Finger in different languages

Finger in Different Languages

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

Finger


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Afrikaans
vinger
Albanian
gishtin
Amharic
ጣት
Arabic
اصبع اليد
Armenian
մատը
Assamese
আঙুলি
Aymara
luk'ana
Azerbaijani
barmaq
Bambara
bolokɔni
Basque
hatz
Belarusian
палец
Bengali
আঙুল
Bhojpuri
अंगुरी
Bosnian
prst
Bulgarian
пръст на ръката
Catalan
dit
Cebuano
tudlo
Chinese (Simplified)
手指
Chinese (Traditional)
手指
Corsican
ditu
Croatian
prst
Czech
prst
Danish
finger
Dhivehi
އިނގިލި
Dogri
उंगली
Dutch
vinger
English
finger
Esperanto
fingro
Estonian
sõrm
Ewe
asibidɛ
Filipino (Tagalog)
daliri
Finnish
sormi
French
doigt
Frisian
finger
Galician
dedo
Georgian
თითი
German
finger
Greek
δάχτυλο
Guarani
kuã
Gujarati
આંગળી
Haitian Creole
dwèt
Hausa
yatsa
Hawaiian
manamana lima
Hebrew
אֶצבַּע
Hindi
उंगली
Hmong
tus ntiv tes
Hungarian
ujj
Icelandic
fingur
Igbo
mkpịsị aka
Ilocano
ramay
Indonesian
jari
Irish
méar
Italian
dito
Japanese
Javanese
driji
Kannada
ಬೆರಳು
Kazakh
саусақ
Khmer
ម្រាមដៃ
Kinyarwanda
urutoki
Konkani
बोट
Korean
손가락
Krio
finga
Kurdish
tilî
Kurdish (Sorani)
پەنجە
Kyrgyz
манжа
Lao
ນິ້ວມື
Latin
digitus
Latvian
pirkstu
Lingala
mosapi
Lithuanian
pirštu
Luganda
engalo
Luxembourgish
fanger
Macedonian
прст
Maithili
उंगली
Malagasy
rantsan-
Malay
jari
Malayalam
വിരല്
Maltese
subgħajk
Maori
matimati
Marathi
बोट
Meiteilon (Manipuri)
ꯈꯨꯠꯁꯥ
Mizo
kutzungtang
Mongolian
хуруу
Myanmar (Burmese)
လက်ချောင်း
Nepali
औंला
Norwegian
finger
Nyanja (Chichewa)
chala
Odia (Oriya)
ଆଙ୍ଗୁଠି
Oromo
quba
Pashto
ګوته
Persian
انگشت
Polish
palec
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)
dedo
Punjabi
ਉਂਗਲ
Quechua
rukana
Romanian
deget
Russian
палец
Samoan
tamailima
Sanskrit
अङ्गुली
Scots Gaelic
mheur
Sepedi
monwana
Serbian
прст
Sesotho
monoana
Shona
chigunwe
Sindhi
آر
Sinhala (Sinhalese)
ඇඟිල්ල
Slovak
prstom
Slovenian
prst
Somali
farta
Spanish
dedo
Sundanese
ramo
Swahili
kidole
Swedish
finger
Tagalog (Filipino)
daliri
Tajik
ангушт
Tamil
விரல்
Tatar
бармак
Telugu
వేలు
Thai
นิ้ว
Tigrinya
ኣፃብዕቲ
Tsonga
ritiho
Turkish
parmak
Turkmen
barmak
Twi (Akan)
nsatea
Ukrainian
палець
Urdu
انگلی
Uyghur
بارماق
Uzbek
barmoq
Vietnamese
ngón tay
Welsh
bys
Xhosa
umnwe
Yiddish
פינגער
Yoruba
ika
Zulu
umunwe

