Soccer in Different Languages
Discover 'Soccer' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Soccer
Afrikaans sokker | ||
Albanian futboll | ||
Amharic እግር ኳስ | ||
Arabic كرة القدم | ||
Armenian ֆուտբոլ | ||
Assamese ছ’কাৰ খেল | ||
Aymara futwula | ||
Azerbaijani futbol | ||
Bambara ntolatan | ||
Basque futbola | ||
Belarusian футбол | ||
Bengali ফুটবল | ||
Bhojpuri फुटबाॅल | ||
Bosnian fudbal | ||
Bulgarian футбол | ||
Catalan futbol | ||
Cebuano soccer | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 足球 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 足球 | ||
Corsican calciu | ||
Croatian nogomet | ||
Czech fotbal | ||
Danish fodbold | ||
Dhivehi ސޮކަރ | ||
Dogri फुटबाल | ||
Dutch voetbal | ||
English soccer | ||
Esperanto futbalo | ||
Estonian jalgpall | ||
Ewe bɔl ƒoƒo | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) soccer | ||
Finnish jalkapallo | ||
French football | ||
Frisian fuotbal | ||
Galician fútbol | ||
Georgian ფეხბურთი | ||
German fußball | ||
Greek ποδόσφαιρο | ||
Guarani manga ñembosarái | ||
Gujarati સોકર | ||
Haitian Creole foutbòl | ||
Hausa ƙwallon ƙafa | ||
Hawaiian soccer | ||
Hebrew כדורגל | ||
Hindi फुटबॉल | ||
Hmong kev ncaws pob | ||
Hungarian futball | ||
Icelandic fótbolti | ||
Igbo bọọlụ | ||
Ilocano soccer | ||
Indonesian sepak bola | ||
Irish sacar | ||
Italian calcio | ||
Japanese サッカー | ||
Javanese bal-balan | ||
Kannada ಸಾಕರ್ | ||
Kazakh футбол | ||
Khmer បាល់ទាត់ | ||
Kinyarwanda umupira wamaguru | ||
Konkani सॉकर | ||
Korean 축구 | ||
Krio futbɔl | ||
Kurdish gog | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) تۆپی پێ | ||
Kyrgyz футбол | ||
Lao ກິລາບານເຕະ | ||
Latin morbi | ||
Latvian futbols | ||
Lingala mobeti-ndembo | ||
Lithuanian futbolas | ||
Luganda omupiira | ||
Luxembourgish fussball | ||
Macedonian фудбал | ||
Maithili फुटबाल | ||
Malagasy baolina kitra | ||
Malay bola sepak | ||
Malayalam സോക്കർ | ||
Maltese futbol | ||
Maori poikiri | ||
Marathi सॉकर | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯕꯣꯜ ꯁꯥꯟꯅꯕ | ||
Mizo football | ||
Mongolian хөл бөмбөг | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဘောလုံး | ||
Nepali फुटबल | ||
Norwegian fotball | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mpira | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଫୁଟବଲ୍ | ||
Oromo kubbaa miillaa | ||
Pashto فوټبال | ||
Persian فوتبال | ||
Polish piłka nożna | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) futebol | ||
Punjabi ਫੁਟਬਾਲ | ||
Quechua futbol | ||
Romanian fotbal | ||
Russian футбольный | ||
Samoan soka | ||
Sanskrit फुटबॉलं | ||
Scots Gaelic soccer | ||
Sepedi kgwele ya maoto | ||
Serbian фудбал | ||
Sesotho bolo ea maoto | ||
Shona bhora | ||
Sindhi ساڪر | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පාපන්දු | ||
Slovak futbal | ||
Slovenian nogomet | ||
Somali kubada cagta | ||
Spanish fútbol | ||
Sundanese soccer | ||
Swahili soka | ||
Swedish fotboll | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) soccer | ||
Tajik футбол | ||
Tamil கால்பந்து | ||
Tatar футбол | ||
Telugu సాకర్ | ||
Thai ฟุตบอล | ||
Tigrinya ኹዕሶ እግሪ | ||
Tsonga ntlangu wa milenge | ||
Turkish futbol | ||
Turkmen futbol | ||
Twi (Akan) bɔɔlobɔ | ||
Ukrainian футбол | ||
Urdu فٹ بال | ||
Uyghur پۇتبول | ||
Uzbek futbol | ||
Vietnamese bóng đá | ||
Welsh pêl-droed | ||
Xhosa ibhola ekhatywayo | ||
Yiddish פוסבאָל | ||
Yoruba bọọlu afẹsẹgba | ||
Zulu ibhola likanobhutshuzwayo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "sokker" is a diminutive form of "sok", meaning "sock". |
| Albanian | Futboll also means "ball" in Albanian, similar to "futbol" in Spanish and "futebol" in Portuguese. |
| Amharic | The word እግር ኳስ (soccer) literally means 'foot ball' in Amharic. |
| Arabic | Alternatively, "كرة القدم" refers to a round-shaped watermelon (without the rind) that is used as a toy by kicking it around. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "futbol" used in Azerbaijani is derived from the English word "football" and is synonymous with the term "soccer". |
| Basque | In Basque, "futbola" literally means "foot ball" or "foot game". |
| Belarusian | 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." |
| Bengali | ফুটবল' (ফুট + বল) শব্দের অর্থ হল পায়ের বল বা পা দ্বারা খেলা বল। |
| Bosnian | "Fudbal" is derived from the English words "foot" and "ball" and also refers to American football. |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "футбол" originally meant "rugby", but now it exclusively refers to soccer, while "ръгби" is used for rugby. |
| Catalan | In Catalan, 'futbol' refers to both 'soccer' and 'table football'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | “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 also means "foot odor" in Chinese. |
| Corsican | The word "calciu" in Corsican can also refer to the game of "football" or "soccer" played with a round ball. |
