Captain in Different Languages
Discover 'Captain' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Captain
Afrikaans kaptein | ||
Albanian kapiten | ||
Amharic ካፒቴን | ||
Arabic قائد المنتخب | ||
Armenian կապիտան | ||
Assamese কেপ্তেইন | ||
Aymara capitan satawa | ||
Azerbaijani kapitan | ||
Bambara kapitɛni ye | ||
Basque kapitaina | ||
Belarusian капітан | ||
Bengali অধিনায়ক | ||
Bhojpuri कप्तान के ह | ||
Bosnian kapetane | ||
Bulgarian капитан | ||
Catalan capità | ||
Cebuano kapitan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 队长 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 隊長 | ||
Corsican capitanu | ||
Croatian kapetan | ||
Czech kapitán | ||
Danish kaptajn | ||
Dhivehi ކެޕްޓަން އެވެ | ||
Dogri कप्तान जी | ||
Dutch gezagvoerder | ||
English captain | ||
Esperanto kapitano | ||
Estonian kapten | ||
Ewe ʋumefia | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kapitan | ||
Finnish kapteeni | ||
French capitaine | ||
Frisian kaptein | ||
Galician capitán | ||
Georgian კაპიტანი | ||
German kapitän | ||
Greek καπετάνιος | ||
Guarani capitán ramo | ||
Gujarati કેપ્ટન | ||
Haitian Creole kapitènn | ||
Hausa kyaftin | ||
Hawaiian kāpena | ||
Hebrew סֶרֶן | ||
Hindi कप्तान | ||
Hmong tus nom | ||
Hungarian kapitány | ||
Icelandic skipstjóri | ||
Igbo onyeisi | ||
Ilocano kapitan | ||
Indonesian kapten | ||
Irish captaen | ||
Italian capitano | ||
Japanese キャプテン | ||
Javanese kapten | ||
Kannada ನಾಯಕ | ||
Kazakh капитан | ||
Khmer ប្រធានក្រុម | ||
Kinyarwanda kapiteni | ||
Konkani कॅप्टन म्हणून काम करता | ||
Korean 선장 | ||
Krio kapten | ||
Kurdish kaptan | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کاپتن | ||
Kyrgyz капитан | ||
Lao ກັບຕັນ | ||
Latin princeps | ||
Latvian kapteinis | ||
Lingala kapitɛni ya kapitɛni | ||
Lithuanian kapitonas | ||
Luganda kapiteeni | ||
Luxembourgish kapitän | ||
Macedonian капетан | ||
Maithili कप्तान | ||
Malagasy lehiben'ny mpiambina | ||
Malay kapten | ||
Malayalam ക്യാപ്റ്റൻ | ||
Maltese kaptan | ||
Maori kāpene | ||
Marathi कर्णधार | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯀꯦꯞꯇꯦꯟ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯧ ꯄꯨꯈꯤ꯫ | ||
Mizo captain a ni | ||
Mongolian ахмад | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ခေါင်းဆောင် | ||
Nepali कप्तान | ||
Norwegian kaptein | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kapitawo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଧିନାୟକ | ||
Oromo kaappiteenii | ||
Pashto کپتان | ||
Persian ناخدا | ||
Polish kapitan | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) capitão | ||
Punjabi ਕਪਤਾਨ | ||
Quechua capitan | ||
Romanian căpitan | ||
Russian капитан | ||
Samoan kapeteni | ||
Sanskrit कप्तानः | ||
Scots Gaelic caiptean | ||
Sepedi molaodi wa sekepe | ||
Serbian капетане | ||
Sesotho molaoli | ||
Shona kaputeni | ||
Sindhi ڪپتان | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කැප්ටන් | ||
Slovak kapitán | ||
Slovenian kapitan | ||
Somali kabtan | ||
Spanish capitán | ||
Sundanese kaptén | ||
Swahili nahodha | ||
Swedish kapten | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kapitan | ||
Tajik капитан | ||
Tamil கேப்டன் | ||
Tatar капитан | ||
Telugu కెప్టెన్ | ||
Thai กัปตัน | ||
Tigrinya ሓለቓ ጋንታ | ||
Tsonga mukaputeni | ||
Turkish kaptan | ||
Turkmen kapitan | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔsraani panyin | ||
Ukrainian капітан | ||
Urdu کپتان | ||
Uyghur كاپىتان | ||
Uzbek kapitan | ||
Vietnamese đội trưởng | ||
Welsh capten | ||
Xhosa umphathi | ||
Yiddish קאַפּיטאַן | ||
Yoruba balogun | ||
Zulu ukaputeni |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "kaptein" in Afrikaans can also refer to a police officer or a leader of a group. |
| Albanian | In some Albanian military contexts the word 'kapiten' can also refer to a lieutenant. |
| Amharic | The word 'ካፒቴን' ('captain') derives from the French word 'capitaine', which itself comes from the Vulgar Latin 'capitaneus' meaning 'chieftain'. |
| Arabic | قائد المنتخب in Arabic, deriving from قاد (to lead, command), can also refer to a leader or commander in general, not necessarily in a sporting context. |
| Armenian | The word "կապիտան" is derived from the French word "capitaine", which in turn comes from the Latin word "capitaneus", meaning "head" or "chief." |
