Actor in Different Languages
Discover 'Actor' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Actor
Afrikaans akteur | ||
Albanian aktor | ||
Amharic ተዋናይ | ||
Arabic الممثل | ||
Armenian դերասան | ||
Assamese অভিনেতা | ||
Aymara uñt'ayiri | ||
Azerbaijani aktyor | ||
Bambara walekɛla | ||
Basque aktorea | ||
Belarusian акцёр | ||
Bengali অভিনেতা | ||
Bhojpuri अभिनेता | ||
Bosnian glumac | ||
Bulgarian актьор | ||
Catalan actor | ||
Cebuano artista | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 演员 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 演員 | ||
Corsican attore | ||
Croatian glumac | ||
Czech herec | ||
Danish skuespiller | ||
Dhivehi އެކްޓަރު | ||
Dogri अदाकार | ||
Dutch acteur | ||
English actor | ||
Esperanto aktoro | ||
Estonian näitleja | ||
Ewe fefewɔla | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) aktor | ||
Finnish näyttelijä | ||
French acteur | ||
Frisian toanielspiler | ||
Galician actor | ||
Georgian მსახიობი | ||
German darsteller | ||
Greek ηθοποιός | ||
Guarani ha'ãngakuaáva | ||
Gujarati અભિનેતા | ||
Haitian Creole aktè | ||
Hausa dan wasa | ||
Hawaiian mea hana keaka | ||
Hebrew שַׂחְקָן | ||
Hindi अभिनेता | ||
Hmong neeg ua yeeb yam | ||
Hungarian színész | ||
Icelandic leikari | ||
Igbo omee | ||
Ilocano artista a lalaki | ||
Indonesian aktor | ||
Irish aisteoir | ||
Italian attore | ||
Japanese 俳優 | ||
Javanese aktor | ||
Kannada ನಟ | ||
Kazakh актер | ||
Khmer តារាសម្តែង | ||
Kinyarwanda umukinnyi | ||
Konkani नट | ||
Korean 배우 | ||
Krio aktɔ | ||
Kurdish şanoger | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ئەکتەر | ||
Kyrgyz актер | ||
Lao ນັກສະແດງ | ||
Latin histrionis | ||
Latvian aktieris | ||
Lingala mosani | ||
Lithuanian aktorius | ||
Luganda omuzanyi wa sineema | ||
Luxembourgish schauspiller | ||
Macedonian актер | ||
Maithili अभिनेता | ||
Malagasy mpilalao | ||
Malay pelakon | ||
Malayalam നടൻ | ||
Maltese attur | ||
Maori kaiwhakaari | ||
Marathi अभिनेता | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯐꯤꯂꯝ ꯌꯥꯎꯕ ꯃꯤꯑꯣꯏ | ||
Mizo lemchangtu | ||
Mongolian жүжигчин | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သရုပ်ဆောင် | ||
Nepali अभिनेता | ||
Norwegian skuespiller | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) wosewera | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଭିନେତା | ||
Oromo ta'aa | ||
Pashto لوبغاړی | ||
Persian بازیگر | ||
Polish aktor | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) ator | ||
Punjabi ਅਭਿਨੇਤਾ | ||
Quechua actor | ||
Romanian actor | ||
Russian актер | ||
Samoan tagata fai mea fai | ||
Sanskrit नायक | ||
Scots Gaelic actair | ||
Sepedi moraloki | ||
Serbian глумац | ||
Sesotho motšoantšisi | ||
Shona mutambi | ||
Sindhi اداڪار | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) නළුවා | ||
Slovak herec | ||
Slovenian igralec | ||
Somali jilaa | ||
Spanish actor | ||
Sundanese palaku | ||
Swahili mwigizaji | ||
Swedish skådespelare | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) aktor | ||
Tajik актёр | ||
Tamil நடிகர் | ||
Tatar актер | ||
Telugu నటుడు | ||
Thai นักแสดงชาย | ||
Tigrinya ተዋሳኢ | ||
Tsonga mutlangi | ||
Turkish aktör | ||
Turkmen aktýor | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔyɛfoɔ | ||
Ukrainian актор | ||
Urdu اداکار | ||
Uyghur ئارتىس | ||
Uzbek aktyor | ||
Vietnamese diễn viên | ||
Welsh actor | ||
Xhosa umdlali | ||
Yiddish אַקטיאָר | ||
Yoruba olukopa | ||
Zulu umlingisi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "akteur" (actor) in Afrikaans is derived from the French word "acteur" and means "performer" or "player" in a play or movie. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "aktor" originates from the Latin word "actor", meaning "one who acts". |
| Amharic | ተዋናይ in Amharic has the literal meaning of "the one who is shown," as in "presented" onstage. |
| Arabic | The term "الممثل" can also refer to "a representative" in Arabic. |
| Armenian | The word "դերասան" is derived from the Greek word "ὑποκριτής", meaning "interpreter". It can also refer to a person who plays a role in a play, film, or television show. |
