War in Different Languages
Discover 'War' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
War, a profound and impactful concept, has shaped societies and cultures throughout history. Its significance extends beyond mere conflict, as it often serves as a catalyst for change, innovation, and progress. The cultural importance of war is evident in the myriad of ways it has been depicted in art, literature, and media across the globe.
Understanding the translation of war in different languages can provide valuable insights into how various cultures perceive and approach this complex phenomenon. For instance, the German word for war, 'Krieg', reflects the language's tendency towards guttural and harsh sounds, mirroring the destructive nature of war. Meanwhile, the Chinese translation of war, '戰爭' (zhànzhēng), consists of two characters that literally mean 'fight' and 'contend', highlighting the combative aspects of war.
As you explore the translations of war in different languages, you'll uncover fascinating historical contexts and cultural nuances that shed light on how the world has grappled with this challenging concept throughout history.
War
War in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | oorlog | ||
| In Afrikaans, "oorlog" can also refer to a game of marbles played with a large metal hoop. | |||
| Amharic | ጦርነት | ||
| The word "ጦርነት" can also refer to a "conflict" or "dispute" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | yaƙi | ||
| The Hausa word "yaƙi" can also refer to a dispute or disagreement. | |||
| Igbo | agha | ||
| "Agha" literally translates to "fight against an enemy" in the Igbo language and can also refer to war, hostilities, or battle. | |||
| Malagasy | ady | ||
| The word "ady" in Malagasy can also refer to a "battle" or the "struggle of life." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nkhondo | ||
| Nkhondo in Nyanja also refers to a war dance performed to remember great battles and warriors, and to encourage unity and courage. | |||
| Shona | hondo | ||
| The word "hondo" in Shona also means "firewood" or "fuel", denoting the destructive nature of war. | |||
| Somali | dagaal | ||
| Dagaal is also used figuratively to refer to a dispute or conflict of any kind. | |||
| Sesotho | ntoa | ||
| The word "ntoa" can also refer to a military conflict or a battle. | |||
| Swahili | vita | ||
| The Swahili word "vita" can also mean "affair" or "matter"} | |||
| Xhosa | imfazwe | ||
| The Xhosa word 'imfazwe' also refers to the traditional method of hunting, using a net to encircle a large area and drive game towards a central killing ground. | |||
| Yoruba | ogun | ||
| Yoruba word "ogun" is also the name of the war god, the deity of iron, and a type of iron tool. | |||
| Zulu | impi | ||
| The word "impi" can also refer to a Zulu regiment or army. | |||
| Bambara | kɛlɛ | ||
| Ewe | aʋa | ||
| Kinyarwanda | intambara | ||
| Lingala | bitumba | ||
| Luganda | olutalo | ||
| Sepedi | ntwa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔko | ||
War in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حرب | ||
| The Arabic word حرب (harb) originated as a verb meaning "to strive" and later acquired the noun form meaning "war". | |||
| Hebrew | מִלחָמָה | ||
| The term מִלחָמָה (milchamah) is used in the Bible to refer both to an internal conflict within a nation and to international war. | |||
| Pashto | جګړه | ||
| The Pashto word جګړه, like the English "battle," can also refer to a fight or struggle beyond armed conflict. | |||
| Arabic | حرب | ||
| The Arabic word حرب (harb) originated as a verb meaning "to strive" and later acquired the noun form meaning "war". | |||
War in Western European Languages
| Albanian | luftë | ||
| Luftë shares the same root, lupt-, with its Latin counterpart pugna (battle/combat). | |||
| Basque | gerra | ||
| The Basque word 'gerra' also means 'conflict', 'fight' or 'violence' depending on context, and possibly comes from an ancient Indo-European root meaning 'heavy' or 'difficult'. | |||
| Catalan | guerra | ||
| The word "guerra" in Catalan derives from a Germanic term meaning "quarrel" or "strife". | |||
| Croatian | rat | ||
| The Croatian word "rat" can also mean "count" or "installment". | |||
| Danish | krig | ||
| In archaic Danish, krig ('war') also meant 'quarrel' or 'disagreement', a sense still retained in the compound word krigsråd ('war council'). | |||
| Dutch | oorlog | ||
| "Oorlog" shares a root with "oor" (ear), likely referring to the sounds associated with battles. | |||
| English | war | ||
| The word "war" derives from the Old English word "werre," meaning "strife" or "quarrel." | |||
| French | guerre | ||
| The French word "guerre" originally meant a fight or quarrel, and is cognate with the Old Norse word "ver" (fight). | |||
| Frisian | oarloch | ||
| Frisian 'oarloch' is a cognate of Old English 'orlege' (battle, strife, war) and Old Norse 'orlog' (destiny), and originally had a more general meaning of 'fate' or 'judgment'. | |||
| Galician | guerra | ||