| Azerbaijani | 'Kapitan' (captain) is also colloquially used in Azerbaijan to address someone who is highly respected or has good leadership skills, regardless of their official position or rank. |
| Basque | In Basque, “kapitaine” originally meant head of a band of pirates. |
| Belarusian | The word "капітан" in Belarusian comes from the French word "capitaine" and originally meant "head of a group of people". |
| Bengali | অধিনায়ক is a composite term derived from |
| Bosnian | The term 'kapetane' in Bosnian is of Turkish origin and holds alternate meanings such as 'head of a group' or 'leader'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "капитан" also means "chief" or "leader" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | "Capità" in Catalan can also refer to the head or leader of a group or organization. |
| Cebuano | The Tagalog word "kapitan" is derived from Spanish "capitán" and has similar alternate meanings like "headman" or "chief" in English. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Chinese, 队长 (captain) can refer to a team leader or a police station chief. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 隊長 can also be a Japanese name (Taichou) and may mean "big chief" or "great lord". |
| Corsican | In Corsican the word "capitanu" (captain) was once used to refer to the head of a "pieve" (parish), and the word is still used today by extension to refer to the mayor of a small town. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word 'kapetan' has its etymology in the Ancient Greek root that also produced 'kefale' ('head') and 'kraneion' ('skull'). |
| Czech | The word "kapitán" in Czech is of German origin and is cognate with the Hungarian word "kapitány". |
| Danish | In Danish, the word 'kaptajn' ('captain') ultimately derives from the Late Latin word 'capitaneus', meaning 'chieftain'. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "gezagvoerder" literally translates to "authority bearer" and could thus refer to any person or even a document with the authority to make decisions. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word 'kapitano' originates from the Italian word 'capitano', which itself derives ultimately from the Latin word 'caput' (head). |
| Estonian | "Kapten" is cognate with the word "kapten" in German, Russian "капитан" and the word "captain" in English, coming from Late Latin "capitaneus", from "caput" (head). |
| Finnish | The word "kapteeni" derives from the French word "capitaine" and can also refer to the chief of a tribe or village. |
| French | The French word "capitaine" derives from the Latin word "capitaneus," meaning "chief" or "leader." |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "kaptein" can also refer to a type of military rank or a leader of a group of people. |
| Galician | In Galician, "capitán" (captain) also means "head of a household" or "leader of a group." |
| Georgian | The word comes from the Italian word "capitano" which in turn comes from the Latin word "caput" meaning "head". |
| German | The word "Kapitän" comes from the Old French word "capitaine" which in turn comes from the Latin word "caput", meaning "head". |
| Greek | The word "Καπετάνιος" (captain) derives from the Italian word "capitano" and the Venetian word "capetanio". |
| Gujarati | The word "કેપ્ટન" is derived from the Latin word "caput", meaning "head". |
| Haitian Creole | The word "kapitènn" can also mean "boss" or "leader" in Haitian Creole. |
| Hausa | From Portuguese 'capitão', from Latin 'capitaneus' meaning 'chief'. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "kāpena" also refers to "a chief over many, a head officer" or "a governor". |
| Hebrew | In the plural form, "סרנים" (seranim), the word can refer to the mast of a ship |
| Hindi | कप्तान derives from the Sanskrit term 'karpatan' meaning the 'holder of the helm'. |
| Hmong | Tus nom roughly translates to 'owner' or 'master', likely referring to the head of the family or clan. |
| Hungarian | The word "kapitány" comes from the Latin "capitaneus", which means "chief" or "leader". |
| Icelandic | Skipstjóri is cognate with the English word "steersman" |
| Igbo | "Onyeisi nile" literally translates to "everyone is master". |
| Indonesian | In Indonesian, "Kapten" can also refer to a leader of a group or organization, similar to the English "chief" or "head". |
| Irish | Captaen is the anglicized spelling of the Irish word 'captaen' which means 'head of a group' or 'leader'. |
