Gender in different languages

Gender in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

Gender is a significant and culturally important concept that refers to the roles, behaviors, activities, and expectations that a society considers appropriate for men and women. It is a social and cultural construct that varies across different cultures and historical periods. Understanding the translation of gender in different languages can provide valuable insights into how different cultures view and construct gender. For instance, in some languages, such as German and Dutch, there are separate words for sex (Geschlecht and geslacht, respectively) and gender (Gender and gender, respectively), while in other languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, the same word is used to refer to both. Moreover, some languages, such as Native American languages, have more than two genders, reflecting their societies' complex understanding of gender. By exploring the translations of gender in different languages, we can deepen our appreciation for the rich diversity of human cultures and broaden our perspective on gender.

Gender


Gender in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansgeslag
The word "geslag" in Afrikaans is derived from "geslacht" in Dutch, meaning "kindred" or "family line."
Amharicፆታ
The word 'ፆታ' is also used to describe the biological sex of a person or animal.
Hausajinsi
In the Kanuri language, 'jinsi' refers to the grammatical concept of gender, while in Hausa, it exclusively denotes biological sex.
Igbookike
'Okike', meaning gender or nature in Igbo language, is also a name given to female children born on the traditional market day, Nkwo or Afo
Malagasylahy sy ny vavy
Nyanja (Chichewa)jenda
"Jenda" in Nyanja can also refer to a tribe, race, or ethnic group.
Shonajenda
The noun 'jenda' is also borrowed into the Swahili language, where it means both 'nature' or 'essence' and 'gender'.
Somalijinsiga
The Somali word 'jinsiga' can also refer to 'species' or 'type'.
Sesothobong
In Sesotho, the word "bong" can refer to gender as well as a musical instrument, a hairstyle, or a type of bird.
Swahilijinsia
The Swahili word "jinsia" can also mean "type" or "species" depending on the context
Xhosaisini
"Isini" also means "sex" as in "biological sex"
Yorubaiwa
The word "iwa" also means "character" or "behavior" in Yoruba.
Zuluubulili
In Zulu, 'ubulili' also refers to the way a person carries themselves or their demeanor.
Bambaracɛnimusoya
Ewena
Kinyarwandauburinganire
Lingalamobali to mwasi
Lugandaobutonde
Sepedibong
Twi (Akan)bɔbea

Gender in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicجنس
The triliteral root of جنس (j-n-s) has several meanings related to kind, race, or origin.
Hebrewמִין
The word מִין (gender) also has the alternate meanings "species" or "type" in Hebrew.
Pashtoجندر
The Pashto word "جندر" can also refer to "kind" or "type".
Arabicجنس
The triliteral root of جنس (j-n-s) has several meanings related to kind, race, or origin.

Gender in Western European Languages

Albaniangjinia
The word "gjinia" (gender) in Albanian derives from the Latin word "genus" (kind) and can also mean "race" or "ethnicity".
Basquegeneroa
The Basque word "generoa" derives ultimately from the Latin "genus", which also means "kind", "type", "race", or "family".
Catalangènere
The word "gènere" in Catalan derives from the Latin word "genus" and retains its original meaning of "kind" or "group".
Croatianspol
Spol can also mean 'half' in certain contexts, e.g. 'spol kolača' ('half a cake').
Danishkøn
The Danish word "køn" can also refer to physical beauty, charm, or attractiveness.
Dutchgeslacht
"Geslacht" relates to "kindred" or "lineage" and originally referred to male-female distinction in humans, later expanding to cover animals and plants.
Englishgender
The word 'gender' comes from the Latin 'genus' meaning 'kind' or 'class'.
Frenchle sexe
In French,
Frisiangeslacht
Like in Dutch, it refers to one's biological sex, but also can refer to one's family lineage.
Galicianxénero
"Xénero" also translates to "kind" or "sort" in Galician, as in "xénero de comedia" (genre of comedy).
Germangeschlecht
Geschlecht, in German, can also refer to biological sex, family, lineage, or tribe.
Icelandickyn
The Icelandic word "kyn" also means "race" or "type."
Irishinscne
The word "inscne" in Irish also refers to the genus of plants or animals.
Italiangenere
"Genere" in Italian can also mean "kind", "type", or "genre", depending on the context.
Luxembourgishgeschlecht
The Luxembourgish word "Geschlecht" can also refer to "race" or "family" in addition to "gender."
Maltesesess
The Maltese word "sess" is etymologically related to the Semitic root *θ-s-s*, meaning "to be firm", "to be solid", or "to be steadfast".
Norwegiankjønn
In Norwegian, kjønn means not only gender but can also refer to sex, which encompasses both anatomy and biology.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)gênero
In Portuguese, the word "gênero" can also refer to a genre or type, as in "gênero musical" (musical genre).
Scots Gaelicgnè
"Gnè" is cognate with "genus" and "kind" and is used for both "gender" and for "species"
Spanishgénero
Spanish "género" traces its etymology to "genus" and encompasses semantic realms of "type", "kind", and "genre".
Swedishkön
The Swedish word "kön" also means "queue" or "line," reflecting the idea that people are often arranged in lines based on their gender.
Welshrhyw
The word "rhyw" in Welsh also means "species, kind, sort"}

