Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'farmer' holds immense significance in our lives, as they are the ones who grow and cultivate the food we consume daily. Farmers have been an integral part of human civilization, with their cultural importance dating back to the dawn of agriculture. Their role in food production and sustainability makes the word 'farmer' a universal term, recognized and respected across various languages and cultures.
Delving into the translations of 'farmer' in different languages unveils fascinating insights into the world's diverse linguistic and cultural landscape. For instance, a farmer is called 'agricultor' in Spanish, 'agriculteur' in French, and 'Bauer' in German. These translations not only represent the word but also reflect the unique phonetic and cultural characteristics of each language.
Understanding the term 'farmer' in various languages can be beneficial for those working in agriculture, international development, or simply for language enthusiasts curious about cultural nuances. Explore the list below to discover more about the world of farming through the lens of language.
Afrikaans | boer | ||
Boer is derived from the Dutch word 'boere' meaning 'peasant' or 'rustic'. | |||
Amharic | ገበሬ | ||
"ገበሬ" (farmer) also refers to a person who is poor and lives in a rural area. | |||
Hausa | manomi | ||
''Manomi'' is a Hausa noun meaning ''husband'' or ''family head'', but it may also refer to the head of the family household, or even the head of a village. | |||
Igbo | onye oru ugbo | ||
The Igbo word "onye oru ugbo" literally translates to "a person who works on a farm". | |||
Malagasy | mpamboly | ||
The word "mpamboly" can also mean "cultivator" or "planter" in Malagasy. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | mlimi | ||
The Swahili and Zulu words for 'farmer' (mkulima and umlimi) are also used similarly in Chichewa, where mlimi specifically designates a male or female professional farmer. | |||
Shona | murimi | ||
"Murimi" can also mean "one who collects firewood" or "one who gathers wild fruits" in Shona. | |||
Somali | beeralay | ||
The word "beeralay" in Somali also means "a person who tends animals". | |||
Sesotho | sehoai | ||
The word "sehoai" also means "worker" or "labourer" in Sesotho. | |||
Swahili | mkulima | ||
The term "mkulima" in Swahili refers to "one who plows using oxen," implying a traditional method of farming. | |||
Xhosa | umlimi | ||
Umlimi can also mean "an old man" or "a chief". | |||
Yoruba | agbẹ | ||
In some dialects of Yoruba it refers to an adult who works on a plantation but not necessarily the head of a household or lineage. | |||
Zulu | umlimi | ||
'Umlimi' also means 'sower' or 'one who cultivates the soil'. | |||
Bambara | sɛnɛkɛla | ||
Ewe | agbledela | ||
Kinyarwanda | umuhinzi | ||
Lingala | moto ya bilanga | ||
Luganda | omulimi | ||
Sepedi | molemi | ||
Twi (Akan) | okuani | ||
Arabic | مزارع | ||
"مزارع" can also mean one who visits shrines. | |||
Hebrew | חַקלאַי | ||
חַקלאַי is related to the word "חוק" (law or regulation) implying that a farmer is bound by specific rules and practices. | |||
Pashto | بزګر | ||
The word | |||
Arabic | مزارع | ||
"مزارع" can also mean one who visits shrines. |
Albanian | fermer | ||
In Albanian, "fermer" can also mean "closed" or "locked". | |||
Basque | nekazaria | ||
In Basque, "nekazaria" can also mean "person who lives in the countryside" or "country dweller". | |||
Catalan | pagès | ||
Catalan "pagès" originates from the Latin "paganus," meaning "civilian" or "rustic dweller." | |||
Croatian | seljak | ||
The word 'seljak' (farmer) derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'sel' (village), indicating the connection between farming and rural life. | |||
