Dinner in Different Languages
Discover 'Dinner' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Dinner: it's a word that evokes warmth, comfort, and the company of loved ones. But did you know that the significance and cultural importance of dinner vary greatly around the world? In some cultures, dinner is the largest and most important meal of the day, while in others it's a smaller, more casual affair. And in many countries, the word for dinner is just as interesting and varied as the customs and traditions that surround it.
For example, in Spain, dinner is known as la cena, and is typically eaten later in the evening, around 9 or 10pm. In Germany, dinner is called das Abendessen, and is often a hearty meal featuring meats, potatoes, and vegetables. And in Japan, dinner is referred to as bansan, and is often a more formal affair, with traditional dishes like sushi, tempura, and miso soup.
Understanding the translation of dinner in different languages can not only help you navigate foreign menus and customs, but it can also give you a deeper appreciation for the cultural significance of this important meal. So whether you're a foodie, a language lover, or simply curious about the world around you, join us as we explore the many different words and meanings for dinner in languages and cultures around the globe.
Dinner
Dinner in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | aandete | ||
| The word "aandete" is derived from the Dutch word "avondtijd", meaning "evening time". | |||
| Amharic | እራት | ||
| The Amharic word "እራት" also means "time of the day" particularly the evening. | |||
| Hausa | abincin dare | ||
| Abincin dare could also refer to a communal meal where people bring different dishes to share. | |||
| Igbo | nri abalị | ||
| Nri abalị, meaning "night food," is the Igbo word for the evening meal. | |||
| Malagasy | sakafo hariva | ||
| The word 'sakafo hariva' literally translates to 'food for the night' and is often referred to as 'supper'. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chakudya chamadzulo | ||
| Shona | chisvusvuro | ||
| The word "chisvusvuro" is derived from the word "kusvusvura", which means to pound or grind, reflecting the process of preparing grain for dinner. | |||
| Somali | casho | ||
| "Casho" also means "feast" or "celebratory meal" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | lijo tsa mantsiboea | ||
| The word "lijo tsa mantsiboea" can also be used to refer to a "light meal" or a "snack". | |||
| Swahili | chajio | ||
| In Swahili, "chajio" can also refer to a special type of spicy sauce made with tomatoes, onions, and peppers. | |||
| Xhosa | isidlo sangokuhlwa | ||
| "Isidlo sangokuhlwa" is a term for an evening meal and it literally means "the meal that is eaten after dark." | |||
| Yoruba | ounje ale | ||
| "Ounje ale" literally translates to "food of the night" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | isidlo sakusihlwa | ||
| The Zulu word 'isidlo sakusihlwa' is derived from the verb 'ukudla', meaning 'to eat', and the noun 'isidlo', meaning 'food'. | |||
| Bambara | surafana | ||
| Ewe | fiɛ̃ nuɖuɖu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ifunguro rya nimugoroba | ||
| Lingala | bilei ya midi | ||
| Luganda | eky'eggulo | ||
| Sepedi | matena | ||
| Twi (Akan) | adidie | ||
Dinner in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | وجبة عشاء | ||
| The Arabic word "وجبة عشاء" literally means "evening meal" and is derived from the root "عشى" meaning "to eat in the evening"} | |||
| Hebrew | אֲרוּחַת עֶרֶב | ||
| "אֲרוּחַת עֶרֶב" comes from the word "ערב", meaning "evening". | |||
| Pashto | ډوډۍ | ||
| The word "ډوډۍ" (dinner) can also refer to a specific type of flatbread in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | وجبة عشاء | ||
| The Arabic word "وجبة عشاء" literally means "evening meal" and is derived from the root "عشى" meaning "to eat in the evening"} | |||
Dinner in Western European Languages
| Albanian | darke | ||
| It also means a 'light meal' | |||
| Basque | afaria | ||
| The word "afaria" can also refer to a late night snack or supper. | |||
