Baby in Different Languages
Discover 'Baby' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Baby
Afrikaans baba | ||
Albanian foshnje | ||
Amharic ሕፃን | ||
Arabic طفل | ||
Armenian երեխա | ||
Assamese কেঁচুৱা | ||
Aymara asu | ||
Azerbaijani bala | ||
Bambara denyɛrɛnin | ||
Basque umea | ||
Belarusian дзіцятка | ||
Bengali বাচ্চা | ||
Bhojpuri बचवा | ||
Bosnian dušo | ||
Bulgarian скъпа | ||
Catalan nadó | ||
Cebuano bata | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 宝宝 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 寶寶 | ||
Corsican ciucciu | ||
Croatian dijete | ||
Czech dítě | ||
Danish baby | ||
Dhivehi ކުޑަކުއްޖާ | ||
Dogri ञ्याणा | ||
Dutch baby | ||
English baby | ||
Esperanto bebo | ||
Estonian beebi | ||
Ewe vidzĩ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) baby | ||
Finnish vauva | ||
French bébé | ||
Frisian poppe | ||
Galician nena | ||
Georgian ბავშვი | ||
German baby | ||
Greek μωρό | ||
Guarani mitãra'y | ||
Gujarati બાળક | ||
Haitian Creole ti bebe | ||
Hausa jariri | ||
Hawaiian pēpē | ||
Hebrew תִינוֹק | ||
Hindi बच्चा | ||
Hmong menyuam | ||
Hungarian baba | ||
Icelandic elskan | ||
Igbo nwa | ||
Ilocano ubing | ||
Indonesian bayi | ||
Irish leanbh | ||
Italian bambino | ||
Japanese 赤ちゃん | ||
Javanese bayi | ||
Kannada ಮಗು | ||
Kazakh балақай | ||
Khmer ទារក | ||
Kinyarwanda umwana | ||
Konkani शिशू | ||
Korean 아가 | ||
Krio bebi | ||
Kurdish bebek | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) منداڵ | ||
Kyrgyz бала | ||
Lao ເດັກນ້ອຍ | ||
Latin infans | ||
Latvian mazulis | ||
Lingala bebe | ||
Lithuanian kūdikis | ||
Luganda omwaana | ||
Luxembourgish puppelchen | ||
Macedonian бебе | ||
Maithili शिशु | ||
Malagasy zazakely | ||
Malay bayi | ||
Malayalam കുഞ്ഞ് | ||
Maltese tarbija | ||
Maori pēpi | ||
Marathi बाळ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯉꯥꯡ ꯃꯆꯥ | ||
Mizo naute | ||
Mongolian хүүхэд | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ကလေး | ||
Nepali बच्चा | ||
Norwegian baby | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) khanda | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଶିଶୁ | ||
Oromo daa'ima | ||
Pashto ماشوم | ||
Persian عزیزم | ||
Polish niemowlę | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) bebê | ||
Punjabi ਬੱਚਾ | ||
Quechua wawa | ||
Romanian bebelus | ||
Russian детка | ||
Samoan pepe | ||
Sanskrit शिशुः | ||
Scots Gaelic pàisde | ||
Sepedi lesea | ||
Serbian беба | ||
Sesotho lesea | ||
Shona mucheche | ||
Sindhi ٻار | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ළදරු | ||
Slovak dieťa | ||
Slovenian dojenček | ||
Somali ilmaha | ||
Spanish bebé | ||
Sundanese orok | ||
Swahili mtoto | ||
Swedish bebis | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) sanggol | ||
Tajik кӯдак | ||
Tamil குழந்தை | ||
Tatar сабый | ||
Telugu బిడ్డ | ||
Thai ทารก | ||
Tigrinya ማማይ | ||
Tsonga n'wana | ||
Turkish bebek | ||
Turkmen çaga | ||
Twi (Akan) abɔfra | ||
Ukrainian дитина | ||
Urdu بچه | ||
Uyghur بوۋاق | ||
Uzbek bolam | ||
Vietnamese đứa bé | ||
Welsh babi | ||
Xhosa umntwana | ||
Yiddish בעיבי | ||
Yoruba ọmọ | ||
Zulu ingane |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Baba is also used by parents and close family to refer to a baby |
| Albanian | The word "foshnje" in Albanian is derived from the Latin word "fons", meaning "spring" or "source." |
| Amharic | In Amharic, ሕፃን (baby) is also used figuratively to refer to a person who is inexperienced or immature. |
| Arabic | The word طفل (baby) in Arabic is related to the word طفة which means 'moisture' or 'greenness', referring to the baby's fresh and tender appearance. |
| Armenian | Երեխան (yerexə) has another meaning in Armenian: it is also used to refer to a doll. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "bala" also means "young man" or "child" in some contexts in Azerbaijani, and is related to the Persian word "bala" meaning "child", and the Turkish word "bala" meaning "disaster" or "calamity". |
| Basque | The word "umea" also means "fruit" and "seed" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "дзіцятка" is derived from the Old Slavic word "*děťę", meaning "child". It is also used as a term of endearment for a young child. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "বাচ্চা" can also refer to a young animal or a pet. |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian term "dušo" has Indo-European origins and is related to Sanskrit "duhitā" (daughter). |
| Bulgarian | The word "скъпа" can also be used as a term of endearment for a loved one. |
| Catalan | The word "nadó" also derives from Latin and means "someone born" in Catalan, as it comes from the verb "nàixer" ("to be born"). |
| Cebuano | The word "bata" also means "young" in Cebuano. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 宝宝 is the modern Chinese word for 'baby' but it formerly meant 'precious' or 'treasured' and was used as a term of endearment for children, women, and lovers. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In some regional dialects of China, "寶寶" can also mean "darling" or "sweetheart". |
| Corsican | "Ciucciu" in Corsican can also mean "sweetheart" or "little one". |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "dijete" has Slavic origins and is related to the Old Church Slavonic word "dete". |
