Country in Different Languages
Discover 'Country' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'country' holds a significant place in our hearts and minds as it represents a place we call home, a place rich in culture, history, and traditions. It is a term that signifies not just a geographical location, but also a community of people who share a common identity and heritage. Understanding the translation of 'country' in different languages can open up a world of cultural discovery and appreciation.
For instance, in Spanish, 'country' is translated as 'país', while in French, it is 'pays'. In German, it is 'Land', and in Japanese, it is '国' (kuni). These translations not only reflect the linguistic diversity of the world but also the unique cultural perspectives associated with the word 'country'.
Moreover, the concept of 'country' has evolved over time, reflecting changes in political, social, and economic structures. For instance, the United States, officially referred to as 'the United States of America', is a federal republic composed of 50 states, each with its own distinct culture and identity.
Join us as we explore the translations of 'country' in various languages, providing insights into the cultural significance and importance of this word.
Country
Country in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | land | ||
| The Afrikaans word "land" can also refer to rural land or property in general. | |||
| Amharic | ሀገር | ||
| The word ሀገር (country) is derived from the Ge'ez word ሐገረ (to separate), and can also refer to a region or province. | |||
| Hausa | ƙasa | ||
| The word "ƙasa" also means "ground" or "land" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | obodo | ||
| Obodo also means "land" and is related to "odo," which means "river" in the Igbo language | |||
| Malagasy | firenena | ||
| The word "firenena" in Malagasy is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "tana", meaning "land" or "earth". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | dziko | ||
| In addition to "country," "dziko" can refer to homeland; the world; a person's place of origin; one's country; one's land or home; or an area inhabited by certain people. | |||
| Shona | nyika | ||
| The word "nyika" can also refer to a wilderness or a vast expanse of land. | |||
| Somali | dalka | ||
| The Somali word "dalka" originates from the Proto-Somali term "*dale" meaning "land, region, territory" and cognates with the Afar word "dala" meaning "country". | |||
| Sesotho | naha | ||
| The word "Naha" can also refer to one's hometown or village in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | nchi | ||
| "Nchi" originates from the older Swahili word "inchi", derived from the Proto-Bantu language root "*ntɨ̀". | |||
| Xhosa | ilizwe | ||
| "Ilizwe" may also refer to a particular area of land or a homeland, and it can also be used to refer to the rural countryside. | |||
| Yoruba | orilẹ-ede | ||
| "Orílẹ̀-èdè" is a combination of the words "òrí" (edge, border) and "ilé" (home), signifying the area where one's home is located. | |||
| Zulu | izwe | ||
| The word "izwe" in Zulu also refers to a place or region, and it is related to the word "kwa", which means "home" or "place of belonging". | |||
| Bambara | jamana | ||
| Ewe | dukᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | igihugu | ||
| Lingala | mboka | ||
| Luganda | eggwanga | ||
| Sepedi | naga | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔman | ||
Country in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | بلد | ||
| " بلدة "(town) originated from ancient word " بلد" (town) or " بلد "(dwelling)" | |||
| Hebrew | מדינה | ||
| The Hebrew word "מדינה" (medinah), derived from the root "דין" (din) meaning "law," originally referred to a province governed by law, later evolving to denote a sovereign nation. | |||
| Pashto | هیواد | ||
| The word "hewad" derives from the Persian "hywad" meaning "place". It also carries the connotation of "home" or "native land". | |||
| Arabic | بلد | ||
| " بلدة "(town) originated from ancient word " بلد" (town) or " بلد "(dwelling)" | |||
Country in Western European Languages
| Albanian | vendi | ||
| "Vendi" can also mean "the people of a country" or "the population of a country". | |||
