Morning in Different Languages
Discover 'Morning' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'morning' holds a special significance in our daily lives as it marks the beginning of a new day. It is a time of awakening, both for the world and for ourselves, as we rise to greet the sun and begin our daily routines. The morning holds a unique cultural importance across the globe, often associated with quiet reflection, warm breakfasts, and the beauty of a new day.
For those with a love of language and culture, understanding the translation of 'morning' in different languages can offer a window into the daily lives and perspectives of people around the world. For example, the French say 'bon matin', while the Spanish greet the morning with 'buenos días'. In Germany, the morning is 'guten Morgen', and in Japan, it is 'ohayou gozaimasu'.
Not only is learning these translations a fun and interesting way to explore new cultures, but it can also be practical for travelers looking to navigate new places and connect with local people. So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of a new day, exploring the translations of 'morning' in different languages is a great place to start.
Morning
Morning in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | oggend | ||
| The word "oggend" likely comes from the Old Dutch "ochtent" and the Old High German "morgen"} | |||
| Amharic | ጠዋት | ||
| "ጠዋት" can also mean the eastern part of a country or area, and is a common component of various place names referring to eastern locations. | |||
| Hausa | asuba | ||
| The word "asuba" in Hausa is also used to refer to the period between dawn and sunrise. | |||
| Igbo | ututu | ||
| The Igbo word 'ututu' also refers to a plant with edible tubers, known as 'cocoyam'. | |||
| Malagasy | maraina | ||
| The word "mara" in Malagasy means "light" and "aina" means "world" or "land". Therefore, "maraina" can also mean "the time when the world is bright". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | m'mawa | ||
| "M'mawa" comes from Proto-Bantu *ma-kiwa, from the root *-k(w)i- "be light (in colour)". | |||
| Shona | mangwanani | ||
| The word 'mangwanani' is also used to refer to the period of time just before sunrise. | |||
| Somali | subax | ||
| The word "subax" in Somali can also refer to the early hours of the day or a period of time shortly after dawn. | |||
| Sesotho | hoseng | ||
| In Sesotho, the word "hoseng" can also refer to the "east" or the "direction the sun rises from". | |||
| Swahili | asubuhi | ||
| The word "asubuhi" is derived from the Arabic word "subh", which means "dawn". | |||
| Xhosa | ntseni | ||
| The word "ntseni" also means "dawn" or "sunrise" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | owurọ | ||
| The word "owurọ" in Yoruba can also mean "the beginning of something" or "the first part of something". | |||
| Zulu | ekuseni | ||
| The Zulu word 'ekuseni', meaning 'morning', can also refer to the 'east' or 'the direction from which the sun rises'. | |||
| Bambara | sɔgɔma | ||
| Ewe | ŋdi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | mu gitondo | ||
| Lingala | ntongo | ||
| Luganda | ku makya | ||
| Sepedi | mesong | ||
| Twi (Akan) | anɔpa | ||
Morning in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | صباح | ||
| The word "صباح" (morning) in Arabic also means "beginning" or "commencement". | |||
| Hebrew | בוקר | ||
| "בוקר" can also denote "dawn" or "a specific time in the morning". | |||
| Pashto | سهار | ||
| The Pashto word "سهار" also means "the time of dawn" or "the first light of day". | |||
| Arabic | صباح | ||
| The word "صباح" (morning) in Arabic also means "beginning" or "commencement". | |||
Morning in Western European Languages
| Albanian | në mëngjes | ||
| The word "në mëngjes" in Albanian is a compound word meaning "in the early morning" and is related to the word "mëngë", which means "dawn". | |||
| Basque | goizean | ||
| "Goizean" is derived from the Basque word "goiz" which means "early" or "dawn" and the suffix "-an" which indicates a period of time. | |||
| Catalan | matí | ||
| The etymology of the word "matí" derives from the Latin "matutinus," meaning "belonging to the morning." | |||