| Czech | In Czech, the word "dítě" also means "child" or "kid." |
| Danish | The word "baby" in Danish can also refer to a doll or a young animal, and is derived from the Old Norse word "barna" meaning "child." |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word "baby" can also mean "doll" or "little child". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "bebo" is derived from the Slavic word "baba," meaning "old woman," and can also refer to a child's doll. |
| Estonian | The word "beebi" in Estonian shares its origin with the Germanic word "baby," which is a reduplication of the sound "ba," used to imitate infant speech. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "vauva", "baby," is derived from the Proto-Germanic *wawijō, "little boy." |
| French | The word "bébé" is also used to refer to a small child or an infant. |
| Frisian | The word "poppe" in Frisian also means "doll" or "puppet". |
| Galician | The word "nena" in Galician can also mean "girl" or "sweetheart". |
| Georgian | The Georgian word "ბავშვი" is derived from the Persian word "بچه" (bacheh), meaning "child". |
| German | The German word 'Baby' can also refer to a doll or a mannequin. |
| Greek | The Greek word "μωρό" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*mr̩-," meaning "young, tender, delicate," and is also related to the English words "morrow" (originally meaning "morning, dawn") and "morose" (originally meaning "ill-humored, sullen"). |
| Gujarati | In Gujarati, "બાળક" can also refer to a young unmarried person or a son in a respectful sense. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "ti bebe" can also mean "little sister" or "little brother". |
| Hausa | In Hausa, "jariri" is also used to describe a newborn or infant animal. |
| Hawaiian | The word "pēpē" can also refer to a child, a grandchild, or a descendant. |
| Hebrew | The word "תִינוֹק" ("baby") can also refer to a student of Torah. |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "बच्चा" can also refer to a child or a younger person. |
| Hmong | Hmong word 'menyuam' is also used as a term of endearment for young animals. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "baba" is a colloquial term referring to a "grandma" or "old woman," and is often used affectionately. |
| Icelandic | Elskan, meaning "baby" in Icelandic, derives from the Old Norse word "ælskan," which means "love" or "sweetheart." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "nwa" also means "son" or "daughter" and shares an etymological root with the words for "child" and "offspring" in many other Niger-Congo languages. |
| Indonesian | Bayi is a word in Indonesian meaning 'baby', but it also has the alternate meaning of 'young child'. |
| Irish | The word "leanbh" in Irish is also used to refer to a child's doll or a young animal, showcasing the broader concept of "young one" or "offspring". |
| Italian | The word "bambino" is a loanword from Medieval Latin "bambinus", originally referring to a child who stutters. |
| Japanese | The Japanese word 赤ちゃん (akachan) derives from the verb 赤らむ (akaramu), meaning "to redden," suggesting the pink hue of infants. |
| Javanese | The Javanese name for "baby," bayi, has multiple meanings, including a child born outside of a sacred union or a newborn animal of domestic species. |
| Kannada | The word "ಮಗು" ("baby") in Kannada is also used to refer to a pet, especially a small and young animal, or to a young or inexperienced person. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word for 'baby', 'балақай', comes from the Mongolian word 'balaga', which also means 'child'. |
| Khmer | The Khmer word for baby, ទារក, can also mean 'fetus' in a medical context. |
| Korean | The word '아가' can also refer to a younger sibling or a young person in general. |
| Kurdish | The word "bebek" in Kurdish can also refer to a doll or a young animal. |
| Kyrgyz | The word 'бала' can also refer to a 'child' or 'young one' of an animal in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | Latin "infans" also means "speechless" or "who cannot speak". |
| Latvian | The word "mazulis" is related to the word "mazs", meaning "small", and is also used to refer to a baby bird or animal. |
| Lithuanian | The word “kūdikis” likely derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱeuH- (“to swell, to be pregnant”). |
| Luxembourgish | Puppelchen derives from the Roman word "pupilla" which means "little girl". |
| Macedonian | "Бебе" originates from Turkish "bebe" meaning "young girl, girl child, daughter", from Persian "baba" - "father". |
| Malagasy | The word "zazakely" is derived from the root "zaza" meaning "to give birth" and the diminutive suffix "-kely". |
| Malay | The word "bayi" in Malay is derived from the Javanese word "bocah", meaning "child" or "young one" |
| Malayalam | "കുഞ്ഞ്" can also mean "small" or "young" in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "tarbija" has Arabic origins and can also mean "education" or "rearing". |
| Maori | In the Māori language, the word 'pēpi' not only denotes 'infant', but can also refer to the 'young' of any species or even 'new growth'. |
| Marathi | बाळ (baby) is also sometimes used to refer to young calves or kids, such as goats or sheep as well as younger children or infants. |
