Child in Different Languages
Discover 'Child' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Child
Afrikaans kind | ||
Albanian fëmijë | ||
Amharic ልጅ | ||
Arabic طفل | ||
Armenian երեխա | ||
Assamese শিশু | ||
Aymara wawa | ||
Azerbaijani uşaq | ||
Bambara denmisɛn | ||
Basque ume | ||
Belarusian дзіця | ||
Bengali শিশু | ||
Bhojpuri बच्चा | ||
Bosnian dijete | ||
Bulgarian дете | ||
Catalan nen | ||
Cebuano bata | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 儿童 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 兒童 | ||
Corsican zitellu | ||
Croatian dijete | ||
Czech dítě | ||
Danish barn | ||
Dhivehi ކުޑަކުއްޖާ | ||
Dogri बच्चा | ||
Dutch kind | ||
English child | ||
Esperanto infano | ||
Estonian laps | ||
Ewe ɖevi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) anak | ||
Finnish lapsi | ||
French enfant | ||
Frisian bern | ||
Galician neno | ||
Georgian ბავშვი | ||
German kind | ||
Greek παιδί | ||
Guarani mitã | ||
Gujarati બાળક | ||
Haitian Creole pitit | ||
Hausa yaro | ||
Hawaiian keiki | ||
Hebrew יֶלֶד | ||
Hindi बच्चा | ||
Hmong menyuam | ||
Hungarian gyermek | ||
Icelandic barn | ||
Igbo nwa | ||
Ilocano ubing | ||
Indonesian anak | ||
Irish leanbh | ||
Italian bambino | ||
Japanese 子 | ||
Javanese bocah | ||
Kannada ಮಗು | ||
Kazakh бала | ||
Khmer កូន | ||
Kinyarwanda umwana | ||
Konkani भुरगें | ||
Korean 아이 | ||
Krio pikin | ||
Kurdish zarok | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) منداڵ | ||
Kyrgyz бала | ||
Lao ເດັກນ້ອຍ | ||
Latin puer | ||
Latvian bērns | ||
Lingala mwana | ||
Lithuanian vaikas | ||
Luganda omwaana | ||
Luxembourgish kand | ||
Macedonian дете | ||
Maithili नेना | ||
Malagasy zaza | ||
Malay anak | ||
Malayalam കുട്ടി | ||
Maltese tifel | ||
Maori tamaiti | ||
Marathi मूल | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯉꯥꯡ | ||
Mizo naupang | ||
Mongolian хүүхэд | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ကလေး | ||
Nepali बच्चा | ||
Norwegian barn | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mwana | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପିଲା | ||
Oromo daa'ima | ||
Pashto ماشوم | ||
Persian کودک | ||
Polish dziecko | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) criança | ||
Punjabi ਬੱਚਾ | ||
Quechua warma | ||
Romanian copil | ||
Russian ребенок | ||
Samoan tamaititi | ||
Sanskrit बालः | ||
Scots Gaelic leanabh | ||
Sepedi ngwana | ||
Serbian дете | ||
Sesotho ngoana | ||
Shona mwana | ||
Sindhi ٻار | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ළමා | ||
Slovak dieťa | ||
Slovenian otrok | ||
Somali cunug | ||
Spanish niño | ||
Sundanese anaking | ||
Swahili mtoto | ||
Swedish barn | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) anak | ||
Tajik кӯдак | ||
Tamil குழந்தை | ||
Tatar бала | ||
Telugu పిల్లవాడు | ||
Thai เด็ก | ||
Tigrinya ህፃን | ||
Tsonga n'wana | ||
Turkish çocuk | ||
Turkmen çaga | ||
Twi (Akan) abɔfra | ||
Ukrainian дитина | ||
Urdu بچہ | ||
Uyghur بالا | ||
Uzbek bola | ||
Vietnamese đứa trẻ | ||
Welsh plentyn | ||
Xhosa umntwana | ||
Yiddish קינד | ||
Yoruba ọmọ | ||
Zulu ingane |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "kind" is derived from the Dutch word "kind" and originally meant "child", but now also has the meaning of "type" or "species". |
| Albanian | In Albanian, the word "fëmijë" can also refer to a "baby" or a "youngster". |
| Amharic | In Amharic, "ልጅ" can also mean "descendant" or "offspring". |
| Arabic | The word "طفل" also means "baby" and is derived from the verb "طفل" meaning "to be soft" or "tender". |
| Armenian | In Armenian, the word "երեխա" has a dual meaning, referring to both a child and a doll. |
| Azerbaijani | "Uşaq" also means "disciple" in Azerbaijani and is used in this sense in Sufism. |
| Basque | The Basque word "ume" can also mean "young", "small", or "immature". |
| Belarusian | "Дзіця": от общеславянского *дѣте; также «ребёнок; молодое существо, существо младшего возраста» |
| Bengali | The word "শিশু" derives from the Proto-Indo-Aryan word *śiśu-*, meaning "young one" or "infant". |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian word "dijete" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "děti", which also means "child" in Croatian, Serbian, and other Slavic languages. |
| Bulgarian | "Дете" can also mean "infant" and "youngling" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | "Nen" is also used colloquially to refer to a boyfriend or lover. |
| Cebuano | Bata is also used as a term of endearment for a friend, similar to the English term 'mate'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | '儿童' literally means 'child of a person' as it is composed of the characters for 'person' and 'child'. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "兒童" literally means "young human" in Chinese (Traditional). |
| Corsican | The word “zitellu” (child) may derive from the Etruscan word “citelo” (son) but is likely more directly related to the Vulgar Latin word “zito” (descendant). |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "dijete" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *dětę, meaning "sucker" or "small child". |
