Village in Different Languages
Discover 'Village' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
A village is a unique microcosm of culture, tradition, and community. It is often the bedrock of our shared human experience, providing a sense of belonging and identity that transcends borders and languages. The word 'village' itself has fascinating translations in different languages, reflecting the rich tapestry of human civilization.
Historically, villages were the primary units of human settlement, serving as the cradle of agriculture, craftsmanship, and social organization. Even today, villages remain vital centers of cultural preservation and continuity, where age-old traditions are kept alive and passed down through generations.
Understanding the translation of 'village' in different languages can offer valuable insights into the cultural nuances and historical contexts of various societies. For instance, in German, 'Dorf' evokes images of quaint, picturesque settlements nestled in the heart of the countryside. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'mura' reflects the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature, a core tenet of Japanese culture.
Join us as we explore the captivating translations of 'village' in a variety of languages, shedding light on the diverse and vibrant world of global cultures.
Village
Village in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | dorpie | ||
| The Afrikaans word "dorpie" can also be used to refer to a rural area or a remote town. | |||
| Amharic | መንደር | ||
| The word "መንደር" also refers to the traditional Ethiopian style of building roundhouses made of wood and thatch. | |||
| Hausa | kauye | ||
| The word 'kauye' (village) in Hausa originates from the word 'kowe' meaning 'to gather' or 'to assemble'. | |||
| Igbo | obodo | ||
| The word 'obodo' is also used to describe a 'public sphere' in Igbo society, referring to the space of public gathering and deliberation. | |||
| Malagasy | tanàna | ||
| The word "tanàna" in Malagasy is derived from the Arabic word "tanan", which means "to descend", and the Malagasy suffix "-ana", which denotes place, indicating a settled area. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mudzi | ||
| Shona | musha | ||
| The Shona word "musha" can also refer to a compound or a settlement of huts. | |||
| Somali | tuulo | ||
| The term 'tuulo' is said to derive from Arabic 'talha' referring to the acacia tree, a common and vital landmark around many settlements.} | |||
| Sesotho | motsana | ||
| 'Metsana' means 'a small collection of dwellings' and is also the plural form of the word 'motse' (a large dwelling) | |||
| Swahili | kijiji | ||
| Kijiji is also derived from the Swahili word "kiji", which refers to a specific plot of land used for farming or homesteading. | |||
| Xhosa | kwilali | ||
| The word 'ikwila' in Xhosa also means 'to turn around' or 'to circle'. | |||
| Yoruba | abule | ||
| In Yoruba, "abule" can also refer to a group of houses or a residential area smaller than a town. | |||
| Zulu | emzaneni | ||
| The word 'emzaneni' refers to a village, particularly a small one, and is derived from the Zulu word 'umzi', meaning 'homestead' or 'settlement'. | |||
| Bambara | dugu | ||
| Ewe | kɔƒe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | umudugudu | ||
| Lingala | mboka | ||
| Luganda | ekyaalo | ||
| Sepedi | motse | ||
| Twi (Akan) | akura | ||
Village in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | قرية | ||
| The word | |||
| Hebrew | כְּפָר | ||
| The word **kfar** stems from the Akkadian **kuparu** - "walled settlement or farmstead". | |||
| Pashto | کلي | ||
| The word "کلی" also means "farm" or "a group of houses" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | قرية | ||
| The word | |||
Village in Western European Languages
| Albanian | fshat | ||
| The word "fshat" is also sometimes colloquially used to refer to a neighborhood in a city or town in Albania. | |||
| Basque | herria | ||
| "Herria" is a Basque word for "town" which ultimately comes from the PIE root "*kwer-" meaning "to turn" or "to bend" indicating an "enclosed space". | |||