| Mongolian | Mongolian 'хүүхэд' is likely cognate with Korean '후후(후후)' (child) and Turkic 'kuchuk' (small, low, insignificant). |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | In Myanmar, "ကလေး" can also mean "small" or "young" when referring to people or animals. |
| Nepali | Nepali word 'बच्चा' also means 'a young animal'. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "baby" can also refer to a doll or a small child. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "khanda" in Nyanja (Chichewa) can also mean "a part of something" or "a fragment". |
| Pashto | The word "ماشوم" is derived from the Persian word "ماشوم" which means "innocent". It can also mean "a young child". |
| Persian | The term "عزیزم" is also used as a term of endearment in Persian, implying love and affection towards another person. |
| Polish | The word "niemowlę" in Polish literally means "unspeaking". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | 'Bebê' originates from an old Tupi word, 'bebêra', that means 'to be born', 'young', or 'child'. |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word 'ਬੱਚਾ' ('baccha') is also used as a term of endearment for young children and infants. |
| Romanian | "Bebeluș" is a Romanian word for "baby" that originates from the Latin word "pupus," meaning "doll". |
| Russian | The word "детка" can also be translated as "darling" or "sweetheart" in English. |
| Samoan | The word "pepe" can also refer to a "young animal" or a "baby animal" in other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian and Tahitian. |
| Scots Gaelic | "Pàisde" is a term of endearment and may also refer to a godchild or a child who is not yet baptised. |
| Serbian | "Беба" (baby) is also sometimes used slang as a term of endearment for a girlfriend or wife. |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word "lesea" is also used to refer to the young of animals. |
| Shona | The name "mucheche" comes from the idea of a child being small and dependent, similar to a seed in its earliest stages of growth. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ٻار" can also mean "a group of animals that cannot yet leave their mother's care for food; young children." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word "ළදරු" also means "young, immature, unripe" which suggests an evolution in meaning from describing physical immaturity to referring to young individuals. |
| Slovak | In Slovak, the word "dieťa" not only means "baby" but also "child" and "offspring." |
| Slovenian | "Dojenček" is etymologically related to the verb "dojiti" (to breastfeed). |
| Somali | The Somali word "ilmaha" originates from the Arabic word "walad", meaning "child". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "bebé" is a diminutive form of the word "niño" (child), and it is also commonly used to refer to a baby animal. |
| Sundanese | The word "orok" can also refer to the youngest child in a family or to a person who is naive or inexperienced. |
| Swahili | Mtoto can also mean "young animal" "son/daughter-in-law" "young relative" "small child" or "child of another species". |
| Swedish | "Bebis" also means "small bird" in Swedish and derives from the now obsolete "bibba" which meant "to chirp." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Filipino, the word "sanggol" not only refers to an infant but also to a young animal, and its root word "sangga" means "to nurse or cradle". |
| Tajik | The word "кӯдак" can also refer to a child or a young person. |
| Tamil | The word "குழந்தை" (kuzhanthai) in Tamil can also mean "a young animal" or "a childlike person" |
| Telugu | The word "బిడ్డ" (baby) in Telugu can also refer to a child or a young person. |
| Thai | The Thai word "ทารก" can also refer to an embryo or fetus before it is born. |
| Turkish | "Bebek" also means "swaddling clothes" or "doll" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "дитина" is etymologically related to the Proto-Slavic word "*děti", meaning "child" or "young one". |
| Urdu | The Urdu word "بچه" (baccha) is derived from Sanskrit and can also refer to a "young animal" or a "pupil". |
| Uzbek | Uzbek "bolam" is also used as a term of endearment for those younger, regardless of gender. |
| Vietnamese | "Đứa bé" in Vietnamese literally means "a small cluster of living beings" and can also refer to young animals or plants. |
| Welsh | "Babi" is an alternate spelling of "babi" in the north of Wales, reflecting a historical long "a" sound in these dialects. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, 'umntwana' can also refer to a child or young person, and has historical connections to ancient Bantu words for 'person' or 'human being'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "בעיבי" also means "doll" or "little one" and is often used as a term of endearment. |
| Yoruba | In some contexts, "Ọmọ" can refer to siblings or the people born from the same parents, not just babies. |
| Zulu | Ingane also refers to a person's ancestors or people of a lower social status, and historically to a member of the younger age regiment in Zulu society. |
| English | The word "baby" derives from the Latin "infans", meaning "not speaking", and originally referred to both male and female infants. |