Texting in Japanese: LINE Messages, Abbreviations and Stamps

Texting in Japanese with friends is short, casual and full of stamps: most people use LINE, write in plain (casual) Japanese rather than です・ます, and soften messages with sentence endings like ね and かな, emoji and stickers. A few everyday abbreviations, such as りょ (got it) and w (laughing), go a long way. The main thing to learn is when to stay casual and when a message needs to be polite.

LINE is the default

In Japan, LINE is the messaging app most people use with friends, family, schools and even some shops. Group chats are common for clubs, classes and parents. If you are moving to Japan or have Japanese friends, expect to be asked LINE交換しよう (“let’s swap LINE”). For work chat, the rules are different; see Japanese chat messages at work.

Casual messages that sound natural

• 今なにしてる？ What are you up to?
• 土曜日ひま？ Are you free on Saturday?
• ごめん、ちょっと遅れる！ Sorry, running a bit late!
• 着いたよ〜 I’m here.
• 今日はありがとう！楽しかった Thanks for today! I had fun.
• また今度ね Next time, then.

The wavy line 〜 at the end makes a message sound relaxed and friendly. Ending with ね invites agreement, よ tells someone something new, and かな makes a suggestion sound gentle.

Common abbreviations and slang

Slang changes quickly and depends on age. Use it with people who use it with you, and don’t use it with teachers, older people or at work.

Stamps, emoji and kaomoji

LINE stamps (スタンプ) are large stickers, and sending one is a perfectly normal reply. A stamp of a bowing character can say “thank you” or “sorry” on its own. Text faces (kaomoji) like (^^) and (´；ω；｀) are still common, especially with older people. Without them, short Japanese messages can feel cold.

Read receipts

LINE shows 既読 (“read”) when someone opens your message. Reading and not replying is called 既読スルー, and some people mind it. A quick stamp is enough to show you’ve seen it.

When to switch to polite Japanese

Use です・ます with people you’ve just met, teachers, your partner’s parents, a landlord or anyone older you don’t know well. When in doubt, start politely and follow the other person’s lead: if they switch to casual, you can too. Our guide to casual and polite Japanese explains how.

Typing it all

On a phone, most Japanese users type with flick input or a romaji keyboard. If you haven’t set up Japanese input yet, see how to type in Japanese.

How Hanabuddies can help

A native tutor can look over real messages you want to send, show you how friends actually write, and help you sound natural rather than like a textbook. It’s a fun part of lessons for anyone making friends in Japan or keeping in touch with Japanese friends.