When you go to university, you will encounter many people of different ages, people who speak different languages and people from different countries. This list of common lingo variations and shorthand abbreviations will help you learn how to join any conversation with your peers at university, no matter their age or home country, or whether they’re talking to you in-person or via tech. After you’ve mastered lingo basics, break the ice with these top 5 conversation starters, learn even more university lingo by reading the jargon journal, or read Kathy’s blog How to chat despite an age gap.

1. Thelatestlingo
Words
currently
used by our
younger
students…
Cray – crazy, wild, out of the box
Da bomb – means the best
Jelly – short for being jealous of someone
Nailed it – means you did good!
Photobomb – to drop into someone’s photo unexpectedly
YOLO – acronym for ‘you only live once’!
B4N Bye For Now
BTW By The Way
BFF Best Friends Forever
BRB Be Right Back
FOMO Fear of Missing Out
GR8 Great
ILY I Love You
IRL In Real Life
JK Just Kidding
L8R Later
LOL Laughing Out Loud
NSFW Not Safe for Work
OMG Oh My God
POV Point Of View
ROFL Rolling on Floor Laughing
TTYL Talk To You Later
TMI Too Much Information
TFW That Face When
Textlanguage
Texting
shorthand
can seem like
a language
in itself
Boomers Gen X Gen Y
Amped Pumped Juiced
Bad Wicked Sick
Bitchin Excellent Cool
Chick Betty Boo
Daddy-O Dude Bro
Boomers Gen X Gen Y
Doofus Barney Tool
Gnarly Radical Sweet
Spunk Baldwin Hottie
Square Geek Nerd
Yuppie Trendy Hipster
Generationgap
The words
may be
different but
the subject
matter stays
the same
English Spanish Italian German Japanese
Hello Hola Ciào Hallo Konnichi Wa
Goodbye Adiós Arrivederci Auf Wiedersehen Sayonara
Book Libro Registrare Buchen Bukku
Thank You Gracias Grazie Danke Arigatou
How are you? Como estás? Come sta? Wie geht’s? Ogenki desu ka?
Spokenword
Same,
same but
different…
language
across
cultures
As fast as new communication platforms develop, so does the
vocabulary surrounding them.
Did you know that 15% of USQ’s student population is made up of
international students? Here’s how to get the conversation started
with classmates who originate from another country.
Over the span of four generations, communication devices have
become smaller and more mobile. With the introduction of social
networks, we can connect to each other 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. The one thing everyone you meet at uni is likely to have in
common is their use of mobile technologies, so here are some tips
to use this to communicate with your peers.
1963
1982
201020041993
200719841976
1995
Push
button
phone Internet
Apple
iPad
Face-
book
First
SMS
Apple
iPhone
First
mobile
Personal
computer
DVD
When you go to university, you will meet many people of different
ages, people who speak different languages and people from
different countries. Whether in the coffee line or in class, in-person
or online, use these tips so that you can communicate with anyone
you meet at uni.
How to bridge the
communication gap
Now that you know how to get the conversation started,
whether in-person or via technology, it’s time to put your new
lingo into practise!
For more tips on how to connect with your peers at uni, visit
USQ’s Social Hub. #usqedu
Gen Z
2003
Gen Y
1984
Gen XBoomers
1965
social.usq.edu.au
CRICOS: QLD00244B NSW02225M TEQSA: PRV12081 13.3.D 04.2017