Knee in Different Languages
Discover 'Knee' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Knee
Afrikaans knie | ||
Albanian gju | ||
Amharic ጉልበት | ||
Arabic الركبة | ||
Armenian ծնկ | ||
Assamese আঁঠু | ||
Aymara qunquri | ||
Azerbaijani diz | ||
Bambara kunbere | ||
Basque belauna | ||
Belarusian калена | ||
Bengali হাঁটু | ||
Bhojpuri घुटना | ||
Bosnian koljeno | ||
Bulgarian коляно | ||
Catalan genoll | ||
Cebuano tuhod | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 膝盖 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 膝蓋 | ||
Corsican ghjinochju | ||
Croatian koljeno | ||
Czech koleno | ||
Danish knæ | ||
Dhivehi ކަކޫ | ||
Dogri गोड्डा | ||
Dutch knie | ||
English knee | ||
Esperanto genuo | ||
Estonian põlv | ||
Ewe klo | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) tuhod | ||
Finnish polvi | ||
French le genou | ||
Frisian knibbel | ||
Galician xeonllo | ||
Georgian მუხლი | ||
German knie | ||
Greek γόνατο | ||
Guarani tenypy'ã | ||
Gujarati ઘૂંટણ | ||
Haitian Creole jenou | ||
Hausa gwiwa | ||
Hawaiian kuli | ||
Hebrew הברך | ||
Hindi घुटना | ||
Hmong lub hauv caug | ||
Hungarian térd | ||
Icelandic hné | ||
Igbo ikpere | ||
Ilocano tumeng | ||
Indonesian lutut | ||
Irish glúin | ||
Italian ginocchio | ||
Japanese 膝 | ||
Javanese dhengkul | ||
Kannada ಮೊಣಕಾಲು | ||
Kazakh тізе | ||
Khmer ជង្គង់ | ||
Kinyarwanda ivi | ||
Konkani धोंपर | ||
Korean 무릎 | ||
Krio ni | ||
Kurdish çog | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ئەژنۆ | ||
Kyrgyz тизе | ||
Lao ຫົວເຂົ່າ | ||
Latin genu | ||
Latvian ceļgals | ||
Lingala libolongo | ||
Lithuanian kelio | ||
Luganda evviivi | ||
Luxembourgish knéi | ||
Macedonian колено | ||
Maithili ठेहुन | ||
Malagasy lohalika | ||
Malay lutut | ||
Malayalam കാൽമുട്ട് | ||
Maltese irkoppa | ||
Maori turi | ||
Marathi गुडघा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯈꯨꯎ | ||
Mizo khup | ||
Mongolian өвдөг | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဒူး | ||
Nepali घुँडा | ||
Norwegian kne | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) bondo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଆଣ୍ଠୁ | ||
Oromo jilba | ||
Pashto زنګون | ||
Persian زانو | ||
Polish kolano | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) joelho | ||
Punjabi ਗੋਡੇ | ||
Quechua muqu | ||
Romanian genunchi | ||
Russian колено | ||
Samoan tulivae | ||
Sanskrit जानुक | ||
Scots Gaelic glùin | ||
Sepedi khuru | ||
Serbian колено | ||
Sesotho lengole | ||
Shona ibvi | ||
Sindhi گھڙو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දණහිස | ||
Slovak koleno | ||
Slovenian koleno | ||
Somali jilibka | ||
Spanish rodilla | ||
Sundanese tuur | ||
Swahili goti | ||
Swedish knä | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) tuhod | ||
Tajik зону | ||
Tamil முழங்கால் | ||
Tatar тез | ||
Telugu మోకాలి | ||
Thai เข่า | ||
Tigrinya ብርኪ | ||
Tsonga tsolo | ||
Turkish diz | ||
Turkmen dyz | ||
Twi (Akan) kotodwe | ||
Ukrainian коліно | ||
Urdu گھٹنے | ||
Uyghur تىز | ||
Uzbek tizza | ||
Vietnamese đầu gối | ||
Welsh pen-glin | ||
Xhosa idolo | ||
Yiddish קני | ||
Yoruba orokun | ||
Zulu idolo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Although "knie" in Afrikaans means "knee", the word is also used in a figurative sense to refer to "a point of difficulty". |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "gju" can also refer to the knee of a hill or mountain |
| Amharic | "ጉልበት" (knee) may be an adaptation of the Greek γυνα (knee), via Coptic Ⲅⲱⲃⲉⲗⲑ (goulbel) or Ge'ez ጉልባ (goulba)" |
| Arabic | ركبة al-rukba: a knee, the joint of the leg at the knee. |
| Armenian | The word ծնկ (knee) is derived from the Armenian word ծունկ (bent), likely due to the articulation and shape of the knee. |
| Azerbaijani | "Diz" is derived from the Persian word "dazh", which also means "knee". |
| Basque | The word 'belauna' has an alternative meaning of 'generation'. |
| Belarusian | The word "калена" is believed to have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ǵénu-", meaning "knee", and is related to the English word "knee". |
| Bengali | The Bengali word 'হাঁটু' is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word 'जानु' or the Prakrit word 'जाणु' meaning 'knee'. |
| Bosnian | The word 'koljeno' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'kolěno', meaning 'joint' or 'link', and also refers to a generation or a family line. |
| Bulgarian | The word "коляно" can also be used to refer to a "bend" or "curve" in various contexts, such as pipes or roads. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "genoll" derives from the Latin "geniculum" and also means "joint". |
| Cebuano | In Tagalog, 'tuhod' can also mean 'elbow' or 'node'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 膝盖 (xīɡāi), literally "thigh cap," can refer to other body parts such as the patella or calf. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The Chinese character "膝" (knee) in Traditional Chinese refers to the bone and joint that forms the knee. It is written with a top "bone" radical and a bottom "sit" radical to depict a person squatting on their haunches. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "ghjinochju" can also refer to a type of traditional Corsican bread. |
