Salt in Different Languages
Discover 'Salt' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Salt
Afrikaans sout | ||
Albanian kripë | ||
Amharic ጨው | ||
Arabic ملح | ||
Armenian աղ | ||
Assamese নিমখ | ||
Aymara jayu | ||
Azerbaijani duz | ||
Bambara kɔgɔ | ||
Basque gatza | ||
Belarusian соль | ||
Bengali লবণ | ||
Bhojpuri निमक | ||
Bosnian sol | ||
Bulgarian сол | ||
Catalan sal | ||
Cebuano asin | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 盐 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 鹽 | ||
Corsican sale | ||
Croatian sol | ||
Czech sůl | ||
Danish salt | ||
Dhivehi ލޮނު | ||
Dogri लून | ||
Dutch zout | ||
English salt | ||
Esperanto salo | ||
Estonian sool | ||
Ewe dze | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) asin | ||
Finnish suola | ||
French sel | ||
Frisian sâlt | ||
Galician sal | ||
Georgian მარილი | ||
German salz- | ||
Greek άλας | ||
Guarani juky | ||
Gujarati મીઠું | ||
Haitian Creole sèl | ||
Hausa gishiri | ||
Hawaiian paʻakai | ||
Hebrew מלח | ||
Hindi नमक | ||
Hmong ntsev | ||
Hungarian só | ||
Icelandic salt | ||
Igbo nnu | ||
Ilocano asin | ||
Indonesian garam | ||
Irish salann | ||
Italian sale | ||
Japanese 塩 | ||
Javanese uyah | ||
Kannada ಉಪ್ಪು | ||
Kazakh тұз | ||
Khmer អំបិល | ||
Kinyarwanda umunyu | ||
Konkani मीठ | ||
Korean 소금 | ||
Krio sɔl | ||
Kurdish xwê | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خوێ | ||
Kyrgyz туз | ||
Lao ເກືອ | ||
Latin salis | ||
Latvian sāls | ||
Lingala mungwa | ||
Lithuanian druska | ||
Luganda omunnyo | ||
Luxembourgish salz | ||
Macedonian сол | ||
Maithili नून | ||
Malagasy sira | ||
Malay garam | ||
Malayalam ഉപ്പ് | ||
Maltese melħ | ||
Maori tote | ||
Marathi मीठ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯊꯨꯝ | ||
Mizo chi | ||
Mongolian давс | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဆားငန် | ||
Nepali नुन | ||
Norwegian salt | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mchere | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଲୁଣ | ||
Oromo soogidda | ||
Pashto مالګه | ||
Persian نمک | ||
Polish sól | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) sal | ||
Punjabi ਲੂਣ | ||
Quechua kachi | ||
Romanian sare | ||
Russian соль | ||
Samoan masima | ||
Sanskrit लवणं | ||
Scots Gaelic salann | ||
Sepedi letswai | ||
Serbian со | ||
Sesotho letsoai | ||
Shona munyu | ||
Sindhi لوڻ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ලුණු | ||
Slovak soľ | ||
Slovenian sol | ||
Somali cusbo | ||
Spanish sal | ||
Sundanese uyah | ||
Swahili chumvi | ||
Swedish salt- | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) asin | ||
Tajik намак | ||
Tamil உப்பு | ||
Tatar тоз | ||
Telugu ఉ ప్పు | ||
Thai เกลือ | ||
Tigrinya ጨው | ||
Tsonga munyu | ||
Turkish tuz | ||
Turkmen duz | ||
Twi (Akan) nkyene | ||
Ukrainian сіль | ||
Urdu نمک | ||
Uyghur تۇز | ||
Uzbek tuz | ||
Vietnamese muối | ||
Welsh halen | ||
Xhosa ityuwa | ||
Yiddish זאַלץ | ||
Yoruba iyọ | ||
Zulu usawoti |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "sout" (salt) in Afrikaans is derived from the Old Dutch word "sout," which also meant "salty water" or "brine." |
| Albanian | "Kripë" derives from the Proto-Albanian form \*krips- and is cognate with Latin **crispus** which means "curly" (referring to the shape in which salt crystals can often be found}. |
| Amharic | The word "ጨው" in Amharic can also refer to a type of rock salt used for flavoring food. |
| Arabic | "ملح" (salt) is also an idiom for something good or beneficial in Arabic. |
| Armenian | 'Աղ' (Salt) is cognate with the Greek 'ἅλς' (hals) and likely derives from PIE '*hal-' (salty). |
| Azerbaijani | The word "duz" has various meanings in Azerbaijani, including "correct", "tasteless", and "flat". |
| Basque | {"text": "The Basque word "gatza" for "salt" is related to the Indo-European root *ǵhól-, meaning "to shine" or "to be bright," indicating its association with sea salt's crystalline structure."} |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "соль" also means "music scale" in Russian. |
| Bengali | The word "লবণ" also refers to a type of soil that is rich in salt and is commonly found in coastal areas. |
| Bosnian | The term 'sol' may also refer to the Roman god of the sun or the musical note 'sol' (G) |
| Bulgarian | The word «сол» in Bulgarian derives from Latin «sal»; in Old Church Slavonic, it meant «a ritual offering», and, later, «an offering that is consumed». |
| Catalan | Catalan "sal" also means "salary" or "wage", deriving from Medieval Latin "salarium", originally meaning "salt money" given to Roman soldiers to buy salt. |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano term "asin" originally referred to salt obtained from local springs, not from salt mines or the sea. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The Chinese word for 'salt', 盐, is also used to mean 'salary'. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character "鹽" (salt) is composed of "日" (sun) and "鹵" (salty soil), reflecting its natural origins from the evaporation of seawater or salt lakes. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "sale" also means "salty" and "bitter". |
| Croatian | The Croatian word **sol** also means "earth", sharing its root word with "sun" (**sunce** in Croatian). |
| Czech | Czech "sůl" (salt) is related to "slunko" (sun) and Slavic "solnьce" (sun). |
