Head in Different Languages
Discover 'Head' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Head
Afrikaans kop | ||
Albanian kokë | ||
Amharic ጭንቅላት | ||
Arabic رئيس | ||
Armenian գլուխ | ||
Assamese মূৰ | ||
Aymara p'iqi | ||
Azerbaijani baş | ||
Bambara kunkolo | ||
Basque burua | ||
Belarusian галава | ||
Bengali মাথা | ||
Bhojpuri कपार | ||
Bosnian glava | ||
Bulgarian глава | ||
Catalan cap | ||
Cebuano ulo | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 头 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 頭 | ||
Corsican capu | ||
Croatian glava | ||
Czech hlava | ||
Danish hoved | ||
Dhivehi ބޯ | ||
Dogri सिर | ||
Dutch hoofd | ||
English head | ||
Esperanto kapo | ||
Estonian pea | ||
Ewe ta | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) ulo | ||
Finnish pää | ||
French tête | ||
Frisian holle | ||
Galician cabeza | ||
Georgian ხელმძღვანელი | ||
German kopf | ||
Greek κεφάλι | ||
Guarani akã | ||
Gujarati વડા | ||
Haitian Creole tèt | ||
Hausa kai | ||
Hawaiian poʻo | ||
Hebrew רֹאשׁ | ||
Hindi सिर | ||
Hmong taub hau | ||
Hungarian fej | ||
Icelandic höfuð | ||
Igbo isi | ||
Ilocano ulo | ||
Indonesian kepala | ||
Irish ceann | ||
Italian testa | ||
Japanese 頭 | ||
Javanese sirah | ||
Kannada ತಲೆ | ||
Kazakh бас | ||
Khmer ក្បាល | ||
Kinyarwanda umutwe | ||
Konkani तकली | ||
Korean 머리 | ||
Krio ed | ||
Kurdish ser | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) سەر | ||
Kyrgyz баш | ||
Lao ຫົວ | ||
Latin caput | ||
Latvian galva | ||
Lingala moto | ||
Lithuanian galva | ||
Luganda omutwe | ||
Luxembourgish kapp | ||
Macedonian главата | ||
Maithili माथ | ||
Malagasy lohany | ||
Malay kepala | ||
Malayalam തല | ||
Maltese ras | ||
Maori upoko | ||
Marathi डोके | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯀꯣꯛ | ||
Mizo lu | ||
Mongolian толгой | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဦး ခေါင်း | ||
Nepali टाउको | ||
Norwegian hode | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mutu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମୁଣ୍ଡ | ||
Oromo mataa | ||
Pashto سر | ||
Persian سر | ||
Polish głowa | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) cabeça | ||
Punjabi ਸਿਰ | ||
Quechua uma | ||
Romanian cap | ||
Russian голова | ||
Samoan ulu | ||
Sanskrit शिरः | ||
Scots Gaelic ceann | ||
Sepedi hlogo | ||
Serbian глава | ||
Sesotho hlooho | ||
Shona musoro | ||
Sindhi مٿو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) හිස | ||
Slovak hlava | ||
Slovenian glavo | ||
Somali madaxa | ||
Spanish cabeza | ||
Sundanese sirah | ||
Swahili kichwa | ||
Swedish huvud | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) ulo | ||
Tajik сар | ||
Tamil தலை | ||
Tatar баш | ||
Telugu తల | ||
Thai ศีรษะ | ||
Tigrinya ርእሲ | ||
Tsonga nhloko | ||
Turkish baş | ||
Turkmen kellesi | ||
Twi (Akan) tire | ||
Ukrainian керівник | ||
Urdu سر | ||
Uyghur head | ||
Uzbek bosh | ||
Vietnamese cái đầu | ||
Welsh pen | ||
Xhosa intloko | ||
Yiddish קאָפּ | ||
Yoruba ori | ||
Zulu ikhanda |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "kop" in Afrikaans can also refer to a hill or a cup. |
| Albanian | The word "kokë" is derived from Proto-Albanian *koko, related to Ancient Greek "κώκαλον" (skull, bean). |
| Amharic | In Amharic, the word "ጭንቅላት" can also mean "skull" or "brain". |
| Arabic | The word "رئيس" can also refer to a leader, chief, or president. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "գլուխ" can also refer to the top or beginning of something, or to a person's mind or intellect. |
| Azerbaijani | In Azerbaijani, the word "baş" has alternate meanings such as "beginning" and "the most important part of something." |
| Basque | The Basque word "buru" ("head") is also used figuratively to refer to a person's intelligence or understanding. |
| Belarusian | "Галава" (head) derives from Proto-Slavic *golv-a and shares a root with "голова" (head) in Russian. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "মাথা" (head) can also refer to a person's intelligence or mental capacity. |
| Bosnian | "Glaveš" (pl. glave) is the name for the traditional leather shoes worn by the peasants of central and eastern Bosnia during the 19th century. |
| Bulgarian | In Bulgarian, "глава" can also mean "chapter" or "issue of a periodical". |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "cap" can also refer to a headland or promontory, derived from the Latin "caput" meaning "head". |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "ulo" also refers to the "beginning" or "top" of something. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 头 can also mean 'boss' because in feudal society bosses often wore the highest and largest hats. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 頭 in Traditional Chinese can also refer to the beginning, the first, or the chief of something. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "capu" can also refer to a promontory or a hilltop. |
| Croatian | In Serbian, 'glava' also means 'life' or 'soul', and in its old form 'glava' meant 'person' |
