Office in Different Languages
Discover 'Office' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Office
Afrikaans kantoor | ||
Albanian zyrë | ||
Amharic ቢሮ | ||
Arabic مكتب. مقر. مركز | ||
Armenian գրասենյակ | ||
Assamese কাৰ্যালয় | ||
Aymara uphisina | ||
Azerbaijani ofis | ||
Bambara biro | ||
Basque bulegoa | ||
Belarusian кантора | ||
Bengali দপ্তর | ||
Bhojpuri कार्यालय | ||
Bosnian ured | ||
Bulgarian офис | ||
Catalan despatx | ||
Cebuano opisina | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 办公室 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 辦公室 | ||
Corsican ufficiu | ||
Croatian ured | ||
Czech kancelář | ||
Danish kontor | ||
Dhivehi އޮފީސް | ||
Dogri दफ्तर | ||
Dutch kantoor | ||
English office | ||
Esperanto oficejo | ||
Estonian kontoris | ||
Ewe dɔwɔƒe | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) opisina | ||
Finnish toimisto | ||
French bureau | ||
Frisian kantoar | ||
Galician oficina | ||
Georgian ოფისი | ||
German büro | ||
Greek γραφείο | ||
Guarani mba'apoha | ||
Gujarati ઓફિસ | ||
Haitian Creole biwo | ||
Hausa ofis | ||
Hawaiian keʻena | ||
Hebrew מִשׂרָד | ||
Hindi कार्यालय | ||
Hmong chaw ua haujlwm | ||
Hungarian hivatal | ||
Icelandic skrifstofu | ||
Igbo ụlọ ọrụ | ||
Ilocano opisina | ||
Indonesian kantor | ||
Irish oifig | ||
Italian ufficio | ||
Japanese オフィス | ||
Javanese kantor | ||
Kannada ಕಚೇರಿ | ||
Kazakh кеңсе | ||
Khmer ការិយាល័យ | ||
Kinyarwanda biro | ||
Konkani कचेरी | ||
Korean 사무실 | ||
Krio ɔfis | ||
Kurdish dayre | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) نووسینگە | ||
Kyrgyz кеңсе | ||
Lao ຫ້ອງການ | ||
Latin officium | ||
Latvian birojs | ||
Lingala biro | ||
Lithuanian biuras | ||
Luganda yafeesi | ||
Luxembourgish büro | ||
Macedonian канцеларија | ||
Maithili कार्यालय | ||
Malagasy birao | ||
Malay pejabat | ||
Malayalam ഓഫീസ് | ||
Maltese uffiċċju | ||
Maori tari | ||
Marathi कार्यालय | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯂꯣꯏꯁꯉ | ||
Mizo office | ||
Mongolian оффис | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ရုံး | ||
Nepali कार्यालय | ||
Norwegian kontor | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ofesi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଫିସ୍ | ||
Oromo waajjira | ||
Pashto دفتر | ||
Persian دفتر | ||
Polish gabinet | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) escritório | ||
Punjabi ਦਫਤਰ | ||
Quechua oficina | ||
Romanian birou | ||
Russian офис | ||
Samoan ofisa | ||
Sanskrit कार्यालयं | ||
Scots Gaelic oifis | ||
Sepedi ofisi | ||
Serbian канцеларија | ||
Sesotho ofisi | ||
Shona hofisi | ||
Sindhi آفيس | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කාර්යාලය | ||
Slovak kancelária | ||
Slovenian pisarni | ||
Somali xafiiska | ||
Spanish oficina | ||
Sundanese kantor | ||
Swahili ofisini | ||
Swedish kontor | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) opisina | ||
Tajik идора | ||
Tamil அலுவலகம் | ||
Tatar офис | ||
Telugu కార్యాలయం | ||
Thai สำนักงาน | ||
Tigrinya ቤት-ፅሕፈት | ||
Tsonga hofisi | ||
Turkish ofis | ||
Turkmen ofis | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔfese | ||
Ukrainian офіс | ||
Urdu دفتر | ||
Uyghur ئىشخانا | ||
Uzbek idora | ||
Vietnamese văn phòng | ||
Welsh swyddfa | ||
Xhosa iofisi | ||
Yiddish ביוראָ | ||
Yoruba ọfiisi | ||
Zulu ihhovisi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "kantoor" is likely derived from the French word "comptoir" meaning "counting-house" |
| Albanian | Etymology unknown; also a term for a type of tax collected by Albanian feudal lords. |
| Amharic | "ቢሮ" also refers to a special place where students study in monasteries. |
| Arabic | In Arabic, "مكتب. مقر. مركز" can also refer to a location or an organization's physical address. |
| Azerbaijani | In some contexts, the Azerbaijani word “ofis” can also refer to the location where a particular person works. |
| Basque | Etymology: bule (council) + go(a) (place). Also used figuratively to refer to the position and functions of a person of authority |
| Belarusian | "Office" in Russian and Belarusian is called "кантора", which means a "counting-house" or "exchange office" in the German language. |
| Bengali | The word "দপ্তর" in Bengali comes from the Persian word "daftar", which means "register" or "record". |
| Bosnian | Although ured originally meant "order" in Croatian, in Bosnian is has exclusively come to mean "office". |
| Bulgarian | "Офис" (office) comes from the Latin "officium" (duty, service) and has additional meanings such as "ceremony, ritual" and "government department" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The term 'despatx' is derived from the Latin word 'dispacium', meaning 'a clearing in a forest'. |
| Cebuano | The word "opisina" is derived from the Spanish word "oficina", which in turn comes from the Latin word "officina", meaning "workshop" or "place of work." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "办公室" (office) originally refers to a "study" or "administrative office" in government agencies or organizations. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word "辦公室" can also refer to a government agency or bureau. |
| Corsican | Corsican « uffìciu » is based on Latin « officium » (« duty, task ») and has also been borrowed into Sardinian and Ligurian. |
