Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'million' carries a significant weight in our vocabulary, representing an enormous quantity that goes beyond the scope of everyday life. Its cultural importance is undeniable, as it has been used for centuries to express vastness, wealth, and scale in various contexts. From financial markets to scientific research, the concept of a million has shaped our understanding of the world.
Moreover, the translation of 'million' in different languages is a fascinating exploration of cultural nuances and linguistic diversity. For instance, in Spanish, 'million' is 'millón,' while in German, it's 'Million.' In Mandarin Chinese, the word '百万' (bǎi wàn) is used, which literally means 'hundred thousands.'
Understanding the translation of 'million' in various languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural appreciation. It can also provide valuable insights into the historical and social contexts of different linguistic communities.
Afrikaans | miljoen | ||
The word "miljoen" is derived from the Dutch word "miljoen", which in turn is derived from the French word "million", which is derived from the Italian word "millione", which is derived from the Latin word "mille", meaning "thousand". | |||
Amharic | ሚሊዮን | ||
The word 'ሚሊዮን' can also refer to a large number in general. | |||
Hausa | miliyan | ||
The word "miliyan" in Hausa is derived from the Arabic word "malyūn," which also means "million." | |||
Igbo | nde | ||
The Igbo word “nde,” meaning “million,” is derived from the root “ndu,” which signifies “life” and “existence.” | |||
Malagasy | tapitrisa | ||
"TAPITRISA" is also the name of a type of divination.} | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | miliyoni | ||
In Nyanja, "miliyoni" can also refer to a "huge amount" or a "very large number". | |||
Shona | miriyoni | ||
Miriyoni comes from the Zulu word 'ililiyoni', meaning 'a thousand thousands'. | |||
Somali | milyan | ||
The word "milyan" is derived from the Arabic word "milyun" meaning "a thousand thousand" and is commonly used in countries influenced by the Arab world, including Somalia. | |||
Sesotho | milione | ||
"Millione" is a borrowed word from English, originally meaning "thousand". | |||
Swahili | milioni | ||
The Swahili word "milioni" is likely borrowed from the Arabic "milyon," ultimately deriving from the Italian "milione." | |||
Xhosa | yezigidi | ||
The word 'yezigidi' may also refer to a type of grass or a type of bird. | |||
Yoruba | million | ||
In Yoruba, the word 'million' can also refer to a large quantity or number, or to a great number of people. | |||
Zulu | isigidi | ||
The word "isigidi" comes from the Zulu word "isigidi", meaning "a thousand." | |||
Bambara | miliyɔn | ||
Ewe | akpeakpe | ||
Kinyarwanda | miliyoni | ||
Lingala | milio | ||
Luganda | akakadde | ||
Sepedi | milione | ||
Twi (Akan) | ɔpepe | ||
Arabic | مليون | ||
The word "مليون" (million) comes from the Arabic word "ألف" (thousand), meaning "a thousand thousand". | |||
Hebrew | מִילִיוֹן | ||
The word "million" derives from the Latin "mille" (thousand). | |||
Pashto | ملیون | ||
The word مليون (pronounced miliwan) is derived from the Arabic word "مليون" (pronounced milyawn) meaning "thousand thousands" | |||
Arabic | مليون | ||
The word "مليون" (million) comes from the Arabic word "ألف" (thousand), meaning "a thousand thousand". |
Albanian | milion | ||
The Albanian word "milion" comes from the Latin word "mille", meaning "thousand". | |||
Basque | milioi | ||
The word "milioi" originates from the Basque words "mila" (thousand) and "bi" (two), meaning "two thousand, | |||
Catalan | milions | ||
In Catalan, the word "milions" has a second, humorous meaning: "a lot, a huge amount". | |||
Croatian | milijuna | ||
The word "milijuna" in Croatian derives from the Latin "mille" and originally meant "1,000". | |||
Danish | million | ||
