Song in Different Languages
Discover 'Song' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Song
Afrikaans liedjie | ||
Albanian këngë | ||
Amharic ዘፈን | ||
Arabic أغنية | ||
Armenian երգ | ||
Assamese গান | ||
Aymara jaylli | ||
Azerbaijani mahnı | ||
Bambara dɔnkili | ||
Basque abestia | ||
Belarusian песня | ||
Bengali গান | ||
Bhojpuri गीत | ||
Bosnian pjesma | ||
Bulgarian песен | ||
Catalan cançó | ||
Cebuano kanta | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 歌曲 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 歌曲 | ||
Corsican canzone | ||
Croatian pjesma | ||
Czech píseň | ||
Danish sang | ||
Dhivehi ލަވަ | ||
Dogri गाना | ||
Dutch lied | ||
English song | ||
Esperanto kanto | ||
Estonian laul | ||
Ewe ha | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kanta | ||
Finnish laulu | ||
French chanson | ||
Frisian liet | ||
Galician canción | ||
Georgian სიმღერა | ||
German lied | ||
Greek τραγούδι | ||
Guarani purahéi | ||
Gujarati ગીત | ||
Haitian Creole chante | ||
Hausa waƙa | ||
Hawaiian mele | ||
Hebrew שִׁיר | ||
Hindi गीत | ||
Hmong nkauj | ||
Hungarian dal | ||
Icelandic lag | ||
Igbo abu | ||
Ilocano kanta | ||
Indonesian lagu | ||
Irish amhrán | ||
Italian canzone | ||
Japanese 歌 | ||
Javanese kidung | ||
Kannada ಹಾಡು | ||
Kazakh өлең | ||
Khmer ចម្រៀង | ||
Kinyarwanda indirimbo | ||
Konkani गाणे | ||
Korean 노래 | ||
Krio siŋ | ||
Kurdish stran | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) گۆرانی | ||
Kyrgyz ыр | ||
Lao ເພງ | ||
Latin canticum | ||
Latvian dziesma | ||
Lingala loyembo | ||
Lithuanian daina | ||
Luganda oluyimba | ||
Luxembourgish lidd | ||
Macedonian песна | ||
Maithili गाना | ||
Malagasy hira | ||
Malay lagu | ||
Malayalam ഗാനം | ||
Maltese kanzunetta | ||
Maori waiata | ||
Marathi गाणे | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯏꯁꯩ | ||
Mizo hla | ||
Mongolian дуу | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သီချင်း | ||
Nepali गीत | ||
Norwegian sang | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) nyimbo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଗୀତ | ||
Oromo faarfannaa | ||
Pashto سندره | ||
Persian ترانه | ||
Polish piosenka | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) canção | ||
Punjabi ਗਾਣਾ | ||
Quechua taki | ||
Romanian cântec | ||
Russian песня | ||
Samoan pese | ||
Sanskrit गीतं | ||
Scots Gaelic òran | ||
Sepedi koša | ||
Serbian песма | ||
Sesotho pina | ||
Shona rwiyo | ||
Sindhi هڪ گانو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සිංදුව | ||
Slovak pieseň | ||
Slovenian pesem | ||
Somali hees | ||
Spanish canción | ||
Sundanese lagu | ||
Swahili wimbo | ||
Swedish låt | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kanta | ||
Tajik суруд | ||
Tamil பாடல் | ||
Tatar җыр | ||
Telugu పాట | ||
Thai เพลง | ||
Tigrinya ደርፊ | ||
Tsonga risimu | ||
Turkish şarkı | ||
Turkmen aýdym | ||
Twi (Akan) nnwom | ||
Ukrainian пісня | ||
Urdu نغمہ | ||
Uyghur song | ||
Uzbek qo'shiq | ||
Vietnamese bài hát | ||
Welsh cân | ||
Xhosa ingoma | ||
Yiddish ליד | ||
Yoruba orin | ||
Zulu iculo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Liedjie" can also mean a short poem, especially in a folk song. |
| Albanian | "Këngë" is also the name of a large bird of prey, possibly related etymologically to "eagle" and "hawk". |
| Amharic | The verb 'ዘፈን' also refers to 'spinning yarn', and can be related to the word 'ፈንድ' which means 'spindle'. |
| Arabic | The word "أغنية" is derived from the root "غنّ" (to sing) and is cognate with the Hebrew word "שיר" (song), both ultimately derived from the Proto-Semitic root *šwr. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "երգ" (song) also refers to a type of traditional Armenian dance performed in a circle. |
| Azerbaijani | "Mahni" word is derived from the Persian word "mahan", meaning "skill". It can also mean a poem or a melody. |
| Basque | The Basque word "abestia" is derived from the Proto-Basque root "abi" meaning "sound" and "ahotsa" meaning "voice". |
| Belarusian | In Belarusian, "песня" can also mean a "fable", "fairytale", or "story". |
| Bengali | গান (gaan) can also mean to sing, to utter, to resound, to make a humming sound, to recite, to chant, to narrate, to whistle and to chirp. |
| Bosnian | The word pjesma comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pěsnь, which also means 'song' or 'poem'. |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word for "song", "песен", shares a common Slavic root with "pen" and "paint". |
| Catalan | The word "cançó" in Catalan derives from the Latin root "cantus" and is related to the French word "chanson". |
| Cebuano | "Kanta" also refers to a form of Cebuano poetry composed of rhyming quatrains. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 歌曲(gēqǔ) is also an archaic term for 'musical instruments'. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 曲 is used for melody, while 歌 is used for lyrics. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "canzone" can also mean "folklore" or "folk dance". |
