Do’s and Don’ts for Texting Your Crush
You’ve got butterflies in your belly and a phone in your hand – your crush has texted you, or given you his number. Now what?
There are some simple guidelines for texting your crush. Whilst each person is unique, most of us have some things in common when it comes to flirting and chatting via text and it’s recommended that you follow the below do’s and don’ts…in most cases.
Don’t Reply to Every Text Straight Away
Most people like if you reply within a reasonable amount of time, but if you stop everything you are doing to reply to a text every time you get one, the other person will start thinking you’ve got nothing going on in your life.
Whilst it’s nice to get into a proper texting conversation with someone, where both of you reply straight away, when you receive the first text, or aren’t into the conversation yet, take your time. Sometimes that can be ten minutes, sometimes an hour, or even more if you have a busy day.
Also, if you are at work, studying, or doing something important, wait awhile and see it as a treat when you get to reply – like after finishing that deathly boring task you know you need to get finished. If you text non-stop you won’t get any work done and a crush should never get between you and becoming the next Queen of whatever career you’ve chosen, or for that matter: stop you from being present when hanging out with your friends.
Do Think Before You Text
Sometimes when we get a text we are busy doing something else and don’t properly read the text, or we get so happy, or so angry, we don’t stop to think before replying. This often leads to us either misinterpreting the text, or replying in a way we will later regret. If we actually stop to think for a minute or two we usually come up with something more interesting or funny to say.
Do Crack Jokes
Who can resist someone funny? Given you really are funny that is…
Do Send Images
Sometimes a funny image, or an image to show where you are is easier than texting about it.
Don’t Put LOL at the End of Each Sentence
Sometimes LOL or haha really should be in the text, but not always.
Also, if you are flirting, or use a bit of sexy innuendo, if you finish it with LOL it comes across as if you are insecure, or as you are trying to show you don’t really mean what you just said. Why else would you put LOL after it?
Don’t Send Those Kind of Photos of Yourself Unless You Are in a Relationship
Yes, sexy photos are sexy…if you know the guy is seriously into you and you’ve already seen each other naked. Unless you want to be taken for a mail order bride, hold off with the naughtiness till you are a real item. After all, you don’t want to find the very same image all over the internet and Facebook, do you?
Don’t Wait Days to Text After a Date
No, there isn’t a three day rule that says you have to wait three days to text someone. Usually if someone has any kind of decency, they text you within 24 hours of a date. If they don’t, send one text and gauge the feedback, but as a general rule – guys text first after a date…there is always that one exception to the rule though.
Do End a Conversation That’s Fizzling Out
If you feel he doesn’t reply with any kind of enthusiasm (and it isn’t because he is terrible at texting, but because he’s simply not into the conversation anymore), end it. Say you have something to do, or if there is a natural ending, stop texting.
If he’s just replying with short texts, nothing interesting, then also end the conversation. A simple “Right, gotta go. Catch ya later.” or “Cool. See you later alligator.” or “Sounds great. Laters.” might work, depending on what he just said. Or as mentioned – sometimes the conversation comes to a natural halt.
Do Ask Questions
A conversation will end if no one is asking questions. If in doubt, check out an article I wrote about great questions to ask your crush!
Do Use Emoticons
Why not add a touch of color? Sometimes it can add humor to a point too.
Don’t Over Use Emoticons
Seriously.
Don’t Start Serious Conversations Randomly
You can get deep and philosophical over text – it can be really cool. Sometimes conversations go that way. But if you intend to ask a guy if he has feelings for you, or anything else that’s serious, the best place to do that is face to face.
Don’t Dump Someone Over Text
Ever.
If you’ve been talking a lot to your crush, but suddenly started seeing this other guy, don’t tell him over text, OK?
Don’t Use Abbreviations All the Time
Hey, hw r u? Want 2 c a movie 2nite?
It gets annoying. Really annoying.
Also keep a check on:
– their, there and they’re
– we’re, were and where
– you’re and your
Do Start a Conversation
Sure, guys should chase the girl. Sometimes it’s great to leave a day or two in between texting, but also show you are interested. Start some of the conversations.
