English in different languages

English in Different Languages

Discover 'English' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

English, the global lingua franca, is a language of immense significance and cultural importance. It is the third most native spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and Spanish, but its influence extends far beyond its 379 million native speakers. As the primary language of business, education, and entertainment, English has become a vital tool for communication in our increasingly interconnected world.

But why should we be interested in the translations of 'English' in different languages? For one, it offers a fascinating glimpse into how diverse cultures perceive and interact with this powerful language. For instance, in Spanish, 'English' is 'Inglés', while in French, it is 'Anglais'. In German, it is 'Englisch', and in Japanese, it is 'Eigo'.

Moreover, understanding the translations of 'English' can be a practical necessity for travelers, language learners, or business professionals looking to bridge cultural gaps. It's a small step towards appreciating the richness and diversity of our global linguistic landscape.

English

English in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansengels
In the Afrikaans language, "Engels" also refers to angels, and the phrase "Engelse vis" means angelfish.
Amharicእንግሊዝኛ
The term "እንግሊዝኛ" can refer to the English language, people or culture, or even the United Kingdom itself, depending on the context.
Hausaturanci
Hausa word borrowed from English, also used to refer to white people or Europeans.
Igbobekee
The etymology of 'Bekee' is debated: some say it derives from 'Beeke' ('beak' in Igbo); while others say it's an evolution of 'Bigheri', a Bight of Biafra Pidgin English term for Europeans.
Malagasyanglisy
The word "anglisy" in Malagasy, derived from the French "anglais," also has the alternate meaning of "Protestant" or "missionary."
Nyanja (Chichewa)chingerezi
"Chingerezi" can also mean "a person of European descent"
Shonachirungu
The word Chirungu is also used to refer to the English language in general.
Somaliingiriis
The word
Sesothosenyesemane
The word Senyesemane may also refer to a white person.
Swahilikiingereza
Kiingereza derives from the word 'king', possibly a reference to the British Empire.
Xhosaisingesi
The term IsiNgesi (English) is also used to refer to Afrikaans.
Yorubagẹẹsi
"Gẹẹsi" derives from a Yoruba word that refers to the British accent and way of speaking.
Zuluisingisi
IsiNgisi also means 'the sound of iron', from the 1800s interaction with missionaries who translated the Bible using blacksmithing imagery.
Bambaraangilɛtɛri
Eweiŋlisi
Kinyarwandaicyongereza
Lingalalingelesi
Lugandaolungereeza
Sepediseisimane
Twi (Akan)borɔfo

English in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicالإنجليزية
لغة إنجليزية أو انكليزية هي كلمة أعجمية اصلها انكليزي تعني بالإنجليزية language of the Angles.
Hebrewאנגלית
The word "אנגלית" also means "Anglican" or "England" in Hebrew.
Pashtoانګلیسي
The name
Arabicالإنجليزية
لغة إنجليزية أو انكليزية هي كلمة أعجمية اصلها انكليزي تعني بالإنجليزية language of the Angles.

English in Western European Languages

Albaniananglisht
'Anglisht' in Albanian ultimately derives from Late Latin, but also has a folk etymology tying it to 'angel' (angelëzi)
Basqueingelesa
The word "Ingelesa" derives from the Basque word "ineles" for "island" and originally referred to the English people.
Catalananglès
Anglès is derived from the Latin word 'anglius', meaning 'Angle' or 'English'.
Croatianengleski
Engleski is also used in Croatian to mean 'English language' or 'English literature'.
Danishengelsk
In Danish, "engelsk" can refer to a type of dance as well as to the language and nationality.
Dutchengels
The word "Engels" originally referred to the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that settled in England.
Englishenglish
The term "English" is derived from the Old English word "Englisc," which originally meant "a member of the Angles," one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries.
Frenchanglais
L'origine du mot « Anglais » vient du vieux néerlandais « Angleis », faisant référence au peuple germanique anglo-saxon qui s'est installé en Grande-Bretagne.
Frisianingelsk
The term Ingelsk likely originated from the word Ingvaeones, an ancient Germanic tribe that lived along the North Sea coast.
Galicianinglés
Germanenglisch
Im Deutschen kann "Englisch" auch als Farbbezeichnung für ein helles Rot oder Rosa verwendet werden.
Icelandicenska
It comes from the Old Norse word 'Englar' referring to an area centered on the Angeln Peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Irishbéarla
Modernly, "Béarla" can colloquially refer to Irish itself, especially in contexts of Irish-language education or media.
Italianinglese
The word "inglese" in Italian also has the alternate meaning of "groin".
Luxembourgishenglesch
"Englesch" also means "angelic" or, in older texts, "language of the angels".
Malteseingliż
The term 'Ingliż' is derived from the Greek 'Englizi' and originally referred to the Angles, a Germanic tribe who settled in England.
Norwegianengelsk
The word "Engelsk" can also refer to an angelic being or the language of angels in Norwegian mythology.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)inglês
Apesar do nome, Inglês vem do antigo alto-germânico Englez, que significa "ângulo", o povo que originou os ingleses.
Scots Gaelicsasannach
The word "Sasannach" can also refer to a Lowland Scot or a Protestant
Spanishinglés
El término "Inglés" en español tiene su origen en el latín "Anglus", que inicialmente hacía referencia a los anglos, un pueblo germánico que habitó las islas británicas.
Swedishengelsk
The word "engelsk" in Swedish can also mean "angelic" or "heavenly".
Welshsaesneg
In older Welsh, 'Saesneg' could refer to the languages of all of the Germanic peoples who invaded Britain.

