Acronym is the set of initial letters of words that are used to name companies and organizations, states, countries, among others.
Examples:
- UN - United Nations
- FGTS - Severance Indemnity Fund
- CLT - Consolidation of Labor Laws
- USP – University of São Paulo
- CNH - National Driver's License
- BR - Brazil
- USA - United States of America
How to use acronyms?
1. Acronyms with up to three letters are all written in capital letters.
Examples:
- CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation)
- CPF (Register of Natural Persons)
- RS (Rio Grande do Sul)
2. When there are more than three letters, only the first one is capitalized, unless all the letters are pronounced separately.
Examples:
- Petrobras (Petroleo Brasileiro, SA)
- Embraer (Brazilian Aeronautics Company)
- BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development)
3. Consecrated forms must be respected.
Examples:
- ECT (Brazilian Post and Telegraph Company) and not EBCT
- CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development)
- MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
4. Never use dots between letters in an acronym.
Examples:
- Masp (São Paulo Art Museum) and not M.a.s.p.
- CEP (postal address code) and not C.E.P.
- DF (Federal District) and not DF
5. The plural of acronyms is made with the addition of the lowercase letter s and is not preceded by an apostrophe.
Examples:
- CPIs (Parliamentary Inquiry Commissions) and not CPI's
- NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations)
- PMs (Military Police)
6. Pay attention to the words to agree the acronyms according to male or female gender.
Examples:
- The WHO (World Health Organization)
- UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
7. Foreign acronyms must be explained
- The case is being investigated by the FBI, the US federal police.
- The new chairman of the Fed, the US central bank, was introduced today.
- Those were data from FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Acronyms and meanings
THE
- FTAA - Free Trade Area of the Americas
- ABI - Brazilian Press Association
- Stroke - Stroke
B
- BN - National Library
- Bovespa - São Paulo Stock Exchange
- BR - Brazil
Ç
- CBF - Brazilian Football Confederation
- Zip Code - Postal Address Code
- CPF (Register of Natural Persons
D
- DDD - Direct Distance Dialing
- IUD - Intrauterine Device
- DNER - National Department of Highways
AND
- Embraer - Brazilian Aeronautics Company
- Embratel - Brazilian Telecommunications Company
- USA - United States of America
F
- FAB - Brazilian Air Force
- FGTS - Severance Indemnity Fund
- Funai - National Indian Foundation
I
- IBGE - Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
- Inepro - National Institute of Professional Education
- INSS - National Institute of Social Security
O
- OAB - Brazilian Bar Association
- NGO - Non-governmental organization
- UN - United Nations
P
- Petrobras - Petróleo Brasileiro, SA
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- PUC - Pontifical Catholic University
s
- Senac - National Service for Commercial Learning
- Senai - National Service for Industrial Learning
- SI - International System of Units
Acronyms of Brazilian States
- AC - Acre
- AL - Alagoas
- AM - Amazons
- AP - Amapá
- Bahia - BA
- Ceará - CE
- Federal District - DF
- Holy Spirit - ES
- Goiás - GO
- Maranhão - MA
- Minas Gerais - MG
- Mato Grosso do Sul - MS
- Mato Grosso - MT
- Para - PA
- Pernambuco - PE
- Paraíba - PB
- Piauí - PI
- Paraná - PR
- Rio de Janeiro - RJ
- Rio Grande do Norte - RN
- Roraima - RR
- Rio Grande do Sul - RS
- Santa Catarina - SC
- Sergipe - SE
- Sao Paulo-SP
- Tocantins - TO
There are acronyms that are also acronyms. Acronyms are acronyms that can be read as a word. This is the case of the UN, UNESCO, PUC, Anatel and Petrobras, for example.
And the abbreviations?
abbreviation is a contraction of the word, a summary of the word. It is a facility used to summarize the word and streamline the writing without harming the message content.
Abbreviations are used in everyday words and in pronouns treatment.
Examples:
- Av. (avenue)
- Cinema (cinema)
- V. Your Honor (Your Honor)
Read too:
Abbreviations
abbreviation of hours