Fuel in Different Languages
Discover 'Fuel' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Fuel: a word that ignites our curiosity! It's the lifeblood of modern civilization, the driving force behind our vehicles, and the power behind our industries. Its significance is undeniable, as it fuels our daily lives and empowers us to explore the world. But have you ever wondered how this vital word translates in different languages?
Understanding the translation of 'fuel' in various languages can open doors to cultural exploration and global understanding. For instance, in Spanish, 'fuel' is 'combustible', while in German, it's 'Treibstoff'. In French, it's 'carburant', and in Japanese, it's '燃料' (renryō). These translations not only provide linguistic insights but also reveal fascinating cultural contexts.
Moreover, the history of 'fuel' is as intriguing as its cultural significance. From the early days of firewood and whale oil to the modern era of gasoline and nuclear power, the evolution of fuel has mirrored humanity's technological progress. So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a history buff, or simply curious, learning the translation of 'fuel' in different languages can be an enlightening journey.
Fuel
Fuel in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | brandstof | ||
| "Brandstof" was originally used to describe firewood, indicating its role as a combustible material. | |||
| Amharic | ነዳጅ | ||
| The term "ነዳጅ" in Amharic may also refer to a type of grain used to produce a traditional alcoholic beverage. | |||
| Hausa | man fetur | ||
| The Hausa word "man fetur" is originally a compound of the words "man" (oil) and "fetur" (fire). | |||
| Igbo | mmanụ ụgbọala | ||
| While the word "mmanụ ụgbọala" primarily means "fuel" in Igbo, it is etymologically a compound of two words, "mmanụ" (oil) and "ụgbọala" (car), hence its literal meaning as "car oil". | |||
| Malagasy | solika | ||
| The word "solika" also means "kerosene" and "oil" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mafuta | ||
| Mafuta has alternative meanings including "fat" and "grease" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | mafuta | ||
| The Shona word "mafuta" is also used to refer to "fats" and "oils" | |||
| Somali | shidaalka | ||
| The word "shidaalka" originates from the Arabic word "shidāqah", meaning "combustible material". | |||
| Sesotho | mafura | ||
| 'Mafura' can also refer to the fruit, leaf and oil of a local tree known as the 'mafure tree'. | |||
| Swahili | mafuta | ||
| The word "mafuta" can also refer to oil, grease, or fat, reflecting its connection to the concept of lubrication and combustion. | |||
| Xhosa | ipetroli | ||
| The word "ipetroli" is derived from the Afrikaans word "petrol", which in turn comes from the Greek word "petroleum", meaning "rock oil". | |||
| Yoruba | epo | ||
| E-pọ̀, or 'epo' can mean shea butter or palm oil when placed in context. | |||
| Zulu | uphethiloli | ||
| Uphethiloli, meaning "fuel" in Zulu, is also known as "imvuzo" or "isikhuni" when referring to firewood. | |||
| Bambara | taji | ||
| Ewe | nake | ||
| Kinyarwanda | lisansi | ||
| Lingala | carburant | ||
| Luganda | amafuta | ||
| Sepedi | makhura | ||
| Twi (Akan) | famngo | ||
Fuel in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | وقود | ||
| In addition to "fuel," وقود also means "ignition" or "kindling" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | לתדלק | ||
| The Hebrew word 'לתדלק' ('fuel') is also used to refer to the process of refueling a vehicle. | |||
| Pashto | د سونګ توکي | ||
| "د سونګ توکي" is also used to refer to the process of adding fuel to a vehicle or machine. | |||
| Arabic | وقود | ||
| In addition to "fuel," وقود also means "ignition" or "kindling" in Arabic. | |||
Fuel in Western European Languages
| Albanian | karburant | ||
| "Karburant" is an archaic word for "coal" or "charcoal" in Albanian. | |||
| Basque | erregaia | ||
| "Erregaia" in Basque also means "firewood" or "firewood pile". | |||
| Catalan | combustible | ||