Danish | landmand | ||
The Danish word "landmand" originates from the words "land" (country or land) and "mand" (man). | |||
Dutch | boer | ||
The word "boer" is also used to refer to a South African of Dutch descent. | |||
English | farmer | ||
The term "farmer" has been used in Middle English to refer to people who collect revenue, and also to one who leases land. | |||
French | fermier | ||
The French word "fermier" can also refer to a person who leases a source of income, such as a tax or a toll. | |||
Frisian | boer | ||
The Frisian word "boer" originally meant "a man who dwells" and was used to refer to all men, and only over time acquired the meaning of "farmer". | |||
Galician | labrego | ||
In Portuguese, "labrego" also means "hick" or "boorish." | |||
German | farmer | ||
Farmer is derived from the Middle English word 'fermer', meaning 'one who holds land' or 'one who cultivates land'. | |||
Icelandic | bóndi | ||
The Icelandic word 'bóndi' can also refer to a free peasant or even the head of a household. | |||
Irish | feirmeoir | ||
"Feirmeoir" comes from the Irish word "fearm, | |||
Italian | contadino | ||
{"text": "The term "contadino" derives from the Latin word "computare," meaning "to count," and originally referred to peasants who had to account for their harvests to feudal lords."} | |||
Luxembourgish | bauer | ||
In Luxembourgish, "Bauer" has an alternate meaning besides "farmer": that of an uncultivated, rustic individual. | |||
Maltese | bidwi | ||
The word "bidwi" is derived from the Arabic word "badwī" which means "nomad" or "bedouin". | |||
Norwegian | bonde | ||
The word "bonde" is derived from the Old Norse word "búandi", meaning "dweller" or "settler". | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | agricultor | ||
In Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil), the word "agricultor" derives from Latin "ager" (field) and "colere" (to cultivate). | |||
Scots Gaelic | tuathanach | ||
The word "tuathanach" in Scots Gaelic also denotes a "countryman" or a "native" of a particular area. | |||
Spanish | granjero | ||
The word "granjero" originally referred to a person who lived in a granary or storehouse. | |||
Swedish | jordbrukare | ||
"Jordbrukare" is derived from the Old Norse word "jǫrðr" meaning "earth" and "búandi" meaning "inhabitant" or "dweller". | |||
Welsh | ffermwr | ||
The Welsh word "ffermwr" is linguistically related to words such as "farm" in English, "ferme" in French, and "firma" in Latin, all derived from the Indo-European root word "dher-." |
Belarusian | фермер | ||
"Фермер" means "landlord" in Russian (not a farmer). | |||
Bosnian | farmer | ||
Bosnian "farmer" (zemljoradnik) has an alternate meaning of "cultivator of the land". | |||
Bulgarian | земеделски производител | ||
The Bulgarian word "земеделски производител" (farmer) literally means "land worker." | |||
Czech | zemědělec | ||
The Czech word "zemědělec" literally translates to "earth-worker," reflecting the historical connection between agriculture and the land in Czech culture. | |||
Estonian | talupidaja | ||
The word "talupidaja" in Estonian originally meant "landlord". | |||
Finnish | viljelijä | ||
"Viljelijä" is ultimately derived from the Late Proto-Finnic verb *willeH, meaning "to want, strive, desire, wish". | |||
Hungarian | gazda | ||
Hungarian "Gazda" may mean "lord", "host", "master" or "owner" | |||
Latvian | zemnieks | ||
The word "zemnieks" also means "inhabitant" or "resident" in Latvian, but not necessarily one who lives in the countryside. | |||
Lithuanian | ūkininkas | ||
'Ūkininkas' is related, via Proto-Baltic, to Polish 'ochotnik' (hunter). | |||
Macedonian | земјоделец | ||
