Afrikaans regering | ||
Albanian qeveria | ||
Amharic መንግሥት | ||
Arabic حكومة | ||
Armenian կառավարություն | ||
Assamese চৰকাৰ | ||
Aymara irpiri | ||
Azerbaijani hökumət | ||
Bambara gofɛrɛnaman | ||
Basque gobernu | ||
Belarusian ўрада | ||
Bengali সরকার | ||
Bhojpuri सरकार | ||
Bosnian vlada | ||
Bulgarian правителство | ||
Catalan govern | ||
Cebuano gobyerno | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 政府 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 政府 | ||
Corsican guvernu | ||
Croatian vlada | ||
Czech vláda | ||
Danish regering | ||
Dhivehi ސަރުކާރު | ||
Dogri सरकार | ||
Dutch regering | ||
English government | ||
Esperanto registaro | ||
Estonian valitsus | ||
Ewe dziɖuɖu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pamahalaan | ||
Finnish hallitus | ||
French gouvernement | ||
Frisian regear | ||
Galician goberno | ||
Georgian მთავრობა | ||
German regierung | ||
Greek κυβέρνηση | ||
Guarani tetãrerekua | ||
Gujarati સરકાર | ||
Haitian Creole gouvènman an | ||
Hausa gwamnati | ||
Hawaiian aupuni | ||
Hebrew מֶמְשָׁלָה | ||
Hindi सरकार | ||
Hmong tseem fwv | ||
Hungarian kormány | ||
Icelandic ríkisstjórn | ||
Igbo ọchịchị | ||
Ilocano gobierno | ||
Indonesian pemerintah | ||
Irish rialtas | ||
Italian governo | ||
Japanese 政府 | ||
Javanese pamrentah | ||
Kannada ಸರ್ಕಾರ | ||
Kazakh үкімет | ||
Khmer រដ្ឋាភិបាល | ||
Kinyarwanda guverinoma | ||
Konkani सरकार | ||
Korean 정부 | ||
Krio gɔvmɛnt | ||
Kurdish rêvebir | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) حکومەت | ||
Kyrgyz өкмөт | ||
Lao ລັດຖະບານ | ||
Latin imperium | ||
Latvian valdība | ||
Lingala boyangeli | ||
Lithuanian vyriausybė | ||
Luganda gavumenti | ||
Luxembourgish regierung | ||
Macedonian влада | ||
Maithili सरकार | ||
Malagasy fitondram-panjakana | ||
Malay kerajaan | ||
Malayalam സർക്കാർ | ||
Maltese gvern | ||
Maori kāwanatanga | ||
Marathi सरकार | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯔꯀꯥꯔ | ||
Mizo sawrkar | ||
Mongolian засгийн газар | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အစိုးရ | ||
Nepali सरकार | ||
Norwegian myndighetene | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) boma | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସରକାର | ||
Oromo mootummaa | ||
Pashto حکومت | ||
Persian دولت | ||
Polish rząd | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) governo | ||
Punjabi ਸਰਕਾਰ | ||
Quechua kamachiy | ||
Romanian guvern | ||
Russian правительство | ||
Samoan malo | ||
Sanskrit शासन | ||
Scots Gaelic riaghaltas | ||
Sepedi mmušo | ||
Serbian влада | ||
Sesotho mmuso | ||
Shona hurumende | ||
Sindhi گورنمينٽ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) රජය | ||
Slovak vláda | ||
Slovenian vlada | ||
Somali dowladda | ||
Spanish gobierno | ||
Sundanese pamaréntahan | ||
Swahili serikali | ||
Swedish regering | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) gobyerno | ||
Tajik ҳукумат | ||
Tamil அரசு | ||
Tatar хөкүмәт | ||
Telugu ప్రభుత్వం | ||
Thai รัฐบาล | ||
Tigrinya መንግስቲ | ||
Tsonga mfumo | ||
Turkish hükümet | ||
Turkmen hökümet | ||
Twi (Akan) aban | ||
Ukrainian уряд | ||
Urdu حکومت | ||
Uyghur ھۆكۈمەت | ||
Uzbek hukumat | ||
Vietnamese chính quyền | ||
Welsh llywodraeth | ||
Xhosa urhulumente | ||
Yiddish רעגירונג | ||
Yoruba ijoba | ||
Zulu uhulumeni |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "regering" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "regering", which in turn is derived from the French word "gouvernement", meaning "to govern". |
| Albanian | The word 'qeveria' originally denoted 'rule over a household', but its meaning later evolved to refer to 'political power'. |
| Amharic | The word "መንግሥት" (mengist) has a primary meaning of "government", but it also signifies "reign" and "kingdom." |
| Arabic | حكومة is sometimes used in a figurative sense to refer to an organized body, e.g. a company, an institution, or even a group of individuals |
| Azerbaijani | The word "hökumət" in Azerbaijani, derived from the Arabic word "hukm" (order), also carries the connotation of "judgment" or "decree". |
| Basque | "Gobernu" originates from the Latin word "gubernaculum", meaning "helm" or "rudder", reflecting the idea of steering and guiding a community. |
