Cigarette in Different Languages
Discover 'Cigarette' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing tobacco that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. It has been a significant part of human culture for centuries, with its origins dating back to ancient civilizations. From being a symbol of sophistication in the early 20th century to its modern-day association with health risks, the cultural importance of cigarettes is undeniable.
Moreover, the word 'cigarette' itself is fascinating, with translations in different languages shedding light on cultural nuances and historical contexts. For instance, in Spanish, a cigarette is called 'cigarrillo,' which means 'little cigar.' Meanwhile, in Russian, it's 'sigareta,' reflecting its French influence. In Japanese, it's 'tabako,' which originally referred to tobacco leaves before the invention of rolled cigarettes.
Understanding the translations of the word 'cigarette' in various languages can provide valuable insights into different cultures and their relationship with this controversial product. So, let's explore some of these translations and learn more about the world around us.
Cigarette
Cigarette in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sigaret | ||
| The Afrikaans word "sigaret" ultimately derives from the Spanish "cigarro", itself derived from the Mayan word for "tobacco". | |||
| Amharic | ሲጋራ | ||
| The word "ሲጋራ" (cigarette) comes from the French word "cigarette" which itself comes from the Spanish word "cigarro". | |||
| Hausa | sigari | ||
| Sigari (cigarette) may also refer to an indigenous form of tobacco, which is inhaled into the mouth but not swallowed. | |||
| Igbo | sịga | ||
| The Igbo word "sịga" derives from the Portuguese "cigarra". | |||
| Malagasy | sigara | ||
| In Malagasy, "sigara" is derived from the Spanish word "cigarro" and also means "to smoke". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ndudu | ||
| The word "ndudu" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is derived from the word "dudu" meaning "smoke" or "to smoke". | |||
| Shona | mudzanga | ||
| "Mudzanga" also means "little fire" in Shona, referring to the glowing ember at the end of a cigarette. | |||
| Somali | sigaar | ||
| The word 'sigaar' can also mean tobacco in general in Somali.} | |||
| Sesotho | sekarete | ||
| "Sekarete" derives from the Afrikaans word "sigaar" (cigar), likely introduced to Sesotho through migrant labor and trade. | |||
| Swahili | sigara | ||
| Swahili word "sigara" derives from the Persian word "sigar" or the Spanish word "cigarro", both meaning "a roll of tobacco for smoking." | |||
| Xhosa | umdiza | ||
| Umdiza, which also means "smoke," likely comes from the verb "diza," meaning "to smoke" or "to inhale." | |||
| Yoruba | siga | ||
| The word 'siga' is derived from the Yoruba word 'si' (to smoke) and 'ga' (fire). | |||
| Zulu | ugwayi | ||
| The term 'ugwayi' stems from the Zulu word 'gwayi', meaning 'to smoke'. | |||
| Bambara | sigarɛti min bɛ kɛ | ||
| Ewe | sigaret zazã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | itabi | ||
| Lingala | likaya ya kolya | ||
| Luganda | sigala wa sigala | ||
| Sepedi | sakerete ya | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sigaret a wɔde di dwuma | ||
Cigarette in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | سيجارة | ||
| In Arabic, "سيجارة" (cigarette) is derived from the Persian word "سگاره" (segarre), which means "to inhale", and ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word "sicatl" (to smoke). | |||
| Hebrew | סִיגַרִיָה | ||
| "סִיגַרִיָה" is the Hebrew word for "cigarette", derived from the Spanish word "cigarro", meaning "cigar". | |||
| Pashto | سګريټ | ||
| The word "سګريټ" can also mean "small pipe" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | سيجارة | ||
| In Arabic, "سيجارة" (cigarette) is derived from the Persian word "سگاره" (segarre), which means "to inhale", and ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word "sicatl" (to smoke). | |||
Cigarette in Western European Languages
| Albanian | cigare | ||
| The Albanian word "cigare" is derived from the Turkish word "sigar". | |||
| Basque | zigarroa | ||
| Zigarroa derives from the Mayan word “zicotl” through Spanish, meaning “roasting tube”. | |||
| Catalan | cigarreta | ||
