Poetry in Different Languages
Discover 'Poetry' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Poetry
Afrikaans poësie | ||
Albanian poezi | ||
Amharic ግጥም | ||
Arabic الشعر | ||
Armenian պոեզիա | ||
Assamese কবিতা | ||
Aymara chapar aru | ||
Azerbaijani şeir | ||
Bambara poyi sɛbɛn | ||
Basque poesia | ||
Belarusian паэзія | ||
Bengali কবিতা | ||
Bhojpuri कविता | ||
Bosnian poezija | ||
Bulgarian поезия | ||
Catalan poesia | ||
Cebuano balak | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 诗歌 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 詩歌 | ||
Corsican puesia | ||
Croatian poezija | ||
Czech poezie | ||
Danish poesi | ||
Dhivehi ޅެން | ||
Dogri काव्य | ||
Dutch poëzie | ||
English poetry | ||
Esperanto poezio | ||
Estonian luule | ||
Ewe hakpanya ŋuti nunya | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) mga tula | ||
Finnish runoutta | ||
French poésie | ||
Frisian poëzij | ||
Galician poesía | ||
Georgian პოეზია | ||
German poesie | ||
Greek ποίηση | ||
Guarani ñe'ẽpoty | ||
Gujarati કવિતા | ||
Haitian Creole pwezi | ||
Hausa shayari | ||
Hawaiian mele mele | ||
Hebrew שִׁירָה | ||
Hindi शायरी | ||
Hmong paj huam | ||
Hungarian költészet | ||
Icelandic ljóðlist | ||
Igbo abu | ||
Ilocano daniw | ||
Indonesian puisi | ||
Irish filíocht | ||
Italian poesia | ||
Japanese 詩 | ||
Javanese puisi | ||
Kannada ಕವನ | ||
Kazakh поэзия | ||
Khmer កំណាព្យ | ||
Kinyarwanda ibisigo | ||
Konkani कविता | ||
Korean 시 | ||
Krio pɔym | ||
Kurdish helbeste | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) هۆنراوە | ||
Kyrgyz поэзия | ||
Lao ບົດກະວີ | ||
Latin poetica | ||
Latvian dzeja | ||
Lingala poeme | ||
Lithuanian poezija | ||
Luganda obutontomi | ||
Luxembourgish poesie | ||
Macedonian поезија | ||
Maithili शायरी | ||
Malagasy tononkalo | ||
Malay puisi | ||
Malayalam കവിത | ||
Maltese poeżija | ||
Maori pehepehe | ||
Marathi कविता | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡ | ||
Mizo hla | ||
Mongolian яруу найраг | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ကဗျာ | ||
Nepali कविता | ||
Norwegian poesi | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ndakatulo | ||
Odia (Oriya) କବିତା | ||
Oromo og-walaloo | ||
Pashto شعر | ||
Persian شعر | ||
Polish poezja | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) poesia | ||
Punjabi ਕਵਿਤਾ | ||
Quechua harawi | ||
Romanian poezie | ||
Russian поэзия | ||
Samoan solo | ||
Sanskrit काव्य | ||
Scots Gaelic bàrdachd | ||
Sepedi theto | ||
Serbian поезија | ||
Sesotho lithothokiso | ||
Shona nhetembo | ||
Sindhi شاعري | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කවි | ||
Slovak poézia | ||
Slovenian poezija | ||
Somali gabay | ||
Spanish poesía | ||
Sundanese puisi | ||
Swahili mashairi | ||
Swedish poesi | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) mga tula | ||
Tajik шеър | ||
Tamil கவிதை | ||
Tatar поэзия | ||
Telugu కవిత్వం | ||
Thai กวีนิพนธ์ | ||
Tigrinya ግጥሚ | ||
Tsonga vutlhokovetseri | ||
Turkish şiir | ||
Turkmen goşgy | ||
Twi (Akan) anwensɛm | ||
Ukrainian поезії | ||
Urdu شاعری | ||
Uyghur شېئىر | ||
Uzbek she'riyat | ||
Vietnamese thơ | ||
Welsh barddoniaeth | ||
Xhosa imibongo | ||
Yiddish פּאָעזיע | ||
Yoruba ewi | ||
Zulu izinkondlo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word poësie in Afrikaans originates from the French word poésie, which itself originates from the Latin word poēsis meaning "creation". |
| Albanian | The Albanian word 'poezi' is derived from the Latin word 'poesis', which means 'a making' or 'a creation'. |
| Amharic | "ግጥም" (poetry) probably comes from the word "ግጥ" (a secret) and was originally used to refer to a form of coded language. |
| Arabic | 'شعر' literally means 'hair' in Arabic, and was originally used to refer to the hairs on the back of the neck, which would stand on end when a person was moved by emotion or passion, especially when listening to poetry. |
| Armenian | As derived from the Greek "poiesis" meaning "making," "creation," Armenian "պոեզիա" ("poezia") initially denotes any activity requiring invention, but currently refers exclusively to poetic writing. |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word "şeir" is derived from the Persian word "shi'r" and also refers to a type of metrical composition akin to a riddle. |
