Island in Different Languages
Discover 'Island' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Island
Afrikaans eiland | ||
Albanian ishull | ||
Amharic ደሴት | ||
Arabic جزيرة | ||
Armenian կղզի | ||
Assamese দ্বীপ | ||
Aymara isla | ||
Azerbaijani ada | ||
Bambara gun | ||
Basque irla | ||
Belarusian востраў | ||
Bengali দ্বীপ | ||
Bhojpuri द्वीप | ||
Bosnian ostrvo | ||
Bulgarian остров | ||
Catalan illa | ||
Cebuano isla | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 岛 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 島 | ||
Corsican isula | ||
Croatian otok | ||
Czech ostrov | ||
Danish ø | ||
Dhivehi ރަށް | ||
Dogri टापू | ||
Dutch eiland | ||
English island | ||
Esperanto insulo | ||
Estonian saar | ||
Ewe ƒukpo | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) isla | ||
Finnish saari | ||
French île | ||
Frisian eilân | ||
Galician illa | ||
Georgian კუნძული | ||
German insel | ||
Greek νησί | ||
Guarani yno'õ | ||
Gujarati ટાપુ | ||
Haitian Creole zile | ||
Hausa tsibiri | ||
Hawaiian mokupuni | ||
Hebrew אִי | ||
Hindi द्वीप | ||
Hmong kob | ||
Hungarian sziget | ||
Icelandic eyja | ||
Igbo agwaetiti | ||
Ilocano isla | ||
Indonesian pulau | ||
Irish oileán | ||
Italian isola | ||
Japanese 島 | ||
Javanese pulau | ||
Kannada ದ್ವೀಪ | ||
Kazakh арал | ||
Khmer កោះ | ||
Kinyarwanda ikirwa | ||
Konkani जुंवो | ||
Korean 섬 | ||
Krio ayland | ||
Kurdish girav | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) دوورگە | ||
Kyrgyz арал | ||
Lao ເກາະ | ||
Latin insulam | ||
Latvian sala | ||
Lingala esanga | ||
Lithuanian sala | ||
Luganda ekizinga | ||
Luxembourgish insel | ||
Macedonian остров | ||
Maithili टापू | ||
Malagasy nosy | ||
Malay pulau | ||
Malayalam ദ്വീപ് | ||
Maltese gżira | ||
Maori motu | ||
Marathi बेट | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯏꯊꯠ | ||
Mizo thliarkar | ||
Mongolian арал | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ကျွန်း | ||
Nepali टापु | ||
Norwegian øy | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chilumba | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଦ୍ୱୀପ | ||
Oromo odola | ||
Pashto ټاپو | ||
Persian جزیره | ||
Polish wyspa | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) ilha | ||
Punjabi ਟਾਪੂ | ||
Quechua isla | ||
Romanian insulă | ||
Russian остров | ||
Samoan motu | ||
Sanskrit द्वीप | ||
Scots Gaelic eilean | ||
Sepedi sehlakahlaka | ||
Serbian острво | ||
Sesotho sehlekehleke | ||
Shona chitsuwa | ||
Sindhi ٻيٽ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දිවයින | ||
Slovak ostrov | ||
Slovenian otok | ||
Somali jasiirad | ||
Spanish isla | ||
Sundanese pulau | ||
Swahili kisiwa | ||
Swedish ö | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) isla | ||
Tajik ҷазира | ||
Tamil தீவு | ||
Tatar утрау | ||
Telugu ద్వీపం | ||
Thai เกาะ | ||
Tigrinya ደሴት | ||
Tsonga xihlala | ||
Turkish ada | ||
Turkmen ada | ||
Twi (Akan) supɔ | ||
Ukrainian острів | ||
Urdu جزیرہ | ||
Uyghur ئارال | ||
Uzbek orol | ||
Vietnamese đảo | ||
Welsh ynys | ||
Xhosa isiqithi | ||
Yiddish אינזל | ||
Yoruba erekusu | ||
Zulu isiqhingi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "eiland" in Afrikaans can also refer to a lake, lagoon, or a body of land surrounded by marshes. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "ishull" likely originates from the Illyrian word "*esku" meaning "island". |
| Amharic | Possibly related to Egyptian "ds" (land), "dt" (river bank) and Proto-Semitic *dyz-. |
| Arabic | The word "جزيرة" also means "segment" or "part" in Arabic. |
| Armenian | Կղզի (kghzi) traces its origins to the Armenian word for "a piece of cut bread". |
| Azerbaijani | "Ada" also means "justice" in Azerbaijani, coming from the Arabic word "ʿadāla". |
| Basque | The Basque word "irla" for "island" possibly derives from the Proto-Basque *iregi, meaning "damp" or "wet." |
| Belarusian | "Востраў" is cognate with the German word "Wüste" and Russian "остров" meaning "desert" |
| Bengali | The word "দ্বীপ" in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word "द्वीप" (dvīpa), which also means "island" and "continent". |
