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English abbreviations
The English language not only surrounds us in our everyday professional life, English is also becoming increasingly important in our private lives. An important reason for this development is the rapidly growing spread of the Internet since the early 1990s, since the turn of the millennium mobile communication via mobile phones and later smartphones has been added. In addition to classic English, English abbreviations in particular are being used more and more frequently – mostly by young people on their mobile phones. As we all know, time is money and it is also important to stand out from your parents when it comes to language. Or what adult today can still understand a WhatsApp conversation between teenagers? But English abbreviations are also becoming increasingly important outside of school and children's rooms.
Use phrases as abbreviations
An abbreviation in the English language often consists of the first letters of words. However, more and more often wordings are used to abbreviate terms or idioms. Because especially in English, individual letters often have the same sound as a complete word. The expression You are too late can be represented much shorter with UR2L8, but is phonetically almost identical. Abbreviations such as CU (see you) or CUL8R (see you later) are also common.
Teenage slang invents new English abbreviations
The language spoken in everyday life, i.e. living language, is in a state of constant change. In recent years, this development has accelerated significantly through digital media. Young people in particular are good at it and brave enough to use language differently and reinvent terms. For some time now, this has also included German and English abbreviations. Most of us have already thought WTF (what the fuck?) when surprised or dissatisfied with a development. The English abbreviation BFF (best friends forever) is particularly popular among female friends – while couples tend to send each other a romantic ILY (I love you). BTW(By the way) abbreviations also have a big advantage, which is especially important for young people: Emotions and complete sentences can be expressed with just a few letters. This saves a lot of time and is also cool. In addition, many abbreviations go back to the time when cell phones could only be used to send SMS messages that were limited to 160 characters. Abbreviations allowed more information to be included in a message.
English abbreviations – commonly used at work
The next meeting in the office should take place ASAP (as soon as possible), important topics are TBD (to be decided) and the colleague is currently AFK (away from keybord)? With the flood of English abbreviations, one or the other might clasp their hands in front of their faces, others just find it ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) and have to LOL (laugh out loud). If you belong to the first group, then we would like to help you with this article. True to the motto WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), we have put together the 150 most important abbreviations in the English language and added their explanation and German meaning right away.
Overview of English abbreviations
| Abbreviation/Acronym | English meaning |
| A.D. | A.D |
| a.k.a. | Also Known As |
| a.m. | before noon |
| a/c | air conditioning |
| abbrev. | abbreviation |
| acct. | account |
| addr. | address |
| government office. | amount |
| approx. | approximately |
| ASAP | as soon as possible |
| attn. | to the attention of |
| Ave. | Avenue |
| B.A. | Bachelor of Arts |
| B.C. | before christ |
| B&B | Bed & breakfast |
| B2B | Business to business |
| B2C | Business to consumer |
| bc. | blind copy |
| BFF | Best friends forever |
| bn | billion |
| Bros. | brothers |
| BTW | By the way |
| c or ct | cent |
| C.O.D. | cash on delivery |
| C/N | credit note |
| c/o | care of |
| cc. | carbon copy |
| CCTV | closed-circuit television |
| cd | cash discount |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| THIS | Central European Time |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| cf. | cost and freight |
| chair | chairperson |
| CIF | cost, insurance and freight |
| chip | carrige and insurance paid |
| Co. | Company |
| COO | Chief Operating Officer |
| corr. | corresponding |
| CPI | consumer price index |
| cpt | carriage paid to |
| CV | curriculum vitae |
| man | cash with order |
| D.A. | district attorney |
| ddp | delivery duty paid |
| black | delivery duty unpaid |
| Dept. | department |
| from | deliverd ex ship |
| to you. | director |
| DIY | Do it yourself |
| DN | debit note |
| eg | example (for example) |
| ed. | edition |
| encl. | enclosed |
| esp. | especially |
| East. | established |
| AND | estimated time of arrival |
| etc. | et cetera |
| excl. | excluding |
| extn. | extension |
| EXW | ex works |
| FAQ | Frequently asked questions |
| fig. | figure |
| foll. | following |
| form. | formerly |
| ft. | foot |
| FX | foreign exchange |
| FYI | for your information |
| gal. | gallon |
| GCSE | General certificate of secondary education |
| gen. | general |
| GMT | Greenwich Mean Time |
| GPS | Global positioning system |
| HP | horse power |
| hr | hour |
| ht | height |
| i.e. | “id est” (that is) |
| ID | identification |
| IDK | I don’t know |
| ILY | I love you |
| IMHO | In my humble opinion |
| in prep. | in preperation |
| inc. | incorporated |
| incl. | including |
| IOU | I owe you |
| Jr. | junior |
| K | thousand |
| L/C | letter of credit |
| lb. | pound |
| LOL | Laughing out loud |
| Ltd. | limited |
| M&A | merger & acquisitions |
| MA | Master of Arts |
| MD | medical doctor |
| mill. | million |
| misc | miscellaneous |
| mph | miles per hour |
| Mr | Mister |
| Mrs | Mistress |
| Ms | Miss |
| mth. | month |
| mthly. | monthly |
| n/a | not applicable |
| NB | please note |
| nec. | necessary |
| no. | number |
| OAP | old-age pensioner |
| OBO | or best offer |
| off. | offical |
| OMG | Oh my god |
| OOO | Out of office |
| OOO | Out of order |
| oz. | ounce |
| p. | page |
| p. p. | per pro |
| p.a. | yearly |
| p.m. | afternoon |
| p.o. | post office |
| P/L | profit/loss |
| p&p | postage & packing |
| for. | paragraph |
| PO Box | post office box |
| poss. | possible |
| owner | proprietor |
| pto | please turn over |
| R&D | research & development |
| Re. | with reference to regarding |
| recd | received |
| right. | retired |
| RRP | recommended retail price |
| RSVP | Please reply |
| s.o. | someone |
| Sr. | Senior |
| sth. | something |
| TBA | To be announced |
| TBD | To be defined / decided / discussed |
| tel | telephone |
| TGIF | Thank god it’s friday |
| TM | trademark |
| TMI | Too much information |
| TTYL | Talk to you later |
| believe. | usually |
| VAT | value-added tax |
| VIP | Very important person |
| vs. | versus |
| w / o | without |
| WTF | What the fuck? |
| WYSIWYG | What you see is what you get |
| yd. | yard |
| ZIP | ZIP code (Zone Improvement Plan) |