If you just got his number and want a way to start a conversation a few days later (unless it’s after a date, then it should be within 24 hours, really) then send him a text when you come across something you have chatted to him about before. Like “I just saw that car you were on about. Looks real cool.” And attach a photo of said car. Or, to keep it real simple “Hey, how’s your day going? How’s this for an awesome winter’s day? Ice skating all day :)”
Do Wink and Hint
If you get the feeling he’s interested, play with a bit of innuendo and flirting. Don’t over do it though. Every message doesn’t have to be flirtatious. Remember – the best person to fall in love with is your best friend, so chat to him about all sorts of things. Maybe just not your period.
Don’t Tell Him How Hot All the Other Guys Are
If you’ve been to the movies and walked out with a massive crush on Chris Helmsworth, you probably shouldn’t tell your crush. Unless you want to hear how hot Angelina Jolie is, that is.
Don’t Downplay Yourself
As with putting a LOL by the end of every sentence (to ensure he knows you could just be kidding, don’t really mean it, aren’t really trying to flirt, or don’t take yourself seriously) saying things like “that’s not really a great text, but you get what I mean,” “that’s probably not the answer you wanted,” and “I really can’t express myself well when texting” after every other sentence isn’t gonna make you look like a confident person either.
Of course you can say these things if you really mean it – you might be terrible at texting, or you really messed up a reply and hit send without thinking – but then say it once and once only. And be confident about it, or have some fun with it:
“Oups, that came out wrong – I was trying to multitask and obviously didn’t think about what I was texting about LOL”
“I really suck at texting – it’s sooo much easier to talk to people in real life!”
“Man, I’m terrible at writing texts. Luckily I’m better in person ;)”
Image Sources: Pinterest.com, deerval.com and realtormobile.net
By Maria Montgomery – Maria is a freelance writer, director and social entrepreneur. She’s also the spokesperson for The Little Angels Community Center and an avid blogger. You can find her somewhere between Cape Town, London and L.A., where you will most likely find her in the hills, looking out over the city she loves. @OhMyMontgomery
Ann
July 4, 2016 at 11:46 pm
hey! I gotta a crush on a guy who used to be friend with my ex boyfriend. at first I thought he was in love with me but now I think he was not. he used to care about everything I did, just like he sees in me something different but now he can’t even text me.I try to forget about him but when see him or meet him. I can’t stop my heart feeling something for him. sometimes I start conversation with him but he replies me like he is avoiding me. we get to hard to have a real conversation together.
sometimes I ignore my heart feelings for him but even sleeping without knowing how he is makes somehow sad.
web admin
July 5, 2016 at 5:33 pm
If he is refusing to reciprocate the interest that you are showing him, then there is likely a reason for him to be acting that way. This could be because of his friend (your ex) is preventing him from cultivating a relationship with you. He could be shy or he could be currently uninterested. If you want to speak with directly and tell him about your feelings, then do so. If he wants to develop a relationship with you, then go from there. If he does not, then you know to no longer worry about him.
Grace
June 14, 2016 at 4:53 am
There is this guy in my school I just met before school vacated..he requested for my number from a friend of mine that he would like to be my friend..I told her to give him…we later got talking and at some point he liked me…BT there was something I told him while we’re talking that I had Lotta male friends BT he confessed he like me,he so into m BT he is just scared,confused nd crazy and I was like probably because I told him I had lot of male friends and he mentioned a statement I should friend zone BT did got me angry BT I didn’t show it..BT we kept talking talking talking.he knows I like him now.most tyms I will say something he will be like what’s my concern and I will be like you are my pal and now he will say i am more than a pal to him ..I upload guys pictures on my DPs tho(my friends).the point now is I am already addicted to him,I chat him up most of the times..I stalk him up on Social medias,BT for 3days now I decided to give him a space to know if he really likes me or I am important to him..hoping he will chat me up..BT he didn’t..what should I do??..planning on deleting him from my social medias..I just wanna forget about him
web admin
June 14, 2016 at 10:04 am
If your communications normally begin with you messaging him and going from there, he may be confused as why you have stopped. If he has given you no reason not to message him, you should continue to do so. Do not expect him to know that he should be messaging you. Feel free to let him know how you feel.
cat chan
April 30, 2016 at 1:44 pm
So I have this crush at school and I think he has a crush on me cause he asks to use my stuff and I just let him I am scared and nervous to talk to him o have butterflies in my stomach
web admin
May 3, 2016 at 7:41 am
Talk to him! If he is going out of his way to talk to you or start up a conversation, then he probably likes you! If you do not talk to him and flirt a bit, he may think that you do not like him and move on. While it is always intimidating to talk to a crush, it has to be done at some point–otherwise, he will never become anything more than a crush. Good luck, Cat Chan!
