Body in Different Languages
Discover 'Body' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The human body is a marvel, a complex system of interconnected parts that work together to enable us to live, move, and experience the world around us. Its significance goes beyond the physical, as it is often used as a metaphor for understanding larger concepts, such as the unity and cohesion of a group or the structure of a society. The body also holds great cultural importance, with different societies and traditions assigning various meanings and values to it.
Given the body's universal presence and the rich cultural significance it holds, it's no wonder that people might be interested in learning how to say 'body' in different languages. This knowledge not only serves as a useful tool for communication, but it also offers a window into the unique perspectives and values of other cultures.
For example, in Spanish, the word for body is 'cuerpo,' which reflects the language's Latin roots. In Japanese, the word is 'karada,' which is written with characters that also mean 'temporary dwelling' or 'temporary abode,' reflecting the Buddhist belief in the impermanence of the physical body.
Below, you'll find a list of translations for the word 'body' in a variety of languages, offering a small glimpse into the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of our world.
Body
Body in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | liggaam | ||
| The word "liggaam" is also used in Dutch to refer to certain types of fabric or cloth. | |||
| Amharic | አካል | ||
| The word "አካል" has additional meanings beyond "body", including "person", "soul", and "corpse". | |||
| Hausa | jiki | ||
| The Hausa word "jiki" can also refer to "oneself" or "a person's integrity and self-worth." | |||
| Igbo | ahụ | ||
| Ahụ" can also refer to the "essence" of a person, their "soul" or their "spirit". | |||
| Malagasy | -kevi-pitantanana | ||
| The word "-kevi-pitantanana" can also refer to a person's appearance, health, or condition. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | thupi | ||
| The word "thupi" in Nyanja is also used to refer to a corpse or a dead body. | |||
| Shona | muviri | ||
| The word "muviri" is not only used to refer to a body, but can also be used in a figurative sense to refer to the "essence" or "core" of something. | |||
| Somali | jirka | ||
| The word 'jirka' is the diminutive of 'jir' meaning 'tree trunk or limb' | |||
| Sesotho | mmele | ||
| 'Mmele' can also refer to a 'person' or 'corpse'. | |||
| Swahili | mwili | ||
| Mwili also means 'flesh' and might be connected to the Kinyamuzi word 'mwiri', which means 'dead body'. | |||
| Xhosa | umzimba | ||
| 'Umzimba' is also the name used for a type of traditional beer that is prepared by brewing sorghum or maize and is common during cultural celebrations. | |||
| Yoruba | ara | ||
| "Ara" also means"a thing" or "a being" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | umzimba | ||
| The Zulu word "umzimba" can also refer to a clan or family group. | |||
| Bambara | farikolo | ||
| Ewe | ŋutilã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umubiri | ||
| Lingala | nzoto | ||
| Luganda | omubiri | ||
| Sepedi | mmele | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nipadua | ||
Body in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الجسم | ||
| The word "الجسم" (al-jism) in Arabic derives from the root word "ج س م" (j-s-m), which signifies "firmness" or "solidity." | |||
| Hebrew | גוּף | ||
| In Hebrew, the word "גוף" (body) not only refers to the physical form but also encompasses the emotional and spiritual aspects of a person | |||
| Pashto | بدن | ||
| In Pashto, بدن can also mean "corpse" or "cadaver". | |||
| Arabic | الجسم | ||
| The word "الجسم" (al-jism) in Arabic derives from the root word "ج س م" (j-s-m), which signifies "firmness" or "solidity." | |||
Body in Western European Languages
| Albanian | trupi | ||
| The word "trup" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱer-p-, meaning "corpse" or "body." | |||
| Basque | gorputza | ||
