Pollution in Different Languages
Discover 'Pollution' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Pollution is a significant issue that affects every corner of the globe. It refers to the presence or introduction into the environment of substances or things that are harmful or have a harmful effect on living organisms. The cultural importance of addressing pollution cannot be overstated, as it threatens the health, well-being, and livelihoods of people and animals alike.
Moreover, understanding the translation of pollution in different languages can help us appreciate the global nature of this problem and foster cross-cultural communication and collaboration. For instance, in Spanish, pollution is called 'contaminación,' while in French, it is 'pollution,' and in German, it is 'Verschmutzung.'
Did you know that the ancient Romans were among the first to recognize the dangers of pollution? They passed laws to regulate the disposal of waste and protect their water supply. Today, we continue to grapple with this challenge, as pollution takes many forms, from air and water pollution to soil and noise pollution.
In this article, we will explore the translations of pollution in various languages, shedding light on the global impact of this critical issue and highlighting the importance of language and culture in addressing it.
Pollution
Pollution in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | besoedeling | ||
| The word "besoedeling" is derived from the Dutch word "besoeddelen", meaning "to soil" or "to defile." | |||
| Amharic | ብክለት | ||
| The word "ብክለት" can also refer to "filth", "impurity", or "defilement."} | |||
| Hausa | gurbatawa | ||
| "Gurbatawa" likely originates from the combination of the Arabic word "ghurba" (exile, estrangement) and the Hausa suffix "-tawa" (pertaining to), implying a sense of being removed from one's natural or rightful place or purity. | |||
| Igbo | mmetọ | ||
| The Igbo word "mmetọ" not only refers to pollution but also means "stain" or "blemish". | |||
| Malagasy | fandotoana | ||
| "Fandotoana" can also mean "dirt" or "mud" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuipitsa | ||
| The etymology of "kuipitsa" is unclear, though it has similarities to other terms relating to water, waste, and dirt. | |||
| Shona | kusvibiswa | ||
| The word "kusvibiswa" can also refer to the act of making something dirty or unclean, or the state of being dirty or unclean. | |||
| Somali | wasakheynta | ||
| "Wasakheynta" also means "contaminant" or "adulterant" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | tšilafalo | ||
| The word "tšilafalo" is also used to describe contamination or impurity. | |||
| Swahili | uchafuzi | ||
| The word "Uchafuzi" in Swahili can also refer to "impurity" or "defilement". | |||
| Xhosa | ungcoliseko | ||
| The word 'ungcoliseko' in Xhosa may also refer to something that is 'not clean' or 'not pure'. | |||
| Yoruba | idoti | ||
| The word "idoti" can also refer to "the state of being unclean". | |||
| Zulu | ukungcola | ||
| The word 'ukungcola' in isiZulu can also mean 'evil' or 'sin'. | |||
| Bambara | cɛnnin | ||
| Ewe | ɖiƒoƒo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umwanda | ||
| Lingala | kobebisa mopepe | ||
| Luganda | okwoonoona | ||
| Sepedi | tšhilafatšo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | efiyɛ | ||
Pollution in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | التلوث | ||
| The Arabic word "التلوث" can refer to contamination, defilement, or impurity, in addition to pollution | |||
| Hebrew | זיהום | ||
| The Hebrew word זיהום (pollution) also means "impurity" in a religious sense. | |||
| Pashto | ککړتیا | ||
| In addition to pollution, "ککړتیا" can also refer to a dirty and unhygienic condition. | |||
| Arabic | التلوث | ||
| The Arabic word "التلوث" can refer to contamination, defilement, or impurity, in addition to pollution | |||
Pollution in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ndotja | ||
| The word "ndotja" is derived from the Proto-Albanian root "*ndo-", meaning "to put in" or "to add", and the suffix "-tja", which forms abstract nouns. | |||
| Basque | kutsadura | ||
| Kutsadura derives from kutsua, meaning “rotten” or “putrid”. | |||
| Catalan | pol · lució | ||
| Pollution is derived from the Latin word polluere, which means "to defile or corrupt", and also refers to the contamination of soil, water, or air. | |||