Aohime
April 26, 2016 at 6:49 am
So this guy I met at a maths team challenge at our school, he’s in a year above me. I haven’t talked to him since then which was like 1/2 months ago even though we pass by each other at school… Then last week, there was an assembly at school and he waved, I’m not sure if it was at me, but then no one else waved back so I assumed it was. However I only did like half a wave coz i wasnt sure. So a few days ago I gathered up all the courage I had to say hi to him on messenger, it took him a few hours to reply, so the conversation didn’t go very long and it would take a few minutes for each of us to reply, the last thing I texted him was wishing him luck for exams… He comes online, but doesn’t even read my message… It’s been a solid 24 hours… He was the funniest person I had ever met, even though I met him only for one day, but over text he doesn’t seem like the person I remember… What should I do?
web admin
April 28, 2016 at 9:35 am
He might just be terrible at texting, or he may just be distracted and busy right now. While the wave seems like a good sign, it is not enough to know if he likes you or not. You can always ask him if he is interested, but be prepared for either response. You can also just try to keep talking to him online and in person to see if he shows any more signs of being interested. Good luck, Aohime!
Lydia
March 21, 2016 at 8:31 pm
So Today I message my crush on Facebook because I didn’t get to talk to one my friends today I tried looking for the friend at lunch and couldn’t find her. My crush didn’t message me back what should I do?
web admin
March 25, 2016 at 11:57 am
Relax and take it easy for a bit. You messaged your crush already, so they can message back if they are interested. Your crush may be busy, not interested or they could have forgotten. You already made a move by texting your crush, and continuing to text your crush may only make them annoyed. Wait a few more days before you try texting again. Good luck, Lydia!
lovely1
February 21, 2016 at 6:02 am
I was at a party with my crush, and i fucked everything up, for example my friends told him i liked him. We have now talked a couple of times (on snapchat) after it, but when we talk it´s so stiff. My friend told me that he had made out with another girl before me, and when i asked him, he said nothing had happened and it doesn´t matter. Sometimes he just stop answering on snapchat. So he knows about it, but he doesn´t show any interest.
So PLEASE help me, what should do?:(
web admin
February 21, 2016 at 1:34 pm
He may have just been interested in a fling since you guys were at a party. The fact that he made out with someone else does not matter–if you guys are not in a relationship and have not decided to be exclusive, there is nothing morally wrong with him playing the field. If he starts talking to you again, then go ahead and talk to him. If he does not, you may have messed things up. If he does not talk to you again, then messaging him will not help and will only drive him further away. Give him some space and see what he does. Afterward, you will be better able to decide on your response. Good luck, Lovely1!
Katy
February 16, 2016 at 3:03 pm
So I started talking to this guy in one of my classes over snapchat (the chat/message part). We used to talk online about twice a week on the days we had that lesson and he started off strong and was flirting quite a lot but I didn’t flirt back because I didn’t like him that way at the time and I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not (he has a reputation for talking to a lot of girls yet a lot of girls find him unattractive and disgusting). After a while it kind of fizzled down and we stopped talking for a while and he began talking to his old crush (who knows he’s liked her for years but doesn’t like him that way). I heard that he still liked her so I stopped talking to him as often. She now has a boyfriend so he’s talking to me a lot more often now but only online as we don’t see each other that often and when we do it’s kind of awkward unlike when we first started getting close. Anyway we’ve been talking again recently but quite late at night and it sometimes gets deep. I gave him my number a while ago but he’s never used it so I took it as a sign that he didn’t like me. He also used to ask me to meet up but never planned anything or went through with it but he doesn’t anymore. I don’t know what he wants and I’m very confused and I don’t know what to do 🙁 please help
web admin
February 17, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Keep talking to him and see how things go. If you have not talked for a while, that is probably the reason why it feels uncomfortable speaking with him again. Go ahead and talk to him online still and see how things go. He may get interested in you again, or you guys may both realize that this is not the relationship for you. You will never find out what could be possible though if you do not start talking to him and get to know him better now. Good luck, Katy!
