Metal in Different Languages
Discover 'Metal' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Metal
Afrikaans metaal | ||
Albanian metali | ||
Amharic ብረት | ||
Arabic معدن | ||
Armenian մետաղ | ||
Assamese ধাতু | ||
Aymara mital | ||
Azerbaijani metal | ||
Bambara nɛgɛ | ||
Basque metala | ||
Belarusian металу | ||
Bengali ধাতু | ||
Bhojpuri धातु | ||
Bosnian metal | ||
Bulgarian метал | ||
Catalan metall | ||
Cebuano metal | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 金属 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 金屬 | ||
Corsican metallu | ||
Croatian metal | ||
Czech kov | ||
Danish metal | ||
Dhivehi ދަގަނޑު | ||
Dogri धातु | ||
Dutch metaal | ||
English metal | ||
Esperanto metalo | ||
Estonian metallist | ||
Ewe ga | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) metal | ||
Finnish metalli- | ||
French métal | ||
Frisian metaal | ||
Galician metal | ||
Georgian მეტალი | ||
German metall | ||
Greek μέταλλο | ||
Guarani kuatepoti | ||
Gujarati ધાતુ | ||
Haitian Creole metal | ||
Hausa karfe | ||
Hawaiian mea hao | ||
Hebrew מַתֶכֶת | ||
Hindi धातु | ||
Hmong hlau | ||
Hungarian fém | ||
Icelandic málmur | ||
Igbo ígwè | ||
Ilocano landok | ||
Indonesian logam | ||
Irish miotal | ||
Italian metallo | ||
Japanese 金属 | ||
Javanese logam | ||
Kannada ಲೋಹದ | ||
Kazakh металл | ||
Khmer ហៈ | ||
Kinyarwanda icyuma | ||
Konkani धातू | ||
Korean 금속 | ||
Krio ayɛn | ||
Kurdish hesinî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کانزا | ||
Kyrgyz металл | ||
Lao ໂລຫະ | ||
Latin metallum | ||
Latvian metāls | ||
Lingala libende | ||
Lithuanian metalas | ||
Luganda kyuuma | ||
Luxembourgish metal | ||
Macedonian метал | ||
Maithili धात्तु | ||
Malagasy metaly | ||
Malay logam | ||
Malayalam ലോഹം | ||
Maltese metall | ||
Maori whakarewa | ||
Marathi धातू | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯙꯥꯇꯨ | ||
Mizo thir | ||
Mongolian металл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သတ္တု | ||
Nepali धातु | ||
Norwegian metall | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chitsulo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଧାତୁ | ||
Oromo sibiila | ||
Pashto فلزي | ||
Persian فلز | ||
Polish metal | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) metal | ||
Punjabi ਧਾਤ | ||
Quechua anta | ||
Romanian metal | ||
Russian металл | ||
Samoan uamea | ||
Sanskrit धातु: | ||
Scots Gaelic meatailt | ||
Sepedi tšhipi | ||
Serbian метал | ||
Sesotho tšepe | ||
Shona simbi | ||
Sindhi ڌاتو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ලෝහ | ||
Slovak kov | ||
Slovenian kovine | ||
Somali bir | ||
Spanish metal | ||
Sundanese logam | ||
Swahili chuma | ||
Swedish metall | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) metal | ||
Tajik металл | ||
Tamil உலோகம் | ||
Tatar металл | ||
Telugu లోహం | ||
Thai โลหะ | ||
Tigrinya ሓጺን | ||
Tsonga nsimbhi | ||
Turkish metal | ||
Turkmen metal | ||
Twi (Akan) dadeɛ | ||
Ukrainian металеві | ||
Urdu دھات | ||
Uyghur مېتال | ||
Uzbek metall | ||
Vietnamese kim loại | ||
Welsh metel | ||
Xhosa isinyithi | ||
Yiddish מעטאַל | ||
Yoruba irin | ||
Zulu insimbi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Dutch and Afrikaans, "metaal" also refers to certain nonmetallic elements such as boron and silicon. |
| Albanian | Albanian 'metali' possibly comes from Proto-Albanian *met'al, which also meant 'stone' and 'stone tool'. |
| Amharic | The word "ብረት" can also refer to copper, especially in the context of cultural artifacts. |
| Arabic | The word "معدن" is derived from the root "دن" meaning "to be low or hidden", and it originally referred to mines or underground resources. |
| Armenian | "Մետաղ" (metal) derives from the Greek μέταλλον (metallon), meaning "mine", and originally referred to any substance extracted from the earth. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "metal" comes from the Greek word "metallon", which means "mine" or "quarry". The word "metal" now refers to a variety of materials that are found in the earth's crust and can be used for construction, manufacture, and other purposes. |
| Basque | In prehistoric Basque the word *metala meant both “mineral” and “metal”, a semantic distinction lost in present-day Basque, as metalak now only means “metal”. |
| Belarusian | The word “металу” can also refer to a piece of metal or a metal object. |
| Bengali | The word "ধাতু" can also refer to the "fundamental substance" of something |
| Bosnian | The word "metal" derives from the Ancient Greek word "metallon" which can mean anything that is extracted from the Earth, while in Bosnian the word "metal" means exclusively metals in the chemical sense. |
| Bulgarian | In Bulgarian, the word "метал" also refers to a musical genre and style. |
| Catalan | In Catalan, the word "metall" can also refer to a type of heavy door or gate. |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "metal" can also refer to the non-metal "glass". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character 金 (metal) is also used in other words like 金钱 (money) and 金刚 (diamond), reflecting the importance of metal in Chinese culture |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 金屬 in Chinese (Traditional) also means "money". |
