Danish abbreviations are a painful but necessary part of learning Danish. To help you out, we’ve collected and attempted to organize a bunch of the most commonly used and seemingly random letter combinations with explanations and pronunciation.
You’ve probably realized that Danish is a language with the power to create words of unfathomable lengths – hello arbejdsløshedsunderstøttelsesundersøgelseskommisionssekretariat – no, not really a word, but any Dane would easily understand it.
So it should come as no surprise that it’s also a language with a deep love of abbreviations. As a non-native speaker, these abbreviations can often throw you for a loop. Which brings us here.
As you happen upon these seemingly random letter combinations, Danish quickly devolves into a cruel guessing game, as the voices in your head laughing at you grow louder, and louder, and LOUDER!
OK, you’re right, no need to go full Edgar Allan Poe on y’all. Let’s reel it in for a sec.
Point is, we want to help you ace the obstacle course and read your way through any Danish text without stumbling and scraping your corneas on the page.
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Everyday abbreviations in Danish
According to Dansk Sprognævn – the deciders about correct Danish a.k.a. the grammar police – an abbreviation is “A word or expression that is not written out in its entirety.” Duh. Still though, it’s good to know that we we’re all talking about the same thing here.
Unfortunately, the whole time-saving point of abbreviations flips a 180 as you spend eons trying to decipher an abbreviation, while efficiency shapeshifts into frustration.
And let us tell you – speaking from bitter experience – old pal Google ain’t much help when you’re battling a tome full of three letter riddles wrapped in mysteries inside enigmas.
In this blog, we’d like to share a bunch of commonly used and more obscure Danish abbreviations. Have a gander and discover what these Danish abbreviations actually mean. As an added bonus, lend us your ear and we’ll sing you a sweet song of Danish abbreviations (ok, we’ll just speak them, and not even in Joe Cocker voice, but still).
- Some of the most common Danish abbreviations
- Time abbreviations
- Direction and place abbreviations
- Abbreviated titles and forms of address
- Miscellaneous abbreviated letter closings
- International abbreviations
- Informal and renegade (eat it grammar police!) abbreviations
- And even more Danish abbreviations
A quick side note: We’ve sifted through the seemingly boundless realm of Danish abbreviations to bring you the highest quality, most relevant explanations for use in everyday life. The following overview is by no means exhaustive. For additional verification or explanation of an abbreviation, we refer to Dansk Sprognævn (we love you grammar police!).
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Some of the most common Danish abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| alm. | (Almindelig / almindeligt) - Common / general / ordinary |
| ang. | (angående) - concerning / regarding |
| bl.a. | (blandt andet) - among other things |
| ca. | (cirka) - approximately |
| div. | (diverse / division) - miscellaneous / division |
| dkr. / DKK | (danske kroner) - Danish kroner |
| dvs. | (det vil sige) - that is to say / in other words |
| eks. | (eksempel) - example |
| evt. | (eventuel / eventuelt / eventuelle) - “evt.” eludes direct translation, but along the lines of: optionally, if you wish, if applicable, if relevant. It’s often kind of like saying, “I’m not saying that you have to, but you could…” – which is where Danish turns into a guilt-tripping mom who means that you pretty much have to, or at the very least it would be a disappointment to the speaker/writer if you didn’t. |
| f.eks./fx | (for eksempel) - for example |
| gl. | (gammel) - old |
| gns./gnsn. | (gennemsnit / gennemsnitlig) - average |
| hhv. | (henholdsvis) - respectively |
| if. / Iflg. | (ifølge) - according to / in accordance with |
| ifm./i.f.m. | (i forbindelse med) - in connection with |
| ift./i.f.t. | (i forhold til) - in relation to / compared to |
| iht. | (i henhold til) - referring to / in compliance with |
