Three in Different Languages
Discover 'Three' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Three
Afrikaans drie | ||
Albanian tre | ||
Amharic ሶስት | ||
Arabic ثلاثة | ||
Armenian երեք | ||
Assamese তিনি | ||
Aymara kimsa | ||
Azerbaijani üç | ||
Bambara saba | ||
Basque hiru | ||
Belarusian тры | ||
Bengali তিন | ||
Bhojpuri तीन | ||
Bosnian tri | ||
Bulgarian три | ||
Catalan tres | ||
Cebuano tulo | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 三 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 三 | ||
Corsican tre | ||
Croatian tri | ||
Czech tři | ||
Danish tre | ||
Dhivehi ތިނެއް | ||
Dogri त्रै | ||
Dutch drie | ||
English three | ||
Esperanto tri | ||
Estonian kolm | ||
Ewe etɔ̃ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) tatlo | ||
Finnish kolme | ||
French trois | ||
Frisian trije | ||
Galician tres | ||
Georgian სამი | ||
German drei | ||
Greek τρία | ||
Guarani mbohapy | ||
Gujarati ત્રણ | ||
Haitian Creole twa | ||
Hausa uku | ||
Hawaiian ekolu | ||
Hebrew שְׁלוֹשָׁה | ||
Hindi तीन | ||
Hmong peb | ||
Hungarian három | ||
Icelandic þrír | ||
Igbo atọ | ||
Ilocano tallo | ||
Indonesian tiga | ||
Irish triúr | ||
Italian tre | ||
Japanese 三 | ||
Javanese telu | ||
Kannada ಮೂರು | ||
Kazakh үш | ||
Khmer បី | ||
Kinyarwanda bitatu | ||
Konkani तीन | ||
Korean 세 | ||
Krio tri | ||
Kurdish sê | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) سێ | ||
Kyrgyz үч | ||
Lao ສາມ | ||
Latin tribus | ||
Latvian trīs | ||
Lingala misato | ||
Lithuanian trys | ||
Luganda ssatu | ||
Luxembourgish dräi | ||
Macedonian тројца | ||
Maithili तीन | ||
Malagasy telo | ||
Malay tiga | ||
Malayalam മൂന്ന് | ||
Maltese tlieta | ||
Maori toru | ||
Marathi तीन | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯍꯨꯝ | ||
Mizo pathum | ||
Mongolian гурав | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သုံး | ||
Nepali तीन | ||
Norwegian tre | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) atatu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ତିନି | ||
Oromo sadii | ||
Pashto درې | ||
Persian سه | ||
Polish trzy | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) três | ||
Punjabi ਤਿੰਨ | ||
Quechua kimsa | ||
Romanian trei | ||
Russian три | ||
Samoan tolu | ||
Sanskrit त्रयः | ||
Scots Gaelic trì | ||
Sepedi tharo | ||
Serbian три | ||
Sesotho tharo | ||
Shona tatu | ||
Sindhi ٽي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) තුන් | ||
Slovak tri | ||
Slovenian tri | ||
Somali saddex | ||
Spanish tres | ||
Sundanese tilu | ||
Swahili tatu | ||
Swedish tre | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) tatlo | ||
Tajik се | ||
Tamil மூன்று | ||
Tatar өч | ||
Telugu మూడు | ||
Thai สาม | ||
Tigrinya ሰለስተ | ||
Tsonga nharhu | ||
Turkish üç | ||
Turkmen üç | ||
Twi (Akan) mmiɛnsa | ||
Ukrainian три | ||
Urdu تین | ||
Uyghur ئۈچ | ||
Uzbek uchta | ||
Vietnamese số ba | ||
Welsh tri | ||
Xhosa ntathu | ||
Yiddish דריי | ||
Yoruba mẹta | ||
Zulu ezintathu |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Drie" can also refer to a kind of small wagon or cart. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "tre" also means "fat" or "heavy", and is related to the Proto-Indo-European word "*trei" meaning "fat". |
| Amharic | The word "ሶስት" also means "to be thin" in Amharic. |
| Armenian | The word "երեք" ("erek") is related to the Proto-Indo-European root "*treyes" meaning "three", and also shares a common origin with the Latin "tres" and Ancient Greek "treis". |
| Azerbaijani | "Üç" means "triangle" in Azerbaijani, derived from the Persian "se" (three) + "-c" (suffix for nouns). |
| Basque | Basque word |
| Belarusian | "тры" is a homophone for "тры" (to rub) and can also refer to a type of folk dance. |
| Bengali | The word "তিন" comes from the Sanskrit word "त्रि" (tri), which also means "three". |
| Bosnian | In Bosnian, 'tri' ('three') derives from Proto-Slavic 'trije' and shares cognates with Greek 'tria' ('three'). |
| Bulgarian | "Три" is also the plural form of the definite article "те" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The word "tres" also means "thread" or "plait" in Catalan |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "tulo" is also used to refer to a set of three items, such as the three stars in the Orion constellation. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 三 in Chinese can also mean many, all, or a group. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character 三 is also used as a measure word for sets of three, such as 三人組 (three-person team). |
| Corsican | "Trè" means "three" in Corsican, but it can also mean "too much" or "very". |
| Croatian | In Croatian, "tri" can also mean "three by three" or "a lot, many". |
| Czech | The word "tři" can also mean "thrice" or "three times". |
| Danish | The Danish word "tre" for "three" also means "step" and "wood". |
| Dutch | The word "drie" also refers to the number three when used in a dice game, where it is pronounced differently and has a different meaning. |
| Esperanto | In Esperanto, "tri" can also mean "triad" or "trio". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "kolm" has been derived from the Proto-Uralic word "*kolme", which also meant "hill". |