| Croatian | Derived from Proto-Slavic *kolěno, meaning 'joint' or 'limb' |
| Czech | The Czech word "koleno" can also refer to a pig's knuckle, or to a bend in a pipe. |
| Danish | The word "knæ" is related to the word "kne" in German and "genu" in Latin, all meaning "knee". |
| Dutch | "Knie" is related to the Old English word "cneo" and the German word "Knie", both meaning "knee". Another meaning of "knie" in Dutch is "node". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word “genuo” is derived from the Latin word “genu” and also means “generation” or “lineage”. |
| Estonian | In Estonian folk beliefs, the knee was considered a sacred place, believed to be the seat of strength and virility. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "polvi" also refers to the joint of a finger or toe, or a sharp bend in a river. |
| French | The French word "le genou" also means "a bend, an angle, or a joint". |
| Frisian | The word "knibbel" in Frisian, meaning "knee", is cognate with the English word "knee" and the Dutch word "knie". |
| Galician | In ancient Galician, "xeonllo" also meant "leg" or "thigh". |
| Georgian | The etymology of "მუხლი" is unclear, while alternate meanings include "elbow" and "joint". |
| German | The word "Knie" is also used in German to refer to the knob on a door or window. |
| Greek | The word |
| Gujarati | The word "knee" (ઘૂંટણ) in Gujarati also means "a bend or angle in something". |
| Haitian Creole | "Jenou" is derived from the French word "genou" and can also refer to someone's height or a specific dance move. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "gwiwa" also means "a type of bean" in other languages. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "kuli" also means "foot, leg, or thigh." |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "הברך" (knee) also has the alternate meanings of "bend" or "blessing". |
| Hindi | The word "घुटना" (knee) in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit word " गुह्" (to conceal), probably because the knee is often hidden from view when sitting |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "lub hauv caug" can also refer to someone's legs or thighs. |
| Hungarian | Tér means 'space' in Hungarian, and its use for 'knee' stems from ancient beliefs about the knee being a sacred place, a site where the body connects to the divine. |
| Icelandic | Hné is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *hnewaz, meaning 'bone' or 'joint'. |
| Igbo | Ikpere can also refer to a person's 'age-grade', or to the season of year when new yams are harvested. |
| Indonesian | "Lutut" can also refer to the part of a shirt sleeve that covers the elbow. |
| Irish | The word "glúin" in Irish also means "relationship" or "offspring". |
| Italian | The word "ginocchio" comes from the Latin word "genu", which also means "knee". |
| Japanese | The word 膝 (knee) also has the alternate meaning of "to be involved in" and can be used in phrases like 「膝を深く入れる」 (to be deeply involved) |
| Javanese | The word "dhengkul" also means "angle" or "corner" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | The word "ಮೊಣಕಾಲು" can also refer to a type of musical instrument used in traditional Kannada music. |
| Kazakh | "Тізе" is an archaic term for the upper thigh in Kazakh. |
| Korean | "무릎" is also used to mean "generation" because it's the area where the upper and lower legs meet, hence generations meet. |
| Kurdish | The word 'çog' is also used in a figurative sense to signify 'to bend' or 'to submit'. Additionally, in some local dialects it may carry the connotation of 'the thigh'. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "тизе" is also used to refer to the "joint" or "bend" of something. |
| Latin | "Genu" in Latin can refer to the physical knee joint, or the genealogical knee as in the phrase "genu unius" (the knee of one, a grandchild). |
| Latvian | "Ceļgals" in Latvian ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *ǵen-u-, meaning "knee". It is cognate with the English word "knee" and the Latin word "genu". The word "ceļgals" can also refer to the bend or joint in a tree branch. |
| Lithuanian | The word "kelio" is also used to refer to the path of a river. |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'Knéi' in Luxembourgish is derived from the Old High German word 'chniu', meaning 'knee' or 'bend'. |
| Macedonian | The word "колено" in Macedonian also refers to a generation, a group of people born around the same time. |
| Malagasy | The word "lohalika" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word for "leg", *qaqay. |
| Malay | The word "lutut", meaning "knee" in Malay, also refers to the elbow, as in other Austronesian languages, such as Javanese and Tagalog. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "irkoppa" is derived from the Arabic word "rukbah" and means "knee", but can also refer to the "leg" or the "thigh". |
