Corn in Different Languages
Discover 'Corn' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Corn, also known as maize, is a cereal grain that holds great significance in agriculture and culture worldwide. Originating in Central America over 7,000 years ago, corn has become a staple food in many countries and an essential ingredient in various cuisines. Its cultural importance extends beyond food, featuring prominently in art, literature, and folklore.
Translating 'corn' into different languages not only bridges the gap between cultures but also uncovers fascinating insights into the crop's historical context and regional significance. For instance, in Spanish, corn is 'maíz,' while in German, it's 'Mais.' In Mandarin Chinese, corn is called '玉米' (yùmǐ), and in Japanese, it's 'コーン' (kōn).
Delving into the translations of 'corn' in various languages offers a unique perspective on this versatile crop's global impact. Stay tuned for a comprehensive list of 'corn' translations that will enrich your understanding of this remarkable grain and its role in diverse cultures.
Corn
Corn in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | mielies | ||
| Mielies is an Afrikaans word for corn, a loanword from Portuguese milho, which also means sorghum in some languages. | |||
| Amharic | በቆሎ | ||
| በቆሎ is the name for 'corn' in Amharic, but it also refers to a type of millet, and can mean 'seed' or 'kernel' in general. | |||
| Hausa | masara | ||
| The word "masara" in Hausa also refers to a type of porridge made from corn. | |||
| Igbo | ọka | ||
| The Igbo word 'ọka' can also refer to the concept of 'wealth' or 'abundance' in some contexts. | |||
| Malagasy | katsaka | ||
| The term "katsaka" is also used in some dialects to refer to the sweet corn variety. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chimanga | ||
| The word "chimanga" is commonly used in Chichewa to describe other types of food in addition to corn. | |||
| Shona | chibage | ||
| "Chibage" is a word derived from the Shona language and can also mean "maize" or "staple food." | |||
| Somali | galley | ||
| Somali 'galley' has a secondary meaning of 'cornmeal porridge', which may have originated separately. | |||
| Sesotho | poone | ||
| Poone is also the name of an insect in Sesotho, specifically the honey ant. | |||
| Swahili | mahindi | ||
| The word "mahindi" originated from the Portuguese word "mahiz," meaning "maize," indicating the influence of Portuguese traders on the Swahili coast. | |||
| Xhosa | umbona | ||
| The word "umbona" in Xhosa can also refer to a type of maize meal used to make porridge. | |||
| Yoruba | agbado | ||
| Agbado, meaning "corn" in Yoruba, is also the name of a town in southwest Nigeria and a type of bead worn by Yoruba women. | |||
| Zulu | ukolweni | ||
| Ukolweni is also a praise-name for the king in Zulu culture; 'the chief cultivator', as a way of honouring and commending his role of overseeing the sustenance of his people. | |||
| Bambara | kàba | ||
| Ewe | bli | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ibigori | ||
| Lingala | masangu | ||
| Luganda | kasooli | ||
| Sepedi | korong | ||
| Twi (Akan) | aburo | ||
Corn in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حبوب ذرة | ||
| Hebrew | תירס | ||
| The Hebrew word "תירס" (tirs) is derived from the Aramaic word "תירסא" (tirsa), which means "a heap" or "a gathering", and is related to the Akkadian word "tersu" (a heap of grain). | |||
| Pashto | جوار | ||
| "جوار" is also the name of a Pashto tribe and region in Afghanistan. | |||
| Arabic | حبوب ذرة | ||
Corn in Western European Languages
| Albanian | misri | ||
| The Albanian word "misri" is derived from the Greek word "μαΐς" (maïs), meaning "barley". | |||
| Basque | artoa | ||
| The Basque word artoa, meaning “corn,” is an uncommonly recent loanword, coming from Latin in the 16th Century. | |||
| Catalan | blat de moro | ||
| In the Spanish region of Murcia, «blat de moro» meant both «wheat of the Moors» and «maize». | |||
| Croatian | kukuruz | ||
| The Croatian word "kukuruz" comes from the Turkish word "kukuruz", which in turn comes from the Hungarian word "kukorica". | |||
