World of Warcraft Lingo: Learning the Language of Azeroth's Inhabitants

In my first article, A Beginner's Guide to World of Warcraft: Getting Started in Azeroth, I introduced you to the world of Azeroth, giving you basics and tips to help you begin your journey.

Today, I will teach you something equally as important: the local language.

The players of World of Warcraft have developed a vast number of abbreviations for certain words in-game, essentially developing their own language. Seriously, take a look at the screenshot above, do you even know what the hell LFW or WTS is?

I'm going to do my best to compile a list of basic, intermediate WoW lingo, and define it for you, so that you might be able to actually understand these people are saying!

When I first began playing 2 years ago, I took one look at trade chat and just thought to myself "what the hell does all this mean?" Certain things common sense can define for you. But other things...well they aren't as simple.

Now, I can take 1 glance at the full screen of letters, numbers, and abbreviations and understand it as though I'm reading another language.

One HUGE thing to remember is not to expect to get all the lingo down from the get-go. It WILL take time. But give it a few weeks, maybe even a few months, and you too will become fluent in another language.

Let's start off small and work our way up. Here is a list of some very basic lingo to get you started on the right foot. Some universal language that you will most likely find yourself using every day.

On the left will be the "WoW" word, and on the right will be the definition. Here we go!!

• AFK - Away from the Keyboard
• AH - Auction House
• Alt - Alternate Character/s
• Alch - Alchemy
• BG's - Battleground's
• BoA - Binds on Account (Heirloom Items)
• BoE - Binds when Equipped
• BoP - Bind on Pickup
• BS - Blacksmith
• Cata - Cataclysm
• d/c'd - Disconnected
• Ding - To Level
• Ench - Enchanter
• FP's - Flight Points
• FPS - Frames per Second
• GB - Guild Bank
• Grats - Congratulations
• Hearthing - Using your Hearthstone
• Inv - Invite
• JC - Jewelcrafter
• LFG - Looking for Group
• LFM - Looking for More
• LFW - Looking for Work
• LW - Leatherworker
• Pally - Paladin
• Pst - Send a Whisper
• Pugs - Random party or raid
• PvE - Player vs. Environment
• PvP - Player Vs. Player
• Rep - Reputation
• Shammy - Shaman
• TPS - Threat Generation per Second
• Vent - Ventrilo Client
• WTS - Willing to Sell
• WTT - Willing to Trade
• XP - Experience
• Xpac- Expansion

Well so far, I definitely put in a lot more words than I had meant to. But that's not necessarily a bad thing!

Here is a list of some more intermediate lingo, things that you won't necessarily see every day, but will use on a regular enough basis.

• 10m - 10 man Raid
• 25m - 25 man Raid
• 40m - 40 man Raid
• 1h - 1 Handed Weapon
• 2h - 2 Handed Weapon
• Adds - Additional group of enemies
• Aggro - Caused by threat, A monster will target a player with the most aggro
• Agi - Agility
• Ally - Alliance
• AoE - Area of Effect
• AP - Attack Power
• Boomkin - Druid in Moonkin form
• Buff - Beneficial Spells
• CC - Crowd Control
• Chiev/Chievs - Achievments
• Crit - Critical Hit
• Dal - Dalaran
• Darn - Darnassus
• DK - Death Knight
• Drood - Druid
• Feral - Druid Cat or Bear Form
• Feral Tank - Druid Bear Tank
• Gank/ed - Kill/Killed (This term is normally used when player is killed without any warning)
• GCD's - Global Cooldowns
• HM - Hard Mode
• ICC - Icecrown Citadel
• iLvl - Item Level
• Inc - Incoming
• Int - Intellect
• JP's - Justice Points
• Leets - Elite Monsters
• LK - Lich King
• Locks - Warlocks
• MC - Mind Control
• Mobs - Moving groups of Monsters
• MT - Mistell (Also can stand for Main Tank)
• Nerfing - To Make Weaker or Take Away
• OS - Off spec
• OT - Off Tank
• Pats - Patrolling Enemy
• RDPS - Ranged DPS
• Reg - Regular Dungeon
• Rez - Ressurect
• Respec - To Re specialize One's Talent Tree/s
• Roic - Heroic Dungeon
• Shatt - Shattrath City
• Spec - Talent Specialization
• Stam - Stamina
• SW - Stormwind City
• VP's - Valor Points
• Wipe - Entire Party is Dead
• Xmute - Transmute
• Zerg - To Rush

World of Warcraft has been around now for 6 years, but much of the core lingo has remained unchanged. That being said, the list is rather small considering the amount of content that is actually in game. But remember, this is not a complete list. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure the creators of the game could give you one of those, because the lingo is ever changing and always being modified. Words are created, changed, mixed around, you name it!

But this list, I'm fairly sure, will be able to get you on your feet and understanding what's being said. Now ofcourse many dungeons, raids, and other areas of the world have their own abbreviations, nicknames, etc., but hey, how else are you going to learn!

The lingo learning curve varies quite a bit. But once you understand the basics, figuring out what AQ40 is or VH shouldn't be a problem. Don't forget, Wowhead and Wowwiki are your friends if you do find yourself a little bit lost!

I truly do hope this guide will help you, and give you an even tighter grasp on the game. If you are just starting out in WoW, why don't you hop on over to my beginner's guide for a little bit of extra help!

Have a great day in Azeroth!