| Catalan | sopar | ||
| Catalan word "sopar" (dinner) derives from Late Latin "super" meaning "evening meal" and "pabulum" meaning "food". | |||
| Croatian | večera | ||
| The word "večera" is derived from the Slavic word "vecerъ" meaning "evening". | |||
| Danish | aftensmad | ||
| The word "aftensmad" derives from the Old Norse word "aftansmatr", meaning "the evening meal" | |||
| Dutch | avondeten | ||
| The Dutch word 'avondeten' literally translates to 'evening meal', with 'avond' meaning 'evening' and 'eten' meaning 'to eat'. | |||
| English | dinner | ||
| Dinner originally referred to the evening meal but now can also mean the midday meal, especially in more formal contexts. | |||
| French | dîner | ||
| In French, the word “dîner” can also refer to a light midday meal, whereas “déjeuner” refers to a heavier midday meal. | |||
| Frisian | iten | ||
| The Frisian word "iten" also means "evening" or "meal time" and can also refer to the time of the meal, rather than the meal itself. | |||
| Galician | cea | ||
| Galician word "cea" also means "supper" in Portuguese and Spanish. | |||
| German | abendessen | ||
| The word 'Abendessen' is a compound of 'Abend' ('evening') and 'essen' ('eat'), and literally means 'evening meal'. | |||
| Icelandic | kvöldmatur | ||
| Kvöldmatur is a compound of kvöld (evening) and matur (food), but originally meant "evening meal" not "dinner". | |||
| Irish | dinnéar | ||
| The word "dinnéar" in Irish also means "lunch" and is derived from the Old Irish word "dínar" meaning "meal". | |||
| Italian | cena | ||
| The word "cena" in Italian comes from the Latin "caena," meaning "meal," and is also used in Spanish and Portuguese with the same meaning. | |||
| Luxembourgish | iessen | ||
| Iessen comes from the Middle High German word "ezen", which means "to eat". | |||
| Maltese | pranzu | ||
| The word "pranzu" is derived from the Italian word "pranzo," which means "lunch" or "main meal of the day." | |||
| Norwegian | middag | ||
| The origin of the Norwegian word "middag" translates to "middle of the day" in English. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | jantar | ||
| In Portuguese, 'jantar' comes from the Latin 'iantare', meaning 'to breakfast', and also relates to the French 'dîner', meaning 'lunch or dinner'. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dinnear | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "dinnear" can also refer to a light afternoon meal or a snack taken in the evening. | |||
| Spanish | cena | ||
| The word "cena" is derived from the Latin word "cena", meaning "last meal of the day", and is also related to the word "supper". | |||
| Swedish | middag | ||
| The word "middag" in Swedish originated from the Old Norse word "miðdegi", referring to the time of day around noon. | |||
| Welsh | cinio | ||
| The word 'cinio' may also refer to the Welsh meal called 'cawl'. | |||
Dinner in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | вячэра | ||
| The word 'вячэра' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 've?era', meaning 'evening' or 'supper'. | |||
| Bosnian | večera | ||
| The word "večera" comes from the Latin word "vesper" which means "evening". | |||
| Bulgarian | вечеря | ||
| "Večerya" in Bulgarian comes from the Middle Persian word *vēčār* which literally means "night" or "evening". | |||
| Czech | večeře | ||
| "Večeře" is derived from the Latin "vespera" meaning "evening" from which in turn "vespere" became "vespereia" and in Old Church Slavonic was borrowed as "večeja" and finally "večeře" through the loss of the yat letter." | |||
| Estonian | õhtusöök | ||
| "Õhtusöök" literally means "evening meal" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | illallinen | ||
| In the old Finnish language, `illallinen` referred to the first meal of the day. | |||
| Hungarian | vacsora | ||
| "Vacsora" derives from the word "vacsor", meaning "late supper" or "meal eaten after the main, midday meal". | |||
| Latvian | vakariņas | ||
| Vakariņas is derived from the Old Prussian word "vakars", meaning "evening". It also has the archaic meaning of "supper" or "late meal". | |||
