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130 most common abbreviations in German

Did you ever wonder what all those illegible short words like 'evtl.' or 'bzw.' stand for?


Find out what they are about in this list with the 130 most frequent abbrevations and acronyms of the German language!


Don't worry - you don't need to know all of them by heart. But it is worth while memorizing the ones that come up most often for you - depending on the type of German texts that you read.



Why do I need abbreviations and acronyms?


Abbreviations and acronyms make our life easier, especially if we need to write o read quickly: instead of the the whole long word 'beziehungsweise', it's just 'bzw'.



When do I need to capitalize abbreviations in German?


If the 'original' word is capitalized, the letter representing that word is also capitalized:

  • Abk. - die Abkürzung

  • z.B. - zum Beispiel



German abbreviations

Inhalt:



Most common abbreviations in German


Abb. – Abbildung

illustration

Abk. – Abkürzung

abbreviation

Abs. – Absatz

paragraph

AG – Aktiengesellschaft

stock company

Allg. – Allgemein

general / common

Alt. – Alternativ, Alternative

alternative

Aufl. – Auflage

edition


B

bes. – besonders

particularly

bspw.– beispielweise

for example

Bsp. – Beispiel

example

b.w. – bitte wende

please turn over

bzw. – beziehungsweise

respectively, or

ca. – circa

approximately, about


D

d.h. – das heißt

i.e, that is

dazw. – dazwischen

between

desgl. – desgleichen

likewise, same

DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund

German Football Association


E

ehem. – ehemals, ehemalig

former, formerly

eigtl. – eigentlich

really, actually

einschl. – einschließlich

inclusiv, including

entspr. – entsprechend

accordingly, corresponding

etw. – etwas

something

evtl. – eventuell

perhaps, maybe


F

f./ff – folgende Seite(n)

following page(s)

FP – Festpreis

fixed price


G

ggf. – gegebenenfalls

possibly, if applicable

ggü. – gegenüber

opposite, across from

GmbH – Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung

Company with limited liability.


I

i.D. – im Durchschnitt

on average

inkl. inklusive

inclusive of, including


J

jmd. – jemand

someone


K

kompl. – komplett

complete

Kripo – Kriminalpolizei

criminal investigation department / detective squad


L

LG – liebe Grüße

regards


M

m.a.W. – mit anderen Worten

in other words

m.E. – meines Erachtens

in my opinion

MfG – mit freundlichen Grüßen

yours sincerely

m.M./m.M.n. – meiner Meinung, meiner Meinung nach

in my opinion

m.W. – meines Wissens

as far as I know

MwSt. – Mehrwertsteuer

value added tax (VAT)


N

NR – Nichtraucher

non-smokers


O

o.ä. – oder ähnliche(s)

and the like


P

Pkt. – Punkt

point, dot


S

S.o. – siehe oben

as above

S.u. – siehe unten

see/ as below

St. – Stück

piece


T

Tel. – Telefon(nummer

telephone (number)


U

u. – und

and

u.a. – unter anderen

among other things

ugs. – umgangssprachlich

colloquial

urspr. – ursprünglich

originally

usw. – und so weiter

and so on


V

VB – Verhandlungsbasis

price negotiable

vgl. – vergleiche

compare


W

Wdh. – Wiederholung

repetition


Z

z.B. – zum Beispiel

for example

z.T. – zum Teil

in Part, partly

zzgl. – zuzüglich

plus, in addition



Abbreviations in German grammar


Adj. – Adjektiv

adjective

Adv. – Adverb

adverb

Art. – Artikel

article

dt. – deutsch

German

f./fem. – feminin (weiblich)

feminine

Fut. – Futur

future tense

HS – Hauptsatz

main clause

Imp. – Imperativ (Befehlsform)

imperative

Konj. – Konjunktiv

conjunctive

m./mask. – maskulin (männlich)

masculine

n./neutr. – neutral

neuter

NS – Nebensatz

subordinate clause

Präp. – Präposition

preposition

Part. II – Partizip IIehrwertsteuer

participle II

Pers.pron. – Personalpronomen

personal pronoun

Pl. – Plural (Mehrzahl)

plural

Poss.pron. – Possessivpronomen (besitzanzeigendes Fürwort)

possessive pronoun

Rel.satz – Relativsatz

relative clause

refl. – reflexiv

reflexive

Sing./Sg. – Singular (Einzahl)

singular


The 4 German cases

Nom. – Nominativ

Nominative

Akk. – Akkusativ

Akkusative

Dat. – Dativ

Dative

Gen. – Genitiv

Genitive




German acronyms and abbreviations for mobility


PKW – Personenkraftwagen

‘personal’ car

LKW – Lastkraftwagen

truck

KFZ - Kraftfahrzeug

Vehicle with a motor


S-Bahn – Stadtbahn

suburban train / city train

U-Bahn – Untergrundbahn

metro / subway / tube / underground railway


Bhf. – Bahnhof

station

Hbf. – Hauptbahnhof

main station

ICE Inter City Express

IR - InterRegio



Abbreviations for names and titles


Hr. – Herr

Mr.

Fr. – Frau

Mrs.

Frl. – Fräulein

Miss

Dr. - Doktor

doctor


Note:

  • The salutation Fräulein is not used anymore these days.

  • If you write a letter or an email, you would NOT write: 'Sehr geehrter Hr. XY / Sehr geehrte Fr. XY'. These abbreviations are only used for notes, lists ecc.

  • However, the abbreviation Dr. is always used: Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. XY / Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. XY.



 



 


German abbreviations for forms: the marital status


geb. – geboren

born, née

You will find this after the married name and before the maiden name.

'Frau XY geb. ZZ'

verh. / vh. – verheiratet

married

unverh. – unverheiratet

unmarried, single

led. – ledig

unmarried, single

gesch. – geschieden

divorced

verw. – verwitwet

widowed



German abbreviations for time


Sek. – Sekunde

seconds

Min. – Minute

minute

Std. – Stunde

hour

tägl. – täglich

daily

mtl. monatlich

monthly

jährl. – jährlich

annually

inzw. – inzwischen

in the meantime

abds. – abends

in the evening

Jh. – Jahrhundert

century




the days of the week

Mo - Montag

Monday

Di - Dienstag

Tuesday

Mi - Mittwoch

Wednesday

Do - Donnerstag

Thursday

Fr - Freitag

Friday

Sa - Samstag/Sonnabend

Saturday

So - Sonntag

Sunday


the months

Jan. - Januar

January

Feb. - Februar

February

(März)

March

Apr. - April

April

(Mai)

May

(Juni)

June

(Juli)

July

Aug. - August

August

Sept. - September

September

Okt. - Oktober

October

Nov. - November

November

Dez. - Dezember

December


Some of the names of the months are so short that we usually don't need an abbreviation.



German abbreviations and acronyms for the house hunt


When looking for an apartment in Germany, you will come across lots of abbreviations and acronyms!



German abbreviations for measurements


mm – Millimeter

millimeter

cm – Zentimeter

centimeter

m – Meter

meter

km – Kilometer

kilometer

ccm – Kubikzentimeter

cubic centimeter

m² - Quadratmeter

square meter(s)

g - Gramm

gram

kg – Kilogramm

kilogram

kW – Kilowatt

kilowatt

Mio. – Million

million

Kal. – Kalorie

calorie



German acronyms for legal terms


GG – Grundgesetz

constitution / basic law

BGB– Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch

German Civil Code

StGB – Strafgesetzbuch

criminal code

BGH – Bundesgerichtshof

Federal Court of Justice

BVerfG – Bundesverfassungsgericht

Federal Constituional Court




 



 




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