War in different languages

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

Afrikaansoorlog
In Afrikaans, "oorlog" can also refer to a game of marbles played with a large metal hoop.
Amharicጦርነት
The word "ጦርነት" can also refer to a "conflict" or "dispute" in Amharic.
Hausayaƙi
The Hausa word "yaƙi" can also refer to a dispute or disagreement.
Igboagha
"Agha" literally translates to "fight against an enemy" in the Igbo language and can also refer to war, hostilities, or battle.
Malagasyady
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.
Shonahondo
The word "hondo" in Shona also means "firewood" or "fuel", denoting the destructive nature of war.
Somalidagaal
Dagaal is also used figuratively to refer to a dispute or conflict of any kind.
Sesothontoa
The word "ntoa" can also refer to a military conflict or a battle.
Swahilivita
The Swahili word "vita" can also mean "affair" or "matter"}
Xhosaimfazwe
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.
Yorubaogun
Yoruba word "ogun" is also the name of the war god, the deity of iron, and a type of iron tool.
Zuluimpi
The word "impi" can also refer to a Zulu regiment or army.
Bambarakɛlɛ
Eweaʋa
Kinyarwandaintambara
Lingalabitumba
Lugandaolutalo
Sepedintwa
Twi (Akan)ɔko

War in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicحرب
The Arabic word حرب (harb) originated as a verb meaning "to strive" and later acquired the noun form meaning "war".
Hebrewמִלחָמָה
The term מִלחָמָה (milchamah) is used in the Bible to refer both to an internal conflict within a nation and to international war.
Pashtoجګړه
The Pashto word جګړه, like the English "battle," can also refer to a fight or struggle beyond armed conflict.
Arabicحرب
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

Albanianluftë
Luftë shares the same root, lupt-, with its Latin counterpart pugna (battle/combat).
Basquegerra
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'.
Catalanguerra
The word "guerra" in Catalan derives from a Germanic term meaning "quarrel" or "strife".
Croatianrat
The Croatian word "rat" can also mean "count" or "installment".
Danishkrig
In archaic Danish, krig ('war') also meant 'quarrel' or 'disagreement', a sense still retained in the compound word krigsråd ('war council').
Dutchoorlog
"Oorlog" shares a root with "oor" (ear), likely referring to the sounds associated with battles.
Englishwar
The word "war" derives from the Old English word "werre," meaning "strife" or "quarrel."
Frenchguerre
The French word "guerre" originally meant a fight or quarrel, and is cognate with the Old Norse word "ver" (fight).
Frisianoarloch
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'.
Galicianguerra
"Guerra" also means "garden" (as in "vegetable garden") in southern Galician and Portuguese
Germankrieg
The Old High German root of "Krieg" is "krijan", which in turn derives from the Proto-Germanic "*krigôz", meaning "fight" or "quarrel."
Icelandicstríð
Icelandic 'stríð' is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'strīþuz', meaning 'strife'.
Irishcogadh
In addition to the literal meaning of "war", the Irish word "cogadh" is sometimes figuratively translated as "battle", "dispute", or "quarrel".
Italianguerra
The Italian word "guerra" originally meant "dispute" or "quarrel" and is related to the Latin word "querella".
Luxembourgishkrich
The Luxembourgish word "Krich" derives from the Old High German word "Krihh", which also means "discord" or "quarrel".
Maltesegwerra
The Maltese word "gwerra" originates from the Sicilo-Arabic "werra", which in turn derives from the Arabic root word for "attack" or "raid".
Norwegiankrig
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 Gaeliccogadh
Cogadh derives from the Proto-Celtic stem *ko-gad-yos, from *kom- (battle) and *-gad-yos (act of).
Spanishguerra
The word "guerra" in Spanish comes from the Basque word "gerra" meaning "battle".
Swedishkrig
The word 'krig' is related to the Old Norse word 'krigja', meaning 'to make war' or 'to strive'.
Welshrhyfel

War in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianвайны
"Вайны" (в множественном числе) также может означать "истории" или "рассказы".
Bosnianrata
"Rata" can also mean "installment" or "payment by installments"
Bulgarianвойна
The word "война" in Bulgarian has alternate meanings, such as "campaign" and "struggle."
Czechválka
Válka is cognate with the Polish word "wojak," which means "soldier."
Estoniansõda
The Estonian word for "war" is derived from an ancient Proto-Finno-Ugric word meaning "quarrel" or "dispute".
Finnishsota
The Finnish word "sota" is also used to refer to a game or competition.
Hungarianháború
The Hungarian word for "war," "háború," can also mean "disturbance" or "noise."
Latviankarš
The word "karš" also means "wrath" or "punishment" in Latvian.
Lithuaniankaras
The word "karas" in Lithuanian can also refer to a species of Eurasian freshwater fish.
Macedonianвојна
The verb 'војна' in Macedonian also means 'to fight' or 'to engage in military combat'.
Polishwojna
The word "wojna" in Polish also means "quarrel" or "dispute".
Romanianrăzboi
The word 'război' is derived from the Slavic word 'razbiti', meaning 'to break' or 'to destroy'.
Russianвойна
The word война (voyna) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vojna, which meant 'military expedition' or 'campaign'.
Serbianрата
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.
Slovakvojna
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".
Slovenianvojna
Vojna can also refer to a military conflict or battle.
Ukrainianвійни
"Війна" originates from the Proto-Slavonic word "voina", which meant "quarrel"}

