Professor in Different Languages
Discover 'Professor' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'professor' holds a significant place in our society, symbolizing wisdom, knowledge, and expertise. Profoundly respected in various cultures, a professor is an individual who has dedicated their life to the pursuit of learning and teaching. They are the torchbearers of education, shaping young minds and contributing to the growth of human knowledge.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'professor' in different languages can be an exciting exploration of cultural nuances and linguistic diversity. For instance, in Spanish, a professor is referred to as 'profesor/profesora,' while in German, it's 'Professor/Professorin.' In Japanese, the term 'kyōju' (教授) is used, and in Arabic, 'مُعَلِّم' (muʿallim) is the equivalent.
This linguistic journey not only enriches our vocabulary but also offers a glimpse into how different cultures perceive and respect the role of a professor. Stay tuned for a comprehensive list of 'professor' translations in various languages!
Professor
Professor in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | professor | ||
| The Afrikaans word "professor" derives from the Latin word "professōr", meaning "one who professes". | |||
| Amharic | ፕሮፌሰር | ||
| The word "ፕሮፌሰር" is derived from Latin and it is sometimes used to refer to a teacher or a head of a department in a school or university. | |||
| Hausa | farfesa | ||
| The word "farfesa" can also mean "scholar", "teacher", or "expert" in Hausa, and its root "fasa" means "to explain" or "to teach." | |||
| Igbo | prọfesọ | ||
| Prọfesọ is also the ụ̀gwù (honorific) for someone who has demonstrated excellence in a particular profession | |||
| Malagasy | mpampianatra | ||
| The word "MPAMPIANATRA" means "professor" and is derived from the verb "ampiana", meaning "to teach". The "MP" prefix indicates a respectful form of address. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | pulofesa | ||
| The word "pulofesa" originates from the Portuguese word "professor" during the colonial period in Malawi. | |||
| Shona | muzvinafundo | ||
| "Muzvinafundo" is derived from "kuzvinhura" (to understand) and "fundo" (wisdom), hence the alternate meaning "one who understands wisdom." | |||
| Somali | borofisar | ||
| "Borofisar" derives from the Arabic "barufisor," used to refer to teachers and scholars. | |||
| Sesotho | moprofesa | ||
| The word 'moprofesa' in Sesotho is originally a corruption of the English word 'professor'. | |||
| Swahili | profesa | ||
| The Swahili word "profesa" is ultimately of Latin origin, deriving from "professus", meaning "one who has declared publicly". It can also refer to religious vows or beliefs. | |||
| Xhosa | unjingalwazi | ||
| "Unjingalwazi" in Xhosa also means "one who knows" or "one who is wise." | |||
| Yoruba | ọjọgbọn | ||
| The Yoruba word ọjọgbọn means 'wise one' and refers to a learned scholar with deep knowledge, not only in academic disciplines but also in traditional wisdom. | |||
| Zulu | uprofesa | ||
| Uprofesa was adopted from the Portuguese word ‘professor,’ meaning one who professes, teaches, or explains. | |||
| Bambara | karamɔgɔ | ||
| Ewe | nufialagã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umwarimu | ||
| Lingala | profesɛrɛ moko | ||
| Luganda | pulofeesa | ||
| Sepedi | moprofesara | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔbenfo | ||
Professor in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | دكتور جامعى | ||
| The word 'جامعى' in 'دكتور جامعى' (professor) means 'university' and is derived from the Arabic word 'جامعة' (university). | |||
| Hebrew | פּרוֹפֶסוֹר | ||
| The word פּרוֹפֶסוֹר, meaning "professor," can also mean "one who gives instruction." | |||
| Pashto | پروفیسور | ||
| The word "پروفیسور" is borrowed from the English word "professor" and has the same meaning. | |||
| Arabic | دكتور جامعى | ||
| The word 'جامعى' in 'دكتور جامعى' (professor) means 'university' and is derived from the Arabic word 'جامعة' (university). | |||
Professor in Western European Languages
| Albanian | profesor | ||
| The Albanian word "profesor" originates from Latin and also means "benefactor". | |||
| Basque | irakaslea | ||
| The Basque word 'irakaslea' comes from the verb 'irakatsi', meaning 'to teach' and the noun ira, meaning lesson. | |||
| Catalan | professor | ||
