Ghost in Different Languages
Discover 'Ghost' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Ghost
Afrikaans spook | ||
Albanian fantazmë | ||
Amharic ghost | ||
Arabic شبح | ||
Armenian ուրվական | ||
Assamese ভুত | ||
Aymara kukuli | ||
Azerbaijani xəyal | ||
Bambara ja | ||
Basque mamua | ||
Belarusian прывід | ||
Bengali প্রেতাত্মা | ||
Bhojpuri भूत | ||
Bosnian duh | ||
Bulgarian призрак | ||
Catalan fantasma | ||
Cebuano multo | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 鬼 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 鬼 | ||
Corsican ghost | ||
Croatian duh | ||
Czech duch | ||
Danish spøgelse | ||
Dhivehi ފުރޭތަ | ||
Dogri भूत | ||
Dutch geest | ||
English ghost | ||
Esperanto fantomo | ||
Estonian kummitus | ||
Ewe ŋɔli | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) multo | ||
Finnish aave | ||
French fantôme | ||
Frisian geast | ||
Galician pantasma | ||
Georgian მოჩვენება | ||
German geist | ||
Greek φάντασμα | ||
Guarani póra | ||
Gujarati ભૂત | ||
Haitian Creole fantom | ||
Hausa fatalwa | ||
Hawaiian ʻuhane | ||
Hebrew רוּחַ | ||
Hindi भूत | ||
Hmong dab | ||
Hungarian szellem | ||
Icelandic draugur | ||
Igbo mmuo | ||
Ilocano ar-arya | ||
Indonesian hantu | ||
Irish púca | ||
Italian fantasma | ||
Japanese 幽霊 | ||
Javanese memedi | ||
Kannada ಭೂತ | ||
Kazakh елес | ||
Khmer ខ្មោច | ||
Kinyarwanda umuzimu | ||
Konkani भूत | ||
Korean 유령 | ||
Krio gost | ||
Kurdish rûh | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) تارمایی | ||
Kyrgyz арбак | ||
Lao ຜີ | ||
Latin exspiravit | ||
Latvian spoks | ||
Lingala mongandji | ||
Lithuanian vaiduoklis | ||
Luganda omuzimu | ||
Luxembourgish geescht | ||
Macedonian духот | ||
Maithili भूत | ||
Malagasy masina | ||
Malay hantu | ||
Malayalam പ്രേതം | ||
Maltese ghost | ||
Maori kēhua | ||
Marathi भूत | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯚꯨꯠ | ||
Mizo thlahrang | ||
Mongolian сүнс | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သရဲ | ||
Nepali भूत | ||
Norwegian spøkelse | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mzukwa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଭୂତ | ||
Oromo ekeraa | ||
Pashto غرق | ||
Persian روح | ||
Polish duch | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) fantasma | ||
Punjabi ਭੂਤ | ||
Quechua manchachi | ||
Romanian fantomă | ||
Russian призрак | ||
Samoan aitu | ||
Sanskrit प्रेत | ||
Scots Gaelic taibhse | ||
Sepedi sepoko | ||
Serbian дух | ||
Sesotho sepoko | ||
Shona chipoko | ||
Sindhi بھوت | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) අවතාරය | ||
Slovak duch | ||
Slovenian duh | ||
Somali cirfiid | ||
Spanish fantasma | ||
Sundanese hantu | ||
Swahili mzuka | ||
Swedish spöke | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) multo | ||
Tajik шабаҳ | ||
Tamil பேய் | ||
Tatar арбак | ||
Telugu దెయ్యం | ||
Thai ผี | ||
Tigrinya መንፈስ | ||
Tsonga xipuku | ||
Turkish hayalet | ||
Turkmen arwah | ||
Twi (Akan) saman | ||
Ukrainian привид | ||
Urdu بھوت | ||
Uyghur ئەرۋاھ | ||
Uzbek arvoh | ||
Vietnamese con ma | ||
Welsh ysbryd | ||
Xhosa isiporho | ||
Yiddish גייַסט | ||
Yoruba iwin | ||
Zulu isipoki |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "spook" comes from the Dutch word "spook", which itself comes from the Middle Dutch word "spōk", meaning "apparition". |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "fantazmë" is derived from the Greek "phantasma" meaning "illusion". |
| Amharic | The Amharic word መንፈስ (menfes) means "spirit" but can also refer to a ghost or apparition. |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "شبح" (ghost) derives from the root "شبح" (to vanish, disappear), suggesting its ethereal nature. |
| Armenian | The word "ուրվական" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂erǵ- meaning "to move," and is related to the Greek word "ἔργον" (érgon) meaning "work." |
| Azerbaijani | In Azerbaijani folklore, it was believed that a person who died before his or her time turned into “xəyal” and wandered around, haunting their family and friends. |
| Basque | "Mamua" has been linked with the Latin "anima" (soul) and the Greek "phantasma" (specter), suggesting that the word carries different connotations beyond the usual "ghost". |
| Belarusian | The word "прывід" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *prividъ, which also meant "phantom" or "apparition". |
| Bengali | The word "প্রেতাত্মা" is derived from Sanskrit and means "disembodied spirit" or "ancestor". |
| Bosnian | In Serbo-Croatian, 'duh' can also mean 'soul' or 'spirit'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "призрак" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "prizraku", which means "apparition" or "phantom." |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "fantasma" comes from the Greek "phasma" meaning "apparition" but can also refer to a "bogeyman". |
| Cebuano | The term "multo" is also used to refer to a "spectre" or "apparition" in Cebuano. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Chinese mythology, the 鬼 symbol can also represent deities, spirits, or supernatural beings. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "鬼" (Traditional Chinese) not only refers to supernatural beings, but also carries connotations of cleverness, cunning, and mischief. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word 'fantasma' can also refer to a 'phantom' or 'apparition'. |
