Winter in Different Languages
Discover 'Winter' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Winter
Afrikaans winter | ||
Albanian dimri | ||
Amharic ክረምት | ||
Arabic شتاء | ||
Armenian ձմեռ | ||
Assamese শীতকাল | ||
Aymara juyphipacha | ||
Azerbaijani qış | ||
Bambara samiya | ||
Basque negua | ||
Belarusian зіма | ||
Bengali শীত | ||
Bhojpuri जाड़ा | ||
Bosnian zima | ||
Bulgarian зимата | ||
Catalan hivern | ||
Cebuano tingtugnaw | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 冬季 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 冬季 | ||
Corsican invernu | ||
Croatian zima | ||
Czech zima | ||
Danish vinter | ||
Dhivehi ފިނިމޫސުން | ||
Dogri स्याल | ||
Dutch winter | ||
English winter | ||
Esperanto vintro | ||
Estonian talvel | ||
Ewe vuvᴐŋᴐli | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) taglamig | ||
Finnish talvi- | ||
French l'hiver | ||
Frisian winter | ||
Galician inverno | ||
Georgian ზამთარი | ||
German winter | ||
Greek χειμώνας | ||
Guarani araro'y | ||
Gujarati શિયાળો | ||
Haitian Creole sezon fredi | ||
Hausa hunturu | ||
Hawaiian hoʻoilo | ||
Hebrew חוֹרֶף | ||
Hindi सर्दी | ||
Hmong lub caij ntuj no | ||
Hungarian téli | ||
Icelandic vetur | ||
Igbo oyi | ||
Ilocano tiempo ti lam-ek | ||
Indonesian musim dingin | ||
Irish geimhreadh | ||
Italian inverno | ||
Japanese 冬 | ||
Javanese mangsa adhem | ||
Kannada ಚಳಿಗಾಲ | ||
Kazakh қыс | ||
Khmer រដូវរងារ | ||
Kinyarwanda imbeho | ||
Konkani शिंयाळी | ||
Korean 겨울 | ||
Krio kol wɛda | ||
Kurdish zivistan | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) زستان | ||
Kyrgyz кыш | ||
Lao ລະດູຫນາວ | ||
Latin hiems | ||
Latvian ziema | ||
Lingala eleko ya malili | ||
Lithuanian žiemą | ||
Luganda ekiseera eky'obutiti | ||
Luxembourgish wanter | ||
Macedonian зима | ||
Maithili जाड़ | ||
Malagasy ririnina | ||
Malay musim sejuk | ||
Malayalam ശീതകാലം | ||
Maltese ix-xitwa | ||
Maori hotoke | ||
Marathi हिवाळा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯤꯡꯊꯝꯊꯥ | ||
Mizo thlasik | ||
Mongolian өвөл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဆောင်းရာသီ | ||
Nepali जाडो | ||
Norwegian vinter | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) yozizira | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଶୀତ | ||
Oromo bona | ||
Pashto ژمی | ||
Persian زمستان | ||
Polish zimowy | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) inverno | ||
Punjabi ਸਰਦੀ | ||
Quechua chiri mita | ||
Romanian iarnă | ||
Russian зима | ||
Samoan taumalulu | ||
Sanskrit शीतकाल | ||
Scots Gaelic geamhradh | ||
Sepedi marega | ||
Serbian зима | ||
Sesotho mariha | ||
Shona chando | ||
Sindhi سيارو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ශීත .තුව | ||
Slovak zimné | ||
Slovenian pozimi | ||
Somali jiilaalka | ||
Spanish invierno | ||
Sundanese usum tiris | ||
Swahili majira ya baridi | ||
Swedish vinter- | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) taglamig | ||
Tajik зимистон | ||
Tamil குளிர்காலம் | ||
Tatar кыш | ||
Telugu శీతాకాలం | ||
Thai ฤดูหนาว | ||
Tigrinya ሓጋይ | ||
Tsonga xixika | ||
Turkish kış | ||
Turkmen gyş | ||
Twi (Akan) asuso | ||
Ukrainian зима | ||
Urdu موسم سرما | ||
Uyghur قىش | ||
Uzbek qish | ||
Vietnamese mùa đông | ||
Welsh gaeaf | ||
Xhosa ubusika | ||
Yiddish ווינטער | ||
Yoruba igba otutu | ||
Zulu ebusika |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word “winter” originally comes from the Proto-West Germanic word “*wintru-,” meaning “wet season.” |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "dimri" may have originated from an Illyrian root or from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "dark" or "cold". |
| Amharic | The term "ክረምት" in Amharic also refers to the "rainy season" from July to September. |
| Arabic | The word "شتاء" (winter) in Arabic may also refer to a type of rain that falls during the winter season, known as "شتاء رحمة" (mercy rain). |
| Armenian | The Armenian word for winter, “Ձմեռ” (dmɛʁ), is rooted in the Proto-Indo-European term *gʰéim- ('cold'). |
| Azerbaijani | The word "qış" (winter) in Azerbaijani is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "qɯʃ", meaning "dry season" or "dryness". |
| Basque | The word "negua" in Basque could also refer to darkness or a shadow. |
| Bengali | The word "শীত" (winter) also refers to "a cold, windy condition" and the "period of hibernation for snakes" in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | In Russian, |
| Bulgarian | The word “зимата” is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *zima, which also means “cold”. |
| Catalan | The word "hivern" may derive from the Latin word "hibernus," meaning "pertaining to winter," or from the Proto-Indo-European word "ǵʰeym-," meaning "cold, winter." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 冬季 is also refers to the first month of the winter, which refers to late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 字形上，冬季由「冬」和「時」兩字合組，其中「冬」字最初象形為人赤身露體，遭受寒冷之意，而「時」字則表示時間段落，故「冬季」即表示一年中身體赤露受寒的時間段落。此外，「冬」字在古代也用作動詞，意為「凍結」，因此「冬季」也可理解為一年中水結冰的時間段落。 |