| Danish | In Danish, the word "salt" also refers to the chemical element sodium chloride, which is composed of sodium and chlorine atoms. |
| Dutch | Zout can also mean "very" or "a lot" in Dutch slang. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "salo" also derives from the same Latin root as French "salle" and Italian "sala," meaning "room". |
| Estonian | The word "sool" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *suola, and is related to words for "salt" in other Finnic languages, such as Finnish "suola" and Karelian "šuola." |
| Finnish | The Finnish word 'suola' can also refer to a type of fish known as the vendace. |
| French | "Sel" can also refer to mind and wisdom or to horse saddle. |
| Frisian | In the Frisian language, "sâlt" not only refers to edible salt but also signifies "salty" and "saltiness." |
| Galician | "Sal" comes from the Latin "salem" meaning "salt" or the Celtic word "salann" which has the meaning of "salty liquid". |
| Georgian | The word "salt" in Georgian, "მარილი", derives from Ancient Greek and ultimately Proto-Indo-European, as do similar words in Slavic and Germanic languages. |
| German | The German word "Salz-" derives from the Proto-Germanic word "salta-," and is related to the English word "salt" and the Latin word "sal," both of which also mean "salt." |
| Greek | The word "άλας" in Greek can also refer to the divine or sacred, as in the phrase "άλας θεών" (salt of the gods). |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word ''મીઠું'' can also mean pleasant or agreeable. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole term 'sèl', 'sal', comes from French and Latin, but can also refer to a 'blessing', a 'person who brings luck' or 'a protective charm'. |
| Hausa | The word "gishiri" in Hausa has Arabic origins and is related to the word "shir" meaning "milk". |
| Hawaiian | The word "paʻakai" can also refer to a "salt pan" or a "salty or brackish pool of water". |
| Hebrew | The word "מלח" ("salt") in Hebrew is derived from the same root as the word "לחם" ("bread"), which hints at the importance of salt in the ancient Israelite diet. |
| Hindi | The word "नमक" also denotes hospitality in Hindi, reflecting its cultural importance in Indian society. |
| Hmong | The word "ntsev" also means "salty water" or "brine" in the Hmong language. |
| Hungarian | 'Só' also shares a root with the word 'súly' ('weight'), referring to its heaviness and preserving qualities. |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "salt" can also refer to a type of seagull. |
| Igbo | Igbo word "nnu" is originally a plural noun which also means "ashes" or "lime". |
| Indonesian | The word garam in Indonesian can also mean salty or spicy and is also found commonly across Malay and Javanese languages. |
| Irish | The Irish word for 'salt' ('salann') also means 'saline' or 'salty' in English. |
| Italian | "Sale" can also mean "discount" or "reduction" in price in Italian. |
| Japanese | The Japanese word for "salt", "塩", is theorized to have originated from the Proto-Austronesian word for "salt", "*asεn". |
| Javanese | "Uyah" is derived from Proto-Austronesian *qusaj"salt" and is cognate with Malay "garam" and Filipino "asin" "salt". |
| Kannada | The word 'ಉಪ್ಪು' ('salt') in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word 'क्षार' ('alkali'), ultimately originating from the Proto-Indo-European root '*keu-' ('to burn') |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "тұз" can be traced back to the Proto-Turkic word "tuz", meaning "salt brine." |
| Khmer | The word "អំបិល" also refers to a traditional fermented fish paste used as a condiment in Cambodian cuisine. |
| Korean | The word "소금" (salt) is derived from the Middle Korean word "소금", which in turn comes from the Proto-Korean word *sɔŋkɔm. |
| Kurdish | The Proto-Indo-European root of "xwê" is "*h₂seH-", meaning "dry" or "parched". |
| Kyrgyz | Kyrgyz «туз» "salt" also refers to "a clever, resourceful, experienced person". |
| Lao | The word "ເກືອ" can also refer to a mineral or chemical compound. |
| Latin | The Latin "salis" means not only salt; it can also describe wisdom from an alternate root "sapi" meaning "taste" as in "sapience". |
| Latvian | The word "sāls" in Latvian also has the meaning of "cleverness" or "wisdom". |
| Lithuanian | The word "druska" is also used in Lithuanian to refer to a deposit of salt or a saltworks. |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Salz" can also refer to the saline coating left on the ground after water has evaporated from a road or field. |
| Macedonian | The word "сол" in Macedonian also has the alternate meaning of "tear". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "sira" is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "sirr" meaning "secret", referring to the salt crystals' ability to preserve and conceal. |
| Malay | The word "garam" also refers to the saline taste of food or water, or to the feeling of saltiness on the skin. |
| Malayalam | The word "ഉപ്പ്" comes from the Proto-Dravidian word *uppu, which also means "salty". |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "melħ" (salt) is derived from the Arabic word "milh", which also means "salt". |
