Soil in Different Languages
Discover 'Soil' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Soil
Afrikaans grond | ||
Albanian dheu | ||
Amharic አፈር | ||
Arabic التربة | ||
Armenian հող | ||
Assamese মাটি | ||
Aymara uraqi | ||
Azerbaijani torpaq | ||
Bambara dugukolo | ||
Basque lurzorua | ||
Belarusian глеба | ||
Bengali মাটি | ||
Bhojpuri मिट्टी | ||
Bosnian tla | ||
Bulgarian почва | ||
Catalan terra | ||
Cebuano yuta | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 泥 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 泥 | ||
Corsican terra | ||
Croatian tlo | ||
Czech půda | ||
Danish jord | ||
Dhivehi ވެލި | ||
Dogri मिट्ठी | ||
Dutch bodem | ||
English soil | ||
Esperanto grundo | ||
Estonian muld | ||
Ewe ke | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) lupa | ||
Finnish maaperään | ||
French sol | ||
Frisian ierde | ||
Galician chan | ||
Georgian ნიადაგი | ||
German boden | ||
Greek έδαφος | ||
Guarani sapy'ajepi | ||
Gujarati માટી | ||
Haitian Creole tè | ||
Hausa ƙasa | ||
Hawaiian lepo | ||
Hebrew אדמה | ||
Hindi मिट्टी | ||
Hmong av | ||
Hungarian talaj | ||
Icelandic mold | ||
Igbo ala | ||
Ilocano daga | ||
Indonesian tanah | ||
Irish ithreach | ||
Italian suolo | ||
Japanese 土 | ||
Javanese lemah | ||
Kannada ಮಣ್ಣು | ||
Kazakh топырақ | ||
Khmer ដី | ||
Kinyarwanda ubutaka | ||
Konkani माती | ||
Korean 흙 | ||
Krio dɔti | ||
Kurdish erd | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خاک | ||
Kyrgyz топурак | ||
Lao ດິນ | ||
Latin soli | ||
Latvian augsne | ||
Lingala mabele | ||
Lithuanian dirvožemio | ||
Luganda ettaka | ||
Luxembourgish buedem | ||
Macedonian почвата | ||
Maithili माटि | ||
Malagasy nofon-tany | ||
Malay tanah | ||
Malayalam മണ്ണ് | ||
Maltese ħamrija | ||
Maori oneone | ||
Marathi माती | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯂꯩꯍꯥꯎ | ||
Mizo lei | ||
Mongolian хөрс | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) မြေဆီလွှာ | ||
Nepali माटो | ||
Norwegian jord | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) nthaka | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମାଟି | ||
Oromo biyyoo | ||
Pashto خاوره | ||
Persian خاک | ||
Polish gleba | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) solo | ||
Punjabi ਮਿੱਟੀ | ||
Quechua allpa | ||
Romanian sol | ||
Russian почвы | ||
Samoan palapala | ||
Sanskrit मृदा | ||
Scots Gaelic ùir | ||
Sepedi mabu | ||
Serbian тла | ||
Sesotho mobu | ||
Shona ivhu | ||
Sindhi مٽي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පාංශු | ||
Slovak pôda | ||
Slovenian prst | ||
Somali ciidda | ||
Spanish suelo | ||
Sundanese taneuh | ||
Swahili udongo | ||
Swedish jord | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) lupa | ||
Tajik хок | ||
Tamil மண் | ||
Tatar туфрак | ||
Telugu నేల | ||
Thai ดิน | ||
Tigrinya ሓመድ | ||
Tsonga misava | ||
Turkish toprak | ||
Turkmen toprak | ||
Twi (Akan) dɔteɛ | ||
Ukrainian ґрунт | ||
Urdu مٹی | ||
Uyghur تۇپراق | ||
Uzbek tuproq | ||
Vietnamese đất | ||
Welsh pridd | ||
Xhosa umhlaba | ||
Yiddish באָדן | ||
Yoruba ile | ||
Zulu umhlabathi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "grond" can also mean "reason" or "land" in Afrikaans. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "dheu" is a homonym, meaning both "soil" and "land, homeland". |
| Amharic | The word “አፈር” ( |
| Arabic | "تربة" refers to the soil and to the grave earth, the latter meaning being related to the verb "دفن" meaning "to bury". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "հող" not only means "soil", but also refers to "earth", "land" and "ground", as in the context of a building's foundation. |
| Azerbaijani | The word |
| Basque | The word "lurzorua" in Basque can be broken down into "lur" (earth) and "zoru" (floor), indicating that the concept of soil in Basque is tied to the idea of the earth's surface. |
| Belarusian | The word "глеба" in Belarusian is of Indo-European origin and has various meanings, including soil, land, and terrain. |
| Bengali | In Bengali, "মাটি" (mati) can refer to soil, but it also means "mother" and is associated with life and sustenance. |
| Bosnian | The word "tla" can also mean "sediment" or "sludge" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | Bulgarian "почва" has a secondary meaning "principle, base, ground," probably a calque on Russian "почва" (meaning "soil") borrowed into Russian from French "sol". |
| Catalan | "Terra" in Catalan also means "land" or "earth", and comes from the Latin word "terra" with the same meanings. |
| Cebuano | "Yuta" can also refer to a small piece of land or a garden. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "泥" can also refer to ooze, mire, or a person in a slump. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Chinese, "泥" can also refer to "clay" or the "sediment" that settles at the bottom of a body of water. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "terra" can also mean "earth" or "land". |
| Croatian | The word "tlo" can also mean "floor" or "ground" in Croatian. |
| Czech | "Půda" also means "attic" or "loft" in Czech. |