| "Cigarreta" in Catalan comes from the French word "cigarette" which itself comes from the Spanish word "cigarro" (cigar). | |||
| Croatian | cigareta | ||
| The word "cigareta" in Croatian originally meant "small cigar" but now refers to a cigarette. | |||
| Danish | cigaret | ||
| The Danish word "cigaret" derives from the French "cigarette," meaning "little cigar." | |||
| Dutch | sigaret | ||
| In Dutch, "sigaret" can also refer to a small, narrow roll of paper or fabric used for wrapping purposes. | |||
| English | cigarette | ||
| "Cigarette" comes from the French for "small cigar" ("cigarrette") and was adopted into English in the 19th century. | |||
| French | cigarette | ||
| The French word "cigarette" can also refer to a thin, crisp cookie, similar to a wafer. | |||
| Frisian | sigaret | ||
| It was originally also used for cigars | |||
| Galician | cigarro | ||
| In Galician, "cigarro" can also refer to a type of firework. | |||
| German | zigarette | ||
| The German word "Zigarette" comes from the French word "cigarette", which in turn comes from the Spanish word "cigarrito", a diminutive of "cigarro" (cigar). | |||
| Icelandic | sígarettu | ||
| The Icelandic word "sígarettu" is a loanword from Spanish, where it originally meant a small cigar. | |||
| Irish | toitín | ||
| The word "toitín" can also refer to a type of cheap cigar or a small piece of paper rolled up and smoked. | |||
| Italian | sigaretta | ||
| The name 'sigaretta' comes from the Persian word 'sigareh', which means 'small cigar'. | |||
| Luxembourgish | zigarett | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Zigarette" comes from the French word "cigarette", but is sometimes also used for "joint". | |||
| Maltese | sigarett | ||
| Despite being spelled similarly to 'cigarette', 'sigarett' actually comes from the Arabic word for 'small', and refers to small fish. | |||
| Norwegian | sigarett | ||
| The Norwegian word "sigarett" originally referred to cigars that were smoked through a paper tube. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | cigarro | ||
| "Cigarro" also refers to the action or habit of smoking cigarettes, e.g. "Ele tem o cigarro fácil" (lit.: "He has easy smoking"). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | toitean | ||
| The word "toitean" likely derives from the French "tabac" via Irish, originally a place-name for a location in Haiti. | |||
| Spanish | cigarrillo | ||
| In Spanish, "cigarrillo" can also refer to a small, thin cigar, typically made with dark tobacco. | |||
| Swedish | cigarett | ||
| The word "cigarett" in Swedish originally meant "small cigar" and "tobacco wrapped in paper" | |||
| Welsh | sigarét | ||
| "Sigarét" is cognate with "sigaret" in Indonesian, "cigara" in Czech, and "zigarre" in German - all meaning "cigar". | |||
Cigarette in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | цыгарэта | ||
| The Belarusian word "цыгарэта" comes from the Polish word "cygaret", which in turn comes from the French word "cigarette". | |||
| Bosnian | cigareta | ||
| Cigareta can also refer to a cigarillo or a tube-shaped pastry filled with cream. | |||
| Bulgarian | цигара | ||
| The word "цигара" in Bulgarian historically meant "rolled tobacco", but since the 20th century it almost exclusively refers to manufactured cigarettes. | |||
| Czech | cigareta | ||
| Cigareta is also a slang term used in Czech slang for a beautiful woman. | |||
| Estonian | sigaret | ||
| In Estonian, "sigaret" is derived from the French word "cigarette", which in turn comes from the Spanish "cigarillo", diminutive form of "cigarro" (cigar). | |||
| Finnish | savuke | ||
| Savuke comes from the Swedish word "cigarrök" which means "cigar smoke" | |||
| Hungarian | cigaretta | ||
| "Cigaretta" means "small cigar" in Italian, it's the diminutive of "cigarro". | |||
| Latvian | cigarete | ||
| The Latvian word "cigarete" can also refer to a type of small, thin, and rolled pastry filled with various ingredients. | |||
| Lithuanian | cigaretė | ||
| The word "cigaretė" comes from the French word "cigarette" which itself comes from the Spanish word "cigarrillo" which is the diminutive of "cigarro" meaning "cigar". | |||
| Macedonian | цигара | ||
| In the 19th century, in some parts of Macedonia, "цигара" meant "cigarette paper". | |||
