Black in Different Languages
Discover 'Black' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Black
Afrikaans swart | ||
Albanian e zezë | ||
Amharic ጥቁር | ||
Arabic أسود | ||
Armenian սեվ | ||
Assamese ক’লা | ||
Aymara ch'iyara | ||
Azerbaijani qara | ||
Bambara finman | ||
Basque beltza | ||
Belarusian чорны | ||
Bengali কালো | ||
Bhojpuri करिया | ||
Bosnian crna | ||
Bulgarian черен | ||
Catalan negre | ||
Cebuano itom | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 黑色 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 黑色 | ||
Corsican neru | ||
Croatian crno | ||
Czech černá | ||
Danish sort | ||
Dhivehi ކަޅު | ||
Dogri काला | ||
Dutch zwart | ||
English black | ||
Esperanto nigra | ||
Estonian must | ||
Ewe yibᴐ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) itim | ||
Finnish musta | ||
French noir | ||
Frisian swart | ||
Galician negro | ||
Georgian შავი | ||
German schwarz | ||
Greek μαύρος | ||
Guarani hũ | ||
Gujarati કાળો | ||
Haitian Creole nwa | ||
Hausa baki | ||
Hawaiian eleʻele | ||
Hebrew שָׁחוֹר | ||
Hindi काली | ||
Hmong dub | ||
Hungarian fekete | ||
Icelandic svartur | ||
Igbo oji | ||
Ilocano nangisit | ||
Indonesian hitam | ||
Irish dubh | ||
Italian nero | ||
Japanese 黒 | ||
Javanese ireng | ||
Kannada ಕಪ್ಪು | ||
Kazakh қара | ||
Khmer ខ្មៅ | ||
Kinyarwanda umukara | ||
Konkani काळें | ||
Korean 검정 | ||
Krio blak | ||
Kurdish reş | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ڕەش | ||
Kyrgyz кара | ||
Lao ສີດໍາ | ||
Latin nigreos | ||
Latvian melns | ||
Lingala moindo | ||
Lithuanian juoda | ||
Luganda obuddugavu | ||
Luxembourgish schwaarz | ||
Macedonian црна | ||
Maithili कारी | ||
Malagasy mainty | ||
Malay hitam | ||
Malayalam കറുപ്പ് | ||
Maltese iswed | ||
Maori mangu | ||
Marathi काळा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯃꯨꯕ | ||
Mizo dum | ||
Mongolian хар | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အနက်ရောင် | ||
Nepali कालो | ||
Norwegian svart | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) wakuda | ||
Odia (Oriya) କଳା | ||
Oromo gurraacha | ||
Pashto تور | ||
Persian سیاه | ||
Polish czarny | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) preto | ||
Punjabi ਕਾਲਾ | ||
Quechua yana | ||
Romanian negru | ||
Russian черный | ||
Samoan lanu uliuli | ||
Sanskrit कृष्णः | ||
Scots Gaelic dubh | ||
Sepedi ntsho | ||
Serbian црн | ||
Sesotho batsho | ||
Shona nhema | ||
Sindhi ڪارو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කළු | ||
Slovak čierna | ||
Slovenian črna | ||
Somali madow | ||
Spanish negro | ||
Sundanese hideung | ||
Swahili nyeusi | ||
Swedish svart | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) itim | ||
Tajik сиёҳ | ||
Tamil கருப்பு | ||
Tatar кара | ||
Telugu నలుపు | ||
Thai ดำ | ||
Tigrinya ፀሊም | ||
Tsonga ntima | ||
Turkish siyah | ||
Turkmen gara | ||
Twi (Akan) tuntum | ||
Ukrainian чорний | ||
Urdu سیاہ | ||
Uyghur black | ||
Uzbek qora | ||
Vietnamese đen | ||
Welsh du | ||
Xhosa mnyama | ||
Yiddish שוואַרץ | ||
Yoruba dudu | ||
Zulu mnyama |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Swart is cognate with English 'swarthy' and Old English 'sweart', all meaning 'dark-complexioned'. |
| Albanian | The word "e zezë" (black) is also used figuratively to describe something that is very bad or unlucky, e.g., "një ditë e zezë" (a black day). |
| Amharic | In Amharic, ጥቁር "black" can also refer to "dark-skinned persons" and "darkness, lack of light." |
| Arabic | In ancient Yemen, "أسود" (black) symbolized the southern direction and the south Arabian tribes |
| Armenian | The Armenian word “Սև” not only means "black" in color, but it also refers to "sadness" and "evil." |
| Azerbaijani | The word "qara" can also mean "severe" or "strong" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | The word beltza (black) comes from the Basque word beltz, which also means raven. |
| Belarusian | The word "чорны" also means "dark brown" in Belarusian. |
| Bengali | The word "কালো" in Bengali, besides meaning "black", also refers to a deity of time who embodies destructive aspects. |
| Bosnian | "Crna" also means female, dark-haired and is used in the term "Crna Gorica" meaning Montenegro (Black Mountain). |
| Bulgarian | In the Bulgarian language, "черен" also means "unfavorable" or "evil". |
| Catalan | The word "negre" in Catalan also carries connotations of evil, bad luck, or darkness, similar to the English term "black magic." |
| Cebuano | The word "itom" can also be used to describe something that is dark or murky. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In addition to meaning "black," 黑色 (hēisè) can mean "dark, mysterious," or "unscrupulous, corrupt" in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character 黑色 (black) is composed of two radicals: 黑 (black) and 色 (color). |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "neru" also means "poor" or "needy." |
| Croatian | The word "crno" also has a figurative meaning of "gloomy" or "sad" in Croatian. |
| Czech | "Černá" also refers to a Czech village in the Domažlice district, an island on the Vltava river and a lake near Český Krumlov. |
| Danish | The Danish word "sort", "black" in English, is related to the Dutch "zwart", "black" in English. |