| kgl. | (kongelig) - royal |
| kr. | ((Danish) krone / kroner) - (Danish) krone / kroner |
| m.fl./mfl. | (med flere) - and others |
| m.h.t./mht. | (med hensyn til) - with regard to / regarding |
| m.m. | (med mere) - and other things / matters |
| mv./m.v. | (med videre) - and so on |
| o.l. (og lign.) | (og lignende) - and similar |
| osv. | (og så videre) - and so on / etc. |
| pga. (på gr. af) | (på grund af) - due to / because of |
| pr. | (per) - per / as of (date/time) |
| s.u. | (svar udbedes) - please reply / R.S.V.P. |
| stk. | (styk / stykke) - unit(s) / pieces(s) |
| str. | (størrelse) - size |
| t.o.m. | (til og med) - up to and including / through |
| t/r | (tur-retur) - round trip |
| vedl. | (vedlagt) - enclosed |
| vedr. | (vedrørende) - concerning / regarding |
| vha. | (ved hjælp af) - by means of |
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Time-related abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| d. | (den) - Literally “the”. Used in front of dates, e.g. d. 3. november. |
| d.d. | (dags dato) - today’s date / as of today |
| d.m. | (denne måned) - current month |
| d.å. | (dette år) - current year |
| f.Kr. | (før Kristus) - Before Christ (BC) |
| e.Kr. | (efter Kristus) - After Christ (AD) |
| kl. | (1. klokken / 2. klasse) - 1. Used like “o’clock”, but in front of the time e.g. kl. 16.30. 2. More rarely used for "class". |
| md. | (måned) - month |
| mdl. | (månedlig / månedligt) - monthly |
| mdr. | (måneder) - months |
| p.t. | (pro tempore (yes, this is Latin)) - at present |
| ugtl. | (ugentlig / ugentligt) - weekly |
| årh. | (århundrede) - century |
| årl. | (årlig/årligt) - annually |
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Direction and place abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| adr. | (adresse) - address |
| Kbh. | (København) - Copenhagen |
| Kbh. K | (København K) - Central Copenhagen (the “K” stands for København - it ain’t NY, NY, but it is København, København) |
| kt. | (1. konto/ 2. kontor / 3. karat) - 1. Account, 2. department / office, 3. carat |
| lejl. | (lejlighed) - apartment |
| mf. | (midtfor) - straight in front / in the middle (describes where on the floor of the building you can find the residence, e.g. 2.mf. – second floor, straight ahead / in the middle) |
| ml. | (mellem) - between / among |
| N / Ndr. | (Nord / Nordre (in location names)) - North / Northern – e.g. København N – Copenhagen North |
| o.g. | (over gården) - Across the courtyard (indicates that the entrance to the address is in a building located in a courtyard or annex) |
| S / Sdr. | (Syd / Sønder / Søndre (in location names)) - South / southern – e.g. København S – Copenhagen South |
| st. | (stuen) - ground floor |
| t.h. (th.) | (til højre) - To the right (describes where on the floor of the building you can find the residence, e.g. 2.th. – second floor, to the right.) |
| t.v. (tv.) | (til venstre) - To the left (describes where on the floor of the building you can find the residence, e.g. 2.tv. – second floor, to the left.) |
| V. | (Vest / Vester / Vestre (in location names)) - West / western – e.g. København V – Copenhagen West |
| v. | (ved or van/von (in names)) - by/close to – or “van/von” in names |
| Ø. | (Øst / Øster / Østre (in location names)) - East / eastern – e.g. København Ø – Copenhagen East |
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Abbreviated titles and forms of address
In Denmark, titles and formal forms of address are rarely used these days. Mostly used as an exception to the rule, they can come across as a bit stuffy and old fashioned.
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| dir. | (1. direktør / 2. dirigent) - 1. managing director / executive officer. 2. More rarely conductor. |
| fhv. | (forhenværende) - former |
| fm. | (fuldmægtig) - officer – e.g. AC-fuldmægtig (administrative officer) |
| fmd. | (formand) - chairperson / foreman |
| fr. | (fru / frøken) - Mrs. / Ms. |
| frk. | (frøken) - miss |
| H.M. | (Hendes / Hans Majestæt) - Her / His Majesty |
| hr. | (herre) - Mr. |
Miscellaneous abbreviated letter closings
Here’s a slew of Danish abbreviations used as closings to quick messages, e-mails and letters.
