Showing posts with label in other languages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in other languages. Show all posts

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Virtues in Other Languages (again)

Yes, I already have a post with this name, but it's really old, and has a bit of a different focus than my other "....in Other Languages" posts (plants, nature, love). So, keeping line with those, I've looked up translations of the 12 most common "virtue" names in the US.
*Asterisks indicate the name is already in use in that language, and unless otherwise stated, feminine.

Grace
[some mean 'grace' in the sense of "elegance"; some in the sense of "favor"; some both, like in English]
  • Armo (AHR-moh)--Finnish* [masculine]
  • Báj (BYE)--Hungarian
  • Charis (KHAH-rees [rough 'kh', like the ch in 'Chanukah'])--Ancient Greek [*sometimes used as a name in Modern English] [ Χάρις ]
  • Endian (en-dee-an)--Mandarin [ 恩典 ]
  • Genade (khen-AH-deh)--Dutch
  • Graça (GRAHS-ah)--Portuguese*
  • Gracia (GRAHS-yah)--Spanish*
  • Gratie (KHRAH-tsee)--Dutch
  • Gratija (GRAHTS-ee-yah)--Bulgarian, Croatian*, Russian [ грация ]
  • Grazia (GRAHTS-yah)--Italian*
  • Hari (KHAH-ree)-- Greek [ χάρη ]
  • Łaska (WAHS-kah)--Polish
  • Minnat (min-NAHT)--Persian [ منت ]
  • Nåde (NOH-deh [no real English equivalent for the å; somewhere between the o-sounds of 'odd' and 'ode'])--Norwegian

Serenity
  • Galini (ghah-LEE-nee [rough 'gh', no English equivalent])--Greek [ γαλήνη ]
  • Iremia (ee-rem-EE-ah)--Greek [ ηρεμία ]
  • Liniște (LEE-nish-tay)--Romanian
  • Safa (sah-FAH)--Arabic [*a name in Arabic, but from a slightly different derivation] [ صَفَاء ]
  • Roga (roh-gah)--Hebrew [ רֹגַע‎ ]
  • Ruhe (ROO-eh)--German
  • Serenità (seh-reh-nee-TAH)--Italian
  • Sérénité (say-ray-nee-tay)--French
  • Shanti (SHAHN-tee)--Hindi* [ शांति ]

Faith
  • Astha (AHST-hah)--Hindi* [ आस्था ]
  • Creideamh (KRED-yeh)--Irish, Scottish
  • Emuna (eh-moo-NAH)--Hebrew* [ אֱמוּנָה‎ ]
  • Iman (EE-man, ee-MAHN)--Arabic* [ إِيمَان‎‎ ]
  • Iman (ee-MAHN)--Persian* [masculine] [ ایمان‎ ]
  • Trú (TROO)--Icelandic* 
  • Usko (OOS-koh)--Finnish* [masculine]
  • Vera (VYEHR-ah)--Russian* [ вера ]
  • Víra (VEE-rah)--Czech

Harmony
[some in the sense of "agreement"; some in the sense of "musical combination"; some both]
  • Armonia (ar-moh-NEE-ah)--Greek [ αρμονία ], Italian
  • Armonía (ar-moh-NEE-ah)--Spanish
  • Darna (DAHR-nah [rolled R])--Lithuanian
  • Harmonia (har-MOHN-yah)--Polish
  • Harmonia (ar-MOHN-yah)--Portuguese
  • Harmonie (arm-on-EE)--French*
  • Harmonie (har-moh-NEE-eh)--Czech
  • Harmonie (har-moh-NEE)--German
  • Sämja (SAM-yah)--Swedish
  • Saskaņa (SAHS-kahn-yah)--Latvian
  • Soulad (SOHL-ahd)--Czech

