Minority in Different Languages
Discover 'Minority' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Minority
Afrikaans minderheid | ||
Albanian pakica | ||
Amharic አናሳዎች | ||
Arabic أقلية | ||
Armenian փոքրամասնություն | ||
Assamese সংখ্যালঘু | ||
Aymara minoría ukankirinaka | ||
Azerbaijani azlıq | ||
Bambara mɔgɔ fitininw | ||
Basque gutxiengoa | ||
Belarusian меншасць | ||
Bengali নাবালকত্ব | ||
Bhojpuri अल्पसंख्यक के बा | ||
Bosnian manjina | ||
Bulgarian малцинство | ||
Catalan minoria | ||
Cebuano minoriya | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 少数民族 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 少數民族 | ||
Corsican minurità | ||
Croatian manjina | ||
Czech menšina | ||
Danish mindretal | ||
Dhivehi މައިނޯރިޓީ އެވެ | ||
Dogri अल्पसंख्यक | ||
Dutch minderheid | ||
English minority | ||
Esperanto malplimulto | ||
Estonian vähemus | ||
Ewe ame ʋɛ aɖewo ko | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) minorya | ||
Finnish vähemmistö | ||
French minorité | ||
Frisian minderheid | ||
Galician minoritario | ||
Georgian უმცირესობა | ||
German minderheit | ||
Greek μειονότητα | ||
Guarani minoría rehegua | ||
Gujarati લઘુમતી | ||
Haitian Creole minorite | ||
Hausa tsiraru | ||
Hawaiian hapa liʻiliʻi | ||
Hebrew מיעוט | ||
Hindi अल्पसंख्यक | ||
Hmong haiv neeg tsawg | ||
Hungarian kisebbség | ||
Icelandic minnihluta | ||
Igbo ndi pere mpe | ||
Ilocano minoria | ||
Indonesian minoritas | ||
Irish mionlach | ||
Italian minoranza | ||
Japanese 少数 | ||
Javanese minoritas | ||
Kannada ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯಾತರು | ||
Kazakh азшылық | ||
Khmer ជនជាតិភាគតិច | ||
Kinyarwanda bake | ||
Konkani अल्पसंख्यांक | ||
Korean 소수 | ||
Krio di wan dɛn we nɔ bɔku | ||
Kurdish kêmî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کەمینە | ||
Kyrgyz азчылык | ||
Lao ຊົນເຜົ່າສ່ວນນ້ອຍ | ||
Latin pars | ||
Latvian minoritāte | ||
Lingala bato moke | ||
Lithuanian mažuma | ||
Luganda abatono | ||
Luxembourgish minoritéit | ||
Macedonian малцинство | ||
Maithili अल्पसंख्यक | ||
Malagasy vitsy an'isa | ||
Malay minoriti | ||
Malayalam ന്യൂനപക്ഷം | ||
Maltese minoranza | ||
Maori tokoiti | ||
Marathi अल्पसंख्याक | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯥꯏꯅꯣꯔꯤꯇꯤ ꯑꯣꯏꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo minority te an ni | ||
Mongolian цөөнх | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) လူနည်းစု | ||
Nepali अल्पसंख्यक | ||
Norwegian minoritet | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ochepa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସଂଖ୍ୟାଲଘୁ | ||
Oromo xiqqaadha | ||
Pashto اقلیت | ||
Persian اقلیت | ||
Polish mniejszość | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) minoria | ||
Punjabi ਘੱਟ ਗਿਣਤੀ | ||
Quechua aslla runakuna | ||
Romanian minoritate | ||
Russian меньшинство | ||
Samoan toʻaitiiti | ||
Sanskrit अल्पसंख्याकाः | ||
Scots Gaelic beag-chuid | ||
Sepedi bonnyane | ||
Serbian мањина | ||
Sesotho fokolang | ||
Shona vashoma | ||
Sindhi اقليت | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සුළුතරය | ||
Slovak menšina | ||
Slovenian manjšina | ||
Somali tirada yar | ||
Spanish minoría | ||
Sundanese minoritas | ||
Swahili wachache | ||
Swedish minoritet | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) minorya | ||
Tajik ақаллият | ||
Tamil சிறுபான்மை | ||
Tatar азчылык | ||
Telugu మైనారిటీ | ||
Thai ชนกลุ่มน้อย | ||
Tigrinya ውሑዳት ዝኾኑ | ||
Tsonga vanhu vatsongo | ||
Turkish azınlık | ||
Turkmen azlyk | ||
Twi (Akan) nnipa kakraa bi | ||
Ukrainian меншість | ||
Urdu اقلیت | ||
Uyghur ئاز سانلىق مىللەت | ||
Uzbek ozchilik | ||
Vietnamese thiểu số | ||
Welsh lleiafrif | ||
Xhosa bambalwa | ||
Yiddish מינאָריטעט | ||
Yoruba to nkan | ||
Zulu idlanzana |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "minderheid" in Afrikaans does not hold the connotation of "legal disability" as it does in English. |
| Albanian | The word 'pakica' derives from Proto-Romance *pak-, meaning 'to guard' |
| Amharic | አናሳዎች in Amharic can also refer to marginalized or disadvantaged individuals or groups. |
| Arabic | The word "أقلية" can also mean "a few". |
| Azerbaijani | "Azlıq" in Azerbaijani is etymologically related to the word "az" meaning "few" and can also refer to numerical inferiority or scarcity. |
| Basque | "Gutxiengoa" is derived from "gutxi" (few) and "engo" (situation), so it literally means "situation of fewness". |
| Belarusian | "Меншасць" - походить від слова "меншы" (menshy, «маленький»), також може означати «недостатньо» або "неповнота". |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "নাবালকত্ব" also refers to the Hindu concept of a "fifth caste" of people outside the traditional four-caste system. |
| Bosnian | The word 'manjina' can also refer to a person belonging to a minority group. |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "малцинство" (minority) is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "малъ" (small) and the suffix "-ство" (state, condition). |