| "Professor" in Catalan can also refer to a religious teacher or to a person who publicly confesses his or her faith (Catalan "professar"). | |||
| Croatian | profesor | ||
| In Croatian, "profesor" also refers to high school teachers, while assistant professors are called "docent" or "asistent". | |||
| Danish | professor | ||
| The Danish word "professor" originates from the Latin word "professor", meaning "one who makes a public declaration." | |||
| Dutch | professor | ||
| In Dutch, "professor" can also refer to a university teacher in general, regardless of their rank. | |||
| English | professor | ||
| The word 'professor' derives from Latin 'profiteri' meaning 'to declare oneself, to state publicly' and originally meant 'one who declares or teaches openly'. | |||
| French | professeur | ||
| In the Middle Ages, «professeur» (like its Latin root) referred to a religious figure, rather than an academic one | |||
| Frisian | professor | ||
| The word "professor" in Frisian can also mean a university lecturer or a teacher in secondary education. | |||
| Galician | profesor | ||
| In Galician, "profesor" refers to any higher or secondary education teacher (not only university professors, unlike in English), and the word is a masculine noun. | |||
| German | professor | ||
| In German, the word "Professor" refers to the official academic title of a person who holds the highest academic rank at a university. | |||
| Icelandic | prófessor | ||
| In medieval Iceland, "prófessor" meant someone who had the right to publicly express his opinions. | |||
| Irish | ollamh | ||
| The word "ollamh" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel- "to perceive" and shares a common origin with the Latin word "volens" (meaning "willing"). | |||
| Italian | professore | ||
| "The Italian word "Professore" is derived from the Latin word "professor," which originally meant "one who professes something." Today, the word "professor" is still used in its original sense in Italian, but it can also refer to a university teacher." | |||
| Luxembourgish | professer | ||
| Professer in Luxembourgish can also mean 'to teach', 'to give a lesson', or 'to lecture'. | |||
| Maltese | professur | ||
| Maltese word "professur" is derived from the Late Latin word "professōr", meaning "a person who publicly speaks or makes a declaration." | |||
| Norwegian | professor | ||
| The word "professor" originates from the Latin word "pro" meaning "forth" and "fateri" meaning "to confess". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | professor | ||
| 'Professor' is cognate with the French word 'professeur' that comes from the Latin 'professore', meaning one who teaches. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ollamh | ||
| Though 'ollamh' means 'professor,' it originally designated all professional people (lawyers, physicians, historians, poets, etc.) | |||
| Spanish | profesor | ||
| The word `profesor` comes from the Latin verb `profiteri` meaning `to declare publicly` or `to teach`. | |||
| Swedish | professor | ||
| The word professor comes from the Latin word profiteri, which means ``to declare publicly'' | |||
| Welsh | athro | ||
| The word 'athro' also has connotations of expertise and scholarship. | |||
Professor in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | прафесар | ||
| The word "прафесар" comes from Latin "professor", meaning "one who professes publicly". | |||
| Bosnian | profesore | ||
| The word 'profesore' also means 'lecturer' in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | професор | ||
| Bulgarian "професор" comes from the French "professeur" (teacher), while Russian "профессор" means "professor". | |||
| Czech | profesor | ||
| In Czech, "profesor" can also refer to a high school teacher. | |||
| Estonian | professor | ||
| The Estonian word "professor" comes from the Latin word "professōr", meaning "one who publicly declares or teaches". | |||
| Finnish | professori | ||
| The Finnish word professor (professori) comes from the Latin word for 'one who declares', which in turn derives from the verb 'to speak out' or 'to teach'. | |||
| Hungarian | egyetemi tanár | ||
| Egyetemi tanár is a word that can also mean 'university teacher' in Hungarian, as 'egyetem' means 'university'. | |||
| Latvian | profesors | ||
| "Profesors" is also a word for a professor in the historical region of Livonia. | |||
| Lithuanian | profesorius | ||
