Common acronyms

PTO, TBH, ROFL, BRB… Do you ever see these abbreviations on Facebook or twitter and get confused? Or do your friends send you messages containing these abbreviations and you have no idea what they mean? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! We’re here to help!

Today we’re going to teach you some acronyms and abbreviations that you can use to chat with your friends on the internet or on messenger apps.  We’ll also teach you some formal acronyms that you can use at work or that you might see on some documents.

Here are some informal acronyms:

BTW – By the way.  e.g. “BTW, you forgot to turn the TV off this morning!”

TBH – To be honest.  e.g. “TBH, I didn’t really like the movie”

LOL – Laugh out loud (you use this when you find something funny). e.g.  “Funny joke! Lol.”

ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing (you use this when you find something really funny). e.g. “You’re so funny! ROFL!”

BRB – Be right back.  e.g. “I have to feed my cat. BRB.”

TMI – Too much information (you use when someone is telling you unnecessary information or giving you information that makes you feel uncomfortable).  e.g. “Please stop talking about your boyfriend. TMI.”

FOMO – Fear of missing out (you use this when you feel anxious that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere) e.g. “I’m so tired, but I don’t want to miss the party tonight. FOMO!”

NVM – Never mind. e.g “I’m sorry I lost that book you gave me” “NVM, my sister has a copy.”

TTYS – Talk to you soon. e.g. “I have to do my homework now, TTYS!”

IMO – In my opinion.  e.g. “IMO that movie was very boring.”

Here are some formal acronyms:

PTO – Please turn over. e.g. “There is more information on the next page, PTO.”

ASAP – As soon as possible.  e.g. “Please complete the document ASAP.”

AKA – Also known as.  e.g. “Elvis Presley aka the king of rock is well known for… .”

FYI – For your information. e.g. “FYI, the final reports are due this Friday.”

PS – Postscript (We use this  when we want to add extra information at the end of a letter or email) e.g. “Love from Sophie. PS Say hi to Gemma.”

RSVP – This stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, French for “please reply”. e.g. “RSVP by 9th October.”

NB – This stands for “nota bene”, Latin for “note well”.  ‘NB’ is written before a piece of important information to make readers notice it. e.g. “NB Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.”

TBA – To be arranged, agreed, announced or advised. This is used to say that some details of an event have not yet been decided. e.g. “The final will be on Saturday 24^th April, time and venue TBA.”

ETA – Estimated time of arrival. This is used to express the time you expect to arrive at a destination. e.g. “I’ll call you when my flight lands and give you an ETA.” or “The ETA of the train is 7pm.”

ETD – Estimated time of departure. This is used to express the time you expect to depart from a destination. e.g. “The ETD of my bus to Da Nang is 3pm.”