| Dutch | The word "zwart" in Dutch can also refer to a shade of brown or dark grey, derived from Old Dutch "swart" meaning burnt or charred. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "nigra" is cognate with English "negro" and is used in botany to contrast light and dark colors (e.g., green and black grapes). |
| Estonian | The word "must" in Estonian also means "ink" or "dye". |
| Finnish | The word "musta" can also refer to "dirt", "grime", or "soil". |
| French | "Noir" also has connotations of mystery, crime, and the underworld in French slang. |
| Frisian | The word "Swart" in Frisian originally referred to a dark-brown color, but it has since come to mean black in most dialects. |
| Galician | In Galician, "negro" has been used with the meaning of "poor" or "unfortunate". |
| Georgian | The word "შავი" can also refer to "dark" or "evil" in Georgian. |
| German | The German word "schwarz" also means "dark", "dirty", or "unlucky" and can be used to describe coffee or bread. |
| Greek | "Μαύρος" (black) in ancient Greek also meant "unlucky, sinister, or polluted," and "dark, gloomy, or mournful." |
| Gujarati | The word "કાળો" can also mean "a long period of time" or "fate" in Gujarati. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "nwa" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "noir" and can also mean "dark" or "dirty" |
| Hausa | Hausa bak'i is also used to denote "darkness, night, or misfortune". |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, “eleʻele” can refer to any dark-colored thing, including but not limited to, the darkness of night or the black skin of certain fish species. |
| Hebrew | "שָׁחוֹר" is also related to "שחר" (morning), alluding to the darkness of dawn. |
| Hindi | The word "काली" also refers to the Hindu goddess of destruction and transformation. |
| Hmong | The word "dub" also means "darkness" or "night" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | The word "fekete" in Hungarian also denotes darkness, evil, and mourning. |
| Icelandic | The word "svartur" can also mean "dark" or "brown" in Icelandic. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "oji" also refers to the Kola nut tree and its seed, "ojimba" and "ojịgide" respectively. |
| Indonesian | "Hitam" is also an archaic term for "north". |
| Irish | The Old Irish term 'dubh' can also refer to 'darkness,' 'shade,' or 'gloom,' and is used in names describing dark-haired, dark-complexioned, or swarthy people. |
| Italian | In Latin, the word nero also means `strong' or `vigorous' and was used to describe black horses, which were considered the strongest. |
| Japanese | The kanji "黒" can also mean "dark" or "secret" in Japanese. |
| Javanese | In archaic Javanese, 'ireng' has a broader meaning encompassing 'darkness' and 'lack of knowledge'. |
| Kannada | The word "ಕಪ್ಪು" also means "bad" or "wicked" in Kannada and is a cognate of the word "कपट" (kapata) in Sanskrit, meaning "fraud" or "deception". |
| Kazakh | The word "қара" in Kazakh can also refer to the color dark brown or dark gray. |
| Khmer | In Khmer, "ខ្មៅ" can also mean "dark", "unclean", or "dirty." |
| Korean | The root of 검정 is 검 (keom), which means dark, mysterious, or hidden. |
| Kurdish | The word "reş" also refers to the color of a horse, a type of grape, and the pupil of the eye in Kurdish. |
| Kyrgyz | "Кара" in Kyrgyz also refers to a black falcon or a dark-colored horse. |
| Latin | The word "nigreos" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *neǵrós, meaning "dark" or "black," and is related to the Greek word "nékros" meaning "corpse" or "dead." |
| Latvian | Latvian word "melns" may also refer to dark, murky, stained, or unlucky, and is cognate with the Lithuanian word "melamas" (black). |
| Lithuanian | The word "juoda" in Lithuanian also refers to bad luck, misfortune, or evil. |
| Luxembourgish | The term 'schwaarz' is only used in the north of Luxembourg and is a derivation of the German word 'schwartz', which originated in the 8th century Middle High German 'swarz' meaning 'dark, dim, or dusky'. |
| Macedonian | The word "црна" is also used to describe soil or land that is rich and fertile. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "mainty" can also mean "heavy" or "difficult". |
| Malay | The word 'hitam' in Malay is also used to refer to 'dark', 'dirty', or 'evil' in metaphorical senses. |
| Malayalam | In addition to its literal meaning of "black," "കറുപ്പ്" can also signify "grief" or "sorrow" in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | "Iswed" as a Maltese surname also means "The Black" as a nickname of a person with a dark complexion, especially if from Ħal-Qormi, but as a descriptor, it is exclusively used in reference to the colour black. |
| Maori | The word "mangu" can also mean "dark" or "mysterious". |
| Marathi | The word "काळा" can also refer to "time," "death," or "fate" in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | In Khalkha Mongolian, it is also used to refer to the black part of a traditional Mongolian yurt, but has since been replaced by "хараа". |
