Shoe in Different Languages
Discover 'Shoe' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Shoe
Afrikaans skoen | ||
Albanian këpucëve | ||
Amharic ጫማ | ||
Arabic حذاء | ||
Armenian կոշիկ | ||
Assamese জোতা | ||
Aymara zapato uñt’ayaña | ||
Azerbaijani ayaqqabı | ||
Bambara sanbara | ||
Basque zapata | ||
Belarusian чаравік | ||
Bengali জুতো | ||
Bhojpuri जूता के बा | ||
Bosnian cipela | ||
Bulgarian обувка | ||
Catalan sabata | ||
Cebuano sapatos | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 鞋子 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 鞋子 | ||
Corsican scarpa | ||
Croatian cipela | ||
Czech boty | ||
Danish sko | ||
Dhivehi ބޫޓެވެ | ||
Dogri जूता | ||
Dutch schoen | ||
English shoe | ||
Esperanto ŝuo | ||
Estonian king | ||
Ewe afɔkpa | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) sapatos | ||
Finnish kenkä | ||
French chaussure | ||
Frisian skuon | ||
Galician zapato | ||
Georgian ფეხსაცმლის | ||
German schuh | ||
Greek παπούτσι | ||
Guarani sapatu rehegua | ||
Gujarati જૂતા | ||
Haitian Creole soulye | ||
Hausa takalma | ||
Hawaiian kāmaʻa kāmaʻa | ||
Hebrew נַעַל | ||
Hindi जूता | ||
Hmong txhais khau | ||
Hungarian cipő | ||
Icelandic skór | ||
Igbo akpụkpọ ụkwụ | ||
Ilocano sapatos | ||
Indonesian sepatu | ||
Irish bróg | ||
Italian scarpa | ||
Japanese 靴 | ||
Javanese sepatu | ||
Kannada ಶೂ | ||
Kazakh аяқ киім | ||
Khmer ស្បែកជើង | ||
Kinyarwanda inkweto | ||
Konkani पांयतणां | ||
Korean 구두 | ||
Krio shuz we yu de yuz | ||
Kurdish pêlav | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) پێڵاو | ||
Kyrgyz бут кийим | ||
Lao ເກີບ | ||
Latin calceus | ||
Latvian apavu | ||
Lingala sapato | ||
Lithuanian batas | ||
Luganda engatto | ||
Luxembourgish schong | ||
Macedonian чевли | ||
Maithili जूता | ||
Malagasy kiraro | ||
Malay kasut | ||
Malayalam ഷൂ | ||
Maltese żarbun | ||
Maori hu | ||
Marathi बूट | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯖꯨꯇꯣ ꯑꯃꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo pheikhawk a ni | ||
Mongolian гутал | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဖိနပ် | ||
Nepali जुत्ता | ||
Norwegian sko | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) nsapato | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଜୋତା | ||
Oromo kophee | ||
Pashto بوټونه | ||
Persian کفش | ||
Polish but | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) sapato | ||
Punjabi ਜੁੱਤੀ | ||
Quechua zapato | ||
Romanian pantof | ||
Russian обувь | ||
Samoan seevae | ||
Sanskrit जूता | ||
Scots Gaelic bròg | ||
Sepedi seeta | ||
Serbian ципела | ||
Sesotho seeta | ||
Shona shangu | ||
Sindhi جوتا | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සපත්තු | ||
Slovak topánka | ||
Slovenian čevelj | ||
Somali kabo | ||
Spanish zapato | ||
Sundanese sapatu | ||
Swahili kiatu | ||
Swedish sko | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) sapatos | ||
Tajik пойафзол | ||
Tamil ஷூ | ||
Tatar аяк киеме | ||
Telugu షూ | ||
Thai รองเท้า | ||
Tigrinya ጫማ | ||
Tsonga xihlangi | ||
Turkish ayakkabı | ||
Turkmen köwüş | ||
Twi (Akan) mpaboa | ||
Ukrainian взуття | ||
Urdu جوتا | ||
Uyghur ئاياغ | ||
Uzbek poyabzal | ||
Vietnamese giày | ||
Welsh esgid | ||
Xhosa isihlangu | ||
Yiddish שוך | ||
Yoruba bata | ||
Zulu isicathulo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "skoen" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "schoen" and also refers to a playing card in a deck of cards. |
| Albanian | The word "këpucëve" in Albanian comes from the Latin word "calceus," meaning "shoe" or "boot". |
| Amharic | The word "ጫማ" (shoe) derives from the Proto-Semitic root "*ṣʿm" meaning "to stride, tread upon". |
| Arabic | The word 'حذاء' also refers to a type of musical instrument, such as a tambourine or drum. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "կոշիկ" is of Persian origin and ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "kucchi" meaning "shoe," but now refers more widely to "footwear" as a general category, including socks. |
| Azerbaijani | "Ayaqqabı" comes from the Persian word "ayakh" and "kab". |
