# "ig" as shorthand for "I guess" -- you seen this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292 "2026-09-22T21:24:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/1 "2026-09-22T21:24:59Z")
I encountered this post in another context: > [@](#): > > So ig I need some advice? I was rifling through my mum’s old files today and I found a small bound paper book in the very back. Ig she inherited it from my great grandmother’s things… > > Sadly, she said the one of my great grandfather was lost in the first move when she bought a house with her husband. My mum suspects my grandmother took it, so ig that’s a side mission for another day. I couldn’t figure out what the _igs_ were all about so (after issuing some advice so I wouldn’t come across as too abrasive) I asked, and the OP said it’s short for “I guess”. Just curious to know whether everyone else knows it along with LOL and ISTM and NFSW and so on, and I just haven’t been paying attention, or if most other folks would be ignorant of this ignoble ignominious rendering. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/2 "2026-09-22T21:46:06Z")
Yep, I’ve seen it often, along with “ikr” (I know, right?) and several others I parse often enough that I can’t consciously recall them right now… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/3 "2026-09-22T21:49:45Z")
I’ve both encountered and used it, but not in a context where everything else would be typed out perfectly like that, with that level of detail. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/4 "2026-09-22T22:19:18Z")
New to me. I wish folks would capitalize their initialisms. That’s how you traditionally signal that each letter stands for a separate word, not a syllable or that you just left off the back 80% of the word. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/5 "2026-09-22T22:28:08Z")
I’ve seen it once or twice, but it’s not common in the places I frequent. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/6 "2026-09-22T22:45:30Z")
I have seen “IKR” many times. But “IG” is new. In the example given, though, it’s pretty obvious in context. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/7 "2026-09-22T22:46:21Z")
Ign. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/8 "2026-09-22T22:48:07Z")
I’ve never seen ig before. I could probably guess by the context what it stood for. I use ikr on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/9 "2026-09-22T23:09:51Z")
I’m new to both ig and ikr. But now that I’m aware of them, I expect I’ll start spotting them in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/10 "2026-09-22T23:38:36Z")
Very familar with it. iykyk. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/11 "2026-09-22T23:40:35Z")
Wtf omg. Idkna ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/12 "2026-09-23T01:14:07Z")
Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/13 "2026-09-23T02:30:47Z")
Very common if you speak to anyone under 30. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/14 "2026-09-23T02:52:29Z")
Nope, never saw it. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I wish folks would capitalize their initialisms. Getting them to capitalize the first word in a sentence is an uphill battle. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/15 "2026-09-23T03:44:23Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Very common if you speak to anyone under 30. Yeah. Pretty much Gen Z, or maybe more younger GenZ (people (ppl) who are in high school and college). Also rn (right now) and smt or smth (something). I see it a lot on Reddit. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/16 "2026-09-23T04:28:06Z")
I often get told stfu. I assume it’s a compliment. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/17 "2026-09-23T11:31:05Z")
You win the thread. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/18 "2026-09-23T13:36:14Z")
I was not familiar with ig or ikr, which is clearly a sign that that these initialisms are to be avoided. Not that I am an old fogey who isn’t on social media much. (Plus I’m not that old.) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/19 "2026-09-23T13:51:41Z")
My kids are Gen Z so I get stuff like this in texts. Keeps me young. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292/20 "2026-09-23T14:02:55Z")
IG is InstaGram. Five letter words are hard, ig. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ig-as-shorthand-for-i-guess-you-seen-this/1033292.md?page=2)