Region in Different Languages
Discover 'Region' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'region' carries great significance as it often refers to a specific area that is distinguished by its unique characteristics. This could be in terms of geography, culture, climate, or even politics. The concept of a region is crucial in understanding the world around us, as it allows us to categorize and make sense of the vast array of differences and similarities that exist across the globe.
Historically, regions have played a key role in the development of human civilizations. The ancient Silk Road, for instance, was a network of regions that facilitated trade and cultural exchange between the East and the West. Similarly, the regional differences within Europe have shaped the continent's history, politics, and identity.
For anyone with an interest in language and culture, understanding the translation of 'region' in different languages can be fascinating. For example, in Spanish, 'region' is 'región', while in French, it is 'région'. Meanwhile, in Mandarin Chinese, 'region' is '地区' (dìqū), and in Japanese, it is '地域' (chiiki).
In the following list, you will find the translations of 'region' in a variety of languages, shedding light on the cultural and linguistic diversity that exists across the world.
Region
Region in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | streek | ||
| The word 'streek' also means 'stripe' in Dutch, and derives from the Middle Dutch word 'streke', meaning 'line' or 'path'. | |||
| Amharic | ክልል | ||
| Region in Amharic is called ክልል (klil); it also means round and circular. | |||
| Hausa | yanki | ||
| In Hausa, "yanki" refers specifically to a geographical region within a smaller territory, like a district, or ward. | |||
| Igbo | mpaghara | ||
| The word 'mpaghara' in Igbo can be split into 'mpagh' (boundary) and 'ara' (land), so it carries the connotation of a demarcated geographical area. | |||
| Malagasy | region | ||
| The Malagasy word "faritra" can also mean "district" or "province". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | dera | ||
| The word "dera" also means "area" or "district" in some contexts. | |||
| Shona | nharaunda | ||
| The word 'nharaunda' can also refer to a particular language or dialect. | |||
| Somali | gobolka | ||
| The word 'gobolka' is etymologically related to 'gobol', which can also mean 'group' or 'clan' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | sebaka | ||
| "Sebaka" (region) also refers to a 'particular place or group of people' in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | mkoa | ||
| The word "mkoa" can also mean "province" or "district" and is derived from the Arabic word "maqa'a" meaning "seat of government". | |||
| Xhosa | ummandla | ||
| "Ummandla" also refers to a place of spiritual power or a place where traditional ceremonies are held in Xhosa culture. | |||
| Yoruba | agbegbe | ||
| Agbegbe comes from the root word "agbe," meaning "space," making the word roughly mean "area space." | |||
| Zulu | isifunda | ||
| 'Isifunda' also means 'book' or 'reading' in Zulu, referring to the way that regions were often defined by their cultural and linguistic characteristics. | |||
| Bambara | màra | ||
| Ewe | nuto | ||
| Kinyarwanda | karere | ||
| Lingala | etuka | ||
| Luganda | ekifo | ||
| Sepedi | selete | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mantam | ||
Region in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | منطقة | ||
| The Arabic word "منطقة" can also be translated to "zone", "district", "area" or "belt" depending on the context, often implying some geographical or administrative boundary. | |||
| Hebrew | אזור | ||
| The word 'אזור' ('region') in Hebrew also refers to a belt or girdle. | |||
| Pashto | سیمه | ||
| The term "سیمه" also refers to a "side" in Pashto, adding a dimension or directionality to the concept of region. | |||
| Arabic | منطقة | ||
| The Arabic word "منطقة" can also be translated to "zone", "district", "area" or "belt" depending on the context, often implying some geographical or administrative boundary. | |||
Region in Western European Languages
| Albanian | rajon | ||
