Desert in Different Languages
Discover 'Desert' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Desert
Afrikaans woestyn | ||
Albanian shkretëtirë | ||
Amharic ምድረ በዳ | ||
Arabic صحراء | ||
Armenian անապատ | ||
Assamese মৰুভূমি | ||
Aymara wasara | ||
Azerbaijani səhra | ||
Bambara cɛncɛnkungo | ||
Basque basamortua | ||
Belarusian пустыня | ||
Bengali মরুভূমি | ||
Bhojpuri रेगिस्तान | ||
Bosnian pustinja | ||
Bulgarian пустинен | ||
Catalan desert | ||
Cebuano disyerto | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 沙漠 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 沙漠 | ||
Corsican disertu | ||
Croatian pustinja | ||
Czech poušť | ||
Danish ørken | ||
Dhivehi ފަޅު | ||
Dogri रेगिस्तान | ||
Dutch woestijn | ||
English desert | ||
Esperanto dezerto | ||
Estonian kõrb | ||
Ewe dzogbe | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) disyerto | ||
Finnish autiomaa | ||
French désert | ||
Frisian woastyn | ||
Galician deserto | ||
Georgian უდაბნო | ||
German wüste | ||
Greek έρημος | ||
Guarani yvymeme | ||
Gujarati રણ | ||
Haitian Creole dezè | ||
Hausa hamada | ||
Hawaiian wao akua | ||
Hebrew מִדבָּר | ||
Hindi रेगिस्तान | ||
Hmong suab puam | ||
Hungarian sivatag | ||
Icelandic eyðimörk | ||
Igbo ọzara | ||
Ilocano kadaratan | ||
Indonesian gurun | ||
Irish fásach | ||
Italian deserto | ||
Japanese 砂漠 | ||
Javanese ara-ara samun | ||
Kannada ಮರುಭೂಮಿ | ||
Kazakh шөл | ||
Khmer វាលខ្សាច់ | ||
Kinyarwanda ubutayu | ||
Konkani वाळवंट | ||
Korean 사막 | ||
Krio dɛzat | ||
Kurdish çol | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بیابان | ||
Kyrgyz чөл | ||
Lao ທະເລຊາຍ | ||
Latin solitudinem | ||
Latvian tuksnesis | ||
Lingala mabele ekauka | ||
Lithuanian dykuma | ||
Luganda eddungu | ||
Luxembourgish wüst | ||
Macedonian пустината | ||
Maithili मरुभूमि | ||
Malagasy efitra | ||
Malay padang pasir | ||
Malayalam ഏകാന്ത | ||
Maltese deżert | ||
Maori ururua | ||
Marathi वाळवंट | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯔꯨꯚꯨꯃꯤ | ||
Mizo thlaler | ||
Mongolian цөл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သဲကန္တာရ | ||
Nepali मरुभूमि | ||
Norwegian ørken | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chipululu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମରୁଭୂମି | ||
Oromo gammoojjii | ||
Pashto صحرا | ||
Persian کویر | ||
Polish pustynia | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) deserto | ||
Punjabi ਮਾਰੂਥਲ | ||
Quechua aqu panpa | ||
Romanian deşert | ||
Russian пустыня | ||
Samoan toafa | ||
Sanskrit मरुभूमिः | ||
Scots Gaelic fàsach | ||
Sepedi leganata | ||
Serbian пустиња | ||
Sesotho lehoatata | ||
Shona gwenga | ||
Sindhi ريگستاني | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කාන්තාරය | ||
Slovak púšť | ||
Slovenian puščava | ||
Somali lamadegaanka | ||
Spanish desierto | ||
Sundanese padang pasir | ||
Swahili jangwa | ||
Swedish öken- | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) disyerto | ||
Tajik биёбон | ||
Tamil பாலைவனம் | ||
Tatar чүл | ||
Telugu ఎడారి | ||
Thai ทะเลทราย | ||
Tigrinya ምድረ በዳ | ||
Tsonga mananga | ||
Turkish çöl | ||
Turkmen çöl | ||
Twi (Akan) mpaprɛ | ||
Ukrainian пустеля | ||
Urdu صحرا | ||
Uyghur قۇملۇق | ||
Uzbek cho'l | ||
Vietnamese sa mạc | ||
Welsh anialwch | ||
Xhosa entlango | ||
Yiddish מדבר | ||
Yoruba aṣálẹ̀ | ||
Zulu ehlane |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "woestyn" in Afrikaans ultimately derives from the Old French word "vastine", meaning "wasteland". |
| Albanian | The word "shkretëtirë" (desert) may come from the Albanian word "shkreto" (to destroy) or the Arabic word "sahra" (desert). |
| Amharic | The word "ምድረ በዳ" ("desert") in Amharic originates from the Ge'ez language, where it means "an uninhabited country, a wilderness". In addition to its literal meaning, it can also be used metaphorically to refer to a desolate or barren place. |
| Arabic | The word "صحراء" (desert) in Arabic also means "open space" or "wilderness". |
| Armenian | The word "անապատ" also means "monastery" in Armenian, as monasteries were often built in isolated desert areas. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "səhra" is derived from the Persian word "sahra", meaning "plain" or "open land." |
| Basque | The Basque word "basamortua" ultimately derives from the Proto-Basque root "basa", meaning "dry" or "parched." |
| Belarusian | " пустыня" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pustosъ, meaning “empty” or “barren,” and also refers to a vast, treeless plain. |
| Bengali | The word "মরুভূমি" (desert) in Bengali also translates to "wilderness" or "empty land". |
| Bosnian | "Pustinja" derives from the Old Slavic word "pusti", meaning "empty" or "desolate". |
| Bulgarian | The word "пустинен" also means "uninhabitable" or "lonely" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The word "desert" in Catalan ("desert") also has the secondary meaning of "unpopulated land". |
| Cebuano | Did you know that "disyerto" in Cebuano can also mean a "dry spell" or a "famine"? |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 沙漠 originally meant 'sandy and barren' in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 沙 in "沙漠" also means "sand" and 漠 means "vast". Hence, 沙漠 can also mean "vast sands". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "disertu" is likely derived from the Latin word "desertus" (abandoned), with the alternate meaning of "wilderness". |
