Abbreviations of units
Units of length, weight, and many other quantities are abbreviations:
|
Unit name |
Abbreviation |
Unit name |
Abbreviation |
|
ampere |
A |
inch |
in |
|
degrees Celsius |
°C |
joule |
J |
|
calorie |
cal |
kilogram |
kg |
|
carat |
kt |
litre |
1 / L |
|
cent |
c |
metre |
m |
|
centimetre |
cm |
miles per hour |
mph |
|
coulomb |
C |
milligram |
mg |
|
degrees Fahrenheit |
°F |
minute |
min |
|
dozen |
doz |
ounce |
oz |
|
foot |
ft |
pound |
lb |
|
gallon |
gal |
yard |
yd |
|
hertz |
Hz |
year |
yr |
|
hour |
h |
You need to use a space between the number and the abbreviation. Also, there is no need to use a period after the abbreviation.
If you’re using the abbreviation as an adjective rather than as a direct measurement of the unit, then you need to put a hyphen between the number and the abbreviation. For instance, in this sentence, we’re using the abbreviation as an adjective:
Go get us a 20-kg bag of potatoes.
‘20-kg’ is an adjective describing the noun ‘bag’. So we need to put a hyphen between the ‘20’ and the abbreviation ‘kg’. However, there’s no need to use a hyphen when we’re using a linking verb and a subject complement:
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