| The word "Rajon" also refers to the regional division of the Ottoman Empire | |||
| Basque | eskualdea | ||
| In Basque, "eskualdea" signifies both "region" and "squadron of soldiers", alluding to the historical role of regions as recruitment areas for military forces. | |||
| Catalan | regió | ||
| In Latin, "regio" refers to a specific administrative division within the Roman Empire, similar to a province. | |||
| Croatian | regija | ||
| The word "regija" in Croatian can also refer to a theatrical or film production. | |||
| Danish | område | ||
| The Danish word "område" can also refer to a subject of study, or to the scope of something, such as a project or investigation. | |||
| Dutch | regio | ||
| The word 'regio' in Dutch can also mean 'direction' or 'area' | |||
| English | region | ||
| From the Latin 'regio', originally a 'straight line' but later meaning any 'division', 'district' or 'territory'. | |||
| French | région | ||
| Region comes from the Latin word "regio," which means "tract of land." | |||
| Frisian | regio | ||
| In Frisian, "regio" can also refer to a "jurisdiction" or an "area under the authority of a ruler". | |||
| Galician | rexión | ||
| Galician "rexión" comes from Latin "regio" with the original meaning of "direction". | |||
| German | region | ||
| In medical terminology, "Region" can also refer to specific areas of the body. | |||
| Icelandic | svæði | ||
| The term "svæði" comes from the Old Norse word "svæðe", meaning both "region" and "area that has been cleared for settlement". In modern Icelandic, the latter meaning refers specifically to areas cleared for agriculture. | |||
| Irish | réigiún | ||
| The word "réigiún" is also used in Irish to refer to a "period of time" or a "set of beliefs". | |||
| Italian | regione | ||
| The word "regione" also indicates a type of pasta in Southern Italy. | |||
| Luxembourgish | regioun | ||
| Regioun derives from French, and it can also translate to "area" or "realm". | |||
| Maltese | reġjun | ||
| The Maltese word "reġjun" derives from the Latin language, where it means "kingdom". | |||
| Norwegian | region | ||
| "Region" can also mean an administrative or political area within a province, or an area with distinctive features such as climate, vegetation, or topography. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | região | ||
| "Região" can also mean "period" in Portuguese | |||
| Scots Gaelic | sgìre | ||
| In Irish, "sgìre" means "country" and is derived from the Old Irish "ríg" meaning "land". In Scots Gaelic it has been replaced in this sense by "dùthaich" and generally means "district". | |||
| Spanish | región | ||
| "Región" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "regio," originally meaning "direction" | |||
| Swedish | område | ||
| The word "område" is ultimately derived from the Old Norse word "ór", meaning "out" or "from", and the suffix "-ma", which forms action nouns. In modern Swedish, "område" can also refer to a specific geographical area or a field of study. | |||
| Welsh | rhanbarth | ||
| The word 'rhanbarth' also means 'part', 'share', or 'portion' in Welsh. | |||
Region in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | вобласці | ||
| The word "вобласці" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *oblastь*, meaning "power" or "authority". | |||
| Bosnian | region | ||
| The word 'region' in Bosnian, 'područje,' can also refer to 'area,' 'territory,' or 'district'. | |||
| Bulgarian | регион | ||
| The word "регион" is derived from the Latin word "regio", meaning "direction, region". It can also refer to a district or province within a country. | |||
| Czech | kraj | ||
| The word "kraj" can also mean "border", "edge", "side" | |||
| Estonian | piirkonnas | ||
| The word "piirkonnas" is derived from the Estonian words "piir" (border) and "kond" (place), and can also refer to a district, area, or zone. | |||
| Finnish | alueella | ||
| The Finnish word "alueella" also contains a spatial connotation, meaning "in the area" or "within the region." | |||
| Hungarian | vidék | ||
| The word "vidék" also means "outland" or "province" and is related to the Old Turkic word "bodun" meaning "people" or "tribe"} | |||
| Latvian | novads | ||
