The spelling is "cf."

I would say it is fairly common in scholarly English texts, but I also have the impression that "vgl." is more common in German.

It is sometimes used where "see" or "see also" would be more appropriate. Perhaps this is more common in German.

So is there a difference between "see" and "cf."? Now I realize that I have always used (and read) "see" when I would have used "vgl." in German...

cp. = compare

gibt es auch noch ;-)

@xanderl: Meine Güte :-)!
just checked it in leo, but have never seen it before in any text... So what's the most common on? Simply, what the heck should I put instead of vgl.? "See" sounds pretty familiar to me, but that might be the German perspective...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cf.

'Cf.' usually means that the referenced citation will repeat or elaborate on the citing passage. Hence the command's meaning of "compare", same as German 'vgl.'

Cf. is vastly more common than cp. In English, footnote vocabulary is all Latin, except probably for 'cp.'. That's another reason not to use 'cp.'

Im britischen Englisch manchmal auch ohne Punkt:

cf (so im Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

see = siehe (s.)
vgl. = cp. (or cf.)

There are explicit translations, aren't there?

I can't proof it but I thing in German "vgl." is simply more common than "siehe". In my opinion both expressions are acceptable in most cases.

If you want a difference:
Personally I would prefer "vgl." when meaning "I'm talking about the same thing but did arrive at another conclusion than in the referenced citation"
and "siehe" when meaning "see there for further explanations" when it's basically the same as in the referenced citation.

Examples (yes, I'm doing a technical report right now ;) )
a) I evaluated the simulation model and found the coefficient to be 2.5 (see cit.) [when the value is 2.5 there too]
b) I evaluated the simulation model and found the coefficient to be 2.5 (vgl cit.) [when the value is other than 2.5 there]
c) Other scientists have evaluated the simulation model before and have found the coefficient to be 4.2. whereas my own evaluations did result in 2.5 (see cit.) [self-explanatory, isn't it? Well, the sentence itself could be better but you know what I mean, right?]

But as I stated in the beginning both expressions may be used equally and it depends on the rest of the sentence.

Compare these style guide entries:

Chicago Manual of Style Online (16th Edition)

14.37 “See” and “cf.”

Notes are often used to invite readers to consult further resources. When doing so, authors should keep in mind the distinction between see and cf., using cf. only to mean “compare” or “see, by way of comparison.” Neither term is italicized in notes (though see is italicized in indexes; see 16.22).

22. For further discussion of this problem, see Jones, Conflict, 49.
23. Others disagree with my position; cf. Fisher and Ury, Getting to Yes, 101–3.

The Oxford Guide to Style, pp. 574-5

The abbreviation cf. (confer 'compare') is used to signal that one item is to be compared with another elsewhere (cf. Phipps (n. 16 above) 34-40). Do not confuse 'cf.' with 'see', which has a broader purpose. Editors encountering only the former in references may be right in thinking the author has made no distinction between the two forms

And then see how these German style guides describe the usage of vgl.:

2.2. Sinngemässes Zitieren
Bei sinngemäss übernommenen Quellen wird die Textstelle mit der Abkürzung ‚vgl.’ (= vergleiche) und dem Namen der Autorin/des Autors gekennzeichnet. Die Zitate werden nicht in Anführungs- und Schlusszeichen gesetzt.

from University of Freiburg, ZITATE, QUELLENVERWEISE UND LITERATURVERZEICHNISSE GEMÄSS APA-RICHTLINIEN

http://www.unifr.ch/pedg/bild_foto_logo/zitie...

Kurzzitierweise bei Fußnoten:
Bei indirekten Zitaten erfolgt in den Fußnoten dieser Verweis:
Vgl. Mustermann, K. (2005), S. 196.

from the Regensburg Uni style guide (economics)

http://www-cgi.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/...

A1.2 Sinngemäße Zitate
Sinngemäße Zitate enthalten keine Anführungszeichen. Auch wird der Originaltext einer anderen Sprache nicht mit abgedruckt. Der Leser sollte wissen, daß solche Zitate bereits auf einer Interpretation des zitierenden Autors beruhen können. Kenntlich gemacht wird die Quelle eines sinngemäßen Zitats durch ein "vgl." (= vergleiche) vor der Literaturangabe.

from the Hamburg Uni style guide (pedagogics)

http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=gestalt...

Conclusion: cf. is an invitation to compare what has been written with something that has been written elsewhere. vgl. is used to summarise the argument made by someone else in your own words.