| Croatian | The word 'duh' is also used to refer to someone who is deceased but has not yet passed over to the other side. |
| Czech | "Duch" can also mean "spirit" or "soul" in Czech, and is related to the word "dýchat" (to breathe). |
| Danish | The word "spøgelse" is derived from the Old Norse word "spøki", meaning "appearance" or "apparition". |
| Dutch | In addition to being a ghost, a "geest" can also refer to barren and sandy soil and, in some regions, to a forest. |
| Esperanto | The word "fantomo" is derived from the Greek word "phantasma", meaning "phantom" or "illusion". It can also be used figuratively to refer to a person or thing that is elusive or intangible. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "kummitus" can also refer to a scarecrow or a ghost, and has no etymological connection to the English word "ghost". |
| Finnish | The word "aave" is related to the Estonian word "vaim", meaning "spirit" or "soul". It may also derive from the Proto-Finnic word "*awa", meaning "shadow". The latter etymology is supported by the fact that "aave" can also refer to a shadow or reflection. |
| French | The French word "fantôme" derives from the Greek word "phantasma," meaning "appearance" or "illusion." |
| Frisian | The word "geast" derives from the Old Frisian "gāst", meaning "guest" or "visitor". |
| Galician | The word "pantasma" in Galician has its origins in the Greek word "phantasma," which means "imaginary appearance". |
| German | The word "Geist" in German has connections to the English word "guest" and can also mean "spirit" or "mind." |
| Greek | The term "φάντασμα" is also used metaphorically to describe something unreal, illusory, or deceptive |
| Gujarati | The Sanskrit origin of "ભૂત" suggests an alternate meaning of "a being," expanding its significance beyond just a spectral entity. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "fantom" in Haitian Creole has its origins in the French word "fantôme", also meaning "ghost". |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "fatalwa" may have originated from the Arabic "fatl" meaning "destruction". |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word ʻuhane can also refer to the spirit or soul of a person or deity. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word “רוּחַ” also means breath, and like breath, is considered a life force. |
| Hindi | "भूत" (ghost) from Sanskrit "bhu" (to become) also means past, existence, element, and creature. |
| Hmong | The word 'dab' is derived from the Proto-Hmong-Mien word *tɔ:p, meaning 'spirit' or 'soul'. |
| Hungarian | The word "szellem" also means "spirit" or "mind" in Hungarian. |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic folklore, a draugur is an undead creature believed to be the ghost of a person who died a violent death or was not properly buried. |
| Igbo | Mmuo can also refer to a masquerade or a spirit being that embodies the ancestors. |
| Indonesian | The word 'hantu' is also used to refer to a malevolent spirit that haunts a particular place or person. |
| Irish | The Irish word "Púca" can refer to a variety of supernatural creatures, including mischievous fairies, malevolent spirits, and shapeshifters. |
| Italian | Fantasma is a borrowed word from the Greek 'phantasma', meaning 'image' or 'illusion'. |
| Japanese | The word "幽霊" (ghost) in Japanese originally meant "faint light" or "shadow". |
| Javanese | The word "memedi" can also refer to an "invisible presence" or "something eerie". |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ಭೂತ" can also refer to a type of spirit or deity that is believed to inhabit specific places or objects. |
| Kazakh | The word "елес" also means "breath" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | The word "ខ្មោច" (ghost) is derived from an Austroasiatic root, related to Proto-Mon-Khmer *kmɔŋ "spirit, deity". |
| Korean | The word "유령" can also refer to a person who haunts a place or a memory that refuses to fade. |
| Kurdish | The term "rûh" is used as a generic synonym of "spirit," but can sometimes refer only to the spirit that remains on earth after a physical body's death. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "арбак," derived from the Persian "arvak," suggests a connection to spirits or restless souls. |
| Lao | The word "ຜີ" (ghost) can also refer to spirits, ancestors, or deities. |
| Latin | The Latin term "exspiravit" can be used to depict the final departure of breath on the verge of death. |
| Latvian | Latvian "spoks" ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *sper-, cognate with English "scare" |
| Lithuanian | The word "vaiduoklis" may have originated from the verb "vaidentis", meaning "to appear". Other possible etymologies include the Lithuanian word "vaiduos" (a seer) or the Slavic word "упырь" (a vampire). |
| Macedonian | The word "духот" can also mean "spirit", "soul", "breath", "smell", "aroma", or "scent" in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "masina" can also refer to a spirit of a deceased person or an evil spirit. |
| Malay | The word "hantu" in Malay is thought to originate from the Proto-Austronesian word "*qanitu," which means "spirit" or "soul." |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "പ്രേതം" derives from Sanskrit and also refers to a "corpse". |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "fantasm" is derived from the Greek word "phantasma", meaning "apparition" or "illusion" |
