Afrikaans baba | ||
Albanian foshnje | ||
Amharic ህፃን | ||
Arabic رضيع | ||
Armenian նորածին | ||
Assamese কেঁচুৱা | ||
Aymara wawa | ||
Azerbaijani körpə | ||
Bambara den | ||
Basque haurra | ||
Belarusian немаўля | ||
Bengali শিশু | ||
Bhojpuri शिशु | ||
Bosnian dojenče | ||
Bulgarian бебе | ||
Catalan infantil | ||
Cebuano masuso | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 婴儿 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 嬰兒 | ||
Corsican zitellu | ||
Croatian dječji | ||
Czech dítě | ||
Danish spædbarn | ||
Dhivehi ތުއްތު ކުއްޖާ | ||
Dogri ञ्याना | ||
Dutch zuigeling | ||
English infant | ||
Esperanto bebo | ||
Estonian imik | ||
Ewe vifɛ̃ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) sanggol | ||
Finnish lapsi | ||
French bébé | ||
Frisian poppe | ||
Galician infantil | ||
Georgian ჩვილი | ||
German säugling | ||
Greek βρέφος | ||
Guarani mitãrekóva | ||
Gujarati શિશુ | ||
Haitian Creole tibebe | ||
Hausa jariri | ||
Hawaiian pēpē | ||
Hebrew תִינוֹק | ||
Hindi शिशु | ||
Hmong menyuam mos | ||
Hungarian csecsemő | ||
Icelandic ungabarn | ||
Igbo nwa ọhụrụ | ||
Ilocano tagibi | ||
Indonesian bayi | ||
Irish naíonán | ||
Italian neonato | ||
Japanese 幼児 | ||
Javanese bayi | ||
Kannada ಶಿಶು | ||
Kazakh нәресте | ||
Khmer ទារក | ||
Kinyarwanda uruhinja | ||
Konkani शीश्यू | ||
Korean 유아 | ||
Krio bebi | ||
Kurdish zarokê biçûk | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کۆرپە | ||
Kyrgyz ымыркай | ||
Lao ເດັກທາລົກ | ||
Latin infans | ||
Latvian zīdainis | ||
Lingala mwana-moke | ||
Lithuanian kūdikis | ||
Luganda omuto | ||
Luxembourgish puppelchen | ||
Macedonian новороденче | ||
Maithili नेना | ||
Malagasy zaza | ||
Malay bayi | ||
Malayalam ശിശു | ||
Maltese tarbija | ||
Maori kōhungahunga | ||
Marathi अर्भक | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯉꯥꯡ ꯅꯋꯥ | ||
Mizo nausen | ||
Mongolian нялх хүүхэд | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) မွေးကင်းစ | ||
Nepali शिशु | ||
Norwegian spedbarn | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) khanda | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଶିଶୁ | ||
Oromo daa'ima reefuu dhalate | ||
Pashto نوی ماشوم | ||
Persian نوزاد | ||
Polish dziecko | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) infantil | ||
Punjabi ਬਾਲ | ||
Quechua wawa | ||
Romanian copil | ||
Russian младенец | ||
Samoan pepe | ||
Sanskrit शिशु | ||
Scots Gaelic leanaibh | ||
Sepedi lesea | ||
Serbian дојенче | ||
Sesotho lesea | ||
Shona mucheche | ||
Sindhi ٻارڙي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ළදරුවා | ||
Slovak nemluvňa | ||
Slovenian dojenček | ||
Somali dhallaanka | ||
Spanish infantil | ||
Sundanese murangkalih | ||
Swahili mtoto mchanga | ||
Swedish spädbarn | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) sanggol | ||
Tajik тифл | ||
Tamil குழந்தை | ||
Tatar сабый | ||
Telugu శిశువు | ||
Thai ทารก | ||
Tigrinya ህፃን | ||
Tsonga ricece | ||
Turkish bebek | ||
Turkmen bäbek | ||
Twi (Akan) abɔdoma | ||
Ukrainian немовляти | ||
Urdu نوزائیدہ | ||
Uyghur بوۋاق | ||
Uzbek go'dak | ||
Vietnamese trẻ sơ sinh | ||
Welsh babanod | ||
Xhosa usana | ||
Yiddish פּיצל קינד | ||
Yoruba ìkókó | ||
Zulu usana |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Xhosa, 'uBaba uThixo' translates exactly like 'Our Father God' in both English and Afrikaans, which is interesting due to the double usage of 'father' in Afrikaans (baba as well). |
| Albanian | The Albanian word 'foshnje' originates from the Proto-Albanian word '*foshnē', which is cognate with Old Church Slavonic 'poskō' ('child') and Lithuanian 'paũksti' ('to hatch'). |
| Amharic | The word 'ህፃን' in Amharic can also mean 'young' or 'childlike'. |
| Arabic | رضيع is often used to refer to a baby who is exclusively breastfed, similar to its usage in the English language. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "körpə" (infant) likely originates from the Persian word "kirpā" (lamb). |