| Catalan | poble | ||
| "Poble" can also mean "people" in Catalan, similar to the French "peuple" or the Spanish "pueblo" | |||
| Croatian | selo | ||
| "Selo" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*selo", meaning "settlement", and is related to the Old Church Slavonic word "*селъ", meaning "field" or "village." | |||
| Danish | landsby | ||
| The word "landsby" is derived from the Old Norse word "landbý", meaning "rural dwelling." | |||
| Dutch | dorp | ||
| "Dorp" is the Dutch word for "village", but it also shares an etymology with the English word "thorp" meaning "a small settlement". | |||
| English | village | ||
| The word 'village' comes from the Old French word 'ville', which itself comes from the Latin word 'villa', meaning 'country house'. | |||
| French | village | ||
| "Village" in French can also refer to a rural area or a small town. | |||
| Frisian | doarp | ||
| The word "doarp" is derived from the Old Frisian word "thorp", which means "village, homestead". | |||
| Galician | aldea | ||
| The Galician word "aldea" comes from the Latin "aldea" meaning "small house" or "settlement". It can also refer to a group of houses or a small town. | |||
| German | dorf | ||
| Outside of Germany the word "Dorf" is also found in other Germanic languages as a component of personal names, like Thorfinnr Thorfinnsson from 14th century Iceland. | |||
| Icelandic | þorp | ||
| Þorp also means "row of houses" as well as "a group of buildings at a homestead" in Medieval documents from Iceland. | |||
| Irish | sráidbhaile | ||
| The name 'sráidbhaile' derives from 'srath' (river valley), 'bhaile' (settlement), and may imply the site of an original townland by a river. | |||
| Italian | villaggio | ||
| The Italian word "villaggio" possibly derives from the Gallo-Italic *willāre, meaning "settlement on the water" or "collection of scattered houses". | |||
| Luxembourgish | duerf | ||
| Duerf derives from the Old High German word "thorp" meaning "small settlement". In modern German, it evolved to "Dorf" and in English to "thorp". | |||
| Maltese | raħal | ||
| Maltese 'raħal' derives from Arabic 'raḥl' ('migration, caravan'), suggesting its historical nomadic origins. | |||
| Norwegian | landsby | ||
| “Landsby” is a cognate of “landscape” and originally referred to the rural landscape. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | vila | ||
| The word "Vila" can also refer to a small town or a rural settlement, and is derived from the Latin word "villa," meaning "country house" or "farmhouse." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bhaile | ||
| The term 'bhaile' can variously refer to a single homestead, hamlet, or farmstead. | |||
| Spanish | pueblo | ||
| The word "pueblo" in Spanish, in addition to meaning "village," also derives from the Latin "populus," meaning "people" or "population group." | |||
| Swedish | by | ||
| The word “by” is an ancient Indo-European term meaning “settlement”. Its cognates exist in English (“by”, meaning “nearby”), German (“bei”, meaning “at, near), and several Slavic languages. | |||
| Welsh | pentref | ||
| The Welsh word "pentref" can also refer to a group of people who live in a small community. | |||
Village in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | вёска | ||
| The word "вёска" (village) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vesь, which means "settlement". It is related to the Russian word "весь" (all) and the Polish word "wieś" (village). | |||
| Bosnian | selo | ||
| The word "selo" is also used in Bosnian to refer to a rural settlement or a community of people living in a rural area. | |||
| Bulgarian | село | ||
| The word "село" is of Slavic origin and also shares a common origin with the Bulgarian word "земя" (land). | |||
| Czech | vesnice | ||
| The word "vesnice" is derived from the Old Czech word "ves", which means "settlement" or "community". | |||
| Estonian | küla | ||
| "Küla" in Estonian may also refer to "a small community," "a homestead," or "a farmstead." | |||
| Finnish | kylä | ||
| "Kylä" is a cognate of the Estonian word "küla" and the Karelian word "kyl". | |||