| Croatian | The word 'pjesma' derives from PIE *ǵʰéw- 'to call, to speak', and its cognates include words such as 'speech', 'phrase', 'spell', and 'fable'. |
| Czech | The term "píseň" in Czech can also refer to a lyric poem intended to be accompanied by music. |
| Danish | In Danish, "sang" not only means "song" but also refers to the act of singing itself. |
| Dutch | The word "lied" in Dutch can also refer to a type of folk song sung without accompaniment. |
| Esperanto | In Japanese, "kanto" can refer to a region or a style of folk music. |
| Estonian | The word "laul" can also mean a "lament" or a "melody" in Estonian. |
| Finnish | In the epic poem Kalevala, the word "laulu" refers to both songs and spells. |
| French | In French, the term "chanson" also refers to a lyrical poem, particularly in the medieval period. |
| Frisian | The word "liet" in Frisian can also refer to a "religious song." |
| Galician | The Galician word "canción" (song) originally referred to a love song in the Occitan language, and it retains this meaning in some Galician dialects. |
| German | In German, "Lied" not only refers to a song but also encompasses the specific genre of German art song or Lieder. |
| Greek | In Ancient Greek, "τραγούδι" also referred to the choral sections of tragedies. |
| Gujarati | ગીત (geet) comes from the Sanskrit word 'geeta' and also means 'melody' or 'music' in Gujarati. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "chante" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "chanter" (to sing) and also means "to speak". |
| Hausa | The word waƙa can also refer to "speech" or "verse" particularly in praise, panegyric, or satire. |
| Hawaiian | "Mele" also means dance or poetry in the Hawaiian language. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word for "song" ("שִׁיר") also means "poetry" and is derived from the root "שור" ("to sing") |
| Hindi | "गीत," meaning "song," is a Sanskrit word cognate with the English word "lyric" and originally also meant "verse" and "text." |
| Hmong | The word 'nkauj' can also refer to poems or storytelling in Hmong culture. |
| Hungarian | In addition to "song", "dal" can also refer to "melody," "music" or, more widely, "a piece of art that provides joy." |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "lag" can also refer to a "layer" or "stratum". |
| Igbo | An alternate meaning of "abu" is "a tale, legend, or story." |
| Indonesian | The word "lagu" in Indonesian can also mean "pattern" or "style", referring to the rhythmic or melodic structure of a song. |
| Irish | The Irish word \ |
| Italian | The word "canzone" derives from the Latin "cantio," meaning "song," and is related to "chant" |
| Japanese | 歌 (uta) is an umbrella concept in Japanese that refers to various forms of vocal expression, including poetry, lyrics, and melodies. |
| Javanese | The word "kidung" in Javanese also means "a small bird" or "a musical instrument that produces a soft sound." |
| Kannada | The word "ಹಾಡು" literally means "to play music" and has other meanings including "performance, drama, play" and "musical composition". |
| Kazakh | The word "өлең" in Kazakh may also refer to poetry. |
| Khmer | The word "ចម្រៀង" can also refer to a style of traditional Khmer music characterized by vocal improvisation and elaborate melodies. |
| Korean | The Korean word "노래" is derived from the Middle Korean word "노라기" meaning "to play a stringed instrument" or "to sing to the tune of a stringed instrument." |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "stran" also refers to a type of oral storytelling tradition that involves singing, instrumental accompaniment, and spoken narration. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "ыр" also means "melody" |
| Lao | The Lao word "ເພງ" (song) can also refer to a type of traditional Lao music with a slow tempo and gentle melody. |
| Latin | The word 'canticum' in Latin can also refer to a type of Biblical song or passage intended to be sung. |
| Latvian | The word "dziesma" also means "poem" or "verse" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | Daina comes from Old Prussian and Sanskrit root *dei- |
| Luxembourgish | The verb “lieden” (to sing) existed before the substantiv “Lidd” (song); this word is related to the German verb “leiden” (to suffer). |
| Macedonian | The word 'песна' derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'pьsnь', which originally meant 'lament' but evolved to mean any form of sung poetry or music. |
| Malagasy | The word 'hira' is also used in Malagasy to refer to a funeral dirge or lament. |
| Malay | Malay "lagu," meaning song, may derive from "langgu," an archaic word meaning to speak or a verse. |
| Malayalam | The word "ഗാനം" in Malayalam can also mean "myth" or "legend." |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "kanzunetta" derives from the Italian "canzonetta", a short lyrical song. |