| Novádi is the genitive plural of novads. Thus, its original meaning is "of the regions" but it has acquired the meaning "regions" by being used as a collective plural. | |||
| Lithuanian | regione | ||
| 'Regionė' is also a Lithuanian name, which means 'region', and is a cognate of the Latvian 'Reģina'. | |||
| Macedonian | регионот | ||
| It derives, via Russian, either from Latin "regnum" "kingdom" or Old Norse word "rik" "reign". | |||
| Polish | region | ||
| The word "region" comes from the Latin word "regio," which means "direction" or "district." | |||
| Romanian | regiune | ||
| The word 'regiune' is derived from the Latin word 'regio', meaning 'district' or 'territory'. | |||
| Russian | область | ||
| Russian "область" also means "province" in English, reflecting its historical and geographical usage. | |||
| Serbian | регион | ||
| In Serbian, "регион" also refers to a specific part of the country divided for administrative purposes. | |||
| Slovak | regiónu | ||
| “Regiónu” is likely derived from Latin “regnum” (“kingdom”) as a noun of “regium” (“royal”) as an adjective, but it can also mean “area” or “district” in other contexts. | |||
| Slovenian | regiji | ||
| In the dialect of the Bela Krajina region of Slovenia, "regiji" can also mean "people of the region" or "regional people". | |||
| Ukrainian | регіону | ||
| The word «регіону» can also mean the administrative-territorial unit of Ukraine. | |||
Region in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অঞ্চল | ||
| The word "অঞ্চল" in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word "अञ्चल" (añcala), which can also mean "a border" or "a garment". | |||
| Gujarati | ક્ષેત્ર | ||
| Hindi | क्षेत्र | ||
| The Sanskrit word "क्षेत्र" also means "field" or "area" and is related to the English word "agriculture". | |||
| Kannada | ಪ್ರದೇಶ | ||
| The word "ಪ್ರದೇಶ" also means "land", "territory", or "area" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | പ്രദേശം | ||
| The word "പ്രദേശം" can also mean "country" or "state" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रदेश" meaning "area" or "district." | |||
| Marathi | प्रदेश | ||
| The word "प्रदेश" in Marathi can also refer to a province or a state. | |||
| Nepali | क्षेत्र | ||
| The word "क्षेत्र" is derived from the Sanskrit word "क्षेत्रिय" meaning "related to a region or territory". | |||
| Punjabi | ਖੇਤਰ | ||
| The word "ਖੇਤਰ" comes from the Sanskrit word "क्षेत्र" (kṣetra), which can also mean "field" or "area". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කලාපයේ | ||
| In astronomy, කලාපයේ (region) refers to a portion of the sky. | |||
| Tamil | பகுதி | ||
| பகுதி may also mean 'share', 'part', 'portion' or 'percentage'. | |||
| Telugu | ప్రాంతం | ||
| Telugu "ప్రాంతం" (praantam) is also used to refer to the area of a country outside its capital city. | |||
| Urdu | خطہ | ||
| "خطہ" is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning "a small area" or "a strip of land". | |||
Region in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 地区 | ||
| 地区 is also used to refer to districts within a city, or to divisions within a political party or other organization. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 地區 | ||
| 地區 is a compound word consisting of an area (區) in a position (地), indicating a location in general rather than a specific administrative region. | |||
| Japanese | 領域 | ||
| "領域" also refers to a range or field, such as a field of expertise, a domain, or a territory. | |||
| Korean | 부위 | ||
| 부위 is derived from the Chinese word 部位, which has multiple meanings, including 'part,' 'section,' and 'rank.' | |||
| Mongolian | бүс нутаг | ||
| Бүс нутаг is also a term referring to an administrative unit within a country and literally means "administrative-territorial unit" | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တိုင်းဒေသကြီး | ||
Region in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | wilayah | ||
| The word 'wilayah' also means 'power' or 'authority' in Arabic, hence its use in Indonesian to refer to administrative divisions with some degree of autonomy. | |||
| Javanese | wilayah | ||
| "Wilayah" also means "place" in ancient Javanese literature. | |||
| Khmer | តំបន់ | ||
