Informal Poll: Which Chinese word for SMS Text Message do you use?

[Pegasus]

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

My dictionary lists the following Chinese terms for SMS Text Message: 

短信(duan3xin4), 短訊(duan3xun4), 訊息(xun4xi1), and 簡訊(jian3xun4) 

 

A friend of mine told me that 短信(duan3xin4) is common in mainland China. That friend also told me that 簡訊(jian3xun4) is common in Taiwan. I have seen 短訊(duan3xun4) used somewhere. I'm not sure if I have seen 訊息(xun4xi1) as SMS text message except in my dictionary. Does anyone use 訊息(xun4xi1) ?

 

Informal Poll Question: Which word or words do you use for SMS Text Message and where are you from? 

 

I'm looking forward to the conversation. 

Cheers! 

 

[jobm]

I use 短信. I have studied in Mainland. I just heard 简讯 because of the 好想你 song LOL.

 

http://www.voachinese.com/ They use 简讯 here to mean news  

[歐博思]

I usually say 短信. My Chinese textbooks were from China. 简讯 I've seen in many Taiwanese TV shows.

[SuXan]

短信 is the correct one, we seldom use other words, 

[SuXan]

oh and I heard that people in Taiwan prefer to use 簡訊 訊息 instead of 短信, dunno if that's true

[Lu]

SuXan, it's true!

I do my best to use 短信 in a mainland context and 简讯 in a Taiwanese, both come pretty natural to me. I don't think I've ever heard 讯息 or 短讯.

[renzhe]

短信 for me.

[lips]

Many terms with 訊 when used in Taiwan and Hong Kong have 訊 replaced by 信 in mainland China, e.g. 通訊 and 通信, 電訊 and 电信。 

[skylee]

I use 短訊.

http://www.csb.gov.hk/hkgcsb/glossary/glossary_search_tc.php?search_name1=short+message+service&and_or=and&search_name2=&cat_code%5B%5D=IT&display_order=t

[skylee]

短信 is the correct one

I started a thread called "Same thing, different names" some years ago. Very often, a thing has more than one "correct" name.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/25133-same-thing-different-names/

[abcdefg]

短信  --  百分之百  --  我是大陆的

[JYLIN]

Mainland China: 短信,信息is also widely used,especially in cell phone

Taiwan：簡訊

Hong Kong：短訊or 訊息,but 訊息is rarely used.

[Leihuangdi]

Guangzhou: 短信, also seen 短 (as verb)

my parents (Northerners)：信息, 消息

[陳德聰]

I use 短信 for "text message" in the sense that I sent it from my phone, and 訊息 or 信息 to mean a message that is sent via other means, like Facebook private message or occasionally WeChat. I am reluctant to refer to the messages sent via WeChat as "微信" but occasionally do anyway. 簡訊 strikes me as VERY Taiwanese.

[Demonic_Duck]

Never heard any other word than "短信" used in Beijing (even to the extent that most Chinese people here mistakenly say "short message" instead of "text" when they're speaking English).

[GotJack]

yeah im with the 短信  group

[Pegasus]

Hi everyone. Original poster here. 

 

Great replies and great discussion. It looks like 短信, the main word for SMS text message in mainland China, is also most common in this forum so far. That's not surprising considering how large the population of mainland China is and the amount of influence mainland China has. 

 

@lips: Thank you for your input to the discussion about how often when 訊 is used in Taiwan and/or Hong Kong, it's often replaced by 信 in mainland China and thank you for the examples you provided of 通訊 and 通信, 電訊 and 电信. 

 

@skylee: You're from Hong Kong, right? Would you say that 短訊 for SMS text message is most common in Hong Kong? 

 

@JYLIN: Thank you for your feedback on what you have seen is commonly used in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. 

 

@Leihuangdi: Thank you for your interesting input too. You wrote that you have also seen 短 as a verb. That's very interesting. Would it be possible to give us an example sentence of how you've heard it used as a verb? Has anyone else seen this? 

 

@陳德聰: Thank you for your input too. Interesting that you use 短信 for an "SMS text message" sent from your phone, but you use 訊息 or 信息 for other messages like ones sent from Facebook Messenger or WeChat. And, if I understand you, you have heard of 微信 used for WeChat messages?  

 

For everyone and anyone whose name I haven't explicitly mentioned, thank you for your input too!

 

I'm looking forward to more thoughts, comments, and input. 

 

Thank you and Cheers!

[skylee]

In HK, SMS is called 短訊.

However, almost nobody uses SMS in HK any more (except banks and commercial users contacting their clients). People instead use WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and other similar instant messengers. Some people use WeChat, but more people resist it.

[Pegasus]

skylee wrote:

In HK, SMS is called 短訊.

However, almost nobody uses SMS in HK any more (except banks and commercial users contacting there clients). People instead use WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and other similar instant messengers. Some people use WeChat, but more people resist it. 

 
@skylee: So, in Hong Kong, what word is commonly used for messages sent from your phone using an app like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, WeChat, etc.? Would you still use 短訊? 
 
By the way, does anyone use Line (another messaging app) in Hong Kong?

 

(edited to fix a typo)

[skylee]

Yes I use Line with my friends.

The truth is I am not sure if people use 短訊 for messages sent via IM apps, but I guess so. Problem is we use a lot of English terms when we speak/ write.