| Czech | The word "hlava" is related to the Slavic word "glava" which means "primary" or "important" and is also found in other Slavic languages. |
| Danish | In Danish, **hoved** is also used to mean 'main' or 'primary', as in 'hovedperson' (main person). |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "hoofd" not only means "head", but also "main" or "chief". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "kapo" has alternate meanings including "chief" and "captain". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "pea" can also refer to the head of a vegetable, such as a cabbage. |
| Finnish | "Pää" is also an antiquated Finnish name for an unmarried woman or an orphan |
| French | The word "tête" in French also means "chapter" or "heading" in a book or document. |
| Frisian | "Holle" is also used to denote a cave, hole, or recess; the round part of a loaf of bread; a wooden clog; or a wooden board on the bottom of a cart. |
| Galician | In Galician, "cabeza" can also mean "cattle" or "livestock, " likely deriving from its role as the head of the herd. |
| German | 'Kopf' derives from the Old High German 'kopf' meaning 'cup', 'vessel', 'calyx', 'head'. |
| Greek | The word also means 'headstrong' or 'obstinate' in Modern Greek, while in Ancient Greek it also meant 'source' or 'chapter' |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "વડા" "head" is derived from the Sanskrit word "वदन" "face" |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "tèt" can also mean "intelligence" or "forehead" depending on the context. |
| Hausa | The term "kai" in Hausa also refers to a prominent or important person, a leader or elder. |
| Hawaiian | The word 'poʻo' also means "chieftain" and "leader" and is a term of respect when addressing someone in a position of authority, such as a teacher or parent. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "רֹאשׁ" also refers to a "chieftain" or a "beginning." |
| Hindi | "सिर" is also used to refer to the upper part of anything, like the head of a nail or the top of a mountain. |
| Hmong | The word "taub hau" can also mean "mind" or "intellect" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | The word "fej" in Hungarian can also refer to the top of a mountain or a hill, or the head of a nail. |
| Icelandic | Its genitive form, höfðs, denotes a mountain pass or cape in Icelandic geography. |
| Igbo | "Isi" also means "beginning" or "origin" in Igbo, as in "isi ubochi" (the beginning of the day). |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "kepala" is derived from Sanskrit "kapala", meaning "skull" or "bowl". |
| Irish | Ceann also means "top" or "end" and is cognate with "brain" and "skull." |
| Italian | "Testa" has multiple meanings in Italian, depending on the context. In addition to its primary meaning of "head," it can also refer to a clay pot, a shield, a skull, or a stubborn person. |
| Japanese | In Japanese, "頭" (head) is also used to mean chief or boss. |
| Javanese | The word 'sirah' in Javanese also refers to the tip of a tree branch or a piece of clothing wrapped around the head. |
| Kannada | In Sanskrit, ತಲೆ originates from 'tala', meaning 'the base or sole'. In Marathi, the word is pronounced 'tale' and refers to the lower part or end of something, suggesting that the initial meaning of 'tala' may have been 'bottom' or 'base'. |
| Kazakh | The word "бас" also means "chief" or "head" in the sense of a leader. |
| Khmer | In ancient Khmer, the word “ក្បាល” also referred to the first of a series or the most important part. |
| Korean | 머리 has alternative meanings of “hair” and “topic”. |
| Kurdish | The word "ser" in Kurdish can also refer to the leader of a group or the top of a tree. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "баш" (head) also denotes a "chief" or a "leader". |
| Lao | "ຫົວ" also means chief, leader, owner, or head of a group. |
| Latin | Caput in Latin also meant "life" or "essence," and thus was used to refer to the source of a river, the beginning of a book, or the capital city of a province. |
| Latvian | In some dialects, it also means "skull" or "hair". |
| Lithuanian | In medical language, “galva” can also refer to the skull cap covering the brain instead of the whole head |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Kapp" in Luxembourgish also means "top" or "cap". |
| Macedonian | Главата - In Macedonian, "главата" has additional meanings: top of a plant, hilltop, summit |
| Malagasy | The word "lohany" can also mean "knowledge" or "wisdom" in Malagasy. |
| Malay | The word "kepala" can also mean "boss" or "leader" in Malay. |
| Malayalam | The etymology of 'തല' in Malayalam is uncertain, but it may be related to the Tamil word 'தலை' and the Telugu word 'తల', both meaning 'head'. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "ras" can also mean "promontory" or "cape", derived from the Arabic word "raʾs" with the same meaning. |
| Maori | The Māori word "upoko" also means "a person's power, authority, or mana, especially the right to speak on behalf of a group," and is closely associated with the concept of tapu. |
| Marathi | In old Marathi, 'डोके' meant 'skull' or 'crown of the head'. |