Etymology & Notes

LanguageEtymology / Notes
Afrikaans"Vinger" in Afrikaans can also refer to "hand" or "toe"
AlbanianThe Albanian word "gishtin" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰes-, meaning "to grasp".
AmharicThe word "ጣት" also means "branch" or "offshoot" in Amharic, highlighting its connection to the idea of extension or growth that is also inherent in the concept of a finger.
ArabicThe word "finger" in Arabic, "اصبع اليد," refers to the digits of the hand and has a metaphorical meaning of indicating or pointing to something.
ArmenianThe word "մատը" in Armenian can also refer to the toes.
AzerbaijaniThe word "barmaq" also signifies a measurement unit equal to 1/24 of the Azerbaijani arshin
BasqueThe Basque term "hatz" can also mean "ten", as in the phrase "hamar hatz" ("ten fingers").
BelarusianThe word "палец" (finger) in Belarusian derives from "paliti" (to burn) and originally referred to the burnt end of a stick used as a torch.
BengaliThe word "আঙুল" literally means "something to measure" in Bengali.
BosnianThe word "prst" also refers to the digit or number "one" in Bosnian.
BulgarianThe word "пръст на ръката" has an alternate meaning of "a toe".
CatalanThe word "dit" in Catalan also refers to the digit of a number (as in English "two digits") or to a small amount of money.
CebuanoIn Proto-Austronesian, "tudlo" meant "to point with the index finger" or "to show direction"
Chinese (Simplified)"手指" (finger) literally means "pointing to hands" and is used as slang in China referring to someone being manipulated by another, typically by a higher power.
Chinese (Traditional)手指, can also mean a person's influence or power, as in "伸手指" (to exert influence)
CorsicanCorsican 'ditu' also means 'digit' and derives from Latin 'dictum', 'thing said'.
CroatianThe Croatian word "prst" derives from Proto-Slavic *pьrstъ, which also means "toe".
CzechPrst also refers to the toe or a digit in a phone number in Czech.
DanishThe word 'finger' in Danish is derived from the Old Norse word 'fingr', which also means 'toe'.
Dutch"Vinger" is a contraction of "vingher", meaning "seizer" or "grasper" in Dutch.
Esperanto“Fingro” means both “finger” and the Roman numeral “V” (five).
EstonianThe Estonian word "sõrm" has cognates in other Finno-Ugric languages, such as Finnish "sormi" and Hungarian "ujj"
FinnishThe word "sormi" likely derives from the Proto-Finnic word "sormi*, which meant "object" or "thing".
FrenchThe word "doigt" comes from the Latin word "digitus", meaning "toe" or "finger".
FrisianThe Frisian word for "finger" has also the meaning "toe."
GalicianThe word "dedo" in Galician can also mean "toe".
GeorgianThe word "თითი" (thithi) in Georgian is derived from the Old Georgian word "თითი" (thithi), which itself is derived from the Proto-Kartvelian root "*ded-," meaning "to hold."
German"Finger" (finger) is also used to indicate a unit of measure used to calculate beer foam.
Greek"Δάχτυλο" (finger) comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰek-, meaning "to point" or "to show".
Haitian CreoleThe word "dwèt" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "doigt", ultimately stemming from the Latin word "digitus".
HausaThe word "yatsa" (finger) in Hausa has alternative meanings like "limb", "leaf", or "branch".
HawaiianThe Hawaiian word 'manamana lima' also means 'to pick one's nose'.
Hebrew"אֶצבַּע" is cognate with "עָצֵב", meaning "sorrow" or "pain", and also with "צֵבַע" and "צֶבַע", meaning "color" or "paint."
HindiThe word "उंगली" likely derives from the Prakrit word "अंगुलि" (anguli), meaning "a part" or "a limb", and is cognate with the Latin word "unguis" (nail).
HmongThe word "tus ntiv tes" can also be used as a term of endearment for a child or a sibling.
HungarianThe Hungarian word "ujj" (finger) is thought to derive from a Uralic root meaning "branch" or "shoot."
IcelandicThe Icelandic word "fingur" has cognates in other Germanic languages and is also related to the Latin word "digitus"
IgboThe alternate meanings of the Igbo word "mkpịsị aka" include "skill, ability" and "the person who possesses such abilities."
IndonesianIn Javanese vocabulary "jari" refers also to a line of descent in a genealogy.
Irish"Méar" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*mey-", meaning "to grasp". Its alternate meaning, "toe", derives from its use to refer to the smaller "fingers" of the foot.
ItalianThe word "dito" is also used as a synonym for "fingerprint" in Italian.
Japanese指 is also a unit of length, equivalent to about 1.8cm.
JavaneseDriji can also mean one's own child, and is sometimes used in that sense as an endearment.
Kannada"ಬೆರಳು" also means "toe" in Kannada, and also has a connotation of measuring with a thumb-sized unit.
KazakhThe Kazakh word "саусақ" also refers to a type of traditional Kazakh sausage.
KhmerThe word "ម្រាមដៃ" also metaphorically refers to a person's skill or expertise, particularly in the context of a particular activity or craft.
Korean"손가락" literally means "hand branch" in Korean.
KurdishThe word "tilî" in Kurdish is also used to refer to the big toe, and may be related to the word "til" meaning "thread".
KyrgyzThe word 'манжа' ('finger') in Kyrgyz language also has the alternate meaning of 'branch' in the context of a tree.
LaoThe Lao word ນິ້ວມື (finger) shares some etymological roots with the Thai word นิ้วมือ (finger), both deriving from the Proto-Tai word *timɔːŋ
Latin"Digitus" also refers to a unit of measure roughly equivalent to a finger's width, known as "digital" in English.
LatvianIn Latvian, the word "pirkstu" can also refer to a toe or a digit on a hand or foot.
