What does 1437 mean? Viral social media trend explained - and where texting code came from

While the code has gained newfound popularity on TikTok, it has actually been used in text and SMS messages for years
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Social media is bursting with weird and wonderful trends - so much so that it is often extremely difficult to keep up.

One of the latest trends that has gone viral online is the use of the series of numbers “1437”.

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It seems, like most unusual trends, to have started up on TikTok, with users posting videos under the hashtag #1473.

The strange code is commonly used in internet chat forums or in text messages (Shutterstock)The strange code is commonly used in internet chat forums or in text messages (Shutterstock)
The strange code is commonly used in internet chat forums or in text messages (Shutterstock)

When these numbers are used together, they have a special meaning.

So, what does 1437 mean?

Here is everything you need to know.

What does 1437 mean?

The numbers 1437 are actually code for a specific phrase.

Using them together translates to “I love you forever”, according to Cyber Definitions.

While it might be difficult to understand how that saying of adoration comes from a series of numbers, it is pretty simple.

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1437 is formed by the number of letters in each word. There’s one letter in “I”, four in “love”, three in “you” and seven in “forever”.

The numbers correlate to the number of letters in each word (Photo: Adobe Stock)The numbers correlate to the number of letters in each word (Photo: Adobe Stock)
The numbers correlate to the number of letters in each word (Photo: Adobe Stock)

The code is commonly used in internet chat forums or in text messages as an alternative to making a declaration of love, and it usually appears at the end of sentences or paragraphs.

But it is often used in a more casual setting than actually saying the words “I love you forever” directly since it can be typed out faster.

Surprisingly, it’s also used by both adults and teenagers, according to Cyber Definitions.

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And there are other text codes which use numbers in the same way as 1437.

For instance, 143 translates to “I love you”, 182 means “I hate you”, 637 equates to “always and forever” or 101 means “LOL” or “laugh out loud”.

Where did the trend come from?

While the code seems like a trend which would have its origins in TikTok, that is not the case - although it appears that the popular social media platform has helped to revive its use.

The code actually started before the era of smartphones, when text messages, or SMS messages, were typed on pagers, then mobile phones.

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Using SMS abbreviations in this way is commonly referred to as “textspeak” in the digital era, which is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as: “The kind of language and spelling, often containing short forms of words that people use when they are writing text messages.”

The example the dictionary gives is: “It was all in textspeak, saying things like ‘I am sorry 4 U’.”

Nokia mobile telephones pictured 14 October 2004 with old photos of Nokia models, and a firm’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jorma Ollilla (Photo: HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP via Getty Images)Nokia mobile telephones pictured 14 October 2004 with old photos of Nokia models, and a firm’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jorma Ollilla (Photo: HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP via Getty Images)
Nokia mobile telephones pictured 14 October 2004 with old photos of Nokia models, and a firm’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jorma Ollilla (Photo: HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP via Getty Images)

Users would often shorten words while texting to make the process of typing out letters less time-consuming.

But over time the use of textspeak became regarded as “cool”, with many teenagers adopting the shortened form of words and leaving out vowels when speaking to their peers. For example: “How R U?”, “RU cmin out 2nite?”, “Gr8, CU then” and “WUU2?”.

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Textspeak was not only confined to mobile phones and would also be used on pagers and on instant messaging services like AOL and MSN which were popular with teenagers during the early to mid 2000s.

However, its use died down when smartphones became widespread.

The touchscreen feature on smartphones allowed for the introduction of a QWERTY keyboard which simplified and sped up texting, rendering the use of textspeak as pointless.

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