| Polish | papieros | ||
| The word "papieros" originated from the French "papier" ("paper") and Latin "rosa" ("rose"), likely referring to the thin paper used to roll tobacco and the rosy tint of the burning end. | |||
| Romanian | ţigară | ||
| The Romanian word "ţigară" derives from the French word "cigare", which in turn comes from the Spanish word "cigarro", meaning "cigar". | |||
| Russian | сигарета | ||
| The word "сигарета" (cigarette) in Russian comes from the French word "cigare" (cigar), which in turn comes from the Spanish word "cigarro" (cigar). | |||
| Serbian | цигарета | ||
| The Serbian word "цигарета" (cigarette) ultimately derives from the French word "cigare", | |||
| Slovak | cigareta | ||
| In Slovak, the word "cigareta" can refer to either a cigarette or a marijuana joint. | |||
| Slovenian | cigareta | ||
| "Cigareta" means "cigarette" in Slovenian and the word derives from "cigaro" (cigar) which is a diminutive of the Spanish word "cigarro" (cigar). | |||
| Ukrainian | сигарету | ||
| The word "сигарету" (cigarette) comes from the French word "cigarette", which in turn originates from the Spanish word "cigarro" | |||
Cigarette in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সিগারেট | ||
| The word 'সিগারেট' (cigarette) is derived from the French word 'cigarette'. | |||
| Gujarati | સિગારેટ | ||
| The word "সিগারেট" is also used to refer to a small, thin, cylindrical object that is rolled up and smoked, typically containing tobacco or other substances. | |||
| Hindi | सिगरेट | ||
| The word 'सिगरेट' is derived from the French word 'cigarette', which in turn comes from the Spanish word 'cigarro', meaning 'small cigar'. | |||
| Kannada | ಸಿಗರೇಟ್ | ||
| The word "cigarette" originates from the French word "cigarette", which in turn comes from the Spanish word "cigarillo", meaning "small cigar". | |||
| Malayalam | സിഗരറ്റ് | ||
| The Malayalam word 'സിഗരറ്റ്' originates from the French word 'cigarette', which in turn comes from the Spanish word 'cigarro' meaning 'small cigar'. | |||
| Marathi | सिगारेट | ||
| सिगारेट (cigarette) is derived from the Spanish word "cigarro" and the French word "cigarette", both meaning "little cigar". | |||
| Nepali | सिगरेट | ||
| The word 'सिगरेट' (cigarette) in Nepali is derived from the French word 'cigarette', which in turn comes from the Spanish word 'cigarro', meaning 'small cigar'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਿਗਰੇਟ | ||
| The word "ਸਿਗਰੇਟ" (cigarette) comes from the French word "cigarette", which in turn comes from the Spanish word "cigarro", meaning "small cigar". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සිගරට් | ||
| The word 'සිගරට්' ('cigarette') is derived from the French word 'cigarette', which in turn comes from the Spanish word 'cigarro', meaning 'cigar'. | |||
| Tamil | சிகரெட் | ||
| The word "சிகரெட்" (cigarette) is derived from the French word "cigarette", which in turn comes from the Spanish word "cigarro", meaning "small cigar". | |||
| Telugu | సిగరెట్ | ||
| In Telugu, "సిగరెట్" (cigarette) also refers to a small container for spices like cloves. | |||
| Urdu | سگریٹ | ||
| The alternative meaning of "سگریٹ" is "a small, cylindrical piece of paper filled with tobacco". | |||
Cigarette in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 香烟 | ||
| The word "香烟" literally means "fragrant smoke" and can also refer to incense or other types of smoke. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 香煙 | ||
| "香煙" (traditional Chinese) originally referred to incense smoke, but is now only used to describe cigarettes. | |||
| Japanese | シガレット | ||
| The word "cigarette" (シガレット) in Japanese is derived from the French word "cigarette", meaning "little cigar". | |||
| Korean | 담배 | ||
| 담배의 어원은 '담배풀'로, 원래는 담배풀을 말하던 것이나 지금은 담배를 지칭하는 말로 굳어졌다. | |||
| Mongolian | тамхи | ||
| The Mongolian word "тамхи" (cigarette) is derived from the Chinese word "煙" (yan), meaning "smoke". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စီးကရက် | ||
Cigarette in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | rokok | ||
| Rokok also refers to tobacco used in a cigar or other similar products. | |||
| Javanese | rokok | ||
| The Javanese word "rokok" can also mean "to smoke" or "tobacco" | |||
| Khmer | បារី | ||