| Basque | Zapata is the Spanish word for "shoe" but also means "sand" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | The word "чаравік" also refers to a type of traditional Belarusian winter boot made of leather or felt. |
| Bengali | In the dialect of East Bengal, |
| Bosnian | The word "cipela" in Bosnian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *čerevь, meaning "footwear". |
| Bulgarian | Обувка is derived from the Old Slavonic root |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "sabata" can also refer to a wooden structure used in viticulture and footwear made of esparto grass as an alternative to "espardenya". |
| Cebuano | The word "sapatos" in Cebuano is derived from the Spanish word "zapatos", which itself is taken from the Latin "sapato" or "sapetos", which means "shoe". In Cebuano, "sapatos" is used to refer to formal leather shoes but can also refer to other types of footwear. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "鞋" means "evil" in its early form, and "evil" and "shoes" are homophonic in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "鞋" (traditional Chinese character for "shoe") shares the same etymology as "協", meaning "to cooperate" or "to work together". |
| Corsican | Corsican "scarpa" derives from the Italian "scarpa", ultimately from the late Latin "excarpare", "to scrape," perhaps referring to the scraping of leather. |
| Croatian | The word 'cipela' in Croatian originally referred to a flat, leather slipper worn by peasants. |
| Czech | It is a diminutive form of bota, which means "ankle boot" or "knee-high boot". It also has alternate meanings such as a "shoe", "boot", or "footwear". |
| Danish | In Norwegian and Swedish the word "sko" means "forest", and the related verb "skoge" is "to walk in the forest". |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "schoen" can also refer to a type of boat, typically a flat-bottomed wooden vessel used for fishing or recreation. |
| Esperanto | The word "ŝuo" derives from the French word "soulier", meaning "shoe". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word for "shoe", "king", originates from the German word "Schuh", meaning "footwear". |
| Finnish | In Finnish, 'kenkä' can also refer to a foot or a shoemaker. |
| French | The word 'chaussure' comes from the Latin word 'calciatura', which means 'footwear', and is related to the word 'cale' meaning 'heel'. |
| Frisian | In Old Frisian, 'skuon' also referred to a type of wooden clog worn by women and children. |
| Galician | In Galician, "zapato" can also mean "footprint" or "hoofprint". |
| German | In German, "Schuh" can also refer to a unit of length (about 30 cm), derived from the length of a shoe. |
| Greek | The word "παπούτσι" originally meant "slipper" in Greek but has since expanded to include all types of footwear. |
| Gujarati | This word comes from Sanskrit 'upajanta' and also means 'a step' or 'tread'. |
| Haitian Creole | In French, "soulier" means "shoe"; in Haitian Creole, it's "soulye". |
| Hausa | The word "takalma" in Hausa language is derived from the Arabic word "taqallida" meaning "to put on". |
| Hawaiian | The word "kāmaʻa kāmaʻa" can also refer to the wooden handles used to lift calabashes in traditional Hawaiian cooking. |
| Hebrew | The word "נַעַל" can also refer to a sandal or a slipper. |
| Hindi | The term "जूता" is also used in Hindi to refer to a style of wrestling in which the combatants wear large, heavy shoes. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word for 'shoe' can also mean 'footwear' or 'boot'. |
| Hungarian | The word "cipő" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*çïbïg" meaning "shoe, covering for the foot". |
| Icelandic | The word 'skór' used to refer to the leather covering on the feet of farm animals. |
| Igbo | The word 'akpụkpọ ụkwụ' can also refer to the sound made by shoes when walking on a hard surface. |
| Indonesian | "Sepatu" is borrowed from the Portuguese word "sapato" and originally meant "slipper". |
