Afrikaans moreel | ||
Albanian morale | ||
Amharic ሥነ ምግባራዊ | ||
Arabic أخلاقي | ||
Armenian բարոյական | ||
Assamese নৈতিক | ||
Aymara mural | ||
Azerbaijani mənəvi | ||
Bambara hakili | ||
Basque morala | ||
Belarusian маральны | ||
Bengali নৈতিক | ||
Bhojpuri नैतिक | ||
Bosnian moralno | ||
Bulgarian морален | ||
Catalan moral | ||
Cebuano moralidad | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 道德 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 道德 | ||
Corsican murali | ||
Croatian moralni | ||
Czech morální | ||
Danish moralsk | ||
Dhivehi ޢިބުރަތް | ||
Dogri खलाकी | ||
Dutch moreel | ||
English moral | ||
Esperanto morala | ||
Estonian moraalne | ||
Ewe nufiame | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) moral | ||
Finnish moraalinen | ||
French moral | ||
Frisian moreel | ||
Galician moral | ||
Georgian ზნეობრივი | ||
German moral- | ||
Greek ηθικός | ||
Guarani tekoporã | ||
Gujarati નૈતિક | ||
Haitian Creole moral | ||
Hausa halin kirki | ||
Hawaiian pono | ||
Hebrew מוסר השכל | ||
Hindi नैतिक | ||
Hmong kev ncaj ncees | ||
Hungarian erkölcsi | ||
Icelandic siðferðileg | ||
Igbo omume | ||
Ilocano moral | ||
Indonesian moral | ||
Irish morálta | ||
Italian morale | ||
Japanese 道徳の | ||
Javanese moral | ||
Kannada ನೈತಿಕ | ||
Kazakh адамгершілік | ||
Khmer សីលធម៌ | ||
Kinyarwanda imico | ||
Konkani उपदेश | ||
Korean 사기 | ||
Krio aw wi liv | ||
Kurdish rûhî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ئەخلاقی | ||
Kyrgyz адеп-ахлактык | ||
Lao ສົມບັດສິນ | ||
Latin moralis | ||
Latvian morāli | ||
Lingala bizaleli malamu | ||
Lithuanian moralinis | ||
Luganda empisa | ||
Luxembourgish moralesch | ||
Macedonian морален | ||
Maithili नैतिक | ||
Malagasy fitondran-tena | ||
Malay moral | ||
Malayalam ധാർമ്മികം | ||
Maltese morali | ||
Maori morare | ||
Marathi नैतिक | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯆꯨꯝꯃꯤ ꯂꯥꯜꯂꯤ ꯍꯥꯏꯕꯒꯤ ꯋꯥꯈꯜꯂꯣꯟ | ||
Mizo dik | ||
Mongolian ёс суртахуун | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ကိုယ်ကျင့်တရား | ||
Nepali नैतिक | ||
Norwegian moralsk | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) zamakhalidwe | ||
Odia (Oriya) ନ moral ତିକ | ||
Oromo kan safuu | ||
Pashto اخلاقي | ||
Persian اخلاقی | ||
Polish morał | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) moral | ||
Punjabi ਨੈਤਿਕ | ||
Quechua moral | ||
Romanian morală | ||
Russian моральный | ||
Samoan amio lelei | ||
Sanskrit नैतिक | ||
Scots Gaelic moralta | ||
Sepedi setho | ||
Serbian морални | ||
Sesotho boitšoaro | ||
Shona yetsika | ||
Sindhi اخلاقي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සදාචාරාත්මක | ||
Slovak morálny | ||
Slovenian moralno | ||
Somali anshax | ||
Spanish moral | ||
Sundanese moral | ||
Swahili maadili | ||
Swedish moralisk | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) moral | ||
Tajik ахлоқӣ | ||
Tamil தார்மீக | ||
Tatar әхлакый | ||
Telugu నైతిక | ||
Thai ศีลธรรม | ||
Tigrinya ስነ ምግባር | ||
Tsonga nkoka | ||
Turkish ahlaki | ||
Turkmen ahlakly | ||
Twi (Akan) nteteɛ pa | ||
Ukrainian моральний | ||
Urdu اخلاقی | ||
Uyghur ئەخلاق | ||
Uzbek ahloqiy | ||
Vietnamese luân lý | ||
Welsh moesol | ||
Xhosa zokuziphatha | ||
Yiddish מאָראַליש | ||
Yoruba iwa | ||
Zulu zokuziphatha |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word 'moreel' can also refer to a type of cherry. |
| Albanian | In Albanian, "morale" also refers to "wedding gifts". |
| Amharic | The term was borrowed from the Classical Arabic term (ḫulqiyy خلقى), which itself is ultimately of Greek origin (ethikos and ethicos). |
| Arabic | The word 'ethics' comes from Arabic 'أخلاقي' (akhlaq), a concept which also means etiquette, manners, and customs |
| Azerbaijani | "Mənəvi" kelimesi Arapça "menhec" (yol, yöntem) kelimesinden türemiştir. |
| Basque | "Morala" refers to the "habit" or "custom" in many contexts in Basque. |
| Belarusian | Belarusian "маральны" (moral) also means "to be physically exhausted" or "to be very tired". |
| Bengali | In Sanskrit, 'naitika' refers to a person who upholds the tenets of ethics and conducts themselves accordingly. |
| Bosnian | Moralno has been borrowed into English unchanged and is sometimes used with its Bosnian connotations to refer specifically to 'Serbian morals and ethics' |
| Bulgarian | "Морален" can mean "ethical" in addition to "moral" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "moral" can also mean "spiritual" or "ethical," and is derived from the Latin word "moralis," meaning "relating to customs or manners." |
| Cebuano | "Moralidad" can also mean 'teaching' or 'lesson' in Cebuano. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Buddhist and Daoist teachings, the concept of 道德 has a broader meaning encompassing both ethics and metaphysical principles. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "道德" (dàodé) literally means "the way and power" in Chinese. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "murali" also means "of or relating to the mulberry tree". |
| Croatian | The word "moralni" in Croatian can also mean "ethical" or "virtuous". |