| Bosnian | Ostrvo also refers to an island-like part of a river, lake or sea that is not surrounded by water on all sides. |
| Bulgarian | The word "остров" in Bulgarian comes from the Slavic root "ostro", meaning "sharp" or "pointed", referring to the rocky or steep coastlines of many islands. |
| Catalan | The word "illa" in Catalan comes from the Latin "insula", which means "island", and can also refer to a block of buildings or a group of houses. |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "isla" originally referred to coral formations rather than islands in general. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "岛" has alternate meanings including "islet", "reef", and "sandbank". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 島 is also used to refer to a group, sect, or country |
| Corsican | In Corsican, the word "isula" ("island") originally denoted a wooded area of dense vegetation, similar to the Latin "insula." |
| Croatian | In Old Croatian, 'otok' was applied to larger, riverine islands as opposed to 'otočić' for smaller ones ('otok' in modern Croatian). |
| Czech | The word "ostrov" in Czech can also refer to a peninsula or a sanctuary, but most commonly an island. |
| Danish | The word "ø" can also refer to a small round island or a cluster of islands. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "eiland" originates from Middle Dutch "eylant" and Proto-Germanic “*aigw-land-u201d, where “*aigw-” means “water” and “*land-” means “land”. |
| Esperanto | The word "insulo" is derived from the Latin word "insula", which means "island" or "peninsula". |
| Estonian | The word "saar" can also mean "a glade in a forest" in Estonian. |
| Finnish | The word "saari" in Finnish also means a piece of land encircled by water bodies or surrounded by swamps. |
| French | The French word 'île' originates from the Latin word 'insula,' meaning 'in the water' or 'between waters'. |
| Frisian | In Welsh, "eilân" means both "island" and "a glade in a forest". |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "illa" not only means "island", but also refers to a specific type of uninhabited, rocky island. |
| Georgian | The Georgian word for "island" (კუნძული) may also refer to a "piece" or "part" of something. |
| German | The German word Insel is thought to be derived from a pre-Indo-European root *en-, meaning 'water', and is thus related to the English words 'island' and 'insulate'. |
| Greek | The word "νησί" is the diminutive of the ancient Greek word "νῆσος" (nēsos), meaning "a piece of land surrounded by water." |
| Gujarati | "ટાપુ" comes from the Sanskrit word "dvipa", meaning "two waters" or "a land between two rivers". It can also refer to a "cluster of trees" or an "inhabited place". |
| Haitian Creole | The word "zile" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "île", meaning "island". It can also refer to various landforms surrounded by water, including an "islet", "archipelago", "isthmus", and "cape." |
| Hausa | The word "tsibiri" in Hausa also means "a large body of water surrounded by land", such as a lake. |
| Hawaiian | "Mokupuni" can also refer to a district or subdivision of a chiefdom, and it is cognate with the Tahitian word "fenua" meaning "land". |
| Hebrew | אִי in Hebrew also refers to a body of water, similar to its cognates in other Semitic languages and even English. |
| Hindi | The Sanskrit word 'द्वीप' (dvīpa) also means 'continent' or 'a large landmass surrounded by water'. |
| Hmong | The word "kob" can also refer to a piece of land surrounded by water or a group of houses surrounded by fields. |
| Hungarian | While 'sziget' means 'island' in Hungarian, it originates from the Slavic word 'sytь', meaning 'dry land'. |
| Icelandic | The word "eyja" has various meanings in Icelandic, including "island", "pasture", and "a place where sheep are kept". |
| Igbo | The word "agwaetiti" can also mean "a place where water gathers" or "a place where there is a lot of water". |
| Indonesian | "Pulau" in Indonesian may be derived from the Sanskrit word "dvīpa" and can also refer to other isolated or enclosed areas, such as oases and forest clearings. |
