Red in Different Languages
Discover 'Red' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Red
Afrikaans rooi | ||
Albanian e kuqe | ||
Amharic ቀይ | ||
Arabic أحمر | ||
Armenian կարմիր | ||
Assamese ৰঙা | ||
Aymara wila | ||
Azerbaijani qırmızı | ||
Bambara bilema | ||
Basque gorria | ||
Belarusian чырвоны | ||
Bengali লাল | ||
Bhojpuri लाल | ||
Bosnian crvena | ||
Bulgarian червен | ||
Catalan vermell | ||
Cebuano pula | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 红 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 紅 | ||
Corsican rossu | ||
Croatian crvena | ||
Czech červené | ||
Danish rød | ||
Dhivehi ރަތް | ||
Dogri लाल | ||
Dutch rood | ||
English red | ||
Esperanto ruĝa | ||
Estonian punane | ||
Ewe dzẽ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pula | ||
Finnish punainen | ||
French rouge | ||
Frisian read | ||
Galician vermello | ||
Georgian წითელი | ||
German rot | ||
Greek το κόκκινο | ||
Guarani pytã | ||
Gujarati લાલ | ||
Haitian Creole wouj | ||
Hausa ja | ||
Hawaiian ulaʻula | ||
Hebrew אָדוֹם | ||
Hindi लाल | ||
Hmong xim liab | ||
Hungarian piros | ||
Icelandic rautt | ||
Igbo uhie uhie | ||
Ilocano nalabbaga | ||
Indonesian merah | ||
Irish dearg | ||
Italian rosso | ||
Japanese 赤 | ||
Javanese abang | ||
Kannada ಕೆಂಪು | ||
Kazakh қызыл | ||
Khmer ក្រហម | ||
Kinyarwanda umutuku | ||
Konkani तांबडें | ||
Korean 빨간 | ||
Krio rɛd | ||
Kurdish sor | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) سوور | ||
Kyrgyz кызыл | ||
Lao ສີແດງ | ||
Latin rubrum | ||
Latvian sarkans | ||
Lingala motane | ||
Lithuanian raudona | ||
Luganda -myuufu | ||
Luxembourgish rout | ||
Macedonian црвено | ||
Maithili लाल | ||
Malagasy mena | ||
Malay merah | ||
Malayalam ചുവപ്പ് | ||
Maltese aħmar | ||
Maori whero | ||
Marathi लाल | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯉꯥꯡꯕ | ||
Mizo sen | ||
Mongolian улаан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အနီေရာင် | ||
Nepali रातो | ||
Norwegian rød | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chofiira | ||
Odia (Oriya) ନାଲି | ||
Oromo diimaa | ||
Pashto سور | ||
Persian قرمز | ||
Polish czerwony | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) vermelho | ||
Punjabi ਲਾਲ | ||
Quechua puka | ||
Romanian roșu | ||
Russian красный | ||
Samoan lanu mumu | ||
Sanskrit रक्त | ||
Scots Gaelic dearg | ||
Sepedi khubedu | ||
Serbian црвена | ||
Sesotho khubelu | ||
Shona tsvuku | ||
Sindhi ڳاڙهو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) රතු | ||
Slovak červená | ||
Slovenian rdeča | ||
Somali casaan | ||
Spanish rojo | ||
Sundanese beureum | ||
Swahili nyekundu | ||
Swedish röd | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) pula | ||
Tajik сурх | ||
Tamil சிவப்பு | ||
Tatar кызыл | ||
Telugu ఎరుపు | ||
Thai สีแดง | ||
Tigrinya ቀይሕ | ||
Tsonga tshuka | ||
Turkish kırmızı | ||
Turkmen gyzyl | ||
Twi (Akan) kɔkɔɔ | ||
Ukrainian червоний | ||
Urdu سرخ | ||
Uyghur قىزىل | ||
Uzbek qizil | ||
Vietnamese đỏ | ||
Welsh coch | ||
Xhosa bomvu | ||
Yiddish רויט | ||
Yoruba pupa | ||
Zulu okubomvu |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Rooi also means a low red sand dune; an area where red-fleshed watermelons or grapes are grown; or a redhead. |
| Albanian | The word “e kuqe” in Albanian comes from the Proto-Albanian word “*kuka” meaning “red, brown, yellow,” while the word “e verdhë” (yellow) originates from Proto-Indo-European “*gʰelH-,” meaning “green.” |
| Amharic | The word ቀይ can also refer to the color of the soil or the color of a person's skin. |
| Arabic | The word 'أحمر' can also refer to 'wine'. In the Quran, the phrase 'خمر أحمر' is used to describe 'red wine' or 'wine with a reddish hue'. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word for "red" (կարմիր) also has connotations of "beautiful" or "dear" and is often used to describe loved ones or objects of affection. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "qırmızı" is also used in Azerbaijani to describe various shades of pink and purple, which were traditionally considered variations of red in the Azerbaijani cultural context. |
| Basque | "Gorria" (red) comes from the Proto-Basque word *gorr- (hot), meaning "burning" and "lively". |
| Belarusian | In the past, чырвоны was also used to describe any beautiful or bright object. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "লাল" (red) also refers to anything valuable or highly esteemed, such as a highly skilled person or a rare gemstone. |
| Bosnian | The word "crvena" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "krŭvenŭ", which also means "blood" in Bosnian and other Slavic languages. |
| Bulgarian | "Червен" also means "July" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | "Vermell" is derived from the Latin "vermiculus," meaning "little worm". |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "pula" can also be used figuratively to mean "angry" or "embarrassed" |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "红" can also mean "to blush" or "to be successful". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In ancient Chinese texts, "紅" could also refer to "pink", "purple", or "rainbow". |
| Corsican | Corsican 'rossu' may be related to Latin 'ros' ('dew'), possibly via Old Catalan. |
