Labor in Different Languages
Discover 'Labor' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Labor
Afrikaans arbeid | ||
Albanian punës | ||
Amharic የጉልበት ሥራ | ||
Arabic العمل | ||
Armenian աշխատուժ | ||
Assamese পৰিশ্ৰম | ||
Aymara irnaqawi | ||
Azerbaijani əmək | ||
Bambara baara | ||
Basque lan | ||
Belarusian працы | ||
Bengali শ্রম | ||
Bhojpuri मजदूर | ||
Bosnian rad | ||
Bulgarian труд | ||
Catalan treball | ||
Cebuano paghago | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 劳动 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 勞動 | ||
Corsican travagliu | ||
Croatian rad | ||
Czech práce | ||
Danish arbejdskraft | ||
Dhivehi މަސައްކަތު މީހުން | ||
Dogri मजूर | ||
Dutch arbeid | ||
English labor | ||
Esperanto laboro | ||
Estonian töö | ||
Ewe dɔwɔna | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) paggawa | ||
Finnish työ | ||
French la main d'oeuvre | ||
Frisian arbeid | ||
Galician traballo | ||
Georgian შრომა | ||
German arbeit | ||
Greek εργασία | ||
Guarani mba'apo | ||
Gujarati મજૂર | ||
Haitian Creole travay | ||
Hausa aiki | ||
Hawaiian hana | ||
Hebrew עבודה | ||
Hindi श्रम | ||
Hmong kev khwv | ||
Hungarian munkaerő | ||
Icelandic vinnuafl | ||
Igbo oru | ||
Ilocano tarabaho | ||
Indonesian tenaga kerja | ||
Irish saothair | ||
Italian lavoro duro e faticoso | ||
Japanese 労働 | ||
Javanese pegawean | ||
Kannada ಕಾರ್ಮಿಕ | ||
Kazakh еңбек | ||
Khmer ពលកម្ម | ||
Kinyarwanda umurimo | ||
Konkani कामगार | ||
Korean 노동 | ||
Krio wok | ||
Kurdish kar | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کار | ||
Kyrgyz эмгек | ||
Lao ແຮງງານ | ||
Latin laborem | ||
Latvian darbaspēks | ||
Lingala mosala | ||
Lithuanian darbo | ||
Luganda okukola | ||
Luxembourgish aarbecht | ||
Macedonian пороѓај | ||
Maithili मजदूर | ||
Malagasy asa | ||
Malay buruh | ||
Malayalam അധ്വാനം | ||
Maltese xogħol | ||
Maori mahi | ||
Marathi श्रम | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯤꯟꯃꯤ | ||
Mizo inhlawhfa | ||
Mongolian хөдөлмөр | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အလုပ်သမား | ||
Nepali श्रम | ||
Norwegian arbeid | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ntchito | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଶ୍ରମ | ||
Oromo da'umsa | ||
Pashto مزدور | ||
Persian کار یدی | ||
Polish rodzić | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) trabalho | ||
Punjabi ਕਿਰਤ | ||
Quechua llamkay | ||
Romanian muncă | ||
Russian труд, работа | ||
Samoan galue | ||
Sanskrit श्रम | ||
Scots Gaelic saothair | ||
Sepedi modiro | ||
Serbian рад | ||
Sesotho mosebetsi o boima | ||
Shona basa | ||
Sindhi مزدوري | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කම්කරු | ||
Slovak pôrod | ||
Slovenian porod | ||
Somali foosha | ||
Spanish labor | ||
Sundanese buruh | ||
Swahili kazi | ||
Swedish arbetskraft | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) paggawa | ||
Tajik меҳнат | ||
Tamil தொழிலாளர் | ||
Tatar хезмәт | ||
Telugu శ్రమ | ||
Thai แรงงาน | ||
Tigrinya ናይ ጉልበት ስራሕ | ||
Tsonga tirha | ||
Turkish emek | ||
Turkmen zähmet | ||
Twi (Akan) brɛ | ||
Ukrainian праці | ||
Urdu مزدور | ||
Uyghur ئەمگەك | ||
Uzbek mehnat | ||
Vietnamese lao động | ||
Welsh llafur | ||
Xhosa umsebenzi | ||
Yiddish אַרבעט | ||
Yoruba laala | ||
Zulu umsebenzi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "arbeid" comes from the Dutch word "arbeid", which itself originates from the Old French word "arbede", meaning "hardship" or "toil". |
| Albanian | The word "punës" in Albanian originates from the Latin "punia", meaning "task" or "responsibility". |
| Amharic | The Amharic word "የጉልበት ሥራ" (labor) comes from the Ge'ez word "ሥራ" (work) and refers to both physical and mental exertion. |
| Arabic | العمل (al-‘amal) means "actions" or "deeds" in the Qur'an, but also denotes secular labor. |
| Azerbaijani | The word |
| Basque | "Lan" means "ground," "work," and "action" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "працы" can also refer to a written work, such as a thesis or dissertation. |
| Bengali | শ্রম (labor) comes from the Sanskrit word 'श्रम' (shrama), which means 'toil' or 'exertion'. |
| Bosnian | "Rad" is a word in Bosnian that also means "glad" and "happy", in addition to "labor". |
| Bulgarian | The word труд derives from the Old Church Slavonic language and can also mean "path" or "way". |
| Catalan | Treball is derived from the Latin "tripalium", an instrument of torture resembling a three-legged stool. |
| Cebuano | The word "paghago" is a Cebuano word that originally meant "payment" and has only recently come to mean "labor." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 劳动 (láodòng) literally means "toil" and is often used to refer to physical work or employment. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The Chinese character "勞" also means "to worry" and "to be tired". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word 'travagliu' comes from the Italian 'travaglio', which originally meant 'torture' or 'anguish'. Over time, it has come to refer specifically to the physical pain and effort associated with childbirth. |
| Croatian | Croatian word "rad" also means "council" in Serbian. |
