Female in Different Languages
Discover 'Female' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'female' is a fundamental term that signifies the gender of a living being, typically characterized by the production of gametes (ova or eggs) in animals and the capacity to bear offspring. Its cultural importance is vast, as it is a key concept in understanding the dynamics of gender roles, societal expectations, and biological differences between males and females.
Moreover, the word 'female' carries intriguing historical contexts and connotations across various cultures. For instance, in some ancient societies, females held powerful positions, while in others, they faced significant discrimination. Understanding the translations of 'female' in different languages can shed light on these cultural nuances and foster cross-cultural communication.
Here are some sample translations of 'female' in various languages: Spanish - hembra, French - femelle, German - weiblich, Mandarin - 女 (nǚ), Japanese - 女性 (josei), Arabic - انثى (nathy), and Russian - женский (zhenskiy).
Female
Female in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vroulik | ||
| "Vroulik" stems from the Dutch word "vrouwelijke", with the suffix "-lik" denoting a feminine quality. | |||
| Amharic | ሴት | ||
| "ሴት" (female) is derived from the root "ሰት" (to give birth), emphasizing the female's reproductive role. | |||
| Hausa | mace | ||
| The Hausa word 'mace' can also refer to a 'wife' or a 'female slave'. | |||
| Igbo | nwanyi | ||
| "Nwanyi" also refers to a woman's husband's lineage and is often used as a term of respect for all women, even those unrelated. | |||
| Malagasy | vehivavy | ||
| The word "vehivavy" in Malagasy also means "woman" or "wife". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chachikazi | ||
| The word "chachikazi" is also used to refer to "women's business" or "menstruation". | |||
| Shona | mukadzi | ||
| Mukadzi, a Shona word for "female," can also mean a "wife" or an "adult woman". | |||
| Somali | dhadig | ||
| The Somali word for 'female' is 'dhadig' and it is the opposite of 'lab', meaning 'male'. | |||
| Sesotho | e motshehadi | ||
| The word "e motshehadi" is made up of the prefixes "e" and "mo", meaning "one who is" and "of", respectively, combined with the noun "tshehadi". | |||
| Swahili | kike | ||
| The word 'kike' is a Swahili word that means 'female'. | |||
| Xhosa | umntu obhinqileyo | ||
| The word "umntu obhinqileyo" ("female" in English) in Xhosa can also be used to refer to a woman who is married, or to a woman who is of childbearing age. | |||
| Yoruba | obinrin | ||
| The word "obinrin" originally meant "the one who begets children" in Yoruba, but it has since come to mean "female" in general. | |||
| Zulu | owesifazane | ||
| The Zulu word 'owesifazane' can be literally translated as 'the one who bears children' ('owesa' meaning 'to bear', 'ifazane' meaning 'child'). | |||
| Bambara | muso | ||
| Ewe | asi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | igitsina gore | ||
| Lingala | ya mwasi | ||
| Luganda | -kazi | ||
| Sepedi | mosadi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔbaa koko | ||
Female in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أنثى | ||
| أنثى means both "female" and "left", as in the left hand. | |||
| Hebrew | נְקֵבָה | ||
| The Hebrew word "נְקֵבָה" also translates as "perforation", "passage" and "hole" and is cognate with the Akkadian word "naqbu" meaning "cave"} | |||
| Pashto | ښځينه | ||
| ښځينه can also mean "of the opposite gender," and it is used for both animate and inanimate objects. | |||
| Arabic | أنثى | ||
| أنثى means both "female" and "left", as in the left hand. | |||
Female in Western European Languages
| Albanian | femër | ||
| The origin of the Albanian word 'femër' is unknown, though it may originate from the Illyrian language, Proto-Albanian, or Latin (possibly from 'femina'). | |||
| Basque | emakumezkoa | ||
| The Basque word "emakumezkoa" literally translates as "the one who has a man". | |||
| Catalan | femení | ||
| The word "femení" in Catalan does not mean "feminine" but instead relates to "feme", meaning "woman" and "of the faith". | |||
