Lunch in Different Languages
Discover 'Lunch' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Lunch
Afrikaans middagete | ||
Albanian dreka | ||
Amharic ምሳ | ||
Arabic غداء | ||
Armenian լանչ | ||
Assamese দুপৰীয়াৰ আহাৰ | ||
Aymara chika uru manq'a | ||
Azerbaijani nahar | ||
Bambara tilelafana | ||
Basque bazkaria | ||
Belarusian абед | ||
Bengali মধ্যাহ্নভোজ | ||
Bhojpuri दुपहरिया के खाना | ||
Bosnian ručak | ||
Bulgarian обяд | ||
Catalan dinar | ||
Cebuano paniudto | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 午餐 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 午餐 | ||
Corsican pranzu | ||
Croatian ručak | ||
Czech oběd | ||
Danish frokost | ||
Dhivehi މެންދުރު ކެއުން | ||
Dogri सब्हैरी | ||
Dutch lunch | ||
English lunch | ||
Esperanto tagmanĝo | ||
Estonian lõunasöök | ||
Ewe ŋdᴐ nuɖuɖu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) tanghalian | ||
Finnish lounas | ||
French le déjeuner | ||
Frisian lunch | ||
Galician xantar | ||
Georgian ლანჩი | ||
German mittagessen | ||
Greek μεσημεριανό | ||
Guarani karu | ||
Gujarati લંચ | ||
Haitian Creole manje midi | ||
Hausa abincin rana | ||
Hawaiian ʻaina awakea | ||
Hebrew ארוחת צהריים | ||
Hindi दोपहर का भोजन | ||
Hmong noj su | ||
Hungarian ebéd | ||
Icelandic hádegismatur | ||
Igbo nri ehihie | ||
Ilocano pangngaldaw | ||
Indonesian makan siang | ||
Irish lón | ||
Italian pranzo | ||
Japanese ランチ | ||
Javanese nedha awan | ||
Kannada ಊಟ | ||
Kazakh түскі ас | ||
Khmer អាហារថ្ងៃត្រង់ | ||
Kinyarwanda sasita | ||
Konkani दनपारचें जेवण | ||
Korean 점심 | ||
Krio lɔnch | ||
Kurdish firavîn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) نانی نیوەڕۆ | ||
Kyrgyz түшкү тамак | ||
Lao ອາຫານທ່ຽງ | ||
Latin prandium | ||
Latvian pusdienas | ||
Lingala bilei ya midi | ||
Lithuanian pietus | ||
Luganda eky'emisana | ||
Luxembourgish mëttegiessen | ||
Macedonian ручек | ||
Maithili दुपहरक भोजन | ||
Malagasy sakafo atoandro | ||
Malay makan tengah hari | ||
Malayalam ഉച്ചഭക്ഷണം | ||
Maltese ikla ta 'nofsinhar | ||
Maori tina | ||
Marathi दुपारचे जेवण | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯆꯥꯛꯂꯦꯟ | ||
Mizo chawchhun | ||
Mongolian үдийн хоол | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) နေ့လည်စာ | ||
Nepali भोजन | ||
Norwegian lunsj | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) nkhomaliro | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମଧ୍ୟାହ୍ନ ଭୋଜନ | ||
Oromo laaqana | ||
Pashto غرمه | ||
Persian ناهار | ||
Polish obiad | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) almoço | ||
Punjabi ਦੁਪਹਿਰ ਦਾ ਖਾਣਾ | ||
Quechua punchaw mikuna | ||
Romanian masa de pranz | ||
Russian обед | ||
Samoan aiga i le aoauli | ||
Sanskrit मध्याह्नभोजनम् | ||
Scots Gaelic lòn | ||
Sepedi matena | ||
Serbian ручак | ||
Sesotho lijo tsa mots'eare | ||
Shona masikati | ||
Sindhi مانجهاندو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දිවා ආහාරය | ||
Slovak obed | ||
Slovenian kosilo | ||
Somali qado | ||
Spanish almuerzo | ||
Sundanese dahar beurang | ||
Swahili chakula cha mchana | ||
Swedish lunch | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) tanghalian | ||
Tajik хӯроки нисфирӯзӣ | ||
Tamil மதிய உணவு | ||
Tatar төшке аш | ||
Telugu భోజనం | ||
Thai อาหารกลางวัน | ||
Tigrinya ምሳሕ | ||
Tsonga swakudya swa nhlikanhi | ||
Turkish öğle yemeği | ||
Turkmen günortanlyk | ||
Twi (Akan) awia aduane | ||
Ukrainian обід | ||
Urdu دوپہر کا کھانا | ||
Uyghur چۈشلۈك تاماق | ||
Uzbek tushlik | ||
Vietnamese bữa trưa | ||
Welsh cinio | ||
Xhosa isidlo sasemini | ||
Yiddish לאָנטש | ||
Yoruba ọsan | ||
Zulu isidlo sasemini |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "middagete" has an additional meaning of "afternoon meal", especially when referring to the main meal of the day. |
| Albanian | "Dreka" comes from the Proto-Albanian word "drege", meaning "to eat". |
| Amharic | The word "ምሳ" can also mean "a little" in Amharic, possibly due to the small lunch portion sizes common in some Amharic-speaking communities. |
| Arabic | The word 'غداء' (lunch) in Arabic is derived from the verb 'غذا' (to nourish), highlighting its role in providing sustenance during the day. |
