Basketball in Different Languages
Discover 'Basketball' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Basketball
Afrikaans basketbal | ||
Albanian basketboll | ||
Amharic ቅርጫት ኳስ | ||
Arabic كرة سلة | ||
Armenian բասկետբոլ | ||
Assamese বাস্কেটবল | ||
Aymara baloncesto ukata | ||
Azerbaijani basketbol | ||
Bambara basikɛtikɛla | ||
Basque saskibaloia | ||
Belarusian баскетбол | ||
Bengali বাস্কেটবল | ||
Bhojpuri बास्केटबॉल के बा | ||
Bosnian košarka | ||
Bulgarian баскетбол | ||
Catalan bàsquet | ||
Cebuano basketball | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 篮球 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 籃球 | ||
Corsican basketball | ||
Croatian košarka | ||
Czech basketball | ||
Danish basketball | ||
Dhivehi ބާސްކެޓްބޯޅަ އެވެ | ||
Dogri बास्केटबॉल | ||
Dutch basketbal | ||
English basketball | ||
Esperanto korbopilko | ||
Estonian korvpall | ||
Ewe basketball ƒoƒo | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) basketball | ||
Finnish koripallo | ||
French basketball | ||
Frisian basketbal | ||
Galician baloncesto | ||
Georgian კალათბურთი | ||
German basketball | ||
Greek μπάσκετ | ||
Guarani baloncesto rehegua | ||
Gujarati બાસ્કેટબ .લ | ||
Haitian Creole baskètbòl | ||
Hausa kwando | ||
Hawaiian kinipōpō hīnaʻi | ||
Hebrew כדורסל | ||
Hindi बास्केटबाल | ||
Hmong pob tawb | ||
Hungarian kosárlabda | ||
Icelandic körfubolti | ||
Igbo basketball | ||
Ilocano basketball | ||
Indonesian bola basket | ||
Irish cispheil | ||
Italian pallacanestro | ||
Japanese バスケットボール | ||
Javanese bola basket | ||
Kannada ಬ್ಯಾಸ್ಕೆಟ್ಬಾಲ್ | ||
Kazakh баскетбол | ||
Khmer បាល់បោះ | ||
Kinyarwanda basketball | ||
Konkani बास्केटबॉल | ||
Korean 농구 | ||
Krio baskɛtbɔl | ||
Kurdish basketbol | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) باسکە | ||
Kyrgyz баскетбол | ||
Lao ບານບ້ວງ | ||
Latin basketball | ||
Latvian basketbols | ||
Lingala basketball | ||
Lithuanian krepšinis | ||
Luganda basketball | ||
Luxembourgish basketball | ||
Macedonian кошарка | ||
Maithili बास्केटबॉल | ||
Malagasy baskety | ||
Malay bola keranjang | ||
Malayalam ബാസ്കറ്റ്ബോൾ | ||
Maltese basketball | ||
Maori poitūkohu | ||
Marathi बास्केटबॉल | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯕꯥꯁ꯭ꯀꯦꯠꯕꯣꯜ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo basketball khelh a ni | ||
Mongolian сагсан бөмбөг | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဘတ်စကက်ဘော | ||
Nepali बास्केटबल | ||
Norwegian basketball | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mpira | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବାସ୍କେଟବଲ୍ | | ||
Oromo kubbaa miilaa kubbaa miilaa | ||
Pashto باسکټبال | ||
Persian بسکتبال | ||
Polish koszykówka | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) basquetebol | ||
Punjabi ਬਾਸਕਟਬਾਲ | ||
Quechua baloncesto nisqa | ||
Romanian baschet | ||
Russian баскетбол | ||
Samoan pasiketipolo | ||
Sanskrit बास्केटबॉल | ||
Scots Gaelic ball-basgaid | ||
Sepedi basketball | ||
Serbian кошарка | ||
Sesotho basketball | ||
Shona basketball | ||
Sindhi باسڪيٽ بال | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පැසිපන්දු | ||
Slovak basketbal | ||
Slovenian košarka | ||
Somali kubbadda koleyga | ||
Spanish baloncesto | ||
Sundanese baskét | ||
Swahili mpira wa kikapu | ||
Swedish basketboll | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) basketball | ||
Tajik баскетбол | ||
Tamil கூடைப்பந்து | ||
Tatar баскетбол | ||
Telugu బాస్కెట్బాల్ | ||
Thai บาสเกตบอล | ||
Tigrinya ኩዕሶ ሰኪዔት። | ||
Tsonga basketball | ||
Turkish basketbol | ||
Turkmen basketbol | ||
Twi (Akan) basketball a wɔde bɔ bɔɔl | ||
Ukrainian баскетбол | ||
Urdu باسکٹ بال | ||
Uyghur ۋاسكېتبول | ||
Uzbek basketbol | ||
Vietnamese bóng rổ | ||
Welsh pêl-fasged | ||
Xhosa ibhola yomnyazi | ||
Yiddish קוישבאָל | ||
Yoruba agbọn | ||
Zulu i-basketball |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, the word "basketbal" can also refer to the game of netball. |
| Albanian | In Albanian, "basket\boll" is a tautology originating from the English "basket" |
| Amharic | ቅርጫት ኳስ directly translates to "inflated ball" but only refers to basketball in Amharic. |
| Arabic | The word "كرة سلة" in Arabic literally means "basket ball" but its other meaning is "soccer ball". |