| Maori | The word "waiata" can also refer to a type of traditional Maori chant or lament, often performed in a group setting. |
| Marathi | "गाणे" in Marathi can refer to both singing as an action and the song itself (composition). |
| Mongolian | "Дуу" means not only "song" but also "melody" and "music" in Mongolian language. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | Besides its primary meaning, "သီချင်း" can also refer to a genre of Myanmar traditional music characterized by a slow tempo and lyrical melodies. |
| Nepali | The word 'गीत' can also refer to a specific genre of Nepali folk music with a slow tempo and lyrical focus. |
| Norwegian | The word "sang" in Norwegian also means "to sing". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Nyimbo" in Nyanja can also refer to a traditional folk song and dance performance. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "سندره" also means "a small piece of wood" |
| Persian | The word "ترانه" can also refer to a type of Persian folk song or ballad. |
| Polish | The word 'piosenka' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'pěsna', which also meant 'chant' or 'verse'. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Canção, a Portuguese word for "song," likely derives from the Latin word "cantio." |
| Punjabi | "Gana" can also refer to a unit of time in music or a small bell attached to a percussion instrument. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "cântec" is derived from the Latin word "canticum," which means "sung poem" or "song." |
| Russian | The word "песня" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "pѣsnь", meaning "praise" or "hymn". |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "pese" can also mean "dance" or "chant" |
| Scots Gaelic | The word òran can also mean an elegy, a hymn, a psalm, a lay, or the chanting of a bard. |
| Serbian | In Serbian, the word "песма" ("song") can also refer to a "poem" or a "folk song." |
| Sesotho | The word "pina" in Sesotho can also refer to a praise poem or a traditional dance. |
| Shona | The term "rwiyo" also signifies an invocation made to a spirit in Shona culture and religion. |
| Sindhi | "Hek Gano" is also used to refer to a type of Sindhi folk dance and music. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "සිංදුව" (song) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "sindhu" (river), possibly due to the metaphorical use of rivers as a symbol of music's flow and continuity. |
| Slovak | In some dialects, "pieseň" can also mean "lullaby" or "carol". |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word "pesem" originally referred to a "story" or "narrative poem", distinct from lyrics or music. |
| Somali | The word "hees" in Somali also refers to a specific type of traditional Somali music characterized by its slow tempo and emotional lyrics. |
| Spanish | The word "canción" in Spanish comes from the Latin "cantio," meaning "chant" or "melody." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'lagu' comes from the Old Javanese 'lagu', which itself originated from the Sanskrit 'lagu' meaning rhythm, cadence, or tempo. |
| Swahili | The word 'wimbo' has roots in Bantu languages, with similar words referring to songs or dances in many other languages of the group. |
| Swedish | The word "låt" may also refer to a layer of sediment or a type of dance in Swedish. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "kanta" in Tagalog can also refer to a unit of currency in pre-colonial Philippines or to a type of ritual chant in some Visayan languages. |
| Tajik | "Суруд" is also the name for the |
| Tamil | The word பாடல் (pāṭal) is derived from the verb பாட (pāṭu), meaning 'to sing, recite, or praise'. |
| Telugu | "పాట" can also mean 'a row', 'a series', or 'a section' in Telugu. |
| Thai | เพลง derives from the Khmer word "pleng" which may mean both music and drama. |
| Turkish | The word "şarkı" is derived from the Persian word "šork" meaning "song" or "melody". |
| Ukrainian | The verb 'співати' (to sing) is a cognate of 'speak' and 'spell' in English, as well as 'spreken' in Dutch, originating from the Proto-Indo-European root '*bʰeh₂-' (to speak). |
| Urdu | The word "نغمہ" (naghma) comes from the Persian word "ناله" (naala), meaning "a cry" or "a moan" |
| Uzbek | The word "Qo'shiq" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "qošiq" meaning "duet" or "choir". |
| Vietnamese | This word can also mean a 'poem' and is cognate with the Chinese word for 'poem', bài 詩. |
| Welsh | The word "cân" can also refer to a melody or tune, as well as a poem or hymn. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "ingoma" (song) also means "council of elders". |
| Yiddish | 'ליד' also refers to a type of folk song originating among Ashkenazi Jews in Russia. |
| Yoruba | In some contexts, "orin" can mean "sound" or "voice" and not necessarily a song with lyrics. |
| English | "Song" comes from Old English "sang," meaning "song, poem, or music." |