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| Vh | (Venlig hilsen) - “Friendly greetings”. Dry and curt closing that’s a pretty big hit in the boomer segment. |
| Mvh | (Med venlig hilsen) - “With friendly greetings”. Neutral and friendly closing. |
| Bh | (Bedste hilsner) - “Best greetings”. Still curt, but a bit warmer than Vh. (NB! Bh is not to be confused with bh/BH) |
| Dbh | (De bedste hilsner) - “The best greetings”. A polite closing. |
| Kh | (Kærlig hilsen) - “Affectionate greetings”. In the past this closing was seen as intimate, but it is now used by many as a standard closing. However, hierarchies and relations still play a role in the closing you choose. You usually let your boss or the customer use this closing first. |
International abbreviations used in Danish
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| g | (gram) - gram |
| kg | (kilo/kilogram) - kilo/kilogram |
| mm | (millimeter) - millimeter |
| cm | (centimeter) - centimeter |
| m | (meter) - meter |
| km | (kilometer) - kilometer |
| mio. | (million(er)) - million(s) |
| mia. | (milliard(er)) - billion(s) |
| nr. | (nummer) - number |
| tlf. | (telefon / telefonnummer) - telephone / telephone number |
| min. | (minimum) - minimum |
| maks. / max | (maksimum / maksimal / maksimalt) - maximum |
| bh/BH | (brystholder) - bra / brassiere. NB! Not to be confused with Bh |
| ekskl. | (eksklusiv) - excluding |
| inkl. | (inklusive) - including |
| p.t. | (pro tempore) - at present |
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Informal and RENEGADE abbreviations 🤘
The Danish language is constantly evolving. Words grow obsolete and fall to the wayside because they are no longer used. And new words come to the fore. The same is true of Danish abbreviations.
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| aht | (ad helvede til) - (go) all to hell |
| arb | (arbejde) - work |
| cføli | (selvfølgelig) - obviously / of course |
| ilm | (i lige måde) - the same to you |
| ngt | (noget) - some / something |
| p.b.a / pba | (på baggrund af) - on the basis of / in the light of |
| perf | (perfekt) - perfect |
| pft | (på forhånd tak) - thank you in advance |
| self / selvf. | (selvfølgelig) - sure / of course |
| sq | (Abbreviation of another Danish abbreviation: sgu (så Gud hjælpe mig)) - so God help me (usage is close to English use of “damn/damned”) |
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Assorted Danish abbreviations
This last motherload of Danish abbreviations is a mixed bag of goodies eluding categorization. Here goes!
| Abbreviation | Defination and translation |
| A/S | (aktieselskab) - Limited company |
| ApS | (anpartsselskab) - Private limited company |
| afd. | (afdeling) - department |
| ank. | (ankomst) - arrival |
| afg. | (afgang) - departure |
| afs. | (afsender) - sender |
| el. | (eller) - or |
| el.lign./e.l. | (eller lignende) - or the like |
| egl. | (egentlig / egentligt) - actually |
| jf. | (jævnfør) - confer / cf. / see |
| knsp. | (knivspids) - a pinch of |
| m.a.o. | (med andre ord) - in other words |
| modt. | (modtager) - receiver |
| o.a. | (og andet / og andre) - and other(s) |
| off. | (officiel / offentlig) - official / public |
| o.fl. (ofl.) | (og flere) - and more |
| o.m.a. | (og mange andre) - and many other |
| pk. | (pakke) - package / parcel |
| pkt. | (punkt) - item / point / section |
| spsk. | (spiseske(fuld)) - tablespoon |
| tsk. | (teske(fuld)) - teaspoon |
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Did we forget some gems?
As you can see, Danish has more than its fair share of abbreviations. Did we remember all the essential ones, or would you like to see one or more that we missed in this blog?
Leave a comment below with your favorites and/or the very best (or worst) Danish abbreviations.
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