| "Gorputza" (body) originates from the Proto-Basque *gorputz, *korputz "body, flesh", from the PIE root *gʷer- "to swallow, consume, eat." | |||
| Catalan | cos | ||
| ‘Cos’ has the literal meaning of ‘body’ but can also mean ‘case’, ‘envelope’, ‘shell’ or ‘universe’ | |||
| Croatian | tijelo | ||
| The word 'tijelo' in Croatian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'tьjelo', which also means 'corpse'. | |||
| Danish | legeme | ||
| The word "legeme" in Danish originally referred to the physical body and its organs | |||
| Dutch | lichaam | ||
| The word 'lichaam' is derived from Old Dutch 'līkhamo', meaning 'corpse', and is related to the English word 'lych' (a funeral procession). | |||
| English | body | ||
| The word "body" derives from Old English "bodig" and Proto-Germanic "bodjaz," meaning "frame" or "abode." | |||
| French | corps | ||
| The French word "corps" has alternate meanings including a military unit and a collection of works by a particular author. | |||
| Frisian | lichem | ||
| The word "lichem" in Frisian is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*likamą", meaning "body" or "corpse". | |||
| Galician | corpo | ||
| The word "corpo" can also refer to a group of people, such as a council or a guild. | |||
| German | körper | ||
| In anatomy, 'Körper' also refers to a corpse. | |||
| Icelandic | líkami | ||
| Líkami has ancient Germanic connections with the Old English lichoma (corpse), Old High German lihho (body), and Old Saxon lichamo, all derived from the Proto-Germanic *likô (body), a possible cognate of the Latin corpus. | |||
| Irish | comhlacht | ||
| The word "comhlacht" can also mean "company" or "troop" in Irish, reflecting its literal meaning of "together-lying". | |||
| Italian | corpo | ||
| The Italian word "corpo" originally meant "corpse" but gained the additional meaning of "body" from the 14th century onward. | |||
| Luxembourgish | kierper | ||
| Kierper likely originates from the Old High German word "karpar", meaning "vessel" or "container". | |||
| Maltese | ġisem | ||
| The word "ġisem" is also used in Maltese to refer to a corpse, and is derived from the Arabic "jasad" (جسد). | |||
| Norwegian | kropp | ||
| The word "kropp" is cognate with the English "crop" and "craw" | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | corpo | ||
| Corpo can also mean 'corpse' or 'body of liquid' while 'body' in this context translates to 'esqueleto'. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bodhaig | ||
| "Bodhaig" can also be used to refer to a person's physical appearance. | |||
| Spanish | cuerpo | ||
| The Spanish word 'cuerpo' can also mean 'group' or 'team', as in 'cuerpo de bomberos' (fire brigade) | |||
| Swedish | kropp | ||
| The Swedish word "kropp" derives from the Old Norse word "kroppr", which originally meant "hump" or "bulge". | |||
| Welsh | corff | ||
| The Welsh word "corff" also means "corpse", likely stemming from an earlier meaning of "a living body laid out straight or stretched forth" | |||
Body in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | цела | ||
| The word "цела" goes back to Proto-Slavic *tělo and Indo-European *ḱḗlos meaning "wholeness, health, life" and can refer to a person's physical health and well-being. | |||
| Bosnian | tijelo | ||
| "Tijelo" can also mean "corpse" or "cadaver" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | тяло | ||
| The Bulgarian word "тяло" can also mean "substance" or "matter". | |||
| Czech | tělo | ||
| The word "tělo" can also refer to the fuselage of an aircraft or the body of a musical instrument. | |||
| Estonian | keha | ||
| The word "keha" has other meanings besides "body", including "case" and "corpus". | |||
| Finnish | runko | ||
| Runko, meaning 'body' in Finnish, can also refer to the main structural part of a vehicle or a ship's hull. | |||
| Hungarian | test | ||
| The Hungarian word 'test' can also refer to the shape of an object. | |||
| Latvian | ķermeņa | ||
| The word "ķermeņa" may also refer to a person's figure or the human form in general in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | kūnas | ||
