Shell in Different Languages
Discover 'Shell' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
A shell is a fascinating word with a wide range of meanings and uses. It can refer to the hard, outer covering of an animal, such as a snail or a hermit crab. Or, in the context of computers, it can refer to the command-line interface used to interact with an operating system. Shells have also been used as a metaphor in literature and philosophy to explore the nature of the self and identity.
The cultural significance of shells is vast and varied. In many indigenous cultures, shells are believed to have spiritual and healing properties. They have been used as currency, jewelry, and decorative items for centuries. In the world of art, shells have been a popular subject for painters, sculptors, and photographers alike.
Understanding the translation of the word 'shell' in different languages can provide insight into how different cultures view and interact with this versatile object. For example, in Spanish, 'shell' is 'concha,' while in German, it's 'Schale.' In French, it's 'coquille,' and in Japanese, it's 'kaai'.
In this article, we will explore the translations of the word 'shell' in various languages, shedding light on the cultural significance of this word around the world.
Shell
Shell in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | dop | ||
| The word "dop" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "dop" meaning "cap" or "cover", and can also refer to a small cup or container. | |||
| Amharic | shellል | ||
| "Shell" is also the English word for the external covering of an egg | |||
| Hausa | harsashi | ||
| The word "harsashi" also means "snuff" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | shei | ||
| In addition to meaning "shell," "shei" also means "shield," "cover," or "protection." | |||
| Malagasy | akorandriaka | ||
| The Malagasy word "akorandriaka" is sometimes used to describe a type of shellfish, such as a clam or oyster. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chipolopolo | ||
| The word "chipolopolo", meaning "shell" in Nyanja, is also used as a nickname for the Zambian national football team. | |||
| Shona | goko | ||
| The word 'goko' can also refer to a calabash used as a drinking vessel or a type of snail. | |||
| Somali | qolof | ||
| Somali "qolof" comes from "qolaf", meaning "to break", because shells can break into many pieces | |||
| Sesotho | khetla | ||
| The plural form of 'khetla' (shells) is 'makhetla', which means 'money' in contemporary slang. | |||
| Swahili | ganda | ||
| "Ganda" translates as "shell" in Swahili, and can also refer to a "hard object" or "a person with a hard or unyielding nature." | |||
| Xhosa | iqokobhe | ||
| In Xhosa, "iqokobhe" means both "shell" and "a woman who has lost her husband." | |||
| Yoruba | ikarahun | ||
| "Ikarahun" can also mean "the outer hard covering of a coconut" or "a skull" in Yoruba | |||
| Zulu | igobolondo | ||
| Igobolondo is a Zulu word that refers to a snail's shell, but it can also figuratively describe someone who is slow-moving or indecisive. | |||
| Bambara | ka wɔrɔ | ||
| Ewe | dzato | ||
| Kinyarwanda | igikonoshwa | ||
| Lingala | mposo ya liki | ||
| Luganda | ekisosonkole | ||
| Sepedi | legapi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hono | ||
Shell in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الصدف | ||
| The word "الصدف" can also refer to the mother-of-pearl lining of a shell, or to the game of chance where players guess the position of an object hidden under one of three cups. | |||
| Hebrew | צדף | ||
| "צדף" can also mean "side" or "direction" in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | پوړ | ||
| پوړ, which means 'skin' in Pashto, is also used to denote 'shell' and 'crust'. | |||
| Arabic | الصدف | ||
| The word "الصدف" can also refer to the mother-of-pearl lining of a shell, or to the game of chance where players guess the position of an object hidden under one of three cups. | |||
Shell in Western European Languages
| Albanian | guaskë | ||
