Murder in Different Languages
Discover 'Murder' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Murder is a word that carries a heavy weight, signifying the intentional and premeditated act of ending another person's life. Its cultural importance is evident in the way it is portrayed in literature, film, and television, often serving as a cautionary tale or exploration of the darker aspects of human nature. Understanding the translation of murder in different languages can provide insight into how different cultures view and approach this heinous crime.
For instance, in Spanish, murder is translated as 'asesinato,' while in French, it is 'meurtre.' In German, the word is 'Mord,' and in Italian, it is 'omicidio.' Each of these translations not only conveys the same basic meaning but also carries with it the cultural and historical context of the language in which it is used.
Delving into the translations of murder in different languages can be a fascinating exploration of cultural differences and similarities. Below, we have compiled a list of translations of the word 'murder' in various languages, providing a glimpse into how this significant and culturally important word is understood around the world.
Murder
Murder in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | moord | ||
| The Afrikaans word "moord" has the same origin as the English word "murder", both derived from the Proto-Germanic word *murþrą, meaning "secret killing". | |||
| Amharic | ግድያ | ||
| The word "ግድያ" (murder) can also refer to "slaughter" or "killing". | |||
| Hausa | kisan kai | ||
| The term 'kisan kai' is closely linked to the concepts of 'elimination' and 'termination', underscoring its graver connotation as an act of 'murder'. | |||
| Igbo | igbu mmadu | ||
| In Igbo, 'igbu mmadu' also means the ritualistic killing of humans for their body parts, typically during times of war or conflict. | |||
| Malagasy | vonoan-olona | ||
| The word "vonoan-olona" is a compound word composed of "vono" (to kill) and "olona" (person) | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kupha | ||
| Shona | umhondi | ||
| The Shona word "umhondi" can also refer to a type of traditional court where disputes were resolved. | |||
| Somali | dil | ||
| Somali "dil" comes from the Arabic term "dil" meaning "to deceive". | |||
| Sesotho | polao | ||
| The word 'polao' may also refer to a type of traditional porridge in the context of Sesotho cuisine | |||
| Swahili | mauaji | ||
| The Swahili word "mauaji" is derived from the Arabic word "mawt", meaning "death" or "killing", and is also closely related to the word "muaji", meaning "killer". | |||
| Xhosa | ukubulala | ||
| The word ‘ukubulala’ has its roots in the word ‘bulala’ meaning ‘kill’ in many other Bantu languages. | |||
| Yoruba | ipaniyan | ||
| Ipaniyan's original meaning relates to an ambush or unexpected attack. | |||
| Zulu | ukubulala | ||
| "Ukubulala" also means "to put something out of the way" or "to get rid of something" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | mɔgɔfaga | ||
| Ewe | amewuwu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ubwicanyi | ||
| Lingala | koboma bato | ||
| Luganda | ettemu | ||
| Sepedi | polao ya polao | ||
| Twi (Akan) | awudisɛm | ||
Murder in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | قتل | ||
| The Arabic word "قتل" can also refer to "execution" or "manslaughter." | |||
| Hebrew | רֶצַח | ||
| The Hebrew word רֶצַח (retsach) "murder" also means "willful destruction" and can be traced to the verb רָצַץ (ratsats) "to break" or "to shatter". | |||
| Pashto | وژنه | ||
| The word 'وژنه' is also used in the metaphorical sense of 'killing a plan or project'. | |||
| Arabic | قتل | ||
| The Arabic word "قتل" can also refer to "execution" or "manslaughter." | |||
Murder in Western European Languages
| Albanian | vrasje | ||
| The word "vrasje" in Albanian is derived from the Slavic word "vražda", meaning "enmity" or "hatred". | |||
| Basque | hilketa | ||
| The Basque word "hilketa" is a compound of "hil" (death) and "keta" (action), and is synonymous with "hiltze" (death), "hilkor" (mortal), "hilzorz" (dying), and "hilgarri" (deadly). | |||
| Catalan | assassinat | ||