| Croatian | zagađenje | ||
| "Zagađenje" is a cognate of the Serbian and Russian word "zagazheniye", which means "contamination" or "fouling." | |||
| Danish | forurening | ||
| The Danish word "forurening" originally referred to noise "noise pollution" specifically, later broadening to a general meaning of "environmental pollution". | |||
| Dutch | verontreiniging | ||
| The word "verontreiniging" comes from the Latin words "versus" (turning, shifting) and "conterere" (to crush), and originally meant "defilement" or "violation". | |||
| English | pollution | ||
| 'Pollution' in English derives from the Latin word 'pollutionem', meaning 'defilement' or 'corruption', and was originally used to describe the desecration of holy places or other sacred objects. | |||
| French | la pollution | ||
| In French, « la pollution » originally meant « to make unclean or defiled » before taking its modern, environmental meaning. | |||
| Frisian | fersmoarging | ||
| The word "fersmoarging" in Frisian is derived from the Old Frisian word "feresmoargjen", meaning "to pollute" or "to make dirty." | |||
| Galician | contaminación | ||
| Galician "contaminación" derives from Latin "contaminare" (stain, defile) and also means "defilement, impurity" | |||
| German | verschmutzung | ||
| German "Verschmutzung" not only means "pollution" in English, but also "dirt", "soiling" or "fouling". | |||
| Icelandic | mengun | ||
| Mengun is cognate with "mænge" (crowd) in other Scandinavian languages and probably derives from an older "among" (amongst). | |||
| Irish | truailliú | ||
| The word "truailliú" in Irish is cognate with the Welsh word "trwyllo", meaning "destruction". | |||
| Italian | inquinamento | ||
| The word "inquinamento" comes from the Latin word "inquinare," which means "to stain" or "to make impure." | |||
| Luxembourgish | pollutioun | ||
| "Pollutioun" comes from the Latin word "polluere," meaning "to defile" or "to make impure." | |||
| Maltese | tniġġis | ||
| The word "tniġġis" is derived from the Arabic word "najas" meaning "impurity" or "filth". | |||
| Norwegian | forurensing | ||
| The Norwegian word "forurensing" is derived from the Latin word "polluere", meaning "to make unclean" or "to defile"} | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | poluição | ||
| Poluição can also mean defilement, desecration or contamination in Portuguese | |||
| Scots Gaelic | truailleadh | ||
| From Old Irish trúad 'decayed' | |||
| Spanish | contaminación | ||
| The word "contaminación" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "contaminare", meaning "to defile" or "to make impure." | |||
| Swedish | förorening | ||
| Pollution is derived from the Latin word "pollutionem," meaning "a defiling or making unclean." | |||
| Welsh | llygredd | ||
| The Welsh llygredd may also mean "wickedness" or "sin." | |||
Pollution in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | забруджванне | ||
| The word "забруджванне" is a derived form of the verb "забрудзіць" ("to pollute"), which in turn comes from the Old Slavic root *brudъ, meaning "dirt" or "pollution." | |||
| Bosnian | zagađenje | ||
| The word 'zagađenje' is derived from the verb 'zagaditi', which means 'to contaminate' or 'to pollute'. | |||
| Bulgarian | замърсяване | ||
| The word "замърсяване" comes from the verb "замърсявам" which means to make dirty, foul, or contaminated. It can also refer to the state of pollution of a particular area, or the harmful effects of pollution on living organisms. | |||
| Czech | znečištění | ||
| The Czech word "znečištění" comes from the root "čistý", meaning "clean", and the prefix "z", meaning "from" or "away from", thus literally meaning "making something unclean" | |||
| Estonian | reostus | ||
| The word 'reostus' in Estonian originates from the Germanic word 'rust' meaning 'reddish brown', likely referring to the reddish-brown color of polluted water. | |||
| Finnish | saastuminen | ||
| The word "saastuminen" means "to become unclean" or "to be defiled" (as by sin) in Finnish. | |||
| Hungarian | környezetszennyezés | ||
| "Környezetszennyezés" derives from the Hungarian words "környezet" (environment) and "szennyezés" (contamination), meaning "environmental contamination". | |||
| Latvian | piesārņojums | ||
| The Latvian word "piesārņojums" means "defilement, desecration" or "spoilage, deterioration" in addition to "pollution." | |||