| Catalan | The word "minoria" in Catalan can also mean a "minority of age" (a minor). |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "minoriya" also means the opposite of majority, that is "fewer". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Chinese, "少数民族" (minority) literally means "small number (少数) ethnic groups (民族)" and is used to refer to non-Han ethnic groups. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Chinese, "少數民族" can also refer to indigenous peoples or ethnic groups with unique cultures and traditions. |
| Corsican | The term "minurità" in Corsican has its roots in the Latin word "minoris", meaning "smaller". It is also used to refer to the legal status of being a minor, or under the age of 18. |
| Croatian | The word “manjina” in Croatian is derived from the Turkish word “münakkan”, which means “little, small”. However, “manjina” and “mali” (“small” in Croatian) are not related. |
| Czech | In the Czech language, "menšina" can also refer to "sexual minorities" (as opposed to heterosexuals), a specific group within the broader category of minorities. |
| Danish | The word "mindretal" is derived from the Latin word "minoritas" and can also refer to a minority in other contexts. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "minderheid" literally means "lesser quantity" and can also refer to a "disadvantage". |
| Esperanto | Esperanto originally had another word for "minority", malplimulto, which is now obsolete in favor of malplimulto. |
| Estonian | "Vähemus" is derived from the word "vähe", meaning "small" or "little." |
| Finnish | The word "vähemmistö" can also mean "a group of people who disagree with the majority on a specific issue". |
| French | In French, "minorité" also means "underage" or "non-adulthood". |
| Frisian | In Frisian, the word "minderheid" also has the meaning of "inferiority". |
| Galician | The word "minoritario" in Galician also means "lesser" or "inferior". |
| German | The German word "Minderheit" derives from the Middle High German word "minderheite," which means "inferiority" or "lesser part" |
| Greek | The term 'μειονότητα' can also refer to a 'disability' or 'handicap' in Greek. |
| Gujarati | The word "લઘુમતી" (minority) is derived from the Sanskrit word "laghu," meaning "small" or "insignificant," and the Persian word "mati," meaning "people" or "group." |
| Haitian Creole | The word "minorite" in Haitian Creole can also refer to a member of the Franciscan order of friars. |
| Hausa | The word 'tsiraru' in Hausa also has alternate meanings such as "small in number" and "few in quantity". |
| Hawaiian | It literally means "the small side" with "small" being an indicator of the less numerous side. |
| Hebrew | The word מיעוט (minority) also means "lack" or "insufficiency" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | The term 'अल्पसंख्यक' has roots in Sanskrit, derived from the words 'alpa' (little, less) and 'samkhya' (number). |
| Hmong | "Haiv neeg tsawg" in Hmong language means "minority group" or "small people". |
| Hungarian | Kisebbség is an older and a more formal word for minority in Hungarian, with the word szűkebb kör used more nowadays. |
| Icelandic | The word "minnihluti" originally referred to a subset or group within a larger population, but has since taken on the specific meaning of "minority group". |
| Igbo | "Ndi pere mpe" can also mean "those in the other direction," implying social or political distance. |
| Indonesian | In Indonesian, "minoritas" also means "lacking" or "insufficient". |
| Irish | Mionlach can also mean 'fragment' or 'small division' in Irish, reflecting its derivation from the word 'mion', meaning 'small' or 'petty'. |
| Italian | The word "minoranza" can also refer to a musical term indicating the lower part of a harmony. |
| Japanese | 少数 can also mean "small number" or "few." |
| Javanese | The Old Javanese minoritas means 'chief' or 'boss'. |
| Kannada | ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯಾತರು (alpasaṅkhyātaru), which translates to "minority," is also used to refer to underprivileged or less represented groups. |
| Kazakh | "Азшылық" in Kazakh specifically refers to ethnic minorities, as opposed to other types of social minorities. |
| Korean | The word 소수 ('minority') in Korean can also refer to prime numbers. |
| Kurdish | The word 'kêmî' in Kurdish can also refer to the 'smaller part' of something. |
| Kyrgyz | The root "аз (az)" means "few or little". |
| Lao | Its literal translation is "small ethnic group". |
| Latin | The Latin word "pars" can also refer to a part, portion, or share of something. |
| Latvian | The word "minoritāte" in Latvian also means "smallness". |
| Lithuanian | The word "mažuma" is derived from the Lithuanian word "mažas", meaning "small". |
| Macedonian | "Малцинство" (minority) comes from the words "мал" (small) and "цин" (kind). |
| Malay | In Malay, "minoriti" can also refer to a group of people who are politically or socially marginalized. |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, "ന്യൂനപക്ഷം" can also refer to a small section or group within a larger entity. |
| Maltese | "Minoranza" in Maltese derives from the Italian "minoranza" and can also mean "disability" |
| Maori | 'Tokoitī' derives from the Maori verb 'tokoi,' meaning to press down or hold back. |