| Croatian | The word 'Crvena' (red) in Croatian also has the alternate meaning of 'beautiful'. |
| Czech | In Czech, "Červené" can also refer to wine or a blush on one's face, and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "čьrvenъ". |
| Danish | The Danish word "rød" can refer to both the red color and red wine. |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word "rood" can also mean "angry" or "flushed." |
| Esperanto | The word "ruĝa" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁rewǵ-, meaning "reddish-brown". |
| Estonian | Punane can also refer to various shades of purple, not just red. |
| Finnish | Punainen, besides meaning 'red', is derived from 'puna' ('dye') but may refer to various dye colors depending on dye used, such as 'scarlet', 'crimson', or 'purple'. |
| French | The word "rouge" also means "blush" or "face paint" in French. |
| Frisian | It is also used for the name of cattle, especially in the compound raed-fear `red-bull` |
| Galician | The Galician word "vermello" can also refer to copper or bronze, as well as reddish-brown or purple-red. |
| Georgian | The word 'წითელი' ('red') in Georgian is often used colloquially to refer to the skin color of fair-skinned individuals. |
| German | Besides 'red', 'rot' also means 'rotten' in German, sharing its origin with the English word 'rot'. |
| Greek | The word "κόκκινο" in Greek can also refer to a type of red wine, "red thread" (運命の赤い糸, "the red thread of destiny") or a "red light district". |
| Gujarati | The word "লাল" "red" in Gujarati, besides meaning "red" also means "lovely" or "beautiful", especially when used to describe people but also occasionally used for objects. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "wouj" in Haitian Creole also means "blood" or "anger". |
| Hausa | Hausa "ja" may also refer to "rust" or the "colour of blood". |
| Hawaiian | Ulaʻula is associated with many meanings, including blood, war, bravery, or an offering to gods. |
| Hebrew | "אֲדוֹם" is cognate with the Akkadian word "admu" (blood) and the Arabic "ahmar" (ruddy). |
| Hindi | The word "लाल" can also refer to "lust" or "greed" in Hindi, as it shares a root with the word "लोभ" (greed). |
| Hmong | The Hmong word “xim liab” originates from the Chinese word “xiànlián” which means “to show one’s face”; this is a metaphor for being bold and confident. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "piros" is also used to describe blushing or embarrassment, and is thought to be related to the Sanskrit word "pippala", meaning "red pepper". |
| Icelandic | Rauður can also refer to a red dye or a redhead. |
| Igbo | "Uhie uhie" can also mean "beautiful," "lovely," or "attractive." |
| Indonesian | "Merah" also means "embarrassed" or "shy" when used as a verb in Indonesian. |
| Irish | "Deag" can also mean "good" or "virtuous" in Irish, illustrating the semantic extension of color terms into moral evaluations. |
| Italian | In ancient Latin, "rosso" was also used as a noun meaning "rust" or "reddish-brown oxide". |
| Japanese | The Chinese character "赤" also represents the color "dark red" or "brown" in some Chinese words |
| Javanese | In Javanese, 'abang' also signifies strength, bravery, and royalty, embodying both its literal and abstract attributes. |
| Kannada | In ancient Kannada texts, "ಕೆಂಪು" referred to wealth and prosperity |
| Kazakh | In Kazakh mythology, "қызыл" can represent the east, the place where the sun rises and new life begins. |
| Khmer | The word ក្រហម is derived from Sanskrit “rakta” meaning “red” and “blood,” which is shared by many Indic languages such as Bengali and Hindi. |
| Korean | } |
| Kurdish | In some dialects, ''sor'' refers to a darker shade of red known as ''crimson'' or ''maroon''. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "Кызыл" not only means "red" in Kyrgyz, but also has a broader meaning of "beautiful" or "attractive." |
| Lao | The Lao word for red, ສີແດງ (si daeng), is also used to describe the color orange, and is etymologically related to the Sanskrit word for "sun", meaning "golden". |
| Latin | In late Latin, rubrum also referred to an ornate or elaborate capital letter, or to the text written in red ink that was used to introduce important texts. |
| Latvian | The term also refers to the red dye made from madder or saffron. |
| Lithuanian | Its plural is "raudonės", referring to measles or scarlet fever. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Rout" came to Luxembourgish by way of French, but ultimately originates from Old Norse |
| Macedonian | "Црвено" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *čьrvьnъ, which originally meant "worm" or "maggot". |
| Malagasy | MENA can also refer to a kind of red wood or a red substance used as a dye or cosmetic. |
| Malay | The word "merah" also means "angry" or "embarrassed" in Malay. |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "ചുവപ്പ്" (red) is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *cupa- meaning "to be red or yellow". |
| Maltese | "Aħmar" can also mean "angry" or "embarrassed" in Maltese slang. |
