Highway in Different Languages
Discover 'Highway' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Highway
Afrikaans snelweg | ||
Albanian autostradë | ||
Amharic አውራ ጎዳና | ||
Arabic الطريق السريع | ||
Armenian մայրուղի | ||
Assamese ঘাইপথ | ||
Aymara jach’a thaki | ||
Azerbaijani magistral | ||
Bambara siraba kan | ||
Basque autobidea | ||
Belarusian шашы | ||
Bengali হাইওয়ে | ||
Bhojpuri राजमार्ग पर भइल | ||
Bosnian autoput | ||
Bulgarian магистрала | ||
Catalan carretera | ||
Cebuano haywey | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 高速公路 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 高速公路 | ||
Corsican autostrada | ||
Croatian autocesta | ||
Czech dálnice | ||
Danish motorvej | ||
Dhivehi ހައިވޭގަ އެވެ | ||
Dogri हाईवे पर | ||
Dutch snelweg | ||
English highway | ||
Esperanto ŝoseo | ||
Estonian maanteel | ||
Ewe mɔ gã aɖe dzi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) highway | ||
Finnish valtatie | ||
French autoroute | ||
Frisian sneldyk | ||
Galician estrada | ||
Georgian მაგისტრალი | ||
German autobahn | ||
Greek αυτοκινητόδρομος | ||
Guarani tape guasu | ||
Gujarati હાઇવે | ||
Haitian Creole gran wout | ||
Hausa babbar hanya | ||
Hawaiian alaloa | ||
Hebrew כביש מהיר | ||
Hindi हाइवे | ||
Hmong txoj kev loj | ||
Hungarian országút | ||
Icelandic þjóðvegi | ||
Igbo okporo ụzọ | ||
Ilocano haywey | ||
Indonesian jalan raya | ||
Irish mhórbhealaigh | ||
Italian autostrada | ||
Japanese 高速道路 | ||
Javanese dalan gedhe | ||
Kannada ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿ | ||
Kazakh тасжол | ||
Khmer ផ្លូវហាយវេ | ||
Kinyarwanda umuhanda | ||
Konkani म्हामार्गाचेर | ||
Korean 고속도로 | ||
Krio di aywe | ||
Kurdish rê | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ڕێگای خێرا | ||
Kyrgyz шоссе | ||
Lao ທາງຫລວງ | ||
Latin via | ||
Latvian šoseja | ||
Lingala nzela monene | ||
Lithuanian greitkelis | ||
Luganda oluguudo olukulu | ||
Luxembourgish autobunn | ||
Macedonian автопат | ||
Maithili राजमार्ग | ||
Malagasy lalambe | ||
Malay jalan raya | ||
Malayalam ഹൈവേ | ||
Maltese awtostrada | ||
Maori huanui | ||
Marathi महामार्ग | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯍꯥꯏꯋꯦꯗꯥ ꯂꯩ꯫ | ||
Mizo highway-ah a awm a | ||
Mongolian хурдны зам | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အဝေးပြေး | ||
Nepali राजमार्ग | ||
Norwegian hovedvei | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) khwalala | ||
Odia (Oriya) ରାଜପଥ | ||
Oromo daandii guddaa | ||
Pashto لویه لار | ||
Persian بزرگراه | ||
Polish autostrada | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) rodovia | ||
Punjabi ਹਾਈਵੇ | ||
Quechua hatun ñan | ||
Romanian autostrada | ||
Russian шоссе | ||
Samoan auala tele | ||
Sanskrit राजमार्गः | ||
Scots Gaelic àrd-rathad | ||
Sepedi tsela e kgolo | ||
Serbian аутопут | ||
Sesotho mmila o moholo | ||
Shona mugwagwa | ||
Sindhi ھاءِ وي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) අධිවේගී මාර්ගය | ||
Slovak diaľnica | ||
Slovenian avtocesti | ||
Somali waddo weyn | ||
Spanish autopista | ||
Sundanese jalan tol | ||
Swahili barabara kuu | ||
Swedish motorväg | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) highway | ||
Tajik шоҳроҳ | ||
Tamil நெடுஞ்சாலை | ||
Tatar шоссе | ||
Telugu హైవే | ||
Thai ทางหลวง | ||
Tigrinya ጽርግያ | ||
Tsonga gondzo lerikulu | ||
Turkish otoyol | ||
Turkmen uly ýol | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔkwan kɛse so | ||
Ukrainian шосе | ||
Urdu ہائی وے | ||
Uyghur تاشيول | ||
Uzbek magistral yo'l | ||
Vietnamese xa lộ | ||
Welsh briffordd | ||
Xhosa uhola wendlela | ||
Yiddish שאָסיי | ||
Yoruba opopona | ||
Zulu umgwaqo omkhulu |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "snelweg" in Afrikaans originally meant "fast road" or "expressway". |
| Albanian | The word "autostradë" comes from the Italian words "auto" ("car") and "strada" ("road"). |
| Amharic | The word "አውራ ጎዳና" was originally used to describe a path made by animals, and later came to mean a road for vehicles. |
