Refugee in Different Languages
Discover 'Refugee' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word refugee is a powerful and significant term, representing individuals who have been forced to leave their home country to escape war, persecution, or natural disasters. It's a word that transcends borders and languages, yet its meaning remains consistent – a person seeking safety and a new beginning. Understanding the translation of refugee in different languages not only broadens our cultural awareness but also highlights the global impact of this issue.
Throughout history, the plight of refugees has been a central theme in many cultures and societies. From the Jewish diaspora during World War II to the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis, the world has seen countless examples of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity. By learning the translations of refugee in various languages, we can better appreciate the shared human experience of those who have been displaced.
Here are a few sample translations of refugee:
Refugee
Refugee in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vlugteling | ||
| The word "vlugteling" is a compound of the words "vlug" (flight) and "ling" (person), and it can also mean "fugitive". | |||
| Amharic | ስደተኛ | ||
| The word "ስደተኛ" has an alternate meaning of 'outcast' and derives from the Old Amharic term "ስደተ" meaning "exile". | |||
| Hausa | dan gudun hijira | ||
| The Hausa word dan gudun hijira can also mean a "displaced person" or someone who has been "forced to flee their home." | |||
| Igbo | onye gbara oso | ||
| "Onye gbara oso" (refugee) literally translates to "one who escaped from running". | |||
| Malagasy | mpitsoa-ponenana | ||
| The word "mpitsoa-ponenana" in Malagasy can also be used to refer to the person who seeks protection or asylum. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | othawa kwawo | ||
| The word "othawa kwawo" in Nyanja is also used to refer to people who have been displaced from their homes due to war or natural disasters. | |||
| Shona | mupoteri | ||
| The word "mupoteri" is derived from two Shona roots, "mupotsi" (one who seeks shelter) and "-eri" (a suffix denoting state or condition), indicating the state of being a refugee. | |||
| Somali | qaxooti | ||
| The word "qaxooti" in Somali has its roots in the Arabic word "qarra," meaning "to settle down in a place." | |||
| Sesotho | mophaphathehi | ||
| Swahili | mkimbizi | ||
| The Swahili word, ‘mkimbizi’, also means 'a runaway', 'a person who goes into hiding', or 'a deserter'. | |||
| Xhosa | imbacu | ||
| The word "imbacu" can also refer to a place of safety or shelter. | |||
| Yoruba | asasala | ||
| The Yoruba word 'asasala' can also refer to a person who is seeking protection from harm. | |||
| Zulu | umbaleki | ||
| "Umbaleki" literally means "wanderer" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | kalifabaga | ||
| Ewe | sitsoƒedila | ||
| Kinyarwanda | impunzi | ||
| Lingala | mokimi mboka | ||
| Luganda | omubundabunda | ||
| Sepedi | mofaladi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | aguanfo | ||
Refugee in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | لاجئ | ||
| لاجئ is also used in Arabic to describe a fetus or a person who is stillborn. | |||
| Hebrew | פָּלִיט | ||
| The word "פָּלִיט" (refugee) in Hebrew also means "exile" or "fugitive". | |||
| Pashto | مهاجر | ||
| In Pashto, "مهاجر" can also refer to a religious migrant, often used to describe the companions of Prophet Muhammad who migrated from Mecca to Medina. | |||
| Arabic | لاجئ | ||
| لاجئ is also used in Arabic to describe a fetus or a person who is stillborn. | |||
Refugee in Western European Languages
| Albanian | refugjat | ||
| The word "refugjat" in Albanian is derived from the Latin word "refugium", meaning "place of refuge". | |||
| Basque | errefuxiatua | ||
| The word "errefuxiatua" in Basque literally translates to "forced to wander" | |||
| Catalan | refugiat | ||
| The Catalan word "refugiat" also means "retired" or "shelter". | |||
| Croatian | izbjeglica | ||
| The word "izbjeglica" in Croatian is derived from the verb "izbjeći", meaning "to escape" or "to avoid". It can also refer to a person who has been displaced from their home due to war or persecution. | |||