| Croatian | The word 'nogomet', meaning 'soccer' in Croatian, is a compound of the words 'noga' meaning 'foot' and 'metati' meaning to 'throw'. |
| Czech | 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"). |
| Danish | The word "fodbold" means "foot-ball" in Danish, but is used exclusively to refer to association football. |
| Dutch | The Dutch term 'voetbal' is derived from the English 'football' but also refers to American football in the Netherlands. |
| Esperanto | Futbalo is derived from the English word "football" and refers to association football. |
| Estonian | "Jalgpall" in Estonian actually means "foot-ball" in English, and can refer to both soccer and American football. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word for "soccer" is "jalkapallo," which literally means "foot ball." |
| French | Football comes from French "foot" meaning "on foot" and Old French "balle" meaning "ball". |
| Frisian | Frisian 'fuotbal' derives from English 'football' and is also used for 'handball,' and 'Australian rules football' |
| Galician | In Galician, "fútbol" is also used to refer to a type of beach soccer played with four players a side and no goalkeeper. |
| Georgian | ფეხბურთი originates from its English equivalent, "football", which can refer to any of various team sports involving kicking a ball. |
| German | The word 'Fußball' can also refer to an inflatable rubber ball used in recreational games in the German-speaking world. |
| Greek | "Πόδοσφαιρο" comes from the Greek words "πούς" (foot) and "σφαίρα" (ball). |
| Gujarati | In Gujarati, the word "સોકર" can also mean "pain" or "suffering". |
| Haitian Creole | "foutbòl" (soccer) ultimately derives from the English phrase "football" via French. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word 'ƙwallon ƙafa' literally means 'ball of the leg', referring to the foot used to play the sport. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "soccer" also refers to a type of traditional Hawaiian boxing. |
| Hebrew | The word "כדורגל" (soccer in Hebrew) also means "foot ball" or "ball-foot" in Modern Hebrew. |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "फ़ुटबॉल" can also refer to the sport of American football, highlighting the different meanings of the term across languages. |
| Hmong | "Kev ncaws pob" is a compound word, which literally means "kicking the ball" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | 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. |
| Icelandic | "Fótbolti" is the Icelandic word for "soccer" and literally translates to "foot ball." |
| Igbo | "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." |
| Indonesian | Sepak bola, literally meaning 'kick ball', is also used to refer to 'football' in Indonesia. |
| Irish | The Irish term 'sacar' derives from 'sacar peile', which translates to 'to kick the ball'. |
| Italian | "Calcio" derives from the Italian word "calce" (heel), as soccer was traditionally played with the feet. |
| Japanese | The Japanese word サッカー "sakkā" is an abbreviation of the English "Association Football". |
| Javanese | The word |
| Kannada | 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. |
| Kazakh | In Kazakh, "футбол" can also refer to the traditional Central Asian equestrian sport, "kokpar", where players on horseback compete to grab a goat carcass. |
| Khmer | The word "បាល់ទាត់" also means "football" in Khmer, referring to the sport played with an oval ball. |
| Korean | 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 |
| Kurdish | The word "gog" in Kurdish, meaning "soccer", is derived from the Persian word "gūl" meaning "ball". |
| Kyrgyz | Футбол (“futbol”) is derived from the Kyrgyz words “футбол” (“soccer”) and “топу” (“ball”) |
| Latin | The Latin word "morbi" can also refer to contagious diseases. |
| Latvian | The word "futbols" in Latvian has also been used to refer to rugby and other ball games. |
| Lithuanian | The word 'futbolas' is a borrowing from the English 'football', with an adapted ending to match Lithuanian grammar. |
| Macedonian | "Фудбал" is derived from the English word "football," but in Macedonian it specifically refers to soccer. |
| Malagasy | The word “baolina kitra” is a loanword from French, where it means 'soccer ball' |
| Malay | The term "bola sepak" literally means "kicked ball" in Malay, which encompasses all ball sports using kicking as the primary propulsion method. |
| Malayalam | സോക്കർ is the Malayalam spelling of the word "soccer" and is used to refer to the sport of association football. |
| Maltese | In Maltese, “futbol” can also refer to an oblong-shaped toy balloon designed to be kicked around. |
| Maori | In Māori, 'poikiri' has an alternate meaning referring to a game similar to hopscotch. |
