Paper in Different Languages
Discover 'Paper' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Paper
Afrikaans papier | ||
Albanian letër | ||
Amharic ወረቀት | ||
Arabic ورقة | ||
Armenian թուղթ | ||
Assamese কাগজ | ||
Aymara papila | ||
Azerbaijani kağız | ||
Bambara papiye | ||
Basque papera | ||
Belarusian папера | ||
Bengali কাগজ | ||
Bhojpuri कागज | ||
Bosnian papir | ||
Bulgarian хартия | ||
Catalan paper | ||
Cebuano papel | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 纸 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 紙 | ||
Corsican carta | ||
Croatian papir | ||
Czech papír | ||
Danish papir | ||
Dhivehi ކަރުދާސް | ||
Dogri कागज | ||
Dutch papier | ||
English paper | ||
Esperanto papero | ||
Estonian paber | ||
Ewe pɛpa | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) papel | ||
Finnish paperi | ||
French papier | ||
Frisian papier | ||
Galician papel | ||
Georgian ქაღალდი | ||
German papier- | ||
Greek χαρτί | ||
Guarani kuatia | ||
Gujarati કાગળ | ||
Haitian Creole papye | ||
Hausa takarda | ||
Hawaiian pepa | ||
Hebrew עיתון | ||
Hindi कागज़ | ||
Hmong ntawv | ||
Hungarian papír | ||
Icelandic pappír | ||
Igbo akwukwo | ||
Ilocano papel | ||
Indonesian kertas | ||
Irish páipéar | ||
Italian carta | ||
Japanese 論文 | ||
Javanese kertas | ||
Kannada ಕಾಗದ | ||
Kazakh қағаз | ||
Khmer ក្រដាស | ||
Kinyarwanda impapuro | ||
Konkani कागद | ||
Korean 종이 | ||
Krio pepa | ||
Kurdish kaxez | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کاغەز | ||
Kyrgyz кагаз | ||
Lao ເຈ້ຍ | ||
Latin chartam | ||
Latvian papīrs | ||
Lingala papie | ||
Lithuanian popieriaus | ||
Luganda olupapula | ||
Luxembourgish pabeier | ||
Macedonian хартија | ||
Maithili कागज | ||
Malagasy taratasy | ||
Malay kertas | ||
Malayalam പേപ്പർ | ||
Maltese karta | ||
Maori pepa | ||
Marathi कागद | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯆꯦ | ||
Mizo lehkha | ||
Mongolian цаас | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) စက္ကူ | ||
Nepali कागज | ||
Norwegian papir | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) pepala | ||
Odia (Oriya) କାଗଜ | ||
Oromo waraqaa | ||
Pashto کاغذ | ||
Persian کاغذ | ||
Polish papier | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) papel | ||
Punjabi ਕਾਗਜ਼ | ||
Quechua papel | ||
Romanian hârtie | ||
Russian бумага | ||
Samoan pepa | ||
Sanskrit पत्रं | ||
Scots Gaelic pàipear | ||
Sepedi pampiri | ||
Serbian папир | ||
Sesotho pampiri | ||
Shona bepa | ||
Sindhi ڪاغذ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කඩදාසි | ||
Slovak papier | ||
Slovenian papir | ||
Somali warqad | ||
Spanish papel | ||
Sundanese keretas | ||
Swahili karatasi | ||
Swedish papper | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) papel | ||
Tajik коғаз | ||
Tamil காகிதம் | ||
Tatar кәгазь | ||
Telugu కాగితం | ||
Thai กระดาษ | ||
Tigrinya ወረቐት | ||
Tsonga phepha | ||
Turkish kağıt | ||
Turkmen kagyz | ||
Twi (Akan) krataa | ||
Ukrainian папір | ||
Urdu کاغذ | ||
Uyghur قەغەز | ||
Uzbek qog'oz | ||
Vietnamese giấy | ||
Welsh papur | ||
Xhosa iphepha | ||
Yiddish פּאַפּיר | ||
Yoruba iwe | ||
Zulu iphepha |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, 'papier' also refers to a collection of official documents, such as a passport or identity card. |
| Albanian | The word "letër" shares the same root with "litër" (liter), signifying the material's absorption and release of liquids. |
| Amharic | The word "ወረቀት" in Amharic is derived from the root "ወረቅ" (leaf), and also means "leaf". |
| Arabic | The word "ورقة" in Arabic derives from the verb "ورق" meaning "to cover", as paper covers information. |
| Armenian | The word “թուղթ” is derived from the Persian word “كاغذ”, meaning a sheet of papyrus, parchment, or paper. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "kağız" in Azerbaijani is derived from Persian "kāġað" and ultimately from Chinese "zhǐ" (紙). |
| Basque | The Basque word "papera" is also used to refer to a type of duck, "Anas platyrhynchos". |
| Belarusian | Belarusian “папера” (paper) is cognate with Latin “papyrus”, ultimately derived from the Ancient Egyptian name for the papyrus plant. |
