Tongue in Different Languages
Discover 'Tongue' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Tongue
Afrikaans tong | ||
Albanian gjuhë | ||
Amharic ምላስ | ||
Arabic لسان | ||
Armenian լեզու | ||
Assamese জিভা | ||
Aymara aru | ||
Azerbaijani dil | ||
Bambara nɛ | ||
Basque mihia | ||
Belarusian мова | ||
Bengali জিহ্বা | ||
Bhojpuri जीभ | ||
Bosnian jezik | ||
Bulgarian език | ||
Catalan llengua | ||
Cebuano dila | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 舌 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 舌 | ||
Corsican lingua | ||
Croatian jezik | ||
Czech jazyk | ||
Danish tunge | ||
Dhivehi ދޫ | ||
Dogri जुबान | ||
Dutch tong | ||
English tongue | ||
Esperanto lango | ||
Estonian keel | ||
Ewe aɖe | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) dila | ||
Finnish kieli | ||
French langue | ||
Frisian tonge | ||
Galician lingua | ||
Georgian ენა | ||
German zunge | ||
Greek γλώσσα | ||
Guarani ñe'ẽ | ||
Gujarati જીભ | ||
Haitian Creole lang | ||
Hausa harshe | ||
Hawaiian alelo | ||
Hebrew לָשׁוֹן | ||
Hindi जुबान | ||
Hmong tus nplaig | ||
Hungarian nyelv | ||
Icelandic tungu | ||
Igbo ire | ||
Ilocano dila | ||
Indonesian lidah | ||
Irish teanga | ||
Italian lingua | ||
Japanese 舌 | ||
Javanese ilat | ||
Kannada ನಾಲಿಗೆ | ||
Kazakh тіл | ||
Khmer អណ្តាត | ||
Kinyarwanda ururimi | ||
Konkani जीभ | ||
Korean 혀 | ||
Krio tɔng | ||
Kurdish ziman | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) زمان | ||
Kyrgyz тил | ||
Lao ລີ້ນ | ||
Latin lingua | ||
Latvian mēle | ||
Lingala lolemo | ||
Lithuanian liežuvis | ||
Luganda olulimi | ||
Luxembourgish zong | ||
Macedonian јазик | ||
Maithili जीह | ||
Malagasy fiteny | ||
Malay lidah | ||
Malayalam നാവ് | ||
Maltese ilsien | ||
Maori arero | ||
Marathi जीभ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯂꯩ | ||
Mizo lei | ||
Mongolian хэл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) လျှာ | ||
Nepali जिब्रो | ||
Norwegian tunge | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) lilime | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଜିଭ | ||
Oromo arraba | ||
Pashto ژبه | ||
Persian زبان | ||
Polish język | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) língua | ||
Punjabi ਜੀਭ | ||
Quechua qallu | ||
Romanian limbă | ||
Russian язык | ||
Samoan laulaufaiva | ||
Sanskrit जिह्वा | ||
Scots Gaelic teanga | ||
Sepedi leleme | ||
Serbian језик | ||
Sesotho leleme | ||
Shona rurimi | ||
Sindhi زبان | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දිව | ||
Slovak jazyk | ||
Slovenian jezik | ||
Somali carrabka | ||
Spanish lengua | ||
Sundanese létah | ||
Swahili ulimi | ||
Swedish tunga | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) dila | ||
Tajik забон | ||
Tamil நாக்கு | ||
Tatar тел | ||
Telugu నాలుక | ||
Thai ลิ้น | ||
Tigrinya መልሓስ | ||
Tsonga ririmi | ||
Turkish dil | ||
Turkmen dil | ||
Twi (Akan) kɛtrɛma | ||
Ukrainian язик | ||
Urdu زبان | ||
Uyghur تىل | ||
Uzbek til | ||
Vietnamese lưỡi | ||
Welsh tafod | ||
Xhosa ulwimi | ||
Yiddish צונג | ||
Yoruba ahọn | ||
Zulu ulimi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "tong" also means "language". |
| Albanian | The Albanian "gjuhë" is possibly related to Illyrian "glôssa" or Latin "lingua," but also has the meaning "language." |
| Amharic | In addition to its literal meaning, "tongue," "ምላስ" may also refer to language or the act of speaking. |
| Arabic | "لسان" (tongue) is also used figuratively to mean "language" or "way of speaking" |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "լեզու" can also mean "language", reflecting the interconnectedness of speech and the physical organ of the tongue. |
| Azerbaijani | "Dil" also means "language" in Azerbaijani, a usage it inherits from the Old Turkic and Proto-Turkic languages. |
| Basque | It comes from the Basque word for "speech," and in the plural form it means "languages." |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "мова" can also refer to language, speech, discourse, and idiom. |
| Bengali | The word 'জিহ্বা' is also used in some contexts to denote the sense of taste or the faculty of speech. |
| Bosnian | The word "jezik" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "* językъ", which also meant "language", reflecting the close connection between language and the tongue as its articulator in Slavic languages. |
| Bulgarian | Bulgarian "език" is also a synonym for "language". |
| Catalan | The word "llengua" in Catalan derives from the Latin "lingua", meaning both "tongue" and "language". |
| Cebuano | "Dila" (tongue) may also refer to "language" in the context of sign language. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "舌" (tongue) also refers to a style of calligraphic engraving and the pronunciation of a character or word |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The Chinese character "舌" is also used to refer to "tastebuds" and "speech". |
| Corsican | Corsican lingua "lingua" derives from Latin "lingua" (tongue or language); and it also meant "speech" and "talk". |
