What Does STG Mean? Swear to God in Texts, and Sterling in Finance

You'll see STG at the end of a claim ('I didn't eat your fries, stg'), at the start of a rant ('stg if this bus is late again') and as a reaction to something wild. It's casual, it's common in Snapchat and Instagram chats, and it's not usually meant religiously. Here's how to read the mood behind it and how to reply.

STG stands for swear to God

Wiktionary lists STG as internet and text messaging slang, an initialism of 'swear to God', with STG and S2G as alternative forms. It's an oath, the same family as 'I promise', 'on my life' or 'no lie'. The sender's staking their word on something.

Because it's an oath, STG raises the stakes a bit. People tend to save it for things that sound unbelievable or that they really care about, though plenty of teens drop it into everyday messages for emphasis. The more casual the chat, the lighter it usually is.

You'll find it in every kind of chat: Snapchat streaks, Instagram DMs, gaming chats and school group chats. It's especially common in stories that sound made up, where the sender knows you might not believe them. 'The teacher fell asleep in class, stg' is a typical example: it's funny, it's a little hard to believe, and the STG is there to say 'this really happened'.

STG, ISTG and S2G: same oath, different spellings

Dictionary.com's entry for ISTG says it means 'I swear to God' and can convey seriousness, exasperation or surprise, and that it's usually used outside a serious religious context. STG drops the 'I' and does the same job. S2G swaps the 'to' for a 2, a habit borrowed from older texting shorthand.

There's no real difference in meaning between them. ISTG is the most common, STG is slightly quicker to type, and S2G looks a little more old-school. If someone uses all three, they're just varying their typing.

Placement can change the feel slightly. At the end of a message, STG backs up what came before, like a signature on a promise. At the start, it often sets up a complaint or a threat that isn't meant seriously, as in 'stg if you spoil the ending I'll never speak to you again'. Nobody expects that oath to be kept. It's just a dramatic way of saying 'please don't'.

When STG means sterling, the British pound

Here's the meaning most slang guides miss. Dictionary.com's main listing for stg isn't slang at all: it's an abbreviation for sterling, in both American and British usage. Its example sentences come from old trade reports and history books that list prices in shillings 'stg', and from a news story quoting a share offer in sterling.

So if you're reading a bank statement, a contract, an old letter or a financial news story and see 'stg', it's almost certainly about British currency. In a text from a friend, it's the oath. The setting tells you which one you've got.

It's also worth knowing if you read older British business writing or history. In trade and banking records, stg appears next to a figure to show the amount is in pounds sterling, and Dictionary.com's examples include old Scottish trade reports doing exactly that. There, STG is about as far from slang as it gets, and reading it as 'swear to God' would make the record very confusing.

Serious, annoyed or surprised: reading the mood of STG

Dictionary.com's description of ISTG gives three moods, and STG follows the same pattern. Here's how to spot each one:

Mood	Where STG sits	Example clue
Serious, I promise	After a claim or a promise	'I'll be there at six, stg'
Annoyed, I've had enough	At the start of a complaint	'stg if they cancel again...'
Surprised, I can't believe it	After a wild story or photo	'stg that's the biggest dog I've seen'
Finance, not slang	Next to an amount or a price	A statement, contract or old record

Invented STG texts with the meaning explained

These are made-up messages to show how it's used:

• 'I didn't tell anyone your secret, stg.' The sender's swearing they're innocent.
• 'stg my phone just died mid-call.' Mild disbelief, plus a bit of an apology.
• 'stg if my sister borrows my hoodie one more time.' Pure exasperation.
• 'He did a backflip off the stage, stg.' A wild story, with an oath to back it up.

If you want a milder reaction to surprising news, look at how OML is used in texts.

What to send back after an STG

Your reply depends on which mood you're dealing with:

1. If it's a promise, take them at their word: 'OK, I believe you.'
2. If they're venting, sympathise first: 'ugh, that's so annoying.'
3. If they're amazed, ask for the story or the photo.
4. If you doubt them, keep it light: 'hmm, sounds a bit sus to me.'

That last one uses another bit of chat slang. If it's new to you, here's what sus means when someone doubts you. And if a friend adds 'ngl' to their message, it's another honesty marker, which I've explained in my guide to NGL and how it softens a blunt opinion.

STG in religious families and at work

Some people don't like any version of 'swear to God' because it uses God's name casually, and that's worth knowing if you're texting family, older relatives or anyone religious. Dictionary.com notes ISTG is usually used outside a serious religious context, but that doesn't mean everyone's comfortable with it. If you're not sure, 'I promise' or 'honestly' does the same job.

My advice for brands and work chats is simple: you can read STG, but don't write it. In a customer conversation, 'stg we'll ship it today' sounds less trustworthy than 'we'll ship it today', because the oath suggests there's a reason to doubt you. And if you work in finance or trade, keep in mind that clients may read stg as sterling, so spell out the currency to avoid a mix-up.

Another phrase that raises the stakes in a chat is FAFO, so see what FAFO means.

Frequently asked questions

What does STG mean in a text?

It means 'swear to God', a way of stressing that the sender's serious, annoyed or surprised.

Is STG the same as ISTG?

Yes. ISTG means 'I swear to God' and STG drops the 'I', but they're used the same way.

What does STG mean in finance?

It's an abbreviation for sterling, the British pound, and you'll see it next to amounts.

Is STG offensive?

It isn't a swear word, but some religious people don't like God's name used casually.