Common Abbreviations

Level 4

Ég borða mikið af ávöxtum, t.d. epli og banana. (I eat a lot of fruit, for example apples and bananas.) Read t.d. aloud as til dæmis.

How It Works

The most common ones.

  • t.d.: til dæmis (for example)
  • þ.e.: það er (that is), and þ.e.a.s.: það er að segja (that is to say)
  • o.s.frv.: og svo framvegis (and so on)
  • o.fl.: og fleira (and more)
  • m.a.: meðal annars (among other things)
  • u.þ.b.: um það bil (about, roughly)
  • a.m.k.: að minnsta kosti (at least)
  • e.t.v.: ef til vill (perhaps)
  • þ. á m.: þar á meðal (including)

Short words on signs and forms. kl. (klukkan), kr. (krónur), nr. (númer, number), bls. (blaðsíða, page), ath. (athugið, please note), sbr. (samanber, compare) and skv. (samkvæmt, according to). Company names often end in ehf. (einkahlutafélag, a private limited company).

How to write them. Put a period after each shortened word: t.d., o.s.frv. A word written in full gets no period. In þ. á m. the word á is not shortened, so it has no period, and spaces separate the parts.

Reading aloud. Say the full words: kl. 8 is klukkan átta, and u.þ.b. 50 manns is um það bil fimmtíu manns.

Use the Icelandic ones. English abbreviations such as e.g. and i.e. are not used in Icelandic text. Use t.d. and þ.e. instead.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég borða mikið af ávöxtum, t.d. epli og banana.

    I eat a lot of fruit, for example apples and bananas.

    Word by Word: I eat much of fruits, e.g. apples and bananas.

  2. Ferðin tekur u.þ.b. tvo tíma.

    The trip takes about two hours.

    Word by Word: The-trip takes approx. two hours.

    Read aloud: um það bil tvo tíma.

  3. Hún talar mörg tungumál, þ. á m. pólsku og japönsku.

    She speaks many languages, including Polish and Japanese.

    Word by Word: She speaks many languages, incl. Polish and Japanese.

  4. Við þurfum a.m.k. tíu stóla.

    We need at least ten chairs.

    Word by Word: We need at-least ten chairs.

  5. Fundurinn byrjar kl. 9, þ.e. eftir hálftíma.

    The meeting starts at 9, that is, in half an hour.

    Word by Word: The-meeting begins o'clock 9, i.e. after half-hour.

  6. Í pokanum voru m.a. brauð, ostur og mjólk.

    The bag had bread, cheese and milk, among other things.

    Word by Word: In the-bag were among-other-things bread, cheese and milk.

Common Mistakes

  • Using an English abbreviation.

    Ég borða mikið af ávöxtum, e.g. epli og banana.
    Ég borða mikið af ávöxtum, t.d. epli og banana.

    Icelandic has its own abbreviations. e.g. is English; the Icelandic one is t.d. (til dæmis).

  • Putting a period after a word that is written in full.

    Hún talar mörg tungumál, þ.á.m. pólsku og japönsku.
    Hún talar mörg tungumál, þ. á m. pólsku og japönsku.

    In þar á meðal the word á is not shortened, so it gets no period. The spelling rules put a period only after a shortened word, and dictionaries write þ. á m.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Common AbbreviationsLevel 4

Learn This First

Abbreviations build on og and það er.

Words in This Pattern

til dæmisum það bilframvegismeðalannars