Lady in Different Languages
Discover 'Lady' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Lady
Afrikaans dame | ||
Albanian zonjë | ||
Amharic እመቤት | ||
Arabic سيدة | ||
Armenian տիկին | ||
Assamese মহিলা | ||
Aymara warmi | ||
Azerbaijani xanım | ||
Bambara muso | ||
Basque andrea | ||
Belarusian лэдзі | ||
Bengali মহিলা | ||
Bhojpuri महिला | ||
Bosnian damo | ||
Bulgarian дама | ||
Catalan senyora | ||
Cebuano babaye | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 淑女 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 淑女 | ||
Corsican signora | ||
Croatian dama | ||
Czech dáma | ||
Danish dame | ||
Dhivehi އަންހެނާ | ||
Dogri जनानी | ||
Dutch dame | ||
English lady | ||
Esperanto sinjorino | ||
Estonian daam | ||
Ewe ɖetugbui | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) ginang | ||
Finnish nainen | ||
French dame | ||
Frisian dame | ||
Galician señora | ||
Georgian ქალბატონო | ||
German dame | ||
Greek κυρία | ||
Guarani kuñakarai | ||
Gujarati સ્ત્રી | ||
Haitian Creole dam | ||
Hausa uwargida | ||
Hawaiian wahine | ||
Hebrew גברת | ||
Hindi महिला | ||
Hmong poj niam | ||
Hungarian hölgy | ||
Icelandic kona | ||
Igbo nwada | ||
Ilocano balasang | ||
Indonesian wanita | ||
Irish bhean | ||
Italian signora | ||
Japanese レディ | ||
Javanese wanita | ||
Kannada ಮಹಿಳೆ | ||
Kazakh ханым | ||
Khmer ស្ត្រី | ||
Kinyarwanda umudamu | ||
Konkani बायल | ||
Korean 레이디 | ||
Krio uman | ||
Kurdish sitê | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خانم | ||
Kyrgyz айым | ||
Lao ນາງ | ||
Latin domina | ||
Latvian dāma | ||
Lingala elenge mwasi | ||
Lithuanian panele | ||
Luganda omumyaala | ||
Luxembourgish dame | ||
Macedonian дама | ||
Maithili माउगी | ||
Malagasy vehivavy | ||
Malay wanita | ||
Malayalam സ്ത്രീ | ||
Maltese mara | ||
Maori wahine | ||
Marathi बाई | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯨꯄꯤ | ||
Mizo nutling | ||
Mongolian хатагтай | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အမျိုးသမီး | ||
Nepali महिला | ||
Norwegian dame | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) dona | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଲେଡି | ||
Oromo dubartii | ||
Pashto ښځه | ||
Persian خانم | ||
Polish dama | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) senhora | ||
Punjabi .ਰਤ | ||
Quechua mama | ||
Romanian doamnă | ||
Russian леди | ||
Samoan tamaitai | ||
Sanskrit स्त्री | ||
Scots Gaelic bhean | ||
Sepedi lekgarebe | ||
Serbian дама | ||
Sesotho mofumahali | ||
Shona mukadzi | ||
Sindhi عورت | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කාන්තාව | ||
Slovak pani | ||
Slovenian gospa | ||
Somali marwada | ||
Spanish dama | ||
Sundanese nona | ||
Swahili mwanamke | ||
Swedish lady | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) ginang | ||
Tajik бону | ||
Tamil பெண் | ||
Tatar ханым | ||
Telugu లేడీ | ||
Thai ผู้หญิง | ||
Tigrinya ጓል | ||
Tsonga wansati | ||
Turkish hanım | ||
Turkmen hanym | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔbaa | ||
Ukrainian леді | ||
Urdu عورت | ||
Uyghur خانىم | ||
Uzbek xonim | ||
Vietnamese quý bà | ||
Welsh arglwyddes | ||
Xhosa inenekazi | ||
Yiddish דאַמע | ||
Yoruba iyaafin | ||
Zulu intokazi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word for "lady," "dame," also means "widow and can also sometimes be used as a term of endearment for women. |
| Albanian | "Zonjë" ultimately descends from the Greek "gynaika" meaning "woman". |
| Amharic | The word እመቤት can also refer to a female relative of a king or emperor. |
| Arabic | The word "سيدة" (sayyida) also means "mistress" in the sense of female owner or ruler, and is used as a title of respect for women of high rank. |
| Armenian | The word "տիկին" (lady) is derived from the Armenian word "տիկ" (house) and can also mean "mistress of the house". |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word "xanım" originates from the Turkic word "xatun", a title of respect that was bestowed upon royal females and noblewomen. |
| Basque | The word 'andrea' may derive from the Latin 'femina' meaning 'woman' or 'wife'. |
| Belarusian | The word "лэдзі" is derived from the Old English word "hlæfdige," meaning "loaf-kneader." |
