Afrikaans buurman | ||
Albanian fqinji | ||
Amharic ጎረቤት | ||
Arabic الجار | ||
Armenian հարեւան | ||
Assamese চুবুৰীয়া | ||
Aymara uta uñkatasi | ||
Azerbaijani qonşu | ||
Bambara sigiɲɔgɔn | ||
Basque bizilaguna | ||
Belarusian сусед | ||
Bengali প্রতিবেশী | ||
Bhojpuri पड़ोसी | ||
Bosnian komšija | ||
Bulgarian съсед | ||
Catalan veí | ||
Cebuano silingan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 邻居 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 鄰居 | ||
Corsican vicinu | ||
Croatian susjed | ||
Czech soused | ||
Danish nabo | ||
Dhivehi އަވަށްޓެރިޔާ | ||
Dogri गुआंढी | ||
Dutch buurman | ||
English neighbor | ||
Esperanto najbaro | ||
Estonian naaber | ||
Ewe aƒelika | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kapit-bahay | ||
Finnish naapuri- | ||
French voisin | ||
Frisian buorman | ||
Galician veciño | ||
Georgian მეზობელი | ||
German nachbar | ||
Greek γείτονας | ||
Guarani óga ykeregua | ||
Gujarati પાડોશી | ||
Haitian Creole vwazen | ||
Hausa makwabci | ||
Hawaiian hoalauna | ||
Hebrew שָׁכֵן | ||
Hindi पड़ोसी | ||
Hmong neeg nyob ze | ||
Hungarian szomszéd | ||
Icelandic nágranni | ||
Igbo onye agbata obi | ||
Ilocano karruba | ||
Indonesian tetangga | ||
Irish comharsa | ||
Italian vicino | ||
Japanese 隣人 | ||
Javanese tanggane | ||
Kannada ನೆರೆಯ | ||
Kazakh көрші | ||
Khmer អ្នកជិតខាង | ||
Kinyarwanda umuturanyi | ||
Konkani शेजारी | ||
Korean 이웃 사람 | ||
Krio neba | ||
Kurdish cînar | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) دراوسێ | ||
Kyrgyz кошуна | ||
Lao ເພື່ອນບ້ານ | ||
Latin vicinus | ||
Latvian kaimiņš | ||
Lingala voisin | ||
Lithuanian kaimynas | ||
Luganda muliraana | ||
Luxembourgish noper | ||
Macedonian сосед | ||
Maithili पड़ोसी | ||
Malagasy mpiara-belona | ||
Malay jiran | ||
Malayalam അയൽക്കാരൻ | ||
Maltese ġar | ||
Maori hoa noho | ||
Marathi शेजारी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯌꯨꯝꯂꯣꯟꯅꯕ | ||
Mizo thenawm | ||
Mongolian хөрш | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အိမ်နီးချင်း | ||
Nepali छिमेकी | ||
Norwegian nabo | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mnansi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପଡୋଶୀ | ||
Oromo ollaa | ||
Pashto ګاونډي | ||
Persian همسایه | ||
Polish sąsiad | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) vizinho | ||
Punjabi ਗੁਆਂ .ੀ | ||
Quechua wasi masi | ||
Romanian vecin | ||
Russian сосед | ||
Samoan tuaoi | ||
Sanskrit प्रतिवेशी | ||
Scots Gaelic nàbaidh | ||
Sepedi moagišani | ||
Serbian комшија | ||
Sesotho moahisane | ||
Shona muvakidzani | ||
Sindhi پاڙيسري | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) අසල්වැසියා | ||
Slovak suseda | ||
Slovenian sosed | ||
Somali deriska | ||
Spanish vecino | ||
Sundanese tatangga | ||
Swahili jirani | ||
Swedish granne | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kapit-bahay | ||
Tajik ҳамсоя | ||
Tamil அண்டை | ||
Tatar күрше | ||
Telugu పొరుగు | ||
Thai เพื่อนบ้าน | ||
Tigrinya ጎረቤት | ||
Tsonga muakelana | ||
Turkish komşu | ||
Turkmen goňşusy | ||
Twi (Akan) borɔno so ni | ||
Ukrainian сусід | ||
Urdu پڑوسی | ||
Uyghur قوشنىسى | ||
Uzbek qo'shni | ||
Vietnamese hàng xóm | ||
Welsh cymydog | ||
Xhosa ummelwane | ||
Yiddish חבר | ||
Yoruba aladugbo | ||
Zulu umakhelwane |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "buurman" originally meant "farmer" and is cognate with the English word "boor". |
| Albanian | The word "fqinji" is derived from an ancient Indo-European root meaning "one who lives near". In Albanian, it can also refer to a relative or close friend. |
| Amharic | The word "ጎረቤት" literally means "someone who shares a wall" or "a fellow wall-dweller." |
| Arabic | The Arabic word الجار (neighbor) also refers to an adjacent plot of land, as in the expression جار الجنان (neighbors in Paradise). |
| Armenian | "Հարեւան" etymologically translates to "close acquaintance" and is also used to refer to one's "close comrade", not just a "neighbor" in a spatial sense. |
| Azerbaijani | "Qonşu" is related to many words like "qan" (blood), "qardaş" (brother) and "könül" (heart) in the Oğuz branch of the Turkic language family. |
| Basque | The word "bizilaguna" is thought to derive from the Proto-Basque *bizil- (*close) and the suffix -laguna (-friend). |
