Old in Different Languages
Discover 'Old' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Old
Afrikaans oud | ||
Albanian i vjetër | ||
Amharic ያረጀ | ||
Arabic قديم | ||
Armenian հին | ||
Assamese বুঢ়া | ||
Aymara achachi | ||
Azerbaijani köhnə | ||
Bambara kɔrɔ | ||
Basque zaharra | ||
Belarusian стары | ||
Bengali পুরাতন | ||
Bhojpuri बूढ़ | ||
Bosnian stara | ||
Bulgarian стар | ||
Catalan vell | ||
Cebuano tigulang na | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 旧 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 舊 | ||
Corsican vechju | ||
Croatian star | ||
Czech starý | ||
Danish gammel | ||
Dhivehi އުމުރުން ދުވަސްވީ | ||
Dogri पराना | ||
Dutch oud | ||
English old | ||
Esperanto malnova | ||
Estonian vana | ||
Ewe tsitsi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) luma | ||
Finnish vanha | ||
French vieux | ||
Frisian âld | ||
Galician vello | ||
Georgian ძველი | ||
German alt | ||
Greek παλαιός | ||
Guarani tuja | ||
Gujarati વૃદ્ધ | ||
Haitian Creole fin vye granmoun | ||
Hausa tsoho | ||
Hawaiian kahiko | ||
Hebrew ישן | ||
Hindi पुराना | ||
Hmong qub | ||
Hungarian régi | ||
Icelandic gamall | ||
Igbo ochie | ||
Ilocano nataengan | ||
Indonesian tua | ||
Irish sean | ||
Italian vecchio | ||
Japanese 古い | ||
Javanese lawas | ||
Kannada ಹಳೆಯದು | ||
Kazakh ескі | ||
Khmer ចាស់ | ||
Kinyarwanda kera | ||
Konkani पोरणें | ||
Korean 낡은 | ||
Krio ol | ||
Kurdish kevn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بەتەمەن | ||
Kyrgyz эски | ||
Lao ເກົ່າ | ||
Latin veteris | ||
Latvian vecs | ||
Lingala mokolo | ||
Lithuanian senas | ||
Luganda -kadde | ||
Luxembourgish al | ||
Macedonian стар | ||
Maithili पुरान | ||
Malagasy antitra | ||
Malay tua | ||
Malayalam പഴയത് | ||
Maltese qadim | ||
Maori tawhito | ||
Marathi जुन्या | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯔꯤꯕ | ||
Mizo upa | ||
Mongolian хуучин | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အဟောင်း | ||
Nepali पुरानो | ||
Norwegian gammel | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) akale | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପୁରୁଣା | ||
Oromo moofaa | ||
Pashto زوړ | ||
Persian پیر | ||
Polish stary | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) velho | ||
Punjabi ਪੁਰਾਣਾ | ||
Quechua machu | ||
Romanian vechi | ||
Russian старый | ||
Samoan tuai | ||
Sanskrit वृद्धः | ||
Scots Gaelic seann | ||
Sepedi kgale | ||
Serbian стара | ||
Sesotho tsofetse | ||
Shona yekare | ||
Sindhi پراڻو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පැරණි | ||
Slovak starý | ||
Slovenian star | ||
Somali duug ah | ||
Spanish antiguo | ||
Sundanese lami | ||
Swahili zamani | ||
Swedish gammal | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) matanda na | ||
Tajik сола | ||
Tamil பழையது | ||
Tatar карт | ||
Telugu పాతది | ||
Thai เก่า | ||
Tigrinya ዓብይ | ||
Tsonga khale | ||
Turkish eski | ||
Turkmen köne | ||
Twi (Akan) dada | ||
Ukrainian старий | ||
Urdu پرانا | ||
Uyghur كونا | ||
Uzbek eski | ||
Vietnamese cũ | ||
Welsh hen | ||
Xhosa indala | ||
Yiddish אַלט | ||
Yoruba atijọ | ||
Zulu okudala |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, 'oud' is also used to refer to a type of wooden shoe originating in the Netherlands. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "i vjetër" has a deeper etymology, deriving from the Proto-Albanian root "*weter" (old), which has cognates in Proto-Indo-European, including Latin "vetus" and Greek "heteomai" (to follow) |
| Amharic | The word |
| Arabic | The word "قديم" (old) in Arabic can also mean "honorable" or "venerable". |
| Armenian | The word |
| Azerbaijani | The word "köhnə" also means "ancient" or "vintage". |
| Basque | The Basque word "zaharra" can also mean "ancient", "used", "worn", "rotten", "stale", "tired", "feeble", or "weak". |
| Belarusian | The word "стары" can also mean "former" or "old-fashioned" in Belarusian. |
| Bengali | In Bengali, "পুরাতন" can also refer to an "ancestor". |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian word 'stara' also means 'elder' and is used to respectfully address an older person. |
| Bulgarian | The word "стар" (old) in Bulgarian has the alternate meaning of "senior". |
| Catalan | The Catalan word «vell» originates from the Latin word «vetulus», which also means «old». |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The Chinese character 旧 (old) originally meant 'previously' and was later extended to mean 'old'. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 舊, originally meaning 'already, previously', was also an honorific title given to people who served the king. |
| Corsican | The word "vechju" also means "long-lasting" or "durable" in Corsican. |
| Croatian | While the word 'star' means 'old' in Croatian, it can also refer to an elderly person, especially an elderly woman. |
| Czech | The word "starý" also denotes "venerable" or "long-established", which is reflected in the names of some of Prague's oldest churches such as Starý kostel Panny Marie před Týnem (literally: "Old Church of Our Lady before Týn"). |