In Danish, "million" can also mean "a huge amount" or "a great deal of something". | |||
Dutch | miljoen | ||
The word "miljoen" originally meant "magnificent" or "thousand" in Dutch. | |||
English | million | ||
The word "million" derives from the Italian word "milione", meaning "thousand thousand". | |||
French | million | ||
In French, "million" can also mean "a large number" or "a great deal". | |||
Frisian | miljoen | ||
The word “miljoen” in Frisian is thought to derive from the French word for “millstone” (“meule”), as it was originally used to describe the large number of millstones required to grind a large quantity of grain. | |||
Galician | millóns | ||
In Galician, "millóns" can also refer to a large amount of money, a large number of people, or a large amount of something. | |||
German | million | ||
In German, "Million" originates from the Italian "milione" meaning "large thousand". | |||
Icelandic | milljón | ||
The word milljón ultimately derives from the Italian "milione", meaning "thousand thousands". | |||
Irish | milliún | ||
The Irish word "milliún" derives from the Latin word "mille" (thousand), but has evolved to mean a thousand times a thousand (i.e., a million). | |||
Italian | milioni | ||
The term "milioni" also refers to the Roman Catholic custom of lighting "a million" candles when a person is on their deathbed. | |||
Luxembourgish | milliounen | ||
The word "Milliounen" in Luxembourgish is derived from the French word "million" and is used in the same sense, but it can also be used informally to refer to a large number or amount. | |||
Maltese | miljun | ||
"Miljun" in Maltese comes from the Italian "milione", which itself comes from the Late Latin "milliōn", meaning "thousand thousands". The word "miljun" can also be used figuratively in Maltese to mean a large amount of something or a vast sum of money. | |||
Norwegian | million | ||
Ordet million brukes også metaforisk for å beskrive noe som er veldig stort. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | milhão | ||
In Portuguese, the word "milhão" derives from the Spanish "millón" and the Old Castilian "millonada", ultimately stemming from the Latin "mille" meaning "thousand". | |||
Scots Gaelic | millean | ||
The word "millean" in Scots Gaelic comes from the Latin word "mille", meaning "thousand". | |||
Spanish | millón | ||
The word "millón" comes from the Latin word "mille", meaning "thousand", and the suffix "-ón", which denotes a large quantity. | |||
Swedish | miljon | ||
In Swedish, "miljon" originates from the Latin word "mille" meaning thousand and the French suffix "-ion" indicating a large quantity. | |||
Welsh | miliwn | ||
The word "miliwn" in Welsh comes from the Latin "mille" meaning "thousand" and the suffix "-wn" meaning "augmentative," making "miliwn" literally mean "big thousand." |
Belarusian | мільёнаў | ||
"Міл'ёнаў" is a plural form of "мі'льён", the Belarusian word for "million", and is used to refer to quantities of one million or more. | |||
Bosnian | milion | ||
In Bosnian, "milion" can also refer to a flower from the Asteraceae family known as "sweet sultan". | |||
Bulgarian | милиона | ||
The etymology of the Bulgarian word "милиона" is from the Greek word "μύριοι" (myrioi) meaning "ten thousand". | |||
Czech | milión | ||
In Czech, "milión" not only means "a million" but also figuratively refers to an "immense" quantity of anything. | |||
Estonian | miljonit | ||
"Miljonit" is a loanword from French "million" (ultimately from Latin "mille", meaning "thousand"). It also refers to a rich person or "big shot" in Estonian slang. | |||
Finnish | miljoonaa | ||
The word 'miljoonaa' in Finnish literally translates to 'a thousand thousand'. | |||
Hungarian | millió | ||
The word "millió" in Hungarian comes from the Italian "milione" and originally meant "a large number" or "a great number". | |||
Latvian | miljons | ||
The word "miljons" in Latvian derives from the German "Million" via Polish "milion" and means "a very large number". | |||
