Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'crowd' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, representing a large number of individuals gathered in one place. Its cultural importance is evident in various contexts, from bustling markets to sporting events and political rallies. Understanding the translation of 'crowd' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how diverse cultures perceive and interact with large groups of people.
Did you know that the English word 'crowd' comes from the Old Norse word &krop;, meaning 'press of people?' Or that in Japan, a crowd is referred to as 'okuman' (お群れ), which literally means 'honorable group'? In Spanish, a crowd is 'multitud', while in German, it's 'Menge'. In Russia, a crowd is 'толпа' (tolpa), and in France, it's 'foule'.
Exploring the translations of 'crowd' in different languages can help us appreciate the unique ways in which cultures express the concept of a large group of people. Keep reading to discover more fascinating translations and insights into this common yet complex word.
Afrikaans | skare | ||
In Afrikaans, 'skare' not only means 'crowd', but also a 'school' of fish or a 'swarm' of insects. | |||
Amharic | ህዝብ | ||
"ህዝብ" also means "nation" or "people" in Amharic. | |||
Hausa | taron mutane | ||
"Taron mutane" is likely derived from the verb "taro" (to gather) and the suffix "-mutane" (plural of human), which is further supported by the existence of a similar word in Yoruba, "tiro" (to gather) and "-mu" (plural of human). | |||
Igbo | igwe mmadụ | ||
Igwe mmadụ literally means "the gathering of people" or "the meeting of people" in Igbo. | |||
Malagasy | vahoaka | ||
The word "vahoaka" in Malagasy can also refer to a group of people who share a common interest or goal. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | khamu | ||
A secondary meaning of 'khamu' is 'the state of being full'. | |||
Shona | boka revanhu | ||
"Boka revanhu" can also refer to gathering of cattle or any livestock | |||
Somali | dad badan | ||
The Somali word "dad badan" has alternate meanings including "very" or "many" and is used to emphasize the size of a group or quantity. | |||
Sesotho | bongata | ||
Sesotho word "bongata" can also mean "people or nation that has grown in numbers", and is cognate to Bantu verb stem "*ngat-a" meaning to "increase" or "become numerous". | |||
Swahili | umati | ||
The Swahili word 'umati' (crowd) is derived from the Arabic word 'ummah' (nation, community). | |||
Xhosa | isihlwele | ||
The word "isihlwele" can also refer to a large group of people, but it specifically refers to a group moving or gathered together. | |||
Yoruba | èrò | ||
Èrò can also mean "thoughts" or "ideas" in Yoruba. | |||
Zulu | isixuku | ||
"Isixuku" also refers to the traditional Zulu male initiation process or coming of age ceremony. | |||
Bambara | jama | ||
Ewe | ameha | ||
Kinyarwanda | imbaga | ||
Lingala | bato ebele | ||
Luganda | okubunga | ||
Sepedi | lešaba | ||
Twi (Akan) | dɔm | ||
Arabic | يحشد | ||
يحشد is also used to refer to the preparation or gathering of resources, especially in a military context. | |||
Hebrew | קָהָל | ||
The word קָהָל can refer to a crowd, an assembly, or a religious congregation | |||
Pashto | ګ crowdه | ||
The Pashto word "ګ crowdه" is derived from the Arabic word "جماعة" meaning "group" or "assembly". | |||
Arabic | يحشد | ||
يحشد is also used to refer to the preparation or gathering of resources, especially in a military context. |
Albanian | turma | ||
In Albanian, "turma" also means "flock of sheep" or "company of travelers". | |||
Basque | jendetza | ||
The word "jendetza" derives from the Proto-Basque term *gendi-, meaning "people" or "group". It is also related to the Spanish word "gente" and the French word "gens", both meaning "people". | |||
Catalan | multitud | ||
The word "multitud" in Catalan also has the alternate meaning of "number of things", coming from the Latin "multitūdō". | |||
Croatian | gužva | ||
The word 'gužva' also means 'crush' or 'throng' of people. | |||
Danish | menneskemængde | ||
The Danish word "menneskemængde" directly translates to "human quantity" and also has the alternate meaning of "mob". | |||
Dutch | menigte | ||
The word "menigte" is derived from the Old Dutch word "menen", meaning "common" or "together". | |||
English | crowd | ||
The word 'crowd' derives from 'crowd' or 'throng,' which means 'to press or throng upon.' | |||
French | foule | ||
"Fouler" (French verb meaning "to trample") is the etymological origin of the word "foule" (French noun meaning "crowd"). | |||
Frisian | kliber | ||
The word "kliber" is derived from the Old Frisian word "klibbe," meaning "a flock of sheep" or "a group of people." | |||
Galician | multitude | ||
In Galician "multitude" can also mean "variety" of things or a "large quantity" of something, even though it does not necessarily imply a group of people. | |||
German | menge | ||
In addition to its primary meaning of "crowd," "Menge" can also refer to an amount or quantity of something, as in "eine Menge Geld" (a lot of money). | |||
