Friend in Different Languages
Discover 'Friend' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Friend
Afrikaans vriend | ||
Albanian shoku | ||
Amharic ጓደኛ | ||
Arabic صديق | ||
Armenian ընկեր | ||
Assamese বন্ধু | ||
Aymara amigo | ||
Azerbaijani dost | ||
Bambara terikɛ | ||
Basque laguna | ||
Belarusian сябар | ||
Bengali বন্ধু | ||
Bhojpuri दोस्त के बा | ||
Bosnian prijatelju | ||
Bulgarian приятелю | ||
Catalan amic | ||
Cebuano higala | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 朋友 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 朋友 | ||
Corsican amicu | ||
Croatian prijatelju | ||
Czech příteli | ||
Danish ven | ||
Dhivehi އެކުވެރިޔާއެވެ | ||
Dogri यार | ||
Dutch vriend | ||
English friend | ||
Esperanto amiko | ||
Estonian sõber | ||
Ewe xɔlɔ̃ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kaibigan | ||
Finnish ystävä | ||
French ami | ||
Frisian freon | ||
Galician amigo | ||
Georgian მეგობარი | ||
German freund | ||
Greek φίλος | ||
Guarani angirũ | ||
Gujarati મિત્ર | ||
Haitian Creole zanmi | ||
Hausa aboki | ||
Hawaiian hoa aloha | ||
Hebrew חבר | ||
Hindi मित्र | ||
Hmong phooj ywg | ||
Hungarian barátom | ||
Icelandic vinur | ||
Igbo enyi | ||
Ilocano gayyem | ||
Indonesian teman | ||
Irish cara | ||
Italian amico | ||
Japanese 友達 | ||
Javanese kanca | ||
Kannada ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ | ||
Kazakh досым | ||
Khmer មិត្តភក្តិ | ||
Kinyarwanda inshuti | ||
Konkani इश्ट | ||
Korean 친구 | ||
Krio padi | ||
Kurdish heval | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) هاوڕێ | ||
Kyrgyz дос | ||
Lao ເພື່ອນ | ||
Latin amica | ||
Latvian draugs | ||
Lingala moninga | ||
Lithuanian drauge | ||
Luganda mukwano gwange | ||
Luxembourgish frënd | ||
Macedonian пријател | ||
Maithili मित्र | ||
Malagasy namana | ||
Malay kawan | ||
Malayalam സുഹൃത്ത് | ||
Maltese ħabib | ||
Maori hoa | ||
Marathi मित्र | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯔꯨꯞ ꯑꯣꯏꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo ṭhianpa | ||
Mongolian найз | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သူငယ်ချင်း | ||
Nepali साथी | ||
Norwegian venn | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) bwenzi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସାଙ୍ଗ | ||
Oromo hiriyaa | ||
Pashto ملګری | ||
Persian دوست | ||
Polish przyjaciel | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) amigo | ||
Punjabi ਦੋਸਤ | ||
Quechua amigo | ||
Romanian prietene | ||
Russian друг | ||
Samoan uo | ||
Sanskrit मित्रम् | ||
Scots Gaelic caraid | ||
Sepedi mogwera | ||
Serbian пријатељу | ||
Sesotho motsoalle | ||
Shona shamwari | ||
Sindhi دوست | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මිතුරා | ||
Slovak kamarát | ||
Slovenian prijatelj | ||
Somali saaxiib | ||
Spanish amigo | ||
Sundanese sobat | ||
Swahili rafiki | ||
Swedish vän | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kaibigan | ||
Tajik дӯст | ||
Tamil நண்பர் | ||
Tatar дус | ||
Telugu స్నేహితుడు | ||
Thai เพื่อน | ||
Tigrinya ዓርኪ | ||
Tsonga munghana | ||
Turkish arkadaş | ||
Turkmen dost | ||
Twi (Akan) adamfo | ||
Ukrainian друг | ||
Urdu دوست | ||
Uyghur دوستى | ||
Uzbek do'stim | ||
Vietnamese bạn bè | ||
Welsh ffrind | ||
Xhosa umhlobo | ||
Yiddish פרייַנד | ||
Yoruba ọrẹ | ||
Zulu umngane |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "vriend" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "vriend" and also means "boyfriend" or "girlfriend". |
| Albanian | The word "shoku" in Albanian can also refer to a sworn blood brother, a close male friend, or a member of the same tribe or clan. |
| Amharic | The term ጓደኛ also indicates a 'companion' or 'neighbour'. Similar to 'companion', it connotes a less intimate, more formal relationship than another Amharic term for 'friend', ወዳጅ (wedaj). |
| Arabic | "صديق" (friend) comes from the root "صدق" (truth/honesty). |
