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Fluency in Spanish (or any other foreign language) means knowing how to get your thoughts across quickly and efficiently. Learning how to use abbreviations in Spanish can help you achieve this. 

Are you learning Spanish to help realize professional goals? Abbreviations will come in handy when conversing with your Spanish-speaking colleagues. Are you looking to study abroad in, say, Mexico? Learning slang abbreviations can help you sound more like a local.

We’ve compiled some of the most common abbreviations in the Spanish language, along with valuable information on how to use them. Let’s get to it.

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Why should we use abbreviations?

Abbreviations have played a crucial role in languages for decades. They help us avoid redundancy, write shorter and more effective texts and, nowadays, prevent our emails from looking like an unappetizing word soup.

Imagine if we didn’t have abbreviations for words and phrases such as “centimeter” (cm), “Doctor of Philosophy” (PhD) or even “as soon as possible” (ASAP). What a lot of time we’d waste!

In Spanish, abbreviations are everywhere. You’ll find them in all sorts of written and oral communications, from formal to casual. They also regularly pop up in academic journals, WhatsApp group chats and television shows. Learning them will help you communicate like a native speaker!

Types of abbreviations in the Spanish language

There are four types of abbreviations in the Spanish language:

1. Acronyms

Acronyms are shortened word forms composed of the initials of a long word formation. They’re usually written in capital letters, though this may not always be the case; for instance, the acronym for objeto volador no identificado (unidentified flying object) is often written as ovni and not OVNI. 

Grammatically, acronyms are nouns and follow regular Spanish plural rules (e.g. ovnis). They’re used in verbal and written communication and are pronounced as a single complete word.

Examples:

2. Abbreviations

Abbreviations are groups of letters that, when put together, represent a word or short phrase. 

They may contain the first few letters of a word, a mix of the first and last letters of a word or the initials of several words in a phrase. They’re usually accompanied by a period at the end. If the word is part of a title, the first letter is typically capitalized.

Note that, if the abbreviation stems from a short sentence, it’s suitable only for informal written communication (such as text messages). In these cases, the abbreviation may be written in capital or lowercase letters.

Examples:

• Dra. (doctora): female doctor
• Av. (avenida): avenue
• Ntp (no te preocupes): Don’t worry

3. Initialisms

Initialisms are nouns formed by the initials of a set of words, or by the “internal” letters of a word. An example of the latter would be TV for televisión (television). 

Unlike acronyms, initialisms are pronounced letter by letter and not as a complete word. They’re typically written in capital letters.

It’s worth mentioning that there are English-language initialisms that are also used in Spanish (e.g. FBI). However, these are pronounced in the Spanish way (/EH-feh beh EEH/ for FBI).

Examples:

• ONG (organización no gubernamental): non-governmental organization
• UV (ultravioleta): ultraviolet

4. Symbols

These are abbreviations of technical or scientific words. They are written in lowercase and are used internationally.

Examples:

• m (metro): meter.
• km (kilómetro): kilometer.

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Most common Spanish abbreviations

Alright, this is what we came for! Here’s a list of some of the most common Spanish abbreviations, divided by category:

1. Titles and professions: these are used in formal situations, like business emails or job applications. They’re usually followed by either the last name of the person in question or by their full name (e.g. Mtra. Sandra Martínez). Keep gender rules in mind; usually, you must add an a at the end if the recipient is female.

2. Date, months and days: date abbreviations in Spanish follow a dd-mm-yy format (e.g. 10-11-23). Below, you can find abbreviations for the months of the year and days of the week. These are used in any type of setting, formal or informal.

3. Measurements, capacity and numbers: these abbreviations for measurements are international, so you’ve probably got them covered already! However, here’s a reminder of the basics:

4. Time: these can be used in formal or informal settings.

5. Texting abbreviations: these are only used in texting, so they’re casual by nature. Avoid them in all formal correspondence.

6. Other useful abbreviations: this is a list of other common abbreviations used in Mexican Spanish. These are generally used only in casual contexts, except for the last five (from sig. to ctra.), which are used in written formal communication.

Short and simple

Abbreviations are some of the most helpful communication tools in any language. They allow us to express short and simple sentences without losing meaning. 

Now that you’ve got a great list of common abbreviations in Spanish, you’re ready to take your language skills to the next level! Start shooting those Spanish emails and texts y nos vemos a la prox (and we’ll see you next time)!

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Alison Maciejewski Cortez

Alison Maciejewski Cortez is Chilean-American, born and raised in California. She studied abroad in Spain, has lived in multiple countries, and now calls Mexico home. She believes that learning how to order a beer in a new language reveals a lot about local culture. Alison speaks English, Spanish, and Thai fluently and studies Czech and Turkish. Her tech copywriting business takes her around the world and she is excited to share language tips as part of the Lingoda team. Follow her culinary and cultural experiences on X.

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