| Corsican | The term "metallu" in Corsican can also refer to mineral water with carbonation. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word 'metal' derives from the Greek verb meaning 'mine' or 'extract' ('metallo'). |
| Czech | The Czech word "kov" originated from Latin and is related to English "coin" |
| Danish | The word can also mean 'heroic' or 'courageous' in Danish. |
| Dutch | Metaal is Dutch for metal, and also refers to the Dutch band, Metalocalypse. |
| Esperanto | In Esperanto, "metalo" can also refer to the metallic elements found in the periodic table. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "metallist" also has the connotation of a person who is a skilled worker in the metalworking industry. |
| Finnish | The word "metalli" in Finnish has multiple meanings, including "a substance with a shiny surface", "a musical genre", and "a person who works with metal". |
| French | Métal is also slang for "weapon". |
| Frisian | The word 'metaal' in Frisian also refers to the material used to make coins. |
| Galician | In Galician, "metal" (pronounced [meˈtal]) also refers to a specific type of traditional Galician folk music. |
| Georgian | The word 'metal' is derived from the Greek word 'metallon', meaning 'mine' or 'quarry', and it originally referred to any hard, shiny substance. |
| German | As a noun, "Metall" in German can also refer to a piece of scrap metal or metal waste. |
| Greek | The Greek word 'μέταλλο' (metal) initially denoted 'mine' or 'quarry' and specifically 'gold mine', and only in the Hellenistic period acquired the wider meaning of 'metal'. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word ધાતુ (dhatu) also refers to an element or an ingredient. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "metal" also means "gun". |
| Hausa | The word "karfe" also means "iron" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | "Mea hao" can also mean "good thing" or "gift" in Hawaiian. |
| Hebrew | The word "מַתֶכֶת" (metal) in Hebrew can also refer to a coin or currency. |
| Hindi | The term धातु can also refer to bodily fluids or the essence of a thing, derived from the Sanskrit root 'dhā' meaning 'to hold' or 'to support'. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "hlau" can also refer to jewelry or valuable items beyond its primary meaning of metal. |
| Hungarian | The word "fém" can also refer to a surgical instrument or a clasp, lock, or buckle. |
| Icelandic | The word 'málmur' in Icelandic is derived from the Old Norse word 'málmr', which referred to all types of metals, both ferrous and non-ferrous. |
| Igbo | The word 'ígwè' in Igbo also means 'weapon' or 'tool'. |
| Indonesian | "Logam" may refer to a musical instrument, as a gong or a bell, in Indonesian. |
| Irish | The word "miotal" can also refer to a mineral or ore found in the earth, or to the metallic parts of a tool or weapon. |
| Italian | In Italian, "metallo" derives from the Greek "métalon," originally meaning "mine or quarry," and later acquiring the sense of "metal." |
| Japanese | The word "金属" (metal) can also mean "money" in certain contexts. |
| Javanese | The Old Javanese word "logam" also refers to an instrument for making music. |
| Kannada | The word "ಲೋಹದ" is also used to refer to weapons made of metal or metallic objects in general in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | The word «металл» has no other meanings and comes from Greek μετάλλον «mine, quarry». |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ហៈ" derives from Sanskrit "loha" via Pali "loha" and Thai "lok". |
| Korean | The word "금속" originally referred to bronze in ancient Korea, and later expanded to include other metals. |
| Kurdish | The word hesini also means 'metallic' in Kurdish. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "металл" in Kyrgyz comes from the Kyrgyz word "мет" which means "tough" and the Persian suffix "ال" which means "material". |
| Lao | The word "ໂລຫະ" can also refer to coins or currency in Lao. |
| Latin | In Late Latin, "metallum" (metal) also referred to a mine, quarry, or stone pit. |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "metāls" is derived from the Greek "metálla" meaning "mine" and is also related to the verb "methein" meaning "to search for". |
| Lithuanian | The word "metalas" is also used in Lithuanian to refer to a type of alloy, such as brass or bronze. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Métal" also means "Metal" in French, and in both languages it shares the same etymology. |
| Macedonian | In Macedonian, "метал" can also refer to a "courageous person" or "a strong-willed person". |
| Malagasy | In Malagasy, the word "metaly" not only denotes metals but can also refer to the concept of prestige and honor. |
| Malay | In Malay, "logam" also refers to objects made of metal, such as jewelry, utensils, or money. |
| Malayalam | The word "ലോഹം" in Malayalam also refers to the element iron specifically, as well as an alloy of copper and zinc known as brass. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "metall" may also refer to "mining" or the "mining industry". |
| Maori | In Maori, the word "whakarewa" can also mean "an iron axe" or "a chisel". |
