Tomato in Different Languages
Discover 'Tomato' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Ah, the humble tomato! This juicy, red fruit (yes, it's technically a fruit, not a vegetable) has captured the hearts and taste buds of people all over the world. Originating in South America, tomatoes have since become a staple ingredient in cuisines from Italy to India, and everywhere in between. Beyond their culinary significance, tomatoes are also packed with nutrients and antioxidants, making them a powerhouse of nutrition in addition to their delicious flavor.
Given their global popularity, it's no surprise that the word for 'tomato' has made its way into countless languages. In Spanish, for example, tomates are a beloved ingredient in dishes like paella and gazpacho. In Hindi, the word for tomato is 'tamatar,' and it's used generously in curries and chutneys throughout India. And in Russian, the word for tomato is 'pomidor,' reflecting the fruit's origins in the New World.
Whether you're a language enthusiast, a foodie, or simply curious about the world around you, exploring the many translations of the word 'tomato' is a fun and fascinating way to learn about different cultures and traditions. Read on to discover even more translations of this beloved fruit!
Tomato
Tomato in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | tamatie | ||
| The word "tamatie" is derived from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word "tomatl" and Spanish "tomate". | |||
| Amharic | ቲማቲም | ||
| The alternate meaning of "ቲማቲም" in Amharic is "a type of chili pepper". | |||
| Hausa | tumatir | ||
| In Hausa, "tumatir" also refers to a red fruit or vegetable with edible flesh, such as an apple, tomato, or pumpkin. | |||
| Igbo | tomato | ||
| The Igbo word for tomato is 'ube tomato,' which is also the plant's botanical name, 'Solanum lycopersicum.' | |||
| Malagasy | voatabia | ||
| Malagasy "voatabia" derives from Spanish "tomate," and also refers to the tomato fruit's red color. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | tomato | ||
| In Nyanja, the word "tomato" can also be used to refer to a type of small, wild fruit. | |||
| Shona | tomato | ||
| In Shona, 'tomato' is also called 'doro', meaning 'foreign fruit'. | |||
| Somali | yaanyo | ||
| Somali word "yaanyo" may originally mean "what is hot" or "what burns". | |||
| Sesotho | tamati | ||
| The word 'tamati' is derived from the Nahuatl word 'tomatl', meaning 'plump fruit'. | |||
| Swahili | nyanya | ||
| The Swahili word 'nyanya' also refers to a mother or aunt. | |||
| Xhosa | itumato | ||
| In Xhosa, "itumato" shares its root with "ithamo," meaning "gourd," suggesting a connection between tomatoes and gourds in the language's history. | |||
| Yoruba | tomati | ||
| The word 'tomati' also means 'firecracker' in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | utamatisi | ||
| The Zulu word for "tomato," "utamatisi," shares its root word with the word for "cucumber," "itamatisi," suggesting a common origin. | |||
| Bambara | tamati | ||
| Ewe | tomatre | ||
| Kinyarwanda | inyanya | ||
| Lingala | tomate | ||
| Luganda | enyaanya | ||
| Sepedi | tamati | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ntoosi | ||
Tomato in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | طماطم | ||
| The Arabic word "طماطم" ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "swelling fruit". | |||
| Hebrew | עגבנייה | ||
| The word "עגבנייה" derives from the Turkish "domates" meaning "plant bearing fleshy fruit." | |||
| Pashto | رومي | ||
| The Pashto word "رومي" (tomato) derives from the Persian word "روم" (Greek), possibly due to the spread of tomatoes from Greece to Persia and subsequently to Pashto-speaking regions. | |||
| Arabic | طماطم | ||
| The Arabic word "طماطم" ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "swelling fruit". | |||
Tomato in Western European Languages
| Albanian | domate | ||
| In Southern Albania, "domate" also means "ladybug" | |||
| Basque | tomatea | ||
| Basque "tomatea" also refers to a tomato salad with onion, bell pepper, olives and olive oil | |||
