Coast in Different Languages
Discover 'Coast' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'coast' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, representing the landboundary where the land meets the sea. This dynamic interface is not only a geographical marvel but also a cultural melting pot, where human civilization has thrived since the dawn of time. From the rugged cliffs of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way to the sun-kissed beaches of Australia's Gold Coast, the coast has been a constant source of inspiration, recreation, and sustenance for people worldwide.
Moreover, the coast has played a pivotal role in human history, shaping the course of civilizations and influencing cultural practices. For instance, the ancient Phoenicians were renowned seafarers who established trading posts along the Mediterranean coast, while the Polynesians navigated the Pacific Ocean using the stars and currents to explore and settle islands.
Given the coast's global significance, it's no surprise that people might want to know its translation in different languages. Here are some sample translations to pique your curiosity:
- Küste (German)
- Kust (Swedish)
- Kustas (Estonian)
- Bras (Welsh)
- Riviera (Italian)
Coast
Coast in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kus | ||
| "Kus" is a Dutch-based Afrikaans word (cognate of English "coast") but it also means "kiss" in the Khoekhoe language. | |||
| Amharic | ዳርቻ | ||
| The Amharic word "ዳርቻ" (coast) also has the alternate meaning of "border" or "boundary". | |||
| Hausa | bakin teku | ||
| "Bakin teku" also refers to the edge or boundary of something | |||
| Igbo | ụsọ oké osimiri | ||
| The Igbo word ụsọ oké osimiri can also mean "edge of the deep", and was borrowed from the Edo word usǫ ɔ̀kpɔlɔ́ meaning "edge of the sea". | |||
| Malagasy | morontsirak'i | ||
| The Malagasy word "MORONTSIRAK'I" (meaning "coast") can also refer to the "side" of something, or to a "frontier". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | gombe | ||
| The Nyanja word "gombe" also refers to a landing place or port. | |||
| Shona | coast | ||
| In Shona, "coast" can also mean "bank" (of a river or stream). | |||
| Somali | xeebta | ||
| The word "xeebta" is derived from the Arabic word "saḥil", meaning "coastline". | |||
| Sesotho | lebopong | ||
| The word lebopong is also used in compounds like 'lebopong la lewatle' which means seashore | |||
| Swahili | pwani | ||
| The Swahili word "pwani" is thought to derive from the Proto-Bantu word "bwa"," which means "edge" | |||
| Xhosa | unxweme | ||
| The word 'unxweme' in Xhosa also means 'the place where the sun goes down'. | |||
| Yoruba | etikun | ||
| "Etikun" has an alternate meaning of "ocean" in the Yoruba language. | |||
| Zulu | ogwini | ||
| The Zulu word “ogwini” also refers to the sea foam found in sand after the tide has receded. | |||
| Bambara | kɔgɔjida | ||
| Ewe | ƒuta | ||
| Kinyarwanda | inkombe | ||
| Lingala | mopanzi | ||
| Luganda | omwaalo | ||
| Sepedi | lebopo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mpoano | ||
Coast in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ساحل | ||
| ساحل can also mean 'edge' or 'border' in Arabic, and it comes from the root word س ح ل, which means 'to flow' or 'to wash'. | |||
| Hebrew | חוף | ||
| The word "חוף" (coast) in Hebrew also refers to a "shore" or "beach." | |||
| Pashto | ساحل | ||
| In Pashto, the word "ساحل" originates from the Arabic word "ساحل" (coast), but it also has alternate meanings such as "edge" or "rim".} | |||
| Arabic | ساحل | ||
| ساحل can also mean 'edge' or 'border' in Arabic, and it comes from the root word س ح ل, which means 'to flow' or 'to wash'. | |||
Coast in Western European Languages
| Albanian | bregdet | ||
| The word "bregdet" in Albanian may derive from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to rise" or "to be high". | |||
| Basque | kostaldea | ||
| The word "Kostaldea" comes from the Proto-Basque word "*kostata", meaning "border" or "edge". | |||
