Sea in Different Languages
Discover 'Sea' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Sea
Afrikaans see | ||
Albanian det | ||
Amharic ባሕር | ||
Arabic البحر | ||
Armenian ծով | ||
Assamese সাগৰ | ||
Aymara lamar quta | ||
Azerbaijani dəniz | ||
Bambara kɔgɔji | ||
Basque itsasoa | ||
Belarusian мора | ||
Bengali সমুদ্র | ||
Bhojpuri समुन्दर | ||
Bosnian more | ||
Bulgarian море | ||
Catalan mar | ||
Cebuano dagat | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 海 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 海 | ||
Corsican mare | ||
Croatian more | ||
Czech moře | ||
Danish hav | ||
Dhivehi ކަނޑު | ||
Dogri समुंदर | ||
Dutch zee | ||
English sea | ||
Esperanto maro | ||
Estonian meri | ||
Ewe atsyiaƒu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) dagat | ||
Finnish meri | ||
French mer | ||
Frisian see | ||
Galician mar | ||
Georgian ზღვის | ||
German meer | ||
Greek θάλασσα | ||
Guarani para | ||
Gujarati સમુદ્ર | ||
Haitian Creole lanmè | ||
Hausa teku | ||
Hawaiian kai | ||
Hebrew יָם | ||
Hindi समुद्र | ||
Hmong hiav txwv | ||
Hungarian tenger | ||
Icelandic sjó | ||
Igbo oké osimiri | ||
Ilocano taaw | ||
Indonesian laut | ||
Irish farraige | ||
Italian mare | ||
Japanese 海 | ||
Javanese segara | ||
Kannada ಸಮುದ್ರ | ||
Kazakh теңіз | ||
Khmer សមុទ្រ | ||
Kinyarwanda inyanja | ||
Konkani दर्या | ||
Korean 바다 | ||
Krio watasay | ||
Kurdish gol | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) دەریا | ||
Kyrgyz деңиз | ||
Lao ທະເລ | ||
Latin mare | ||
Latvian jūra | ||
Lingala mbu | ||
Lithuanian jūra | ||
Luganda enyanja | ||
Luxembourgish mier | ||
Macedonian море | ||
Maithili समुद्र | ||
Malagasy ranomasina | ||
Malay laut | ||
Malayalam കടൽ | ||
Maltese baħar | ||
Maori moana | ||
Marathi समुद्र | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯃꯨꯗ꯭ꯔ | ||
Mizo tuipui | ||
Mongolian далай | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ပင်လယ် | ||
Nepali समुद्री | ||
Norwegian hav | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) nyanja | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସମୁଦ୍ର | ||
Oromo galaana | ||
Pashto بحر | ||
Persian دریا | ||
Polish morze | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) mar | ||
Punjabi ਸਮੁੰਦਰ | ||
Quechua mama qucha | ||
Romanian mare | ||
Russian море | ||
Samoan sami | ||
Sanskrit समुद्रः | ||
Scots Gaelic mar | ||
Sepedi lewatle | ||
Serbian море | ||
Sesotho leoatle | ||
Shona gungwa | ||
Sindhi سمنڊ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මුහුදු | ||
Slovak more | ||
Slovenian morje | ||
Somali badda | ||
Spanish mar | ||
Sundanese laut | ||
Swahili bahari | ||
Swedish hav | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) dagat | ||
Tajik баҳр | ||
Tamil கடல் | ||
Tatar диңгез | ||
Telugu సముద్రం | ||
Thai ทะเล | ||
Tigrinya ባሕሪ | ||
Tsonga lwandle | ||
Turkish deniz | ||
Turkmen deňiz | ||
Twi (Akan) ɛpo | ||
Ukrainian море | ||
Urdu سمندر | ||
Uyghur دېڭىز | ||
Uzbek dengiz | ||
Vietnamese biển | ||
Welsh môr | ||
Xhosa ulwandle | ||
Yiddish ים | ||
Yoruba okun | ||
Zulu ulwandle |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans 'see' originates from the Dutch word 'zee', which also means 'sea', but can also refer to large lakes such as the Caspian Sea. |
| Albanian | "Det" in Albanian also means "wave" or "current". |
| Amharic | "ባሕር" in Amharic can also refer to a large lake, a body of water, or a sea of people. |
| Arabic | Derived from the verb 'bahr' (to flow), 'al-bahr' also refers to rivers or large bodies of water, including the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris. |
| Armenian | The Armenian term “Ծով” (sea) is derived from an Indo-European root and is cognate with other words for “water” or “sea” in related Indo-European languages. |
| Azerbaijani | The word |
| Basque | The word "itsasoa" (sea) in Basque is a compound word meaning "desert of water". |
| Belarusian | Belarusian «мора» («sea») is cognate with English «mire» and the Proto-Indo-European root *mere- («marsh, sea») |
| Bengali | "সমুদ্র" is derived from Sanskrit and means "to gather or assemble." |
| Bosnian | The word "more" can also mean "lake" or "marsh" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | The word "море" in Bulgarian can also refer to "lake" or "ocean". |
| Catalan | "Mar" also refers to wetlands or salt water lakes |
| Cebuano | The word 'dagat' also has alternate meanings in Cebuano such as 'a large amount' or 'a great quantity'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In ancient Chinese, "海" was often used to refer to the boundless ocean, hence the idiom "海内存知己", which means "you can still find soulmates even across the vast ocean" |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "海" also means to swallow in Chinese. |
| Corsican | In Corsica, "mare" not only means "sea", but also refers to a low-lying, marshy area or a salt-laden meadow |
| Croatian | The Croatian word 'more' shares its etymological roots with the English word 'mere', both meaning a body of water. |
| Czech | The word "moře" can also refer to a vast amount of something, such as "a sea of people". |
