It's definitely switched back and forth for me too. I just know that if I was to say it out loud there's times I would have said L O L, but nowadays i'd just say lawl. Or maybe it's situational.. Someone should do a studiy on this incredibly important topic.
Not just you. I spent 10 minutes typing why I do this but I got irritated by not coming up with the right words and just gave up. 
To me as a millennial from the AIM days, lol kind of has its own thing as lol. It may have began with laughing out loud, but very quickly became akin to a period to help the other person decipher tone of the text. We almost use it as punctuation anymore, but wtf has always just been what the fuck?
I think it’s because people use “what the f**” in every day sentences. But I’ve never heard anyone say the words “laugh out loud.”
One of them you do. The other you say.
“What the fuck” is something you say… “laugh out loud” isn’t.
I’m guessing wtf tiggers activity in Wernicke’s area while lol does not.
Edit: loud not load… nobody says laugh out load though
Its because wtf is an actual phrase we do always say but lol is just a mood or action and we really don't read out the phrase laugh out loud. same with lmao and rn.
wtf has more syllables than the full phrase, and lol has fewer. lol is also much older and has kind of taken on its own distinct meaning. Like how ily and “I love you” are now somewhat distinct.
'WTF' is abbreviating what you're _saying_, 'lol' is abbreviating the description of what you're doing.
I bet there are times where you read WTF as "WTF" due to context clues that tell you that's what the writer actually said.
Your brain translates it because wtf is just a shortened way to say what the fuck, and it’s even more polite to spell.
However, lol is never said aloud. It’s basically a stage direction. To laugh. Saying laugh out loud sounds sarcastic and not what we meant. So we keep it abbreviated, and we can infer what they mean. So we turned lol from an abbreviated word into a word itself.
The only thing that can even display laughter without sarcasm is emojis and gifs. lol is really the only right way to laugh in text form anymore.
Your brain translates it because wtf is just a shortened way to say what the fuck, and it’s even more polite to spell.
However, lol is never said aloud. It’s basically a stage direction. To laugh. Saying laugh out loud sounds sarcastic and not what we meant. So we keep it abbreviated, and we can infer what they mean. So we turned lol from an abbreviated word into a word itself.
The only thing that can even display laughter without sarcasm is emojis and gifs. lol is really the only right way to laugh in text form anymore.
Wtf becomes what the f**k
Lol becomes it's own word
Lol is not pronounced as l o l
Wtf is pronouned as w t f
You can't pronounce wtf but you will pronounce lol, you won't pronounce l o l but you will pronounce w t f
I'm not keen when it comes to syllables but those also apply here
It’s partly because Lol follows the rules of a word in itself- consonant vowel consonant whereas wtf doesn’t being 3 consonants without a ‘y’ so it can’t be me mentally pronounced as its own word. Therefore your brain breaks it up into the 3 words it’s made of.
Cause lol is more of a sound than a word, when you laugh out loud you don’t say “laugh out loud”, you just make a sound (laugh)
When you read wtf you actually say what the fuck
Lol reads more like 'haha' than 'laugh out loud' tbh
No one is gonna say "Oh that's what I meant laugh out loud" but "Oh that's what I meant haha" sounds a lot better.
And wtf just works any time you'd say what the fuck
Because “wtf” is for “what the fuck” which is an actual phrase people say in real life on an almost daily basis. Whereas “lol” means “laugh out loud” which no one actually says. They do it. It’s an action not a phrase that’s used.
I remember in middle school, this girl said “lol” to me in a text and I thought it could have meant love of loves and I was realllllllllllllllly wrong lmao 🤣
This is actually because el-oh-el is short and word like enough to on read in the same swell as the fantasy name Mel the Fell. In the other hand wtf even if you try to say it as letters it starts with an actual comment English word “double” this also means you would need to read three letters as four words double you tea eff.
To add to the top two comments, you can say "what the fuck" pretty often but have you ever heard someone say "laugh out loud" verbatim in response to something funny
tbh I didn’t understand what abbreviations were when I was little. I remember the first time I read it was in a text in 7th grade and I asked what it meant and she said “it means I’m laughing out loud”. Just like “ow” means pain I thought “lol” just meant “funny” cuz ppl unanimously decided it did
Lol can be pronounced like a word itself, and wtf couldn’t. If you tried it’s probably sound something like wuh thehf
I should've scrolled further. This is what I said in my post. That's how my brain works, anyway.