| Finnish | In Proto-Germanic, "kolme" originally meant "summit". |
| French | In French, 'Trois' also means 'a group of three' and comes from the Latin word 'tres', which means 'beyond' |
| Frisian | In the compound 'trije-earich', 'trije' still means 'three' but is a noun that refers to the number three. |
| Galician | The Galician word "tres" ultimately derives from the Latin "tres" and is also used to mean "very" or "a lot". |
| Georgian | The word "სამი" also means "a large amount; many" and "a multitude" in Georgian. |
| German | The word "drei" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*þrija", which is also the origin of the English word "three". |
| Greek | The word "τρία" in Greek can also refer to the astrological sign of the ram, Aries. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "ત્રણ" (tran) is derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word "*treyes" meaning "three". |
| Haitian Creole | As a derivative of the French word "deux", "twa" can also mean "two" or "both" in Haitian Creole. |
| Hausa | "Uku" can also mean "a group of three" or "the third in a series" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | **Ekolu** derives from the Proto-Austronesian word *teku-, meaning 'to count'. |
| Hebrew | The word שְׁלוֹשָׁה (three) is derived from the root שָׁלשׁ (to divide into three equal parts). |
| Hindi | The word "तीन" (three) also has alternate meanings, including "a triad" and "a small group of people or things." |
| Hmong | Hmong "peb" can also mean "all". |
| Hungarian | The word "három" is likely derived from the Slavic word "tri" and its Proto-Indo-European root "*treyes". |
| Icelandic | In Old Norse, **þrír** had the alternate meanings of "noble" and "strong." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word 'atọ' also means 'three parts' or 'a set of three', reflecting its role in traditional Igbo counting systems. |
| Indonesian | "Tiga" also means "old" in Betawi dialect. |
| Irish | In Old Irish, triúr could also refer to a "troop" or "band of soldiers". |
| Italian | The Italian word 'tre' also means 'the three Fates' or 'the number of graces'. |
| Japanese | The character 三 can also mean "heaven" or "the sky", as in the phrase 三界 (sangai), which means "the three worlds of heaven, earth, and humans." |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word "telu" also means "threefold". |
| Kannada | ಮೂರು has the extended meanings of top, head, chief, and beginning. |
| Kazakh | In addition to its primary meaning, "үш" in Kazakh can also refer to "a group of people" or "a triad". |
| Khmer | បី is also used in several idiomatic expressions such as បីបា (pi pba - three five) for "many" or បីជាដណ្ត (pi chea don - three jaws of teeth) for "a lot of people talking at once". |
| Korean | The Korean word "세" can also refer to the third lunar month or a generation. |
| Kurdish | "Sê" in Kurdish comes from the Proto-Indo-European word *trei-, which is also the origin of "three" in English, "trois" in French, and "tres" in Spanish. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "үч" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "üç" and shares its meaning with many other Turkic languages. |
| Lao | "ສາມ" is also the name of a Lao province and shares a relation to Sanskrit "sama" |
| Latin | The Latin word "tribus" also refers to a tribe or a third of a Roman legion. |
| Latvian | "Trīs" is of Proto-Baltic (*trīs) origin, cognate to Lithuanian "trys" and Old Prussian "tris". |
| Lithuanian | In Samogitian Lithuanian, "trys" can also refer to "the third". |
| Luxembourgish | Dräi is cognate with the German word "drei" and the English word "three", and is thought to derive from the Proto-Indo-European word "*treyes". |
| Macedonian | In Macedonian, "тројца" also refers to a group of three people, especially in a religious context. |
| Malagasy | TELO is also used to refer to "all", "multitude", "total", or "crowd" in Malagasy. |
| Malay | Tiga can also refer to a type of traditional Malay dance, often performed at weddings and other celebrations. |
| Malayalam | The word 'മൂന്ന്' (three) is related to the Sanskrit word 'त्रि' (tri), which also means 'three' |
| Maltese | The word "tlieta" derives from the Arabic "tlatin" (meaning "thirty") via the Romance word "treita" (meaning "thirty"). |
| Maori | In Maori, the word "toru" not only means "three" but also refers to a group or set of three, such as a triumvirate or a tripod. |
| Marathi | Marathi 'तीन' (three) derives its etymology from Sanskrit 'त्रीणि', which also means a group of three or a triad. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "гурав" ("three") derives from an archaic compound noun meaning "a pair and one". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သုံး (three) derives from Tibeto-Burman and can also mean three or multiple in the sense of something being in excess. |
| Nepali | The word "तीन" (three) is derived from the Sanskrit word "त्रि" (tri), which also means "three". |