| Catalan | costa | ||
| The Catalan word "Costa" derives from the Latin "costa", meaning "rib" or "side", and refers to the land bordering a body of water. | |||
| Croatian | obala | ||
| The word "obala" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *obala, meaning "a place where one goes ashore". | |||
| Danish | kyst | ||
| Danish "kyst" is derived from "kjost" in old Danish which came from the latin term "costa" | |||
| Dutch | kust | ||
| The Dutch word "kust" can also refer to the strip of land along a body of water. | |||
| English | coast | ||
| The word ''coast'' originated from the Old French verb ''coster'', meaning ''to follow the outline of,'' as in following a shoreline on a coastal route. | |||
| French | côte | ||
| In botany, the word "côte" can refer to the midrib of a leaf. | |||
| Frisian | kust | ||
| It's the Dutch word "kust" meaning coast; it also refers to a "border" in the sense of an "edge". | |||
| Galician | costa | ||
| In Galician, "costa" can also refer to a slope or hill, derived from the Latin "costa" meaning "rib". | |||
| German | küste | ||
| "Küste" can also mean "cave" in Middle Low German, "rock" in Old High German, and "rocky place" in West Frisian. | |||
| Icelandic | strönd | ||
| Icelandic 'strönd' derives from the Old Norse word 'strönd', which means 'edge'. | |||
| Irish | chósta | ||
| The word "chósta" in Irish is derived from the Old Irish word "cúas", meaning "back" or "rear". | |||
| Italian | costa | ||
| In Italian, "costa" can also refer to a hill or slope, possibly derived from the Latin word "costa" meaning rib or side. | |||
| Luxembourgish | küst | ||
| In the German language, "Küst" also refers to a historical area along the North Sea coast. | |||
| Maltese | kosta | ||
| The word 'kosta' also refers to a coastal area, beach, or shoreline in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | kyst | ||
| The word "kyst" is derived from Old Norse "kystr", meaning "coastal area" or "shore". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | costa | ||
| In Portuguese, "costa" can also refer to a rib, back, or slope. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | oirthir | ||
| An alternative archaic spelling oirthir retains an older meaning "edge" or "border". | |||
| Spanish | costa | ||
| "Costa" in Spanish can also mean rib or slope. | |||
| Swedish | kust | ||
| Kust is derived from the Old Swedish word 'kuster', meaning 'border' or 'edge'. | |||
| Welsh | arfordir | ||
| In the early 20th century, "arfordir" was also used to refer to the coastline of mainland Europe. | |||
Coast in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | узбярэжжа | ||
| The word can also be used to refer to the coast of a river or lake. | |||
| Bosnian | obala | ||
| Obala can also mean "shore" or "bank". | |||
| Bulgarian | крайбрежие | ||
| The word "крайбрежие" is derived from the Bulgarian word "край", meaning "edge" or "border", and the suffix "-брежие", which refers to a geographical area near a body of water. | |||
| Czech | pobřeží | ||
| The word "pobřeží" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "beregъ", meaning "shore" or "bank". It can also refer to a "seashore" or "coastal region". | |||
| Estonian | rannikul | ||
| While the root of the word rannik "coast" is unknown, its derivative ranna "shore" is related to Latvian "rūna" "dune," suggesting a Proto-Baltic connection. | |||
| Finnish | rannikko | ||
| The word "rannikko" in Finnish is derived from the word "rant", meaning shore, bank, and refers to a coastal area along a body of water. | |||
| Hungarian | tengerpart | ||
| The word "tengerpart" (coast) derives from the Old Turkic "tangra budun" (holy land), later the Hungarian "tenger" (sea), and "part" (shore). | |||
| Latvian | piekrastē | ||
| The word "piekrastē" is a compound word, formed from the root "krasts" (coastline) and the prefix "pie" (at). | |||
| Lithuanian | pakrantėje | ||
| The word Pakrantė derives from Lithuanian word pakraštys that means "edge" or "border" or "coast" or "periphery". | |||