| Armenian | Etymology: Middle Persian hamgīr (“companion, associate”), from Old Persian hami- (“together”) + kar (“maker, doer”). |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word "dost" is also used as a term of endearment between family members, similar to "dear" in English. |
| Basque | Lagun is also the word used for |
| Belarusian | The word "сябар" also has a meaning of "relative" or "kin" in Belarusian that is now archaic in Standard Belarusian. |
| Bengali | The word "বন্ধু" (bondhu) comes from the Sanskrit "bandh" meaning "to tie" or "to bind" and can also refer to a relative, ally, or associate. |
| Bosnian | The English word 'friend' is linguistically related to the Old Serbian name 'Pribijdrag' |
| Bulgarian | The word "приятелю" also means "buddy" or "pal" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The word "amic" is derived from the Latin word "amicus" and has the alternate meaning of "lover" in Catalan. |
| Cebuano | Higala shares the same root word with 'higop' and 'higugma,' which in English translates to 'kiss' and 'love', respectively. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 朋友 (pengyou) is sometimes used in Chinese to refer to a spouse or romantic interest, in addition to its literal translation of “friend.” |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 朋友, besides 'friend', also means 'partner' or 'comrade' as in '同窗好友'(classmates). |
| Corsican | Corsican 'amicu' can mean 'sweetheart' in some dialects, and is derived from the Latin word 'amicus'. |
| Croatian | In Serbian, 'prijatelju' is also a vocative form of the noun 'prijatelj', meaning 'friend'. |
| Czech | The Czech word "příteli" can also be used as a vocative form of "přítel" ("friend"), addressed directly to a male friend. |
| Danish | The Danish word "ven" is related to the English "win" and originally referred to joy and friendship. |
| Dutch | The word 'vriend' derives from the Old Dutch word 'frijond', meaning 'free one' or 'one who is not a slave'. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word “amiko” originally meant “lover” in Ido, from which Esperanto borrowed it. |
| Estonian | Sõber originates from an old Indo-European word meaning “kinsman, relative by marriage or blood". |
| Finnish | While the word "ystävä" originally meant "relative", the meaning shifted to "friend" around the 15th century. |
| Frisian | In Frisian, "freon" also means "lover" or "paramour". |
| Galician | The Galician word "amigo" can also mean "lover" or "husband". |
| Georgian | The Georgian word 'მეგობარი' originally referred to a fellow tribesman or kinsman and only later developed its current meaning of 'friend'. |
| German | The German word "Freund" has a Proto-Germanic origin dating back to the Old High German term "friunt" which originally also meant "a free man". |
| Greek | "Philos" (love, affinity, or friendship) and its cognates have a wide range of connotations that are not captured by its English counterpart "friend." |
| Gujarati | The word 'મિત્ર' derives from the Sanskrit root 'mitra,' meaning 'companion' or 'ally'. |
| Haitian Creole | The word 'zanmi' in Haitian Creole also means 'partner' and 'companion,' and is ultimately derived from the French word 'ami.' |
| Hausa | The word ‘Aboki’ has its roots in Kanuri, and it means ‘friend’, ‘brother’ and ‘comrade’. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word for 'friend', 'hoa aloha', translates as 'beloved companion'. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word חבר (ḥaver) can also refer to a partner, colleague, or member of a group or organization. |
| Hindi | The word 'मित्र' (friend) in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit root 'mitra' meaning 'friend, ally, companion'. |
| Hmong | The word "phooj ywg" can also mean "companion" or "associate" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | "Barátom" is the Hungarian word for "friend", which originates from the Slavic word "brat" meaning "brother". |