| Maori | As well as meaning "salt", the word "tote" can also mean "to carry" in Maori. |
| Marathi | In Marathi, the word "मीठ" (salt) also refers to a "sweetheart" or a "lover." |
| Mongolian | The word "давс" (salt) is derived from the Proto-Mongolic root *dabs-. |
| Nepali | The word 'नुन' (salt) in Nepali also refers to the 'taste' of something, and is related to the Hindi word 'नमक' (salt). |
| Norwegian | In Norwegian, "salt" can also refer to "salty water" or "a gathering of people". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Mchere" also translates to "the place of ashes or fire". The "che" suffix in "mchere" implies heat, making the term appropriate for both salt (which can result from the evaporation of seawater over fire) and ashes (a product of burning). |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "مالګه" (salt) likely derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*melg-," meaning "to rub or grind," suggesting its association with the physical act of grinding salt crystals. |
| Persian | The word "نمک" (salt) in Persian originally referred to "blessing" and was later used for edible salt due to its perceived preservative qualities. |
| Polish | The word "sól" in Polish also has connotations of prosperity, wisdom, and protection from evil spirits. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "sal" in Portuguese can also refer to the substance "chalk" or to the musical note "sol". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਲੂਣ" (salt) is derived from the Sanskrit word "लवण" (lavaṇa), which means "salty". It also refers to the salty efflorescence found on the surface of the soil in arid regions. |
| Romanian | The word 'sare' also has a secondary meaning, referring to the salty taste or quality of food. |
| Russian | The word "соль" in Russian has an alternate meaning which is "note" in music. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "masima" is a reduplication of "ma" meaning "to eat" or "food". |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic for salt, "salann," is also the root for words such as "seileach" (a salt-water lake) and "salach" (dirty). |
| Serbian | The word 'со' (salt) in Serbian also refers to the salt lakes found in the country. |
| Sesotho | The word 'letsoai' shares its root with the noun 'lejoe' (stone), suggesting a historical connection between salt and rock formations. |
| Shona | The word "munyu" can also refer to the residue left after brewing beer. |
| Sindhi | The word 'لوڻ' (salt) in Sindhi is derived from the Persian word 'namak', which also means salt. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "ලුණු" (salt) may have originated from the Proto-Dravidian root word "*luṇi," which also denotes salt. |
| Slovak | The word "soľ" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "solь" meaning "salt" and is cognate with the German "Salz" and the English "salt." |
| Slovenian | It shares its root with the Latin word "sale" ( |
| Somali | The word 'cusbo' also refers to the traditional salt-making process in Somalia. |
| Spanish | Spanish "sal" derives from Latin "salem" (salt), and in colloquial Spanish "sal" also refers to someone who makes others laugh, and to the "punchline" in jokes and stories. |
| Sundanese | The word "uyah" in Sundanese also refers to "salary" or "money" due to its cultural significance as a medium of exchange in the past. |
| Swahili | "Chumvi," the Swahili word for "salt," is also used to mean "friend" or "companion". |
| Swedish | "Salt" in Swedish can also refer to a type of sheep or goat |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "asin" in Tagalog may also refer to the chemical symbol of salt, "NaCl", or the act of salting something. |
| Tajik | The word "намак" is derived from Persian "namak" and also means "a person who is not very sociable or friendly" |
| Tamil | In Old Tamil, 'உப்பு' denoted 'brine or sea-water' too |
| Telugu | The word "ఉ ప్పు" (salt) in Telugu also refers to a mixture of salt and turmeric that is used in Hindu religious ceremonies. |
| Thai | The Thai word "เกลือ" (salt) is derived from the Sanskrit word "kshara", which also means "alkali" or "base" in chemistry. |
| Turkish | The word 'tuz' in Turkish derives from the Persian word 'tȗz', which can also mean 'hoarfrost' or 'frost' |
| Ukrainian | The Proto-Slavic word *solь is also found in the names of places in Ukraine, such as the cities of Soledar and Solomyansk |
| Urdu | In Urdu "نمک" can also refer to grace, favor, or kindness within a relationship. |
| Uzbek | The Proto-Indo-European root of the word |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "Muối" also means "salty" or "salty water". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "halen" is cognate with the English word "salt" and also means "brine". |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word for 'salt', 'ityuwa', comes from the Bantu root '-tyuw-', meaning 'to draw'. |
| Yiddish | In the Yiddish language, "zaltz" also means "intelligence". |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "iyọ" can also refer to a type of herbal medicine used to treat stomach ailments. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word for "salt" is derived from the Proto-Bantu word "*suta". |
| English | The word "salt" is derived from the Latin word "sal"," meaning "salty". |