Decade in Different Languages
Discover 'Decade' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
A 'decade' is a period of ten years, often representing a significant stretch of time in human experience. From the Roaring Twenties to the Swinging Sixties, decades are often associated with distinct cultural movements, fashion trends, and historical events. Understanding the translation of 'decade' in different languages can provide insight into how other cultures perceive and divide time.
For instance, in Spanish, 'decade' is 'década', reflecting the language's Latin roots. In Mandarin, 'decade' is '十年', or 'shí nián', a term that also denotes a unit of time. In Japanese, 'decade' is 'ディケイド', or 'dikeido', a direct phonetic translation of the English term.
Exploring the translation of 'decade' in various languages can be a fascinating journey, offering glimpses into different cultural perspectives and historical contexts. Below, you'll find a list of 'decade' translations in multiple languages, from Arabic to Zulu.
Decade
Decade in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | dekade | ||
| The Afrikaans word "dekade" does not mean "decade" but "decay" whereas the word "dekades" means "decades". | |||
| Amharic | አስር አመት | ||
| The term "asər ammət" (decade) can also refer to a period of a hundred years, equivalent to a century. | |||
| Hausa | shekaru goma | ||
| The Hausa word "shekaru goma" can also refer to a period of nine years, nine months, or nine days. | |||
| Igbo | afọ iri | ||
| In the Igbo lexicon, the term 'afọ iri' encapsulates two distinct meanings: 'a period of 10 years' and 'the period between childhood and adulthood'. | |||
| Malagasy | folo taona | ||
| The word "folo taona" in Malagasy, meaning "decade," comes from the French word "décade," which itself comes from the Greek word "dekas," meaning "ten." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zaka khumi | ||
| The word "zaka khumi" is also used in Nyanja to refer to a period of ten days or a "tenner". | |||
| Shona | gumi | ||
| The word 'gumi' can also refer to the 'decade beads' used in the Catholic Church. | |||
| Somali | toban sano | ||
| The word "toban sano" can also refer to a period of 10 years, a decade, or a group of 10 people. | |||
| Sesotho | lilemo tse leshome | ||
| Swahili | miaka kumi | ||
| The Swahili word "miaka kumi" can also refer to a "ten year period" | |||
| Xhosa | ishumi leminyaka | ||
| The literal meaning of 'ishimi leminyaka' is 'one turn of the years'. | |||
| Yoruba | ọdun mẹwa | ||
| "Ọdun mẹwa" can refer to a decade, a period of ten years, or it can also refer to a period of one hundred years, a century. | |||
| Zulu | iminyaka eyishumi | ||
| The Zulu word "iminyaka eyishumi" means "ten years" and is made up of two words: "iminyaka", meaning "years", and "eyishumi", meaning "ten". | |||
| Bambara | san tan | ||
| Ewe | ƒe ewo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | imyaka icumi | ||
| Lingala | bambula zomi | ||
| Luganda | emyaaka kumi | ||
| Sepedi | ngwagasome | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mfedu | ||
Decade in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | عقد | ||
| In Arabic, "عقد" can also refer to a contract, a marriage vow, or a necklace. | |||
| Hebrew | עָשׂוֹר | ||
| In the Bible, "עָשׂוֹר" can also mean a "tithe", a contribution of one-tenth of one's income to the Temple. | |||
| Pashto | لسيزه | ||
| لسيزه can also mean "a book of ten leaves"; in Persian, it also signifies "a book". | |||
| Arabic | عقد | ||
| In Arabic, "عقد" can also refer to a contract, a marriage vow, or a necklace. | |||
Decade in Western European Languages
| Albanian | dekadë | ||
| Dekadë, a Albanian loanword from Greek, also means a group of ten people or things. | |||
| Basque | hamarkada | ||
| The Basque word "hamarkada" also means "a group of ten" and is related to "hama" ("ten") and "-kada" (a suffix indicating a group). | |||
| Catalan | dècada | ||
| The word "dècada" in Catalan shares its root with "decade" in English, as both come from the Latin word "decas," meaning "ten." | |||
| Croatian | desetljeće | ||
| 'Desetljeće', meaning 'decade' in Croatian, comes from the Proto-Slavic word 'desętъ', meaning 'ten', and the suffix '-лѣт', meaning 'year'. | |||
| Danish | årti | ||
