Bench in Different Languages
Discover 'Bench' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The humble bench, a fixture in parks, gardens, and public spaces, is often taken for granted. Yet, this simple piece of furniture has a rich history and cultural significance that belies its unassuming appearance. Benches have been around for centuries, providing a place for people to rest, socialize, and observe the world around them. From the ancient Roman 'subsellium' to the ornate benches of Victorian England, the bench has evolved in design and purpose, yet its essence remains the same.
Benches are not just functional; they are also symbolic. In many cultures, benches are associated with community, equality, and democracy. They are places where people of all walks of life can come together, share stories, and form connections. This cultural importance is reflected in the many languages where the word for bench carries these connotations.
Understanding the translation of bench in different languages can provide insight into the cultural significance of this simple piece of furniture. For example, in Spanish, the word for bench is 'banco', which also means 'bank'. In German, it's 'Bank', reflecting a similar dual meaning. In Russian, it's 'скамейка' (skamyeika), and in Japanese, it's 'ベンチ' (benchi).
Join us as we explore the translations of bench in various languages, shedding light on the cultural importance of this universal symbol of rest and community.
Bench
Bench in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bankie | ||
| The Afrikaans word "bankie" originated from the English word "bench" and also refers to a type of small bench used for milking cows. | |||
| Amharic | አግዳሚ ወንበር | ||
| The word "agidami wenber" in Amharic can also refer to a "judge" or an "umpire". | |||
| Hausa | benci | ||
| The word "benci" can also refer to a type of grass that grows in clumps. | |||
| Igbo | bench | ||
| In the Igbo language, the word bench may also refer to a traditional gathering place in communities. | |||
| Malagasy | dabilio | ||
| The word "dabilio" is thought to derive either from the word "dabio" meaning "sitting" or "dabila" meaning "plank". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | benchi | ||
| In Nyanja, 'benchi' also refers to a platform built for drying fish, or a wooden slatted platform used for storage. | |||
| Shona | bhenji | ||
| The word 'bhenji' is thought to have originated from the Shona word 'mheni', meaning 'row' or 'line'. | |||
| Somali | keydka | ||
| The Somali word 'keydka' can also refer to a table or a bed, and is derived from the verb 'keed' meaning 'to set' or 'to spread out'. | |||
| Sesotho | benche | ||
| The word "benche" is derived from the Afrikaans word "bank", which originally meant "bench" but now commonly refers to a "bank". | |||
| Swahili | benchi | ||
| In Swahili, "benchi" can also refer to a bed or a seat in a vehicle. | |||
| Xhosa | isitulo | ||
| Although 'isitulo' means 'bench', in the context of Xhosa custom and tradition, 'isitulo' also represents a place of safety, comfort and acceptance. | |||
| Yoruba | ibujoko | ||
| "Ibojoko" can also mean "a stool". | |||
| Zulu | ibhentshi | ||
| 'Ibhenchi' is likely derived from the isiZulu word 'igwenya,' meaning 'crocodile,' due to their shared characteristics of being long and flat. | |||
| Bambara | ban | ||
| Ewe | zikpuilegbe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | intebe | ||
| Lingala | banc | ||
| Luganda | entebe | ||
| Sepedi | panka | ||
| Twi (Akan) | akonnwa | ||
Bench in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | مقاعد البدلاء | ||
| The word "مقاعد البدلاء" can also refer to a group of substitutes in a sports team. | |||
| Hebrew | סַפְסָל | ||
| ספסל also refers to a religious court, especially one that deals with Jewish law | |||
| Pashto | بنچ | ||
| In Pashto, "بنچ" can also refer to a type of traditional wooden platform used for sitting or sleeping in the courtyard of a house. | |||
| Arabic | مقاعد البدلاء | ||
| The word "مقاعد البدلاء" can also refer to a group of substitutes in a sports team. | |||
Bench in Western European Languages
| Albanian | stol | ||
