What Does YW Mean In Texting? (Answered!)

YW usually simply means “you’re welcome” in texting. It’s most often used as a quick fire way to respond to someone thanking you for something. It has been used in texting since the earliest days of texting, and has quite naturally spread to various corners of the internet, as well.

“Thank you” or some form of it is likely to be one of the most common things we say to each other on a daily basis, even in texting.

A natural, quick, and yet meaningful response is needed, then, and that need is more than met by the simple “YW”.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does YW stand for in texting?

YW most commonly means “you’re welcome”, which is the standard English response to saying “thank you”.

When someone thanks you for something, one response is simply to say “you’re welcome”—as in, you are welcome to what it was I did that made you thank me.

It’s similar to saying “don’t worry about it”, or the shortened “no worries” which does admittedly tend to be more popular among today’s youth.

For example, let’s say one friend took another out to dinner, and they texted to thank them afterwards.

“Thanks for dinner tonight, I had a great time.”

“YW, friend!” for example.

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It’s a short, snappy way of responding to a thank you, and many people favor it as it does not put a great emphasis on being thanked.

You’re just quickly saying “you’re welcome” and moving on, not making a big deal out of whatever it was you did!

This has naturally spread to a lot of other areas of the internet and is no longer only used in texting.

It quickly took hold in chatrooms as well as in texting, and through there spread to the rest of the internet.

This includes things like online games, where quick messages like that are even more important.

A very common exchange between two players on a game might go something like this: “TY for the health!” “YW!”

Here, “TY” means thank you, so a very common exchange would simply be “TY!” “YW!”

It’s very commonly used on large, online games, too, even if there’s not necessarily a time constraint.

It is used simply because we are at the point where everyone understands what it means, so there is little point in typing out the whole phrase!

Where did this term come from, then?

Where did YW come from?

“YW” is, as I’ve tried to stress, a real bedrock term that is used very commonly in text speech.

With that in mind, we can likely guess that this was one of the earliest text abbreviations and initialisms that arose.

It was in common use by at least the middle of the 1990s, most commonly in texting, but also very much in online chatrooms by that time.

Again, there are countless reasons why you might want to say “You’re welcome” to someone.

In the early days of texting, though, when virtually all phones had alphanumeric instead of QWERTY keyboards, typing even something like “you’re welcome” would take a lot longer. Thus, shortening it to “YW” had a lot of utility.

It then took on use in the internet where, even though everyone did have a full keyboard, abbreviations just became hip and popular.

It’s a sort of exclusive lingo, especially as it was early on.

Not everyone knows what certain things mean, and while you can likely work it out from context with “YW”, it was just another reason people liked to use these abbreviations.

You’ll still see this term in use across social media today, so does it have the same meaning?

What does YW mean on social media?

“YW” generally still means “you’re welcome” on social media today.

It’s used in largely the same way, though it could perhaps be seen a bit differently in certain contexts.

Whereas it would have originally been quite an intimate thing between two people, now it could be between someone online with a big following and just one of their followers.

“Thank you for your awesome content!” “TY, YW!” for example.

So, in that sense, it’s easy to see why some might think it is a bit cold today.

What else does YW mean?

In some rare cases, it can be meant to mean “yeah, whatever”.

As in, a way of dismissively responding to something that you don’t agree with, that you doubt, or that you just don’t want to hear.

This meaning of the term is nowhere near as common, though, and again you’re likely to be able to work out from context whether the person means this or just you’re welcome.

Other than that, some have begun using the term to mean “yes, way”. As in, the opposite of “no way!”

“I saw Brad Pitt at my work today!” “No way, you didn’t!” “YW, I did!” for example.

Again, though, this one is definitely nowhere near as common as you’re welcome.

So, while it can have one or two other meanings on occasion, if someone says “YW” to you, they are most likely saying you’re welcome.

You’re welcome for whatever it was they did to make you thankful.

Some might take the shortened version of this to be less meaningful and create less of a connection between two people, so if it’s someone you don’t know very well, you may want to type the full thing out at first!

More in Texting Meanings

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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