Soccer in Different Languages
Discover 'Soccer' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Soccer, known as football in many parts of the world, is a sport that transcends borders and unites people of all backgrounds. Its significance extends far beyond the field, as it has become a cultural phenomenon and a powerful symbol of unity and perseverance. From the thrilling World Cup matches to the local pickup games, soccer has a special place in the hearts of millions, if not billions, of fans worldwide.
But did you know that the word 'soccer' itself has an interesting history? It is derived from the word 'association', as in 'association football', to distinguish it from 'rugby football'. And while soccer is the preferred term in the United States, Canada, and Australia, much of the rest of the world uses the term 'football'.
Understanding the translation of soccer in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural exchange. Here are a few examples:
- Spanish: fútbol
- French: football
- German: Fußball
- Italian: calcio
- Chinese: 足球 (zú qiú)
- Japanese: サッカー (sakkā)
Soccer
Soccer in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sokker | ||
| In Afrikaans, "sokker" is a diminutive form of "sok", meaning "sock". | |||
| Amharic | እግር ኳስ | ||
| The word እግር ኳስ (soccer) literally means 'foot ball' in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | ƙwallon ƙafa | ||
| The Hausa word 'ƙwallon ƙafa' literally means 'ball of the leg', referring to the foot used to play the sport. | |||
| Igbo | bọọlụ | ||
| "Bọọlụ" also refers to a game played by children in which one person is chosen as the "chief" and the others are "followers". The followers line up behind the chief and follow them around until they are called by the chief to come out and show their strength by wrestling or dancing or singing." | |||
| Malagasy | baolina kitra | ||
| The word “baolina kitra” is a loanword from French, where it means 'soccer ball' | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mpira | ||
| "Mpila" is also a slang term for a child or teenager. | |||
| Shona | bhora | ||
| The word "bhora" also refers to a traditional Shona game played with a small ball made of rags. | |||
| Somali | kubada cagta | ||
| The word "kubada cagta" literally means "kicked ball" or "run ball" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | bolo ea maoto | ||
| The term "bolo ea maoto" in Sesotho can also mean "ball of the feet". | |||
| Swahili | soka | ||
| Soka's Swahili root "saka" translates to "kick", hinting at the dominant playstyle seen in football. | |||
| Xhosa | ibhola ekhatywayo | ||
| The word ibhola ekhatywayo in Xhosa means 'ball that is kicked' | |||
| Yoruba | bọọlu afẹsẹgba | ||
| The Yoruba word “bọọlu afẹsẹgba” literally translates to “a ball that is kicked with the foot”. | |||
| Zulu | ibhola likanobhutshuzwayo | ||
| The word "ibhola likanobhutshuzwayo" is a compound noun derived from the words "ibhola" (ball) and "likanobhutshuzwayo" (a traditional Zulu game played with a ball). | |||
| Bambara | ntolatan | ||
| Ewe | bɔl ƒoƒo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umupira wamaguru | ||
| Lingala | mobeti-ndembo | ||
| Luganda | omupiira | ||
| Sepedi | kgwele ya maoto | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɔɔlobɔ | ||
Soccer in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | كرة القدم | ||
| Alternatively, "كرة القدم" refers to a round-shaped watermelon (without the rind) that is used as a toy by kicking it around. | |||
| Hebrew | כדורגל | ||
| The word "כדורגל" (soccer in Hebrew) also means "foot ball" or "ball-foot" in Modern Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | فوټبال | ||
| In Pashto, the word "فوتبال" can also refer to the sport of volleyball. | |||
| Arabic | كرة القدم | ||
| Alternatively, "كرة القدم" refers to a round-shaped watermelon (without the rind) that is used as a toy by kicking it around. | |||
Soccer in Western European Languages
| Albanian | futboll | ||
| Futboll also means "ball" in Albanian, similar to "futbol" in Spanish and "futebol" in Portuguese. | |||
| Basque | futbola | ||
