Night in Different Languages
Discover 'Night' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Night
Afrikaans nag | ||
Albanian natën | ||
Amharic ለሊት | ||
Arabic ليل | ||
Armenian գիշեր | ||
Assamese নিশা | ||
Aymara aruma | ||
Azerbaijani gecə | ||
Bambara su | ||
Basque gaua | ||
Belarusian ноч | ||
Bengali রাত | ||
Bhojpuri रात | ||
Bosnian noć | ||
Bulgarian нощ | ||
Catalan nit | ||
Cebuano gabii | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 晚 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 晚 | ||
Corsican notte | ||
Croatian noć | ||
Czech noc | ||
Danish nat | ||
Dhivehi ރޭގަނޑު | ||
Dogri रात | ||
Dutch nacht | ||
English night | ||
Esperanto nokte | ||
Estonian öö | ||
Ewe zã | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) gabi | ||
Finnish yö- | ||
French nuit | ||
Frisian nacht | ||
Galician noite | ||
Georgian ღამე | ||
German nacht- | ||
Greek νύχτα | ||
Guarani pyhare | ||
Gujarati રાત્રે | ||
Haitian Creole lannwit | ||
Hausa dare | ||
Hawaiian pō | ||
Hebrew לַיְלָה | ||
Hindi रात | ||
Hmong tsaus ntuj | ||
Hungarian éjszaka | ||
Icelandic nótt | ||
Igbo n'abalị | ||
Ilocano rabii | ||
Indonesian malam | ||
Irish oíche | ||
Italian notte | ||
Japanese 夜 | ||
Javanese wengi | ||
Kannada ರಾತ್ರಿ | ||
Kazakh түн | ||
Khmer យប់ | ||
Kinyarwanda ijoro | ||
Konkani रात | ||
Korean 밤 | ||
Krio nɛt | ||
Kurdish şev | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) شەو | ||
Kyrgyz түн | ||
Lao ຄືນ | ||
Latin noctis | ||
Latvian nakts | ||
Lingala butu | ||
Lithuanian naktis | ||
Luganda ekiro | ||
Luxembourgish nuecht | ||
Macedonian ноќ | ||
Maithili रात्रि | ||
Malagasy alina | ||
Malay malam | ||
Malayalam രാത്രി | ||
Maltese lejl | ||
Maori po | ||
Marathi रात्री | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯗꯥꯡ | ||
Mizo zan | ||
Mongolian шөнө | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ည | ||
Nepali रात | ||
Norwegian natt | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) usiku | ||
Odia (Oriya) ରାତି | ||
Oromo halkan | ||
Pashto شپه | ||
Persian شب | ||
Polish noc | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) noite | ||
Punjabi ਰਾਤ | ||
Quechua tuta | ||
Romanian noapte | ||
Russian ночь | ||
Samoan po | ||
Sanskrit निशा | ||
Scots Gaelic oidhche | ||
Sepedi bošego | ||
Serbian ноћ | ||
Sesotho bosiu | ||
Shona husiku | ||
Sindhi رات | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) රෑ | ||
Slovak noc | ||
Slovenian noč | ||
Somali habeen | ||
Spanish noche | ||
Sundanese peuting | ||
Swahili usiku | ||
Swedish natt | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) gabi | ||
Tajik шаб | ||
Tamil இரவு | ||
Tatar төн | ||
Telugu రాత్రి | ||
Thai กลางคืน | ||
Tigrinya ምሸት | ||
Tsonga madyambu | ||
Turkish gece | ||
Turkmen gije | ||
Twi (Akan) anadwo | ||
Ukrainian ніч | ||
Urdu رات | ||
Uyghur كېچە | ||
Uzbek kecha | ||
Vietnamese đêm | ||
Welsh nos | ||
Xhosa busuku | ||
Yiddish נאַכט | ||
Yoruba alẹ | ||
Zulu ebusuku |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Although etymologically unrelated to the English word "nag" (annoy), it can also mean "to bother" or "to nag" in Afrikaans. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word 'natën' may also refer to an 'appointment' or 'engagement'. |
| Amharic | The Amharic word "ለሊት" not only means "night" but also "darkness" and "mystery". |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "ليل" (night) is also used to refer to the color blue in some contexts, likely due to the association between night and the dark blue hue of the night sky. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "գիշեր" (night) is cognate with the Sanskrit "niśā" and the Persian "šab", all deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root "*nekʷt-." |
| Azerbaijani | "Gecə" also means "occasion", "occurrence", "event" or "case". |
| Basque | The Basque word "gaua" is cognate with the Latin "nox" and the Irish "nóimh," both meaning "night," and can also refer to darkness, obscurity, or sleep. |
| Belarusian | Belarusian "ноч" derives from a Proto-Slavic root meaning "to spend the night" and is related to the Russian "ночевать" (to spend the night) and Polish "nocleg" (lodging). |
| Bengali | Derived from the Sanskrit word 'ratri', 'রাত' also signifies darkness, obscurity, or the period of sleep. |
| Bosnian | "Noc", meaning the night, is used in Bosnian as a synonym for a state of misfortune, similar to "bad luck." |
| Bulgarian | The Slavic etymology is cognate to Sanskrit *nakta- 'night', Avestan *naxta-, Greek νύξ (núx, 'night'). |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "nit" is sometimes used to refer to the evening or twilight, and can also be used to describe a short period of time, like a moment or an instant. |
| Cebuano | The term gabii can also refer to a type of bird, a type of tree, or to someone who is short or stout. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | Chinese character “晚”(wǎn): 1) late; 2) evening |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word "晚" can also mean "late" or "evening". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "notte" is thought to derive from the Latin "noctem", meaning "nightfall". |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "noć" is related to words such as "nyght" in English, "nacht" in German, and "noc" in Polish, all derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *nekʷt-, meaning "darkness". |