| Danish | flygtning | ||
| The word 'flygtning' is derived from the Old Norse word 'flytja', meaning 'to move', and originally referred to someone who had left their home due to war or persecution. | |||
| Dutch | vluchteling | ||
| The Dutch word "vluchteling" derives from "vluchten," meaning 'to flee,' and is closely related to the word "vlieger," meaning 'kite' in Dutch (ultimately both deriving from Proto-Germanic '*fleugan'). | |||
| English | refugee | ||
| "Refugee" comes from the French "refugier," which means "to seek shelter." | |||
| French | réfugié | ||
| The word "réfugié" comes from the Latin word "refugium", meaning "a place of refuge or safety". | |||
| Frisian | flechtling | ||
| The Frisian word "flechtling" is also used in the dialects spoken by the Roma, a nomadic population living in Central and Eastern Europe, where it means "young man." | |||
| Galician | refuxiado | ||
| The word 'refuxiado' in Galician is a cognate of the Spanish word 'refugiado' and the French word 'réfugié', all meaning 'refugee'. As in these languages, the Galician word can also refer to a person who has taken shelter from danger in a foreign country. | |||
| German | flüchtling | ||
| Das Wort "Flüchtling" leitet sich vom mittelhochdeutschen "vliuhten" ab, was "fliehen" bedeutet. | |||
| Icelandic | flóttamaður | ||
| Possibly an old loan word into Icelandic via an unknown language from a West Slavic word, like Polish "płotownik" and Serbo-Croatian "plotun" which both also refer to "refugees". | |||
| Irish | dídeanaí | ||
| In the Irish language, | |||
| Italian | profugo | ||
| In Italian, "profugo" can also mean an exile or fugitive, and its etymology is from the Latin "profugus" with the same meaning. | |||
| Luxembourgish | flüchtling | ||
| The word "Flüchtling" also has the meaning of "escape" or "flight" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | refuġjat | ||
| The Maltese word "refuġjat" is derived from the French word "réfugié", which means "one who has fled from their country to escape war or persecution". | |||
| Norwegian | flyktning | ||
| "Flyktning" is derived from the verb "flykte", meaning "to flee or escape", suggesting someone who is forced to leave their home due to danger or persecution. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | refugiado | ||
| Em português, "refugiado" também pode referir-se a um local de refúgio ou asilo | |||
| Scots Gaelic | fògarrach | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "fògarrach" comes from the Old Gaelic "forcaire", meaning "a watcher" or "a sentinel", suggesting a secondary meaning as "a protector". | |||
| Spanish | refugiado | ||
| In Spanish, "refugiado" can also mean "someone who has taken shelter in a place". | |||
| Swedish | flykting | ||
| "Flykting" comes from the verb "fly" (to flee) and the suffix "-ing" (someone who does something), so it literally means "someone who flees". | |||
| Welsh | ffoadur | ||
| The Welsh word 'ffoadur' is derived from the Latin 'profugus,' meaning 'fugitive' or 'outcast.' | |||
Refugee in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | бежанец | ||
| The Belarusian word for "refugee" is derived from the Russian word "беженец", which itself comes from the verb "бежать" (to run), suggesting a sense of movement and displacement. | |||
| Bosnian | izbjeglica | ||
| The word "izbjeglica" can also mean "evacuee" or "displaced person" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | бежанец | ||
| The word "бежанец" comes from the verb "бежа", which means "to run", suggesting a person who is fleeing or has been forced to leave their home. | |||
| Czech | uprchlík | ||
| The Czech word "uprchlík" also means "runaway" or "fugitive." | |||
| Estonian | pagulane | ||
| The word "pagulane" in Estonian can also refer to a person who is forced to leave their home due to war or persecution. | |||
| Finnish | pakolainen | ||
| Pakolaisen can also mean 'pakoilija' (a person who escapes), but most commonly it is used as a noun to refer to an individual who has left their country of origin to seek safety elsewhere. | |||
| Hungarian | menekült | ||
| " menekült " is a noun that means "refugee". It comes from the verb " menekül", which means "to flee" or "to escape". The word was first used in the 16th century to refer to people who had fled from religious persecution. | |||