| Bengali | The word "মহিলা" can also refer to a wife or a woman of high status in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | The word "damo" originally meant "damsel" and was later used as a respectful term for both married and unmarried girls, regardless of age. |
| Bulgarian | In Bulgarian, "дама" ("lady") also means "queen" (in chess) and "wife" (in some specific contexts). |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "senyora" can also refer to a married woman or a woman who has had children. |
| Cebuano | "Babaye" shares etymological roots with "babai" which denotes a "man" and are both derived from Sanskrit and Pali. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "淑女" literally translates to a "virtuous young woman," with "淑" meaning "virtuous" and "女" meaning "young woman." |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "淑女" originates from Chinese classics, originally meaning "good wife and wise mother" |
| Corsican | Signora derives from the same Latin word as the French 'seigneur', and is also used to address men (signor), or as a general respectful form ('Sir' or 'Ma'am'). |
| Croatian | "Dama" comes from the Latin "dominus" meaning "master of the house" and refers to the woman who rules the household. |
| Czech | Dáma can refer to a female person of high social standing or a checker piece in Czech. |
| Danish | In Danish, the word 'dame' (lady) has the same etymology as the word 'dam', meaning 'female animal'. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "dame" can also mean a married woman or a dam. |
| Esperanto | The word "sinjorino" in Esperanto, meaning "lady", comes from the Old French word "seignorinne" meaning "mistress". |
| Estonian | "Daam" is likely a variant of "daim" (lord, feudal lord), which in turn comes from the German "Dam". |
| Finnish | The word "nainen" in Finnish can also refer to "a wife". |
| French | In French, "Dame" can also mean "a woman of high rank" or "the wife of a knight". |
| Frisian | In Saterland Frisian, "Dame" can also refer to the "Queen" in a deck of cards. |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "señora" can also be used to refer to a married woman. |
| Georgian | The term ქალბატონო, which literally translates to 'owner of a house,' is used as a polite form of address for women in Georgia. |
| German | In German, "Dame" is also a term used in some card games, such as "Dame" or "Dame und Bube" (Jack and Jill), where it refers to the queen. |
| Greek | The word "κυρία" (lady) derives from the ancient Greek word "κύριος" (lord, master) and can also be used as a formal or polite form of address to a married woman. |
| Gujarati | "સ્ત્રી" (lady) is derived from Sanskrit and also means "wife" or "woman". |
| Haitian Creole | The term `dam` in Haitian Creole also refers to a female servant. |
| Hausa | 'Uwar gida' is the Hausa term for 'lady'. It literally translates to 'owner of the house' |
| Hawaiian | The word 'wahine' has dual meanings, 'woman' and 'wife', as Polynesian culture traditionally equated marriage with womanhood. |
| Hebrew | גברת also means "Mistress," but not in the modern sexual sense |
| Hindi | The word 'महिला' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'मही' (earth) and means 'the one who belongs to the earth'. |
| Hmong | The term "poj niam" is derived from "poj," meaning "female," and "niam," meaning "elder sibling or elder female." |
| Hungarian | The word hölgy is derived from the Turkic term *halk,* meaning "people". |
| Icelandic | The word "kona" derives from the Old Norse word "kona", meaning "wife" or "woman". |
| Igbo | "Nwada" can also refer to a young, unmarried girl in some contexts. |
| Indonesian | "Wanita" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vanita" meaning "desired one" or "beloved one." |
| Irish | "Bhean" in Irish has a shared root with "woman" in English. |
| Italian | The word 'signora' comes from the Latin 'senior', meaning 'older' or 'senior', and was originally used to address married women. |
| Japanese | The word "レディ" in Japanese, besides meaning "lady", can also refer to a female knight or a female samurai. |