LithuanianPirštu is also used in Lithuanian to describe the
LuxembourgishThe Luxembourgish word "Fanger" can also refer to a thimble or a finger puppet.
MacedonianThe word "прст" (finger) in Macedonian also refers to a unit of measurement equal to about 1.9 centimeters.
MalagasyIn Merina folklore, "rantsan-dako" is a mythical creature having many thumbs as fingers.
MalayThe word "jari" is also used in Malay to refer to the toe.
MalayalamThe word 'വിരല്' (finger) in Malayalam is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word '*viru' and is related to the Tamil word 'விரல்' (finger) and the Kannada word 'ಬೆರಳು' (finger).
MalteseThe word "subgħajk" comes from the Arabic word "suba`" meaning "finger" and is used in Maltese to refer specifically to the index finger.
MaoriIn Maori, the word "matimati" can also mean "end" or "tip", referring to the outermost part of a finger.
Marathiबोट ('finger' in Marathi) is also a unit of measurement approximately equal to 1.85 centimeters.
Mongolianхуруу has a double meaning, meaning either 'finger' or 'stringed instrument'
NepaliIn Nepali, "औंला" not only refers to the digit on a hand, but it can also mean a measurement of length, approximately equal to one finger-width (~1.8-2 cm).
NorwegianIn Norwegian, "finger" can mean both a finger on your hand and a small, narrow branch on a tree.
Nyanja (Chichewa)In Nyanja (Chichewa), "chala" also means "branch" or "sprout" and is related to the verb "kubzala," meaning "to grow" or "to sprout."
Pashto"ګوته" can also mean "the trigger of a gun" or "the index finger"
Persianانگشت also means "number" in colloquial Persian.
PolishThe word "palec" may also refer to the little toe or a similar digit on an animal's foot.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)The word "dedo" can also refer to the "hand", a "person's foot" or the "toe".
PunjabiThe word "ਉਂਗਲ" is also used to refer to the lines or markings on the palm of the hand.
RomanianDeget also refers to the number 10, from the Latin 'digitus', which means 'finger' or 'number 10'.
Russian"Палец" can also refer to a finger-like projectile, such as an artillery shell.
SamoanThe Samoan word 'tamailima', meaning 'finger', literally translates to 'child of the hand'.
Scots GaelicThe Scots Gaelic mheur "finger" also refers to a finger-like object.
SerbianThe Serbian word "prst" is cognate with the English word "first", both deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- "forward".
SesothoThe word "monoana" also means "a person who plays the drum".
ShonaThe word "chigunwe" also means "a single part of something that is divided into several parts".
SindhiThe word 'آر' (finger) in Sindhi may also refer to the number 'ten' or a type of flute.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)The Sinhala word 'ඇඟිල්ල' is also used to refer to the digits on the hands of other primates and the toes on the feet of humans or other animals.
SlovakThe Slovak word "prstom" also means "with a finger" or "by finger".
SlovenianThe word "prst" in Slovenian is cognate with the Latin word "primus," meaning "first," indicating the thumb's position as the outermost finger.
SomaliThe Somali word "farta" ultimately derives from Arabic "ifrat" and also means "branch" in Amharic.
SpanishThe word "dedo" also means "toe" in Spanish and comes from the Latin word "digitus" meaning "digit".
SundaneseThe Sundanese word "ramo" meaning "finger" derives from the Old Javanese word "ramon" which can mean either "finger" or "branch".
SwahiliThe word "kidole" is also used in Swahili to refer to a "child" or "infant".
SwedishIn Swedish, the word "finger" is also used to refer to the hand, wrist, or forearm.
Tagalog (Filipino)In the Philippine language Tagalog, the word "daliri" is a homonym that also refers to a measurement unit of length equivalent to a finger's width.
TajikThe word "ангушт" can also refer to the thumb or toe.
TamilIn Tamil, "விரல்" can also refer to a "branch" or a "spoke on a wheel".
Teluguవేలు (finger) may also refer to the number 100,000 in Telugu.
ThaiThe Thai word 'นิ้ว' is also used to mean 'toe'.
TurkishParmak, meaning 'finger' in Turkish, is also used as a verb to describe the act of pointing or touching something with one's finger.
Ukrainian"Палець" - the fifth (little) finger (from Ancient Slavic - "thumb", Latin - "pollex", from "palm" - "palma")
Urdu"انگلی" is also used to refer to a "digit" in mathematics or a "key" on a musical instrument
UzbekThe word "barmoq" is also used to refer to the branches of a tree or the spokes of a wheel in Uzbek.
Vietnamese"Ngón tay" is an Old Sino-Vietnamese term formed from Cantonese "ang1 ji3" meaning "hand finger". In modern Cantonese, the word for "finger" (手指) has the same pronunciation but a different etymology, "shou3 ji1" (hand finger).
Welsh“Bys” also means “purpose” in Welsh, implying that our fingers serve a purpose beyond simply pointing.
XhosaThe Xhosa word 'umnwe' can also refer to other objects resembling human fingers, such as branches or sticks, and may be used to refer to the numbers ten, eleven, twelve and so on ('ishumi nanye' = 11, 'ishumi mbili' = 12).
YiddishThe Yiddish word "פינגער" is also used to refer to a person's index finger.
Yoruba"Ika" literally means "something to eat with".
ZuluThe Zulu word "umunwe" is cognate with the Proto-Nguni word "*umnwe" and means both "finger" and "the first joint of the finger next to the fingernail."
EnglishThe word 'finger' originates from the Proto-Germanic 'fingraz' meaning 'five', and also relates to the Latin 'quinque' meaning the same.

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