WA is the two-letter postal abbreviation for the American state of Washington, in the far northwest corner of the United States — the state whose biggest city is Seattle. It is written, not spoken: you see it in addresses, on forms, in tables and on maps (Seattle, WA 98101), and when you read it aloud you say 'Washington'. Both letters are capitals and there are no full stops, because that is the style the US Postal Service set for all fifty states.

the American state of Washington美國華盛頓州 in the far northwest corner of the United States在美國最西北角 whose biggest city is Seattle最大城市是西雅圖 WA is WA就是 the two-letter postal abbreviation兩個字母的郵政縮寫。 It is written, not spoken這是用寫的，不是用說的， you see it in addresses, on forms, in tables and on maps你會在地址、表格、表裡和地圖上看到它，例如 (Seattle, WA 98101)， when you read it aloud you say 'Washington'唸出聲時你會說『Washington』。 Both letters are capitals兩個字母都要大寫， there are no full stops中間也不加句點， because that is the style the US Postal Service set for all fifty states因為這是美國郵政總局為全部五十州訂下的格式。

The important thing here is which Washington. The United States has two famous places with that name: Washington State on the Pacific coast, and Washington, D.C., the capital city, which sits on the opposite side of the country and is not a state at all. Their abbreviations are different — WA for the state, DC for the capital — and Americans often say 'Washington State' out loud precisely to keep the two apart. If you are writing an address, choosing the wrong one sends your letter about 4,000 kilometres astray.

The important thing here重點在於 which Washington是哪個Washington。 The United States has two famous places with that name美國有兩個有名的地方叫這個名字： Washington State on the Pacific coast太平洋岸的華盛頓州， and Washington, D.C., the capital city還有首都華盛頓特區， which sits on the opposite side of the country它位在國家的另一邊， and is not a state at all而且根本不是一個州。 Their abbreviations are different他們的縮寫不一樣， WA for the state州是WA， DC for the capital首都是DC， and Americans often say 'Washington State' out loud所以美國人常會特別把『Washington State』講出來 precisely to keep the two apart就是為了把兩者分開。 If you are writing an address如果你在寫地址， choosing the wrong one選錯了 sends your letter about 4,000 kilometres astray會讓信寄偏大約四千公里。

Two smaller notes. In Australia, WA stands for Western Australia, so context decides which country you are in.

Two smaller notes還有兩個小提醒。 In Australia在澳洲， WA stands for Western AustraliaWA是指西澳， so context decides which country you are in所以要看情境才知道是在講哪個國家。

And in Taiwan and much of Asia, people sometimes type WA informally to mean WhatsApp — that is chat slang, not standard English, and you should not use it in any formal writing.

in Taiwan and much of Asia在台灣和亞洲很多地方， people sometimes type WA informally to mean WhatsApp有人會隨手打WA來指WhatsApp， that is chat slang這是聊天用語， not standard English不是正式英文， and you should not use it in any formal writing正式寫作裡不要這樣用。