| Armenian | Բասկետբոլ is derived from the English words "basket" and "ball" and shares the same meaning across both languages. |
| Azerbaijani | In Azerbaijani, "Basketbol" is also referred to as "Tor", meaning "net" in the context of a goal. |
| Basque | The word 'saskibaloia' is derived from the Basque words 'saskia' ('basket') and 'baloia' ('ball'). |
| Belarusian | In Belarusian, "баскетбол" is derived from the Russian word "баскетбол" and ultimately from the English word "basketball". |
| Bengali | The term "basketball" was coined by James Naismith, who created the game in 1891. It is a portmanteau of the words "basket" and "ball". The "basket" refers to the peach baskets that were used as goals when the game was first invented, and the "ball" is the spherical object that is used to play the game. |
| Bosnian | The word 'košarka' is derived from the Serbian ' koš' (basket) and the Croatian 'arka' (ark), thus 'basket ark'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "баскетбол" is derived from the English word "basketball" and means "a game played with a ball and a net" |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "bàsquet" comes from the Spanish word "baloncesto", which in turn comes from the English word "basketball". |
| Cebuano | The Tagalog term 'basketbol' does not refer to basketball, but rather table tennis. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Chinese, the word "篮球" literally means "ball in a cage". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 籃球 is also written as 籃子球 in Chinese and its alternate form refers to the bamboo-made ball used as a toy during the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "basketball" is also known as "pallacestu" which means "basket game" |
| Croatian | In Serbo-Croatian dialects, "košarka" also means "a basket". |
| Czech | "Basketball" in Czech translates to "košíková" which also means "female maid". |
| Danish | The word "basketball" in Danish is "basketball", and it has no alternate meanings. |
| Dutch | Het woord 'basketbal' komt van het Engelse 'basket-ball', wat oorspronkelijk een mand aan een paal was waarin het fruit 'pawl' zat. |
| Esperanto | The name is a combination of the words korbo, meaning “basket” (from the French corbeille) and pilko, meaning “ball”. |
| Estonian | "Korvpall" merges "korv" (basket, container, sausage) with "pall" (ball), creating a hybrid word for a sport known both for the net's woven basketlike shape and the ball's flying trajectory through it. |
| Finnish | "Koripallo" is a compound word formed from the words "kori" (basket) and "pallo" (ball). |
| French | In French, "basketball" translates to "basket-ball", with "basket" deriving from Old French "basquet" (small basket) and "ball" from Old French "bale" (ball). |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "basketbal" can also refer to a type of fishing net. |
| Galician | No se sabe con certeza si la palabra "baloncesto" proviene de la palabra inglesa "basketball" o si es una palabra original del gallego. |
| Georgian | In its original meaning, "კალათბურთი" referred to a type of wrestling involving a leather bag filled with millet or pebbles. |
| German | Korb is the German word for "basket" while Ball is the German word for "ball". |
| Greek | The word "μπάσκετ" (basketball) derives from the Greek words "μπάλα" (ball) and "σκάφη" (trough). |
| Gujarati | The word "basketball" comes from the English words "basket" and "ball". |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "baskètbòl" also means "to play basketball". |
| Hausa | The term 'kwando' derives from the Kanuri word 'kuwado', signifying 'throwing at something'. The word itself connotes the skill of hurling and receiving objects. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, the term kinipōpō can also refer to a kind of game similar to soccer. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "כדורסל" ("basketball") can also mean "hot air balloon". |
| Hindi | "बास्केटबाल" शब्द की उत्पत्ति अंग्रेज़ी शब्द 'बास्केट बॉल' (Basket Ball) से हुई है, जिसका अर्थ 'टोकरी वाली गेंद' होता है। |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "pob tawb" literally translates to "throw a ball" in the Hmong language. |