| Norwegian | The word «tre» also means "tree" and is related to the Norse «tré» (with the same meaning), but also to English "trust", German "treu", Swedish "tro", all going back to the Proto-Indo-European "*derewo" (tree, wood). |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja (Chichewa) word “atatu” also refers to a set of three related things, such as a husband, wife, and child, or the three traditional Nyanja stools. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "درې" means "three", but it also refers to the concept of "the third one". |
| Persian | سه (seh) may derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root, *treyes, that gives us "tres" in Latin. |
| Polish | The word "trzy" can also mean "threefold" or "triple" in Polish. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "três" derives from the Latin "tres" and has a homophone in French, "trais". |
| Punjabi | In Punjabi, the word 'ਤਿੰਨ' originates from the Proto-Indo-Iranian form '*tr̥yes' and is cognate with Persian 'سه', Kurdish 'sê', Hindi 'तीन', and Greek 'τρεις'. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word 'Trei' is cognate with and shares its origin with the Latin word 'Tres' and the Proto-Indo-European word '*treyes' meaning 'three'. |
| Russian | The word "три" in Russian is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*trije", which is cognate with the Lithuanian "trys", the Old Prussian "trije", and the Sanskrit "trayas". |
| Samoan | The word "tolu" has two meanings: the number "three" and the word "brother". |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scottish Gaelic, "trì" (three) comes from the older form "trēis" found in Old Irish, which itself is derived from the Proto-Celtic "*trīs" and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European "*treyes". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "три" (three) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*tri" and is cognate with the English word "three". |
| Sesotho | The word "tharo" in Sesotho also means "triplets" or "a group of three". |
| Shona | The word "tatu" can also refer to the three main chiefs in the Shona culture, or to a type of small antelope. |
| Sindhi | "ٽي" is also the name of the letter "ت" in the Sindhi alphabet. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "තුන්" also means "a while", "a moment" or "a bit". The word "තුන්" has a wide range of meanings depending on the context. |
| Slovak | In Slovak, "tri" can also mean a "tripod" or a "three-legged stool". |
| Slovenian | "Tri" also means "three" in Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, and Old Norse. |
| Somali | Somali "saddex" comes from "sad-dex" meaning "three-fold". |
| Spanish | Spanish 'tres' shares its etymology with French 'trois' and derives from the Latin 'tres', with an ultimate Indo-European origin. |
| Sundanese | The word "tilu" in Sundanese also refers to a type of traditional Sundanese house. |
| Swahili | The word 'tatu' in Swahili also means 'three times' and can be used to signify repetition. |
| Swedish | "Tre" also means "tree" in Swedish, derived from the Old Norse word "tré." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Filipino, 'tatlo' also refers to a trio or a group of three performers, which has a similar connotation to trilogy or triumvirate. |
| Tajik | In Pamir Tajik, "се" can also mean "two" or "a pair". |
| Tamil | In Tamil, 'மூன்று' can refer to either the number 'three,' the name of the numeral, or a triangle. |
| Telugu | The Telugu word "మూడు" derives from the Proto-Dravidian root "*mu" meaning "to gather together". |
| Thai | The Thai word "สาม" can also refer to the third tone in Thai language or a type of classical Thai musical ensemble. |
| Turkish | "Üç" originates from Proto-Turkic word "üč" and also has meanings like "to go forward" or "to rise". |
| Ukrainian | Три (try) is derived from Old Church Slavonic and Proto-Slavic, where it also meant 'three'. In Ukrainian, it also means 'three'. |
| Urdu | In addition to denoting the number "three", "تین" can also colloquially mean "a little bit" or "a small amount". |
| Uzbek | 'Uchta' is also used in Uzbek to refer to a gathering of three people. |
| Vietnamese | "Ba" in Vietnamese also means "to protect" or "to guard". |
| Welsh | In Welsh the word “tri”, although it means three, shares its origins and has cognates in the words “tre” (town) and “tref” (homestead), giving it a possible deeper meaning related to a grouping or gathering of people. |
| Xhosa | The word "Ntathu" also means "three-legged" or "tripod" in Xhosa. |
| Yiddish | The word 'דריי' in Yiddish is cognate with 'drei' in German and 'three' in English, all deriving from the Proto-Indo-European word 'treyes' |
| Yoruba | The word "mẹta" can also mean "one after another", "thirdly", or "third time", as in the proverb: "Mẹta l'ó l'òrìṣà". |
| Zulu | 'Ezintathu' is a diminutive form of 'izintathu', which in turn evolved from the Proto-Bantu word '*ntat̪u' |
| English | The word "three" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European "trei". It is cognate with the Latin "tres" and the Greek "treis". |