Ball in Different Languages
Discover 'Ball' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'ball' is simple, yet holds immense significance and cultural importance across the globe. From children playing with a ball in the park to formal events such as prom or a wedding dance, a ball is a symbol of joy, celebration, and unity. It's a universal object that transcends language barriers and brings people together.
Historically, balls have been used in various ways, from ancient hunting tools to medieval weapons. In many cultures, balls have been used in religious ceremonies and rituals, symbolizing the circle of life and the universe. Moreover, balls have played a crucial role in the development of many sports, such as football, basketball, and tennis, contributing to their global popularity.
Given its significance and cultural importance, you might be interested in knowing the translation of the word 'ball' in different languages. Here are a few examples: Spanish - 'pelota', French - 'balle', German - 'Ball', Italian - 'palla', Chinese - '球' (qiú), Japanese - 'ボール' (bōru), and Russian - 'мяч' (myach).
Ball
Ball in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bal | ||
| In Afrikaans, 'bal' can mean 'ball' or 'dance', stemming from the Old High German 'ballo'. | |||
| Amharic | ኳስ | ||
| "ኳስ" can also refer to a game played with a ball, similar to soccer or volleyball. | |||
| Hausa | ball | ||
| The word "ball" in Hausa has a secondary meaning of "gathering" or "meeting" | |||
| Igbo | bọọlụ | ||
| The word "bọọlụ" in Igbo can also mean "spherical" or "round". | |||
| Malagasy | baolina | ||
| The word "baolina" in Malagasy can also refer to a spherical object or a round fruit. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mpira | ||
| "Mpila" is derived from the Swahili word "mpira" which originally meant "ball of thread". | |||
| Shona | bhora | ||
| The word "bhora" also refers to the ball-shaped fruit of the baobab tree. | |||
| Somali | kubbadda | ||
| The Somali word "kubbadda" is also used to refer to "football" or "soccer". | |||
| Sesotho | bolo | ||
| The word "bolo" in Sesotho can also refer to a lump, mass, or knot, and is derived from the Bantu root "*bɔlɔ". | |||
| Swahili | mpira | ||
| Mpira, in addition to its primary meaning of 'ball', can also refer to a game similar to football or a specific position in that game, such as 'striker' or 'forward'. | |||
| Xhosa | ibhola | ||
| The Xhosa word 'ibhola' can also refer to a person who is 'rolling' in wealth or good luck, particularly when combined with the figurative prefix 'u'. | |||
| Yoruba | boolu | ||
| In Yoruba, "boolu" has an alternate meaning of "a gathering of people" or "a meeting." | |||
| Zulu | ibhola | ||
| In some contexts, the word "ibhola" can also refer to a "testicle" or "scrotum". | |||
| Bambara | balɔn | ||
| Ewe | bɔl | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umupira | ||
| Lingala | bile | ||
| Luganda | omupiira | ||
| Sepedi | kgwele | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɔɔlo | ||
Ball in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الكرة | ||
| The Arabic word "الكرة" can also mean "Earth" or "sphere". | |||
| Hebrew | כַּדוּר | ||
| The word "כדור" (ball) derives from the root "כר" (to shape, round), hence its spherical shape. | |||
| Pashto | بال | ||
| The Pashto word "بال" derives from the Persian word "باز" meaning "a falcon or hawk" and can also refer to the game of football or the sport of falconry, showcasing Persian influence on Pashto vocabulary. | |||
| Arabic | الكرة | ||
| The Arabic word "الكرة" can also mean "Earth" or "sphere". | |||
Ball in Western European Languages
| Albanian | topin | ||
| The Albanian word "topin" (ball) can also refer to a "head" or the "top" of something. | |||
| Basque | pilota | ||
| The Basque word 'pilota' is derived from a pre-Romance root '*pil', meaning 'round' and is related to English words 'ball' and 'bowel'. | |||
| Catalan | pilota | ||
| In Spanish, "pilota" also refers to a traditional Valencian ball game. | |||
| Croatian | lopta | ||
| The word "lopta" originally comes from the Latin word "pilotta", meaning "small ball". | |||
| Danish | bold | ||
| The Danish word "bold" originally meant "ball" and survives in this sense in the compound "fodbold" ("football"). | |||
| Dutch | bal | ||
| "Bal" in Dutch not only means "ball," but also "party" or "testicle." | |||
| English | ball | ||
| The word "ball" can also refer to a social dance or to a person who is pompous or arrogant. | |||
| French | balle | ||
| In French, "balle" can also refer to a ballet dancer or a lottery ticket. | |||
| Frisian | bal | ||
| "Bal" has a secondary meaning "bottom" or "lower part" in the Frisian language | |||
| Galician | pelota | ||
| Galician "pelota" can refer to a variety of ball-based games, or an object similar to a balloon that is filled with air and hit with the hand or a racket. | |||
| German | ball | ||
| In German, the word "ball" (plural: Bälle) also means "dance" or "party". | |||
| Icelandic | bolti | ||
| Bolti can refer to a ball used in sports or games or to one's head in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | liathróid | ||