| Basque | herrialdea | ||
| The word "herrialdea" in Basque is derived from "herri" (people) and "alde" (side) and can also refer to "nation" or "region" | |||
| Catalan | país | ||
| In Catalan, "país" can refer to a native or ancestral land or to a rural or uncultivated area like a countryside or wilderness. | |||
| Croatian | zemlja | ||
| The Slavic root of zemlja originally referred to the ground worked by a community of people. | |||
| Danish | land | ||
| In Danish, the word "Land" can also refer to a province or a specific area. | |||
| Dutch | land | ||
| The Dutch word "land" is cognate with the English word "land," both derived from the Proto-Germanic word *landą, meaning "piece of ground, territory." | |||
| English | country | ||
| The word "country" derives from the Old French "contrée," meaning "region" or "territory." | |||
| French | pays | ||
| The word 'pays' is derived from the Latin 'pagus', meaning '乡' | |||
| Frisian | lân | ||
| The word "lân" in Frisian also refers to rural areas outside of villages and towns. | |||
| Galician | país | ||
| The Galician word "país" derives from the Latin "pagus", meaning "village" or "township". | |||
| German | land | ||
| The German word "Land" can also refer to a federal state within Germany, a state or province within Austria, or a canton within Switzerland. | |||
| Icelandic | land | ||
| In Icelandic, 'land' can also refer to certain geographical regions within a country or territories associated with that country. | |||
| Irish | tír | ||
| The word "tír" in Irish also refers to land, territory, or region. | |||
| Italian | nazione | ||
| The word "nazione" derives from the Latin word "natio", meaning "birthplace" or "race". | |||
| Luxembourgish | land | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "Land" also refers to the country's rural areas or to the agricultural industry. | |||
| Maltese | pajjiż | ||
| The word "pajjiż" is derived from the Italian word "paese", meaning "village" or "region". | |||
| Norwegian | land | ||
| The Norwegian word "land" can also refer to a specific geographical region or territory, such as "Nordland" or "Vestlandet." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | país | ||
| In Portuguese, 'país' can also refer to a person's homeland or nationality. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dùthaich | ||
| Duthaich is a Gaelic term with connections to the Celtic idea of the 'tribe', the clan, and its land. | |||
| Spanish | país | ||
| The Spanish word "país" originally meant "a place where you graze sheep" or "a region". | |||
| Swedish | land | ||
| In Swedish, "land" can also mean "province" or "property", and "country" is "landskap" or "nation." | |||
| Welsh | wlad | ||
| It can also mean "son of", as in "ap Gwilym WladforǷ. | |||
Country in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | краіна | ||
| The word "краіна" comes from the Old Slavic word *krajina*, originally a border area, then "place", "land", "territory", finally "a politically governed unit of territory". | |||
| Bosnian | zemlja | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, the word "zemlja" also meant "soil" or "land". | |||
| Bulgarian | държава | ||
| The word “държава” has also been used in the sense of “state” or “government” in the past. | |||
| Czech | země | ||
| The word "země" in Czech has the same root as "earth" and can refer to both a country and the planet. | |||
| Estonian | riik | ||
| The word "riik" is also used to refer to the state as a political entity, or the territory under the control of a government. | |||
| Finnish | maa | ||
| "Maa" is also the word for "earth" and "soil" in Finnish. | |||
| Hungarian | ország | ||
| 'Ország' (country) derives from the word meaning 'share', and was originally the share allotted to a family or clan of the ruling class. | |||
| Latvian | valstī | ||
| The word "valstī" in Latvian originates from the Old Prussian word "*walstī", meaning "ruler" or "leader". | |||
| Lithuanian | šalis | ||
| The word "Šalis" can also refer to a side, direction, or region. | |||
| Macedonian | земја | ||
| The word "земја" in Macedonian derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "ǵʰdʰém-ā". In addition to its meaning of "country," it can also refer to the physical land surface on Earth. | |||