| The Catalan word for "combustible" (inflammable) is "inflamable", which also means "inflammatory" in English. | |||
| Croatian | gorivo | ||
| The Croatian word "gorivo" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "goriti," meaning "to burn." | |||
| Danish | brændstof | ||
| "Brændstof" derives from the Old Norse "brandr" (fire) and "stof" (substance). | |||
| Dutch | brandstof | ||
| Brandstof derives from the Dutch verb 'branden' (to burn) and is related to the word 'branderij' (distillery). | |||
| English | fuel | ||
| The word 'fuel' derives from the Latin 'follis', meaning 'bag', and originally referred to the air used to inflate a balloon. | |||
| French | carburant | ||
| Carburant is derived from the Latin carbo, meaning "coal", and the suffix -urant, meaning "acting". | |||
| Frisian | brânstof | ||
| The word 'brânstof' is derived from the Old Frisian words 'brân' (fire) and 'stof' (dust). | |||
| Galician | combustible | ||
| German | treibstoff | ||
| The word "Treibstoff" also refers to a propellant in rocket technology. | |||
| Icelandic | eldsneyti | ||
| "Elds" in "eldsneyti" means fire, while "neyti" means "to use". | |||
| Irish | breosla | ||
| "Breosla" comes from the Old Irish word "brosnac", meaning "to excite or kindle". | |||
| Italian | carburante | ||
| The word "carburante" derives from the Latin "carbo" (coal), indicating its original use as a coal-based fuel. | |||
| Luxembourgish | brennstoff | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Brennstoff" is derived from Old High German *brant "fire" and *stof "substance", meaning literally "burning substance". | |||
| Maltese | karburant | ||
| As fuel is the main source of energy for an engine, the word “karburant” is also used to refer to the energy required for some specific actions or events, such as human effort or financial resources. | |||
| Norwegian | brensel | ||
| In Norwegian, the word "brensel" originates from the verb "brenne" meaning "to burn" and can also refer specifically to firewood. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | combustível | ||
| The word "combustível" is derived from the Latin "comburo", meaning "to burn", and is related to the verb "combustar", meaning "to set on fire". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | connadh | ||
| The word "connadh" also means "cud," a mass of partially digested food which an animal regurgitates and chews again. | |||
| Spanish | combustible | ||
| "Combustible" in Spanish also means "flammable". | |||
| Swedish | bränsle | ||
| "Bränsle" originally referred to the burning of firewood but now means "fuel" of all kinds. | |||
| Welsh | tanwydd | ||
| The Welsh word "tanwydd" derives from the Proto-Celtic root "*tanno-", meaning "to kindle" or "to burn". | |||
Fuel in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | паліва | ||
| The word "паліва" likely originates from the Proto-Slavic word "*paliti", meaning "to burn" or "to ignite." | |||
| Bosnian | gorivo | ||
| Gorivo, meaning "fuel" in Bosnian, derives from the Old Slavic word "gorjeti," meaning "to burn." | |||
| Bulgarian | гориво | ||
| In Serbo-Croatian, the cognate "gorivo" is commonly used to describe "liquid fuel" (e.g. gasoline, diesel). | |||
| Czech | palivo | ||
| The word "palivo" derives from the verb "pálit" meaning "to burn", so the literal meaning is "something that can be burned". | |||
| Estonian | kütus | ||
| The word "kütus" may also refer to the ignition of a fire, or to the amount of fuel consumed. | |||
| Finnish | polttoainetta | ||
| Polttoainetta is derived from the verb 'polttaa', meaning 'to burn'. | |||
| Hungarian | üzemanyag | ||
| The word "üzemanyag" literally translates to "operation material" in Hungarian, hinting at its role in powering various machines and devices. | |||
| Latvian | degviela | ||
| The word "degviela" is derived from the word "degt", meaning "to burn". | |||
| Lithuanian | kuras | ||
| Lithuanian 'kuras' derives from Proto-Baltic root *kur- 'to fire', from Proto-Indo-European *gʰew- 'to pour, flow'. | |||
