Southern in Different Languages
Discover 'Southern' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Southern
Afrikaans suidelike | ||
Albanian jugore | ||
Amharic ደቡባዊ | ||
Arabic الجنوب | ||
Armenian հարավային | ||
Assamese দক্ষিণ ফালৰ | ||
Aymara sur tuqina | ||
Azerbaijani cənub | ||
Bambara saheliyanfan fɛ | ||
Basque hegoaldekoa | ||
Belarusian паўднёвы | ||
Bengali দক্ষিণ | ||
Bhojpuri दक्षिणी के बा | ||
Bosnian južni | ||
Bulgarian южна | ||
Catalan sud | ||
Cebuano southern | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 南部的 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 南部的 | ||
Corsican miridiunali | ||
Croatian južni | ||
Czech jižní | ||
Danish syd- | ||
Dhivehi ދެކުނުންނެވެ | ||
Dogri दक्षिणी | ||
Dutch zuidelijk | ||
English southern | ||
Esperanto suda | ||
Estonian lõunapoolne | ||
Ewe dzigbe gome | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) timog | ||
Finnish eteläinen | ||
French du sud | ||
Frisian súdlik | ||
Galician sur | ||
Georgian სამხრეთის | ||
German süd- | ||
Greek νότιος | ||
Guarani sur gotyo | ||
Gujarati દક્ષિણ | ||
Haitian Creole sid | ||
Hausa kudu | ||
Hawaiian hema | ||
Hebrew דְרוֹמִי | ||
Hindi दक्षिण | ||
Hmong yav qab teb | ||
Hungarian déli | ||
Icelandic suður | ||
Igbo nke ndida | ||
Ilocano abagatan | ||
Indonesian selatan | ||
Irish theas | ||
Italian meridionale | ||
Japanese 南方の | ||
Javanese kidul | ||
Kannada ದಕ್ಷಿಣ | ||
Kazakh оңтүстік | ||
Khmer ភាគខាងត្បូង | ||
Kinyarwanda majyepfo | ||
Konkani दक्षिणेकडलें | ||
Korean 남부 지방 사투리 | ||
Krio na di sawt pat | ||
Kurdish başûrî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) باشووری | ||
Kyrgyz түштүк | ||
Lao ພາກໃຕ້ | ||
Latin meridionali | ||
Latvian dienvidu | ||
Lingala na sudi | ||
Lithuanian pietinis | ||
Luganda obw’obugwanjuba | ||
Luxembourgish südlechen | ||
Macedonian јужен | ||
Maithili दक्षिणी | ||
Malagasy atsimo | ||
Malay selatan | ||
Malayalam തെക്ക് | ||
Maltese tan-nofsinhar | ||
Maori tonga | ||
Marathi दक्षिणेकडील | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯈꯥ ꯊꯪꯕꯥ ꯁꯔꯨꯛꯇꯥ ꯂꯩ꯫ | ||
Mizo khawthlang lam a ni | ||
Mongolian өмнөд | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) တောင်ပိုင်း | ||
Nepali दक्षिणी | ||
Norwegian sør- | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kum'mwera | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଦକ୍ଷିଣ | ||
Oromo kibbaa | ||
Pashto سویل | ||
Persian جنوبی | ||
Polish południowy | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) sulista | ||
Punjabi ਦੱਖਣੀ | ||
Quechua surmanta | ||
Romanian sudică | ||
Russian южный | ||
Samoan saute | ||
Sanskrit दक्षिणी | ||
Scots Gaelic deas | ||
Sepedi ka borwa | ||
Serbian јужни | ||
Sesotho boroa | ||
Shona kumaodzanyemba | ||
Sindhi ڏکڻ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දකුණු | ||
Slovak južná | ||
Slovenian južni | ||
Somali koonfureed | ||
Spanish meridional | ||
Sundanese kidul | ||
Swahili kusini | ||
Swedish sydlig | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) timog | ||
Tajik ҷанубӣ | ||
Tamil தெற்கு | ||
Tatar көньяк | ||
Telugu దక్షిణ | ||
Thai ภาคใต้ | ||
Tigrinya ደቡባዊ እዩ። | ||
Tsonga edzongeni | ||
Turkish güney | ||
Turkmen günorta | ||
Twi (Akan) anafo fam | ||
Ukrainian південний | ||
Urdu جنوبی | ||
Uyghur جەنۇب | ||
Uzbek janubiy | ||
Vietnamese phía nam | ||
Welsh deheuol | ||
Xhosa emazantsi | ||
Yiddish דרום | ||
Yoruba guusu | ||
Zulu eningizimu |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "suidelike" can also refer to the direction of "southward" or the "southern hemisphere" in Afrikaans. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "jugore" meaning "southern" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*yeug-," meaning "to join"} |
| Amharic | The word "ደቡባዊ" (southern) in Amharic also means "downstream" or "towards the south". |
| Arabic | In Arabic, "الجنوب" (southern) can also refer to the Yemeni government's security forces established in 1994. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "cənub" in Azerbaijani can also refer to the direction of "below" or "the south end of something". |
