Foot in Different Languages
Discover 'Foot' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'foot' holds a significant place in our daily lives, often going unnoticed despite its importance. It's not just a body part that connects us to the ground, but also a unit of measurement in many cultures. Did you know that the foot was the standard of length in ancient times, with the human foot serving as the basis for its definition?
Moreover, the foot is a symbol of movement, progress, and direction in various cultural and literary contexts. For instance, in Chinese culture, the phrase 'foot of the mountain' symbolizes a journey's start, while in English literature, 'the road ahead' often refers to future prospects and challenges.
Given its significance and cultural importance, you might want to know the translation of 'foot' in different languages. Here are a few examples: 'pie' in Spanish, 'piede' in Italian, 'pied' in French, and 'voet' in Dutch. Discover more fascinating translations and cultural insights below!
Foot
Foot in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | voet | ||
| Afrikaans "voet" (foot) comes from Dutch "voet" meaning "foot" but "voet" can also mean "base" or "foundation". | |||
| Amharic | እግር | ||
| The word 'እግር' ('foot') in Amharic also means 'leg' or 'limb' and is derived from the Proto-Ethiopic root 'ʾgʾr' meaning 'leg' or 'to jump'. | |||
| Hausa | ƙafa | ||
| Hausa 'ƙafa' can also refer to a 'foot' as a measure of length, approximately equal to one yard. | |||
| Igbo | ụkwụ | ||
| The Igbo term "ụkwụ" also refers to the base or foundation of an object or structure. | |||
| Malagasy | tongotra | ||
| The word "tongotra" also means "leg" and is related to the Proto-Austronesian word for "foot or leg," *qaqad. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | phazi | ||
| The word "phazi" can also refer to a step or a pace, and is likely derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-phaj-," meaning "to step." | |||
| Shona | tsoka | ||
| The word 'tsoka' in Shona not only refers to body part but also means 'to walk' or 'to travel'. | |||
| Somali | cag | ||
| The etymology of "cag" remains obscure, and it also carries a number of extended or metaphorical meanings. | |||
| Sesotho | leoto | ||
| The word "leoto" in Sesotho also means "base" or "foundation". | |||
| Swahili | mguu | ||
| In Chaga, the word 'mguu' also means 'hand'. | |||
| Xhosa | unyawo | ||
| "Unyawo" is also used as a term of endearment for a child. | |||
| Yoruba | ẹsẹ | ||
| Ẹ̀sẹ̀ is a homophone that can also refer to a 'trace' (as a mark left behind) or a 'mark' made by a tool. | |||
| Zulu | unyawo | ||
| The Zulu word "unyawo" is derived from the Proto-Bantu term "-nyawi", meaning "foot, leg, or thigh". | |||
| Bambara | sen | ||
| Ewe | afᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ikirenge | ||
| Lingala | likolo | ||
| Luganda | ekigere | ||
| Sepedi | leoto | ||
| Twi (Akan) | anamɔn | ||
Foot in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | قدم | ||
| The word "قدم" in Arabic also refers to a unit of measurement of length equivalent to the length of a man's foot. | |||
| Hebrew | כף רגל | ||
| "כף" can also mean "spoon", possibly from the way it fits in the hand like a foot. | |||
| Pashto | پښه | ||
| In the Pashto language, "پښه" (pronounced "paʂa") not only means "foot" but also refers to the "base" or "bottom" of an object, such as the bottom of a mountain or the foot of a tree. | |||
| Arabic | قدم | ||
| The word "قدم" in Arabic also refers to a unit of measurement of length equivalent to the length of a man's foot. | |||
Foot in Western European Languages
| Albanian | këmbë | ||
| Këmbë, meaning "leg" or "ankle" in Albanian, can also mean "stalk" (of a plant) or "pedestal". | |||
| Basque | oina | ||
| "Oina" also means "ball" or "round object" in some Basque dialects. | |||