Hope
  • Amal (AM-al)--Arabic* [unisex] [ أَمَل‎‎ ]
  • Asha (AH-shah)--Hindi* [ आशा ]
  • Cerība (seh-REE-bah)--Latvian
  • Dóchas (DOH-khahs)--Irish
  • Elpida (el-PEE-dah)--Greek* [ ελπίδα ]
  • Espérance (es-pay-RAWNs)--French*
  • Esperanza (es-peh-RAHN-sah)--Spanish*
  • Imedi (im-eh-dee)--Georgian [ იმედი ]
  • Naděje (nahd-yay-eh)--Czech
  • Nadéžda (nah-DEZH-dah)--Bulgarian* [ надежда ]
  • Nadéžda (nahd-YEZH-dah)--Russian* [ надежда ]
  • Nadíja (nah-JEE-yah)--Ukrainian* [ надія ]
  • Raja (rah-ZHAH, rah-JAH)--Arabic* [unisex] [ رَجَاء‎ ]
  • Remény (REH-mayn [nasalized N])--Hungarian*
  • Tikva (tik-VAH)--Hebrew* [ תִּקְוָה ]
  • Toivo (TOY-voh)--Finnish* [masculine]

Justice
  • Adalet (ah-DAH-let)--Turkish*
  • Justeza (joos-TEH-zah)--Portuguese
  • Justiça (joos-TEE-sah)--Portuguese
  • Justitia (jus-TISH-ah)--[Anglicized] Latin
  • Justesse (zhoos-TESS)--French
  • Pravda (PRAHV-dah)--Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian [also means "truth" in multiple related languages] [ правда ]

Joy / Felicity
  • Alegria (ah-leh-GREE-ah)--Portuguese
  • Alegría (ah-leh-GREE-ah)--Spanish
  • Gioia (JOY-ah)--Italian*
  • Glede (GLEH-deh)--Norwegian 
  • Farah (FAH-rah)--Arabic* [unisex] [ فَرَح‎ ]
  • Hara (khah-RAH)--Greek [ χαρά ]
  • Ilo (EE-loh)--Finnish* [unisex, more commonly masculine]
  • Joia (ZHOY-ah ['zh' like the S in 'treasure'])--Catalan* [also means "jewel"]
  • Lykke (LOO-keh ['oo' like French 'ue'])--Danish*, Norwegian* [unisex, but modernly more feminine]
  • Simcha (sim-KHAH )--Hebrew* [unisex] [ שמחה‎‎ ]
  • Winne (WIN, WIN-neh)--[archaic] English
  • Zorion (soh-ree-ohn)--Basque* [masculine]

Liberty
  • Azadi (ah-zah-DEE)--Persian [ آزادی ]
  • Azadi (ah-ZAH-dee)--Hindi [ आज़ादी ]
  • Eleftheria (el-ef-theh-REE-ah)--Greek* [ ελευθερία ]
  • Frelsi (FREL-see)--Icelandic
  • Huriyya (huh-REE-yah)--Arabic [ حُرِيَّة‎ ]
  • Jiyu (jee-yoo)--Japanese [ 自由 ]
  • Laisvė (LICE-vay)--Lithuanian
  • Libertà (lee-behr-TAH)--Italian
  • Saoirse (SEER-shah, SAYR-shah)--Irish*
  • Saorsa (SEER-sah)--Scottish

Sincere
  • Iskren (EES-kren)--Bulgarian*, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian [masculine]
  • Sincero / Sincera (seen-CHEH-roh / seen-CHEH-rah)--Italian
  • Sincero / Sincera (seen-SEH-roh / seen-SEH-rah)--Spanish

Mercy
  • Armo (AHR-moh)--Finnish* [masculine]
  • Eleos (EL-eh-ohs)--Greek [ έλεος ]
  • Huruma (hoo-ROO-mah)--Swahili
  • Milă (MEE-lah)--Romanian
  • Rahma (RAH-hmah)--Arabic* [ رَحْمَة‎ ]
  • Rehema (reh-HEH-mah)--Swahili*

Temperance
  • Raittius (RITE-tee-oos)--Finnish
  • Sobriété (soh-bree-AY-tay)--French
  • Temperancia (tem-peh-RAHN-see-ah)--Spanish
  • Templanza (tem-PLAHN-sah)--Spanish
  • Temprança (tem-PRAHN-sah)--Catalan

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Love In Other Languages

So, Valentine's Day. I'm 'meh' to it, but it is an excuse for fun name opportunities. ;)

Here's how you say "love" in different languages; many are already used as names (marked with an asterisk; feminine unless stated otherwise).