| Assassinat can also refer to an assassination attempt that failed, in which case it becomes a noun. | |||
| Croatian | ubiti | ||
| In Serbo-Croatian, 'ubiti' can also mean 'to kill' or 'to finish'. Alternatively, in archaic Russian, it meant 'to beat'. | |||
| Danish | mord | ||
| Mord is of Proto-Indo-European origin, sharing a root with the English word 'murder'. | |||
| Dutch | moord | ||
| In the Dutch language, 'moord' (murder) has a specific connotation of a deliberate and premeditated killing, as opposed to 'doodslag' (manslaughter), which implies a less severe degree of intent or negligence. | |||
| English | murder | ||
| The word "murder" is derived from the Old English word "morð," meaning "secret killing" or "treacherous death". | |||
| French | meurtre | ||
| "Meurtre" derives from a Latin noun, "mors, mortis," meaning "death," and came to refer specifically to premeditated killing as distinguished from other forms of "mort". | |||
| Frisian | moard | ||
| The word 'moard' may derive from an earlier Germanic root meaning 'sorrow', or from the Dutch 'moord' (murder), which has a similar root to 'mort' (death) in French. | |||
| Galician | asasinato | ||
| Asasinato also refers to an act to obtain an office, dignity or pre-eminence by treacherous or illicit means. | |||
| German | mord | ||
| In German, the word "Mord" also has the connotation of "violent killing" or "homicide", and can be used to describe intentional or unintentional acts resulting in the death of another person. | |||
| Icelandic | morð | ||
| It's etymologically related to the Icelandic concept of "mǫrðr", which can mean either a legal killing or a secret one. | |||
| Irish | dúnmharú | ||
| Italian | omicidio | ||
| "Omicidio" derives from the Latin "homicidium", meaning "killing of a man". | |||
| Luxembourgish | ermuert | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "ermuert" derives from the Old High German "irmorden," meaning "to destroy with malice." | |||
| Maltese | qtil | ||
| The word "qtil" in Maltese is derived from the Arabic word "qatl", which means "killing" or "slaughter". | |||
| Norwegian | mord | ||
| Mord in Norwegian is derived from Old Norse morð, which meant 'crime' and was not restricted to killing humans. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | assassinato | ||
| The Portuguese word for "murder" comes from the Arabic word "hashish", likely because assassins were often users of the drug during training. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | murt | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word 'murt' also refers to a 'deed' or 'action', reflecting its derivation from the Latin 'mors' ('death') via Old French. | |||
| Spanish | asesinato | ||
| In Spanish, "asesinato" specifically refers to murder for hire or with malicious intent. | |||
| Swedish | mörda | ||
| In Swedish, "mörda" derives from Old Norse "myrðra", meaning both "to murder" and "to hide someone's honor". | |||
| Welsh | llofruddiaeth | ||
| The Welsh word "llofruddiaeth" has also been used to mean "robbery" and "slaughter" in the past. | |||
Murder in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | забойства | ||
| The Belarusian word "забойства" originally meant "the act of killing an animal" but has since come to mean "murder". | |||
| Bosnian | ubistvo | ||
| The word 'ubistvo' ultimately comes from Old Slavonic 'ubiti', 'to strike, kill'. | |||
| Bulgarian | убийство | ||
| 'Убийство' ultimately derives from Proto-Slavic *ubijstvo, from *ubiti ('to kill'), which is cognate with Old English 'ofslēan' | |||
| Czech | vražda | ||
| The word "vražda" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vьratiti, meaning "to return", and is related to the words "vrátit" (to return) and "vražedný" (murderous). | |||
| Estonian | mõrv | ||
| The word "mõrv" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*murhē", which also means "death" or "slaughter". | |||
| Finnish | murhata | ||
| The word 'murhata' in Finnish is derived from the word 'murha', which means 'murder' and is ultimately derived from the Proto-Finnic word 'murha' meaning 'kill'. | |||
| Hungarian | gyilkosság | ||
| "Gyilkosság" comes from the Slavic word "jilko", meaning "to sting", and originally referred to a sudden, violent attack resulting in death. | |||