The word "земјоделец" also refers to a person who cultivates the land for agricultural purposes. | |||
Polish | rolnik | ||
The word "rolnik" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "orlьnikъ" meaning "a person who ploughs the land with a crooked stick" | |||
Romanian | agricultor | ||
The Romanian word "agricultor" is derived from the Latin word "agricultura", meaning "agriculture". | |||
Russian | фермер | ||
The word "фермер" originally referred to a tax collector in Kievan Rus' and later became synonymous with "peasant" in the 16th century. | |||
Serbian | земљорадник | ||
The Serbian word "zemljоradnik" (farmer) derives from the Slavic root "zemlja" (land) and "raditi" (to work), and also denotes a "tiller" or "cultivator" of the land. | |||
Slovak | farmár | ||
The Slovak word "farmár" ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic word *xormь, which also means "servant". | |||
Slovenian | kmet | ||
The word "kmet" originally meant "a married man" and was later used to refer to a farmer because farmers were typically married men. | |||
Ukrainian | фермер | ||
The word "фермер" in Ukrainian can also refer to a type of board game. |
Bengali | কৃষক | ||
In Bengali, "কৃষক" (krishok) has an alternate meaning of "husband" and originates from the Sanskrit word "कृषक" (Krishaka), meaning "one who cultivates". | |||
Gujarati | ખેડૂત | ||
The Gujarati word "ખેડૂત" (farmer) is derived from "ખેડ" (field) and "ઉત" (to work), and colloquially refers to those who cultivate the land. | |||
Hindi | किसान | ||
The Hindi word "किसान" (farmer) derives from the Sanskrit word "कृषि" (agriculture), meaning "one who works the land." | |||
Kannada | ರೈತ | ||
The word 'ರೈತ' is derived from the Tamil word 'றையிறு' meaning 'chief' or 'lord'. | |||
Malayalam | കർഷകൻ | ||
The Malayalam word "കർഷകൻ" is derived from the Sanskrit root "कृष्" meaning "to cultivate", and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*krs-" with the same meaning. | |||
Marathi | शेतकरी | ||
The word "शेतकरी" (farmer) is also used to refer to a "cultivator" or someone who works on a farm. | |||
Nepali | किसान | ||
"किसान" derives from "कृषति" (agriculture) and "मन" (thinking), thus indicating 'one who thinks about agriculture'. | |||
Punjabi | ਕਿਸਾਨ | ||
The word "ਕਿਸਾਨ" can also refer to a person who works on a farm, especially in a rural area. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ගොවියා | ||
The word ගොවියා (goviyā) in Sinhala, meaning 'farmer', originally meant 'cowherd' or 'cattle-breeder'. | |||
Tamil | உழவர் | ||
The word 'உழவர்' ('farmer') in Tamil is cognate to 'uzhavu' ('labor') and may originally have meant 'worker'. | |||
Telugu | రైతు | ||
The term "రైతు" (farmer) is also used in Telugu to refer to a "husband" or "master".} | |||
Urdu | کسان | ||
The word “کسان” can also refer to |
Chinese (Simplified) | 农民 | ||
"农民" translates as "peasant" and also connotes a lower social status. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 農民 | ||
In addition to "farmer", "農民" can also mean "peasant" or "agricultural worker". | |||
Japanese | 農家 | ||
"The etymology of 農家 (nōka, "farmer") reveals two components: 農業(farming)" and "家族 (household)." | |||
Korean | 농장주 | ||
The word "농장주" (nongjangju) can also refer to a landowner or plantation owner. | |||
Mongolian | фермер | ||
In Mongolian, “фермер” (fermer) is borrowed from Russian, but is not synonymous with “фермер” (фермэр) in Russian, which means “renter or tenant of a farm” | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | လယ်သမား | ||
Indonesian | petani | ||
The word "petani" also refers to a specific type of land tenure system in Indonesia, where farmers are granted usufruct rights to cultivate land owned by the state or other parties. | |||
Javanese | petani | ||