| Danish | Aside from meaning "old", "gammel" can also mean "rotten" or "rancid" in Danish. |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "oud" can also mean "intoxicated" or refer to a type of guitar or lute. |
| Esperanto | Malnova and its derivates may also mean "decrepit", "in a poor state", or "decreased in power or quality". |
| Estonian | The word "vana" can also refer to an abandoned place or an elder or grandparent. |
| Finnish | In Finnish 'vanha' also means obsolete, out-of-date and backward |
| French | "Vieux" is also used as a familiar term of endearment, as in "Ma vieille" (my old lady) or "Mon vieux" (my old man). |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "âld" can also mean "elder" or "senior". |
| Galician | Galician "vello" comes from the Latin "vetulus" meaning "very old," and is related to the English word "veteran." |
| Georgian | ძველი ('old') in Georgian is ultimately derived from Proto-Kartvelian *dʒʷeli, which may have meant just 'past'. |
| German | The word "alt" in German has cognates in other Germanic languages, like "old" in English and "oud" in Dutch. |
| Greek | The term 'παλαιός' may refer to an old person or to ancient or antiquated objects, while 'γηραλέος' denotes old age, and 'πρεσβύτης' an old man. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word વૃદ્ધ also refers to a respected learned man and a teacher. |
| Haitian Creole | It is a compound of two French words meaning literally 'fine' and 'great grandmother'. |
| Hausa | The word “tsoho” refers not only to age but also to an attitude of respect and wisdom associated with the elderly in Hausa culture. |
| Hawaiian | Kahiko also refers to traditional Hawaiian practices or cultural forms. |
| Hebrew | "ישן" means both "old" in the sense of age and "old" in the biblical context of "ancient times" |
| Hindi | The word 'पुराना' ('old') can also refer to ancient times or to previous lives in the context of reincarnation. |
| Hmong | The use of "qub" to refer to old age is a euphemism, as it primarily means "the first," "ahead of," or "original." |
| Hungarian | The word "régi" not only means "old" and "former" in Hungarian but also "ancient" and "antiquated." |
| Icelandic | Gamall can also be found as the first part of words that suggest a state of old age, such as “gamaldags“, “gamling“, “gamaldur“. |
| Igbo | Ochie, an Igbo word meaning "old", has the alternate meaning "master" in a specific context |
| Indonesian | The word "tua" also has the alternate meanings of "senior" and "ancestor". |
| Irish | The word 'Sean' in Irish may also refer to the ancient Irish people or to the Irish language, and is sometimes used to describe something 'outdated' or 'traditional'. |
| Italian | "Vecchio" can also mean "old-fashioned" or "out-of-date" |
| Japanese | 古い is an adjective meaning "old" in Japanese, however it can also mean "former", "previous", or "past". |
| Javanese | The word "lawas" can also mean "stale", "long-standing", or "ancient" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | The word "ಹಳೆಯದು" can also mean "ancient" or "outdated". |
| Kazakh | The word "ескі" (old) in Kazakh also means "ancient" or "outdated". |
| Khmer | The Khmer word ចាស់ (chas) also means 'mature', 'experienced', or 'long-standing'. |
| Korean | The word '낡은' has its roots in the Middle Korean word '낡다', meaning 'to decay'. |
| Kurdish | The word "kevn" in Kurdish can also mean "experienced" or "wise". |
| Kyrgyz | "Эски" means "old" in Kyrgyz, but it can also mean "former" or refer to a location that was previously inhabited. |
| Lao | The word "ເກົ່າ" in Lao derives from the Proto-Tai-Kadai word “*kuːj”, which also meant "old" and has modern reflexes in other languages such as the Vietnamese word "cũ". |
| Latin | The term 'veteris' has been used to describe not only old objects but also elderly people and old age. |
| Latvian | The word "vecs" in Latvian comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *wet-, meaning "year" or "time", and is cognate with similar words in other Baltic and Slavic languages. |
| Lithuanian | Senas has cognates in other Indo-European languages, such as Lat. senex, "old man" and Eng. sire. |
| Luxembourgish | Al can also mean "older brother" or "big" and is related to the English word "elder". |
| Macedonian | In Macedonian, "стар" (star) also means "elder" or "senior", reflecting the respect and wisdom associated with old age. |
| Malagasy | A different word for “antitra” is “fosa”, which can refer to an older male or female, and is sometimes used as a term of respect. |
| Malay | Malay "tua" "old" is cognate with "tua" "father" in many Philippine languages indicating seniority. |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "പഴയത്" not only means "old" but also refers to "ancient" or "outdated". |
