Dozen in different languages

Dozen in Different Languages

Discover 'Dozen' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

A 'dozen' is a group of twelve, a number with unique significance in many cultures and societies. From a baker's dozen to the twelve apostles, the dozen's cultural impact is far-reaching. Understanding the translation of 'dozen' in different languages can provide insight into these cultural nuances and enhance your global understanding.

Did you know that the ancient Egyptians used a duodecimal (base 12) system for mathematics? This may be why the dozen, a subdivision of a gross (144), has been widely adopted. Or that the Chinese word for 'dozen', 士ruppe, also means 'ten soldiers', reflecting their military structure?

Whether you're a language learner, a culture enthusiast, or a businessperson dealing with international measurements, knowing the translation of 'dozen' can be beneficial. Here are some translations to get you started:

Dozen

Dozen in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansdosyn
The Afrikaans word "dosyn" comes from Middle Dutch "dusent", or "duzend", meaning "thousand", which refers to a large quantity, rather than twelve.
Amharicደርዘን
The word "dozen" comes from the Old French word "douzaine", which in turn comes from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve".
Hausadozin
The word "dozin" is also used to refer to a group of twelve, especially in the context of animals or objects.
Igboiri na abuo
In Igbo, "iri na abuo" literally translates to "ten with two," referring to the addition of two to ten.
Malagasyampolony
The word "ampolony" in Malagasy is derived from the Arabic word "ath-thalatha" (three) and the Malay word "puluh" (ten), indicating its original meaning was "three tens" (thirty).
Nyanja (Chichewa)khumi ndi awiri
The word comes from the Yao word 'khumi' (an amount of ten) and 'ndi awiri' (two).
Shonagumi nemaviri
'Gumi nemaviri' in Shona means 'dozen' and it is also a term used to refer to a group of twelve people or objects.
Somalidarsin
The term "darsin" also refers to a group of 20, as well as a type of cloth made up of 12 strips.
Sesotholeshome le metso e 'meli
Swahilidazeni
The Swahili word "dazeni" is derived from the Arabic word "dusin", which means "twelve".
Xhosaishumi elinambini
The word "ishumi elinambini" in Xhosa has a deeper meaning than just "dozen", representing the 12 months of the year.
Yorubamejila
The word "mejila" also refers to a group of twelve people, similar to the English term "jury."
Zulukweshumi nambili
The word "kweshumi nambili" literally means "ten and two" in Zulu.
Bambaratan ni fila
Eweblaeve vɔ eve
Kinyarwandaicumi
Lingalazomi na mibale
Lugandadaziini
Sepedidozen ya go lekana
Twi (Akan)dumien

Dozen in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicدزينة
"دزينة" can also refer to the number 11 or the number 13 in Arabic.
Hebrewתְרֵיסַר
The Hebrew word תְרֵיסַר (dozen) is related to the word שְׁרִיר (arm), as in ancient times a dozen was measured by the number of phalanges on an arm.
Pashtoدرجن
The word "درجن" in Pashto has an uncertain etymology, but it is thought to be derived from the Persian word "ده‎" (dah), meaning "ten", and the suffix "-زن" (-zan), meaning "holder" or "container".
Arabicدزينة
"دزينة" can also refer to the number 11 or the number 13 in Arabic.

Dozen in Western European Languages

Albanianduzinë
The Albanian word "duzinë" is derived from the Italian "dozzina" and ultimately from the Latin "duodecim".
Basquedozena
In Basque, the word "dozena" can also mean "large group" or "multitude."
Catalandotzena
The word "dotzena" in Catalan comes from the Latin word "duodecim" meaning "twelve" and shares the root with the English "dozen".
Croatiandesetak
The Croatian word "desetak" literally translates to "ten-piece", further emphasizing its grouping of ten.
Danishdusin
In colloquial Danish, "dusin" can also refer to 10 or 11 items, or to a group of people
Dutchdozijn
The Dutch word "dozijn" is derived from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve."
Englishdozen
A "dozen" can also be a group of 13 or "baker's dozen".
Frenchdouzaine
"Douzaine" comes from the Latin "duodecim" and can also mean "a group of twelve people" or "a period of twelve days".
Frisiantsiental
The word "tsiental" is thought to derive from the Proto-Germanic word for ten, "tekhonto."
Galicianducia
In Galician "ducía" can also mean "group or set", "congregation or gathering" and, more often than not, "group".
Germandutzend
"Dutzend" ultimately derives from the Old French "douzaine". In addition to its primary meaning of "dozen", "Dutzend" can also informally refer to a group of 11 or 13.
Icelandictugi
The word tugi derives from Old Norse tugi "number; team of four," possibly borrowed from a Celtic language.
Irishdosaen
In the Irish language it is known as "dúisin", a diminutive from an Old Irish word, "dús" (abundant).
Italiandozzina
The Italian word "dozzina" comes from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve". It can also refer to a group of twelve people or things, or to a set of items that are sold together.
Luxembourgishdosen
Luxembourgish "Dosen" derives from Old French "douzaine" (dozen), ultimately from Latin "duodecim" (twelve).
Maltesetużżana
The word "tużżana" derives from the Sicilian plural "tuzzini" of the Arabic "tūzin" that means a group of twelve.
Norwegiandusin
Dusin in Norwegian is a loanword from French, and means "twelve", "dozen", "set" or "series".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)dúzia
The word 'dúzia' is also used in Portugal and Brazil to mean 'group' or 'set'.
Scots Gaelicdusan
The word "dusan" in Scots Gaelic can also mean "a set" or "a group".
Spanishdocena
In Spanish, the word "docena" originally meant a group of 10, and only later came to refer to a group of 12.
Swedishdussin
Swedish "dussin" derives from the French "douzaine" or "douze" (literally "twelve"), while also relating to the Medieval Latin "ducena" (literally "group of twelve").
Welshdwsin
The Welsh word "dwsin" is derived from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve."

