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Spanish abbreviations
The short answer
Use a full stop with most abbreviations: pág., Sr. and aprox. Preserve written accents, as in pág., and keep spaces in multiword forms such as p. ej. and EE. UU.
Write initialisms such as ONU and UE without full stops. Symbols such as km, kg, € and % are different again: they take no full stop and stay unchanged in the plural.
Abbreviation, initialism or symbol?
An abreviatura is a shortened written form read as the complete word: pág. is read página. A sigla is formed from initials and is normally written without points: ONU. A símbolo is an established international or technical sign: km.
Do not remove accents just because a word is shortened. Use pág., not pag. For multiword abbreviations, reproduce their punctuation and spaces exactly.
32 common Spanish abbreviations, initialisms and symbols
The final column shows each form in a short Spanish context. Read an abbreviation as its full expression, but read an initialism according to normal usage.
| Form | Meaning | Spanish example | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| pág. | page (página) | pág. 24 | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| núm. | number (número) | núm. 8 | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| tel. | telephone (teléfono) | tel. 555 0100 | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| aprox. | approximately (aproximadamente) | aprox. 20 minutos | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| etc. | and so on (etcétera) | pan, leche, fruta, etc. | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| p. ej. | for example (por ejemplo) | p. ej., el lunes | Keep the full stops and spaces shown in this multiword abbreviation. |
| a. C. | BC (antes de Cristo) | siglo I a. C. | Keep the full stops and spaces shown in this multiword abbreviation. |
| d. C. | AD (después de Cristo) | siglo II d. C. | Keep the full stops and spaces shown in this multiword abbreviation. |
| Sr. | Mr (señor) | Sr. Pérez | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| Sra. | Mrs or Ms (señora) | Sra. García | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| Srta. | Miss (señorita) | Srta. López | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| D. | Don | D. Miguel | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| D.ª | Doña | D.ª Carmen | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| Dr. | doctor | Dr. Ruiz | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| Dra. | female doctor (doctora) | Dra. Martín | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| Uds. | you, plural or formal (ustedes) | ¿Pueden Uds. venir? | The plural is marked inside the abbreviation. |
| lun. | Monday (lunes) | lun. 7 de abril | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| ene. | January (enero) | 15 de ene. | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| n.º | number (número) | habitación n.º 12 | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| c/ | street (calle) | c/ Mayor, 10 | This conventional abbreviation ends with a slash, not a full stop. |
| av. | avenue (avenida) | av. del Puerto | An abbreviation normally ends with a full stop. |
| EE. UU. | United States (Estados Unidos) | viaje a EE. UU. | Doubled letters mark a plural word; keep the internal space. |
| RR. HH. | human resources (recursos humanos) | departamento de RR. HH. | Doubled letters mark a plural word; keep the internal space. |
| C. P. | postal code (código postal) | C. P. 28001 | Keep the full stops and spaces shown in this multiword abbreviation. |
| ONU | United Nations | la sede de la ONU | Write this initialism without full stops or spaces. |
| UE | European Union | un país de la UE | Write this initialism without full stops or spaces. |
| ONG | non-governmental organization | trabaja en una ONG | Write this initialism without full stops or spaces. |
| DNI | Spanish identity document | mostrar el DNI | Write this initialism without full stops or spaces. |
| km | kilometre (kilómetro) | 5 km | This is a symbol, not an abbreviation: it takes no full stop and does not change in the plural. |
| kg | kilogram (kilogramo) | 2 kg | This is a symbol, not an abbreviation: it takes no full stop and does not change in the plural. |
| € | euro | 20 € | This is a symbol, not an abbreviation: it takes no full stop and does not change in the plural. |
| % | per cent (por ciento) | 25 % | This is a symbol, not an abbreviation: it takes no full stop and does not change in the plural. |
Learn them by writing system
Grouping the forms by rule is more reliable than memorising one long mixed list.
General writing
Frequent short forms for references, examples and approximate information.
pág. · núm. · tel. · aprox. · etc. · p. ej. · a. C. · d. C.
Titles and people
Forms used before names and for polite or plural address.
Sr. · Sra. · Srta. · D. · D.ª · Dr. · Dra. · Uds.
Dates, addresses and plurals
These forms depend on exact points, spaces, slashes or doubled initials.
lun. · ene. · n.º · c/ · av. · EE. UU. · RR. HH. · C. P.
Initialisms and symbols
Initialisms and symbols omit the full stops used by ordinary abbreviations.
ONU · UE · ONG · DNI · km · kg · € · %
Five rules worth remembering
Most abbreviations close with a full stop: tel. and Dr.
Keep accents that belong to the retained letters: pág. and núm.
Multiword abbreviations keep their spaces: p. ej., C. P. and EE. UU.
Initialisms have no full stops: ONU, UE and ONG.
Symbols have no full stop and no plural ending: 5 km, 2 kg.
Build the same writing habit with these focused guides:
Spanish capitalization rules Spanish punctuation rules Spanish ordinal numbers Spanish email phrases Numbers, dates and time
How to practise the forms
- Cover the expansion and recall what the short form means.
- Type the exact form, including accents, points, spaces and capital letters.
- Put it into a realistic fragment such as pág. 24 or 5 km.
Language sources
Rules and classifications were checked against the Real Academia Española and FundéuRAE on September 4, 2026.
FAQ
Do Spanish abbreviations always end with a full stop?
Most do, but not all. A conventional form such as c/ uses a slash, while initialisms and symbols do not take a full stop.
Why does EE. UU. have spaces and doubled letters?
It abbreviates the plural Estados Unidos. Spanish often doubles the initials of plural words and preserves the internal space.
Do accents disappear in Spanish abbreviations?
No. An abbreviation keeps an accent when the retained letters include the accented vowel, as in pág. and núm.
Is ONU an abbreviation?
More precisely, ONU is a sigla, or initialism. It is written without full stops or spaces.
Copy all 32 forms into Hola Cards
The import list contains each Spanish form and its English meaning. Edit or remove region-specific items before saving your group.
**Spanish abbreviations**
pág. - page (página)
núm. - number (número)
tel. - telephone (teléfono)
aprox. - approximately (aproximadamente)
etc. - and so on (etcétera)
p. ej. - for example (por ejemplo)
a. C. - BC (antes de Cristo)
d. C. - AD (después de Cristo)
Sr. - Mr (señor)
Sra. - Mrs or Ms (señora)
Srta. - Miss (señorita)
D. - Don
D.ª - Doña
Dr. - doctor
Dra. - female doctor (doctora)
Uds. - you, plural or formal (ustedes)
lun. - Monday (lunes)
ene. - January (enero)
n.º - number (número)
c/ - street (calle)
av. - avenue (avenida)
EE. UU. - United States (Estados Unidos)
RR. HH. - human resources (recursos humanos)
C. P. - postal code (código postal)
ONU - United Nations
UE - European Union
ONG - non-governmental organization
DNI - Spanish identity document
km - kilometre (kilómetro)
kg - kilogram (kilogramo)
€ - euro
% - per cent (por ciento)
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