| Croatian | The word "pustinja" in Croatian also means "wilderness" or "solitude". |
| Czech | The word "poušť" in Czech has no alternate meanings and its etymology is uncertain but may be related to the Proto-Slavic word "pustŭ", meaning "empty" or "desolate." |
| Danish | The word "ørken" in Danish is cognate with the word "work" in English, reflecting the idea of a land that was once cultivated but is now abandoned. |
| Dutch | De oorspronkelijke betekenis van het woord "woestijn" is een plek "niet bewoond door mensen". |
| Esperanto | The word "dezerto" comes from the Spanish word "desierto" which originally meant "uninhabited". |
| Estonian | The word "kõrb" in Estonian is derived from the same root as "korp" meaning "corpse" or "carrion". |
| Finnish | "Autiomaa" (desert) comes from the word "autios" (deserted), which in turn derives from the Proto-Finnic word "*awtijo" (empty). |
| French | The French word "désert" can also refer to an unpopulated area in a city, which is similar in meaning to the English word "slums". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word for 'desert' (woastyn) is a derivative of the Arabic word 'wastani,' meaning 'the middle.' |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "deserto" can also refer to an uninhabited place or a wilderness. |
| Georgian | The word 'უდაბნო' can also mean 'wilderness' or 'wasteland' in Georgian. |
| German | The word "Wüste" also means "waste" or "devastation" in German, reflecting its historical association with barren and inhospitable environments. |
| Greek | έρημος also means deserted, abandoned, or desolate in Greek. |
| Gujarati | The word "રણ" (ran) in Gujarati is derived from the Sanskrit word "रण" meaning "battlefield" or "empty space." |
| Haitian Creole | The word "dezè" in Haitian Creole can also mean "wilderness" or "uninhabited place." |
| Hausa | The word "hamada" is derived from the Arabic word "hamad," meaning "bare, stony ground". |
| Hawaiian | Wao akua can also refer to a sacred or forbidden area, or to the domain of the gods. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word מִדבָּר also means 'region or wilderness outside Jewish habitation', a meaning it shares with the related Arabic word بادية (bādiya). |
| Hindi | The Hindi word 'रेगिस्तान' (desert) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'रिक्त' (empty) and the Persian suffix '-स्तान' (land). |
| Hmong | The word "suab puam" can also mean "bald" or "shaved head" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | Sivatag originated from the Turkish 'sahra', meaning a salty place with no vegetation. |
| Icelandic | The word "eyðimörk" comes from the Old Norse word "eiðimörk", meaning "wasteland" or "uninhabited area." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "ọzara" can also mean "outback" or "bush".} |
| Indonesian | The word 'gurun' likely originated from the Sanskrit word 'guruna' meaning 'weighty' or 'difficult', referring to the harsh and unforgiving nature of deserts. |
| Irish | The Irish word "fásach" has the same root as the Latin word "vastus," and also means a wilderness, moor or wasteland. |
| Italian | The Italian word "deserto" can also mean "abandoned" or "lonely". |
| Japanese | 砂漠 (sabaku) literally means "sandy field" in Japanese, and can also refer to any dry, barren land. |
| Javanese | "Ara-ara samun" literally translates to "to search for sand", indicating the scarcity of vegetation in deserts. |
| Kannada | ಮರುಭೂಮಿ is derived from the Sanskrit word 'marubhumi', meaning 'land of death'. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "шөл" not only means "desert", but also refers to an open, arid area that lacks trees or vegetation. |
| Korean | The word "사막" can also refer to a barren field or a neglected place. |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, 'çol' also means 'much', 'many', or 'abundant'. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "чөл" can also refer to uncultivated land, wilderness or even a steppe. |
| Latin | "Solitudo" also means "emptiness" or "a lonely place" in Latin, and in astronomy is the "Solar System." |
| Latvian | The Latvian word for "desert" (tuksnesis) originally referred to a "empty" or "abandoned" place, not necessarily a place with little rain or vegetation. |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "dykuma" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "dheuh-", meaning "to blow" or "to smoke", and originally referred to a "arid, windy place". |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Wüst" in Luxembourgish also means "wasteland" or "barren land". |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "пустината" ("desert") is also used to refer to "wilderness". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "EFITRA" is derived from the Arabic word "sahara," which means "desert." |
| Malay | The word "padang pasir" can also refer to a grassy plain, battlefield, or clearing in a forest. |
