Afrikaans aktrise | ||
Albanian aktore | ||
Amharic ተዋናይ | ||
Arabic ممثلة | ||
Armenian դերասանուհի | ||
Assamese অভিনেত্ৰী | ||
Aymara actriz satawa | ||
Azerbaijani aktrisa | ||
Bambara actrice (fɔlikɛla). | ||
Basque aktore | ||
Belarusian актрыса | ||
Bengali অভিনেত্রী | ||
Bhojpuri अभिनेत्री के रूप में काम कइले बाड़ी | ||
Bosnian glumica | ||
Bulgarian актриса | ||
Catalan actriu | ||
Cebuano aktres | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 演员 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 演員 | ||
Corsican attrice | ||
Croatian glumica | ||
Czech herečka | ||
Danish skuespillerinde | ||
Dhivehi ބަތަލާއެކެވެ | ||
Dogri अभिनेत्री | ||
Dutch actrice | ||
English actress | ||
Esperanto aktorino | ||
Estonian näitlejanna | ||
Ewe fefewɔla | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) artista | ||
Finnish näyttelijä | ||
French actrice | ||
Frisian toanielspylster | ||
Galician actriz | ||
Georgian მსახიობი | ||
German darstellerin | ||
Greek ηθοποιός | ||
Guarani actriz rehegua | ||
Gujarati અભિનેત્રી | ||
Haitian Creole aktris | ||
Hausa yar wasan kwaikwayo | ||
Hawaiian mea hana keaka | ||
Hebrew שַׂחְקָנִית | ||
Hindi अभिनेत्री | ||
Hmong neeg ua yeeb yam | ||
Hungarian színésznő | ||
Icelandic leikkona | ||
Igbo omee | ||
Ilocano aktres nga aktres | ||
Indonesian aktris | ||
Irish aisteoir | ||
Italian attrice | ||
Japanese 女優 | ||
Javanese aktris | ||
Kannada ನಟಿ | ||
Kazakh актриса | ||
Khmer តារាសម្តែង | ||
Kinyarwanda umukinnyi | ||
Konkani अभिनेत्री | ||
Korean 여배우 | ||
Krio aktɔ we de ple di fim | ||
Kurdish şanoger | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خانمە ئەکتەر | ||
Kyrgyz актриса | ||
Lao ນັກສະແດງ | ||
Latin mima | ||
Latvian aktrise | ||
Lingala actrice ya masano | ||
Lithuanian aktorė | ||
Luganda munnakatemba | ||
Luxembourgish schauspillerin | ||
Macedonian актерка | ||
Maithili अभिनेत्री | ||
Malagasy mpilalao sarimihetsika | ||
Malay pelakon wanita | ||
Malayalam നടി | ||
Maltese attriċi | ||
Maori wahine wahine | ||
Marathi अभिनेत्री | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯦꯛꯇꯔ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯧ ꯄꯨꯈꯤ꯫ | ||
Mizo actress a ni | ||
Mongolian жүжигчин | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) မင်းသမီး | ||
Nepali अभिनेत्री | ||
Norwegian skuespillerinne | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) wojambula | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଭିନେତ୍ରୀ | ||
Oromo taphattuu | ||
Pashto اداکاره | ||
Persian بازیگر | ||
Polish aktorka | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) atriz | ||
Punjabi ਅਭਿਨੇਤਰੀ | ||
Quechua actriz sutiyuq warmi | ||
Romanian actriţă | ||
Russian актриса | ||
Samoan teine fai pese | ||
Sanskrit अभिनेत्री | ||
Scots Gaelic ban-chleasaiche | ||
Sepedi sebapadi sa difilimi | ||
Serbian глумица | ||
Sesotho sebapali | ||
Shona mutambi | ||
Sindhi اداڪاره | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) නිළිය | ||
Slovak herečka | ||
Slovenian igralka | ||
Somali atariisho | ||
Spanish actriz | ||
Sundanese aktris | ||
Swahili mwigizaji | ||
Swedish skådespelerska | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) artista | ||
Tajik актриса | ||
Tamil நடிகை | ||
Tatar актриса | ||
Telugu నటి | ||
Thai นักแสดงหญิง | ||
Tigrinya ተዋሳኢት | ||
Tsonga mutlangi wa swifaniso | ||
Turkish aktris | ||
Turkmen aktrisa | ||
Twi (Akan) odiyifo | ||
Ukrainian актриса | ||
Urdu اداکارہ | ||
Uyghur ئارتىس | ||
Uzbek aktrisa | ||
Vietnamese nữ diễn viên | ||
Welsh actores | ||
Xhosa umdlali weqonga | ||
Yiddish אַקטריסע | ||
Yoruba oṣere | ||
Zulu umdlali waseshashalazini |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "aktrise" in Afrikaans originates from the Old French word "actrisse", meaning "female actor". |
| Albanian | The Albanian term "aktore", meaning "actress," derives from the Latin word for "to do" and originally denoted a performer of any gender. |
| Amharic | The word "ተዋናይ" also has an archaic meaning, "woman with beautiful eyes" (ተዋና አይን) |
| Arabic | The word ممثلة ("actress") is derived from the root مثل ("to act") and can also refer to a female impersonator or a person who pretends to be someone else. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "aktrisa" is also used to refer to a female performer in a stage play or a movie in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | "Aktore" also means "she who acts" and is related to the verb "egite" (to do). |