English in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianанглійская
Англійская is the Belarusian form of English — it can be used for things related to England as well (like an
Bosnianengleski
"Engleski" in Bosnian also means "foreign" or "European".
Bulgarianанглийски
В болгарском языке слово "Английски" также может обозначать "английский язык".
Czechangličtina
The word “Angličtina” is also used to refer to the English language or to something related to England.
Estonianinglise
The Estonian
Finnishenglanti
Englanti also means "angel" or "angel's" in Finnish.
Hungarianangol
A "angol" szó eredetileg a "szász" népnév magyar változata, amelynek jelentése "a szászok földje".
Latvianangļu
The word "Angļu" is derived from the Old Saxon "angul", meaning "hook" or "barb", and was originally used to refer to the inhabitants of the Angeln peninsula in Germany.
Lithuaniananglų
The Lithuanian word "Anglų" derives from the name of the historical region of "Angeln" in contemporary northern Germany, from which the Angles originated and migrated to Britain.
Macedonianанглиски
Англиски could also mean "of England" or "a person from England", when used as an adjective.
Polishjęzyk angielski
język angielski - nazwa ta pochodzi od plemienia Anglów, którzy zasiedlili w V wieku południowo-wschodnią Anglię.
Romanianengleză
"Engleză" comes from the word "englezi" which means "people of England" in Romanian.
Russianанглийский
В русском языке слово "английский" также используется для обозначения представителя народа, живущего в Англии.
Serbianенглески језик
The word 'engleski' is derived from the German word 'englische', which means 'English'.
Slovakangličtina
The term "Angličtina" can also be used to refer to the language spoken in England as well as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Slovenianangleščina
The name derives from the Old English word "Englaland"
Ukrainianанглійська
Англійська, англійський - похідне від назви германського племені англів, яке прибуло на Британські острови у V ст. нашої ери.

English in South Asian Languages

Bengaliইংরেজি
"ইংরেজি" ("English") শব্দটি এসেছে "ইংল্যান্ড" শব্দ থেকে, যা অ্যাঙ্গলস নামক একটি জার্মানিক গোষ্ঠীর নাম থেকে নেওয়া হয়েছে।
Gujaratiઅંગ્રેજી
Hindiअंग्रेज़ी
The word "अंग्रेज़ी" (English) is derived from the Sanskrit word "अंग" (Anga), which refers to the ancient Indian kingdom of Anga.
Kannadaಆಂಗ್ಲ
Malayalamഇംഗ്ലീഷ്
The word "ഇംഗ്ലീഷ്" in Malayalam may have originated from Persia, where it means "belonging to a kingdom" or "noble".
Marathiइंग्रजी
The word "इंग्रजी" also refers to the English language or culture, regardless of its geographical origin.
Nepaliअंग्रेजी
The word 'अंग्रेजी' comes from the Persian word 'अंगरेजी' ('Angrezi'), which in turn comes from the Old French word 'Engleis' ('English').
Punjabiਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ඉංග්රීසි
The word 'ඉංග්රීසි' (English) may have originated from the word 'Angrezi', which was used by the Portuguese to refer to the people of England in the 16th century.
Tamilஆங்கிலம்
The Tamil word "ஆங்கிலம்" is derived from the name of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people who settled in England.
Teluguఆంగ్ల
Urduانگریزی
انگریزی is also sometimes used to refer to the people, language, or culture of England.

