Jail in Different Languages
Discover 'Jail' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Jail
Afrikaans tronk | ||
Albanian burg | ||
Amharic እስር ቤት | ||
Arabic سجن | ||
Armenian բանտ | ||
Assamese কাৰাগাৰ | ||
Aymara mutuñ uta | ||
Azerbaijani həbsxana | ||
Bambara kaso | ||
Basque kartzela | ||
Belarusian турма | ||
Bengali জেল | ||
Bhojpuri जेल | ||
Bosnian zatvor | ||
Bulgarian затвор | ||
Catalan presó | ||
Cebuano bilanggoan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 监狱 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 監獄 | ||
Corsican prigiò | ||
Croatian zatvor | ||
Czech vězení | ||
Danish fængsel | ||
Dhivehi ޖަލު | ||
Dogri जेल | ||
Dutch gevangenis | ||
English jail | ||
Esperanto malliberejo | ||
Estonian vangla | ||
Ewe gaxɔ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kulungan | ||
Finnish vankila | ||
French prison | ||
Frisian finzenis | ||
Galician cárcere | ||
Georgian ციხეში | ||
German gefängnis | ||
Greek φυλακή | ||
Guarani ka'irãi | ||
Gujarati જેલ | ||
Haitian Creole prizon | ||
Hausa kurkuku | ||
Hawaiian hale paʻahao | ||
Hebrew כלא | ||
Hindi जेल | ||
Hmong nkuaj | ||
Hungarian börtön | ||
Icelandic fangelsi | ||
Igbo nga | ||
Ilocano pagbaludan | ||
Indonesian penjara | ||
Irish phríosún | ||
Italian prigione | ||
Japanese 刑務所 | ||
Javanese kunjara | ||
Kannada ಜೈಲು | ||
Kazakh түрме | ||
Khmer ពន្ធនាគារ | ||
Kinyarwanda gereza | ||
Konkani जेल | ||
Korean 교도소 | ||
Krio jel | ||
Kurdish girtîgeh | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بەندیخانە | ||
Kyrgyz түрмө | ||
Lao ຄຸກ | ||
Latin vincula | ||
Latvian cietums | ||
Lingala boloko | ||
Lithuanian kalėjimas | ||
Luganda ekkomera | ||
Luxembourgish prisong | ||
Macedonian затвор | ||
Maithili जेल | ||
Malagasy am-ponja | ||
Malay penjara | ||
Malayalam ജയിൽ | ||
Maltese ħabs | ||
Maori whare herehere | ||
Marathi तुरूंग | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯐꯥꯗꯣꯛꯁꯪ | ||
Mizo tan in | ||
Mongolian шорон | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ထောင် | ||
Nepali जेल | ||
Norwegian fengsel | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ndende | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଜେଲ୍ | ||
Oromo hidhuu | ||
Pashto زندان | ||
Persian زندان | ||
Polish więzienie | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) cadeia | ||
Punjabi ਜੇਲ | ||
Quechua wichqana | ||
Romanian temniță | ||
Russian тюрьма | ||
Samoan falepuipui | ||
Sanskrit कारावास | ||
Scots Gaelic phrìosan | ||
Sepedi kgolego | ||
Serbian затвор | ||
Sesotho teronko | ||
Shona jeri | ||
Sindhi جيل | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) හිරගෙදර | ||
Slovak väzenie | ||
Slovenian zapor | ||
Somali xabsi | ||
Spanish cárcel | ||
Sundanese panjara | ||
Swahili jela | ||
Swedish fängelse | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kulungan | ||
Tajik зиндон | ||
Tamil சிறை | ||
Tatar төрмә | ||
Telugu జైలు | ||
Thai คุก | ||
Tigrinya ቤት ማእሰርቲ | ||
Tsonga khotso | ||
Turkish hapis | ||
Turkmen türme | ||
Twi (Akan) fa to afiease | ||
Ukrainian тюрма | ||
Urdu جیل | ||
Uyghur تۈرمە | ||
Uzbek qamoq | ||
Vietnamese nhà tù | ||
Welsh carchar | ||
Xhosa ijele | ||
Yiddish טורמע | ||
Yoruba ewon | ||
Zulu ijele |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "tronk" in Afrikaans, meaning "jail," originates from the Portuguese word "tronco," meaning "tree trunk" or "log," as prisoners were often chained to logs in early prisons. |
| Albanian | Etymology of the Albanian word "burg" is unknown, but it may be related to the Proto-Indo-European word "*bʰergʰ- ("hill"). |
| Arabic | The word 'سجن' is also used to refer to a space of confinement for animals, and it originates from the root word 'سجن' which means 'to imprison'. |
| Armenian | The word "բանտ" also means "confinement" or "imprisonment" in Armenian. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "həbsxana" is derived from the Persian word "habshan" meaning "prison". |