| Arabic | In Arabic, "الطريق السريع" originally meant "a wide road" or "a main road", but its meaning has shifted over time to specifically refer to "a highway". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word մայրուղի is derived from the Persian word مادِی رود which means "road constructed by your mother". |
| Azerbaijani | The word "magistral" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Latin word "magister" (meaning "master") and originally referred to a main road or highway. |
| Basque | The word autobidea derives from auto ('car') + bide ('path, way'). |
| Belarusian | The word "шашы" is a borrowing from Polish "szosa", which in turn comes from French "chaussée" (paved road). |
| Bengali | The word "হাইওয়ে" is derived from the English word "highway". |
| Bosnian | The word 'autoput' is derived from the German word 'Autobahn', meaning 'motorway'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "магистрала" can also refer to a major gas pipeline, or the main trunk line of a railroad. |
| Catalan | The word "carretera" in Catalan ultimately derives from the Latin word "quadraria" meaning "a squared stone". |
| Cebuano | Wayhay in Cebuano can also mean 'noisy' when written as 'way way' |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 高速公路 (gaosu gonglu) was formed from the abbreviation 高速 (gaosu, 'high speed') of 高速度 (gaosudu, 'high speed') and 公路 (gonglu, 'road'). |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "高" in "高速公路" refers to the high standard of the road, "速" means fast speed, and "公" refers to public use. |
| Corsican | In Corsica "autostrada" designates a narrow road or a winding road, and not a highway. |
| Croatian | "Autocesta" originates from German and is a combination of two terms: "Auto" referring to an automobile or motor vehicle, and "cesta" derived from Old Slavic "cьsta" or Latin "strata" (street) |
| Czech | "Dálnice" (highway) is also part of the word "dál" (far), highlighting the long-distance nature of highways. |
| Danish | Motorvej is a compound word derived from the words “motor” and “vej”, which respectively mean motor and path. |
| Dutch | The word "snelweg" literally translates to "fast way" in Dutch, highlighting its primary purpose as a high-speed roadway. |
| Esperanto | "ŝoseo" is an artificial root created by Esperanto that is used in the construction of words related to roads and highways. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "maanteel" is derived from the words "maa" (land) and "teel" (on the road), and it can also refer to a rural road. |
| Finnish | "Valtatie" is derived from the root "valta" (power), implying that highways were once considered symbols of a nation's strength and authority. |
| French | The French 'Autoroute' can also refer to 'turnpike', or, colloquially, a 'free-for-all'. |
| Frisian | "Sneldyk" is cognate with Dutch "sneldek" and German "schnelldeich", meaning "fast dike" referring to waterways rather than roads |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "estrada" can also mean "road", "path" or "street". |
| German | The word "Autobahn" is derived from the German words "Auto" (automobile) and "Bahn" (path or road), and originally referred to a high-speed road for automobiles. |
| Greek | In ancient Greek, 'autokinētos' means 'self-moving' and 'dromos' refers to a 'racecourse' or 'roadway'. |
| Gujarati | The word 'હાઇવે' ('highway') is ultimately derived from the Old English word 'hēahweg', meaning 'high way', referring to a main road. |
| Haitian Creole | The 'gran wout' ('highway') in Haitian Creole also refers to the main market avenue in a city or town. |
| Hausa | Originally a borrowing from Arabic, babban hanya literally means "big road" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | The word "alaloa" also means "long" or "tall" in Hawaiian, referring to the length of the roads. |
| Hindi | The word 'हाइवे' (highway) in Hindi, comes from the Persian word 'hawai', meaning a road for horsemen. |