| "Guerra" also means "garden" (as in "vegetable garden") in southern Galician and Portuguese | |||
| German | krieg | ||
| The Old High German root of "Krieg" is "krijan", which in turn derives from the Proto-Germanic "*krigôz", meaning "fight" or "quarrel." | |||
| Icelandic | stríð | ||
| Icelandic 'stríð' is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'strīþuz', meaning 'strife'. | |||
| Irish | cogadh | ||
| In addition to the literal meaning of "war", the Irish word "cogadh" is sometimes figuratively translated as "battle", "dispute", or "quarrel". | |||
| Italian | guerra | ||
| The Italian word "guerra" originally meant "dispute" or "quarrel" and is related to the Latin word "querella". | |||
| Luxembourgish | krich | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Krich" derives from the Old High German word "Krihh", which also means "discord" or "quarrel". | |||
| Maltese | gwerra | ||
| The Maltese word "gwerra" originates from the Sicilo-Arabic "werra", which in turn derives from the Arabic root word for "attack" or "raid". | |||
| Norwegian | krig | ||
| The Norwegian word "krig" is also used in the phrase "krig og fred" which means "war and peace". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | guerra | ||
| In Portuguese, the word "guerra" also means "fight" or "contention". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cogadh | ||
| Cogadh derives from the Proto-Celtic stem *ko-gad-yos, from *kom- (battle) and *-gad-yos (act of). | |||
| Spanish | guerra | ||
| The word "guerra" in Spanish comes from the Basque word "gerra" meaning "battle". | |||
| Swedish | krig | ||
| The word 'krig' is related to the Old Norse word 'krigja', meaning 'to make war' or 'to strive'. | |||
| Welsh | rhyfel | ||
War in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | вайны | ||
| "Вайны" (в множественном числе) также может означать "истории" или "рассказы". | |||
| Bosnian | rata | ||
| "Rata" can also mean "installment" or "payment by installments" | |||
| Bulgarian | война | ||
| The word "война" in Bulgarian has alternate meanings, such as "campaign" and "struggle." | |||
| Czech | válka | ||
| Válka is cognate with the Polish word "wojak," which means "soldier." | |||
| Estonian | sõda | ||
| The Estonian word for "war" is derived from an ancient Proto-Finno-Ugric word meaning "quarrel" or "dispute". | |||
| Finnish | sota | ||
| The Finnish word "sota" is also used to refer to a game or competition. | |||
| Hungarian | háború | ||
| The Hungarian word for "war," "háború," can also mean "disturbance" or "noise." | |||
| Latvian | karš | ||
| The word "karš" also means "wrath" or "punishment" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | karas | ||
| The word "karas" in Lithuanian can also refer to a species of Eurasian freshwater fish. | |||
| Macedonian | војна | ||
| The verb 'војна' in Macedonian also means 'to fight' or 'to engage in military combat'. | |||
| Polish | wojna | ||
| The word "wojna" in Polish also means "quarrel" or "dispute". | |||
| Romanian | război | ||
| The word 'război' is derived from the Slavic word 'razbiti', meaning 'to break' or 'to destroy'. | |||
| Russian | война | ||
| The word война (voyna) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vojna, which meant 'military expedition' or 'campaign'. | |||
| Serbian | рата | ||
| The Serbian word 'rata' derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'or-ti' meaning 'time' or 'age', signifying war as a period of disturbance in the normal course of life. | |||
| Slovak | vojna | ||
| The Slovak word "vojna" is a cognate of the Russian word "война" and the Czech word "válka", all sharing an ancient Slavic root meaning "quarrel" or "conflict". | |||
| Slovenian | vojna | ||
| Vojna can also refer to a military conflict or battle. | |||
| Ukrainian | війни | ||
| "Війна" originates from the Proto-Slavonic word "voina", which meant "quarrel"} | |||
War in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | যুদ্ধ | ||
| Gujarati | યુદ્ધ | ||
| The word "યુદ્ધ" (yuddha) in Gujarati ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "yudha" which also means "fight, combat, or battle". | |||
| Hindi | युद्ध | ||
| In Sanskrit and Pali languages, "युद्ध" also means "a battle between two parties" | |||
| Kannada | ಯುದ್ಧ | ||
| ಯುದ್ಧ also means 'an event that causes great upheaval or change' in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | യുദ്ധം | ||
| Marathi | युद्ध | ||
| Nepali | युद्ध | ||
| The Nepali word "युद्ध" is derived from the Sanskrit word "युध्" which means "to fight". | |||
| Punjabi | ਜੰਗ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਜੰਗ" (jang) also means "battlefield" or "combat zone." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | යුද්ධය | ||
| Tamil | போர் | ||
| போர் ('pōr') is also used in Tamil to refer to a group of people engaged in a common activity. | |||
| Telugu | యుద్ధం | ||
| యుద్ధం (Yuddham) is derived from the Sanskrit word yuddha, meaning 'fight, battle, or combat'. | |||
| Urdu | جنگ | ||
| The word "جنگ" (war) in Urdu can also mean "battle" or "conflict". | |||