| Croatian | žena | ||
| The word 'žena' is thought to ultimately derive from an Indo-European word meaning 'to give birth' | |||
| Danish | kvinde | ||
| The word "kvinde" originally meant "woman" or "wife" in Old Norse and shares a root with the English word "queen". | |||
| Dutch | vrouw | ||
| In early Dutch, 'vrouw' meant 'lord' or 'ruler', and the feminine word 'vrouwe' was derived from it. | |||
| English | female | ||
| The word "female" originates from the Latin word "femella", meaning "young woman" or "girl". | |||
| French | femme | ||
| In French, 'femme' can refer to a woman of any age, including girls and young women, while in English, 'female' generally refers to adult women or animals. | |||
| Frisian | froulik | ||
| The word "froulik" in Frisian is a diminutive of the word "frou" meaning "wife" or "lady". | |||
| Galician | femia | ||
| In Galician, the word "femia" also has historical connotations related to "fear" and "protection". | |||
| German | weiblich | ||
| Weiblich was derived from the Middle High German „wiplich“, which referred to a pregnant woman. | |||
| Icelandic | kvenkyns | ||
| The word "kvenkyns" is derived from the Old Norse word "kvenna", meaning "woman", which is related to the Old English word "cwen", meaning "queen". | |||
| Irish | baineann | ||
| "Baineann" comes from the Old Irish word "ben", which means "woman" or "wife". | |||
| Italian | femmina | ||
| It is derived from the Latin word "femina", which also meant "wife". | |||
| Luxembourgish | weiblech | ||
| "Weiblech" in Luxembourgish, derived from the Latin "femina", can also refer to feminine qualities, female animals, or female counterparts of objects or concepts. | |||
| Maltese | mara | ||
| The form 'mara' is a borrowing from Sicilian 'mara' (woman, wife) and a reduction of a hypothetical form *'marata', ultimately from Latin 'mater' (mother). | |||
| Norwegian | hunn | ||
| Hunn, which stems from an Old Norse term, also refers to the name of an ogress or giantess in Scandinavian folktales. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | fêmea | ||
| The word "fêmea" in Portuguese also means "female animal", "female plant" or "female part of a plant" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | boireann | ||
| The word "boireann" derives from Old Irish "boirfe" meaning "cowherd" or "milkmaid". | |||
| Spanish | hembra | ||
| The word "hembra" comes from the Latin "femina," which means "woman" or "wife. | |||
| Swedish | kvinna | ||
| "Kvinna" comes from the Old Norse "kona", meaning "wife" or "woman". | |||
| Welsh | benyw | ||
| The Welsh word 'benyw' can also mean 'woman', 'lady' or 'wife' | |||
Female in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | самка | ||
| The word "самка" can also refer to a female animal. | |||
| Bosnian | žensko | ||
| In most Slavic languages, the word | |||
| Bulgarian | женски пол | ||
| The word "женски пол" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *žen- meaning "woman", and is cognate with other Slavic languages such as Russian "женский пол" and Polish "żeński". | |||
| Czech | ženský | ||
| "Ženský" can also refer to a woman's clothing store or to a group of women gossiping. | |||
| Estonian | naissoost | ||
| Some scholars propose that the Estonian word "naissoost" (female) is derived from a Proto-Uralic word meaning "wife". | |||
| Finnish | nainen | ||
| The word "Nainen" in Finnish derives from the Proto-Uralic word "*naine" meaning "woman" or "wife". | |||
| Hungarian | női | ||
| The word "női" comes from the Proto-Uralic word *ńaj "woman". | |||
| Latvian | sieviete | ||
| The word "sieviete" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰénu- "woman," and is related to the Sanskrit word "jana" "woman, wife," and the Greek word "gunē" "woman, wife" | |||
| Lithuanian | moteris | ||
| The word "Moteris" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *méǵʰ₂tēr, meaning "mother". | |||
| Macedonian | женски | ||
| The word 'женски' can also mean 'feminine' or 'womanly', and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *ženъskъ, meaning 'woman'. | |||
| Polish | płeć żeńska | ||
