Ground in Different Languages
Discover 'Ground' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'ground' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, referring to the surface of the earth, the foundation of a structure, or the basis of an argument. Its cultural importance is evident in idioms and expressions, such as 'getting back to ground level' or 'having your feet on the ground.' Understanding the translation of 'ground' in different languages can provide insight into how other cultures view this fundamental concept.
For instance, in Spanish, 'ground' translates to 'tierra,' which also means 'land' or 'soil.' In German, 'der Boden' not only means 'ground' but also 'floor.' In French, 'le sol' means 'ground,' but 'la terre' is a more poetic term for 'earth' or 'soil.' These translations highlight the diverse ways in which different languages and cultures view the concept of 'ground.'
In this article, we will explore the translations of 'ground' in 20 different languages, shedding light on the unique perspectives and nuances of each language. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or simply curious, this list is sure to broaden your horizons and deepen your appreciation for the richness of human language and culture.
Ground
Ground in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | grond | ||
| Afrikaans 'grond' translates to 'ground' in English but is also used in a legal context to refer to 'landed property'. | |||
| Amharic | መሬት | ||
| The Amharic word 'መሬት' means not only 'ground' but also 'earth' or 'land'. | |||
| Hausa | ƙasa | ||
| Hausa 'ƙasa' can also mean "fatherland," likely stemming from a common ancestor with "country" in English. | |||
| Igbo | ala | ||
| The word 'ala' also means 'field' in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | tany | ||
| The word **tany** can also refer to a garden in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nthaka | ||
| Nyanja's nthaka also refers to "the area where traditional spirits live". | |||
| Shona | pasi | ||
| In Kalanga, the word pasi also means "to spread out". | |||
| Somali | dhulka | ||
| In some contexts, "dhulka" can refer to either the land as a whole or to specific regions within it. | |||
| Sesotho | fatše | ||
| The word "fatše" in Sesotho also means "earth" or "world," and is related to the word "botho" meaning "humanity" or "human nature." | |||
| Swahili | ardhi | ||
| 'Ardh' is also a root word (usually spelt as 'ard') that means 'to prepare' or 'to till', hence the connection with the land that we till. | |||
| Xhosa | umhlaba | ||
| In Xhosa, "umhlaba" can also colloquially refer to the world or "all the lands of the earth." | |||
| Yoruba | ilẹ | ||
| Ilẹ can also mean 'the world', 'the universe', or 'the land of the living' in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | umhlabathi | ||
| "Umhlabathi" can also mean "a flat rock". | |||
| Bambara | dugukolo | ||
| Ewe | anyigbã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | butaka | ||
| Lingala | mabele | ||
| Luganda | ku ttaka | ||
| Sepedi | lebala | ||
| Twi (Akan) | fam | ||
Ground in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أرض | ||
| The word "أرض" (ground) derives from the root "أ ر ض" and has various meanings including "earth", "land" and "country". | |||
| Hebrew | קרקע, אדמה | ||
| The word “קרקע” also refers to “real estate”, as opposed to financial investments, while “אדמה” primarily means “soil”. | |||
| Pashto | ځمکه | ||
| In Pashto, "ځمکه" can also refer to a piece of paper, a board used in board games, or the surface of a table. | |||
| Arabic | أرض | ||
| The word "أرض" (ground) derives from the root "أ ر ض" and has various meanings including "earth", "land" and "country". | |||
Ground in Western European Languages
| Albanian | terren | ||
| The word "terren" in Albanian comes from the Latin "terra" (earth), and is related to the English word "terrain." | |||
| Basque | lurrean | ||
| In Basque mythology, Lurrean is also a male mythological figure, a lord of the underworld and husband of Mari, the goddess of the earth. | |||
| Catalan | terra | ||
| In Catalan, "terra" also refers to soil and earth, as well as the world and universe. | |||
| Croatian | tlo | ||
| The word "tlo" can also mean "background" or "bottom". | |||
| Danish | jord | ||
| "Jord" is a cognate of the English word "yard," both of which originally meant "enclosed space." | |||
| Dutch | grond | ||
| "Grond" can also refer to a substance or material, or the reason for something. | |||
| English | ground | ||
| The word "ground" has origins in the Middle English word "grund," which in turn derives from the Old English word "grund." It can also refer to the basis or foundation of something, such as the ground of an argument. | |||
| French | sol | ||
| "Sol" in French can also mean "musical scale" or "musical sound". | |||
| Frisian | grûn | ||
| The Frisian word "grûn" also means "land" or "country" and is related to the English word "green". | |||
| Galician | chan | ||
