Meat in Different Languages
Discover 'Meat' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Meat has been a staple food for humans for thousands of years, providing essential nutrients and protein for a balanced diet. Its cultural importance cannot be overstated, with different societies and traditions placing unique significance on various types of meat. From the barbecues of the American South to the traditional roasts of Europe, meat has long been a centerpiece of celebrations and family gatherings.
Moreover, understanding the translation of meat in different languages can be a fascinating way to explore global food culture. For example, the German word for meat is 'Fleisch,' while in Spanish, it's 'carne.' In Japan, meat is translated as 'niku,' and in China, there are multiple words for meat depending on the type and region.
But meat's significance goes beyond mere sustenance or cultural importance. For instance, did you know that the word 'meat' comes from the Old English word 'mete,' which referred to food in general? Or that in some cultures, certain meats are considered delicacies, while in others, they are taboo?
Join us as we delve into the many translations of meat in different languages, shedding light on the rich tapestry of global food culture and history.
Meat
Meat in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vleis | ||
| The word "vleis" in Afrikaans can also refer to the "flesh" of a fruit or the succulent parts of a plant. | |||
| Amharic | ስጋ | ||
| The word "ስጋ" can also refer to the body, especially in a religious context. | |||
| Hausa | nama | ||
| "Nama" also means "flesh" or "body" in Hausa, emphasizing the substance of meat beyond its sustenance. | |||
| Igbo | anụ | ||
| The Igbo word | |||
| Malagasy | hena | ||
| In Malagasy, the word "hena" originally referred to the flesh of a boar or pig but now means meat in general. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nyama | ||
| In Nyanja, "nyama" can also refer to edible plants or, figuratively, the essence of something. | |||
| Shona | nyama | ||
| The Shona word "nyama" derives from the Proto-Bantu term "nyama", meaning "animal", and is cognate with the Swahili word "nyama" and the Zulu word "inyama" | |||
| Somali | hilib | ||
| The word 'hilib' also means 'food' or 'nourishment' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | nama | ||
| Sesotho's 'nama' is used to describe the meat of livestock while 'nama ya phoofolo' refers to 'game meat'. | |||
| Swahili | nyama | ||
| "Nyama" also means "flesh" in several other Bantu languages, and "wild animal" and "game meat" in some languages spoken in Southern Africa. | |||
| Xhosa | inyama | ||
| Inyamayam is a colloquial variation on inyama, which refers to the flesh or meat of animals. | |||
| Yoruba | eran | ||
| The word 'Eran' in Yoruba can also refer to a living animal or a sacrifice made to a deity. | |||
| Zulu | inyama | ||
| The Zulu word "inyama" can also refer to other types of food, such as vegetables or fish. | |||
| Bambara | sogo | ||
| Ewe | adelã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | inyama | ||
| Lingala | mosuni | ||
| Luganda | ennyama | ||
| Sepedi | nama | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nam | ||
Meat in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | لحم | ||
| The Arabic word "لحم" (meat) also refers to the fleshy, pulpy parts of fruits or vegetables and is the origin of the word "molasses" | |||
| Hebrew | בָּשָׂר | ||
| The Hebrew word "בָּשָׂר" (basar) not only means "meat" but can also refer to the physical body or human nature. | |||
| Pashto | غوښه | ||
| The Pashto word "غوښه" can also refer to a "piece" or a "lump of something". | |||
| Arabic | لحم | ||
| The Arabic word "لحم" (meat) also refers to the fleshy, pulpy parts of fruits or vegetables and is the origin of the word "molasses" | |||
Meat in Western European Languages
| Albanian | mish | ||
| The word "Mish" in Albanian may also refer to the flesh of fruit or a plant's pulp and can be used figuratively to describe a person's body or essence. | |||