| Maori | In Māori mythology, `kēhua` can also refer to a physical representation of a deceased person who returns to their home or place of death. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "भूत" can also refer to the past or elapsed time. |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian folklore, the word “сүнс” can also refer to spirits of the ancestors, or to malignant spirits who cause illness. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သရဲ originates from Pali "seti" which means "corpse, dead body, lifeless body." |
| Nepali | The word "भूत" can also mean "past" or "time gone by". |
| Norwegian | "Spøkelse" originally meant "mockery," which reflects the idea that ghosts are often seen as tricksters or deceivers. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In some dialects, "mzukwa" also refers to a water spirit. |
| Pashto | The word غرق can also mean "to drown" or "to be submerged in water" in Pashto. |
| Persian | روح in Persian can also refer to breath, life force, spirit, soul and mind |
| Polish | In Polish, duch may also refer to spirit or soul. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Fantasma can also mean illusion, hallucination, or apparition, deriving from the Greek word 'phantasma' for 'apparition'. |
| Punjabi | The term "ਭੂਤ" not only means a ghost but also a spirit, demon or even an evil force. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "fantomă" has its origins in the Greek word "phantasma", meaning "apparition" or "illusion". |
| Russian | Prizrak (призрак) in Russian also means phantom, apparition, or specter |
| Samoan | "Aitu" can also refer to spirits of departed ancestors or deities in Samoan mythology. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Gaelic the word “taibhse” is also a term for a person’s physical form after death or their appearance in a dream. |
| Serbian | In Serbian the word "дух" can mean both "spirit" and "ghost".} |
| Sesotho | The word 'sepoko' is also used to refer to 'an evil or harmful spirit' or a 'familiar spirit'. |
| Shona | The Shona word "chipoko" can also mean "spirit of a deceased person" or "spirit medium" depending on the context. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "بھوت" (ghost) has the same Persian origin as the term "bodhi" (enlightenment), as the ghosts in Indo-Aryan folklore were viewed as enlightened spiritual beings. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "අවතාරය" can in rare or literary cases also reference a reincarnation or an incarnation. |
| Slovak | In old Slavic duch meant "breath", but in Slovak the word has a different meaning: "ghost". |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word "duh" also means "spirit" or "soul". |
| Somali | Cirfiid, in Somali, may originate from the Arabic word 'sarf', meaning 'to turn away' or 'to change direction', implying the ephemeral nature of ghosts. |
| Spanish | The word 'fantasma' derives from the Greek 'phantasma', meaning 'appearance' or 'illusion'. It also has connotations of 'specter' or 'phantom'. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "hantu" derives from the Old Sundanese word "hancu", meaning "corpse", and originally referred to the vengeful ghost of a person whose body had been mistreated. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "mzuka" also refers to the soul of a living person or one that has departed from their body. |
| Swedish | While "spöke" is commonly used for "ghost," it originally referred to a "phantom" that could have been a hallucination. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "multo" is derived from the Spanish word "muerto", which means "dead". |
| Tajik | Шабаҳ also means "mirage" and is thought to derive from the Persian word "shabah" meaning "likeness" or "image." |
| Tamil | The word "பேய்" can also mean "devil" or "demon" in Tamil. |
| Thai | In Thai, 'ผี' can also refer to a person's spirit, a guardian spirit, or a spirit of a deceased person. |
| Turkish | In Turkish, the word hayalet not only refers to a ghost but can also mean 'illusion' or 'phantasm', highlighting the idea that ghosts are often perceived as intangible or dreamlike entities. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "привид" (ghost) can also refer to a phantom or an apparition. |
| Urdu | The word "بھوت" can also refer to a spiritual being or a supernatural entity. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "arvoh" has alternate meanings including "shadow" and "reflection" in addition to "ghost." |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "ma" can also refer to a malevolent deity or spirit, or to the spirit of a deceased person. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'ysbryd', meaning 'spirit' or 'soul', is cognate with the Irish 'spiorad', the Breton 'spered' and the Latin 'spiritus' |
| Xhosa | "Isiporho" in Xhosa can also refer to a legendary creature associated with the ocean. |
| Yiddish | Derived from the German "geist" meaning 'spirit', "גייַסט" can also refer to an apparition or spirit of a dead person. |
| Yoruba | In modern Yoruba, the word "iwin" can also mean "spirit" or "phantom". |
| Zulu | The name "isipoki" may refer to a traditional spirit or a departed human soul or both depending on the context |
| English | The word 'ghost' stems from the Old English word 'gast', meaning 'breath' or 'spirit'. |