| Basque | Basque's "poesia" ultimately derives from the Greek word poiesis "making", thus encompassing various forms of art alongside poetry. |
| Belarusian | In Belarusian, "паэзія" not only means "poetry" but also "poetic fiction". |
| Bengali | The word "কবিতা" is the Bengali cognate of Sanskrit "काव्य" (kavya) which itself derives from the root "कव" (kav) meaning "to praise", thus indicating the traditional association of poetry with eulogy and panegyric. |
| Bosnian | The term 'poezija' in Bosnian has roots in the Greek words 'poiesis,' meaning 'creation,' and 'poietikos,' meaning 'relating to creation'. |
| Bulgarian | "Поезия" comes from the Greek "ποίησις" ("creation," "production," or "making") but may also refer to the poetics or the theory of poetry. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "poesia" derives from the Greek word "poiesis," which means "creation" or "making." |
| Cebuano | The word "balak" also means "love poem" or "song about love" in Cebuano. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "诗歌" is the modern Chinese word for "poetry" which was not in use before the 20th century. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 詩歌 can mean "poetry, song, or hymn". |
| Corsican | The term "puesia" in Corsican poetry also refers to a form of polyphonic singing. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "poezija" originates from the Greek word "poiesis," meaning "creation" or "making." |
| Czech | The Czech word "poezie" derives from the Greek "poiesis", meaning "making" or "creating". |
| Danish | Poesi is derived from the Greek word ποιεω, "to make," and thus relates to the act of creation. |
| Dutch | Both the Dutch word poëzie and its French counterpart poésie originate from the Greek word "ποιέω" (poieō), which means "to make" or "to create". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "poezio" derives from the French "poésie" and Latin "poesis" meaning "creation" or "making". |
| Estonian | The word "luule" is derived from the root "luul," which originally meant "a ghost, dream, or illusion." |
| Finnish | 'Runo' is also an old term for 'spell' in Finnish and may be cognate with the Latvian 'ruona'. |
| French | The word "poésie" derives from the Greek "poiesis", meaning "making" or "creation", and shares a common root with "poem". |
| Frisian | It is related to the Old Greek word "poiesis" meaning "making". In Frisian, it can also mean "the act of creating something". |
| Galician | The Galician word "poesía" comes from the Latin word "poēsis", which means "creation" or "making". |
| Georgian | The word "პოეზია" comes from the Greek word "ποίησις" meaning "making, creation". It is also related to the word "ποιητής" meaning "maker, creator". |
| German | "Poesie" derives from French "poésie" and originally had the meaning of "the art of making poems". |
| Greek | The noun 'ποίηση,' which comes from the verb 'ποιεῖν,' can also mean 'creation' or 'production,' emphasizing poetry's active and creative nature. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word 'કવિતા' can also mean 'a kind of metrical composition,' or 'a metrical tale' |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "pwezi" derives from the Old French "poesie," meaning "poem" or "work of poetry." |
| Hausa | The word 'shayari' in Hausa can also refer to a type of traditional Hausa song or a type of proverb. |
| Hawaiian | The word “mele” also means “song” in Hawaiian, and the two words are often used interchangeably. |
| Hebrew | The word "שִׁירָה" also means 'song' in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | The word "shayari" is derived from the Persian word "shu'ara", meaning "poet". |
| Hmong | The Hmong word 'paj huam' literally translates to 'flower words,' indicating the poetic nature of the language. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "költészet" not only means "poetry" but also "fiction writing" and "creative writing". |
| Icelandic | In Norse mythology, Ljóð represents the personification of poetry and music, while list refers to knowledge or skill. |