| Belarusian | The word "ўрада" in Belarusian comes from the Old East Slavic word "voditi" meaning "to lead" or "to rule." |
| Bengali | "সরকার" is derived from the Sanskrit word "सरकार". In ancient India, a "सरकार" was a provincial governor appointed by a king. |
| Bosnian | "Vlada" comes from the Slavic word "vladati," which means "power" or "dominion." |
| Bulgarian | The word "правителство" is derived from the Slavic root "витель", meaning "ruler" or "governor", and is related to the words "правило" (rule) and "управление" (management). |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "govern" derives from the Latin "gubernare," meaning "to steer a ship" or "to control," and has come to mean "government" or "administration." |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "gobyerno" is a borrowing from the Spanish word "gobierno" which refers specifically to a political or military regime, or to an entity exercising political and military control over a specified territory |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The word "政府" originally meant "to regulate the people", and it later came to mean "government". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 政府 (zhèngfǔ) can also mean 'the ruling party' in Chinese. |
| Corsican | The word "guvernu" in Corsican comes from the Italian "governo," which itself derives from the Latin "gubernare" (to steer or direct). |
| Croatian | In Croatian, "vlada" (government) originates from the Slavic root "vlad-," meaning "to rule, master." |
| Czech | The word "vláda" in Czech can also mean "power" or "authority" |
| Danish | The Danish word "regering" is derived from the Old Norse word "ríki", meaning "power" or "rule." |
| Dutch | The word "regering" in Dutch can also refer to a specific type of fabric or a type of ship. |
| Esperanto | "Registaro" derives from Latin "rego", "regis" (to rule), French "registre" (register) and English "register", sharing its spelling with Italian and with the "register" in English, meaning an official list or record, such as of births, marriages and deaths. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "valitsus" derives from the verb "valitsema" meaning "to rule" or "to govern". |
| Finnish | The term hallitus (meaning "government") is derived from the word "haltija", meaning a ruler, a deity or a spirit. |
| French | Gouvernement derives from the Latin word gubernare, meaning "to steer a ship" |
| Frisian | The word "regear" in Frisian also means "to steer, control, or manage something." |
| Galician | The word "goberno" is derived from the Latin word "gubernare" (to control, to regulate). |
| Georgian | The Georgian word for "government" is derived from the Old Georgian word for "head" or "lord". |
| German | The word 'Regierung' is derived from the Old High German word 'rihhari', meaning 'administration' or 'power'. |
| Greek | The Greek word "κυβέρνηση" originated from the ancient Greek word "κυβερνάω" (kyvernao), meaning "to steer a ship". |
| Haitian Creole | Gouvènman an derives from the French word "gouvernement" and also means "administration". |
| Hausa | "Gwamnati" in Hausa also refers to the ruling authority or administration of a country. |
| Hawaiian | ʻAupuni derives from the word ʻau, meaning "to guard" and puni meaning "the land", thereby indicating the traditional function of government to protect the land. |
| Hebrew | Despite being derived from a root word meaning "dominion," מֶמְשָׁלָה's original meaning was a "body of rulers who share power". |
| Hindi | सरकार (sarkār) derives from the Sanskrit word "sakara" meaning "the holder of power" and was originally used to describe the Mughals and other foreign rulers of India. |
| Hmong | "Tseem fwv" derives from the verb "tsheem," meaning "to arrange," and the noun "fwv," which can refer to "land," "community," or "nation." |
| Hungarian | Though it is typically a loanword for "government", the word "kormány" also has the original Hungarian meaning of "tiller, rudder". This is because it was originally used figuratively to refer to governance due to the analogy of steering a ship. |