| Macedonian | гориво | ||
| The Macedonian word "гориво" ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*gorěti" meaning "to burn" but is also related to the Macedonian verb "гори" meaning "to burn (intransitively)". | |||
| Polish | paliwo | ||
| The word "paliwo" derives from the Old Slavic word "paliti", meaning "to burn." | |||
| Romanian | combustibil | ||
| The Romanian word "combustibil" derives from the Latin "combustibilis", meaning "that can be burned". | |||
| Russian | топливо | ||
| In Old Russian, топливо means "heating, warmth." | |||
| Serbian | гориво | ||
| The Serbian word "гориво" is derived from the verb "горети" (to burn), and also means "combustible material" or "inflammable substance". | |||
| Slovak | palivo | ||
| Slovak word "palivo" comes from a Proto-Slavic word meaning "to burn". | |||
| Slovenian | gorivo | ||
| The word 'gorivo' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'gorěti', meaning 'to burn'. | |||
| Ukrainian | паливо | ||
| The word “паливо” in Ukrainian comes from the verb “палити” (to burn), ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic word “paliti” (to burn) and is cognate with the Latin word “flamma” (flame). | |||
Fuel in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | জ্বালানী | ||
| "জ্বালানী" is also used figuratively to refer to something that provides energy or impetus. | |||
| Gujarati | બળતણ | ||
| The word "બળતણ" in Gujarati comes from the Sanskrit word "बलितन" which means "offering". In ancient times, offerings were often made in the form of food, which was then burned as fuel. | |||
| Hindi | ईंधन | ||
| The word "ईंधन" is derived from the Sanskrit word "इन्धन", meaning "firewood" or "kindling". | |||
| Kannada | ಇಂಧನ | ||
| ಇಂಧನ is derived from the Sanskrit word 'indhana' meaning 'firewood' or 'combustible material'. | |||
| Malayalam | ഇന്ധനം | ||
| The word "ഇന്ധനം" (indhanam) in Malayalam literally means "that which ignites" or "that which burns," and is derived from the Sanskrit word "indhana." | |||
| Marathi | इंधन | ||
| The word 'इंधन' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'इन्धन', also meaning 'fuel' or 'burning material'. | |||
| Nepali | ईन्धन | ||
| Nepali इन्धन comes from Sanskrit ईंधन or इन्धन, which also means firewood. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਾਲਣ | ||
| The word "ਬਾਲਣ" in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "बलि" meaning "oblation" or "sacrifice", and also refers to the act of burning or setting fire. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉන්ධන | ||
| The Sinhala word "ඉන්ධන" originally meant "anything burnt as an offering". | |||
| Tamil | எரிபொருள் | ||
| Telugu | ఇంధనం | ||
| In Tamil, "indhana" is a synonym of "yakka" (sacrifice) | |||
| Urdu | ایندھن | ||
| The Urdu word "ایندھن" has the same origin as the English word "ignite". | |||
Fuel in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 汽油 | ||
| "汽" (gas) and "油" (oil) originally referred to different substances but are now used to refer to 'fuel'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 汽油 | ||
| 汽油 derives from 氣 (gas) and 油 (oil), and in earlier times could refer to kerosene. | |||
| Japanese | 燃料 | ||
| In Japanese, the word '燃' can also mean 'burn', and '料' can refer to materials or components. | |||
| Korean | 연료 | ||
| The word "연료" can also mean "firewood" or "kindling". | |||
| Mongolian | түлш | ||
| In addition to meaning "fuel," in the Mongolian language this word is also homophonous with a word that means "a type of grass." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လောင်စာဆီ | ||
Fuel in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | bahan bakar | ||
| The Indonesian word "bahan bakar" (literally "material to ignite") can also refer to other energy sources, including electricity and nuclear power. | |||
| Javanese | bahan bakar | ||
| In Javanese, “bahan bakar” is also used to refer to flammable materials such as kerosene and firewood. | |||
| Khmer | ឥន្ធនៈ | ||