| Basque | The word "haurra" in Basque is derived from the Proto-Basque word "*haur" meaning "child" and is related to the words "haur" (child) in Gascon and "haur" (young) in Old French. |
| Belarusian | In Belarusian, the word "немаўля" (infant) is closely related to the word "нямы" (mute), suggesting a possible historical association between infants and their lack of speech. |
| Bengali | শিশু comes from the Sanskrit word शिशु, which means 'young one' or 'child', and is related to the word शिशु, which means 'to bear'. |
| Bosnian | "Dojenče" (infant) comes from the verb "dojiti" (to breastfeed) and "dojka" (breast)" |
| Bulgarian | The word "бебе" in Bulgarian is derived from the Turkish word "bebe", meaning "child" or "young one". |
| Catalan | Catalan "infantil" means "infantile" or "childish"; it can also refer to a child under the age of 7 or to something intended for children. |
| Cebuano | The word 'masuso' also means 'baby' or 'infant' in Spanish. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "婴儿" in Chinese is also used to refer to babies who have already been born but are not yet able to speak. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 嬰兒 (嬰兒 yīng'ér) literally translates as "soft flesh" or "soft body", which refers to an infant's soft and delicate skin. |
| Corsican | Corsican word "zitellu" also means "boy" and is related to Sardinian "zitellu" and "sitellu" meaning "boy" and "child" respectively. |
| Croatian | "Dječji" is also an adjective used to describe things related to children, such as toys or clothes. |
| Czech | The word "dítě" comes from the Old Slavic word "dětę", meaning "child" or "young one". |
| Danish | The Old Norse word spæðborn meant 'late-born' and referred to a child born after a gap of several years from the previous child. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word 'zuigeling' originally referred to a baby who was still breastfed. |
| Esperanto | Bebo, meaning "infant" in Esperanto, also denotes the soft feathers of birds. |
| Estonian | "Imik" has a slightly different meaning in Finnish, referring to someone who hasn't been breastfed for a month or two. |
| Finnish | The word "lapsi" is cognate with "laps" in Estonian, meaning "child", and may be derived from the Proto-Uralic word *lapsi meaning "offspring". |
| French | The word "bébé" is of onomatopoeic origin, imitating the sound of a baby's cry. |
| Frisian | The word 'poppe' has an alternate meaning in the Frisian language of 'small child' |
| Galician | In other words, this is a false friend since in Galician "infantil" means "puerile". |
| Georgian | The word 'ჩვილი' can mean 'an infant' or 'a little cry'. |
| Greek | "Βρέφος" also denotes "a descendant," or more specifically, "the youngest daughter," "the last-born," "child of one's old age." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "શિશુ" not only means "infant" but also "child" or "student". |
| Haitian Creole | {"text": "Tibebe is a Haitian Creole word ultimately derived from the French word for "tribe," "tribu," and can also mean "descendant" or "member of a particular group."}" |
| Hausa | Hausa 'jariri' originates from Arabic 'jarira,' meaning 'to injure, wound,' and is applied metaphorically to the infant as 'vulnerable, needy of protection.' |
| Hawaiian | "Pēpē" also refers to a squid lure or a type of Hawaiian taro |
| Hebrew | "תִינוֹק" is cognate with "יָנַק" ("to suckle") due to its root ending in the consonant "נ", and also shares a root with the word "תַּנּוּר" ("oven") due to the presence of the vowel "ו". |
| Hindi | The word 'शिशु' (infant) in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'shishu', which also means 'young animal' or 'disciple'. |
| Hmong | The word "menyuam mos" in Hmong also means "newborn" or "baby". |
