This is a list of commonly and uncommonly used abbreviations that are used in the subject box of an English-language email header.
These prefixes are usually automatically inserted by the email client.
Re:
(disregarding letter case) ought to appear at the very front of the subject line.These words are inserted in the middle of or at the end of the subject, usually by the author.
Subject: Do you know a good babysitter? (WAS: What should we do this weekend?)
; real-world occurrence: lore.kernel.org[2]The following prefixes are often used in software development:
This is a list of abbreviations which are less commonly used in the subject of an English email header:
The email client will typically check for an existing "Re:" when deciding whether or not to add one in front of the subject. However, clients may use different abbreviations if the computer is set up for a non-English language, e.g. "AW:" for German, and this can mean that a conversation between two participants can build up convoluted subject lines like "Re: AW: Re: AW: ..". Whereas "Re:" stands for "re" in Latin (see Standard prefixes), it is often taken to mean "regarding", "reply" or "response" in English, and in most other languages, similarly, the abbreviation corresponds to the word for "response" or "reply."
To avoid the issue of convoluted subject lines mentioned earlier, email clients may have an option to force the use of the standard (RE) and English (FW) abbreviations even when all other features are presented in another language,[3] or to recognize other forms.[4]
Language | RE | FW |
---|---|---|
Arabic | رد | إعادة توجيه |
Simplified Chinese | 回复 | 转发 |
Traditional Chinese | 回覆 | 轉寄 |
Danish | SV (Svar) | VS (Videresendt) |
Dutch | Antw (Antwoord) | Doorst (Doorsturen) |
Finnish | VS (Vastaus) | VL (Välitetty) |
French | REF (Référence) or RE (Réponse) in Canada | TR (Transfert) |
German | AW (Antwort) | WG (Weitergeleitet) |
Greek | ΑΠ (Απάντηση) or ΣΧΕΤ (Σχετικό) | ΠΡΘ (Προωθημένο) |
Hebrew | השב or תשובה | הועבר or העברה |
Hungarian | Vá (Válasz) | Továbbítás |
Italian | R or RIF (Riferimento) | I (Inoltro) |
Icelandic | SV (Svara) | FS (Framsenda) |
Indonesian | BLS (Balas) | TRS (Terusan) |
Latvian | Atb. (Atbilde) | Pārs. (Pārsūtīts) |
Norwegian | SV (Svar) | VS (Videresendt) |
Swedish | SV (Svar) | VB (Vidarebefordrat) |
Spanish | RE (Respuesta) | RV (Reenviado) |
Portuguese | RES (Resposta) | ENC (Encaminhado) |
Polish | Odp (Odpowiedź) | PD (Podaj dalej) |
Tamil | பதில் | முன்னனுப்பு |
Turkish | YNT (Yanıt) | İLT (İlet) |
Welsh | ATB (Ateb) | YML (Ymlaen) |