| In Basque, "futbola" literally means "foot ball" or "foot game". | |||
| Catalan | futbol | ||
| In Catalan, 'futbol' refers to both 'soccer' and 'table football'. | |||
| Croatian | nogomet | ||
| The word 'nogomet', meaning 'soccer' in Croatian, is a compound of the words 'noga' meaning 'foot' and 'metati' meaning to 'throw'. | |||
| Danish | fodbold | ||
| The word "fodbold" means "foot-ball" in Danish, but is used exclusively to refer to association football. | |||
| Dutch | voetbal | ||
| The Dutch term 'voetbal' is derived from the English 'football' but also refers to American football in the Netherlands. | |||
| English | soccer | ||
| The term 'soccer' originated as an abbreviation of the word 'Association,' referring to the Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England. | |||
| French | football | ||
| Football comes from French "foot" meaning "on foot" and Old French "balle" meaning "ball". | |||
| Frisian | fuotbal | ||
| Frisian 'fuotbal' derives from English 'football' and is also used for 'handball,' and 'Australian rules football' | |||
| Galician | fútbol | ||
| In Galician, "fútbol" is also used to refer to a type of beach soccer played with four players a side and no goalkeeper. | |||
| German | fußball | ||
| The word 'Fußball' can also refer to an inflatable rubber ball used in recreational games in the German-speaking world. | |||
| Icelandic | fótbolti | ||
| "Fótbolti" is the Icelandic word for "soccer" and literally translates to "foot ball." | |||
| Irish | sacar | ||
| The Irish term 'sacar' derives from 'sacar peile', which translates to 'to kick the ball'. | |||
| Italian | calcio | ||
| "Calcio" derives from the Italian word "calce" (heel), as soccer was traditionally played with the feet. | |||
| Luxembourgish | fussball | ||
| Maltese | futbol | ||
| In Maltese, “futbol” can also refer to an oblong-shaped toy balloon designed to be kicked around. | |||
| Norwegian | fotball | ||
| In Norwegian, "fotball" can also refer to American football, although this usage is less common. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | futebol | ||
| "Futebol" is a word with English and French roots meaning "foot" and "ball" respectively. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | soccer | ||
| In Scots Gaelic, ''soccer'' also derives from ''soccar'' which means ''to put'' or ''to strike''. | |||
| Spanish | fútbol | ||
| In its alternate meaning "fútbol americano" the word "fútbol" refers to American Football. | |||
| Swedish | fotboll | ||
| The Swedish word 'fotboll' comes from the English 'foot-ball' but refers exclusively to association football. | |||
| Welsh | pêl-droed | ||
| The term 'pêl-droed' was coined by Welsh lexicographer Daniel Silvan Evans as a calque of the English term 'football' | |||
Soccer in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | футбол | ||
| The word "футбол" (soccer) in Belarusian derives from the combination of the English words "foot" and "ball" and has various alternate meanings, including "football," "soccer," and "volleyball." | |||
| Bosnian | fudbal | ||
| "Fudbal" is derived from the English words "foot" and "ball" and also refers to American football. | |||
| Bulgarian | футбол | ||
| The Bulgarian word "футбол" originally meant "rugby", but now it exclusively refers to soccer, while "ръгби" is used for rugby. | |||
| Czech | fotbal | ||
| Czech "fotbal" comes from English "football" via German "Fußball" but its meaning has shifted exclusively to "soccer", leaving the original "football" to be known as "americký fotbal" ("American football"). | |||
| Estonian | jalgpall | ||
| "Jalgpall" in Estonian actually means "foot-ball" in English, and can refer to both soccer and American football. | |||
| Finnish | jalkapallo | ||
| The Finnish word for "soccer" is "jalkapallo," which literally means "foot ball." | |||
| Hungarian | futball | ||
| The word "futball" derives from the English word "football" and was originally used to refer to English football in Hungary, but now refers to the international sport of association football. | |||
| Latvian | futbols | ||
