Hair in Different Languages
Discover 'Hair' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Hair
Afrikaans hare | ||
Albanian flokët | ||
Amharic ፀጉር | ||
Arabic شعر | ||
Armenian մազերը | ||
Assamese চুলি | ||
Aymara ñik'uta | ||
Azerbaijani saç | ||
Bambara kunsigi | ||
Basque ilea | ||
Belarusian валасы | ||
Bengali চুল | ||
Bhojpuri बार | ||
Bosnian kosa | ||
Bulgarian коса | ||
Catalan cabell | ||
Cebuano buhok | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 头发 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 頭髮 | ||
Corsican capelli | ||
Croatian dlaka | ||
Czech vlasy | ||
Danish hår | ||
Dhivehi އިސްތަށިގަނޑު | ||
Dogri बाल | ||
Dutch haar- | ||
English hair | ||
Esperanto haroj | ||
Estonian juuksed | ||
Ewe ɖa | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) buhok | ||
Finnish hiukset | ||
French cheveux | ||
Frisian hier | ||
Galician pelo | ||
Georgian თმა | ||
German haar | ||
Greek μαλλιά | ||
Guarani áva | ||
Gujarati વાળ | ||
Haitian Creole cheve | ||
Hausa gashi | ||
Hawaiian lauoho | ||
Hebrew שיער | ||
Hindi बाल | ||
Hmong plaub hau | ||
Hungarian haj | ||
Icelandic hár | ||
Igbo ntutu | ||
Ilocano buok | ||
Indonesian rambut | ||
Irish gruaig | ||
Italian capelli | ||
Japanese ヘア | ||
Javanese rambut | ||
Kannada ಕೂದಲು | ||
Kazakh шаш | ||
Khmer សក់ | ||
Kinyarwanda umusatsi | ||
Konkani केंस | ||
Korean 머리 | ||
Krio ia | ||
Kurdish por | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) قژ | ||
Kyrgyz чач | ||
Lao ຜົມ | ||
Latin capillum | ||
Latvian matiem | ||
Lingala nsuki | ||
Lithuanian plaukai | ||
Luganda enviiri | ||
Luxembourgish hoer | ||
Macedonian коса | ||
Maithili केस | ||
Malagasy dia singam-bolo | ||
Malay rambut | ||
Malayalam മുടി | ||
Maltese xagħar | ||
Maori makawe | ||
Marathi केस | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯝ | ||
Mizo sam | ||
Mongolian үс | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဆံပင် | ||
Nepali कपाल | ||
Norwegian hår | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) tsitsi | ||
Odia (Oriya) କେଶ | ||
Oromo rifeensa | ||
Pashto ويښتان | ||
Persian مو | ||
Polish włosy | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) cabelo | ||
Punjabi ਵਾਲ | ||
Quechua chukcha | ||
Romanian păr | ||
Russian волосы | ||
Samoan lauulu | ||
Sanskrit केशः | ||
Scots Gaelic falt | ||
Sepedi moriri | ||
Serbian коса | ||
Sesotho moriri | ||
Shona bvudzi | ||
Sindhi وارن | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) හිසකෙස් | ||
Slovak vlasy | ||
Slovenian lasje | ||
Somali timaha | ||
Spanish pelo | ||
Sundanese buuk | ||
Swahili nywele | ||
Swedish hår | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) buhok | ||
Tajik мӯй | ||
Tamil முடி | ||
Tatar чәч | ||
Telugu జుట్టు | ||
Thai ผม | ||
Tigrinya ፀጉሪ | ||
Tsonga nsisi | ||
Turkish saç | ||
Turkmen saç | ||
Twi (Akan) nwi | ||
Ukrainian волосся | ||
Urdu بال | ||
Uyghur چاچ | ||
Uzbek soch | ||
Vietnamese tóc | ||
Welsh gwallt | ||
Xhosa iinwele | ||
Yiddish האָר | ||
Yoruba irun | ||
Zulu izinwele |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "hare" (pronounced "hah-ruh") does not only mean "hair", but can also refer to a rabbit or hare. |
| Albanian | Flokët comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *wl̥kʷ- meaning 'to tear, pull', also found in fletë 'bark' and flok 'wool' |
| Amharic | The word "ፀጉር" (hair) is derived from the Semitic root *śʿr, meaning "to grow". |
| Arabic | The word "شعر" in Arabic also means "poetry" or "verse". |
| Armenian | Մազերը (mazerə) is related to the Persian word |
| Azerbaijani | "Saç" also means "thin tree branch" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | "Ilea" also means "thread, rope" in the sense of something slender, flexible, and capable of binding. |
| Belarusian | The word "валасы" in Belarusian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *vlasъ, meaning "wool" or "hair." |
| Bengali | The Bengali word চুল also refers to the thread of a loom. |
| Bosnian | Kosa can also mean 'braid' |
| Bulgarian | The word "коса" also means "braid" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | In some cases, cabell can refer to a single strand of hair, while in others it refers to the entire head of hair. |
| Cebuano | 'Buhok' can also mean 'fur' or 'feathers'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 头发's first character, "发", can also mean "to grow." |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 頭髮 can also mean 'thread' (of cloth) or 'wire' (in electricity). |
| Corsican | The Corsican word 'capelli' is derived from the Latin word 'capillus', meaning 'a single hair', but it can also refer to the entire head of hair or even a wig. |
| Croatian | "Dlaka" also means "sliver" in Croatian, which is a thin metal strip used for decorative purposes. |
| Czech | "Vlasy" comes from an Old Slavic word that originally meant "wool", and is related to words like "volna" (wool) in Russian, "wełna" (wool) in Polish, and "wolle" (wool) in German. |