| "បារី" also means "to spit" because people who spit a lot usually smoke cigarettes. | |||
| Lao | ຢາສູບ | ||
| The Lao word “ຢາສູບ” (cigarette) originated from the Chinese word “yàn” (literally smoke), meaning a drug for smoking. | |||
| Malay | rokok | ||
| "Rokok" is also a word for "tobacco" in Malay, suggesting its close association with cigarettes. | |||
| Thai | บุหรี่ | ||
| "บุหรี่" is a loanword from the Spanish "cigarro", the word for "cigar". In contemporary Thai it specifically refers to modern manufactured cigarettes. | |||
| Vietnamese | thuốc lá | ||
| Thuốc lá originally meant medicinal herbs in Vietnamese and is related to the verb 'hút' meaning 'to smoke', but nowadays the word almost exclusively means cigarette. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sigarilyo | ||
Cigarette in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | siqaret | ||
| The word "siqaret" is derived from the French word "cigarette" and originally designated a small cigar or rolled tobacco. | |||
| Kazakh | темекі | ||
| In Kazakh, "темекі" originally meant "tobacco", but now primarily refers to "cigarettes". | |||
| Kyrgyz | тамеки | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "тамеки" translates to "cigarette", but it literally means "little horse" in Turkic languages. | |||
| Tajik | сигор | ||
| Derived from Russian "сигарета" and cognate of English "cigare". | |||
| Turkmen | çilim | ||
| Uzbek | sigaret | ||
| In Uzbek, "sigaret" also refers to a type of small, thin pastry filled with nuts and spices. | |||
| Uyghur | تاماكا | ||
Cigarette in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kakaka | ||
| The Hawaiian word "kakaka" can also mean "to smoke" or "to inhale". | |||
| Maori | hikareti | ||
| The word 'hikareti' also means 'fire-bringer' in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | sikaleti | ||
| The root word 'sika' means to light or set fire to (something), whereas 'leti' means fire. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sigarilyo | ||
| **Sigarilyo** is derived from Spanish "cigarrillo" but has the colloquial connotation of meaning "bad luck" or "unfortunate coincidence" as it sounds similar to "Sigarilyas" (bad luck). | |||
Cigarette in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | cigarro umaña | ||
| Guarani | cigarrillo rehegua | ||
Cigarette in International Languages
| Esperanto | cigaredo | ||
| The Esperanto word "cigaredo" is derived from the Spanish word "cigarro". | |||
| Latin | cigarette | ||
| The word 'cigarette' comes from the Latin word 'cicada', meaning 'small insect'. | |||
Cigarette in Others Languages
| Greek | τσιγάρο | ||
| The word "τσιγάρο" comes from the Turkish word "çubuk," meaning "stick" or "pipe." | |||
| Hmong | luam yeeb | ||
| The word "luam yeeb" can also mean "to puff" or "to inhale". | |||
| Kurdish | cixare | ||
| The word 'cixare' is derived from the Persian word 'sigare', which itself is a derivative of the French word 'cigare'. | |||
| Turkish | sigara | ||
| The Turkish word sigara is derived from the Persian word "sigar" meaning "small cigar" | |||
| Xhosa | umdiza | ||
| Umdiza, which also means "smoke," likely comes from the verb "diza," meaning "to smoke" or "to inhale." | |||
| Yiddish | פּאַפּיראָס | ||
| The Yiddish word "פּאַפּיראָס" (cigarette) is derived from the Greek word "πάπυρος" (papyrus), as cigarettes were originally rolled using papyrus paper. | |||
| Zulu | ugwayi | ||
| The term 'ugwayi' stems from the Zulu word 'gwayi', meaning 'to smoke'. | |||
| Assamese | চিগাৰেট | ||
| Aymara | cigarro umaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | सिगरेट के इस्तेमाल कइल जाला | ||
| Dhivehi | ސިނގިރޭޓެވެ | ||
| Dogri | सिगरेट | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sigarilyo | ||
| Guarani | cigarrillo rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | sigarilio | ||
| Krio | sigrɛt | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | جگەرە | ||
| Maithili | सिगरेट | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯁꯤꯒꯥꯔꯦꯠ ꯊꯀꯄꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | cigarette a ni | ||
| Oromo | sigaaraa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସିଗାରେଟ୍ | ||
| Quechua | cigarro | ||
| Sanskrit | सिगरेट् | ||
| Tatar | тәмәке | ||
| Tigrinya | ሽጋራ ምውሳድ | ||
| Tsonga | fole ra xirhendzevutani | ||