| The word "liathróid" is derived from the Old Irish word "lithar" meaning "stone" and the suffix "-óid" meaning "like," referring to the original stone balls used in hurling. | |||
| Italian | palla | ||
| The Italian word for “ball,” "palla," can also refer to the game of basketball and to several ancient and contemporary Florentine games. | |||
| Luxembourgish | ball | ||
| In Luxembourgish, the word "Ball" can also refer to a dance event or party. | |||
| Maltese | ballun | ||
| Maltese "ballun" derives from the Italian "pallone" and was adopted by Sicilian then by Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | ball | ||
| The Norwegian word "ball" not only means "ball," but can also refer to a party, especially one held in the evening. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | bola | ||
| "Bola" is a Latin word that also means "eye" or "pupil of the eye". In Ancient Rome, "bola" was a round object that was thrown or rolled as a game. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ball | ||
| The Scots word 'ba'' means not only 'ball', but also 'village'. | |||
| Spanish | pelota | ||
| In Spain, 'pelota' refers to the sport of Basque pelota, played with a small, hard ball. | |||
| Swedish | boll | ||
| The word "boll" can also refer to a pod or capsule, particularly the seed pod of a plant such as cotton or poppy. | |||
| Welsh | bêl | ||
| Welsh "bêl" is cognate with Irish "bál" meaning "a place, dwelling" and Breton "ball" meaning "a round field, mound". | |||
Ball in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | мяч | ||
| Мяч in Belarusian comes from Old Church Slavonic and also means ‘a piece of bread’ and ‘a small child’. | |||
| Bosnian | lopta | ||
| The Bosnian word "lopta" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "lopta", meaning "ball" or "sphere". | |||
| Bulgarian | топка | ||
| The word "топка" also means "firebox" in Bulgarian, a reference to the heat generated by a ball game. | |||
| Czech | míč | ||
| The word "míč" in Czech also refers to a specific type of ball used in bowling. | |||
| Estonian | pall | ||
| The word “pall” has additional meanings beyond “ball”, including “head” and “brain”. | |||
| Finnish | pallo | ||
| "Pallo" also refers to a small farmholding or a plot of grassland used for grazing. | |||
| Hungarian | labda | ||
| The term 'labda' is also a slang word for 'testicles'. | |||
| Latvian | bumba | ||
| Bumba comes from the sound a ball makes when dropped, and its plural form bumbi can mean either "balls" or "testicles" | |||
| Lithuanian | kamuolys | ||
| Lithuanian "kamuolys" literally translates to "rolled up (thing)", from "kamuoti" (to roll up). | |||
| Macedonian | топка | ||
| The Macedonian word "топка" (ball) also refers to a cannonball, a cartridge, a bundle of wool, and a ball of thread. | |||
| Polish | piłka | ||
| In Polish, the word "piłka" has several alternate meanings, including "pillow" and "soccer ball." | |||
| Romanian | minge | ||
| The word "minge" in Romanian can also refer to a fist or a cannonball. | |||
| Russian | мяч | ||
| The word "мяч" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *met-, meaning "to throw" or "to hit". | |||
| Serbian | лопта | ||
| In Serbia, the word "лопта" can also refer to a type of folk dance or a part of a traditional Serbian costume. | |||
| Slovak | ples | ||
| The word "ples" in Slovak comes from the German word "ball" and is also used to refer to a dance party. | |||
| Slovenian | žogo | ||
| *Žogo* in Slovenian can also refer to a child's game where a ball is bounced and kicked with the feet.} | |||
| Ukrainian | м'яч | ||
| The Ukrainian word "м'яч" (ball) comes from the Turkic word "meç", meaning "sphere". | |||
Ball in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বল | ||
| The Bengali word 'বল' also means 'strength' or 'force', likely due to the perceived association between physical exertion and the strength of a 'ball'. | |||
| Gujarati | દડો | ||
| "દડો" also means 'wheel', 'roller', 'castor' or 'a round seed'. | |||
| Hindi | गेंद | ||
| The word "गेंद" also means "a group of people" or "a group of animals" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಚೆಂಡು | ||
| The word "ಚೆಂಡು" (ball) is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root "*ten-," meaning "to roll." | |||
| Malayalam | പന്ത് | ||
| The Malayalam word "പന്ത്" can also refer to a type of game played with a ball, similar to marbles or jacks. | |||
| Marathi | बॉल | ||
| In Marathi, the word "बॉल" can also refer to a "sphere" or a "round object". | |||
| Nepali | बल | ||
| "बल" can also mean strength or force in Sanskrit. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਾਲ | ||
| The word 'ਬਾਲ' ('ball') in Punjabi can also refer to a child or a young person. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බෝලය | ||
| The word "බෝලය" (ball) in Sinhala is derived from the Dravidian root "pol", meaning "to revolve" or "to roll". | |||
| Tamil | பந்து | ||
| In colloquial Tamil, "பந்து" also refers to a group of people or a party involved in any activity. | |||
| Telugu | బంతి | ||
| "బంతి" also means "a small measure" in Telugu, and originates from the Sanskrit word "Bhanda" meaning a vessel or container. | |||
| Urdu | گیند | ||