| Armenian | The word "լանչ" comes from the Middle English word "nunchen", meaning "midday meal". |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word "nahar" (lunch) stems from the Persian "nahare" and the Arabic "nahar". It can also refer to "dinner". Its origins can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European "nek-aro" (night). |
| Basque | The word "bazkaria" is not unique to Basque but is also found in the closely related Romance languages of Gascon and Catalan, with the same meaning |
| Belarusian | The word "абед" in Belarusian comes from the Russian word "обед" (lunch), which in turn comes from the Old Slavic word "обѣдъ" (meal). |
| Bengali | The word "madhyahnabhoj" literally means "mid-day meal" in Sanskrit, as it is a compound word composed of "madhya" (middle) and "ahna" (day). |
| Bosnian | The word "ručak" can also refer to a small snack or a formal dinner. |
| Bulgarian | The word "обяд" originally referred to the afternoon meal, but over time its meaning has shifted to refer to the midday meal. |
| Catalan | The word "dinar" in Catalan derives from the Latin "diurnus", meaning "daily". |
| Cebuano | The word "paniudto" comes from the Spanish word "paniudto" meaning "lunchtime". The word is related to the verb "paniudto" which means "to have lunch". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "午餐" originally referred to the noon meal of Buddhist monks and nuns, and later came to refer to the midday meal in general. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 午餐 (午飯) 字面解釋為中午的飯，即 Midday meal，源自於拉丁語 Prandium，意指主餐、午餐。 |
| Corsican | Corsican word "pranzu" likely comes from the Latin "prandium" meaning "breakfast" or "early meal". |
| Croatian | Ručak is thought to derive from the Proto-Slavic word *rǫka, meaning 'hand', as it was typically the time of day when farmers would take a break from work and eat with their hands. |
| Czech | The word 'oběd' comes from the Slavic word 'obědovať', which literally means 'to offer food to the gods'. |
| Danish | Frokost, meaning 'lunch' in Danish, originates from the Old Norse word 'frokos' denoting the morning meal, with the second part 'kost' meaning 'food'. |
| Dutch | The word "lunch" in Dutch also refers to a box or bag containing food, typically taken to work or school. |
| Esperanto | "tagmanĝo" literally translates to "day meal" |
| Estonian | The word "lõunasöök" is also used in Estonian to refer to a light afternoon snack in addition to the main midday meal. |
| Finnish | The word "lounas" derives from the Swedish "lunch", which in turn comes from the Latin "prandium", meaning "midday meal". |
| French | "Le déjeuner" is a French word that was initially used to refer to breakfast and later to refer to lunch. |
| Frisian | In Frisian, the word for "lunch" can also refer to a light meal eaten in the evening. |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "xantar" originates from the Latin "jantare" and in Portuguese "jantar", both meaning "to eat dinner". |
| Georgian | The word "lunch" comes from the Greek "akratisma", meaning "early drink" |
| German | 'Mittagessen' derives from 'Mittag' (midday) and 'essen' (to eat), and can also informally refer to dinner ('Abendessen'). |
| Greek | μεσημεριανό is often shortened to μεσημέρι ( |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "લંચ" ("lunch") is derived from the Hindi word "lunch", which in turn comes from the Portuguese word "lanche", meaning "a light meal". |
| Haitian Creole | The expression "manje midi" literally means "to eat noon" in Haitian Creole. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "abincin rana" literally means "food of the day". |
| Hawaiian | 'Āina awakea' (literally 'clear food'), which refers to the meal served in the early afternoon. |
| Hebrew | The word ארוחת צהריים literally means "midday meal". |
| Hindi | "दोपहर का भोजन" is a compound word in Hindi that literally translates to "midday meal". |
| Hmong | The word "noj su" can also mean "the food you eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner". |