| Belarusian | The word "сусед" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *sǫsědъ, meaning "co-dweller." |
| Bengali | The word "প্রতিবেশী" literally means "one who sits beside" in Sanskrit and has similar connotations in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | The word "komšija" also refers to someone who lives in the same neighborhood or village, and can be used to describe a person's character or behavior. |
| Bulgarian | The word "съсед" in Bulgarian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "sъsědъ," which also means "relative" or "family member." |
| Catalan | Veí likely derives from Latin "vicinus" (neighbor) and originally meant "dweller in the same street or quarter". |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "silingan" also refers to a person who lives nearby or an area adjacent to one's residence. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 邻居 (línjū) originally meant "people who live in the same hamlet," and it can still be used in that sense today. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 「鄰居」之「鄰」於《說文》中解釋為「近也」,而「居」則為「止也」或「坐也」 |
| Corsican | Corsican 'vicinu' also signifies a kinsman or compatriot, while its source is the Latin 'vicinus,' meaning 'neighbor'. |
| Croatian | The word "susjed" can also refer to a close friend or a fellow countryman. |
| Czech | The Czech word "soused" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sǫsędъ, which also meant "guest" or "stranger." |
| Danish | In the past, the word "nabo" has also been used figuratively to mean "one who has the same opinions and interests as oneself." |
| Dutch | The Dutch word 'buurman' is a compound word, derived from the words 'buren' (neighbors) and 'man' (man). |
| Esperanto | The word 'najbaro' is based on the French 'voisin' (literally 'near one'), and also means 'neighbouring, adjacent' or 'neighbourly'. |
| Estonian | "Naaber" is thought to mean someone who lives nearby or on the same street. Its origin is likely the Ancient Germanic word "nebhan" meaning "next". Alternatively, it may have originated from "nabo", a word meaning "to sit beside". |
| Finnish | "Naapuri" is cognate with "neighbour" (English) and "nabo" (Swedish). |
| French | In Old French, "voisin" could mean "neighbor" or "relative". |
| Frisian | The word "buorman" is also used to refer to a person who lives in the same neighbourhood or village. |
| Galician | The Galician word "veciño" (neighbor) also means "relative" or "fellow countryman" and comes from the Latin word "vicinus". |
| Georgian | "მეზობელი" (neighbor) is likely derived from the old Georgian word "mezoba" meaning "boundary" or "frontier" |
| German | Neighbor is a loanword from German 'Nachbar' which originally meant 'one who lives near' |
| Greek | The word "γείτονας" has been theorized to come from the root *γαι-, which also gave rise to words like "γη" (earth) and "χθών" (land), suggesting a connection between neighbors and the concept of land or home. |
| Gujarati | The word "પાડોશી" (neighbor) in Gujarati possibly derives from Prakrit "padi-vāsin" or Sanskrit "prati-vāsin" meaning "one who resides opposite". |
| Haitian Creole | The word "vwazen" in Haitian Creole originates from the French word "voisin", meaning "neighbor", and is also used to refer to a close friend or relative. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word makwa also means "mate" or "friend." |
| Hawaiian | "Hoalauna" means "neighbor" in Hawaiian and can also be used as a term of endearment for a loved one. |
| Hebrew | The word "שָׁכֵן" in Hebrew also means "to dwell" or "to inhabit." |
| Hindi | Originally derived from Sanskrit 'parisāsa', meaning 'dwelling nearby,' पड़ोसी ('paṛosī') refers to people living in proximity and sharing a sense of community. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "neeg nyob ze" derives from "neeg" (person) and "nyob ze" (living nearby), which together imply "a person living nearby, a neighbor." |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "szomszéd" is related to the Proto-Slavic noun *sъsědъ, meaning "cohabitant", "inhabitant of the same village", "companion". |
| Icelandic | The word "nágranni" in Icelandic also refers to a person's neighbour's neighbour. |