| Croatian | The word "ured" can also refer to a division within an organization or a job title. |
| Czech | The word "kancelář" derives from the German "Kanzlei", which referred to the space where official documents were written in medieval chanceries. |
| Danish | "Kontor" is a loanword from French "comptoir", originally meaning a counter in a shop or bank. |
| Dutch | The word "kantoor" is derived from the French word "comptoir" and the Italian word "cantone". |
| Esperanto | The word "oficejo" is derived from the Latin "officium", meaning "duty" or "service", and can also refer to a room or building where business is conducted. |
| Estonian | The word "kontoris" in Estonian is derived from the German word "Kontor", which also means "office". However, it can also refer to a desk or a writing table. |
| Finnish | The word "toimisto" comes from the Swedish word "tjänste" meaning "service", the suffix "istu" meaning "place" and the ending "-o" indicating a place or an institution. |
| French | Bureau in French originated from the late Latin *burellus* (“coarse woolen cloth”), hence the use of the word *bureau* to refer to the writing desk covered with this cloth used by officials and scribes |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "kantoar" comes from the French word "comptoir," meaning "counting house." |
| Galician | The Galician word "oficina" comes from the Latin "officina", which originally meant "workshop" or "studio". |
| Georgian | The word "ოფისი" (office) in Georgian derives from the Latin "officium" (duty), which also gave rise to the English word "officer". |
| German | The word "Büro" is derived from the French word "bureau" and the Latin word "burellus," meaning "coarse woolen cloth or fabric." |
| Greek | "Γραφείο" derives from "γράφω" (write), and also refers to the physical writing desk in Greek. |
| Gujarati | The word ઓફિસ derives from the Latin word "officium", meaning a duty or role, and is unrelated to the English word "office". |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole term "biwo" is derived from the French word "bureau". It can also refer to a government agency or department. |
| Hausa | In Hausa, the word “ofis” can also refer to a cubicle or small workspace within an office building. |
| Hawaiian | Keʻena is the Hawaiian term for an office, and it is also related to the Proto-Austronesian root *kena, meaning "house". |
| Hebrew | The word "מִשׂרָד" (misrad) in Hebrew can also mean "ministry" or "department". |
| Hindi | An office in India is also called 'दफ्तर' or 'चौकी', and it can refer to a wide range of government offices. |
| Hmong | The word "chaw ua haujlwm" is derived from the Chinese word "办公室", which also means "office". |
| Hungarian | The word "hivatal" derives from the verb "hiv", meaning "to call", and originally referred to a place where people were summoned for official duties. |
| Icelandic | The word "skrifstofu" derives from the Old Norse "skrifstofa", meaning "writing chamber" or "scriptorium". |
| Igbo | The Igbo word |
| Indonesian | The word 'kantor' is derived from the Dutch word 'kantoor', which means 'office' or 'bureau'. |
| Irish | The word "oifig" comes from the Latin "officium", meaning "duty", and in Irish also has the meaning of "room" or "work". |
| Italian | "Ufficio" originally came from the Latin word "officium", meaning "duty", "service", or "function", and has also been used to refer to a department or agency. |
| Japanese | The word "オフィス" can also refer to a room or space within a building, particularly one used for a specific purpose. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "kantor" also means "store" or "warehouse." |
| Kannada | The word "ಕಚೇರಿ" (office) in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "कचहरि" (court of law). |
| Kazakh | "Kenese" is a Kazakh word that has several meanings and etymological roots. |
| Khmer | "ការិយាល័យ" also refers to a government ministry, or a government post, or a government official. |
| Korean | The Hanja for '사무실' can also mean 'government office', 'public building' or 'temple' depending on the context. |
| Kurdish | The word 'dayre' in Kurdish may also refer to a monastery or convent. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "кеңсе" can also refer to a bureau, a chancellery, a secretariat, or even a ministry or department |
| Latin | Officium originally referred to a religious duty or service, and also denoted a judicial or public duty. |
| Latvian | The word "birojs" comes from the French word "bureau". |
| Lithuanian | The word "biuras" likely comes from the Prussian word "birwaitis" or the German word "büro"} |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, the word “Büro” can also refer to a room where people work, especially in a government or administrative setting. |
| Macedonian | The word "канцеларија" (office) originates from the Latin word "cancelli", which referred to a lattice or screen separating a space within a building. |
| Malagasy | The word **biraô** comes from the Indonesian word **biro** and was introduced to the Malagasy language during the colonial period. |
| Malay | The word "pejabat" derives from Arabic and originally meant "place of decision"} |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, "ഓഫീസ്" (office) is also used colloquially to refer to a government office. |
