Racial in Different Languages
Discover 'Racial' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'racial' has significant implications in today's world, particularly when discussing issues of equality, diversity, and social justice. Its cultural importance is undeniable, as it helps us understand and navigate the complexities of human identity and interaction. Understanding the translation of 'racial' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how various cultures approach and understand these issues.
Did you know that the concept of 'race' has a long and complex history, dating back to the 17th century? However, the term 'racial' itself only emerged in the late 19th century, reflecting the growing scientific interest in human classification and difference. Today, the word continues to evolve and adapt to our changing understanding of identity and diversity.
By learning the translations of 'racial' in different languages, we can broaden our perspective and deepen our appreciation for the richness and complexity of human culture. Here are a few examples to get you started:
- Spanish: racial - racial
- French: racial - racial
- German: racial - rassisch
- Mandarin: 种族的 - zhòng zú de
- Japanese: 种族的 - shuuzoku-teki
Racial
Racial in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | rasse | ||
| The Afrikaans word "rasse" shares a common etymological root with "race" and "racism" in English. | |||
| Amharic | የዘር | ||
| The Amharic word "የዘር" (racial) is derived from the word "ዘር" (seed) and can also refer to descent or lineage. | |||
| Hausa | launin fata | ||
| The word "launin fata" in Hausa can also refer to skin color or ethnicity. | |||
| Igbo | agbụrụ | ||
| In Igbo, the word "agbụrụ" can also mean "lineage" or "clan" | |||
| Malagasy | ara-poko | ||
| The word "ara-poko" in Malagasy can also mean "different" or "other" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mtundu | ||
| The word "mtundu" in Nyanja can also mean "type" or "kind". | |||
| Shona | dzinza | ||
| In some dialects, the term "dzinza" can refer to a specific indigenous or native group. | |||
| Somali | midab | ||
| The word 'midab' (racial) in Somali is also used to mean 'color', 'paint', or 'dye'. | |||
| Sesotho | morabe | ||
| "Morabe" derives from "mora", meaning "person or human being" and the "-abe" suffix, which denotes belonging or resemblance, making "morabe" literally mean "like a human being". | |||
| Swahili | rangi | ||
| The Swahili word "rangi" can also refer to "colour", as in the expression "rangi ya ngozi" ("skin colour"). | |||
| Xhosa | ubuhlanga | ||
| The word "ubuhlanga" is also used to refer to the physical features that distinguish one race from another. | |||
| Yoruba | eya | ||
| The word 'eya' ('racial') in Yoruba has an alternate meaning referring to a species of West African antelope. | |||
| Zulu | ngokobuhlanga | ||
| The Zulu word “ngokobuhlanga” can be literally translated as “the way of people” and implies a sense of belonging to a particular tribe or ethnic group. | |||
| Bambara | siyako | ||
| Ewe | ameƒomevinyenye | ||
| Kinyarwanda | amoko | ||
| Lingala | mposo ya bato | ||
| Luganda | eby’amawanga | ||
| Sepedi | morafe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mmusuakuw mu nyiyim | ||
Racial in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | عرقي | ||
| "عرقي" as an adjective also means "alcoholic" in Arabic, especially in the context of spirits (e.g. "مشروب عرقي" = "alcoholic beverage"). | |||
| Hebrew | גִזעִי | ||
| גזעי derives from the Hebrew word for stump or trunk (גזע) and refers to the supposed common ancestry of a particular ethnic group. | |||
| Pashto | نژادي | ||
| The Pashto word "نژادي" can also refer to "ethnic" or "communal". | |||
| Arabic | عرقي | ||
| "عرقي" as an adjective also means "alcoholic" in Arabic, especially in the context of spirits (e.g. "مشروب عرقي" = "alcoholic beverage"). | |||
Racial in Western European Languages
| Albanian | racor | ||
| The word "racor" in Albanian is derived from the Latin word "racialis", meaning "of or relating to race". | |||
| Basque | arraza | ||