| Mongolian | Tolгой (Толгой) translates to 'vertex' and refers to the pointed shape of the head, the crown of the head, and the top of the head. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word for head, ဦး (oʊ) has another alternate meaning, which means an honorific term used for a man. |
| Nepali | The word "टाउको" also refers to the "top" or "beginning" of something, as in the phrase "टाउको उठाउनु" (to raise one's head). |
| Norwegian | The word “hode” meaning “head” in Norwegian is derived from the root word “hǫfuð”, meaning “head” in Old Norse. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Mutu can also refer to the top, summit, or end of something in Nyanja |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "سر" can also refer to a chapter or section of a book. |
| Persian | The Persian word "سر" not only means "head", but also can mean "mystery", "secret", or "important matter" |
| Polish | The word "głowa" can also refer to the first page of a book or other document, as well as to the person in charge of a group or organization. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Brazilian Portuguese, "cabeça" can also mean "leader" or "the most important person in a group." |
| Punjabi | In Punjabi, "sir" also refers to a senior or a respectable person, derived from Sanskrit's "shira" meaning "skull" and "chief".} |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "capac" means "hat" and finds its roots in the Proto-Slavic word *kopytъ, meaning something round or curved. |
| Russian | The Russian word "голова" can also refer to a chief or leader. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "ulu" also means "coconut".} |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "Ceann" in Scots Gaelic shares its origin with the "Caput" in Latin, meaning both "head" and "chapter". |
| Serbian | The word 'глава' can also refer to a 'chapter' in a book or a 'leader' of an organization. |
| Sesotho | The word "hlooho" is related to the Proto-Bantu word "*tu-ntu", also meaning "head". |
| Shona | The Shona word 'musoro' can also mean 'a top of a hill' or 'a person who is a leader'. |
| Sindhi | The word "مٿو" (head) in Sindhi is also used to refer to the "top" or "upper part" of something. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | Sinhala 'හිස' (head) is also a poetic term for 'mind'. |
| Slovak | The word 'hlava' also means 'chapter' in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | The word "glavo" in Slovenian can also mean "chapter" or "garlic bulb". |
| Somali | The Somali word "madaxa" is also used to refer to the "boss" or "leader" of a group |
| Spanish | Cabeza can also refer to a leader or chief, as in 'el cabeza de la familia' (the head of the family). |
| Sundanese | In Sundanese, "sirah" can also refer to the "top" or "beginning" of something. |
| Swahili | The noun 'kichwa' can also refer to a leader or chief. |
| Swedish | Huvud is also related to the German word "Haupt", which means "head", and the English word "hood". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Tagalog, "ulo" may also refer to a tree stump or a mountain peak, highlighting its semantic extension beyond the physical head. |
| Tajik | In Tajik, "сар" (head) also refers to a unit of measurement equal to 16 kilograms. |
| Tamil | தலை (head) also means 'chief' as in 'the head of the state'. |
| Telugu | The word "తల" also means "intelligence" or "cleverness" in the context of a person's character. |
| Thai | In Sanskrit, "shirsh" means "top" or "crown," implying the head's position at the top of the body. |
| Turkish | The word 'baş' also means 'beginning, top, and chief' in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The word "керівник" is a Ukrainian word derived from the Old East Slavic word "корм" meaning "ship", "vessel", or "fleet", so the term literally meant "a leader of the ship". Thus, the modern meaning of the word "керівник" is derived from the historical fact that the first leaders of the Ukrainian state were the Vikings, who came from Scandinavia across the seas. |
| Urdu | The word "سر" has several other meanings in Urdu, including "secret", "matter", and "chapter". |
| Uzbek | The word "bosh" also means "empty" or "vain". |
| Vietnamese | "Đầu (cái đầu)", besides its main meaning 'head', also mean 'the beginning of sth' or 'the main part, the most important part of...'. |
| Welsh | Historically, 'pen' also meant 'end' or 'top' and was used in these senses in Welsh poetry and the Mabinogion. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, the word "intloko" (head) can also refer to a person of high rank or authority. |
| Yiddish | Yiddish "קאָפּ" is related to the German "Kopf" and derives from the Indo-European root "*kap-ut-" meaning "head". |
| Yoruba | "Ori" also means "destiny" in Yoruba, hinting at the head's symbolic importance as the seat of one's fate. |
| Zulu | "Ikhanda" can also mean "thought" or "idea" in Zulu. |
| English | The word 'head' can also refer to the leader of an organization or group, or to the main point or topic of a discussion. |