| Danish | The word "jord" in Danish is derived from the Old Norse word "jorð", meaning "earth" and can also refer to land, country or planet. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "bodem" can also refer to "sediment", "floor", "bottom", or "basis". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "grundo" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "grunduz" meaning "bottom" or "earth". |
| Estonian | The word for “black earth soil” used in the southern provinces of Estonia comes directly from the Middle Low German (a type of Low Saxon) phrase “moleerde” or German “moderde, mudder. |
| Finnish | The word "maaperään" also refers to the upper soil layer of a construction site and the subsoil used when grading the site. |
| French | In French, "sol" can also refer to musical scores or the ground floor of a building. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word 'ierde' is also used in Dutch, where it means 'earth' or 'ground'. |
| Galician | In the local variety of Portuguese speech, chan refers to clay soil and, especially, to earth used in the sealing of tombs as a symbol of finitude. |
| German | In German, the word "Boden" can also refer to a floor or a ground covering, such as a carpet or tiles. |
| Greek | The word "έδαφος" is derived from the verb "εδάφω," meaning "to tread on or crush," and is related to the word "έδαφος," meaning "floor or pavement." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "માટી" can also refer to the "earth" or "ground" in a broader sense and is derived from the Sanskrit word "मृत्तिका" (mṛttikā), meaning "earth" or "clay". |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, 'tè' also denotes any material or ingredient found on or in the earth, including minerals, metals, and rocks. |
| Hausa | "Ƙasa" also refers to a nation, as opposed to ƙauye, or an individual's hometown. |
| Hawaiian | The related terms 'lepo' and 'lepo lepo' mean both 'dirt' and 'pretty'. |
| Hebrew | The word “אדמה” in Hebrew originates from the Akkadian word “adamatu”, which also means “soil”. |
| Hindi | The word "मिट्टी" also refers to the earth as a celestial body or to the planet Earth, emphasizing its material composition. |
| Hmong | In addition to meaning "soil" it can also mean "land" or "country". |
| Hungarian | The word 'talaj' is likely derived from the Turkic word 'tal', meaning 'bottom', 'ground', or 'field'. |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "mold" can also refer to a form or shape, similar to the English word "mould". |
| Igbo | In Igbo, the word |
| Indonesian | "Tanah" also means ‘ground’, and refers to areas of any size from a field to a whole country” |
| Irish | The word "ithreach" in Irish also means "fertile" or "productive" land. |
| Italian | The noun 'suolo' can also mean 'floor', a meaning derived from Latin. |
| Japanese | The Chinese character "土" can also mean "place". It can have other meanings too depending on context. |
| Javanese | The word "lemah" can also refer to the physical body in a spiritual context. |
| Kannada | "ಮಣ್ಣು" also refers to the material that covers the surface of the Earth, including the soil on the ground. |
| Kazakh | "Топырақ" is an Old Turkic word, derived from Proto-Turkic words "topraɣ", "tupraq", meaning “soil, land, earth”. |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ដី" can also refer to land, dirt, or earth. |
| Korean | The term "흙" has an additional meaning in Korean, referring specifically to the soil used in pottery or ceramic arts. |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "erd" originally meant "sand" and is related to the Persian word "ard" with the same meaning. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "топурак" can also mean "dirt" or "dust" in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | The word ດິນ “din” can also mean “ground” as in territory or land area. |
| Latin | "Sol" can also mean "sun" in Latin, highlighting the close relationship between sunlight and soil fertility. |
| Latvian | The word "augsne" in Latvian is derived from the verb "augt" (to grow) and the suffix "-sne," indicating a place or condition, and thus means "place of growth." |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "dirvožemio" ("soil") derives from the Proto-Baltic root *dher-, meaning "to hold". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "Buedem" can also refer to the floor or ground of a room or building. |
| Macedonian | The word "почвата" also refers to the layer covering the Earth's surface. |
| Malagasy | "Nofon-tany" literally means "mother of the land" in Malagasy, reflecting the importance of soil in Malagasy culture and agriculture. |
| Malay | The Malay word "tanah" shares its etymological roots with Sanskrit, meaning both "soil" and "land." |
| Malayalam | The word "മണ്ണ്" derives from the Proto-Dravidian word "*maṇ" meaning "earth, dust, or ground". |
| Maltese | The word "ħamrija" is derived from the Semitic root "ḥmr", meaning "red", and is cognated with the Arabic word "humrah", meaning "redness" or "soil". |
| Maori | The Māori word "oneone" is also used to refer to the skin on the underside of the arm. |
| Marathi | The word "माती" ("soil") in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "मातृ" ("mother"), signifying its importance as a life-sustaining element. |