  • Agapi (ah-GAH-pee)--Greek*
  • Ahava (ah-hah-VAH)--Hebrew*
  • Ai (eye, ah-ee)--Chinese*, Japanese* [also a common name element in Japanese]
  • Aloha (ah-loh-hah)--Hawaiian*
  • Amor (AH-mor)--Latin [for a more in-depth list of names based on Latin 'amor', look here]
  • Amor (ah-MOHR)--Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish
  • Amore (ah-MOHR-eh)--Italian
  • Amour (ah-MOOR)--French
  • Cariad (CA-ree-ad)--Welsh [related names are fairly common: Carys/Cerys (f), Ceri (f/m), etc]
  • Cinta (CHIN-tah)--Indonesian*
  • Elska (EL-skah)--Icelandic
  • Karantez (kah-RAHN-tez)--Breton
  • Kerenja (keh-REN-jah)--Cornish
  • Kerensa (keh-REN-sah)--Cornish*
  • Láska (LAHS-kah)--Czech
  • Liba (LEE-bah)--Yiddish*
  • Liebe (LEE-beh)--German
  • Mahabba (mah-HAB-bah)--Arabic
  • Meilė (MAY-leh [long 'eh', no English equivalent])--Lithuanian*
  • Mīla (MEE-lah)--Latvian*
  • Minne (MIN-neh)--[archaic] Dutch, [archaic] German 
  • Prem (prem)--Bengali*, Hindi* [masculine; feminine is Prema]

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Nature in Other Languages

It's probably pretty obvious by now that I love nature names. And of all the nature-y posts I've done so far, I think "Plants in Other Languages" is probably one of my favorites. Naturally, I've now decided to try another along those lines, but widening the field to all nature word-names. :) And so, here are translations of the 12 most common nature-names in the US (minus the plant-names).
*Asterisks indicate the name is already in use in that language, and, unless otherwise indicated, feminine.

Savannah
  • Sabana (sah-BAH-nah)--Spanish
  • Safana (sah-FAH-nah)--Arabic
  • Savana (sah-VAH-nah)--Greek, Italian, Portuguese
  • Savane (sah-VAN)--French
  • Savanne (sah-VAH-neh)--Dutch, German, Norwegian
  • Savanni (SAH-vahn-nee)--Finnish

Autumn
  • Aki (ah-kee)--Japanese* [many other kanji/meanings also, some unisex or masculine]
  • Automne (oo-tawn)--French*
  • Esen (EH-sen)--Bulgarian, Macedonian
  • Fómhar (FOH-var)--Irish
  • Güz (gooz)--Turkish*
  • Jesień (YESH-en)--Polish [*surname]
  • Ósen (OH-seen)--Russian
  • Payiz (pah-EES)--Persian
  • Sharad (SHAH-rad)--Hindi* [masculine]
  • Stav (stahv)--Hebrew* [unisex]

Aurora
  • Gealán (GAL-awn)--Irish
  • Selas (SEH-las)--Greek

Ruby
  • Odem (oh-dem)--Hebrew
  • Rubiini (ROO-bee-nee)--Finnish
  • Rubin (ROO-been)--German, Danish, Hungarian, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish (and probably others)
  • Rubino (roo-BEE-noh)--Italian [*surname]

Jade
  • Giada (JAH-dah)--Italian*
  • Jade (zhahd)--French*
  • Jade (YAH-deh)--German, Finnish
  • Jade (ZHAH-thee [th like in 'this'])--Portuguese*
  • Jade (HAH-day)--Spanish
  • Nephritis (nef-FREE-tees)--Greek

River
  • Aven (AH-ven)--Breton
  • Fluss (floos)--German
  • Ibai (ee-bye)--Basque* [masculine]
  • Nadi (NAH-dee)--Hindi
  • Nahar (NAH-har)--Arabic [*same spelling is a surname, but stressed on the second syllable, and means "day"]
  • Nahar (nah-HAR)--Hebrew* [unisex]
  • Reka (REH-kah)--Russian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Slovene
  • Rika (REE-kah)--Ukrainian
  • Río (REE-oh)--Spanish, Galician
  • Rivière (reev-YEHR)--French [*surname]

August
  • Elokuu (EH-loh-koo)--Finnish
  • Eost (AY-ohst)--Breton
  • Lúnasa (LOON-uh-sah)--Irish