| Latvian | slepkavība | ||
| The word 'slepkavība' in Latvian is derived from the Old Prussian word 'sleep' meaning 'blind' and 'kav' meaning 'strike', hence 'to strike blindly'. | |||
| Lithuanian | nužudymas | ||
| The word "nužudymas" is derived from the Old Prussian word "naujodim", which means "to kill". | |||
| Macedonian | убиство | ||
| The word "убиство" is derived from the Slavic root "ubiti", meaning "to kill". | |||
| Polish | morderstwo | ||
| The word "morderstwo" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "mordŭ", meaning "violent death" or "slaughter." | |||
| Romanian | crimă | ||
| The word "crimă" also means "sin" or "crime" in Romanian. | |||
| Russian | убийство | ||
| The word "убийство" can also mean "homicide" or "killing". | |||
| Serbian | убиство | ||
| The Serbian word "убиство" (murder) literally means "killing death". | |||
| Slovak | vražda | ||
| The word "vražda" also has the archaic meaning of "feud" or "hostility". | |||
| Slovenian | umor | ||
| The word "umor" in Slovenian can also mean "mind", "thought" or "humour". | |||
| Ukrainian | вбивство | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, | |||
Murder in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | খুন | ||
| The Bengali word "খুন" (khun) has roots in Persian, with an alternate meaning of "blood". | |||
| Gujarati | હત્યા | ||
| The word "હત્યા" (hatya) derives from the Sanskrit word "hat" meaning "to kill". | |||
| Hindi | हत्या | ||
| "हत्या" can also mean "a loud outcry or sound" which is its older meaning from 2200–2000 BC in Prakrit. | |||
| Kannada | ಕೊಲೆ | ||
| The Kannada word "ಕೊಲೆ" (murder) derives from the verb "ಕೊಲ್ಲು" (to kill), ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Dravidian root *kol- meaning "to kill, murder". | |||
| Malayalam | കൊലപാതകം | ||
| Marathi | खून | ||
| The Marathi word "खून" can also mean "blood" or "rage". | |||
| Nepali | हत्या | ||
| The word "हत्या" is derived from the Sanskrit word "हत+", meaning "to kill or destroy". | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਤਲ | ||
| The word 'ਕਤਲ' is derived from the Arabic word 'قتل', which means 'to kill'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මිනීමැරුම | ||
| In Sri Lankan legal and bureaucratic usage, the phrase means the intentional or negligent killing of another individual without justifiable cause. | |||
| Tamil | கொலை | ||
| The word "கொலை" (kolaik) in Tamil may also refer to the act of cutting or killing a snake or a demon. | |||
| Telugu | హత్య | ||
| హత్య (hatya) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'han', meaning 'to kill', and it can also refer to 'destruction' or 'slaughter'. | |||
| Urdu | قتل | ||
| The word "قتل" (murder) in Urdu is derived from the Arabic word "قتل" (killing), which also means "death" or "fate". Additionally, it can refer to the act of "killing" in a more general sense, such as the killing of an animal. | |||
Murder in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 谋杀 | ||
| The character '谋' in '谋杀' originally meant 'plan', and the character '杀' meant 'kill'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 謀殺 | ||
| The Chinese word for "murder", "谋杀", has an alternate meaning of "to plan or plot." | |||
| Japanese | 殺人 | ||
| The Japanese word "殺人" (satsu-jin) literally translates to "killing person" and can refer to both intentional and unintentional killings, unlike "murder" in English. | |||
| Korean | 살인 | ||
| The Korean word 살인 (murder) is thought to have originated from the Sino-Korean word 殺害 (murder), which in turn is derived from the Chinese character 殺 (to kill). | |||
| Mongolian | аллага | ||
| The word "аллага" can also mean "butchery" or "slaughter". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လူသတ်မှု | ||
Murder in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pembunuhan | ||
| The word "pembunuhan" is derived from the Javanese word "bunuh", meaning "to kill" or "to murder". | |||
| Javanese | rajapati | ||
| The word "rajapati" in Javanese also means "to take a life" or "to end one's life". | |||
| Khmer | ឃាតកម្ម | ||
| ฆาตกรรม (ฆาต+กรรม) 'การทำกรรมแก่ชีวิต (การฆ่า)' มาจากสันสกฤต "ฆาต" 'การฆ่า' + "กรรม" 'การทำ' | |||
| Lao | ຄາດຕະ ກຳ | ||
| Malay | pembunuhan | ||
