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How to Send Texts or IMs in Italian (or how to avoid spending an hour on a message that says perché?)

September 25, 2015 By Hannah 6 Comments

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One of the first activities I participated in with my USAC cohort when I got to Italy was taking a mini field trip to the post office to get my hands on a PosteMobile cell phone.

At the time I thought it was pointless to have a cell phone, because I pessimistically believed that I wouldn’t make any friends while I studied abroad and therefore would never have anyone to call or text. I planned to use my iPhone in places with WiFi to connect with the people at home. But I figured it would be good to have an Italian cellphone for any Italian emergencies.

Buying the PosteMobile was like stepping back into 2002. It was a simple bar phone, smaller than my hand, with a regular key pad and the capabilities to make calls, send texts and… that was pretty much it.

Oh, it had a number game on it too, kind of like Sudoku.

Having used a touch screen phone for a few years and phones with full QWERTY keyboards for years before that, I forgot what it was like to have to press 7 FIVE times to get ONE ‘s.’ It took a long time to send any kind of text, so I adapted to making phone calls to contact my friends.

(I did end up actually making friends, despite what I believed when I arrived.)

I didn’t learn the hip text slang until I came back to the U.S., but it sure would have come in handy when I was using my PosteMobile.

Now, it just helps me understand what the heck my Italian Facebook friends are saying when they type things like “xché” or “mmt+.”

To help you out when it comes to keeping in touch with your Italian friends – both for shortening the time it takes to send a message and understanding what someone said, I put together a list of some common Italian text abbreviations.

CPF: Also, Italians usually refer to a ‘text’ as an ‘SMS.’

SMS Abbreviazioni Italiani (Italian Text Abbreviations)

Italians use ‘x’ to mean ‘per.’

– xché = perché – why
– xò = però – but
– xciò = perciò – therefore
– xsona = persona – person

‘X’ can also mean a kiss, like in American English ‘XOXO.’

– XXX = tanti baci – many kisses

The coolest abbreviation in my humble opinion is using the number ‘6’ to mean “sei” as in ‘you are.’

For example:

– Dove 6? = Dove sei? = Where are you?

The number is spelled the same as the verb, just like how the English 2 corresponds to to, two or too.

The letter ‘k’ frequently replaces the ‘ch’ of any word that has ‘ch’ in it.

– ke = che – what
– ki = chi – who
– anke = anche – also

In fact, the letter ‘k’ can also just replace the ‘c’ of almost any word.

– km = come – how
– ks = cosa – what/thing
– qlks = qualcosa – something
– qlk1 = qualcuno – someone

Frequently, vowels are just removed altogether to shorten words.

– dp = dopo – later
– dm = domani – tomorrow
– nn = non – not
– qnd = quando – when
– smpr = sempre – always
– t = ti – you
– cm = come– how

And, to tell someone you love them or you miss them, much like the American English text abbreviations “ILY” or “IMY,” Italian has its own.

– tvb = ti voglio bene – I love you
– tvtb = ti voglio tanto bene – I love you a lot
– mmt+ = mi manchi tantissimo – I miss you a lot

 

 

Practice your SMS abbreviations below in the comments!

Filed Under: Advanced Italian, Beginner Italian, Culture, Expressions, Intermediate Italian, Italian Tagged With: hannah jackel, How to Send Texts or IMs in Italian (or how to avoid spending an hour on a message that says perché?), Italian text messages, italy, SMS, text abbreviations, texting in Italian, The Iceberg Project

Hannah

About Hannah

Hannah Jackel spent nine lovely months in Viterbo, Italy studying abroad, where she fell in love with the Italian language, culture and food. She shares her passion for all things Italian by writing and editing for The Iceberg Project.

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