| Hmong | The word "txoj kev loj" in Hmong, in addition to meaning "highway," also means "avenue" or "roadway." |
| Hungarian | A népnyelvben az „országút” jelenthet országgyűlési képviselő által a választókörzetében épített utat is. |
| Icelandic | Þjóðvegi, meaning "highway" in Icelandic, derives from the Old Norse word "þjóðvegr," originally referring to a "main road" or "road for the people" |
| Indonesian | The term 'jalan raya' is also used in Malaysian, meaning 'street' or 'road'. |
| Italian | "Autostrada" also means "the road of automobiles" in Italian, as it is composed by the words "auto" (automobile) and "strada" (road). |
| Japanese | 高速道路 (kousokudouro) literally means "high-speed road" in Japanese and is also known as the "expressway." |
| Javanese | "Dalan gedhe" in Javanese is derived from the Sanskrit word "dalan, |
| Kannada | The word "ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿ" is derived from the Sanskrit words "हस्त" (hand) and "धार" (path), meaning "path for hands". |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "тасжол" (highway) derives from the Persian "tashjol", meaning "stone path". |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ផ្លូវហាយវេ" (highway) ultimately derives from the Latin word "via," meaning "way" or "road." |
| Korean | **고속도로** may also be a term for the 'express lanes' on highways in Korea, which only certain types of vehicles with a special pass are permitted to drive on. |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "rê" is also used to refer to "direction" or "line". |
| Kyrgyz | In Kyrgyz, "шоссе" (highway) is also a loanword from Russian. |
| Latin | The Latin word "via" initially referred to a narrow path or road, with "highway" being a later extension of its meaning. |
| Latvian | The word "šoseja" in Latvian originates from the French word "chaussée", meaning "road" or "causeway". |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "greitkelis" is thought to have originated from the words "greitas" (fast) and "kelti" (to lift), suggesting a path that enables fast movement. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Autobunn" is derived from the German word "Autobahn", which means "motorway". |
| Macedonian | The compound word "автопат" literally means "automobile road". |
| Malagasy | The word "lalambe" can also refer to a long, narrow strip of land or a path cut through the forest. |
| Malay | The Malay word "jalan raya" is derived from Persian and means both "highway" and "main street" in the context of a town or city. |
| Malayalam | ഹൈവേ comes from the English word highway, meaning a main road. |
| Maltese | The word "awtostrada" in Maltese is derived from the Italian word "autostrada" and ultimately from the Latin word "via strata" meaning "paved way". |
| Maori | In Maori, the word "huanui" also refers to a pathway marked by a row of stones or a guiding line for travelers. |
| Marathi | The word "महामार्ग" (highway) is derived from the Sanskrit words "महा" (great) and "मार्ग" (path) |
| Mongolian | The word хурдны зам also means a "thoroughfare" as in a "thoroughfare" of a city. |
| Nepali | The word "राजमार्ग" in Sanskrit translates to "king's road", and also refers to the 1008 roads constructed in ancient India by emperor Ashoka. |
| Norwegian | "Hovedvei" is the Norwegian word for "highway", and is composed of "hoved" meaning "main" and "vei" meaning "road". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The term "khwalala" originates from the word "khwala," meaning "to chase" or "to pursue," implying that a highway allows for rapid and uninterrupted movement. |
| Pashto | The word "لویه لار" in Pashto can also refer to a "great road" or a "main road". |
| Persian | The word "بزرگراه" has a more literal meaning of "large road" in Persian, implying a more important or major road. |
