Twitter Lingo Demystified!

image Many of my tweeps (Twitter people) have asked me lately about various acronyms, odd lingo and twords (Twitter words).

I’ve compiled below a shortlist of the most popular terms many active Twitterers, including myself, use in everyday tweets.

First, what is a tweet? If you’re new to Twitter, I appreciate even the word “tweet” may sound odd! It’s your 140-character “instant message” or “mini/micro-blog post” that you send out into the world… particularly to your followers (fellow Twitter members who “subscribe” to your tweets).

image For a crash course on getting set up on Twitter and using it effectively for business networking, presence-building, branding and connecting with your marketplace, see these two related posts:

You may also enjoy my friend @CoachDeb‘s hot NEW publication The Twitter Handbook!

Twords (Twitter words)

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with many of these Twitter terms so (a) you can understand tweets sent to you! and (b) when you need more characters to say what you want to say, you can always shorten with a few abbreviations!

1 = one, won

2 = to, too, two

4 = for, four

4ward = forward

4U = for you

ab or abt = about

B = be

b4 = before

b/c = because

BFN = bye for now

bgd = background

BR = best regards

BTW = by the way

chk = check

cld = could

clk = click

da = the

twitterific deets = details

DM = direct message

EM/eml = email

EMA = email address

fab = fabulous

fav/fave = favorite

F2F = face to face (as in meeting someone in person)

FYI = for your information

fwd = forward

GR8 = great

IC = I see

IM = instant message

itz = it is

IRL = in real life

JK or j/k = just kidding

JSYK = just so you know

IMHO = in my humble opinion

K = okay

kewl = cool

L8 = late

L8er = later

lmk = let me know

LOL = laughing out loud

LMAO = laughing my ass off

mil = million

Njoy = enjoy

OH = overheard

OMG = oh my god/gosh

peeps = people

twitter pple = people

props = proper respect (see 4th definition here)

plz = please

R = are

ROFL = rolling on the floor laughing

RT / Retweet = when you repeat a tweet from someone else

RU? = are you?

shld = should

thx/tx = thanks

TIA = thanks in advance

tweeps / tweeple = peeps / people (on Twitter)

TY = thanks (my hubby’s name is Ty, so I prefer thx for thanks, hehee!)

ttyl = talk to you later

ttys = talk to you soon

TYT = take your time

TYVM = thank you very much

Tweetup = an in-person meet up of Twitter members

U = you

u’ve = you have

ur = your

V2V = voice to voice (as in chatting on the phone)

w or w/ = with

w/e = weekend

wazzup?/whaddup? = what’s up?

wld = would

wth = what the heck

wtf = what the f*** (hopefully you don’t see/use this one much!)

woz = was

w00t! = an expression of joy/excitement!

imageyep/yeppers = yes (lol, okay I know yeppers isn’t *short* for yes!)

yr = your

YW = you’re welcome

YVW = you’re very welcome

 For more ideas, see these resources:

Got more twords and acronyms to add? What did I miss?! :) Add yours in the comments below and/or ask me to find the meaning of any acronyms!

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  • http://thewealthspa.com Elizabeth Potts Weinstein

    Great twitter dictionary Mari! I’m going to send this to my new twitter friends who have no idea what I’m talking about 1/2 th e time. :)

    ~ ElizabethPW

    Elizabeth Potts Weinstein’s last blog post.. Ep #57 Put the Law of Attraction Into Action in Your Life & Business

  • http://kellyvbrown.com Kelly

    Nice list. Very helpful. Thx!

  • http://smartadvise.info Shri

    Nice list Mari. Sure ‘d love to use them all. And i love the special characeters in ur tweets.

  • http://howtomakeyourmanperfect.wordpress.com/ Catherine Behan

    TY 4 this Mari, I have not been able to translate some of my incoming tweets!

    Catherine

    Catherine Behan’s last blog post.. Why Does My Man Think He Is Always Right?

  • http://www.BigIdeasGuy.com Lou Bortone

    This is great, Mari! I’ll forward to all my friends who don’t “get it.” Will also add one more: MWTIWMTOT – My Wife Thinks I’m Wasting All My Time on Twitter! lol
    Lou

  • http://www.tlpunlimited.net Tonya Pruitt

    Love this list.. only wish it woulda been around back in 1998 when I started IMing.. and looking like an idiot to all these pros who were half my age… lol.

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    [...] and even those ubiquitous emoticons is poisoning the English language. Mari Smith’s Twitter Lingo Demysified includes a list of the most popular terms that many active Twitterers use in everyday tweets, to [...]

  • http://www.leesabarnes.com Leesa Barnes

    Excellent! And I see many of the words I use on your list.

    Leesa Barnes’s last blog post.. Profit Purpose & Beyond with Sarah Robinson

  • http://www.truecallings.net Lissa Boles

    Ahhh Mari, you’ve done it again: found a way to provide the sweet satisfaction of simple of understanding!

    Lissa Boles’s last blog post.. 3 Things You Need to Know

  • http://www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com Pam Dent

    yr post woz very kewl. tyvm 4 sharing.

  • http://theprofitcenterinc.com Heather Olson

    @MariSmith I just luv how “yeppers” could be short for “yes” hee hee
    Seriously, thx 4 da code!

    @HeatherOlson

  • http://www.twitter.com/jljohansen John Johansen
  • Gina

    Loving the list Mari! My daughter (16) is laughing saying “Wow! you guys don’t know this!? Adults are weird.” So right now I’m ROFL.

    TTYL LOL

    Gina

    Gina’s last blog post.. Want More Referrals? Get a CAT

  • http://www.biztipsblog.com Denise aka The Blog Squad

    This is a gr8 list Mari! I find that I’m starting to write emails in Twitter lingo and that could be a problem! I’m losing my ability to write proper sentences!

    Blog on!

    Denise aka The Blog Squad’s last blog post.. BlogWorld TweetUp on Friday

  • http://thewebcoach.net Donna Payne

    Twabulous! :)

    Your tweets are a h00t! Thanks for sharing.

  • Ann Covey

    Is it really necessary to remember all these :-)

  • http://www.followupsuccess.com Alan Underkofler

    thx for the tweet speak lesson! I know it will come in use! bfn

  • http://www.myspace.com/kittycheng Kitty

    Very useful tutorial here! Thanks. I’ve just registered for twitter.

  • http://www.the-edge-va.com Ros

    Mari, what a great list! I thought I was pretty “up” on the lingo… Apparently not.

    Ros’s last blog post.. Biz Book Recommendations?

  • http://www.sixfiguremomsclub.com Angie A. Swartz

    Mari, You are a great example of under commit and over perform! I love how you always provide your audience and readers with soooooo much content! Thanks for educating us all and being a great pioneer in the New Media world!

    Angie A. Swartz’s last blog post.. Copyblogger, Brian Clark Advises Authenticity Over All Else

  • http://howtobeawoman.net Heather

    Excellent, thanks! I can see I’ve got a lot of practicing to do.

    *Ahem* wazzap?

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  • http://www.docmurdock.com Michael Murdock

    nice job. some of these even i did not know. :)

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  • Dahna Chandler

    I heard about your blog from SixFigureMomsClub.com. This is really helpful to those struggling to understand “twitterspeak” and definitely complements my article on socialmediasavvyblog.com about “Dr. Twitter”, Warren Whitlock. Thank you for what you do. I’m now following you on Twitter and happy to have found you as a FB resource!

  • http://www.barnettwebsites.com BarnettWebsites

    Great Resource. Many people misinterpret the reason for using Twitter let alone the acronyms.

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  • susan

    Great post! put this on my twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mckennasmark

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