| Catalan | peu | ||
| In Catalan, "peu" may also refer to the base of a mountain or a tree's trunk, or figuratively, to a foundation or starting point. | |||
| Croatian | noga | ||
| The word 'noga' also refers to the leg or the bottom part of a piece of furniture or a mountain | |||
| Danish | fod | ||
| The Danish word "fod" has a homonym which is an obsolete form of the noun "food", and the compound form "fodfolk", which is an old-fashioned and derogatory term for "infantry". | |||
| Dutch | voet | ||
| The Dutch word "voet" is cognate with the English word "foot" and can also refer to a unit of measurement (roughly 30.5 centimeters). | |||
| English | foot | ||
| The word 'foot' originates from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ped-' meaning 'to go' or 'to step'. | |||
| French | pied | ||
| The word "pied" in French can also refer to a base, foundation, or pedestal. | |||
| Frisian | foet | ||
| In some Frisian dialects, "foet" can also refer to the end of a fishing net, or the place where a fishing net is thrown out. | |||
| Galician | pé | ||
| The Galician word "pé" can also mean "leg" or "pace". | |||
| German | fuß | ||
| "Fuß" can also mean a unit of length, about 30 centimeters, or can refer to the pedestal of a statue. | |||
| Icelandic | fótur | ||
| "Fótur" also means "the letter F" and can refer to a piece of luggage. | |||
| Irish | chos | ||
| Irish "chos" (foot) comes from the Celtic "*kʷod-es_", also the Proto-Germanic root of "*fōt-az" (foot). | |||
| Italian | piede | ||
| "Piede" also means the base of a tree, a mountain, or a slope, and in music, it's the time signature." | |||
| Luxembourgish | fouss | ||
| The word "Fouss" can also refer to the base or pedestal of an object. | |||
| Maltese | sieq | ||
| "Sieq" also means "small alley" in Maltese, deriving from the Arabic word "siqa" with the same meaning. | |||
| Norwegian | fot | ||
| Although it's not obvious, the word fot is related to the word "fat" which in the old times meant both pace and measurement (as in "two-fat-long", a measure used for ships). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | pé | ||
| In Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil), "pé" is also a unit of weight equal to 300 grams | |||
| Scots Gaelic | chas | ||
| The Scottish Gaelic word 'chas' is related to the Irish 'cos' (foot) and the Welsh 'coes' (leg). In addition to meaning 'foot', 'chas' can also refer to the base or bottom of something. | |||
| Spanish | pie | ||
| The word "pie" in Spanish also means "the measure of a foot" and "the end of a verse or stanza." | |||
| Swedish | fot | ||
| The word "fot" comes from the Old Norse word "fótr" and originally meant "a measurement of length equal to 12 inches." | |||
| Welsh | troed | ||
| The word "troed" is derived from a Proto-Celtic root meaning "base" or "path". It also has alternate meanings such as "measure" and "step". | |||
Foot in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | ступня | ||
| The word "ступня" in Belarusian originally meant "base, support" and comes from the Proto-Slavic root "*stepnь" with the same meaning. | |||
| Bosnian | stopalo | ||
| Stopalo is a Slavic word, originally referring to the space that can be covered by a single human step. | |||
| Bulgarian | крак | ||
| The word "крак" (foot) in Bulgarian shares its Proto-Slavic root with the word "круг" (circle), possibly referencing the rounded shape of the feet. | |||
| Czech | chodidlo | ||
| In Czech, "chodidlo" also refers to a vehicle as the means of movement. | |||
| Estonian | jalg | ||
| In addition to its literal meaning, "jalg" can also refer to the stand of a table or chair, or the base of a tree. | |||
| Finnish | jalka | ||
| The Finnish word 'jalka' also means 'infantry' or 'a soldier on foot'. | |||
| Hungarian | láb | ||
