Boyfriend in Different Languages
Discover 'Boyfriend' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Boyfriend
Afrikaans kêrel | ||
Albanian i dashuri | ||
Amharic የወንድ ጓደኛ | ||
Arabic حبيب | ||
Armenian ընկերոջ | ||
Assamese প্ৰেমিক | ||
Aymara munata | ||
Azerbaijani oğlan | ||
Bambara kamalen | ||
Basque mutil-laguna | ||
Belarusian хлопец | ||
Bengali প্রেমিক | ||
Bhojpuri प्रेमी | ||
Bosnian dečko | ||
Bulgarian гадже | ||
Catalan nuvi | ||
Cebuano uyab | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 男朋友 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 男朋友 | ||
Corsican amicu | ||
Croatian dečko | ||
Czech přítel | ||
Danish kæreste | ||
Dhivehi ބޯއިފުރެންޑު | ||
Dogri प्रेमी | ||
Dutch vriendje | ||
English boyfriend | ||
Esperanto koramiko | ||
Estonian poiss-sõber | ||
Ewe ahiãvi ŋutsu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kasintahan | ||
Finnish poikaystävä | ||
French petit ami | ||
Frisian freontsje | ||
Galician noivo | ||
Georgian შეყვარებული | ||
German freund | ||
Greek φίλος | ||
Guarani menarã | ||
Gujarati બોયફ્રેન્ડ | ||
Haitian Creole mennaj | ||
Hausa saurayi | ||
Hawaiian hoa kāne | ||
Hebrew הֶחָבֵר | ||
Hindi प्रेमी | ||
Hmong ua hluas nraug | ||
Hungarian fiú barát | ||
Icelandic kærasti | ||
Igbo enyi nwoke | ||
Ilocano nobio | ||
Indonesian pacar | ||
Irish bhuachaill | ||
Italian fidanzato | ||
Japanese ボーイフレンド | ||
Javanese pacar | ||
Kannada ಗೆಳೆಯ | ||
Kazakh жігіт | ||
Khmer មិត្តប្រុស | ||
Kinyarwanda umukunzi | ||
Konkani मोगी | ||
Korean 남자 친구 | ||
Krio bɔyfrɛn | ||
Kurdish heval | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کوڕە هاوڕێ | ||
Kyrgyz жигит | ||
Lao ແຟນ | ||
Latin boyfriend | ||
Latvian puisis | ||
Lingala likangu ya mobali | ||
Lithuanian vaikinas | ||
Luganda omwagalwa omulenzi | ||
Luxembourgish frënd | ||
Macedonian дечко | ||
Maithili परेमिक | ||
Malagasy ankizilahy | ||
Malay teman lelaki | ||
Malayalam കാമുകൻ | ||
Maltese għarus | ||
Maori hoa rangatira | ||
Marathi प्रियकर | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯨꯉꯁꯤꯅꯕ ꯅꯨꯄꯥ | ||
Mizo bialpa | ||
Mongolian найз залуу | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ချစ်သူ | ||
Nepali प्रेमी | ||
Norwegian kjæreste | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chibwenzi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପ୍ରେମିକ | ||
Oromo hiriyaa dhiiraa | ||
Pashto هلک ملګری | ||
Persian دوست پسر | ||
Polish chłopak | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) namorado | ||
Punjabi ਬੁਆਏਫ੍ਰੈਂਡ | ||
Quechua waylluq | ||
Romanian iubit | ||
Russian дружок | ||
Samoan uo tama | ||
Sanskrit सख | ||
Scots Gaelic bràmair | ||
Sepedi lesogana | ||
Serbian дечко | ||
Sesotho mohlankana | ||
Shona mukomana | ||
Sindhi بواءِ فرينڊ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පෙම්වතා | ||
Slovak priateľ | ||
Slovenian fant | ||
Somali saaxiib | ||
Spanish novio | ||
Sundanese kabogoh | ||
Swahili mpenzi | ||
Swedish pojkvän | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kasintahan | ||
Tajik ошиқ | ||
Tamil காதலன் | ||
Tatar егет | ||
Telugu ప్రియుడు | ||
Thai แฟน | ||
Tigrinya ናይ ፍቕሪ መሓዛ ወዲ | ||
Tsonga muhlekisani wa xinuna | ||
Turkish erkek arkadaş | ||
Turkmen söýgüli | ||
Twi (Akan) mpena | ||
Ukrainian хлопець | ||
Urdu بوائے فرینڈ | ||
Uyghur ئوغۇل دوستى | ||
Uzbek yigit | ||
Vietnamese bạn trai | ||
Welsh cariad | ||
Xhosa isoka | ||
Yiddish בויפרענד | ||
Yoruba omokunrin | ||
Zulu isoka |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "kêrel" also means "guy" or "fellow" in Afrikaans. |
| Arabic | The word "حبيب" can also mean "lover", "dear one", or "friend" in Arabic. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word for |
| Azerbaijani | "Oğlan" also means "boy" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | The term "mutil-laguna" is derived from the words "mutil" (boy) and "laguna" (friend). |
| Belarusian | "Хлопец" comes from the Old Slavic "хлопъ", meaning "boy" or "servant". In different dialects around Belarus, it may mean "friend", "brother", or "son". |
| Bengali | The word "প্রেমিক" is also used in Bengali to refer to a platonic lover or a beloved, emphasizing the emotional connection rather than a specific romantic relationship. |
| Bosnian | The word "dečko" can also refer to a young boy or a son in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | The word "гадже" (gadget) in Bulgarian comes from the French word "gadget" which means "mechanical device" and is often used to describe small, playful, and clever inventions. |
| Catalan | Nuvi derives from the word "novi", meaning "new" in Latin, referring to a new relationship. |
| Cebuano | The term "uyab" is also a slang term used for someone who is in a romantic relationship, regardless of gender. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 男朋友 can also mean "man friend" as a general term, not necessarily a romantic partner. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 男朋友 combines the characters 男 ("male"), 朋 ("friend"), and 友 ("friend"), highlighting the duality of a romantic partner as both a friend and a lover. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word 'amicu' also means 'friend,' similar to the French word 'ami'. |
