Boy in Different Languages
Discover 'Boy' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Boy
Afrikaans seuntjie | ||
Albanian djalë | ||
Amharic ወንድ ልጅ | ||
Arabic صبي | ||
Armenian տղա | ||
Assamese ল’ৰা | ||
Aymara yuqalla | ||
Azerbaijani oğlan | ||
Bambara cɛmani | ||
Basque mutila | ||
Belarusian хлопчык | ||
Bengali ছেলে | ||
Bhojpuri लईका | ||
Bosnian dečko | ||
Bulgarian момче | ||
Catalan noi | ||
Cebuano lalaki | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 男孩 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 男孩 | ||
Corsican carusu | ||
Croatian dječak | ||
Czech chlapec | ||
Danish dreng | ||
Dhivehi ފިރިހެން ކުއްޖާ | ||
Dogri जागत | ||
Dutch jongen | ||
English boy | ||
Esperanto knabo | ||
Estonian poiss | ||
Ewe ŋutsuvi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) batang lalaki | ||
Finnish poika | ||
French garçon | ||
Frisian jonge | ||
Galician rapaz | ||
Georgian ბიჭი | ||
German junge | ||
Greek αγόρι | ||
Guarani mitãrusu | ||
Gujarati છોકરો | ||
Haitian Creole ti gason | ||
Hausa yaro | ||
Hawaiian keiki kāne | ||
Hebrew יֶלֶד | ||
Hindi लड़का | ||
Hmong tub | ||
Hungarian fiú | ||
Icelandic strákur | ||
Igbo nwata nwoke | ||
Ilocano ubing a lalaki | ||
Indonesian anak laki-laki | ||
Irish buachaill | ||
Italian ragazzo | ||
Japanese 男の子 | ||
Javanese bocah lanang | ||
Kannada ಹುಡುಗ | ||
Kazakh бала | ||
Khmer ក្មេងប្រុស | ||
Kinyarwanda umuhungu | ||
Konkani चलो | ||
Korean 소년 | ||
Krio bɔy | ||
Kurdish xort | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کوڕ | ||
Kyrgyz бала | ||
Lao ເດັກຊາຍ | ||
Latin puer | ||
Latvian zēns | ||
Lingala mwana-mobali | ||
Lithuanian berniukas | ||
Luganda omulenzi | ||
Luxembourgish jong | ||
Macedonian момче | ||
Maithili छौड़ा | ||
Malagasy zazalahy | ||
Malay budak lelaki | ||
Malayalam പയ്യൻ | ||
Maltese tifel | ||
Maori tama | ||
Marathi मुलगा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯨꯄꯥꯃꯆꯥ | ||
Mizo mipa naupang | ||
Mongolian хүү | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ယောက်ျားလေး | ||
Nepali केटा | ||
Norwegian gutt | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mnyamata | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପୁଅ | ||
Oromo gurbaa | ||
Pashto هلک | ||
Persian پسر | ||
Polish chłopiec | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) garoto | ||
Punjabi ਮੁੰਡਾ | ||
Quechua wayna | ||
Romanian băiat | ||
Russian мальчик | ||
Samoan tama | ||
Sanskrit बालकः | ||
Scots Gaelic balach | ||
Sepedi mošemane | ||
Serbian дечко | ||
Sesotho moshanyana | ||
Shona mukomana | ||
Sindhi ڇوڪرو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කොල්ලා | ||
Slovak chlapec | ||
Slovenian fant | ||
Somali wiil | ||
Spanish niño | ||
Sundanese budak lalaki | ||
Swahili kijana | ||
Swedish pojke | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) lalaki | ||
Tajik писар | ||
Tamil சிறுவன் | ||
Tatar малай | ||
Telugu అబ్బాయి | ||
Thai เด็กชาย | ||
Tigrinya ወዲ | ||
Tsonga mufana | ||
Turkish oğlan | ||
Turkmen oglan | ||
Twi (Akan) abarimawa | ||
Ukrainian хлопчик | ||
Urdu لڑکا | ||
Uyghur boy | ||
Uzbek bola | ||
Vietnamese con trai | ||
Welsh bachgen | ||
Xhosa inkwenkwe | ||
Yiddish יינגל | ||
Yoruba ọmọkunrin | ||
Zulu umfana |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "seuntjie" is also a term of endearment for a young male child, similar to "sonny" in English. |
| Albanian | The word |
| Arabic | The Arabic word for "boy", "صبي", originally meant "young man, youth". |
| Armenian | "տղա" (boy) originates from the Persian word "tal" (young male goat), implying a sense of youth, vigor, and playfulness. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "oğlan" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Turkic word "oğul", meaning "son", and also carries the meaning of "male child" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | The word "mutila" can also be used to refer to a young man or a male friend, and its root is related to the word "mutill" meaning "small". |
| Belarusian | The word “хлопчык” originates from the Old Slavonic word “хлопьцъ” which means a young male servant. |
| Bengali | In medieval Bengali, "ছেলে" was a term for "follower, disciple" and often used as a suffix for the names of teachers. |
| Bosnian | In Bosnian slang, "dečko" can also mean "friend". |
| Bulgarian | The word "момче" is also used for a young man in his twenties. |
| Catalan | The word "noi" in Catalan can also refer to a young man or a boyfriend. |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "lalaki" also means "man" and its etymology is from the Proto-Austronesian word "laki" meaning "male". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character "孩" in "男孩" also means "child" or "infant". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 男孩 (男孩) can also mean "servant" or "page" in ancient Chinese. |