| Danish | In Old Norse, the word "hår" also referred to the fur or feathers of animals and birds. |
| Dutch | The word "haar" in Dutch is also used to refer to a fine misty rain. |
| Esperanto | An old spelling of |
| Estonian | The word "juuksed" is likely derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*jukka" meaning "feather" or "fur", indicating that hair was seen as a type of covering similar to feathers or fur. |
| Finnish | The word "hiukset" is also used in Finnish to refer to the bristles on a brush or the fur on an animal. |
| French | "Cheveux" comes from Latin *capillus* (hair on head) or *capillata*(hairy). |
| Frisian | Hier can also mean 'hay' or 'flax' in Frisian. |
| Galician | The word "pelo" can also refer to "fur" or "plumage" in Galician. |
| Georgian | The Georgian word for 'hair', 'თმა', derives from the Middle Persian 'tamaj' meaning 'hair that covers the head or chin', and has cognates in all modern Iranian languages |
| German | In some cases, "Haar" can refer to a "group" of things or a "collection" of animals. |
| Greek | The Greek word “μαλλιά” also means “wool,” deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁n, meaning “to twist, turn”. |
| Gujarati | The word "વાળ" also means "a turn, bend, or loop" in Gujarati. |
| Haitian Creole | The word 'cheve' derives from French 'cheveu' for 'hair' |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "gashi" can also refer to "fur" or "wool" depending on the context. |
| Hawaiian | Lāuoho literally means 'sun (or daylight) on the head' |
| Hebrew | In the Talmud, "שיער" also referred to wool as a "covering over the skin". |
| Hindi | In Hinduism, the term 'bal' also refers to the sacrifice of hair, symbolizing a renunciation of worldly attachments. |
| Hmong | The word "plaub hau" can also refer to the hair of animals or feathers of birds. |
| Hungarian | The word "haj" in Hungarian can also refer to a sprout, shoot, or bud on a plant. |
| Icelandic | In some old texts, "hár" can refer to any part of a horse's mane or tail, especially if it is long and flowing. |
| Igbo | "Ntutu" in Igbo derives from the root word "ntù" meaning "to grow out". |
| Indonesian | The word “rambut” in Indonesian originates from the Proto-Austronesian word * rambut which also means "leaves on the stem of palm". |
| Irish | The word "gruaig" has roots in the Proto-Celtic word for "tree" and is likely related to the Sanskrit word "jangha" meaning "foreleg". |
| Italian | In Italian, "capelli" not only refers to hair on the head, but also to the bristles of a brush or broom. |
| Japanese | The word ヘア (he'a) can also refer to the fur of animals or the bristles of a brush. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word "rambut" can also refer to the fur or hair of animals and plants. |
| Kannada | ಕೂದಲು also means 'to be born', possibly due to the ancient association between hair and the beginning of life. |
| Kazakh | "Шаш" in Kazakh, besides "hair," can also mean "a handful of cut grass used as fodder" or "a thin rope tied from horsehair." |
| Khmer | The word "សក់" can also refer to "mane" or "wool". |
| Korean | The word "머리" can also refer to the head of a person or animal |
| Kurdish | The word "por" can also refer to a type of grass or a kind of fabric. |
| Kyrgyz | "Чач" can also refer to the root system of plants in the Kyrgyz language. |
| Lao | The word ຜົມ also refers to eyebrows and eyelashes in colloquial Lao. |
| Latin | Capillum, which means 'hair' in Latin, also shares a root word with capillary tubes used in electrophoresis. |
| Latvian | The word "matiem" can also refer to a type of fabric or a small piece of land. |
| Lithuanian | In Lithuanian the word plaukai means "hair" however it also carries a secondary sense of "feathers" as in the case of the phrase "pauðððio plunksna ("peacock feather"). |
| Luxembourgish | Etymology unknown, but possibly connected to the Middle Frankish loanword "hāra" (meaning "grey") and the Old High German word "hār" (meaning "grey hair"). |
| Macedonian | The word "коса" means "braid" in Russian, while in Bulgarian it refers to a "sickle". |
| Malagasy | "Dia singam-bolo" in Malagasy derives from the verb "singa" (to tear); "bolo" (feathers) was later substituted for "bolo" (to be round), the original word. |
| Malay | {"text": "The word "rambut" is cognate with "rambulu" in Sanskrit and means "forest, hair or foliage."} |
| Malayalam | The word 'മുടി' can also mean "the crown of a tree" in Sanskrit. |
| Maltese | The word "xagħar" derives from the Arabic word "sha'r," and it can also refer to wool or fur in Maltese. |
| Maori | The Māori word for "hair" "makawe" shares its root word "kawe" with the word for "carry". |
| Marathi | The word "केस" in Marathi can also refer to a "case" in a legal context or a "matter" or "issue" that needs to be addressed. |