| Irish | The Irish word 'oileán' not only means 'island' but also refers to a small patch of fertile land in a bog. |
| Italian | The word isola derives from the Italian word 'isolare', meaning to isolate or separate. |
| Japanese | The character "島" (island) is also used as a unit of measurement, referring to the amount of land that can be cultivated by a single farmer. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, "pulau" can also refer to a sacred place where spirits and deities reside. |
| Kannada | The word "ದ್ವೀಪ" can also refer to a group of islands or a continent. |
| Kazakh | The word "арал" is also a type of grain or flour and shares etymological roots with the word for "area". |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "កោះ" may have originated from the Sanskrit word "dvipa" or "dvīpa" meaning "island" or "two drinks". |
| Korean | The word "섬" can also refer to a secluded place or an isolated group of people. |
| Kurdish | In Old Persian, 'girav' ('island') is likely cognate with 'gird' ('round', 'circular'). |
| Kyrgyz | The word "Арал" in Kyrgyz can also refer to the open sea and not just an island. |
| Lao | The Lao word for "island" can also refer to a "peninsula". |
| Latin | The Late Latin word _insulam_ derives from the Classical Latin _insula_ (island), itself from the Proto-Indo-European root _*nes-/*nis-_, meaning "to stick out" or "to be raised up," which is also the origin of the Greek word _νῆσος_ (nêsos, island). |
| Latvian | "Sala" also means "hall" or "room" in Latvian, possibly due to its historical use as a gathering place on islands. |
| Lithuanian | The word "sala" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *sel-, meaning "to flow" or "to be wet. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Insel" is derived from the Latin word "insula", meaning "island", and can also refer to a peninsula or a piece of land surrounded by water. |
| Macedonian | The word "остров" in Macedonian also means "peninsula" or "cape". |
| Malagasy | In Malagasy, the word "nosy" also has other meanings such as "headland" and "peninsula". |
| Malay | "Pulau" derives from the Proto-South-East-Asian word *pulaw, meaning "separated place" or "high ground surrounded by water". |
| Malayalam | The word "ദ്വീപ്" (island) is derived from the Sanskrit word "dvipa", meaning "two" and "drink", referring to the concept of land surrounded by water. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "gżira" derives from the Arabic "jazīrah", and originally meant "peninsula" or "headland". |
| Maori | The word "motu" can also refer to a group of islands, an atoll, or a reef. |
| Marathi | The word 'बेट' not only means 'island' but also refers to 'a sandbank that appears in water during the rainy season' |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian, 'арал' can also refer to a 'delta' or a 'sandbank' in a river. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word ကျွန်း ("island") in Myanmar (Burmese) also means "to be surrounded by something" and "to be isolated or alone." |
| Nepali | In Nepali, the word "टापु" (island) is also used to refer to a small, isolated group of houses or a patch of land surrounded by water. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "øy" can also refer to a small, isolated piece of land or a small, circular depression in the ground. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The etymology of "chilumba" (island) in Nyanja is uncertain, with some linking it to the Proto-Bantu root "*tumba" (hill, mound) or the Proto-Bantu root "*lumba" (to be round). |
| Pashto | The word "ټاپو" in Pashto is of Sanskrit origin and also means "heap" or "mound". |
| Persian | The word جزیره (jazireh) comes from an Old Persian term meaning |
| Polish | The Polish word "wyspa" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*vъstъpъ", meaning "a place above the water". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "ilha" derives from the Latin "insula", meaning "land surrounded by water". |