| Basque | In Basque, "hegoaldekoa" also refers to a southerly wind. |
| Bengali | The word 'দক্ষিণ' ('southern') is cognate with Sanskrit 'dakshin' ('right', 'south'), which reflects the traditional association of right with the south in Indic culture. |
| Bosnian | The word 'južn' means both 'southern' and 'sour' in Bosnian, and is derived from the Slavic root '*jugъ'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "южна" can also refer to "south wind" or "southern dialect" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "sud" finds its etymology in the Latin word "sub", meaning "under". This explains why it is also used to refer to the underworld. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The word 南部的 can also mean 'of the Southern Song dynasty' in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 除了表示方向之外，「南部的」也可以表示時間上的「後期」、「晚期」或「以後」等意思。 |
| Corsican | Miridiunali is also used to indicate 'from the south' or 'to the south'. |
| Croatian | The word |
| Czech | In Slavic languages, "jižní" often refers to the midday sun, hence its southern meaning. |
| Danish | In Denmark, "syd" can also refer to "sick" or "fainting". |
| Dutch | The word "zuidelijk" is also used to describe the direction or region of South Africa. |
| Esperanto | "Suda" is derived from "sud" meaning "broth" and "sudor" meaning "sweat". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "lõunapoolne" ("southern") is also used to refer to the "afternoon". |
| Finnish | Eteläinen likely means 'warm, sunny side'. It can also refer to a side or point on the right (right hand). |
| French | The term "du sud" can also refer to a type of wine from the southern regions of France. |
| Frisian | Súdlik is derived from the Old Frisian word "sūthlik", which also meant "right", and is related to the English "south". |
| Galician | In Galician, "sur" can also refer to the cardinal direction of southeast or to a place or thing that is southeast. |
| German | Süd- also often appears in compounds to refer to plants or other organisms restricted to hot and/or sunny regions. |
| Greek | The term "νότιος" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "nekʷ-," meaning "night," implying the sense of "darkness". Its synonym, "νοτερός (noteros)," also conveys the notion of "wet" or "moist" due to the connection between darkness and humidity. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "દક્ષિણ" can also refer to the Dakshina, a ritual offering or donation made to priests or teachers in Hinduism. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, the word "sid" can also refer to the southern part of a country or region. |
| Hausa | In Hausa, the word "kudu" can also mean "end" or "finish." |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "hema" can refer to the windward side or the leeward side of an island, depending on the context. |
| Hebrew | The word "דְרוֹמִי" also means "right-hand" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | "दक्षिण" ("southern") comes from the Sanskrit word "दक्ष" ("able", "clever"), implying "the land of the able ones". |
| Hmong | In Hmong, 'yav qab teb' can refer to both a geographical location or a person's temperament. |
| Hungarian | 'Déli' is also a colloquial term for the Hungarian capital Budapest, due to its geographic location in the southern part of the country. |
| Icelandic | "Suður" (south) in Icelandic, originally meant "the land of the sun", due to the country's location in the northern hemisphere. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "nke ndida" can also refer to the southeastern part of Nigeria. |
| Indonesian | The word "selatan" is derived from the Sanskrit word "dakshiņa," meaning "right-hand side," and originally referred to the southern part of Java. |
| Irish | The word "theas" also refers to the "left hand" or "sinister" in Gaelic Irish, due to an old Gaelic superstition regarding omens. |
| Italian | The word "meridionale" is a loanword from Latin and also means "noon" or "midday." |