| Bengali | The word "কাগজ" in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word "कागद" (kAgad), which means "a leaf of a tree or plant used for writing, printing, or wrapping." |
| Bosnian | "Papir" is derived from the Ancient Greek "papyrus" meaning "a writing material made of the stem of a papyrus plant". |
| Bulgarian | The word "хартия" comes from the Greek word "χάρτης" which means "sheet of papyrus". |
| Catalan | The word "paper" derives from the Latin "papyrus", which in turn comes from the ancient Egyptian word for "reed". Alternatively, the word "paper" may also refer to a type of thin material used in smoking or a legal document. |
| Cebuano | The word "Papel" can also mean a "role" as in a drama or play. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "纸" (paper) also means "evidence" or "proof", derived from the ancient practice of recording agreements on pieces of paper. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 紙 is closely related to the word 縑, which can mean both 'silk' and 'paper'. |
| Corsican | In older forms, also meant a charter, a letter with a sacred connotation, a public deed, or an announcement. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "papir" does not only mean "paper" but also "a piece of paper". |
| Czech | The word "papír" is derived from the Latin word "papyrus", meaning "a writing material made from the stem of the papyrus plant". |
| Danish | The Danish word "papir" derives from "papyrus", referring to the material used for writing in ancient Egypt. |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "papier" also refers to a set of official documents, often related to a legal or administrative process. |
| Esperanto | Also means `duck` and is derived from the French "papier". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "paber" is derived from the German "Papier", which itself comes from the Greek "papyros", referring to the ancient writing material made from papyrus reeds. |
| Finnish | In Finnish, 'paperi' can also refer to a banknote or currency. |
| French | The French word 'papier' comes from the Latin word 'papyrus', which referred to the ancient writing material made from the papyrus plant. |
| Frisian | In the Saterland Frisian dialect of the Frisian language, "papier" means "newsprint". |
| Galician | The Galician word "papel" comes from the Latin word "papyrus", the material that was used to make paper in ancient times. |
| Georgian | The word "ქაღალდი" likely derives from the Persian word "kāġaḏ", meaning "paper" or "papyrus". |
| German | Papier derives from the Latin word 'papyrus' and shares its root with the word 'paragraph'. |
| Greek | The word "χαρτί" (paper) derives from the Coptic word "харти", which originally meant "papyrus plant." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "કાગળ" likely derives from the Sanskrit word "कागल" (kāgala), meaning "a bundle of reeds" or "a sheet of papyrus". |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "papye" derives from the French "papier." |
| Hausa | In ancient Hausa, takarda often referred to a single sheet rather than a collection of pages. |
| Hawaiian | The word "pepa" in Hawaiian can also refer to a book, a newspaper, or the written word. |
| Hebrew | In Hebrew, "עיתון" derives from "עות" ('time') and denotes a "periodical", hence the secondary meaning "newspaper". |
| Hindi | The word 'कागज़' (paper) is derived from the Persian word 'kāghaz', which in turn originated from the Chinese word 'zhi' (paper). |
| Hmong | "Ntawv" comes from the Proto-Hmong-Mien word for "book" or "writing." |
| Hungarian | In Hungarian, "papír" also refers to the membranes covering organs, possibly from the rustling sound made by both. |
| Icelandic | Pappír is cognate with 'papyrus' and 'paper' in English, derived from the Latin word 'papyrus' which referred to the writing material made from the stem of the papyrus plant. |
| Igbo | The word "akwukwo" in Igbo can also refer to the physical properties of a leaf, such as its shape, size, and color. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "kertas" is a loan word from Portuguese "carta", meaning a written document, which itself originated from the Greek "khartes" and Latin "charta", denoting a sheet of papyrus. |