Metalhead ish
February 14, 2016 at 11:51 am
I like a girl i added her on facebook,
but while i firstly texted her,She was little interested in chat but i was multi-tasking,and so i messsed the chat i sounded very desperate,next day i texted her again with an appology in morning,
by the night i texted her again and again due to multi tasking i messed up again… i sounded desperate again ,i know that quote that first expression is last expression so how should get her attention and interest back to conversation since that two conversation it has been 3 days i havnt texted …
what should i do how start,when start?
web admin
February 14, 2016 at 5:59 pm
I would not do anything at this point. At this moment, further texts may annoy her and drive her away from you. If she likes you, then she knows from your constant texts that you are interested. Plus, your texts probably made it obvious that you are interested in her, so she knows that she could text you or make a move if she wants to. If she does like you, she will text you next time (even if she is just texting about something random). If she does not like you, more texts will not make a difference and could make her stop talking to you entirely. Hold off on the texts and see what she does next. Good luck, Metalhead ish!
bambam
January 23, 2016 at 12:27 pm
Hey, So I like this guy from my familys church and I’ve been mailing him butI hadn’t met him face to fsce. We then all went to a church youth camp a few days ago and I totally tried to avoid him at all costs. On the way back I actually had a conversation with him for 20 mins and I really enjoyed it. But as soon as I got back I mailed him 3 times in a row and got the seen? HELP
web admin
January 27, 2016 at 10:04 am
At the moment, don’t do anything. He saw your messages, and you messaged him three times. If he likes you or is interested, he can easily message you back. Continuing to message him right now will only come across as needy or annoying. Once he does message you back, you can go ahead and start talking to him. Otherwise, all you can do is wait and hope that he is interested in you as well. Good luck, Bamban!
Nicole
January 22, 2016 at 11:28 am
So me and this guy have been childhood friends but we drifted apart because I moved to a different country. I recently added him on instagram and started up a conversation. Our conversations are great and long but sometimes he takes a good 24hours to reply. I notice that he can be online as well and not respond, or read my message, but when he does he gives a pretty lengthy response. Am I wasting my time trying to catch his interest? I don’t want to appear desperate and continue talking to him when he doesn’t seem all that interested in getting to know me, but then again its only been 4 days since we started speaking. Should I continue talking to him or is it clear that hes not interested and I should just end the conversation?
web admin
January 27, 2016 at 8:58 am
If he is another country, the time zone may be different. Between other activities and the time zone difference, that could explain why he is not able to talk to you immediately. The fact that he ends up sending you lengthy responses shows that he is interested. If he did not like you, he would not send you long messages in return. I would continue to get to know him. Four days is not a long time, so there is no way that either of you could know quite yet if it would be worth the long distance relationship to continue. Good luck, Nicole!
minseo
January 19, 2016 at 5:25 am
So, I’ve been chatting with my crush for a while and it had always him who started the chat. And nowadays he started the chat pretty late, like 8pm or 9pm.. I had to sleep at 10 and he knows it. And then today all he did was reminding me about what I had to bring tomorrow. I even told him that I almost forgot but all he did was saying “ok” with my nickname given from him by the end of the chat. I don’t know what to reply… what could this be? I don’t understand what he wants…
web admin
January 20, 2016 at 5:10 pm
He could have just been busy today–if it is only one day that he chatted for just a second, I would not read too much into it at all. If this continues, the changed behavior could also be because he is starting to lose hope. I think there is a 90 percent chance or more that he likes you, but if he does not think that you are interested, he may start talking to you less. Again, I would not worry about it too much yet. Give it a couple of days and see if his behavior goes back to normal.
L.V.
January 12, 2016 at 4:22 pm
Hey i have a weird one.
