Flat in Different Languages
Discover 'Flat' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'flat' is simple, yet versatile, with a variety of meanings and uses that make it an interesting subject for language and culture enthusiasts. In its most basic sense, 'flat' refers to a surface that is even and level, without bumps or protrusions. This meaning has been carried over to various contexts, including architecture, design, and mathematics.
Beyond its geometric significance, 'flat' also signifies something that is uninteresting or dull, as in 'flat' beer or a 'flat' joke. Moreover, in the world of fashion, a 'flat' is a type of shoe that is low and comfortable, as opposed to high heels. The cultural importance of 'flat' is evident in these diverse applications, reflecting how language shapes and is shaped by our experiences and perceptions.
Knowing the translation of 'flat' in different languages can be useful for travelers, language learners, and professionals who work in international settings. For instance, 'flat' translates to 'aplat' in Esperanto, 'plat' in French, 'plano' in Spanish, and '平' (píng) in Chinese. By understanding these translations, we can deepen our appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture.
Flat
Flat in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | plat | ||
| Afrikaans 'plat' comes from the Old Saxon 'plat', meaning 'flat', and also means 'unfamiliar' or 'superficial'. | |||
| Amharic | ጠፍጣፋ | ||
| The word "ጠፍጣፋ" in Amharic is derived from "ተፈትፈተ", which means "to spread out" or "to flatten". | |||
| Hausa | lebur | ||
| The word "lebur" in Hausa is cognate with the word "level" in English, sharing a common Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to balance or make even." | |||
| Igbo | ewepụghị | ||
| Researchers have stated that the word “ewepụghị” is likely a cognate of the word “epụghị”, which means “to be unable” or “to be impossible”. | |||
| Malagasy | fisaka | ||
| The term "fisaka" in Malagasy also denotes a type of freshwater snail, revealing the intricate relationship between language and the environment. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mosabisa | ||
| Mosabisa is also used to mean 'to be spread out'. | |||
| Shona | flat | ||
| The word "flat" in Shona can also mean "empty" or "to finish something completely". | |||
| Somali | fidsan | ||
| The word "fidsan" can also refer to a type of pancake-like bread in Somali cuisine. | |||
| Sesotho | bataletse | ||
| Swahili | gorofa | ||
| The word "gorofa" in Swahili is derived from the Arabic word "ghurfah" meaning "room" or "chamber". | |||
| Xhosa | tyaba | ||
| Tyaba is derived from the Xhosa word | |||
| Yoruba | alapin | ||
| In Yoruba, "alapin" also denotes "bottom" and "a kind of bean plant." | |||
| Zulu | isicaba | ||
| "Isicaba" also denotes a wide array of flat items, including landforms, platters, tables, and paper. | |||
| Bambara | fɛnsɛlen | ||
| Ewe | gbadza | ||
| Kinyarwanda | igorofa | ||
| Lingala | plat | ||
| Luganda | okweyala | ||
| Sepedi | folete | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tratra | ||
Flat in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | مسطحة | ||
| The word "مسطحة" is also used in Arabic to refer to a "flat tire" or a "flat object". | |||
| Hebrew | שָׁטוּחַ | ||
| In Hebrew, "שָׁטוּחַ" (shatuach) is also used to describe someone who is spread out on the ground, emphasizing their vulnerable position. | |||
| Pashto | فلیټ | ||
| "Flat" in Pashto also refers to a low-lying area or plain, or to a layer or surface of something. | |||
| Arabic | مسطحة | ||
| The word "مسطحة" is also used in Arabic to refer to a "flat tire" or a "flat object". | |||
Flat in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e rrafshët | ||
| The word "e rrafshët" can also mean "plain" or "plateau" in Albanian, indicating a flat and extensive landform. | |||
| Basque | laua | ||
| Laua is a Basque word that also means "four", and it is related to the Proto-Basque word *lau̯r, meaning "flat", "wide", or "four". | |||
| Catalan | plana | ||