Dozen in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianдзясятак
"Дзясятак" is the derivative of the Proto-Slavic word meaning "ten", and also means "tithe", "a group of ten people", and "a set of ten"
Bosniandesetak
In addition to its common meaning, 'desetak' can also refer to a group of approximately ten people.
Bulgarianдесетина
The word "десетина" in Bulgarian originally referred to a group of ten, and later came to mean "dozen" in the sense of twelve.
Czechtucet
In Czech, "tucet" is a synonym of "dozen" but is also colloquially used to refer to a group of twelve items.
Estoniantosin
The word "tosin" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Germanic root "*tuz-,* meaning "ten," but also "dozen" in some Germanic languages.
Finnishtusina
The word "tusina" is derived from an Old Germanic root meaning ten.
Hungariantucat
The word <span style="font-variant-caps:small-caps">tucat</span> in Hungarian comes from the Latin word <span style="font-variant-caps:small-caps">duodecim</span>, which also means "dozen". It also means "twelve".
Latvianducis
Ducis is also used in Latvian to refer to a group of twelve people, such as a jury or a group of students.
Lithuaniankeliolika
The word "keliolika" comes from "keli", which means "many," and "lika", denoting an amount or quantity.
Macedonianдесетина
The word "десетина" also has a historical meaning: it was a tax paid by Macedonian peasants to Ottoman rulers in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Polishtuzin
In Polish, "tuzin" originated from a German word, and also means a group of bad or low-quality things.
Romanianduzină
In Romanian, "duzină" can also refer to a group of 12 items or to a generic group of items.
Russianдюжина
The word "дюжина" also means a set of 12 or a group of people.
Serbianдесетак
The word "десетак" is also used to mean "about ten" or "a few".
Slovaktucet
In Slovak, "tucet" can also refer to a group of 666 devils.
Slovenianducat
The word "ducat" is derived from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve", and is cognate with the words "dozen" and "duodecimal" in English.
Ukrainianдесяток
The word "десяток" in Ukrainian can also mean "a group of ten people" or "a collection of ten objects".

Dozen in South Asian Languages

Bengaliডজন
The word "ডজন" derives from the French word "douzaine" and the Latin word "duodecim," both meaning "twelve," and its use in Bengali reflects the historical influence of French in the region.
Gujaratiડઝન
The word "dozen" is derived from the Old French word "douzaine", which comes from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve".
Hindiदर्जन
"दर्जन" (dozen) comes from the Persian word "dast" (hand), referring to a group of 12 since it's the number of knuckles on a hand.
Kannadaಡಜನ್
"Dozen" in Kannada also refers to the day of the week "Sunday"
Malayalamഡസൻ
The word "ഡസൻ" (dozen) in Malayalam originates from the French word "douzaine" meaning "a group of twelve".
Marathiडझन
The word "डझन" in Marathi, meaning "dozen" in English, originates from the French word "douzaine".
Nepaliदर्जन
The Nepali word "दर्जन" is a borrowing from the Arabic word "درزن" (dozin), which originally referred to a unit of weight and later to a group of twelve.
Punjabiਦਰਜਨ
"ਦਰਜਨ" is derived from the Persian word "darzan" meaning "a set of twelve".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)දුසිමක්
It also means 'the twelve divisions of the human body' in Sinhala.
Tamilடஜன்
In Tamil, "டஜன்" also refers to a group of 12 people or objects.
Teluguడజను
"డజను" also means "a group of twelve" in Sanskrit, from which Telugu derives a lot of its words.
Urduدرجن
The word "درجن" also means a group of twelve items that are sold together in a bundle.