I’m in love with this guys who used to like me three years ago and we are relatively good friends (as in he is in my friendship group and we hang out a lot) but i am absolutelly terrified to text him. I study abroad and i can’t hang out with him now so text is the only way of communication. Sometimes he shows some signs of interest but seeing as i am an incredible pesimist i tend to underestimate everything. We text in a group chat and he sends pictures and funny videos and stuff. A few days ago I asked him to send some cool tracks and he sent some that said “I have hella feelings for you i act like i dont fucking care cause i’m so fucking scared that you’re too good for me” and also “baby i’m yours” and other encouraging messages. I’m scared but all my friends say i should text him, but i dont know what or how to start it. If you can advise me it would be greatly appreciated and very helpful. To give you a background to the situation he used to like me but at the time i didn’t. We remained friends, but he hasn’t had a girlfriend since then and nor have i had a boyfriend. Recently we started hanging out more with our friends and he even told one of our mutual friends that in the beginning he felt awkward to ask me to hand out on our own so thats why he invited him(our friend) but told him that next time he doesn’t have to come along (which i found very encouraging but he hasn’t asked me since then) he is not the type of guy to make the first step (typical Cancer guy, if you’re into zodiac like me?) I am scared of being annoying and suffocating him with my attempt to talk. Any ideas? Thank you in advance.
web admin
January 14, 2016 at 4:54 pm
I think you should go ahead and text him. Just a basic “Hello, what are you up to this weekend?” or “How are you doing?” would be more than enough to start things out. It really sounds like he could like you. The fact that he had to bring a friend along because he was uncomfortable, but really, really wanted to hang out with you is very encouraging. Go ahead and text him and make a move. It sounds like he is interested, so you could end up with a boyfriend again. 🙂
JC
January 6, 2016 at 3:04 pm
Here is an odd one,
I connected with an old friend the other week and we were chatting over text when suddenly she got very flirty (we shared a few kisses one night) and was saying perhaps I shouldn’t hold back next time. She flirted for a few days after then went back to normal chatting and wouldn’t flirt back. I’m ok with that but why the hot and cold?
web admin
January 6, 2016 at 9:02 pm
It seems like she still likes you, and she was trying to tell you how she feels as blatantly as possible. If you did not respond flirtatiously to this or you did not ask her out, she may have assumed that you were no longer interested. After putting herself out there and risking rejection, she may be afraid that you do not like her back. If you do like her, ask her out. And if you are not interested, it looks like she already got the hint.
ThatGirl
December 10, 2015 at 8:29 pm
So, there’s this guy that I’ve been talking to for a month on Facebook. He started pursuing me first, because we’re both photographers, and there was an event that we both went to in my town and posted it online. About a week ago, we made plans to meet-up in his big city, and he was going to show me around while we went shooting photos together. It sounded like so much fun, and I was so excited, because I quite literally haven’t given one guy the time of day since I left / divorced my husband 5 years ago. Anyways, he works midnights, and I was a little bit confused about how his schedule worked (we made plans to get together on Tuesday night), so on Monday morning, I messaged him to ask him if it was that night or the next night, so I didn’t get it mixed up. No response. I waited until 9:30pm to say something to him about it again. I believe I said, “Well, since I haven’t heard from you, I’m going to assume that it’s tomorrow night.” I could see that he read it, but no response. I waited all day and part of the evening Tuesday and there was nothing. I finally got frustrated and sent him one more message through Facebook as a last attempt: “Hey hun, hope all is okay, and if you have to reschedule I totally understand. I’ve had one heck of a day anyways all day long. Get a hold of me when you get the chance.” Did I already ruin my chances by doing that? I really like this guy. He’s the only one I’ve given the time of day to in 5 years, because I like him so much. We have tons of things in common where I’ve never met another guy who had so many of the same interests, sense of adventure, and I think he’s very attractive. I’m also kind of worried that he might have become too nervous about meeting up with me. A week before we ever even made any plans, he told me that he was extremely nervous and excited to meet me, but I also had an intuitive sense that he was scared of meeting up with me, because I’m extremely attractive. I swear, I have this problem all of the time, and it is so frustrating. Especially when I’m really liking this particular guy. 🙁 Please, help.
web admin
December 12, 2015 at 3:50 pm
He might be nervous about meeting up with you, something could have gotten in the way or he could have met someone else. I do not think that you ruined your chances by messaging him on Facebook. After all, he could have and should have responded to your messages, and sending one more text should not be an issue. He said that he was going to meet up with you, so it is only natural for you to try to figure out when and where you will meet up. Whatever the reason was for his disappearance, the only thing that you can do is just wait and hope that he reaches out to you. If you try to message him too much more, it could drive him away if he is still interested or annoy him if he suddenly stopped being interested from some reason. Good luck–I hope that everything ends up working out for you!