| 'Arraza' or 'arraza' means 'race' or 'breed' in both Basque and Spanish but also means 'lineage' or 'descent' in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | racial | ||
| La palabra «racial» en catalán proviene del latín «racialis» y significa «relativo a la raza». | |||
| Croatian | rasne | ||
| The Croatian word 'rasne' (racial) derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁reǵ-, meaning to stretch or extend. | |||
| Danish | race | ||
| In Danish, the word "race" has the same meaning as in English but it also means "breed" as in "dog race" or "horse race". | |||
| Dutch | ras- | ||
| In Dutch, "ras" can also mean "breed" or "type". | |||
| English | racial | ||
| In the early 1900s, "racial" frequently described nationality or ethnic origin rather than strictly race, meaning one's inherent biological traits. | |||
| French | racial | ||
| French also has an adjective "race" which only means "species", not "human race". | |||
| Frisian | rasiale | ||
| In Frisian, “rasiale” originally meant 'connected with race, line' | |||
| Galician | racial | ||
| German | rassistisch | ||
| The term "rassistisch" in German can also refer to prejudice or discrimination based on ethnic or cultural origin, not just race. | |||
| Icelandic | kynþáttum | ||
| The word "kynþáttum" in Icelandic also means "of the same origin" or "related by blood". | |||
| Irish | ciníoch | ||
| Ciníoch can also refer to "related" or "of the same stock". | |||
| Italian | razziale | ||
| In Italian, "razziale" also refers to a military raid, from its historical association with "razzia" | |||
| Luxembourgish | rassistesch | ||
| The word 'rassistesch' in Luxembourgish can also refer to 'racist', but its primary meaning is 'racial'. | |||
| Maltese | razzjali | ||
| In Maltese, "razzjali" can also refer to lineage or family origin. | |||
| Norwegian | rasemessig | ||
| In addition to "racial," rasemessig can also be translated as "breed-specific." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | racial | ||
| In Portuguese, "racial" can refer to both "pertaining to race" and "containing racism". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cinnidh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word 'cinnidh' (racial) is cognate with the Welsh word 'cenedl' (nation). | |||
| Spanish | racial | ||
| The term "racial" in Spanish can also refer to a type of fish known as the "horse mackerel". | |||
| Swedish | ras- | ||
| The Swedish word "ras" (racial) derives from the Latin word "ratio" (reason), not from the French word "race" (nation). | |||
| Welsh | hiliol | ||
| The word "hiliol" is also used in Welsh to mean "lineage" or "descent." | |||
Racial in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | расавы | ||
| In Belarusian, расавы also denotes an obsolete Belarusian measure of length used in textile industry, equal to 2.134 meters or to 7 feet. | |||
| Bosnian | rasno | ||
| The word 'rasno' can also mean 'nationally' or 'of the people'. | |||
| Bulgarian | расова | ||
| The word "расова" in Bulgarian can also mean "breed" or "strain" in the context of animals or plants. | |||
| Czech | rasový | ||
| In Czech, "rasový" also means "thoroughbred" or "pedigree" in the context of animals. | |||
| Estonian | rassiline | ||
| The Estonian word "rassiline" can also mean "national" or "ethnic". | |||
| Finnish | rodullinen | ||
| In linguistics, “rodullinen” derives from the Swedish word "ras", which simply means a grouping of individuals based on traits they share. | |||
| Hungarian | faji | ||
| The Hungarian word "faji" means "racial" and "kind". | |||
| Latvian | rases | ||
| Other related terms include "rass", "rasism", "rasist", "rasu", "rasojums", "rasošana", "rasts", "razotne". | |||
| Lithuanian | rasinis | ||
| The Lithuanian word "rasinis" also means "reasoning", and ultimately derives from an Indo-European root meaning "calculate". | |||
| Macedonian | расна | ||
| Despite the superficial resemblance to the English word "race," the Macedonian word "расна" has no ethnic connotation and refers exclusively to "race" as a biological classification. | |||
| Polish | rasowy | ||
| In Polish, "rasowy" also means "thoroughbred" or "pedigree". | |||