| Croatian | In Croatian, "dečko" can also refer to a young boy or a child, highlighting its linguistic versatility. |
| Czech | The word "přítel" originally meant "friend" in Czech, and only later gained the additional meaning of "boyfriend". |
| Danish | The word "kæreste" also means "love" or "sweetheart" in Danish. |
| Dutch | The word 'vriendje' in Dutch can also refer to a male friend or a close male companion. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "koramiko" has alternate meanings of "lover" or "sweetheart". |
| Estonian | The literal translation of "poiss-sõber" would be "boy-friend" suggesting a young relationship. |
| Finnish | In 19th century, poika was considered a synonym for the word mies meaning |
| French | Petit ami can also mean |
| Frisian | Freontsje in Frisian means "friend" and is a diminutive of the word "freon," which means "friend" or "lover." |
| Galician | The word "noivo" has its origin in the Latin word "novus" which means "new" or "recent", which is related to the idea of a new relationship. |
| German | The word "Freund" in German can also mean "friend" or "companion". |
| Greek | The ancient Greek word "φίλος" could also mean "dear friend" or "kinsman". |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "mennaj" is a term of endearment, and is also used as a slang term for a close friend or companion. |
| Hausa | The word "saurayi" in Hausa also means "companion" or "close friend". |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian term "hoa kāne" can also mean "male friend" or "husband." |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "הֶחָבֵר" (pronounced "ha-ḥaver") also means "the friend" or "the companion". |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "प्रेमी" can also denote a lover in general. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "ua hluas nraug" literally means "the one who chases the girl". |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian "fiú barát" (lit. "boy-friend") originally meant a young man under a master craftsman who had to do various errands. |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "kærasti" is derived from the Old Norse word "kærsta," meaning "dearest one" or "most beloved." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "enyi nwoke" literally translates to "male friend" or "friend of a man." |
| Indonesian | Pacar, besides its usual meaning as 'boyfriend', also means 'bitter' or 'bitter gourd' in Indonesian. |
| Irish | "Buachaill" is the Old Irish word for "boy; male child, son", akin to the Old Irish word "boí", "ox," and thus ultimately derives from the PIE root "*gwow-", which also produced the Latin "bos, bovis", "ox". |
| Italian | The Italian word fidanzato originally meant "betrothed" as its etymology derives from the Latin fides ("faith"). |
| Japanese | "ボーイフレンド" is a wasei-eigo (a Japanese word coined from English) and is often used by both men and women to casually refer to their partner, regardless of gender. |
| Javanese | "Pacar" can also mean "snake" and "girlfriend" in different Javanese dialects. |
| Kannada | "ಗೆಳೆಯ" primarily means "male friend" in Kannada, but can also refer to a "lover" or "husband" in some contexts. |
| Kazakh | The word "жігіт" (''zhigіt'') derives from the Proto-Turkic "*čigit" meaning "youth", "young warrior", or "hero". |
| Korean | "남자 친구" literally means "male friend" in Korean but is commonly used to refer to a romantic partner. |
| Kurdish | The word "heval" in Kurdish can also refer to a "companion" or "friend". |
| Kyrgyz | The word 'жигит' also means a 'young man, hero, or warrior' and is derived from the Turkic languages. |
| Lao | The word “ແຟນ” in Lao can also be used to refer to a fan or a supporter like “แฟนคลับ” in Thai. |
| Latin | In Latin, "boyfriend" is known as "amicus", which also means "friend". |
| Latvian | "Puisis" also refers to a young man or boy in other Baltic languages. |
| Lithuanian | The word "vaikinas" also means "young man" or "son" in Lithuanian. |
| Luxembourgish | Frënd derives from the Old High German word "frént", meaning companion, lover, or spouse. |
| Macedonian | The word "deč" is the diminutive form of "dete", meaning "child". |
| Malagasy | The word "ankizilahy" in Malagasy also means "young warrior". |
| Malay | "Teman lelaki" literally means "male friend" in Malay, but it is commonly used to refer to a romantic partner. |
| Maltese | The word "għarus" is also used to refer to a "fiancé" or "intended spouse". |
| Maori | The term 'hoa rangatira' can also mean 'esteemed friend' or 'noble companion' in Maori. |
| Marathi | " प्रियकर " literally translates from the Marathi language to mean "dear one" in an affectionate sense. |