| Corsican | The word "carusu" also means "boyfriend" or "lover" in Corsican, and is often used as a term of endearment. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word for 'boy,' "dječak," ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic word for "child," and is cognate with words in other Slavic languages such as the Polish "dziecko" and the Russian "дитя" (ditya). |
| Czech | "Chlapec" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*xlopъ, |
| Danish | Dreng, meaning "boy" in Danish, is cognate with English "drain" and German "drängen," both referring to flowing substances. |
| Dutch | The word "jongen" can also refer to a cabin boy or an apprentice. |
| Esperanto | Originating from Old Slavic, "knabo" is also the root of many Esperanto words related to "boy" such as "knabineco" (boyhood). |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "poiss" has been derived from the Proto-Finnic word "poike" or the Proto-Germanic word "pagaz". |
| Finnish | The Finnish term "poika", like some other Indo-European words for boy (*pawr-), is a derivative or relative of "father (*ph₂tēr)". |
| French | In Old French, 'garçon' also could mean 'servant' of any age regardless of sex. |
| Frisian | In the Groningen dialect, jonge can also mean 'friend' or 'mate'. |
| Galician | In Galician, "rapaz" can also mean "young man" or "lover". |
| Georgian | The word "ბიჭი" can also refer to a younger male relative, such as a nephew or cousin. |
| German | The German word "Junge" originally meant "young person" regardless of gender, and is still used in this sense in some dialects. |
| Greek | The word “αγόρι”, or ‘boy’ in English, comes from the Proto-Indo-European root “h₂yeǵ-”, which also means ‘young, lively’. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "છોકરો" can also refer to a student or an apprentice. |
| Haitian Creole | Ti gason is a Haitian Creole phrase that literally means "little boy" and is also used to refer to a young man. |
| Hausa | The word "yaro" can also refer to a young man or a male friend. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian mythology, the term "keiki kāne" has origins in the story of Papa and Wākea, who gave birth to the wind, clouds, rain and lightning that preceded the birth of the islands. |
| Hebrew | The word "יֶלֶד" can also mean "child" or "son" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | The word 'लड़का' (ladka) can also refer to a young unmarried man or a servant. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "tub" can also refer to a young man or a male cousin. |
| Hungarian | The word "fiú" is of Turkic origin, meaning "young horse" or "little horse". |
| Icelandic | The word "strákur" can also refer to a young man or a rascal. |
| Igbo | "Nwata nwoke" means not only "boy" but also a male child that has not yet reached puberty. |
| Indonesian | The word 'anak laki-laki' literally means 'child male' in Indonesian, highlighting the gender-specific nature of the term. |
| Irish | The word 'buachaill' derives from the Old Irish word 'boachailiche', meaning 'herdsman' or 'cattle tender'. |
| Italian | In Italian, "ragazzo" can also refer to a young horse or a type of traditional Italian bread. |
| Japanese | The word "男の子" literally means "male child" and can also refer to a young apprentice or a male servant. |
| Javanese | Javanese "bocah lanang" comes from Old Javanese "boca" (child) and "lanang" (male) |
| Kannada | The word `huduga` in Kannada originates from the Dravidian word `huduga` meaning `son`. |
| Kazakh | The word "бала" also refers to a horse foal or a baby camel in Kazakh. |
| Korean | The word "소년" (sonyeo) literally means "young male" and can also refer to a "male child," "young man," or "immature person." |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word “xort” (boy) is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰer-, meaning “to grow” or “to become”. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "бала" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a child, a young person, or a servant. |
| Latin | In Latin, puer can also refer to an apprentice or servant. |
| Latvian | "Zēns" is a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root *yuwn-ko-, which also gave rise to the English word "young". |
| Lithuanian | The word "berniukas" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*bʰerǵʰ-", meaning "to shine" or "to be bright". |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Jong" can also refer to a waiter in a café. |
| Macedonian | The word "момче" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*moldь", which also means "young man" or "servant". |
| Malagasy | "Zazalahy" also means "child" or "youth" in Malagasy. |
| Malay | "Budak lelaki" means "boy" in Malay. Alternatively, it can mean "servant" if used in a context where the speaker is in a position of authority over the addressee. |
| Malayalam | The word 'പയ്യൻ' is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word 'paṇi', meaning 'young man' or 'servant'. |
| Maltese | The word "tifel" is derived from the Arabic word "tifl" (طفل), which means "child" or "infant". |