Dozen in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)打
In certain texts, the Chinese character 打 (dozen) is counted as one number unit rather than two
Chinese (Traditional)打
"打的" means taxi in Cantonese; it's short for 「打电话」（call the taxi）.
Japaneseダース
The word "ダース" (dozen) is derived from the French "douzaine", meaning "a set of twelve".
Korean다스
"다스" can also refer to the number of objects in a traditional Korean measure, equivalent to 20 or 30.
Mongolianхэдэн арван
The word “дуран дуран” can also be a slang term meaning 'a little,' or 'not quite.'
Myanmar (Burmese)ဒါဇင်
ဒါဇင် (dozen) is derived from the French word 'douzaine' meaning 'a group of twelve' and is also used to mean 'a set of similar things' in Myanmar (Burmese).

Dozen in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianlusin
The word "lusin" is derived from the Malay word "lusin", which itself comes from the Hindustani word "darjan", which means "set of twelve". The word "lusin" is also used in other Southeast Asian languages, such as Thai, Burmese, and Vietnamese.
Javaneserolas
The Javanese word "rolas" is derived from the Sanskrit word "dvadasha", meaning "twelve."
Khmerបួនដប់
The word "បួនដប់" can also mean "twenty-four" in Khmer, as it literally translates to "four times six."
Laoອາຍແກັ
ອາຍແກັ (dozen) comes from Sanskrit "dvadasa", meaning "twelve" and is related to English words "decade" and "duodecimal".
Malayberpuluh-puluh
The word "berpuluh-puluh" in Malay can also mean "tens" or "many".
Thaiโหล
โหล in Thai is likely derived from the Mon word "hlaw," meaning "ten," but may also refer to a set of twelve.
Vietnamesetá
In Vietnamese, "tá" can also informally refer to a small, unspecific quantity or a large quantity.
Filipino (Tagalog)dosena

Dozen in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanionlarca
"Onlarca" (dozen) is also an Azerbaijani slang word meaning "much," "a lot," or "several."
Kazakhондаған
The word
Kyrgyzондогон
The word "ондогон" can also refer to a group of twelve people or objects.
Tajikдаҳҳо
The word "даҳҳо" is derived from the Persian word "ده" (pronounced "dah"), which also means "ten." It can also refer to "a great number" or "a lot" in Tajik.
Turkmenonlarça
Uzbeko'nlab
The word "o'nlab" may derive from the Old Persian word "dvādaśa," meaning "twelve."
Uyghurئون

Dozen in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankakini
In Hawaiian mythology, 'kakini' also refers to the twelve guardians of Laka, the goddess of hula and forests.
Maoritatini
The word "tatini" in Maori can also refer to a group of twelve people or a set of twelve things.
Samoantaseni
The word "taseni" in Samoan also means "a handful" or "a group of people".
Tagalog (Filipino)dosenang
The alternative spelling of "dosenang" is "dosenas", originally from Spanish but now archaic.

Dozen in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaratunka payani
Guaranidocena rehegua

Dozen in International Languages

Esperantodekduo
The word "dekduo" is derived from the Greek "δεκαδύο" (dekadyo), meaning "twelve".
Latindozen
The word "dozen" comes from the Latin word "duodecim", meaning "twelve."

Dozen in Others Languages

Greekντουζίνα
The word ντουζίνα (dozen) is borrowed from the French word "douzaine" and ultimately derives from the Latin "duodecim" meaning "twelve."
Hmongkaum os
The word "kaum os" in Hmong has a literal meaning of "ten two" and is used to refer to a group of twelve items.
Kurdishdeste
In Kurdish, "deste" has additional meanings such as "bunch", "group", "team", or "set".
Turkishdüzine
'Düzine', meaning 'dozen' in Turkish, comes from the Greek word 'dozenas', which also means 'dozen'.
Xhosaishumi elinambini
The word "ishumi elinambini" in Xhosa has a deeper meaning than just "dozen", representing the 12 months of the year.
Yiddishטוץ
The Yiddish word "טוץ" (dozen) is derived from the Old High German "dutzent", which itself comes from the Latin "duodecim" (twelve).
Zulukweshumi nambili
The word "kweshumi nambili" literally means "ten and two" in Zulu.
Assameseডজন ডজন
Aymaratunka payani
Bhojpuriदर्जन भर के बा
Dhivehiދިހަވަރަކަށް
Dogriदर्जन भर
Filipino (Tagalog)dosena
Guaranidocena rehegua
Ilocanodosena
Krioduzin
Kurdish (Sorani)دەیان
Maithiliदर्जन भरि
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯗꯖꯟ ꯑꯃꯥ꯫
Mizodozen zet a ni
Oromokudhan kudhan
Odia (Oriya)ଡଜନ
Quechuachunka iskayniyuq
Sanskritदर्जनम्
Tatarдистә
Tigrinyaደርዘን ዝኾኑ
Tsongakhume-mbirhi

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