| The term "guaskë" in Albanian, besides referring to a protective layer, also denotes a thin layer applied to the surface of an object. | |||
| Basque | maskorra | ||
| The word "maskorra" in Basque also refers to a type of wicker basket used to transport fish and other items. | |||
| Catalan | petxina | ||
| "Petxina" comes from the Latin "pecten" and initially referred to the pecten muscle of the scallop or "vieira". | |||
| Croatian | ljuska | ||
| In some Croatian dialects, "ljuska" can also refer to a layer of something like bark, skin, or crust. | |||
| Danish | skal | ||
| The Danish word "skal" (shell) also means "toast" and derives from the Old Norse word "skál," meaning "bowl" or "cup." | |||
| Dutch | schelp | ||
| In Dutch, the word "schelp" refers not only to the hard outer covering of a mollusk, but also to the coins used in card games. | |||
| English | shell | ||
| In addition to its meaning as an external covering, | |||
| French | coquille | ||
| The French word "coquille" can also mean "misprint" or "small mistake". | |||
| Frisian | shell | ||
| In Frisian, the word "shell" can also mean "peel" or "skin" of fruit or vegetables. | |||
| Galician | cuncha | ||
| The Galician word "cuncha" can also refer to a specific type of shellfish, such as a clam or a mussel. | |||
| German | schale | ||
| The German word "Schale" is a multi-purpose word that can mean a cup, a peel, a bowl, or, of course, a shell. | |||
| Icelandic | skel | ||
| The Icelandic word "skel" is cognate with the English word "scale" and can also refer to a bowl or dish. | |||
| Irish | bhlaosc | ||
| Irish 'bhlaosc' and Welsh 'blaidd' are cognates with the same Proto-Celtic root as English 'blade', which is 'bleid'. The root is reconstructible from Proto-Indo-European. | |||
| Italian | conchiglia | ||
| The term "conchiglia" is derived from the Latin "conchylium," meaning "seashell" or "mollusc." | |||
| Luxembourgish | réibau | ||
| Réibau is a loanword from the Walloon language, related to the French word "rabaisse" meaning "to lower". | |||
| Maltese | qoxra | ||
| The Maltese word "qoxra" is derived from the Arabic word "qushra", meaning "peel" or "bark". It can also refer to the rind of fruit or the skin of an animal. | |||
| Norwegian | skall | ||
| In some Norwegian dialects, "skall" can also refer to a thin layer of ice. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | concha | ||
| In Portuguese, "concha" can also refer to a type of bread or a musical instrument. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | slige | ||
| Slige stems from the Old Irish word slig, a generic term for a shell or husk | |||
| Spanish | cáscara | ||
| The word "cáscara" also refers to the thin outer layer of certain fruits, such as coconuts and almonds. | |||
| Swedish | skal | ||
| The Swedish word "skal" has many alternate meanings, including "skull", "armor", and "crust". | |||
| Welsh | plisgyn | ||
| The Welsh word "plisgyn" also means "a layer of something" such as a layer of fat or a layer of clothing. | |||
Shell in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | абалонка | ||
| Абалонка is also used colloquially to refer to someone's head. | |||
| Bosnian | školjka | ||
| The Bosnian word "školjka" also refers to the outer layer of a pearl oyster, and is used in the idiom "biti u školjci" meaning to be closed in or isolated. | |||
| Bulgarian | черупка | ||
| "Черупка" can also refer to a small cup, or a part of an animal's anatomy, such as its ear shell or eyelid." | |||
| Czech | skořápka | ||
| The word 'skořápka' also refers to a type of pastry filled with fruit or jam. | |||
| Estonian | kest | ||
| "Kest'" originally meant a protective or firm layer such as the crust of bread. | |||
| Finnish | kuori | ||
| "Kuori" also means "crust" in Finnish, referring to the hard outer layer of various substances like bread or ice. | |||
| Hungarian | héj | ||
| The word "héj" in Hungarian can also refer to the skin, or the bark of a tree. | |||
| Latvian | apvalks | ||
| Latvian "apvalks" means both "shell" and "coat, cover, coverlet, sheet, or wrapper." | |||