| Basque | Basque "kartzela" derives from Old Italian "carcere" and has cognate terms in Occitan, Catalan and Portuguese meaning "jail". |
| Belarusian | The word 'турма' ('jail') in Belarusian has the same origin as the word 'tower' in English. |
| Bengali | In Bengali slang, 'জেল' ('jail') can refer to a very difficult situation, especially if someone has to stay indoors or be confined |
| Bosnian | "Zatvor" is derived from "zatvoriti," meaning "to close" or "to shut in." |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "затвор" also means hermitage and the shutter in an SLR camera. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "presó" is derived from the Latin word "prensus," meaning "taken" or "held." |
| Cebuano | The term "bilanggoan" is derived from the Spanish word "bilango", meaning "prisoner", and refers to an institution for the confinement of convicted or accused criminals. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 监狱 means 'jail' in Chinese, but literally translates to 'a place of detention' or 'a cage' |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "監" comes from the radical 氵(water) and means "a place to see into." "獄" comes from the radical 門(door) and means "a fortified place." |
| Corsican | Corsican prigiò or prigione (jail) originates from the old Italian prigione, itself based on the medieval Latin prehensa, prehending, taking hold of, seizing, imprisonment. |
| Croatian | In Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, the word "zatvor" is cognate with "zatvoriti" (to close), but in Russian the related word "затвор" means "shutter" instead of "prison" |
| Czech | The word "vězení" is derived from the Czech word "víz", meaning "to lock", and originally referred to a place where someone is locked up. |
| Danish | Fængsel derives from Norwegian "fengsel", ultimately from Old Norse "fang", meaning "catch" or "prisoner". |
| Dutch | Dutch 'gevangenis' is cognate with French 'convenir', as both share Latin 'convenire': come together, meet, be suitable, prison. |
| Esperanto | "Malliberejo" comes from "libera" (to free), so "mallibera" (not to free), with a passive ending. |
| Estonian | The word "vangla" in Estonian comes from the Swedish word "vång" meaning "prison" or "dungeon". |
| Finnish | The word "vankila" is derived from the verb "vankiin", meaning "to imprison". |
| French | The French word for "prison," "prison," derives from the Latin word "prehendere," meaning "to seize". |
| Frisian | "Finsenis" is derived from "finsen," meaning "capture" or "imprison," and refers to the act of capturing or confining something. |
| Galician | The word "cárcere" is related to "cercar" (to surround), indicating the idea that prisoners are enclosed. |
| German | "Gefängnis" derives from the Middle High German "gevangenisse" meaning "captivity". It also referred to a physical prison or a legal state of imprisonment. |
| Greek | The word "φυλακή" in Greek can also refer to a "watchtower" or a "guard post". |
| Gujarati | "જેલ" bears an etymological relation to "jelly" due to its historical spelling as "gelly" in the 15th century, meaning "soft, jelly-like substance." |
| Haitian Creole | "Prizon" in Haitian Creole derives from French "prison" and also means "prisoner" in some contexts. |
| Hausa | In some other Hausa varieties, "kurkuku" also means "a prison warder" |
| Hawaiian | In its early use, hale paʻahao referred to the stocks or pillory, rather than an actual building, and the term was later extended to include a jail. |
| Hebrew | כלא also means 'to restrain' or 'to confine', from the root כ.ל.א (k.l.a), meaning 'to enclose'. |
| Hindi | The word `जेल` originates from Persian, where it meant `a cold, underground prison`. |
| Hmong | In addition to "jail", "nkuaj" also means a place for detention in general or prison. |
| Hungarian | Börtön derives from the Turkic word 'bört' meaning 'tent' or 'felt', alluding to the felt-covered prison tents set up in medieval Hungary. |
| Icelandic | Fangelsi in Icelandic is derived from the Old Norse word fang, meaning "catch". |