| Catalan | tomàquet | ||
| The Catalan word "tomàquet" comes from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "plump fruit". | |||
| Croatian | rajčica | ||
| In some parts of Croatia, "rajčica" can also refer to a cherry tomato. | |||
| Danish | tomat | ||
| In Danish, "tomat" also refers to a small toy or doll, possibly due to the fruit's shape and size. | |||
| Dutch | tomaat | ||
| The Dutch word "tomaat" originates from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "plump fruit". | |||
| English | tomato | ||
| The word 'tomato' comes from the Nahuatl word 'tomatl', which means 'plump fruit'. | |||
| French | tomate | ||
| In French, "tomate" can also mean "crush" or "sweetheart". | |||
| Frisian | tomaat | ||
| De term "tomaat" is in het Fries afgeleid van het Spaanse "tomate", dat op zijn beurt afkomstig is van het Nahuatl-woord "tomatl". | |||
| Galician | tomate | ||
| The word "tomate" in Galician also refers to the tomato plant or its fruit, and the adjective "tomatero" means "related to tomatoes". | |||
| German | tomate | ||
| In German, the word "Tomate" has also been used historically to refer to the fruit of the eggplant, and in some dialects it still carries this meaning today. | |||
| Icelandic | tómatur | ||
| In Icelandic, "tómatur" originally referred to the plant "belladonna" before it came to mean "tomato". | |||
| Irish | trátaí | ||
| Italian | pomodoro | ||
| The word 'pomodoro', in addition to meaning 'tomato', also derives from the golden apples in Greek mythology. | |||
| Luxembourgish | tomat | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "Tomat" can also refer to a specific variety of tomato called a "Fleischtomate". | |||
| Maltese | tadama | ||
| The Maltese word "tadama” may have originated from the Sicilian word "tamata” meaning "pumpkin" or the Arabic word "tumaati” meaning "tomato". | |||
| Norwegian | tomat | ||
| In Norwegian, "tomat" also refers to plants other than the tomato, such as the nightshade plant or the fruit of the love apple plant. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | tomate | ||
| In Portuguese, "tomate" can also refer to the fruit of the eggplant plant (Solanum melongena). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | tomato | ||
| In Scots Gaelic, "tomato" is derived from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "swollen fruit". | |||
| Spanish | tomate | ||
| The Spanish word "tomate" is derived from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "plump fruit". | |||
| Swedish | tomat | ||
| The alternate Swedish spelling "tomat" is a result of linguistic regularization as Swedish does not feature the letter "o" after consonants (unless the second vowel is also "o"). | |||
| Welsh | tomato | ||
| In Welsh, the word "tomato" can also mean "love apple" or "poison apple". | |||
Tomato in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | памідор | ||
| Bosnian | paradajz | ||
| The word "paradajz" is derived from the Turkish word "paradeyz," which in turn comes from the Persian word "paradīs," meaning "garden of Eden." | |||
| Bulgarian | домат | ||
| The Bulgarian word "домат" originates from the Spanish "tomate", which derives from the Nahuatl "tomatl" meaning "swollen fruit". | |||
| Czech | rajče | ||
| The Czech "rajče" (tomato), like the French and Italian words for "apple," has the Slavic root meaning of the fruit of an unknown species, which is now applied mainly to fruit from abroad. | |||
| Estonian | tomat | ||
| "Tomat" is derived from "tomati", meaning "swelling" in Nahuatl, referring to its appearance. | |||
| Finnish | tomaatti | ||
| Finnish "tomaatti" derives from the Nahuatl "tomatl" or Aztec "xitomate", meaning "the plump thing with a navel" | |||
| Hungarian | paradicsom | ||
| "Paradicsom" is of South Slavic origin, related to words for "tree" and "garden". | |||
| Latvian | tomātu | ||
| In Latvian, the word "tomātu" can also mean "stuffed tomatoes" or "tomato sauce". | |||
| Lithuanian | pomidoras | ||
| The Lithuanian word "pomidoras" derives from the Italian "pomodoro", which means "apple of gold". | |||
| Macedonian | домат | ||
