Emoticons (emotion + icons) are often used in notes, chats and (phone) text messages to express the emotion behind the phrase. When speaking we can see the other person's facial expression and also their tone of voice, so we know the real meaning of what they say, but when writing we don't have that information, so sometimes it's difficult to know exactly what the message is. It is not the same saying "hello" with a big smile than with a serious face and looking somewhere else.

Emoticons may be drawn as little faces or using characters (you have to look at them sideways). Some common ones are:
:-)  = happy, smiling
;-) = winking, naughty, just kidding
:-P = (drooling), fascinated, really impatient, very excited, sexually aroused. (sticking tongue out) mocking, teasing; exhausted.
:-( = sad
:-0 = shocked

But nowadays they have usually lost their noses, so we commonly use the shortened versions:

:)   ;)   :P   :(   :0   etc.

People in Asia usually focus much more on the eyes, so they often use emoticons where the most prominent feature is the eyes. Eastern emoticons generally are not rotated and may include non-Latin characters, so they can be more complex and express more feelings. They look like this:


(^_^)  happy

ツ      smile

ʘ‿ʘ    innocent face

(-.-)  shy, embarrassed

(+_+)  confused

(T_T)  sad, crying

(~_^)  wink

You can also find simplified variations of them without the face lines:

^_^    -.-    +_+    T_T    ~_^

And then, of course, some people go great lengths to come up with really cool original emoticons:

(ړײ)

they may even take several lines:

♥  .))(
♫ .(ړײ) ♫.
♥  .«▓» ♥.
♫  .╝╚.. ♫

But today, in many applications you have the possibility of inserting emotipix, which are "smilies" like this:

NICE 2 MEET U= Nice to meet you

THIS CLASS SURE IS EXCITING= This class is really exciting. The word SURE is emphasizing what comes afterwards, in this example, the verb IS. This use of SURE is colloquial.

AWESOME= Amazing, fantastic, great. This word is very common in colloquial conversation (esp. in AmE), but it's not necessarily a colloquial word.

W/= This is the usual contraction of WITH in short notes and quick writing.

A COLD= An illness where you have headaches and coughs, and maybe a bad stomach and/or a bad throat too.

A+= A top mark in a test or exam. The mark "A" is the maximum, so "A+" is even better!

CONGRATS= The colloquial form of CONGRATULATIONS

B= The second best mark. Not bad, but not so good as an A

JUST A "B" HERE= I only got a B. In colloquial conversation we often use the word HERE instead of the pronoun I, especially when we are making a contrast between me and you.
- It's cold here = it is cold in this place
- You alright? - cold here = I'm cold
- boring here = I'm boring
- too sad here to talk = I'm too sad to talk

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES= In this game for two players you have a grill with 3 columns and 3 rows. In turn, both players draw a cross (player 1) or a naught (= a zero) (player 2). The purpose of the game is to get three crosses or noughts in a row. The row may be horizontal, vertical or diagonal.

I'M SOOOO GOING TO FALL ASLEEP= This is really boring.
We multiply the letter O to reflect the way we pronounce it (making the vowel very long) to emphasize it. We use SO before an adjective to emphasize it:
- It's so boring = it's really boring, it's very very boring, it's super boring.
The use of SO before other grammatical categories (here it goes before a verb) is not grammatically correct, but it is very commonly used in colloquial English:
- I so need a coffee = I really need a coffee.

COLOR (AmE)= Colour (BrE)

MY EYES HURT= I felt a pain in my eyes because the teacher's shirt was so flashy (with very bright colours) it's like looking directly at the sun.

I'M SWITCHING CLASSES= I'm going to be transferred to a different class. The verb CHANGE or other verbs with a similar meaning (trade, switch, exchange, etc.) can be used with this structure, using a plural:
- I'm changing cars= I'm going to buy a new car. (here I'm talking about two cars, the old one and the new one, but in fact it's only one car, because the old one will disappear).
But it can also be used with a real plural idea:
- She's switching houses = She will let you use her house for some time and she will use your house meanwhile. (here we're talking about two different houses). But if we say "She's moving houses" that means that she's leaving her present house and going to live to a new one.

FEEL RIGHT AT HOME= If we tell someone "feel at home" (or "make yourself at home") we are trying to make them feel comfortable. Here we use the word RIGHT to emphasize, because we often use RIGHT in front of expressions of place and time for emphasis:
- I want it right here, right now.
- She's right in Tibet (exactly there)
- He hit me right in the eye
- That happened right when I was there (at that very moment)
- It was right at 2 o'clock