Person in different languages

Person in Different Languages

Discover 'Person' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'person' is a fundamental building block in our understanding of individual identity and human connection. It signifies a unique being, imbued with personality, dignity, and the capacity for complex thoughts and emotions. Throughout history and across cultures, the concept of 'person' has been explored, celebrated, and debated in myriad ways.

From legal and philosophical discourses to artistic and spiritual expressions, the idea of a 'person' transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries. It is a universal concept that resonates with our shared human experience, while also reflecting the rich diversity of our world's languages and cultures.

For instance, in Spanish, 'person' is translated as 'persona', in French as 'personne', and in German as 'Person'. These translations not only convey the same basic meaning but also offer intriguing insights into the unique linguistic and cultural contexts from which they emerge.

In this article, we delve into the fascinating world of 'person' translations, shedding light on the significance, cultural importance, and historical contexts of this deceptively simple word. Join us on this journey of linguistic and cultural discovery!

Person


Person in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanspersoon
The word "persoon" in Afrikaans originates from the Dutch "persoon" which in turn derives from the Latin "persona", meaning "mask" or "character" in a play.
Amharicሰው
The word “ሰው” can also refer to "men" in contrast to "women", or "humans" in contrast to "animals"
Hausamutum
The word "mutum" in Hausa can also refer to a corpse or a ghost.
Igbommadu
The word 'mmadu' can also refer to a specific group or category of people, such as a clan or a family.
Malagasyolona
"Olona" can also refer to a human being, a species, or a group of people sharing a common identity.
Nyanja (Chichewa)munthu
The word 'munthu' in Nyanja (Chichewa) can also mean 'human being', 'individual', or 'soul'.
Shonamunhu
Munhu can also mean owner, master, or boss in Shona.
Somaliqof
The word "qof" can also refer to "something" or "anyone" in Somali.
Sesothomotho
The word 'motho' is used in the singular and can also mean 'a body of people' or 'a nation'.
Swahilimtu
The word "mtu" in Swahili can also refer to a human being as a member of a group or a community.
Xhosaumntu
"Umntu" also means "humanity" or "human being" in Xhosa.
Yorubaeniyan
The word "eniyan" (person) in Yoruba is derived from the root word "eni" (life or breath), indicating that a person is a living being.
Zuluumuntu
The word 'umuntu' in Zulu can also mean 'humanity' or 'character' to describe someone with good qualities.
Bambaramɔgɔ
Eweame
Kinyarwandaumuntu
Lingalamoto
Lugandaomuntu
Sepedimotho
Twi (Akan)onii

Person in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicشخص
The Arabic word "شخص" derives from the Greek "πρόσωπον" meaning "face" and carries connotations related to individual presence, character, and appearance.
Hebrewאדם
The word "אדם" can also mean "earth" in Hebrew, derived from the fact that in Biblical tradition, humanity was created from the dust of the earth.
Pashtoشخص
The word "شخص" in Pashto can also refer to a physical body or a particular individual.
Arabicشخص
The Arabic word "شخص" derives from the Greek "πρόσωπον" meaning "face" and carries connotations related to individual presence, character, and appearance.

Person in Western European Languages

Albanianpersoni
In Albanian, "personi" also means "mask" or "face", reflecting its Latin root "persona".
Basquepertsona
The word 'pertsona' is a borrowing from Latin, where 'persona' meant originally a theatrical mask and later a role.
Catalanpersona
"Persona" derives from Latin and also means "mask" or "character" in Catalan.
Croatianosoba
In Old Church Slavonic, 'osoba' meant 'mask' or 'role' in a theatre performance.
Danishperson
Its second meaning refers to the grammatical person, for example in "first person plural", and the word can also be used in the sense of someone's character or qualities
Dutchpersoon
In Dutch, "persoon" can also refer to a grammatical pronoun or dramatic character.
Englishperson
Derived from Latin meaning “mask,” “persona” referred to characters played by Roman actors, and also referred to the masks themselves, possibly made from human bones.
Frenchla personne
The word "la personne" comes from the Latin "persona", meaning "mask" or "character".
Frisianpersoan
The word "persoan" in Frisian, like the English word "persona," originally meant "mask."
Galicianpersoa
In Galician, "persoa" derives from the Latin word "persona", also meaning "mask" or "character" in theatre.
Germanperson
In German, "Person" has multiple meanings, including "individual" and "character in a play or movie."
Icelandicmanneskja
Manneskja can alternatively refer to any kind of person, regardless of sex (karl-man and kona-woman), or the whole of mankind
Irishduine
In Irish mythology, "duine" also referred to a supernatural being with human form but superhuman powers.
Italianpersona
In Italian theatre, "persona" denotes the "mask", while in Latin it referred to the mask and the corresponding dramatic role or "character"
Luxembourgishpersoun
Persoun is derived from Latin, with alternate meanings including 'mask' and 'role', reflecting the concept of individuals embodying various personae in society.
Maltesepersuna
The Maltese word "persuna" also means "mask".
Norwegianperson
In Norwegian, the word «person» can refer to both an individual and a role or character, such as in a play or film.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)pessoa
In Brazilian Portuguese, 'pessoa' can also mean 'individual' or 'subject' in a legal or grammatical context.
Scots Gaelicduine
The word “duine” in Scots Gaelic is thought to derive from the Gaelic for “man” or “warrior”, but may also mean “noble” or “human being”.
Spanishpersona
In Spanish, the word "persona" originally meant "theatrical mask".
Swedishperson
In Swedish, "person" can also refer to a character in a story, the subject of a verb, or a human being.
Welshperson
The Welsh word "person" can also mean "face" or "look".