| Icelandic | In Old Norse, ríkisstjórn originally meant "steering of a ship" or, figuratively, "leadership". |
| Igbo | Ọchịchị is the Igbo word for government, derived from the word "okike," meaning "power," and "ịchi," meaning "rule." |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word for 'government', 'pemerintah', is etymologically related to the word 'perintah' ('commandment') and the root 'merintah', which carries meanings of 'rule', 'command', and 'authority'. |
| Irish | "Rialtas" is the Irish word for "government" and derives from the Latin "regalis", meaning "royal". |
| Italian | Governo can also refer to the 'rudder of a ship' and 'a person's behavior'. |
| Japanese | The Chinese characters in “政府” literally mean “control” and “to serve,” alluding to the government’s role in serving the people. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "pamrentah" comes from the Sanskrit root "pra-mri," which means "to care for" or "to take charge." |
| Kannada | The Kannada word 'ಸರ್ಕಾರ' ('sarkāra') is derived from the Sanskrit root 'śri', meaning 'prosperity' or 'welfare'. |
| Kazakh | The word "үкімет" is derived from the Arabic word "ḥukūmah" and also means "the state" or "the administration" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | "រដ្ឋាភិបាល" can also refer to the administration or governing body of an organization or institution. |
| Korean | The word "정부" can also mean "state" or "administration". |
| Kurdish | In Turkish, the word "rêvebir" has a similar meaning to "rüya," relating to dreams and visions. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "өкмөт" also means "command" or "power" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | The Latin word "imperium" originally referred to the military authority of a Roman magistrate. |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "valdība" is derived from the Proto-Baltic root "*wald-," meaning "to rule" or "to govern." |
| Lithuanian | The word "vyriausybė" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wiHryo-, which also gives rise to the English words "virile" and "virus". |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'Regierung' in Luxembourgish also refers to the building where the government is located. |
| Macedonian | The word "влада" (government) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vladъ, which also means "ruler" or "master". |
| Malay | The word 'kerajaan' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'grhya' meaning 'home' or 'household' and later came to mean 'administration' or 'domain', reflecting the idea that the king's role was to administer his domain like a household. |
| Malayalam | The word "സർക്കാർ" (sarkār) originated from the Sanskrit "sarkar" or the Persian "sarkar," both meaning "rule". It also refers to various administrative divisions in South Asia like the Mughal Empire's "sarkars" (provinces). |
| Maltese | The word "gvern" in Maltese is derived from the French word "gouvernement". |
| Marathi | The word "सरकार" (government) is derived from the Sanskrit word "शासक" (ruler), and can also refer to a king or a royal court. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word အစိုးရ (government) derives from Pali and Sanskrit, and can also mean "control" or "authority". |
| Nepali | The word 'सरकार' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'शासन', which means rule or control. |
| Norwegian | The word "Myndighetene" in Norwegian can also refer to "authorities" or "the establishment". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "boma" also means "a cattle kraal" and was used to refer to settlements or villages where government officials resided. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word 'حکومت' also means 'rule', 'governance', or 'administration'. |
| Persian | The Persian word "دولت" originally meant "wealth" or "prosperity," and only later came to mean "government." |
| Polish | The Polish word "rząd" originally meant "row, line, or order" and also referred to a "council" or "board of directors". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, the word "governo" derives from the Latin "gubernare," meaning "to steer" or "to direct." |
