How to Text in French

The French taught in textbooks can feel quite different from the casual French used by native speakers every day. In conversation, this shows up through slang and idiomatic phrases. In writing, it becomes especially obvious when you get a text message from a French person.

The goal is to be brief rather than perfectly grammatical, and mastering shortcuts to express yourself quickly is essential.

French Words and Phrases to Describe Texts and Texting

Before you begin texting in French, it helps to know some basic vocabulary for talking about texting itself.

Here are a few practice sentences that show these words in action:

Tu pourrais me prêter ton chargeur ? Je n’ai plus de batterie. (Could you lend me your charger? I don’t have any more battery power.)

Tu m’envoies un texto quand tu arrives ? (Will you send me a text message when you get there?)

Désolé – je ne t’ai pas envoyé de message car je n’avais plus de forfait. (Sorry, I didn’t send you a text because my plan had run out.)

Your 5-Step Guide to Texting in French

1. Use Colloquial French

The first thing you’ll probably notice when texting in French is that you won't be using formal or standard French, but rather the informal, everyday language known as registre familier (familiar register). This style of communication includes several elements that are considered incorrect in standard French. For instance:

• Leaving out the ne in negative sentences. So, Je ne viens pas (I’m not coming) becomes Je viens pas.

• Skipping inversion or question words in questions. Viens-tu ? or Est-ce que tu viens ? (both meaning "Are you coming?") would simply be Tu viens ?

You’ll also encounter a lot of verlan in French texts. This popular form of French slang flips the syllables of words to create new terms—in fact, the word verlan itself is the inverted form of l’envers (the opposite).

Some examples you’ll see when texting include:

2. Abbreviate Common Words and Phrases

French contains many silent letters, something you've likely noticed while learning the language. Texting slang eliminates these silent letters, shortening words to their core sounds.

Some frequently used texting abbreviations include:

Here are some sample texts using the vocabulary above:

A: Coucou. Pk tu m’as pas dit comment ct ton concert ? (Hey! Why didn’t you tell me how your concert went?)

B: Dsl ! J’avais oublié mon tél. Ct trop bien ! Mais Alex est tombé sur scène. Tkt il va bien. (Sorry! I forgot my phone. It was awesome! But Alex fell on stage. Don’t worry he’s fine.)

A: C vrai ? Mdr ! Bon tu me racontes tt ce soir ? (Really? Lol! So you’ll fill me in tonight?)

B: Oui tkt biz (Yeah no worries xx)

You can find some more abbreviations here.

3. Forget All Those Pesky Spelling Rules

While you may have spent a lot of time learning the distinctions between ais, ait, aient, er and é to write French properly, those rules often don't apply when texting. In text language, all these different spellings for the same sound are replaced with a simple é.

You can not only change verb endings—for example, writing J’allé instead of j’allais (I was going)—but also alter the spelling of some common words with the é sound:

• Je vais (I’m going) → Je vé
• J’ai (I have) → Jé
• Ouais (yeah) → Wé

4. When In Doubt, Revert to English

Young French people often use English words, and many have become part of casual French, particularly in texting. You’ll frequently see the following English words in French texts:

• lol
• good
• yes
• OK
• stop
• ASAP
• has been

This is used to mean old-fashioned or out of fashion.

Il est trop has-been ! (He’s so out of fashion!)

• life

This is used as a feminine noun and means “life” but also “business.”

Arrête de raconter ma life à tout le monde ! (Stop telling everyone all about my life/my business!)

• like

This is used as a verb ( liker , or “to like”) and is only used in reference to apps that have a “like” function, such as Instagram and Facebook.

Euh… pourquoi son ex est en train de liker toutes ses photos ? (Um… why is his ex liking all of his photos?)

A great way to learn how informal French and English borrowings are used is by immersing yourself in authentic French content so you can see the language used in context. For example, you could watch French movies, follow French language accounts on social media, or you could try searching for specific terms on an immersive language learning platform like Lingflix.

5. Don’t Overdo It

Just like in English, some people text exactly how they speak, and if you use too many slang terms, you might come across as ringard (uncool). Use these tips to add flavor to your texts rather than making them the main ingredient; otherwise, your French texts could end up looking as silly as this does in English:

Luv u bb – UR teh 1! Cu xx

Most importantly, while it can be fun to experiment with these colloquial expressions, don't feel pressured to use them all. Texting in standard French is completely acceptable too. After all, you’re not paying for your forfait by the letter (despite what the spelling of some French teenagers might lead you to believe!)

Texting Culture in France

Texting culture in France is a bit different from that in the U.S., largely due to the different ways cell phone plans developed in each country.

In the U.S., early cell phone plans made texting very costly. People had to pay not only to send texts but also to receive them. Generally, making a call was the more affordable choice.

In France, however, texting has always been much cheaper than calling, so it quickly became the preferred way to communicate. In fact, calling was so expensive that when people were running out of plan minutes, it was common to biper (to beep) your friends. This meant calling and letting it ring once or twice before hanging up, which prompted the person you called to call you back, using their plan minutes instead of yours.

Texting is the primary method of phone communication for most people in France. It's common across all age groups, though older people usually stick to standard French, while teens and young adults tend to use more abbreviations and informal language.

Today, most cell phone plans in France include unlimited texting and data. French people typically prefer to text when possible, though messaging through apps like WhatsApp and Instagram is also popular. On these apps, the same principles of concise communication apply.

Let’s Practice!

Now that you’ve learned how to text in French, try to figure out what these two people are talking about!

A: Ta oublié de me donner l’adresse de la teuf ce soir !

B: DSL ! Je te l’envoie tt suite

A: TKT c bon A+

Translation:

A: You forgot to give me the address for the party tonight!

B: Sorry! I’ll send it to you right now

A: Don’t worry it’s alright see you later

Feeling ready to start tapping and texting like a native French speaker? Wé!