Situation: you receive a mail in English but you cannot understant completely all their words! You look for them in the dicctionary but they don’t appear there! Don’t worry! Probably you are facing to abbreviations! In this post we talk about them, about the official English abbreviations! They are used in note taking, presentations, texting, emails, and many other forms of communication where speed is needed. These are not slang but official abbreviations for words. They are written abbreviations unless otherwise specified.
Official English abbreviations
General writing:
w/o – without
b/c – because
b/f – before
w/ – with
btw – by the way
ASAP – as soon as possible
FYI – for your information
IDK – I don’t know
DIY – Do it yourself
IMO – In my opinion
Time, weight, and measurements:
ETA (written and spoken) – estimated time of arrival
TBA (written and spoken) – to be announced
TBC (written and spoken) – to be continued
yr- year
lbs – pounds (weight)
ft / ‘– feet (length measurement)
EST (written and spoken) – Eastern Standard Time
PST –(written and spoken) Pacific Standard Time CST – Central Standard Time
CST (written and spoken) – Central Standard Time
tsp or t – teaspoon/teaspoons
tbs, tbsp or T – tablespoon/tablespoons
c – cup/cups
gal – gallon
pt – pint
qt – quart
In addresses and directions:
apt. – Apartment
Rd – road
Blvd. – boulevard
St. – street
Ave. – avenue
Ln. – lane
Identity:
DOB (written and spoken) – date of birth
AKA (written and spoken) – also known as
Other:
appt. – appointment
POW – prisoner of war
R.S.P.V – Répondez s’il vous plait literally. Generally on invitations to events meaning you must respond in appropriate time if you can attend or not.
P.S. – Postscript. An additional note at the end of a written correspondence.
BYOB – bring your own beverage
NSFW – not safe for work
Now you are prepared not only to understand them, but also to use them in your text, messages and mails! Become a fanatic of official English abbreviations ASAP! 😉