Jasper
  • Biyu (bee-yoo)--Mandarin*
  • Diaspro (dee-AHS-proh)--Italian
  • Jasma (YAHSH-mah)--Russian
  • Jaspe (zhasp)--French
  • Jaspe (ZHAZ-pee)--Portuguese
  • Jaspe (HAHS-pay)--Spanish
  • Jaspis (YAHS-pis)--German, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Norwegian, Czech
  • Yeşim (YESH-im)--Turkish*

Summer 
  • Été (AY-tay)--French
  • Haf (hahv)--Welsh*
  • Kesä (KEH-sa [short a, like in 'cat'])--Finnish [*surname]
  • Léto (LEH-toh)--Czech, Russian
  • Ljeta (LYEH-tah)--Belarusian
  • Natsu (naht-soo)--Japanese* [usually combined with another character]
  • Samhradh (SOW-rah)--Irish, Scottish
  • Sayf (sah-eef)--Arabic
  • Suvi (SOO-vee)--Estonian, Finnish*
  • Uda (oo-dah)--Basque*
  • Udara (oo-dah-rah)--Basque*
  • Verano (vehr-AH-noh)--Spanish
  • Verão (vehr-OW)--Portuguese
  • Zomer (ZOH-mer)--Dutch [*surname]

(I actually had to leave out the next two here, sorry--Brooks because plurals are tricky, and Sienna because there just isn't a word for it in most other languages!)

Colt
  • Bromach (BRAHM-akh)--Irish, Scottish
  • Ju (joo)--Chinese [*surname, but with different characters/meaning]
  • Varsa (VAHR-sah)--Finnish

Amber
  • Ambra (AHM-brah)--Italian*
  • Ambre (AWMbr)--French*
  • Kohaku (koh-hah-koo)--Japanese* [unisex]
  • Meripihka (MEHR-ee-pee-hkah)--Finnish
  • Ómra (OHM-rah)--Irish
  • Rav (rahv)--Norwegian

Ember
  • Ascua (AHS-koo-ah)--Spanish
  • Brasa (BRAH-sah)--Spanish
  • Brasa (BRAH-zah)--Catalan, Portuguese
  • Favilla (fah-VEEL-lah)--Latin
  • Jamra (ZHAM-rah)--Arabic
  • Kekäle (KEK-al-ay)--Finnish
  • Pruna (PROO-nah)--Latin
  • Sintel (SIN-tel)--Dutch
  • Thraka (THRAH-kah)--Greek

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Plants in Other Languages

Floral and other plant names are again having a heyday--Lily, Violet, Jasmine, Hazel, Willow, Ivy, etc. The boys are even getting into it with Rowan, Reed, and Sage. And while there's certainly no dearth of uncommon alternatives, I still thought it'd be fun to look at translations of the 12 most common plant names (ignoring the obvious cognates, like Lilja or Yasmin, because I need to save space!)
*Asterisks indicate the name is already in use in that language, and, unless otherwise indicated, feminine.


Lily
  • Azucena (ah-soo-SEH-nah)--Spanish*
  • Lelie (LAY-lee)--Dutch
  • Lelija (LEL-ee-yah)--Lithuanian
  • Lys (LEES)--French
  • Nari (nah-ree)--Korean*
  • Shoshana (shoh-shah-nah)--Hebrew* [also spelled Shoshannah]
  • Sousan (soo-SAHN)--Persian* [also can be transliterated as Soosan or Susan]
  • Yuri (yoo-ree)--Japanese*

Violet
  • Fialka (fee-AHL-kah)--Czech, Russian, Slovak
  • Fjóla (FYOH-lah)--Icelandic*
  • Jincai (jin-kye)--Mandarin [*a male name, but with different characters/meaning]
  • Ibolya (EE-boy-yah)--Hungarian*
  • Orvokki (OR-vok-kee)--Finnish*
  • Sigalit (see-gah-leet)--Hebrew*
  • Sumire (soo-mee-reh)--Japanese*
  • Waireti (WYE-reh-tee)--Maori*
  • Ziluolan (zee-loo-oh-lahn)--Mandarin