| Irish | The Irish word |
| Italian | In Italian, "carta" can also refer to a geographical map, a playing card, or a letter |
| Japanese | The word "論文" (paper) in Japanese has multiple meanings, including "an academic paper" and "a thesis or dissertation. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word "kertas" can also refer to a type of musical instrument, specifically a drum used in traditional ceremonies and gamelan performances. |
| Kannada | The word "ಕಾಗದ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कागद" (kágada), which ultimately comes from the Persian word "کاغذ" (kāghaz), meaning "paper made from the bark of trees". |
| Kazakh | The word |
| Khmer | The word "ក្រដាស" in Khmer originally referred to tree bark used to make traditional Khmer manuscripts, known as "krama". |
| Korean | "종이" is a cognate of the Chinese "紙 (지; zhǐ)", which is written using the same Hanja character and is also pronounced as "종지" ("joongji") in Korean. |
| Kurdish | The root of "kaxez" may also mean to be flat |
| Kyrgyz | Кагаз is used colloquially to refer to both paper and money in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | In Thai, "ເຈ້ຍ" (paper) is also used as a slang term for "money". |
| Latin | "Chartam" can alternatively refer to a leaf, card, or sheet. |
| Latvian | "Papīrs" is a loanword from Ancient Greek "πάπυρος" (papyrus), through German "Papier". |
| Lithuanian | The word "popieriaus" is derived from the Latin word "papyrus", which in turn comes from the ancient Greek word "πάπυρος" (pápyros). |
| Macedonian | The word "хартија" can also refer to a document or certificate in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | Malagasy 'taratasy' is derived from the Arabic 'warq' meaning 'leaf' or 'paper'. |
| Malay | In Indonesian, 'kertas' also refers to sandpaper. |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "പേപ്പർ" (paper) may have been derived from the word "പത്ര" (leaf), indicating the original use of leaves for writing. |
| Maltese | The word "karta" comes from the Italian word "carta" and originally referred to the sheets of paper used to write a letter. |
| Maori | The Maori word "pepa" is derived from the Polynesian root *fafa*, which also means "to beat" or "to pound". |
| Marathi | The word "कागद" (paper) in Marathi derived from the Sanskrit word "कागदपत्र" meaning "leaf of a tree used for writing". |
| Mongolian | The word "цаас" originally meant "blank" or "empty" in Mongolian, and it has been used to refer to paper since the introduction of papermaking to Mongolia. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "စက္ကူ" (paper) in Myanmar (Burmese) is derived from the Sanskrit word "patra" meaning "leaf". In other contexts, it can also refer to the protective bark of a tree or even a type of metal plate used in ancient inscriptions. |
| Nepali | The word "कागज" (paper) in Nepali originates from the Sanskrit word "कागजपत्र" meaning "a document written on"} |
| Norwegian | "Papir" is a borrowing of Latin "papyrus" (reed) and is also related to "papyros" (paper); " papir" can also refer to "toilet paper" |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'pepala' is also used to refer to a type of thin, flaky bread made from cassava flour. |
| Pashto | "کاغذ" is loaned into Persian and Pashto from "خاقان," the title of kings of the Khaganate. |
| Persian | The word "کاغذ" (kāqaz) in Persian most likely comes from the Greek word "χάρτης" (khártes) meaning "papyrus", but other proposed origins include the Chinese word "紙" (zhǐ) and the Aramaic word "גזז" (gǝzzaz) meaning "to shear". |
| Polish | In Polish, "papier" can also refer to a type of thick, absorbent paper used for filtering liquids. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, the word "papel" can also mean "role" or "part". |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word "ਕਾਗਜ਼" is derived from the Persian word "kāghaz" which in turn comes from the Chinese word "zhi". |
| Romanian | The word "hârtie" comes from the word "karta", which is a Latin term for a paper scroll. |