| Basque | haragia | ||
| The Basque word "haragia" is derived from the Latin word "caro, | |||
| Catalan | carn | ||
| The Catalan word 'carn' derives from the Latin 'caro,' meaning 'flesh' or 'body,' and also relates to the English word 'carnal.' | |||
| Croatian | meso | ||
| In some rare cases meso can also refer to "flesh" in a more literal sense, i.e. as opposed to "meat". | |||
| Danish | kød | ||
| In some dialects of Danish it can also refer to flesh and blood relatives. | |||
| Dutch | vlees | ||
| "Vlees" is closely related to "flesh" in English and "fleisch" in German, all meaning "the soft substance of a living body." | |||
| English | meat | ||
| Besides its culinary connotation, "meat" refers to the fleshy part of fruits or food in general. | |||
| French | viande | ||
| "Viande" is an old term that originally referred to any food, but over the time came to exclusively refer exclusively to "meat", that is to the flesh of an animal eaten as food | |||
| Frisian | fleis | ||
| In a metaphoric sense, the word can also refer to the inner part of the body, the abdomen, or the womb. | |||
| Galician | carne | ||
| In Galician, "carne" can also mean "flesh" or "pulp". | |||
| German | fleisch | ||
| The word 'Fleisch' is derived from the Old High German word 'fleisk' and is related to the English word 'flesh'. | |||
| Icelandic | kjöt | ||
| Kjöt also has the archaic meaning of "food" in Icelandic while its cognates in most other Germanic languages refer to "flesh" or "animal". | |||
| Irish | feoil | ||
| In Old Irish, "feoil" also denoted the flesh of a living being, and its use for inanimate flesh, i.e. "meat," is a more recent development. | |||
| Italian | carne | ||
| Carne is derived from the Latin 'caro,' meaning 'flesh,' and in archaic usage can also refer to 'kin' or 'kindred. | |||
| Luxembourgish | fleesch | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Fleesch" derives from the Old High German "fleisc" and is also used to refer to the fleshy part of a fruit. | |||
| Maltese | laħam | ||
| The Maltese word "laħam" (meat) derives from the Arabic word "laḥm" (flesh), which in turn shares its Semitic root with the Hebrew word "baśar" (flesh). | |||
| Norwegian | kjøtt | ||
| "Kjøtt" also means "flesh" and "pulp" in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | carne | ||
| "Carne" comes from the Latin word "carnem", meaning flesh, or animal muscle. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | feòil | ||
| "Feòil" is used in Gaelic place names to mean "green pasture" or "grassy plain". | |||
| Spanish | carne | ||
| In Spanish, "carne" also means "flesh" or "pulp" when referring to the fruit of a plant, and historically referred to "kinship" or "consanguinity". | |||
| Swedish | kött | ||
| The word "kött" derives from the Proto-Germanic root *kautaz, meaning "flesh" or "food," and shares a cognacy with the English word "cattle" and the German word "Kotze" | |||
| Welsh | cig | ||
| The Welsh word "cig" is also used to refer to the meat of a nut or the pulp of a fruit. | |||
Meat in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | мяса | ||
| The word | |||
| Bosnian | meso | ||
| The word "meso" in Bosnian is also used to refer to a piece of meat, such as a steak or a chop. | |||
| Bulgarian | месо | ||
| The word "месо" (meat) in Bulgarian is thought to be derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *méh₂s-, meaning "animal, flesh, meat". | |||
| Czech | maso | ||
| The Czech word "maso" (meat) derives from the Proto-Slavic word "męso", which also means "flesh" or "body". | |||
| Estonian | liha | ||
| The Estonian word "liha" is distantly related to the Latin "caro," but has also been influenced by the Russian lexical root for "meat." | |||
| Finnish | liha | ||
| The word 'liha' originally meant both 'meat' and 'food' more generally, the latter usage still being present in compound words and phrases. | |||
| Hungarian | hús | ||
| Hús is derived from the Proto-Uralic *huć or *kuć, meaning either "meat" or "fish." | |||