Lithuanian | mln | ||
Although "mln" means "million" in Lithuanian, "mlrd" is used to denote "billion" instead of the longer "milijardas". | |||
Macedonian | милиони | ||
The Macedonian word "милиони" derives from the Latin word "mille," meaning "a thousand". Plural usage is possible as well. | |||
Polish | milion | ||
Polish word "milion" also means "a lot" or "a huge amount of something". | |||
Romanian | milion | ||
In Romanian, the word "milion" also means "a large number" or "an enormous amount". | |||
Russian | миллион | ||
The word "миллион" derives from the Italian word "milione" meaning "thousand" and was first used in the 13th century to describe a large sum of money. | |||
Serbian | милион | ||
The word "милион" in Serbian is derived from the Italian "milione", which originally meant "a thousand thousand". | |||
Slovak | milión | ||
The word "milión" also means "many" in Slovak. | |||
Slovenian | milijonov | ||
The word 'milijonov' in Slovenian comes from the Italian word 'milione' which comes from the Latin 'mille' meaning 'thousand'. | |||
Ukrainian | мільйонів | ||
The word "мільйонів" can also refer to a large number of something, typically in the hundreds of thousands or millions. |
Bengali | মিলিয়ন | ||
The word 'মিলিয়ন' (million) comes from the Latin word 'mille', which means 'thousand' | |||
Gujarati | મિલિયન | ||
The word "મિલિયન" (million) comes from the Latin word "mille" meaning "thousand," and the suffix "-illion" meaning "large number." | |||
Hindi | दस लाख | ||
दस लाख (das lākh) means 'ten lacs', derived from the Sanskrit words 'दश' (ten) and 'लाख' (lac). | |||
Kannada | ದಶಲಕ್ಷ | ||
The word "ದಶಲಕ್ಷ" is derived from Sanskrit and literally means "ten lakhs" or "ten hundred thousand" | |||
Malayalam | ദശലക്ഷം | ||
The Malayalam word "ദശലക്ഷം" is derived from Sanskrit, where "daśa" means "ten" and "lakṣa" means "lakh (one hundred thousand)", so "daṣalakṣa" literally means "ten lakhs". | |||
Marathi | दशलक्ष | ||
दशलक्ष (dasalakṣa), meaning "tenth lakh," is a Sanskrit word that refers to one million in the Indian numbering system. | |||
Nepali | मिलियन | ||
"मिलियन" शब्द संस्कृत शब्द "लक्ष" से व्युत्पन्न है, जिसका अर्थ है "एक लाख"। | |||
Punjabi | ਮਿਲੀਅਨ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මිලියන | ||
The word මිලියන is derived from the Greek "chilioi," meaning thousand and "myrias," meaning ten thousand. | |||
Tamil | மில்லியன் | ||
Telugu | మిలియన్ | ||
Urdu | دس لاکھ | ||
"دس لاکھ" is derived from Hindi "दस लाख" (ten lakh) and ultimately from Sanskrit "लक्ष" (lakṣa). "لکھ" (lakh) also means "a hundred thousand" alone, which is the origin of both English "lac" (used for a resin) and "latch" through Hindi "लाख". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 百万 | ||
百万 means "ten thousand ten thousand" in Chinese, implying a large and indefinite number. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 百萬 | ||
百萬 is composed of the character 百 (hundred) and 萬 (ten thousand), suggesting its value as ten thousand hundreds. | |||
Japanese | 百万 | ||
百万 (hyakuman) means 'a hundred thousand,' or a hundred times larger than ten thousand (万, man). | |||
Korean | 백만 | ||
The word "백만" (baekman) literally means "100 myriad" in Korean, where "myriad" (만, man) means 10,000. | |||
Mongolian | сая | ||
The Mongolian word "сая" originates from the Persian word "sed" meaning "hundred thousand" and later evolved to mean "million" in Mongolian. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | သန်း | ||
The Burmese word for "million", "သန်း", derives from the Pali word "sahassa", meaning "thousand". |
Indonesian | juta | ||
In addition to meaning "million," "juta" can also refer to a type of small coin used in traditional Indonesian games. | |||
Javanese | yuta | ||
The Javanese word 'yuta' has other meanings, including 'one thousand' and 'a small amount'. | |||
Khmer | លាន | ||