| Italian | Capitano is derived from the Latin word "caput" meaning "head", which refers to someone in a leadership position. |
| Japanese | The word キャプテン (kyaputen) is derived from the English word "captain" and also means "coach" or "leader" in a non-military context. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, "kapten" can also refer to a traditional village leader or a military commander. |
| Kannada | ನಾಯಕ" can also mean leader, chief, or head of an organization in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | In Turkic languages the word "капитан" can also mean "headman" or "chief". |
| Khmer | In sports, it is the person in charge of a team, while in the military, it is an officer in command of a company. |
| Korean | The word "선장" "captain" in Korean ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "senapati" meaning "army leader". |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word 'kaptan' is derived from the Persian word 'khodāvand' meaning 'master' or 'lord'. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "капитан" can also refer to a "chief" or a "leader" of a group or organization. |
| Lao | In Lao, |
| Latin | In addition to meaning "captain or leader", "princeps" can mean "emperor", "prince", "ruler", or "chief magistrate". |
| Latvian | The word "kapteinis" comes from the German word "Kapitän", which means "captain". In modern Latvian, the word "kapteinis" can also refer to the head of a police department. |
| Lithuanian | In Lithuanian, “kapitonas” can also mean “chief” of various groups, reflecting the original meaning of “head of a military unit” in Latin. |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "Kapitän" can also refer to a type of beetle known as the "click beetle". |
| Macedonian | The word "капетан" (captain) is borrowed from Turkish "kaptan". In Russian, "капитан" means not only a captain but also a commander of a rank in the navy or air force. |
| Malagasy | The word "lehiben'ny mpiambina" also means "chief of the guards" or "captain of the guard." |
| Malay | Kapten shares its origin with the Tamil word 'kaptan', an officer in charge of a ship's cargo. |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, "ക്യാപ്റ്റൻ" (captain) is a loanword from English and is used to refer to leaders in various contexts, including those in charge of a ship, a sports team, or an organization |
| Maltese | Maltese "kaptan" is derived from Turkish "kaptan", which itself is derived from Byzantine Greek "kapetanios". |
| Maori | In Maori, the word "kāpene" can also refer to a chief, a leader, or a person in charge. |
| Marathi | The word 'कर्णधार' (pronounced 'karnadhar') in Marathi, meaning 'captain,' is derived from the Sanskrit words 'karna' ('ear') and 'dhar' ('holder'). This is because the captain of a ship is often considered the 'ear' of the vessel, receiving information and instructions from various sources and making decisions accordingly. |
| Mongolian | "Ахмад" is similar to the name "Акмат" which means "a person who manages a particular thing" |
| Nepali | "कप्तान" (captain) originates from the French "capitaine" and ultimately derives from the Latin "caput", meaning "head." |
| Norwegian | "Kaptein" originates from the Dutch word "kapitein", which in turn derives from the Latin "capitaneus" meaning "chief" or "head". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Kapitawo" is a word used in some cases to refer to the leader of a group of witches. |
| Pashto | In Pashto, "کپتان" (captain) is also used to refer to a person who solves difficult problems or handles complex situations. |
| Persian | The word "ناخدا" ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*naus", meaning "ship". |
| Polish | The word 'kapitan' is a loan from the Italian 'capitano' through German, which is derived from the Late Latin 'capitaneus,' meaning 'head' or 'chief'. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, the word "capitão" originated from the Latin word "caput," meaning "head" or "leader." |
| Punjabi | "ਕਪਤਾਨ" is the Punjabi word for "leader" or "master" and comes from the Sanskrit "kapitana" meaning "chief". |
| Romanian | "Căpitan" comes from Hungarian "kapitány" and refers to military leaders or ships' masters. |
