SMS und WhatsApp-Deutsch
Everything so far has been "proper" German - grammatically complete sentences. Real text messages between friends look nothing like that. A short, fun lesson on the informal shorthand you'll actually see once you're chatting with German friends or colleagues casually.
| LG | Liebe Grüße (warm regards - Lesson 27's letter closing, shortened) |
| VG | Viele Grüße (also "warm regards") |
| WE | Wochenende (weekend) |
| MfG | Mit freundlichen Grüßen (more formal - used even in some casual-but-official texts) |
| btw | übrigens (by the way - English "btw" is actually common too) |
| Textbook German | Casual texting |
|---|---|
| Wie geht es dir? | Wie geht's? |
| Ich weiß es nicht. | Weiß nicht. |
| Bin ich zu spät? | Bin ich zu spät? (dropped subject pronoun elsewhere is more common: "Komm gleich!") |
Dropping the subject pronoun in short casual sentences ("Komm gleich!" - "coming soon!") is common in texts, similar to how English drops "I'm" in "coming soon!" It's not grammatically "correct" formal German, but completely normal in this register.
German texting uses emojis much like English does - no special vocabulary needed, just be aware that tone markers (😊, 👍) carry real weight in short messages where German's directness can otherwise read as blunt to non-native readers.
1. What does "LG" stand for?
2. What does "WE" stand for?
3. Casual short form of "Wie geht es dir?"
4. What does "übrigens" mean?
5. Is dropping the subject pronoun in short casual texts grammatically "correct" formal German?
Casual register based on common German texting conventions - not exam content, but genuinely useful for real friendships and daily messaging.
Got a real text you're trying to decode or reply to? Ask your teaching agent.