| Czech | "Morální" also means "courageous" in Czech, coming from Proto-Slavic *morъ ("death") as a euphemism. |
| Danish | The word "moralsk" is derived from the Latin word "moralis", meaning "relating to customs or character." |
| Dutch | In the expression "hoge moreel", "moreel" means "spirit" rather than "morality". |
| Esperanto | The word "morala" in Esperanto also refers to "the teaching of ethics" and "morality." |
| Estonian | In addition to 'moraalne', 'moraalsed' can describe 'ethics of a story' when plural. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "moraalinen" also has the nuance of "ethical" or "normative" in English, as it originates from the Latin "moralis" meaning "customary". |
| French | The French word "moral" originates from the Latin word "moralis" which means "relating to character or disposition" and is related to the word "mores" meaning "customs". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "moreel" has the alternate meaning of "cheerful" |
| Georgian | The word "ზნეობრივი" in Georgian is derived from "ზნე", meaning "custom" or "habit", which highlights the importance of cultural norms in Georgian conceptions of morality. |
| German | In German, "Moral-" also means "nightmare" and is related to the Mahr, a demon that can cause sleep paralysis. |
| Greek | Historically, "ηθικός" also means "relating to customs and habits" or "relating to one's disposition" in Greek. |
| Gujarati | "નૈતિક" also means "ethical" or "righteous" in Gujarati. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "moral" is derived from the French word "moral" and also means "custom" or "tradition." |
| Hausa | The word "halin kirki" can also be interpreted as "a good character" or "a good nature." |
| Hawaiian | In the Hawaiian language, “pono” also means 'righteous' and 'correct' and derives from the Proto-Polynesian word *fono, which meant 'to assemble' |
| Hebrew | In Hebrew, the term "מוסר השכל" also encompasses lessons learned from stories or experiences, similar to the English idiom "moral of the story". |
| Hindi | The word "नैतिक" is derived from the Sanskrit word "नीति", meaning "correct conduct or behavior" or "principle of action". |
| Hmong | The word "kev ncaj ncees" can also refer to a sense of shame or disgrace. |
| Hungarian | The word "erkölcsi" is derived from the Latin word "moralis", which means "belonging to custom or habit". |
| Icelandic | The word "siðferðileg" is derived from the Old Norse word "siðr", meaning "custom" or "tradition". It can also refer to ethical or religious principles, or to the ethical aspects of a situation or action. |
| Igbo | "Omume" also means "custom or usage" in Igbo. |
| Indonesian | "Moral" has a separate meaning in Indonesian, which is "capital" or "money used for specific purposes" |
| Irish | The Irish word "morálta" is also used to refer to "customs", "rules", and "law"} |
| Italian | In Italian, "morale" can also refer to the mood or spirits of an individual or group. |
| Japanese | The word "道徳の" in Japanese can also have the connotation of "ethics" or "virtue", in addition to its primary meaning of "moral". |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word "moral" can also refer to a type of traditional dance performance. |
| Kannada | The word "ನೈತಿಕ" can also mean "ethical" or "righteous" in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | "Адамгершілік" (moral) is derived from the Kazakh word "адам" (human) and the suffix "-гершілік" (-ism), meaning "the state of being human" or "humanity". |
| Khmer | The word "សីលធម៌" is derived from "សីល" (precepts) and "ធម៌" (righteousness) and can also refer to spiritual principles and ethical conduct. |
| Korean | The Korean word "사기" also refers to "fraudulent practices or deception". |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "rûhî" also has the meaning of "spiritual", derived from the Arabic word "rūḥ" (spirit). |
| Latin | The Latin word "moralis" can also refer to "customary" or "conventional". |
| Latvian | Etymology: from Polish moralny, from Latin mōrālis "pertaining to character" (akin to mōrēs, mōrem "character, conduct, usage"), or from French moral, from Latin mōrālis. |
| Lithuanian | "Moralinis" also means "ethic" and likely originated from the 16th-century Latin word "moralis". |
| Luxembourgish | The word "moralesch" is derived from the Latin word "moralis" and also means "ethical" or "virtuous". |
| Macedonian | The word "морален" is an adjective derived from the noun "моралот" which has several meanings including "morale", "ethics", and "morality" and can be used to describe both people and actions. |
| Malagasy | "Fitondran-tena" is derived from "fitondrana" meaning "backbone", hence morality as a guiding principle in life. |
| Malay | 'Moral' entered the Malay language in the 15th century via Sanskrit, where it meant 'customary' or 'traditional', while in English it means 'ethical' or 'relating to principles of right and wrong'. |
| Malayalam | The word |