| Maltese | The word "qadim" can also refer to the ancient Arab calendar, which is based on the lunar cycle. |
| Maori | Tawhito can also refer to an ancestor or a historical event or person. |
| Marathi | "जुन्या" (old) can also refer to someone who is wise and experienced in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | 'Хуучин' can also refer to 'former' and 'outdated'. |
| Nepali | The Sanskrit word "purana" can refer to a holy book containing myths and legends that are considered historically true in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. |
| Norwegian | Besides the primary meaning of "old", "gammel" is also used to refer to something "familiar" or "established" |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'akale' also means 'ancient' or 'old-fashioned' |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "زوړ" shares roots with the Persian word "زور" meaning "force" or "strength". |
| Persian | The word "پیر" can also refer to a spiritual teacher or guide, a holy man, or a Sufi elder. |
| Polish | The word "stary" also means "ancient" in Polish. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "velho" can also mean "experienced" or "wise". |
| Romanian | The word 'vechi' is derived from the Latin word 'vetus', meaning 'aged' or 'old'. It can also refer to something that is out of date or obsolete. |
| Russian | The word "старый" also has connotations of wisdom, experience, and respect in Russian culture. |
| Samoan | The word "tuai" can also mean "ancestor" or "parent" in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | Derived from Old Irish "sen", it means "venerated" and was often applied in a reverential sense. |
| Serbian | The word "стара" can also mean "ancient", "old-fashioned", or "venerable" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | In other contexts, "tsofetse" can also refer to someone who is wise or experienced. |
| Shona | The word "yekare" in Shona can also refer to something that is withered or dry. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "پراڻو" can also refer to one's ancestors or a traditional folk song. |
| Slovak | The word "starý" in Slovak can also mean "ancient" or "outdated". |
| Slovenian | The Slavic root of the word "star" also appears in other Slavic languages, such as Russian and Polish. |
| Somali | The noun "duug ah" (phonetically spelling) can also refer to "the old ones," that is, "elders" or "ancestors" in the context of storytelling |
| Spanish | The word “antiguo” (old), is derived from the Latin word “ante” (before) and “qui” (who), and can also mean "ancient" or "antique" in Spanish. |
| Sundanese | The word "lami" can also refer to the past or to historical events. |
| Swahili | The word "zamani" in Swahili is derived from the Arabic word "zamān" which also means "time". |
| Swedish | The Swedish word 'gammal' is linguistically related to the English word 'gammer' (an archaic term for an elderly woman) and the German word 'gammen' (play, merriments, or amusement). |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "matanda na" (old) has cognates in other Austronesian languages, such as the Indonesian word "tua" and the Malay word "tua". It also has a secondary meaning of "senior" or "elder", which is reflected in its use as a term of respect for older people. |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "сола" (old) is also used to refer to the elderly. |
| Tamil | பழையது has an alternate meaning of 'experienced'. |
| Telugu | In Telugu, "పాతది" also means a concubine, an outcaste, or an ascetic. |
| Thai | The word "เก่า" can also mean "former" or "previous", as in "เก่าแก่" (old and respected), "อดีต" (former or past), or "เก่าๆ" (old-fashioned). |
| Turkish | In Turkish, "eski" can also refer to antiquities, obsolete things, or old-fashioned ideas. |
| Ukrainian | In addition to meaning "old," "старий" can also mean "respected" or refer to a married man. |
| Urdu | The word 'پرانا' also means 'last' or 'ancient' in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, the word "eski" can also mean "veteran" or "former". |
| Vietnamese | "Cũ" may also refer to "the past" or "something no longer needed or wanted." |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "hen" is also used to mean "ancient" or "venerable". |
| Xhosa | The word 'indala' also refers to an elder or wise person who is respected for their knowledge and experience. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "אַלט" not only means "old," but can also be used as a noun to refer to an altar, or as an adjective to describe something as serious or solemn. |
| Yoruba | Átijọ is an adjective and noun which besides 'old' can also mean: old person, ancient or elderly |
| Zulu | The word 'okudala' in Zulu can also refer to something that is established or customary. |
| English | The word "old" has several different etymological origins and alternate meanings, including "long-established," "outdated," and "experienced." |