{"id":14381,"date":"2026-01-02T19:37:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/?p=14381"},"modified":"2026-04-01T10:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:35:03","slug":"why-zotero-adds-letters-such-as-a-or-b-to-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/en\/wissen\/warum-zotero-buchstaben-wie-a-oder-b-im-jahr-erganzt\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Zotero adds letters like \u2018a\u2019 or \u2018b\u2019 in the year (and how to fix it)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You cite a source in your paper and suddenly it says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Miller, 2001a)\u00a0<\/strong>and (Miller, 2001b)<\/strong>, obwohl du ganz sicher nur you only use one<\/strong> source by Miller from 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a bug, but rather the expected behaviour of Zotero<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zotero
Zotero inserts a and b after the year in Word<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why this happens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zotero adds letters such as a, b, c<\/strong>if it assumes that more than one source with identical data<\/strong> (author + year) is used in the document. This so-called 'disambiguation'<\/em> is an integral part of citing according to citation rules. This is also programmed into the citation style you're using. The most common trigger for this is not the citation style<\/strong>, BUT your library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The actual cause<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In practice, the problem almost always arises as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The same source was imported into Zotero several times<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Both entries were cited in the document<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Later you realise this and you delete one of the entries in Zotero<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. However, the accompanying citation remains in your Word document<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Zotero \u201esieht\u201c im Dokument weiterhin zwei unterschiedliche Quellen \u2013 auch wenn in der Bibliothek nur noch eine sichtbar ist \u2013 und l\u00f6scht deshalb das „a“ und „b“ nicht.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why does this not resolve automatically<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Zotero citations live inside your document<\/strong>.
    Deleting an entry in Zotero does not remove a citation that has already been inserted into a given Word document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Therefore, it is not sufficient to simply delete duplicates inside your Zotero library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The only clean solution is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Check in Zotero<\/strong>whether duplicates exist
      \u2192 If yes: merge them<\/strong>, don't delete the duplicate!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Remove the affected citation completely from the document.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Insert new citation <\/strong>\u2192 Explicitly select the retained entry<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Einmal auf „Refresh“ oder „Aktualisieren“ klicken<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      After that, the 'a'<\/strong> and 'b'<\/strong> should disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Remember<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Always merge duplicates, never delete them<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Die Disambiguierung\/Unterscheidung ist „by design“<\/strong>, not a bug<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Already inserted citations must be inserted manually again<\/strong> werden (beachte hierbei, dass du die IM DOKUMENT zitierte Quelle benutzt, hier klar unter „Cited Items“ dargestellt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \"Zotero
        Beim Neueinf\u00fcgen unbedingt beachten, dass die Quelle unter „Cited items“ gew\u00e4hlt wird.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Once you understand this behaviour, the problem can be quickly resolved \u2013 and avoided in future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Und falls du weitere g\u00e4ngige Probleme verhindern willst, siehe dazu meinen Artikel „Zotero zickt? So umgehst du Probleme beim Zitieren“.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Why does 2001 suddenly become 2001a? Find out why Zotero adds letters to the year and how you can solve the problem by merging entries correctly.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"brizy-blank-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zotero","category-word"],"blocksy_meta":[],"brizy_media":[{"id":1247,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Deutsche-Zitierweise-Scribbr.png","name":"Deutsche-Zitierweise-Scribbr.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-225f10c8cf5dc5c261ed898d2222dffa.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":1782,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/deutsche-zitierweise2.png","name":"deutsche-zitierweise2.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-53058ef8aa481037f55ae4759cea1364.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":2299,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Quelle-aus-dem-Browser-importieren.png","name":"Quelle-aus-dem-Browser-importieren.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-1b5baaaa65d5aab501e7064a8ede7ad4.png","brizy_post_uid":["c7ee931cda30c20f26974613f293cdc8","163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":2693,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/zotero.org-download.png","name":"zotero.org-download.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-2bc692e00b10cbce94d8d8e483c44ad2.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":2970,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zotero-Browser-connector-installieren.png","name":"zotero-Browser-connector-installieren.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-9d5155a94a15a35d8044ec5c01fa1fa7.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":2971,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zotero-plugin-in-word.png","name":"zotero-plugin-in-word.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-afcd5f107d97686cc24c5fe252303b93.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":2972,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zitieren-mit-word-FOM.png","name":"zitieren-mit-word-FOM.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-1f443173e3b2b1233ff545419112a293.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":2998,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/deutsche-zitierweise-zotero-word.png","name":"deutsche-zitierweise-zotero-word.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-9c2c977a88ca78025aca6027b62f3a40.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":3048,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CSL-Style-Editor-in-Zotero.png","name":"CSL-Style-Editor-in-Zotero.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-d6f9ccaa0d447464e49a0adc2debcfd1.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":3049,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/VisualEditor-fuer-CSL-Zitierstile.png","name":"VisualEditor-fuer-CSL-Zitierstile.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-8ce3fb2dbe3856fbf7252729880704a5.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":3050,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CSL-Specifications-Webseite.png","name":"CSL-Specifications-Webseite.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-ffd88e16337ce58c35df761f5c4e96cc.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":3190,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Zotero-und-CSL-an-der-FOM.png","name":"Zotero-und-CSL-an-der-FOM.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-3880177c15328021c9c06207a3b63bad.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":4180,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Zotero-und-CSL-an-der-DHBW.png","name":"Zotero-und-CSL-an-der-DHBW.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-f3770dd34f9be15f7070ccf765811c54.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":6386,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/FOM-zitieren.png","name":"FOM-zitieren.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-5d827845babc7f6873446a86721e7285.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":9549,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Zoter-Run-JavaScript-Code.png","name":"Zoter-Run-JavaScript-Code.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-7349cc6609a9022ced557f445d8d994e.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":9563,"url":"https:\/\/citationstyler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Zotere-Search-and-Replace-Script-runterladen.png","name":"Zotere-Search-and-Replace-Script-runterladen.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-8060be01fd16fe4986657c60417d5f20.png","brizy_post_uid":["163a8b09433e927ea702e11670aa1add"]}},{"id":9576,"url":"https:\/\/c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