| Azerbaijani | "Aktyor" is loaned directly and unchanged from Russian "актёр" and ultimately has its roots in Latin.} |
| Basque | "Aktorea" es también un "personaje de un libro, película u obra de teatro" en euskera. |
| Belarusian | Акцёр is a synonym for "artist" or "performer" in Belarusian. |
| Bengali | The word অভিনেতা (actor) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'abhinetri', which means 'one who performs or represents'. |
| Bosnian | Glumac is derived from the word 'gluma', which means 'mask' in Serbo-Croatian. |
| Bulgarian | The word "актьор" is derived from the Latin word "actor", meaning "performer" or "doer". |
| Catalan | In Catalan, the word "actor" can also refer to a legal representative or a performer in a play or movie. |
| Cebuano | Artista in Cebuano also means 'artist' and is often used to refer to visual artists, musicians, and writers. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The word "演员" (actor) in Chinese is composed of two characters: "演" (to perform) and "员" (a person). |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word '演員' literally means 'performer of roles'. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "attore" can also mean "agent" or "attorney." |
| Croatian | "Glumac" also means "deaf person" in Croatian. |
| Czech | The word "herec" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "chrьkъ", meaning "imitator" or "one who plays a role". Alternatively, it can be traced back to the Greek word "histrio", meaning "actor" or "performer". |
| Danish | The Danish word "skuespiller" is derived from the verb "spille" (to play) and the noun "spiller" (a player), referring to an actor's role as a performer in a play or on stage. |
| Dutch | In the Dutch language, "acteur" also has archaic and figurative meanings such as "perpetrator" and "cause." |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "aktoro" comes from the Latin word "actor", which means "doer" or "performer". |
| Estonian | The word "näitleja" also means "pretender" or "imitator" in Estonian. |
| Finnish | "Näyttelijä" also means "demonstrator or showman" and was borrowed from Swedish "skådespelare". The "showman" meaning is rare. |
| French | "Acteur" in French derives from Latin "actor, -oris," meaning "doer" or "agent." |
| Frisian | The word “toanielspiler” (“actor”) literally means “one who displays scenes”. |
| Galician | In Galician, "actor" can also refer to "lawyer" ( |
| Georgian | "მსახიობი" likely derives from the Middle Persian "misx" ("to laugh" or "to joke") and Indo-European "*meiks ("to change"), and originally referred to a mime or joker. |
| German | In German, "Darsteller" can also denote a "present" or "exhibition". |
| Greek | The word "ηθοποιός" in Greek consists of the elements "ἦθος" (character) and "ποιέω" (to do, make), hence it means "one who does character". |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "અભિનેતા" (abhineta) is cognate with the Sanskrit word "अभिनेता" (abhinētā), which means "imitator" or "one who assumes a role." |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "aktè" can also refer to a "performer" or "entertainer." |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "dan wasa" (actor) literally means "son of the game" or "son of the play". |
| Hawaiian | Mea hana keaka is also a figure made for a specific purpose: a doll. |
| Hebrew | While most Hebrew words end in consonantal letters, שַׂחְקָן ends with a vowel because it came from the Greek word ὑποκριτής, meaning “answerer,” “interpreter,” or “pretender.” |
| Hindi | The etymology of the word 'abhineta' in Hindi is 'abhi-ni' meaning 'to perform' or 'act,' suggesting a performer or an artist who enacts a role. |
| Hmong | "Neeg ua yeeb yam" literally means "a person who pretends to be like someone else" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | Derived from the word "szín" (color), originally meaning "one who changes color", referring to the use of makeup in early theater. |
| Icelandic | The word "leikari" is also used in Icelandic to refer to a player in a game. |