| Javanese | The word "wanita" is cognate with the word "wani" which means "brave" or "masculine", suggesting that women were historically perceived as possessing masculine qualities in Javanese culture. |
| Kannada | The word 'ಮಹಿಳೆ' (mahile) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'महिला' (mahila), which means 'great' or 'venerable'. It can also refer to a woman of high status, such as a queen or a goddess. |
| Kazakh | The word "ханым" shares its linguistic root with "хан" ("khan"), a historic Eurasian title of nobility, indicating its originally aristocratic associations. |
| Khmer | The term is often conflated with the word 'ស្ត្រី' ('female') with whom it shares the same root word 'ស្រី' |
| Korean | The Sino-Korean word '레이디' ('lady') originates from the English word 'lady' and was likely introduced to Korean during the late 19th century. |
| Kurdish | Kurdish "sitê" originally meant "daughter" and is still today a very common way of addressing female descendants respectfully. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "айым" is derived from the Persian word "āyīm" and has the alternate meaning of "moon". |
| Lao | The word “ນາງ” in Lao, besides meaning “lady |
| Latin | Domina is a feminine form of 'dominus' meaning 'master', and could refer to a female slave owner, mistress, or noblewoman. |
| Latvian | Latvian "dāma" came to mean "lady" via the Polish "dama" and in the earlier stages, the German "Dame" |
| Lithuanian | Panele is a Lithuanian diminutive of the female name Panna, which in turn derives from the Roman name Pantera. |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Dam" derives from the Latin word "domina", meaning "mistress". |
| Macedonian | The word "дама" can also mean "queen" in a game of chess or "jack" in a deck of cards. |
| Malagasy | The word "vehivavy" can also refer to a female ancestor or a female spirit in Malagasy culture. |
| Malay | The Malay word "wanita" derives from the Sanskrit term "vanita", meaning "desired" or "beautiful woman". |
| Malayalam | 'സ്ത്രീ' is also the name for 'Goddess Lakshmi', the Hindu goddess of wealth |
| Maltese | The term 'mara' in Maltese is also used to refer to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. |
| Maori | The etymology and alternate meanings of "wahine" include "woman," "wife," and "daughter." |
| Marathi | In Marathi, the word 'बाई' can also refer to a woman of lower or working-class status. |
| Mongolian | 'Хамагтай' in Mongolian can also mean a 'mother-of-five' (a woman who has given birth to five children), and in the case of the 'Khamag Mongols' of Inner Mongolia, the term means 'the women of the Mongols'. |
| Nepali | The term 'महिला' (mahila) has roots in Sanskrit, where it denoted 'greatness' and 'power'. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "dame" has an alternate meaning as a colloquial term for "mother". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "dona" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is cognate with the Portuguese word "dona" (lady), which is of Latin origin "domina" (mistress). |
| Pashto | The word "ښځه" (lady) in Pashto is etymologically related to the Sanskrit word "स्त्री" (woman) and the Avestan word "stərī" (female), suggesting a shared ancient Proto-Indo-European root. |
| Persian | Persian "خانم" (lady) is also used as an honorific when addressing someone respectfully, regardless of gender. |
| Polish | The word "dama" in Polish can also mean "game of draughts" or, figuratively, "a woman who behaves like a lady" |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "senhora" in Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) comes from the Latin word "seniora," meaning "older woman" or "mistress." |
| Punjabi | The origin of the word ".ਰਤ" ("lady") in Punjabi is uncertain, but it may be linked to the Sanskrit word "ratri" ("night"). |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "doamnă" for "lady" derives from the Latin "domina" meaning "mistress" or "lady of the house". |
| Russian | The word "леди" (lady) derives from the Old English word "hlǣfdige" meaning "loaf-kneader", a reference to the domestic role of women, especially in relation to bread-making. |