| Belarusian | In Old Belarusian, the word "актрыса" could also refer to a woman who impersonated a man for theatrical purposes. |
| Bengali | অভিনেত্রী is derived from the Sanskrit word 'abhinetra' (actress or dancer), which itself is derived from the root 'ni' (to lead) and 'tray' (to protect). |
| Bosnian | The word 'glumica' derives from Proto-Slavic word '*golomikъ', which likely referred to a person with no permanent home and who wandered from place to place. |
| Bulgarian | The word "актриса" can also mean "performer" or "role". |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "actriu" is derived from the Latin "actrix" and can also refer to a female agent or performer. |
| Cebuano | The word "aktres" in Cebuano can also refer to a female performer in a stage play. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | Though '演员' originally meant 'a person who plays roles', it's now more commonly used to refer to professional actors and actresses. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "演员" may also refer to an actor, performer, or comedian, depending on the context. |
| Corsican | Attrice, in Corsican, also means 'female spider'. |
| Croatian | The word 'glumica' is a feminine form of the word 'glumac,' which means 'actor' in Croatian. |
| Czech | Herečka also means "female actor; stage performer" and is derived from the verb "hrát" (to play). |
| Danish | The word "skuespillerinde" is derived from the Old Norse word "skúspællari", meaning "jester" or "fool". |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word "actrice" can also refer to a female actor who performs in both theatre and film. |
| Esperanto | In Esperanto, the word "aktorino" can also refer to a female actor or performer, not necessarily in a theatrical context. |
| Estonian | The word "näitlejanna" is derived from the verb "näitlema" (to act), indicating performance and skill in the theatrical arts. |
| Finnish | "Näyttelijä" is a derivative of "näyttää" (to show) and means "one who shows". |
| French | The French word "actrice" is derived from the Latin word "actor", meaning "performer". |
| Frisian | The word "toanielspylster" is derived from the Old Frisian words "toania" (stage) and "spylster" (player). |
| Galician | In Galician, "actriz" does not simply mean "actress," but also "inventor" or "performer." |
| German | The German word "Darstellerin" not only means "actress" but can also refer to a female performer in general, including singers, dancers, and comedians. |
| Greek | The word "ηθοποιός" in Greek originally meant "character actor", but over time it came to be used primarily for actresses. |
| Gujarati | In Sanskrit, 'अभि' (abhi-) means 'towards' and 'नेत्र' (netra) means 'eye', hence 'अभि-नेत्री' (abhi-netri) refers to one who leads with her eyes or facial expressions. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "aktris" in Haitian Creole can also refer to a female entertainer or performer. |
| Hausa | The term 'yar wasan kwaikwayo' is also used figuratively to refer to something or someone that is deceptive or cunning. |
| Hawaiian | The word `mea hana keaka` (actress) literally means "a person who does acting" in Hawaiian. |
| Hebrew | שַׂחְקָנִית derives from the root שׂחק, meaning "to play," and can also refer to a female player or jester. |
| Hindi | "अभिनेत्री" means "female actor", and also refers to "a woman who impersonates a male character" in drama or theatre. |
| Hmong | The full phrase "neeg ua yeeb yam" literally means "person plays theater" |
| Hungarian | In Hungarian, "színésznő" is derived from the word "színész" (actor), meaning a female performer on stage or screen. |
| Icelandic | The word "leikkona" is derived from the Old Norse word "leikr" and the feminine suffix "kona", which means "play" and "woman" and refers to the performance-based aspect of the role. |
| Igbo | In Igbo, the word "omee" can also mean "beauty". |
| Indonesian | The word "aktris" in Indonesian originated from the Javanese word "aktrises". |
| Irish | The term "aisteoir" can also refer to a "performer" or "entertainer" in a general sense. |