Icelandic | mannfjöldi | ||
The second part of the word is cognate with the English word 'fold', both derived from the Proto-Germanic word '*falþ-' meaning 'fold, enclosure, pen' | |||
Irish | slua | ||
The word "slua" can also refer to a host of fairies or an assembly of warriors. | |||
Italian | folla | ||
"Folla" also indicates a pile of leaves. | |||
Luxembourgish | publikum | ||
"Publikum" is derived from the Latin word "publicus", meaning "belonging to the people". | |||
Maltese | folla | ||
The Maltese word "folla" derives from the Arabic word "fuwl", which originally meant "bean or pea" (as used in falafel or foul medames). | |||
Norwegian | publikum | ||
Publikum derives from the Latin 'publicus', meaning 'of the people'. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | multidão | ||
The word "multidão" comes from the Latin "multitudo", meaning "a great number of people". In Portuguese, it is also used to refer to a large group of animals or things. | |||
Scots Gaelic | sluagh | ||
'Sluag' can also refer to a fairy host or an army. | |||
Spanish | multitud | ||
"Multitud" also means "very" when used as an adverb, e.g. "multitud de gente" means "really a lot of people". | |||
Swedish | folkmassan | ||
The word folkmassa is derived from the terms folk (folk) and massa (mass), but originally meant the masses of people that gathered at the town square during markets or other public events. | |||
Welsh | dorf | ||
In Welsh, "dorf" can also refer to a group of people or an uproar. |
Belarusian | натоўп | ||
The word "натоўп" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *nata, meaning "pressure" or "oppression." | |||
Bosnian | gužva | ||
Bosnian "gužva" also refers to an old dance with rhythmic and sudden movements. | |||
Bulgarian | тълпа | ||
The word "тълпа" (crowd) in Bulgarian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *tolpa*, which means "a large group of people". | |||
Czech | dav | ||
The word "dav" in Czech may have originated from the old Czech verb "dávati" meaning "to give" and it may refer to a gathering of people that have something in common. | |||
Estonian | rahvahulk | ||
Originally meaning "people's multitude" or "people's assembly", "rahvahulk" gained its modern meaning in the 19th century, due to the influence of Russian. | |||
Finnish | väkijoukko | ||
In addition to denoting a group of people, 'väkijoukko' can be used in other contexts such as 'physical power' or 'strength'. | |||
Hungarian | tömeg | ||
The word "tömeg" can also refer to "mass" in the physical sense, or to "amount" in general. | |||
Latvian | pūlis | ||
The word "pūlis" can also refer to a group of people gathered for a specific purpose, such as a demonstration or a sports event. | |||
Lithuanian | minia | ||
The word "minia" is also used to refer to a multitude of insects or small animals. | |||
Macedonian | толпа | ||
The word "толпа" is derived from the Proto-Slavic language and is related to the words "толпиться" ("to crowd") and "толкать" ("to push"). | |||
Polish | tłum | ||
The Polish word "tłum" also refers to a swarm of insects | |||
Romanian | mulțime | ||
The word "mulțime" comes from the Latin "multitudo", meaning "great number". | |||
Russian | толпа людей | ||
"Толпа людей" can also be used to refer to an unruly group or a large number of people in a negative sense. | |||
Serbian | гомила | ||
The word 'гомила' comes from the Proto-Slavic '*gomьla', possibly from Old Church Slavonic 'гомѣти' ('to talk'), 'гомѣлъ' ('uproar') | |||
Slovak | dav | ||
The word "dav" comes from the Proto-Slavic form "*davъ" and is related to the Latin word "turba" (crowd). | |||
Slovenian | množica | ||
"Množica" derives from the noun "mnogo" (lit. "much"), hence its extended meaning can be any large quantity or abundance. | |||
Ukrainian | натовп | ||
The word "натовп" comes from the Polish word "natłok", meaning "a throng" or "a press of people". |
Bengali | ভিড় | ||
"ভিড়" also means to be cramped or packed together in Bengali. | |||
Gujarati | ભીડ | ||
The word "ભીડ" is also used to describe a group of animals, such as a herd of cattle or a flock of birds. | |||
Hindi | भीड़ | ||
The word "भीड़" can also refer to a collection of animals, especially large ones like elephants or buffaloes. | |||
Kannada | ಗುಂಪು | ||
The word "ಗುಂಪು" originally meant "a heap of anything" and also "a crowd, group, or multitude". | |||
Malayalam | ആൾക്കൂട്ടം | ||
ആൾക്കൂട്ടം may alternatively mean a group of people sharing a common purpose or interests. | |||
Marathi | गर्दी | ||
In Marathi, "गर्दी" also refers to a crowd of people in a specific location. | |||
Nepali | भीड | ||
The word "भीड" can also mean "thickness" or "density", and is cognate with the Hindi word "भिड़ना" (to collide). | |||
Punjabi | ਭੀੜ | ||
The word 'ਭੀੜ' can also mean 'a gathering of people for a particular purpose'. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සමූහයා | ||
In Sinhala, the word "සමූහයා" not only means "crowd" but also refers to an organization or community, and is derived from Sanskrit "samūha". | |||
Tamil | கூட்டம் | ||