Gender in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпадлогу
Падлог (podlog) also means "floor" and derives from the Proto-Slavic *podъlъgъ, with the root "pod" meaning "under" and "lъgъ" meaning "lying surface".
Bosnianpol
In Bosnian, the word 'pol' can also refer to the geographical axis of the Earth, in addition to meaning 'gender'.
Bulgarianпол
The word "пол" in Bulgarian can also refer to "floor" or "half".
Czechrod
Czech "rod" (gender) may also refer to lineage, birth, origin, or species.
Estoniansugu
Sugu means 'race' in Finnish, and 'gender' in Estonian.
Finnishsukupuoli
Sukupuoli has been used with various meanings in Finnish: sex, kind, family, generation, descent, lineage, race, stock, or a tribe.
Hungariannem
The word "nem" in Hungarian can also mean "species" or "type".
Latviandzimums
The word "dzimums" also means "sex" and is derived from the Proto-Baltic word "*dʰĝʰim-ó-s" meaning "to give birth".
Lithuanianlytis
The Lithuanian word "Lytis" also means "essence" or "nature."
Macedonianпол
In Old Slavic, the word "пол" referred to a half of a whole, a side, or a direction.
Polishpłeć
The Polish word "płeć" has multiple meanings, including "gender", "sex", and "breed".
Romaniangen
The word "gen" in Romanian has a related meaning to "genus" in Latin, as it refers to the classification of things, such as gender, species, or category.
Russianпол
The Russian word "Пол" also means "half" or "side" and is related to the words "половина" "half" and "полоса" "band".
Serbianпол
"Pol" is also used in Serbian to refer to "sex", "floor", "earth", "soil", "field" and "field of study".
Slovakrod
Slovak "rod" corresponds to the English "family" and the Russian "род".
Slovenianspol
The word 'spol' can also refer to the sex of an animal or plant, or to the kind or type of something.
Ukrainianстать
The word "Стать" in Ukrainian also means "to become" or "to start to be".

Gender in South Asian Languages

Bengaliলিঙ্গ
Gujaratiલિંગ
The Gujarati word "લિંગ" ("gender") also means "sign, mark, symptom, characteristic, attribute, property, or characteristic mark".
Hindiलिंग
In Sanskrit, 'लिंग' also means 'sign, mark, or characteristic.
Kannadaಲಿಂಗ
In Kannada, "ಲಿಂಗ" can also mean a symbol or an ornament worn by Hindu men.
Malayalamലിംഗഭേദം
In Malayalam, the term "ലിംഗഭേദം" also means the "identification of one's gender".
Marathiलिंग
Nepaliलि .्ग
"लि .्ग " is also the Nepali word for "a mark" on the forehead worn by Hindus (a 'tilak')
Punjabiਲਿੰਗ
In Punjabi, the term "ਲਿੰਗ" ("gender") is derived from Sanskrit and originally referred to biological sex but has since expanded to encompass a broader range of meanings, including gender identity and expression.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ස්ත්රී පුරුෂ භාවය
Tamilபாலினம்
Teluguలింగం
The root of 'లింగం' (gender) also denotes the 'shape,' 'characteristic' or 'appearance' in some contexts.
Urduصنف
In the Urdu language, "صنف" can also mean "type" or "kind" of something.