| Maori | The word "tama" also means "son" and "precious one" in Maori. |
| Marathi | Marathi word 'मुलगा' is derived from Sanskrit 'mulaka', meaning 'root' or 'offspring' from the root 'mul', meaning 'to grow'. |
| Mongolian | The word "хүү" can also refer to a son or a young male animal. |
| Nepali | The word "केटा" (boy) can also mean "young goat" in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | Gutt in Norwegian also means "intestinal fortitude" or "intestinal feeling". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "mnyamata" in Nyanja can also refer to a "younger male cousin", or to a "younger male nephew" |
| Pashto | The word "هلک" also means "servant" or "attendant" in Pashto. |
| Persian | The word "پسر" (boy) in Persian is derived from the Old Persian word "pasā" meaning "son" or "descendant". |
| Polish | "Chłopiec" originally meant "servant" or "farmhand" in Old Polish. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "garoto" originally meant "stable boy" and is related to the Spanish "garrote" (club) and Arabic "'arūd" (horseman). |
| Punjabi | "ਮੁੰਡਾ" can also mean "a young man" or "a man of no account" in Punjabi. |
| Romanian | "Băiat" also means "village boy" or "handsome young man" |
| Russian | The word "мальчик" originally meant "little one" and could refer to both boys and girls. |
| Samoan | The word "tama" can also mean "young chief" or "young warrior" depending on the context. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "balach" can also mean "child" or "servant" in Scots Gaelic. |
| Serbian | The word 'дечко' (boy) is often used in Serbia to refer to an affectionate or romantic young male. |
| Sesotho | The word "moshanyana" (boy) may also derive from "semoshanyana", meaning "the little one who looks after cattle". |
| Shona | The word mukomana ("boy") can also refer to a young married man. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word ڇوڪرو ("boy") can also mean "son", "child", or "cub". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | Sinhala "කොල්ලා" originally meant "a young member of a guild" and is often associated with "a low-caste person". |
| Slovak | The word "chlapec" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*xlapъ", meaning "servant" or "slave". |
| Slovenian | The word 'fant' in Slovenian, meaning 'boy', also appears in the surname 'Hladnik', which refers to someone who lives near a cold spring. |
| Somali | Wiil in Somali also means "son," "child," or "descendant." |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "niño" comes from the Latin word for "child" which also gave English the words "infant" and "nephew."} |
| Sundanese | The word "budak lalaki" can also refer to a "young man" or "male friend." |
| Swahili | The term "kijana" in Swahili can also refer to a young unmarried man. |
| Swedish | "Pojke" is etymologically related to the Old English word "pæc" meaning "lad". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word 'lalaki' originally meant 'strong one' in Tagalog, referring to a person's physical strength. |
| Tajik | The word "писар" can also refer to a "student" or "secretary" in some contexts. |
| Tamil | In Tamil, சிறுவன் can also refer to a young man or an unmarried man. |
| Telugu | "అబ్బాయి" also means "young man" or "youth" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "आभाय" (ābhāya), meaning "radiance" or "splendor." |
| Thai | The word "เด็กชาย" (boy) in Thai is derived from the Sanskrit word "दृष्टि" (sight) and the Pali word "दृष्टि" (view), reflecting the notion that a boy is one who sees or observes the world. |
| Turkish | The word "oğlan" can also mean "son" or "servant" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The word "хлопчик" is a diminutive and endearing term for "boy" used in Ukrainian informal speech. |
| Urdu | The word "لڑکا" can also refer to a young man, especially one who has not yet reached the age of maturity. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "bola" can also mean "toy" or "puppet". |
| Vietnamese | "Con trai" can also mean "son" or "male descendant" in Vietnamese, depending on the context. |
| Welsh | The word "bachgen" can also mean "little pig" or "piglet" in Welsh. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, the word 'inkwenkwe' can also refer to a young, unmarried man or a bachelor. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "יינגל" is also used to refer to a young man or a son, and is cognate with the German word "Jung". |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "ọmọkunrin" can also be used to refer to a male child who has reached the age of puberty. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, 'umfana' also refers to a young male animal or a man who is not yet married, indicating its range of meanings beyond 'boy'. |
| English | The term 'boy' originally derived from the Latin 'bellus' meaning 'handsome' and was applied to men or children. |