Turkish Slang and Texting Abbreviations: Kanka, Tmm, Slm and More

Textbook Turkish will get you through a bank appointment, but a WhatsApp group of Turkish friends can look like a different language: slm kanka nbr, tmm aynen, bi dk. This guide explains the slang and texting abbreviations you’ll actually see, who uses them, and when they’re safe to use yourself.

Each item is marked with its register (neutral, informal, very informal) and the age group that typically uses it. Slang changes fast and varies by city and social group, so treat these as tendencies, not rules. If you’re still working out formal versus informal speech, read sen vs siz first.

Everyday spoken slang

A few notes:

• Kanka comes from kan kardeşi (blood brother). It’s used by both men and women, but never with your boss, your landlord or anyone noticeably older.
• Kral is affectionate praise between friends, roughly “you’re the best”.
• Aynen is the all-purpose agreement word. A conversation can consist of one person talking and the other saying aynen, aynen.
• Eyvallah comes from a traditional expression and is mostly used by men. It can mean thanks, OK, or “fair enough”.
• Helal olsun is a warm compliment for effort or achievement: Sınavı geçtin mi? Helal olsun! (You passed the exam? Well done!)
• Abi as an exclamation (Abi, inanılmazdı! – Man, it was unbelievable!) is used even when talking to women.

Spoken contractions

Casual speech squeezes common forms together, and people often type them the way they say them. These aren’t wrong in conversation, but don’t write them in an email or an exam.

Napıyosun drops the r of the present continuous ending, and yapıcam is a heavily shortened future tense. Di mi is değil mi with the question particle. Knowing the standard forms makes the contractions easy to decode.

Texting abbreviations

Turkish texting abbreviations mostly drop vowels and keep consonants. All of these are informal.

People also often skip Turkish letters when typing quickly: cok guzel for çok güzel (very nice), nasilsin for nasılsın. Usually the meaning is clear from context. If you want to type the real characters, see how to type Turkish characters or use our Turkish keyboard tool.

Reacting in chats

Turkish group chats run on quick reactions. These are friendly and safe to use with friends:

When in doubt, stick to neutral words like cidden, aynen and süper: they’re friendly with everyone and never sound rude.

Dialogue: a WhatsApp chat

Ece: slm knk nbr Ece: Hi buddy, what’s up?

Tom: iyi sen? napıyosun Tom: Good, you? What are you up to?

Ece: evdeyim, akşam kadıköye geçicez gelcen mi Ece: I’m at home. We’re heading over to Kadıköy tonight, are you coming?

Tom: harbi mi? tabi gelirim. saat kaçta Tom: Really? Sure, I’ll come. What time?

Ece: 8 gibi iskelede Ece: Around 8 at the pier.

Tom: tmm aynen. bi dk annem arıyo Tom: OK, sounds good. One minute, my mum’s calling.

Ece: tm grşz Ece: OK, see you.

In standard written Turkish, Ece’s second message would be: Evdeyim, akşam Kadıköy’e geçeceğiz. Gelecek misin? Notice the contracted futures (geçicez, gelcen), the missing apostrophe and capital in kadıköye, and arıyo for arıyor.

Common mistakes

• Using slang with the wrong person. Kanka, moruk and eyvallah sound strange or disrespectful with older people, officials or your manager.
• Texting abbreviations in formal messages. Write teşekkürler and tamam in full in emails to landlords, schools or employers.
• Answering everything with tmm. One word can sound cold. Add a little: tamam, sağ ol! or tmm görüşürüz.
• Copying contractions into exams. Yapıcam and geliyom are spoken forms. The Turkish proficiency exam expects standard spelling.
• Overloading beginner sentences with slang. A textbook sentence sprinkled with kanka and harbi can sound odd. Start with all-ages words like cidden, aynen and süper.

Mini-quiz

1. What is the full form of kib?
2. Your friend writes harbi mi? What do they mean?
3. Rewrite in standard Turkish: napıyosun?
4. Is kanka appropriate when talking to your landlord?
5. What does tşk stand for?
6. Decode: bi dk geliyom.

Answers

1. Kendine iyi bak (take care).
2. “Really?” or “Seriously?”
3. Ne yapıyorsun?
4. No. Use siz and first name + Bey or Hanım.
5. Teşekkürler (thanks).
6. Bir dakika, geliyorum – One minute, I’m coming.

Next steps

Slang only works if the grammar underneath is solid. Review the present continuous tense to decode contractions like napıyosun, then learn the everyday basics in our guide to greetings in Turkish.