Have you seen the number 143 in a message on WhatsApp, Facebook or TikTok? Nothing abnormal, thousands of teenagers are exchanging mysterious digital codes at the moment. Quickly discover their meaning!
This is not new, teenagers of each generation have their own codes for discussing with each other, which are totally obscure to those who are not initiated. It’s a way to have fun and show their belonging to a group – but also to annoy the parents, let’s face it. You may have noticed, but after the “quoicoubé”, “Apayinye” and other “you’re cramped”, the new trend among teenagers consists of sending a combination of numbers in instant messaging or on social networks, under the noses of adults, who are definitely wondering what bug has bitten them. Perhaps you saw a “143” during a WhatsApp chat, to which someone responded with “1122”. This is quite simply a trend born on TikTok — again and again — during the summer period and which was exported to Meta messaging. So what does this new secret language mean?
Number combinations are a coded way for teenagers to express their feelings. 143 simply means “I love you”, the 1 meaning “I”, the 4 “love” and the 3 “you”. There are a few variations, such as 1437, which means “I love you forever” (I love you forever), and 1543 for “I still love you” (I still love you) — for people who have broken up, for example. However, other sources explain that the numbers correspond not to a word but to the length of the words: one letter in “I”, four in “love”, three in “you”, five in “still” and seven in “forever”. However, these explanations do not coincide with the other codes used, so it seems that you have to learn them by heart to understand them – fortunately, there are not tons of them.
So, 666 does not mean that you are trying to summon the Demon, but corresponds to a message of peace and tranquility for someone in a stressful situation. The number 687, on the other hand, is often used by couples who have had an argument for whatever reason and means “I’m sorry” — the number 6 represents the letter S, the number 8 represents the letter O and the number 7 represents the letter R. which gives “sorry”. For its part, number 1122 is used to send strength and energy to the person to whom one is writing, or to encourage someone who is facing a challenge or difficulty. Note, however, that if the 143 has been made popular again by TikTok, this fashion is actually not new. We could already find 143s engraved on necklaces and other accessories in the 90s to shout “I love you” to the world. It just goes to show that fashion is just an eternal repetition of (social) codes…