Vc sabe pq as msgs brasileiras são assim, ou n? (Do you know why Brazilian texts are the way they are, or no?)
Textspeak is no new phenomenon, and every language and culture has their own variety. And though the topic may be considered somewhat trivial, it is actually very important to understand a language’s textspeak in order to be able to communicate effectively with its native speakers. In Brazil, the language of SMS, WhatsApp and beyond makes use of a great deal of abbreviations, and some onomatopoeia too. Let’s have a look at the essentials.
Kkkk/rsrs
‘Haha’ and ‘lol’ aren’t too common in Brazil, so you’re going to see these expressions of laughter instead. The first, kkk(k) is the most standard, with three or four ‘k’s being typical, and any less perhaps a sign of sarcasm. Rsrs is more like a gentle chuckle or giggle, to connote slightly more toned down laughter, coming from the word for chuckles: risos.
Vc
As you saw in the title, this is just a shortened version of the word for ‘you’: você. It may only save two letters, but it’s extremely common amongst Brazilian texters.
Vlw
Short for valeu, which is a popular way to say thanks. See below for the more traditional option.
Q
You can’t get more efficient than a single letter, can you? Instead of going through the trouble of writing out que, meaning ‘that’, you can simply type the letter ‘q’ instead. Similarly, the word for ‘because’ follows the same pattern, going from porque to the succinct pq.
Blz
Highly popular both in written and spoken language, beleza is a greeting as well as a way of saying ‘good’ or ‘okay’. When you’re sending a message, the vowels are cut out to save some time.
Obg
Here’s the most famous expression of thanks, shortened from obrigado/a to the simple obg. You’re welcome.
Sdds
One of the most unique and notoriously hard to translate words in the Portuguese language. People usually write saudade(s) to express that they miss someone or something, but its true meaning is a little more complex. In texts, though, the abbreviation is typically shared with someone you haven’t seen in some time and are missing.
Finde
An abbreviation here, finde stands for fim de semana, ‘weekend’ in English, which is important to know so that you’re sure to have some fun plans lined up.
Hj
Another simple abbreviation short for hoje, meaning ‘today’.
S/N
Back to those single letters. Sim and não, ‘yes’ and ‘no’, get concisely chopped down to their first letters.
Zap
Last but certainly not least, the place where Brazilians do most of their texting: WhatsApp. The app itself is not free from its own abbreviation, with zap or zapzap being the alternative of choice.
Though there are countless more abbreviations and texting vocabularies floating around the Internet, this list will set you off to a pretty good start. Now go forth, and text!
Author: Lucy Singer