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The following abbreviations are common in Esperanto writing and publishing. Some of them are found principally in want-ads seeking correspondents “on all topics” or “in all countries.”
A period is used immediately after an abbreviation, if at all, only when the abbreviation does not include the last letter of the abbreviated word. (Some common abbreviations, such as k, ktp, or ptm, also normally omit it.) Often a hyphen is used to represent the missing letters in the middle of a word.
| a.K. | antaŭ Kristo | BC/BCE |
| A.K.S. | Akademio Internacia de Sciencoj | International Academy of Sciences |
| atm | antaŭtagmeze | a.m. |
| bv. | bonvolu | please |
| C.O. | Centra Oficejo | Central Office (usually of the U.E.A.) |
| ĉ. | ĉirkaŭ | around |
| ĉ. | ĉiuj, ĉio | all |
| dez. kor. | deziras korespondi | wants to correspond |
| div. t. | diversaj temoj | various topics |
| d-ro | doktoro | Dr. |
| E. | Esperanto | Esperanto |
| ekz. | ekzemple | for example, e.g. |
| esp-ist(in)o | esperantisto | Esperanto speaker |
| ev. | eventuale, eventuala | in the end, possible |
| f-ino | fraŭlino | Miss |
| ges-anoj | gesamideanoj | fellow Esperantists |
| ges-roj | gesinjoroj | Mr. & Mrs.; ladies & gentlemen |
| gld. | guldeno(j) | Dutch guilder* |
| I.K.U. | Internacia Kongresa Universitato | International Convention University (portion of the annual U.K. given over to university-style lectures, usually on scientific subjects) |
| I.L. | Internacia Lingvo | international language (i.e., Esperanto) |
| inĝ. | inĝeniero | engineer (used as a title in many countries, like Mr.) |
| j. | jaro | year |
| k | kaj | and |
| k.a. | kaj aliaj | and others, et. al. |
| K.C.E. | Kultura Centro Esperantista | Esperanto Cultural Center (a language school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) |
| k.e.p. | kiel eble plej | as … as possible |
| k.e.p.b. | kiel eble plej baldaŭ | as soon as possible |
| KOVIM-19 | kronvirusan malsanon de 2019 | COVID-19 |
| k.s. | kaj simile, kaj similaj | and similarly, and similar (ones) |
| k.t.p. | kaj tiel plu | and so forth, etc. |
| L.I. | Lingvo Internacia | international language (i.e., Esperanto) |
| L.K. | Landa Kongreso | national convention |
| L.K.K. | Loka Kongresa Komitato | local convention committee |
| NRO | Neregistra Organizo | non-governmental organization (associated with the United Nations) |
| p.K. | post Kristo | AD/CE |
| pm. | poŝtmarko | postage stamp |
| prof. | profesoro | professor |
| proks. | proksimume | approximately, ca. |
| ptm | posttagmeze | p.m. |
| rpk | respondkupono | International Reply Coupon** |
| red. | redaktoro; redakcio | editor; editorial office |
| s-ano | samideano | fellow Esperantist |
| s-ino | sinjorino | Mrs. |
| s-ro | sinjoro | Mr. |
| t.e. | tio estas | that is, i.e. |
| tm. | tutmonde | all over the world |
| TEJO | Tutmonda Esperantista Junulara Organizo | World Esperanto Youth Organization | TTT | Tut-Tera Teksaĵo | World Wide Web (WWW) |
| U.E.A. | Universala Esperanto-Asocio | Universal Esperanto Association |
| U.K. | Universala Kongreso | Worldwide Convention (of Esperanto) |
| UTK | Universala Tempo Kunordigita | UTC = Coordinated Universal Time (= GMT)*** |
*-Because the Universal Esperanto Association is headquartered in the Netherlands, prices of books, subscriptions, etc. were formerly usually cited in guilder in Esperanto publications. Dutch guilder (singular: gulden) were also called florins in English, and the abbreviation “Hfl” interchanged with “NLG” in international banking circles. With the advent of the Euro (€) in 1999, UEA shifted its bookkeeping to that currency, and today prices are cited in Euros or, occasionally, dollars more or less standardly throughout the Esperanto-speaking world.
**-International Reply Coupons are sold in post offices around the world. Each coupon is good anywhere in the world for the price of a stamp back to the country in which the coupon was issued. These coupons make it possible to write to someone in another country and prepay the return postage, but during the Cold War they were used by Esperantists to settle small debts, so prices were occasionally quoted in them. Their use is quite expensive, and they have gradually fallen out of favor with the paying public, the more so with the growth of electronic mail, faxes, and other telecommunications services that are faster and cheaper means of international communication, and with the internationalization of credit cards (and in some countries small inter-bank or post-office cash transfers) as a way of making international purchases. Most Esperanto speakers today have probably never actually seen “rpk.”
***The rise of the Worldwide Web (TTT) resulted in ever more meetings and other events that span time zones. For such events the standard citation of time is therefore UTC (UTK), using 24-hour notation. Events scheduled between 12:00 o’clock (i.e., noon) and 18:00 o’clock (i.e., 4 pm) UTC fall in the morning in the Americas, in the evening in Europe and Africa and late at night in Asia & Oceania.