Uncle in Different Languages
Discover 'Uncle' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Uncle
Afrikaans oom | ||
Albanian xhaxhai | ||
Amharic አጎት | ||
Arabic اخو الام | ||
Armenian հորեղբայր | ||
Assamese খুড়া | ||
Aymara tiyu | ||
Azerbaijani dayı | ||
Bambara bɛnkɛ | ||
Basque osaba | ||
Belarusian дзядзька | ||
Bengali চাচা | ||
Bhojpuri काका | ||
Bosnian ujak | ||
Bulgarian чичо | ||
Catalan oncle | ||
Cebuano uyoan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 叔叔 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 叔叔 | ||
Corsican ziu | ||
Croatian ujak | ||
Czech strýc | ||
Danish onkel | ||
Dhivehi ބޮޑު ބޭބެ | ||
Dogri चाचा | ||
Dutch oom | ||
English uncle | ||
Esperanto onklo | ||
Estonian onu | ||
Ewe nyrui | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) tiyuhin | ||
Finnish setä | ||
French oncle | ||
Frisian omke | ||
Galician tío | ||
Georgian ბიძა | ||
German onkel | ||
Greek θείος | ||
Guarani pehẽngue | ||
Gujarati કાકા | ||
Haitian Creole tonton | ||
Hausa kawu | ||
Hawaiian ʻanakala | ||
Hebrew דוֹד | ||
Hindi चाचा | ||
Hmong txiv ntxawm | ||
Hungarian nagybácsi | ||
Icelandic frændi | ||
Igbo nwanne nna | ||
Ilocano angkal | ||
Indonesian paman | ||
Irish uncail | ||
Italian zio | ||
Japanese おじさん | ||
Javanese paman | ||
Kannada ಚಿಕ್ಕಪ್ಪ | ||
Kazakh ағай | ||
Khmer ពូ | ||
Kinyarwanda nyirarume | ||
Konkani काका | ||
Korean 삼촌 | ||
Krio ɔnkul | ||
Kurdish mam | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) مام | ||
Kyrgyz байке | ||
Lao ລຸງ | ||
Latin avunculus | ||
Latvian onkulis | ||
Lingala noko | ||
Lithuanian dėdė | ||
Luganda kojja | ||
Luxembourgish monni | ||
Macedonian чичко | ||
Maithili कका जी | ||
Malagasy rahalahin-drain'i | ||
Malay pakcik | ||
Malayalam അമ്മാവൻ | ||
Maltese ziju | ||
Maori matua keke | ||
Marathi काका | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯈꯨꯔꯥ | ||
Mizo putea | ||
Mongolian авга ах | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဦး လေး | ||
Nepali काका | ||
Norwegian onkel | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) amalume | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମାମୁଁ | ||
Oromo eessuma | ||
Pashto تره | ||
Persian دایی | ||
Polish wujek | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) tio | ||
Punjabi ਚਾਚਾ | ||
Quechua tio | ||
Romanian unchiule | ||
Russian дядя | ||
Samoan tuagane o le aiga | ||
Sanskrit पितृव्यः | ||
Scots Gaelic uncail | ||
Sepedi malome | ||
Serbian ујаче | ||
Sesotho malome | ||
Shona sekuru | ||
Sindhi چاچو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මාමා | ||
Slovak strýko | ||
Slovenian stric | ||
Somali adeer | ||
Spanish tío | ||
Sundanese mamang | ||
Swahili mjomba | ||
Swedish farbror | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) tiyuhin | ||
Tajik амак | ||
Tamil மாமா | ||
Tatar абзый | ||
Telugu మామయ్య | ||
Thai ลุง | ||
Tigrinya ኣኮ | ||
Tsonga malume | ||
Turkish amca dayı | ||
Turkmen daýy | ||
Twi (Akan) wɔfa | ||
Ukrainian дядько | ||
Urdu چچا | ||
Uyghur تاغىسى | ||
Uzbek tog'a | ||
Vietnamese chú | ||
Welsh ewythr | ||
Xhosa umalume | ||
Yiddish פעטער | ||
Yoruba aburo | ||
Zulu umalume |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "oom" in Afrikaans can also be used to refer to a respected older man, not necessarily a biological uncle. |
| Albanian | The word "xhaxhai" in Albanian can also refer to a "paternal relative". |
| Amharic | In Amharic, "አጎት" also denotes "uncle" or "male sibling of one's parent". |
| Arabic | In archaic Arabic, "اخو الام" could also mean "mother's father" and "mother's brother". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "հորեղբայր" (uncle) also refers to a paternal cousin or half-brother, emphasizing the extended family bond. |
| Azerbaijani | The word |
| Basque | In Basque, the word "osaba" also refers to a godfather or a male relative who is not necessarily an uncle. |
| Belarusian | In some regions of the Belarusian language, |
| Bengali | The word 'চাচা' also refers to elder brothers of the father or mother as well as elder brothers of any spouse. |
| Bosnian | "Ujak" was also used in the sense of "host" when addressing foreigners. |