| Igbo | Derived from 'àgbà' (prisoner), 'nga' is also a term to address prisoners politely. |
| Indonesian | The word 'penjara' in Indonesian is derived from the Portuguese word 'penjarra', meaning 'cage' or 'enclosure'. |
| Italian | The Italian word 'prigione' derives from the Latin word 'prehendere', meaning 'to seize' or 'to catch'. |
| Japanese | 刑務所, literally meaning place of reform, is a prison in Japanese. |
| Javanese | The word 'kunjara' in Javanese is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kuñjara', meaning 'elephant'. In ancient Java, elephants were used as symbols of power and authority, and thus the term 'kunjara' came to be used for a place where criminals were detained. |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ಜೈಲು" (jail) originates from the Sanskrit word "जाल" (jāla), meaning "net" or "web". |
| Kazakh | In Turkish, the word "türeme" can mean "derivation", "origin", or "descent". |
| Khmer | The word “ពន្ធនាគារ” (bond+snake+building) is derived from a legend about a king who ordered all the snakes in his kingdom to be imprisoned in a building. |
| Korean | In Korean, the word for "jail" ("교도소") originally referred to a public institution where convicted criminals served their punishment and received education and rehabilitation. |
| Kurdish | The word "girtîgeh" in Kurdish, like similar words "gaolach" in Scottish or "carcere" in Italian, also carries the secondary meaning of a "pen" (for animals). |
| Kyrgyz | The word "түрмө" in Kyrgyz is derived from the Persian word "زندان" (zendan), meaning "prison" or "dungeon". |
| Lao | In addition to "jail", "ຄຸກ" can also mean "a trap" in Lao. |
| Latin | The Latin word "vincula" can also refer to chains, fetters, or bonds. |
| Latvian | The word "cietums" originates from the word "ciets", meaning "hard" or "firm" in Latvian, and refers to the hard conditions and confinement of a jail. |
| Lithuanian | "Kalėjimas" is etymologically related to "kalti" (to forge) and "kala" (a forge), suggesting a connection to the idea of punishment through hard labor. |
| Luxembourgish | "Prisong" is derived from the Old French word "prison" meaning "to take hold of". |
| Macedonian | In Church Slavonic it is used in the meaning of “monastic cell, hermitage” |
| Malagasy | "Am-ponja" comes from the Malagasy word for a trap built to catch pigeons. |
| Malay | The Malay word "penjara" derives from the Sanskrit word "panjara", meaning "cage" or "lattice." |
| Malayalam | The word "ജയിൽ" (jail) is derived from the Sanskrit word "जयालय" (jayalaya), meaning "house of victory" or "place of confinement". In Malayalam, it can also refer to a prison or penitentiary. |
| Maltese | Ħabs derives from the Arabic word ḥabs, meaning 'detention' or 'imprisonment', and is related to the word ḥabsa, meaning 'to confine' or 'to restrain'. |
| Maori | Whare herehere literally means "house of noise" and the term refers to cells where prisoners are held awaiting trial. |
| Marathi | The word "तुरूंग" in Marathi ultimately derives from the Persian word "زندان" (Zendān), also meaning "jail". The word has also been used in Marathi to refer to a prison, a fortress, or a stronghold. |
| Mongolian | In the Mongolian language, the word |
| Nepali | The Nepali word “जेल” also means “net” and is cognate with the English word “gelatin”. |
| Norwegian | The word "fengsel" derives from the Old Norse word "fang" meaning "catch" or "trap," and shares a root with the English word "fang." |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Ndende (jail) is also used to refer to the place where chiefs used to keep prisoners in precolonial times. |
| Pashto | The word "زندان" in Pashto shares its root with the verb "بند" (to bind, imprison), suggesting a place of confinement. |
| Persian | The Persian word 'زندان' ('jail') is derived from the Old Persian word 'zindān' which meant a 'storehouse'. |
