King in Different Languages
Discover 'King' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
King
Afrikaans koning | ||
Albanian mbret | ||
Amharic ንጉስ | ||
Arabic ملك | ||
Armenian թագավոր | ||
Assamese ৰজা | ||
Aymara riyi | ||
Azerbaijani kral | ||
Bambara masakɛ | ||
Basque erregea | ||
Belarusian цар | ||
Bengali রাজা | ||
Bhojpuri राजा | ||
Bosnian kralju | ||
Bulgarian крал | ||
Catalan rei | ||
Cebuano hari | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 王 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 王 | ||
Corsican rè | ||
Croatian kralj | ||
Czech král | ||
Danish konge | ||
Dhivehi ރަސްގެފާނު | ||
Dogri राजा | ||
Dutch koning | ||
English king | ||
Esperanto reĝo | ||
Estonian kuningas | ||
Ewe fia | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) hari | ||
Finnish kuningas | ||
French roi | ||
Frisian kening | ||
Galician rei | ||
Georgian მეფე | ||
German könig | ||
Greek βασιλιάς | ||
Guarani réi | ||
Gujarati રાજા | ||
Haitian Creole wa | ||
Hausa sarki | ||
Hawaiian mōʻī | ||
Hebrew מלך | ||
Hindi राजा | ||
Hmong huab tais | ||
Hungarian király | ||
Icelandic konungur | ||
Igbo eze | ||
Ilocano ari | ||
Indonesian raja | ||
Irish rí | ||
Italian re | ||
Japanese キング | ||
Javanese raja | ||
Kannada ರಾಜ | ||
Kazakh патша | ||
Khmer ស្តេច | ||
Kinyarwanda umwami | ||
Konkani राजा | ||
Korean 왕 | ||
Krio kiŋ | ||
Kurdish qiral | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) پاشا | ||
Kyrgyz падыша | ||
Lao ກະສັດ | ||
Latin rex | ||
Latvian karalis | ||
Lingala mokonzi | ||
Lithuanian karalius | ||
Luganda kabaka | ||
Luxembourgish kinnek | ||
Macedonian крал | ||
Maithili राजा | ||
Malagasy malagasy | ||
Malay raja | ||
Malayalam രാജാവ് | ||
Maltese sultan | ||
Maori kingi | ||
Marathi राजा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯤꯡꯊꯧ | ||
Mizo lal | ||
Mongolian хаан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဘုရင် | ||
Nepali राजा | ||
Norwegian konge | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mfumu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ରାଜା | ||
Oromo mootii | ||
Pashto پاچا | ||
Persian پادشاه | ||
Polish król | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) rei | ||
Punjabi ਰਾਜਾ | ||
Quechua inka | ||
Romanian rege | ||
Russian король | ||
Samoan tupu | ||
Sanskrit राजा | ||
Scots Gaelic rìgh | ||
Sepedi kgošikgolo | ||
Serbian краљу | ||
Sesotho morena | ||
Shona mambo | ||
Sindhi بادشاھ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) රජ | ||
Slovak kráľ | ||
Slovenian kralj | ||
Somali boqorka | ||
Spanish rey | ||
Sundanese raja | ||
Swahili mfalme | ||
Swedish kung | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) hari | ||
Tajik подшоҳ | ||
Tamil ராஜா | ||
Tatar патша | ||
Telugu రాజు | ||
Thai กษัตริย์ | ||
Tigrinya ንጉስ | ||
Tsonga hosinkulu | ||
Turkish kral | ||
Turkmen patyşa | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔhene | ||
Ukrainian король | ||
Urdu بادشاہ | ||
Uyghur پادىشاھ | ||
Uzbek shoh | ||
Vietnamese nhà vua | ||
Welsh brenin | ||
Xhosa kumkani | ||
Yiddish קעניג | ||
Yoruba ọba | ||
Zulu inkosi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "koning" can also refer to a chess piece or a playing card. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word 'mbret' is cognate with 'imperator' in Latin, indicating its derivation from the Roman Empire. |
| Amharic | In Amharic, "ንጉስ" is derived from an ancient root term meaning "to lead" and can also mean "champion" or "hero." |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "ملك" also means "possession" or "property." |
| Armenian | The word "թագավոր" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *rek- ("to rule"), which is also the origin of the Latin word "rex" and the English word "king". |
| Azerbaijani | The word "kral" is of Turkic origin and is related to the words "kiral" (king) in Turkish, "qrall" (king) in Tatar, and "qral" (king) in Kazakh. |
| Basque | In the Basque language, "erregea" shares common ancestry with the words for "king" in Germanic languages such as Old English "ric". |
| Belarusian | "Цар" is the Belarusian spelling of the Slavic word "tsar", ultimately derived from the Latin "caesar". |
| Bengali | The word "রাজা" (king) stems from the Sanskrit word "rajan," meaning "ruler" or "sovereign." |
| Bosnian | The word "kralju" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *korlь, meaning "ruler" or "prince." |
| Bulgarian | The word "крал" (king) in Bulgarian also has the meaning of "thief" or "robber". |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "rei" originates from the Latin word "rex", meaning "king" or "ruler". |
| Cebuano | The word “hari” is derived from the Sanskrit word “hiraṇya” meaning “gold” and could also refer to nobility or royalty. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character "王" is composed of the character "玉" (jade) on the left and the character "令" (command) on the right, indicating that ancient kings were revered as possessors of authority and wisdom. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character "王" (king) was originally a pictograph of a person standing on a hill, and also has meanings of "to rule", "ruler", and "prince". |
| Corsican | In Corsica, the word “rè” can also refer to the leader or chief of a family or clan. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "kralj" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*korlь", meaning "ruler", and is cognate with other Slavic languages like Polish "król" and Russian "король". |