| Nepali | The word "कालो" also means "the evil eye" or "the time of death" in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | The Proto-Germanic root of 'svart' also means 'dark, dirty, evil', which is reflected in its use in several Germanic languages like English ('swarthy') and Dutch ('smerig'). |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "wakuda" can also refer to a type of black cloth worn by men. |
| Pashto | In Pashto, "تور" (black) also means "very good" or "perfect". |
| Persian | The word "سیاه" (black) in Persian can also mean "bad" or "unlucky," and is used in idioms such as "سیاه و سفید" (black and white), which means "absolute" or "complete." |
| Polish | 'Czarny' can also mean 'dark', 'gloomy', or 'sinister'. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In ancient times, "Preto" could also mean "dark gray" or "dark blue". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਕਾਲਾ" (black) is also used to describe darkness or death in Punjabi, and is related to the Sanskrit word "काल" (time) and the Proto-Indo-European root "*kale" meaning "to darken or hide."} |
| Romanian | "Negru" in Romanian can also mean "a foreigner", "a slave", or "a servant". |
| Russian | The word "черный" (black) in Russian can also refer to anything evil or malicious. |
| Samoan | "Lanu uliuli" can also mean "very dark" or "deeply shaded". |
| Scots Gaelic | The word 'Dubh', or 'Black', can refer to the color of something, but can also be used to describe something that is mysterious, hidden, or evil. |
| Serbian | In Montenegro, "crn" is used with a slightly different meaning to express a darker shade of red. |
| Sesotho | Sesotho does not use the word 'batsho' to mean 'black'; rather, its homonym "batsho" means "chief" in a socio-economic or political sense and can be used figuratively (e.g. "police", "headmaster", "foreman"), whereas the word for "black" in Sesotho is "ntšo". |
| Shona | The word "nhema" also means "blackness" as well as "darkness" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ڪارو" (black) may also refer to something that is evil, dirty, or unlucky. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "Kala," a term for black in the Sinhala language, can be traced to the Proto-Indo European root "kal," which also implies darkness, night or shadows. |
| Slovak | The word "čierna" in Slovak can also refer to a type of coffee, a type of bread, or a type of soil. |
| Slovenian | The word 'Črna' has Slavic roots and is related to the words for 'black' and 'dark' in many Slavic languages. |
| Somali | The word **madow** can also mean the color **dark gray** or **charcoal**. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, the word "negro" can also mean "dark-haired" or "brunette", depending on the context. |
| Sundanese | The word "hideung" in Sundanese also means "not yet ripe" or "dark" in Indonesian. |
| Swahili | The word 'nyeusi' is related to the Swahili word for 'night', 'usiku'. |
| Swedish | The word "svart" in Swedish can have other meanings like "angry" or "dirty", and is also the root of the word "svartur" in Icelandic, which means "dark". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Itim" can also refer to the cardinal direction "west" or indicate the shade of color as opposed to the state of not emitting or reflecting light. |
| Tajik | The word "сиёҳ" can also mean "dark blue" or "dark green" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | The word 'கருப்பு' (karuppu) can also mean 'unripe' or 'not yet matured' in Tamil. |
| Telugu | The word "నలుపు" (nalupu) in Telugu derives from the Proto-Dravidian word "nal-", meaning "dark" or "black". It shares a common origin with the Tamil word "நல்லது" (nalladu), meaning "good" or "virtuous". |
| Thai | In Thai, the word "ดำ" (dam) can also refer to a dark shade of brown, specifically in the context of hair or skin tone. |
| Turkish | The word 'siyah' in Turkish can also refer to the color 'brown' or a dark shade of a color. |
| Ukrainian | In Ukrainian, "чорний" (black) also refers to a person's mood or character, as in "чорний гумор" (dark humor) or "чорна душа" (evil soul). |
| Urdu | "سیاہ", in Urdu, derives from the Persian word "siah," which also means black, but can mean 'dark-complexioned,' or 'unlucky'. |
| Uzbek | "Qora" is also a term used to describe a rich, deep red color in some contexts. |
| Vietnamese | The word "đen" can also refer to the dark-colored areas of the body, such as moles or birthmarks, or the dark-colored parts of plants, such as roots or stems. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "du" has a range of meanings including black, dark, grey, gloomy, sullen and melancholy. |
| Xhosa | The word "mnyama" in Xhosa can also refer to a dark-skinned person. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "שוואַרץ" can also refer to a dark-haired person, a black market, or a person of African descent. |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba term "dudu" also signifies darkness, and can describe concepts such as "shadow" or "mystery". |
| Zulu | The word "mnyama" in Zulu has alternate meanings such as "darkness", "shadow", and "mystery". |
| English | The word "black" derives from the Anglo-Saxon "blac," meaning "dark" or "burnt." |