Death in Different Languages
Discover 'Death' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Death
Afrikaans dood | ||
Albanian vdekja | ||
Amharic ሞት | ||
Arabic الموت | ||
Armenian մահ | ||
Assamese মৃত্যু | ||
Aymara jiwa | ||
Azerbaijani ölüm | ||
Bambara saya | ||
Basque heriotza | ||
Belarusian смерць | ||
Bengali মৃত্যু | ||
Bhojpuri मऊगत | ||
Bosnian smrt | ||
Bulgarian смърт | ||
Catalan mort | ||
Cebuano kamatayon | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 死亡 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 死亡 | ||
Corsican a morte | ||
Croatian smrt | ||
Czech smrt | ||
Danish død | ||
Dhivehi މަރު | ||
Dogri मौत | ||
Dutch dood | ||
English death | ||
Esperanto morto | ||
Estonian surm | ||
Ewe ku | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kamatayan | ||
Finnish kuolema | ||
French mort | ||
Frisian dea | ||
Galician morte | ||
Georgian სიკვდილი | ||
German tod | ||
Greek θάνατος | ||
Guarani te'õngue | ||
Gujarati મૃત્યુ | ||
Haitian Creole lanmò | ||
Hausa mutuwa | ||
Hawaiian make | ||
Hebrew מוות | ||
Hindi मौत | ||
Hmong kev tuag | ||
Hungarian halál | ||
Icelandic dauði | ||
Igbo ọnwụ | ||
Ilocano pannakatay | ||
Indonesian kematian | ||
Irish bás | ||
Italian morte | ||
Japanese 死 | ||
Javanese pati | ||
Kannada ಸಾವು | ||
Kazakh өлім | ||
Khmer ការស្លាប់ | ||
Kinyarwanda urupfu | ||
Konkani मरण | ||
Korean 죽음 | ||
Krio day | ||
Kurdish mirin | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) مەرگ | ||
Kyrgyz өлүм | ||
Lao ຄວາມຕາຍ | ||
Latin mortem | ||
Latvian nāve | ||
Lingala liwa | ||
Lithuanian mirtis | ||
Luganda okufa | ||
Luxembourgish doud | ||
Macedonian смрт | ||
Maithili मृत्यु | ||
Malagasy fahafatesana | ||
Malay kematian | ||
Malayalam മരണം | ||
Maltese mewt | ||
Maori mate | ||
Marathi मृत्यू | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯤꯕ | ||
Mizo thihna | ||
Mongolian үхэл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သေခြင်း | ||
Nepali मृत्यु | ||
Norwegian død | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) imfa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମୃତ୍ୟୁ | ||
Oromo du'a | ||
Pashto مرګ | ||
Persian مرگ | ||
Polish śmierć | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) morte | ||
Punjabi ਮੌਤ | ||
Quechua wañuy | ||
Romanian moarte | ||
Russian смерть | ||
Samoan oti | ||
Sanskrit मृत्यु | ||
Scots Gaelic bàs | ||
Sepedi lehu | ||
Serbian смрт | ||
Sesotho lefu | ||
Shona rufu | ||
Sindhi موت | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මරණය | ||
Slovak smrť | ||
Slovenian smrt | ||
Somali dhimashada | ||
Spanish muerte | ||
Sundanese maot | ||
Swahili kifo | ||
Swedish död | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kamatayan | ||
Tajik марг | ||
Tamil இறப்பு | ||
Tatar үлем | ||
Telugu మరణం | ||
Thai ความตาย | ||
Tigrinya ሞት | ||
Tsonga rifu | ||
Turkish ölüm | ||
Turkmen ölüm | ||
Twi (Akan) owuo | ||
Ukrainian смерть | ||
Urdu موت | ||
Uyghur ئۆلۈم | ||
Uzbek o'lim | ||
Vietnamese tử vong | ||
Welsh marwolaeth | ||
Xhosa ukufa | ||
Yiddish טויט | ||
Yoruba iku | ||
Zulu ukufa |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "dood" can also refer to a person's corpse or skeleton. |
| Albanian | The etymology of “vdekje” (“death”) is possibly related to “vdjek”, meaning “to chase” or “to pursue”, due to the belief that death comes after you. |
| Amharic | The word 'ሞት' in Amharic also means 'to disappear' or 'to be lost'. |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "الموت" (al-mawt) derives from the root "موت" (mawt), which also means "to die" or "to cease to exist." |
| Armenian | "Մահ" (death) originated as "amah" (raw), "rough, uneven," indicating the rough passage to the afterlife. |
| Azerbaijani | "Ölüm" also means "immortal" in Azerbaijani, highlighting the cycle of life and death. |
| Basque | The word "heriotza" also means "inheritance" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | "Смерць" is a word of dual meaning, which, apart from its original meaning, acquired the additional meaning of "the whirlwind, the tornado" under the influence of the word "смерч" in Russian. |
| Bengali | "মৃত্যু" (death) also denotes a type of "small drum" in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | The word "smrt" also has a colloquial meaning referring to an evil or dangerous person; an assassin, criminal, or tyrant. |
| Bulgarian | "Смърт" comes from Proto-Slavic *sьmьrtь." The original Proto-Indo-European root *mer-, *mor-, meant "to die," but it also has a related meaning "to vanish" or "to disappear". |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "mort" shares its root with the Latin "mors" and the French "mort," all meaning "death." |
| Cebuano | The root word "matay" (to die) originates from the Proto-Austronesian verb "*ma(a)tay" with cognates in various Austronesian languages such as Malay, Javanese, and Samoan. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 死亡 (sǐwáng) may also refer to 'to die' or 'to pass away' in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Chinese, '死亡' literally means 'to perish by sickness or injury'. |
| Corsican | The Corsican phrase "a morte", meaning "at death", also carries the connotation of "until death" or "to the bitter end". |
| Croatian | The word "smrt" in Croatian can also mean "fate" or "doom". |