| Lithuanian | tarša | ||
| The Lithuanian word "tarša" is related to the verb "tarti", meaning "to say" or "to speak". | |||
| Macedonian | загадување | ||
| The word "загадување" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *gadъ, which means "dirt" or "filth". It is cognate with the Russian word "грязь" (грязь), the Polish word "brud" (brud), and the Czech word "špína" (špína). | |||
| Polish | skażenie | ||
| The word "skażenie" derives from the Latin word "corruptio" meaning "corruption" or "spoilage". | |||
| Romanian | poluare | ||
| The word poluare is derived from the Latin word poluere, meaning "to defile" or "to make unclean." | |||
| Russian | загрязнение | ||
| The Russian word for pollution, загрязнение, is derived from the verb загрязнять, meaning to muddy or dirty something. | |||
| Serbian | загађење | ||
| The word "загађење" stems from the Serbo-Croatian "zagadati," meaning "to dirty" or "to foul." | |||
| Slovak | znečistenie | ||
| The word "znečistenie" in Slovak is derived from the word "čistý", meaning "clean". | |||
| Slovenian | onesnaževanje | ||
| The verb "onesnažiti" means "to pollute" and literally means "to make something impure". The noun "onesnaženje" means "pollution" and is related to the verb "onesnažiti".} | |||
| Ukrainian | забруднення | ||
| The word comes from the verb | |||
Pollution in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দূষণ | ||
| "দূষণ" is a Sanskrit word that means something that causes a thing to be unfit for use. It is derived from Sanskrit root "dush" (which means bad or evil) + "shan" (which means to go). | |||
| Gujarati | પ્રદૂષણ | ||
| The word "પ્રદૂષણ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "दूष", meaning "to spoil" or "to taint", and the prefix "प्र", meaning "before" or "in front of". | |||
| Hindi | प्रदूषण | ||
| The word 'प्रदूषण' (pollution) can also refer to 'disturbance', 'contamination', or 'adulteration' in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯ | ||
| The Kannada word ಆನಿಂಗ ("maalinya") originally meant "filth, dirtiness" but now encompasses all types of pollution. | |||
| Malayalam | അശുദ്ധമാക്കല് | ||
| The Malayalam word 'അശുദ്ധമാക്കല്' not only means 'pollution', but also 'defilement' or 'contamination' in a non-environmental context. | |||
| Marathi | प्रदूषण | ||
| The term "प्रदूषण" (pollution) derives from the Sanskrit root "दूष" (to spoil) and originally signified "the state of being corrupted or spoiled," and was later extended to mean "the contamination of air, water, or soil by harmful substances." | |||
| Nepali | प्रदूषण | ||
| The word "प्रदूषण" is derived from the Sanskrit word "दूष", meaning "to spoil" or "to make impure." | |||
| Punjabi | ਪ੍ਰਦੂਸ਼ਣ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පරිසර දූෂණය | ||
| Tamil | மாசு | ||
| The word "மாசு" can also mean "rust" or "dirt" in Tamil, indicating its wide range of meanings related to contamination and impurity. | |||
| Telugu | కాలుష్యం | ||
| The Telugu word "కాలుష్యం" (kāluṣyam) is derived from the Sanskrit word "kaluṣa," which means "impurity" or "defilement." | |||
| Urdu | آلودگی | ||
| The word "آلودگی" in Urdu can trace its roots back to the Sanskrit word "अलु" (alu), meaning 'to disturb' or "रज" (raj), meaning 'dust' or 'powder'. | |||
Pollution in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 污染 | ||
| 污染, meaning pollution, has been used in Chinese since at least the 12th century, and originally referred to the spread of diseases via filth. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 污染 | ||
| 污染 literally means 'stain' or 'dirty'; this is the sense of the verb form 污, which means 'to insult', 'to revile', or 'to disgrace'. | |||
| Japanese | 汚染 | ||
| "汚染" also denotes a "stain" or "blemish". | |||
| Korean | 타락 | ||
| The word '타락' has a Buddhist origin, meaning 'to fall into a degenerate state'. | |||
| Mongolian | бохирдол | ||
| The word "бохирдол" means both pollution and corruption. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ညစ်ညမ်းမှု | ||
Pollution in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | polusi | ||
| The word "polusi" in Indonesian is derived from the Latin word "pollutio", meaning "corruption" or "defilement". | |||
| Javanese | polusi | ||