| Danish | The word "hav" in Danish also refers to a large lake, and is cognate with the English word "haugh" |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "zee" also refers to the specific sea between the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom, known as the North Sea in English. |
| Esperanto | "Maro" originates from the Proto-Indo-European word *móri-, meaning "standing water". |
| Estonian | The word "meri" in Estonian may also refer to a large body of fresh water, such as a lake. |
| Finnish | The word "meri" comes from the Proto-Finnic word "mere," which also means "big lake" |
| French | The word 'mer' in French derives from the Latin word 'mare', meaning 'sea', and can also refer to a lake in certain contexts. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "see" can also mean "lake" or "pond". |
| Galician | The Galician word "mar" is also used to refer to the intertidal zone (the area between the high and low tide marks). |
| Georgian | The word ზღვის ('sea') in Georgian shares the same root as the word ზღარი ('bitter') and is likely derived from the Proto-Georgian word *zgʷari, meaning 'bitter.' |
| German | Meer in German is related to the English word 'mere,' which means lake, and can also refer to a small inland body of water. |
| Greek | "θάλασσα" (sea) is thought to have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root "thal," meaning "to flow." |
| Gujarati | The word "સમુદ્ર" (samudra) can also refer to a celestial ocean in Hindu cosmology. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "lanmè" originates from the French word "la mer," meaning "the sea," and is also used to refer to large bodies of water in general. |
| Hausa | "Teku" in Hausa is derived from the Proto-Benue-Congo root *kɔŋ, meaning "water". |
| Hawaiian | The word "kai" in Hawaiian can also refer to salt water in general, or specifically to sea water. |
| Hindi | The word 'समुद्र' can also refer to a lake or a large river. |
| Hmong | In addition to its literal meaning of 'sea,' 'hiav txwv' can also refer to a large body of water such as a lake or ocean, or figuratively to a vast or immeasurable quantity. |
| Hungarian | The word "tenger" in Hungarian is of Turkic origin and also means "vast steppe" or "ocean". |
| Icelandic | "Sjó" in Icelandic is cognate with "see" in English and likely derives from the Proto-Germanic word *sewjō, also meaning "sea". |
| Igbo | "Oké osimiri" in Igbo also means "abode of the water spirits." |
| Indonesian | The word "laut" is also used to refer to a large body of water, such as a lake or a reservoir. |
| Irish | The word "farraige" also means "ocean" and is derived from the Proto-Celtic word *wari-. |
| Italian | The Italian word "mare" also refers to the female of an equine, a "mare" in English, and this is the word's original Latin etymology. |
| Japanese | "海" can also refer to a lake, ocean, water, or a specific direction (southwest). |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "segara" not only means "sea," but also refers to large bodies of water such as lakes and reservoirs. |
| Kannada | The word 'ಸಮುದ್ರ' not only refers to the 'sea', but also to 'collection of water' as well as the 'king of rivers', 'Ganges'. |
| Kazakh | The word "теңіз" (sea) in Kazakh also means "ocean" and "lake". |
| Khmer | The word "សមុទ្រ" can also refer to a large body of water in general, such as a lake or a river. |
| Kurdish | The word "gol" in Kurdish is related to the Persian word "gol" meaning "flower" and the Turkish word "göl" meaning "lake". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "деңиз" also refers to a large body of water, such as a lake or reservoir, in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | In the Tai languages, the word |
| Latin | "Mare" can also mean "a nightmare" in Latin. |
| Latvian | The word “jūra” is derived from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “water” and is cognate with words like “ocean” and “lake” in other languages. |
| Lithuanian | The word "jūra" (sea) in Lithuanian originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*h₂éh₂s-ur-," meaning "water" or "liquid." |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish "Mier" also means "lake" and is related to the Old High German word "meri" meaning "lake" or "swamp". |
| Macedonian | The word “море” is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root “*móri-”, meaning “water, sea, lake”. |
| Malagasy | In Malagasy, RANOMASINA means "the vast saltwater," suggesting a connection to the Proto-Austronesian root "raq" (to salt) |
| Malay | The word "laut" in Malay is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*la(u)t", meaning "ocean" or "sea". |
| Malayalam | While the Malayalam word "കടൽ" primarily means "sea," it can also refer to a "pool" or a "lake." |
| Maltese | The word “baħar” may also refer to a “large amount” or “plenty.” |
| Maori | The Maori word moana also means a large lake |
| Marathi | समुद्र is also a name used for the deity Varuna in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | The word "далай" can also mean "great" or "vast". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "ပင်လယ်" is derived from two Old Mon words: "pram" and "le" which literally mean "salty water." |