| The word "profesorius" is derived from the Latin "professor," meaning "one who professes". In the 14th century, it was first used in the context of academic teaching. It has also been used to refer to a religious teacher or a person with a doctorate degree. | |||
| Macedonian | професор | ||
| The word "професор" (professor) in Macedonian is derived from the Latin "professor", which means "one who professes or declares." | |||
| Polish | profesor | ||
| In Polish, "profesor" can also refer to a high school teacher or a musician who has achieved a certain level of mastery. | |||
| Romanian | profesor | ||
| Profesor derives from Italian 'professore', which in turn originates from the Latin 'preofessor' meaning 'one who professes'. | |||
| Russian | профессор | ||
| The word "профессор" derives from the Latin "professor", meaning "one who professes" or "one who teaches." | |||
| Serbian | професор | ||
| Alternate meaning: in some contexts "професор" can designate a skilled professional whose craft brings social distinction | |||
| Slovak | profesor | ||
| Slovene word profesor can also mean a teacher in general, not just at a university. | |||
| Slovenian | profesor | ||
| The word "profesor" in Slovenian also means "teacher" or "instructor". | |||
| Ukrainian | професор | ||
| In Russian and Ukrainian the word is also used to refer to a person who holds the highest academic degree in a particular field of science, or to a member of the faculty of a higher educational institution. | |||
Professor in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অধ্যাপক | ||
| অধ্যাপক is also a respectful and formal way of addressing learned scholars. | |||
| Gujarati | પ્રોફેસર | ||
| The word 'प्रोफेसर' ('professor') is derived from the Latin word 'professus', meaning 'to declare publicly'. | |||
| Hindi | प्रोफ़ेसर | ||
| The Hindi-Urdu word "प्रोफ़ेसर" or "پروفیسر" is ultimately derived from the Latin "professōr", meaning "one who professes". | |||
| Kannada | ಪ್ರೊಫೆಸರ್ | ||
| ಪ್ರೊಫೆಸರ್ (professor): From Latin 'professōr', present active participle of profiteri 'to profess', 'declare publicly'. | |||
| Malayalam | പ്രൊഫസർ | ||
| The word 'പ്രൊഫസർ' ('professor') in Malayalam is derived from the Sanskrit word 'प्रोफेसर' ('professor'), which itself is derived from the Latin word 'professor', meaning 'one who teaches'. | |||
| Marathi | प्राध्यापक | ||
| The Marathi word "प्राध्यापक" (professor) derives from Sanskrit "प्राध्याप" (teacher, master). | |||
| Nepali | प्राध्यापक | ||
| The word "प्राध्यापक" (professor) in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्राध्यापक" (one who teaches), and literally means "teacher" or "preceptor". | |||
| Punjabi | ਪ੍ਰੋਫੈਸਰ | ||
| The word 'ਪ੍ਰੋਫੈਸਰ' comes from the Latin word 'professor', meaning 'one who professes'. In Punjabi, it is used to refer to a teacher or lecturer at a university or college. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මහාචාර්ය | ||
| The term මහාචාර්ය was once used to refer to the chief monk of Buddhist temples. | |||
| Tamil | பேராசிரியர் | ||
| The Tamil word பேராசிரியர் is derived from Sanskrit and literally means 'great teacher' or 'elder teacher' | |||
| Telugu | ప్రొఫెసర్ | ||
| The word "ప్రొఫెసర్" can also refer to a teacher, scholar, or expert in any field, not just academia. | |||
| Urdu | پروفیسر | ||
| "پروفیسر" (professor) originates from the Latin word "professōr", meaning "one who teaches". | |||
Professor in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 教授 | ||
| In Chinese, 教授 (jiàoshòu) also means "teach" or "impart knowledge." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 教授 | ||
| 教授 (jiào shòu) is a combination of the words 教 (jiào), meaning “to teach,” and 授 (shòu), meaning “to bestow.” | |||
| Japanese | 教授 | ||
| The kanji in "教授" originally meant to "instruct" or "teach." It can also mean "to give a speech" or "to preach." | |||
| Korean | 교수 | ||
| The word "교수" (professor) in Korean has a second meaning of "teaching and instructing." | |||
| Mongolian | профессор | ||
| The Mongolian word "профессор" is borrowed from Russian and refers to a university teacher with the highest academic rank. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပါမောက္ခ | ||
Professor in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | profesor | ||
| In Indonesian, "profesor" also means "expert" or "master" in a particular field. | |||
| Javanese | profesor | ||
| In Javanese, "profesor" can also informally mean "expert" or "specialist". | |||