War in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 战争 | ||
| The word "战争" is often used to refer to armed conflicts between nation-states, but it can also be used in a more general sense to refer to any type of intense conflict. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 戰爭 | ||
| 戦争 is also used in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese to mean "war" or "battle". | |||
| Japanese | 戦争 | ||
| The word "戦争" (sensō) is derived from the Japanese words "sen" (battle) and "sō" (dispute), and can also refer to a "conflict" or "contest". | |||
| Korean | 전쟁 | ||
| 전쟁 is derived from the Middle Korean word 전쟁 (jŏnjŏng), which can also mean "battle" or "military campaign." | |||
| Mongolian | дайн | ||
| Originally referred to battle in wrestling, 'дайн' has come to mean any type of combat. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စစ် | ||
| In Myanmar, the word "စစ်" also means "battle" and "contest" | |||
War in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | perang | ||
| The word “perang” can also refer to a kind of traditional Indonesian martial art. | |||
| Javanese | perang | ||
| It is the same word as 'perang' in Indonesian, which means 'fight' or 'quarrel'. | |||
| Khmer | សង្គ្រាម | ||
| The Khmer word for "war" is derived from the Sanskrit word "samgrama," meaning "struggle" and has a broader meaning in Khmer, encompassing a clash of any kind. | |||
| Lao | ສົງຄາມ | ||
| Malay | perang | ||
| Perang, meaning 'war' in Malay, derives from the Sanskrit word 'prang', meaning 'battle' or 'fight'. | |||
| Thai | สงคราม | ||
| สงคราม derives from Sanskrit 'samgarama' (gathering or fighting together) and is cognate with 'sangram' meaning battle in Hindi. Its alternate meanings include a competition, struggle, or fight between two or more entities. | |||
| Vietnamese | chiến tranh | ||
| In Vietnamese, chiến tranh means "war" but is composed of the Vietnamese words for "fighting" and "fighting of the sexes." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | digmaan | ||
War in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | müharibə | ||
| The word | |||
| Kazakh | соғыс | ||
| The Kazakh word "соғыс" is also used to refer to struggles or conflicts other than physical warfare. | |||
| Kyrgyz | согуш | ||
| The word, cognate to Mongolian | |||
| Tajik | ҷанг | ||
| The word “ҷанг” can also mean “struggle” or “conflict” in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | uruş | ||
| Uzbek | urush | ||
| The word "urush" can also mean "fight" or "battle" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ئۇرۇش | ||
War in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kaua | ||
| "Kaua" can also mean "battle," "quarrel," "fight," or "conflict." | |||
| Maori | pakanga | ||
| The word 'pakanga' can also refer to a quarrel or a dispute. | |||
| Samoan | taua | ||
| The word 'taua' in Samoan also means 'battle' or 'conflict', and it is related to the Polynesian word 'tau', which means 'to fight' or 'to engage in combat'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | giyera | ||
| Giyera is a loanword from the Spanish word guerra, with the original meaning of "army" or "fighting force" still occasionally being used in modern Tagalog. | |||
War in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ch'axwa | ||
| Guarani | ñorãirõ | ||
War in International Languages
| Esperanto | milito | ||
| The word "milito" in Esperanto can also refer to a "soldier" or "military service". | |||
| Latin | bellum | ||
| Bellum also referred to a Roman "legal war" fought in accordance with the "jus fetiale" or law of nations. | |||
War in Others Languages
| Greek | πόλεμος | ||
| The word 'πόλεμος' also means 'toil' or 'work' in Greek, emphasizing the exertion and effort involved in warfare. | |||
| Hmong | tsov rog | ||
| Kurdish | şerr | ||
| The Kurdish word "şerr" has alternate meanings including "evil" and "misfortune". | |||
| Turkish | savaş | ||
| In Turkish, 'savaş' can also refer to 'battle', 'campaign', 'conflict' or 'struggle'. | |||
| Xhosa | imfazwe | ||
| The Xhosa word 'imfazwe' also refers to the traditional method of hunting, using a net to encircle a large area and drive game towards a central killing ground. | |||
| Yiddish | מלחמה | ||
| The Yiddish word מלחמה (malchama) derives from the Hebrew word 'מלחמה' (milchamah), and also means 'battle' or 'quarrel'. | |||
| Zulu | impi | ||
| The word "impi" can also refer to a Zulu regiment or army. | |||
| Assamese | যুদ্ধ | ||
| Aymara | ch'axwa | ||
| Bhojpuri | लड़ाई | ||
| Dhivehi | ހަނގުރާމަ | ||
| Dogri | लाम | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | digmaan | ||
| Guarani | ñorãirõ | ||
| Ilocano | gubat | ||
| Krio | wɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | جەنگ | ||
| Maithili | युद्ध | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯥꯟ | ||
| Mizo | indona | ||
| Oromo | waraana | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଯୁଦ୍ଧ | ||
| Quechua | awqay | ||
| Sanskrit | जंग | ||
| Tatar | сугыш | ||
| Tigrinya | ውግእ | ||
| Tsonga | nyimpi | ||