CH
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Geography & Places, Writing & Everyday, Military, Units & Measurements |
| Also written | ch, ch. |
CH has four meanings. The most common are Switzerland (country code) and Chapter (citation and bibliography); it can also stand for Cargo helicopter and Chain.
Meanings of CH at a glance
| # | CH stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 2 | Chapter | Writing & Everyday › Citation and Bibliography |
| 3 | Cargo helicopter | Military › Weapon and Military Equipment |
| 4 | Chain | Units & Measurements › US Customary and Imperial Unit |
1. Switzerland
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Switzerland's code comes from its Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica, chosen because the country has four national languages. Bern is the federal city, alpha-3 is CHE, and the Swiss franc is CHF.
Example: Swiss IBANs begin with CH and contain 21 characters.
The .ch domain and the CH vehicle sticker both use the Latin initials. Switzerland is not in the EU but belongs to the Schengen area. CH also abbreviates chapter and, in chemistry, a carbon-hydrogen group.
2. Chapter (ch.)
Writing & Everyday · Citation and Bibliography Abbreviations
Identifies a chapter of a book in citations, cross-references and reading assignments, as in "ch. 4." Some styles prefer the variant chap.
Example: Read ch. 7 of the textbook before Thursday's lecture on supply and demand.
Chicago uses "chap." in notes and bibliographies, MLA uses "ch.," and APA writes "Chapter" in full. When citing a chapter in an edited book, the chapter's author and title come before the book title. Legal citations also use "ch." for chapters of statutes and session laws.
3. Cargo helicopter
Military · Weapon and Military Equipment Abbreviations
US mission designation for heavy-lift helicopters, such as the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook used by the Army and the CH-53K King Stallion used by the Marine Corps.
Example: The CH-47 slung the howitzer beneath it and flew it to the firebase.
The Chinook first flew in 1961 and remains in production in updated versions. In geography, CH is the country code for Switzerland, from Confoederatio Helvetica. Heavy-lift helicopters move artillery, vehicles and supplies to places trucks cannot reach.
4. Chain (ch)
Units & Measurements · US Customary and Imperial Unit Abbreviations
A surveyor's measure of 66 feet, equal to 22 yards, 4 rods or 100 links. It underlies the acre (10 square chains) and survives in old property deeds, the US public land survey and cricket, whose pitch is one chain long.
Example: The deed describes the north boundary as running 12 ch along the creek.
Introduced by English mathematician Edmund Gunter in 1620, whose physical chain of 100 metal links made field measurement easy to calculate. Eighty chains make a mile, and one chain by one furlong makes an acre. Railways in the UK still mark distances in miles and chains.
Related abbreviations
More country code abbreviations
- CC – Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- CD – Democratic Republic of the Congo
- CF – Central African Republic
- CG – Republic of the Congo
- CHI – Chile
- CI – Côte d'Ivoire
- CK – Cook Islands
- CL – Chile
See all 270 country code abbreviations →