| Hungarian | falu | ||
| The word "falu" comes from the Proto-Indo-European word *pṥl- (village), which also appears in other Indo-European languages, such as Latin pagus and Sanskrit pur. | |||
| Latvian | ciemats | ||
| The word "ciemats" comes from the Latvian word "ciemēt", meaning "to visit" or "to go to a village". | |||
| Lithuanian | kaimas | ||
| The word "kaimas" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱey- "to settle" and is related to the words "home" and "hamlet" in other languages. | |||
| Macedonian | село | ||
| Polish | wioska | ||
| The word 'wioska' may also refer to a seasonal settlement, such as a resort or holiday village. | |||
| Romanian | sat | ||
| The word "sat" in Romanian comes from the Latin "villa" meaning "rural estate" or "farmhouse" and has similar meanings in many other Romance languages. | |||
| Russian | деревня | ||
| The word "деревня" originates from the Proto-Slavic word *dьrьvьnьja, meaning "made of wood". | |||
| Serbian | село | ||
| The etymology of "село" is uncertain, with proposed links to a Slavic root meaning "to settle" or an Indo-European root meaning "to live". | |||
| Slovak | dedina | ||
| The word "dedina" is thought to have come from the word "děd", meaning "grandfather". Historically, the village was governed by the eldest member of the community, who was often the patriarch. | |||
| Slovenian | vasi | ||
| The word "vasi" is cognate with "vas" in Croatian, which derives from Latin "vicus", meaning "row of houses". | |||
| Ukrainian | село | ||
| The Ukrainian noun | |||
Village in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | গ্রাম | ||
| গ্রাম শব্দটি সংস্কৃত শব্দ 'গ্রাম্য' থেকে এসেছে, যার অর্থ 'গ্রামীণ' বা 'গ্রামের'। | |||
| Gujarati | ગામ | ||
| The word 'ગામ' (village) in Gujarati can also refer to a 'group of people living in a defined area', similar to a community. | |||
| Hindi | गाँव | ||
| The word | |||
| Kannada | ಗ್ರಾಮ | ||
| "ಗ್ರಾಮ" can also refer to the village head or to a body of people working in the same field." | |||
| Malayalam | ഗ്രാമം | ||
| ഗ്രാമം (grāmam) originates from the Prakrit word 'gāma' (village), which itself developed from the Sanskrit word 'grāma' (village, dwelling). | |||
| Marathi | गाव | ||
| The Marathi word "गाव" (village) is derived from the Sanskrit word "grāma," which also means "village" or "settlement." | |||
| Nepali | गाउँ | ||
| Nepali word "गाउँ" also refers to an area inhabited by members of one particular caste. | |||
| Punjabi | ਪਿੰਡ | ||
| The word 'ਪਿੰਡ' originally comes from Sanskrit 'pinda', meaning 'a ball' or 'a lump', as most initial settlements were circular to maximize space. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ගම | ||
| The word "ගම" (gama) in Sinhala also refers to agricultural land, suggesting its historical importance in agrarian societies. | |||
| Tamil | கிராமம் | ||
| In ancient Tamil, 'கிராமம்' meant a group of houses or a settlement, rather than its current meaning of 'village'. | |||
| Telugu | గ్రామం | ||
| Urdu | گاؤں | ||
| The word "گاؤں" (village) can also refer to a "cow house" or the land immediately surrounding it. | |||
Village in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 村 | ||
| 村 is also a unit of area, usually equal to 100 acres. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 村 | ||
| 村 (village) also refers to a gathering, assembly, group, or place of gathering. | |||
| Japanese | 村 | ||
| In Japanese, the character "村" not only refers to a village but also to a group of people sharing a common interest or purpose. | |||
| Korean | 마을 | ||
| "마을" can also refer to a small town or a group of people who share a common interest. | |||
| Mongolian | тосгон | ||
| The suffix ''tos'' in ''tosgon'' is a plural suffix for Mongolian words used for place names. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရွာ | ||
| 'ရွာ' is related to the Mon word ' | |||
Village in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | desa | ||
| The term "desa" is also used to refer to a small administrative unit in rural areas, similar to a municipality or township. | |||
