You’re surfing the internet when you see the acronym OTP, and you aren’t sure what it means. OTP is an acronym often used in fan fiction writing and fandom chat rooms.
What does OTP mean?
“OTP” is an acronym for the words “one true pairing,” and it is often used online in chatrooms or by fiction writers who are interested in a certain relationship between characters within a fandom. This relationship likely doesn’t exist in the actual work in its natural state.
An example of OTP would be a fan fiction writing pairing Harry and Hermione together in a relationship rather than Ron and Hermione. The relationship between Harry and Hermione would be known as an OTP.
OTP is often used with the slang term “shipping,” which is used to say that you are pairing two characters together in a relationship.
It’s important to know that, in recent years, OTP has come to stand for “one time password” and it is a password used in multi-factor identification to identify a user. If you see OTP as you are trying to log into a platform, it likely stands for “one-time password” and not “one true pairing.”
How to use OTP
- “This book is about my OTP, Jane, and Clayton.”
- “Harry and Hermione are my OTP.”
- “What is your OTP?”
- “I love all the characters and can’t pick one OTP.”
- OTP can be used to describe any relationship pairing in a fandom that isn’t the original pairing.
Using OTP the right way
OTP is a difficult acronym to use because it is so niche. Unless you are a huge fan of a book or TV show and think that the pairing in the show isn’t the one people should support, it’s best to avoid using OTP.
If you are involved in a fandom, you can use OTP anytime you are discussing a pairing that isn’t involved in the show. You should always use OTP with the name of the characters you think should be together.
OTP Variations
There are currently no known variations of OTP.
Should you worry about your child using OTP?
OTP is a harmless fan term, and it is becoming less popular as the years go by. You shouldn’t worry about your child using the abbreviation OTP unless they are using it incorrectly.