| Czech | The word "král" is also used colloquially to refer to a large piece of bread |
| Danish | The word "konge" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*kuningaz", meaning "leader". |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "koning" is also used to refer to the female monarch, "koningin". |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "reĝo" (king) originates from the Proto-Indo-European base *reg- (to rule). |
| Estonian | The word "kuningas" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰréh₁no- "to grow old". |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "kuningas" is also the name of a checkers piece. |
| French | The French word "roi" originates from the Frankish word "rik" meaning "ruler" or "chieftain". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "kening" (king) is a cognate of Old English "cyning" (king), not Modern English "king," due to a sound shift from a palatalized velar (/gʲ/) to an alveolar (/dʒ/), which can also be heard in Modern English words such as "bridge" and "judge." |
| Galician | The word "rei" in Galician is derived from the Latin word "rex," which also means "king" and is widely used in other Indo-European languages. |
| Georgian | "მეფე" (mepe) comes from the Old Georgian term *mepet*, derived from Proto-Kartvelian *mepedi*, meaning "master of the house". |
| German | The German word "König" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "kuningaz", meaning "descendant".} |
| Greek | The Greek word for 'king', βασιλιάς ('vasilias'), originally meant 'master of the house' and is related to the word βασίλειος ('vasileios'), meaning 'royal' or 'imperial'. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "રાજા" also signifies "a man" or "a chief," not just a "king." |
| Haitian Creole | The term 'wa' in Haitian Creole also originates from the Fon language of Benin, and may be related to the Yoruba 'oba,' meaning 'king or traditional ruler.' |
| Hausa | In some parts of Niger, "sarki" refers to the chief of a village. |
| Hawaiian | "Mōʻī" is also the name of a type of Hawaiian fish, meaning "chief of the fishes". |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "מלך" (melech, "king") also has the alternate meaning of "counselor" or "advisor". |
| Hindi | The word "राजा" (king) in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit word "rajan," meaning "ruler" or "great man" |
| Hmong | Hmong word "huab tais" is an inversion of the Chinese words "tais huab" which mean "large flower". |
| Hungarian | In Old Hungarian, "király" meant "ruler of a people" or "chief", but today it only means "king". |
| Icelandic | "Konungur" is the Icelandic word for "king." It is related to the Old Norse word "konungr" (also meaning "king"), which is itself derived from the Proto-Germanic word “kuningaz” (meaning "king" or "leader"). |
| Igbo | The word "eze" in Igbo can also refer to a god or spirit. |
| Indonesian | Raja can also refer to large birds in Indonesian, such as the Raja Udang (kingfisher). |
| Irish | The word "Rí" (king) in Irish also has the meanings "leader" or "chief". |
| Italian | The Italian word "re" is derived from the Latin word "rex" and also means "musical note". |
| Japanese | The word "キング" can also mean "the kingpiece in chess" or "a dominant or influential person in a particular field". |
| Javanese | In Javanese, "raja" can also mean a noble or high-ranking person in a court or a deity. |
| Kannada | The word "ರಾಜ" (king) comes from the Sanskrit word "raj", which means "to shine" or "to rule". |
| Kazakh | In Kazakh, "патша" is also used for "husband", likely originating from the concept of a husband as "king of the household." |
| Khmer | While ស្តេច (sdech) means "king" in Khmer, it also has a broader meaning of "lord" or "ruler", with various historical uses referring to different ranks of nobility. |
| Korean | The Korean word "왕" can also refer to a type of Chinese chess piece or a rank in martial arts. |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, 'qiral' also means 'the first step of a journey'. |
| Kyrgyz | In Ottoman Turkish, padishah also means the spouse of the Ottoman sultan or empress. |
| Latin | "Rex" derives from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₃rḗǵs, meaning "ruler", and is related to the Sanskrit word "rāj" (रज्), meaning "to rule". |
| Latvian | The word "karalis" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḳr̥- "to rule, to guard" and is cognates with Slavic "korol" and Lithuanian "karalius" |
| Lithuanian | In Proto-Baltic, "karalius" originally meant "army leader". |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'Kinnek', meaning 'king' in Luxembourgish, is derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'kuningaz' and is related to the English word 'king'. |
| Macedonian | The word "крал" can also refer to a male rabbit or hare in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The word 'Malagasy' in Malagasy can also refer to the Malagasy language or the people of Madagascar. |
| Malay | In Sanskrit and Malay "Raja" means "ruler", but in Tamil "Raja" means a military general. |
| Malayalam | The word "രാജാവ്" comes from the Sanskrit word "rājan", which means "ruler" or "lord". |
| Maltese | The word "sultan" derives from the Arabic word "sulṭān", meaning "authority" or "power". |
