Wind in different languages

Wind in Different Languages

Discover 'Wind' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

Wind - a natural phenomenon that has fascinated humans for centuries. It's an essential element of life, yet we can't see it. We can only feel its power and observe its effects. From a gentle breeze to a raging storm, wind has been a source of inspiration for poets, artists, and scientists alike. Its significance extends beyond the physical world, playing a crucial role in various cultural and religious beliefs.

Throughout history, wind has been associated with deities and spirits in many cultures. In Greek mythology, the gods controlled the winds, while in Hinduism, the god Vayu is the deity of wind and air. Moreover, wind has been used as a symbol of change and renewal, representing the constant movement and transformation of life.

Understanding the translation of wind in different languages can provide valuable insights into how different cultures perceive and interact with this natural phenomenon. Here are a few examples:

  • Wind (English)
  • Vent (French)
  • Wind (German)
  • Viento (Spanish)
  • Vento (Italian)

Stay tuned for more translations of wind in different languages and the fascinating stories behind them.

Wind


Wind in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanswind
In Afrikaans, "wind" can also refer to a lie or an exaggeration.
Amharicነፋስ
In some dialects, the word "ነፋስ" can also refer to a type of demon or evil spirit.
Hausaiska
The etymology of "iska" is unknown, and it can also refer to an animal's fur or hair.
Igboifufe
The Igbo word
Malagasyrivotra
The word "rivotra" can also mean "breath" or "air".
Nyanja (Chichewa)mphepo
Derived from the Proto-Bantu root */pepa/*, 'wind', it also has the additional meaning of 'spirit'.
Shonamhepo
'Mhepo' derives from the Proto-Bantu word *pepo, meaning 'breath' or 'soul'. In modern Shona, it can also refer to a 'spirit' or a 'ghost'.
Somalidabayl
One of the alternate meanings of "dabayl" in Somali is a "strong wind with heavy rain or hail occurring in the afternoon or at night during the hot season".
Sesothomoea
Swahiliupepo
In Swahili,
Xhosaumoya
"Umoya" can also refer to the breath of someone or something, such as "umoya wabantu" (the breath of people).
Yorubaafẹfẹ
In the Egun dialect of Yoruba, the word "àfẹfẹ" also has the metaphorical meaning of "news", likely due to the way that news spreads quickly like the wind.
Zuluumoya
The Zulu word "umoya" (wind) is also used to refer to the breath of life, the spirit, or the soul.
Bambarafiɲɛ
Eweya
Kinyarwandaumuyaga
Lingalamopepe
Lugandaempewo
Sepediphefo
Twi (Akan)mframabum

Wind in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicريح
The Arabic word "ريح" can also refer to one's character, nature, or scent.
Hebrewרוּחַ
The Hebrew word "רוּחַ" (ruach) can also mean "spirit" or "breath", reflecting its ancient association with the immaterial and unseen forces of the natural world.
Pashtoباد
The name of the Pashto language, "Pashto", is also sometimes called "Bad" from the word "Badakhshan", a geographical area historically inhabited by Pashto people.
Arabicريح
The Arabic word "ريح" can also refer to one's character, nature, or scent.