| Corsican | The word 'invernu' likely comes from the Latin 'hibernum', which meant 'a place for winter quarters'. |
| Croatian | The word "zima" also means "cold" or "frost" in Croatian. |
| Czech | In Czech, the word "zima" has multiple meanings, including winter, cold weather, and shivering. |
| Danish | In Danish, "vinter" can refer to both the season and the constellation "Taurus". |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word "winter" can also refer to a particular type of apple or pear |
| Esperanto | Vintro' can also refer to a period of time that is not the typical winter season, but that is nonetheless cold and bleak. |
| Estonian | The word \ |
| Finnish | The word can also mean "steel" in an archaic sense, or "a piece of steel" in a slang sense. |
| French | The French word "l'hiver" originates from the Latin word "hibernus," meaning "belonging to winter". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word for winter, "winter", also means "year". |
| Galician | In Galician, "inverno" can also mean "hell" or "bad luck". |
| Georgian | The word "ზამთარი" is a compound of the words "ზა" (earth) and "მთა" (mountain), and originally referred to the period when the mountains are covered with snow. |
| German | The word |
| Greek | The Greek word χειμώνας (cheimonas) 'winter' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰyei-m-, which also gives us the English word 'cold' |
| Haitian Creole | The term 'sezon fredi' derives from the French word 'saison des fêtes', meaning 'holiday season'. |
| Hausa | In some dialects, 'hunturu' also means 'cold season'. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, “hoʻoilo” also means "to make a sound like an ʻōʻīo bird (plover)". |
| Hebrew | The word 'חוֹרֶף' can also refer to early rainfall or late summer rains. |
| Hindi | "सर्दी" also means a condition of having a cold, or a common cold. |
| Hmong | Hmong word for "winter" translates to "season of falling dew" from its root words. |
| Hungarian | Télen, a szavak jégkristályokká alakulnak. |
| Icelandic | "Vetur" is also the name of the Icelandic month corresponding approximately to May and June. |
| Igbo | "Oyi" also means "year" in Igbo, signifying the importance of the winter harvest in marking the end of one year and the start of another. |
| Indonesian | "Musim dingin" in Indonesian is derived from the root words "dingin" (cold) and "musim" (season). The term has no alternate meanings. |
| Irish | The word "geimhreadh" in Irish stems from the Proto-Celtic root word "*gheimrodo-," meaning "severe cold season." |
| Italian | The word "inverno" comes from the Latin word "hibernus," meaning "of winter". |
| Japanese | "冬" can also mean "to go" or "to return" in Japanese, and is the antonym of "夏", which means "summer". |
| Javanese | Mangsa Adhem, also known as Mangsa Rendheng, refers to the coldest period of a year in traditional Javanese terminology. |
| Kannada | While 'ಚಳಿಗಾಲ' commonly denotes 'winter', in astronomy, it refers to the coldest season of the year when the Sun is farthest from the Earth and days are shortest. |
| Kazakh | "Қыс" also means "difficulty" or "tightness" when used in a figurative sense. |
| Korean | 겨울 (gyo-ul) means a winter season in Korean. It can also mean "the year" or "old age" |
| Kurdish | The name “zivistan” for winter is possibly derived from “zîv” meaning life, and the -stan suffix meaning place, which could reference how winter is a time when most life hibernates or becomes dormant. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "кыш" in Kyrgyz can also refer to the period from November to March, or the time of year when the ground is covered in snow. |
| Latin | The word 'hiems' also meant 'rain', 'storm', and 'bad weather' in Latin. |
| Latvian | The word "ziema" is related to the Lithuanian "žiema" and Old Prussian "semo", both meaning "winter". |
| Lithuanian | The word "žiemą" in Lithuanian contains the Proto-Indo-European root "gʰei-m-", meaning "cold" or "winter". |
| Luxembourgish | Wanter is the Luxembourgish cognate of the Proto-Germanic */wintru/, meaning 'winter', with a metaphoric extension into 'the act of keeping alive during the winter' |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "зима" originates from the Proto-Slavic word "*zima" meaning "cold season" and is cognate with other Slavic languages like Polish "zima" and Russian "зима". |
| Malagasy | Malagasy word ririnina for "winter" also means "shaking chill" or "shivering", a vivid depiction of the cold season in Madagascar's highlands. |
| Malay | The word "musim sejuk" comes from the Arabic word "sawq", meaning "to move" or "to change", and refers to the season of change from hot to cold. |
| Malayalam | ശീതകാലം also refers to the season of winter in astrology and is the sixth season of the year. |
| Maltese | Maltese "ix-xitwa" derives from Arabic, possibly meaning "the cold" or "the season of storms." |
| Maori | Hotoke is derived from the Maori words "h" meaning "cold" and "toke" meaning "season". |
