The other day I was thinking about abbreviations and thought it might be helpful to learn some. There are hundreds more but these are probably a good start and will make everyday life in Sweden a whole lot easier.
| Abbreviations | Swedish | English |
| alt. | alternativt | alternatively |
| avd. | avdelning | department, section |
| m.fl. | med flera | more in addition to what is listed |
| m.v.h | Med Vänliga Hälsningar | Best wishes, yours sincerely |
| m.m | med mera | etc. |
| bil. | bilaga | insert |
| dvs. | det vill säga | i.e, that is to say |
| eg. | egentligen | really, actually, in reality |
| ex. | exempel | example |
| exkl. | exklusive | excluding |
| f.m / fm. | förmiddag | midmorning (AM) |
| e.m /em. | eftermiddag | afternoon (PM) |
| fr.o.m | från och med | as of, from ___ on |
| ggr | gånger | times |
| kap. | kaptiel | chapter |
| kl. | klockan | o’clock |
| kr | kronor | crowns |
| krm | kryddmått | spice measurement |
| min. | minuter, minimum | minutes, minimum |
| mån. | månad (er) | month(s) |
| obs | observera | warning, attention |
| o.s.v | och så vidare | etc., so on |
| p.g.a | på grund av | cause of/because |
| st. | stycken | pieces, items (word for number of things) |
| t.o.m | till och med | even, until |
| ngn | någon | somebody |
| ngt | något | something |
The following sentences are a little extreme, but see if you can understand the meaning anyway. Lycka till!
“Vet du om ngn ska med till avd. kl. 15 min. över 3 i em.?” frågade doktorn sjuksköterskan.
“Ja det tror jag, alla på avd. 4 och t.o.m några från avd. 5 tror jag” svarade sjuksköterskan.
Something to be noted is that abbreviations are mostly used in informal language. For example: sms-ing, note-writing, emails, letters et.c. So I have just put all these abbreviations into sentences so you could check if you could understand anyway.
The last example is a message which could be left on a door to a shop.
“OBS!
Sommarstängt fr.o.m 1/7 t.o.m 5/8 delvis p.g.a bristande personal.
m.v.h / Personalen”
