Plane in Different Languages
Discover 'Plane' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'plane' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, referring to a variety of concepts that have shaped human history and culture. In its most common usage, a 'plane' is a fixed-wing aircraft, an awe-inspiring symbol of human innovation and global connectivity. This meaning has connected people across vast distances, making the world a smaller place and fostering international understanding.
Beyond aviation, 'plane' can also describe a flat surface or a tool used for smoothing or cutting. Historically, this tool has been essential in various industries, from carpentry to sculpture, contributing to the creation of beautiful and functional objects.
Given its importance and versatility, it's no wonder that people might be interested in the translation of 'plane' in different languages. Here are a few examples:
- French: avion, planche, ou plane
- Spanish: avión, plano, or plancha
- German: Flugzeug, Fläche, or Planer
- Mandarin: 飞机 (fēijī), 平面 (píngmiàn), or 平板 (píngbǎn)
Plane
Plane in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vliegtuig | ||
| The word "vliegtuig" in Afrikaans literally means "flying thing". | |||
| Amharic | አውሮፕላን | ||
| The Amharic word አውሮፕላን originates from the French "aeroplane", meaning "air machine". | |||
| Hausa | jirgin sama | ||
| The Hausa word 'jirgin sama' literally means 'sky vehicle'. | |||
| Igbo | ugbo elu | ||
| "Ugbo elu" in Igbo can also refer to a kite or a flying bird. | |||
| Malagasy | fiaramanidina | ||
| The word "fiaramanidina" (plane) in Malagasy is derived from the French word "avion" (plane). | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ndege | ||
| In Nyanja, the word "ndege" also refers to birds, suggesting the idea of flying through the air. | |||
| Shona | ndege | ||
| The word 'ndege' also means 'bird' in Shona, reflecting the shared characteristic of flying. | |||
| Somali | diyaarad | ||
| "Diyaarad" is derived from the Arabic word "tayaran," meaning "flying". | |||
| Sesotho | sefofane | ||
| The word "sefofane" in Sesotho is derived from the English word "aeroplane" or French "avion". | |||
| Swahili | ndege | ||
| In Swahili, "ndege" also refers to birds and other flying creatures. | |||
| Xhosa | inqwelomoya | ||
| The Xhosa word 'inqwelomoya' is derived from the Zulu word 'ingqulwana', which also means 'plane'. | |||
| Yoruba | ọkọ ofurufu | ||
| The Yoruba word "ọkọ ofurufu" literally translates to "vehicle of the clouds," highlighting the plane's ability to soar above the sky. | |||
| Zulu | indiza | ||
| The word 'indiza' shares its root with the word 'indiza' ('to point', 'to aim') suggesting a link between the concept of a plane and the act of directing or guiding something. | |||
| Bambara | awiyɔn | ||
| Ewe | gbadza | ||
| Kinyarwanda | indege | ||
| Lingala | mpepo | ||
| Luganda | ennyonyi | ||
| Sepedi | sefofane | ||
| Twi (Akan) | pradada | ||
Plane in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | طائرة | ||
| "طائرة" also means a carpet or a blanket in Arabic, referencing their ability to spread out and provide coverage. | |||
| Hebrew | מָטוֹס | ||
| In modern Hebrew, "מָטוֹס" exclusively denotes an aircraft, but it can also refer to the act of throwing or hurling. | |||
| Pashto | الوتکه | ||
| The word "الوتکه" in Pashto means "anything that flies", not just a plane. | |||
| Arabic | طائرة | ||
| "طائرة" also means a carpet or a blanket in Arabic, referencing their ability to spread out and provide coverage. | |||
Plane in Western European Languages
| Albanian | aeroplan | ||
| Aeroplan is a rare word for planes in Modern Albanian, but in earlier times, it was more common and even carried the additional meaning of 'flag'. | |||
| Basque | hegazkina | ||
| The word 'hegazkina' comes from the Basque words 'hegan' (to fly) and 'kina' (machine), thus reflecting the idea of a flying machine or 'airplane'. | |||
| Catalan | avió | ||
| The origin of the word avió is uncertain and it could be a derivation of "auió", itself meaning "granny". | |||