| It derives from the Turkish 'domates' which derives from the Italian 'pomodori' which is the plural form of 'pomo d'oro', meaning 'golden apple'. | |||
| Polish | pomidor | ||
| In Polish, pomidor derives from the Proto-Slavic word for "golden apple" and originally referred to yellow tomatoes. | |||
| Romanian | roșie | ||
| The Romanian word "roșie" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "čьrvenъ" meaning "red", as tomatoes were once primarily cultivated for their decorative value due to their bright red color. | |||
| Russian | помидор | ||
| The Russian word “помидор” ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word “tomatl” via French and Italian. | |||
| Serbian | парадајз | ||
| In Bulgarian, the word "парадајз" originally meant "apple of paradise" (райска ябълка." рай- "paradise", ябълка - "apple". | |||
| Slovak | paradajka | ||
| Paradajka, similar to the Czech word "rajčata," derives from the Spanish "tomate" and the Mayan term "tomatl." | |||
| Slovenian | paradižnik | ||
| "Paradižnik" is probably derived from the Slavic word "paradajz" or "perada" meaning "apple". | |||
| Ukrainian | помідор | ||
| In Ukrainian, "помідор" also means "love apple" and is derived from the Italian "pomo d'oro" (golden apple). | |||
Tomato in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | টমেটো | ||
| The word "টমেটো" is derived from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "plump fruit." | |||
| Gujarati | ટમેટા | ||
| The word | |||
| Hindi | टमाटर | ||
| The word टमाटर (tomato) is derived from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "the swelling fruit." | |||
| Kannada | ಟೊಮೆಟೊ | ||
| The word 'ಟೊಮೆಟೊ' is derived from the Spanish word 'tomate', which in turn is derived from the Nahuatl word 'tomatl', meaning 'plump fruit'. | |||
| Malayalam | തക്കാളി | ||
| "തക്കാളി" in Malayalam, like in many other Indian languages, is derived from "love apple", a term used to describe the tomato in 16th century Europe after it was introduced to the continent from the Americas. | |||
| Marathi | टोमॅटो | ||
| In Marathi, "टोमॅटो" (tomato) is also called "टोमाट" (tomaat), which means "red fruit" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | टमाटर | ||
| टमाटर (tamatar) comes from the Portuguese tomate meaning "golden apple." | |||
| Punjabi | ਟਮਾਟਰ | ||
| 'ਟਮਾਟਰ' is derived from the Spanish word 'tomate', which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word 'tomatl'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තක්කාලි | ||
| The word "තක්කාලි" is derived from the Portuguese word "tomate", which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word "tomatl". | |||
| Tamil | தக்காளி | ||
| The word "தக்காளி" is derived from the Portuguese word "tomate" and originally meant "wolf peach" because it was believed to be poisonous. | |||
| Telugu | టమోటా | ||
| The Telugu word "టమోటా" is derived from the Spanish "tomate", which ultimately comes from the Nahuatl word "tomatl" meaning "plump fruit". | |||
| Urdu | ٹماٹر | ||
| The word "ٹماٹر" is derived from the Aztec word "tomatl", which means "plump fruit" and was originally used to describe a different type of fruit. | |||
Tomato in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 番茄 | ||
| 番茄又称西红柿、洋柿子，是茄科茄属一年生草本植物。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 番茄 | ||
| 番茄的原意是『黃色的果』，也稱作『金蘋果』。」 | |||
| Japanese | トマト | ||
| The word tomato comes from the Nahuatl word 'tomatl', meaning 'plump fruit'. | |||
| Korean | 토마토 | ||
| 토마토(tomato)는 고구마, 감자 등을 가리키기도 했습니다. | |||
| Mongolian | улаан лоль | ||
| The Mongolian word "улаан лоль" (tomato) literally means "red ball". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခရမ်းချဉ်သီး | ||
Tomato in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tomat | ||
| The Indonesian word "tomat" is derived from the Spanish word "tomate", which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word "tomatl". | |||
| Javanese | tomat | ||
| In Javanese, the word "tomat" originally meant "love apple" and was used to describe both tomatoes and eggplants. | |||
| Khmer | ប៉េងប៉ោះ | ||