Person in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianчалавек
The Belarusian word “чалавек” (person) likely originates from the Proto-Slavic word *čelověkъ, which could also mean “foreman, servant, slave”.
Bosnianosoba
In Old Church Slavonic, "osoba" meant "mask" or "face".
Bulgarianчовек
The word "човек" in Bulgarian is related to the Proto-Slavic word "*čelověkъ" meaning "forehead", which in turn derives from the Proto-Indo-European word "*ḱel-/*ḱl-/*ḱelh-", meaning "to shelter" or "to cover".
Czechosoba
The word "osoba" in Czech also refers to a mask, as worn by an actor or at a celebration.
Estonianisik
"Isik" comes from the Old Estonian word "ise" meaning "self" and is also related to the Finnish "ihminen" meaning "human", both derived from the Proto-Uralic root *-iče "human being"
Finnishhenkilö
The Finnish word "henkilö" (person) also refers to a "character" in a play or "actor" in a movie.
Hungarianszemély
Its word origin suggests that `személy` used to mean 'one who presents himself at a legal trial'.
Latvianpersona
The word "persona" in Latvian shares the same Indo-European root as the word "perceive".
Lithuanianasmuo
The word "asmuo" (person) in Lithuanian derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂es- "to breathe", hence its original meaning was "a living being".
Macedonianлице
Macedonian 'лице' is related to the Old-Church Slavonic word 'лице' and Lithuanian 'veidas' and may originally have meant 'appearance' or 'image'.
Polishosoba
The Polish word "osoba" derives from the Latin "persona," meaning "mask" or "stage character."
Romanianpersoană
In Romanian, the term "persoană" can also mean "mask" in a theatrical context.
Russianчеловек
The word "человек" can also mean "human being" or "mankind" depending on the context and inflection.
Serbianособа
In Russian, 'особа' can also refer to 'identity', as in 'документ, удостоверяющий личность' ('identity document').
Slovakosoba
The Slovak word "osoba" can also refer to a theatrical role or a character in a play or movie.
Slovenianoseba
The word 'oseba' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *osъba, meaning 'essence' or 'nature'.
Ukrainianлюдина
The word "людина" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*ljudina", meaning "people" or "tribe".

Person in South Asian Languages

Bengaliব্যক্তি
In the Sanskrit original, "ব্যক্তি" meant "a man or woman who is present", from the root "vi-kṛt", meaning "to transform", and "jan", meaning "to be born".
Gujaratiવ્યક્તિ
"વ્યક્તિ" is ultimately derived from Sanskrit "vi" (to separate) + "kri" (to do). Thus, "person" originally meant something like "the one who separates/divides." It can also mean "individual" "human being" or a "certain person, gentleman, or lady."
Hindiव्यक्ति
The word व्यक्त can also mean a specific thing or individual, and in Sanskrit its root word व्यज् means to manifest.
Kannadaವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ
The word 'ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ' ('person') is also used in Kannada to refer to a 'distinct entity' or an 'individual'.
Malayalamവ്യക്തി
Marathiव्यक्ती
The word "व्यक्ती" in Marathi also means "individual", "character", or "personality"
Nepaliव्यक्ति
व्यक्ति derives from the root 'vis' (to enter), implying a person who has entered into a community or a role.
Punjabiਵਿਅਕਤੀ
In Sanskrit, the word 'व्यक्ति' (vyakti) means 'manifestation' or 'appearance', and is related to the root word 'विच्' (vic) which means 'to separate'.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)පුද්ගලයා
Tamilநபர்
Teluguవ్యక్తి
The word "వ్యక్తి" ("person") in Telugu can also mean "individual", "self", or "agent" depending on the context.
Urduشخص
The word "شخص" also means "form, figure, shape" in Urdu.