| Igbo | "Onye agbata obi" literally means "person who shares a fence" in Igbo, highlighting the importance of close proximity in the concept of neighborhood. |
| Indonesian | The word "tetangga" in Indonesian can also refer to a person who shares a common wall with another person, or someone who is a close associate or friend. |
| Irish | The Irish word "comharsa" derives from the Old Irish "comarsan," denoting "fellow-borderer" |
| Italian | The Italian word "vicino" is derived from the Latin word "vicinus", meaning "near" or "close by". |
| Japanese | "隣人" (neighbor) derives from "隣り" (nearby) and "人" (person), but it can also refer to someone outside one's immediate neighborhood or even a fellow countryman in a foreign land. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word 'tanggane' can also refer to a 'relative' or a 'member of the community'. |
| Kannada | ನೆರೆಯ also means 'support' or 'protection'. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "көрші" means "neighbor" and it is cognate with the Mongolian "хөрш". |
| Khmer | The word "អ្នកជិតខាង" also has a more distant meaning, referring to someone who lives in the same vicinity or district. |
| Korean | The term "이웃 사람" literally means "a person who lives next to" in Korean. |
| Kurdish | The word 'cînar', meaning 'neighbor', is also used in a metaphorical sense to refer to someone who is close or reliable. |
| Kyrgyz | In the 16th century, кошуна also meant a nomad group living together temporarily. |
| Latin | The Latin word "vicinus" may mean "near" and "neighbor" in space, or "friend" and "companion" in social relationships. |
| Latvian | "Kaimiņš" in Latvian originally meant "a person who lives far away" but evolved to mean "a neighbor". |
| Lithuanian | "Kaimynas" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *kei- "side", also related to the English word "home" and Latin "hiems" (winter). |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Noper" can also refer to someone who lives on the same street or in the same village. |
| Macedonian | The word "сосед" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъsědъ, meaning "a person who lives nearby", and is related to the words "село" (village) and "сад" (garden). |
| Malagasy | The word "mpiara-belona" is derived from the Malagasy words "mpiara" (to help) and "belona" (to be there), and it can also mean "friend" or "relative". |
| Malay | "Jiran" can also refer to a companion, friend, or someone sharing a common experience. |
| Maltese | The origin of the Maltese word "ġar" is the Arabic word "jār," meaning "neighbor," which itself comes from the Canaanite word "gr," meaning "companion, comrade." |
| Maori | The word "hoa noho" can also mean "friend" or "companion" in Maori. |
| Marathi | The word "शेजारी" in Marathi comes from the Sanskrit word "सहचार्य" which means "companion, friend or associate". |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word хөрш, meaning 'neighbor,' also signifies 'the boundary between neighboring houses.' |
| Nepali | The Nepali word "छिमेकी" (neighbor) is also used to refer to a person who lives in the vicinity or to someone who is associated with a particular locality. |
| Norwegian | Its Old Norse root “nabui” also means “close friend.” |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "mnansi" can also mean "friend" or "relative" and is derived from the verb "kupansiana" meaning "to be close to". |
| Pashto | In some contexts, "ګاونډي" can refer to close friends or relatives rather than just geographical neighbors. |
| Persian | The Persian term "همسایه" (hamsāye) ultimately derives from the Arabic word "جَار" (jār), meaning "a companion, a friend, or a neighbor." |
| Polish | Sąsiad originates from Proto-Slavic "*sǫsedъ" and historically also meant a "guest". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, 'vizinho' can also refer to a person who lives nearby, such as a friend or acquaintance. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਗੁਆਂ .ੀ" can also refer to a member of a neighboring village or a person who lives nearby but is not necessarily a neighbor. |
| Romanian | Vecin derives from the Slavic language element “vɛcin”, related to the Latin “vicus” (village) and “vicinus” (neighbor). |
