - if you know what I mean
  • JK - just kidding
  • KOTC - kiss on the cheek
  • LOL - laughing out loud
  • LSKOL - long slow kiss on the lips
  • LTNS - long time no see
  • Luv U - I love you.
  • Luv U2 - I love you too.
  • MON - the middle of nowhere
  • MTE - my thoughts exactly
  • MU - I miss you.
  • MUSM - I miss you so much.
  • NP - no problem
  • OIC - oh, I see
  • PC&QT - peace and quiet
  • PCM - please call me
  • ROTFL - rolling on the floor laughing
  • RUOK - are you ok?
  • THNQ - thank you
  • U4E - you forever
  • UROK - you are okay
  • WUCIWUG - what you see is what you get
  • WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get
  • XLNT - exellent
  • :-) smiling
  • :-* kiss
  • :-)) very happy
  • :-0 shocked
  • :") blushing
  • :-| :-| deja vu
  • (_x_) kiss my arse/butt
  • <:3 )~ mouse
  • :@) pig
  • :’-) tears of laughter
  • :-P stick tongue out
  • :-(*) you make me sick
  • x-( you are mad
  • :-" whistling
  • ;-) wink
  • :-@ screaming
  • O:-) saintly