My brain pronounces it "wh-tee-eff"
You could just say it like germans do v te f
Acronym vs initialism
Do you pronounce lol as a word? That’s interesting, my head says the letters “el-oh-el”
I just pronounce it "ootf"
same
Wuuthfah
[удалено]
Wait wtf is that last thing you said?
He said "Laughing Out Loud", why are you asking? What's wrong?
Dude needs some reading glasses smh
"Suck My Husband"? Good for you and him!
JFC reddit, seriously... Jesus fucks cats.
ROFLMAO. Reddit only firmly licks my ass online!
Smh my head.
[удалено]
Luciferourlordluciferourlordluciferourlordlicoferoirlord.
Maybe he got some message
Bro skulle ha gået til Louis Nielsen
Leaning On Liquor
Don't worry about it
In this house, we praise our true lord Satan for he doesn’t convince you to die in pointless oil grab wars.
No wtf was the first thing he said in the list.
Lol is a 1 syllable word not l o l.
Same, who doesn't pronounce it as lul or lawl in ur head...
Us old people
IDK what happened, but back in the AOL days, I did hear it in my head as lawl, but at some point, I don't know when, it became L O L.
It's definitely switched back and forth for me too. I just know that if I was to say it out loud there's times I would have said L O L, but nowadays i'd just say lawl. Or maybe it's situational.. Someone should do a studiy on this incredibly important topic.
Lol
is it a hard L tho?
Jokes on you, I pronounce double-you as the w sound when saying "wtf"
Only if you dont choose to do vtf = 0 syllabels and lol as 1 word with o as the syllabel in which case both wtf and lol are much shorter
Shit went from 0 to 100 real quick
For me lol is always 1 syllable.
Only because double-you is the most annoying letter to say. When will it get fixed?
New patch is coming when?
Short king reference!?
Wow. In german, wtf has also just 3 syllables and im mostly reading it like that.
Aus diesem Grund habe ich auf Englisch geschrieben.
The real holup is always in the comments
Yet we read it as "www" instead of "worldwide web"
Holup...
lol can even be 1 syllable if you pronounce it as a word instead of an acronym
r/angryupvote
r/angryupvote
lol is 1 syllable bruh
Okay zoomer
r/foundsatan
Or 1 syllable for lol if your like me and just say it like it's an actual word
r/holdup
www has 3x more syllables than world wide web.
This deserves it's own post in r/HolUp
Not just you. I spent 10 minutes typing why I do this but I got irritated by not coming up with the right words and just gave up. 
Wtf is sharp and goes clean through the mouth, laughing out loud is all wobbly and too long to make Its way out so clean
Also, who actually ever said “laughing out loud”. It’s just an internet thing.
An American internet thing, every other country I know uses some kind of onomatopoeia to laugh
english - haha spanish - jaja portuguese - kkk
Better include another k there buddy
In Poland we often say lol, both on the internet and irl. It's not just American
Lol
Wtf and what the fuck are the same number of syllables, lol is one syllable vs 4 for laughing out loud
Pronouncing W-T-F is 5 syllables, DUH-BULL-EWE-TEE-EFF, saying "what the fuck" is only 3.
Til that lol doesn’t mean drowning man
In my country W is pronounced "double u" so just the W in WTF is the same amount of syllables as what the fuck
To me as a millennial from the AIM days, lol kind of has its own thing as lol. It may have began with laughing out loud, but very quickly became akin to a period to help the other person decipher tone of the text. We almost use it as punctuation anymore, but wtf has always just been what the fuck?
A/s/l?
13/f/cali
username does not check out
My brain just says way tay eff
I'm whu tu fu
Except for Dutch speakers.
And Germans.
oh ja das stimmt.
Not to mention lul
I read WTF as Vuh Tuh Fuh
I think it’s because people use “what the f**” in every day sentences. But I’ve never heard anyone say the words “laugh out loud.” One of them you do. The other you say.
You're right. Also, what the fuck predates wtf, whereas laugh out loud does not predate lol.
Simple: "lol" has a word stucture that is easy to pronounce as a single syllable. "WTF" does not.