| Igbo | In the Igbo dialect of the Umuahia group, the word "omee" is also used to refer to a member of the Ekpe, a fraternal organization. |
| Indonesian | In Indonesian, 'aktor' can also refer to a legal representative or a person who carries out a task or function. |
| Irish | The Irish word "aisteoir" comes from the Old Irish word "aist", meaning "art" or "craft". |
| Italian | "Attore" is also used in Italian for a plaintiff in a lawsuit. |
| Japanese | 俳優 in Japanese can also refer to a Buddhist performer or artist (遊行) who acts out stories from the sutras. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, 'aktor' is derived from Sanskrit and can also refer to a 'dancer' or 'performer'. |
| Kannada | Originally, a ನಟ was someone who performs a ritual, later becoming synonymous with an actor primarily through yakshagana performances in which actors enact divine beings. |
| Kazakh | The word "актер" in Kazakh, meaning "actor," originates from the Russian word "актёр" and has no other meanings in the Kazakh language. |
| Khmer | The word "តារាសម្តែង" is derived from the Sanskrit word "tārā" meaning "star". Originally referring to celestial beings, it came to be used for performers of all kinds. |
| Korean | The word "배우" (actor) can also mean "to learn" or "to imitate," and is derived from the Chinese character "倣," which means "to follow a model." |
| Kurdish | The word "şanoger" in Kurdish can also refer to a "clown" or "jester". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "актер" also refers to a person who participates in a theatrical performance or a film. |
| Latin | "Histrion" is also a term for a jester or clown; this sense survives in the English word "histrionic". |
| Latvian | Latvian "aktieris" comes from German "akteur" and Russian "актёр", which both mean "actor". |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "aktorius" derives from the Latin "actor", meaning "doer" or "performer". |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Schauspiller" derives from the Old High German word "scouspil", meaning "jester" or "fool". |
| Macedonian | The word "актер" in Macedonian can also refer to someone who pretends or exaggerates. |
| Malagasy | "Mpilalao" originally meant "player" in general before becoming specialized to mean "actor" in the 19th century. |
| Malay | The root word 'laku' means 'to do' in Malay, implying an element of action and performance in the role of an actor. |
| Malayalam | The word "നടൻ" also means "dancer" in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "attur" comes from the Arabic word "attār," meaning "distiller" or "perfumer."} |
| Maori | The word 'kaiwhakaari' is derived from the Maori words 'kai', meaning 'food', and 'whakaari', meaning 'to perform'. This suggests that actors were originally seen as those who 'feed' the audience with entertainment. |
| Marathi | The word 'अभिनेता' also means a 'dancer' in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | "Жүжигчин" means "actor" in Mongolian. It is derived from the verb "жүжгэх" (to move). |
| Nepali | "अभिनेता" is also used to refer to someone who pretends or acts in real life. |
| Norwegian | "Skuespiller" comes from the Old Norse word "skuespill", meaning "play", and the suffix "-er", meaning "one who does something". Therefore, "skuespiller" literally means "one who plays". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja, the word "wosewera" also means "player" or "performer". |
| Pashto | The term "لوبغاړی" in Pashto is derived from the root word "لوبغاړ"," meaning "to play" or "to perform". |
| Persian | بازیگر (bāzīgar) derives from the verb 'bāzidan', meaning 'to play', or 'to perform'. |
| Polish | The word "aktor" in Polish derives from the Greek word "aktōr," meaning "doer" or "performer." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "ator" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin "actor", meaning "the one who acts", and also refers to a person who impersonates a character in a play, movie, or other performance. |