War in South Asian Languages

Bengaliযুদ্ধ
Gujaratiયુદ્ધ
The word "યુદ્ધ" (yuddha) in Gujarati ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "yudha" which also means "fight, combat, or battle".
Hindiयुद्ध
In Sanskrit and Pali languages, "युद्ध" also means "a battle between two parties"
Kannadaಯುದ್ಧ
ಯುದ್ಧ also means 'an event that causes great upheaval or change' in Kannada.
Malayalamയുദ്ധം
Marathiयुद्ध
Nepaliयुद्ध
The Nepali word "युद्ध" is derived from the Sanskrit word "युध्" which means "to fight".
Punjabiਜੰਗ
The Punjabi word "ਜੰਗ" (jang) also means "battlefield" or "combat zone."
Sinhala (Sinhalese)යුද්ධය
Tamilபோர்
போர் ('pōr') is also used in Tamil to refer to a group of people engaged in a common activity.
Teluguయుద్ధం
యుద్ధం (Yuddham) is derived from the Sanskrit word yuddha, meaning 'fight, battle, or combat'.
Urduجنگ
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".
Korean전쟁
전쟁 is derived from the Middle Korean word 전쟁 (jŏnjŏng), which can also mean "battle" or "military campaign."
Mongolianдайн
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

Indonesianperang
The word “perang” can also refer to a kind of traditional Indonesian martial art.
Javaneseperang
It is the same word as 'perang' in Indonesian, which means 'fight' or 'quarrel'.
Khmerសង្គ្រាម
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.
Laoສົງຄາມ
Malayperang
Perang, meaning 'war' in Malay, derives from the Sanskrit word 'prang', meaning 'battle' or 'fight'.
Thaiสงคราม
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.
Vietnamesechiến 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

Azerbaijanimüharibə
The word
Kazakhсоғыс
The Kazakh word "соғыс" is also used to refer to struggles or conflicts other than physical warfare.
Kyrgyzсогуш
The word, cognate to Mongolian
Tajikҷанг
The word “ҷанг” can also mean “struggle” or “conflict” in Tajik.
Turkmenuruş
Uzbekurush
The word "urush" can also mean "fight" or "battle" in Uzbek.
Uyghurئۇرۇش

War in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankaua
"Kaua" can also mean "battle," "quarrel," "fight," or "conflict."
Maoripakanga
The word 'pakanga' can also refer to a quarrel or a dispute.
Samoantaua
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

Aymarach'axwa
Guaraniñorãirõ

War in International Languages

Esperantomilito
The word "milito" in Esperanto can also refer to a "soldier" or "military service".
Latinbellum
Bellum also referred to a Roman "legal war" fought in accordance with the "jus fetiale" or law of nations.

War in Others Languages

Greekπόλεμος
The word 'πόλεμος' also means 'toil' or 'work' in Greek, emphasizing the exertion and effort involved in warfare.
Hmongtsov rog
Kurdishşerr
The Kurdish word "şerr" has alternate meanings including "evil" and "misfortune".
Turkishsavaş
In Turkish, 'savaş' can also refer to 'battle', 'campaign', 'conflict' or 'struggle'.
Xhosaimfazwe
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.
Yiddishמלחמה
The Yiddish word מלחמה (malchama) derives from the Hebrew word 'מלחמה' (milchamah), and also means 'battle' or 'quarrel'.
Zuluimpi
The word "impi" can also refer to a Zulu regiment or army.
Assameseযুদ্ধ
Aymarach'axwa
Bhojpuriलड़ाई
Dhivehiހަނގުރާމަ
Dogriलाम
Filipino (Tagalog)digmaan
Guaraniñorãirõ
Ilocanogubat
Krio
Kurdish (Sorani)جەنگ
Maithiliयुद्ध
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯂꯥꯟ
Mizoindona
Oromowaraana
Odia (Oriya)ଯୁଦ୍ଧ
Quechuaawqay
Sanskritजंग
Tatarсугыш
Tigrinyaውግእ
Tsonganyimpi

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