| Romanian | rasial | ||
| Romanian "rasial" comes from the French "racial" and its alternate meaning "risky" comes from the Romanian "risc" meaning "risk." | |||
| Russian | расовый | ||
| “Расовый” is also used to describe the characteristics of a racehorse or a specific breed of dog, or sometimes figuratively in the sense of “purebred”. | |||
| Serbian | расне | ||
| The Serbian word "расне" also means "different" or "diverse". | |||
| Slovak | rasový | ||
| In Slovak, "rasový" can also refer to a draft beer or a beer mug. | |||
| Slovenian | rasno | ||
| The word "rasno" in Slovenian can also mean "ethnic" or "national". | |||
| Ukrainian | расова | ||
| The word "расова" in Ukrainian also has the meaning of "breed" or "strain", particularly in reference to animals. | |||
Racial in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | জাতিগত | ||
| The original meaning of the word "জাতিগত" is related to "birth" instead of "race" (its second meaning), which may have contributed to its ambiguous use among certain circles. | |||
| Gujarati | વંશીય | ||
| વંશીય also means "of or relating to a dynasty" or "of high or noble descent" in Gujarati. | |||
| Hindi | जातीय | ||
| The Hindi word "जातीय" can also refer to "relating to caste" or "national". | |||
| Kannada | ಜನಾಂಗೀಯ | ||
| The word "ಜನಾಂಗೀಯ" can be applied to ethnicity or language groups and is sometimes used interchangeably with "cultural" | |||
| Malayalam | വംശീയ | ||
| The Malayalam word "വംശീയ" can also mean "hereditary" or "genealogical". | |||
| Marathi | वांशिक | ||
| In Sanskrit, 'वांशिक' means 'relating to a lineage' or 'genealogical' | |||
| Nepali | जातीय | ||
| The word "जातीय" can also refer to "national" or "ethnic" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਨਸਲੀ | ||
| The word "ਨਸਲੀ" in Punjabi can also mean "genealogical" or "ancestral" | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වාර්ගික | ||
| Tamil | இன | ||
| The Tamil word "இன" (ina) can refer to both "race" and "species". | |||
| Telugu | జాతి | ||
| The word "జాతి" in Telugu is related to the Sanskrit word "जाति" meaning "species, kind, or caste" | |||
| Urdu | نسلی | ||
| نسلی can also mean descent, pedigree, lineage, breed, genus, type, kind, generation, race, breed, progeny, strain or ancestry in Urdu. | |||
Racial in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 种族的 | ||
| 种族的本义是同类、类属，引申为种族、民族，现代汉语中多指人种或民族。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 種族的 | ||
| 種族 (Zhǒngzú) was used to refer to a group of people with similar cultural or linguistic backgrounds in pre-modern China, but took on connotations of race in the 20th century. | |||
| Japanese | 人種 | ||
| In Japanese, "人種" also refers to a group of people who share common customs and cultures. | |||
| Korean | 인종 | ||
| The word "인종" (racial) in Korean originally meant "kind" or "race" in the context of biological classification. | |||
| Mongolian | арьсны өнгө | ||
| The word 'арьсны өнгө' derives from 'арьс' 'appearance' and 'өнгө' 'color, nuance', and means 'outward appearance, looks, physical characteristics', which also includes 'race'. In some contexts, it can mean 'ethnicity' or 'nationality'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လူမျိုးရေး | ||
| The term “လူမျိုးရေး” was often translated or understood as exclusively related with skin colour, despite the Burmese phrase containing the wider connotation of descent, origin, nationality, and people group. | |||
Racial in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | rasial | ||
| The Indonesian word "rasial" specifically refers to something or someone of mixed race, as opposed to the general meaning of "racial" in English. | |||
| Javanese | ras | ||
| In Javanese, "ras" is synonymous with "warna" (colour), both relating to "rupa" (form). | |||
| Khmer | ពូជសាសន៍ | ||
| The word "ពូជសាសន៍" can also refer to "species" in a biological context, or "kind" or "type" in a more general sense. | |||
| Lao | ເຊື້ອຊາດ | ||
| The Laotian word "ເຊື້ອຊາດ" is a loan from the Thai word "ชาติ", and can also refer to the concepts of ethnicity or nation, and can be understood with the context and usage in a given situation. | |||
| Malay | perkauman | ||