| Lithuanian | vakarienė | ||
| The word "vakarienė" is derived from the Old Lithuanian word "vakaras", which means "evening", and originally referred to the evening meal. | |||
| Macedonian | вечера | ||
| The Macedonian word "вечера" can also refer to the evening meal or a festive gathering accompanied by food. | |||
| Polish | obiad | ||
| In Polish, obiad means 'dinner' when used as a noun, but when used as a verb it means 'to eat dinner'. | |||
| Romanian | masa de seara | ||
| Masa de seară comes from Latin "missa" (dismissed), the meal eaten after the end of a fasting period. | |||
| Russian | ужин | ||
| "ужин" can also mean "supper" in Russian, depending on the context. | |||
| Serbian | вечера | ||
| The word "вечера" in Serbian also means "evenings" and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*večerъ", meaning "evening" or "night". | |||
| Slovak | večera | ||
| The etymology of "večera" is related to the word "vecher", meaning "evening", suggesting that the meal was typically consumed in the evening. | |||
| Slovenian | večerja | ||
| The word "večerja" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "večьrъ" meaning "supper" or "evening meal". | |||
| Ukrainian | вечеря | ||
| The word 'вечеря' (dinner) is cognate with the Latin word 'vespera' (evening) | |||
Dinner in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | রাতের খাবার | ||
| The term "রাতের খাবার" directly translates to "night meal" and is also sometimes used to refer to the evening meal. | |||
| Gujarati | રાત્રિભોજન | ||
| Hindi | रात का खाना | ||
| The word "रात का खाना" can also refer to the main meal of the day in North India, usually eaten in the evening. | |||
| Kannada | ಊಟ | ||
| The word "ಊಟ" derives from the Sanskrit word "उदासन" (udāsana), meaning "to rise up", | |||
| Malayalam | അത്താഴം | ||
| Dinner (Malayalam: അത്താഴം, 'aṭṭāḻaṃ') may derive from an older sense 'to eat' | |||
| Marathi | रात्रीचे जेवण | ||
| The Marathi word "रात्रीचे जेवण" (rātrīche jewaṇ) literally translates to "night"s meal" and is traditionally eaten early in the evening | |||
| Nepali | खाना | ||
| The word 'खाना' (dinner) originates from the Sanskrit word 'खादन' meaning 'to chew' and also refers to 'food' in general. | |||
| Punjabi | ਰਾਤ ਦਾ ਖਾਣਾ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | රාත්රී ආහාරය | ||
| Tamil | இரவு உணவு | ||
| In ancient Tamil the word 'இரவு உணவு' meant 'night food', but it later came to be associated specifically with the evening meal. | |||
| Telugu | విందు | ||
| The Telugu word 'విందు'('vindu') is also used as a noun to mean 'feast' or 'banquet'. | |||
| Urdu | رات کا کھانا | ||
| "رات کا کھانا" literally translates to "food of the night" which is an alternate way of saying "dinner" in Urdu. | |||
Dinner in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 晚餐 | ||
| The word "晚餐" (wǎncān) in Chinese can also mean "evening banquet" or "evening party". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 晚餐 | ||
| 晚餐 originally meant "late" or "last meal" in ancient Chinese, and the word for "breakfast" 早餐 literally means "early" or "first meal". | |||
| Japanese | 晩ごはん | ||
| 晩ごはん (ban-gohan), literally meaning “late rice,” used to be the word for “lunch,” while 昼ごはん (hiru-gohan) was the word for “dinner.” | |||
| Korean | 공식 만찬 | ||
| The word "공식 만찬" has a Chinese origin, meaning "official banquet or feast". It is used to refer to a formal dinner, typically held for a special occasion or to honor guests. | |||
| Mongolian | оройн хоол | ||
| The word "оройн хоол" is the Mongolian word for "dinner," originating from two terms, "орой" meaning "evening" and "хоол" meaning "food." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ညစာ | ||
| Although the word ညစာ (dinner) literally means "night meal" or "evening meal" in Burmese, it can also refer to the main meal of the day, which is usually eaten in the evening. | |||
Dinner in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | makan malam | ||
| "Makan malam" is Indonesian for dinner, and literally means "to feed at night". | |||
| Javanese | nedha bengi | ||
| "Nedha bengi" can be used to mean a large snack eaten in the evening in stead of dinner in Java. | |||
