Tribe in Different Languages
Discover 'Tribe' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Tribe
Afrikaans stam | ||
Albanian fis | ||
Amharic ጎሳ | ||
Arabic قبيلة | ||
Armenian ցեղ | ||
Assamese জনগোষ্ঠী | ||
Aymara tribu ukat juk’ampinaka | ||
Azerbaijani qəbilə | ||
Bambara kabila | ||
Basque tribua | ||
Belarusian племя | ||
Bengali উপজাতি | ||
Bhojpuri जनजाति के बा | ||
Bosnian pleme | ||
Bulgarian племе | ||
Catalan tribu | ||
Cebuano tribu | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 部落 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 部落 | ||
Corsican tribù | ||
Croatian pleme | ||
Czech kmen | ||
Danish stamme | ||
Dhivehi ޤަބީލާއެވެ | ||
Dogri कबीले दा | ||
Dutch stam | ||
English tribe | ||
Esperanto tribo | ||
Estonian hõim | ||
Ewe to aɖe | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) tribo | ||
Finnish heimo | ||
French tribu | ||
Frisian folksstam | ||
Galician tribo | ||
Georgian ტომი | ||
German stamm | ||
Greek φυλή | ||
Guarani tribu rehegua | ||
Gujarati આદિજાતિ | ||
Haitian Creole branch fanmi | ||
Hausa kabila | ||
Hawaiian lāhui | ||
Hebrew שֶׁבֶט | ||
Hindi जनजाति | ||
Hmong pawg neeg | ||
Hungarian törzs | ||
Icelandic ættbálkur | ||
Igbo ebo | ||
Ilocano tribu | ||
Indonesian suku | ||
Irish treibh | ||
Italian tribù | ||
Japanese 部族 | ||
Javanese suku | ||
Kannada ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು | ||
Kazakh тайпа | ||
Khmer កុលសម្ព័ន្ធ | ||
Kinyarwanda ubwoko | ||
Konkani जमातीचो आस्पाव जाता | ||
Korean 부족 | ||
Krio trayb | ||
Kurdish reh | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) هۆز | ||
Kyrgyz уруу | ||
Lao ຊົນເຜົ່າ | ||
Latin tribus | ||
Latvian cilts | ||
Lingala libota ya bato | ||
Lithuanian gentis | ||
Luganda ekika | ||
Luxembourgish stamm | ||
Macedonian племе | ||
Maithili जनजाति | ||
Malagasy firenena | ||
Malay suku | ||
Malayalam ഗോത്രം | ||
Maltese tribù | ||
Maori iwi | ||
Marathi टोळी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯇ꯭ꯔꯥꯏꯕ ꯑꯁꯤꯅꯤ꯫ | ||
Mizo hnam | ||
Mongolian овог | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အနွယ် | ||
Nepali जनजाति | ||
Norwegian stamme | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) fuko | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଜନଜାତି | ||
Oromo gosa | ||
Pashto قبيله | ||
Persian قبیله | ||
Polish plemię | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) tribo | ||
Punjabi ਗੋਤ | ||
Quechua ayllu | ||
Romanian trib | ||
Russian племя | ||
Samoan ituaiga | ||
Sanskrit जनजातिः | ||
Scots Gaelic treubh | ||
Sepedi morafe | ||
Serbian племе | ||
Sesotho moloko | ||
Shona dzinza | ||
Sindhi قبيلو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ගෝත්රය | ||
Slovak kmeň | ||
Slovenian pleme | ||
Somali qabiil | ||
Spanish tribu | ||
Sundanese suku | ||
Swahili kabila | ||
Swedish stam | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) tribo | ||
Tajik қабила | ||
Tamil பழங்குடி | ||
Tatar кабилә | ||
Telugu తెగ | ||
Thai ชนเผ่า | ||
Tigrinya ቀቢላ | ||
Tsonga rixaka | ||
Turkish kabile | ||
Turkmen taýpa | ||
Twi (Akan) abusuakuw | ||
Ukrainian племені | ||
Urdu قبیلہ | ||
Uyghur قەبىلە | ||
Uzbek qabila | ||
Vietnamese bộ lạc | ||
Welsh llwyth | ||
Xhosa isizwe | ||
Yiddish שבט | ||
Yoruba ẹyà | ||
Zulu isizwe |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans "stam" (tribe) comes from the Dutch "stam" (stem, root), and also relates to the German "Stamm" (stem, race). |
| Albanian | From Proto-Albanian, possibly from Illyrian or Thracian, cognate with Old Armenian *phīs, meaning "clan" or "family" |
| Amharic | The word "ጎሳ" (tribe) in Amharic shares etymological roots with the Hebrew word "גוֹשֵן" (Goshen), and both may refer to a territorial division or region. |
| Arabic | The word "قبيلة" (tribe) in Arabic is also used to refer to a group of people related by blood or marriage, or by a common interest or purpose. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "ցեղ" (tribe) shares roots with the word "ծնուղ" (parent), both derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁- meaning "to beget, engender". |