| Maltese | The word "morali" in Maltese derives from the Latin "moralis" and also means "moralizing" or "preaching morality". |
| Maori | Maori "morare" also means "to live", "to survive", and "to dwell". |
| Marathi | In Sanskrit, "naitik" also refers to a specific school of philosophy focusing on ethical conduct |
| Nepali | नैतिक is derived from the Sanskrit word "नीति" (nīti), which means "conduct, rule, or principle." |
| Norwegian | "Moralsk" can also mean "amoral" or "immoral" in Norwegian, depending on the context. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Zamakhalidwe" in Nyanja is influenced by Arabic, and can occasionally refer to a person's conduct towards their peers. |
| Pashto | The word can also mean 'character, disposition', and is derived from the Arabic word 'khuluq', meaning 'nature, character' |
| Persian | It can also mean 'related to manners and behavior' or 'appropriate and decent'. |
| Polish | "Morał" can also be a funeral speech or an admonitory tale. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "moral" also means "custom" or "tradition". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਨੈਤਿਕ" also has an alternate meaning of "related to the eyes" in Punjabi, possibly influenced by the resemblance between the word's spelling and the Punjabi word for "eyes" ("ਨੈਣ"). |
| Romanian | The term "morală" in Romanian derives from the Latin word "moralis", meaning "pertaining to customs or character". |
| Russian | The Russian word 'моральный' can also mean 'physical', 'spiritual', or 'mental', depending on context. |
| Samoan | The word "amio lelei" in Samoan can also mean "good" or "righteous". |
| Scots Gaelic | Scots Gaelic "moralta" also means habits, manners, behaviour, and disposition. |
| Serbian | The word 'морални' ('moral') in Serbian is derived from the Greek word 'ηθικός' (ēthikós), meaning 'pertaining to character' or 'ethical'. |
| Shona | The word 'yetsika' is derived from the Shona word 'sika', meaning 'to correct' or 'to punish'. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "اخلاقي" can also refer to behavior that is conventional or socially accepted. |
| Slovak | The word "morálny" in Slovak can also refer to the physical or mental state of a person. |
| Slovenian | In Slovenian, "moralno" has an ancient alternate meaning of "physical," "corporeal," or "worldly," akin to its etymological root "mortal" |
| Somali | The Somali word "anshax" also refers to a person's good or correct character, as well as to their good intentions and actions. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, the word "moral" can also mean "custom" or "tradition." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "moral" also means "good deeds" and "proper behavior" |
| Swahili | Maadili can also refer to ethics, principles, or values in Swahili. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "moralisk" shares its etymological roots with the Latin "mos" (custom), connecting it to the sense of social norms and behaviors. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word 'moral' comes from the Spanish word 'moral', which in turn comes from the Latin word 'moralis', meaning 'pertaining to character or behavior'. |
| Tajik | The word "ахлоқӣ" has a broad meaning, including "ethics", "morality", and "politeness". |
| Tamil | "தார்மீக" in Tamil also refers to a type of wood used in traditional architecture. |
| Telugu | The word "నైతిక" has a dual meaning: one that follows the rules of ethics and morality, and one that is honest, fair, and trustworthy. |
| Thai | The Thai word "ศีลธรรม" (moral) is derived from the Buddhist concept of "śīla", meaning "moral code" or "precept". |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "ahlaki" can also refer to manners or behavior, highlighting the interconnectedness between moral principles and social conduct. |
| Ukrainian | The word "моральний" can also mean "ethical" or "virtuous" in Ukrainian. |
| Urdu | The word “اخلاقی” (“moral”) is the Urdu equivalent of “moral.” |
| Uzbek | The word "ahloqiy" is derived from the Arabic word "akhlaq" which means "ethics" or "morality". |
| Vietnamese | "luân lý" is borrowed from Japanese "伦理" (rinri), which comes from the Chinese "倫理" (lúnlǐ) meaning "ethics". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'moesol' (moral) derives from the Latin 'mores' (customs). |
| Xhosa | Zokuziphatha in Xhosa can also refer to a person who is self-reliant or independent. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word for 'moral', 'מאָראַליש', derives from 'marale', an archaic term meaning 'pestilence'. |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "iwa," meaning "moral," is derived from the word "iwa," which means "character." |
| Zulu | The word 'zokuziphatha' translates to 'right living' in English, although 'moral' is used as a shorthand in translation |
| English | The word 'moral' shares etymological roots with 'mores,' referring to societal customs, indicating a connection between morality and social expectations. |