List of Yiddish abbreviations


This is a list of Yiddish Abbreviations.

Sorting Order

The entries are sorted according to the Hebrew alphabet. Prefixes indicating prepositions and articles have generally been removed, with the following exceptions:
  • Where the abbreviation is incomprehensible or meaningless without the prefix
  • Where the prefix is so integral to the acronym that variants without it rarely, if ever, occur
For ease of searching and sorting, double letters have been treated as if they were two separate letters.

Numeronyms and other abbreviations with numerical elements

Some abbreviations included here are actually gematria, but the number is so closely associated with some noun that it is grammatically used as a noun and is synonymous with it, for example ל"ו, lamed vov.
Other abbreviations contain a variable gematria component alongside other words, like the chapter references פי"א perek yud-alef or פ"ט perek tet. Rather than list separate entries for every possible gematria, or use only one example number, the gematria component is replaced with to produce "פ.

Abbreviations from other Hebraic languages

Some Hebrew and Aramaic abbreviations may not be included here; more may be found in the List of Hebrew abbreviations and the List of Aramaic abbreviations, respectively.
Many of the abbreviations here may be similar or identical to those in the other lists of acronyms. In fact, a work written in Yiddish may have Hebrew and Aramaic abbreviations interspersed throughout, much as an Aramaic work may borrow from Hebrew and Hebrew from Aramaic. Although somewhat less common than Hebrew abbreviations, some Yiddish material contains Aramaic abbreviations too.

Stylistic Guide and Orthography

There are many different ways that abbreviations, acronyms, and letter words can be notated in Yiddish. Below are some general principles that can guide one in how to denote different types of abbreviations using punctuation.
  • For weights, measures, and units of currency, no punctuation is required. These should only be used following a number, not when following a word.
  • For first or last names, use a period
  • For titles and bibliographical items, use a single apostrophe following the first letter
  • *To create a plural of the above, use a single apostrophe following the first letter doubled
  • When truncating a word to its first syllable, use a single apostrophe following that syllable
  • If using two or more words, use a double apostrophe before the initial letter of the last word
  • If an abbreviation has become a word in its own right,, the apostrophe can be omitted entirely
  • International letter words are transliterated and hyphenated together
There are additionally other abbreviations that utilize single or double apostrophes in various combinations.

List

א

  • און אַנדערע, א"א – and others, et al; etc.
  • *Variant: א"אַנד
  • .און א‌ַלזא װײַטער, א.א.װ - and so on
  • .און אזוי װײַטער, א.א.װ - and so on
  • אויפֿן אַדרעס פֿון, א"אַפֿ –, in care of
  • אם-ירצה-הסם, אי"ה -hashem/mirt – God willing

ב

  • באַנד, ב׳ – volume
  • *בענד/בענדער, בב׳ – volumes
  • בסך-הכּל, בס"ה – all told, in all

ג

  • גראַם, ג – gram

ד

  • דאָלאַר, ד – dollar(s)
  • דאָס הייסט, ד״ה – that is, i.e.
  • דאָס ציטירטע װערק, דצ"װ – the cited work, op. cit.
  • דאָקטאָר/דאָקטער, ד"ר – doctor

ה

  • השם, ה׳ – "the ineffable Name ", the Eternal One
  • הער, ה׳ – Mr.
  • * הערן, הה׳ – Messrs.
  • העפֿט, ה׳ – fascicle, issue
  • השם-יתברך, הש"י – "the Name, blessed be He", the Lord, God

ז

  • זײַט, ז׳ – page
  • *זײַטלעך, זז׳ – pages
  • ז"ל – used for several grammatical variants of an honorific for the dead
  • *זכונה לבֿרכה – "may her memory be a blessing"
  • *זיכרונו לבֿרכה – "may his memory be a blessing"
  • *זיכרונם לבֿרכה – "may their memory be a blessing"

ח

  • חבֿר, ח׳ – friend, colleague
  • *חבֿרים, חח׳ – friends, colleagues
  • *חבֿרטע, ח'טע – ' Miss, Mrs.; Comrade '
  • חס-ושלום, ח"ו – not at all!; by no means!; God forbid!
  • חס-וחלילה, ח"ו – under no circumstances; Heaven help us!
  • "ח, חלק - part

י

  • יארצייט, יא"צ - anniversary of someone's passing, lit. time of year
  • יאָרהונדערט, י"ה – century

ל

  • למד-װאָװניק, ל"וניק – one of the 36 Righteous Men
  • לפּרט-גדול, לפּ"ג – expressed with the thousands
  • לפּרט-קטן, לפּ"ק – expressed without the thousands

כּ

  • כּתבֿ-יד, כּ"י - manuscript
  • כּמה ערטער, כּ"ע - passim

מ

  • 'מ, משנה - teaching

נ

  • ניו-יאָרק, נ"י – New York
  • נרו יאיר, נ"י – "may his light shine", wish for long life added after mentioning someone in a letter
  • נאָך מיטאָג, נ"מ – in the afternoon
  • נאָך קריסטוסן, נ"ק – AD, CE

ס

  • "ס, סמן - chapter/section
  • "ספ, סוף פרק - the end of chapter
  • סיאָניסטי סאָציאַליסטי, ס"ס – Zionist Socialist Workers Party. While the initials of this political party are often written as S.S. in Latin letters, this is not to be confused with the German SS, which is an international letter word and written "עס-עס".

פּ

  • 'פּ, פּרק - chapter . But, see פּ"ק
  • פּרק קמא, פּ"ק - the first chapter. See also 'פּ
  • 'פּראַפֿעסאָר, פּראַפֿ – professor

פֿ

  • פֿאַר מיטאָג, פֿ"מ – in the morning
  • פֿאַר קריסטוסן, פֿ"ק – BC, BCE

צ

ק

  • .ּקאַפּיטל/קאַפּיטלעך, קאַפּ'/קאַפ - chapter, esp. of the Book of Psalms