| Azerbaijani | The word "qəbilə" is also used in Azerbaijani to refer to a group of people who have similar interests, such as a political party or a sports team. |
| Basque | The Basque word "tribua" also means "family", "clan", or "lineage" |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "племя" can also refer to "family", "lineage", or "kin." |
| Bengali | উপজাতি is derived from the Sanskrit word "jñāti", meaning "kinship group". |
| Bosnian | The word "pleme" in Bosnian is of Turkish origin and means both "tribe" and "species". |
| Bulgarian | The word "племе" can also refer to a social class or community sharing common interests or ancestry. |
| Catalan | The word "tribu" in Catalan means "tribe" and can also refer to a group of people with similar interests or a family line. |
| Cebuano | "Tribo" can also mean "race" or "ethnic group". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Chinese, 部落 also refers to a village or town outside a city. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 部落 (bùluò) is a Chinese word that can also mean 'village' or 'hamlet'. |
| Corsican | In Corsica, "tribù" also refers to a territorial administrative division, similar to a canton in mainland France. |
| Croatian | The word "pleme" also denotes a kinship group based on patrilineal descent. |
| Czech | Kmen is a loanword from German "Stamm" (tribe), "Stamm" is cognate with "stem" in English, "stam" in Dutch and "stamme" in Swedish, all meaning "stem" or "trunk", i.e. the root of a tree. |
| Danish | In Danish, "stamme" can also refer to a plant's stem or a word's root. |
| Dutch | The word "stam" can also mean "family" or "descent" in Dutch. |
| Esperanto | The word “tribo” also means “surface” in Esperanto, as it is derived from the Greek word “tribein,” which means “to rub”. |
| Estonian | The word "hõim" also denotes a "race" or a "people" sharing a common ancestry or culture. |
| Finnish | "Heimo" is also used as a general address to people with whom a person relates or identifies |
| French | "Tribu" also means "group" in French; it doesn't only refer to indigenous communities. |
| Frisian | The word "folksstam" in Frisian, derived from the Proto-Germanic "*fulki-stamma-m", also connotes a "troop of armed men" or a "band of pirates". |
| Galician | Galician "tribo" also means "group of people who have a common interest or purpose". |
| Georgian | The word ტომი can also mean "nation" and "people" in Georgian. |
| German | The word "Stamm" in German can also refer to a part of a plant, a group of people with a common ancestor, or a stem of a word. |
| Greek | The Greek word "φυλή" (phyle) originally referred to a kinship group, but later came to mean "tribe" and, by extension, "race" or "ethnic group." |
| Gujarati | The word "આદિજાતિ" is also used to refer to indigenous peoples in India. |
| Haitian Creole | The word 'branch fanmi' in Haitian Creole is a calque of the French word 'branche familiale,' meaning 'family branch' and is not, in fact, synonymous with the word 'tribe'. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "kabila" can also refer to a social group, clan or ethnic community. |
| Hawaiian | In old Hawaiian culture, 'lāhui' also meant 'community' and referred to the group a person worked with in building fishponds or constructing heiau. |
| Hebrew | In the Bible, שֶבֶט often refers to a shepherd's staff, symbolising authority and guidance |
| Hindi | The Sanskrit word "जनजाति" literally means "people of the same lineage." |
| Hmong | The word "pawg neeg" has a more literal translation as "clan". The word "clan" refers specifically to a group or lineage descended from a single common ancestor, and is often used to refer to a group with a shared lineage.} |
| Hungarian | Törzs, in addition to its meaning of "tribe," also refers to a "trunk" in Hungarian, highlighting the connection between the community and its physical and ancestral roots. |
| Icelandic | "Ættbálkur" can refer to both a tribe and a genealogy table in Icelandic. |
| Igbo | It can also refer to the people within that particular community, often used to address them. |
| Indonesian | The word "suku" has additional meanings such as "joint", "group", and "part". |