| Malayalam | The word 'ഏകാന്ത' also means 'solitude', 'loneliness' or 'isolation' in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | Maltese word |
| Maori | The word 'ururua' also refers to a barren or uncultivated land, or a desolate place. |
| Marathi | In Marathi, the word 'वाळवंट' (desert) also refers to an uninhabited or desolate wasteland. |
| Mongolian | "Цөл" means not only "desert", but also "steppe", a large area of open grassland. |
| Nepali | The word 'मरुभूमि' ('desert') in Nepali is of Sanskrit origin, and cognate with the English word 'mirage', denoting a deceptive appearance or illusion. |
| Norwegian | The word "ørken" can also refer to a barren or uncultivated area, including mountains and forests. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "chipululu" can also refer to a type of barren, sandy soil found in some areas of Malawi. |
| Pashto | In Pashto, "صحرا" ("Sahra") not only means "desert" but also refers to a "plain" or "open space". |
| Persian | The word "کویر" (desert) in Persian is derived from the Arabic word "قفر" (empty), indicating a vast, desolate, and dry region. |
| Polish | The word "pustynia" in Polish can also mean "wilderness" or "barren land". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "deserto" can refer to both a geographical desert and to an uninhabited or abandoned place, such as a deserted building or a deserted town. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "deşert" comes from the Latin "desertus" meaning "abandoned, deserted", and can also refer to a wilderness or uncultivated land. |
| Russian | In Old Russian, "пустыня" also meant "monastery". |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "toafa" can also refer to a cleared or open space or an uncultivated area. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "fàsach" also refers to a wilderness or uncultivated land. |
| Serbian | The word 'пустиња' (desert) originally referred to a barren area, but its meaning has expanded to include any isolated or uninhabited place. |
| Sesotho | In Sesotho, 'lehoatata' refers to an arid region and has alternate meanings including 'wilderness' and 'solitude'. |
| Shona | The word 'gwenga' in Shona is also used to describe a dry, barren place or a period of drought. |
| Sindhi | The word "ريگستاني" in Sindhi also means "a person who lives in a desert". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word "කාන්තාරය" also means "wilderness" and comes from the Sanskrit word "kanṭaka-āraṇya," meaning "thorny forest." |
| Slovak | Púšť is related to the Old Church Slavonic word pustъ, which means empty, desolate. |
| Slovenian | In ancient times, the Slovene word "puščava" was used for any unpopulated area. |
| Somali | "Lamadegaan" is also used to refer to uninhabited, barren land that is not necessarily a desert. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "Desierto" derives from the Latin "deserere", meaning "to abandon" or "to forsake". |
| Sundanese | "Padang pasir" can mean either "desert" or "field" in Sundanese. |
| Swahili | Jangwa is also the Swahili word for a 'wilderness' or 'forest' located away from human habitation. |
| Swedish | The word "öken" possibly derives from Old Norse and means "uninhabited" or "wasteland." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "disyerto" in Tagalog can also refer to a "wilderness" or "uninhabited area". |
| Tajik | The term "биёбон" not only refers to deserts but also to uninhabited places far from water sources. |
| Tamil | "பாலைவனம்" in Tamil can also refer to a dry, barren, or arid land, not necessarily a sandy desert |
| Telugu | The word "ఎడారి" in Telugu can also mean a barren or desolate place, not necessarily a desert. |
| Thai | ทะเลทราย translates to "Sea of Sand" in English. |
| Turkish | The word "çöl" in Turkish can also mean "wilderness" or "uninhabited area". |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "пустеля" (desert) comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pustъ, meaning "empty" or "barren." |
| Urdu | The word "صحرا" can also mean the Gangetic Plain region of northern India. |
| Uzbek | The word 'cho'l' in Uzbek may derive from the Proto-Turkic word '*tʃol' meaning 'grassland' or 'steppe' rather than 'desert'. |
| Vietnamese | "Sa mạc" also means "sandy and uncultivated land" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | In 6th-century poetic manuscripts Anialwch is given as an epithet of God as the creator and upholder of the waste. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, the word "entlango" also refers to a barren or uncultivated area of land. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "מדבר" (midbar) additionally means "wilderness" or a "sparsely populated area." |
| Yoruba | In archaic Yoruba, "aṣálẹ̀" originally meant an un-grassed field, and then gradually came to be synonymous with the modern meaning of "desert" as a dry, sandy place devoid of sustainable plant life. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "ehlane" comes from the Nguni word "elane," meaning "a place where cattle graze." |
| English | The term "desert" can also refer to a moral or spiritual barrenness, implying a lack of meaning or purpose. |