Jade
December 10, 2015 at 4:17 pm
So me and this guy have been talking for a while and talks to me a lot on the phone we also FaceTime a lot and always talks but when it comes to texting it seems different like sometimes it takes a while for him to respond but when he doesn’t they turn into long paragraphs. He also asked me to the movies this week and I said yea but does he like me? Cuz i know I like him
web admin
December 11, 2015 at 2:03 am
It looks like you may have commented twice on this article. It sometimes takes me a little while to get around to answering all of the comments, so do not worry if your comment does not appear right away. I answered your first comment already, so read through it and let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for commenting!
Jade
December 10, 2015 at 4:08 pm
So me an this guy talked for a while and he always has something to talk about we FaceTime all the time and he’s talking and laughs at almost everything I say that I think is funny. And soon he asked if I could go to the movies with him. So does he like me?
web admin
December 11, 2015 at 2:02 am
If he asked you to go to the movies with him, then it is almost certain that he likes you. He talks with you on FaceTime, teases you and has now asked on something that would normally be considered a date. Short of just saying that he likes you, I do not think that there is any other way for him to be more clear about his feelings. Go to the movies and see how things go! If you are feeling particularly brave, you can always try holding his hand when you are in the theater! 🙂
Rose
December 4, 2015 at 8:26 am
Hello i really do need some advice there is this guy i added first on facebook,i really don’t know him but i added him up because he is into same profession with me and i felt is going to be great having him on my friends list the problem now is i think am liking him because he looks good and older and am really into older guys. I tried chatting him up some times and his responses are good but a times he takes some hours before he respond back,i want to get really get close to him at the same time i don’t want to appear desperate and this is my first time liking someone online.What do u think i can do to get his attention at the same time not to appear desperate thank you.
web admin
December 6, 2015 at 2:44 am
The fact that he takes hours to respond is nothing to worry about. Many people are too busy to respond right away or do not see the responses immediately, so do not panic quite yet. I would just keep talking to him like you would a friend. You currently only know him online, so you are not really risking anything–if things go bad, you only have to delete him from your Facebook friends and your life would go back to normal. Go ahead and take a risk. Keep talking to him, get to know him better and see where things go. If he is single and interested, then the relationship should naturally start to progress.
Angela
December 2, 2015 at 5:25 pm
I texted my crush when he was ill is that bad I only said:” are you OK?”
web admin
December 2, 2015 at 7:49 pm
I do not think that your text was a bad one. It would have been nice to talk a bit longer, but a short text may be more appropriate when he is ill because he may not be up to answering long text messages. At any rate, I think that it was nice of you to text him to see how he was doing–don’t worry so much!
Hotlinebling
October 30, 2015 at 3:22 am
Please help me ! huhuhu i chatted today my crush for the first time at facebook.i just said simply “Hii :)” and then after couple of minutes she seened it and another couple of minutes she replied a “meep happy face ” the big emoji of happy face..and then i said “sup? 🙂 ” and she didnt seened it nor replied to it either and after 5-8 mins iguess or onward she went offline and after 3-5 mins she went back online and she still didnt replyt and seened my message.I said “Hii” again after that she didnt seened and replied to it…. she ignored my 2 messages 🙁 :'( huhuh help please i will really appreciate it 🙂 thanks
web admin
October 30, 2015 at 4:47 pm
It looks like you may have commented twice on this one. I have to approve of each comment individually, so it can sometimes take a bit for me to get around to answering them all. If you do not see your comment appear right away, do not worry because you will. Read through my first response and let me know if you have any other questions!
Hotlinebling
October 30, 2015 at 1:52 am
I chatted my crush for the first time at facebook and i said “Hiii :)” then she replied a “meep happy face “and then i said “sup? :)” and she didnt reply back and she didnt seened it either… after 5-8 minutes she went offline and she came back online again and i said “Hii” again and she didnt seened it nor replied to it..what to do? help please 🙁 thanks ill appreacite it
web admin
October 30, 2015 at 4:44 pm
I would hold off on messaging her for a while. You could try talking to her in person and see if she seems interested. In a week or so, you could always try saying hello again. After hello next time, ask a more specific question like “How is your day going?” or “What are you up to tonight?” so that she actually has something concrete to answer. If she still does not reply and she does not try talking to you at all in the coming week, then she probably is not interested. Good luck!