Person in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
人 (rén) is also used as a generic term for 'people' or 'the public'
Chinese (Traditional)
The right component of 人 represents 'two legs', the left component represents 'a vertical pole', hence 'human being'.
Japanese
The 人 (ningen) kanji is often used to emphasize humanity and can be translated as "humankind" or "humanity"
Korean사람
The word 사람 can also mean a group of people or a crowd.
Mongolianхүн
In some dialects, the Mongolian word “хүн” can also refer to the human race, the human species, mankind, the people, and humanity in a more general sense.
Myanmar (Burmese)လူတစ်ယောက်
The term လူတစ်ယောက် is not only used for a single human individual, but can also refer to an indefinite group or a representative thereof, as can the corresponding word "one" in English.

Person in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianorang
The Malay, Javanese, and Indonesian word "orang" is also used with the meaning "a being with a body like that of a human being, but of a supernatural character", including angels, devils, and ghosts
Javanesewong
The Javanese word 'wong' is cognate with 'urang' in Sundanese, 'orang' in Malay, and 'ulun' in Balinese, all meaning 'person'.
Khmerមនុស្ស
The word "មនុស្ស" also means "human being" and is derived from Sanskrit "manuṣya".
Laoບຸກຄົນ
The word "ບຸກຄົນ" ("person") in Lao is derived from the Sanskrit word "पुद्गल" ("body, matter") and can also mean "body" or "self".
Malayorang
The word "orang" in Malay can also refer to a "type of person" or a "member of a group."
Thaiคน
The Thai word "คน" also means "species" or "group," as in "คนไทย" (the Thai people) or "คนจีน" (the Chinese people).
Vietnamesengười
The word "người" in Vietnamese can also refer to a character in a play or a statue.
Filipino (Tagalog)tao

Person in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanişəxs
The word "şəxs" in Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic originates from the Greek word "πρόσωπον" (face, mask), and is cognate with the Latin word "persona" and the English word "person."
Kazakhадам
The Kazakh word "адам" can also refer to "mankind" or "humanity".
Kyrgyzадам
The term is also borrowed from Arabic where آدَم ('ādam) "man" ultimately derives from Hebrew Adam "earthling human".
Tajikшахс
In 13th century Persian, the word shah meant 'king' and was borrowed into Tajik as 'шахс' with the meaning of 'person'.
Turkmenadam
Uzbekshaxs
In Uzbek, "shaxs" can not only mean "person" but also "individual" and "personality".
Uyghurئادەم

Person in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankanaka
In Hawaiian, "kanaka" originally meant "common person" and later referred to Polynesian people in general.
Maoritangata
The Māori word "tangata" derives from the Proto-Polynesian root "*tangata", which also means "human being" in other Polynesian languages.
Samoantagata
The word 'tagata' in Samoan is an umbrella term encompassing humans and gods.
Tagalog (Filipino)tao
The Tagalog word "tao" also means "human being" and is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "tau" with the same meaning.

Person in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajaqi
Guaraniyvypóra

Person in International Languages

Esperantopersono
The Esperanto word "persono" derives from the Latin word "persona", which originally meant an actor's mask.
Latinhominem
The word "hominem" in Latin originally meant "human being", but later came to be used specifically for "man" in contrast to "woman".

Person in Others Languages

Greekπρόσωπο
The term 'πρόσωπο' in Greek has roots in theater, referring to the actor's mask used to embody a character.
Hmongtus neeg
Tus neeg derives from "tus" (male) and "neej" (female), reflecting the dual nature of humanity.
Kurdishşexs
The word "şexs" derives from the Arabic word "shakhṣ," which also means "form" or "figure".
Turkishkişi
Despite being used to designate the concept of 'person' in modern Turkish, the word 'kişi' originally denoted 'slave' or 'servant'.
Xhosaumntu
"Umntu" also means "humanity" or "human being" in Xhosa.
Yiddishמענטש
The Yiddish word 'mentsh' (מענטש) is derived from the German word 'Mensch', which comes from the Latin word 'humanus', meaning 'human' or 'humane'
Zuluumuntu
The word 'umuntu' in Zulu can also mean 'humanity' or 'character' to describe someone with good qualities.
Assameseব্যক্তি
Aymarajaqi
Bhojpuriआदमी
Dhivehiމީހާ
Dogriमाहनू
Filipino (Tagalog)tao
Guaraniyvypóra
Ilocanotao
Kriopɔsin
Kurdish (Sorani)کەس
Maithiliव्यक्ति
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯤ
Mizomihring
Oromonama
Odia (Oriya)ବ୍ୟକ୍ତି
Quechuaruna
Sanskritव्यक्ति
Tatarкеше
Tigrinyaሰብ
Tsongamunhu

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