| Icelandic | The term 'vinur' in Icelandic is also used to refer to a lover or spouse, reflecting the close emotional bond shared between friends and romantic partners in the language. |
| Igbo | Enyi in Igbo also means a particular type of horse, typically used for warfare. |
| Indonesian | The word 'teman' can also refer to a peer or colleague |
| Irish | The word cara can also have the sense of love, kinship, or soulmate in Irish, and comes from the same root as the word 'caru', meaning 'to love'. |
| Italian | Amico in Italian refers to both a "friend" and a "lover" similar to the French "ami" and English "friend" and "lover". |
| Japanese | "友達 (tomodachi)" evolved from Chinese word "同道 (dōdō)" referring to the same path, suggesting it originally meant traveling companions. |
| Javanese | The word "kanca" in Javanese also refers to a particular type of Javanese puppet. |
| Kannada | The word "ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ" is also used colloquially to refer to someone who accompanies or assists another, regardless of the closeness of their relationship. |
| Kazakh | Its alternate meaning refers to a "peer", as one from the same generation. |
| Korean | 친구 (chingu) comes from the Chinese word 친구 (pengyou), meaning "companion" or "associate." |
| Kurdish | The term 'heval' is also used to refer to a 'comrade' or 'ally', particularly in a political or revolutionary context. |
| Kyrgyz | Kyrgyz "дос" is borrowed from Russian "друг", but is also used as an honorific for elders and respected people. |
| Lao | ເພື່ອນ has the alternate meaning of "assistant" in certain contexts in official Lao correspondence. |
| Latin | "Amica" and "amicus" have a common origin with "amare" which means "to love". |
| Latvian | The word "draugs" is also used in Latvian to refer to a confidant or companion. |
| Lithuanian | The word "drauge" in Lithuanian has possible origins in the Proto-Indo-European root *derg-, meaning "to hold" or "to support". |
| Macedonian | The word "пријател" in Macedonian has cognates in other Slavic languages, as well as in other Indo-European languages. |
| Malagasy | "Namana" also means "to know" and "to introduce" in Malagasy. |
| Malay | "Kawan" is an ancient word from Sanskrit which means "to cherish". |
| Malayalam | In ancient Malayalam, "സുഹൃത്ത്" also referred to a particular type of weapon. |
| Maltese | The word "ħabib" (friend) in Maltese can also refer to a lover or a spouse. |
| Maori | The word "hoa" in Maori can also mean "family group" or "group of friends and family." |
| Marathi | The Marathi word 'मित्र' (friend) is derived from the Sanskrit term 'मित्र' (sun), symbolizing warmth and companionship. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "найз" is etymologically linked to the Siberian Eskimo "найн" and Evenk "най" which also mean "friend". |
| Nepali | { "meaning": "The Sanskrit root of "साथी" is "साथ," meaning "accompany," and it also has the connotation of "partner" or "companion."" } |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "venn" originally meant "lover", and is related to the English word "Venus". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "bwenzi" in Nyanja is a term of endearment for a close friend or family member. |
| Pashto | The word "ملګری" also means "companion" or "brother" in Pashto. |
| Persian | In Sufism, "دوست" can refer to the higher self, or the divine Beloved in mystical terms. |
| Polish | The Polish word "przyjaciel" ultimately derives from the Slavic root _pri_ meaning "first", hence its primary meaning was "the first one" or "the one closest to one's heart". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "amigo" also has the meaning of "lover" or "girlfriend/boyfriend". |
| Punjabi | The word "दोस्त" (friend) in Punjabi can also refer to a lover or a spouse. |
| Romanian | "Prieten" shares its root "prii" with the word "prii" meaning kindness, benevolence and it also relates to the word "primi" meaning the first, the best. |
