Pk, bg, mdr: how many of these French text terms can you work out?

Just like in English, the French language has lots of shortcuts that are commonly used when texting.

Once you are familiar with the terms, it will become second nature and save you a minute or two when you are sending / reading your next text message.

While some may seem obvious, others can be slightly more difficult to decipher, so here are a few text message shortcuts to watch out for…

Pk - Pourquoi (Why)

Kefa - Qu’est ce que tu fais ? (What are you doing?)

This is like the French equivalent of wuu2 (What are you up to?). Kefa comes from the Italian Che fai (what are you doing?) and is a common phrase used in the south of France.

Jtm - Je t’aime (I love you)

Jsp - Je ne sais pas (I don’t know)

Mdr - mort de rire (death by laughing)

This is like the French equivalent of lol (laugh out loud), but instead means death by laughing.

cc - coucou (hey/hi!)

Coucou is an informal greeting and is often used amongst friends and family.

Bcp - beaucoup (lots)

Jpp - j’en peux plus (I can’t take it anymore)

This is one for when you have really had enough.

Bg - belle gosse/beau gosse (beautiful/handsome)

If you refer to someone as a bg, it means you think they are beautiful or attractive. You may hear people call famous actors un/une bg in spoken French too.

Dsl - desolée (sorry)

Tkt - ne t’inquiète pas (don’t worry)

Even in spoken French, people will often drop the ne and the pas in the phrase so it is simply, t’inquiète. When you see tkt written down even without the ne and pas it means don’t worry, so tkt!

c - c’est (it is)

If someone writes c bon, it simply means it’s good. C alone in French text talk stands for c’est. For example, c bon tkt means it’s all good don’t worry.

Tfq - tu fais quoi (What are you doing?)

Like kefa, tfq simply stands for tu fais quoi which means what are you up to?

Ptn - putain (f--k)

The French language loves the word putain, so the shortcut may be useful for understanding your text messages.

Clc - casse les couilles (annoy the hell out of)

Had enough with someone? You can tell them tu clc which stands for casses les couilles meaning they are really annoying you.

A tt - à toute (see you later)

Qqch - quelque chose (something)

This one is fairly straightforward but is used all the time and is an easy shortcut to a long word to type.

Tjr - toujours

You may see some variations of this, but tjr or tjrs stands for toujours which means always/still.

stp/svp - s’il te plaît/s’il vous plaît (please)

Mtn - maintenant (now)

Pb - problème (problem)

Bjr - bonjour (hello)

Cv - ça va (how are you?)

Cad - c'est à dire (that’s to say)

Slt - salut (hi)

Bb - bébé (baby)

This is commonly used among les ados (teenagers) as a greeting for friends or loved ones.

Dac - d’accord (OK)

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