| Czech | "Práce" also means "yarn" or "thread" in Czech. |
| Danish | The word "arbejdskraft" is a compound of the words "arbejde" (work) and "kraft" (power). |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "arbeid" also refers to a small piece of land, which in turn is probably related to the ancient word for "ploughed land." |
| Esperanto | In Esperanto, "laboro" additionally means "difficulty" or "trouble". |
| Estonian | "Töö" also means "work", "chore" or "task" in Estonian. |
| Finnish | The word 'työ' likely comes from the Proto-Uralic stem *tek- or *tuk-, meaning 'to do' or 'to hammer'. |
| French | "Main d'oeuvre" means "labor" in French and originates from the Latin words "manus," meaning "hand," and "opera," meaning "work." |
| Frisian | In Frisian, "arbeid" can also refer to a small piece of land or, by extension, farm work. |
| Galician | "Traballo" derives from the Indo-European "*treb-", meaning "to work" or "to tire". |
| Georgian | The word "შრომა" (shroma) in Georgian also means "work" or "effort." |
| German | The word "Arbeit" comes from the Middle High German word "arbeit" meaning "trouble, hardship, exertion." |
| Greek | The word "εργασία" in Greek can also mean "craft" or "work of art" |
| Gujarati | The word "મજૂર" (labor) in Gujarati also refers to a "servant" or "worker" in a feudal system. |
| Haitian Creole | The word 'travay' is derived from the French word 'travailler,' which means 'to work'. |
| Hausa | The word "aiki" is also used to refer to "employment" as well as "work" or "a job." |
| Hawaiian | The word 'hana' in Hawaiian can also refer to the creation of art, skill, or craft. |
| Hebrew | 'עבודה' has alternate meanings in biblical Hebrew including 'adoration', 'divine service', and 'temple service' |
| Hindi | श्रम can also mean 'devotion', a concept rooted in the Vedic ideal of disinterested service. |
| Hmong | The word “kev khwv” derives from “khwv,” which refers to a heavy object on the shoulder, suggesting the strenuous nature of labor. |
| Hungarian | "Munkaerő" literally means "power of work" and also has other meanings, like "workforce". |
| Icelandic | Vinnuafl's archaic meanings include 'battle,' 'struggle' and 'trouble,' and can also refer to 'toil' and 'exertion,' especially physical. |
| Igbo | In Igbo, the word "oru" also means "journey" or "travel". |
| Indonesian | "Tenaga kerja" literally translates to "work force" (not "labor") in Indonesian, from the root words "tenaga" (force, energy) and "kerja" (work). |
| Irish | The Irish word "saothair" is cognate with the Latin "labor" and the Old English "suwian," all of which mean "to sweat." |
| Italian | While the word "lavoro" has retained its original meaning of "work" in Italian, it has also acquired the extended meaning of "labor" or "hard work," similar to the French "travail" and the English "labour." |
| Japanese | The word "労働" (labor) is derived from the Chinese characters "劳" (toil) and "働" (to work), and also has the alternate meaning of "workforce" or "working population" in Japanese. |
| Javanese | "Pegawean" can also mean "workplace" or "employment" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ಕಾರ್ಮಿಕ" is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word "*kār-", meaning "to do". |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "еңбек" (labor) derives from the Proto-Turkic word "*eŋ" (to work, to labor), which is cognate with the Mongolic word "*üge" (work, labor). |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ពលកម្ម" can also refer to "workers" or "laborers" in addition to its primary meaning of "labor". |
| Korean | "노동" (labor) originally meant "pains of childbirth". |
| Kurdish | The word 'kar' has various connotations such as job, effort, and hardship in Kurdish culture. |
| Kyrgyz | Kyrgyz "эмгек" (labor) originates from the Turkic word "emgek" or "emge" meaning "effort, work". In Turkish, it primarily refers to manual labor, while in Kyrgyz it encompasses all forms of labor, both physical and mental. |
| Lao | The word 'ແຮງງານ' (labor) in Lao is derived from the Proto-Tai word *hrŋŋaŋ, which also means 'work' or 'effort'. |
| Latin | In Latin, "laborem" can refer to work, physical effort, or the result of work. |
| Latvian | Latvian word "darbaspēks" is a calque of German "Arbeitskraft," which in English translates to "work force," and not "labor" by itself. |
| Lithuanian | The word "darbo" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*werg-", meaning "to work" or "to do". |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'Aarbecht' originated from the Old High German word 'arabeit', meaning suffering or tribulation. |
| Macedonian | "Пороѓај" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *poroditi, which means "to give birth". |
| Malagasy | Asa can also mean 'effort' or 'task' in Malagasy. |
| Malay | "buruh" in Malay is related to Tamil "urūvai" meaning body, shape, and Sanskrit "rūpa" meaning beauty, form |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word 'adhvaanam' is also used colloquially to describe the efforts put into creating a work of art. |
| Maltese | "Xogħol" is also used to refer to a place where one works or a specific task or project. |