| "Plana" in Catalan can also refer to a plateau or a meadow. | |||
| Croatian | ravan | ||
| The Croatian word 'ravan' is derived from Proto-Slavic *rǫvьnъ, and is cognate with words for 'flat' or 'level' in most other Slavic languages (e.g., Russian ровный, Polish równy, Czech rovný), while in Latvian it means 'ridge'. | |||
| Danish | flad | ||
| Danish "flad" corresponds to "flat" in English but originally comes from "flade" and thus carries the original meanings "to spread out" and "to cut". | |||
| Dutch | vlak | ||
| "Vlak" also means a plain (as opposed to a mountain) and a surface (e.g. of a lake or the sea). | |||
| English | flat | ||
| The word 'flat' originates from the Old English 'flatt', which means 'shallow' or 'level', and is related to the Old Norse word 'flatr' meaning 'flat' or 'broad'. | |||
| French | plat | ||
| The French word "plat" can also mean "dish", or "flat-bottomed boat". | |||
| Frisian | flet | ||
| The Frisian word "flet" is a cognate of the English word "floor" and German word "Flur". | |||
| Galician | plana | ||
| Galician word "plana" derives from Latin "plana" ("flat"), and means "floor" in Portuguese and "meadow" in Catalan. | |||
| German | eben | ||
| In ancient German, "eben" also meant "right" or "equitable" and is cognate to the English word "even" | |||
| Icelandic | íbúð | ||
| The Icelandic word "íbúð" literally means "dwelling" and can refer to any type of residence, including houses. | |||
| Irish | árasán | ||
| The word "árasán" can also mean "threshing-floor" or "corn-drying kiln" in Irish. | |||
| Italian | piatto | ||
| In Italian, "piatto" also means "plate" or "dish", derived from the Latin "patina" (literally "shallow dish"). | |||
| Luxembourgish | flaach | ||
| The word Flaach stems from the Latin | |||
| Maltese | ċatt | ||
| 'ċatt' in Maltese originally meant "smooth" and still survives with that meaning in some fixed phrases. | |||
| Norwegian | flat | ||
| The word “flat” can also mean a shallow body of water like a shoal or a sandbank in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | plano | ||
| "Plano" in Portuguese can refer to a floor or floorplan (e.g. in "planta baixa", ground floor) but also to a plant (as in botany). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | rèidh | ||
| Rèidh is sometimes used to refer to the bottom of a boat, due to its flat surface. | |||
| Spanish | plano | ||
| The word "plano" in Spanish can also refer to a map or blueprint. | |||
| Swedish | platt | ||
| The Swedish word "platt" has roots in the German word "platt" and the Latin word "plattus," both meaning "flat." | |||
| Welsh | fflat | ||
| Welsh "fflat" means both "flat" and "apartment," deriving from the Middle English "flat." | |||
Flat in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | плоскі | ||
| The word "плоскі" can also mean "flattened" or "uninteresting" in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | stan | ||
| The word "stan" in Bosnian can also refer to an apartment, building, or room. | |||
| Bulgarian | апартамент | ||
| The word "апартамент" is derived from the French word "appartement", which means "a set of rooms for living in". | |||
| Czech | byt | ||
| "Byt" also means "to be" or "existence" in a philosophical sense. | |||
| Estonian | tasane | ||
| "Tasane" is also used as a noun meaning "a plain" or "a steppe". | |||
| Finnish | tasainen | ||
| The word "tasainen" also refers to evenness of distribution, or fairness in treatment. | |||
| Hungarian | lakás | ||
| The word "lakás" is derived from "lak", meaning "to live", or "lakik", meaning "he/she lives". | |||
| Latvian | plakans | ||
| The Proto-Indo-European reconstruction for this word is *plak-, but it has been influenced by the Proto-Baltic form *plek- and the Proto-Indo-European root *pļk- "to be flat," which is also found in Latin *plānus, Armenian pɫat, and Greek πλατύς. | |||
| Lithuanian | butas | ||
| The word "butas" can also mean "a room", "a chamber", or "an apartment". | |||
| Macedonian | рамни | ||
| The word "рамни" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *rъmьnъ, meaning "level, smooth, flat". | |||