| Irish | The Irish word 'bróg' can also refer to a type of traditional Irish footwear worn by men, similar to a moccasin. |
| Italian | The word "scarpa" in Italian derives from the Proto-Germanic word "skōh" or "skōx," meaning "shoe" or "footwear." |
| Japanese | In Japanese, the word "靴" is written using the same Chinese character used for "leg", which represents the foot covering the ground. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word 'sepatu' is derived from Sanskrit 'sapatu', meaning 'covering for the foot'. |
| Kannada | "ಶೂ" is also used in Kannada to describe the sound of someone coughing or sneezing. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "аяқ киім" also means "footwear" in English. |
| Khmer | The word "ស្បែកជើង" literally means "foot shell" in Khmer, reflecting the protective function of shoes. |
| Korean | The Korean word '구두' originated from Mandarin Chinese, where it refers to a type of fabric shoe. |
| Kurdish | The word |
| Kyrgyz | The word "бут кийим" in Kyrgyz also refers to a traditional type of Kyrgyz boot made of leather and felt. |
| Lao | The word "ເກີບ" in Lao can also refer to a type of Lao slipper or sandal. |
| Latin | The word "calceus" can also refer to a type of footwear worn by Roman gladiators. |
| Latvian | The word "apavu" in Latvian has roots in Middle High German and Slavic languages, likely referring to leather footwear. |
| Lithuanian | The word "batas" originally meant "leg covering" and is related to the word "batai" ("boots") in Latvian. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Schong" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*skōhaz" and is related to the English word "shoe". In Luxembourgish, "Schong" can also refer to a type of foot covering like a slipper or sandal. |
| Macedonian | In Old Church Slavonic, "чевли" also meant "leg covering" or "footcloth". |
| Malagasy | Kiraro, the Malagasy word for shoe, is derived from the Arabic word 'khizra' meaning slipper. |
| Malay | "Kasut" in Malay is derived from the Indian Sanskrit word "khādu", which refers to a type of wooden sandal or clog. |
| Malayalam | ഷൂ is also used in Malayalam for different types of footwear, including sandals, slippers, and boots. |
| Maltese | The word "żarbun" is derived from the Sicilian word "scarparu" meaning "shoemaker" or "shoe shop". |
| Maori | In Māori, the word |
| Marathi | Originally, the Marathi word "बूट" meant a type of ankle-length leather shoe |
| Mongolian | The word "гутал" also means "boot" in Mongolian. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | "ဖိနပ်" is also the name of an ancient type of shoe in Myanmar that covered the entire foot and was worn by royalty and officials. |
| Nepali | The word 'जुत्ता' ('shoe') is derived from the Sanskrit 'yuja', meaning 'to join' or 'to fit', referring to its purpose of covering and protecting the feet. |
| Norwegian | The word 'sko' is derived from the Old Norse word 'skór', and also means 'forest' in Norwegian. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "nsapato" is derived from the Portuguese word "sapato", originally meaning "slipper" or "sandal". |
| Pashto | The word "بوټونه" in Pashto can also refer to the sole of a shoe or a boot. |
| Persian | The term کفش in Persian, originally derived from the Arabic word |
| Polish | In addition to its primary meaning of 'shoe', the Polish word 'but' can also refer to a type of ankle-high boot worn by traditional highlanders, or a hole made in the ground for storing vegetables over winter. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Brazil, "sapato" can also refer to a shoebox, while in Portugal it may signify a single shoe rather than a pair. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਜੁੱਤੀ" (jutti) can also refer to a type of traditional Punjabi footwear that is often embroidered and has a pointed toe. |
| Romanian | The word "pantof" has an alternate meaning in Romanian as "slipper". |
