When you’re living in Germany, you’ve surely come across them: abbreviations in German. They can be complicated, and they can be tricky – and even one German abbreviation can make you wonder all day whether you’ve understood everything correctly. So if you want to become fluent in the German language and communicate freely with native German speakers, it’s important that you master at least the basic German abbreviations.
So here’s a little dictionary of the most common German acronyms and abbreviations that you might come across in your daily life. Some are rather self-explanatory, and some can be very confusing if you don’t know the meaning. Check them out and boost your German vocabulary.
Time-Related Abbreviations
- Sek. – Sekunde
seconds - Min. – Minute
minute - Std. – Stunde
hour - tägl. – täglich
daily - mtl. monatlich
monthly - inzw. – inzwischen
in between - abds. – abends
in the evening - Jh. Jahrhundert
century - z.Zt. – zur Zeit
now/these days/at … time - i.J. – im Jahre
in the year
Titles
- Fr. – Frau
Mrs. – Note that any German woman age 18 or above is addressed as Frau, whether she is married or not. - Frl. – Fraulein
Miss - Hr. – Herr
Mister - Dr. med. – Doktor der Medizin
M.D., medical doctor
Germany
- BRD — Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Former West Germany - DDR — Deutsche Demokratische Republik
Former East Germany
Real Estate
- Whg. – Wohnung
apartment / flat - Bj – Baujahr
year of construction - NB – Neubau
new building - AB – Altbau
old building - Zi – Zimmer
room - KDB – Küche Dusche Bad
kitchen, shower, bathroom - P – Parkplatz
parking spot - TG – Tiefgarage
underground car park - ET/EG – Erdgeschoss
ground-floor - ETG – Etage
floor / story - EBK – Einbauküche
built-in kitchen - HK – Heizkosten
heating costs - WM – Warmmiete
warm rent (net cold rent + operating costs and heating costs) - KM – Kaltmiete
net rent (rent exclusive of other costs e.g. heating) - NK – Nebenkosten
utilities / service charges - KT – Kaution
rental bond / (security) deposit - VB – Verhandlungsbasis
price negotiable - FP – Festpreis
fixed price - NR – Nichtraucher
non-smokers - Wfl – Wohnfläche
living space
Measurements
- mm – Millimeter
millimeter - cm – Zentimeter
centimeter - m – Meter
meter - km – Kilometer
kilometer - ccm – Kubikzentimeter
cubic centimeter - kg – Kilogramm
kilogram - kW – Kilowatt
kilowatt - Mio. – Million
million
German Acronyms And Abbreviations For Mobility
- PKW – Personenkraftwagen
‘personal’ car (a normal car) - LKW – Lastkraftwagen
truck, lorry - S-Bahn – Stadtbahn
suburban train / city train - U-Bahn – Untergrundbahn
metro / subway / tube / underground railway - Bhf. – Bahnhof
station - Hbf. – Hauptbahnhof
main station - TÜV – Technische Überwachungsverein
German UL lab, MOT (Br.) – an organization responsible for product safety. All German motorists must submit their cars to a TÜV inspection,
German Acronyms In The Context Of Law
- GG – Grundgesetz
constitution / basic law - BG – Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
German Civil Code - BGH – Bundesgerichtshof
Federal Court of Justice (of Germany) - KfzPflVV – Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung (Verordnung über den Versicherungsschutz in der Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung)
insurance regulations for a car - v.R.w. – von Rechts wegen
by law
Marital Status
- geb. – geboren
born, née
You will find this after a woman’s married name and after her maiden name. - verh. / vh. – verhairatet
married - unverh. – unverheiratet
unmarried, single - led. – ledig
unmarried, single - Wwe/Wwer – Witwe/Witwer
widow/widower
More German Abbreviations You Might Come Across
- Abb. – Abbildung
illustration - Abk. – Abkürzung
abbreviation - Aufl. – Auflage
edition - beisp. – beispielweise
for example - z. B. – zum Beispiel
e.g. - bzw. – beziehungsweise
respectively, or - ca. – circa
approximately, about - d.h. – das heißt
i.e, that is - dazw. – dazwischen
between - desgl. – desgleichen
likewise, same - dt. – deutsch
(German) - ehem. – ehemals, ehemalig
former, formerly - eigtl. – eigentlich
really, actually - einschl. – einschließlich
inclusive, including - entspr. – entsprechend
accordingly, corresponding - etw. – etwas
something - evtl. – eventuell
perhaps, maybe - ggf. – gegebenenfalls
possibly, if applicable - ggü. – gegenüber
opposite, across from, towards - inkl. – inklusive
inclusive of, including - i.A. – im Auftrag
by order of - MfG – it freundlichen Grüßen
with best regards - n.Chr. – nach Christus
AD, anno domini - o.ä. – oder ähnliche(s)
and the like - Pkt. – Punkt
point, dot - St. – Stück
piece - s.a. – siehe auch
see also - s.o. – siehe oben
see above - i.H. – im Hause
in-house, on the premises - usw. – und so weiter
and so on - u.a. – und andere
and others - u.a. – unter anderen
among other things - u.ä. – und ähnlich
and similarly - u.v.a.(m) – und vieles andere (mehr)
and many others - vgl. – vergleiche
compare - v.Chr. – vor Christus
BC, before Christ - Wdh. – Wiederholung
repetition - z.B. – zum Beispiel
for example - z.T. – zum Teil
partly, in part - zzgl. – zuzüglich
plus, in addition
Learning The Meanings of Abbreviations in the German Language
Some of the words that the abbreviations refer to might already be known to you, and others might be rather unfamiliar. Just like in English, German abbreviations are very commonly used in daily life, and you will come across them often – whether in a foreign office, in a cafe, or at your friend’s house.
Because of that, when learning German, it’s important to pay special attention to abbreviations and learn as many of them as possible. Every time you encounter a new German abbreviation, write it down – this will help you remember it better in the future.
The Best Way to Learn German Abbreviations
In English, not have to learn the abbreviations, you don’t necessarily need to learn them specifically.
You can search through a number of letters in many languages or check out the paperwork in an office, and you will surely find those official abbreviations. Other words such as “sie,” “ich,” “Deutsche,” (which stands for “she/her,” “I/me,” and “German”) can be mastered by using them in your everyday life or practicing more.
If you haven’t tried out the Readle App yet, we recommend you do so. There, any learner will find interesting stories in German at their level, from A1 to C1. You can find the translation of each and every word by clicking on it, and listen to the corresponding audio. This language learning app makes the process of learning German much more enjoyable and fun – and motivates you to practice a little more every day.