| The word "kūnas" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Baltic root *koynas, meaning "shape" or "form". | |||
| Macedonian | тело | ||
| The word "тело" in Macedonian originally meant "the whole", but now it mostly refers to the human body. | |||
| Polish | ciało | ||
| "Ciało" also refers to a dough for certain types of traditional Polish pastries. | |||
| Romanian | corp | ||
| In Romanian, the word "corp" can also refer to a legal entity such as a corporation or a military unit. | |||
| Russian | тело | ||
| The word "тело" also has the meaning of "mass" or "corpse" | |||
| Serbian | тело | ||
| The Serbian word "тело" can also refer to a corpse or cadaver. | |||
| Slovak | telo | ||
| The Slovak word "telo" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *tel-e-, meaning "body" or "physical frame". | |||
| Slovenian | telo | ||
| The word 'telo' in Slovenian shares its etymology with the word 'toil' in English, highlighting the strenuous effort the body requires. | |||
| Ukrainian | тіло | ||
| У слова "тіло" існує додаткове значення - речовина, матеріал | |||
Body in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | শরীর | ||
| The word "শরীর" (body) in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word "शरीर" (cuerpo) and can also mean "corpse". | |||
| Gujarati | શરીર | ||
| Derived from Sanskrit 'शरीर' (śarīra), 'body' or 'corpse' | |||
| Hindi | तन | ||
| The word 'तन' also means 'cloth' or 'sheet' in Hindi, related to the Sanskrit word 'तनु' meaning 'thin', 'spread out'. | |||
| Kannada | ದೇಹ | ||
| The word "ದೇಹ" (body) in Kannada can also refer to a corpse or a cadaver. | |||
| Malayalam | ശരീരം | ||
| The word "ശരീരം" in Malayalam is derived from the Sanskrit word "शरीर" (śarīra), which also means "body" and is related to the Latin word "corpus". | |||
| Marathi | शरीर | ||
| "शरीर" in Marathi ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "शरीरम्" (śarīram), meaning "body" or "substance," which in turn comes from the root "शृ" (śṛ), meaning "to divide" or "to separate." | |||
| Nepali | जीउ | ||
| The word "जीउ" derives from the Sanskrit word "जीव" meaning "life" or "soul". | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਰੀਰ | ||
| The word 'ਸਰੀਰ' (sarīra) has the alternate meaning of 'substance' in Sanskrit and is also the root of the Hindi word 'सिर' (sir) which means 'head'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සිරුර | ||
| The word "සිරුර" (body) is derived from the Proto-Sinhalese word "*kiru" meaning "shape" or "form." | |||
| Tamil | உடல் | ||
| "உடல்" can also refer to "a particular part/organ of the body" as well as a "corpse or a dead body" | |||
| Telugu | శరీరం | ||
| The word శరీరం ('body') comes from the Sanskrit word 'sariram', which also means 'essence' or 'substance'. | |||
| Urdu | جسم | ||
| The word “جسم” derives from Arabic and in Urdu is often used also to refer to an “entity” that is composed of physical or abstract elements and has a distinct identity, or to a “substance”, material or immaterial, having certain characteristics. | |||
Body in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 身体 | ||
| "身体" comes from "体格", meaning external form, hence body. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 身體 | ||
| The character 身 (shēn) in 身體 (shēntǐ) originally meant 'a pregnant woman,' while 體 (tǐ) meant 'a child in the womb.' | |||
| Japanese | 体 | ||
| 体 (tai) can also refer to the physical form of a character in a work of fiction or the substance or essence of something. | |||
| Korean | 신체 | ||
| Originally, '신체' meant the mind or spirit, but its meaning gradually changed to refer to the physical body. | |||
| Mongolian | бие | ||
| 'Бие' means 'body,' which comes from 'бю', meaning 'bone,' as well as 'biege,' which means 'belly' and 'womb' and is related to other Altaic terms for animal reproduction, such as Russian 'беременная,' Korean '배', and Japanese '腹'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကိုယ်ခန္ဓာ | ||
Body in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tubuh | ||
| The word 'tubuh' also means 'shape' or 'form' in Indonesian, reflecting the concept of the body as a physical manifestation of the self. | |||