The Khmer word "លាន" also refers to a large, grassy plain or field. | |||
Lao | ລ້ານ | ||
The Lao word ລ້ານ, besides "million", also denotes 400,000, or ten thousand times ten thousand. | |||
Malay | juta | ||
The Malay word "juta" derives from the Sanskrit "yuta" meaning a large sum of money or gems. | |||
Thai | ล้าน | ||
ล้าน (million) derives from the Sanskrit word Lakṣa, which translates literally to "mark", but is usually interpreted as 100,000. | |||
Vietnamese | triệu | ||
"Triệu is originally derived from the Chinese words 'triệu bách vạn'(兆 百 萬) (lit. 'ten hundred ten thousand'), which refers to the number 100,000,000." | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | milyon | ||
Azerbaijani | milyon | ||
"Milyon" comes from the Italian word "milione", which itself comes from the Latin word "mille" (thousand) | |||
Kazakh | миллион | ||
"Миллион" in Kazakh originates from the Arabic word "malyun", meaning "vast amount" or "immense sum". | |||
Kyrgyz | миллион | ||
The word миллион (million) is derived from the Italian word milione (thousand). | |||
Tajik | миллион | ||
The Tajik word "миллион" is derived from the French word "million", which in turn comes from the Italian word "milione" meaning "thousand thousand". | |||
Turkmen | million | ||
Uzbek | million | ||
In Uzbek, | |||
Uyghur | مىليون | ||
Hawaiian | miliona | ||
Hawaiian word "miliona" is derived from the English word "million" and also means "rich" or "wealthy". | |||
Maori | miriona | ||
Maori word "miriona" derives from the Latin "millio" meaning "thousand". | |||
Samoan | miliona | ||
The Samoan word 'miliona' originates from the Spanish word 'millón', which itself comes from the Latin 'mille', meaning 'thousand'. It can also refer to a large group of people or things. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | milyon | ||
The word "milyon" in Tagalog comes from the Spanish word "millón", ultimately derived from the Latin word "mīlle" meaning "a thousand". |
Aymara | waranqa waranqa | ||
Guarani | sua | ||
Esperanto | milionoj | ||
The word milionoj is derived from the Esperanto word "milo" (thousand) and the affix "-j" which indicates plurality, and can also be seen as a reference to the Italian "milione" | |||
Latin | decies centena | ||
The Latin term 'decies centena' literally means 'ten times a hundred thousand', hence 'a million'. |
Greek | εκατομμύριο | ||
The word 'εκατομμύριο' is derived from the ancient Greek word 'εκατον' (hekaton), meaning 'hundred', and 'μύριοι' (myrioi), meaning 'ten thousand'. | |||
Hmong | lab | ||
The Hmong word "lab" is etymologically related to "leaf" and can also mean "layer" or "sheet." | |||
Kurdish | mêlûn | ||
The Kurdish word "mêlûn" is derived from the Persian word "melian", which itself is derived from the Greek word "murias", meaning "ten thousand". | |||
Turkish | milyon | ||
The word 'milyon' comes from the Italian word 'milione', meaning 'large number'. | |||
Xhosa | yezigidi | ||
The word 'yezigidi' may also refer to a type of grass or a type of bird. | |||
Yiddish | מיליאָן | ||
The Yiddish word מיליאָן is derived from the French word "million", which itself is derived from the Italian word "milione", meaning "one thousand". | |||
Zulu | isigidi | ||
The word "isigidi" comes from the Zulu word "isigidi", meaning "a thousand." | |||
Assamese | নিযুত | ||
Aymara | waranqa waranqa | ||
Bhojpuri | दस लाख | ||
Dhivehi | މިލިއަން | ||
Dogri | मिलियन | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | milyon | ||
Guarani | sua | ||
Ilocano | milyon | ||
Krio | milyɔn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | ملیۆن | ||
Maithili | दस लाख | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯥꯈ ꯇꯔꯥ | ||
Mizo | maktaduai | ||
Oromo | miliyoona | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଲକ୍ଷ | ||
Quechua | hunu | ||
Sanskrit | प्रयुतहर्ट्स् | ||
Tatar | миллион | ||
Tigrinya | ሚልዮን | ||
Tsonga | miliyoni | ||