| Mongolian | "Үс" is a common Turkic word meaning "hair" or "wool", and is related to the Mongolian word "üs" meaning "sheep". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | While the word 'ဆံပင်' (sampiN) primarily means 'hair' in Burmese, it can also refer to 'wool', 'fur', or 'thread-like structures'. |
| Nepali | In Sanskrit, **कपाल** refers to a skull or forehead but not to hair, while in Nepali it means hair. |
| Norwegian | The word "hår" is cognate with the English word "hair" and the German word "Haar", all derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰers-. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja, "tsitsi" can also refer to a woman's hairstyle |
| Pashto | The word "ويښتان" in Pashto, in addition to its primary meaning of "hair," can also refer to fur, wool, or other similar fibrous materials covering the bodies of animals and plants. |
| Persian | The Persian word “مو” could mean either the hair on a human’s head or the fur on an animal’s body. |
| Polish | The word "włosy" in Polish is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "vlasъ", meaning "hair" or "fur". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "cabelo" originates from the Latin word "capillus" and can also refer to bristles, feathers, or horsehair. |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word "ਵਾਲ" (hair) is derived from the Sanskrit word "वाला" (tail). |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "păr" comes from the Latin word "pilus", meaning "hair", but it can also refer to a wig or a feather. |
| Russian | The word "волосы" originated from the Proto-Slavic word *vъlna, meaning "wool" or "sheepskin". |
| Samoan | The word 'lauulu' can also refer to the leaves of a tree or leaves used for thatching a roof. |
| Scots Gaelic | “Falt” is also used as shorthand for “wig” and “head of hair”. |
| Serbian | In Serbian, the word "коса" can also refer to a scythe or a geographical braid of land |
| Sesotho | It can be used for grass or vegetation that covers the land |
| Shona | In some African cultures, "bvudzi" is also used to refer to fur, wool, feathers, or other body coverings on animals or birds. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "وارن" also refers to a type of grass that grows in marshy areas. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "හිසකෙස්" is derived from the Sanskrit word "केशः" (keśaḥ), meaning "hair" or "a lock of hair". |
| Slovak | "Vlasy" is derived from Proto-Slavic "*volsъ" "wool" but also meant "long horsehair" |
| Slovenian | The word 'las' can also refer to the string of a musical instrument or the fibers of certain plants. |
| Somali | "Timaha" can also be used to figuratively refer to one's lineage, ancestry or family history. |
| Spanish | Besides "hair", in Spanish "pelo" also refers to a nap on fabrics, the fuzz on plants, or anything hairy. |
| Sundanese | "Buuk" also means "a bunch (of hair)" in Sundanese. |
| Swahili | The word "nywele" in Swahili also refers to the hair of animals, fibres, or plant filaments. |
| Swedish | Hår, in Old Norse "hár", meaning "grey, old", also referred to flax fibers or horsehair used for sewing or rope-making. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Buhok" in Tagalog can also refer to the fibers of plants or the bristles of animals. |
| Tajik | "Мӯй" can also refer to a thin thread or fiber. |
| Tamil | The word 'முடி' ('hair') in Tamil also means 'an end' or 'completion'. |
| Telugu | In Telugu, the word 'జుట్టు' can also refer to 'locks of hair' or 'braids'. |
| Thai | "ผม" also means "l" or "I" in Thai, as it is a homophone that sounds like "phom". |
| Turkish | "Saç" refers to both "hair" and "scatter" in Turkish and is thought to derive from the root word "saçmak," meaning "to scatter." |
| Ukrainian | The word "волосся" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*volsa", meaning "wool" or "hair". It is cognate with the Russian word "волосы" ("hair") and the Polish word "włosy" ("hair"). |
| Urdu | The feminine Urdu word "بال" (hair) derived from Persian and Arabic meaning either "wing", "feather or "highest" |
| Uzbek | This word also means “wool” or “nap” in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | The word 'tóc' also refers to the threads in fabrics and the fibers in materials. |
| Welsh | Welsh "gwallt" is cognate with Irish "folt" (hair) and possibly with Latin "vellus" (fleece). |
| Xhosa | 'Iinwele' can also refer to the mane of a horse or a lion and feathers on a bird. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word 'האָר' ('haar') likely derives from the Old High German word 'hār' ('hair'), which is cognate with the English word 'hair'. |
| Yoruba | Irun is also the Yoruba word for 'thought' |
| Zulu | Zulu word izinwele meaning 'hair' is related to isiZulu word isinwele meaning hair of an animal such as a cow or a goat. |
| English | The Old English word 'hær' meant both 'hair' and 'garment made of hair', and 'herr' was the name given to coarse undyed wool. |