| The Danish word "årti" ("decade") is derived from the Latin "decem" ("ten"), which also appears in words like "decimal" and "decagon". | |||
| Dutch | decennium | ||
| Het Latijnse woord decennium, dat in het Nederlands "decennium" werd, was oorspronkelijk een periode van tien dagen. | |||
| English | decade | ||
| The word "decade" is derived from the Greek word "dekas," meaning "ten." It can refer to a period of ten years, a group of ten, or a musical composition with ten variations. | |||
| French | décennie | ||
| The word «décennie» comes from the Latin word «decem» which means ten, and from the suffix «-ennium» which indicates a period of time. | |||
| Frisian | dekade | ||
| In addition to meaning "decade", the Frisian word "dekade" can also be used to refer to a "group of ten" or a "dodecahedron". | |||
| Galician | década | ||
| The Galician word "década" can also mean "ten days" or a "group of ten". | |||
| German | dekade | ||
| The word "Dekade" in German can also refer to a group of ten people or things, or to a period of ten days. | |||
| Icelandic | áratugur | ||
| "Áratugur" is the Icelandic word for "decade" and it comes from the Old Norse word "ár" meaning "year" and "tug" meaning "ten." | |||
| Irish | deich mbliana | ||
| "Deich mbliana" means "ten years" in Irish and is a calque of the Latin "decem" and "annus". | |||
| Italian | decennio | ||
| The word 'decennio' is derived from the Latin words 'decem' (ten) and '-ennium' (year). It can also refer to a period of ten years, or a group of ten. | |||
| Luxembourgish | jorzéngt | ||
| "Jorzéngt" comes from French "quarantaine", which also refers to a period of 40 days spent praying or in confinement. | |||
| Maltese | għaxar snin | ||
| In Maltese, "għaxar snin" literally means "ten years". "Għaxar" is derived from the Arabic number "عشر" (pronounced "a'shar"), while "snin" is the plural form of the Arabic word "سنة" (pronounced "sana") meaning "year". The word "decade" has other meanings in English that are not reflected in this Maltese translation. | |||
| Norwegian | tiår | ||
| The word 'tiår' is derived from the Old Norse words 'tíu' (ten) and 'ár' (year). In Norway it can also be used to refer to a group of 10 people or objects. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | década | ||
| The word "década" in Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) also means a group of ten and a measure unit. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | deichead | ||
| The Gaelic word "deichead" also means "ten" or "tithe". | |||
| Spanish | década | ||
| The word "década" in Spanish shares its etymology with the English word "decade" and also has the alternate meaning of "group of ten". | |||
| Swedish | årtionde | ||
| The word "årtionde" is derived from the Old Swedish word "år", meaning "year" and the suffix "-tionde", meaning "tenth". It originally referred to a period of ten years. | |||
| Welsh | degawd | ||
| The Welsh word "degawd" can also refer to a group of ten animals, or to a group of people who live in close proximity. | |||
Decade in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | дзесяцігоддзе | ||
| This word comes from the Old Church Slavonic language and shares the same root as the Russian word "десять" (ten). | |||
| Bosnian | decenija | ||
| The Bosnian word "decenija" can also mean "a period of ten years, especially a period of ten years from a particular date or event." | |||
| Bulgarian | десетилетие | ||
| The Russian word "десетилетие" also means "decennial", which is an adjective that means "lasting or occurring once in ten years". | |||
| Czech | desetiletí | ||
| The Czech word "desetiletí" can also mean a "ten-year period" or an "era characterized by a particular trend or style". | |||
| Estonian | kümnendil | ||
| "Kümnendil" derives from the Old Prussian word "kumen" and is also used in Old Lithuanian, Old Latvian, and Albanian. | |||
| Finnish | vuosikymmenen ajan | ||
| The word "vuosikymmenen ajan" is a compound word formed by "vuosikymmen", meaning "decade" and the adessive case ending "n", denoting duration of time or a particular period in time. | |||
| Hungarian | évtized | ||
| Evtized is also used to refer to the period of ten years during which the grape variety Kadarka grows and becomes viable. | |||
| Latvian | desmitgade | ||