| Croatian | jutro | ||
| The word "jutro" is derived from the Old Slavic word "jutri, | |||
| Danish | morgen | ||
| The term 'morgen' in Danish was historically also used to denote a unit of land roughly corresponding to 2.5 acres, and was derived from the amount of land that could be ploughed in a morning. | |||
| Dutch | ochtend- | ||
| An 'ochtend' is also a type of Dutch poem | |||
| English | morning | ||
| The word "morning" derives from the Old English word "morgen", meaning "the first part of the day, dawn". | |||
| French | matin | ||
| The word "Matin" is derived from the Latin "matutinus" (early morning) and is also used to refer to the first prayer of the day in the Catholic Church. | |||
| Frisian | moarntiid | ||
| The word "moarntiid" in Frisian is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*mergentidą", which also means "morning tide". | |||
| Galician | mañá | ||
| Galician "mañá" derives from the Latin "mane" (morning) and also means "tomorrow". | |||
| German | morgen | ||
| The word 'Morgen' in German derives from the Old High German word 'morgan', meaning 'dawn' or 'twilight'. | |||
| Icelandic | morgunn | ||
| The Icelandic word "morgunn" derives from the Proto-Germanic root "mergonam", meaning "dark night" or "twilight." | |||
| Irish | maidin | ||
| The Irish word maidin can also mean the morning of your life (youth) | |||
| Italian | mattina | ||
| The Italian word "mattina" comes from the Latin word "matutina", meaning "early in the morning". | |||
| Luxembourgish | moien | ||
| "Moien" in Luxembourgish can also mean "hello" or "goodbye," similar to "bonjour" in French. | |||
| Maltese | filgħodu | ||
| "Filgħodu" originates from the Arabic "al-fajr" (dawn) and also retains its original meaning in Maltese, though usually used exclusively for daybreak. | |||
| Norwegian | morgen | ||
| In Norwegian, "morgen" can also refer to an old land measurement unit equivalent to about 0.25 acres. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | manhã | ||
| The word "manhã" comes from the Latin word "mane", meaning "early morning" or "dawn" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | madainn | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning as "morning," the Gaelic term "madainn" can also refer to "dawn," "the break of day," or figuratively, "a new beginning." | |||
| Spanish | mañana | ||
| Mañana can also refer to the next day as in the expression "hasta mañana," which means "see you tomorrow." | |||
| Swedish | morgon- | ||
| The word 'morgon' in Swedish can also mean 'east', as it is the direction from which the sun rises. | |||
| Welsh | bore | ||
| The Welsh word 'bore' can also refer to a tidal estuary or the morning tide, reflecting its connection to the rising of the sun. | |||
Morning in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | раніцай | ||
| 'раніцай' shares the same root with 'рано' (early) and 'ўраніць' (awake), as well as with German 'morgen' and English 'morrow'. | |||
| Bosnian | jutro | ||
| Bosnian word 'jutro' comes from the Proto-Slavic word 'jьtrь', which also means 'young, fresh'. | |||
| Bulgarian | сутрин | ||
| "Сутрин" in modern Bulgarian comes from Old Slavonic and is related to the word "sutra," meaning "thread" and "beginning." | |||
| Czech | ráno | ||
| The word “ráno” is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *jьrano, meaning either the morning, the dawn, or the early hours. | |||
| Estonian | hommikul | ||
| "Hommikul" is the Estonian word for "morning," but it also has the alternate meaning of "dawn". | |||
| Finnish | aamu | ||
| The word "aamu" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*aam" meaning "time before dawn". | |||
| Hungarian | reggel | ||
| The word "reggel" derives from the Proto-Uralic root "*rek-/*rak-", meaning "night" or "darkness". | |||
| Latvian | rīts | ||
| The word "rīts" is related to the Sanskrit word "ratri," meaning "night," and also the Slavic word "utro," meaning "morning." | |||
| Lithuanian | ryto | ||
| "Ryto" derives from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root word *h₂ewsṓs, meaning "dawn". | |||
| Macedonian | наутро | ||
| The word "наутро" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "наутрѣ", meaning "the next day". | |||
