Texting in French involves specific terminology, as well as abbreviations to save time and space. Many of these are derived from shortened words or phonetic spellings.

General terms (not abbreviations)

Here’s a concise list of French terms related to texting/SMS with English translations:

Basic Terms

• Envoyer un SMS – To send a text (message)
• Un SMS / Un texto – A text message
• Textoter / Tchatter – To text (verb, informal)
• Un message texte – A text message (formal)

Actions

• Écrire un texto – To write a text
• Recevoir un SMS – To receive a text
• Lire un message – To read a message
• Répondre à un SMS – To reply to a text

Tech & Notifications

• Une notification – A notification
• Un (téléphone) portable / Un mobile – A mobile phone
• Une messagerie instantanée – Instant messaging
• Une appli de messagerie – A messaging app

Informal/Abbreviated Terms

• SMSer – To text (slang, from “SMS”)
• Je t’ai SMSé – I texted you (colloquial)
• T’as reçu mon msg ? – Did you get my text? (msg = message)

General greetings and expressions

• bjr (bonjour / hello)
  • “Bjr, ça va ?” (“Hello, how are you?”)
• bsr (bonsoir / good evening)
  • “Bsr, tu fais quoi ?” (“Good evening, what are you doing?”)
• slt (salut / hi)
  • “Slt, ça roule ?” (“Hi, how’s it going?”)
• cc (coucou / hey)
  • “Cc, t où ?” (“Hey, where are you?”)
• tjs (toujours / still)
  • “T tjs là ?” (“Are you still there?”)
• mdr (mort de rire / laughing out loud (LOL))
  • “C’était trop drôle, mdr !” (“That was so funny, LOL!”)
• ptdr (pété de rire / rolling on the floor laughing (ROFL))
  • “Il est tombé, ptdr !” (“He fell, ROFL!”)
• tg (ta gueule / shut up) (vulgar)
  • “Tg, j’écoute.” (“Shut up, I’m listening.”)

Pronouns and verbs

• t (tu es / you are)
  • “T là ?” (“Are you there?”)
• c (c’est / it’s)
  • “C cool.” (“It’s cool.”)
• jv (je vais / I’m going to)
  • “Jv partir.” (“I’m going to leave.”)
• g (j’ai / I have)
  • “G un problème.” (“I have a problem.”)

Question words

• pq (pourquoi / why)
  • “Pq tu ne réponds pas ?” (“Why aren’t you answering?”)
• k (quoi / what)
  • “Tu fais k ?” (“What are you doing?”)
• keske (qu’est-ce que / what)
  • “Keske tu veux ?” (“What do you want?”)
• dac (d’accord / okay)
  • “Dac, on se voit demain.” (“Okay, see you tomorrow.”)

Time and location

• ojd (aujourd’hui / today)
  • “On se voit ojd ?” (“Are we meeting today?”)
• dem1 (demain / tomorrow)
  • “Je t’appelle dem1.” (“I’ll call you tomorrow.”)
• stp (s’il te plaît / please)
  • “Réponds-moi, stp.” (“Answer me, please.”)
• tkt (t’inquiète / don’t worry)
  • “Tkt, c’bon.” (“Don’t worry, it’s fine.”)
• rdv (rendez-vous / meeting/appointment)
  • “On a rdv à 18h.” (“We have a meeting at 6 PM.”)
• jms (jamais / never)
  • “J’y vais jms.” (“I never go there.”)

Romantic or affectionate terms

• biz (bisous / kisses)
  • “À dem1, biz.” (“See you tomorrow, kisses.”)
• chui (je suis / I am)
  • “Chui fatigué.” (“I’m tired.”)
• tlm (tout le monde / everyone)
  • “Tlm est là ?” (“Is everyone here?”)

Internet and social media terms

• msg (message / message)
  • “Je t’envoie un msg.” (“I’m sending you a message.”)
• pk (pourquoi / why) (alternative to “pq”)
  • “Pk tu rigoles ?” (“Why are you laughing?”)
• asap (as soon as possible / as soon as possible) (borrowed from English)
  • “Réponds asap.” (“Reply ASAP.”)

Some abbreviations are informal and should be avoided in professional contexts. Others, like rdv or bjr, are widely accepted.