| The Javanese word "polusi" derives from the Javanese root "-polusi" and the affix "pe-", suggesting a meaning of "the state of being covered in" and extending to "a state of contamination". | |||
| Khmer | ការបំពុល | ||
| The Khmer word "ការបំពុល" ("pollution") can also refer to the process of cleansing or purifying something. | |||
| Lao | ມົນລະພິດ | ||
| The word "mónlaphip" can also mean "sin" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | pencemaran | ||
| Pencemaran may also refer to defamation of character in Malay. | |||
| Thai | มลพิษ | ||
| มลพิษ is a word with a long etymological history in Thai, ultimately deriving from Sanskrit and originally referring to impurity, dirt or filth. | |||
| Vietnamese | sự ô nhiễm | ||
| The word "sự ô nhiễm" literally means "dirtying" or "defiling" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | polusyon | ||
Pollution in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çirklənmə | ||
| In Azerbaijani, the term "çirklənmə" also has the alternate meaning of "contamination". | |||
| Kazakh | ластану | ||
| The word "ластану" is derived from "лас" (mud) and "-тану" (to become), signifying the process of becoming polluted. | |||
| Kyrgyz | булгануу | ||
| The word "булгануу" is also used to describe contamination by non-harmful agents, such as the spread of a particular plant in an ecosystem | |||
| Tajik | ифлосшавӣ | ||
| Ифлосшавӣ (pollution) is derived from the Persian word آلوده (polluted), which shares the Proto-Indo-European root *pleu- (to flow) with the English word pollution. | |||
| Turkmen | hapalanmagy | ||
| Uzbek | ifloslanish | ||
| The Uzbek word "ifloslanish" not only means "pollution," but also refers to "degradation" or "spoilage" in a wider sense. | |||
| Uyghur | بۇلغىنىش | ||
Pollution in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | haumia | ||
| The word "haumia" can also refer to "a dirty or polluted place". | |||
| Maori | poke | ||
| The Maori word "poke" can also mean "to thrust", "to puncture", or "to stab". | |||
| Samoan | faʻaleagaina | ||
| The Samoan word "faʻaleagaina" derives from the verb "faʻaleaga," meaning "to spoil" or "to damage." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | polusyon | ||
| The term 'polusyon' also carries connotations of 'defilement' or 'stain'. | |||
Pollution in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jan walt'ayaña | ||
| Guarani | ñembohekotyai | ||
Pollution in International Languages
| Esperanto | poluado | ||
| The Esperanto word 'poluado' is derived from the Polish word 'polak', meaning 'a Pole'. | |||
| Latin | pollutio | ||
| "Pollutio" in Latin refers not only to environmental contamination but also to religious impurity or sacrilege. | |||
Pollution in Others Languages
| Greek | ρύπανση | ||
| ρύπανση is derived from the Greek word | |||
| Hmong | muaj kuab paug | ||
| "Muaj kuab paug" is an umbrella term that encompasses all manner of filth including dirt, disease, and spiritual impurity. | |||
| Kurdish | gemarî | ||
| The word 'gemarî' in Kurdish can also refer to a type of ritual cleansing or purification. | |||
| Turkish | kirlilik | ||
| Kirlilik, in Turkish, also refers to "impurity" or "uncleanliness", extending its meaning beyond environmental contamination. | |||
| Xhosa | ungcoliseko | ||
| The word 'ungcoliseko' in Xhosa may also refer to something that is 'not clean' or 'not pure'. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרפּעסטיקונג | ||
| The Yiddish word "פאַרפּעסטיקונג" (pollution) also means "pestering" or "annoyance" depending on the context. | |||
| Zulu | ukungcola | ||
| The word 'ukungcola' in isiZulu can also mean 'evil' or 'sin'. | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰদূষণ | ||
| Aymara | jan walt'ayaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | प्रदूसन | ||
| Dhivehi | ވައިނުސާފުވުން | ||
| Dogri | प्रदूशण | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | polusyon | ||
| Guarani | ñembohekotyai | ||
| Ilocano | polusion | ||
| Krio | dɔti ia | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پیس بوون | ||
| Maithili | प्रदूषण | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯣꯠꯁꯤꯟꯍꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tibawlhhlawh | ||
| Oromo | faalama | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରଦୂଷଣ | ||
| Quechua | contaminacion | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रदूषणं | ||
| Tatar | пычрану | ||
| Tigrinya | ብኽለት | ||
| Tsonga | thyakisa | ||