| Khmer | អាហារពេលល្ងាច | ||
| Lao | ຄ່ ຳ | ||
| The Lao word "ຄ່ ຳ" (dinner) is homophonous with the word "ຄຳ" (word), suggesting a possible origin in the idea of a dinner conversation. | |||
| Malay | makan malam | ||
| "Makan" means "food" but also means "to eat." "Malam" means "night," but "makan" and "malam" together can also mean "dinner." | |||
| Thai | อาหารเย็น | ||
| อาหารเย็น shares a similar root as อาหารกลางวัน, which literally means midday food. | |||
| Vietnamese | bữa tối | ||
| "Bữa tối" literally means "late meal" in Vietnamese, but it is used to refer to the evening meal. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | hapunan | ||
Dinner in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | nahar | ||
| The word "nahar" in Azerbaijani derives from Persian and also means "a fast of one meal". | |||
| Kazakh | кешкі ас | ||
| The origin of the term кешки ас можно 입장화점 ас아 이상 сло단 제 цк хв ха입 어색 에스플리는 자리에게 없는 ту сңз мен입 일주잖 한 кон입니다 го로 아옌 움 반 센 부 э입니다 의 사항 선 있 음 이 잖 아야 하는 사이자. | |||
| Kyrgyz | кечки тамак | ||
| The word "кечки тамак" can also refer to a "main course" or "entrée". | |||
| Tajik | хӯроки шом | ||
| The Tajik word "xӯроки шом" (dinner) literally translates to "evening food". | |||
| Turkmen | agşamlyk | ||
| Uzbek | kechki ovqat | ||
| The word "kechki ovqat" also means "late meal" or "last meal of the day" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | كەچلىك تاماق | ||
Dinner in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻaina ahiahi | ||
| ʻAina is also the Hawaiian word for land and food in general; ahiahi means night or afternoon. | |||
| Maori | tina | ||
| Despite its English translation "dinner," "tina" also means "a meal eaten at night." | |||
| Samoan | aiga o le afiafi | ||
| The literal translation of “aiga o le afiafi” is “the family of the evening,” with “aiga” referring to a family unit and “afiafi” referring to dusk or evening. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | hapunan | ||
| "Hapunan" also means "the act of eating" or "the place where one eats". | |||
Dinner in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | aruma manq'a | ||
| Guarani | karupyhare | ||
Dinner in International Languages
| Esperanto | vespermanĝo | ||
| Latin | cena | ||
| The Latin word "cena" can also refer to a "feast" or "banquet" and derives from the Proto-Indo-European root | |||
Dinner in Others Languages
| Greek | βραδινό | ||
| Βραδινό (Greek for "dinner") comes from the ancient Greek term "βραδύς" (vradýs), meaning "slow" or "late". | |||
| Hmong | noj hmo | ||
| Noj hmo literally translates to 'meal for the night'. | |||
| Kurdish | firavîn | ||
| In medieval Arabic, the word 'fīrūz' referred to 'the color blue' or 'turquoise', but in Kurdish it evolved to mean 'dinner' or 'evening meal'. | |||
| Turkish | akşam yemegi | ||
| Despite its current meaning as “dinner”, “akşam yemeği” also means “evening meal” as its root word “akşam” means “evening”. | |||
| Xhosa | isidlo sangokuhlwa | ||
| "Isidlo sangokuhlwa" is a term for an evening meal and it literally means "the meal that is eaten after dark." | |||
| Yiddish | מיטאָג | ||
| The Yiddish word "מיטאָג" (mitog) not only means "dinner" but also "midday". | |||
| Zulu | isidlo sakusihlwa | ||
| The Zulu word 'isidlo sakusihlwa' is derived from the verb 'ukudla', meaning 'to eat', and the noun 'isidlo', meaning 'food'. | |||
| Assamese | নৈশ আহাৰ | ||
| Aymara | aruma manq'a | ||
| Bhojpuri | रात के खाना | ||
| Dhivehi | ރޭގަނޑުގެ ކެއުން | ||
| Dogri | रातीं दी रुट्टी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | hapunan | ||
| Guarani | karupyhare | ||
| Ilocano | pang-rabii | ||
| Krio | ivintɛm it | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نانی ئێوارە | ||
| Maithili | रातिक भोजन | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯇꯥꯡꯒꯤ ꯆꯥꯛꯂꯦꯟ | ||
| Mizo | zanriah | ||
| Oromo | irbaata | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ରାତ୍ରୀ ଭୋଜନ | ||
| Quechua | tuta mikuna | ||
| Sanskrit | रात्रिभोजनम् | ||
| Tatar | кичке аш | ||
| Tigrinya | ድራር | ||
| Tsonga | lalela | ||