| Polish | kraj | ||
| Kraj also means "end, limit, border" or "region, area, land" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | țară | ||
| In Romanian, "țară" can also mean "homeland", "land", or "region". | |||
| Russian | страна | ||
| In Russian, the word "страна" (country) originated from the Old Church Slavonic word "сътрань" meaning "foreign land". | |||
| Serbian | земља | ||
| "Земља" in Serbian means both "country" and "earth," a cognate of Slavic languages meaning "land, soil." | |||
| Slovak | krajina | ||
| Krajin- (from kraj) also means "edge", "region", "district" or "border". The Slovak "kraj" (pl. kraje) is not usually translated as "country" but rather as a "region" (one of the eight regions of Slovakia), but it is the same word. | |||
| Slovenian | država | ||
| In Slovene, "država" originally denoted a form of ownership, a "holding" or "estate", and only later came to mean "country". | |||
| Ukrainian | країна | ||
| The word "країна" likely originates from the Old Slavic "kraj", which denoted a border, boundary, or region. | |||
Country in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দেশ | ||
| The word "দেশ" (country) in Bengali can also mean "direction" or "way". | |||
| Gujarati | દેશ | ||
| The Gujarati word "દેશ" (country) comes from Sanskrit 'deś' ('native place', 'village', 'region', 'country') which also gave rise to 'desh' in Hindi, Bengali, Odia, and 'diyas' meaning country in Persian and Kurdish. | |||
| Hindi | देश | ||
| In Sanskrit, 'देश' means 'direction' or 'region', and is also a synonym for 'foreign land' | |||
| Kannada | ದೇಶ | ||
| The Kannada word "ದೇಶ" not only means "country" but also a place, region, or homeland | |||
| Malayalam | രാജ്യം | ||
| രാജ്യം (rajyam) originally referred to a political administrative unit during the 4th-5th century but came to mean 'country' by the 9th-10th century. | |||
| Marathi | देश | ||
| The word "देश" has several meanings, including: land, region, place, home, fatherland, native country, and state. | |||
| Nepali | देश | ||
| The Nepali word 'देश' comes from the Sanskrit word 'देश' and means 'region or land'. It is also used to refer to one's homeland or birthplace. | |||
| Punjabi | ਦੇਸ਼ | ||
| ਦੇਸ਼ (desh) is a Sanskrit-derived word that also means "direction" and "region" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | රට | ||
| The word "රට" (raṭa) in Sinhala derives from the Sanskrit word "राष्ट्र" (rāṣṭra) and shares similar meanings of "nation", "state", and "territory". | |||
| Tamil | நாடு | ||
| "நாடு" also means "to seek" and the land where we live is named so because it is the land where we seek our living. | |||
| Telugu | దేశం | ||
| In Telugu, the word "దేశం" can also refer to a region or a kingdom. | |||
| Urdu | ملک | ||
| The Urdu word "ملک" "(mulk)" originally meant "property" or "estate", and can still refer to property ownership in addition to its most common meaning of "country". | |||
Country in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 国家 | ||
| 国家, a compound word meaning 'nation-state', can also refer to a particular 'dynasty'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 國家 | ||
| The Chinese term "國家" (country) originally meant "family-nation" or "clan-nation". | |||
| Japanese | 国 | ||
| 国 was originally a pictogram of a city surrounded by walls, and later came to refer to the entire country. | |||
| Korean | 국가 | ||
| The word "국가" (country) in Korean has alternate meanings of "state", "nation", or "homeland". | |||
| Mongolian | улс | ||
| The Mongolian word "улс" (country) is also used to refer to a nation, state, or people. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တိုင်းပြည် | ||
Country in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | negara | ||
| The word "negara" derives from Sanskrit and can also mean "city" or "state" in other Southeast Asian languages. | |||
| Javanese | negara | ||
| The word "negara" in Javanese also means "town", "kingdom", or "state". | |||
| Khmer | ប្រទេស | ||
| The Khmer word "ប្រទេស" comes from the Sanskrit words "pra" (before) and "deśa" (region). | |||
| Lao | ປະເທດ | ||
| The Lao word ປະເທດ can also refer to a specific land area, such as a province or district. | |||