| Italian | Originally referred to an advocate's wife, in the 17th century it took the current meaning of 'actress' and became feminine to attore (actor). |
| Japanese | The word "女優" (joyū, "actress") originally meant "a woman who sings and dances" before taking on its current meaning, and is etymologically related to the word "声優" (seiyuu, "voice actor"). |
| Javanese | The term 'aktris' can also refer to a female dancer or singer in Javanese performances, and is derived from the Sanskrit word 'aktrisa' meaning 'female dancer'. |
| Kannada | The word "ನಟಿ" can also refer to a female dancer or a woman who plays a role in a drama or movie, not just an actress. |
| Kazakh | The word "актриса" is derived from the Latin word "actris", meaning "female performer". |
| Khmer | The word "តារាសម្តែង" originates from two Sanskrit words, "tara" and "darshana", meaning "star" and "to see" respectively, hence the translation to "actress". |
| Korean | The word "여배우" is derived from the Sino-Korean word "女優" (여유), which originally meant "female shaman" or "priestess". |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "şanoger" is also used to refer to a "singer" or "female performer". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "актриса" is derived from the Latin word "actrix", meaning "female actor." |
| Latin | In addition to 'actress', 'mima' also means a 'female mime'. |
| Latvian | The word "aktrise" is derived from the French word "actrice" and the German word "Aktrice". |
| Lithuanian | In Lithuanian, "aktorė" derives from the word "aktorius" (actor), indicating the gender-neutral nature of the profession in the language. |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "Schauspillerin" can also refer to a female performer in a play or other theatrical production. |
| Macedonian | This word can also mean someone who pretends to be good or innocent, or someone who is insincere. |
| Malagasy | The word "mpilalao sarimihetsika" in Malagasy can also refer to a female performer in a traditional Malagasy dance or musical group. |
| Malay | The Malay word 'pelakon wanita' consists of the words 'pelakon', meaning 'actor', and 'wanita', meaning 'woman'. |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, the word "നടി" can also refer to "a woman who plays a role or acts on a stage or in a movie". This meaning is shared with Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi where the word is transcribed as "अभिनेत्री". |
| Maltese | The word "attriċi" in Maltese is derived from the Italian word "attrice" and is related to the verb "agire" (to act), ultimately originating from the Latin word "agere" (to do, to act). |
| Maori | In Maori, the word "wahine" also means "woman" or "female." |
| Marathi | The term अभिनेत्री is also a term of respect for Hindu goddesses and is sometimes used in a metaphorical sense to refer to the personification of nature or a force of nature. |
| Mongolian | The word "жүжигчин" in Mongolian has the alternate meaning of "performer" irrespective of gender. |
| Nepali | 'अभिनेत्री' is a feminine noun in Nepali derived from Sanskrit that signifies a female performer. |
| Norwegian | The word "skuespillerinne" (actress) in Norwegian is derived from the verb "skue" meaning "to look". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Wojambula" can also refer to a female dancer or performer. |
| Pashto | The word "اداکاره" in Pashto literally means "one who acts". |
| Persian | The Persian word "بازیگر" can also refer to a "player" or a "performer". |
| Polish | The word "aktorka" in Polish is derived from Latin "actrix", meaning "female performer", and is related to the word "aktor" (actor). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "atriz" is also used colloquially to refer to a pretentious or overdramatic person, regardless of gender. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "actriţă" can also refer to a female performer in a play or movie, and is derived from the Latin word "actor", meaning "a doer." |
| Russian | The word "актриса" is derived from the Latin word "actrix", meaning "female actor", and is related to the Latin word "actor", meaning "performer". |