| Czech | "Dítě" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *dětiē, meaning both "child" and "deed," and is related to the Sanskrit word dhitá, meaning "daughter." |
| Danish | In Danish, the word "barn" not only means "child" but also refers to an orphan or an illegitimate child. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "kind" not only refers to a child, but also to a "type" or "category" of something. |
| Esperanto | The word "infano" is derived from the French word "enfant" and also means "descendant" or "minor". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word “laps” also denotes the laps on a racetrack, the brim of a hat, or even a wave |
| Finnish | "Lapsi" is derived from Proto-Finnic *laptsɨ, which in turn comes from Proto-Uralic *lapti, meaning "newborn," or "young." |
| French | "Enfant" also means "son" or "daughter" in French |
| Frisian | Frisian "bern" derives from Old Frisian "bern" (meaning "noble child or warrior") and Old Saxon "barn" (meaning "free person"). |
| Galician | Galician word 'neno' is also used for a boy younger than 7 or an infant. |
| German | The German word "Kind" also means "sort" and is related to the English word "kind"} |
| Greek | The Greek word "παιδί" can also refer to a young servant or slave. |
| Gujarati | The word 'બાળક' can also mean 'a young animal' or 'a descendant'. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "pitit" in Haitian Creole comes from the French word "petit", meaning "small". It is also commonly used as a term of endearment for young people. |
| Hausa | In some African languages such as Hausa, the word "yaro" can also be used to refer to a young male, a boy, and a young man, especially in the context of friendship, affection or endearment. |
| Hawaiian | The word 'keiki' is also used to refer to a younger sibling, a godchild, or a student |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "יֶלֶד" (yeled) denotes a "child," but it also means a "boy" or "young man." |
| Hindi | The word "बच्चा" can also refer to a small animal or an immature person. |
| Hmong | The word "menyuam" also refers to nephews and nieces when addressing them from a parental perspective. |
| Hungarian | "Gyermek" also means "offspring" in Old Hungarian, and is cognate to the Slavic word "chréma" meaning "spittle". |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "barn" can also refer to a child's grandchild or a child's great-grandchild. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word 'nwa' also means 'seed', reflecting the idea that children are the seeds of a family's future. |
| Indonesian | "Anak" is derived from Proto-Austronesian "*anak" (child, offspring), but also means "son" and "younger sibling" in various Indonesian dialects. |
| Irish | The name of the Irish folk tale character Fionn mac Cumhaill contains the word "leanbh" meaning "child" as well as "calf" or "fawn." |
| Italian | The word "bambino" derives from the Latin "infans" meaning "unable to speak," a reference to the developmental stage of babies. |
| Japanese | The character "子" can also mean "servant", "monk", or "female". |
| Javanese | Javanese word "bocah" derives from "bochah" which can also mean "a person who is inexperienced" |
| Kannada | The word "ಮಗು" in Kannada can also mean "boy" or "son", and is derived from the Dravidian root "mak" meaning "to be born". |
| Kazakh | The word "бала" in Kazakh can also mean "hero" or "leader". |
| Khmer | The word "កូន" can also refer to a young animal, a person of low rank, or a disciple. |
| Korean | 아이 is also the archaic root word for "love" in Korean, and is used in compounds such as 애인 (lover) and 애정 (affection). |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, the word "zarok" can also refer to a "descendant" or a "pupil". |
| Kyrgyz | "Бала" can also refer to "boy", "calf", or "baby camel" |
| Latin | "Puer" was also used in Latin to refer to a male slave, especially one who worked as a cupbearer. |
| Latvian | Bērns is also a term of endearment for a spouse or lover in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | The word "vaikas" is also used to refer to a male child specifically, as opposed to "mergaitė" (girl). |
| Luxembourgish | "Kand" can also refer to a godchild in Luxembourgish. |
| Macedonian | The word "дете" derives from the Proto-Slavic word děte, meaning "offspring" or "young one". |
| Malagasy | The word "zaza" in Malagasy can also mean "descendant" or "heir". |
| Malay | The word "anak" in Malay also means "son" or "daughter" and can be used as a term of endearment. |
| Malayalam | The word "കുട്ടി" in Malayalam can also refer to a small or young thing, such as a small animal or a young plant. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "tifel" is derived from the Arabic word "tifl," meaning "boy" or "child," and is also used in other Semitic languages with similar meanings. |
| Maori | The word "tamaiti" can also refer to the younger sibling, regardless of gender. |