| Polish | "Więzienie" can also mean "confinement" or "restriction" in Polish. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word 'cadeia' comes from the Latin 'catena', meaning 'chain', reflecting the historical use of chains to restrain prisoners. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਜੇਲ" ("jail") also refers to a net or snare in Punjabi. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "temniță" is derived from the Latin "tenebrae" (darkness), reflecting the dark and confined conditions of prisons. |
| Russian | "Тюрьма" is a Russian word derived from Turkic, meaning "dungeon" or "place of confinement". It can also refer to a prison or a reformatory institution. |
| Samoan | Falepuipui, meaning 'house of confinement', was traditionally a small, dark structure used as a temporary place of detention, especially for those accused of crimes or awaiting trial. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "phrìosan" is derived from the French word "prison" and also means "closure" or "blocking up". |
| Serbian | The word "затвор" (pronounced "zatvor") can also mean "hermitage" or "cloister" in Serbian, reflecting its historical association with solitary confinement. |
| Sesotho | The name "teronko" derives from the Sesotho root word "teronka," which means "to be tied and restricted" (confined within specific boundaries). |
| Shona | The word "jeri" is a derivative of the word "jerera" which means "to keep or guard something." |
| Sindhi | "جيل" also means "prison" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "හිරගෙදර" is a compound word that can also mean "fiery house" or "house of light" in Sinhala. |
| Slovak | The word "väzenie" also translates to "prison" or "confinement". |
| Slovenian | The word "zapor" is derived from Slavic *zapirъ* meaning "a lock" and carries a similar meaning in most Slavic languages. |
| Somali | "Xabsi" means "jail" in Somali. It is derived from the Arabic word "habs" meaning "detention". |
| Spanish | The term "cárcel" evolved from the Arabic term "qasr," meaning "castle" or "fortified building." |
| Sundanese | The word "panjara" in Sundanese literally means "birdcage" |
| Swahili | The word "jela" in Swahili can also refer to a "cage" or a "prison cell". |
| Swedish | Fängelse was once used to refer to a trap for catching animals, reflecting its root in the word "fånga" (to catch). |
| Tajik | The word "зиндон" also means "dark place" or "basement" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | "சிறை" means not only 'jail' but also a 'cage', 'net' or 'fence', indicating a sense of confinement or enclosure. |
| Telugu | The word "జైలు" (jail) in Telugu has been derived from the Persian word "زندان" (zindan), meaning "dungeon" or "prison". |
| Thai | The word "คุก" (jail) in Thai originally referred to a wooden cage used to hold animals or people. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "hapis" (jail) originated from the Middle Persian "hāpēh" (confinement, prison), ultimately derived from Old Iranian *hāpa- (to protect). |
| Ukrainian | Тюрма is also a synonym for |
| Urdu | جیل' is derived from the French word “geôle,” which means “cage”. |
| Uzbek | The word "qamoq" is also used to describe a dark, enclosed space, such as a cave or dungeon. |
| Vietnamese | The word "nhà tù" (prison) literally means "house of detention" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "carchar" is derived from the Proto-Celtic root "*karkaros" meaning "to enclose" and is cognate with the Old Irish "carcair" and Breton "karchar". |
| Xhosa | The word "ijele" also means a "wild fig" in Xhosa. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "טורמע" ("jail") is derived from the Latin word "turris" ("tower"), possibly referring to the towers of medieval prisons. |
| Yoruba | The word "ewon" can also refer to a place where people are kept in seclusion, such as a convent or a seminary. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, the word 'ijele' can also mean 'basket' or 'container'. |
| English | The word 'jail' originally referred to a large cage or a pit for hunting. |