| Mongolian | The term найз залуу is an informal expression meaning "boyfriend" in Mongolian. |
| Nepali | The word "प्रेमी" can also mean "lover" or "sweetheart" in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | The word "kjæreste" can also mean "darling" or "my love" and is derived from the Old Norse word "kær" meaning "affection". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word chibwenzi comes from the verb kubwenza meaning to make or to create. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "هلک ملګری" literally translates to "boy friend". However, it can also be used to refer to a close male friend. |
| Persian | In Persian, “boyfriend” is often used colloquially to indicate a romantic interest that exists only online. |
| Polish | The Polish word "chłopak" originally meant "young unmarried man" and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word for "son". |
| Romanian | The word "iubit" also means "beloved" or "lover" and is used to refer to both romantic and platonic relationships. |
| Russian | The Russian word "дружок" (boyfriend) originally meant "friend" or "comrade", and is still used in that sense in some contexts. |
| Samoan | The word "uo tama" is also used to refer to a male friend or a son. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "bràmair" can also refer to a male friend or comrade, emphasising companionship and camaraderie. |
| Serbian | The etymology of the Serbian word "дечко" is uncertain but may come from the Proto-Slavic word *dětьka meaning "child". |
| Sesotho | The word 'mohlankana' is also used to refer to a young man who is not yet married. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word for "boyfriend", "بواءِ فرينڊ", is taken from the English word "boyfriend" and has no alternate meanings. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පෙම්වතා, also used as a polite way to address a man, derives from the Sanskrit term “priyatama” meaning “most beloved”. |
| Slovak | The word "priateľ" also means "friend" in Slovak, highlighting the importance of friendship in romantic relationships. |
| Slovenian | The word 'fant' in Slovenian is derived from the German word 'Freund', meaning friend. |
| Somali | In addition to "boyfriend", the term "saaxiib" can also be used as a general term for "friend", regardless of gender or relationship status. |
| Spanish | "Novio" derives from the Latin word "novus," meaning "new" or "recent," and originally referred to a "newcomer" or "stranger." |
| Sundanese | The word "kabogoh" is also used to refer to a male friend or companion, rather than exclusively a romantic partner. |
| Swahili | The word "mpenzi" in Swahili, meaning "boyfriend," is derived from the word "penzi," meaning "love." |
| Swedish | The word 'pojkvän' is composed of the words 'pojk' (boy) and 'vän' (friend). |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Kasintahan" is derived from the root word "kasinta", meaning "lover" or "sweetheart", and the suffix "-an" which denotes a place or location. |
| Tajik | In Persian, the word "ошиқ" (ošiq) means "lover" or "admirer" and is not gender-specific. |
| Telugu | "ప్రియుడు" (boyfriend) can also refer to a beloved or intimate companion, regardless of gender. |
| Thai | The Thai word "แฟน" originally meant "friend", but it has since taken on the additional meaning of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend". |
| Turkish | "Erkek arkadaş" literally means "the man who is left over". |
| Ukrainian | Хлопець in Ukrainian can also mean "boy" or "young man" and is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*xlopъ" meaning "prisoner of war" or "servant". |
| Urdu | While "بوائے فرینڈ" is commonly recognized as a synonym for "boyfriend" in English, its literal translation from the Urdu language suggests a "friend who is a boy," highlighting the significant cultural difference between the two terms. |
| Uzbek | The word "yigit" in Uzbek is cognate with "džigit" in Turkic languages, and both stem ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰew- "to live". |
| Vietnamese | The word "bạn trai" also means "male friend" and is not limited to romantic relationships. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "cariad", besides its most common meaning of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend," can also refer to a beloved object or person in a more general sense. |
| Xhosa | Isoka also refers to a traditional beer in Xhosa culture. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, the word "בויפרענד" can also refer to a suitor or a prospective husband. |
| Yoruba | "Omokunrin" also means "one who takes care of his family" in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | The word 'isoka' in Zulu can also refer to a 'lover' or 'sweetheart' in a more general sense. |
| English | The word 'boyfriend' is a compound of the words 'boy' and 'friend', and was originally used to refer to a male friend, but has since taken on the specific meaning of a romantic partner. |