| The word "perkauman" is derived from the Sanskrit word "karma" and originally meant "action" or "deed". | |||
| Thai | เชื้อชาติ | ||
| เชื้อชาติ can also mean 'race' as in 'horse race' and 'sperm'. | |||
| Vietnamese | chủng tộc | ||
| Chủng tộc comes from Sino-Vietnamese 種 (chủng, 'species, race, breed') + 族 (tộc, 'race, ethnic group'). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | lahi | ||
Racial in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | irqi | ||
| The word "irqi" is a neologism used in Turkish and Azerbaijani as a way of avoiding the derogatory terms "nəsil" and "millət". | |||
| Kazakh | нәсілдік | ||
| The Kazakh word "нәсілдік" can also refer to "breed" or "pedigree" in the context of animals. | |||
| Kyrgyz | расалык | ||
| Tajik | нажодӣ | ||
| The Tajik word "нажодӣ" (racial) is derived from the Persian word "نژاد" (race), which in turn comes from the Arabic word "نَسَب" (lineage). | |||
| Turkmen | jyns taýdan | ||
| Uzbek | irqiy | ||
| In Uzbek, the word "irqiy" can also mean "pertaining to the breed" when used in the context of animals. | |||
| Uyghur | ئىرق | ||
Racial in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | lāhui | ||
| In Hawaiian, the word "lāhui" originally referred to the extended family, then to a tribe or ethnic group, and now also means "nation". | |||
| Maori | iwi | ||
| The Maori word "iwi" can also refer to a tribe or extended family group. | |||
| Samoan | lanu | ||
| While it may be most often recognized in contemporary usage as shorthand for 'racial' or 'ethnic', a closer look at the term's etymology, history, and usage in practice may prove the term to be a more complex linguistic phenomenon. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | lahi | ||
| The term "lahi" can also refer to "tribe" or "lineage" in Tagalog. | |||
Racial in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | racial ukat juk’ampinaka | ||
| Guarani | racial rehegua | ||
Racial in International Languages
| Esperanto | rasa | ||
| The Esperanto word "rasa" also means "ethnic" or "national" and derives from the Sanskrit word "raça". | |||
| Latin | gentis | ||
| While the word "gentis" translates to "racial" in English, it also means "nation" or "people" as in "gentes mundi" or "the nations of the world". | |||
Racial in Others Languages
| Greek | φυλετικός | ||
| Φυλετικός shares the root φυλ- with φυλή (tribe), and can refer to tribe, species or origin. | |||
| Hmong | haiv neeg | ||
| In the Hmong script, "haiv neeg" can also mean "ethnic group". | |||
| Kurdish | nijadî | ||
| In Kurdish, the term 'nijadî' primarily signifies 'ancestry', 'kin', and 'descendants' | |||
| Turkish | ırksal | ||
| The Turkish word "ırksal" also carries connotations of "ethical" or "moral", stemming from its root word "irk" meaning "character" or "nature". | |||
| Xhosa | ubuhlanga | ||
| The word "ubuhlanga" is also used to refer to the physical features that distinguish one race from another. | |||
| Yiddish | ראַסיש | ||
| The Yiddish word ראַסיש ('racial') is also used in the specific context of 'ethnic' or 'national,' as in ראַסן־פֿאַרפֿאָלגונג ('ethnic persecution') | |||
| Zulu | ngokobuhlanga | ||
| The Zulu word “ngokobuhlanga” can be literally translated as “the way of people” and implies a sense of belonging to a particular tribe or ethnic group. | |||
| Assamese | বৰ্ণবাদী | ||
| Aymara | racial ukat juk’ampinaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | नस्लीय बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ނަސްލީ ގޮތުންނެވެ | ||
| Dogri | नस्लीय | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | lahi | ||
| Guarani | racial rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | racial | ||
| Krio | racial | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕەگەزی | ||
| Maithili | जातिगत | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯔꯦꯁꯤꯑꯦꯜ ꯑꯣꯏꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | hnam hrang hrang | ||
| Oromo | sanyummaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଜାତିଗତ | ||
| Quechua | racial nisqa | ||
| Sanskrit | जातिगत | ||
| Tatar | раса | ||
| Tigrinya | ዓሌታዊ | ||
| Tsonga | rixaka | ||