Wind in Western European Languages

Albanianera
Albanian "era" (wind) ultimately derives from Vulgar Latin *aura, *ora (probably related to Latin *aer "air") via Proto-Romance *aura.
Basquehaizea
Haizea, in Basque, can refer either to the wind (haize) or the direction from which the wind is coming (haizealdea).
Catalanvent
In Catalan, the word "vent" can also refer to the opening or aperture in a wall or roof that allows air or smoke to escape.
Croatianvjetar
The Croatian word 'vjetar' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'větrъ', which also means 'weather' or 'storm'.
Danishvind
In Old Norse, vindr referred to the act of winding up a thread.
Dutchwind
In Dutch, "wind" can also refer to the act of wrapping or winding something up.
Englishwind
In the 1580s,
Frenchvent
The word "vent" in French, meaning "wind", derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*we-," which also gave rise to the English word "wind."
Frisianwyn
Frisian has a word 'wyn' meaning 'meadow' and 'hay', etymologically unrelated to that meaning 'wind'.
Galicianvento
The Galician word "vento" also means "noise" or "boast".
Germanwind
In German, "Wind" not only means "wind" but also "direction" and "side of a mountain facing the sun."
Icelandicvindur
The Icelandic word "vindur" (wind) is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "windaz," which also means "to travel," suggesting a connection between wind and movement.
Irishgaoth
The word "gaoth" in Irish is cognate with the Welsh "gwynt" and the Breton "gwalc'h", all meaning wind, and can refer to a gentle breeze or a storm.
Italianvento
"Vento" can also refer to a place exposed to a lot of wind, an opening that lets air in, a fan or bellows.
Luxembourgishwand
The word "Wand" also means "wall" in Luxembourgish, derived from the Old High German "want".
Malteseriħ
In Maltese, "riħ" originates from Arabic "riḥ" and also refers to a cold or a smell.
Norwegianvind
Norwegian 'vind' comes from the Old Norse 'vindr' meaning 'wind' or 'to blow' and is related to the English word 'wind'.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)vento
"Vento" also means "a lot"
Scots Gaelicgaoth
Derived from Old Irish "gaíth", cognate with Latin "ventus" from Proto-Indo-European "*weh₂-" (to blow).
Spanishviento
"Viento" can mean "wind" or, figuratively, "flatulence".
Swedishvind
In addition to its primary meaning, "vind" can also refer to "direction" or "way" in Swedish.
Welshgwynt
The Welsh word "gwynt" is also used figuratively to mean "spirit" or "inspiration".

Wind in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianвецер
The Belarusian word “вецер” (“wind”) originates from the Proto-Slavic word “větъrъ,” also meaning “wind.”
Bosnianvjetar
The word "vjetar" in Bosnian shares the same root with the Latin word "ventus", meaning "a current of air".
Bulgarianвятър
Вятър, означаващ вятър на български, може също да означава въздушно течение, газова струя и течение на флуид.
Czechvítr
"Vítr" is an ancient term also meaning "lord" or "master" in Proto-Indo-European and is the source of the Slavic term "king."
Estoniantuul
The word "tuul" in Estonian also has meanings of "frame of mind" or "mood".
Finnishtuuli
"Tuuli" has the same root as the word "tuulee" which means "to blow".
Hungarianszél
The Hungarian word "szél" originally referred to a sharp edge, and can still be used in this sense in certain contexts.
Latvianvējš
The Latvian word "vējš" (wind) is cognate with the Lithuanian "vėjas" and the Old Prussian "weyse", all meaning "wind" or "air".
Lithuanianvėjas
The word "vėjas" shares a root with the Latvian word "vējš", meaning "breeze", and the Old Prussian word "weyse".
Macedonianветер
"Ветар" comes from an ancient Proto-Slavic root *vĕtrъ, meaning "to blow" or "to fan."
Polishwiatr
The word "wiatr" also means "scent" in Polish.
Romanianvânt
The Romanian word "vânt" is cognate with the Latin word "ventus" and the English word "wind."
Russianветер
The word “ветер” also refers to a type of Russian folk music and a card game.
Serbianветар
The word "ветар" in Serbian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "вѣтръ" meaning "breeze" or "wind".
Slovakvietor
The word "vietor" in Slovak can also refer to a whirlwind or tornado.
Slovenianveter
"Veter" in Slovenian is a homonym that refers to both "wind" and a type of "heather".
Ukrainianвітер
"Вітер" is a cognate with "wind" in English and "ветер" in Russian.

Wind in South Asian Languages

Bengaliবায়ু
The Bengali word for "wind", "বায়ু", originally meant "that which flows" (from Sanskrit "vāyu").
Gujaratiપવન
The word "પવન" can also mean "breath" or "spirit" in Gujarati.
Hindiहवा
Hindi "हवा" is also the feminine gender of "हुआ" (occured)
Kannadaಗಾಳಿ
The word "ಗಾಳಿ" (gāḷi) in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "वायु" (vāyu), which also means "wind" or "air".
Malayalamകാറ്റ്
"കാറ്റ്" (wind) also means "car" in Malayalam, likely due to the shared sound of the English word "car" and the Malayalam word "കാറ്റ്".
Marathiवारा
"वारा" is also used as a synonym for "turn" or "occasion" in Marathi.
Nepaliहावा
In Sanskrit, "वा" (vā) means "to blow", while "हा" (hā) is an intensifier, thus "हावा" means "strong wind".
Punjabiਹਵਾ
The word 'ਹਵਾ' (hawa) can also refer to a woman's veil, possibly influenced by the Arabic word 'حجاب' (hijab) with a similar meaning.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)සුළඟ
The word "සුළඟ" (wind) is also used to mean "breath" and "soul" in Sinhala.
Tamilகாற்று
The word "காற்று" in Tamil is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word "*kaːr-, *kaːṟ-," meaning "to blow, to move swiftly".
Teluguగాలి
The Telugu word "గాలి" is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "वाति" (vAti), meaning "to blow", "to move".
Urduہوا
The word "ہوا" can also refer to "weather" or an "atmosphere."