| "Láb" means "leg" in Hungarian, while the "foot" is "talp" and "paw" means "mancs". | |||
| Latvian | kāju | ||
| "Kāju" also refers to the "lower leg" or "shank". | |||
| Lithuanian | pėda | ||
| "Pėda" also means "measure" which is related to the Latin word "pes" meaning "foot". | |||
| Macedonian | нога | ||
| "Нога" is connected to "step" in Albanian, "nog" in Persian, "nakha" in Coptic and "nog" in Sanskrit. | |||
| Polish | stopa | ||
| "Stopa" is also the Polish word for "footprint", "footing", "trace", and "step". | |||
| Romanian | picior | ||
| The word "picior" in Romanian is derived from the Latin "pes", meaning "foot", and shares cognates with other Romance languages like French "pied" and Italian "piede". | |||
| Russian | фут | ||
| 'Фут' can also mean 'a unit of length equal to 30.5 centimeters' in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | нога | ||
| "Нога" (foot) derives from Proto-Slavic "nogъ", meaning "foot" or "leg". | |||
| Slovak | noha | ||
| Noha can also refer to the base, trunk or foot of a plant or tree | |||
| Slovenian | stopala | ||
| In some dialects stopala also means 'leg', 'calf' or 'feet'. | |||
| Ukrainian | стопа | ||
| The Ukrainian word "стопа" also means "foot of a verse line; poetic meter; verse" and "foot; base; foundation". | |||
Foot in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পা | ||
| "পা" also means 'a quarter' (a measure of volume) in Bengali, which is cognate with 'paad' in Sanskrit. | |||
| Gujarati | પગ | ||
| The Gujarati word "પગ" can also refer to a "step" or a "leg". | |||
| Hindi | पैर | ||
| पैर also means 'base or foundation' in Hindi and is related to the English word 'ped-' seen in 'pedestal'. | |||
| Kannada | ಪಾದ | ||
| ಪಾದ also means 'a place to keep or rest something'. | |||
| Malayalam | കാൽ | ||
| "കാൽ" is also used to denote a measurement of length, equalling the distance from the tip of the toe to the fold of the knee or the distance from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. | |||
| Marathi | पाऊल | ||
| "पाऊल" is also used as a metaphor in Marathi to describe a step or stage in a process or journey. | |||
| Nepali | खुट्टा | ||
| The name is derived from the verb खुट्ट्याउनु 'to stumble'. The khut is used in other Indo-Aryan languages, such as खूंट in Hindi for peg in the floor to tie an animal. | |||
| Punjabi | ਪੈਰ | ||
| ਪੈਰ (pair) in Punjabi also means 'foot' in Persian. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පාදය | ||
| In Sinhala, "පාදය" (pādaya) also refers to a pedestal, base or support, and the foot of a mountain. | |||
| Tamil | கால் | ||
| The Tamil word "கால்" (foot) shares its root with the word "காலம்" (time) and in ancient Tamil texts was used to refer to both concepts. | |||
| Telugu | అడుగు | ||
| The Telugu word "అడుగు" (foot) shares its etymology with the Sanskrit word "pad" and the Proto-Indo-European root *ped-, both meaning "to go". | |||
| Urdu | پاؤں | ||
| 'پاؤں' is derived from Sanskrit 'पाद' meaning 'foot' and also denotes 'measure' or 'step'. | |||
Foot in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 脚丫子 | ||
| 脚丫子 or jiao ya zi literally means "foot baby" and is a more colloquial term for 脚 or jiao which means "foot". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 腳丫子 | ||
| 腳丫 "丫" originally referred to the big toe and is a diminutive particle. | |||
| Japanese | 足 | ||
| The kanji "足" means "leg" in Japanese and is used in the word "足あと" (footprint), which literally means "leg mark." | |||
| Korean | 발 | ||
| The word | |||
| Mongolian | хөл | ||
| The word "хөл" can also refer to the base or foundation of something, such as a mountain or building. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခြေထောက် | ||
Foot in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kaki | ||
| In Indonesian, the word "kaki" not only means "foot," but also can refer to a "leg" or the "base" of something. | |||