| The Urdu word for 'ball', "گیند", likely derives from the Prakrit term "ginda", meaning a small spherical object. | |||
Ball in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 球 | ||
| 球 can also mean "world", or a certain object in a set, as in "球体" (sphere). | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 球 | ||
| 球 as a radical means "jade" and appears in words like 琳 (fine jade), 珍 (treasured jade), and 瓊 (beautiful jade). | |||
| Japanese | 玉 | ||
| The word "玉" can also mean "pearl" or "precious stone" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 공 | ||
| The Korean word "공" also refers to "respect" and "fairness". | |||
| Mongolian | бөмбөг | ||
| The word "бөмбөг" can also refer to a sphere, globe, or planet, and is related to the words "бөөр" (kidney) and "бөөн" (round). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဘောလုံး | ||
Ball in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | bola | ||
| Bola (Ball) comes from Portuguese, meaning "a sphere". | |||
| Javanese | bal | ||
| The Javanese word "bal" can also mean a village, a gathering, or a meeting. | |||
| Khmer | បាល់ | ||
| 'បាល់' is a Khmer word that can also refer to a 'bullet' or 'vote'. | |||
| Lao | ບານ | ||
| The word "ບານ" can also mean "game" or "play" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | bola | ||
| The Malay word "bola" (ball) is also used to refer to a type of fishing net or a spinning top. | |||
| Thai | ลูกบอล | ||
| "ลูกบอล" comes from the Sanskrit word "balla", meaning "a round object." | |||
| Vietnamese | trái bóng | ||
| The word "trái bóng" literally means "round fruit" in Vietnamese | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bola | ||
Ball in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | top | ||
| The word "top" also means "ball" in Persian and Turkish, and is cognate with the English word "top". | |||
| Kazakh | доп | ||
| "Доп" (ball) originates from the Old Kazakh word "топ", meaning an object or something round | |||
| Kyrgyz | топ | ||
| The word "топ" can also mean "cannonball" or "nucleus" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | тӯб | ||
| The word "тӯб" has Indo-European roots, related to English "tube" and Persian "top". | |||
| Turkmen | top | ||
| Uzbek | to'p | ||
| The Uzbek word "to'p" can also refer to a type of traditional children's game played with small pebbles. | |||
| Uyghur | ball | ||
Ball in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kinipōpō | ||
| The word "kinipōpō" in Hawaiian can also mean "sphere", "globe", "ball of yarn", or "testicle". | |||
| Maori | pōro | ||
| "Pōro" is the Māori word for "ball" and also refers to the games of rugby, netball, and basketball, which all involve a ball. | |||
| Samoan | polo | ||
| "Polo" is also used as a term of endearment, especially for children and younger family members. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bola | ||
| In Tagalog (Filipino), the word "bola" can also refer to a lie or deception, showcasing the language's nuanced use of terms. | |||
Ball in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | piluta | ||
| Guarani | manga | ||
Ball in International Languages
| Esperanto | pilko | ||
| The Esperanto word "pilko" is derived from the Russian word "pilka" for "ball". | |||
| Latin | sphera | ||
| The word **Sphera** ultimately comes from the Greek σφαῖρα, or *sphaira*, which also means round object or celestial body. | |||
Ball in Others Languages
| Greek | μπάλα | ||
| The word 'μπάλα' (ball) can also refer to a gathering of people with shared interests, or a round, spherical object used in various games and sports. | |||
| Hmong | pob | ||
| The Hmong noun 'pob' also refers to a 'group of people' or a 'bundle of things' tied together. | |||
| Kurdish | gog | ||
| The Kurdish word "gog" (ball) is derived from the Indo-European root *ǵʰólǵʰo-, meaning "to turn" or "to roll". It is cognate with the English word "golf". Additionally, in some dialects of Kurdish, "gog" can also refer to a marble or a bead. | |||
| Turkish | top | ||
| It can also mean "cannonball", or "a round or spherical object used as a toy". | |||
| Xhosa | ibhola | ||
| The Xhosa word 'ibhola' can also refer to a person who is 'rolling' in wealth or good luck, particularly when combined with the figurative prefix 'u'. | |||
| Yiddish | פּילקע | ||
| The Yiddish word "פּילקע" is cognate with the German word "Ball" and the English word "ball", all of which stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰel- "to swing". | |||
| Zulu | ibhola | ||
| In some contexts, the word "ibhola" can also refer to a "testicle" or "scrotum". | |||
| Assamese | বল | ||
| Aymara | piluta | ||
| Bhojpuri | गैंदा | ||
| Dhivehi | ބޯޅަ | ||
| Dogri | गेद | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bola | ||
| Guarani | manga | ||
| Ilocano | bola | ||
| Krio | bɔl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تۆپ | ||
| Maithili | गेन्द | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯕꯣꯜ | ||
| Mizo | thilmum | ||
| Oromo | kubbaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବଲ୍ | ||
| Quechua | pukuchu | ||
| Sanskrit | कन्दुक | ||
| Tatar | туп | ||
| Tigrinya | ኩዕሶ | ||
| Tsonga | bolo | ||