| Malay | negara | ||
| The word "negara" in Malay has historically been used in Southeast Asia to refer to "state", "city", "nation", and even "house". | |||
| Thai | ประเทศ | ||
| Originally meaning "a gathering place" or "meeting point," "ประเทศ" came to refer to the territory under a unified political order during the Ayutthaya period. | |||
| Vietnamese | quốc gia | ||
| "Quốc gia" evolved from the Chinese concept of "guojia," where "guo" refers to the territorial state and "jia" to the ruling house or dynasty. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bansa | ||
Country in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ölkə | ||
| The word "ölkə" is derived from the Old Turkic "ülke", meaning "land, territory, or domain", and is cognate with the modern Turkish "ülke" and Mongolian "ulys". | |||
| Kazakh | ел | ||
| 'Ел' originally meant 'family' in Old Tatar. The meaning of 'family' is still preserved by the derivative 'ел-басы' (head of family) in Kazakh and Kyrgyz, 'el-aga' ('brother of the family') in Bashkir and 'il-aga' in Turkish. | |||
| Kyrgyz | өлкө | ||
| The word "өлкө" can also refer to a "region" or "province". | |||
| Tajik | кишвар | ||
| The Tajik word "кишвар" comes from the Sanskrit "क्षत्र" and is also used to refer to the "continent" or a "region within a country". | |||
| Turkmen | ýurt | ||
| Uzbek | mamlakat | ||
| The word "mamlakat" in Uzbek comes from the Persian word "mamlakat", which means "kingdom" or "state", and is related to the Arabic word "mamlaka", which means "dominion" or "realm". | |||
| Uyghur | دۆلەت | ||
Country in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻāina | ||
| ʻĀina can also be translated as "that which feeds" or "land that can be cultivated". | |||
| Maori | whenua | ||
| Maori word "whenua" also denotes the human body, the placenta, and the afterbirth. | |||
| Samoan | atunuu | ||
| "Atunuu" is a compound word derived from "atu" (home) and "nuu" (land), referring to land one is familiar with and belonging to. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bansa | ||
| "Bansa" comes from the Sanskrit word "vamsa" meaning "lineage, race". | |||
Country in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | marka | ||
| Guarani | tetã | ||
Country in International Languages
| Esperanto | lando | ||
| The Esperanto word 'lando', meaning 'country', also has a secondary meaning of 'land' or 'territory' | |||
| Latin | patriam | ||
| The Latin word "patriam" ("country") originally referred to the land of one's fathers, or patria. | |||
Country in Others Languages
| Greek | χώρα | ||
| Χώρα derives from the ancient Greek word χωρεῖν (khorein), meaning "to hold" or "to contain", and shares etymological roots with the concepts of "place" and "territory" | |||
| Hmong | lub teb chaws | ||
| Lub teb chaws (country) is also a homonym for the phrase meaning 'the land of birth'. | |||
| Kurdish | welat | ||
| "Welat" also means "wealth" in Kurdish and is derived from the Persian word "molat". | |||
| Turkish | ülke | ||
| "Ülke" is also used colloquially to mean "the homeland" or "one's native land." | |||
| Xhosa | ilizwe | ||
| "Ilizwe" may also refer to a particular area of land or a homeland, and it can also be used to refer to the rural countryside. | |||
| Yiddish | לאַנד | ||
| The Yiddish word לאַנד "country" also means "province" or "state" in German, but is commonly used to mean "country" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | izwe | ||
| The word "izwe" in Zulu also refers to a place or region, and it is related to the word "kwa", which means "home" or "place of belonging". | |||
| Assamese | দেশ | ||
| Aymara | marka | ||
| Bhojpuri | देश | ||
| Dhivehi | ޤައުމު | ||
| Dogri | देश | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bansa | ||
| Guarani | tetã | ||
| Ilocano | pagilian | ||
| Krio | kɔntri | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | وڵات | ||
| Maithili | देश | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯩꯕꯥꯛ | ||
| Mizo | ram | ||
| Oromo | biyya | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଦେଶ | ||
| Quechua | hatun llaqta | ||
| Sanskrit | देशः | ||
| Tatar | ил | ||
| Tigrinya | ሃገር | ||
| Tsonga | tiko | ||