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Understanding abbreviations made easy

English abbreviations are used not only in chat rooms, but also in everyday business life. But what does asap mean? And fyi? What do you mean by afaik? We have selected and explained the most relevant letter combinations that have spilled over to us from the English-speaking world. If you use them as a copywriter yourself, however, caution is advised. Because although these abbreviations have often been around for years, they are not yet part of the general vocabulary.

What does asap mean?

Someone writes you an email saying they need some information from you, asap. What does ASAP mean?

Understandably, what has already been adopted into everyday language use by most German young people may seem cryptic to you. "asap" generally means "as soon as possible" or in German simply "as soon as possible". So don't wait too long with your answer because it seems urgent here.

What does afaik mean?

Also popular is “afaik”, which means something like “as far as I know”. In German, the correct translation is "as far as I know" or "to my knowledge". The person you are talking to is therefore passing on the information to you in the way that he or she thinks is correct.

Incidentally, “afaik” should not be confused with “afaic”. You would probably say it the same way, but "afaic" is derived from "as far as I am concerned". In German, with "afaic" you mean "as far as I'm concerned".

What does idk mean?

"I don't know." or "I don't know." is often shortened to "idk." As an answer to a question, you are told that the person you are talking to is not sufficiently informed on the subject or cannot contribute anything at all.

However, if he answers you with an "idc" ("I don't care."), he is telling you straight out: "I don't care.". Apparently he has no opinion on it. Maybe he just wants to give you a free hand with something?

What does fyi mean?

When someone uses "fyi" in their message to you, it's an abbreviation of "for your information." Your counterpart will probably use "fyi" as an introduction to tell you something important.

What does tbh mean?

If a "tbh" appears in a text, the author is usually very honest with what he says. "To be honest" means the reader can trust the information in question.

Is the author really telling the truth? That remains the other question.

What does lit mean?

Typical abbreviation from the youth language, which one often discovers in social media: "lit". What does that actually mean? "Lit" comes from English and stands for something great, beautiful, particularly good. The actual translation of the English word means in German: enlightened, lit - but also drunk.

By the way: "Lit" is part of the vote for the youth word of the year 2018.

what does btw mean?

"Btw", what does that actually mean? Also "btw" is an abbreviation from English. Written out: "by the way". In German, this means "by the way", "by the way" or "by the way".

Btw, how many abbreviations did you already know?

What does fyeo mean?

The meaning of "fyeo" becomes immediately clear when you know what the individual letters stand for. (F)or (Y)our (E)yes (O)nly. So: For your eyes only.

What does m/f/d mean?

You may have noticed the abbreviation m/f/d in job advertisements. The first two letters stand for male and female. D stands for diverse. It is about the Anti-Discrimination Act and the stipulation that a third variant should be specified in job advertisements. This appeals to people who feel neither male nor female.

What does giyf mean?

Sometimes the answer to a question in forums is simply: Giyf! Anyone who doesn't know what to do here can be helped. Because the abbreviation stands for Google is your friend. So that means: If you enter this question in Google, you get an answer to it. Not very polite in the forum, but possibly an important tip.

Comprehensible texts

In the hustle and bustle of everyday work, it can sometimes be a good idea to save a few seconds and use short formulas in emails to colleagues. However, as a copywriter, you should make sure that you avoid streamlined abbreviations as far as possible, especially in your customer communication.

Be sure to formulate it clearly. Depending on who you're writing for, acronyms are more likely to slow down the flow of reading than speed it up. Especially when it comes to words that he doesn't use that often. And if there's one thing you don't want, it's bogging down an in-depth reader or customer.

In the worst case, your readers will not know the abbreviation at all and will have to look for a translation first. It is questionable whether they will find their way back to you afterwards. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and stick to common abbreviations from German-speaking countries where necessary.

Maybe you just want to reach a young target group. Again, consider whether it's really worth using English acronyms. It often seems unnatural when companies approach their customers on a "buddy level". Especially if it is a company that otherwise appears professional.

Sometimes you cannot avoid using a certain abbreviation in your texts. When you first use the abbreviated word, make it clear to your readers how you will abbreviate it in the following text. Don't switch to the other variant after that to avoid confusion.

Abbreviations in technical languages

What the chat abbreviations are for the Internet generation, the technical terms are for the workers in certain companies. Often there are very specific abbreviations that outsiders can't understand at all.

In the radio world, for example, everyone knows when the word "KoGe" is mentioned. In the medical field, nobody is surprised when using “EEG”. Technical, legal or scientific acronyms are also standard for many. What exactly does it mean? For those in the know, this is very clear.

In fact, in many industries, nobody uses the "long" version of these words anymore. If you talk about a discussion with colleagues (CoGe) or an electroencephalography (EEG), you will get confused looks. So if you use this in your text for a specialist audience, make sure that you use the more common version. Because in some situations you may create more confusion by calling the matter by its full name.

Ask the company to provide you with a list of the most important abbreviations. You will certainly not become a native speaker in the short time. Therefore, afterwards submit the text to a test reader from the industry, who can point out possible problems to you.