Afrikaans werker | ||
Albanian punëtor | ||
Amharic ሰራተኛ | ||
Arabic عامل | ||
Armenian աշխատող | ||
Assamese শ্ৰমিক | ||
Aymara irnaqiri | ||
Azerbaijani fəhlə | ||
Bambara baarakɛla | ||
Basque langilea | ||
Belarusian рабочы | ||
Bengali কর্মী | ||
Bhojpuri मजदूर के ह | ||
Bosnian radnik | ||
Bulgarian работник | ||
Catalan treballador | ||
Cebuano trabahante | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 工人 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 工人 | ||
Corsican travagliadore | ||
Croatian radnik | ||
Czech pracovník | ||
Danish arbejder | ||
Dhivehi މަސައްކަތްތެރިއެކެވެ | ||
Dogri मजदूर | ||
Dutch werknemer | ||
English worker | ||
Esperanto laboristo | ||
Estonian töötaja | ||
Ewe dɔwɔla | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) manggagawa | ||
Finnish työntekijä | ||
French ouvrier | ||
Frisian wurkster | ||
Galician traballador | ||
Georgian მუშა | ||
German arbeiter | ||
Greek εργάτης | ||
Guarani mba’apohára | ||
Gujarati કામદાર | ||
Haitian Creole travayè | ||
Hausa ma'aikaci | ||
Hawaiian limahana | ||
Hebrew עוֹבֵד | ||
Hindi मज़दूर | ||
Hmong neeg ua haujlwm | ||
Hungarian munkás | ||
Icelandic verkamaður | ||
Igbo onye oru | ||
Ilocano trabahador | ||
Indonesian pekerja | ||
Irish oibrí | ||
Italian lavoratore | ||
Japanese ワーカー | ||
Javanese buruh | ||
Kannada ಕೆಲಸಗಾರ | ||
Kazakh жұмысшы | ||
Khmer កម្មករ | ||
Kinyarwanda umukozi | ||
Konkani कामगार | ||
Korean 노동자 | ||
Krio wokman | ||
Kurdish karker | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کرێکار | ||
Kyrgyz жумушчу | ||
Lao ກຳ ມະກອນ | ||
Latin illud operatur, | ||
Latvian strādnieks | ||
Lingala mosali ya mosala | ||
Lithuanian darbininkas | ||
Luganda omukozi | ||
Luxembourgish aarbechter | ||
Macedonian работник | ||
Maithili मजदूर | ||
Malagasy mpiasa | ||
Malay pekerja | ||
Malayalam തൊഴിലാളി | ||
Maltese ħaddiem | ||
Maori kaimahi | ||
Marathi कामगार | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁꯤꯟꯃꯤ ꯑꯃꯥ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯕꯛ ꯇꯧꯔꯤ꯫ | ||
Mizo hnathawk | ||
Mongolian ажилчин | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အလုပ်သမား | ||
Nepali कामदार | ||
Norwegian arbeider | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) wantchito | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଶ୍ରମିକ | ||
Oromo hojjetaa | ||
Pashto کارګر | ||
Persian کارگر | ||
Polish pracownik | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) trabalhador | ||
Punjabi ਕਾਮਾ | ||
Quechua llamkaq | ||
Romanian muncitor | ||
Russian рабочий | ||
Samoan tagata faigaluega | ||
Sanskrit श्रमिकः | ||
Scots Gaelic neach-obrach | ||
Sepedi mošomi | ||
Serbian радник | ||
Sesotho mosebeletsi | ||
Shona mushandi | ||
Sindhi ڪم ڪندڙ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සේවකයා | ||
Slovak pracovník | ||
Slovenian delavec | ||
Somali shaqaale | ||
Spanish obrero | ||
Sundanese pagawe | ||
Swahili mfanyakazi | ||
Swedish arbetstagare | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) manggagawa | ||
Tajik коргар | ||
Tamil தொழிலாளி | ||
Tatar эшче | ||
Telugu కార్మికుడు | ||
Thai คนงาน | ||
Tigrinya ሰራሕተኛ | ||
Tsonga mutirhi | ||
Turkish çalışan | ||
Turkmen işçi | ||
Twi (Akan) odwumayɛni | ||
Ukrainian робітник | ||
Urdu کارکن | ||
Uyghur ئىشچى | ||
Uzbek ishchi | ||
Vietnamese công nhân | ||
Welsh gweithiwr | ||
Xhosa umsebenzi | ||
Yiddish ארבעטער | ||
Yoruba osise | ||
Zulu isisebenzi |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans 'werker' comes from the Dutch word 'werker' which translates to 'worker' in English, but it can also mean 'factory worker' or 'operator'. |
| Albanian | The word "punëtor" in Albanian derives from the Proto-Albanian word *punā, meaning "work". |
| Amharic | The word ሰራተኛ ('worker') is derived from the verb ሰራ ('to work'). |
| Arabic | The word "عامل" in Arabic can also mean an agent, an intermediary, or an operator. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "fəhlə" originally meant "peasant" in Azerbaijani, but later came to mean "worker" in general. |
| Basque | Langilea's original meaning was 'doer' or 'performer' instead of just 'worker.' |
| Belarusian | The word "рабочы" can also refer to the working class or a member of a labor union in Belarusian. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "কর্মী" can also refer to a laborer or servant. |
| Bosnian | In Polish, 'radnik' also means 'councilman' and in Russian, it refers to a low-level official. |
| Bulgarian | The word "работник" can also refer to a "slave" or "serf" in a historical context. |
| Catalan | The word "treballador" can also refer to a tool or machine used for a specific task or a device for lifting heavy objects. |
| Cebuano | The word "trabahante" may also refer to a type of boat that has a flat bottom and is propelled by a sail or an engine |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The word 工人 can also mean 'artisan' or 'craftsman'. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 工人 refers to manual laborers, but in the context of the Communist Party of China, it can also refer to all those who work, including intellectuals. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "travagliadore" is derived from the Latin "tripalium," a three-pronged instrument used for torture or punishment. |
