Texting & Messaging

Japanese slang used in LINE, text messages, and chat apps

Introduction

LINE is Japan’s dominant messaging app, and it has its own language. From おけ (OK) to それな (exactly), casual text Japanese is a world apart from textbook Japanese.

This chapter covers the slang and shortcuts Japanese people use when texting, chatting, and messaging friends.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (80)

• おつ A casual abbreviation of otsukaresama, used as a quick 'good work' or 'bye' i...
• なるほどね A casual way of saying 'I see' or 'makes sense,' used to acknowledge understa...
• たしかに An agreeing response meaning 'true,' 'that's a good point,' or 'you're right,...
• ほんとそれ An emphatic agreement meaning 'literally that,' 'so true,' or 'exactly,' used...
• ありがとね A casual, slightly cute way of saying 'thanks,' softer and friendlier than あり...
• おやすみー A casual, drawn-out way of saying 'good night' in texts, adding a friendly an...
• じゃね A casual parting phrase meaning 'see ya' or 'bye,' commonly used among friend...
• 〜み A suffix that turns adjectives into abstract noun-like feelings, creating a s...
• つらみ The feeling or vibe of suffering, hardship, or emotional pain — a softer, mor...
• うれしみ The feeling or vibe of happiness — a soft, internet-inflected way to express ...
• 激おこぷんぷん丸 An extremely angry state, but expressed in a humorous, exaggerated way — roug...
• あざす A very casual 'thanks,' created by slurring ありがとうございます into a quick, informal...
• あざます A casual 'thanks' that's slightly more polite than あざす, but still very inform...
• 了解です A quick 'understood' or 'roger that,' widely used in workplace and casual tex...
• 把握 A workplace texting shorthand for 'understood' or 'got it,' conveying that yo...
• なう A suffix meaning 'now' or 'currently doing,' borrowed from English 'now' and ...
• わず A suffix meaning 'was' or 'just finished doing,' borrowed from English 'was' ...
• 笑 The Japanese equivalent of 'lol,' placed after sentences to indicate laughter...
• 泣 A text reaction meaning 'crying' — used like a crying emoji to express sadnes...
• ワロタ An internet slang past tense of 'laughed,' equivalent to 'I laughed' or 'that...
• おめ A quick, casual 'congrats' — shortened from おめでとう (omedetou).
• ことよろ A texting abbreviation for 'best regards this year too' — short for 今年もよろしく (...
• 〜ンゴ A humorous sentence-ending suffix with no real meaning, used to make statemen...
• 〜ニキ A suffix meaning 'bro' or 'dude,' used on forums and social media to refer to...
• 〜ネキ A suffix meaning 'sis' or 'big sister,' the female counterpart to 〜ニキ, used o...
• 定期 A tag meaning 'periodic reminder' — used when posting something you've said b...
• 禿同 An abbreviation for 'strongly agree' — shortened from 激しく同意 (hageshiku doui).
• kwsk An abbreviation for 'tell me more' or 'details please' — from くわしく (kuwashiku...
• wktk An abbreviation for being excited or eagerly anticipating something — from ワク...
• ktkr An excited exclamation meaning 'here it comes!' or 'yes!' — abbreviation of キ...
• gkbr An abbreviation expressing trembling with fear or anxiety — from ガクブル (gaku b...
• mjk An abbreviation for 'seriously?' or 'for real?' — from マジか (maji ka).
• うぽつ Thanks for uploading — a comment left on new uploads to appreciate the conten...
• 888 Clapping — because 8 is read as パチ (pachi), mimicking the sound of clapping h...
• 乙 A kanji shorthand for 'good work' or 'thanks for your effort' — the kanji for...
• ま？ A one-character 'really?' or 'for real?' — the ultimate abbreviation of マジ (m...
• あーね A casual acknowledgment meaning 'ah, I see' or 'yeah, right' — used to show u...
• おもろ A casual shortening of 'funny' or 'interesting' — from 面白い (omoshiroi).