| Czech | The word "smrt" can also mean "the right time" in Czech. |
| Danish | "Død" can mean both "death" and "tired" in Danish. |
| Dutch | Dutch "dood" also has the alternate archaic meaning of "mortal" and is related to the German word "tot". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "morto" is a noun which also functions adverbially and, when capitalized, is the personification of Death. |
| Estonian | The word "surm" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Uralic word "*surem" meaning "death" or "die". |
| Finnish | "Kuolema" shares its root with "kylmä", meaning "cold", implying the death of warmth. |
| French | The French word "mort" is derived from the Latin word "mors," which also means "death". It can also refer to a person who has died or to a state of decay or ruin. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word “dea” originally meant “what was” and is related to the English word “dead,” and the German word “tot.” |
| Galician | The Galician word "morte" is derived from the Latin word "mors", meaning "death". |
| Georgian | სიკვდილი derives from Middle Persian and Avestan and is cognate with Sanskrit "mṛtyu-", all of which derive from a Proto-Indo-European root "*mer-" meaning "die". It has been attested in Georgian since the 5th century. |
| German | In the German-speaking areas the word "Tod" has a variety of different meanings, for example an end or a goal, as well as its original meaning, "to kill". |
| Greek | The term “θάνατος” is the Ancient Greek word for death derived from Proto-Indo-European “*dʰen-”, meaning to “put” or “place”. |
| Gujarati | "મૃત્યુ," a word for "death" in Gujarati, also means "the state of being extinct". |
| Haitian Creole | The word "lanmò" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "la mort", meaning "the death". |
| Hausa | "Mutū" in Hausa may also refer to the "end" or "cessation" of something. |
| Hawaiian | "Make" can also refer to a type of Hawaiian shark and an ancient weapon, and, in a non-literal sense, a period of mourning. |
| Hebrew | The Biblical meaning of מוות is “death of the spirit”, referring to being cut off from God. |
| Hindi | The word 'मौत' (death) in Hindi derives from the Sanskrit root 'मृ' (to die) and is cognate with English 'mortal'. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word for “death”, “kev tuag”, can also mean “to become a spirit” or “to be born into the afterlife”. |
| Hungarian | In Hungarian, the word "halál" ("death") also refers to the "passing of a person from life to death" and to the "end of something" |
| Icelandic | The word "dauði" has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as English "dead" and German "tot." |
| Igbo | Igbo "ọnwụ" is rooted in "anwụ" (sunset), as death was seen as a setting from the world into the spirit realm |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "kematian" is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root "*kamati", which also means "death" in various other Austronesian languages. |
| Irish | The word "bás" in Irish can also refer to a "phantom" or "specter." |
| Italian | The Italian word "Morte" derives from the Latin word "mors," meaning "death" or "fate." |
| Japanese | "死" can also mean "must" or "should" when used as a suffix to a verb. |
| Javanese | Pati (death) also means "origin" or "cause" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | The word 'ಸಾವು' is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *sā-, meaning 'to die' or 'to perish'. |
| Kazakh | The word "өлім" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*ölüm", which also means "to die" or "to kill". |
| Khmer | The word "ការស្លាប់" is also used to refer to a funeral or the state of being dead. |
| Korean | "죽음" can mean not only death but also a serious illness or defeat |
| Kurdish | The word "mirin" can also refer to a state of being dead and lifeless. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "өлүм" also derives from the Proto-Turkic word "öl-," meaning "to kill," and has cognate meanings in several other Turkic languages. |
| Latin | "Mortem" in Latin also refers to a sacrifice offered to a deity, particularly a human sacrifice. |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "nāve" is cognate with the Old Prussian "nawis", which means "corpse" and with the Lithuanian word "navas", which refers to a "cadaver" and "carrion". |
| Lithuanian | The word "mirtis" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*mer- " and is related to the Old Prussian word "mirtis" and the Old Irish word "mart". |
| Luxembourgish | Some sources state that 'Doud' is derived from the Indo-European root *dhew- ('to suffocate'), while others believe it is connected to the Old High German word 'tod', meaning 'death'. |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "смрт" (death) shares the same root as the English word "mortal". |
| Malagasy | In Madagascar, |
| Malay | The word "kematian" can also refer to a state of unconsciousness or a point of no return. |
| Malayalam | "മരണം" in Malayalam can also mean "tree" or "plant", derived from the Sanskrit word "mṛta" meaning "dead". |
| Maltese | "Mewt" in Maltese is derived from the Arabic "mawt", which can also refer to "dying", "being sick" and "deceased". |
| Maori | The Maori word 'mate' can also mean 'friend' or 'spouse', and is cognate with the Proto-Polynesian word *mate, meaning 'dead' or 'to die'. |