| Bulgarian | In some regions of Bulgaria, 'чичо' can also refer to a godfather or a male elder who is respected in the community. |
| Catalan | The word «oncle» means «uncle», but may also refer to the father of any of one's parents' siblings. |
| Cebuano | Uyoan is also a term of endearment for an older male friend or acquaintance. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 叔叔 can be used as a term of address for a man who is unrelated but of similar age and social status as one's father. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 叔叔 or 叔 in oracle bone scripts was also a title for people of a certain age or virtue |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "ziu" can also refer to a godfather or a male friend who is like an uncle to someone. |
| Croatian | In certain Croatian dialects, "ujak" can also mean "father's brother" or "a father's cousin." |
| Czech | The word "strýc" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *stryjь, which also meant "father's brother" or "mother's sister's husband". |
| Danish | The word |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "oom" can also refer to a paternal uncle, or a non-blood relative like a close friend or trusted advisor. |
| Esperanto | Onkl is derived from okcidenta meaning western or west to indicate that the uncle’s house is usually to one or both of the children the next house west. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word “õnu” can also refer to the paternal grandfather, great-grandfather, paternal cousin, brother of the mother, godfather, brother of the spouse or a trusted, older, male friend, not related by blood. |
| Finnish | The archaic form is "set" but in the modern language the spelling has been changed to "setä" for distinction, to avoid mispronunciation as "set" |
| French | The word "oncle" originated from the Latin word "avunculus", meaning "maternal uncle". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word for 'uncle', 'omke', is probably derived from the Proto-West-Germanic word *āma, which also meant 'grandfather'. |
| Galician | The word "tío" in Galician can also refer to an older man, a friend, or a term of endearment. |
| Georgian | The word "ბიძა" (uncle) in Georgian is also used to refer to a godfather or a close male relative of the same generation. |
| German | The word "Onkel" derives from the Latin word "avunculus" and originally referred to a father's brother. |
| Greek | "Θείος" is also an archaic form of the word "θεός" meaning "god". |
| Gujarati | In Gujarati, "કાકા" (kaka) is related to the Sanskrit word "kākā," which also means "uncle," and "kāku," which means "crow." |
| Haitian Creole | Haitian Creole's 'tonton' derives from French 'tonton' meaning 'paternal uncle,' but can also mean any paternal male guardian or elder. |
| Hausa | The word "kawu" can also mean "older brother" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, ʻanakala also refers to a male cousin or nephew. |
| Hebrew | The word "דוֹד" (uncle) in Hebrew can also refer to a beloved or close friend. |
| Hindi | In some regions of India, "चाचा" is also used to affectionately address an elder brother, similar to the usage of "uncle" in the West. |
| Hmong | The word "txiv ntxawm" can also refer to younger members of the father's clan, even distant cousins, or to close friends of the father. |
| Hungarian | The word "nagybácsi" in Hungarian also means "great-uncle" and literally translates to "big uncle". |
| Icelandic | The word "frændi" is cognate with the English word "friend," and the two words shared a meaning of "relative" in Old Norse and Old English. |
| Igbo | In traditional Igbo society, the term "nwanne nna" also had a wider meaning, referring to any paternal relative with whom the speaker shared a close bond. |
| Indonesian | The word "paman" can also refer to a man who is not related to the speaker but is respected as an elder. |
| Irish | The Irish word "uncail" is derived from the Old Irish word "oencol" meaning "young one" and is also used as a term of endearment for a child. |
| Italian | "Zio" is a common noun in Italian, meaning "uncle" (maternal or paternal), but can also be used as a term of endearment for a close male friend or mentor. |