| Polish | ranek | ||
| The Polish word "ranek" is also used to refer to the early hours of the day, typically before noon. | |||
| Romanian | dimineaţă | ||
| The Romanian word "dimineață" comes from the Latin "diem in mane", meaning "day in the morning". | |||
| Russian | утро | ||
| "Утро" (morning) in Russian is ultimately derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ews- as the Latin "aurora" (dawn) | |||
| Serbian | јутро | ||
| The word 'јутро' (morning) in Serbian also means 'south' | |||
| Slovak | ráno | ||
| The Slovak word "ráno" is etymologically related to the English "dawn", with both originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ews-, meaning "to shine". | |||
| Slovenian | zjutraj | ||
| The word 'zjutraj' is thought to be derived from 'za jutro', which means 'after daybreak' in Old Church Slavonic. | |||
| Ukrainian | вранці | ||
| The word вранці (“morning” in Ukrainian) is derived from вранішній (“early in the morning”). | |||
Morning in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সকাল | ||
| The Bangla word for 'morning', 'sakal', derives its origin from Sanskrit 'sakala' which also means 'complete, the whole'. | |||
| Gujarati | સવારે | ||
| સવારે (savare) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'svara' which means 'tone, sound', referring to the time when birds start to sing in the morning. | |||
| Hindi | सुबह | ||
| "सुबह" comes from Sanskrit "shubha" meaning "auspicious, fair". It also implies "an interval of time". | |||
| Kannada | ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ | ||
| In Old Kannada, "ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ" could also refer to dawn or daybreak. | |||
| Malayalam | രാവിലെ | ||
| "രാവിലെ" is also Malayalam for "the last day of the moon's dark fortnight". | |||
| Marathi | सकाळी | ||
| The word "सकाळी" may also be used to refer to the "eastern" direction. | |||
| Nepali | बिहान | ||
| The word बिहान is derived from the Sanskrit word 'prātaḥ', which also means 'morning' or 'dawn'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਵੇਰ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਸਵੇਰ" ("morning") is derived from the Sanskrit word "सवेर" ("dawn"), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁wes- (*"to shine"). | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | උදෑසන | ||
| "උදෑසන" is most likely derived from the Sanskrit "uday" meaning "rising" of the sun. | |||
| Tamil | காலை | ||
| The Tamil word "காலை" (morning) also means "leg" | |||
| Telugu | ఉదయం | ||
| ఉదయం (Udayam) is derived from the Sanskrit word उदय (Udaya), meaning 'rising' or 'appearance'. | |||
| Urdu | صبح | ||
| In Urdu, "صبح" is derived from the Arabic for "awaken," with an alternate meaning of "early afternoon". | |||
Morning in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 早上 | ||
| 早上 is also a word used to address an elder brother who is married, the same usage as '大哥'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 早上 | ||
| 早上 can also mean 'early morning', 'sunrise', or 'the first half of the day'. | |||
| Japanese | 朝 | ||
| The character "朝" can also mean "court" or "dynasty". | |||
| Korean | 아침 | ||
| The word "아침" ultimately derives from the Middle Korean word "아침" meaning "dark," and is related to the Chinese character "早" meaning "early morning". | |||
| Mongolian | өглөө | ||
| "Өглөө" may also refer to the period from sunrise until noon or the meal eaten after sunrise. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မနက် | ||
| "မနက်" (morning) has evolved from a word that originally meant "daybreak" or "sunrise". However, it has a homophone that means "to desire" or "to wish for". | |||
Morning in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pagi | ||
| Pagi is also Javanese for a type of bamboo that is used for walls, musical instruments, and furniture. | |||
| Javanese | esuk | ||
| The word “esuk” originates from Old Javanese “suk” meaning to rise, and also has the alternate meaning of the east side. | |||
| Khmer | ពេលព្រឹក | ||
| The Khmer word "ពេលព្រឹក" can also refer to the first meal of the day, similar to "breakfast" in English. | |||
| Lao | ຕອນເຊົ້າ | ||
