English texting is full of short forms, and most are simple once you decode them. LOL is "laughing out loud," IDK is "I don't know," and ASAP is "as soon as possible." This guide gives you two quick tables — one for casual chats, one that's safe at work — plus one modern nuance about lol that trips people up.
Short forms save typing, but the trick is knowing which belong in a friendly text and which you can send your boss. So we'll split them.
Casual texting abbreviations
These are for friends, family, and group chats. Keep them out of formal writing.
| Short form | It means |
|---|---|
| lol | Laughing out loud (but see below) |
| omg | Oh my god |
| idk | I don't know |
| tbh | To be honest |
| imo / imho | In my opinion / in my humble opinion |
| btw | By the way |
| brb | Be right back |
| ttyl | Talk to you later |
| np | No problem |
| thx | Thanks |
| pls | Please |
| rn | Right now |
| smh | Shaking my head (disappointed) |
| nvm | Never mind |
Office-safe abbreviations
A few short forms show up in real work emails and chats. They're worth knowing as professional vocabulary.
| Short form | It means |
|---|---|
| FYI | For your information |
| ASAP | As soon as possible |
| ETA | Estimated time of arrival |
| EOD | End of day |
"Can you send that by EOD?" or "FYI, the meeting moved" are completely normal at work. The abbreviations in the first table are not — write those out in full in professional messages.
The truth about "lol"
Here's the nuance almost no textbook mentions. Today, lol is mostly a tone softener, not a claim that you actually laughed.
"ok lol" doesn't mean you laughed at "ok." It means "okay," said in a light, friendly way — it takes the hard edge off a short reply. When people really find something funny, they escalate to "lmao" or "hahaha."
A bare "ok" can read as cold or even annoyed in a text. Adding "lol" or an exclamation mark — "ok!" or "ok lol" — makes it sound warm and relaxed. Think of it as punctuation for feelings.
Tone signals to watch for
Texting carries tone through small signals, and missing them causes real misunderstandings.
| You see | How it reads |
|---|---|
| ok. | Cold, or slightly annoyed |
| ok! | Cheerful, friendly |
| OK / STOP | Shouting (all caps = loud) |
| ok lol | Relaxed, no big deal |
In casual texting, ending a short message with a period can feel oddly serious — even angry — to a native speaker. Among friends, many people skip the final period entirely. In formal writing, of course, normal punctuation is correct and expected.
Keep learning English
These short forms belong to texting and chat. For the messages you send at work, where full words and a polite tone matter, see our guide to English email phrases. Practice reading and writing everyday English with audio in the Pretalk app, and strengthen the grammar behind it with our free English grammar guides.