| Danish | majs | ||
| In Danish, "majs" originally meant "oat" but was later applied to maize due to their similar appearance. | |||
| Dutch | maïs | ||
| The Dutch word "maïs" comes from "Indian corn" or "Turkish wheat" (Turkish being a slang word for maize in the Dutch East Indies and Suriname). | |||
| English | corn | ||
| "Corn" derives from Latin "cornu" meaning "horn," referring to the seed's hard outer covering. | |||
| French | blé | ||
| The word blé (corn) comes from the Latin word bladum, which meant both "corn" and "grain". | |||
| Frisian | nôt | ||
| "Nôt" could also refer to "net", "snare" or "gin", but it used to be used for "corn" before 1200 AD. | |||
| Galician | millo | ||
| Galician "millo" derives from Latin "milium" (millet) and also refers to maize, while "centeno" (rye) comes from Latin "centenum" (hundred). | |||
| German | mais | ||
| In German, "Mais" not only refers to corn, but also to maize, a type of corn with large kernels and a hard outer layer. | |||
| Icelandic | korn | ||
| In Icelandic, "korn" can also refer to "fine grain" or a "single grain." | |||
| Irish | arbhar | ||
| In Irish, the word 'arbhar' can also refer to a crop of corn that is ready for harvest. | |||
| Italian | mais | ||
| Mais also means "but" in Italian, and comes from the Latin word "magis," meaning "more." | |||
| Luxembourgish | mais | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Mais" is derived from the French word "maïs", which in turn comes from the Taíno word "mahiz". It can also refer to the maize plant or its kernels. | |||
| Maltese | qamħ | ||
| The word "qamħ" likely originates from the Arabic word "qamħ" and also refers to various grains and cereals beyond corn, including wheat and barley. | |||
| Norwegian | korn | ||
| The Norwegian word "korn" (meaning grain) is derived from the Middle Low German "korn" (meaning seed grain), which itself is descended from the Proto-Indo-European root "*g̑er-/*ger-" (meaning to mill or crush). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | milho | ||
| In Portuguese, 'milho' originally meant 'large grain', and can also refer to wheat, rice or rye. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | arbhar | ||
| The word "arbhar" can also refer to other grains, such as oats or barley, or to the land on which they are grown. | |||
| Spanish | maíz | ||
| The word "maíz" in Spanish derives from the Taíno word "mahiz", meaning "sustenance". | |||
| Swedish | majs | ||
| The Swedish word "majs" shares the same origin as the English word "maize" and comes from the Native American languages of the Caribbean. | |||
| Welsh | corn | ||
| Welsh word 'corn' originates from Latin 'cornu', meaning 'horn', alluding to the curved shape of the seed | |||
Corn in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | кукуруза | ||
| The Belarusian word "кукуруза" is derived from the Russian word "кукуруза", which in turn comes from the Turkish word "kukuruz", meaning "maize". | |||
| Bosnian | kukuruz | ||
| The word "kukuruz" in Bosnian is derived from the Turkish word "kukuruz", which in turn comes from the Romanian word "cucuruz", meaning "maize". | |||
| Bulgarian | царевица | ||
| The Bulgarian word "царевица" (corn) is derived from the Turkish word "çare" (means) and Persian word "vizza" (grain). | |||
| Czech | kukuřice | ||
| Kukuřice, originally a Native American word meaning "that which sustains life," entered Czech via German in the late 15th century. | |||
| Estonian | mais | ||
| The Estonian word for corn, mais, also means "but" in French and Portuguese. | |||
| Finnish | maissi | ||
| The word | |||
| Hungarian | kukorica | ||
| The Hungarian word "kukorica" for "corn" derives from the Slavic word "kukuruza" and shares a common root with the Turkish word "kokoroz," meaning "rooster". | |||
| Latvian | kukurūza | ||
| The Latvian word "kukurūza" is derived from the German word "Kukuruza" and the Spanish word "maíz", both of which are derived from the Taino word "mahiz". | |||
| Lithuanian | kukurūzai | ||
| The Lithuanian word 'kukurūzai' is derived from the Turkish word for 'dry grain', but in many other languages it refers specifically to maize. | |||