| Javanese | sikil | ||
| "Sikil" is also used to refer to the legs of other animals or even objects resembling feet, like the base of a table. | |||
| Khmer | ជើង | ||
| The word "ជើង" can also refer to the base or support of something, or to the leg of an animal. | |||
| Lao | ຕີນ | ||
| The word 'ຕີນ' has different meanings in Lao, including the foot of a person or animal, the foot of a plant, or the base of something. | |||
| Malay | kaki | ||
| The word kaki in the Malay language can also refer to a male friend or companion. | |||
| Thai | เท้า | ||
| The Thai word “เท้า” can also refer to a unit of measure equal to about 30.48 centimeters. | |||
| Vietnamese | chân | ||
| The word "chân" also has the alternate meaning of "leg" and derives from Middle Chinese "tiän". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paa | ||
Foot in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ayaq | ||
| "Ayak" also means "month" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | аяқ | ||
| "Аяқ" also means "measure of length" in Kazakh, equivalent to about 30 cm. | |||
| Kyrgyz | бут | ||
| In Kyrgyz, the word "бут" also has the alternate meaning of "base" or "foundation". | |||
| Tajik | пой | ||
| The word "пой" in Tajik can also mean "leg" or "paw". | |||
| Turkmen | aýak | ||
| Uzbek | oyoq | ||
| "Oyoq" also means the lower part of something, such as a mountain or a tree. | |||
| Uyghur | foot | ||
Foot in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | wāwae | ||
| Wāwae in Hawaiian refers to the area between the knee and ankle as well as the whole foot. | |||
| Maori | waewae | ||
| The Maori word "waewae" can also be used to describe the base or foundation of something. | |||
| Samoan | vae | ||
| From Proto-Samoan *vae “foot” which is cognate with Tongan vae “foot” and Maori wae “foot”. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | paa | ||
| The word "paa" in Tagalog (Filipino) also means "step" or "pace", and is cognate with the Malay word "kaki" and the Javanese word "pangkake", all of which mean "foot" or "leg". | |||
Foot in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kayu | ||
| Guarani | py | ||
Foot in International Languages
| Esperanto | piedo | ||
| In Esperanto, 'piedo' also refers to a unit of poetic measure, consisting of eight syllables. | |||
| Latin | pes | ||
| In Latin, the word "pes" can also refer to an infantryman or a paw. | |||
Foot in Others Languages
| Greek | πόδι | ||
| In modern Greek, the term 'πόδι' is sometimes also applied to the leg | |||
| Hmong | ko taw | ||
| The word "ko taw" can also be used to refer to the leg from the knee to the ankle. | |||
| Kurdish | ling | ||
| The Kurdish word "ling" (foot) also refers to the bottom, base, or foundation of something, conveying a sense of support and stability. | |||
| Turkish | ayak | ||
| "Ayak" can also mean "leg" and "the lower part of anything" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | unyawo | ||
| "Unyawo" is also used as a term of endearment for a child. | |||
| Yiddish | פֿיס | ||
| The Yiddish word "פֿיס" (fuss) also means "trip" or "tour" when used in the context of travel. | |||
| Zulu | unyawo | ||
| The Zulu word "unyawo" is derived from the Proto-Bantu term "-nyawi", meaning "foot, leg, or thigh". | |||
| Assamese | ফুট | ||
| Aymara | kayu | ||
| Bhojpuri | गोड़ | ||
| Dhivehi | ފައިތިލަ | ||
| Dogri | पैर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paa | ||
| Guarani | py | ||
| Ilocano | saka | ||
| Krio | fut | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پێ | ||
| Maithili | पएर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯣꯡ | ||
| Mizo | ke | ||
| Oromo | miilla | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପାଦ | ||
| Quechua | chaki | ||
| Sanskrit | पादः | ||
| Tatar | аяк | ||
| Tigrinya | እግሪ | ||
| Tsonga | nenge | ||