| Latvian | bēglis | ||
| The word "bēglis" in Latvian also refers to a runaway slave or serf, and is cognate with the Russian word "беглец" (beglets), meaning "fugitive". | |||
| Lithuanian | pabėgėlis | ||
| The Lithuanian word "pabėgėlis" comes from the verb "bėgti", meaning "to run", and thus originally meant "a fugitive". | |||
| Macedonian | бегалец | ||
| The word "бегалец" in Macedonian originally meant "fugitive from justice", but has come to mean "refugee" | |||
| Polish | uchodźca | ||
| The word "uchodźca" also means "emigrant" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | refugiat | ||
| In Romanian, "refugiat" can also refer to a protected area for animals, such as a sanctuary or wildlife preserve. | |||
| Russian | беженец | ||
| The root of the word беженец ("refugee") is the Old Russian word бег /эт бог ("escape from something, run away"). | |||
| Serbian | избеглица | ||
| The word "избеглица" (refugee) in Serbian comes from the verb "избећи" (to avoid), and originally meant "one who has avoided something". It can also refer to a person who has fled their home due to war or persecution. | |||
| Slovak | utečenec | ||
| Utečenec is derived from the Czech word 'utíkati', which means 'to flee'. | |||
| Slovenian | begunec | ||
| The word "begunec" originally referred to an exile, someone who had fled their home because of war or persecution. | |||
| Ukrainian | біженець | ||
| The word "біженець" comes from a Proto-Slavic root meaning "to run away" or "to escape". | |||
Refugee in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | শরণার্থী | ||
| The Bengali word 'শরণার্থী' ('refugee') originates from the Sanskrit word शरणार्थी ('śaraṇārthī'), meaning 'one who seeks protection'. | |||
| Gujarati | શરણાર્થી | ||
| Hindi | शरणार्थी | ||
| The Hindi word 'शरणार्थी' also means 'one who has sought refuge' or 'one who has taken shelter'. | |||
| Kannada | ನಿರಾಶ್ರಿತರು | ||
| Malayalam | അഭയാർത്ഥി | ||
| The word "അഭയാർത്ഥി" is derived from Sanskrit and means "one who seeks protection". | |||
| Marathi | निर्वासित | ||
| The word 'निर्वासित' (refugee) in Marathi literally means 'someone who has been exiled'. | |||
| Nepali | शरणार्थी | ||
| The word "शरणार्थी" is derived from the Sanskrit root "शरण" (śaraṇa), meaning "protection" or "shelter." | |||
| Punjabi | ਰਫਿ .ਜੀ | ||
| The word "ਰਫਿ .ਜੀ" (refugee) in Punjabi is derived from the Arabic word "refugee" (لجئ), meaning "one who seeks refuge". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සරණාගතයා | ||
| 'සරණාගතයා' is derived from the word 'සරණ' meaning 'refuge' and 'ගත' meaning 'go'. It can also refer to a person who has sought protection from a religious institution. | |||
| Tamil | அகதி | ||
| "அகதி" is commonly used to denote an individual seeking refuge due to persecution, conflict, or other forms of adversity. | |||
| Telugu | శరణార్థ | ||
| The word 'శరణార్థ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'शरणार्थ' (śaraṇārtha), which means 'one who seeks refuge'. | |||
| Urdu | مہاجر | ||
| The Urdu word "مہاجر" can also refer to a person who left their homeland voluntarily or for political or religious reasons. | |||
Refugee in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 难民 | ||
| The original meaning of the term “难民” was "those fleeing from famine". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 難民 | ||
| 難民一詞在中文中可指因政治、戰爭或自然災難而被迫逃離家園的人，或指貧困、無家可歸的人。 | |||
| Japanese | 難民 | ||
| The Japanese word "難民" ("nanmin") originally referred to people displaced within Japan, but now also refers to international refugees. | |||
| Korean | 난민 | ||
| "난민" is a compound word formed from the Sino-Korean roots "난" (difficult) and "민" (people). | |||
| Mongolian | дүрвэгч | ||
| The spelling of the word ДҮРВЭГЧ has been in use since the 17th century. Historically, it has also been spelled as ДҮРБЭГЧ. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဒုက္ခသည် | ||
Refugee in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pengungsi | ||
| "Pengungsi" derives from the Javanese word "ngungsi" meaning "to flee". | |||
| Javanese | pengungsi | ||
| Pengungsi is derived from the Javanese word 'ngungsi' which means to seek shelter or refuge. | |||
| Khmer | ជនភៀសខ្លួន | ||
