Electricity in Different Languages
Discover 'Electricity' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Electricity
Afrikaans elektrisiteit | ||
Albanian elektricitet | ||
Amharic ኤሌክትሪክ | ||
Arabic كهرباء | ||
Armenian էլեկտրականություն | ||
Assamese বিদ্যুৎ | ||
Aymara luz ukata | ||
Azerbaijani elektrik | ||
Bambara kuran ye | ||
Basque elektrizitatea | ||
Belarusian электрычнасць | ||
Bengali বিদ্যুৎ | ||
Bhojpuri बिजली के सुविधा दिहल गइल बा | ||
Bosnian struja | ||
Bulgarian електричество | ||
Catalan electricitat | ||
Cebuano elektrisidad | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 电力 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 電力 | ||
Corsican elettricità | ||
Croatian struja | ||
Czech elektřina | ||
Danish elektricitet | ||
Dhivehi ކަރަންޓް | ||
Dogri बिजली दी | ||
Dutch elektriciteit | ||
English electricity | ||
Esperanto elektro | ||
Estonian elekter | ||
Ewe elektrikŋusẽ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kuryente | ||
Finnish sähköä | ||
French électricité | ||
Frisian elektrisiteit | ||
Galician electricidade | ||
Georgian ელექტროობა | ||
German elektrizität | ||
Greek ηλεκτρική ενέργεια | ||
Guarani electricidad rehegua | ||
Gujarati વીજળી | ||
Haitian Creole elektrisite | ||
Hausa wutar lantarki | ||
Hawaiian uila | ||
Hebrew חַשְׁמַל | ||
Hindi बिजली | ||
Hmong hluav taws xob | ||
Hungarian elektromosság | ||
Icelandic rafmagn | ||
Igbo ọkụ eletrik | ||
Ilocano koriente | ||
Indonesian listrik | ||
Irish leictreachas | ||
Italian elettricità | ||
Japanese 電気 | ||
Javanese listrik | ||
Kannada ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ | ||
Kazakh электр қуаты | ||
Khmer អគ្គិសនី | ||
Kinyarwanda amashanyarazi | ||
Konkani वीज मेळटा | ||
Korean 전기 | ||
Krio ilɛktrishɔn | ||
Kurdish elatrîk | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کارەبا | ||
Kyrgyz электр энергиясы | ||
Lao ໄຟຟ້າ | ||
Latin electricae | ||
Latvian elektrība | ||
Lingala kura | ||
Lithuanian elektros | ||
Luganda amasannyalaze | ||
Luxembourgish stroum | ||
Macedonian електрична енергија | ||
Maithili बिजली | ||
Malagasy herinatratra | ||
Malay elektrik | ||
Malayalam വൈദ്യുതി | ||
Maltese elettriku | ||
Maori hiko | ||
Marathi वीज | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯏꯂꯦꯛꯠꯔꯤꯁꯤꯇꯤ ꯄꯤꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo electric a awm bawk | ||
Mongolian цахилгаан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) လျှပ်စစ်ဓာတ်အား | ||
Nepali बिजुली | ||
Norwegian elektrisitet | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) magetsi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବିଦ୍ୟୁତ୍ | ||
Oromo ibsaa | ||
Pashto بریښنا | ||
Persian برق | ||
Polish elektryczność | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) eletricidade | ||
Punjabi ਬਿਜਲੀ | ||
Quechua electricidad nisqawan | ||
Romanian electricitate | ||
Russian электричество | ||
Samoan eletise | ||
Sanskrit विद्युत् | ||
Scots Gaelic dealan | ||
Sepedi mohlagase | ||
Serbian електрична енергија | ||
Sesotho motlakase | ||
Shona magetsi | ||
Sindhi بجلي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) විදුලිබල | ||
Slovak elektrina | ||
Slovenian elektrika | ||
Somali koronto | ||
Spanish electricidad | ||
Sundanese listrik | ||
Swahili umeme | ||
Swedish elektricitet | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kuryente | ||
Tajik барқ | ||
Tamil மின்சாரம் | ||
Tatar электр | ||
Telugu విద్యుత్ | ||
Thai ไฟฟ้า | ||
Tigrinya ኤሌክትሪክ ምጥቃም ይከኣል | ||
Tsonga gezi | ||
Turkish elektrik | ||
Turkmen elektrik | ||
Twi (Akan) anyinam ahoɔden | ||
Ukrainian електрика | ||
Urdu بجلی | ||
Uyghur توك | ||
Uzbek elektr energiyasi | ||
Vietnamese điện lực | ||
Welsh trydan | ||
Xhosa umbane | ||
Yiddish עלעקטריק | ||
Yoruba itanna | ||
Zulu ugesi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "elektrisiteit" comes from the Greek word "elektron", meaning "amber". |
| Albanian | In the Albanian language, the word "elektricitet" derives from Latin word electricitas, which is itself derived from the Ancient Greek word elektron, which means "amber". Amber is a fossilized resin that, when rubbed, produces static charges, giving it the ability to attract lightweight objects. |
| Amharic | "ኤሌክትሪክ" comes from the Greek word "ἤλεκτρον" (elektron), which means "amber". |