| Marathi | हिवाळा is also associated with the festival of Makar Sankranti, celebrated as the transition from winter to spring in many parts of India. |
| Mongolian | "Өвөл" also means "the north" in Mongolian: the part of the world where the cold comes from. |
| Nepali | The word |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "vinter" can also refer to a person who produces or sells wine. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja the word "yozizira" can also mean "cold season". |
| Pashto | The Pashto word for winter, "ژمی", is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "gʰyeim-", meaning "cold" or "frost". |
| Persian | The Persian word "زمستان" (winter) is derived from the Old Persian word " zima " which also meant "cold". |
| Polish | In Old Church Slavonic, 'zima' means 'cold', while 'zemlja' means 'earth'; thus, 'zimowy' may mean both 'winter' and 'of the earth' in Polish. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "inverno" derives from the Latin word "hibernus," meaning "of winter" or "pertaining to winter." |
| Punjabi | ਸਰਦੀ (sardee) is derived from Sanskrit 'śarat' meaning 'autumn' and also 'cool season' in northern India. |
| Romanian | Cognate with Latin "hiems" and other Indo-European languages, it also bears the ancient meaning of "starvation, poverty". |
| Russian | The Russian word «зима» and the Latin word «hiems» are both thought to originate from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰei-, meaning 'cold'. |
| Samoan | The word 'taumalulu' in Samoan can also refer to a traditional Samoan house or shelter, highlighting the close association between the season and the need for shelter. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "geamhradh" is derived from the Proto-Celtic "*gʷemros" and shares a common origin with the Welsh "gaeaf" and the Breton "goañv". The word also has an alternate meaning of "fallow land" in some dialects. |
| Serbian | The word "зима" also refers to the period from the beginning of December to the end of February and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "zьma". |
| Sesotho | In Sesotho, 'mariha' can also refer to a type of bird or a certain kind of traditional headdress. |
| Shona | The word "chando" (winter) can also refer to the period between March and June in the Shona calendar. |
| Sindhi | Sindhi word "سيارو" is also used to describe a season, which lasts from December to February |
| Slovak | "Zimné" also means "a cold drink" in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | "Pozimi" is related to the Greek "potima" meaning "river" and "poiēma" meaning "creation", while in Romanian "podzim" means "autumn". |
| Somali | The Somali word "jiilaalka" is related to the Arabic "jilla", meaning "darkness of the night". |
| Spanish | In Spanish, 'invierno' also refers to the period of Advent in the liturgical calendar. |
| Sundanese | "Us" is a homophone for the word "ice" and "usum" is a homophone for "rain", so the word "usum tiris" can also mean "rain ice" or "hail". |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "majira ya baridi" comes from the Arabic word "mazira" meaning "season" and the Bantu word "baridi" meaning "cold." |
| Swedish | The word "vinter-" has the same Proto-Germanic root as the English word "wander" |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In the Philippines, the term "taglamig" can also refer to the rainy season. |
| Tamil | The word 'குளிர்காலம்' literally means 'the time of coolness' in Tamil, and is also used to refer to the onset of the rainy season in South India. |
| Thai | The word "ฤดูหนาว" (winter) derives from Sanskrit "ฤดู" (season) and "หนาว" (cold), and also conveys a sense of desolation or loneliness. |
| Turkish | The word "kış" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*kïš" and also means "to spend the winter". |
| Ukrainian | The word |
| Urdu | موسم سرما is commonly used as a synonym for 'winter' in the context of the season, but is also used to describe other cold periods or seasons. |
| Uzbek | The word "qish" is of Mongolian origin and can also refer to a type of felt tent used for seasonal housing by nomads. |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "mùa đông" literally means "cold season". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "gaeaf" likely entered the language via Gaulish "gaib" and is ultimately related to Latin "hiems" ("winter"). |
| Xhosa | The word 'ubusika' is also used in a figurative way as a euphemism for the time after a person's death. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "ווינטער" (winter) is derived from the Old High German word "wintar" and is related to the English word "winter". |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "igba otutu" comes from the root "otutu", which means "cold" or "cool". |
| Zulu | As well as its literal translation, 'ebusika' may be used metaphorically to signify a period of hardship or difficulty. |
| English | Winter derives from the Proto-Germanic word *wintruz, meaning 'wet season' or 'watery season'. |