| Japanese | The word "おじさん" can also mean "a strange man" or "an old man". |
| Javanese | In some areas of Java, 'paman' can also refer to a maternal grandfather. |
| Kannada | The word "ಚಿಕ್ಕಪ್ಪ" literally translates to "little father" in Kannada, implying a fatherly figure younger than the actual father |
| Kazakh | "Ағай" means "brother's elder son" or "husband of sister's elder sister". |
| Khmer | The word "ពូ" can also refer to a father-in-law or a godfather. |
| Korean | The word "삼촌" can also refer to a close friend or mentor who is older than the speaker. |
| Kurdish | In some Kurdish dialects, "mam" can also mean "father's brother" or "mother's husband". |
| Kyrgyz | In Kyrgyz, "байке" can have meanings like "teacher," "master," "mentor," or a title for someone with authority or experience. |
| Lao | "ລຸງ" is also used to address monks as a sign of respect. |
| Latin | The Latin word "avunculus" originally referred to the maternal uncle and later came to mean any paternal or maternal uncle. |
| Latvian | The word "onkulis" also means "husband's brother" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | The word "dėdė" in Lithuanian can also refer to a godfather, maternal uncle, or male relative who is significantly older than the speaker. |
| Luxembourgish | "Monni" also refers to a godfather; the feminine form, "Monnin," refers to a godmother (who should not be confused with the "Groussmamm", that is, one's grandmother). |
| Macedonian | The word "чичко" (uncle) in Macedonian also has alternate meanings, such as "father's younger brother" or a term of endearment for an older man. |
| Malagasy | The word "rahalahin-drain'i" literally translates to "the one who brings the money" and is also used to refer to a wealthy or important person. |
| Malay | Pakcik, a Malay term for 'uncle', may derive from the Sanskrit word 'paksha', meaning 'wing' or 'side', suggesting a sense of close kinship. |
| Malayalam | The word "അമ്മാവൻ" (uncle) in Malayalam is derived from the word "അമ്മ" (mother), and also refers to a relative who is the younger brother of the father. |
| Maltese | The word 'ziju' has an alternative meaning of 'brother-in-law' in Maltese. |
| Maori | In Maori culture, the term "matua keke" also carries a broader connotation, encompassing respected male elders who play a guiding role in the community. |
| Marathi | 'kaka' also refers to the paternal grandfather and can be a term for elder brothers in some dialects |
| Mongolian | The word "авга ах" could also refer to a husband or brother-in-law. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | "ဦး လေး" is often used to mean "Mr" in formal situations when referring to older men but can also be employed as a friendly or casual term of endearment between close companions regardless of relative seniority or age gap |
| Nepali | "काका" is a term of respect for priests in Buddhism, possibly deriving from the Sanskrit word "कक्षक" meaning "armpit". |
| Norwegian | The word "onkel" can also refer to a person's godfather or a close male friend. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "amalume" in Nyanja can also refer to a brother-in-law or a cousin. |
| Pashto | The word "تره" can also mean "father's brother", "paternal uncle", or "maternal uncle" in Pashto. |
| Persian | In Persian, دایی (pronounced “dā’ī”) also refers to a maternal uncle, unlike عمو (pronounced “‘ammū”), which refers to a paternal uncle. |
| Polish | In some regions of Poland, 'wujek' can also refer to a priest. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Tio also means aunt's husband in Portuguese and is related to the Latin word "tithius," meaning "husband of one's sister." |
| Punjabi | The word "ਚਾਚਾ" is also often used as a term of endearment for someone who is not actually a blood relative. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "unchiule" derives from the Latin "avunculus", meaning "maternal uncle", and also shares a common root with the Slavic word "uj", meaning "father-in-law". |