| Croatian | The word 'radnik' can also refer to a member of the working class or someone who is diligent and responsible. |
| Czech | The word "pracovník" literally means "one who operates", with "pracovat" meaning "to operate". |
| Danish | The word "arbejder" can also refer to a member of the working class or a specific type of worker, such as a construction worker or a factory worker. |
| Dutch | The word "werknemer" in Dutch can also refer to an employee or staff member of a company. |
| Esperanto | "Laboristo" also means "working class person" or "proletarian". |
| Estonian | Töötaja derives from the verb "töödata", meaning "to make work" or "to exploit". |
| Finnish | "Työntekijä" derives from "työ" (work) and "tekijä" (doer). Alternatively, it can refer to a person employed by a company or organization. |
| French | The word 'ouvrier' comes from the Latin word 'opus', meaning 'work', and originally referred to any kind of skilled worker. |
| Frisian | The word "wurkster" in Frisian can also refer to a "servant" or "subordinate worker", highlighting the broader social context of work relations in Frisian society. |
| Georgian | "მუშა" is a word that originally meant "peasant" or "farmer" in Georgian, but it has gradually changed its meaning over time to become a more general term for "worker" |
| German | The word "Arbeiter" can also refer to a soldier or a person performing forced labor. |
| Greek | The word "εργάτης" in Greek derives from "έργον" (work) and originally referred to the cultivator of the land. |
| Gujarati | The word "કામદાર" in Gujarati originates from the Sanskrit word "karmadara", which means "one who performs work or duty". |
| Haitian Creole | "Travayè" is derived from the French word "travailleur" and also means "laborer" or "toiler". |
| Hausa | In Hausa, 'ma'aikaci' can also have the connotation of an employee or laborer. |
| Hawaiian | Limahana can be broken down into 'lima' (five) and 'hana' (work), as in work on multiple projects or work long hours. |
| Hebrew | The word "עוֹבֵד" (worker) derives from the root "עבד" (serve), denoting both a person who performs a task and one who is under the authority of another. |
| Hindi | The origin of "मज़दूर" in Hindi can be traced to Persian, meaning both "worker" and "wage." |
| Hmong | The term may also refer to a person who makes a product or provides some type of service in exchange for money. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "munkás" can also refer to someone who works in a field or participates in a collective effort. |
| Icelandic | This word originated in the 15th century, and its root, 'verk', means 'work' or 'deed' in Old Norse. |
| Igbo | The word "onye oru" in Igbo also refers to a person who is always busy or hardworking. |
| Indonesian | Pekerja also means 'employees' or 'servants' in some contexts. |
| Irish | The word "oibrí" in Irish is derived from the Old Irish word "obar," meaning "work" or "effort." |
| Italian | The Italian word "lavoratore" derives from the Latin "laborare" (to work), but in some contexts it can also refer to a type of agricultural land or a water reservoir. |
| Japanese | 'ワーカー' also means 'computer program that runs continuously' |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "buruh" also means "slave" or "serf", reflecting the historical exploitation of laborers in Java. |
| Kazakh | The word "жұмысшы" comes from the verb "жұмыс істеу" (to work), which is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*jumuši-/*çumuši-", meaning "work" or "deed" |
| Khmer | "កម្មករ" is also the Khmer pronunciation of "karma", the Buddhist concept of the moral consequences of one's actions. |
| Korean | The Korean term |
| Kurdish | The word "karker" in Kurdish also refers to a "student" or "apprentice". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "жумушчу" is derived from the Turkic root "*jum-/*jumy-/, meaning "to work". |
| Latin | The Latin word "illud operatur" literally means "that which works" or "working thing". |
| Latvian | "Strādnieks" derives from the root "strāds", meaning "line" or "row", suggesting workers' alignment in organized labor |
| Lithuanian | "Darbininkas" derives from the Slavic word "robota" (work), but only means "worker" in Lithuanian; in other Slavic languages, it can mean "serf". |
| Macedonian | The word “работник” also has the archaic meaning of "slave" |
| Malagasy | MPIASA, meaning 'worker', also stems from the word 'PIASA', meaning 'to be useful'. |
| Malay | The word 'pekerja' is also used to refer to a person who performs a religious duty, such as a priest or monk. |
| Malayalam | The word "തൊഴിലാളി" can also refer to a labourer or a hired person. |
| Maltese | "Ħaddiem" is related to the Arabic "hādim" meaning "servant", and in Maltese it may also refer to a person doing housework. |