| Maltese | The word "uffiċċju" is derived from the Latin word "officium", meaning "duty" or "service". |
| Maori | The word tari can also refer to a storehouse, granary, or treasury |
| Marathi | The word “कार्यालय” is derived from the Sanskrit word “कार” (work) and the suffix “लय” (place), indicating a place of work. |
| Mongolian | The word "оффис" in Mongolian can also refer to a "shop" or a "workshop". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | "ရုံး" can also be used to refer to a place where a specific task or function is carried out, such as a court or a hospital. |
| Nepali | The word कार्यालय originated from the Sanskrit term 'karyalaya', meaning 'place of work'. |
| Norwegian | The word "kontor" is derived from the French word "comptoir", meaning "counting house". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "ofesi" in Nyanja comes from the English word "office" and is also used to refer to a "workshop" or "plant." |
| Pashto | The word "دفتر" in Pashto can also mean a "notebook" or a "writing board." |
| Persian | In Persian, دفتر "daftar" has roots going back to ancient Persia, originally denoting a "book for keeping records". |
| Polish | The Polish word "gabinet" can also refer to a collection of curiosities or a doctor's consulting room, tracing its origins to the French word "cabinet." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "escritório" comes from the Latin word "scriptorium", meaning "writing room". |
| Punjabi | "ਦਫਤਰ" is derived from the Persian word "daftar" which originally meant "a book" or "a register". |
| Romanian | The word "birou" can also refer to a bureau, a piece of furniture used for writing or administrative work. |
| Russian | The word "офис" can also refer to a government department or agency. |
| Samoan | The word "ofisa" in Samoan can also refer to a classroom or a government department. |
| Scots Gaelic | The term 'oifis' can also refer to a room or building where administrative or clerical work is carried out. |
| Serbian | In Serbian, the word "канцеларија" (office) originally meant "room where books are stored". |
| Sesotho | "Ofisi" can also refer to a government department or a place of work. |
| Shona | The Shona word for "office", "hofisi," is influenced by the German "büro", originally coined for desk.} |
| Sindhi | In Sindhi, "آفيس" can also mean a "store" or "shop". |
| Slovak | Slovak "kancelária" comes from Latin word "cancelli" (lattice, screen). |
| Slovenian | The word "pisarni" may also refer to a type of bread roll in some regions of Slovenia. |
| Somali | The word "xafiiska" is derived from the Arabic word "khafafa", meaning "to be light" or "to be easy to carry", referring to its portability. |
| Spanish | The word "oficina" derives from the Latin word "officina", meaning "workshop" or "place of work". |
| Sundanese | "Kantor" can also mean "work" or "job" in Sundanese. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word 'ofisini' originates from the Arabic word 'ofīs' meaning 'office' or 'administration'. |
| Swedish | Kontor also means 'countor' or 'counter' in Swedish. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Tagalog, "opisina" is derived from the Spanish word "oficina", and can also refer to a desk or writing table. |
| Tajik | In Tajik, "идора" is also a term used to refer to a government agency or department. |
| Tamil | "அலுவலகம்" can also refer to a place of business or a government department. |
| Telugu | The word "కార్యాలయం" can also refer to a workshop or a place of business, especially when it is used in a compound word. |
| Thai | "สำนักงาน" derives from the Sanskrit word "saṃgrāma" meaning "battlefield" or "place of conflict". |
| Turkish | The word "ofis" in Turkish originates from the French word "office", originally meaning "duty" or "service". |
| Ukrainian | The word "офіс" comes from the Latin word "officium", which means "duty" or "service". |
| Urdu | "دفتر" is the Urdu word for "office" and it is derived from the Persian word "daftar" which means "a book, a record, a register, a roll". |
| Uzbek | "Idora," like many Uzbek words meaning "room" derives from Persian and is also used to describe administrative offices in Turkish. |
| Vietnamese | "Văn phòng" has alternate uses in Vietnamese, such as the "Department for Cultural Affairs," where it is a combination of the Sino-Vietnamese word văn for "culture," and phòng for "room." |
| Welsh | Welsh "swyddfa" likely evolved from Proto-Celtic "*swidyo" meaning "a sitting down, rest." |
| Xhosa | The word "iofisi" in Xhosa is derived from the Afrikaans word "kantoor", which in turn comes from the French word "comptoir" meaning "counting house". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "ביוראָ" may derive from the German word "Bureau" or the French word "Bureau" which means "desk". |
| Yoruba | Ọfiisi also means 'an official government document' like a passport, certificate, driver's license, etc. |
| Zulu | The word 'Ihhovisi' is derived from the Zulu word 'Ikhosi', meaning 'chief' or 'lord', indicating the elevated status of the place where official business is conducted. |
| English | The word "office" derives from the Latin word "officium", meaning "duty" or "service". |