• かわよ A playfully distorted form of 'cute' — from かわいい (kawaii), ending with a よ so...
• すこ A playfully distorted form of 'like' or 'love' — from すき (suki), warped for c...
• 微レ存 An abbreviation meaning 'a slight possibility exists,' used to express that s...
• ファッ!? An exaggerated exclamation of surprise or disbelief, similar to 'What!?' or '...
• ぐう聖 A compliment meaning 'genuinely a saint' — used to praise someone who is exce...
• ぐう畜 A criticism meaning 'genuinely terrible/scummy' — used to describe someone wh...
• もうむり An expression meaning 'I can't anymore' or 'I'm done,' used to convey overwhe...
• まって Literally 'wait,' but used in texting as an exclamation of amazement, shock, ...
• てかさ A casual discourse marker meaning 'by the way,' 'actually,' or 'anyway' — use...
• ぶっちゃけ A casual expression meaning 'honestly,' 'to be blunt,' or 'frankly speaking' ...
• ワロス An internet laughing term meaning 'lol' — a deliberately distorted version of...
• 怒 A single-kanji text reaction meaning 'angry' or expressing irritation, used a...
• なんJ Short for なんでも実況J板 — the 'Anything Live Commentary J' board on 2ch/5ch, and t...
• イッチ Thread starter or original poster (OP), derived from いち (one/first) — the per...
• ぬるぽ Short for NullPointerException — a classic internet meme and call-and-respons...
• ガッ The mandatory response to ぬるぽ — a hitting/whacking sound effect that complete...
• おけまる水産 A playful, emphatic way of saying 'OK!' — an exaggerated extension of おけまる (O...
• ンゴねぇ A humorous sentence-ending expression conveying wistful agreement or resigned...
• 承知しました A very formal way of saying 'acknowledged' or 'understood' — sometimes used i...
• 〜してる Casual contraction of 〜している (doing something) — the standard casual progressi...
• やばたにえん A playful, silly version of やばい — made to sound like a company name (like 谷園,...
• 卍 Used in text for emphasis, excitement, or to express that something is cool o...
• マジで草 A combination of 'seriously' and 'LOL' — expressing that something is genuine...
• どした Casual contraction of どうした (what happened? / what's wrong? / what's up?) — st...
• きゃぱい A slang term meaning 'at capacity' or 'can't handle anymore' — from キャパシティ (c...
• おはあり Short for 'thanks for the good morning greeting' — a response used in streami...
• りょりょ A doubled abbreviation of 了解 (ryoukai, understood) — meaning 'roger roger' or...
• ほんま Meaning 'really' or 'truly' — originally Kansai dialect but now widely used a...
• せやな Meaning 'that's right' or 'yeah' — a Kansai-origin agreement expression now u...
• なんならさ A casual discourse marker meaning 'if anything,' 'actually,' or 'what's more'...
• まじか An expression of disbelief meaning 'for real?' or 'seriously?' — one of the m...
• まって無理 A two-part reaction meaning 'wait, I can't' — expressing being so overwhelmed...
• それはある A casual agreement phrase meaning 'that's valid,' 'I can see that,' or 'that'...
• ふぁ!? An exaggerated text expression of surprise or confusion, softer than ファッ!? — ...
• すこすこ An emphatic doubled form of すこ (like/love) meaning 'love it love it' — expres...
• まぢ Gyaru-style spelling of まじ (really/seriously) — using ぢ instead of じ for a cu...
• 亀レス A very late reply to a message or forum post — literally 'turtle response,' a...
• 安価 An 'anchor' or reply-link on message boards — a reference to another post num...
• 半年ROMれ A blunt directive meaning 'lurk for six months before posting' — a message bo...
• 長文失礼 A polite phrase meaning 'sorry for the long message' — used when sending a le...
• 返信不要 A phrase meaning 'no reply needed' — added to messages to relieve the recipie...
• スレ主 Thread starter or original poster — the person who created the thread (スレッド) ...