British in Different Languages
Discover 'British' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'British' holds a rich tapestry of significance and cultural importance, often evoking images of the monarchy, fine tea, and the rolling hills of the English countryside. Yet, the term extends beyond the borders of England to encompass a broader definition that includes the people, languages, and cultures of the United Kingdom and its dependencies.
Delving into the translations of 'British' in different languages offers a fascinating glimpse into how the concept is perceived and valued across the globe. For instance, in Spanish, 'British' becomes 'británico,' while in French, it transforms into 'britannique.' In Mandarin, the term '英国' (Yīngguó) is used to refer to the United Kingdom, with '英国人' (Yīngguórén) translating to 'British person.'
Join us as we embark on a linguistic journey to explore the translations of 'British' in various languages, uncovering intriguing cultural nuances and historical contexts along the way.
British
British in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | brits | ||
| In Afrikaans, "Brits" can also refer to the town of Brits, located in the North West province of South Africa. | |||
| Amharic | እንግሊዛውያን | ||
| The word እንግሊዛውያን (British) is derived from the name of the Roman province of Britannia. | |||
| Hausa | burtaniya | ||
| The Hausa word 'Burtaniya' comes from 'Briti' in the English language, which means 'of British origin'. | |||
| Igbo | onye britain | ||
| The Igbo word 'Onye Britain' ('British') also means 'white person' or 'European'. | |||
| Malagasy | anglisy | ||
| The word "anglisy" in Malagasy can also refer to the English language or to things related to England or the United Kingdom. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | waku britain | ||
| The word “Waku Britain” can also mean people from the United Kingdom. | |||
| Shona | british | ||
| In Shona, "British" can also refer to a person from the United Kingdom or a person of British descent. | |||
| Somali | ingiriis | ||
| The term 'Ingiriis' in Somali also refers to the English language, which is spoken in the United Kingdom. | |||
| Sesotho | borithane | ||
| The word "Borithane" also refers to a person from Great Britain, and is derived from the English word "British". | |||
| Swahili | waingereza | ||
| The word "Waingereza" literally means "people of the sea" in Swahili, reflecting the British colonial history of arriving by sea. | |||
| Xhosa | ibritane | ||
| The Xhosa word 'IBritane' is derived from the English word 'British', and also refers to a person from the United Kingdom. | |||
| Yoruba | oyinbo | ||
| The word "Oyinbo" in Yoruba can also refer to "white people" in general, regardless of nationality. | |||
| Zulu | ebrithani | ||
| The Zulu word "EBrithani" is derived from the English pronunciation "British," and is often used to refer to British people, their language, or their culture. | |||
| Bambara | tubabukan na | ||
| Ewe | britaintɔwo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | abongereza | ||
| Lingala | bato ya angleterre | ||
| Luganda | omuzungu | ||
| Sepedi | mabrithania | ||
| Twi (Akan) | britaniafo | ||
British in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | بريطاني | ||
| يعود أصل كلمة "بريطاني" إلى كلمة "برت" الكلتية بمعنى "حكم"، والتي تشير إلى حكم روما للمنطقة التي يغطيها المصطلح الآن. | |||
| Hebrew | בריטי | ||
| במאה ה-7 לפנה"ס, השם "בריטי" התייחס גם לעם שישב בצרפת של ימינו. | |||
| Pashto | برتانوي | ||
| In Pashto, the word "برتانوي" also refers to a type of sheep | |||
| Arabic | بريطاني | ||
| يعود أصل كلمة "بريطاني" إلى كلمة "برت" الكلتية بمعنى "حكم"، والتي تشير إلى حكم روما للمنطقة التي يغطيها المصطلح الآن. | |||
British in Western European Languages
| Albanian | britanik | ||
| The Albanian word 'Britanik' has alternate meanings such as 'Britannic' (a steamship) and 'Britannia' (a personification of Britain). | |||
| Basque | britainiarrak | ||