| Marathi | In Sanskrit, "mūla" means "root" or "source" and signifies the child as the root of the family tree. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "хүүхэд" can also mean "descendant" or "offspring". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "ကလေး" can also refer to a "young animal" or "a younger person". |
| Nepali | "बच्चा" is also an affectionate term for a young girlfriend. |
| Norwegian | The word "barn" in Norwegian can also refer to a child of either gender, and is related to the English word "born". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Malawi, the word "mwana" not only denotes a child but is also often used as a term of endearment for young people in general. |
| Pashto | Pashto word “ماشوم” (child) in Urdu means “innocent”, derived from Arabic.”} |
| Persian | The word "کودک" (kudak) in Persian derives from the Old Persian word "kudaka," meaning "young, little." |
| Polish | Dziecko, originally "little wonder," is related to Czech "dívka" (girl), Slovak "dievča" and Russian "дева" (maiden). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "criança" derives from the Latin word "creare", meaning "to create" or "to bring into being". |
| Punjabi | In Punjabi, the word "ਬੱਚਾ" (bachcha) can also refer to a young animal or a pet. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, the word "copil" not only means "child" but also "illegitimate child". |
| Russian | The word «ребенок» derives from старославянское «ребѧ», or «slave» or dependent. |
| Samoan | The term 'tamaititi' can also refer to a young sibling regardless of gender. |
| Scots Gaelic | "Leanabh" can also mean "offspring", "infant" or "baby". |
| Serbian | It is a term of endearment for a young person or a pet. |
| Sesotho | Although 'ngoana' is generally translated as 'child,' it can also refer to a young animal or a young person. |
| Shona | The word "mwana" in Shona can also refer to a nephew or niece, or a younger friend or associate. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word ٻار (bār) also means "young sheep" or "lamb". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word 'ළමා' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'balaka' meaning 'young' or 'immature'. |
| Slovak | Dieťa (meaning child in Slovak) is derived from Proto-Slavic *dětę, which also means offspring. |
| Slovenian | "Otrok" is derived from Proto-Slavic *otroku, which stems from the Proto-Indo-European root *otr-, meaning "swelling, pregnancy; womb". |
| Somali | In Somali, "cunug" can also refer to a descendant or offspring of a person or animal. |
| Spanish | "Niño" in Spanish can also refer to a young disciple of Christ or the Christ Child. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'anaking' shares an etymology with 'inung' in Malay, and both refer to infants. |
| Swahili | In Swahili, 'mtoto' not only refers to a 'child' but also to 'the young of animals' and can be used figuratively to mean 'a new or immature thing'. |
| Swedish | In Swedish, the word "barn" has the same dual meaning of "child" and "maternity or paternity leave." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Derived from Proto-Austronesian *anak, meaning 'offspring', 'young', or 'child'. Also used in a figurative sense to refer to disciples, followers, or subordinates. |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "кӯдак" is related to the Sanskrit word "कुमार" (kumāra), which also means "child". |
| Tamil | The word 'குழந்தை' (child) derives from the Proto-Dravidian root '*kūḻ-' meaning 'small' or 'young.' |
| Telugu | The word `పిల్లవాడు` can also mean a young animal, a younger brother, or someone who is naive or inexperienced. |
| Thai | The Thai word "เด็ก" derives from Pali, meaning both "young, small, or insignificant" and "a boy". |
| Turkish | "Çocuk" is the Turkish word for "child", but it also has the alternate meaning of "slave" or "serf". |
| Ukrainian | 'Дитина' derives from an Old Slavic word 'dětište' ('child'), which also appears in other Slavic languages, and shares common roots with the words 'діто' ('baby'), 'діт' ('offspring'), and 'мати' ('mother'). |
| Urdu | The word "بچہ" can also mean "son" or "pupil" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | "Bola" in Uzbek, is the second born of a family, and it's also used to refer to a boy of any age |
| Vietnamese | "Đứa trẻ" can also mean "the young one", especially in the animal kingdom, or a young plant or seedling. |
| Welsh | The word "plentyn" is also used to refer to a young animal or a small object. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "umntwana" can refer to both a human child and a young animal. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "kind(er)" also refers to a male teenager or young adult. |
| Yoruba | "Ọmọ" can also mean "matter", "cause", or "issue", depending on the context. |
| Zulu | "Ingane" also refers to the younger brother, sister, cousin, nephew, or niece of one's own parents or siblings. |
| English | The word 'child' derives from the Proto-Germanic '*kildon', meaning 'male youth, young person'. |