| The word "futbols" in Latvian has also been used to refer to rugby and other ball games. | |||
| Lithuanian | futbolas | ||
| The word 'futbolas' is a borrowing from the English 'football', with an adapted ending to match Lithuanian grammar. | |||
| Macedonian | фудбал | ||
| "Фудбал" is derived from the English word "football," but in Macedonian it specifically refers to soccer. | |||
| Polish | piłka nożna | ||
| In slang the word "piłka nożna" can also mean someone with poor foot hygiene. | |||
| Romanian | fotbal | ||
| The Romanian word "fotbal" is derived from the English "football" and originally referred to rugby union. | |||
| Russian | футбольный | ||
| The literal translation for the “футбольный” is “footy”, meaning belonging to feet. | |||
| Serbian | фудбал | ||
| The name 'фудбал' comes from the German 'fudball' or English 'football'. | |||
| Slovak | futbal | ||
| The Slovak word "futbal" is derived from the English word "football" and originally referred to rugby, not association football. | |||
| Slovenian | nogomet | ||
| The word "nogomet" came directly from the English word "nogomet" and is the most commonly used word for "soccer" in Slovenia. | |||
| Ukrainian | футбол | ||
| "Футбол" in Ukrainian originally meant rugby, and was later adopted to refer to association football. | |||
Soccer in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ফুটবল | ||
| ফুটবল' (ফুট + বল) শব্দের অর্থ হল পায়ের বল বা পা দ্বারা খেলা বল। | |||
| Gujarati | સોકર | ||
| In Gujarati, the word "સોકર" can also mean "pain" or "suffering". | |||
| Hindi | फुटबॉल | ||
| The Hindi word "फ़ुटबॉल" can also refer to the sport of American football, highlighting the different meanings of the term across languages. | |||
| Kannada | ಸಾಕರ್ | ||
| The word 'ಸಾಕರ್' (soccer) is derived from the term 'Association Football', which is a shortened form of 'The Football Association' founded in 1863 in England. | |||
| Malayalam | സോക്കർ | ||
| സോക്കർ is the Malayalam spelling of the word "soccer" and is used to refer to the sport of association football. | |||
| Marathi | सॉकर | ||
| The word "सॉकर" (soccer) is an informal term used in Marathi to refer to the sport of football, which is also known as "फुटबॉल" (futbol) in more formal settings. | |||
| Nepali | फुटबल | ||
| In Nepali, 'फुटबल' ('soccer') literally translates to 'foot-ball' and is a cognate of the original English term. | |||
| Punjabi | ਫੁਟਬਾਲ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පාපන්දු | ||
| The word "පාපන්දු" is derived from the English word "football" and can also refer to other sports like rugby and cricket. | |||
| Tamil | கால்பந்து | ||
| Originally referring to the foot part of a bed, the word “calf” (கால்) is used in Tamil to describe the leg below the knee, and "ball" (பந்து) refers to a spherical object. The term "calf-ball" (கால்பந்து) was coined to describe the game where players mostly use their feet to move a spherical ball. | |||
| Telugu | సాకర్ | ||
| "సాకర్" is derived from the word "Association Football" and is commonly used in British English. | |||
| Urdu | فٹ بال | ||
| The word "فٹ بال" (soccer) originates from the 14th century and originally referred to a variety of ball games played on foot. | |||
Soccer in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 足球 | ||
| “足球”字源于“踏鞠”，源自战国蹴鞠，后因英国人传入足球运动，故又称为足球。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 足球 | ||
| 足球 also means "foot odor" in Chinese. | |||
| Japanese | サッカー | ||
| The Japanese word サッカー "sakkā" is an abbreviation of the English "Association Football". | |||
| Korean | 축구 | ||
| The word "축구" (chukgu) is derived from the Korean transliteration of the English word "football" and originally referred to various ball games before becoming specifically associated with association football | |||
| Mongolian | хөл бөмбөг | ||
| The word хөл бөмбөг literally means "leg ball" in Mongolian and is cognate with the English word "football". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဘောလုံး | ||
Soccer in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sepak bola | ||
