There are thousands of text abbreviations in English, and you are probably very familiar with many of them. But can you decipher that Facebook post in Portuguese on your friend’s timeline?
Check out the list below with some of the most common text abbreviations in Portuguese that have been popping up among Brazilians.
Vc – this one is super popular and a must know. It’s a short for the word você, which means ‘you’.
Td bem? – if you know a bit a Portuguese you’ve probably seen this phrase before. It’s the abbreviation for tudo bem – ‘how are you’?
Bj/bjs – every single Brazilian writes this when saying goodbye in a chat or SMS. Bj and bjs stand for beijo/beijos – ‘kisses’.
Abs – another commonly used abbreviation in emails and messages, this word means abraços – ‘hugs’ in Portuguese.
Rsrs – the Brazilian version of ‘lol’. It comes from the word risos – ‘laughter’.
kkkkk – equivalente to hahaha in English, which by the way is also used in Brazil.
Pq – I’ve been using this one since my days in school in Brazil. It’s acronym for porque – ‘why’ in English.
Oq – represents o que, which means ‘what’ in English.
Qd – “When you become fluent in Portuguese, you will nail all these texting abbreviations. In Portuguese: Quando (qd) você (vc)…
Fds – you absolutely need to learn and remember this abbreviation! It’s the shorthand for the fim de semana known as ‘weekend’ in English.
Mds – the Brazilian version of ‘OMG’ – Meu Deus!
Blz – short for beleza, another popular expression that means ‘cool, okay’, but the literal translation is ‘beauty’.
Kd – acronym for the word cadê which is used in situations when you’re looking for something or someone.
Vdd – shorthand for verdade, ‘true’, ‘truth’
Sdd – this one stands for saudade, often regarded as an untranslatable Portuguese word, which according to the dictionary is: “a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament.”