| In Galician, "chan" can also refer to "step" or "foot" or to a "flat area or meadow" in Portuguese and Spanish. | |||
| German | boden | ||
| The word "Boden" is also a synonym for "foundation" or "basis" in German, signifying the underlying structure or support of something. | |||
| Icelandic | jörð | ||
| Old Norse "jǫrð" also means "earth, the planet", "the soil", and "land". | |||
| Irish | talamh | ||
| Irish word "talamh" (ground) is cognate with Latin "tellus" (earth). | |||
| Italian | terra | ||
| Terra, meaning "earth" or "soil" in Italian, is derived from the Latin word "terra", which also means "land" or "territory." | |||
| Luxembourgish | buedem | ||
| “Buedem” also means “soil” and “earth” and is derived from the Old High German “bodam”. | |||
| Maltese | art | ||
| The Maltese word 'art' originates from the Semitic root 'art', meaning 'to till'. It is related to the Arabic word 'arda', meaning 'land' or 'earth'. The word 'art' in Maltese can also refer to a cultivated field. | |||
| Norwegian | bakke | ||
| Bakke, originally a word for "slope," is cognate to the English word "back" and German "Berg" (mountain). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | terra | ||
| The Portuguese word "terra" (meaning "ground") comes from the Latin word "terra" which also means "earth, soil". It can also refer to "clay", "land" or "territory". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | talamh | ||
| The same word, "talamh," also means "world" in Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | suelo | ||
| "Suelo" also means salary or wage, as in a "sueldo quincenal," a biweekly paycheck. | |||
| Swedish | jord | ||
| In Old Norse, "jord" also meant "earth" as one of the four elements, and is related to the Greek word "khthon". | |||
| Welsh | ddaear | ||
| The Welsh word "ddaear" may also refer to the lower world or hell. | |||
Ground in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | зямлі | ||
| The Belarusian word "зямлі" originates from the Proto-Slavic "земля", meaning "land" or "soil", and is cognate with English "earth" and Latin "humus". | |||
| Bosnian | tlo | ||
| The word "tlo" also refers to the bottom surface of something, such as a floor or a table. | |||
| Bulgarian | земя | ||
| The word "земя" in Bulgarian can also mean "country" or "land". | |||
| Czech | přízemní | ||
| The word "přízemní" in Czech also means "mundane" or "commonplace". | |||
| Estonian | jahvatatud | ||
| The word "jahvatatud" comes from the verb "jahvatama"," meaning "to grind" and can also refer to coffee that has been ground and prepared. | |||
| Finnish | maahan | ||
| The word "maahan" is often used in compounds, such as "maahanmuuttaja" (immigrant). | |||
| Hungarian | talaj | ||
| The word "talaj" can also refer to the foundation or basis of something abstract, such as an idea or a theory. | |||
| Latvian | zeme | ||
| Latvian word "zeme" is related to Lithuanian "žemė" and Old Prussian "seme" meaning "low-lying land" or "earth". | |||
| Lithuanian | žemės | ||
| The Lithuanian word “žemės” also has the meanings of “land” and “soil”. | |||
| Macedonian | земјата | ||
| "Земјата" also means "country" in Macedonian, derived from the Slavic word for "land". | |||
| Polish | ziemia | ||
| In Polish, ‘ziemia,’ aside from meaning ‘ground,’ also means ‘dirt.’ | |||
| Romanian | sol | ||
| The word "sol" also derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *sed- that means "to sit" or "to settle". | |||
| Russian | земля | ||
| The Russian word "земля" is cognate with the Latin "humus", meaning "fertile soil." | |||
| Serbian | земљу | ||
| The Serbian word "земљу" (zemlju) is cognate with the English word "humus" and refers to a fertile topsoil rich in organic matter. | |||
| Slovak | zem | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "ground," "zem" can also refer to "land," "earth," or "soil" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | tla | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "ground", "tla" can also mean "floor", "land", or "earth". | |||
| Ukrainian | земля | ||
| The word "земля" is also used in Ukrainian to refer to the planet Earth, or to the territory of a country. | |||
Ground in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | স্থল | ||
| The word "স্থল" (sthol) in Bengali has the alternate meaning of "place" or "location". | |||
| Gujarati | જમીન | ||
| "જમીન" also refers to landed property, land revenue, and soil. | |||
| Hindi | भूमि | ||
| The Sanskrit word 'Bhoomi' means the earth or soil and derives from the root 'Bhu,' denoting becoming. | |||
| Kannada | ನೆಲ | ||
| In other contexts, ನೆಲ refers to a floor, a basement, or a platform. | |||
| Malayalam | നിലം | ||
| The word "നിലം" (nilam) in Malayalam also refers to land, floor, or condition. | |||
| Marathi | ग्राउंड | ||
| The Marathi word "ग्राउंड" also refers to a foundation or basis | |||
| Nepali | जमीन | ||
| The word "जमीन" in Nepali can also mean "land" or "earth." | |||
| Punjabi | ਜ਼ਮੀਨ | ||
| The word "ਜ਼ਮੀਨ" is derived from the Arabic word "زمین" meaning "earth" or "land". It can also refer to a piece of land or a plot of land. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බිම | ||
