Email acronyms or abbreviations are using to save our time and help us to read and write faster. It makes sense when your mailbox is busy and you don’t have enough time to answer with long, detailed messages. But what in case the email is written in your native language but you still don’t understand used words?
Then Google search is a lifesaver. To help you to understand what your workmates want from you, we prepared a list of frequently used acronyms and abbreviations you should know:
- RE in the email subject line stands from "reply" and it means the answer to the previous message under the same subject line.
- FW is a forwarded message. Also written as "FWD: ", "Fwd: " or "FW: ".
- NRN - No Reply Necessary.
- Y/N - Yes or No? Sender expects a simple answer from the receiver, no long explanation required.
- OOO - Out of office. Means that you’re not at work when you reply to the email.
- WFH - Working from home. This way you can let others know that you’re working remotely for the day.
- EOD - End of Day, EOW - End of Week.
- FYI - For Your Information.
- LET - Leaving Early Today. Many people works between 9 and 5 so this is an alert that somebody’s work schedule changed.
- IMO or IMHO - In My (Humble) Opinion. Anyone wants to be recognizable as a big-headed, everything-knowing person. So this is a form of being polite and humble while writing an opinion.
- AR - Action Requires. This stands usually in the email subject line and it highlights there’s an action to do from your side.
- EOM - End of Message. In practice that serves for very short messages that can be understood by reading the subject.
- SFW - Safe For Work. It is used for information the recipient that the message is safe to open, even though the file name may seem inappropriate.