| Hungarian | The word "ebéd" might be influenced by Medieval Latin "oppidium", meaning "town". |
| Icelandic | Hádegismatur is also a term for 'the noon', which corresponds to the time when lunch is usually eaten in Iceland. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "nri ehihie" also means "the gathering of elders" as it was traditionally the time of day when the respected elders of the village would meet to discuss and make decisions. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "makan siang" literally translates to "eat noon", showcasing the cultural significance of communal midday meals. |
| Irish | The Irish word "lón" comes from two possible Proto-Indo-European roots: "*h₁ed" (to eat) or "*h₁leh₂" (food). |
| Italian | The Italian word “pranzo” can also refer to any main midday meal, regardless of the time it is eaten, and can thus also mean “dinner”. |
| Japanese | The word 「ランチ」 can also mean a snack or a light meal, especially when eaten between lunch and dinner. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, 'nedha awan' refers to the afternoon meal, specifically the one eaten between noon and early afternoon. |
| Kannada | The word ಊಟ can also refer to all food eaten during the day. |
| Kazakh | "Түскі ас" (lunch) derives from "түс" (noon) and "ас" (food), also meaning the midday meal in Kazakh tradition, in contrast to lighter morning and evening meals. |
| Khmer | The word "អាហារថ្ងៃត្រង់" is a compound of two words, meaning "food" and "middle of the day", referring to the main meal of the day. |
| Korean | The word 점심 (lunch) literally means "cut the heart" in Korean, referring to the idea of breaking up the long stretch between breakfast and dinner with a midday meal. |
| Kurdish | The word "firavîn" is also used to refer to the period of time between noon and sunset. |
| Kyrgyz | Түшкү тамак is also used figuratively to mean a person's or animal's share of food. |
| Latin | In Latin, “prandium” (lunch) originally meant “morsel, piece” and referred to soldiers’ midday rations which were often dry and could not be taken in one bite. |
| Latvian | The word "pusdienas" is derived from the word "pusdienēt", which means "to eat a meal at midday". |
| Lithuanian | The word "pietus" is also used to refer to a snack or a light meal. |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Mëttegiessen" is derived from the French word "mettre" (to put or set) and the German word "giessen" (to pour). It originally referred to the pouring of melted pork fat over bread. |
| Macedonian | The word "ручек" in Macedonian can also refer to a type of bread, a kind of pastry, or a snack. |
| Malagasy | 'Sakafo atoandro' directly translates to 'noon food', which is also a possible alternate meaning. |
| Malay | The Malay word "makan tengah hari" literally means "eat in the middle of the day". |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word ഉച്ചഭക്ഷണം ('lunch') literally means 'midday meal', reflecting the typical time when lunch is eaten in Kerala, India. |
| Maltese | "Ikla ta 'nofsinhar" is a compound of the word "ikla" (food) and a phrase that means "of midday." |
| Maori | In Rarotongan, “tina” means “food” as well as “lunch”. |
| Marathi | दुपारचे जेवण is a compound word meaning 'afternoon's meal' in Marathi. It can also refer to the meal itself. |
| Mongolian | The word "үдийн хоол" directly translates to "midday meal", which is a more accurate description of the Mongolian lunch hour, which typically takes place between 1 and 2 pm. |
| Nepali | The word "भोजन" in Nepali has additional meanings such as food, meal or diet. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "lunsj" originally meant "brunch" and was borrowed from the English word "lunch" in the 19th century. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "nkhomaliro" in Nyanja originates from the verb "kudya" (to eat) and means the midday meal. |
| Pashto | The word "غرمه" in Pashto has roots in the Persian language and originally meant "what is eaten at the time of sunset". |