In ancient Javanese, "petani" referred to landowners who were responsible for managing and collecting taxes on agricultural land. | |||
Khmer | កសិករ | ||
The Khmer word កសិករ (kăsĕka) likely derives from the Sanskrit words kṛṣi 'agriculture' and kara 'doer'. Other meanings include 'cultivator', 'agriculturist', and 'tiller'. | |||
Lao | ຊາວກະສິກອນ | ||
In Thai, "ชาวกะสิกร" also means "farmer". | |||
Malay | petani | ||
The word "petani" may derive from the Sanskrit term "patani" or from the Old Javanese "patengni", both meaning "land". | |||
Thai | ชาวนา | ||
The Thai word "ชาวนา" (farmer) can also refer to a person who works in a rice paddy. | |||
Vietnamese | nông phu | ||
The Vietnamese word "nông phu" also carries the alternate meaning of "husbandman" and is etymologically rooted in the Sino-Vietnamese "nong" (agriculture) and "phu" (man). | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | magsasaka | ||
Azerbaijani | fermer | ||
In Azerbaijani, the word "fermer" also means "to finish" or "to wrap up." | |||
Kazakh | фермер | ||
The term фермер in Kazakh comes from Russian and can also be used to mean collective farmer. | |||
Kyrgyz | дыйкан | ||
The word "дыйкан" shares its root with the word "дыйка", meaning "to sow" or "to plant". | |||
Tajik | деҳқон | ||
The word "деҳқон" derives from Proto-Iranian *dahyu-ka- "countryman, inhabitant of a village", and cognate with Avestan dahyu- (meaning "land, region, country") | |||
Turkmen | daýhan | ||
Uzbek | dehqon | ||
The word "dehqon" (деҳқон) in Uzbek also has the meanings "villager" and "owner of a land plot" | |||
Uyghur | دېھقان | ||
Hawaiian | mahiʻai | ||
Originally, "mahiʻai" also meant "to grow, to bring up, to feed," and "to nurse or provide for a child." | |||
Maori | kaiparau | ||
The word 'kaiparau' also refers to 'a person who provides food' or 'sustenance', such as a fisherman or hunter. | |||
Samoan | faifaatoaga | ||
The word 'faifaatoaga' comes from the Proto-Polynesian word *fai?fato?, meaning 'to cultivate or grow food'. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | magsasaka | ||
Magsasaka' can also refer to a person who cultivates a small piece of land |
Aymara | yapuchiri | ||
Guarani | ñemitỹhára | ||
Esperanto | kamparano | ||
Latin | agricola | ||
The Latin noun "agricola" referred to farm laborers or peasant farmers, while "agricolae" denotes farmers as a distinct social class. |
Greek | αγρότης | ||
The word "αγρότης" in Greek also means "countryman" and derives from the root "αγρός" which means "field" | |||
Hmong | yawg | ||
The word "yawg" can also be used to refer to a "grandparent" in Hmong. | |||
Kurdish | gûndî | ||
The word “gündî” derives from an alternate form of “gûnd” (village), thus signifying the “village dweller.” | |||
Turkish | çiftçi | ||
Çiftçi, also meaning "pair" or "double" in Turkish, originates from the word "çift" (pair). | |||
Xhosa | umlimi | ||
Umlimi can also mean "an old man" or "a chief". | |||
Yiddish | פּויער | ||
The Yiddish word "פּויער" can also refer to a type of coarse bread or a clumsy person. | |||
Zulu | umlimi | ||
'Umlimi' also means 'sower' or 'one who cultivates the soil'. | |||
Assamese | খেতিয়ক | ||
Aymara | yapuchiri | ||
Bhojpuri | किसान | ||
Dhivehi | ދަނޑުވެރިޔާ | ||
Dogri | करसान | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | magsasaka | ||
Guarani | ñemitỹhára | ||
Ilocano | agtal-talun | ||
Krio | fama | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | جووتیار | ||
Maithili | किसान | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯧꯃꯤ | ||
Mizo | loneitu | ||
Oromo | qotee bulaa | ||
Odia (Oriya) | କୃଷକ | ||
Quechua | granjero | ||
Sanskrit | कृषक | ||
Tatar | фермер | ||
Tigrinya | ሓረስታይ | ||
Tsonga | murimi | ||