| Maori | Whero, meaning "red" in Maori, also symbolizes strength, vitality and aggression. |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian, 'улаан' (red) can also refer to 'good fortune', 'success', or 'happiness' |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အနီေရာင် primarily means "red" in Burmese, but can also refer to the cardinal direction "south." |
| Nepali | The word "रातो" can also refer to the color green in some contexts, especially in the context of vegetables and plants. |
| Norwegian | The word "rød" is the Norwegian equivalent of the word "red" in English, but it can also refer to the color of certain fruits and vegetables, such as carrots and tomatoes. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'chofiira' may also mean 'blood' or 'dark red' depending on context. |
| Pashto | سور also means 'rust' or 'to become rusty' in Pashto. |
| Persian | The word “cermez” (قرمز) also means “crimson” and is related to similar words across Indo-European languages, like the Latin “carmin”. |
| Polish | Czerwony, an adjective meaning "red" in Polish, derives from the Proto-Slavic root *čьrvenъ, initially referring to the reddish color of worms. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "vermelho" is also used in Portuguese to describe a light orange color. |
| Punjabi | In Punjabi, "ਲਾਲ" (lāl) can also refer to a person who is passionate or fiery, similar to its use in Hindi. |
| Romanian | "Roșu" is also used to describe the color of the Romanian flag, which is a combination of blue, yellow, and red. |
| Russian | The word "красный" in Russian not only means "red", but also "beautiful", "fair", "good", and even "lucky". |
| Samoan | "Lanu mumu" literally means "red" in Samoan, but it can also refer to a person's blood or their anger. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "dearg" also refers to the reddish brown color of peat smoke. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "црвена" is cognate with the English word "crimson" and the Old Church Slavonic word "чрьвенъ". |
| Sesotho | The word "khubelu" can also refer to blood, which is considered a sacred substance in Sesotho culture. |
| Shona | 'Tsvuku' also refers to a type of red soil found in Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa. |
| Sindhi | The word 'ڳاڙهو' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'गौर' (gaur), meaning 'white' or 'fair'. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "රතු" (red) is cognate with Tamil "சிவப்பு" (red) and Kannada "ಕೆಂಪು" (red), and all derive from the Proto-Dravidian word *śempu. |
| Slovak | The word "červená" can also refer to the color of blood or a type of worm used as fishing bait. |
| Slovenian | The verb 'rdeča' also means 'to blush' or 'to turn red' in Slovenian. |
| Somali | The word "casaan" in Somali can also refer to a type of red clay used in traditional pottery. |
| Spanish | The word "rojo" is related to the Latin word "rubeus," meaning "reddish". |
| Sundanese | In addition to its primary meaning of 'red,' 'beureum' can also refer to the color of ripe rice, which is why it is used in the phrase 'beas beureum' ('red rice'). |
| Swahili | The word "nyekundu" in Swahili is derived from the Proto-Bantu root *-kundi, meaning "to coagulate" or "to thicken". |
| Swedish | The word "röd" in Swedish can also mean "pink" or "rose-colored". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Pula" in Tagalog can also refer to a type of itchy skin rash or to feeling shy or embarrassed. |
| Tajik | The word "сурх" can also mean "gold" in some contexts and is closely related to the Old Persian word "zaranya" meaning "golden," which in turn comes from the root "*ǵʰelh₃-" meaning "to shine." |
| Tamil | The word 'சிவப்பு' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'शिव' meaning 'auspicious' and also refers to the cardinal direction 'east'. |
| Telugu | "ఎరుపు" signifies not only the color red but can also denote "wealth" or "abundance" in Telugu. |
| Thai | The word "สีแดง" in Thai is related to the words for "blood" and "morning." |
| Turkish | "Kırmızı" shares the same root as the word "kıra"," which refers to open grassy fields in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | "Червоний" is also used in Ukrainian heraldics to refer to the color gules, or dark red. |
| Urdu | The word can be traced back to proto-indo-Iranian, where it denoted 'golden', and even further to 'blood' in proto-uralic |
| Uzbek | In Turkic languages, "qizil" also means "golden" or "gilded" |
| Vietnamese | In addition to its primary meaning, "đỏ" can also mean "ripe", "mature", or "lucky" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | Coch is a common Welsh term for "red", but it can also refer to reddish-brown or auburn hair. |
| Xhosa | The word bomvu has a secondary meaning of 'cooked', and can be used in expressions like 'ukubomba bomvu' ('to burn until red-hot') |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "רויט" also means "beautiful" or "precious", especially in a context of human qualities and relationships. |
| Yoruba | In Yoruboid languages, the word pupa may also refer to the color orange. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "okubomvu" can also refer to something that is forbidden or dangerous. |
| English | The word "red" comes from the Old English word "read" meaning "ruddy" or "reddish". |