| Hungarian | The word "kosárlabda" literally means "basket ball" in Hungarian, as "kosár" means "basket" and "labda" means "ball". |
| Icelandic | The word "körfubolti" in Icelandic literally means "basket ball" as "körfur" means "basket" and "bolti" means "ball". |
| Igbo | In Igbo, 'basketball' is also known as 'bọọlbọlụ ụkwụ,' which literally translates to 'ball that is kicked with the feet'. |
| Indonesian | "Bola basket" literally means "basket ball" in Indonesian. |
| Irish | Cispheil is a corruption of the English phrase "cheese fail" used in the 1980s to mock players throwing the ball and missing the basket. |
| Italian | "Pallacanestro" is derived from "palla" (meaning "ball") and "canestro" (meaning "basket"), implying the game's objective of throwing the ball into the basket. |
| Japanese | バスケットボール is a loanword from English, meaning 'a ball that is used in a game where players try to score points by throwing the ball through a hoop'. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, "bola basket" literally means "ball that is cast". |
| Kannada | The word "basketball" in Kannada is derived from the English words "basket" and "ball", which refer to the sport's equipment and objective. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word for "basketball" is derived from the English word "basketball". |
| Khmer | បាល់បោះ in Khmer is derived from the French "ballon au poing" (literally "ball at the fist") which was used in 1893 by James Naismith, a Canadian physical education teacher. |
| Korean | Besides its literal meaning, "농구" also signifies "farming" in Korean. |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, "basketbol" also refers to a type of basket used for farming and transporting goods. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "баскетбол" comes from the English word "basketball" and has no other meanings in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | The root word "ບ້ວງ" also refers to a kind of fruit called "custard apple". |
| Latin | In Latin, "basketball" refers to the "game of the basket" or "basket-ball". |
| Latvian | "Basketbols" in Latvian doesn't just mean "basketball" but could also be translated as "shopping cart". |
| Lithuanian | The word "krepšinis" is derived from the Lithuanian words "krepšys" (basket) and "nisti" (to put). |
| Luxembourgish | "Basketball" derives from German, where it translates to "basketball". |
| Macedonian | The word "кошарка" (basketball in Macedonian) has the alternate meaning of the collective effort to protect livestock. |
| Malagasy | The word "baskety" in Malagasy also means "basket" |
| Malay | The word "bola keranjang" in Malay translates directly to "basket ball". |
| Maltese | The Maltese word for "basketball" is "baskitbol," which is derived from the English word "basketball". |
| Maori | In contemporary Māori the word poitūkohu may be understood as a compound consisting of poitū ('ball') and kohu ('sound, noise'). |
| Marathi | The word "बास्केटबॉल" is also used to refer to the sport of basketball in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian, 'сагсан бөмбөг' literally translates to '[a ball that goes into] a basket'. This is because basketball is played with a ball that is thrown into a basket that is attached to a pole. |
| Nepali | The word "basketball" comes from the English words "basket" and "ball". |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "basketball" can also refer to a type of bread roll. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'mpira' also means 'ball' and is related to the word 'pirira', meaning 'to play'. It is also used as a generic term for 'sports'. |
| Pashto | The word 'باسکټبال' ('basketball') is derived from the English words 'basket' and 'ball'. In Pashto, it can also refer to a type of street game played with a ball and a small basket. |
| Persian | بسکتبال (basketball) is a loanword from English, where it literally means "a basket" (basket) + "ball" (ball). |