| Latvian | gaļa | ||
| The word "gaļa" also refers to the meat of fruits and vegetables. | |||
| Lithuanian | mėsa | ||
| In Lithuanian, "mėsa" originally meant just pork, extending its meaning to all types of meat (and flesh) later on. | |||
| Macedonian | месо | ||
| The word "месо" in Macedonian is a Proto-Slavic word, and is not related to the Greek word "κρέας" (kreas), which also means "meat." | |||
| Polish | mięso | ||
| 'Mięso' is not only meat, but also a part of a corpse (flesh) which is not destined for consumption. | |||
| Romanian | carne | ||
| In Romanian, "carne" can also refer to the human body or the flesh of a fruit. | |||
| Russian | мясо | ||
| The Russian word "мясо" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *męso, which also meant "flesh" or "body". | |||
| Serbian | месо | ||
| The word 'месо' is of Slavic origin and is cognate with the Latin 'caro' and the Greek 'κρέας'. It may also refer to flesh in the figurative sense. | |||
| Slovak | mäso | ||
| The Slovak word "mäso" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *męso, which also means "flesh" or "body". | |||
| Slovenian | meso | ||
| The word meso is shared by almost all Slavic languages, but originally it meant "meal". | |||
| Ukrainian | м'ясо | ||
| М'ясо, which means meat, is derived from the PIE root | |||
Meat in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | মাংস | ||
| মাংস can also mean the body of a human or animal, or the pulp of a fruit. | |||
| Gujarati | માંસ | ||
| The Gujarati word "માંસ" also means "flesh" beyond its primary meaning of "meat". | |||
| Hindi | मांस | ||
| The word 'मांस' (meat) in Hindi also means 'flesh' or 'body'. | |||
| Kannada | ಮಾಂಸ | ||
| The word "ಮಾಂಸ" in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "मांस" (māṃsa), which also means "flesh" or "body." | |||
| Malayalam | മാംസം | ||
| The word 'മാംസം' is derived from Sanskrit and originally meant 'flesh' or 'pulp'. | |||
| Marathi | मांस | ||
| The word "मांस" also means "flesh" or "the body" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | मासु | ||
| "मासु" also refers to the flesh of a fruit, while "मांश" specifically means the flesh of an animal. | |||
| Punjabi | ਮੀਟ | ||
| "ਮੀਟ" can also refer to a friend, companion, or acquaintance in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මස් | ||
| The Sinhala word for "meat", "මස්" (mas), is cognate with the Sanskrit word "मांस" (māṃsa), which also means "meat". | |||
| Tamil | இறைச்சி | ||
| "Irai (இறை)" in Tamil means "lord" or "king", and "Irai-chi (இறைச்சி)" is "food for the lord", the choicest part of the meal. | |||
| Telugu | మాంసం | ||
| The Telugu word "మాంసం" can also refer to the flesh of fruits or vegetables. | |||
| Urdu | گوشت | ||
| گوشت derives from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gau- "cow, bull." The same etymon gave rise to English "cow." | |||
Meat in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 肉 | ||
| 肉 also means "flesh" and "one's own body". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 肉 | ||
| The character '肉' can also mean the human body or a person's flesh. | |||
| Japanese | お肉 | ||
| お肉 (niku) may also refer to the skin of a fruit, such as a peach. | |||
| Korean | 고기 | ||
| The term "고기" does not only mean "meat", but also has an alternate meaning, "strong" or "tough" in Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | мах | ||
| The Mongolian word "мах" (meat) is also used to refer to animal products like dairy. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အသား | ||
| The word "meat" in Burmese ("အသား") also refers to the flesh or body of a person or animal. | |||
Meat in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | daging | ||
| "Daging" is cognate with "daging" in Malay and "daging" in Filipino, and ultimately derives from Proto-Austronesian *daʔiŋ "meat, flesh". | |||
| Javanese | daging | ||
| The Javanese term for 'meat', 'daging', is a loanword from Sanskrit. In Sanskrit, 'dañca' means 'flesh, body' or 'meat, animal flesh'. | |||