| Marathi | The word "अल्पसंख्याक" (minority) in Marathi derives from the Sanskrit words "अल्प" (small) and "संख्या" (number) and can also mean "handful" or "a small group of people". |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word 'цөөнх' ('minority') can also refer to something that is 'small' or 'few' in quantity. |
| Nepali | The root of the word "अल्पसंख्यक" is "अल्प" (small) and "संख्या" (number), and it can also refer to a small or insignificant part of something. |
| Norwegian | "Minoritet" is also the Norwegian term for a minor scale in music. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Ochepa" can also mean "the few" or "the weak". |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "اقلیت" can also mean "a small group of people who are different from the majority in some way, such as in their religion, ethnicity, or political views." |
| Persian | اقلیت in Persian derives from اقلی (aqall) meaning "few" and is cognate with "قل" (qall) meaning "small". |
| Polish | In a broader sense, it means "lesser," or "lower." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "minoria" can also mean "minority shareholders" particularly in the context of company law. |
| Romanian | "Minoritate" derives from Latin "minoritas" (minority), "minor" (smaller). |
| Russian | The word "меньшинство" can also mean "inferiority" or "shortcoming" in Russian. |
| Samoan | In Samoan, "toʻaitiiti" may also refer to a person of lesser rank or a group with less power and influence. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word "beag-chuid" is derived from "beag" (meaning little, small) and "chuid" (meaning part), thus literally meaning "small part". |
| Serbian | The word "мањина" (minority) in Serbian also has the alternate meaning of "small change" or "coins". |
| Sesotho | An alternative meaning of 'fokolang' is a person who is marginalized or disadvantaged. |
| Shona | The word 'vashoma' has roots in the Bantu language family, meaning 'to be small or insignificant'. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "اقليت" can also refer to a "small group" or a "community". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සුළුතරය originally meant a small fraction of a unit of time, like a small moment. |
| Slovak | The word 'menšina' also means 'coins' or 'change' in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | Manjšina derives from the word 'manj' meaning 'less', and its plural 'manjšine' means 'minorities'. In historical contexts, it can also refer to an individual or group that is 'smaller' or 'inferior'. |
| Somali | The word 'tirada yar' can also mean 'the number of' or 'the quantity of' in Somali. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "minoría" comes from the Latin "minor" and means a less significant group |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "minoritas" comes from the Sanskrit word "mrda" meaning "to tread" or "to crush" and the suffix "-tas" meaning "state" or "condition". |
| Swahili | The word “wachache” originates from the Swahili word “wachache,” which means “few” or “small in number.” |
| Swedish | Minority (minoriteten) in Swedish can refer both to groups that make up less than half or less than any other part of the population. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "minorya" in Filipino also means "small group". |
| Tajik | The word "ақаллият" originates from the Arabic word "أقلية" (aqalliyat), which also means "minority" but additionally denotes numerical smallness or insignificance. |
| Tamil | சிறுபான்மை is also used to refer to the 'junior branches' of a joint family. |
| Telugu | The word 'minority' originated from the Latin word 'minor', meaning 'smaller'. |
| Thai | The term "ชนกลุ่มน้อย" (minority) in Thai can also refer to ethnic groups in the country, particularly those with a distinct language, culture, or way of life. |
| Turkish | The word "azınlık" also means "deficit" or "insufficiency" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "меншість" derives from the Slavic root "menšъ", meaning "less than" or "smaller". |
| Urdu | اقلیت (aqalliyat) is an Urdu word borrowed from Arabic that originally meant 'smallness or paucity,' 'scarcity,' or 'need.' |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "ozchilik" can also refer to the concept of "ethnicity" or "nationality." |
| Vietnamese | Thiểu số can also mean "few" or "small in number". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word lleiafrif comes from an earlier "lleiaf", possibly from Proto-Brittonic and ultimately Indo-European and with an original meaning "something left or remainder". |
| Xhosa | "Bambalwa" in Xhosa can also refer to a specific group of people or a clan. |
| Yiddish | Yiddish 'minority' comes from Latin 'minor' via French 'minorité', and means 'the state of being less important'. |
| Yoruba | 'To nkan' also means 'the other'} |
| Zulu | Idlanzana is a term used to describe a group of people who share a particular trait or characteristic, and it can also refer to a person who belongs to that group. |
| English | The word "minority" has a linguistic origin meaning "lesser in number." |