| Croatian | avion | ||
| Derived from the French word "avion" but also refers to a type of fishing net. | |||
| Danish | fly | ||
| In Danish, the word "fly" can also refer to a "flight," "flyer," or "airplane engine cover." | |||
| Dutch | vliegtuig | ||
| The word "vliegtuig" is derived from the Dutch words "vliegen" (to fly) and "tuig" (tool), meaning literally "flying tool". | |||
| English | plane | ||
| The word "plane" is derived from Latin, originally meaning flat surface. | |||
| French | avion | ||
| The word "avion" in French is derived from the Latin word "avis", meaning "bird". | |||
| Frisian | fleantúch | ||
| The word 'fleantúch' is derived from the Old Frisian words 'fle' (flat) and 'tûch' (land). It can also refer to a level surface or a floor. | |||
| Galician | avión | ||
| En gallego, avión también puede significar una especie de mosquito grande. | |||
| German | flugzeug | ||
| While "Flug" refers to flight, "Zeug" carries various meanings including tool, device, or machine, making "Flugzeug" a combination meaning "flying machine." | |||
| Icelandic | flugvél | ||
| "Flugvél" originally referred to a flying machine with flapping wings and is cognate with the English "flivver". | |||
| Irish | eitleán | ||
| In Irish, the word 'eitleán' can also refer to a board used in certain sports or games. | |||
| Italian | aereo | ||
| The Italian word "aereo" also refers to an open space or a vast expanse | |||
| Luxembourgish | fliger | ||
| The word "Fliger" comes from the Old High German word "fliegen," which also means "fly" or "flight." | |||
| Maltese | pjan | ||
| The word 'pjan' in Maltese can also mean 'scheme' or 'plan', reflecting its Latin origin, 'planus', meaning 'flat' or 'level'. | |||
| Norwegian | flyet | ||
| The word "flyet" in Norwegian can also mean "the flight" or "the flyer". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | avião | ||
| In Portuguese, "avião" originally meant "bird" or "flying machine" before it was used to refer specifically to planes. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | plèana | ||
| Plèana can refer to a type of wooden plane found in a carpenter's workshop or used as part of a weaver's loom. | |||
| Spanish | avión | ||
| The word "avión" in Spanish comes from the French word "avion," which in turn comes from the Latin word "avis," meaning "bird." | |||
| Swedish | plan | ||
| The Swedish word "plan" can also mean "flat" or "level surface", and is related to the English word "plane" in geometry. | |||
| Welsh | awyren | ||
| The Welsh word "awyren" is derived from the Old Irish term "eithir", meaning "bird". | |||
Plane in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | самалёт | ||
| The word "самалёт" is borrowed from Russian and originates from the French word "aéroplane" (which means "air plane"). | |||
| Bosnian | avion | ||
| While in Bosnian avion primarily refers to an aircraft or a plane, in French, it also has the alternate meaning of a bird. | |||
| Bulgarian | самолет | ||
| The word “самолет” is derived from the adjective “самом” - self, as the first planes were considered to be able to “fly themselves.” | |||
| Czech | letadlo | ||
| The word "letadlo" in Czech is derived from the verb "lítat" (to fly), with the suffix "-dlo" indicating a tool or means. | |||
| Estonian | lennuk | ||
| The word "lennuk" evolved from "lennu" ("flight") in the 1910s, and is related to "lendama" ("to fly") and "linn" ("bird"). | |||
| Finnish | kone | ||
| The word "kone" also means "machine" in Finnish, and shares its root with the English word "engine" | |||
| Hungarian | repülőgép | ||
| "Repülőgép" is a compound word meaning "flying apparatus". | |||
| Latvian | lidmašīna | ||
| The word "lidmašīna" is derived from the Latvian words "lidot" (to fly) and "mašīna" (machine). | |||
| Lithuanian | lėktuvas | ||
| "Lektuvas" means "flyer" in Lithuanian, referencing the soaring motion of a plane. | |||
| Macedonian | рамнина | ||
| The word "рамнина" can also mean "meadow" or "field". | |||