| Macedonian | пченка | ||
| The word "пченка" can also refer to a type of millet in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | kukurydza | ||
| The word "kukurydza" is derived from the Romanian word "cucuruz", which is itself of Turkic origin. | |||
| Romanian | porumb | ||
| In Romanian, the word "porumb" is derived from Latin "pirum" meaning "fruit or pear". | |||
| Russian | кукуруза | ||
| In Russian, "кукуруза" (corn) comes from the Turkish word "kokoroz" meaning "rooster" or "turkey," as the plant's colorful tassels resemble a rooster's comb. | |||
| Serbian | кукуруз | ||
| The word кукуруз (kukuruz) is also an informal term for popcorn in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | kukurica | ||
| The word "kukurica" is also used to refer to the plant itself, while "zrno" is the term for the individual kernels. | |||
| Slovenian | koruza | ||
| It is related to the Greek word | |||
| Ukrainian | кукурудза | ||
| The Ukrainian word 'кукурудза' ('corn') is derived from the Turkic word 'kukuruz', which in turn is borrowed from the Romanian word 'porumb', both meaning 'corn'. | |||
Corn in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ভুট্টা | ||
| ভুট্টা can refer either to corn or a specific variety of indigenous maize locally grown in Bangladesh. | |||
| Gujarati | મકાઈ | ||
| The Gujarati word "મકાઈ" is derived from the Portuguese word "maçaroca", meaning "corn cob". | |||
| Hindi | मक्का | ||
| In India, "मक्का" (makkā) refers to maize (corn), but in Arabic, it means "Mecca" (the holy city in Saudi Arabia). | |||
| Kannada | ಜೋಳ | ||
| In Old Kannada, "jola" referred to "barley". | |||
| Malayalam | ചോളം | ||
| As an ancient name of India, it refers to the region in South India from Mysore to Madurai. | |||
| Marathi | कॉर्न | ||
| The word कॉर्न (corn) in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'karṇa', meaning 'ear'. | |||
| Nepali | मकै | ||
| In Nepali, 'मकै' ('makai') is a loanword from Hindi meaning 'maize' or 'corn', but it can also refer to a type of corn called 'popcorn'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਮਕਈ | ||
| 'ਮਕਈ' is the Punjabi word for 'corn', but it literally translates to 'of the Makka people', referring to Mecca. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉරිඟු | ||
| The word "ඉරිඟු" comes from the Dravidian languages meaning "millet". | |||
| Tamil | சோளம் | ||
| சோளம் (corn) also refers to a type of porridge made from broken rice or broken wheat. | |||
| Telugu | మొక్కజొన్న | ||
| మొక్కజొన్న (corn) is derived from the Spanish word "maíz" and was originally used to refer to a type of wheat, but eventually came to mean maize. | |||
| Urdu | مکئی | ||
| The word "مکئی" is derived from the Portuguese word "milho" and is also known as "ذرت" (durt) in Urdu. | |||
Corn in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 玉米 | ||
| The Chinese word "玉米" (yùmǐ) originally meant "millet", but it now commonly refers to "corn" due to its introduction from the Americas in the 16th century. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 玉米 | ||
| 玉米 is used to specifically refer to sweet corn and popcorn in some varieties of Chinese, and it can also be used as a more general term for all varieties of maize in other varieties of Chinese, which is more similar to the usage of “corn” in English. | |||
| Japanese | コーン | ||
| In Japanese, “コーン” can also refer to cones (as in traffic cones), while the word for “cone” in English can also mean a spruce’s seed-bearing structure. | |||
| Korean | 옥수수 | ||
| "옥수수" is a loanword from Japanese, "tokiwasure", meaning "forgotten grain". | |||
| Mongolian | эрдэнэ шиш | ||
| The word "эрдэнэ шиш" ("corn") is a loanword from the Chinese word "玉蜀黍", which means "pearl millet". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပြောင်းဖူး | ||
Corn in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | jagung | ||
| The word "jagung" derives from the Proto-Austronesian word *d'ahay,* meaning "seed grain." | |||
| Javanese | jagung | ||
| In Javanese, 'jagung' can also refer to maize kernels or the roasted version of the food. | |||