| Macedonian | крајбрежје | ||
| The Macedonian word "крајбрежје" is derived from the Slavic root "*krajь", meaning "edge" or "end", and the suffix "-брежје", meaning "shore" or "coastline". | |||
| Polish | wybrzeże | ||
| Wybrzeże originates from two Slavic roots, 'wy-' meaning 'out' and 'brzeg' meaning 'bank'. | |||
| Romanian | coasta | ||
| "Coasta" derives from the Latin "costa" meaning "rib". It also refers to hillsides in the Romanian language. | |||
| Russian | морской берег | ||
| 'Морской берег' (coast) in Russian is a compound of 'морской' (of the sea) and 'берег' (bank), and the latter is a cognate of 'barrow' in English, meaning a mound or hill. | |||
| Serbian | обала | ||
| The word "обала" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *obh₂-, meaning "around", and also meant "rim" or "edge" in Old Church Slavonic. | |||
| Slovak | pobrežie | ||
| The word "pobrežie" originally meant "edge of the shore" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | obali | ||
| "Obali" also refers to a type of Croatian pastry stuffed with meat or cheese. | |||
| Ukrainian | узбережжя | ||
| "Uzberezhzhja" derives from "bereg" (shore), and "uz" (along) is added to convey being along the shore. | |||
Coast in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | উপকূল | ||
| The word "উপকূল" is derived from the Sanskrit word "उपकूल" (upakula), which means "near the shore" or "the edge of the water." | |||
| Gujarati | દરિયાકિનારો | ||
| Hindi | कोस्ट | ||
| The word "कोस्ट" in Hindi can also mean "shore", "boundary", or "expense". | |||
| Kannada | ಕರಾವಳಿ | ||
| "ಕರಾವಳಿ" refers to the area between the sea and the land when used as a noun and the act of going from place to place as a verb. | |||
| Malayalam | തീരം | ||
| "തീരം" (coast) derives from the Proto-Dravidian word *tīram" (edge, boundary), also related to "തീരു" (to fix, determine). | |||
| Marathi | किनारपट्टी | ||
| The word "किनारपट्टी" in Marathi originates from the Sanskrit word "कीनारा" meaning "edge" and "पट्टी" meaning "strip". | |||
| Nepali | तट | ||
| "तट (coast)" is cognate to the Sanskrit word "तटि (taṭi)", which means "bank, shore, or margin". In Nepali, it also refers to a "border or boundary" and is used in the phrase "देशको तट (national border)". | |||
| Punjabi | ਤੱਟ | ||
| The word "ਤੱਟ" (coast) is derived from the Sanskrit word "तट" (edge or bank). | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වෙරළ | ||
| වෙරළ (coast) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'vara' meaning 'best' and 'la' meaning 'border' or 'edge', referring to the best or most desirable edge of the land. | |||
| Tamil | கடற்கரை | ||
| The Tamil term 'கடற்கரை' also signifies 'shore,' which refers to the line formed by the meeting of the land with the sea. | |||
| Telugu | తీరం | ||
| తీరం word is derived from the Sanskrit word "तीर" which means "border" or "edge". | |||
| Urdu | ساحل | ||
| The word "ساحل" also means "sand" in Urdu, reflecting its origin in the Sanskrit word "sāgara", meaning "sea" or "ocean". | |||
Coast in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 海岸 | ||
| 海岸 (coast) literally means 'shore of the sea' in Chinese, as it's derived from the words 'shore' (岸) and 'sea' (海). | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 海岸 | ||
| 海岸 derives its name from the Chinese word '海岸' (literally, 'the place where rivers and seas meet') | |||
| Japanese | 海岸 | ||
| In Japanese, 海岸 (kaigan) literally means "edge of the shore," highlighting its geographical significance as the boundary between land and sea. | |||
| Korean | 연안 | ||
| The Korean word “연안” derives from Chinese, where it originally meant “frontier between land and sea”. | |||
| Mongolian | эрэг | ||
| "Эрэг" (coast) is also used to refer to the "threshold" of a doorway or the "edge" of a precipice. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကမ်းရိုးတန်း | ||
Coast in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pantai | ||
| In some languages such as Malay, the word "pantai" can also refer to a "beach" or "seashore". | |||