| Russian | "Бумага" is a loanword from Greek "pápyros" (papyrus) and also means "waste paper" in modern Russian. |
| Samoan | The word 'pepa' in Samoan comes from the Proto-Polynesian word 'pepa', meaning 'barkcloth', which was traditionally used as paper. |
| Scots Gaelic | "Pàipear" likely comes from the Latin "papiyrus" and originally referred to papyrus, but has since come to mean paper in general in Gaelic. |
| Serbian | The word "папир" in Serbian is derived from the Greek word "πάπυρος" (papyrus) and also refers to toilet paper and cigarette rolling papers. |
| Sesotho | The word "pampiri" shares an etymology with the Zulu word "phepha" and the Xhosa word "ipepha," all meaning "paper." |
| Shona | The word 'bepa' in Shona is a diminutive form of 'pepa', which referred to tree bark used as a writing surface before the introduction of paper. |
| Sindhi | "ڪاغذ" came from Middle Persian word "kāgath" meaning "paper" or "cloth". It also means "a piece of paper" or "a document" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word 'කඩදාසි' in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word 'पत्र' (patra), meaning 'leaf' or 'writing material'. |
| Slovak | "Papier" pochádza z latinského "papyrus", ktoré pôvodne znamenalo "loďová trstina". |
| Slovenian | The word "papir" in Slovenian also means "papyrus". |
| Somali | The word "warqad" is derived from the Arabic word "warqa" meaning "leaf". |
| Spanish | The word "papel" originally comes from the Latin word "papyrus", which referred to the material made from the papyrus plant used for writing. |
| Sundanese | "Keretas" is a Sanskrit word and is cognate with the Indonesian word "kertas" both meaning "paper". |
| Swahili | Karatasi can also refer to documents, certificates or letters |
| Swedish | The word "papper" also refers to a type of traditional Swedish folk music. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "papel" is related to "papirus" in Spanish, which is derived from the Coptic "papuro" or the Greek word "papyros" meaning "papyrus". |
| Tajik | The word "коғаз" in Tajik ultimately derives from the Chinese word "ko-chi", meaning "paper made from mulberry tree bark". |
| Tamil | "காகிதம்" originally meant a piece of palmyra leaf inscribed with an iron stylus. |
| Telugu | The Telugu word కాగితం (kāgitam) is a loanword from the Arabic word qirtās (paper) which is derived from the Greek word χάρτης (chartēs), which in turn comes from the Egyptian word apyrus. It is related to the English word "paper". |
| Thai | The Thai word "กระดาษ" (paper) is derived from the Sanskrit word "patra", meaning "leaf". |
| Turkish | "Kağıt" means not only "paper," but also "evidence," "proof" and "document". |
| Ukrainian | The word "папір" in Ukrainian originates from the Greek "πάπυρος" (papyrus) through Latin "papyrus" and Polish "papier". |
| Urdu | The word 'کاغذ' ('paper') in Urdu, derived from Persian, comes from the Chinese word 'zhi', referring to 'paper from mulberry bark', with 'kagaz' also referencing 'vegetable parchment' in Urdu and Hindi. |
| Uzbek | Paper in Uzbek comes from the Persian واغچ ('kāghaz'), ultimately from the Chinese 紙 ('zhǐ'), likely through Mongolian. |
| Vietnamese | "Giấy" is derived from the Chinese word "紙" (zhǐ), which can also mean "paper money" or "document." |
| Welsh | Papur can also mean "a document" or "a manuscript", particularly in legal or historical contexts. |
| Xhosa | In addition to its primary meaning of 'paper', 'iphepha' can also refer to a 'thin layer', such as the outer covering of a maize cob or the bark of a tree. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "פּאַפּיר" comes from the German word "Papier" and ultimately from the Latin word "papyrus", meaning "writing material made from the stem of the papyrus plant." |
| Yoruba | In Yoruba, 'iwe' shares the same root with 'iwo', meaning 'cloth'. This duality is because paper was initially a new form of cloth in the region. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "iphepha" originates from the Nguni word "phepha", meaning "to flatten". |
| English | The word 'paper' originates from the ancient Egyptian word 'papyrus', which refers to the material made from the stem of the papyrus plant. |