| 'ជនភៀសខ្លួន' means 'an alien who has been in a foreign country so long that he or she is no longer covered by the diplomatic protection of his or her home government' | |||
| Lao | ຊາວອົບພະຍົບ | ||
| Malay | pelarian | ||
| In Indonesia, "pelarian" can also refer to a fugitive or a person on the run from the law. | |||
| Thai | ผู้ลี้ภัย | ||
| The word "ผู้ลี้ภัย" (refugee) in Thai literally means "a person who seeks refuge". | |||
| Vietnamese | người tị nạn | ||
| Người tị nạn also translates as “temporary exile” from Chinese, while in English, people who flee are “emigrants”. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | refugee | ||
Refugee in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qaçqın | ||
| The word "qaçqın" (refugee) comes from the Azerbaijani verb "qaçmaq" (to escape) and is used to describe someone who has fled their homeland due to war, persecution, or other forms of violence. | |||
| Kazakh | босқын | ||
| The word "босқын" also has the alternate meaning of "vagabond" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | качкын | ||
| "Качкын" is derived from the verb "кач-" meaning "to escape" or "to run away". | |||
| Tajik | гуреза | ||
| The word "гуреза" is an Arabic loanword meaning “outsider” or “foreigner”. | |||
| Turkmen | bosgun | ||
| Uzbek | qochoq | ||
| The word "qochoq" in Uzbek is derived from the Persian word "koč", meaning "migration" or "displacement". | |||
| Uyghur | مۇساپىر | ||
Refugee in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mea mahuka | ||
| In Hawaiian, the word 'mea mahuka' connotes not only a refugee but also an 'aloha stranger' who is welcomed with compassion and care. | |||
| Maori | rerenga | ||
| "Rerenga" derives from the verb "rere," meaning "to fly" or "to flee". | |||
| Samoan | tagata sulufaʻi | ||
| The term 'tagata sulufaʻi' has a literal meaning of 'people escaping to safety', reflecting the desperate circumstances of fleeing one's home. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tumakas | ||
| "Tumakas", in addition to meaning "refugee", comes from the word "takas" which denotes moving away from something dangerous or difficult. | |||
Refugee in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | refugiado ukhamawa | ||
| Guarani | refugiado rehegua | ||
Refugee in International Languages
| Esperanto | rifuĝinto | ||
| The word "rifuĝinto" is derived from the Latin word "refugere", meaning "to flee" or "to escape". | |||
| Latin | fugit | ||
| "Fugit" also means "to flee" or "to escape" in Latin. | |||
Refugee in Others Languages
| Greek | πρόσφυγας | ||
| Πρόσφυγας derives from the Ancient Greek word προσφεύγω (prosfeugo) meaning "to flee towards", "to approach for protection" or "to resort to". | |||
| Hmong | neeg tawg rog | ||
| The Hmong word 'neeg tawg rog' (refugee) also means 'separated, displaced person' | |||
| Kurdish | penaber | ||
| The word "penaber" is often used to refer to temporary refugees, a group that is differentiated from "pishkevt", who have settled somewhere permanently. | |||
| Turkish | mülteci | ||
| In Turkish, "mülteci" can also mean "emigrant" or "expatriate." | |||
| Xhosa | imbacu | ||
| The word "imbacu" can also refer to a place of safety or shelter. | |||
| Yiddish | פליטים | ||
| The Yiddish word "פליטים" has its origins in the Hebrew word "פליט," which means "one who has escaped or fled" | |||
| Zulu | umbaleki | ||
| "Umbaleki" literally means "wanderer" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | শৰণাৰ্থী | ||
| Aymara | refugiado ukhamawa | ||
| Bhojpuri | शरणार्थी के रूप में काम कइले बानी | ||
| Dhivehi | ރެފިއުޖީއެކެވެ | ||
| Dogri | शरणार्थी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | refugee | ||
| Guarani | refugiado rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | nagkamang | ||
| Krio | rɛfyuji | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پەنابەر | ||
| Maithili | शरणार्थी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯔꯤꯐ꯭ꯌꯨꯖꯤ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯕꯛ ꯇꯧꯔꯤ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | raltlan a ni | ||
| Oromo | baqataa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଶରଣାର୍ଥୀ | ||
| Quechua | ayqikuq | ||
| Sanskrit | शरणार्थी | ||
| Tatar | качак | ||
| Tigrinya | ስደተኛ | ||
| Tsonga | muhlapfa | ||