| Samoan | The word 'tamaitai' can also refer to a woman of high rank or a female chief. |
| Scots Gaelic | The feminine Gaelic noun "bhean" may also mean "wife" or, in some cases, "woman". |
| Serbian | The word "дама" can also refer to a card game similar to "hearts" or "spades". |
| Sesotho | The word "mofumahali" has been suggested to mean both "lady" and "woman of a high standing or authority" in Sesotho. |
| Shona | Mukadzi is derived from the verb "kukunda", meaning to carry a child on one's back, highlighting the traditional role of women as mothers in Shona culture. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word “عورت” traces back to the root |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In Sinhala, the word 'කාන්තාව' ('lady') also means 'a woman who is beautiful, charming, or elegant'. |
| Slovak | In Slovak, the word 'pani' can also be used to address a married woman or a woman of high social standing. |
| Slovenian | "Gospa" can refer to the Virgin Mary, the wife of a lord, or a respectable married woman. |
| Somali | The word "marwada" in Somali can also signify "wife" or a "respectable, well-off" person, especially when it appears in compounds. |
| Spanish | The word "dama" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "domina", meaning "mistress of the house". |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "nona" can also refer to a woman of high social status or a female elder. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "mwanamke" derives from the root "mama" meaning "mother" and the suffix "-ke" indicating femininity, suggesting a strong association between motherhood and womanhood in Swahili-speaking cultures. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "dam" can also mean "pond" or "checkers piece", unrelated to the meaning "lady". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Etymology and meanings of "ginang": (1) from "ginang" (Spanish for "lady"); (2) a prefix to female names. |
| Tajik | The word "бону" can also refer to a type of female spirit in Tajik mythology. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word "பெண்" can also refer to a female animal, a wife, or a woman in general. |
| Telugu | The word "లేడీ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "लेडी" (leḍī), which comes from the Prakrit word "लेडिआ" (leḍiā), meaning "wife" or "beloved". |
| Thai | The word ผู้หญิง is the feminine form of ผู้ชาย, meaning 'man', derived from Sanskrit, and is used for young girls and women of any age. |
| Turkish | "Hanım" can also refer to a respectable married woman or the wife of a high-ranking official in the Ottoman Empire. |
| Ukrainian | The word "леді" (lady) in Ukrainian is derived from the Old English word "hlæfdige", meaning "loaf-kneader" or "lady of the house". |
| Urdu | The word "عورت" (aurat) in Urdu is derived from the Arabic word "عورة" (awrah), meaning "that which should be hidden", and originally referred to the body parts that should be covered according to Islamic law. |
| Uzbek | "Xonim" also means "sister" in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | "Quý bà" is a Vietnamese word that can also mean "noblewoman" or "madam". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "arglwyddes" is derived from the Proto-Celtic word "*arigant-lod-es_, meaning "silver-robed one". |
| Xhosa | This word also means "mother" or "wife" and is frequently used as a sign of respect, similar to the English "ma'am". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word דאַמע ("lady") can also refer to a female ghost or spirit. |
| Yoruba | The word "iyaafin" in Yoruba has its roots in the words "iya" (mother) and "afin" (palace), suggesting the role of women in royal households. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, 'intokazi' can also refer to a witch or diviner, likely due to the traditional association between women and spiritual practices. |
| English | The word "lady" comes from the Old English word "hlæfdige," meaning "loaf-kneader," and was originally used to refer to a woman of high social status. |