| Japanese | "Southern" in Japanese can also be used in the sense of "later generations." |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the term 'kidul' can also refer to the direction facing the Indian Ocean or the realm of the deceased. |
| Kannada | The word "ದಕ್ಷಿಣ" also means "right" or "correct" in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | ОҢТҮСТІК is also used to refer to the right side of the body or an object |
| Khmer | In addition to referring to a geographical direction, "ភាគខាងត្បូង" can also indicate "the latter" or a specific direction within the context of performing an action. |
| Korean | The term "남부 지방 사투리" literally translates to "southern dialect", but it can also refer to the Jeolla dialects spoken in the southwestern region of South Korea. |
| Kurdish | The word 'başûrî' is also used in a literary context to refer to the 'southern school' of Kurdish literature, which emerged in the 19th century. |
| Kyrgyz | Түштүк - from the Old Turkic word 'tüsh', 'tüs', which originally meant 'low', 'downward' |
| Lao | The Lao word "ພາກໃຕ້" means "the south" in English and is derived from the Sanskrit word "dak??i?a". |
| Latin | In medieval Latin, "meridionali" also referred to the summer solstice or the southern hemisphere. |
| Latvian | Latvian word "dienvidu" originates from the Old Prussian word "dīna" meaning "down". |
| Lithuanian | The word "pietinis" is also used in a figurative sense to describe something that is located south of the speaker. |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "südlechen" is derived from the Old High German word "südlichin", which means "southern" or "from the south"} |
| Macedonian | Јужен (southern) originates from the Proto-Slavic "jugъ" which also means "south" and from which "југ" (south) in Macedonian directly originates. |
| Malagasy | The word "atsimo" in Malagasy also refers to the southeast monsoon winds and the corresponding rainy season, which occur from November to April. |
| Malay | Selatan, which means "southern" in Malay, can also refer to a specific geographic region or a cardinal direction. |
| Malayalam | The word "തെക്ക്" (southern) in Malayalam is derived from the Sanskrit word "दक्षिण" (dakṣiṇa), which means "right". This is because the south was traditionally considered to be the direction of auspiciousness and prosperity. |
| Maltese | The word "tan-Nofsinhar" also refers to the wind blowing from the south. |
| Maori | In some Māori dialects "tonga" can mean "downstream" or "seaward". |
| Marathi | दक्षिणेकडील is a word derived from the Sanskrit word "दक्षिण" which means "right". The term refers to geographical and cardinal directions, and is used in various contexts denoting positions and orientations relative to the south. |
| Mongolian | "Өмнөд" means "south" in Mongolian. It can also mean "the front" or "the first". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word is also used to refer to a group of related languages including Sgaw, Pwo, and Pa'o. |
| Nepali | दक्षिणी means "right hand" in Sanskrit, as the right side of the body corresponds to the south in ancient Indian cosmology. |
| Norwegian | The word "sør-" is derived from the Old Norse "sūthr", meaning "to the right side" when facing east. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "kum'mwera" in Nyanja also means "from the south" or "towards the south". |
| Pashto | The word 'سویل' ('southern') in Pashto is cognate with the word 'savior' in many Indo-European languages, and is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *seH₂- ('to protect'). |
| Persian | "جنوبی" means "south" or "southern" in Persian, but is also used to describe something or someone that is of a very high quality or valuable. |
| Polish | The word "południowy" also means "midday" in Polish, which derives from the fact that in the past, midday was considered to be the southern point of the sun's path. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Sulista in Portuguese can also mean a person from the south, especially from the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. |
