Vegetable in Different Languages
Discover 'Vegetable' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Vegetables are an essential part of our daily diet, providing vital nutrients and health benefits. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and are celebrated in various cultural cuisines around the world. From the Italian 'verdura' to the French 'légume', the word 'vegetable' carries a global significance.
Did you know that the English word 'vegetable' is derived from the Latin 'vegetabilis', meaning 'animating principle'? This historical context highlights the importance of vegetables in sustaining life. Moreover, vegetables have been cultivated for thousands of years, with evidence suggesting that humans have been consuming them since the dawn of agriculture.
Understanding the translation of 'vegetable' in different languages can open up a world of cultural discovery. For instance, the German 'Gemüse' and the Spanish 'verdura' not only represent a variety of nutritious foods but also symbolize unique culinary traditions and practices.
Explore the world of vegetables through language and culture, and discover the beauty of global culinary diversity.
Vegetable
Vegetable in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | groente | ||
| The word "groente" in Afrikaans comes from the Dutch word "groente" which means "vegetable" or "greens." | |||
| Amharic | አትክልት | ||
| The Amharic word for 'vegetable' ('አትክልት') is said to have derived from an ancient Akkadian word meaning 'a garden'. | |||
| Hausa | kayan lambu | ||
| Kayan lambu derives from the Hausa word `kayan` meaning 'things' and `lambu` meaning 'garden' | |||
| Igbo | akwukwo nri | ||
| In Igbo, the word "akwukwo nri" can also mean "leaves for eating" or "greens". | |||
| Malagasy | legioma | ||
| The Malagasy word 'legioma' may come from the Portuguese word 'legume', which originally meant 'vegetable', or a Malay root word meaning 'plant' | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | masamba | ||
| 'Masamba' can be used to refer to the fruit or leaves of plants that are used as vegetables. | |||
| Shona | muriwo | ||
| The word 'muriwo' is also used to refer to the cooked leafy part of the plant or herb, as opposed to the raw leaves or the root. | |||
| Somali | khudradda | ||
| The word "khudradda" in Somali can also refer to the concept of "smallness" or "insignificance". | |||
| Sesotho | meroho | ||
| Swahili | mboga | ||
| The word "mboga" in Swahili can also refer to fruits, and is derived from the Bantu word "mbuga," meaning "green growth." | |||
| Xhosa | imifuno | ||
| The word 'imifuno' can also refer to 'herbs', 'wild plants', or 'traditional medicine'. | |||
| Yoruba | ewebe | ||
| Ewebe can also mean "leaf" or "herb" in some contexts. | |||
| Zulu | imifino | ||
| The word 'imifino' also means 'plants' in Zulu and is derived from the root word 'fina', meaning 'to grow'. | |||
| Bambara | nafɛn kɛnɛ | ||
| Ewe | amagbewo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | imboga | ||
| Lingala | ndunda | ||
| Luganda | enva endirwa | ||
| Sepedi | morogo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | atosodeɛ | ||
Vegetable in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الخضروات | ||
| Derived from the root word "khadra", meaning green, which is a major characteristic of most vegetables | |||
| Hebrew | ירקות | ||
| The word "ירקות" also means " greens or herbs " in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | سبزي | ||
| سبزي is a Pashto word for various edible plants, including leafy green vegetables, roots, and fruits. | |||
| Arabic | الخضروات | ||
| Derived from the root word "khadra", meaning green, which is a major characteristic of most vegetables | |||
Vegetable in Western European Languages
| Albanian | perime | ||
| The word "perime" is etymologically related to the Greek word "περίκημα" meaning "that which surrounds" and also to the Albanian word "peri" meaning "around, about". | |||
| Basque | barazki | ||
| Catalan | vegetal | ||
| In Catalan, the word "vegetal" retains its original Latin meaning, referring to plants and vegetation in general, rather than just edible produce. | |||
