This is a list of Hebrew abbreviations.
This list is far from complete; you can help by expanding it.
Using this list
Sorting order
The entries are sorted according to the Hebrew alphabet. Prefixes indicating prepositions, conjunctions and articles (such as ) have generally been removed, with the following exceptions: Where the acronym is incomprehensible or meaningless without the prefix. Where the prefix is so integral to the acronym that variants without it rarely, if ever, occur.
In addition, suffixes modifying abbreviations have been removed using the same guidelines. When searching for an abbreviation ending in a plural, adjectival, or possessive suffix like the suffix should be removed if not an integral part of the abbreviation, as described in regard to prefixes above. Depending on the typography, note that the gershayim () may either:
Move to the penultimate position, even if the mark falls in the modifying suffix and not the abbreviation proper; or Remain in its place within said proper and not shift with the added suffix. Sometimes, depending on style, the suffix is marked with a geresh (׳), so that for example the plural of would be .
Partially-abbreviated phrases
Where only part of a term is abbreviated (for example, abbreviates as ), the entry is sorted on the abbreviated portion (דב״א), and the unabbreviated portion appears in square brackets ([תנא]) to produce תנא] דב״א].
Abbreviations with numerical elements
Some abbreviations included here are actually gematria (Hebrew numeronyms), but the number is so closely associated with some noun that it is grammatically used as a noun and is synonymous with it, for example ב״ן, Ban.
Other abbreviations contain a variable gematria component alongside other words, like the chapter references פי״א perek yud-alef (chapter 11) or פ״ט perek tet (chapter 9). Rather than list separate entries for every possible gematria, or use only one example number, the gematria component is replaced with [x] to produce (for example) [x]פ״.
Abbreviations from other Hebraic languages
Some Aramaic and Yiddish abbreviations may not be included here; more may be found in the List of Aramaic acronyms and the List of Yiddish acronyms, respectively.
Many of the abbreviations here may be similar or identical to those in the other lists of acronyms. In fact, a work written in Hebrew may have Aramaic acronyms interspersed throughout (ex. Tanya), much as an Aramaic work may borrow from Hebrew (ex. Talmud, Midrash, Zohar). Although much less common than Aramaic abbreviations, some Hebrew material contains Yiddish abbreviations too (for example, Chassidic responsa, commentaries, and other material).
Abbreviation-like non-abbreviations
Not all lexemes containing a geresh (׳) or gershayim (״) are abbreviations, and such non-abbreviations do not appear in this list. Therefore, if after much effort an abbreviation still cannot be deciphered, it is sometimes helpful to try an alternate mode of interpretation. For instance, aside from abbreviations, the geresh and gershayim marks may also be used: