So you’ve made Spanish friends. You’ve gotten their numbers. Next step? Send them a txt msg! It’s cheaper than calling, especially if you engage in the art of abbreviation (abvn). Here are a few guidelines to follow:
Omitting the ‘e’ at the end of a word
You can omit the ‘e’ in words that finish with that letter when the last consonant is a ‘d,’ ‘t,’ ‘b,’ or ‘c.’ This is because in Spanish, the way you pronounce these letters already includes the ‘e’ sound: d = de, t = te, b= beand so on…
Examples: dond = donde; dart = darte
Omitting vowels
A similar rule as the one above can be applied to all vocals in general, especially when the pronunciation of the consonants preceding them replace the missing vowel.
Examples: pro = pero; crca = cerca
Using the ‘q’ and ‘k’
The ‘q’ and ‘k’ are used almost interchangeably. They replace the word que.
Using the ‘x’
The ‘x’ replaces the ‘ch’ sound. More importantly, it replaces the word por because of the similarity between the ‘x’ and the multiplication sign (the word por is used in Spanish to say ‘multiplied by’).
Taking the above two rules in mind, porque (because) and por qué (why?) become xq.
Emoticons
As in any language, emoticons can be used to add character to your text messages. Some of the most typical are:
Smiling 🙂
Really happy =D
Winking 😉
Sticking out tongue 😛
Surprised :O
Sad 🙁
Using your own creativity and common sense.
As you get practice, you’ll learn more from your friends and develop your own style. To get you on the right track, following is a list of some commonly used abbreviations in Spanish text messaging:
d = de
m = me
n = no
t = te
q = que
sk = es que
e = he
stoy = estoy
bss = besos
qro = quiero
tq = te quiero
tqm = te quiero mucho
qtal = que tal
mxo = mucho
dcirt = decirte
mjor = mejor
yama = llama
ola = hola
vr = ver
dl = del
xa = para
xo = pero
x = por
xq = porque, por que
km = que me
cn = con
wn = bueno
wen = buen
tb = también
dp = después
aki = aquí
plis = por favor
ls = los/las
qndo = cuando
dir = dirección
hno/a = hermano/a
msj = mensaje
pqño = pequeño
kero = quiero
salu2 = saludos
tlf = teléfono