| Nepali | The word 'समुद्री' can also refer to anything related to the sea, such as marine life or seafaring. |
| Norwegian | The word "hav" is cognate with the Gothic word "hafs" and the Old Norse word "hof" meaning "bay". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "nyanja" in Nyanja (Chichewa) has multiple meanings, including "lake" and "salt". |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "بحر" ("baḥr") originates from the Arabic word of the same spelling and pronunciation, both meaning "sea". |
| Persian | The Persian 'دریا' (daryā) is cognate to Sanskrit 'dṛ́a' and Latin 'mare' (sea). |
| Polish | The word "morze" also means "liquid" or "brine" in Polish. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, “mar” can also refer to a large lake or an arm of the ocean. |
| Punjabi | 'ਸਮੁੰਦਰ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'samudra' and refers not only to the 'sea' but also to 'a large quantity of water' or 'a large collection'. |
| Romanian | Romanian "mare" derives from Old Slavic "more", and cognate with Albanian "det" and English "mere". |
| Russian | The word "море" in Russian is cognate with the English word "mere", both deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *mer- meaning "lake" or "sea". |
| Samoan | The word "sami" in Samoan is cognate with the Proto-Polynesian word "*tahi" meaning "ocean" or "saltwater". |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, "mar" can refer to the "sea" but it can also mean "like" or "as."} |
| Serbian | The word "море" also means "flood" in Serbian, stemming from the Proto-Slavic word "*morje" meaning "sea" or "flood". |
| Sesotho | The word "leoatle" in Sesotho also refers to bodies of water within a river, such as pools or eddies. |
| Shona | The Shona word "gungwa" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "*-ngwa" meaning "water" or "lake". |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "سمنڊ" ultimately originates from Sanskrit "samudra," which also means "ocean." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word “මුහුදු” is derived from the Prakrit word “मुहुत्त” (muhutta), meaning “a moment”. This is because the sea is constantly changing, and can appear very different from one moment to the next. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "more" not only means "sea" but also "plague" or "epidemic". |
| Slovenian | The word "morje" in Slovenian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*morje", which has also been reconstructed as the origin of the word "mare" in Latin. |
| Somali | Badda can be derived from the root “bed” meaning to stretch or extend. |
| Spanish | The word 'mar' can refer to a particular sea, like the Mediterranean Sea, or to the sea in general, like the open sea. |
| Sundanese | The word "laut" in Sundanese also means "water" and is used as a prefix in many words related to water, such as "lautang" (lake) and "lautan" (ocean). |
| Swahili | Bahari also means "sailor" in Swahili, as the Bantu root *bari* indicates "to travel by water." |
| Swedish | "Hav" has the same root as "heaviness". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Dagat" comes from "dagta" (gush of water), referring to the immense amounts of water bodies, or from "dag-at" (water that gets washed away). |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "баҳр" (sea) comes from the Persian word "بحر" (sea), which in turn comes from the Arabic word "بحر" (sea). |
| Tamil | The Tamil word for sea, 'kadal', is cognate with the Akkadian word 'kadalu', a river or canal, indicating a shared linguistic and cultural history between the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Tamil people. |
| Telugu | "సముద్రం" (samudram) is a Sanskrit word meaning "ocean" or "sea". In Telugu, it is used to refer to the sea. |
| Thai | The word "ทะเล" in Thai is derived from the Sanskrit word "talaka," which also means "pond" or "lake". |
| Turkish | "Deniz" kökenli "düğün" sözcüğü, "deniz düğünü" anlamında kullanılmaktadır. |
| Ukrainian | "Море" (sea) derives from the Proto-Slavic "*morje," akin to the Latin "mare" and the Greek "μάρ.“} |
| Urdu | سمندر (samandar) is a Persian/Arabic word that literally means "sea." In Urdu, it is also used figuratively to mean "a vast expanse of something" or "a multitude of something." |
| Uzbek | In Turkish, the word "dengiz" can also refer to a lake. |
| Vietnamese | The word "biển" can also mean "lake" or "ocean" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | Welsh "môr" derives from Old Celtic "mori," sharing cognates with English "mere" and Latin "mare" |
| Xhosa | The word "ulwandle" also means "darkness" in Xhosa, referring to the unknown and mysterious nature of the sea. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish the word ים also refers to the Torah and to G-d's knowledge. |
| Yoruba | "Òkún" in Yoruba also refers to a large expanse of water, such as a lagoon, river, or ocean. |
| Zulu | The word 'ulwandle' in Zulu is derived from the Proto-Bantu form *lu-w-andi, which also means 'sea'. |
| English | The word "sea" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *seh₁-, meaning "to flow" or "to boil". |