| Punjabi | The word "सरकार" (government) is derived from the Sanskrit word "शास" (rule) and "कर" (maker). |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "guvern" is derived from the Latin word "gubernare", meaning "to steer" or "to govern." |
| Russian | Правительство, derived from the verb 'править' (to rule), initially implied a person or persons governing a land or state. |
| Samoan | The word "malo" likely derives from the Proto-Polynesian word "*malo" meaning "council" or "assembly". |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "riaghaltas" is derived from the Old Irish word "rí" meaning "king" and the suffix "-as" meaning "ship". |
| Serbian | "Влада" also means "hair" or "power" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | "Mmuso" is derived from the word "mmusošo" (power, authority, ruling power). |
| Shona | "Hurumende" comes from the Shona word "huru," meaning "leader" or "chief," and "mende," meaning "people." |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "گورنمينٽ" (government) is derived from the Persian word "حکومت" (hukumat), which itself originates from the Arabic word "حكم" (hukm), meaning "order" or "command". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | 'රජ' refers to a king or ruler, and 'ය' is a suffix indicating agency or state. Hence, 'රජය' means the state or organization headed by a king or ruler. |
| Slovak | The name „vláda” derives directly from the word „vlásť”, which primarily means homeland in modern times as well as in older sources from as early as the end of the 17th century. |
| Slovenian | The word "vlada" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *vladati, meaning "to rule" or "to have power." |
| Somali | The Somali word "dowladda" is derived from the Arabic word "dawlah", meaning "state" |
| Spanish | The word "gobierno" in Spanish derives from the Latin "gubernare," meaning "to steer" or "to govern," and also relates to the Greek "kybernan," meaning "to pilot a ship." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "pamaréntahan" is derived from the Sanskrit word "pramana" meaning "authority" or "rule". |
| Swahili | Serikali in Swahili could also refer to a public institution. |
| Swedish | Regera means 'to rule' in Latin, indicating government as the entity in control. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog term "gobyerno" ultimately originated from the Spanish word "gobierno" which means "government" and is used to refer to the ruling body of a political unit. |
| Tajik | The word "ҳукумат" is of Persian origin and is related to the word "ḥукм" meaning "rule" or "authority". |
| Tamil | In ancient Tamil, 'அரசு' also denoted the king and his royal entourage or assembly |
| Telugu | "ప్రభుత్వం" is also used to refer to a specific form of government, such as a monarchy or a republic. |
| Thai | Although the word 'รัฐบาล' in Thai directly translates to 'government', it can also refer to a political system or the ruling party. |
| Turkish | The word 'hükümet' in Turkish is derived from the Arabic word 'hukm', which means 'rule' or 'judgment'. |
| Ukrainian | The word "уряд" comes from the Old East Slavic word "рядъ", meaning "order" or "row". |
| Urdu | The Persian word "حکومت" can also refer to a "judgement," "an order" or a "decree." |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "hukumat" can also refer to a district of a city or an administrative area. |
| Vietnamese | The word "chính quyền" can also mean "authority" or "power". |
| Xhosa | The word "urhulumente" in Xhosa is derived from the verb "urhula", which means "to regulate", hence its meaning of "government". |
| Yiddish | "רעגירונג" comes from the German "Regierung", itself derived from the French "gouvernement" or Latin "gubernare" (to steer). |
| Yoruba | The word "ijoba" also means "occupation" or "profession" in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | "Uhulumeni" is derived from the Zulu word "uhulumende," which means "leadership" or "guidance." |
| English | The word "government" derives from the Latin "gubernare," meaning to steer or control. |