| Irish | Historically, “treibh” also meant kinship group, homestead, or territory. It is thought to derive from the Proto-Celtic **treb-** meaning “dwelling, village”. |
| Italian | The word "tribù" originates from the Latin "tribus," meaning "one of the three ancient divisions of the Roman people." |
| Japanese | The word "部族" (bu-zoku) in Japanese can also refer to a clan, lineage, or faction. |
| Javanese | Suku also refers to the four main traditional Javanese caste groups, which are Brahmana, Satria, Wesya, and Sudra. |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು" (tribe) is derived from the Sanskrit word "वृकट" (wild, fierce), indicating the traditional perception of tribes as being uncivilized and primitive. |
| Kazakh | The word "тайпа" (tribe) in Kazakh has an alternate meaning: "a group of people connected by blood ties or a common ancestor." |
| Korean | 부족 (tribe) has alternative meanings like 'lack', 'insufficiency', 'shortage', or 'deficiency'. |
| Kurdish | The word "reh" can also refer to a group of animals or plants that share a common ancestor. |
| Kyrgyz | The term "уруу" originates from the Proto-Turkic word "urugh" meaning "seed, offspring, descendants". |
| Lao | The word "ຊົນເຜົ່າ" (tribe) in Lao can also refer to a group of people who share a common ancestry or culture. |
| Latin | The Latin word "tribus" can also refer to a third part or division, or to a group of three. |
| Latvian | Cīlis can also refer to the ancient inhabitants of Latvia, as well as to the territory they occupied. |
| Lithuanian | "Gentis" in Lithuanian also means "pagan" or "heathen." |
| Luxembourgish | While the standard spelling is "Stamm", it can also be spelled "Stamm" without the umlaut. |
| Macedonian | The word "племе" can also mean "origin" or "lineage" in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The word 'firenena' can also refer to a group of people with a shared ancestor or a nation. |
| Malay | The word "suku" in Malay can also mean "family group" or "lineage". |
| Malayalam | The word "ഗോത്രം" ultimately derives from Sanskrit "गोत्र" meaning a group of people descended from a single Vedic sage. |
| Maltese | 'Tribù' is a loanword from Italian with the original meaning of 'district' or 'tax jurisdiction'. |
| Maori | The word "iwi" in Maori can also refer to a bone in the spine, a type of knot, or a specific species of tree. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "टोळी" also refers to a group, gang, or band. |
| Mongolian | The term "ovog" is also used to classify animals based on their shared physical traits or behavioral characteristics. |
| Nepali | "जनजाति" literally translates to "community of people" and also serves as the Nepali counterpart to "caste" with the prefix denoting people inhabiting a particular region. |
| Norwegian | Stamme also means family lineage or family tree, and possibly derives from old Norse stami, akin to Old English stefn, the stem or trunk of a tree. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Nyanja "fuko" can also mean "family" or "lineage" in some contexts. |
| Pashto | In Pashto, "قبيله" can also refer to a "clan" or "lineage". |
| Persian | The Persian word "قبیله" ultimately derives from the Arabic root "قبِل", meaning "to face, to meet", which may suggest a sense of community or gathering in its etymological origins. |
| Polish | The word "plemię" in Polish is cognate with the word "pleme" in Croatian, meaning "family" or "clan". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "tribo" can also refer to a group of people who share a common profession, interest, or lifestyle. |
| Punjabi | The word 'got' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'gotra', which means 'lineage' or 'clan'. It is also used to refer to a group of people who share a common ancestor or deity. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, "trib" has the alternate meaning of "misfortune" or "distress." |
| Russian | The word "племя" also means "family" or "kindred" in Russian. |