| Croatian | povrće | ||
| "Povrće" is thought to derive from the Proto-Slavic word "pirъ", meaning "fruit." | |||
| Danish | grøntsag | ||
| The Danish word "grøntsag" is a compound of "grøn" meaning "green" and "sag" meaning "thing" or "substance." | |||
| Dutch | groente | ||
| "Groente" in Dutch may also refer to a soup meal that contains vegetables. | |||
| English | vegetable | ||
| The word "vegetable" ultimately derives from the Latin "vegere," meaning "to flourish" or "to grow." | |||
| French | légume | ||
| While in English 'legume' designates a fruit of the pea family, in French it means all edible plants and mushrooms | |||
| Frisian | griente | ||
| The word "griente" is also used to refer to the edible parts of non-flowering plants, such as mushrooms, seaweed, and certain types of fungi. | |||
| Galician | vexetal | ||
| "Vexetal" is likely derived from the Latin word "vegetabilis" (meaning "vegetable" or "growing"), and is still used in this sense in Spanish and Portuguese, but in Galician it has come to mean only "vegetable". | |||
| German | gemüse | ||
| Gemüse derives from Latin "cibus", meaning "food", and refers to all edible plant parts. | |||
| Icelandic | grænmeti | ||
| The word "grænmeti" originally meant "grass", but its meaning later expanded to include all types of vegetables. | |||
| Irish | glasraí | ||
| Glasraí comes from the Irish word for 'green' and has been used to describe vegetables since the 19th century when they became fashionable to eat. | |||
| Italian | verdura | ||
| In Italian, Verdura is also the name of three different genera of butterflies | |||
| Luxembourgish | geméis | ||
| Maltese | veġetali | ||
| The Maltese word "veġetali" is derived from the Latin "vegetabilis" and can also mean "plant" or "vegetation". | |||
| Norwegian | grønnsak | ||
| The word "grønnsak" derives from the Old Norse word "grønnr" meaning "green" and "sak" meaning "thing". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | vegetal | ||
| In Portuguese "vegetal" refers to both plant-like things or a substance of vegetable or vegetal origin or plant extract | |||
| Scots Gaelic | glasraich | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "glasraich" also means "green food" or "pasture", highlighting the close connection between vegetables and fresh vegetation in the Gaelic mindset. | |||
| Spanish | vegetal | ||
| "Vegetal" in Spanish can also refer to "plants" or have a "vegetative" meaning. | |||
| Swedish | vegetabiliska | ||
| In Latin, the term was originally used for plants with powers of growth or reproduction in general. | |||
| Welsh | llysiau | ||
| "Llysiau" is derived from the Proto-Celtic word "*lesijā", which also meant "herb" or "plant". | |||
Vegetable in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | агародніннай | ||
| The Belarusian word "агародніннай" also refers to something that is grown in a garden | |||
| Bosnian | povrće | ||
| The word "povrće" originates from the Proto-Slavic word *povьrtъje (gardening), derived from the word *vьrtъ (garden). | |||
| Bulgarian | зеленчукови | ||
| The word "зеленчукови" also means "herbaceous" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | zeleninový | ||
| The word "zeleninový" is derived from the Czech word "zelenina" meaning "vegetables", and is also used informally to refer to "greengrocer" or "vegetable shop". | |||
| Estonian | köögiviljad | ||
| The word "köögiviljad" literally means "kitchen herbs" and can also refer to fruit or berries besides vegetables. | |||
| Finnish | vihannes | ||
| The word | |||
| Hungarian | növényi | ||
| The word "növényi" originally meant "plant". In the 19th century its meaning was extended to also include "vegetable." | |||
| Latvian | dārzeņu | ||
| The Latvian word "dārzeņu" originates from the Slavic word "darъ", meaning "gift". | |||
| Lithuanian | daržovių | ||
| The word also means vegetables in the sense of greens or vegetable greens used in cooking. | |||
| Macedonian | зеленчук | ||