| The Polish word "płeć żeńska" literally means "gender feminine" and is also used figuratively to refer to the female sex. | |||
| Romanian | femeie | ||
| The Romanian word "Femeie" originates from the Latin "femina", meaning "woman" or "female", and is cognate with words like "feminine" and "effeminate" in English. | |||
| Russian | женский пол | ||
| The word "женский пол" literally means "female sex" in Russian, and is cognate with the English word "gender". | |||
| Serbian | женско | ||
| The word "Женско" also means "feminine" or "womanly" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | žena | ||
| The Slovak word "žena" is of Slavic origin and is related to words such as "ženích" (groom) and "život" (life). | |||
| Slovenian | samica | ||
| The word 'samica' can also refer to the female of a particular animal species. | |||
| Ukrainian | самка | ||
| The word "самка" also refers to a female animal when used in a more scientific or zoological context. | |||
Female in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | মহিলা | ||
| "মহিলা" is derived from the Sanskrit word "mahilā", which originally meant "a great or important woman". | |||
| Gujarati | સ્ત્રી | ||
| In Sanskrit, 'strī' originally meant 'woman', 'wife', or 'mistress', but in Pali, it came to refer to 'woman' in general. | |||
| Hindi | महिला | ||
| "महिला" is derived from the Sanskrit word "महिल" meaning "big". This word was used to denote a woman of importance or a queen. | |||
| Kannada | ಹೆಣ್ಣು | ||
| The word "ಹೆಣ್ಣು" (hennu) can also mean "a woman who is married" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | പെൺ | ||
| The word "പെൺ" (peṇ) has cognates in various Indo-Aryan languages, including Sanskrit "प्री" (prī), meaning "to love" or "to please". | |||
| Marathi | मादी | ||
| मादी, originating from Sanskrit माता (mātā, "mother"), also refers to female animals or female counterparts. | |||
| Nepali | महिला | ||
| The word "महिला" (female) is derived from the Sanskrit word "महिला" (great), and also has the alternate meaning of "queen". | |||
| Punjabi | .ਰਤ | ||
| The word "ਰਤ" in Punjabi can also mean "pearl" or "gem". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ගැහැණු | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning as "female," the Sinhala word "ගැහැණු" can also mean "wife" or "woman of the house." | |||
| Tamil | பெண் | ||
| The word "பெண்" (female) is also commonly used to denote "wife" and is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root "*pen" meaning "woman". | |||
| Telugu | స్త్రీ | ||
| The term "స్త్రీ" (female) in Telugu is also used to refer to the goddess Lakshmi in certain contexts. | |||
| Urdu | عورت | ||
| The word "عورت" also means "woman" in Turkish, derived from the Old Turkic word "ogur" meaning "womb". | |||
Female in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 女 | ||
| The character "女" can also mean "witch" or "shamaness" and is often used as a radical in characters related to women. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 女 | ||
| The character "女" (nǚ) in Traditional Chinese represents not only the concept of "female" but also "weak," "soft," and "gentle." | |||
| Japanese | 女性 | ||
| The character 女 in 女性 was once used as a pictograph representing women. | |||
| Korean | 여자 | ||
| The word "여자" (yeoja) can also refer to a wife or a mistress, depending on the context. | |||
| Mongolian | эмэгтэй | ||
| "Эмэгтэй" (Mongolian for 'female') originates from Tibetan 'ma gtags' or 'ma dags' ('a woman'), which in turn derives from Sanskrit 'ma' (mother), referring to the female as a mother figure. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အမျိုးသမီး | ||
Female in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | perempuan | ||
| The Indonesian word "Perempuan" for "female" also means "woman" and was derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "bĕbāhine" meaning "to give birth". | |||
| Javanese | wadon | ||
| Khmer | ស្រី | ||
| "ស្រី" also means "auspicious" and is often used in the context of traditional Khmer ceremonies and rituals. | |||
| Lao | ເພດຍິງ | ||
| ເພດຍິງ in Lao is cognate with 'หญิง' in Thai and 'หญิง' in Khmer, all deriving from the Proto-Tai word *ʔpʰajŋ, meaning 'female'. | |||
