ILYAAF

What Does ILYAAF Mean in a Text?

Expressing Love in a Text

There are over 100 novel ways to express love in a text message. Some of them were invented by the iKids (i.e., Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation A), making them just a few decades old, but many of them have been around for centuries. Here's the one that matters to you: ILYAAF means "I Love You As a Friend."

More Observations...

The abbreviation ILYAAF is often used as a response to the abbreviation ILY, when the sender wishes to make it clear to the other party that they have no interest in a romantic relationship. In this context, ILYAAF can be considered a diplomatic way of rebuffing a declaration of love. More rarely, the abbreviation ILYAAF can be used to indicate appreciation of a friend. In this context, it is more likely to be used by female friends rather than by males.

Image for ILYAAF

When I write ILYAAF, I mean this:

"I Love You As A Friend"

Summary of Key Points

We have summarized the key points in the table below:

ILYAAF
Definition:	I Love You As a Friend
Type:	Abbreviation
Guessability:	3: Guessable
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Examples of ILYAAF in Sentences

Here are examples of ILYAAF in conversations:

Tom: You are so special to me. I think I love you.
Becky: Thanks Tom. You are very special to me as well, but ILYAAF.

Christine: I have no idea what I would do without you! ILYAAF.
Pat: Thanks Chris. I love you too.

An Academic Look at ILYAAF

ILYAAF is an initialism abbreviation. Technically, this means it is pronounced using its individual letters (i.e., Aye Ell Yoo Eh Eh Eff), but as this is harder to say than "I love you as a friend," it is not often uttered using its letters. In other words, the abbreviation ILYAAF is for efficiency in writing and not efficiency in speech.