| In Bulgarian, the word "зеленчук" (vegetable) also means "green color" and is derived from the word "зелен" (green). In Russian, it is used to refer to a type of herbaceous plant with edible stems and leaves. | |||
| Polish | warzywo | ||
| The word 'warzywo' comes from the Old Polish verb 'warzyć', which means 'to cook'. | |||
| Romanian | vegetal | ||
| In Romanian, vegetal means vegetable, but also plant, or the plant kingdom. | |||
| Russian | овощ | ||
| "Овощ" is a cognate of "овес" ("oats"), and originally meant "anything edible that grows from the ground." | |||
| Serbian | поврће | ||
| Serbian 'поврће' (vegetable) also means 'face' and is related to 'surface'. | |||
| Slovak | zeleninové | ||
| The word "zeleninové" is derived from the Slovak word "zelenina," which means "vegetable" or "greens." | |||
| Slovenian | zelenjava | ||
| The word "zelenjava" can also refer to a plant, a green color, or a fresh salad. | |||
| Ukrainian | овочевий | ||
| The Ukrainian word "овочевий" can also mean "plant" or "flora" when used in certain specific contexts or scientific discussions in the fields of botany or biology. | |||
Vegetable in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | শাকসবজি | ||
| Gujarati | વનસ્પતિ | ||
| વનસ્પતિ is derived from Sanskrit and literally means "growing in a forest" or "plant." In Gujarati, it signifies not only vegetables but also edible grains, pulses, and herbs. | |||
| Hindi | सबजी | ||
| In Hindi, 'sabji' can also refer to lentils, pulses, or legumes used as the base ingredient in curries or stews. | |||
| Kannada | ತರಕಾರಿ | ||
| Malayalam | പച്ചക്കറി | ||
| The word "പച്ചക്കറി" (vegetable) comes from the words "പച്ച" (green) and "കറി" (curry), and can also refer to green leafy vegetables in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | भाजी | ||
| Nepali | सागसब्जी | ||
| The word 'सागसब्जी' is derived from the Sanskrit words 'शाक' (vegetable) and 'सब्जी' (green vegetable) and collectively refers to all types of vegetables, both cooked and uncooked. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਬਜ਼ੀ | ||
| The word 'sabzi' in Punjabi also refers to a dish made from cooked vegetables. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එළවළු | ||
| Although "එළවළු" is used synonymously with "vegetable", the literal translation in English would mean "tender leaves". | |||
| Tamil | காய்கறி | ||
| "காய்கறி" can mean both "vegetable" and medicinal herbs in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | కూరగాయ | ||
| The word "కూరగాయ" literally means "curry-worthy" in Telugu, highlighting its culinary significance in the region. | |||
| Urdu | سبزی | ||
| The word “سبزی” originates from the Arabic word “سبز” meaning “green”, which reflects the emphasis on fresh, leafy greens in Pakistani cuisine. | |||
Vegetable in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 蔬菜 | ||
| "蔬菜" originally meant "edible wild plants" and was not clearly distinguished from "水果" ("fruit") until the early 20th century. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 蔬菜 | ||
| "蔬菜" originally meant edible plants that were neither herbs nor bamboo. | |||
| Japanese | 野菜 | ||
| The word 野菜 (yasai) is written with the characters "vegetable" but can also refer to "herbs" or "plants for other purposes". | |||
| Korean | 야채 | ||
| In Korean, 야채 (vegetable) originally meant "medicinal plants". | |||
| Mongolian | хүнсний ногоо | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဟင်းသီးဟင်းရွက် | ||
Vegetable in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sayur-mayur | ||
| The word 'sayur-mayur' in Indonesian derives from the Sanskrit words 'sagara' (ocean) and 'mur' (root), and originally meant 'vegetable' or 'edible root'. | |||
| Javanese | sayuran | ||
| In Javanese, "sayuran" also refers to various plants used for medicinal or ceremonial purposes. | |||
| Khmer | បន្លែ | ||
| "បន្លែ" comes from Old Khmer and has the same root as the Thai word ผัก (pak). | |||
| Lao | ຜັກ | ||
| The Lao word "ຜັກ" can also refer to a type of vine used to make baskets or bags. | |||
| Malay | sayur | ||
| In the context of the saying "Sayur tanpa garam", "sayur" means "food" and not "vegetable". | |||
| Thai | ผัก | ||