| Polish | "Koszykówka" derives from the Polish words "kosz" (basket) and "kówka" (cage or coop), referring to the original baskets used as hoops. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, the word "basquetebol" is a cognate of the English word "basketball", but it also means "basket" |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word 'ਬਾਸਕਟਬਾਲ' ('basketball') is derived from the English word 'basketball', which refers to the sport played with a large ball that is thrown into a basket mounted on a pole. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, the word "baschet" also means "a kind of basket" used for carrying small objects. |
| Russian | "Баскетбол" происходит от англ. basket — корзина и ball — мяч. Первые игры были именно такими — нужно было забросить мяч в корзину. |
| Samoan | The word "pasiketipolo" is derived from the English word "basketball". |
| Scots Gaelic | The word 'ball-basgaid' can also be used to refer to both the game of and a particular basketball in Scots Gaelic. |
| Serbian | Although "кошарка" is Serbian for “basketball”, it also means "the pen" or "the cage". |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word "basketball" also refers to the plant used to make the baskets used in basketball. |
| Shona | In Shona, "Basketball" is also translated as "Bhora rebhasikiti", suggesting its classification as a "ball game". |
| Sindhi | Sindhi has no direct word for "basketball", it uses the term "باسڪيٽ بال" ("basketball"), a loan word from English. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "košíková" means "basket", but also refers to the sport of basketball, as in the English word "basketball". |
| Slovenian | The word "košarka" is derived from the Slovenian word "koš", meaning "basket", and the suffix "-arka", which denotes a collective noun. |
| Somali | The word "kubbadda koleyga" is derived from the Arabic phrase "kurat al-silah", meaning "ball of the basket". |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "baloncesto" means "basketball", and its root words literally mean "under the basket". |
| Sundanese | In Sundanese, "baskét" can also refer to a food basket woven of bamboo. |
| Swahili | The term 'mpira wa kikapu' ('basketball' in Swahili) literally means 'ball of basket' |
| Swedish | The Swedish word for 'basketball', 'basketboll', comes from the English "basket" and "boll", meaning 'ball' |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Basketball" also refers to "waste basket" and, figuratively, to something worthless or a nuisance. This is because in English it was initially played using two peach baskets as goals. |
| Tajik | В русском языке слово «баскетбол» произошло от английского «basketball», что в переводе означает «корзина» (basket) и «мяч» (ball). В таджикском языке это слово пришло через русский и звучит так: «баскетбол». |
| Thai | บาสเกตบอล (basketball) มีรากศัพท์มาจากคำว่า "basket" และ "ball" ในภาษาอังกฤษ ซึ่งหมายถึง "ตะกร้า" และ "ลูกบอล" ตามลำดับ |
| Turkish | The word basketbol has the same meaning as basketball in English, and it has no alternate meanings in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | Баскетбол comes from English words "basket" and "ball". |
| Urdu | The word "باسکٹ بال" ultimately comes from the English word "basketball" and has no other meanings in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word for "basketball" is "basketbol", which translates literally to "basket ball" in English. |
| Vietnamese | The word "bóng rổ" is also used in Vietnamese to refer to the sport of handball. |
| Welsh | "Pêl-fasged" is an example of a compound word in Welsh, made up of "pêl" (ball) and "fasged" (basket). |
| Xhosa | The term 'ibhola yomnyazi' is also used informally to refer to the ball used in traditional Xhosa stick-fighting games. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "קוישבאָל" (koyshbal) humorously refers to "a game for boys and girls" (קוישן - children, playing, fooling around; באָל - ball). |
| Yoruba | In Yoruba, agbọn can also mean a small rubber ball used in children's games. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word for basketball, i-basketball, literally means 'basketball'. The English word 'basketball' is derived from the original name of the game, 'basket ball', which refers to the goal of throwing the ball into a basket. |
| English | The word "basketball" could potentially also refer to the spherical object used in the game rather than the game itself. |