| Lithuanian | apvalkalas | ||
| The word "apvalkalas" has a literal meaning of "enveloping ball" and also means "covering" or "envelope". | |||
| Macedonian | школка | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning, "школка" can also refer to a type of school or a place where something is cultivated. | |||
| Polish | muszla | ||
| The word "muszla" is derived from the Old Polish word "musza", which meant "snail". | |||
| Romanian | coajă | ||
| The word "coajă" is also used figuratively to refer to the external layer or covering of something, such as a book cover or a nut's shell. | |||
| Russian | оболочка | ||
| In Russian, the word "оболочка" can also refer to a membrane or a wrapper. | |||
| Serbian | шкољка | ||
| The word "шкољка" (shell) in Serbian originally referred to a tortoise shell, but its meaning has expanded to include other hard-shelled objects like sea shells and nuts. | |||
| Slovak | škrupina | ||
| The Slovak word ''škrupina'' (''shell'') originally comes from Germanic languages via Polish and can also mean ‘crust’… | |||
| Slovenian | lupino | ||
| "Lupino" is the Italian name for the lupin bean, a type of legume. | |||
| Ukrainian | оболонка | ||
| The word "оболонка" in Ukrainian has roots in Proto-Slavic "oblъ", from which the Russian word "облако" (cloud) also derives. | |||
Shell in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | খোল | ||
| The word "খোল" is also used to refer to a type of musical instrument, particularly a percussion instrument consisting of a hollowed-out gourd or wooden frame covered with skin. | |||
| Gujarati | શેલ | ||
| "શેલ" means "shell". It is a Gujarati word that is used to refer to the hard outer covering of an animal or plant. | |||
| Hindi | शेल | ||
| The Hindi word "शेल" also means a house made of tiles or bricks, with a tiled roof. | |||
| Kannada | ಶೆಲ್ | ||
| The Kannada word "ಶೆಲ್" can also refer to a type of bean or a coin. | |||
| Malayalam | ഷെൽ | ||
| In Malayalam, "ഷെൽ" also refers to a type of cloth made from fine cotton threads. | |||
| Marathi | कवच | ||
| कवच (kavach) also means 'shield', 'mail', or 'plate armour' in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | खोल | ||
| The word खोल originates from Sanskrit and can also mean 'to open' or 'to reveal'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸ਼ੈੱਲ | ||
| ਸ਼ੈੱਲ (shell) means both a protective outer layer and the currency of Belize. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කවචය | ||
| "කවචය" is also a term for the armour worn by warriors in the ancient Sinhala army. | |||
| Tamil | ஷெல் | ||
| In Tamil, "ஷெல்" can also refer to a "company" or a "corporation" | |||
| Telugu | షెల్ | ||
| Urdu | شیل | ||
| The word “شیل” can also mean “a strip of cloth, especially one worn around the head or waist” or “protection, covering, shield, or support” in Urdu. | |||
Shell in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 贝壳 | ||
| 贝壳本意指金钱,因金钱形似贝壳而得名. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 貝殼 | ||
| 貝殼在《說文解字》上解釋為「水蟲甲也」，除了指海洋生物的外部骨骼或保護層外，也可用於比喻某些形狀或性質類似殼的器物或事物，如「蛋殼」、「龜殼」、「防護貝殼」等。 | |||
| Japanese | シェル | ||
| The word "シェル" can also refer to a computer application's "shell", derived from the command-line shell, an interface which allows users to interact with the operating system. | |||
| Korean | 껍질 | ||
| The word "껍질" also means "rind" or "peel", such as in 귤껍질 (grapefruit peel) or 계란껍질 (eggshell). | |||
| Mongolian | бүрхүүл | ||
| The word "бүрхүүл" (shell) can also refer to a cover, casing, or envelope. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အခွံ | ||
| In Burmese, | |||
Shell in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kulit | ||
| The word "kulit" in Indonesian comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "kulit", which also means "skin". | |||
| Javanese | cangkang | ||
| "Cangkang" in Javanese also means "casing" or "box", and is often used to refer to the outer layer of something, such as a fruit or a building. | |||
| Khmer | សំបក | ||