| Maori | In Māori, "turi" also refers to a knee joint that is exposed or protruding, and can be used figuratively to describe someone who is particularly stubborn. |
| Marathi | The word "गुडघा" is also used to refer to a "hinge" in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | Өвдөг, meaning knee, is related to the root word өв or "to bend". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The Burmese word "ဒူး" (knee) also has the alternate meaning of "a kind of tree". |
| Nepali | The word "घुँडा" derives from the Sanskrit word "गुल्फ" which originally meant "ankle", but now means "knee" in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | "Kne" also means "to know, to be familiar with something" or "to knead". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'bondo' can also refer to a type of traditional beer made from fermented millet or sorghum. |
| Pashto | In Pashtu, the word "زنګون" also refers to a large joint of meat, particularly that of a sheep. |
| Persian | The word "زانو" can also mean "a joint" or "a bend" in Persian. |
| Polish | The word "kolano" is also used in Polish to refer to a type of pasta similar to macaroni. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "joelho" can also refer to the articulation points of animals and the elbows of some reptiles and amphibians. |
| Punjabi | "ਗੋਡੇ" (knee) is derived from Sanskrit "goda" meaning "ball, sphere" referring to the spherical shape of the kneecap. |
| Romanian | The word "genunchi" also means "generations" in Romanian, deriving from the Latin "genus" (family, generation). |
| Russian | The word "колено" can also mean a generation or a segment of a limb in Russian. |
| Samoan | The word "tulivae" originally referred to a person's or animal's leg from the knee down, but over time came to refer to the knee specifically. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "glùin" can mean not only "knee" but also "generation" or "family line". |
| Serbian | In Serbian, 'колено' can also refer to a 'generation or family line'. |
| Sesotho | The word "lengole" in Sesotho can also mean "the part of a tree just above the roots". |
| Shona | The word 'ibvi' derives from the Proto-Bantu word '*ibwi', meaning 'joint' or 'link'. |
| Sindhi | Sindhi "گھڙو" comes from Prakrit "घुड्डो" and has the alternate meaning "horse's saddle." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "දණහිස" (knee) is derived from the Sanskrit word "janu" and also refers to the "angle" of a joint in Sinhala. |
| Slovak | Koleno can also refer to an elbow or a joint between two bones, as well as a bend or angle in a pipe. |
| Slovenian | The word "koleno" also refers to a type of dance in Slovenian folklore. |
| Somali | "Jilibka" also means the part of a person lying between the chest and the hips, or the part of an animal lying between the shoulders and the hip. |
| Spanish | The word 'rodilla' may be cognate with the Latin word 'rotula', meaning 'small wheel', due to the kneecap's resemblance to a wheel. |
| Sundanese | The word "tuur" also means "a place where two things meet" in Sundanese. |
| Swahili | The word "goti" in Swahili can also refer to several types of traditional games involving hitting or kicking objects. |
| Swedish | The word 'knä' also has alternate meanings, such as 'hill' and 'knot'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In ancient Tagalog, 'tuhod' also meant 'to kneel' or 'to bow down'. |
| Tajik | The word "зону" can also refer to the "elbow" or "ankle" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | The word "முழங்கால்" (knee) in Tamil also refers to the "joint of a bamboo" or a "segment of a sugar cane". |
| Telugu | “మోకాలి” (knee) derives from Sanskrit “muhulati” or “mankulati” indicating a “bend” or a “joint” which in general terms also means one of the 22 joints in the human body that is movable. |
| Thai | The Thai word "เข่า" also means "to kneel" and "to worship." |
| Turkish | In Turkish, "diz" also means "row", "line", or "knee-deep". |
| Ukrainian | The word 'коліно' in Ukrainian also refers to the part of the garment covering the knee. |
| Uzbek | The word "tizza" is a diminutive form of "tiz" which originally meant "thigh", later shifting to mean "knee". |
| Vietnamese | Đầu gối, literally means 'head of the leg', is etymologically related to the word 'head' (đầu). |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'pen-glin' literally means 'head of the knee', referring to the kneecap. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, "idolo" can also refer to a person who is very weak or sick. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word 'kayni' can also refer to the knee of a garment or the part of a garment that covers the knee. |
| Yoruba | The word "orokun" in Yoruba can also be used to refer to a "person with a very fat or clumsy body". |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "idolo" also means "thigh" or "leg". |
| English | The word "knee" derives from the Old English word "cneow," which also meant "hill" or "mound." |