| Hungarian | "Csecsemő" also means "suckling" or "baby animal." |
| Icelandic | The word 'ungabarn' literally means 'young child' and is related to the word 'ungur' which means 'young'. |
| Igbo | The term "nwa ọhụrụ" in Igbo can also refer to a newborn animal or a newly established entity. |
| Indonesian | The word "bayi" in Indonesian derives from the Proto-Austronesian root "*bahi", meaning "young child". |
| Italian | From Latin *neonātus*, meaning “new born”, literally “newly brought to birth”. |
| Japanese | "幼児" (read as "youji") is a compound word; 幼 (read as "yo") means "young" and 者 (read as "shi") means "person". |
| Javanese | In Indonesian, the word "bayi" also means "a young or inexperienced person". |
| Kannada | The word "ಶಿಶು" (śiśu) is derived from the Sanskrit word "शिशु" (śiśu), which means "young child" or "infant." |
| Kazakh | "Нәресте" also means "baby", "child", or "little one" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | The word "ទារក" can also refer to a young animal. |
| Korean | The word "유아" also refers to a young animal or a seedling, and is related to the word "유아" meaning "childlike innocence." |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, “zarokê biçûk” refers not only to biological infants but also to young individuals as a term of endearment. |
| Kyrgyz | The word 'ымыркай' is also used to refer to something small, weak, or insignificant in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | In Latin, "infans" originally referred to those who cannot speak due to age, disability, or legal status. |
| Lithuanian | The word "kūdikis" can also refer to a small animal or a doll, and is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *keu- "to swell". |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Puppelchen" is derived from the Old High German word "puppa", meaning "doll" or "baby". |
| Macedonian | "Новороденче" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*novъ", meaning "new", and "*rodъ", meaning "birth", and can also mean "newborn" or "recent arrival". |
| Malagasy | The word "zaza" in Malagasy can also refer to a descendant or a godchild. |
| Malay | "Bayi" is also the name for a type of small, freshwater fish in Malaysia. |
| Malayalam | The word 'ശിശു' in Malayalam has an alternate meaning of 'pupil' (of an eye), which may be derived from the Sanskrit word 'शिष्य' (śiṣya) meaning 'disciple'. |
| Maltese | The word 'tarbija' is derived from the Arabic word 'tarbiya', meaning 'upbringing' or 'education'. |
| Maori | "Kōhungahunga" also refers to the placenta or afterbirth, as it is believed to be the child's first home. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "अर्भक" is also used metaphorically to describe the initial stage of something. |
| Nepali | The word "shishu" can also refer to a disciple or pupil. |
| Norwegian | The word 'spedbarn' is derived from the Old Norse words 'sped' (meaning 'care' or 'prosperity') and 'barn' (meaning 'child'). |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja, "khanda" also means "a very young animal". |
| Pashto | The word "نوی ماشوم" is also used to refer to a young child or a baby. |
| Persian | The word "نوزاد" is derived from the Persian word "نوز" meaning "new" and the suffix "-اد" indicating "state or condition", thus referring to the state of being newly born. |
| Polish | In Polish, "Dziecko" refers to both a young child (infant) and the unborn offspring of humans and animals. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "infantil" derives from the Latin "infans" meaning "unable to speak," thus referring also to "childish" or "naive" conduct. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਬਾਲ" in Punjabi can also refer to a young person or a child, in addition to its primary meaning of "infant". |