| "សំបក" can also refer to a type of Cambodian musical instrument. | |||
| Lao | ຫອຍ | ||
| The word "ຫອຍ" can also refer to a type of vegetable or a kind of snail. | |||
| Malay | tempurung | ||
| Tempurung (Malay for "shell") derives from the Sanskrit word "tampura", meaning "coconut", or "skull" in reference to the similarity in shape. | |||
| Thai | เปลือก | ||
| The Thai word "เปลือก" (shell) comes from the Pali language, and is related to the words "ปิฐ" (to envelop) and "กรัก" (to close). | |||
| Vietnamese | vỏ sò | ||
| "Vỏ sò" is also a metaphor for a person who is strong and resilient, like the protective shell of a mollusk. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kabibi | ||
Shell in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qabıq | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "qabıq" also refers to a type of pastry filled with meat or vegetables and resembles a pastry shell, reflecting the versatility of the term's culinary and linguistic applications. | |||
| Kazakh | қабық | ||
| In Kazakh, the word 'қабық' also means 'crust' or 'skin', highlighting its diverse meanings related to external coverings. | |||
| Kyrgyz | кабык | ||
| The word "кабык" can also refer to animal skins and the outer layer of certain plants. | |||
| Tajik | ниҳонӣ | ||
| The word "ниҳонӣ" (shell) is also used to mean "secret" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | gabyk | ||
| Uzbek | qobiq | ||
| "Qobiq" can also mean "crust" (e.g., the crust of bread) or "covering" (e.g., the covering of a book). | |||
| Uyghur | shell | ||
Shell in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pūpū | ||
| In Hawaiian, "pūpū" originally referred to the sound of a conch shell, and later took on the meanings "conch shell" and "appetizer". | |||
| Maori | anga | ||
| The Maori word "anga" can also mean "limb" or "branch" in the context of the human body or plants. | |||
| Samoan | atigi | ||
| In Samoan slang, | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kabibi | ||
| The word "kabibi" in Tagalog is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "kabi" meaning "shell" or "cowrie". | |||
Shell in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kaparasuna | ||
| Guarani | pire | ||
Shell in International Languages
| Esperanto | ŝelo | ||
| Esperanto has a second "ŝelo" which means a "person who is always on the go or who likes to talk a lot" | |||
| Latin | testa | ||
| In Latin, "testa" also refers to an earthen vessel, a brick, a tile, a skull, or the shell of a nut. | |||
Shell in Others Languages
| Greek | κέλυφος | ||
| The word "κέλυφος" (shell) also denotes a turtle shell, a cup, a vault, or a coffin in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | plhaub | ||
| The Hmong word "plhaub" also refers to the outer layers of certain plants and to a protective device used in a children's game. | |||
| Kurdish | legan | ||
| The word 'legan' is cognate with the Persian word 'laghun' and the Armenian word 'lagwnak'. | |||
| Turkish | kabuk | ||
| "Kabuk" can also mean "crust" or "scab" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | iqokobhe | ||
| In Xhosa, "iqokobhe" means both "shell" and "a woman who has lost her husband." | |||
| Yiddish | שעל | ||
| The Yiddish word "shaal" can also refer to a "step" or a "stage" in a process. | |||
| Zulu | igobolondo | ||
| Igobolondo is a Zulu word that refers to a snail's shell, but it can also figuratively describe someone who is slow-moving or indecisive. | |||
| Assamese | খোলা | ||
| Aymara | kaparasuna | ||
| Bhojpuri | सीप | ||
| Dhivehi | ބޮލި | ||
| Dogri | कोका | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kabibi | ||
| Guarani | pire | ||
| Ilocano | lupos | ||
| Krio | shɛl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | قاوغ | ||
| Maithili | कवच | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯝꯀꯨ | ||
| Mizo | kawr | ||
| Oromo | man'ee cilalluu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଶେଲ୍ | | ||
| Quechua | churu | ||
| Sanskrit | कोष्ठ | ||
| Tatar | кабыгы | ||
| Tigrinya | ዛዕጎል | ||
| Tsonga | xiphambati | ||