| Czech | The word "noc" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *noktь, which also means "darkness". This connection can still be seen in the related words "noční" (nocturnal) and "nocovina" (night camp). |
| Danish | "Nat" in Danish also means "dark, cloudy weather," perhaps referring to the overcast of the night sky during winter months. |
| Dutch | The word "nacht" is cognate with "night" in English, stemming from the Proto-Germanic word "*naktis". |
| Esperanto | 'Nokte' is also used to refer to the 'northern sky' in astronomy. |
| Estonian | 'Öö' might also refer to the twilight or the whole period of darkness. |
| Finnish | Its origin is unclear, but it may be related to Proto-Uralic *yo- or *ye- "the night". |
| French | In French, the word "nuit" comes from the Latin "nox," meaning "night." |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "nacht" is cognate with the English word "night" and ultimately derives from the Proto-Germanic word "nahti". |
| Galician | "Noite" comes from the Latin word "noctem", which also means "night", and is related to the Greek word "νύξ" (nyx), which means "night" in Ancient Greek. |
| German | The word "Nacht-" can also refer to something that is dark or mysterious. |
| Greek | The word “Νύχτα”, or “night” in English, is also used figuratively to describe periods of darkness or hardship |
| Gujarati | The word "રાત્રે" can also mean "in the evening" or "during the night". |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "lannwit" comes from the French word "la nuit" and also means "darkness" or "nightfall". |
| Hausa | In Hausa, the word "dare" can refer to both "night" and "darkness". |
| Hawaiian | Hawaiian word "pō" shares ancestry with the Sanskrit word "upa" meaning "to conceal". |
| Hebrew | The word "לַיְלָה" can also mean "obscurity", "darkness", or "terror" in the Bible. |
| Hindi | The word "रात" (night) is derived from the Sanskrit word "रात्रि" (night) and the Proto-Indo-European root "*nekwt-," meaning "night" or "darkness". |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "tsaus ntuj" can also mean "darkness" or "the unknown." |
| Hungarian | "Éjszaka" (night) originates from Turkic and originally meant "the end of the day". |
| Icelandic | Icelandic word "nótt" is derived from Proto-Germanic *nahts, which also means "darkness". |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "n'abalị" has alternate meanings of "darkness" and "the unknown". |
| Indonesian | "Malam" in Indonesian, originally meant "dark" and only later developed the meaning of "night". |
| Irish | The word 'oíche' in Irish also means 'darkness' or 'shadow'. |
| Italian | "Notte" in Italian derives from the Latin "nox" and also means "dark" or "black". |
| Japanese | '夜' consists of the characters '月' ('moon') and '見' ('see'). It can also mean 'evening' or 'nighttime'. |
| Javanese | "Wengi" can also mean "evil" or "disaster" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | 'ರಾತ್ರಿ' is ultimately derived from Proto-Dravidian *ñāḷ, meaning 'day' or 'sun'. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word “түн” for “night” is also used to refer to “darkness,” “black,” or “blackness.” |
| Khmer | យប់ can also mean "darkness" or "ignorance". |
| Korean | In the archaic Korean and Jeju dialects, |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word “şev” (night) also refers to the period of time between sunset and sunrise, as well as to the darkness that envelops during that time. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "түн" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*tün" and also means "darkness" in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | The word "ຄືນ" is also used in Lao to mean "past" or "back". |
| Latin | 'Noctis' in Latin can also refer to darkness, secrecy, or ignorance. |
| Latvian | Latvian "nakts" stems from Proto-Baltic ņaktus "darkness." |
| Lithuanian | Naktis is related to Russian noch' (night), Serbian noć and Old Church Slavonic nošti, and probably to English night. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Nuecht" derives from the Old High German word "naht", which also means "night". |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word “ноќ”, derived from the Proto-Slavic “noktĭ”, also means a period or occasion of darkness, obscurity, distress, evil, or ignorance. |
| Malagasy | The word "alina" in Malagasy is of Proto-Austronesian origin, with related words in other Malayo-Polynesian languages. |
| Malay | The word "malam" in Malay can also refer to the state of being dark, dim, or unclear. |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, "രാത്രി" (rātri) is derived from Sanskrit रात्रि (rātri), meaning "night," and also has alternate meanings such as "darkness" or "ignorance." |
| Maltese | In Maltese, the word "lejl" is derived from the Arabic word "layl" and can also refer to an evening social event or gathering. |
| Maori | Po is often paired with ra, meaning sun or day, to encompass the full cycle of time. |
| Marathi | The word 'रात्री' is also used to refer to the evening or dusk |