| Javanese | desa | ||
| The word "desa" in Javanese can also refer to the "head of a village" or "village administration office." | |||
| Khmer | ភូមិ | ||
| Although "ភូមិ" originally meant "land", it is now widely used to refer to "village" in Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ບ້ານ | ||
| The word "ບ້ານ" can also refer to a "house", "dwelling", or "family" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | kampung | ||
| The word | |||
| Thai | หมู่บ้าน | ||
| The word "หมู่บ้าน" (village) derives from "มูล" (root) and "บ้าน" (house), and can also refer to a cluster of buildings outside a walled city. | |||
| Vietnamese | làng | ||
| In the central regions of Vietnam, "làng" can refer to a specific area within a village known as a "xóm". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nayon | ||
Village in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | kənd | ||
| The word "kənd" in Azerbaijani is cognate with the Persian word "kand" and the Kurdish word "gund", all of which mean "village". | |||
| Kazakh | ауыл | ||
| The word | |||
| Kyrgyz | айыл | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "айыл" also means "pasture" or "meadow" and originates from the Old Turkic word "айык" | |||
| Tajik | деҳа | ||
| The word "деҳа" is a loanword from Persian ده, meaning a small settlement or a rural area. | |||
| Turkmen | obasy | ||
| Uzbek | qishloq | ||
| The word "qishloq" also refers to a group of tents, a nomadic camp, or a rural neighborhood with closely spaced houses. | |||
| Uyghur | يېزا | ||
Village in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kauhale | ||
| Kauhale is also a land division in the ahupua'a system, and can refer to the ahupua'a itself or to a particular section of it. | |||
| Maori | kainga | ||
| The word "kainga" can also refer to a house, a group of people associated with a place (a community), or a territory. | |||
| Samoan | nuu | ||
| The word "nuu" can also refer to a group of houses or a neighborhood. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | nayon | ||
| The Tagalog word "nayon" is also used to refer to a neighborhood, district, or municipality. | |||
Village in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | marka | ||
| Guarani | táva | ||
Village in International Languages
| Esperanto | vilaĝo | ||
| Latin | pago | ||
| "Pagus" also refers to a district, or a clan or tribe. | |||
Village in Others Languages
| Greek | χωριό | ||
| The word "χωριό" is derived from the ancient Greek word "χορός," meaning "dance" or "gathering place." | |||
| Hmong | lub zos | ||
| The Hmong word 'lub zos' is derived from the Proto-Hmong-Mien word '*p-loŋ₂', meaning 'settlement' or 'abode'. It has cognates in various Hmong-Mien languages, such as Proto-Karen '*plaŋ' and Proto-Mien '*ploŋ'. | |||
| Kurdish | gûnd | ||
| The word 'gûnd' can also refer to a group of nomads or a cluster of tents used for temporary settlement. | |||
| Turkish | köy | ||
| The Proto-Turkic origin of the word "köy" also carries the meaning "grassy lowland suitable for cattle to graze". | |||
| Xhosa | kwilali | ||
| The word 'ikwila' in Xhosa also means 'to turn around' or 'to circle'. | |||
| Yiddish | דאָרף | ||
| "דאָרף" means not only "village", but also "generation" (Psalm 103:5), "duration of life" (Isaiah 38:12), and "age" (Job 32:7). | |||
| Zulu | emzaneni | ||
| The word 'emzaneni' refers to a village, particularly a small one, and is derived from the Zulu word 'umzi', meaning 'homestead' or 'settlement'. | |||
| Assamese | গাওঁ | ||
| Aymara | marka | ||
| Bhojpuri | गांव | ||
| Dhivehi | ރަށްފުށު | ||
| Dogri | ग्रां | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nayon | ||
| Guarani | táva | ||
| Ilocano | bario | ||
| Krio | vilɛj | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گوند | ||
| Maithili | गाम | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯨꯡꯒꯪ | ||
| Mizo | thingtlang | ||
| Oromo | baadiyyaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗାଁ | ||
| Quechua | llaqta | ||
| Sanskrit | ग्राम | ||
| Tatar | авыл | ||
| Tigrinya | ገጠር | ||
| Tsonga | tiko | ||