| The Thai word "ผัก" (vegetable) is derived from the Mon-Khmer word "phāk", meaning "to pick" or "to gather". | |||
| Vietnamese | rau | ||
| The word rau in Vietnamese can also refer to herbs, leafy greens, or edible plants used for medicinal purposes. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | gulay | ||
Vegetable in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | tərəvəz | ||
| "Tərəvəz" is derived from the Persian word "sabzi" and can also refer to herbs or greens. | |||
| Kazakh | көкөніс | ||
| The Kazakh word "көкөніс" (vegetable) is derived from the Old Turkic word "köpük", meaning "green plant, vegetable". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жашылча | ||
| The word "жашылча" is derived from the Turkic word "yaşıl", meaning "green", and "ça", meaning "thing". Thus, it literally means "green thing". | |||
| Tajik | сабзавот | ||
| The word "сабзавот" comes from the Persian word "sabzavat" meaning "greens, vegetables". | |||
| Turkmen | gök önümler | ||
| Uzbek | sabzavot | ||
| In Uzbek, "sabzavot" can also mean "green" or "fresh". | |||
| Uyghur | كۆكتات | ||
Vegetable in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mea kanu | ||
| Mea kanu is a Hawaiian word meaning both "vegetable" and "plant." | |||
| Maori | huawhenua | ||
| The Maori word "huawhenua" translates to "fruit of the placenta" and is used to refer to vegetables grown in the ground. | |||
| Samoan | fualaʻau | ||
| The word "fuala'au" comes from the Proto-Polynesian word "*fuakava" meaning "fruit" or "seed", and is related to the Hawaiian word "hua" meaning "fruit". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | gulay | ||
| "Gulay" in Tagalog derives from the Proto-Austronesian word "gulay" which also meant "herb", and in Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, it referred to leaves and green plants eaten with rice. | |||
Vegetable in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ch'uxña achunaka | ||
| Guarani | ka'avo | ||
Vegetable in International Languages
| Esperanto | legomo | ||
| The word "legomo" is borrowed from Portuguese "legume", which can mean anything from a vegetable to a bean or pod of peas. | |||
| Latin | vegetabilis; | ||
| In Medieval Latin, vegetabilis denoted "growing, flourishing, vegetative," and also "animal" or "vegetable." | |||
Vegetable in Others Languages
| Greek | λαχανικό | ||
| The word λαχανικό is ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek word λάχανον, which referred to any edible plant, including herbs and leafy greens. | |||
| Hmong | zaub | ||
| The Hmong word "zaub" also has meanings related to trees and leaves. | |||
| Kurdish | sebze | ||
| The word "sebze" also means "grass" or "herb" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | sebze | ||
| The Turkish word "sebze" ultimately derives from the Persian word "sabzi" meaning "green," and is also used to refer specifically to "leafy greens" like lettuce in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | imifuno | ||
| The word 'imifuno' can also refer to 'herbs', 'wild plants', or 'traditional medicine'. | |||
| Yiddish | גרינס | ||
| The Yiddish term "greyn" originally referred to turnips but later expanded to include other root vegetables and eventually all vegetables. | |||
| Zulu | imifino | ||
| The word 'imifino' also means 'plants' in Zulu and is derived from the root word 'fina', meaning 'to grow'. | |||
| Assamese | শাক-পাচলি | ||
| Aymara | ch'uxña achunaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | तरकारी | ||
| Dhivehi | ތަރުކާރީ | ||
| Dogri | सब्जी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | gulay | ||
| Guarani | ka'avo | ||
| Ilocano | gulay | ||
| Krio | plant fɔ it | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | میوە | ||
| Maithili | सब्जी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯅꯥ ꯃꯁꯤꯍ | ||
| Mizo | thlai | ||
| Oromo | kuduraa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପନିପରିବା | | ||
| Quechua | yura | ||
| Sanskrit | तरकारी | ||
| Tatar | яшелчә | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣሕምልቲ | ||
| Tsonga | matsavu | ||