| Punjabi | The word 'Taapu' likely originates from the Sanskrit word 'Tapa' which in some contexts means 'heat' or 'heat of the sun', perhaps reflecting the hot and humid weather often associated with islands. |
| Romanian | The word "insulă" in Romanian comes from Latin "insulam", meaning both "isle" and "peninsula". |
| Russian | The Russian word "остров" also refers to a safe haven or refuge, similar to the English "sanctuary". |
| Samoan | "Motu" is also used in Samoan to refer to the "space between the legs" of a person sitting down. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word 'eilean' shares its root with the Old Irish word 'elain', meaning 'a hind' or 'female deer'. |
| Serbian | The word "острво" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*ostrovъ", which also means "sharp" or "pointed". |
| Sesotho | 'Sehlekehleke' is also figuratively used to refer to a small, insignificant village or a small group of people. |
| Shona | In a more poetic sense, "chitsuwa" can also mean "a place where people live". |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word بنى ط (بيٹ) 'island' may have an etymology related to the Indo-Aryan root *dvīpa (Sanskrit: द्वीप, romanized: dvīpa). |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "දිවයින" (island) is derived from the Sanskrit word "dvipa", which also means "two" or "pair", referring to the two main parts of an island: the land mass and the surrounding water. |
| Slovak | The word "ostrov" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*ostruvъ", meaning "sharp" or "pointed", referring to the shape of many islands. |
| Slovenian | In archaic Slovene, 'otok' could also mean a hill or a castle. |
| Somali | The word "jasiirad" is derived from the Arabic word "jazīrah", meaning "part of a continent surrounded by water. |
| Spanish | The word "isla" comes from the Latin word "insula," which also means "building block" or "small house." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "pulau" can also refer to a rice dish cooked with various side dishes. |
| Swahili | The word "kisiwa" is derived from the Arabic word "jazīra" which means "fragment of land surrounded by water". |
| Swedish | The word "ö" in Swedish may also refer to a small area of land or a piece of land surrounded by water. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Tagalog, the word "isla" not only means "island" but also refers to a "landmass surrounded by water," capturing the nuances of its geography. |
| Tajik | The word "ҷазира" can also refer to an island of land in a wetland or a swampy area. |
| Tamil | The word "தீவு" (island) in Tamil can also refer to a place of refuge or a sacred place. |
| Telugu | ദ്വീപം can also figuratively refer to a small area of land that is surrounded by a sea of something else, such as a group of trees in a desert. |
| Thai | The Thai word "เกาะ" not only means island, but also can refer to the nodes of a tree or the nodes of a network. |
| Turkish | "Ada" can also mean "piece, part" or "name" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "острів" also means "place of exile". |
| Urdu | The word "جزیرہ" also means "a part" or "a section" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | The word "orol" is also used in Uzbek to refer to the central part of a yurt. |
| Vietnamese | The word "Đảo" has multiple origins: "dão" (to turn), "đảo" (upside down), and "đảo" (to swap). |
| Welsh | Welsh 'ynys' ('island') derives from a Proto-Celtic word meaning 'water', and is cognate with English 'inch' which also means 'island'. |
| Xhosa | Isiqithi may also refer to an isolated section of a larger landmass or a group of hills surrounded by valleys. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "אינזל" is derived from the German word "Insel" meaning "island" and is the same word in English. |
| Yoruba | "Erekusu" is also used to refer to a group of people or a community that lives on an island. |
| Zulu | The word isiqhingi is derived from the verb -qhing, which means 'to be surrounded' or 'to be cut off'. |
| English | The word "island" originally meant "dry land" or "low-lying land," a sense preserved in "Iseland" or "Iceland." |