Despite glaring limitations, such as tiny screens and cumbersome keyboards, cellphones have become an immensely popular tool for sending messages.

Sending messages in Spanish can pose extra challenges, as typing accented letters and Spanish punctuation isn't always intuitive. But these limitations haven't prevented cellphone chat — technically known in both English and Spanish as SMS (for Short Message Service) — from becoming useful for Spanish speakers worldwide.

One way of overcoming some of the phone's limitations are the use of abbreviations and word or symbol substitutions to get the message across in fewer keystrokes. In Spanish, many of the shorter words used are phonetic usages, such as q for que or qué (the name of the letter is pronounced the same as the word) and the elimination of the letter h, which is silent. Some of the cell phone words are also carryovers from computer chat conventions, such as the use of ":)" to indicate happiness. A few anglicisms are also common.

Cell phone abbreviations are far from standardized, but here are some of them you may come across or want to try using yourself:

100pre — siempre — always
a10 — adiós — goodbye
a2 — adiós — goodbye
ac — hace — (form of hacer)
aki — aquí — here
amr — amor — love
aora — ahora — now
asdc — al salir de clase — after class
asias — gracias — thanks
b — bien — well, good
bb — bebé — baby
bbr — bbr — to drink
bs, bss — besos — kisses
bye — adiós — goodbye
b7s — besitos — kisses
c — sé, se — I know; (reflexive pronoun)
cam — cámara — camera
cdo — cuando —  when
chao, chau — adiós — goodbye
d — de — from, of
d2 — dedos — fingers
dcr — decir — to say
dew, dw — adiós — goodbye
dfcl — difícil — difficult
dim — dime — tell me
dnd — dónde — where
ems — hemos — We have
ers — eres tú — you are, are you
ers2 — eres tú — are you
exo — hecho — act
eys — ellos — they, you (plural)
finde — fin de semana — weekend
grrr — enfadado — angry
fsta — fiesta — party
hl — hasta luego — see you later
hla — hola — hello
iwal — igual — equal
k — que, qué — that, what
kbza — cabeza — head
kls — clase — class
kntm — cuéntame — tell me
km — como — as, like
KO — estoy muerto — I'm in big trouble.

kyat — cállate — Shut up.
m1ml — mándame un mensaje luego — Send me a message later.
mim — misión imposible — mission impossible
msj — msnsaje — message
mxo — mucho — a lot
nph — no puedo hablar — I can't talk now.
npn — no pasa nada — nothing's happening
pa — para, padre — for, father
pco — poco — a little
pdt — piérdete — get lost
pf — por favor — please
pls — por favor — please
pq — porque, porqué — because, why
q — que, qu.a — that, what
q acs? — ¿Qué haces? — What are you doing?
qand, qando — cuando, cuándo — when
qdms — quedamos — we're staying
q plomo! — ¡Qué plomo! — What a drag!
q qrs? — ¿Qué quieres? — What do you want?
q risa! — ¡Qué risa! — What a laugh!
q sea — qué sea — whatever
q tal? — qué tal — What's happening?
sbs? — ¿sabes? — Do you know?
salu2 — saludos — hello, goodbye
sms — mensaje — message
spro — espero — I hope
t — te — you (as object pronoun)
tas OK? — ¿Estás bien? — Are you OK?
tb — también — also
tq — te quiero — I love you
tqi — tengo que irme — I have to leave
uni — universidad — university, college
vns? — ¿Vienes? — Are you coming?
vos — vosotros — you (plural)
wpa — ¡Guapa! — Sweet!
xdon — perdón — sorry
xfa — por favor — please
xo — pero — but
xq — porque, porqué — because, why
ymam, ymm — llámame — call me
zzz — dormir — sleeping
+ — más — more
:) — feliz, alegre — happy
:( — triste — sad
+o- — más o menos — more or less
- — menos — less
:p — sacar lengua — tongue sticking out
;) — guiño — wink

Note: Many of the messages using a q for que or qué can also be expressed with a k, such as "tki" for "tengo que irme." A few popular abbreviations standing for vulgar words aren't included in this list.