| Punjabi | The word 'अभिनेता' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अभिनय', meaning 'acting' or 'representation'. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, the word "actor" can also refer to "shareholder" or "attorney". |
| Russian | Its archaic meaning was "doer, executor" and in the 17th century "servant, agent" (in the modern language it corresponds to "агент" or "представитель"). |
| Samoan | "Tagata fai mea fai" is literally translated as "person who does the thing". |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word "actair" also means "speaker" or "narrator". |
| Serbian | The word "глумац" also means "fool" or "buffoon" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | The word "motšoantšisi" in Sesotho also refers to a person who participates in a play, drama, or performance. |
| Shona | The Shona word "mutambi" also means "dancer" or "singer" and is derived from the verb "kutamba," meaning "to shake" or "tremble". |
| Sindhi | The word "اداڪار" in Sindhi comes from the Persian word "ادا" , meaning "manner" or "style", and "کار" , meaning "work" or "doing". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The term can also refer to a dancer, singer, or puppeteer, and derives from the Sanskrit word "nāṭaka," meaning "drama". |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "herec" is derived from the Latin word "histrio," meaning "stage performer". |
| Slovenian | The word 'igralec' shares the root 'igra-' with 'igra', meaning game or play. |
| Somali | Jilaa is derived from the Arabic word 'juhla,' which means 'crowd' or 'gathering', reflecting the communal nature of Somali theatre. |
| Spanish | En Español la palabra "actor" también significa "aquel que hace" y "el que actúa". |
| Sundanese | "Palaku" in Sundanese also refers to a performer in traditional ceremonies and rituals. |
| Swahili | "Mwigi" means "body" in Kinyarwanda, and "izaji" is "imitation" in Swahili, hence the word "mwigizaji" in Swahili means "one who imitates using their body." |
| Swedish | The word "skådespelare" derives from the word "skåda" (to contemplate, behold), indicating the theatrical aspect of the profession. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Tagalog aktor can also mean a character in a drama, an agent, an author, or even the protagonist of a story. |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "актёр" is derived from the Latin word "actor", which means "doer" or "performer". |
| Tamil | நடிகர் can also mean a dancer or a musician in Tamil |
| Telugu | The word "నటుడు" in Telugu can also refer to a dancer or a singer. |
| Thai | The term นักแสดงชาย literally means 'performing male', and can also refer to a dancer or singer. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "aktör" also has the alternate meaning of "active" or "dynamic" and is cognate with the Arabic "‘amal" (عمل), meaning "deed" or "work". |
| Ukrainian | The word "актор" in Ukrainian can also mean "agent" or "doer". |
| Urdu | "اداکار" derives from "ada", meaning "style, manner", and "kār", meaning "doer", thus referring to someone who performs with style. |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "aktyor" (actor) comes from the French "acteur", ultimately derived from the Latin "actor", meaning "doer". |
| Vietnamese | Diễn viên, meaning 'actor' in Vietnamese, also has a separate meaning of 'perform' in the context of religious rituals. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word for "actor" is "actor", borrowed from English. |
| Xhosa | The word "umdlali" also means "player" in Xhosa. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "אַקטיאָר" (actor) derives from the German "Akte" (document, record) and originally referred to a notary public. |
| Yoruba | In Yoruba, the word "olukopa" can also refer to a "storyteller" or "griot." |
| Zulu | The word "umlingisi" derives from the verb "lingisa," meaning "to make appear". This implies that the actor's role is to bring hidden or unseen things to light through performance. |
| English | The word "actor" derives from the Latin "agere," meaning "to do" or "to perform." |