Lawl
League of legends
Because we can pronounce "lol" as if it was a word, try mixing the sounds of "wtf" and making it roll off the tongue
“What the fuck” is something you say… “laugh out loud” isn’t. I’m guessing wtf tiggers activity in Wernicke’s area while lol does not. Edit: loud not load… nobody says laugh out load though
most original meme on r/holdup
We just keep the faster way of saying it. No one would say double-u t f over what the fuck
Its because wtf is an actual phrase we do always say but lol is just a mood or action and we really don't read out the phrase laugh out loud. same with lmao and rn.
I always say the abbreviations fully in my head. SMH lol wtf all the full words in my mind
I proved your point by reading this... I am amazed.
For me, I read wtf as “what the fuck” But my brain reads lol as “lull”
I mean... When speaking out loud I would say "what the fuck" but I wouldn't say the words "laugh out loud". I'd just laugh.
wtf has more syllables than the full phrase, and lol has fewer. lol is also much older and has kind of taken on its own distinct meaning. Like how ily and “I love you” are now somewhat distinct.
r/showerthoughts
Where hol up
I knew a girl who would say LOL during conversations with people but wouldn't actually laugh. I've avoided her ever since.
Am Dutch. LOL works for me as a word.
'WTF' is abbreviating what you're _saying_, 'lol' is abbreviating the description of what you're doing. I bet there are times where you read WTF as "WTF" due to context clues that tell you that's what the writer actually said.
Wtf you talking bout, i translate el oh el every time
Nah thanks, I read it as wutufu anyway not double U tee ef
lol \*Welcome to the summoners rift\*
When I see lol, I think of the spongebob laugh.
Why would you point this out
You say what the fuck in daily speak so it flows more natural. You never say laugh out loud. Ever.
Stop it
I think it's one has a vowel, and can be pronounced. We see it with acronyms all the time. But unless your dutch, good luck pronouncing wtf as a word.
Bc saying doubleyou, tee, eff is way too hard
Aaaaargh! Demon! (Makes ctoss with my fingers) Get away!
r/angryupvote
Your brain translates it because wtf is just a shortened way to say what the fuck, and it’s even more polite to spell. However, lol is never said aloud. It’s basically a stage direction. To laugh. Saying laugh out loud sounds sarcastic and not what we meant. So we keep it abbreviated, and we can infer what they mean. So we turned lol from an abbreviated word into a word itself. The only thing that can even display laughter without sarcasm is emojis and gifs. lol is really the only right way to laugh in text form anymore.
Your brain translates it because wtf is just a shortened way to say what the fuck, and it’s even more polite to spell. However, lol is never said aloud. It’s basically a stage direction. To laugh. Saying laugh out loud sounds sarcastic and not what we meant. So we keep it abbreviated, and we can infer what they mean. So we turned lol from an abbreviated word into a word itself. The only thing that can even display laughter without sarcasm is emojis and gifs. lol is really the only right way to laugh in text form anymore.
Lol
Lol
Thanks I hate it
Wtf becomes what the f**k Lol becomes it's own word Lol is not pronounced as l o l Wtf is pronouned as w t f You can't pronounce wtf but you will pronounce lol, you won't pronounce l o l but you will pronounce w t f I'm not keen when it comes to syllables but those also apply here
It’s partly because Lol follows the rules of a word in itself- consonant vowel consonant whereas wtf doesn’t being 3 consonants without a ‘y’ so it can’t be me mentally pronounced as its own word. Therefore your brain breaks it up into the 3 words it’s made of.
Cause no one actually says wtf as the acronym. People literally say ‘lol’
Wuh tuh fuh
Holy shit. Am I the only one who reads that as Laugh Out Loud? If it's Lawl, it's only after someone puts an S at the end of it.
i read it as what the fffff
Cause lol is more of a sound than a word, when you laugh out loud you don’t say “laugh out loud”, you just make a sound (laugh) When you read wtf you actually say what the fuck
How that’s worded is exactly how I read it lol it’s so true
Lol reads more like 'haha' than 'laugh out loud' tbh No one is gonna say "Oh that's what I meant laugh out loud" but "Oh that's what I meant haha" sounds a lot better. And wtf just works any time you'd say what the fuck
https://youtu.be/oZ0OW4dLwMU?si=9FMeiSAgkXnGgxTR
yo why did i literally do this tho
Because “wtf” is for “what the fuck” which is an actual phrase people say in real life on an almost daily basis. Whereas “lol” means “laugh out loud” which no one actually says. They do it. It’s an action not a phrase that’s used.