| Marathi | 'धातू' (metal) in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'धातु' (element), which also refers to the human body and its constituents. |
| Mongolian | Mongolian word "металл" originally referred to metallic coins, not ores or pure metals. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word သတ္တု (satta) in Myanmar (Burmese) is ultimately derived from Sanskrit and means "hard, fixed, stable, or permanent". |
| Nepali | The word "धातु" can also refer to a metallic substance used in Ayurvedic medicine, or the basic form of a word in Sanskrit grammar. |
| Norwegian | In addition to the chemical element, "metall" relates to a person's "strength" and the type of "material." |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "chitsulo" also means "currency" or "money" in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "فلزي" is derived from the Arabic word "فلز" which also means "metal". |
| Persian | The Persian word "فلز" (pronounced "felezz") is derived from the Arabic word "faḍḍah/fudda", meaning "silver". |
| Polish | The word "metal" in Polish can also refer to the musical genre, or to the hard parts of the body. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "metal" comes from the Latin word "metallum", which means "mine" or "quarry". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਧਾਤ" in Punjabi can also mean "the main constituent of a thing" or "the essence of something". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "metal" comes from the Greek word "metallon", meaning "mine" or "quarry". It can also refer to a type of music, typically heavy rock or hard rock. |
| Russian | The term has been suggested to be an early borrowing from a Slavic loanword in Persian. |
| Samoan | The word "uamea" is not a traditional Samoan word but rather a relatively recent loanword from English. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "meatailt" not only means "metal" but also "ore" or "mineral". |
| Serbian | The word "метал" in Serbian can also refer to bravery, strength, and courage. |
| Sesotho | Sesotho "tšepe" also refers to coins or other items made of metal. |
| Shona | The word "simbi" also refers to copper and the traditional currency of the Karanga people. |
| Sindhi | Sindhi ڌاتو has the alternate meaning of "element" and comes from Sanskrit धातु (dhātu) meaning "an element". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In classical usage, ලෝහ primarily referred to copper, later extended to iron and other metals, and finally to all hard, sonorous, opaque, and shiny substances |
| Slovak | The word 'kov' is also used to refer to the iron used for horseshoes. |
| Slovenian | The root of the Slovenian word "kovina" ("metal") is the root "kov-" in the Indo-European language, denoting a smith or a metalworker. |
| Somali | In Proto-Somali, "bir" originally meant "iron", but its meaning was later expanded to include all metals. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "metal" also refers to "courage" or "spirit." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'logam' can also refer to tools or weapons made of metal. |
| Swahili | The word "chuma" in Swahili can also refer to a variety of metal tools, such as knives, axes, and hoes. |
| Swedish | The word "metall" in Swedish can also refer to "alloy" or "ore". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word 'metal' in Tagalog comes from the Proto-Austronesian root *metaleq, meaning mineral or rock. |
| Tajik | The word металл may also originate from the Persian language. |
| Tamil | The word உலோகம் can also mean 'wealth' or 'gold' in Tamil. |
| Telugu | The word 'లోహం' (metal) in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word 'लोह' (iron), which ultimately comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂es- ('copper'). |
| Thai | The word "โลหะ" in Thai also refers to a type of currency, similar to "coins" in English. |
| Turkish | In Turkish, "metal" can also mean "essence" or "the hard part of a thing". |
| Ukrainian | The word "металеві" in Ukrainian can also mean "metallic" or "metal-like". |
| Urdu | The word "دھات" also means "essence", "nature", or "constituent element" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | The word "metall" is also used in Uzbek to refer to the chemical element of a certain type of metal |
| Vietnamese | 'Kim loại' (metal) in Vietnamese is a compound of 'kim' and 'loại', which translates to 'gold' and 'type' respectively. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word metel can also refer to 'ore' and 'matter' |
| Xhosa | 'Isinyithi' shares the same root with 'isinyo,' which means 'tooth', referring to the hardness of both teeth and metal. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, the word 'מעטאַל' originated from the German word 'Metall', which in turn came from the Greek word 'μέταλλον' referring to a mine or quarry. |
| Yoruba | The word |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "insimbi" can also refer to jewelry or money, reflecting the historical and cultural significance of metal in Zulu society. |
| English | In the Middle Ages, the word "metal" could also refer to an alchemy element that was not necessarily metallic, such as the element "earth." |