| The word 'stol' also means 'throne' in certain contexts. | |||
| Basque | bankua | ||
| The word "bankua" also means "bank" in Basque, due to the similarity between the functions of a financial institution and a bench. | |||
| Catalan | banc | ||
| In the medieval Catalan legal texts the banc was a special court that judged on mercantile affairs. | |||
| Croatian | klupa | ||
| The word "klupa" in Croatian also means "a school desk". | |||
| Danish | bænk | ||
| The Danish word "bænk" is derived from the Old Norse word "benkr" meaning "a long seat without a back". | |||
| Dutch | bank | ||
| "Bank" in Dutch can also mean slope, coast, and side of a bed or ship. | |||
| English | bench | ||
| "Bench" can also mean a group of judges, or a table or work surface in a laboratory or workshop. | |||
| French | banc | ||
| The French word "banc" also means a sandbank or a shoal. | |||
| Frisian | bank | ||
| In Frisian, the word "bank" additionally means "embankment" or "shore". | |||
| Galician | banco | ||
| Galician "banco" also refers to "the house" in a gambling context. | |||
| German | bank | ||
| In German, “Bank” can also refer to a financial institution or the side of a river. | |||
| Icelandic | bekkur | ||
| Icelandic "bekkur" (bench) comes from Old Norse "bekkr", meaning stream, because people often gathered and rested by the flowing waters. | |||
| Irish | binse | ||
| The Irish word "binse" is derived from the Proto-Celtic word "*bensikos", which also meant "table" or "board". | |||
| Italian | panchina | ||
| In Tuscany, "panchina" also refers to the back of a wooden wagon or cart. | |||
| Luxembourgish | bänk | ||
| In modern Luxembourgish "Bänk" is also used as a synonym for "Bierbänk" (beer bench). | |||
| Maltese | bank | ||
| The word 'bank' in Maltese derives from the Sicilian 'banca', originally meaning 'table' or 'counter'. | |||
| Norwegian | benk | ||
| In some Norwegian dialects, "benk" can also refer to a prayer table or to a shelf. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | banco | ||
| The word "Banco" in Portuguese has multiple meanings, including bank, bench, and sandbank. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | being | ||
| 'Being' in Scots Gaelic also means 'existence' or 'state of being'. | |||
| Spanish | banco | ||
| The Spanish word 'banco' ('bench') also refers to a financial institution (bank), likely due to the historical use of benches for money exchange. | |||
| Swedish | bänk | ||
| Bänk also means 'row' in the sense of a line of something, like a line of trees or houses. | |||
| Welsh | mainc | ||
| The Welsh word "mainc" is also used to refer to the top or surface of something, or to the side of a hill. | |||
Bench in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | лаўка | ||
| The word "лаўка" can also refer to a small shop or a stall in a market. | |||
| Bosnian | klupa | ||
| The word 'klupa' can also refer to the wooden frame of the loom or the frame on which the child sits during circumcision. | |||
| Bulgarian | пейка | ||
| The word "пейка" is derived from the Turkic word "bek" meaning "seat" or "throne". | |||
| Czech | lavice | ||
| The Czech word "lavice" has Slavic roots, related to "lawa" in Polish, "lava" in Russian, and "láva" in Hungarian, all meaning "bench". | |||
| Estonian | pink | ||
| In Estonian, the word "pink" can also refer to a "heap" or a "pile". | |||
| Finnish | penkki | ||
| Penkki derives from the Indo-European root *penk - "five", possibly because the first benches had five legs. | |||
| Hungarian | pad | ||
| The Hungarian word "pad" also means "floor", while the word "padló" means "carpet". | |||
| Latvian | sols | ||
| The word "sols" in Latvian derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *sed- "to sit". | |||
| Lithuanian | suolas | ||
| "Suolas" also means "swamp" or "moor" in some dialects and old texts. | |||
| Macedonian | клупа | ||
| The word "клупа" (bench) in Macedonian also denotes the wooden plank used in a loom, as well as the torture instrument composed of a wooden board with holes drilled into it and a lever, used for compressing the legs and/or neck. | |||
| Polish | ławka | ||