| Persian | The word «ناهار» originally meant «midday» and can also refer to «breakfast» in some parts of Iran. |
| Polish | Obiad (lunch) comes from the Polish word |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "almoço" is derived from the Arabic word "al-ghudā'" which means "morning meal". |
| Romanian | "Masa de pranz" literally translates as "table for lunch," implying a gathering and highlighting the social aspect of the meal in Romanian culture. |
| Russian | The word обед in Russian comes from the Proto-Slavic word |
| Samoan | The word "aiga i le aoauli" comes from the words "aiga" (family) and "aoauli" (afternoon), and historically referred to family meals at midday |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "lòn" is derived from the Old Irish word "lún", which means "meal" or "portion of food". |
| Serbian | The word "ручак" comes from the Old Slavic word "рькати", meaning "to grunt". In many Slavic languages, this word refers to the morning meal. |
| Sesotho | The word "lijo tsa mots'eare" likely derives from the verb "ho lila" (to sleep) and "mots'eare" (noon), indicating a meal eaten at the time of the midday rest. |
| Shona | "Masikati" can also refer to the afternoon or midday. |
| Sindhi | The word "مانجهاندو" can also mean "food" or "meal" in Sindhi. |
| Slovak | The word "obed" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*obědъ" meaning "meal" or "daily food", with the root "*ob" indicating "round" or "all around", implying a meal that is eaten at a particular time of day. |
| Slovenian | The word “kosilo” likely derives from a Slavic root meaning “piece” or “share”. |
| Somali | Somali has different words for lunch depending on the time of the day, like "qado" which is a term used to refer to lunch before midday. |
| Spanish | The word "almuerzo" derives from the Arabic word "al-ghuda", meaning "the midday meal" |
| Sundanese | The phrase 'dahar beurang' literally means 'to eat during the light', signifying its association with the daylight hours |
| Swahili | The Swahili word for 'lunch', 'chakula cha mchana', literally translates as 'afternoon food'. |
| Swedish | Lunch (lunch) in Swedish can also refer to food eaten for a midday meal. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "tanghalian" comes from the root word "tanghali," which means "noontime." |
| Tajik | The phrase, literally meaning “the noontime food,” comes from the combination of the Persian words “khoro-k” (خورک) – “food, meal” and “nissefi rūz” (نصف روز) – a noon or midday of the day. |
| Telugu | The word 'భోజనం' also means 'nourishment' or 'food' in general, and is derived from the Sanskrit word 'bhojana'. |
| Thai | "อาหารกลางวัน" derives from "อาการ", "กลาง", and "วัน", and originally referred to a snack eaten during the middle of the day. |
| Turkish | 'Öğle yemeği' literally means 'noon meal' in Turkish, where 'öğle' means 'noon' and 'yemek' means 'meal'. |
| Ukrainian | "Обід" also means "dinner" in Ukrainian, while "вечеря" means "supper". |
| Uzbek | The word "tushlik" comes from the Persian word "toshlik", meaning "afternoon". |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "Bữa trưa" literally means "morning meal" despite being used to refer to the midday meal. |
| Welsh | The word "cinio" in Welsh is a loanword from the Latin "prandium" meaning "midday meal". It also used to mean "dinner" in Welsh, but this usage has since become obsolete. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "isidlo sasemini" literally translates to "a meal in the middle." |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word לאָנטש is derived from the German word 'Lunchen', and originally referred to a light meal eaten mid-afternoon rather than at midday. |
| Yoruba | "Ọsan" can also mean "afternoon" or "midday" in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | The word 'isidlo sasemini' is cognate to the Swati 'sidlo sasemini', which translates to 'lunch' or 'afternoon meal'. |
| English | The word "lunch" originally referred to a "hunk" of bread eaten between meals. |