| The word 'Britainiarrak' can also be used to refer to the people of the British Isles, or to people of British descent. | |||
| Catalan | britànic | ||
| El término «Britànic» en catalán proviene del latín «Britannicus» y significa tanto «británico» como «británico antiguo». | |||
| Croatian | britanski | ||
| The word 'britanski' also means 'British' in Croatian | |||
| Danish | britisk | ||
| I dansk kan ordet "Britisk" også henvise til briterne, det britiske folk eller Storbritannien. | |||
| Dutch | brits | ||
| The Dutch word "Brits" comes from the word "bret" (plank), referring to the construction of ships and the close connection with the sea. | |||
| English | british | ||
| Though now strongly associated with the United Kingdom, the word 'British' was first used to describe the Celtic Britons. | |||
| French | britanique | ||
| The original form of the word "Britanique" was "Bretonnique", and it was coined to refer to the Celtic Britons. | |||
| Frisian | britsk | ||
| In Frisian, "Britsk" not only means "British" but also "spotted" or "speckled". | |||
| Galician | británicos | ||
| German | britisch | ||
| Das Wort "britisch" leitet sich von dem keltischen Stamm der Briten ab und bedeutet ursprünglich "in Britannien geboren". | |||
| Icelandic | breskur | ||
| Breskur is also a name for the letter B and a type of old Icelandic coin, the value of which varied according to time. | |||
| Irish | briotanach | ||
| The word "Briotanach" in Irish can also refer to a person from Brittany, France, due to the historical connection between the two regions. | |||
| Italian | britannico | ||
| The term "Britannico" derives from the Latin word "Britannus" which referred to the Celtic inhabitants of Great Britain and may be etymologically linked to Breton "brezhoneg", Welsh "brythoneg", and Old Irish "Bretainec". | |||
| Luxembourgish | britesch | ||
| The word "Britesch" derives from the Old French "britesche" and originally referred to a fortification or tower, later becoming associated with the British people and their language. | |||
| Maltese | ingliżi | ||
| The word "Ingliżi" is derived from the Italian word "Inglese" and originally referred to the English people, but it now encompasses all British people. | |||
| Norwegian | britisk | ||
| I norsk brukes «britisk» også om alt som har med øygruppen Storbritannia å gjøre. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | britânico | ||
| "Britânico" vem do latim "britannicus", que originalmente significava "pertencente à Bretanha", região que corresponde à atual Grã-Bretanha, no Reino Unido. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | breatannach | ||
| "Breatannach" can also refer to a Welsh person, as both Scotland and Wales were once part of a Celtic confederation. | |||
| Spanish | británico | ||
| El término "británico" proviene del latín "brittānicus", que significa "relativo a Bretaña", región histórica del noroeste de Francia. | |||
| Swedish | brittiska | ||
| "Brittiska" is a Swedish adjective that derives from the Old English "Bryttisc" which means "of Britain." | |||
| Welsh | prydeinig | ||
| In Welsh, "Prydeinig" derives from "pryd" (appearance, beauty) and "din" (fort, stronghold), possibly referring to the Britons' fortified settlements. | |||
British in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | брытанскі | ||
| Bosnian | britanski | ||
| U srednjem vijeku, «Britanski» je značilo i «Bretonski». | |||
| Bulgarian | британски | ||
| The word "Британски" can also mean "of or relating to Brittany", a region in northwestern France. | |||
| Czech | britský | ||
| Slovo "britský" v češtině pochází ze staroanglického slova "brettisc", které označovalo Bretonce, keltský národ obývající Británii až do příchodu Anglů a Sasů. | |||
| Estonian | briti | ||
| Lisaks tähendusele “Briti” on sõnal “Briti” ka täiendavaid tähendusi, sealhulgas “Suurbritannia” ja “inglane.” | |||
| Finnish | brittiläinen | ||
| The word "brittiläinen" can also refer to a person or thing that is made in Britain, or to the culture of Britain. | |||