| Russian | Обувь means not only footwear in Russian. It could also refer to the iron band around a wheel or the sole of a ski. |
| Samoan | Seevae can also refer to shoes, slippers, sandals, or any type of footwear in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | Bròg is also a general term used to mean footwear in general (e.g. wellington boots), and even in some contexts can mean hosiery. |
| Serbian | The word "ципела" (tsipela) in Serbian comes from the Turkish word "ispinela", which in turn comes from the Italian word "scarpino". |
| Sesotho | The word "seeta" in Sesotho also refers to a foot, a path, or a footprint. |
| Shona | The Shona word "shangu" is also used to refer to a "hoof" or "sandal." |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "جوتا" is derived from the Persian word "چوته" (chote), which means "boot" or "shoe with a pointed toe." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word "සපත්තු" (shoe) originates from the Sanskrit word "पादुका" (footwear), and its alternate meaning is "a cover for the foot" |
| Slovak | The word "topánka" stems from the Proto-Slavic word "*topati", meaning "to stamp or trample". |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word "čevelj" may originate from the Proto-Slavic word *červьlь, meaning "worm" or "maggot", possibly referring to the shape of early footwear made of animal hide. |
| Somali | "Kabo" can also refer to a type of traditional Somali dance. |
| Spanish | The word "zapato" comes from the Arabic word "sabat", meaning "shoe" or "sandal". |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "sapatu" is borrowed from the Dutch word "schoen", and can also refer to the hoof of a hoofed animal. |
| Swahili | "Kiatu" is a Swahili term derived from the Bantu root "-tu" meaning "foot", suggesting its original meaning as "footwear". |
| Swedish | The word "sko" in Swedish also means "wood" or "forest". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog "sapatos" originated from Spanish "zapatos" which came from the French "sabot" (wooden clog) |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "пойафзол" shares the same root with "paypo" (heel), "pay" (leg) and "afzal" (more superior), and figuratively means "that which covers the more superior part of the leg." |
| Tamil | The word "ஷூ" can also refer to a type of sweet made from lentils and jaggery in Tamil. |
| Telugu | The Telugu word "షూ" (shoe) also means "shoot" in English, highlighting the close connection between footwear and the act of aiming and firing a weapon. |
| Thai | The word "รองเท้า" is derived from the Sanskrit word "rangavat", meaning "footwear". |
| Turkish | "Ayakkabı" comes from Persian "pāy" (foot) + Arabic "kab" (cover), lit. "foot cover". |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "взуття" can also refer to any type of footwear, including boots, sandals, and slippers. |
| Urdu | The word 'جوتا' can also refer to a 'pair' or 'set' of something, not just a single shoe. |
| Uzbek | "Poyabzal" in Uzbek means "that which covers the foot" and also refers to a type of leather shoe, "charoq". |
| Vietnamese | Giày in Vietnamese derives from the Chinese word 'shoe' (鞋) pronounced as hài and is a homophone for the Vietnamese word 'falsehood' (gỉa)'. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "esgid" ultimately comes from the Latin "excaligeus", meaning "footwear". |
| Xhosa | 'Isihlangu' literally translates to 'the grass that hides'. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "שוך" can also refer to the sound of rustling or the act of shaking something to loosen its contents. |
| Yoruba | "Bata" in Yoruba can refer to a single shoe or a pair of shoes, and is also used as a salutation for a chief or elder. |
| Zulu | In addition to its meaning as a type of footwear, the word "isicathulo" can also be used to refer to a shield or a protective charm in Zulu culture. |
| English | The word "shoe" has a Middle English derivation from the Old English word "scōh", which referred specifically to a leather overshoe worn atop other footwear. |