| Croatian | Croatian 'jezik' (tongue) derives from Proto-Slavic word for 'language'. |
| Czech | In Old Church Slavonic, "jazyk" meant "people" or "nation", and is cognate with the English word "ethnic." |
| Danish | The word "tunge" in Danish also means "accent", "language", or "dialect". |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "tong" can also refer to a tool or appliance with a clamp-like mechanism, such as pliers or tongs. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "lango" also means "language" (though this usage is now rare) |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "keel" can also refer to a ridge or boundary, particularly in geography or anatomy. |
| Finnish | "Kieli" in Finnish can also refer to a language or a dialect. |
| French | The Old French term "langue" also meant "language", with that meaning persisting in modern French as a technical term for "natural language". |
| Frisian | The word 'tonge' also means 'language' or 'dialect' in Frisian. |
| Galician | The Galician word "lingua" also means "language" in Portuguese and Spanish. |
| Georgian | The Georgian word 'ენა' also refers to a language or speech, indicating a shared linguistic system among people. |
| German | The word "Zunge" in German is also etymologically related to the English word "tooth", and originally meant the same thing. |
| Greek | The Greek word 'γλώσσα' also has alternate meanings of 'language' and 'speech' when used as a noun. |
| Gujarati | In Gujarati, 'જીભ' (tongue) also refers to sharp-tongued speech or a specific type of musical instrument. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "lang" can also mean "language" or "speech". |
| Hausa | The Hausa word 'harshe' can also refer to a 'slanderous person' or a 'gossip'. |
| Hawaiian | The word "alelo" can also refer to an outrigger float or a canoe platform in Hawaiian etymology. |
| Hindi | The Hindi word जुबान ('tongue') is derived from the Persian word زَبان ('language'), and can also refer to speech or a particular style of speaking. |
| Hmong | Tus nplaig is also used as a slang term for 'mother tongue' or 'native language' |
| Hungarian | The word "nyelv" (tongue) derives from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to lick" or "to lap". Another word "nyelve" (language) derives from "nyelv" (tongue), as in many cultures, the tongue was considered the organ of speech. |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word 'tungu' not only refers to the organ of speech, but also to the long, thin strips of land that extend into the ocean, known as spits or peninsulas. |
| Igbo | In some Igbo dialects, 'ire' can also refer to the uvula, the small, fleshy projection hanging at the back of the mouth. |
| Indonesian | "Lidah" is also used to refer to a type of traditional Indonesian food made from minced meat wrapped in banana leaf. |
| Irish | In Old Irish teanga also meant "language" and "speech" and is still used as an orthographic plural of teangain "tongue" |
| Italian | In Italian, "lingua" may also refer to language or dialect |
| Japanese | The character "舌" (tongue) is also used in the word "舌" (taste), referring to the sense of taste located on the tongue. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "ilat" can also refer to the shape of an object that resembles a tongue, such as a curved or elongated shape. |
| Kannada | The word 'ನಾಲಿಗೆ' ('nalige') may also refer to a ploughshare or a type of sweet dish made from jaggery. |
| Kazakh | The word тіл can also mean language in Kazakh. |
| Korean | The word "혀" (tongue) also means "language" in Korean, a usage dating back to the 15th century. |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, "ziman" is also used to refer to a dialect or a region's accent. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "тил" in Kyrgyz also refers to the tongue of a bell or shoe. |
| Lao | The word "ລີ້ນ" in Lao is a loanword from Pali, where it means "the organ of taste". |
| Latin | The Latin word “lingua” also means “language,” which is related to its definition as an organ of speech – and as a means by which language is produced and transmitted. |
| Latvian | The word "mēle" is also used to refer to a flap of tissue under the chin of a cow or horse, or to the fleshy part of the lip of a fish. |
| Lithuanian | "Liežuvis" also refers to the fleshy protuberance on the floor of the mouth of some fishes. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Zong" can also refer to a musical instrument, similar to a jew's harp. |
| Macedonian | In Serbian and Croatian language, "jezik" means "language". |
| Malagasy | The word “fiteny” in Malagasy also means ‘a promise’ or ‘an oath’ |
| Malay | In ancient Malay, "lidah" also meant "speech" or "language". |
| Malayalam | The word 'naav' has another meaning, 'ship', which is now obsolete. |
| Maltese | The word "ilsien" can also refer to the flaps of a wallet or the points of a collar. |