| Polish | mieszkanie | ||
| The word 'mieszkanie' in Polish comes from the verb 'mieszkać', meaning 'to live'. It can also refer to a place of residence or a room, especially one in a dormitory or boarding house. | |||
| Romanian | apartament | ||
| In Romanian, "apartament" also means "room" in some contexts. | |||
| Russian | плоский | ||
| The word "плоский" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*ploskъ", which also means "wide" or "shallow". | |||
| Serbian | раван | ||
| "Раван" is thought to originally have meant "plain", "field", or "land", perhaps related to Proto-Slavic "*orv-ьnъ" which also referred to open areas of land. | |||
| Slovak | plochý | ||
| The word "plochý" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *ploskъ, which also means "flat" or "broad". | |||
| Slovenian | stanovanje | ||
| In Croatian, the word "stanovanje" means "accommodation" or "apartment," though in Slovenian, the same word translates to "flat." | |||
| Ukrainian | квартира | ||
| The word “квартира” in Ukrainian is a derivative of German “Quartier”, which originally meant “a place for staying overnight”, and now means “quarter, district”. | |||
Flat in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সমান | ||
| "সমান" has other meanings in Bengali such as 'equal', 'same' or 'alike'. | |||
| Gujarati | ફ્લેટ | ||
| In Gujarati, "flat" is also used to describe a person with a flat chest or a dull expression. | |||
| Hindi | समतल | ||
| The word "समतल" can also refer to calmness, tranquillity, or evenness | |||
| Kannada | ಫ್ಲಾಟ್ | ||
| The word "ಫ್ಲಾಟ್" in Kannada can also mean "a kind of bread". | |||
| Malayalam | ഫ്ലാറ്റ് | ||
| In the context of music, "flat" in Malayalam can mean either "in tune" or "out of tune", depending on the specific usage. | |||
| Marathi | फ्लॅट | ||
| In Marathi, the term "फ्लॅट" can be used as a noun meaning an apartment and also as an adjective describing a surface without curves or slopes. | |||
| Nepali | समतल | ||
| समतल also means "to reduce to one level" or "to make equal". | |||
| Punjabi | ਫਲੈਟ | ||
| The word 'ਫਲੈਟ' ('flat') in Punjabi can also refer to an open roof on top of a house, commonly known as a 'chajja' in Hindi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පැතලි | ||
| The word "පැතලි" can also refer to a flat surface or an open area. | |||
| Tamil | தட்டையானது | ||
| In Tamil, "தட்டையானது" not only means "flat" but also "shallow" or "superficial." | |||
| Telugu | ఫ్లాట్ | ||
| The word "ఫ్లాట్" can also refer to a "plain" or "grassland" in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | فلیٹ | ||
| The word "فلیٹ" can also mean "apartment" or "plain" in Urdu. | |||
Flat in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 平面 | ||
| "平面" originally referred to "a single piece of land surrounded by water" and later developed abstract meanings. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 平面 | ||
| "平面" in Chinese can also mean "a plane in geometry" or "a drawing on a flat surface." | |||
| Japanese | 平らな | ||
| The word "平らな" (flat) can also mean "peaceful" or "tranquil" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 플랫 | ||
| In Korean, "플랫" also refers to apartments with small floor areas but numerous floors. | |||
| Mongolian | хавтгай | ||
| "хавтгай" also refers to a type of shallow bowl and a specific Mongolian dance. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပြားချပ်ချပ် | ||
| The term ပြားချပ်ချပ် is often used in everyday speech to describe something that is flat, thin, or spread out, but it can also be used to describe something that is stale, dull, or boring. | |||
Flat in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | datar | ||
| The Indonesian word "datar" comes from the Sanskrit word "dhata" meaning "to hold" and also refers to a carpenter's plane. | |||
| Javanese | warata | ||
| In Javanese, "warata" originally meant "field" but over time became synonymous with "flat". | |||
| Khmer | ផ្ទះល្វែង | ||