| Marathi | The word "मृत्यू" (death) in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "मृत्यु" (mortality, decay), which is related to the Proto-Indo-European word "*mer-," meaning "to die." |
| Mongolian | The word "үхэл" can also refer to the state of being dead or the process of dying. |
| Nepali | The Nepali word for "death", "मृत्यु", is derived from the Sanskrit word "मृ" meaning "to die" and it is also associated with the concept of release or liberation. |
| Norwegian | The word 'død' is derived from the Old Norse word 'dauðr', meaning 'dead' or 'a corpse', and is cognate with the English word 'dead'. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The root 'imfa' in Chichewa also means 'to cease', 'to end', or 'to finish'. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "مرګ" is also used to refer to "a funeral".} |
| Persian | The Persian word "مرگ" derives from PIE *mr̥, meaning "to grind to pieces or kill." |
| Polish | The Polish word "śmierć" derives from the Proto-Slavic "*smъrtь", also related to the Old Irish "mart", and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*mer-", "to die or kill". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "morte" (death) can also be used to refer to an unlucky or fatal outcome. |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਮੌਤ' (death) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'मृत' (dead), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *mer- (to die). |
| Romanian | The word "moarte" in Romanian is derived from the Latin "mors, mortis," meaning "death," and it can also refer to "the state of being dead" or "the end of life." |
| Russian | "Смерть" in Russian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъmьrtь, which meant "corpse". |
| Samoan | The word "oti" can also mean "to cease" or "to end" in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word "bàs" also refers to the final stage of a bee's life cycle, when they die. |
| Serbian | It is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *smrtь, meaning "violent death". |
| Sesotho | In some Nguni languages, the word "lefu" has the alternate meaning of "the state of being dead or deceased". |
| Shona | "Rufu" is derived from the verb "kufa," meaning "to die" or "to die prematurely. |
| Sindhi | The word "موت" also means "to extinguish" or "to put out" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In Sinhala, “මරණය” also refers to the state of being lifeless after death. |
| Slovak | The word "smrť" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *smъrtь, meaning "death" as well as "fate" or "necessity". |
| Slovenian | The word "smrt" can also refer to a funeral or the act of dying, as well as the state of being dead. |
| Somali | Dhimashada is derived from the Arabic word 'dhimat' meaning 'disappearance'. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "muerte" can also refer to "fate" or "destiny." |
| Sundanese | "Maot" in Sundanese also means "gone" or "lost". |
| Swahili | In Swahili, 'kifo' can also mean 'end' or 'conclusion'. |
| Swedish | "Död" is also a verb meaning "to kill" and a noun meaning "dead body" |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "kamatayan" in Tagalog also refers to the underworld or the domain of the dead and is derived from the root word "kamat" meaning "to die". |
| Tajik | The word "марг" in Tajik may also refer to a "cadaver" or a "corpse". |
| Tamil | இறப்பு means not only death but also a setting (as of the sun) and a fall (as of leaves or a river). |
| Telugu | The word 'మరణం' in Telugu can also refer to 'the final stage of life,' 'the act of dying,' or 'the state of being dead'. |
| Thai | The Thai word "ความตาย" originates from the Sanskrit word "mrityu" meaning "passing away" or "fading away". |
| Turkish | Ölüm, meaning "death" in Turkish, also refers to a traditional mourning ritual including lamentations and wailing. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "смерть" is cognate with the Proto-Slavic word "*smъrtь", meaning "death" or "mortal"} |
| Urdu | The word "موت" primarily means death in Urdu, but it also holds a religious connotation of "the angel of death" (in Islam) under its alternate meaning. |
| Uzbek | "O'lim" in Uzbek has two other meanings besides "death": "year" and "eternity". |
| Vietnamese | In Vietnamese, "tử vong" can also mean "to die" or "to pass away." |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'marwolaeth' is derived from the Proto-Celtic word 'marwo', meaning 'dead' or 'corpse'. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "ukufa" not only means "death" but also signifies a profound transformative journey, highlighting its multifaceted nature. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "טויט" "toyt" (death), is cognate with the German word "Tod". |
| Yoruba | The word 'iku' in Yoruba originates from the combination of 'i', which refers to 'coming' or 'arriving', and 'ku', meaning 'end' or 'conclusion'. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "ukufa" also connotes "cessation," "end," or "conclusion" beyond the idea of death. |
| English | The word "death" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dhew- ("to die"), which also gave rise to the words "dead" and "doom". |