| Igbo | 'Abu' also means 'a fable' or 'an allegory'. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word 'puisi' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'puspa', meaning 'flower' or 'blossom', reflecting the notion that poetry is a beautiful expression of language. |
| Irish | The Irish word "filíocht" derives from the Old Irish "filid", meaning "seer" or "prophet". |
| Italian | Italian 'poesia' ultimately stems from the Ancient Greek 'poiesis', meaning creation. |
| Japanese | The kanji '詩' also refers to 'poem' and 'lyrics', and is used in compounds like '和歌' (Japanese poem). |
| Javanese | Puisi in Javanese also means 'to weave' or 'to arrange', suggesting a connection between poetry and the act of creating something intricately beautiful. |
| Kannada | The word 'ಕವನ' in Kannada originates from the Sanskrit word 'काव्य' ('kāvya'), meaning 'a beautiful composition'. It can also refer to a type of prose or a theatrical play. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "поэзия" originates from the Persian "پوئزيو", which is in turn rooted in Greek "ποιέω" (make). |
| Khmer | The word "កំណាព្យ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "kāvya" which also means "poem" or "poetic composition." |
| Korean | The word '시' in Korean can also mean 'the world' or 'the universe' and is derived from the Chinese character '詩' indicating a literary genre that includes both poetry and prose. |
| Kurdish | The word "helbeste" derives from the Persian word "halbast" meaning "to weave". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "поэзия" can also refer to "poetics" or "the art of poetry" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | The Latin word "poetica" also refers to the theory or study of poetry. |
| Latvian | Latvian "dzeja" may derive from an ancient loanword, perhaps from a Baltic language or via Proto-Indo-European from Sanskrit, where "dhya" means "thought." |
| Lithuanian | The word "poezija" originates from the Greek word "ποιέω" (poieō), meaning "to create" or "to make". |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Poesie" is derived from the Old French word "poésie", which in turn comes from the Latin word "poēsis" meaning "creation". |
| Macedonian | The word "поезија" can also refer to the art of creating poetry. |
| Malagasy | "Tononkalo" comes from the verb "tonona," meaning "to speak" or "to recite". |
| Malay | The word "puisi" is derived from the Sanskrit word "puṣya", meaning "flower". |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "കവിത" originates from the Sanskrit word "कविता," meaning "composition" or "work of an inspired writer." |
| Maltese | Poeżija is cognate with similar words in other Romance languages, such as ``poesia`` in Italian and ``poésie`` in French, as well as with the Greek ``ποιησία`` (poiesis, "making"). |
| Maori | The morphemes "pe" and "epe" (to say, recite, chant) can also mean utterance that brings evil into the world. |
| Marathi | "कविता" is also used to refer to a specific poetic form with 31 aksharas of 15 characters on the first line and 16 on the second. |
| Mongolian | The word "яруу найраг" ("poetry") in Mongolian is derived from the verb "яруу" ("to arrange") and the noun "найраг" ("beauty"), suggesting the notion of arranging or crafting beauty through words. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The term ကဗျာ is derived from Pali "Kavya", referring to composed verse or poetic composition. |
| Nepali | The Nepali word "कविता" originally referred to "songs" or "verses" specifically sung in the Kirati language |
| Norwegian | "Poesi" is a variant form of "poesie", likely inspired by the Norwegian spelling of the word and the Norwegian word "vise" ("song"). |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Its literal meaning is '(words) to be spoken' from the root word '-dakulo', 'to speak' |
| Pashto | The Pashto word “شعر” (poetry) originates from Arabic and also means “knowledge or wisdom”. |
| Persian | Persian "شعر" (poetry) comes from Arabic "شعر" (sensory hair), and in Ottoman Turkish meant "any knowledge". |