| Russian | The word "дядя" can also refer to a godfather or a patron. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "tuagane o le aiga" is also used to refer to paternal aunts, as aunts and uncles are not distinguished by gender. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "uncail" is derived from the Irish word "uncail" meaning "a hook" and is distantly related to the English word "uncle". |
| Serbian | In Serbian and other Slavic languages and cultures, a "uncle" ('uјак) is traditionally both your father's brother and mother's brother or even your cousin. |
| Sesotho | In Sesotho, the word "malome" not only refers to an uncle but also signifies admiration and respect for any elderly male beyond one's immediate circle of relatives. |
| Shona | The word "sekuru" in Shona also means "grandfather" and is a term of respect for older men. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word چاچو ("chacho") can also refer to a father-in-law or father-in-law's brother. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word 'මාමා' (mama) can also refer to a paternal cousin or an affectionate term for a male friend. |
| Slovak | The word 'strýko', meaning 'uncle', also shares a root with 'stráž', 'protection', suggesting a paternal role. |
| Slovenian | "Stric" is etymologically related to Latin "stirps" referring to family and ancestors or Proto-Slavic word *stryjь, also denoting paternal uncle |
| Somali | The Somali word 'adeer' is etymologically related to the Arabic word 'amr', meaning 'command' or 'order' and refers to the authority and respect accorded to uncles in Somali culture. |
| Spanish | "Tío" derives from Latin "avunculus" and meant "maternal uncle" in older Spanish, now replaced by "sobrino". |
| Sundanese | "Mamang" can also mean "elder brother" or "male friend" depending on the context and the region in West Java. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "mjomba" is cognate with the Portuguese word "tio", both deriving from the Latin word "avunculus". |
| Swedish | In Swedish, the term 'farbror' can also refer specifically to one's father's brother or other related males. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "tiyuhin", when used for a woman, carries the shade of the woman being the aunt of somebody, not just the niece. |
| Tajik | In Tajik, the word "амак" has an alternate meaning of "respected elder brother" and is also used as a term of address for a respected older man, even if he is not related. |
| Tamil | The word "மாமா" in Tamil can also refer to a term of endearment for a male friend or a male deity. |
| Telugu | In some Telugu dialects, "మామయ్య" can also refer to the wife's brother's husband or the husband's sister's husband. |
| Thai | The word "ลุง" (uncle) in Thai can also refer to an older man who is not necessarily related to you. |
| Turkish | In Turkish, "amca dayı" originally meant "father's brother" and "mother's brother," but over time it expanded to include other relatives and even non-relatives as a term of respect and affection. |
| Ukrainian | "Дядько" in Ukrainian can also mean "father's brother" or "grandfather's brother's son" or "wife's brother." |
| Urdu | چچا is also used for a maternal uncle in some parts of Pakistan. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "tog'a" can also mean "father's brother" or "mother's sister's husband" |
| Vietnamese | The word "Chú" in Vietnamese can also refer to the husband of an older sister. |
| Welsh | "Ewythr" derives from the Old Welsh word "ewytir" meaning "father's brother, uncle", itself from the Proto-Celtic word "*awi-tiros." |
| Xhosa | The word "umalume" can also refer to a brother-in-law or a male cousin. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "פעטער" ("uncle") may also refer to a paternal aunt or a term of endearment for a friend. |
| Yoruba | In Yoruba, "aburo" may also refer to a younger sibling or close associate. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, the word "umalume" has the alternate meaning of "paternal aunt" and is etymologically derived from the Proto-Bantu word *malume* meaning "father's brother". |
| English | The word "uncle" derives from the Latin word "avunculus," meaning maternal uncle. |