A List Of English Tone Indicators & What They Mean

Have you ever seen a comment or a message somewhere with a beginning or an ending of a forward slash and a letter? It sort of looks like this “/s” or this “/uj” or this “/g.”

What you’re seeing is called a tone indicator or a tone tag. A tone indicator reveals the tone of the message, so you – the recipient or the reader – no longer have to wonder what the sentiment really is.

You can see tone tags used all over social media and in online conversations. They are used to clarify the true sentiment of the message, especially when it is a bit challenging trying to figure out the tone of what you are reading.

To help you learn what they are and what they mean, check out the list below:

• /s: sarcasm
• /j: joking
• /uj: unjerk (serious statement)
• /rj: rejerk (not serious/joke)
• /hj: half joking
• /srs: serious
• /nsrs: non-serious
• /f: fake
• /g or /genq: genuine / genuine question
• /c: copypasta
• /t: teasing
• /r: romantic
• /ly: lyrics
• /lh: light-hearted
• /neg or /pos: negative connotation / positive connotation
• /nf: not forced
• /nm: not mad
• /p: platonic
• /pa: passive aggressive
• /ref: reference
• /th: threat