| Hungarian | angol | ||
| In Hungarian, "angol" also means "angular" or "angled", reflecting the shape of Britain's coastline. | |||
| Latvian | lielbritānijas | ||
| Latvian "Lielbritānijas" is derived from the German "Grossbritannien" and also refers to Greater Britain. | |||
| Lithuanian | britų | ||
| "Britų" kilęs iš lotyniško žodžio "Britanni", reiškiančio "Britanijos žmonės" | |||
| Macedonian | британци | ||
| Британци (British) can also mean “people of Britain” or “nationals of Britain”. | |||
| Polish | brytyjski | ||
| The word "brytyjski" can also refer to the Brythonic languages spoken in the British Isles before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. | |||
| Romanian | britanic | ||
| The word "britanic" in Romanian can also refer to "Celtic" or "the language of the Celts". | |||
| Russian | британский | ||
| The word "Британский" can also refer to something that is related to the Breton people or language, as the Breton people are sometimes referred to as "Бретонцы" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | британци | ||
| The word 'Британци' is derived from the Proto-Celtic word 'Brittones', meaning 'painted people', referring to the ancient Britons' practice of painting their bodies with blue woad. | |||
| Slovak | britský | ||
| Slovo "britský" v slovenčine pochádza z latinského slova "britannicus". | |||
| Slovenian | britanski | ||
| Britanki is also the Slovenian translation for the name Brittany. | |||
| Ukrainian | британський | ||
| "Британський" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "Brytt", meaning "Briton", and is cognate with the English word "British". | |||
British in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ব্রিটিশ | ||
| ‘ব্রিটিশ’ শব্দটি ল্যাটিন শব্দ ‘ব্রিটো’ থেকে উৎপন্ন হয়েছে, যার অর্থ ‘স্থানীয়’ বা ‘দেশজ’। | |||
| Gujarati | બ્રિટિશ | ||
| "British" comes from the name of the Celtic tribe who occupied the island of Great Britain. | |||
| Hindi | अंग्रेजों | ||
| The word "अंग्रेजों" can also refer to the British East India Company, which ruled India from 1757 to 1858. | |||
| Kannada | ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷ್ | ||
| Malayalam | ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് | ||
| Marathi | ब्रिटिश | ||
| Nepali | बेलायती | ||
| The word "बेलायती" is derived from the Sanskrit word "बिलायती" which means "foreign" or "from abroad". | |||
| Punjabi | ਬ੍ਰਿਟਿਸ਼ | ||
| ਬ੍ਰਿਟਿਸ਼' शब्द इंग्लैंड, वेल्स, स्कॉटलैंड और उत्तरी आयरलैंड के निवासियों और उनकी संस्कृति को संदर्भित करता है, जिसकी उत्पत्ति 'ब्रिटन' शब्द से हुई है, जो मूल रूप से आयरन एज में दक्षिणी ब्रिटेन में रहने वाले केल्टिक लोगों को संदर्भित करता था। | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බ්රිතාන්ය | ||
| Tamil | பிரிட்டிஷ் | ||
| Telugu | బ్రిటిష్ | ||
| The word 'British' comes from the Latin word 'Britannicus', which means 'of Britain'. The word 'Britain' itself comes from the Celtic word 'Pritani', which means 'the tattooed people'. | |||
| Urdu | برطانوی | ||
| The word "برطانوی" is derived from the Persian word "بريتانيا" (Barītāniyā), meaning "the land of the Britons". The Britons were the Celtic people who inhabited the island of Britain before the Roman conquest. | |||
British in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 英式 | ||
| 英式也可以指英国的，或英国的风格或方式。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 英式 | ||
| 英式一詞源自英語「british」，另可指英格蘭或英國文化相關的事物。 | |||
| Japanese | 英国の | ||
| "英国の" は「ブリテッシュ」と読み、イギリスの他、イギリス人やイギリス文化も意味します。 | |||
| Korean | 영국인 | ||
| 영국인이란 원래는 '브리튼 사람'을 뜻하는데, 후에 잉글랜드 사람만을 지칭하는 용어로 변화됐다. | |||
| Mongolian | их британи | ||
| The word Их Британи, meaning "British," is also used in Mongolian to refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဗြိတိသျှ | ||
British in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | inggris | ||
| The Indonesian word "Inggris" can also mean "English". | |||
| Javanese | wong inggris | ||
| "Wong Inggris" in Javanese can be used to refer to European people in general, not just Britons. | |||