Gender in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)性别
性别 (gender) comes from 性 (nature or property) + 别 (to divide). It can also refer to the biological characteristics distinguishing males from females or sexual characteristics.
Chinese (Traditional)性別
性別 can also refer to "sex" as in "biological sex", and is also used when describing the "sex of an object", like a car.
Japanese性別
性別 is the Japanese translation of the English word “gender,” and carries the same meaning in the context of social or cultural identity, but it can also be used to refer to grammatical gender or biological sex.
Korean성별
In Korean, "성별" also means "nature/disposition" and shares its characters with the Chinese term "性別" (sex).
Mongolianхүйс
"Хүйс" can mean not only 'gender' but also 'nature', or 'quality' in Mongolian.
Myanmar (Burmese)ကျားမ
“ကျားမ” also means “male and female animals” and is used as the counting word for animals.

Gender in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianjenis kelamin
In Indonesian, the word "jenis kelamin" can also refer to the biological sex of an organism, as well as the social and cultural roles and expectations associated with different sexes.
Javanesejinis kelamin
Khmerភេទ
The Khmer word ភេទ (gender) derives from the Sanskrit word bheda, meaning "distinction" or "difference".
Laoເພດ
The Lao word "ເພດ" (gender) can also mean "sex" or "type".
Malayjantina
The Malay word "jantina" is derived from the Sanskrit word "janta", meaning "race, kind, species"
Thaiเพศ
The Thai word "เพศ" can also mean "species" or "kind".
Vietnamesegiới tính
In Vietnamese, "giới tính" also refers to "sex" in the biological sense, as opposed to "phái tính" (sexuality).
Filipino (Tagalog)kasarian

Gender in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanicinsiyyət
"Cinsiyyət" (gender) comes from the Arabic root "j-n-s" meaning "kind, group, or type," and can also refer to "sex" in Azerbaijani.
Kazakhжыныс
The term "жыныс" originally meant "birth" and has its roots in the Uralic languages
Kyrgyzжынысы
Tajikҷинс
The term "ҷинс" may also refer to a grammatical gender or linguistic gender in the Tajik language
Turkmenjyns
Uzbekjins
In Uzbek, the word “jins” can also mean "birth" or "origin".
Uyghurجىنسى

Gender in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankāne kāne
In the Hawaiian language, kāne kāne is used more often as a synonym for "male" and is less common as a general term for "gender."
Maoriira tangata
The word “ira tangata” in Maori can also refer to a person’s mana, or spiritual status.
Samoanitupa
Itupa can also refer to an 'itupā', which is a large bundle of fine woven floor sleeping mats used as traditional bedding to keep warm during the night.
Tagalog (Filipino)kasarian
The Tagalog word "kasarian" also means "sexuality" or "sexual orientation".

Gender in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajiniru
Guaranimeña

Gender in International Languages

Esperantosekso
The Esperantist term for "gender" is "sekso," from the word "sekso" meaning "sex". In Esperanto, the two concepts are not as rigidly distinct as they often are in English.
Latingenus
The Latin word 'genus' originally referred to 'birth' or 'origin', also bearing meanings such as 'race', 'type', or 'kind'.

Gender in Others Languages

Greekγένος
Γένος primarily referred to birth, descent, stock, or race but came to mean 'sex' under Hellenistic influence.
Hmongtub los ntxhais
The term "tub los ntxhais" in Hmong is also used to refer to other attributes such as sex, gender identity, and sexuality.
Kurdishzayendî
In Sorani, "zayendî" also denotes a group of musicians who play at weddings and other gatherings.
Turkishcinsiyet
In addition to "gender," "cinsiyet" also means "the characteristic of being male or female" and is derived from the Arabic word "jins" meaning "sex."
Xhosaisini
"Isini" also means "sex" as in "biological sex"
Yiddishדזשענדער
The Yiddish word "דזשענדער" (dzhender) is derived from the German word "Geschlecht".
Zuluubulili
In Zulu, 'ubulili' also refers to the way a person carries themselves or their demeanor.
Assameseলিংগ
Aymarajiniru
Bhojpuriलिंग
Dhivehiޖިންސު
Dogriलिंग
Filipino (Tagalog)kasarian
Guaranimeña
Ilocanokinatao
Kriobɔy ɔ gal
Kurdish (Sorani)ڕەگەز
Maithiliलिंग
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯖꯦꯟꯗꯔ
Mizomipa leh hmeichhe thliarna
Oromokoorniyaa
Odia (Oriya)ଲିଙ୍ଗ
Quechuaima kay
Sanskritलिंग
Tatarҗенес
Tigrinyaፆታ
Tsongarimbewu

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