| Mongolian | "Хөрс" can also refer to the ground, land, territory or a country. |
| Nepali | The word "माटो" (soil) is derived from the Sanskrit word "mrit", which also means "death" or "mortality". |
| Norwegian | The word "jord" in Norwegian is directly related to the English word "earth". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Nthaka" also means "country" in Nyanja, implying a strong connection between soil and national identity. |
| Pashto | The word 'خاوره' can also refer to a type of clay or mud. |
| Persian | خاک (soil) also means "dust" or "ash" and is used to form the names of many places, such as "Khakestar" (land of stars) or "Khakneshin" (sitter in dust, representing a humble or pious person). |
| Polish | The word "gleba" in Polish also means "clod", "lump", or "mass", and is cognate with the English word "globe". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "solo" derives from the Latin "solum" (ground, soil), and also means "lonely" or "single" in its musical and dance forms. |
| Punjabi | "ਮਿੱਟੀ" not only means "soil" in Punjabi, but also represents the concept of "earth" or "land" in a broader sense, often carrying cultural and emotional significance. |
| Romanian | The Romanian noun "sol" (meaning "soil") shares etymology with the term "salt" and denotes both literal soil and the saline deposit extracted from it. |
| Russian | Почва is also used figuratively to describe the basis or foundation of something, such as a theory or an argument. |
| Samoan | Palapala also refers to a traditional medicine or ointment in Polynesian cultures that treats ailments, such as burns and wounds. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word for soil, "ùir", also means "earth" or "land." |
| Serbian | As a root of different words, 'тла' can mean 'soil' 'foundation' or even 'press'. |
| Sesotho | The word 'mobu' can also refer to the dust raised by animals or vehicles on the ground. |
| Shona | The Shona word "ivhu" can also mean "loam" or "clay". |
| Sindhi | The word "مٽي" (soil) in Sindhi originates from the Sanskrit word "mrid" and also refers to "earth" |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "පාංශු" (soil) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "पांशु" (dust) and also means "ash" in Sinhala. |
| Slovak | The word "pôda", meaning "soil" in Slovak, also has an alternate meaning of "ground" or "surface". |
| Slovenian | The word 'prst' can also refer to a finger or toe in Slovenian, or dirt in a derogatory sense. |
| Somali | The word "ciidda" is derived from the Proto-Cushitic root *d-i-d, meaning "to be sticky" or "to adhere." |
| Spanish | In Spanish, 'suelo' can also refer to the floor of a building, reflecting its Latin origin 'solum' meaning 'ground'. |
| Sundanese | Derived from the root word 'tanu' meaning 'to plant', the Sundanese word 'taneuh' signifies the nurturing medium for agricultural cultivation. |
| Swahili | "Udongo" also means "foundation" in Swahili, signifying the soil's role as a supporting base. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "jord" comes from the Old Norse word "jörð", which means "earth" or "land". It is related to the English word "yard", which originally referred to an enclosed piece of land. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Lupa" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*qupa" meaning "soil" or "ground". It has cognates in many other Austronesian languages, such as Hawaiian "'āina", Malay "tanah", and Javanese " lemah". |
| Tajik | The Russian word "хок" (soil) is cognate with the Tajik word "хок" (land). |
| Tamil | The Tamil word "மண்" (soil) is also used to refer to mud, or clay. |
| Telugu | నేల (nēla) also means "land" or "ground" in Telugu. |
| Thai | "ดิน" (soil) might also mean "earth" (the element), or "land" (a territory). |
| Turkish | Toprak may also refer to a type of clay used for making pots and bricks, or to the earth from which a plant grows and derives nourishment. |
| Ukrainian | "Ґрунт" is related to the Old Ukrainian "грядка" (garden bed); in Western Ukraine, it also means "ground floor or basement." |
| Urdu | In Urdu, "مٹی" can also refer to "earth" as a planet and "dust" in addition to "soil". |
| Uzbek | "Tuproq" also means "motherland" in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | "Đất" derives from the Austroasiatic word *daːt "land". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'pridd' has cognates in other Brythonic languages including Cornish 'prydhes' and Breton 'pred' |
| Xhosa | ‘Umhlaba’ means soil in Xhosa and is also a word for earth, world, and land. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "באָדן" (boden) is derived from the German word "Boden" and also means "floor" or "ground". |
| Yoruba | "Ile" (soil) can also mean "home" due to the importance of agriculture in Yoruba culture. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word 'umhlabathi' originates from the Proto-Bantu noun -daba, likely derived from roots meaning 'to be flat' or 'to spread out'. |
| English | "Soil" derives from the Old French "soille," meaning "filth" or "dung," and has a secondary meaning of "bottom of a ditch." |