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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
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
Find out how to tell the time in German >>
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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