| Polish | Autostrada in Polish can also mean "autopilot". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "rodovia" (highway) derives from the Latin "rota" (wheel) and the suffix "-via" (way). |
| Punjabi | The word 'highway' comes from the Old English word 'hegweg,' which means 'way protected by hedges.' |
| Romanian | In Romanian, 'autostrada' means 'highway', but it can also refer to the lanes reserved for public transport or the highway police. |
| Russian | Derived from French, with possible further Turkic origins |
| Samoan | The word "auala tele" is also used to refer to the "path of life" or "way of life." |
| Scots Gaelic | Àrd-rathad translates literally as "high road" and is also the Gaelic term for "main road". |
| Serbian | The word "аутопут" also refers to a car race track and can be spelled with the Latin alphabet: "autoput". |
| Sesotho | The word "mmila o moholo" is a combination of "mmila" (road) and "moholo" (big), emphasizing the size and importance of a highway. |
| Shona | The word "mugwagwa" can also refer to a river course or path along which water flows during the rainy season. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ھاءِ وي" ("highway") also means "a path or way that is wide and open" or "a place where people can walk or travel freely." |
| Slovak | The term "diaľnica" is used in some countries in Central and Eastern Europe to indicate a motorway rather than just a freeway, but in other regions it can simply mean "road". |
| Slovenian | The word 'avtocesti' derives from the Latin for 'auto' and the Italian for 'strada', but can also refer to a 'road' in general. |
| Somali | The Somali word "waddo weyn" for "highway" also means 'major road', with "waddo" itself meaning "road, path". |
| Spanish | The word "autopista" in Spanish comes from the Greek "autos" meaning "self" and the Latin "via" meaning "road". |
| Sundanese | In Sundanese, "jalan tol" is also used to refer to a "toll road" or "expressway". |
| Swahili | "barabara kuu", the Swahili word for "highway", literally means "big road" or "main road". |
| Swedish | Motorväg, meaning "highway" in Swedish, is a loanword from German consisting of two elements, "motor" and "väg" (literally "motor road"). |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "highway" in Tagalog is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "carretera," meaning "road" or "highway." |
| Tajik | The word "шоҳроҳ" in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "شاهرَه" which means "main road". |
| Telugu | The Telugu word "హైవే" (hāivē) is derived from the English word "highway", and can also mean "main road" or "major road". |
| Thai | The word "ทางหลวง" (highway) in Thai derives from the Sanskrit word "dharma" meaning "moral law" or "right path" |
| Turkish | The word "otoyol" is a compound of the Turkish words "otomobil" (automobile) and "yol" (road). |
| Ukrainian | Шосе (highway) is a Ukrainian word derived from the French word “chaussée”, meaning a paved road or driveway. |
| Urdu | In Urdu, "ہائی وے" (highway) can also refer to aerial routes, or more broadly, any major route. |
| Uzbek | "Magistral yo'l" also refers to the main direction in something (for example, in science or art). |
| Vietnamese | Xa lộ is a loanword from French 'chaussée', meaning 'roadway' or 'causeway'. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "briffordd" can trace its roots to the Brythonic word "*brigo-rotos" meaning "great road." |
| Xhosa | The word "uhola wendlela" is derived from the verb "uhola", meaning "to open" or "to clear", and the noun "iwendlela", meaning "a path" or "a road". |
| Yiddish | In Eastern Yiddish, "שאָסיי" can also refer to a paved road or street. |
| Yoruba | "Opopona" also denotes "crossroads" in the Yoruba lexicon. |
| Zulu | The word 'umgwaqo omkhulu' can also refer to any large road, or a 'main road'. |
| English | The derivation of "highway" is disputed: it may refer to the old usage of "hedge" meaning boundary, or an earlier meaning of "a path or route." |