Wind in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
风 is also a homonym for "custom" or "fashion" in Chinese.
Chinese (Traditional)
The character "風" (wind) in Chinese is also used as a radical (component) in other characters indicating movement, such as "飛" (fly) or "動" (move).
Japanese
The character 風 also means 'custom' or 'style' and is often used in compound words such as 'atmosphere'.
Korean바람
"바람(baram)" also means 'direction' or 'course,' as in '진로(jinro), meaning 'path' or 'career'.
Mongolianсалхи
The word "салхи" (wind) in Mongolian also means "breath" and "soul".
Myanmar (Burmese)လေ
The word

Wind in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianangin
"Angin" can also mean "desire" or "longing" in Indonesian.
Javaneseangin
The Javanese word "angin" can also refer to the breath of life, spirit, soul, or mind.
Khmerខ្យល់
The word “ខ្យល់” also means breeze, air, spirit, soul, life, passion, or mood.
Laoລົມ
The word "ລົມ" can also refer to a pleasant breeze or a cool breeze.
Malayangin
The word
Thaiลม
ลม can also mean "spirit" or "energy" in Thai.
Vietnamesegió
Filipino (Tagalog)hangin

Wind in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanikülək
In Turkish, the word "külək" also means "ashes". This alternate meaning is likely due to the shared sound of "kül" and "külək". "Kül" means "ashes" in both Turkish and Azerbaijani.
Kazakhжел
The word "жел" can also mean "breeze" or "air current" in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzшамал
The word "шамал" in Kyrgyz also refers to a type of strong, cold wind that originates in Siberia and blows across the steppes.
Tajikшамол
The word "шамол" can also refer to a mythological creature that breathes wind.
Turkmenýel
Uzbekshamol
The word "shamol" can also refer to a particular type of strong westerly wind that blows in the Ferghana Valley of Uzbekistan.
Uyghurشامال

Wind in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianmakani
The word 'makani' can also refer to a spirit, breath, air, breeze, hurricane, and gale in Hawaiian.
Maorihau
Hau also refers to the life force, or spirit, present in all things.
Samoanmatagi
The word 'matagi' can also mean 'breeze' or 'air' in the Samoan language.
Tagalog (Filipino)hangin
Hangin also means "breathe" in Tagalog; it's a related concept, since one needs wind to breathe.

Wind in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarathaya
Guaraniyvytu

Wind in International Languages

Esperantovento
The word "vento" is related to the Latin word "ventus" and the Italian word "vento".
Latinventus
In Latin, "ventus" not only refers to wind but also to sails, breaths, or even the direction from which the wind blows.

Wind in Others Languages

Greekάνεμος
"Άνεμος" in Greek also means "breath" or "spirit."
Hmongcua
'Cua' is also used to describe a person who has a lot of energy and a big appetite.
Kurdishba
The word "ba" in Kurdish also means "breeze" and "air."
Turkishrüzgar
The word "rüzgar" is derived from the Persian word "rüz". It also means "desire" in Turkish and "spirit" in Persian.
Xhosaumoya
"Umoya" can also refer to the breath of someone or something, such as "umoya wabantu" (the breath of people).
Yiddishווינט
Derives from German 'Wind', which is cognate with English 'wind', meaning air movement
Zuluumoya
The Zulu word "umoya" (wind) is also used to refer to the breath of life, the spirit, or the soul.
Assameseবায়ু
Aymarathaya
Bhojpuriहवा
Dhivehiވައި
Dogriब्हाऽ
Filipino (Tagalog)hangin
Guaraniyvytu
Ilocanoangin
Kriobriz
Kurdish (Sorani)با
Maithiliहवा
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯅꯨꯡꯁꯤꯠ
Mizothli
Oromobubbee
Odia (Oriya)ପବନ
Quechuawayra
Sanskritवायुः
Tatarҗил
Tigrinyaንፋስ
Tsongamoya

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