| Khmer | សាច់ | ||
| The word 'សាច់' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'मांस' (māmsa) and also refers to 'flesh' or 'pulp'. | |||
| Lao | ຊີ້ນ | ||
| The word ຊີ້ນ can also refer to the flesh of fruits and vegetables or to the body of a human or animal. | |||
| Malay | daging | ||
| The word "daging" in Malay may also refer to "flesh" or the "body" of a person or animal. | |||
| Thai | เนื้อ | ||
| In Thai, the word "เนื้อ" (neua) also refers to the "flesh" of fruits and vegetables, as well as the "pulp" of coconuts. | |||
| Vietnamese | thịt | ||
| The word "thịt" can also refer to the flesh of fruits or vegetables. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | karne | ||
Meat in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ət | ||
| The word "ət" is cognate with the Persian word "گوشت" (gosht) and the Turkish word "et", all of which ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ǵʷʰeh₁- (“to eat”). | |||
| Kazakh | ет | ||
| The Kazakh word "ет" (meat) is derived from the Proto-Turkic root *et-, also found in other Turkic languages. | |||
| Kyrgyz | эт | ||
| The word "эт" also means "flesh" or "body" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | гӯшт | ||
| The Tajik word "гӯшт" is ultimately derived from Sanskrit "gostha," meaning "cow shed" or "cow pen." | |||
| Turkmen | et | ||
| Uzbek | go'sht | ||
| The Uzbek word for meat, "go'sht", is derived from the Persian word "gosht", which in turn originated from the Proto-Indo-European word "*gʰʷéns-ti-s" meaning "animal", "cattle". | |||
| Uyghur | گۆش | ||
Meat in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻiʻo | ||
| The Hawaiian word “ʻiʻo” also refers to the flesh of plants or the pulp of a coconut. | |||
| Maori | kai | ||
| Kai can also mean 'food' or 'meal' in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | aano o manu | ||
| The word "aano" refers to the flesh of all sea creatures, while "manu" refers to the flesh of birds. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | karne | ||
| The Tagalog word "karne" originally meant "muscle" but evolved to refer to any type of animal flesh or meat | |||
Meat in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | aycha | ||
| Guarani | so'o | ||
Meat in International Languages
| Esperanto | viando | ||
| "Viando" (meat) also means "stuffing" or "meat filling" depending on the context | |||
| Latin | cibum | ||
| Cibus is a Latin word that originally meant "food" but came to mean specifically "meat" in the Middle Ages. | |||
Meat in Others Languages
| Greek | κρέας | ||
| The word "κρέας" can also refer to flesh, the body, or the human form. | |||
| Hmong | nqaij | ||
| "Nqaij" comes from Proto-Austroasiatic *ŋa(ə)j, from Proto-Austronesian *ŋaRI "raw" | |||
| Kurdish | goşt | ||
| The word "goşt" derives from Middle Persian "gwšt" and is ultimately related to the Avestan word "gaoša-," meaning "cow." | |||
| Turkish | et | ||
| The Turkish word "et" shares its root with the Latin word "edere," meaning "to eat," and the English word "edible." | |||
| Xhosa | inyama | ||
| Inyamayam is a colloquial variation on inyama, which refers to the flesh or meat of animals. | |||
| Yiddish | פלייש | ||
| In Yiddish, the word "פלייש" ("flesh") was historically used to signify both food and, due to its religious implications, something forbidden or impure. | |||
| Zulu | inyama | ||
| The Zulu word "inyama" can also refer to other types of food, such as vegetables or fish. | |||
| Assamese | মাংস | ||
| Aymara | aycha | ||
| Bhojpuri | मांस | ||
| Dhivehi | މަސް | ||
| Dogri | मीट | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | karne | ||
| Guarani | so'o | ||
| Ilocano | karne | ||
| Krio | bif | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گۆشت | ||
| Maithili | मांस | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯁꯥ | ||
| Mizo | sa | ||
| Oromo | foon | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ମାଂସ | ||
| Quechua | aycha | ||
| Sanskrit | मांसं | ||
| Tatar | ит | ||
| Tigrinya | ስጋ | ||
| Tsonga | nyama | ||