| While "ławka" primarily means "bench" in Polish, it can also refer to a "seat" or even an "exam". | |||
| Romanian | bancă | ||
| "Bancă" can also mean "bank" in Romanian, derived from the Italian word "banca" with the same meaning. | |||
| Russian | скамейка | ||
| "Скамейка" is a diminutive form of "скамья" (a bench), akin to "скамни" (low benches, footstools). | |||
| Serbian | клупа | ||
| "Клупа" originates from the Old Slavic word "klъpa", meaning "a wooden plank", and its plural form "клупи" also means "stocks". | |||
| Slovak | lavica | ||
| Lavica, the Slovak word for "bench" was derived from the word "lava" which can mean "rock" or "magma". | |||
| Slovenian | klop | ||
| The word "klop" can also mean "a wooden trap for small animals" or "a piece of wood used to level a surface" | |||
| Ukrainian | лава | ||
| In Ukrainian, "лава" can also refer to a layer (geological) or a row in a theater. | |||
Bench in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | এজলাস | ||
| The word "এজলাস" originally meant "a sitting" or "a session". However, it came to be used to refer to a bench because benches are often used for sitting or for holding sessions. | |||
| Gujarati | બેંચ | ||
| The Gujarati word "બેંચ" is borrowed from the Persian word "banch" and the Latin word "bancus," both of which mean "bench" or "seat." | |||
| Hindi | बेंच | ||
| The word "बेंच" is also used to refer to a row of athletes in a race, or to a group of lawyers who are representing the same client. | |||
| Kannada | ಬೆಂಚ್ | ||
| The word "ಬೆಂಚ್" can also mean a judicial tribunal or the judges who preside over it. | |||
| Malayalam | ബെഞ്ച് | ||
| The word "ബെഞ്ച്" (bench) in Malayalam can also refer to a plank used for sitting or lying on, particularly in a rural setting. | |||
| Marathi | खंडपीठ | ||
| The word "खंडपीठ" is derived from the Sanskrit words "खंड" (piece) and "पीठ" (seat), and can also refer to a broken seat or a seat made of pieces. | |||
| Nepali | बेन्च | ||
| The word "बेन्च" also means "judicial court" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬੈਂਚ | ||
| The word "ਬੈਂਚ" can also mean "a panel of judges" in legal contexts. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බංකුව | ||
| Although the most common meaning of "බංකුව" is "bench", it can also refer to a financial institution like a bank or the place where judges sit in a courtroom. | |||
| Tamil | பெஞ்ச் | ||
| In Tamil, "பெஞ்ச்" can also mean "a group of people sitting together to judge or decide something", similar to the English term "bench" in legal contexts. | |||
| Telugu | బెంచ్ | ||
| The Telugu word 'బెంచ్' also has a secondary meaning, referring to a judicial tribunal or court. | |||
| Urdu | بینچ | ||
| Derived from the Persian "bink," the word "بینچ" has a second meaning, which is "shelf." | |||
Bench in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 板凳 | ||
| 板凳 (bǎndèng) originally referred to a small, square stool used for seating, and later extended to mean a longer, rectangular bench used as a public seat. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 板凳 | ||
| 板凳's initial meaning is a form of punishment in which one kneels on a wooden plank. | |||
| Japanese | ベンチ | ||
| "ベンチ" can be read as either ベンチ (benchi), meaning "bench", or ベント (bento), meaning "packed lunch." | |||
| Korean | 벤치 | ||
| The word "bench" (벤치) in Korean can also refer to a kind of low table used for traditional Korean dining. | |||
| Mongolian | вандан | ||
| The Mongolian word "avan" can also refer to a type of table. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခုံတန်းရှည် | ||
| The word "khon tan shin" comes from the words "khon" (base) and "tan shin" (long), referring to its shape and function as a long base for sitting. | |||
Bench in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | bangku | ||
| The Indonesian word "bangku" is derived from the Sanskrit word "pangu", meaning "seat". | |||
| Javanese | bangku | ||
| The word "bangku" in Javanese has roots in Sanskrit and also means "bed" or "bedstead". | |||
| Khmer | លេងជាកីឡាករបម្រុង | ||
| While bench is an English word, the meaning in Khmer specifically refers to someone who waits for their turn to play a sport. | |||