| Malay | perempuan | ||
| The word 'perempuan' is a derivative of 'empu', a Sanskrit word that also means 'owner'. In some contexts, 'perempuan' can refer to both men and women in positions of power, such as rulers or nobility. | |||
| Thai | หญิง | ||
| The word "หญิง" also refers to a woman of noble birth or high rank. | |||
| Vietnamese | giống cái | ||
| Giống cái (female) also means "the same type" or "similar" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | babae | ||
Female in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qadın | ||
| The word "qadın" is of Old Turkic origin, and can also mean "wife" or "respected lady" in certain contexts. | |||
| Kazakh | әйел | ||
| The word "әйел" in Kazakh can also refer to a woman of high social standing or a wife. | |||
| Kyrgyz | аял | ||
| The word "аял" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a woman's spouse or a married couple. | |||
| Tajik | занона | ||
| The word "занон" originally meant "lady" or "mistress" in Persian, but later came to mean "woman" or "girl" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | aýal | ||
| Uzbek | ayol | ||
| The word "ayol" in Uzbek comes from the Old Turkic word "aial" meaning "wife". In some Uzbek dialects, it also means "mother". | |||
| Uyghur | ئايال | ||
Female in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | wahine | ||
| The Hawaiian word "wahine" also refers to goddesses and women in general, as the female counterpart to "kane" for men. | |||
| Maori | wahine | ||
| The Maori word 'wahine' can also refer to a partner or mistress, and can be used as a term of endearment for a woman or a girl. | |||
| Samoan | fafine | ||
| Fafine can also be an honorific in Samoa, referring to a woman who is a leader or orator. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | babae | ||
| The word "babae" in Tagalog also means "woman" or "lady", a more polite and respectful term for an adult female. | |||
Female in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | warmi | ||
| Guarani | kuña | ||
Female in International Languages
| Esperanto | ino | ||
| The name "ino" originally stems from the English adjective "feminine" in 1887 by Esperanto's creator L.L. Zamenhof. | |||
| Latin | feminam | ||
| Feminam derives from 'femina', meaning 'woman', ultimately from the root 'fe', meaning 'to generate' or 'to bear'. | |||
Female in Others Languages
| Greek | θηλυκός | ||
| The word "θηλυκός" also means "soft" or "delicate" in Greek, capturing the perceived physical characteristics associated with femininity. | |||
| Hmong | poj niam | ||
| The Hmong word "poj niam" can also mean "younger sister" or "younger female relative". | |||
| Kurdish | mê | ||
| The Kurdish word "mê" not only means "female", but also refers to "mother", "source" or "origin" | |||
| Turkish | kadın | ||
| The word "kadın" is derived from the Old Turkic word "qatun," meaning "lady, queen, or ruler's wife." | |||
| Xhosa | umntu obhinqileyo | ||
| The word "umntu obhinqileyo" ("female" in English) in Xhosa can also be used to refer to a woman who is married, or to a woman who is of childbearing age. | |||
| Yiddish | ווייַבלעך | ||
| The Yiddish word "ווייַבלעך" may also refer to the Jewish dietary law separating male and female animals for milking. | |||
| Zulu | owesifazane | ||
| The Zulu word 'owesifazane' can be literally translated as 'the one who bears children' ('owesa' meaning 'to bear', 'ifazane' meaning 'child'). | |||
| Assamese | মহিলা | ||
| Aymara | warmi | ||
| Bhojpuri | मेहरारू | ||
| Dhivehi | އަންހެން | ||
| Dogri | जनाना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | babae | ||
| Guarani | kuña | ||
| Ilocano | babai | ||
| Krio | uman | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | مێینە | ||
| Maithili | महिला | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯨꯄꯤ | ||
| Mizo | hmeichhia | ||
| Oromo | dhalaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ମହିଳା | ||
| Quechua | warmi | ||
| Sanskrit | महिला | ||
| Tatar | хатын-кыз | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣንስተይቲ | ||
| Tsonga | xisati | ||