| Mongolian | "Шөнө" also means "a small amount". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The term "ည" can also refer to a period of sleep or the period from sunset to sunrise, and is derived from the Pali word "nihantā" meaning "to lie down."} |
| Nepali | रात is an ancient Indo-European word shared by all major Indo-Aryan languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi. |
| Norwegian | The word "natt" likely comes from the Proto-Germanic word "nahts," meaning "darkness" or "night". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word 'usiku' originates from the Proto-Bantu word *usiku, meaning 'darkness'. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "شپه" also refers to the period between sunset and midnight. |
| Persian | The Persian word "شب" can also refer to the evening or dusk, and is cognate with the Sanskrit word "śap", meaning "curse". |
| Polish | The word "noc" in Polish is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "noktъ", which also means "darkness". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "noite" ultimately derives from the Latin "nox" (night), but in Brazil it can also mean "evening". |
| Punjabi | "ਰਾਤ" in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "rātri," which means "darkness". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "noapte" has Slavic origins, meaning "to fall, to descend, to come upon". |
| Russian | The word "ночь" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "nokti", which shares a common root with the English word "night" and the German word "Nacht". |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "po" can also refer to periods of darkness or sleep, such as "po pogisa" (dawn) or "po mālōlō" (midnight). |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "oidhche" is related to the Proto-Indo-European word "nekwts" meaning "night" and is cognate with the Latin word "nox". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word 'ноћ' also refers to an 'unpleasant event' or something 'unwelcome or unexpected'. |
| Sesotho | Bosiu, meaning "night" in Sesotho, is also the name of a mountain in Lesotho where King Moshoeshoe I founded his kingdom in 1824. |
| Shona | The word 'husiku' may also refer to 'twilight'. |
| Sindhi | The word "رات" (night) is of Sanskrit origin and is also found in other Indo-Aryan languages, such as Hindi and Punjabi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word "රෑ" (night) also refers to the period from sunset to sunrise, or to darkness. |
| Slovak | "Noc" originates from Proto-Slavic "*noktis", related to Latin "nox" and Sanskrit "nakt". |
| Slovenian | The word "noč" in Slovenian shares the same root as the English word "night" and the Latin word "nox", both stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root *nekʷt-. |
| Somali | An alternative meaning of "habeen" in the Somali language is "the dark hour of the night right after sunset." |
| Spanish | The word "noche" may derive from the Latin "nox" and has synonyms such as "velada" and "madrugada" |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "peuting" is also used as a term for "the world of spirits". |
| Swahili | The word "usiku" can also refer to a period of time, or to darkness. |
| Swedish | The word "natt" is cognate with "night" in English and "nacht" in German, deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *nekwt-, meaning "dark" or "night". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "gabi" also refers to the evening or the time after sunset. |
| Tajik | The word "shab" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *nekʷt-, which means "dark" or "black". |
| Tamil | The word "இரவு" in Tamil can also refer to darkness, sleep, or the state of being hidden or obscure. |
| Telugu | The word "రాత్రి" in Telugu not only means "night" but also refers to "darkness" and "lack of visibility". |
| Thai | "กลางคืน" can also mean "midnight" or "in the middle of the night". |
| Turkish | In Turkish, 'gece' also refers to 'darkness, obscurity', and the 'absence of light' |
| Ukrainian | The word "ніч" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "nokti", which is related to the Latin word "nox", meaning "night". |
| Urdu | The word "رات" (night) in Urdu shares an etymology with the English word "night" from the Proto-Indo-European root *nekʷt-, "night." |
| Uzbek | The word "kecha" also means "yesterday" in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | Besides its literal meaning, "đêm" can also mean "black," "dark," "darkness," and "secret." |
| Welsh | Welsh "nos" shares a root with "nocturnal" and the Latin "nox" |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word for night, 'busuku', originated from the Zulu word 'busuku', meaning 'darkness' or 'shadow'. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "נאַכט" (nakht) can also refer to someone who works the night shift, or a night watchman. |
| Yoruba | The word "alẹ" in Yoruba can also refer to "an appointment" or "a secret meeting". |
| Zulu | The etymology of 'ebusuku' is unclear, but it may be related to the Proto-Bantu root *busu, meaning 'darkness', or *buki, meaning 'to be dark'. |
| English | From the Old English word niht, related to the Dutch word nacht and the German word nacht, all meaning 'night'. |