The word "கூட்டம்" in Tamil could also mean "assembly" or "group". | |||
Telugu | గుంపు | ||
గుంపు also refers to an enclosure for domestic animals in some regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. | |||
Urdu | بھیڑ | ||
The word "بھیڑ" "bheṛ" also means "flock" or "herd" especially of sheep, and is cognate with the Sanskrit word "भ्र" "bhr" meaning "to carry" or "to support". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 人群 | ||
人群, crowd, is also the abbreviation of 人群行为, crowd behavior, a psychology term referring to group behavior influenced by a sense of anonymity and a loss of individual responsibility. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 人群 | ||
"人群" can also mean "target audience" or "mass of people". | |||
Japanese | 群集 | ||
群集 can also refer to a large number of people or things gathered together, such as a swarm of insects or a collection of stars. | |||
Korean | 군중 | ||
"군중" originates from "군졸(軍卒)" meaning "soldiers" and also refers to a gathering of soldiers or a military camp. | |||
Mongolian | олон хүн | ||
The word "олон хүн" can also refer to a large number of animals or insects. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | လူစုလူဝေး | ||
Indonesian | orang banyak | ||
The term "orang banyak" also implies a sense of collectivism and unity among the individuals within the crowd. | |||
Javanese | wong akeh | ||
The term "wong akeh" also refers to a group of people gathered in a specific location for a specific purpose, such as a meeting or a social event. | |||
Khmer | ហ្វូងមនុស្ស | ||
Lao | ຝູງຊົນ | ||
The word can also refer to a group of people gathered for religious purposes. | |||
Malay | orang ramai | ||
The term "orang ramai" literally means "many people" in Malay. | |||
Thai | ฝูงชน | ||
The word ฝูงชน ('crowd') is a derivative of the Sanskrit word 'समुदाय' ('community'). | |||
Vietnamese | bầy đàn | ||
The word "bầy đàn" also means "herd" or "school" in Vietnamese, reflecting the concept of a large group of animals or similar entities moving together. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | karamihan ng tao | ||
Azerbaijani | izdiham | ||
'İzdiham' is derived from Persian 'izdīhām' meaning 'throng, crowd' and ultimately from Arabic 'iḍṭihām' meaning 'confusion, disorder'. | |||
Kazakh | тобыр | ||
The word "тобыр" also means "herd" or "flock" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | эл | ||
The word "эл" can also refer to "people", "nation", or "population" in Kyrgyz. | |||
Tajik | издиҳом | ||
The word "издиҳом" in Tajik is of Arabic origin and means a large gathering of people or a congested space. | |||
Turkmen | märeke | ||
Uzbek | olomon | ||
The word "olomon" also means "people" and "nation" in Uzbek. | |||
Uyghur | ئامما | ||
Hawaiian | lehulehu | ||
"Lehulehu" is also used to refer to a group of people who are united by a common interest or purpose. | |||
Maori | mano | ||
The etymology of "mano" suggests it originally meant both "crowd/collection" and "tree canopy." | |||
Samoan | motu o tagata | ||
The Samoan word "motu o tagata" literally means a "flock of birds" and can also refer to "a crowd of people." | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | karamihan ng tao | ||
The word “karamihan ng tao” literally means “majority of people” or “the greater number of people”. |
Aymara | walja | ||
Guarani | atyguasu | ||
Esperanto | homamaso | ||
The word "homamaso" is a compound word derived from "homo" (human) and "amaso" (mass). | |||
Latin | turba | ||
The Latin word "turba" also means "confusion" or "disorder", reflecting the chaotic nature of crowds. |
Greek | πλήθος | ||
The Greek word "πλήθος" also refers to a magnitude in mathematics. | |||
Hmong | txim | ||
The Hmong word "txim" can also refer to a flock of birds or a herd of animals. | |||
Kurdish | çende | ||
The word "çende" also carries the meanings "crowd of people" or "assembly" in Kurdish. | |||
Turkish | kalabalık | ||
The Turkish word "kalabalık" originates from the Arabic words "kala" meaning "to remain" and "balık" meaning "fish". | |||
Xhosa | isihlwele | ||
The word "isihlwele" can also refer to a large group of people, but it specifically refers to a group moving or gathered together. | |||
Yiddish | מאַסע | ||
The word מאַסע also translates to "mass" in English, which could refer to a quantity of matter with no specific shape and volume | |||
Zulu | isixuku | ||
"Isixuku" also refers to the traditional Zulu male initiation process or coming of age ceremony. | |||
Assamese | ভিৰ | ||
Aymara | walja | ||
Bhojpuri | भीड़ | ||
Dhivehi | ބައިގަނޑު | ||
Dogri | भीड़ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | karamihan ng tao | ||
Guarani | atyguasu | ||
Ilocano | pangen | ||
Krio | bɔku bɔku pipul | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | گروپ | ||
Maithili | भीड़ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯤꯔꯛ | ||
Mizo | mipui | ||
Oromo | tuuta | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଭିଡ଼ | ||
Quechua | llapa runa | ||
Sanskrit | यूथ | ||
Tatar | халык | ||
Tigrinya | ጭንቕንቕ | ||
Tsonga | ntshungu | ||