German Abbreviations: Your Guide to 86 Common Shortenings Used by Native Speakers

Abbreviations are key to being fluent in any language, and German is no exception.

However, as you can imagine, German speakers and English speakers don’t always shorten the same words. In fact, German abbreviations are as specific as slang. 

Here is a list of some of the most common German abbreviations you will likely come across. 

Contents

• Cases
• Titles
• Genealogy
• Germany
• Measurements
• Time
• Transportation
• Accommodations
• Legal
• Associations, Groups and Events
• Miscellaneous
• Shortening Names and Places
• Verb Contractions
• Internet and Text Slang
• Why Learn German Abbreviations?
• Resources for Learning More
• And One More Thing...

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Cases

Example Sentence: 

Der Akk., Dat., und Gen. sind nur drei von den vier deutschen Fällen.
The accusative, dative, and genitive are only three of the four German cases.

Titles

Abbreviations for titles are only used occasionally in documents where space on the page becomes a precious commodity. Using them in formal correspondence can even be considered rude; addressing a fussy recipient like this might lead them to think they are not worth the effort of the additional two letters!

You do encounter them in more informal contexts, however, such as texting or online comments, where they might save a tireless Tweeter from wasting precious characters.

Genealogy

These shortenings are often used in written articles about people or in family histories: 

Example Sentence:

Angela Merkel (geb. Kasner; 17. Juli 1954 in Hamburg) ist eine deutsche Politikerin.
Angela Merkel (born Kasner, in 1954 in Hamburg) is a German politician. 

Germany

Example Sentence:

Deutschland war zwischen 1949 und 1990 in die DDR im Osten und die BRD im Westen aufgeteilt.
Between 1949 and 1990, Germany was split between the GDR in the East and the BRG in the West. 

Measurements

Example Sentence:

Die Strecke umfasst einhundert km. 
The route is one hundred kilometers.

Time

If you’re running low on it, you might find these abbreviations for time useful for informal messaging, making concise work notes or when writing a pithy small ad. 

Example Sentences:  

Das Treffen heute dauert eine Std.
The meeting today is for an hour.

Der Planer sagt, “Trainieren Sie tägl.”
The planner says, “train daily.”

Transportation

Example Sentences:  

Die nächste S-Bahn Station ist fünf Minuten zu Fuß. 
The next metro station is a five minute walk. 

Fahren Sie einen LKW oder einen PKW?
Do you drive an SUV or a car?

Accommodations

You’ll almost certainly come across these abbreviations advertisements for properties or flats. 

Example Sentences: 

Die Wohnung hat 2 SZ. 
The apartment has two bedrooms.  

Sie erben das elterliche EFH.
They’re inheriting their parents’ detached house. 

Legal

Legal jargon is notoriously verbose, especially in German. So you’re likely to encounter these abbreviations to at least somewhat reduce the character count on lengthy contracts and dealings.  

Example Sentences:  

Man muss das GG respektieren.
One must respect the constitution.

Wissen Sie etwas über das BG? 
Do you know anything about the civil code?

Associations, Groups and Events

These shortenings are very commonly used in both formal and informal writing to shave off the length of these long titles. You’ll often see the last one, “GmbH”, used at the end of company names such as “Müller GmbH”. 

Example Sentence:  

Der DFB ist sehr stark im Deutschland.
The German Football Association is very strong in Germany.

Miscellaneous

Below are some very common abbreviations you’ll find in written German, both formal and informal, that save you some time on more verbose phrases. 

Example Sentences:  

Ein St. kostest vier Euro. 
One piece costs four Euros.

Meine Schwester hat mir eine SMS geschrieben: “Ich hab etw. für dich!”
My sister texted me: “I’ve got something for you!”

Es gibt viele Abk. im Deutschen. 
There are lots of abbreviations in German. 

Shortening Names and Places

The next few abbreviations are useful shortenings for people and places for informal writings and speech. 

One common shortening involves adding an ‘i’ to the end of a word or name:

Timmi — Timmy

This follows the same thought process as nicknames and/or pet names,  like Billy for William or Ricky for Richard.

Here are some other common shortenings used in both spoken and informal written German for places and people: 

Example Sentence:

Nächsten Monat gehe ich auf die Uni.
Next month, I’m going to college. 

Verb Contractions

German-speakers will often drop off the ‘e’ endings of first-person verb forms. So ich habe will often get pronounced as “ich hab.” These sort of contractions are hugely common in spoken German or informal contexts like text messaging, but should not be used in formal written German.

The German dictionary Duden recommends not using apostrophes to indicate the missing ‘e’ endings like this, but you may encounter them in some texts or transcriptions of spoken language.

Internet and Text Slang

As the title gives away, these abbreviations aren’t used in spoken language, but rather exclusively in the virtual world.

Example Sentence:  

Tschüssi hbl! 
Byee, love you!

Why Learn German Abbreviations?

German abbreviations are a crucial part of the written language. When reading or writing, you will want to know what a particular abbreviation stands for so that you can comprehend and/or convey the proper meaning.

Abbreviations are also used in everyday speech, simply because saying less is easier. Consider how you talk when around your friends, compared to how you might speak while interviewing for a job. Though of course your tone is much different, even the words you use will vary.

German abbreviations are, just like slang, an important part of German culture. For example, if you don’t know very much about German history and the formerly divided Germany, you may not know that BRD and DDR refer to the former West Germany and Easy Germany respectively (more on this below).

Learning German abbreviations is also another way of adding to your vocabulary. To get one step closer to fluency, check out the abbreviations below. Memorize these and you will be that much closer to speaking like a true native German!

To see how abbreviations, along with colloquial shortenings, slang and expressions, factor into everyday German life and culture, look for German videos which showcase these words in action. 

Resources for Learning More

• The next time you are reading in German and come across an abbreviation you don’t know, open Abkuerzungen.de, a great resource that will allow you to search for abbreviations and meanings. Simply enter the abbreviation you are searching for, and click “search.”

  Possible definitions of the abbreviation will then be listed. For example, if you search for “z.B.” then the last entry will be zum Beispiel, or “for example.” (Conversely, if you are wondering if a certain word has an abbreviation, just type that word into the search box and any possible abbreviations will appear.) 

• If you are looking for a one-stop abbreviation resource, German Translation Tips & Resources has the list for you. Categorized alphabetically, these abbreviations are listed in one column, with their corresponding German and English translations. 

To supplement your vocabulary training, pitch a few German abbreviations onto your plate each week. You will be that much closer to native fluency!

Practice these abbreviations as you do your regular vocabulary, and try to use them as much as you can in your everyday language.

Teach your friends, and you can start chatting and texting using German slang!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)