| Arabic | كهرباء comes from the Greek ἤλεκτρον, which originally meant amber; the static electric charge on amber gives the root word's connection to its modern-day understanding. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "elektrik" is derived from the Greek word "elektron," which means "amber." |
| Basque | 'Elektrizitatea' is derived from the Greek term 'elektron', meaning 'amber', a substance known for its static electric properties. |
| Belarusian | The word "электрычнасць" is derived from the Greek word "ήλεκτρον"," which means "amber". Amber is a fossilized tree resin that has the property of attracting small objects when rubbed. |
| Bengali | In Bengali, "বিদ্যুৎ" can also mean "lightning" or "electrical current" |
| Bosnian | The word "struja" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *struga, meaning "current" or "flow". |
| Bulgarian | The word "електричество" is derived from the Greek word for "amber," which was known for its ability to generate static electricity. |
| Catalan | The word "electricitat" in Catalan comes from the Latin word "electricus", meaning "like amber", which refers to the static electricity that can be generated by rubbing amber against a cloth. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 电力 (diànlì) comes from the Greek word “electron” meaning “amber” and is related to the phenomenon of static electricity. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 電力 (dìan lì) is also used to refer to “electric power” or “electricity generation”. |
| Corsican | "A cosa ci riferiamo quando parliamo di elettricità? Quali sono le caratteristiche e le forme dell'elettricità? In che modo l'elettricità influisce sulla nostra vita? Queste sono solo alcune delle domande che cercheremo di rispondere in questo articolo." |
| Croatian | The word "struja" also refers to a current (in water, wind, etc.) or a flow (of liquid). |
| Czech | In Czech Republic, the word also means amber, which was called elektron by Greeks after it was found out that amber could become electrified. |
| Danish | The Danish word "elektricitet" is derived from the Greek word "elektron" meaning "amber", as amber was one of the first substances to be studied for its electrical properties. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "elektriciteit" comes from the Greek word "elektron", which means "amber". |
| Esperanto | The word "elektro" also refers to the field of electrical engineering. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word 'elekter' derives from the Greek word 'elektron', which refers to amber, a substance that produces static electricity when rubbed. |
| Finnish | "Sähköä" is derived from the word "sähäkkä", meaning "lively" or "vigorous" |
| French | Électricité derives from the Greek word 'ēlektron,' which means amber, a material that attracts small objects when rubbed. |
| Frisian | It is based on the New Latin word "ēlectricus", which derives from the Greek word "ēlektron", meaning "amber". |
| Georgian | The word "ელექტროობა" (electricity) in Georgian derives from the Greek word "ήλεκτρον" (amber), which refers to the ability of amber to attract small objects when rubbed. |
| German | "Elektrizität" ultimately derives from the Greek word for amber, "ήλεκτρον" (ēlektron), because the Greeks first observed static electricity by rubbing amber. |
| Greek | The word "ηλεκτρική ενέργεια" is derived from the Greek word "ήλεκτρον", which means "amber". Amber was the first material known to exhibit static electricity. |
| Gujarati | "વીજળી" also means "lightning" in Gujarati, reflecting its link to atmospheric phenomena. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "elektrisite" originates from the French word "électricité", which itself comes from the Greek word "elektron", meaning "amber". |
| Hausa | The Hausa word for electricity, “wutar lantarki,” literally translates to “fire of the lantern”. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian mythology, "uila" originally referred to gods and chiefs, who were believed to be imbued with electricity's potent force. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "חַשְׁמַל" (electricity) can also refer to angels or a vision of God in the Bible, according to some interpretations. |
| Hindi | "बिजली" also refers to a lightning flash and the god Indra's thunderbolt in Hinduism. |