| Khmer | អង់គ្លេស | ||
| The word "អង់គ្លេស" can also refer to the English language or the people of England. | |||
| Lao | ອັງກິດ | ||
| "ອັງກິດ" means 'British' in Lao, but it can also mean 'beautiful' or 'good-looking'" | |||
| Malay | inggeris | ||
| The word "Inggeris" also refers to the Dutch who colonized Indonesia in the 17th century. | |||
| Thai | อังกฤษ | ||
| คำว่า “อังกฤษ” แผลงมาจาก “อังค์กะริส” ซึ่งแผลงมาจากภาษาโปรตุเกส “Ingles” | |||
| Vietnamese | người anh | ||
| Trong tiếng Việt, người Anh còn được gọi là "Tây" vì họ là những người châu Âu đầu tiên xuất hiện ở Việt Nam vào thế kỷ 16 đến thế kỷ 19. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | british | ||
British in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | i̇ngilis | ||
| The word | |||
| Kazakh | британдықтар | ||
| Kyrgyz | british | ||
| Британдыкты күндаги происходдого жана валдиге барбат региондондык мамлекеткиккен таналищаддад белгийкаларга улуттакта мамлекет жанардандаги в барбаттолу уруул. | |||
| Tajik | бритониё | ||
| The word "Бритониё" can also refer to the inhabitants of the British Isles. | |||
| Turkmen | iňlisler | ||
| Uzbek | inglizlar | ||
| Uyghur | british | ||
British in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pelekāne | ||
| The word pelekāne is a variant of pelekē, a native Hawaiian word that means 'adzes'. | |||
| Maori | ingarangi | ||
| The word "Ingarangi" is derived from the Maori pronunciation of the English word "English". | |||
| Samoan | peretania | ||
| The word "Peretania" in Samoan likely comes from the Tahitian word "Peretānia" or the Rarotongan word "Peretāne" which in turn came from the earlier word "Pretane" (a Gallicization of the Latin word "Britannia" for Britain). | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | british | ||
| In Tagalog, the word “British” can also refer to the British people or their culture. | |||
British in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | británico markankir jaqinakawa | ||
| Guarani | británico-kuéra | ||
British in International Languages
| Esperanto | britoj | ||
| Latin | british | ||
| British was originally used by the Romans to describe the Britons, Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain before the Roman conquest in 43 AD. | |||
British in Others Languages
| Greek | βρετανοί | ||
| In ancient Greek, "Βρετανοί" referred to the inhabitants of the British Isles, specifically those living in what is now Scotland. | |||
| Hmong | askiv | ||
| Askiv can also mean "United Kingdom". | |||
| Kurdish | brîtanî | ||
| The word 'Brîtanî' is derived from the Old Persian word 'Bṛtāni', meaning 'land of the tattooed ones', referring to the ancient Celtic tribes of Britain. | |||
| Turkish | ingiliz | ||
| "İngiliz" sözcüğünün "İngil" kelimesinden geldiği düşünülmektedir ve "İngiltere'li" anlamına gelir. | |||
| Xhosa | ibritane | ||
| The Xhosa word 'IBritane' is derived from the English word 'British', and also refers to a person from the United Kingdom. | |||
| Yiddish | בריטיש | ||
| Yiddish "בריטיש" (British) can also refer to a British passport or visa. | |||
| Zulu | ebrithani | ||
| The Zulu word "EBrithani" is derived from the English pronunciation "British," and is often used to refer to British people, their language, or their culture. | |||
| Assamese | ব্ৰিটিছ | ||
| Aymara | británico markankir jaqinakawa | ||
| Bhojpuri | अंग्रेज के ह | ||
| Dhivehi | އިނގިރޭސިންނެވެ | ||
| Dogri | अंग्रेज | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | british | ||
| Guarani | británico-kuéra | ||
| Ilocano | briton | ||
| Krio | british pipul dɛn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەریتانی | ||
| Maithili | अंग्रेज | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯕ꯭ꯔꯤꯇꯤꯁꯁꯤꯡꯅꯥ ꯌꯨ.ꯑꯦꯁ | ||
| Mizo | british mi a ni | ||
| Oromo | ingilizii | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବ୍ରିଟିଶ୍ | ||
| Quechua | inglaterramanta | ||
| Sanskrit | ब्रिटिश | ||
| Tatar | британия | ||
| Tigrinya | እንግሊዛውያን | ||
| Tsonga | mabrithani | ||