| Russian | The word "друг" can also mean "companion" or "comrade" in Russian. |
| Samoan | The word "uo" is also used to refer to one's siblings or cousins, reflecting the close bonds and familial nature of Samoan society. |
| Scots Gaelic | The term "caraid" in Scots Gaelic refers to a close relationship akin to kinship, extending beyond simple companionship and denoting loyalty and trustworthiness. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word 'пријатељу' can also refer to a male relative or acquaintance. |
| Sesotho | The word "motsoalle" in Sesotho can also mean "companion" or "confidant". |
| Shona | "Shamwari" also refers to a bond that goes beyong immediate relations as it incorporates neighbors who are considered as part of an extended family and community. |
| Sindhi | The word "دوست" also refers to a lover or beloved in Sindhi poetry |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "මිතුරා" (friend) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "मित्र" (friend, companion), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *mei- (to exchange). |
| Slovak | The word 'kamarát' is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *komor- meaning 'friend', 'comrade' or 'compatriot' |
| Slovenian | The word 'prijatelj' has Slavic roots and can also refer to a 'comrade' or 'member of a group'. |
| Somali | Somali word "saaxiib" also means "companion", "associate", or "ally", all words sharing the sense of partnership and mutual support. |
| Spanish | "Amigo,' originally meaning 'beloved' but later coming to mean simply 'friend,' was used with a diminutive in the phrase "mi pequeño queramigo," which later changed to "my querido amiguito,"" |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'sobat' can also refer to a sibling |
| Swahili | The term 'rafiki' is closely related to 'fairika' ('a close association'), 'fahamu' ('to know each other well'), and 'faida' ('profit or benefit'). |
| Swedish | In Swedish, "vän" also means "lover" or "beloved". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "kaibigan" can also mean "companion" or "ally" in Tagalog. |
| Tajik | The word 'дӯст' is derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word '*dhuHstu-' meaning 'enemy' |
| Tamil | The word 'நண்பர்' is derived from the root word 'நண்பு' meaning 'friendship' or 'affection', and it also means 'companion' or 'associate'. |
| Telugu | The word "స్నేహితుడు" can also mean a confidant, acquaintance, ally, or companion, depending on the context. |
| Thai | Thai word "เพื่อน" (friend) comes from Sanskrit "bandhu" meaning "relative" or "family member." |
| Turkish | The word "arkadaş" comes from the Persian word "yar" which means "companion", and also has the alternate meaning of "lover" in some Turkish dialects. |
| Ukrainian | "Друг" is a Proto-Slavic noun meaning "comrade", deriving from the root *drugъ. |
| Urdu | The Urdu word "دوست" (friend) is derived from the Sanskrit word "duṣṭa" meaning "malicious" and "wicked." |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "do'stim" derives from the Persian word "دوست" (friend) and is also used as a term of endearment. |
| Vietnamese | "Bạn bè" literally means "to share happiness" in Vietnamese, and is used to address acquaintances as well as close friends. |
| Welsh | Ff rind "friend" means "of the head" in Welsh, suggesting a strong bond that is close to the heart and mind. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, umhlobo can refer to a close friend or a lover |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "פרייַנד" is also used to refer to a boyfriend or girlfriend, a more specific meaning than the English word "friend". |
| Yoruba | Ọrẹ can also mean “one who shares” or “one who is trusted” in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | The word "umngane" also means "one who protects" in Zulu. |
| English | "Friend" comes from Old English "freond" meaning "beloved" or "affectionate." |