| The word "ប៉េងប៉ោះ" (tomato) in Khmer is derived from the French word "pomme d'amour" (apple of love). | |||
| Lao | ຫມາກເລັ່ນ | ||
| Malay | tomato | ||
| Tomat, from Spanish tomate, itself from Nahuatl (Aztec) tomatl or tomatl, also meaning "plump thing." | |||
| Thai | มะเขือเทศ | ||
| The word "มะเขือเทศ" is a compound of the words "มะเขือ" (eggplant) and "เทศ" (foreign), which refers to the fact that the tomato was introduced to Thailand from abroad. | |||
| Vietnamese | cà chua | ||
| "Cà chua" is a Sino-Vietnamese word, meaning "eggplant" in Chinese and "tomato" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kamatis | ||
Tomato in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | pomidor | ||
| The word "pomidor" in Azerbaijani means "love apple" and is also used as a term of endearment for women. | |||
| Kazakh | қызанақ | ||
| In Kazakh, "қызанақ" also denotes a red-faced person or a child with rosy cheeks. | |||
| Kyrgyz | помидор | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "помидор" ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word "tomatl" via Spanish and Russian. | |||
| Tajik | помидор | ||
| In Tajik, "помидор" was originally borrowed from Russian as "помидор". However, its meaning has shifted over time to also refer to the "apple" fruit. | |||
| Turkmen | pomidor | ||
| Uzbek | pomidor | ||
| The word "pomidor" is derived from the Italian word "pomo d'oro," which means "golden apple." | |||
| Uyghur | پەمىدۇر | ||
Tomato in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻōmato | ||
| The Hawaiian word ʻōmato can also refer to a type of banana or an edible fruit of the nightshade family. | |||
| Maori | tōmato | ||
| In Maori, the word for "tomato" is "tōmato", which derives from the Spanish word, "tomate" and the Nahuatl word, "tomatl", meaning fleshy fruit. | |||
| Samoan | tamato | ||
| In Samoan, the word 'tamato' can also be translated to mean 'foreign man', 'stranger' or 'husband'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kamatis | ||
| In Tagalog, "kamatis" can also refer to various types of fruits, including bell peppers and eggplants, due to their similar appearance to tomatoes. | |||
Tomato in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | tumati | ||
| Guarani | tomáte | ||
Tomato in International Languages
| Esperanto | tomato | ||
| Latin | lycopersicisusceptibility | ||
| "Lycopersicon esculentum" (tomato) derives its name from the Greek "lycopersicon" meaning "wolf peach". | |||
Tomato in Others Languages
| Greek | ντομάτα | ||
| The word "ντομάτα" is derived from the Nahuatl word "tomatl", meaning "swollen fruit". | |||
| Hmong | txiv lws suav | ||
| In Hmong, the word "txiv lws suav" can also mean "love fruit" or "fruit of love". | |||
| Kurdish | bacanê sor | ||
| Bacanê sor is a Kurdish word that means "tomato" and is derived from the Armenian word "batsak" meaning "fruit". | |||
| Turkish | domates | ||
| The word "domates" is derived from the Nahuatl word "tomatl," meaning "plump or swollen fruit." | |||
| Xhosa | itumato | ||
| In Xhosa, "itumato" shares its root with "ithamo," meaning "gourd," suggesting a connection between tomatoes and gourds in the language's history. | |||
| Yiddish | פּאָמידאָר | ||
| The word "פּאָמידאָר" in Yiddish is derived from the Italian word "pomodoro", which means "apple of love". | |||
| Zulu | utamatisi | ||
| The Zulu word for "tomato," "utamatisi," shares its root word with the word for "cucumber," "itamatisi," suggesting a common origin. | |||
| Assamese | বিলাহী | ||
| Aymara | tumati | ||
| Bhojpuri | टमाटर | ||
| Dhivehi | ވިލާތު ބަށި | ||
| Dogri | टमाटर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kamatis | ||
| Guarani | tomáte | ||
| Ilocano | kamatis | ||
| Krio | tamatis | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تەماتە | ||
| Maithili | टमाटर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯥꯃꯦꯟ ꯑꯁꯤꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tomato | ||
| Oromo | timaatima | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଟମାଟୋ | | ||
| Quechua | tomate | ||
| Sanskrit | रक्तफल | ||
| Tatar | помидор | ||
| Tigrinya | ኮመደረ | ||
| Tsonga | tamatisi | ||