| Russian | The word "капитан" in Russian is derived from the Latin word "capitaneus", meaning "chieftain". It also has a more informal meaning in Russian as a form of respectful address to an elderly man. |
| Samoan | Samoan "kapeteni" (captain) is derived from English "captain" and can also refer to a ship's pilot or a team's leader. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "caiptean" is derived from the Scottish Gaelic words "caib" (chief) and "tenn" (cord), referring to the leader who held the steering cord of the ship. |
| Serbian | The word 'капетане' in Serbian, derived from the Greek word 'kapetanios', originally referred to a leader or a chief. |
| Sesotho | The word "molaoli" comes from the root "laola," which means "to lead" or "to guide." |
| Shona | The word "kaputeni" is derived from the English word "captain" and also means "headman" or "chief" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | In Sindhi, "ڪپتان" can also refer to the head of a group of singers in a musical performance. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | Sinhala "කැප්ටන්" comes from English "captain" but can also refer to a school principal or company manager. |
| Slovak | In Slovak, "kapitán" also refers to the leader of a gang or a group of criminals. |
| Slovenian | In Slovenian, 'kapitan' can also refer to a commander in certain sports or a leader of a criminal gang. |
| Somali | In the Somali language, "kabtan" is derived from the English word "captain" and has the alternate meaning of "leader". |
| Spanish | Capitán ultimately derives from the Latin word "caput" meaning "head" and originally referred to the head of a household or clan, similar to the English word "chieftain." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "kaptén" also has an alternate meaning of "a person who is skilled at playing a game or sport". |
| Swahili | "Nahodha" derives from the Arabic word "nahhid" meaning "one who directs or guides". |
| Swedish | The word 'kapten' is derived from the French 'capitaine', ultimately from Latin 'caput' ('head'), making it a cognate of the English 'captain' and 'chieftain'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Tagalog, 'kapitan' also refers to a neighborhood leader or a leader of a group. |
| Tajik | The word "капитан" can also mean "conductor" or "skipper" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word 'கேப்டன்' (captain) is likely derived from the Sanskrit word 'kapitana', meaning a commander or chief. |
| Telugu | The word "కెప్టెన్" (captain) is derived from the Latin word "caput", meaning "head". |
| Thai | The word กัปตัน comes from the French word “capitaine”, which in turn derives from the Latin word “caput” meaning “head”. |
| Turkish | Kaptan is derived from the Persian "khodāvand" (master) and originally meant "chief" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The word “капітан” (“captain”) derives from the Middle Dutch word “capitein,” which in turn comes from the French word “capitaine,” which is the same source for the English word “captain.” |
| Urdu | In Urdu, "کپتان" is also used to refer to the leader of a political party, or to a respected or influential person in a particular community, such as the "captain" of an industry or profession. |
| Uzbek | The word "kapitan" originates from the Russian word “kапитан", which was derived from the Dutch "kapitein" and ultimately from the Latin 'caput, meaning “head". |
| Vietnamese | "Đội trưởng" (captain) literally means "head of the team" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "capten" is derived from the Latin word "capere", meaning "to take". It can also mean "chief" or "leader". |
| Xhosa | The word 'umphathi' also has the meaning of 'conductor', referencing the idea of leading and guiding a group of people. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "קאַפּיטאַן" ("captain") also means "coach" or "team leader" in various sports. |
| Yoruba | The word "balogun" is composed of the words "ba" (to confront), "olu" (the one who possesses), and "ogun" (war), making it mean "the one who confronts (or leads) war." |
| Zulu | In Zulu, the word 'ukaputeni' is likely a loanword from French 'capitaine' or Portuguese 'capitão,' both ultimately deriving from the Latin 'capitaneus.' |
| English | The word "captain" comes from the Latin word "caput", meaning "head", and originally referred to the leader of a group or company of people. |