| Russian | Neighbor originally meant "near-dweller" coming from Middle English neihebour deriving ultimately from Old English "neahgebur", or "one who lives nigh" in relation to another. |
| Samoan | Samoan "tuaoi" can also mean "to border" or "close by". |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "nàbaidh" in Scots Gaelic can also mean "a person who lives nearby" or "a friend". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "комшија" can also mean "relative" or "friend". |
| Sesotho | It's unclear how and when moahisane came to signify a neighbor. While mo means 'with', 'together with', its usage is not well understood. |
| Shona | The word “muvakidzani” can also refer to a person who lives in the same area or community. |
| Sindhi | The word "پاڙيسري" is derived from the Persian word "پارس" meaning "neighborhood". |
| Slovak | In Slovak, the word 'suseda' not only means 'neighbor' but can also refer to a woman who shares a farm with others through a shared lease; this stems from the Proto-Slavic root 'sǫsědъ', meaning 'co-dweller'. |
| Slovenian | The word "sosed" in Slovenian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "sъsędъ", which also means "neighbor" in other Slavic languages. |
| Somali | "Deriska" can also refer to a person who shares a fence or boundary with someone else, or to a close friend or associate. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "vecino" derives from the Latin "vicinus", meaning "near" or "close by". |
| Sundanese | Tatangga can also mean "family" in Sundanese, indicating the close ties between neighbors in the community. |
| Swahili | The word "jirani" in Swahili has Bantu cognates that imply a wider sense of community than the English "neighbor". |
| Swedish | The word "granne" also means "fir tree" in Old Swedish and "branch" in Old Norse. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The term "kapit-bahay" can trace its roots to the words "kapit" (to hold) and "bahay" (house), thus signifying a close bond between neighbors who live adjacent to each other within a community. |
| Tajik | The word "ҳамсоя" (neighbor) in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "hamsāyeh" which means "co-neighbor". |
| Tamil | The word "அண்டை" derives from the same root as "அண்டு", meaning "edge" or "border", suggesting the idea of one living near the boundary of another's property. |
| Telugu | The word "పొరుగు" (porugu) is derived from the Sanskrit word "पड़ोस" (parodosha), meaning "boundary" or "vicinity", and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*per-/*por-/*pro-," meaning "forward" or "beyond." |
| Thai | In Lao, the word "เพื่อนบ้าน" can also mean "country" or "nation." |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "komşu" is likely derived from the Arabic word "qawm", meaning "people", "nation", or "tribe", suggesting its original meaning was "fellow countryman" or "member of the same community". |
| Ukrainian | The word "сусід" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sęsędъ, which also means "neighbor" and is related to the word "sit" in several Indo-European languages. |
| Urdu | The word "پڑوسی" (neighbor) is derived from the Persian word "pad-shid", meaning "one who lives at the foot of". |
| Uzbek | The word "qo'shni" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "qoş" meaning "to be connected". |
| Vietnamese | The word "hàng xóm" in Vietnamese could also refer to friends or relatives that live in the same neighborhood. |
| Welsh | The 1542 dictionary lists a word cymydoges as being in use as a term for ‘neighbour’, as it still is in some Welsh-speaking areas in the north of the country. |
| Xhosa | The word "ummelwane" can also refer to a close associate or comrade. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word חבר (khever) ultimately derives from the Hebrew word for "friend". |
| Yoruba | The word "aladugbo" in Yoruba derives from the root "a-du-gbo," meaning "to share ears with" or "to listen with." |
| Zulu | Umakhelwane shares the same Zulu root as ukukhela, meaning 'take care of, look after'. |
| English | The word "neighbor" originated from the Old English word "neahgebur," meaning "one who lives nearby". |