| Maori | In Maori, the word |
| Marathi | The word "कामगार" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कर्मकर", which means "one who works". |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian, "ажилчин" is a derivation of "ажил", meaning work, which also denotes a "creation" of a mind or "product" of labor. |
| Nepali | The word "कामदार" (kāmādār) likely derives from the Persian and Sanskrit words "kām" (work) and "dar" (worker) or "dār" (holder). |
| Norwegian | The word "arbeider" can also refer to a member of the Norwegian Labour Party or a person who performs manual labor. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "wantchito" in Nyanja (Chichewa) derives from the verb "kuchita," meaning "to do," and carries connotations of diligence and productivity. |
| Pashto | In Persian, "kargar" also means "effective" or "efficient". |
| Persian | The word “کارگر” (kārgar) in Persian also means "effective" or "useful". |
| Polish | The word "pracownik" in Polish evolved from "praca" (work) and could also refer to an employee or laborer. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word «trabalhador» in Portuguese derives from either the Latin word «trepalium» (an instrument of torture) or «tripalium» (a three-legged stool). |
| Punjabi | The word "ਕਾਮਾ" (worker) in Punjabi also means "lazy" or "idle". |
| Romanian | "Muncitor" derives from the Slavic root for "work", sharing cognates with other Eastern European languages like Polish and Russian. |
| Russian | "Рабочий" (worker) derives from the word "раб" (slave), reflecting the historical exploitation of the working class in Russia. |
| Samoan | The word "tagata faigaluega" in Samoan can also mean "people who work in a group" or "laborers". |
| Serbian | Radnik comes from the Slavic word |
| Sesotho | The word 'mosebeletsi' comes from the root word 'sebetsi' meaning 'work' and refers to a person who earns their living by working. |
| Shona | Mushandi is a Shona word that may also refer to a skilled or unskilled laborer. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "pracovník" comes from the verb "pracovať" (to work) and also refers to a person who is employed. |
| Slovenian | The word "delavec" shares its root with the word for "deed" in Slovenian, highlighting the connection between work and action. |
| Somali | "Shaqaale" is also an obsolete spelling of "shaqaalo," which originates from the Arabic word "shaghil" (work) and was reborrowed into Somali, but is not as common. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "obrero" originally meant "one who works in a workshop" and is derived from the Latin word "opera" (work). |
| Sundanese | The word "pagawe" in Sundanese also means "workplace" |
| Swahili | "Mfanyakazi" can also refer to a dependent or slave. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "arbetstagare" can also refer to the Swedish Arbetstagareförbundet (Federation of Salaried Employees). |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Manggagawa, meaning 'artisan' and originally referring to manual labor, is now the general term for 'worker' in Filipino. |
| Tajik | The word "коргар" can also refer to a "laborer" or "workman". |
| Tamil | The word "தொழிலாளி" can also refer to a person who is engaged in a particular profession or occupation. |
| Thai | Thai "คนงาน" (worker) is also a compound word, with "คน" (person) + "งาน" (work), similar to English "worker." |
| Turkish | Turkish word "çalışan" derives from the same root as "çalışma" (diligence), "çalışkan" (diligent), and "çalıştırmak" (to exert), making it a multi-faceted term encompassing both the act and the state of being industrious. |
| Ukrainian | The word "робітник" can also refer to a member of the working class or a person who works for a particular organization. |
| Urdu | Urdu "کارکن" (worker) derives from Persian and shares ancestry with English "caravan" and French "caravane". |
| Uzbek | "Ishchi" is a derivative form from "ish", which also means work or employment. |
| Vietnamese | Công nhân, derived from Chinese 工業員 (gōngyèyuán), also means "industrial worker" and "factory worker". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'gweithiwr' can also refer to a 'servant' or 'employee'. |
| Xhosa | The word 'umsebenzi' (worker) in Xhosa is often used in the broader sense of 'work' or 'occupation', and can refer to both paid and unpaid labour. |
| Yiddish | "ארבעטער" also historically referred to a "tenant farmer" or "day laborer" whose wages were one-fourth of the value of the harvest. |
| Yoruba | The word 'osise' may refer to a laborer, or someone with a physical disability or mental illness |
| Zulu | Isisebenzi derives from the word 'sebenzela' meaning 'to work for' or 'to serve on behalf of', indicating a worker's primary responsibility. |
| English | The word 'worker' derives from the Old English word 'wyrcan' meaning 'to work' and is related to the German word 'wirken' meaning 'to make' or 'to produce'. |