| Marathi | 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. |
| Mongolian | The word хөл бөмбөг literally means "leg ball" in Mongolian and is cognate with the English word "football". |
| Nepali | In Nepali, 'फुटबल' ('soccer') literally translates to 'foot-ball' and is a cognate of the original English term. |
| Norwegian | In Norwegian, "fotball" can also refer to American football, although this usage is less common. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Mpila" is also a slang term for a child or teenager. |
| Pashto | In Pashto, the word "فوتبال" can also refer to the sport of volleyball. |
| Persian | The word "فوتبال" comes from the English word "football ", which means "association football" |
| Polish | In slang the word "piłka nożna" can also mean someone with poor foot hygiene. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | "Futebol" is a word with English and French roots meaning "foot" and "ball" respectively. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "fotbal" is derived from the English "football" and originally referred to rugby union. |
| Russian | The literal translation for the “футбольный” is “footy”, meaning belonging to feet. |
| Samoan | In Samoan, soka also refers to a type of traditional dance. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, ''soccer'' also derives from ''soccar'' which means ''to put'' or ''to strike''. |
| Serbian | The name 'фудбал' comes from the German 'fudball' or English 'football'. |
| Sesotho | The term "bolo ea maoto" in Sesotho can also mean "ball of the feet". |
| Shona | The word "bhora" also refers to a traditional Shona game played with a small ball made of rags. |
| Sindhi | ساڪر, meaning 'soccer' in Sindhi, comes from the word 'association' in English, as it's the association football version of the sport. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "පාපන්දු" is derived from the English word "football" and can also refer to other sports like rugby and cricket. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "futbal" is derived from the English word "football" and originally referred to rugby, not association football. |
| Slovenian | The word "nogomet" came directly from the English word "nogomet" and is the most commonly used word for "soccer" in Slovenia. |
| Somali | The word "kubada cagta" literally means "kicked ball" or "run ball" in Somali. |
| Spanish | In its alternate meaning "fútbol americano" the word "fútbol" refers to American Football. |
| Sundanese | The word "sokér" in Sundanese also means "to kick". |
| Swahili | Soka's Swahili root "saka" translates to "kick", hinting at the dominant playstyle seen in football. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word 'fotboll' comes from the English 'foot-ball' but refers exclusively to association football. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Tagalog, soccer is referred to as "futbol," derived from the Spanish word for "football." |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "футбол" can also refer to American football and other football variations. |
| Tamil | 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" is derived from the word "Association Football" and is commonly used in British English. |
| Thai | ฟุตบอล (football) shares etymology with ฟุต (foot), but means "soccer" in Thai, not American football. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "futbol" comes from the English word "football", and has the same meaning in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | "Футбол" in Ukrainian originally meant rugby, and was later adopted to refer to association football. |
| Urdu | The word "فٹ بال" (soccer) originates from the 14th century and originally referred to a variety of ball games played on foot. |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "futbol" can also be a slang term for "nonsense" or "rubbish." |
| Vietnamese | The word "bóng đá" literally means "ball foot" in Vietnamese, highlighting the footwork and ball control essential to the game. |
| Welsh | The term 'pêl-droed' was coined by Welsh lexicographer Daniel Silvan Evans as a calque of the English term 'football' |
| Xhosa | The word ibhola ekhatywayo in Xhosa means 'ball that is kicked' |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "פוסבאָל" can also refer to American football. |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word “bọọlu afẹsẹgba” literally translates to “a ball that is kicked with the foot”. |
| Zulu | The word "ibhola likanobhutshuzwayo" is a compound noun derived from the words "ibhola" (ball) and "likanobhutshuzwayo" (a traditional Zulu game played with a ball). |
| English | The term 'soccer' originated as an abbreviation of the word 'Association,' referring to the Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England. |