| Polish | Poezja's root word "poezis" shares its origin with the Greek "poiein," meaning "to make or create." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Poesia (Portuguese for “poetry”) comes from the Greek word poiesis, meaning “making” or “creation”. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਕਵਿਤਾ" originates from the Sanskrit word "कविता" which means "the act of composing". |
| Romanian | The word "poezie" in Romanian is derived from the Greek word "poiesis," which means "creation" or "making." |
| Russian | The Russian word "поэзия" can also refer to the art of writing poetry, or to the body of works written by a particular poet. |
| Samoan | Solo in Samoan, while derived from the English word, also means "to be alone" or "solitude." |
| Scots Gaelic | From the Scottish Gaelic root bard, bàrdachd also means 'song' and 'music' in Irish Gaelic. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word 'poezija' comes from the Greek word 'poiēsis', meaning 'creation' or 'making'. |
| Sesotho | The word "lithothokiso" can also refer to a type of traditional Sesotho song that is used to tell stories or express emotions. |
| Shona | The word "nhetembo" can also mean "something that is sweet or tasty" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | As a noun, "شاعري" is also used to refer to the poetic style of a particular poet or a collection of poems. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In old Sinhala, "කවි" also means "a wise person". |
| Slovak | Poézia can also refer to a single poem. |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word 'poezija' can refer to poetry in general or more specifically to a genre of lyric poetry. |
| Somali | The Somali word "gabay" originated from the Arabic word "qasida" (poetic form) |
| Spanish | The word "poesía" in Spanish derives from the Greek word "poiesis," meaning "making" or "creation." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "puisi" derives from the Sanskrit term "puisi" meaning "news" or "announcement". |
| Swahili | Swahili word 'mashairi' originates from Arabic word 'sha'ir' meaning 'to perceive' and 'to experience' |
| Swedish | In Swedish, "poesi" can also refer to prose, making it distinct from Swedish "dikt". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "mga tula" can also be used colloquially to refer to songs or other musical compositions. |
| Tajik | The word "шеър" in Tajik can also refer to a verse or a stanza of a poem. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word "கவிதை" (kavidai) originally meant "to arrange", and later came to refer to verses arranged in a pleasing manner. |
| Telugu | The term 'kavithvam' can refer both to a spontaneous poem composed by a singer, or a refined literary composition composed by a scholar. |
| Thai | The Thai word “กวีนิพนธ์” (kawiniphop) is derived from the Sanskrit word “kavya” (meaning “poem”) and the Pali word “niphata” (meaning “collection”). |
| Turkish | "Şiir" is also a slang term for "crazy" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "поезії" comes from the Greek word "ποιέω" meaning "to make" or "to create". |
| Urdu | The Urdu word 'شاعری' also refers to the occupation or art of a 'poet'. |
| Uzbek | The word "she'riyat" originates from the Arabic word "shi'r", which means both "poetry" and "perception". |
| Vietnamese | The word "thơ" is also used to refer to the literary genre of prose, which includes essays, short stories, and novels. |
| Welsh | The word comes from 'bardd' ('poet'), 'don' ('gift of'), and '-iaeth' ('state') or '-ia' ('action, practice'). |
| Xhosa | Iimbongo can also be defined as "histories" or "praises", and this relates to its origins in the oral tradition of Xhosa poets. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, the word 'פּאָעזיע' ('poezie') is also used to refer to 'creativity', 'imagination', or 'inspiration'. |
| Yoruba | 'Ewi' is also a type of Yoruba fabric, and the term can refer to a person who creates these fabrics |
| Zulu | Izinkondlo, which originated from the word 'konda', refers to a string of words that have a rhythm and a deep meaning |
| English | "Poetry" derives from Ancient Greek "poein" meaning "to create" or "to make." |