| Khmer | ពោត | ||
| In some areas of Cambodia, the word "ពោត" can also refer to a specific variety of yellow corn. | |||
| Lao | ສາລີ | ||
| "ສາລີ" also refers to the type of rice traditionally offered to monks or spirits and is distinct from the rice consumed by laypeople. | |||
| Malay | jagung | ||
| "Jagung" also means "tooth" in Malay, likely due to the kernels' resemblance to teeth. | |||
| Thai | ข้าวโพด | ||
| In addition to its meaning as "corn," "ข้าวโพด" in Thai can also refer to "popcorn". | |||
| Vietnamese | ngô | ||
| The Vietnamese word "Ngô" can also refer to the Ngô dynasty in Chinese history. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mais | ||
Corn in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qarğıdalı | ||
| The word originates from the Sanskrit word | |||
| Kazakh | дән | ||
| The Kazakh word "дән" also refers to seeds, cereal, or grains in general, including wheat and rice. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жүгөрү | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "жүгөрү" is ultimately derived from the Persian word "جواری" (jowāri), which refers to a type of millet. | |||
| Tajik | ҷуворӣ | ||
| The word "ҷуворӣ" ultimately comes from the Persian word "جو" (jow), which refers to barley. | |||
| Turkmen | mekgejöwen | ||
| Uzbek | makkajo'xori | ||
| "Makkajo'xori" is also the name of a type of Uzbek bread made with cornmeal. | |||
| Uyghur | كۆممىقوناق | ||
Corn in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kulina | ||
| As well as meaning "corn", "kulina" also refers to the "back of the neck" or "nape" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | kānga | ||
| The word "kānga" also refers to a type of edible fern root in Māori. | |||
| Samoan | sana | ||
| The Samoan word for corn may be related to the Proto-Polynesian word for 'cooked' | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | mais | ||
| The word 'mais' in Tagalog is derived from the Spanish word 'maiz', which ultimately comes from the Taíno word 'mahiz', meaning 'sustenance'. | |||
Corn in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | tunqu | ||
| Guarani | avati | ||
Corn in International Languages
| Esperanto | maizo | ||
| Esperanto 'maizo' derives from Spanish 'maíz' but is cognate with English 'maize', both deriving from the Taíno word 'mahiz'. | |||
| Latin | frumentum | ||
| The Latin word "frumentum" originally referred to any kind of grain, not just corn, and was related to the word "fruor" meaning "to enjoy" or "to use." | |||
Corn in Others Languages
| Greek | καλαμπόκι | ||
| The word "καλαμπόκι" is derived from the Turkish word "kalempira" which means "great reed." | |||
| Hmong | pob kws | ||
| The word "pob kws" is thought to derive from the Proto-Hmong-Mien word for "seed" and has been used to refer to various grains over time, including rice, barley, and maize. | |||
| Kurdish | garis | ||
| In the Hawrami Kurdish dialect, "garis" can also refer to a type of grain storage container. | |||
| Turkish | mısır | ||
| The word "Mısır" in Turkish also refers to Egypt, where it is believed to have originated from. | |||
| Xhosa | umbona | ||
| The word "umbona" in Xhosa can also refer to a type of maize meal used to make porridge. | |||
| Yiddish | פּאַפּשוי | ||
| In Yiddish, "פּאַפּשוי" (papshoy) is also a slang term for "nonsense" or "foolish talk." | |||
| Zulu | ukolweni | ||
| Ukolweni is also a praise-name for the king in Zulu culture; 'the chief cultivator', as a way of honouring and commending his role of overseeing the sustenance of his people. | |||
| Assamese | মাকৈ | ||
| Aymara | tunqu | ||
| Bhojpuri | मकई | ||
| Dhivehi | ޒުވާރި | ||
| Dogri | चंडी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mais | ||
| Guarani | avati | ||
| Ilocano | mais | ||
| Krio | kɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گەنمەشامی | ||
| Maithili | मकई | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯨꯖꯥꯛ | ||
| Mizo | vaimim | ||
| Oromo | boqqolloo | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ମକା | ||
| Quechua | sara | ||
| Sanskrit | लवेटिका | ||
| Tatar | кукуруз | ||
| Tigrinya | ዕፉን | ||
| Tsonga | ndzoho | ||