| Javanese | pasisir | ||
| In Javanese, the word "pasisir" not only means "coast" but also "seaside" and "coastal area". | |||
| Khmer | ឆ្នេរសមុទ្រ | ||
| Lao | ຝັ່ງທະເລ | ||
| Malay | pantai | ||
| "Pantai" originally referred to a type of land or an area that is suitable for a village settlement. | |||
| Thai | ชายฝั่ง | ||
| ชายฝั่ง comes from an old Sanskrit word "tata" which means bank or shore. | |||
| Vietnamese | bờ biển | ||
| "Bờ biển" can also mean "edge", "border" or "limit" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | baybayin | ||
Coast in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | sahil | ||
| "Sahil" also means "shore" and "beach" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | жағалау | ||
| The word "жағалау" is derived from the Turkic root "*jaγа-/*jaʁa-", meaning "edge" or "border." | |||
| Kyrgyz | жээк | ||
| The word "жээк" in Kyrgyz also means "edge" and is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*yagыk" with the same meaning. | |||
| Tajik | соҳил | ||
| The word "соҳил" ultimately comes from a Sogdian word meaning "shore" and has cognates in many other Eastern Iranian languages. | |||
| Turkmen | kenar | ||
| Uzbek | qirg'oq | ||
| The word "qirg'oq" has a secondary meaning of "boundary" or "edge" in the Uzbek language. | |||
| Uyghur | دېڭىز قىرغىقى | ||
Coast in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kahakai | ||
| In Hawaiian, "kahakai" is a homophone meaning both "coast" and "edge". | |||
| Maori | takutai | ||
| "Takutai" is also used in Maori to describe the place where the sea meets the land, or the boundary between the two. | |||
| Samoan | talafatai | ||
| The word "talafatai" in Samoan also means "the edge of something" and "the boundary of something". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | baybayin | ||
| The Tagalog word "baybayin" can also refer to a pre-colonial Philippine writing system or a form of vocal music. | |||
Coast in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | thiya | ||
| Guarani | yrembe'y | ||
Coast in International Languages
| Esperanto | marbordo | ||
| The word "marbordo" derives from the Spanish word "mar de borde" and the Esperanto word "bordo", meaning "side". | |||
| Latin | litore | ||
| Latin litore derives from Proto-Indo-European *ley- 'boundary, separation'. | |||
Coast in Others Languages
| Greek | ακτή | ||
| The Greek word "ακτή" (coast) is also the origin of the word "actor" (originally meaning "one who speaks at a public meeting"). | |||
| Hmong | ntug dej hiav txwv | ||
| The word "ntug dej hiav txwv" literally means "the edge of the big water" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | derav | ||
| The term 'derav' in Kurdish also refers to a region close to a body of water, such as a lake or river | |||
| Turkish | sahil | ||
| The word "sahil" in Turkish comes from the Arabic word "sahel", which means "shore" or "coastline". | |||
| Xhosa | unxweme | ||
| The word 'unxweme' in Xhosa also means 'the place where the sun goes down'. | |||
| Yiddish | ברעג | ||
| The Yiddish word "ברעג" ("coast") may also derive from the Middle High German "brëgen," meaning "to break" or "to crash," suggestive of the crashing of waves against the shore. | |||
| Zulu | ogwini | ||
| The Zulu word “ogwini” also refers to the sea foam found in sand after the tide has receded. | |||
| Assamese | উপকূল | ||
| Aymara | thiya | ||
| Bhojpuri | किनारा | ||
| Dhivehi | އައްސޭރިފަށް | ||
| Dogri | कनारा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | baybayin | ||
| Guarani | yrembe'y | ||
| Ilocano | igid ti baybay | ||
| Krio | kost | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کەناردەریا | ||
| Maithili | समुद्री किनारा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯁꯃꯨꯗ꯭ꯔ ꯇꯣꯔꯕꯥꯟ | ||
| Mizo | kam | ||
| Oromo | qarqara galaanaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଉପକୂଳ | ||
| Quechua | costa | ||
| Sanskrit | तट | ||
| Tatar | яр | ||
| Tigrinya | ገማግም | ||
| Tsonga | ribuwa | ||