| Polish | samolot | ||
| Samolot, meaning "self" and "to fly" originated in Poland in the 19th century due to the shape resembling birds wings. | |||
| Romanian | avion | ||
| }In Romanian, avion also means "kite" and is used in the expression "a umbla cu avionul" meaning "to waste time". | |||
| Russian | самолет | ||
| "Самолет" originally meant a "self-flying machine" but the second part of the word "-лет" also means "a year" so in colloquial speech the plural of "самолет" is sometimes jokingly used to denote a very long period of time. | |||
| Serbian | авион | ||
| The word "авион" is borrowed from French "avion", which originated from Latin "avis" (bird), likely because early airplanes resembled birds in flight. | |||
| Slovak | lietadlo | ||
| The word "lietadlo" is derived from the Czech word "létadlo", which itself comes from the German word "fliegen" (to fly). | |||
| Slovenian | letalo | ||
| "Letalo" also designates an aircraft carrier in Slovenian, and can refer to any type of aircraft in archaic or poetic language. | |||
| Ukrainian | площині | ||
| The Ukrainian word "площина" (plane) can also refer to a surface or a flat area, and is related to the Russian word "плоский" (flat). | |||
Plane in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্লেন | ||
| The word "প্লেন" also means "plain" in Bengali, referring to a flat or level surface. | |||
| Gujarati | વિમાન | ||
| The word "વિમાન" (vimana) in Gujarati is derived from the Sanskrit word "vimāna," meaning "a celestial chariot" or "a sacred structure that can fly." | |||
| Hindi | विमान | ||
| The word "विमान" (vimana) in Sanskrit originally meant "temple or palace in the sky" and was later used to refer to "flying vehicle or aircraft." | |||
| Kannada | ವಿಮಾನ | ||
| The word 'ವಿಮಾನ' (plane) in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word 'विमान' (vimana), which originally meant a celestial chariot in Hindu mythology. | |||
| Malayalam | വിമാനം | ||
| The word "വിമാനം" (plane) in Malayalam has its roots in Sanskrit, where "विमान" (vimana) refers not only to aircraft but also to celestial chariots or palaces described in ancient Hindu texts. | |||
| Marathi | विमान | ||
| The word "विमान" (plane) in Marathi originally meant "a vehicle that flies through the air" and was also used to refer to chariots and other airborne contraptions. | |||
| Nepali | विमान | ||
| "विमान" also means "palace" in Sanskrit. | |||
| Punjabi | ਜਹਾਜ਼ | ||
| The word 'ਜਹਾਜ਼' in Punjabi is a loanword from the Arabic word 'زورق' (zauruq), which means 'ship'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | යානය | ||
| 'යානය' also means a vehicle or a ship. | |||
| Tamil | விமானம் | ||
| Telugu | విమానం | ||
| The word "plane" in Telugu, "విమానం", can also refer to an ancient Indian flying machine mentioned in Hindu texts. | |||
| Urdu | ہوائی جہاز | ||
Plane in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 飞机 | ||
| 飞机 (fēijī) also means "airplane" and was first used in China in the early 20th century. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 飛機 | ||
| 飛機在日語中意為「紙飛機」，在韓語中則泛指「飛機模型」 | |||
| Japanese | 飛行機 | ||
| The word "飛行機" originally meant "aircraft" but its meaning has shifted in modern Japanese to exclusively refer to "airplanes" in common usage. | |||
| Korean | 비행기 | ||
| 비행기 is literally 'a machine that can fly' or 'a machine that does not land', which reflects its original use for military purposes and the fact that it was a relatively new invention when the name was coined. | |||
| Mongolian | онгоц | ||
| "Онгоц" also means "vehicle" and is derived from the word "онгох" ("to move"). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လေယာဉ် | ||
| The word "လေယာဉ်" is derived from the Pali word "viyana" meaning "moving through the air". | |||
Plane in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pesawat | ||
| The word "pesawat" in Indonesian can also refer to a machine, a tool, or a device, not just an aircraft. | |||
| Javanese | pesawat | ||
| In Javanese, "pesawat" can also refer to an umbrella. | |||
| Khmer | យន្ដហោះ | ||