| In Latvian, “desmitgade” is sometimes used to describe a span of ten years, while in other contexts it can refer to a specific period of history, such as the 1920s or the 1960s. | |||
| Lithuanian | dešimtmetis | ||
| The Lithuanian word "dešimtmetis" also means a boy or girl in their teens. | |||
| Macedonian | декада | ||
| The word "декада" can also refer to a ten-day period. | |||
| Polish | dekada | ||
| In Polish, "dekada" (decade) originally meant a group of 10 days, and only later acquired the meaning of "10 years" | |||
| Romanian | deceniu | ||
| The Romanian word "deceniu" also means "indecent" in Latin. | |||
| Russian | десятилетие | ||
| The word "десятилетие" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "десятъ", meaning "ten", and the suffix "-ие", which indicates a period of time; it originally meant "a period of ten years" but now has the more general meaning of "a period of ten years or more". | |||
| Serbian | декада | ||
| The word "декада" in Serbian can also mean a "ten-day period", and is derived from Greek "δεκάς (dekas)". | |||
| Slovak | desaťročie | ||
| "Desaťročie" in Slovak literally translates to "ten years" rather than "decade." | |||
| Slovenian | desetletje | ||
| The word 'desetletje' derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'desęť', meaning 'ten', and the suffix '-letje', meaning 'a period of time'. It can also refer to a group of ten people or things. | |||
| Ukrainian | десятиліття | ||
| The word "десятиліття" literally means "ten years" in Ukrainian, and can also refer to a period of ten days. | |||
Decade in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দশক | ||
| "দশক" (dashôk) means "a decade" from the Sanskrit word "dashaka", meaning "a group of ten". | |||
| Gujarati | દાયકા | ||
| The word "દાયકા" (decade) in Gujarati shares its etymology with "dekha","dekhada," "dashak," and "dasha" in other Indo-Aryan languages and ultimately derives from "dasa," meaning "ten." | |||
| Hindi | दशक | ||
| The word "दशक" (dashak) can trace its roots back to the Sanskrit word "दश" (dasha), meaning "ten". | |||
| Kannada | ದಶಕ | ||
| The Kannada word "ದಶಕ" also means "a period of ten days" or "the tenth part of a fortnight". | |||
| Malayalam | ദശാബ്ദം | ||
| In Malayalam, "ദശാബ്ദം" means both "decade" and "ten-year period in the life of a person" | |||
| Marathi | दशक | ||
| The word "दशक" (dashak) in Marathi can also refer to a group of ten villages or a period of ten years. | |||
| Nepali | दशक | ||
| Dashak, which comes from the Sanskrit word dashaka, can also refer to a set of ten items, a group of ten people, or a period of ten years. | |||
| Punjabi | ਦਹਾਕਾ | ||
| The word "ਦਹਾਕਾ" (dahaka) in Punjabi is also used to refer to a group of ten or a set of ten items. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දශකය | ||
| The term "දශකය" also refers to the 10-day period immediately prior to the festival of Poson in Sri Lanka. | |||
| Tamil | தசாப்தம் | ||
| தசாப்தம் refers not just to years but also to any group of ten other objects | |||
| Telugu | దశాబ్దం | ||
| The word "దశాబ్దం" (Dashabdam) can also refer to a period of ten years, or a group of ten. | |||
| Urdu | دہائی | ||
| "دہائی" not only means "decade" in Urdu, it can also refer to a cry for help during difficult times, particularly when seeking divine intervention. | |||
Decade in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 十年 | ||
| 十年 is also a unit of time in Chinese astrology, and represents a specific period within a person's life cycle. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 十年 | ||
| 十年 can also mean "ten years" and "a long time". | |||
| Japanese | 十年 | ||
| The word decade in Japanese, 十年, also means "long, prolonged" or "a decade or years", depending on the context. | |||
| Korean | 열개의 | ||
| "열개의" is a Sino-Korean word for "decade", meaning "a period of ten years". | |||
| Mongolian | арван жил | ||
| The Mongolian word "арван жил" (arvan jil) can also refer to a period of ten years, like a decade in English but not necessarily a period of exactly ten calendar years. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဆယ်စုနှစ် | ||
Decade in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | dasawarsa | ||
| "Dasawarsa" is a compound of Javanese terms "dasa", meaning "ten" and "warsa", meaning "period of one orbit around Earth" (year), so the full meaning is closer to "ten years" rather than "decade". | |||