| Javanese | awak | ||
| In the Javanese language, the word "awak" can also mean "being" or "self". | |||
| Khmer | រាងកាយ | ||
| In some contexts, "body" can also refer to a person's identity, such as in the phrase "my body, my rules." | |||
| Lao | ຮ່າງກາຍ | ||
| The Lao word "ຮ່າງກາຍ" is often used to mean "body" or "shape" but also has a more figurative meaning of "essence" or "nature" of something. | |||
| Malay | badan | ||
| In Indonesian, 'badan' also refers to an organization or institution. | |||
| Thai | ร่างกาย | ||
| The word "ร่างกาย" literally means "form-existence", from the Sanskrit "rūpa" (form) and "kāya" (existence). | |||
| Vietnamese | thân hình | ||
| The word "thân hình" can also refer to a person's figure or appearance. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | katawan | ||
Body in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bədən | ||
| "Bədən" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "beden", meaning "entity, substance, core". | |||
| Kazakh | дене | ||
| The Kazakh word "дене" also means "self" or "personality". | |||
| Kyrgyz | дене | ||
| The word "дене" is derived from Proto-Turkic word "ten" meaning "skin". | |||
| Tajik | бадан | ||
| The word "бадан" in Tajik can also refer to the plant Bergenia crassifolia, commonly known as elephant ear or Siberian tea. | |||
| Turkmen | beden | ||
| Uzbek | tanasi | ||
| The word "tanasi" in Uzbek can also refer to a corpse or a dead person. | |||
| Uyghur | body | ||
Body in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kino | ||
| In the Hawaiian language, 'kino' may refer to either the physical body or one's spirit or essence. | |||
| Maori | tinana | ||
| Maori 'tinana' originates from older Polynesian words with similar meanings, including 'tino' (body), 'tina' (mother), and 'tangata' (person). | |||
| Samoan | tino | ||
| "Tino" also means "the self" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | katawan | ||
| "Katawan" can also refer to the fuselage of an aircraft or the body of knowledge in a field of study. | |||
Body in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | janchi | ||
| Guarani | tete | ||
Body in International Languages
| Esperanto | korpo | ||
| The Esperanto word "korpo" is derived from the Latin word "corpus" meaning "body" and is related to the English word "corpse". | |||
| Latin | corporis | ||
| Corporis is also the dative or ablative singular form of the Latin word corpus, which means "body." | |||
Body in Others Languages
| Greek | σώμα | ||
| The word σώμα (sōma) in Greek has been used to refer to the physical body, the corpse, and the totality of a person. | |||
| Hmong | lub cev | ||
| The Hmong word "lub cev" can also refer to the self or the person themselves, emphasizing their physicality or embodiment. | |||
| Kurdish | beden | ||
| In Kurdish, "beden" may also refer to a corpse that has not yet been buried or a living creature that has just died. | |||
| Turkish | vücut | ||
| The word "vücut" also means "occurrence" or "existence" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | umzimba | ||
| 'Umzimba' is also the name used for a type of traditional beer that is prepared by brewing sorghum or maize and is common during cultural celebrations. | |||
| Yiddish | גוף | ||
| The Yiddish word "גוף" (body) derives from the Hebrew word גּוּף (body, matter, substance), and also means "corpse" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | umzimba | ||
| The Zulu word "umzimba" can also refer to a clan or family group. | |||
| Assamese | শৰীৰ | ||
| Aymara | janchi | ||
| Bhojpuri | देह | ||
| Dhivehi | ހަށިގަނޑު | ||
| Dogri | शरीर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | katawan | ||
| Guarani | tete | ||
| Ilocano | bagi | ||
| Krio | bɔdi | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | جەستە | ||
| Maithili | देह | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯛꯆꯥꯡ | ||
| Mizo | taksa | ||
| Oromo | qaama | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଶରୀର | ||
| Quechua | kurku | ||
| Sanskrit | शरीरं | ||
| Tatar | тән | ||
| Tigrinya | ሰውነት | ||
| Tsonga | miri | ||