| "බිම" (/bi-mə/), also refers to the earth, land or soil. | |||
| Tamil | தரையில் | ||
| The Tamil word "தரையில்" also refers to the floor or the surface of something. | |||
| Telugu | నేల | ||
| "నేల" means "ground" in Telugu, but it also means "soil" or "earth". | |||
| Urdu | زمین | ||
| The word زمین ('ground') can also refer to: land, territory, country, or area. | |||
Ground in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 地面 | ||
| The Chinese word "地面" (dìmiàn) also means "surface" or "floor". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 地面 | ||
| 地面's original meaning is 'surface of the earth', and it can also mean 'place' or 'location'. | |||
| Japanese | 接地 | ||
| In addition to meaning "ground," 接地 (せっち) can also mean "grounding" in an electrical context or "contact" in a human or social sense. | |||
| Korean | 바닥 | ||
| 바닥 (ba-dak) also means "bottom" or "floor" in Korean; similarly, "land" can also mean "바닥". | |||
| Mongolian | газар | ||
| The Mongolian word "газар" derives from the Proto-Mongolic root *gazar, meaning "earth, ground, soil". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မြေပြင် | ||
Ground in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tanah | ||
| "Tanah" can also mean "homeland" or "country" in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | lemah | ||
| The word “lemah” could also mean “weak” and “soft”. | |||
| Khmer | ដី | ||
| The Khmer word "ដី" (ground) can also refer to the world or the earth, and is related to the Sanskrit word "dhara" (earth). | |||
| Lao | ພື້ນດິນ | ||
| Malay | tanah | ||
| The Old Javanese word `tanah` was used to describe irrigated rice fields and later was extended to mean "ground" or "earth". | |||
| Thai | พื้น | ||
| พื้น can also refer to floors, surfaces, or the base of something. | |||
| Vietnamese | đất | ||
| Đất, also means "land" in Vietnamese, derives from Proto-Austronesian *daRat, meaning "land" or "earth". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | lupa | ||
Ground in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | torpaq | ||
| Torpaq derives from Proto-Turkic word torpak that meant "a mound." | |||
| Kazakh | жер | ||
| "Жер" has another meaning - "world" and it is often used in the phrase "жер бағлану" meaning "to get married". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жер | ||
| The Kyrgyz word жер (''jer'') also means "fatherland" and "place, space." | |||
| Tajik | замин | ||
| Derived from Proto-Indo-European *dem- ('house', 'earth'), related to Latin humus ('earth'), hence also a building lot. | |||
| Turkmen | ýer | ||
| Uzbek | zamin | ||
| "Zamin" can also refer to a land tax or a type of financial compensation. | |||
| Uyghur | يەر | ||
Ground in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | lepo | ||
| Lepo can also refer to a | |||
| Maori | whenua | ||
| In the Maori language, the word 'whenua' can also refer to a person's homeland or ancestral land, carrying deep cultural and spiritual significance. | |||
| Samoan | palapala | ||
| Palapala also means 'paper' or 'book' in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | lupa | ||
| In Tagalog, the word "lupa" also means "land" or "dirt and dust". | |||
Ground in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uraqi | ||
| Guarani | yvy | ||
Ground in International Languages
| Esperanto | tero | ||
| The word | |||
| Latin | terram | ||
| Terram derives linguistically from the Greek word ''teras'', which means monster. | |||
Ground in Others Languages
| Greek | έδαφος | ||
| The Greek word "έδαφος" derives from the verb "ἐδαφίζω" meaning "to level", and also refers to the lowest part of a building | |||
| Hmong | av | ||
| The word "av" can also mean "floor" or "field" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | erd | ||
| The Kurdish word "erd" (ground) is also used in a figurative sense to refer to "homeland" or "country" | |||
| Turkish | zemin | ||
| Zemin is derived from the Arabic word "zemin" meaning "lowest part". It also means "field" or "area". | |||
| Xhosa | umhlaba | ||
| In Xhosa, "umhlaba" can also colloquially refer to the world or "all the lands of the earth." | |||
| Yiddish | ערד | ||
| The Yiddish word "ערד" also appears in a separate word that means "earth." | |||
| Zulu | umhlabathi | ||
| "Umhlabathi" can also mean "a flat rock". | |||
| Assamese | ভূমি | ||
| Aymara | uraqi | ||
| Bhojpuri | ज़मीन | ||
| Dhivehi | ބިންމަތި | ||
| Dogri | मदान | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | lupa | ||
| Guarani | yvy | ||
| Ilocano | daga | ||
| Krio | grɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زەمینە | ||
| Maithili | जमीन | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯩꯃꯥꯏ | ||
| Mizo | chhuat | ||
| Oromo | lafa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଭୂମି | ||
| Quechua | allpa | ||
| Sanskrit | भूमि | ||
| Tatar | җир | ||
| Tigrinya | ምድሪ | ||
| Tsonga | misava | ||
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