| The word "តំបន់" can also be used to refer to a "place" or a "location" in Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ພາກພື້ນ | ||
| The word "ພາກພື້ນ" can also mean "side" or "direction". It is derived from the Sanskrit word "bhāga", meaning "part" or "division". | |||
| Malay | wilayah | ||
| The Malay word "wilayah" derives from the Arabic word for "province"} | |||
| Thai | ภูมิภาค | ||
| The term "ภูมิภาค" (region) derives from the Sanskrit word "bhūmi" (earth), denoting a specific geographical area or territory. | |||
| Vietnamese | khu vực | ||
| "Khu vực" can also refer to a department or division within an organization. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | rehiyon | ||
Region in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bölgə | ||
| The word "bölgə" has a Persian origin and is also used in Kurdish with the meaning of "area" or "section". | |||
| Kazakh | аймақ | ||
| The word "аймақ" (region) derives from the Mongolian word "aimag" meaning "territorial unit". | |||
| Kyrgyz | аймак | ||
| The word "аймак" can also refer to an administrative division in Mongolia, a clan, a tribe, or a group of people from the same region. | |||
| Tajik | минтақа | ||
| The word "минтақа" originates from the Arabic word "منطقة", meaning "belt" or "zone". | |||
| Turkmen | sebiti | ||
| Uzbek | mintaqa | ||
| The word 'mintaqa' is derived from the Arabic word 'manṭaqa', which means 'zone' or 'district'. | |||
| Uyghur | رايون | ||
Region in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻāpana | ||
| The word ʻāpana can also refer to a land division or a section of a taro patch. | |||
| Maori | rohe | ||
| In Maori, "rohe" can refer to a territorial jurisdiction, a tribal area, or a person's area of expertise. | |||
| Samoan | itulagi | ||
| The word "itulagi" originates from the Proto-Samoan word "tulagi," which also means "to reside." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | rehiyon | ||
| The Tagalog word "rehiyon" is derived from the Spanish word "region", which in turn comes from the Latin word "regio", meaning "a district or territory". | |||
Region in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | chiqa | ||
| Guarani | tavapehẽ | ||
Region in International Languages
| Esperanto | regiono | ||
| Esperanto "regiono" (region) derives from "region" (area) in Latin whereas its root "reg" means "to lead straight" or "rule" in Sanskrit. | |||
| Latin | regionem | ||
| The Latin word "regionem" also means "direction" or "district". | |||
Region in Others Languages
| Greek | περιοχή | ||
| The word περιοχή originally meant "circuit, circumference, neighborhood" in classical Greek. | |||
| Hmong | cheeb tsam | ||
| The word "cheeb tsam" in Hmong refers to both the abstract concept of a region and the physical geographical area it encompasses. | |||
| Kurdish | herêm | ||
| The word "Herêm" is also used in Kurdish to refer to a "sanctuary" or "sacred place". | |||
| Turkish | bölge | ||
| The Turkish word "bölge" comes from the Proto-Turkic word "bölig", meaning "dwelling," and is cognate with the Mongolian word "bölgü". | |||
| Xhosa | ummandla | ||
| "Ummandla" also refers to a place of spiritual power or a place where traditional ceremonies are held in Xhosa culture. | |||
| Yiddish | געגנט | ||
| The word "געגנט" (region) in Yiddish is borrowed from Middle High German "gegen" (against, towards), and can also mean "neighborhood" or "countryside". | |||
| Zulu | isifunda | ||
| 'Isifunda' also means 'book' or 'reading' in Zulu, referring to the way that regions were often defined by their cultural and linguistic characteristics. | |||
| Assamese | অঞ্চল | ||
| Aymara | chiqa | ||
| Bhojpuri | इलाका | ||
| Dhivehi | ސަރަހައްދު | ||
| Dogri | खेत्तर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | rehiyon | ||
| Guarani | tavapehẽ | ||
| Ilocano | rehion | ||
| Krio | eria | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەرێم | ||
| Maithili | क्षेत्र | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯐꯝ | ||
| Mizo | rambung | ||
| Oromo | naannoo | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅଞ୍ଚଳ | ||
| Quechua | suyu | ||
| Sanskrit | क्षेत्र | ||
| Tatar | төбәк | ||
| Tigrinya | ክልል | ||
| Tsonga | ndhawu | ||