| The term "ឥន្ធនៈ" in Khmer is derived from the Sanskrit word "indhana" meaning "firewood", "firewood", or "food". | |||
| Lao | ນໍ້າມັນເຊື້ອໄຟ | ||
| This word is of Khmer origin, derived from the Khmer word នំ (num), meaning 'oil'. | |||
| Malay | bahan api | ||
| The word "bahan api" is derived from the Arabic word "bahan" meaning "source" and "api" meaning "fire". It can also refer to the ignition point of a substance, or the intensity of a fire or emotion. | |||
| Thai | เชื้อเพลิง | ||
| The Thai word "เชื้อเพลิง" is derived from "เชื้อ" (combustible) and "เพลิง" (fire), referring to substances that support combustion. | |||
| Vietnamese | nhiên liệu | ||
| "Nhiên liệu" is a Sino-Vietnamese word meaning "combustible material" and "fuel" in modern Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | panggatong | ||
Fuel in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yanacaq | ||
| The word "yanacaq" in Azerbaijani shares a root with the verb "yanmaq" meaning "to burn". | |||
| Kazakh | жанармай | ||
| The Kazakh word "жанармай" is the result of merging the words "жалпын" (to burn) and "май" (oil), the result being "what burns out oil." | |||
| Kyrgyz | күйүүчү май | ||
| The word "күйүүчү май" derives from the Kyrgyz verb "күйүү" meaning "to burn" and is often used to refer specifically to diesel fuel. | |||
| Tajik | сӯзишворӣ | ||
| Turkmen | ýangyç | ||
| Uzbek | yoqilg'i | ||
| The Uzbek word "yoqilg'i" comes from the Persian words "suxtan" (to burn) and "sog'", meaning "to burn". | |||
| Uyghur | يېقىلغۇ | ||
Fuel in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | wahie | ||
| The Hawaiian word "wahie" also means "wood" or "stick". | |||
| Maori | wahie | ||
| The word "wahie" in Maori also refers to the fuel or energy derived from food. | |||
| Samoan | suauʻu | ||
| 'Suau'u' also means 'grease' in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | gasolina | ||
| The word "gasolina" in Tagalog comes from the Spanish word "gasolina", which in turn comes from the English word "gasoline". | |||
Fuel in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kunwustiwli | ||
| Guarani | ñandyratarã | ||
Fuel in International Languages
| Esperanto | brulaĵo | ||
| In Esperanto, "brulaĵo" can also mean "incendiary material" or "firecracker." | |||
| Latin | cibus | ||
| The Latin word "cibus" also means "food" and is the root of the English word "cuisine". | |||
Fuel in Others Languages
| Greek | καύσιμα | ||
| "Καύσιμα" in Greek derives from the verb "καίω" ("I burn"), and in antiquity it was especially used for firewood. | |||
| Hmong | roj | ||
| The word "roj" in Hmong also refers to a fire made for warmth, a candle, or a torch. | |||
| Kurdish | malê şewatê | ||
| Malê şewatê (literally "night water" in Kurdish) also refers to the water left out for a deceased person's soul to drink on their journey to the afterlife | |||
| Turkish | yakıt | ||
| The word "yakıt" in Turkish also refers to the combustion process itself, similar to the English word "ignition". | |||
| Xhosa | ipetroli | ||
| The word "ipetroli" is derived from the Afrikaans word "petrol", which in turn comes from the Greek word "petroleum", meaning "rock oil". | |||
| Yiddish | ברענוואַרג | ||
| The Yiddish word "ברענוואַרג" (brenovarg) derives from the German "Brennen" (to burn) and "Ware" (goods), hence "fuel". | |||
| Zulu | uphethiloli | ||
| Uphethiloli, meaning "fuel" in Zulu, is also known as "imvuzo" or "isikhuni" when referring to firewood. | |||
| Assamese | ইন্ধন | ||
| Aymara | kunwustiwli | ||
| Bhojpuri | ईंधन | ||
| Dhivehi | ތެޔޮ | ||
| Dogri | कोला | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | panggatong | ||
| Guarani | ñandyratarã | ||
| Ilocano | sungrud | ||
| Krio | fyuɛl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | سووتەمەنی | ||
| Maithili | ईन्धन | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯥꯎ | ||
| Mizo | meichaw | ||
| Oromo | boba'aa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଇନ୍ଧନ | ||
| Quechua | gasolina | ||
| Sanskrit | ईंधन | ||
| Tatar | ягулык | ||
| Tigrinya | ነዳዲ | ||
| Tsonga | mafurha | ||