| Samoan | The word "ituaiga" in Samoan can also refer to a clan or family group, extending beyond the immediate family members. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "treubh" can also mean "family" or "relatives". |
| Serbian | Word "pleme" in Serbian, besides its main meaning of "tribe", has additional meanings such as "family" or "generation". |
| Sesotho | The word "moloko" in Sesotho also means "a group of people who share a common goal or purpose". |
| Shona | The word "dzinza" can also refer to a group of people who share a common ancestor or purpose. |
| Sindhi | Sindhi word "قبيلو" is derived from Arabic word "قَبِيلَة" (qabīlah) meaning "group of people united by blood or common ancestor". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhalese word "ගෝත්රය" (tribe) is derived from the Sanskrit word "गोत्र" (lineage, clan) and also refers to a Buddhist temple or monastery in Sinhalese culture. |
| Slovak | "The word "kmeň" comes from the Proto-Slavic "*kormъ" ("root of a tree, stump") and originally meant "clan" or "family unit." |
| Slovenian | Besides 'tribe', the word 'pleme' also means 'breed' and is an archaic term for 'noble family'. |
| Somali | In addition to its primary meaning, "qabiil" can also refer to lineage or clan in the Somali context. |
| Spanish | The word "tribu" (tribe) derives from the Latin "tribus," denoting a "third," initially referring to one of the three original Roman tribes. |
| Sundanese | The word "suku" in Sundanese also means "root" or "family group", reflecting the close-knit nature of traditional Sundanese communities. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "kabila" can also refer to a clan, lineage, or ethnic group. |
| Swedish | In Swedish, 'stam' can also refer to a 'stem', 'root', or 'stock', reflecting its shared Proto-Germanic root with the English word 'stem'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "tribo" can also mean "clan" or "family group." |
| Tajik | The word "қабила" (tribe) in Tajik is derived from the Arabic word "qabīla", which can also mean "clan" or "community". |
| Tamil | The word 'பழங்குடி' (paḻaṅkuṭi) in Tamil derives from the root word 'பழம்' (paḻam), meaning 'old', and refers to people who have preserved their ancient way of life. |
| Telugu | The word తెగ "tega" also means "stringed instrument" in Sanskrit or "to cut off" |
| Thai | The word "ชนเผ่า" in Thai can also refer to ethnic groups or indigenous communities. |
| Turkish | In Ottoman Turkish, "kabile" also referred to a division of a sanjak (district) for administrative purposes. |
| Ukrainian | "Племені" comes from Proto-Slavic "plěme," which also means "family, kin," and is related to "pleniti," "to breed, reproduce." |
| Urdu | In Arabic, the word 'قبیلہ' (tribe) refers to a group of people with a common ancestor, while in Urdu, it is also used to mean a clan, community, or social group. |
| Uzbek | The word "qabila" in Uzbek has alternate meanings of "clan" and "ancestry." |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "bộ lạc" also refers to a community of people with similar interests or backgrounds. |
| Welsh | Llwyth is derived from the Proto-Celtic word *pleut-, meaning "people" or "community". It cognate with the Irish "sliocht" and the Breton "llad". |
| Xhosa | While a tribe is usually defined as a group of people with a common culture and language within a particular area, the Xhosa people use the term “isizwe” to refer to a group of people with a common ancestor or a group of people who consider themselves to be related. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "שבט" (shevet) has an alternate meaning of "stick" or "rod," reflecting its usage in the biblical account of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, each carrying a staff representing their tribe. |
| Yoruba | The word “ẹyà” can also mean “family,” “clan,” or “lineage” in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word 'isizwe' also means 'nation' or 'people', and is not specific to tribal identities. |
| English | The word "tribe" comes from the Latin "tribus," meaning "a third part." It was originally used to refer to one of the three voting divisions of the Roman people. |