Parent Dictionary: Text Codes

By Kyle Roberts, M.A.

This is the 4th of four articles in our Parent Translation series. See part 1 for a list of the most common emojis used in sexting.  for a list with definitions of the most common slang words used in texting. See part 3 for a list of common search engine terms. 

As a concerned parent it’s vital to set up boundaries with your child when it comes to texting.

Here are some great suggestions to get the conversation started:

• Ask your child how many texts are appropriate to send in one day.
• Create a schedule to review the contents of those texts on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
• Familiarize yourself with the individuals with whom your child is exchanging texts.
• Check for any other messaging apps on the device; are there places where secret messages can be sent back and forth? If there is a text or app that you are not familiar with, ask your child about it.
• Continue to educate and communicate with your child. Make it less of a police state and more of a protection and prevention zone.
• Work together with your child to set up some guidelines; get their thoughts and opinions. Including them in the conversations helps keep the lines of communication open.

When reviewing some of the texts you may come across, you may see some things that don’t make sense or look familiar. These “codes” are used to simplify communication between texters or online posters on sites like Tumblr, but they also have roots in keeping some parts of that communication extra private. For some parents it is a no brainer to check in on who and what your child has been texting, but what if you have no idea what the words they are texting mean? This might be just the guide you need.

12-Let’s chat in a private message

1174– Invitation to meet at a particular place, often for a wild party

99– Parents are gone

53X – Sex

420 – Marijuana

182- I hate you

9 – Parent watching

8 – It means “ate”. It refers to oral sex.

ADIDAS – All day I dream about sex

AWK/Awk— Awkward

ASL– Age/sex/location

AEAP-As early as possible

ALAP– As late as possible, typically referencing parties

A3– Anytime, anywhere, anyplace

B– B*t$%, baby, or bad (“my b” my bad, my baby, or my b****)

BC– Because

Broken– Hungover

BJ– Blowjob

BSF– Best friend

BF– Boyfriend

BBG— Babygirl (like a girlfriend or bestfriend nickname)

CD9– Code 9 – It means parents are around.

CU46– See You For Sex

DM– Direct message, past tense: DM’d “He DM’d me”

DUB— As in W (to win)

DTF0– Down to Fu*&

F2F– Offering to video chat or meet in person

FBOI– As in fu#$ boy. A  guy looking to have sex or has a bunch of sex

FB– Short for Facebook

FOGC– Fear of getting caught

FR– For real

FMOT– Find me on Tinder

FWB– Friends with benefits (friends who occasionally have casual sex)

FYEO or 4YEO– For your eyes only (may indicate explicit photos)

GF– Girlfriend

GNOC– Get naked on cam/camera

GYPO– Get your pants off

HOT PIC– Hot pictures as in sexy or naked

IK– I know

IG– Short for Instagram

IFKYK– If you know, you know

I&I– Intercourse and Inebriation

IPN– I’m posting naked

IRL– In real life

ITS– Intense text sex

IKR– I know right

LMP– Usually means like my pic, but sometimes means lick my p***y

MF – Mother f*cker

MOS– Mom over shoulder

NIFOC– Naked in front of computer

OC– Open crib (no parents will be home) / may also stand for Original Character, a unique character in fan-art or fan fiction not found in the original property

OOTD– Outfit of the day

P911– Parent alert

PAL– Parents are listening -or- Peace and Love

PAW– Parents are watching

PA– Parent alert (this goes along with P911)

PEN15– Stands for penis

PIR– Parent in room

PLS– Please

POS– Parent over shoulder -or- Piece of sh*

POV– Point of view

Rn– Right now

S2R- Send to Receive (pictures)

STFU– Shut the f$%& up

SMH– Shaking my head

STG– Swear to god

S/O– Significant other/ spouse or partner

Sus– Suspicious

Sugarpic – Sexually suggestive or erotic picture.

SWYP- So what’s your problem?

TBH– To be honest

TDTM – Talk dirty to me

TWT – Short for Twitter

V– Very

W- With

WBU– What about you?

WYD-What you doin’?

WTH– What the heck/hell

WTF– What the f*&%

WTTP – Want To trade pics

YT– White, a white person

Be sure to look into the Emoji post in this Parent Translation series. Finding something like this on your child’s phone or in their online messages can be shocking. For more great tips on how to handle these or situations like these, look into more of our informative articles here. Oh, and don’t forget to check out our .

Curious to learn more? Check out our books, ; How to Talk to Your Kids About Pornography, which is also available in ; and .

Kyle Roberts has over 10 years of experience working with non profit organizations. She received her masters degree in community counseling from the University of Texas At San Antonio with an emphasis in addiction recovery. When she isn’t wrestling with her little boy she can be found teaching developmental psychology at BYU-Idaho or working on some DIY projects.