| Khmer | សាស្រ្តាចារ្យ | ||
| Lao | ອາຈານ | ||
| The word "ອາຈານ" can also refer to a teacher or an expert in any field. | |||
| Malay | guru besar | ||
| "Guru besar" literally means 'big teacher', reflecting the traditional respect for teachers in Malay culture. | |||
| Thai | ศาสตราจารย์ | ||
| The word "ศาสตราจารย์" can also mean "scholar" or "master of a particular field of study" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | giáo sư | ||
| "Giáo sư" in Vietnamese is literally translated to "teaching teacher", meaning that they also guide the disciples in addition to teaching them knowledge. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | propesor | ||
Professor in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | professor | ||
| In Azerbaijani, | |||
| Kazakh | профессор | ||
| In Kazakh, the word "профессор" came from the Russian word "профессор", which in turn came from the Latin word "professor". | |||
| Kyrgyz | профессор | ||
| The word "профессор" is derived from the Latin word "professor", meaning "one who professes". | |||
| Tajik | профессор | ||
| The Tajik word "профессор" is derived from the Russian word "профессор", which in turn is derived from the Latin word "professor" meaning "one who professes or teaches." | |||
| Turkmen | professor | ||
| Uzbek | professor | ||
| Uyghur | پروفېسسور | ||
Professor in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | polopeka | ||
| The word "polopeka" also means "to break something apart" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | ahorangi | ||
| The Maori word 'ahorangi' derives from 'ao', meaning 'world' or 'light' and 'rangatira', meaning 'chief' or 'aristocracy', signifying the high regard given to professors as leaders in their fields of knowledge. | |||
| Samoan | polofesa | ||
| The Samoan word "polofesa" is derived from the English word "professor" and has no alternate meanings. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | propesor | ||
| "Propesor" is ultimately derived from the Spanish word "profesor," which is itself derived from the Latin word "professor" meaning "one who professes". | |||
Professor in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | yatichiriwa | ||
| Guarani | mbo’ehára | ||
Professor in International Languages
| Esperanto | profesoro | ||
| "Profesoro" can also refer to a lecturer, academic, instructor, or teacher. | |||
| Latin | professor | ||
| "Professor" comes from Latin and means "one who professes" and originally meant "one who declares publicly". | |||
Professor in Others Languages
| Greek | καθηγητής | ||
| {"text": "The Greek word "καθηγητής" (kathigitis), ultimately derived from the verb "ηγείσθαι" (hegeisthai) meaning "to guide," originally had a more general meaning of “leader” and was applied to a wide variety of public officials and dignitaries."} | |||
| Hmong | tus xibfwb | ||
| The word "tus xibfwb" in Hmong means "professor" and is derived from the Chinese word "tushi" meaning "teacher". | |||
| Kurdish | profesor | ||
| "Profesor" comes from Latin and means "one who professes." | |||
| Turkish | profesör | ||
| The word "profesör" in Turkish is ultimately derived from the Latin "professor" via French, meaning "one who professes or declares." | |||
| Xhosa | unjingalwazi | ||
| "Unjingalwazi" in Xhosa also means "one who knows" or "one who is wise." | |||
| Yiddish | פּראָפעסאָר | ||
| The Yiddish word "פּראָפעסאָר" may also refer to a spiritual teacher or a rabbi. | |||
| Zulu | uprofesa | ||
| Uprofesa was adopted from the Portuguese word ‘professor,’ meaning one who professes, teaches, or explains. | |||
| Assamese | অধ্যাপক | ||
| Aymara | yatichiriwa | ||
| Bhojpuri | प्रोफेसर के रूप में काम कइले बानी | ||
| Dhivehi | ޕްރޮފެސަރެވެ | ||
| Dogri | प्रोफेसर ने दी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | propesor | ||
| Guarani | mbo’ehára | ||
| Ilocano | propesor | ||
| Krio | prɔfɛsɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پرۆفیسۆر | ||
| Maithili | प्रोफेसर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄ꯭ꯔꯣꯐꯦꯁꯔ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯕꯛ ꯇꯧꯈꯤ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | professor a ni | ||
| Oromo | piroofeesara | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରଫେସର | ||
| Quechua | profesor | ||
| Sanskrit | प्राध्यापकः | ||
| Tatar | профессор | ||
| Tigrinya | ፕሮፌሰር | ||
| Tsonga | profesa | ||