| Romanian | The word "copil" is derived from the Latin word "copula", meaning "a bond" or "a union", and is often used to refer to the bond between a parent and child. |
| Russian | The word "младенец" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*mladĭ", meaning "young" or "tender". |
| Samoan | The Samoan word 'pepe' also means 'butterfly'. |
| Scots Gaelic | It has been suggested that the name may have originated from the Irish name Leannai, which means "belonging to me". |
| Serbian | The word 'дојенче' is derived from the verb 'дојити', meaning 'to breastfeed', and can also refer to a breastfeeding child. |
| Sesotho | The word "lesea" in Sesotho can also refer to the youngest child in a family or a young animal that is still dependent on its mother. |
| Shona | The word "mucheche" can also refer to a newborn animal or a young plant. |
| Sindhi | The term "ٻارڙي" (infant) can also refer to "unripe fruits" or a "childish person" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "ළදරුවා" (ladaruvaa) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "लड्डू" (laddū), meaning "a sweet ball of flour and sugar" |
| Slovak | The word "nemluvňa" in Slovak derives from the verb "nemluvit" meaning "not to talk" and literally means "non-speaker". |
| Slovenian | The word 'dojenček' comes from the verb 'dojiti' (to breastfeed) and the suffix '-ček' (little one), denoting a person who is being breastfed and is young and small. |
| Somali | "Dhallaanka" in Somali can also refer to a newborn animal or a young plant. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "infantil" not only denotes "infant", but also refers to the infantry, as it originated from the Latin term "infans", meaning "unable to speak" and referring to children and soldiers alike. |
| Sundanese | "Murangkalih" originally denoted both infants and adolescents in Sundanese. |
| Swahili | In Swahili, "mtoto mchanga" can also refer to a newborn animal, particularly a calf. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "spädbarn" originally referred to a nursing infant and was connected to words for "suckling". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Sanggol comes from the Tagalog verb "sumagsang" which means to lean on something, possibly referring to an infant's constant need to lean on its mother or a caretaker. |
| Tajik | The word "тифл" has multiple meanings, including "young child" and "ignorant person". |
| Tamil | Tamil 'குழந்தை' also means 'young one' of animals and plants, highlighting Tamil's holistic view of nature. |
| Telugu | The word 'శిశువు' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'शिशु' (śiśu), which means 'child' or 'young one'. |
| Thai | The word "ทารก" can also be used to refer to a "foetus" or an "unborn child" in Thai. |
| Turkish | 'Bebek' also means 'doll' in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | Ukrainian 'немовляти' (infant) comes from the Old Slavonic 'ne molv' (unable to speak), referring to the inability of infants to communicate verbally. |
| Urdu | "نوزائیدہ" is a Persian origin word that also means 'newborn' and 'new'. |
| Uzbek | “Go'dak“ is derived from the Old Turkic word “ködek,” meaning “offspring, baby, child.” |
| Vietnamese | The word "trẻ sơ sinh" in Vietnamese literally means "first newborn", with "trẻ" meaning "young" or "child" and "sơ sinh" meaning "newborn." |
| Welsh | The word "babanod" is derived from the Celtic word "bab", meaning "young child." |
| Xhosa | Usana may also mean "the act of carrying on the back". |
| Yiddish | The word "פיצל קינד" can also be used to refer to a small or insignificant child. |
| Yoruba | "Ìkókó" literally means 'young of a bird', hence by extension, a small young child. |
| Zulu | This word is also used to refer to a young plant or animal. |
| English | The word "infant" derives from Latin "infans," meaning "unable to speak," and referred to any child under the age of seven. |