| The term "យន្ដហោះ" (plane) in Khmer also refers to other flying objects, such as kites and birds. | |||
| Lao | ຍົນ | ||
| The Lao word "ຍົນ" (plane) is cognate with the Thai word "เครื่องบิน" which literally means "flying machine". | |||
| Malay | kapal terbang | ||
| The Malay word "kapal terbang" literally means "flying ship". | |||
| Thai | เครื่องบิน | ||
| The word "เครื่องบิน" also means "airplane" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | máy bay | ||
| Máy bay is a Sino-Vietnamese word that literally means "Flying Machine." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | eroplano | ||
Plane in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | təyyarə | ||
| "tay" means "to fly" in Azeri, Arabic, and Persian, thus "təyyarə" literally means "a thing that flies" | |||
| Kazakh | ұшақ | ||
| The word “ұшақ” is a loanword from Russian, where it means “bird” in Turkic languages and derives from an unattested Proto-Turkic form meaning “flying” based on the suffix *uq-. | |||
| Kyrgyz | учак | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "учак" also means "bird". | |||
| Tajik | ҳавопаймо | ||
| The word “ҳавопаймо” is derived from Persian and means “airplane” in English. | |||
| Turkmen | uçar | ||
| Uzbek | samolyot | ||
| The Uzbek word "samolyot" ultimately derives from the French "aéroplane" (meaning "aeroplane") via Russian. | |||
| Uyghur | ئايروپىلان | ||
Plane in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mokulele | ||
| Mokulele also means 'to skim the waters', with reference to the gliding motion of a landing plane | |||
| Maori | rererangi | ||
| The term 'rererangi' can also refer to a 'flying ship' or 'aircraft'. | |||
| Samoan | vaalele | ||
| The Samoan word "vaalele" originally meant "flying whale" due to the whale-like shape of early airplanes. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | eroplano | ||
| The word "eroplano" comes from the Spanish word "aeroplano", which in turn comes from the Greek words "aer" (air) and "planos" (wandering). | |||
Plane in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | awyuna | ||
| Guarani | aviõ | ||
Plane in International Languages
| Esperanto | aviadilo | ||
| The word aviadilo is derived from the Latin words avis, meaning “bird,” and ad, meaning “toward,” which accurately describes an airplane’s movement and purpose. | |||
| Latin | planum | ||
| In anatomy, "planum" can refer to a flat or smooth surface, such as those found on bones or internal organs. | |||
Plane in Others Languages
| Greek | επίπεδο | ||
| In Greek the word "επίπεδο" can also mean "level" or "flat". | |||
| Hmong | dav hlau | ||
| The Hmong word "dav hlau" can also refer to a flat surface, such as a table. | |||
| Kurdish | balafir | ||
| The word | |||
| Turkish | uçak | ||
| Literally meaning "thing that flies", "uçak" is also used to refer to a kite in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | inqwelomoya | ||
| The Xhosa word 'inqwelomoya' is derived from the Zulu word 'ingqulwana', which also means 'plane'. | |||
| Yiddish | פלאַך | ||
| The Yiddish word "פלאַך" can also mean "plain, clear, flat," or "uninteresting," and is related to the German word "flach," meaning "flat." | |||
| Zulu | indiza | ||
| The word 'indiza' shares its root with the word 'indiza' ('to point', 'to aim') suggesting a link between the concept of a plane and the act of directing or guiding something. | |||
| Assamese | বাহন | ||
| Aymara | awyuna | ||
| Bhojpuri | हवाई जहाज़ | ||
| Dhivehi | ޕްލޭން | ||
| Dogri | ज्हाज | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | eroplano | ||
| Guarani | aviõ | ||
| Ilocano | eroplano | ||
| Krio | iaplen | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | فڕۆکە | ||
| Maithili | हवाई जहाज | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯅꯥꯟꯕ ꯂꯩꯃꯥꯏ | ||
| Mizo | thlawhna | ||
| Oromo | xiyyaara | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବିମାନ | ||
| Quechua | avion | ||
| Sanskrit | समतल | ||
| Tatar | самолет | ||
| Tigrinya | ሰጥ ዝበለ | ||
| Tsonga | hava | ||