Swedish acronyms and abbreviations Posted by Stephen Maconi on Aug 1, 2012 in Swedish Language, Vocabulary
Just like in English, acronyms (initials for a phrase, such as in English ROM, “read-only memory”) and abbreviations are commonly used in written Swedish. They can be written in all caps, lowercase, or even title form (for example, Rom instead of ROM). Here is a list of some of the more common ones to make your interpreting of Swedish texts more convenient:
| Acronym or abbreviation | Swedish | English |
| obs. | observera | Observe; Please note; Caution; Warning |
| d.v.s. | det vill säga | In other words |
| m.a.o. | med andra ord | In other words |
| iofs | I och för sig | per se |
| el. | eller | or |
| t.ex. | till exempel | for example |
| fig. | figur | figure (in a textbook) |
| ev. | eventuellt | if necessary; optionally; possibly |
| o.dyl. | och dylikt | and the like; and such; and similar |
| pga | på grund av | because of; on the grounds of |
| v. ## | vecka ## | week ## (In Sweden, it is very common to plan things by week number. The first week of the year is v. 1 osv. This week is v. 31. Keep in mind that weeks start on Mondays in Sweden and most of Europe.) |
| s.k. | så kallad/kallat/kallade | so-called |
| AB | aktiebolag | corporation |
| m.m.; m.fl. | med mera; med fler | etc. |
| osv. | och så vidare | etc. |
| etc. | et cetera | etc. |
| f.ö. | för övrigt | moreover; besides |
| ang. | angående | regarding; concerning |
| ung. | ungefär | approximately; around; about |
| f.Kr. | före Kristus | before Christ (BC) |
| e.Kr. | efter Kristus | after Christ; Anno Domini (AD) |
| jfr | jämför | compare:; cf. |
| f.d. | före detta | former; previous |
| Mvh | Med vänliga hälsningar; Med vänlig hälsning | Sincerely (used in closing a friendly letter or other message) |
| kl. | klockan | o’clock (used before the given time) |
| forts. | fortsättning | continuation; cont’d |
| bl.a. | bland annat | among other things; inter alia |
| t.o.m. | till och med | up until; through (time) |
| fr.o.m. | från och med | starting (when…); ever since |
| s. ## | sidan ## | page ## |
(In case your wondering, acronyms and abbreviations in Swedish are both types of förkortningar, or shortened forms.)
Hope the list is helpful! Don’t forget to check back for more helpful information about Sweden later!
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About the Author: Stephen Maconi
Stephen Maconi has been writing for the Transparent Swedish Blog since 2010. Wielding a Bachelor's Degree in Swedish and Nordic Linguistics from Uppsala University in Sweden, Stephen is an expert on Swedish language and culture.
Comments:
Gabriella:
another awesomely helpful blog! tack så mycket.
Angela:
I was just doing some Swedish homework and had some of these abbreviations. Although I knew or could look up their meanings in English, I did not know how to read them in Swedish. Thanks so much for sharing this information.
Mo:
TAaaaaaaack så mycket !
Cameron Belnap:
Nice one! Thanks a lot!
sunudus:
How do you wright (varsågod) as an acronym?