| Punjabi | The word 'Dakhani' is also used to refer to the language spoken in the Deccan region of India, a dialect of Urdu. |
| Romanian | The word "sudică" in Romanian comes from the Slavic word "sudъ", meaning "judgment" or "trial". |
| Russian | The Russian word "южный" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *jugъ, which also meant "warm". |
| Samoan | In Samoan, 'saute' also means 'south wind' and is pronounced with a glottal stop after the 'a'. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, "deas" also means "right (hand)" or "dexterous". |
| Serbian | The word "јужни" also means "south" in other Slavic languages such as Russian and Polish. |
| Sesotho | In addition to its primary meaning of "southern," "boroa" can also mean "below" or "downwards" in Sesotho. |
| Shona | The word "kumaodzanyemba" can also refer to the south-eastern region of Zimbabwe. |
| Sindhi | "ڏکڻ" (dakkan) may come from Prakrit "dakkhiṇa" (right side), which is related to the same root word as the English word "dexterity." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "දකුණු" also means "right" or "dexterous" in Sinhala. |
| Slovak | The word "južná" also has the alternate meaning of "warm" or "sunny" in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | The word Južni also refers to the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages. |
| Somali | In the northern dialect of Somali, 'koonfureed' also refers to a style of singing. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "meridional" is derived from the Latin word for midday or south and can refer to a southern region as well as time, heat levels, or winds. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "kidul" is related to the Malay "kidul" and Javanese "kidul" terms for "left," reflecting early Austronesian notions that the left was associated with the south |
| Swahili | Kusini was borrowed from the Arabic Qublī meaning "facing the Qibla" which is a direction important in the Islam religion |
| Swedish | The word "sydlig" derives from the Old Swedish word "suder", meaning "south". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Timog" in Tagalog also refers to the northeast monsoon season from November to April. |
| Tajik | "ҷанубӣ" is also a synonym for "past" used in the context of time or chronology, rather than direction. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word 'தெற்கு' is related to the Sanskrit word 'dakṣiṇa', meaning 'right' or 'southern'. |
| Telugu | Derived from the Sanskrit word 'dakshina', it can also refer to the right-hand side or the proper side. |
| Thai | The Thai word "ภาคใต้" also refers to an administrative region of the same name that encompasses southern provinces like Surat Thani and Krabi. |
| Turkish | The word "güney" also means "the side from which the sun comes", in contrast to "kuzey" ("the side from which the sun goes"). |
| Ukrainian | "Південний" means both "southern" and "right-sided" in Ukrainian because it comes from the word "права рука" (right hand). |
| Urdu | جنوبی can also refer to a certain type of wind that blows from the south. |
| Uzbek | In the historical context, the word "Janubiy" can also refer to the direction of Mecca, the holy city of Islam. |
| Vietnamese | "Phía Nam" (southern) in Vietnamese can also refer to the South of China. |
| Welsh | The word 'deheuol' is also used to refer to the south-western direction. |
| Xhosa | The word 'emazantsi' literally means 'from the direction of the sun' in Xhosa, as the south is the direction of the rising sun in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "דרום" (drom) can also refer to the south wind or a southern Jewish community. |
| Yoruba | "Guusu" in Yoruba derives from "gu" (meaning "to follow") and "usu" (meaning "back"), hence "that which follows behind" (geographically). |
| Zulu | "Eningizimu" is cognate with the Swahili word "kusini" and is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-ini"} |
| English | "Southern" originated from Old English and meant "coming from the south", but also meant "of lesser importance". |