| The Indonesian word "pembunuhan" is derived from the Malay word "bunuh" meaning "to kill", and the prefix "pe" which denotes an action or process. | |||
| Thai | ฆาตกรรม | ||
| "ฆาตกรรม" can also mean "to destroy" or "to kill completely" in Thai, and it is derived from the Sanskrit word "ghāta", meaning "killing" or "destruction." | |||
| Vietnamese | giết người | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagpatay | ||
Murder in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qətl | ||
| The word "qətl" in Azerbaijani also has a secondary meaning of "manslaughter", which refers to the unlawful killing of a person without malice aforethought. | |||
| Kazakh | кісі өлтіру | ||
| The word "кісі өлтіру" can also refer to manslaughter or homicide, depending on the context. | |||
| Kyrgyz | киши өлтүрүү | ||
| The word "киши өлтүрүү" does not have any notable alternate meanings or etymological curiosities in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | куштор | ||
| The word "куштор" may also refer to "killer" or "slaughterer." | |||
| Turkmen | adam öldürmek | ||
| Uzbek | qotillik | ||
| "Qotillik" has a distinct meaning in Uzbek compared to murder, referring to the intentional killing of a person out of revenge. | |||
| Uyghur | قاتىل | ||
Murder in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pepehi kanaka | ||
| "Pepehi kanaka" has the alternate meaning of "civil war" and is sometimes used in that sense to describe the violent political struggles in Hawaiian history. | |||
| Maori | kohuru | ||
| The Maori word "kohuru" also refers to a type of shark and the act of killing or sacrificing a person. | |||
| Samoan | fasioti tagata | ||
| The Samoan word "fasioti tagata" literally means "break a person in two." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pagpatay | ||
| The Filipino word "pagpatay" is also translated to "homicide" in English. | |||
Murder in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jiwayaña | ||
| Guarani | jejuka rehegua | ||
Murder in International Languages
| Esperanto | murdo | ||
| The word "murdo" in Esperanto is a cognate of the Latin "mors" (death) and the English "murder", with the same root meaning of "killing". | |||
| Latin | occidendum | ||
| The word "occidendum" in Latin can also mean "the act of killing". | |||
Murder in Others Languages
| Greek | δολοφονία | ||
| The Greek word "δολοφονία" (murder) comes from the root "δολο-," meaning "fraud" or "deception", and "φόνος," meaning "killing". | |||
| Hmong | tua neeg | ||
| In the Hmong language, "tua neeg" can also refer to a type of divination practice, a person's life or fate, and the act of casting a curse or spell. | |||
| Kurdish | kûştin | ||
| The word “kûştin” in Kurdish is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰew- (“to kill, strike”), and is related to the Persian word “koštan” and the Sanskrit word “ghātayati”. | |||
| Turkish | cinayet | ||
| Cinayet, which means "murder" in Turkish, derives from the Arabic word "janaya", meaning "to commit a crime". | |||
| Xhosa | ukubulala | ||
| The word ‘ukubulala’ has its roots in the word ‘bulala’ meaning ‘kill’ in many other Bantu languages. | |||
| Yiddish | מאָרד | ||
| The Yiddish word "מאָרד" (mord) is derived from the Old High German word "mord" meaning "death" or "killing". | |||
| Zulu | ukubulala | ||
| "Ukubulala" also means "to put something out of the way" or "to get rid of something" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | হত্যা | ||
| Aymara | jiwayaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | हत्या के घटना के बारे में बतावल गईल | ||
| Dhivehi | މަރުގެ މައްސަލައެވެ | ||
| Dogri | हत्या करना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagpatay | ||
| Guarani | jejuka rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | pammapatay | ||
| Krio | kil pɔsin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کوشتن | ||
| Maithili | हत्या | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯨꯅꯥꯏꯒꯤ ꯊꯧꯗꯣꯛ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | tualthah a ni | ||
| Oromo | ajjeechaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ହତ୍ୟା | ||
| Quechua | wañuchiy | ||
| Sanskrit | वधः | ||
| Tatar | үтерү | ||
| Tigrinya | ቅትለት | ||
| Tsonga | ku dlaya | ||