| Lao | ຕັ່ງ | ||
| In Lao, the word "ຕັ່ງ" can also refer to a type of wooden frame used to support mattresses or as an altar in a Buddhist temple. | |||
| Malay | bangku simpanan | ||
| The word "bangku simpanan" in Malay has the alternate meaning of "reserve bench" or "substitutes bench" in sports. | |||
| Thai | ม้านั่ง | ||
| In some parts of Thailand, "ม้านั่ง" (bench) is also used to refer to a bed or a sofa. | |||
| Vietnamese | băng ghế | ||
| The word "Băng ghế" can also refer to a group of people who sit together in a meeting or assembly. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bangko | ||
Bench in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | dəzgah | ||
| "Dəzgah" also means "loom" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | орындық | ||
| The word "орындық" can also refer to a "seat" or a "cushion" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | отургуч | ||
| The word "отургуч" (bench) is derived from the verb "отур-" (to sit), indicating its primary use as a seating surface. | |||
| Tajik | курсӣ | ||
| The word "курсӣ" (bench) in Tajik is also used to refer to a small, low table, especially one used for serving food. | |||
| Turkmen | oturgyç | ||
| Uzbek | skameyka | ||
| The word "skameyka" comes from the Russian word "скамейка" and has the same meaning in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ئورۇندۇق | ||
Bench in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pākaukau | ||
| The word "pākaukau" is also an onomatopoeia for the sound of someone sitting down on a bench. | |||
| Maori | papa | ||
| In addition to meaning 'bench', 'papa' means 'flat surface', 'floor', 'earth', 'placenta' or 'flat rock'. | |||
| Samoan | nofoa | ||
| Nofo means 'sit' in Samoan and is similar to other Polynesian languages like Tongan (nofo), Rapa Nui (noho), and Maori (noho) | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bangko | ||
| Bangko also refers to a bank or money table. | |||
Bench in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | wanku | ||
| Guarani | mesa mba'aporã | ||
Bench in International Languages
| Esperanto | benko | ||
| The word "benko" is derived from the French "banc" and can also mean "bank" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | scamnum | ||
| Scamnum derives from 'scapus' ('shaft, stem') referring to its wooden supports. | |||
Bench in Others Languages
| Greek | παγκάκι | ||
| In Ancient Greek, παγκάκι referred to an Athenian public assembly, similar to the Roman senate. | |||
| Hmong | lub rooj ntev zaum | ||
| The term "lub rooj ntev zaum" literally means "a long plank of wood for sitting on" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | dika | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "bench," dika also refers to a type of traditional Kurdish bread | |||
| Turkish | bank | ||
| In Turkish, "banka" can mean both "bench" and "bank", but the latter is derived from the Italian word "banco" meaning "table". | |||
| Xhosa | isitulo | ||
| Although 'isitulo' means 'bench', in the context of Xhosa custom and tradition, 'isitulo' also represents a place of safety, comfort and acceptance. | |||
| Yiddish | באַנק | ||
| The Yiddish word "באַנק" (bank) can also refer to a financial institution, likely derived from the Italian word "banca" meaning table or counter. | |||
| Zulu | ibhentshi | ||
| 'Ibhenchi' is likely derived from the isiZulu word 'igwenya,' meaning 'crocodile,' due to their shared characteristics of being long and flat. | |||
| Assamese | বেঞ্চ | ||
| Aymara | wanku | ||
| Bhojpuri | बेंच | ||
| Dhivehi | ހޮޅުއަށި | ||
| Dogri | बेंच | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bangko | ||
| Guarani | mesa mba'aporã | ||
| Ilocano | papag | ||
| Krio | bɛnch | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | قەراغ | ||
| Maithili | अदालत | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯐꯝꯅꯕ ꯐꯥꯟ | ||
| Mizo | thutthleng | ||
| Oromo | barcuma | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବେଞ୍ଚ | ||
| Quechua | tiyana | ||
| Sanskrit | पीठ | ||
| Tatar | эскәмия | ||
| Tigrinya | ኮፍ መበሊ | ||
| Tsonga | benci | ||