| ផ្ទះល្វែង is more precisely "a flat in a house", and can be used to describe flats in traditional Khmer houses or those built in the colonial-era. | |||
| Lao | ແປ | ||
| "ແປ" can also mean "to fry" or "to convert currency". | |||
| Malay | rata | ||
| The word 'rata' in Malay also means 'level', 'equal', or 'balanced', and is often used in mathematical and physical contexts to describe something that is uniform or consistent. | |||
| Thai | แบน | ||
| แบน originally derives from the word "แผ่น" ('sheet') | |||
| Vietnamese | bằng phẳng | ||
| The word "bằng phẳng" (literally: equal + smooth) in Vietnamese also figuratively means easy, straightforward, or smooth-running | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | patag | ||
Flat in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | düz | ||
| The word "düz" can also refer to "uninterrupted","straight" or "smooth" in Turkish context." | |||
| Kazakh | жалпақ | ||
| In addition to its literal meaning of "flat," "жалпақ" can also refer to something that is superficial or lacking depth. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жалпак | ||
| The word "жалпак" also means "plain" when used to describe land. | |||
| Tajik | ҳамвор | ||
| The word “ҳамвор” comes from the Persian word “hamwar”, which can also mean “smooth” or “level.” | |||
| Turkmen | tekiz | ||
| Uzbek | yassi | ||
| In the Kashgar-Khotan dialect, "yassi" is also an adjective used to describe something that is thin or shallow. | |||
| Uyghur | تەكشى | ||
Flat in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pālahalaha | ||
| Pālahalaha also means "smooth" or "calm" in reference to the ocean's surface | |||
| Maori | papatahi | ||
| Other meanings include "to smooth," "to flatten," "to level," and "to make even." | |||
| Samoan | mafolafola | ||
| The word "mafolafola" in Samoan has the additional meaning of "broad" or "wide". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | patag | ||
| "Patag" can also refer to a flat surface or a flat piece of land. | |||
Flat in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | t'alpha | ||
| Guarani | tenda | ||
Flat in International Languages
| Esperanto | plata | ||
| It derives from a Latin word that originally meant "broad", and so is related to other Esperanto words such as "plej", "placo" and "plua". | |||
| Latin | planus | ||
| Planus was used in Latin for flat, level, or even to describe a flat nose or a dull sword. | |||
Flat in Others Languages
| Greek | επίπεδος | ||
| Its antonym is "στρογγυλός" (literally "round"), with the common root "στρογγύλη" (circle). | |||
| Hmong | tiaj | ||
| The Hmong word "tiaj" means "flat" or "level" but can also be used metaphorically to refer to something that is "uninteresting" or "boring". | |||
| Kurdish | mal | ||
| The primary meaning of "mal" is "flat" or "level", but it can also refer to a "meadow" or "pasture" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | düz | ||
| The word "düz" in Turkish also means "untamed", "level" or "bare" and is cognate with the Persian word "dast" and the Armenian word "duz". | |||
| Xhosa | tyaba | ||
| Tyaba is derived from the Xhosa word | |||
| Yiddish | פלאַך | ||
| In Yiddish, the word "פלאַך" ("flat") is cognate with the German "flach" and the Dutch "vlak", all deriving from a Proto-West Germanic root meaning "to spread out". It also carries the figurative meaning of "uninteresting" or "dull". | |||
| Zulu | isicaba | ||
| "Isicaba" also denotes a wide array of flat items, including landforms, platters, tables, and paper. | |||
| Assamese | চেপেটা | ||
| Aymara | t'alpha | ||
| Bhojpuri | चापुट | ||
| Dhivehi | ފްލެޓް | ||
| Dogri | सामां | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | patag | ||
| Guarani | tenda | ||
| Ilocano | nasimpa | ||
| Krio | flat | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | شوقە | ||
| Maithili | चौड़ा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯥꯛꯄ | ||
| Mizo | phek | ||
| Oromo | battee | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଫ୍ଲାଟ | ||
| Quechua | panpa | ||
| Sanskrit | समतलम् | ||
| Tatar | яссы | ||
| Tigrinya | ሰጣሕ | ||
| Tsonga | pavalala | ||