| Hmong | Hluav Taws Xob is also known as "electric current" or "electricity" or "power" |
| Hungarian | The word "elektromosság" is derived from the Greek words "electron" (meaning "amber") and "mosság" (meaning "ability"), referring to the ability of amber to attract small objects when rubbed. |
| Icelandic | The word "rafmagn" is derived from the words "raf" (amber) and "magn" (force), referring to the static electricity generated when amber is rubbed. |
| Indonesian | "Listrik" comes from the Dutch word "electriciteit" and was originally used to refer to the physical presence of electricity, not the current itself. |
| Irish | "Leictreachas" derives from the Greek word for amber ("ēlektron") which attracted small objects when rubbed. |
| Italian | In Italian, |
| Japanese | 電気 is also one of the Sino-Japanese terms for amber, originating in the 18th century from its static electric charge. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "listrik" is derived from the Dutch word "electriciteit". |
| Kannada | The term "vidyut" originates from the Sanskrit root "vidyut" meaning "to shine", and also refers to lightning. |
| Kazakh | The word 'электр қуаты' is derived from the Greek word 'ḗlektron', meaning 'amber', referring to the static electricity generated when amber is rubbed. |
| Korean | 전기(電氣)는 '전'(電, electricity)과 '기'(氣, energy) 두 글자를 합한 말로, 흔히 전기 에너지를 가리킵니다. |
| Kurdish | The word 'elatrîk' is borrowed from the Greek word 'elektron', meaning 'amber' or 'shining metal', and is related to the word 'electricity'. |
| Kyrgyz | Кирг. "электр энергиясы", как и русск. "электричество", происходит от греч. ήλεκτρον и означает буквально «янтарный». |
| Lao | The word "ໄຟຟ້າ" in Lao is derived from the Sanskrit term "विद्युत" (vidyut), which literally means "shining" or "illuminating." |
| Latin | The word "electricae" can refer to amber, lodestone, or electric fish in Latin. |
| Latvian | The word "elektrība" (electricity) in Latvian comes from the Greek word "ḗlektron" (amber), referring to the static electricity generated by rubbing amber. |
| Lithuanian | In Lithuanian, “elektros” is related to the Indo-European root “alek-” meaning “to shine” or “to burn”. |
| Luxembourgish | Stroum is descended from the French word "courant", meaning current, or a flowing substance. |
| Macedonian | The word "електрична енергија" ultimately derives from the Greek word for "amber", "ήλεκτρον" (ēlektron), because amber was observed to attract small objects when rubbed. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "herinatratra" is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word "*qiRiŋ" meaning "lightning". |
| Malay | In Malay, "elektrik" also refers to devices that use electricity, such as lights and fans. |
| Malayalam | In Ayurvedic medicine, "വൈദ്യുതി" also refers to a type of massage performed with medicated oils. |
| Maltese | The word 'elettriku' in Maltese originates from the Greek word 'elektron', meaning 'amber', which was the first known material to exhibit electrical properties. |
| Maori | The word hiko derives from the Proto-Polynesian root *fiko, meaning 'to move swiftly' or 'to shake'. |
| Marathi | In Marathi, 'वीज' also denotes 'lightning' and was likely derived from the Prakrit word 'vijjā' or the Sanskrit word 'vidyut' which both mean 'light'. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word цахилгаан is cognate with the Sanskrit word तड़ित् which means lightning and the Tibetan word ༼སྒྲ་ན༽ which means thunder, and originally referred to static electricity. |
| Nepali | "बिजुली" is derived from Sanskrit "विद्युत्" and means both "lightning" and "electricity". |
| Norwegian | The word 'elektrisitet' has Greek roots: 'elektron,' meaning amber or a related resin having the ability to attract small particles when rubbed, and 'statikos,' meaning standing. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The term 'magetsi' is a loanword from the English 'electricity' which is originally derived from the Greek term ἤλεκτρον, which meant both 'amber' and 'electricity'. |
| Pashto | The word "بریښنا" also refers to lightning, illumination, spark, flash, flame in Pashto. |
| Persian | The word "برق" can also refer to "lightning", "thunderbolt", or "glossy appearance" in Persian, as it is a derivative of the Arabic root "بَرْقَ" meaning "to shine" or "to flash". |