| The word "ຕອນເຊົ້າ" can also mean "the first part of the day" or "the early hours of the morning". | |||
| Malay | pagi | ||
| "Pagi" is also used to refer to the early hours of the day before noon. | |||
| Thai | ตอนเช้า | ||
| "ตอนเช้า" can also be used as an expression to mean "at that time" or "at the time". | |||
| Vietnamese | buổi sáng | ||
| The word "buổi sáng" in Vietnamese is derived from the Chinese characters "早" (early) and "晨" (morning) and can also refer to the period of time before noon. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | umaga | ||
Morning in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | səhər | ||
| "Səhər" is derived from the Persian word "sahār" meaning "dawn" or "early morning," and is also used as a metaphor for "youth" or "the beginning of something." | |||
| Kazakh | таң | ||
| "Таң" also refers to the period from sunset to sunrise, as in the phrase "таңғы намаз" (morning prayer). | |||
| Kyrgyz | эртең менен | ||
| "Эртең менен" is literally “tomorrow morning" in Kyrgyz, even though it is used for any morning of the day; its literal meaning is used when talking about the morning of the next day. | |||
| Tajik | субҳ | ||
| The word "субҳ" is derived from the Persian word "صبحدم" (literally "dawn") and is also used to refer to the early morning prayer (namaz-i-subh). | |||
| Turkmen | irden | ||
| Uzbek | ertalab | ||
| The word "ertalab" most likely originated from a phrase that means "the time when the sky becomes blue-like". | |||
| Uyghur | ئەتىگەن | ||
Morning in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kakahiaka | ||
| The word "kakahiaka" in Hawaiian also means "to face east" or "to greet the sun". | |||
| Maori | ata | ||
| The word | |||
| Samoan | taeao | ||
| "Taeao" also means "tomorrow" and is related to the word "ao" meaning "daylight" or "daytime." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | umaga | ||
| The word "umaga" is cognate with the Malaysian word "pagi" (also meaning "morning") and is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *paŋaRi. | |||
Morning in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | qharüru | ||
| Guarani | ko'ẽ | ||
Morning in International Languages
| Esperanto | mateno | ||
| The Esperanto root word "mat" also denotes "waiting for" in the grammatical construction "matenante" which means "in the morning" and "matene" is derived directly from that. | |||
| Latin | mane | ||
| The Latin word "mane" originally meant "good" or "auspicious" and was used to describe the early morning as a time of good omens. | |||
Morning in Others Languages
| Greek | πρωί | ||
| The word "πρωί" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*per-," meaning "to shine," sharing cognates with Latin "prima" and English "prime." | |||
| Hmong | yav sawv ntxov | ||
| "Yav sawv ntxov" is also used in Hmong to describe the early part of the day before noon. | |||
| Kurdish | sib | ||
| The word "sib" in Kurdish can also refer to the direction towards the morning sun or the time of daybreak. | |||
| Turkish | sabah | ||
| "Sabah" shares the same root with "sabır" (patience) in Turkish, as patience is a virtue associated with the early hours of the day. | |||
| Xhosa | ntseni | ||
| The word "ntseni" also means "dawn" or "sunrise" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | פרימאָרגן | ||
| The Yiddish word "פרימאָרגן" also carries the meanings of "dawn" and "sunrise". | |||
| Zulu | ekuseni | ||
| The Zulu word 'ekuseni', meaning 'morning', can also refer to the 'east' or 'the direction from which the sun rises'. | |||
| Assamese | পুৱা | ||
| Aymara | qharüru | ||
| Bhojpuri | भोर | ||
| Dhivehi | ހެނދުނު | ||
| Dogri | बड़ला | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | umaga | ||
| Guarani | ko'ẽ | ||
| Ilocano | bigat | ||
| Krio | mɔnin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەیانی | ||
| Maithili | भोर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯌꯨꯛ | ||
| Mizo | zing | ||
| Oromo | ganama | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସକାଳ | ||
| Quechua | tutapay | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रातः | ||
| Tatar | иртә | ||
| Tigrinya | ጉሓት | ||
| Tsonga | mixo | ||