| Sepak bola, literally meaning 'kick ball', is also used to refer to 'football' in Indonesia. | |||
| Javanese | bal-balan | ||
| The word | |||
| Khmer | បាល់ទាត់ | ||
| The word "បាល់ទាត់" also means "football" in Khmer, referring to the sport played with an oval ball. | |||
| Lao | ກິລາບານເຕະ | ||
| Malay | bola sepak | ||
| The term "bola sepak" literally means "kicked ball" in Malay, which encompasses all ball sports using kicking as the primary propulsion method. | |||
| Thai | ฟุตบอล | ||
| ฟุตบอล (football) shares etymology with ฟุต (foot), but means "soccer" in Thai, not American football. | |||
| Vietnamese | bóng đá | ||
| The word "bóng đá" literally means "ball foot" in Vietnamese, highlighting the footwork and ball control essential to the game. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | soccer | ||
Soccer in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | futbol | ||
| The word "futbol" used in Azerbaijani is derived from the English word "football" and is synonymous with the term "soccer". | |||
| Kazakh | футбол | ||
| In Kazakh, "футбол" can also refer to the traditional Central Asian equestrian sport, "kokpar", where players on horseback compete to grab a goat carcass. | |||
| Kyrgyz | футбол | ||
| Футбол (“futbol”) is derived from the Kyrgyz words “футбол” (“soccer”) and “топу” (“ball”) | |||
| Tajik | футбол | ||
| The Tajik word "футбол" can also refer to American football and other football variations. | |||
| Turkmen | futbol | ||
| Uzbek | futbol | ||
| In Uzbek, "futbol" can also be a slang term for "nonsense" or "rubbish." | |||
| Uyghur | پۇتبول | ||
Soccer in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | soccer | ||
| In Hawaiian, "soccer" also refers to a type of traditional Hawaiian boxing. | |||
| Maori | poikiri | ||
| In Māori, 'poikiri' has an alternate meaning referring to a game similar to hopscotch. | |||
| Samoan | soka | ||
| In Samoan, soka also refers to a type of traditional dance. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | soccer | ||
| In Tagalog, soccer is referred to as "futbol," derived from the Spanish word for "football." | |||
Soccer in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | futwula | ||
| Guarani | manga ñembosarái | ||
Soccer in International Languages
| Esperanto | futbalo | ||
| Futbalo is derived from the English word "football" and refers to association football. | |||
| Latin | morbi | ||
| The Latin word "morbi" can also refer to contagious diseases. | |||
Soccer in Others Languages
| Greek | ποδόσφαιρο | ||
| "Πόδοσφαιρο" comes from the Greek words "πούς" (foot) and "σφαίρα" (ball). | |||
| Hmong | kev ncaws pob | ||
| "Kev ncaws pob" is a compound word, which literally means "kicking the ball" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | gog | ||
| The word "gog" in Kurdish, meaning "soccer", is derived from the Persian word "gūl" meaning "ball". | |||
| Turkish | futbol | ||
| The Turkish word "futbol" comes from the English word "football", and has the same meaning in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | ibhola ekhatywayo | ||
| The word ibhola ekhatywayo in Xhosa means 'ball that is kicked' | |||
| Yiddish | פוסבאָל | ||
| The Yiddish word "פוסבאָל" can also refer to American football. | |||
| Zulu | ibhola likanobhutshuzwayo | ||
| The word "ibhola likanobhutshuzwayo" is a compound noun derived from the words "ibhola" (ball) and "likanobhutshuzwayo" (a traditional Zulu game played with a ball). | |||
| Assamese | ছ’কাৰ খেল | ||
| Aymara | futwula | ||
| Bhojpuri | फुटबाॅल | ||
| Dhivehi | ސޮކަރ | ||
| Dogri | फुटबाल | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | soccer | ||
| Guarani | manga ñembosarái | ||
| Ilocano | soccer | ||
| Krio | futbɔl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تۆپی پێ | ||
| Maithili | फुटबाल | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯕꯣꯜ ꯁꯥꯟꯅꯕ | ||
| Mizo | football | ||
| Oromo | kubbaa miillaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଫୁଟବଲ୍ | ||
| Quechua | futbol | ||
| Sanskrit | फुटबॉलं | ||
| Tatar | футбол | ||
| Tigrinya | ኹዕሶ እግሪ | ||
| Tsonga | ntlangu wa milenge | ||