| Maori | In some contexts, arero may also refer to a dialect, language, or manner of speaking. |
| Marathi | The word 'जीभ' is also used to refer to the 'tongue of a bell'. |
| Mongolian | The word "хэл" in Mongolian also means "language" or "speech". |
| Nepali | The word 'जिब्रो' in Nepali is also an endearing term for a child. |
| Norwegian | The word "tunge" also means "dialect" when used in a Norwegian context |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Lilime" also means "language" or "speech" in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | "ژبه" in Pashto also refers to a specific type of traditional Pashto music characterized by its rhythmic and lyrical qualities. |
| Persian | In Persian, "زبان" (zabān) also literally means "speech". |
| Polish | The Polish word "język" also means "language", with the same origin in the Latin word "lingua. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "língua" also means "language" in Portuguese, highlighting the close connection between speech and language in the Portuguese-speaking world. |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word "ਜੀਭ" derives from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰihʷbʰ, also the origin of "tongue" in English. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, "limbă'' also means "language", like in English, and comes from Indo-European **lengʰw-ā́" (**tongue, speech) |
| Russian | The word "язык" is also used in Russian to refer to a natural language, such as English or Russian. |
| Samoan | In Samoan, the word 'laulaufaiva' is also used to refer to the act of speaking or the manner of speech. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "teanga" (tongue) is also used to refer to a language. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "језик" also means "language". |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word "leleme" can also refer to a spoken language or a style of speech. |
| Shona | The word 'rurimi' also has a figurative meaning, referring to an eloquent speaker or persuasive argument. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word 'زبان' can also mean 'language' or 'style of speech' |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දිව also refers to the pointer or needle in clocks, or to the needle in a sewing machine. |
| Slovak | The word "jazyk" can also mean "language" in Slovak, originating from the Proto-Slavic word *językъ, which meant "tongue" and "language" or "speech". |
| Slovenian | The word 'jezik' (tongue) comes from Proto-Slavic *językъ, and is related to Old High German zunga, English tongue, Gothic tuggō, and Latin dingua. |
| Somali | The word 'carrabka' is also used figuratively to refer to a person's eloquence or skill in speaking. |
| Spanish | Lengua can also refer to a South American language family or to a type of sausage. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "ulimi" also refers to a sharp-pointed tool used for carving or engraving |
| Swedish | The word "tunga" also denotes the clapper in a bell or the tongue on a shoe. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "dila" (tongue) comes from the Proto-Austronesian word *dilaq, meaning "a projecting fleshy organ in the mouth that is used for tasting, swallowing, and speaking." |
| Tajik | The word "забон" can also refer to speech or language in Tajik. |
| Tamil | The word "நாக்கு" (tongue) also means "language" and "speech" in Tamil. |
| Telugu | The word "naalooka" can also refer to the tip of a whip, a pen or a brush in Telugu. |
| Thai | The Thai word "ลิ้น" (tongue) derives from the Sanskrit word "jihvā", meaning "pointed organ". |
| Turkish | "Dil" in Turkish means "language" or "speech" in addition to "tongue". |
| Ukrainian | Ukrainian "язик" also means a "nation" or "ethnic group" |
| Urdu | In Urdu, the word "زبان" (tongue) also figuratively means "language," and is derived from the Persian word "زبان" (meaning "tongue" or "language"). |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "til" also means "language" |
| Vietnamese | The word "lưỡi" can also refer to the blade of a sword or knife, or the tongue of a buckle. |
| Welsh | Welsh "tafod" (tongue) derives from a root word "taw" (silence), signifying the tongue's role in speech. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word 'ulwimi' also translates to 'language'. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, the word “צונג” (“tongue”) can also refer to a venomous snake or a small piece of land jutting out into a body of water. |
| Yoruba | "Ahọn" is also used to describe the tongue's role as the organ of speech, and by extension, the language or dialect spoken by a particular community. |
| Zulu | Ulimi can also refer to the sense of taste and to the language spoken by a group of people |
| English | The word "tongue" has roots in Old English, Proto-Germanic, and Indo-European, with possible connections to "tooth," "toothbrush," and "tongue." |