| Javanese | dasawarsa | ||
| "Dasawarsa" also means "ten years" in Indonesian. | |||
| Khmer | មួយទសវត្សរ៍ | ||
| Besides a period of ten years, "មួយទសវត្សរ៍" also means "a set of ten". | |||
| Lao | ທົດສະວັດ | ||
| The Lao word for decade, ທົດສະວັດ, is derived from the Sanskrit word दशक (daśaka) which originally meant "group of ten", and can also mean "ten" or "ten times" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | dekad | ||
| The word "dekad" can also mean "group of ten" in Malay. | |||
| Thai | ทศวรรษ | ||
| The word ทศวรรษ comes from Sanskrit and also means "group of three." | |||
| Vietnamese | thập kỷ | ||
| "Thập kỷ" also means "a period of ten days" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dekada | ||
Decade in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | onillik | ||
| The word "onillik" is derived from the Turkic root "on" meaning "ten" and the suffix "-lik" forming nouns indicating a set or quantity. | |||
| Kazakh | он жылдық | ||
| The term "он жылдық" is also used in the Kazakh language to refer to a period of ten years in the past. | |||
| Kyrgyz | он жылдык | ||
| The phrase originally meant "ten years," "period consisting of ten years," and "period consisting of several years". | |||
| Tajik | даҳсола | ||
| The word 'daҳsola' not only means 'decade', but also translates to 'a period of ten years' and 'the 10th anniversary'} | |||
| Turkmen | onýyllyk | ||
| Uzbek | o'n yil | ||
| The word "o'n yil" literally means "ten years" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ئون يىل | ||
Decade in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻumi makahiki | ||
| 'Umi makahiki literally means a 'gathering or group of ten years,' akin to English 'decade.' | |||
| Maori | tekau tau | ||
| In Māori, tekau tau also refers to the length of a person's lifetime or a generation. | |||
| Samoan | sefulu tausaga | ||
| Decade in Samoan is called "sefulu tausaga", which also means "ten years." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | dekada | ||
| "Dekada" also refers to the decimal system in the Philippines and can also mean "tens". | |||
Decade in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | tunka marata | ||
| Guarani | pa ary | ||
Decade in International Languages
| Esperanto | jardeko | ||
| "Jardeko" also means "a set of ten objects" in Esperanto, such as a set of ten eggs or a set of ten cards. | |||
| Latin | decennium | ||
| Decennium, "decade" in modern usage, initially meant a period of 10 days and later came to mean 10 years. | |||
Decade in Others Languages
| Greek | δεκαετία | ||
| The word "δεκαετία" (decade) in Greek also means "a group of ten people". | |||
| Hmong | xyoo caum | ||
| The Hmong word "xyoo caum" is an example of a compound word in which the first word means "year" and the second word means "ten." | |||
| Kurdish | dehsal | ||
| The word "dehsal" in Kurdish derives from the Persian word "dah" meaning "ten" and the Arabic word "sal" meaning "year." | |||
| Turkish | onyıl | ||
| In Turkish, "onyıl" literally means "ten years" and is used in the same context as "decade" in English. | |||
| Xhosa | ishumi leminyaka | ||
| The literal meaning of 'ishimi leminyaka' is 'one turn of the years'. | |||
| Yiddish | יאָרצענדלינג | ||
| In Yiddish, the word 'יאָרצענדלינג' refers both to a 'decade' as well as to the memorial candle lit in memory of a loved one on the anniversary of their death. | |||
| Zulu | iminyaka eyishumi | ||
| The Zulu word "iminyaka eyishumi" means "ten years" and is made up of two words: "iminyaka", meaning "years", and "eyishumi", meaning "ten". | |||
| Assamese | দশক | ||
| Aymara | tunka marata | ||
| Bhojpuri | दशक | ||
| Dhivehi | ޑިކޭޑް | ||
| Dogri | द्हाका | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dekada | ||
| Guarani | pa ary | ||
| Ilocano | dekada | ||
| Krio | tɛn ia | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دەیە | ||
| Maithili | दशक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯍꯤ ꯇꯔꯥꯒꯤ ꯈꯨꯖꯤꯡ | ||
| Mizo | kum sawm | ||
| Oromo | waggaa kudhan | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଦଶନ୍ଧି | ||
| Quechua | chunka wata | ||
| Sanskrit | दशकं | ||
| Tatar | унъеллык | ||
| Tigrinya | ዓሰርተ ዓመት | ||
| Tsonga | khume ra malembe | ||