| Samoan | Teine fai pese can also be used to refer to a 'female vocalist' or 'singer'. |
| Scots Gaelic | The root word of 'ban-chleasaiche' is 'cleasach,' meaning 'game' or 'play,' revealing the historical role of actresses as performers. |
| Serbian | 'Глумица' is a cognate with 'глумак' ('actor'), both meaning 'someone who pretends' |
| Sesotho | The word 'sebapali' in Sesotho is thought to derive from the Sepedi language, where it means 'player', or 'one who performs'. |
| Shona | The word "mutambi" can also refer to an enchantress, diviner, or sorceress. |
| Sindhi | Sindhi word اداڪاره is derived from 'ada' meaning 'performance' and 'karee' meaning 'doer', thus literally translating to 'female performer'. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "නිළිය" can also refer to a female role in a play or a dancer in a traditional Sri Lankan dance form. |
| Slovak | Herečka, in Slovak, can also refer to a female heron as the word was likely derived from the word for stork, "čáp." |
| Slovenian | "Igralka" was originally used to describe a woman who plays music, not necessarily an actress. |
| Somali | The word "atariisho" derives from the Arabic word "atriz" (actress), which itself comes from the Greek word "ὑποκριτής" (actor). |
| Spanish | The word "Actriz" in Spanish originates from the Latin word "actor", which refers to a performer of either gender. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'aktris' is derived from the Dutch word 'actrice', which also means 'actress'. |
| Swahili | The word "mwigizaji" is derived from the verb "kuigiza", meaning "to perform" or "to act". It can also refer to a male actor, although the more specific term "mwigizaji wa kiume" is often used. |
| Swedish | The term 'skådespelerska', originating in the 18th century from 'spel' and 'erska', was first used as a theatrical role and then later came to be associated with female actresses. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Artista can also refer to a 'person who can act or perform in any kind of stage play, in radio, television, or in a motion picture' or to an 'artist'. |
| Tajik | The word "актриса" (actress) is derived from the French word "actrice", which itself comes from the Latin word "actrix" (a performer). |
| Tamil | The word "நடிகை" originates from the Tamil word "நட" meaning "to walk", signifying the role of actresses in performing on stage or in front of a camera. |
| Telugu | The word "నటి" (naTi) can also refer to a female impersonator or a woman who plays a male role in a戏劇 (nAtaka, play). |
| Thai | The word "นักแสดงหญิง" (actress) in Thai is a compound of "นักแสดง" (actor) and "หญิง" (female). |
| Turkish | In Turkish, the word "aktris" can also refer to a female dancer or performer. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian term "актриса" (actress) derives from the Latin word "actor" (performer) and can also refer to a female performer in a theatrical or musical work. |
| Urdu | اداکارہ is derived from the Persian word اداء ('performance' or 'role'), hence it can also mean 'performer' or 'role-player'. |
| Uzbek | The word "aktrisa" is derived from the Latin word "actor", meaning "a performer". It can also refer to a female performer in a theater, film, or television production. |
| Vietnamese | The word "nữ diễn viên" (actress) in Vietnamese literally means "female performer". |
| Welsh | Although 'actores' means 'actress' in Welsh, 'actor' is used to refer to both male and female actors in English. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, the word 'umdlali weqonga' translates directly to 'one who plays on the platform' |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "אַקטריסע" (aktrise) derives from the Latin word "actor" which could refer to both male and female performers, thus "aktrise" could mean a female "actor". |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "oṣere" can also refer to a female praise singer or a female entertainer. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word 'umdlali waseshashalazini' is a calque of the Afrikaans word 'aktries' and the English word 'actress', both of which are derived from the Latin word 'actor'. |
| English | The word actress derives from the Latin word actrix, meaning "female performer". |