ABV is the short label you see on a bottle of beer, wine, or spirits. The letters stand for alcohol by volume: what share of the drink, as a part of the whole, is alcohol.

ABV is the short label you see on a bottle of beer, wine, or spiritsABV是你在啤酒、葡萄酒或烈酒瓶上看到的簡短標示。The letters stand for alcohol by volume這幾個字母代表alcohol by volume（依體積計算的酒精濃度）：what share of the drink, as a part of the whole, is alcohol也就是這杯飲料裡，整體當中有多少比例是酒精。

A beer at 5% ABV is five parts alcohol in a hundred parts of liquid; a whisky at 40% ABV is much stronger. The number is a percentage, not a secret code, and it is the usual shop-and-label way to say “how strong is this?” People read it as the three letters, or they just say “five percent alcohol”.

A beer at 5% ABV is five parts alcohol in a hundred parts of liquid5% ABV的啤酒就是一百份液體裡有五份是酒精；a whisky at 40% ABV is much stronger40% ABV的威士忌就濃得多了。The number is a percentage, not a secret code這個數字就是百分比，不是什麼密碼，and it is the usual shop-and-label way to say "how strong is this?"是店家和標籤上用來說「這有多濃」的常見方式。People read it as the three letters人們會把它唸成三個字母，or they just say "five percent alcohol"或直接說"five percent alcohol"（酒精濃度百分之五）。

Though actually, older American bottles also talk about proof, which is a different scale (about twice the ABV number), so the same drink can look “80 proof” and “40% ABV” at once.

Though actually不過老實說，older American bottles also talk about proof比較舊的美國酒瓶上還會標proof，which is a different scale這是另一套標準（about twice the ABV number大約是ABV數字的兩倍），so the same drink can look "80 proof" and "40% ABV" at once所以同一瓶酒可以同時標「80 proof」和「40% ABV」。

ABV is labelling language — short and technical. It is not a verb, and it is not the word above.

ABV is labelling languageABV是標示用語——short and technical簡短又專業。It is not a verb它不是動詞，and it is not the word above也不是前面提到的那個字。