English in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)英语
英语一词源自于英语Angles，指来自德国西北部的一个部落，后来成为不列颠的主体民族，其语言也成为今天英语的源头。
Chinese (Traditional)英語
英語在英語中意為「英國的語言」，在漢語中則意為「英國的」「英國化的」或「歐洲的」
Japanese英語
英語 can also mean a type of fish or a flower in Japanese.
Korean영어
영어 (English) was originally used in Korean to mean the language of angels (天使語) before acquiring its current meaning as the language of England.
Mongolianангли
Англи can also refer to the color grey, a small coin, or a type of small, cheap knife.
Myanmar (Burmese)အင်္ဂလိပ်

English in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianinggris
Inggris is also the name of a small town in the district of Indramayu in West Java, Indonesia.
Javanesebasa inggris
"Basa Inggris" dalam bahasa Jawa juga merujuk pada bahasa Inggris Kuno.
Khmerអង់គ្លេស
Laoພາສາອັງກິດ
Malaybahasa inggeris
"Bahasa Inggeris" can also refer to the English people or the English language.
Thaiภาษาอังกฤษ
'ภาษาอังกฤษ' (English) comes from the Old French word 'Engleish', which in turn comes from the Old English word 'Englisc', meaning 'the language of the Angles'.
Vietnamesetiếng anh
"Tiếng Anh" also means "the sound of the English language".
Filipino (Tagalog)ingles

English in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanii̇ngilis dili
The word 'İngilis dili' is also used in Azerbaijani to refer to the language of Scotland.
Kazakhағылшын
The word "Ағылшын" also means "smart" or "knowledgeable" in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzанглисче
The word 'Англисче' ('English') in Kyrgyz is a loanword from the Russian language, where it is pronounced as 'английский' and has the same meaning.
Tajikанглисӣ
In Tajik, 'Англисӣ' originated from the name of a nomadic Turkic people, the Англиc, later assimilated into the Tajik-Persian speaking population
Turkmeniňlis
Uzbekingliz tili
"Ingliz tili" ("English") in Uzbek also means "the language of the English" or "the English language."
Uyghurئىنگىلىزچە

English in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianpelekania
Pelekania is also a Hawaiian surname, and a type of gastropod shell.
Maoriingarihi
Ingarihi is derived from the word "Ingarangi", meaning "land of the foreigners".
Samoanigilisi
The word 'Igilisi' is derived from 'Ingrisi' (English), which itself is derived from the Old English 'Englisc' (of the Angles, a Germanic tribe).
Tagalog (Filipino)ingles

English in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarainklisa
Guaraniinglés

English in International Languages

Esperantoangla
Latinanglicus
The term 'anglicus' in Latin may also refer to the Angles, an ancient Germanic tribe that settled in Britain.

English in Others Languages

Greekαγγλικά
Η λέξη Αγγλικά προέρχεται από την παλαιότερη λέξη Γλώγκλικα που σημαίνει 'γλώσσα των Γάλλων'.
Hmonglus askiv
Lus Askiv derives from "Askiv," which means "American".
Kurdishîngilîzî
The word "Îngilîzî" in Kurdish is a loanword from Persian ("Īnglīsī") and a calque of the Greek word "aggeloi" ("messengers"), ultimately meaning "speaker of a foreign language".
Turkishingilizce
"İngiliz" kelimesi Orta Farsça kökenli olup "İngil" halkını ifade etmektedir.
Xhosaisingesi
The term IsiNgesi (English) is also used to refer to Afrikaans.
Yiddishענגליש
The Yiddish word "ענגליש" can also refer to the language of Jewish merchants known as Yiddish or Anglo-Jewish.
Zuluisingisi
IsiNgisi also means 'the sound of iron', from the 1800s interaction with missionaries who translated the Bible using blacksmithing imagery.
Assameseইংৰাজী
Aymarainklisa
Bhojpuriअंगरेजी
Dhivehiއިނގިރޭސި
Dogriअंगरेजी
Filipino (Tagalog)ingles
Guaraniinglés
Ilocanoingles
Krioinglish
Kurdish (Sorani)ئینگلیزی
Maithiliअंग्रेजी
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯍꯪꯂꯤꯁ
Mizosap
Oromoafaan ingilizii
Odia (Oriya)ଇଂରାଜୀ |
Quechuaingles simi
Sanskritआंग्ल
Tatarинглиз
Tigrinyaኢንግሊሽ
Tsongaxinghezi

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