| Polish | The word "Elektryczność" in Polish derives from the Greek word "elektron", meaning "amber", where ancient people first observed static electricity. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "eletricidade" derives from the Greek word "ἤλεκτρον" (elektron), meaning "amber", as electricity was first observed in amber. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, the word "electricitate" comes from the Greek word "ēlektron", meaning "amber", as amber was the first material in which electric charge was observed. |
| Russian | The Russian word "электричество" (electricity) derives from the Greek word ήλεκτρον (amber). |
| Samoan | The word “eletise” is derived from the English word “electricity” and is used to describe the concept of electrical energy. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "dealan" also means "element". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word for "electricity", "електрична енергија", is rooted in the Greek word "ηλεκτρον" (elektron), meaning "amber". |
| Sesotho | The term 'motlakase', derived from the Sesotho word 'motlakase', originally referred to 'lightning' before being adopted for 'electricity'. |
| Shona | The word "magetsi" is derived from the verb "kugeza", meaning "to revive" or "to invigorate". |
| Sindhi | The word "بجلي" (electricity) in Sindhi also means "lightning". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "විදුලිබල" is also a synonym for power or strength, implying a powerful or energetic force. |
| Slovak | The word "elektrina" is a Slovak form of the Greek "elektron", which refers to amber and the static charge it can generate when rubbed. |
| Slovenian | In Slovenian, 'elektrika' can also refer to electrical appliances or installations. |
| Somali | The word "koronto" is derived from the Italian word "corrente", meaning "current". |
| Spanish | La palabra "electricidad" proviene del griego "elektron", que significa "ámbar", debido a la capacidad del ámbar para atraer pequeños objetos cuando se frota. |
| Sundanese | "Listrik": Sundanese word for "electricity" derived from the Dutch word "electrisch". |
| Swahili | "Umeme" also means "lightning" in Swahili. |
| Swedish | The word "elektricitet" in Swedish comes from the Greek word "elektron", which means "amber" - a fossil resin that can build up a negative electrostatic charge when rubbed. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | “Kuryente” means “current” and refers to flowing water, electrons, and other moving things. |
| Tajik | The word “барқ” is borrowed from the Persian “برق” which also means flash or lightning. |
| Telugu | The term derives from the Sanskrit word 'vidyut' which means 'to shine'. |
| Thai | ไฟฟ้า "phai-fa" originates from Sanskrit विद्युत (vidyut) meaning "lightning" or "electricity". |
| Turkish | The Arabic origin of the word elektrik (كهرباء) literally translates to 'amber' |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "електрика" also refers to electrical devices or systems. |
| Urdu | The word "بجلی" is thought to have derived from the Arabic or Persian word for "lightning". |
| Uzbek | "Elektr energiyasi" derives from the Greek word "elektron" which means "amber". |
| Vietnamese | "Điện lực" also refers to electrical power as a noun, and electrical power and energy as a verb. |
| Welsh | The etymology of the Welsh word "trydan" is still debated but may relate to a Proto-Celtic *tredno, meaning "tremble". |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word 'umbane' also refers to 'light' and 'lightning'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word עלעקטריק (electricity) shares its etymology with the Greek word ἤλεκτρον (elektron), meaning 'amber', as electricity was first discovered through the static charge generated by rubbing amber. |
| Yoruba | Itanna (electricity) derives from 'itã' (fire) and 'ínà' (flash), referring to the flashes of lightning and fire associated with electricity. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, the term “ugesi” originally referred to the force or energy found in traditional African medicines. |
| English | The word 'electricity' comes from the Greek word 'elektron', meaning 'amber', which was the first material in which the phenomenon was observed. |