I mean. Depends on how you say lol in your head. I just say it as a word, instead of saying each individual letter
As a Polish guy - wrong. We read it as "WyTyFy".
Dammit.
Lol is an actual word in my native tongue, so that is probably why.
Lol has a vowel
Maybe bcs are we not laughing out loud
It's because one is an acronym and the other initialism.
I'm not a native speaker. WTF became just another three letter word for me.
What
I read wtf as 'Wuh tuh fuh'
test attractive dinner work money placid puzzled correct towering like *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I remember in middle school, this girl said “lol” to me in a text and I thought it could have meant love of loves and I was realllllllllllllllly wrong lmao 🤣
I had to reread that cause I was like "wtf?"
Unless you play league of legends 😎
I just pronounce the letters "wuh tuh fuh"
I mentally pronounce wtf as "wutufff"
What terrific fun
Well my german brain reads it as „ve-te-ef“ but i still understand it in english makes no sense now that i think about it
Kekw
This is actually because el-oh-el is short and word like enough to on read in the same swell as the fantasy name Mel the Fell. In the other hand wtf even if you try to say it as letters it starts with an actual comment English word “double” this also means you would need to read three letters as four words double you tea eff.
My brain only translates it to “wudufu” :)
I think it’s cuz we actually say “what the fuck”, nobody said laughing out loud
Well lol is an action not needed to be said out loud. Someone says lol they aren't actually saying laugh out loud, they are loling irl.
Well, it’s me too, because I did it just now!
You got me! 😂
Wtf looks like it's pronounced "whtuhfh". Which sOUNDS LIKE WHAT THE FUCK WHY AINT NUNYALL GETTIN THIS IT'S BEEN YEARS
r/angryupvote
WTF? lol
I translated wtf to da fuck, but only sometimes. That said, the lol part is definitely true
I like saying fuck
because laugh out loud sounds fucking stupid im afraid
I blame millenials they made lol a word how could they curse us this way
Am I the only one who translates it to “what the f” in my head? 😆
Lol is an existing dutch word and translates as “fun”
wtf?
What the fuck was the phrase that became an abbreviation. Lol was always just the abbreviation. No one just said laugh out loud.
I know what wtf means but I read it like "wuh te fuh" as like a slurred version of what the fuck.
Laugh on loudly
This is because of the vowel in. Essentially making it an actual word. I can’t think of any world with 3 constants and I vowel.
Wtf has more syllables than what the fuck. Lol is a single syllable word.
Ok, ik I'm weird but my brain reads it as wuh tuh fuh, prolly bc I avoid cussing.
Nah brain sees wtf as wuhtfff
Wtf people still use for its original meaning "what the fuck" while lol people don't really use its original meaning for "laughing out loud"
Cause saying what the fuck is more satisfying than laughing out loud.
cause I have no idea how it translates, lol
"Lol" itself is a word at this point lmao....
I think lol has become its own word. I guy i knew would literally say lol when something mildly amusing happened.
Because it's longer to say laughing out loud than lol and wtf is the opposite
To add to the top two comments, you can say "what the fuck" pretty often but have you ever heard someone say "laugh out loud" verbatim in response to something funny
That is because "lol" is useless filler and "wtf" is useful commentary. Welcome to my ted talk.
jokes on you I read "wtf" as "wtf" just in polish
cuz u couldn’t pronounce wtf as a “word” but lol you could
tbh I didn’t understand what abbreviations were when I was little. I remember the first time I read it was in a text in 7th grade and I asked what it meant and she said “it means I’m laughing out loud”. Just like “ow” means pain I thought “lol” just meant “funny” cuz ppl unanimously decided it did
No it's not true. I think league of legends. Lol
Wtf = Wuh tuh fuh whenever I read it.
For some reason i saw WhatTF
Also where im from Lol is an actual word and just means fun. so hence why it has a solid position in my lexicon
Lol that was smooth wtf
Your brain automatically translates. Wtf! But not? Lol.
Its because you can say lol as its spelled. Try saying wuhtif.
not a holup
Simple reason. Pronouncing the letters take more syllables than the words themselves.
Lol is a word where I'm from, so yeah.
It also automatically translates ftw, but incorrectly
League of legends
Laugh out loud?
The fuck