| Maori | Mahi, the Maori word for labor, also translates to "action" in other Polynesian languages. |
| Marathi | The word श्रम (śram) in Marathi also means 'effort' or 'exertion'. |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian, "хөдөлмөр" (labor) also refers to the "movement of objects". |
| Nepali | The Hindi origin word "shram" in Nepali also carries meanings of exertion in work. |
| Norwegian | The word 'arbeid' in Norwegian also means 'ordeal' or 'hardship', reflecting the strenuous nature of labor in the past. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'ntchito' in Nyanja derives from the Proto-Bantu verb '-chito', meaning 'to hold' or 'to seize'. |
| Pashto | In Pashto, the word "مزدور" has the additional meaning of "hired killer" or "assassin" |
| Persian | The word "کار یدی" (labor) in Persian literally means "hand work," highlighting the physical nature of manual labor. |
| Polish | The Polish word "rodzić" also means "to give birth" and is related to the words "rodzina" (family) and "ród" (lineage). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Portuguese "trabalho" also means "work" (noun) and "work" (verb), and is derived from the Latin "trepalium," meaning "instrument of torture." |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਕਿਰਤ' also refers to 'God' or 'heavenly abode' in Sikh scriptures. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "muncă" also means "effort" or "pain" and is related to the Latin word "munus" meaning "gift" or "duty." |
| Russian | The word "труд, работа" also means "difficulty" and "suffering." |
| Samoan | The word 'galue' can also refer to a traditional Samoan dance performed by young women. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word "saothair" also implies a sense of "toil" or "drudgery". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "рад" (labor) derives from the Proto-Slavic "*radъ" (creation, work) and is cognate with the English "right" and the German "recht," both meaning "correct, straight, just, honest." |
| Sesotho | Derived from the word "Sebetsa" meaning work or to work. |
| Shona | The word "basa" also means "to give birth," "to dig," and "to do hard physical work." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "කම්කරු" can mean either "a laborer" or "a workman", depending on the context |
| Slovak | The word "pôrod" is cognate with the Czech "porod" and the Polish "poród", all of which derive from the Proto-Slavic "*porodъ", meaning "birth" or "delivery." |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word "porod" also has the meaning of "birth" and is related to the word "porajati se," which means "to be born." |
| Somali | It is derived from the Arabic word "fushah", meaning "eloquence". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "labor" can also refer to the process of giving birth or to a group of people working together. |
| Sundanese | The word "buruh" in Sundanese is derived from the Sanskrit word "bhara", meaning "to carry", and refers to both manual and agricultural labor. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "kazi" also has the alternative meaning of "task" or "assignment". |
| Swedish | The word 'arbetskraft' ('labor') is derived from the medieval German word 'arbeit' (work) and has the same meaning in English. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "paggawa" in Tagalog can also refer to the process of creation or production. |
| Tajik | The word “меҳнат” has multiple meanings, which can be translated into English as both “labor” and “effort”. |
| Tamil | The word "தொழிலாளர்" can also refer to people who engage in a paid occupation or who perform tasks for wages or compensation. |
| Telugu | The word "శ్రమ" can also mean "hardship" or "toil" in Telugu. |
| Thai | "แรงงาน" (labor) can be broken down etymologically into "แรง" (force) and "งาน" (work). |
| Turkish | The word "emek" also means "effort or exertion" and has the same root as the word "imkân" ("possibility"), suggesting that labor is seen as a means to create opportunities. |
| Ukrainian | "Праці" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *pьrati, meaning "to fight" or "to work hard." |
| Urdu | The word "مزدور" can also mean "servant" or "worker for hire" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "mehnat" means not only "labor" but also "effort, exertion, diligence, industry, toil, trouble, work." |
| Vietnamese | Besides the primary meaning of "labor," the word "lao động" can also mean "toil" and "exertion" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | The word 'llafur' in Welsh may also refer to the process of cultivation or ploughing, as well as the resulting crop or field. |
| Xhosa | 'Umsebenzi' also refers to a place of work, such as a shop or an office. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "אַרבעט" ("labor") also refers to financial or personal hardship. |
| Yoruba | The word "laala" in Yoruba can also mean "a task" or "an obligation" |
| Zulu | The word "umsebenzi" also means "work" or "duty" in Zulu. |
| English | The word "labor" derives from the Latin verb "laborare," meaning "to toil, suffer, or exert oneself." |