| Maori | In Māori, the word 'kingi' can also refer to the king of a playing card suit or a chess piece. |
| Marathi | The Sanskrit word "rājan" is believed to have originated from the root "rājj" meaning "to shine" or "to rule". It is also used as a title for a deity or a divine being in Hinduism, and has been adopted into several other Indian languages, including Marathi. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "хаан" (king) originally meant "ruler of the world" and was used for the great khans of the Mongol Empire. |
| Nepali | The Nepali word "राजा" can also be used to refer to a landlord, a powerful or influential person, or a god. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "konge" can also refer to a "chess piece". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word 'mfumu' also has other meanings, including 'forefather' and 'ancestor'. |
| Pashto | The word "پاچا" can also mean "grandfather" or "old man" in Pashto. |
| Persian | The Persian word پادشاه (king) is derived from the Old Persian words pati- ('lord') and kshaya ('ruler'). |
| Polish | The word 'król' has also been used colloquially to refer to the largest card in a deck, or to the first piece of wood used in a campfire. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | From the Latin 'rex', related to Sanskrit 'raj' ('to rule'). |
| Punjabi | The Sanskrit word 'raja' is the root of many words in Punjabi including 'raj', meaning 'rule', and 'rajneeti', meaning 'politics'. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "rege" comes from the Latin "rex" and also means "ruler" or "sovereign". |
| Russian | The word "король" (korol) is also used in Russian as a term of endearment for a young boy. |
| Samoan | In some Polynesian languages, the word "tupu" also means "to grow", reflecting the king's role as caretaker of the land and its people. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "rìgh" is cognate with the Old Irish "rí" and the Welsh "rhi" and originally referred to a minor territorial ruler, only later coming to mean "king". |
| Serbian | "Краљ" (king) derives from the Proto-Slavic root "*korlь" meaning "prince, leader, or ruler." |
| Sesotho | The word 'morena' can also refer to a respected elder or a person in a position of authority. |
| Shona | Etymology: Shona "mamba", possibly from the Proto-Bantu root "*mbamba" (chief). |
| Sindhi | The term “بادشاھ” originates from the Sanskrit and Pahlavi terms "pādishāh," meaning "great ruler or commander." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "රජ" can also refer to a deity or a person of high rank, such as a chief or a lord. |
| Slovak | The word "kráľ" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *korlь, which also means "prince" or "ruler". |
| Slovenian | The word 'kralj' is cognate with the German 'König', originally meaning 'man'. |
| Somali | The word "boqorka" can also refer to a traditional Somali elder who holds authority and wisdom. |
| Spanish | The word "Rey" in Spanish, meaning "king," originated from the Late Latin word "rex," which also meant "king" and had a similar root as the word "regere," meaning "to rule." |
| Sundanese | In Sundanese, "raja" not only means "king", but also "ancestor", "father", and "husband or wife" |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "mfalme" also means "ruler" and "sovereign". |
| Swedish | Kung can also mean 'young cow' or 'young man' in Swedish. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "hari" is cognate with the Malay word "raja" and the Sanskrit word "raja", both of which mean "king". |
| Tajik | The word "подшоҳ" (king) in Tajik ultimately derives from the Persian "pādeshāh", meaning "emperor". |
| Tamil | The word 'ராஜா' stems from Sanskrit and means 'a ruler or sovereign', cognate with Latin 'rex' (king). |
| Telugu | The word "రాజు" in Telugu, besides meaning "king," also signifies "lord," "manager," and "ruler." |
| Thai | The Thai word "กษัตริย์" is derived from the Sanskrit word "क्षत्रिय" (kṣatriya), which originally referred to the warrior caste in ancient Indian society. |
| Turkish | In Kazakh, the word "kral" is used to refer to a "lion", while in Arabic it means "to read." |
| Ukrainian | "Король" in Ukrainian means both "king" and a certain type of wood grouse (Tetrao urogallus) |
| Urdu | بادشاہ, meaning "king" in Urdu, derives from the Persian "pādshah," which itself comes from the Avestan "xšaθra-" ("kingdom") and "pati-" ("lord"). |
| Uzbek | Uzbek "shoh" originates from Persian "shahanshah," designating a high-ranking sovereign ruler. |
| Vietnamese | Nhà vua in Vietnamese derives from the Chinese characters 家主, where 家 means family and 主 means leader or master. |
| Welsh | Related to 'barn' and 'bran' as in 'raven', implying 'black' or 'dark king'. |
| Xhosa | Kumkani, meaning ‘king’, is also used for ‘lord’ in the Nguni languages and, more specifically, for ‘God’ among the Zulu. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word קעניג also has a secondary meaning of "small shopkeeper". |
| Yoruba | The word "ọba" in Yoruba also refers to the head of a large extended family or compound. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, 'inkosi' not only signifies 'king' but also a revered individual, an embodiment of authority and leadership. |
| English | Both 'kin' and 'king' are derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰénos, meaning 'race' or 'family'. |