Jasmine
  • Giasemí (yah-seh-MEE)--Greek
  • Iasomie (yah-SOHM-yay)--Romanian
  • Matsuri (maht-soo-ree)--Japanese*
  • Melati (meh-LAH-tee)--Indonesian*
  • Moli (moh-lee)--Mandarin ["jasmine"]
  • Molihua (moh-lee-hwah)--Mandarin ["jasmine flower"]

Hazel
  • Aveleira (ah-veh-LEHR-ah)--Portuguese
  • Avellano (ah-veh-YAH-noh)--Spanish
  • Calltainn (KAHL-ten)--Scottish
  • Coll (KAHL)--Irish
  • Collen (CAH-hlen)--Welsh
  • Corylus (KOR-ee-lus)--Latin
  • Lazda (LAHZ-dah)--Latvian
  • Leska (LEH-skah)--Slovene
  • Líska (LEES-kah)--Czech
  • Nocciolo (noh-CHYOH-loh)--Italian [accented on the first syllable, means "core" or "kernel"]

Willow
  • Arava (ah-rah-VAH)--Hebrew* [also means "prairie"]
  • Helygen (hel-IG-en)--Welsh
  • Itiá--(ee-tee-AH)--Greek
  • Íva (EE-vah)--Russian
  • Liu (lee-oo)--Chinese [*surname]
  • Paju (PAH-yoo)--Estonian, Finnish*
  • Saule (SOLE)--French
  • Selje (SEL-yeh)--Norwegian [also the name of a Norwegian city, probably of different origin]
  • Varba (VUR-bah)--Bulgarian
  • Verba (VUR-bah)--Ukrainian
  • Vide (VEE-deh)--Swedish* [masculine]
  • Víðir (VEE-deer)--Icelandic* [masculine]
  • Weida (VYE-deh)--German [also means "pasture"]
  • Yanagi (yah-nah-gee)--Japanese [*surname]

Ivy
  • Edera (EH-dehr-ah)--Italian
  • Eidheann (AY-yen)--Scottish
  • Eidhneán (EYE-nan)--Irish
  • Hedera (HED-ehr-ah)--Latin
  • Hera (EHR-ah)--Portuguese
  • Heura (ay-OOR-ah)--Catalan
  • Hiedra (YEH-drah)--Spanish
  • Iederă (YEH-deh-rah)--Romanian
  • Lierre (lee-EHR)--French
  • Muratti (MOOR-at-tee)--Finnish

Daisy
  • Bellis (BEL-lis)--Latin [also means "wars" (dat/abl) or "pretty" (pl dat/abl)]
  • Hinanit (khin-ahn-EET)--Hebrew
  • Madelief (mah-deh-LEEF)--Dutch*
  • Margaritka (mar-gar-IT-kah)--Bulgarian
  • Margaritka (mar-gar-EET-kah)--Russian, Macedonian
  • Marguerite (mar-geh-REET)--French*
  • Neòinean (NAW-nen)--Scottish
  • Nóinín (NOH-uh-neen)--Irish

Rose
  • Gül (GOOL)--Turkish* [short 'oo', similar to English foot]
  • Ruža (ROO-zhah)--Croatian*, Serbian*
  • Trojánda (troh-YAHN-dah)--Ukrainian
  • Vered (veh-red)--Hebrew*
  • Warda (WAR-dah)--Arabic*
  • Yueji (yoo-eh-jee)--Mandarin

Rowan 
  • Caorthann (KWEHR-an)--Irish
  • Cerddinen (kehr-THEE-nen)--Welsh [hard 'th', like in the]
  • Eberesche (eh-beh-RESH-eh)--German
  • Jarebika (yah-REH-bee-kah)--Croatian, Serbian
  • Pihlaja (PEE-hlah-yah)--Finnish [*shortened form Pihla is used as a name]
  • Reynir (RAY-neer)--Icelandic* [masculine]
  • Sorveira (sohr-VAY-rah)--Portuguese
  • Tis (TEES)--Persian

Iris
  • Ayame (ah-yah-meh)--Japanese*
  • Perunika (peh-ROO-nee-kah)--Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene

Olive
  • Azeitona (ah-zay-TOH-nah)--Portuguese
  • Elaía (el-EYE-ah)--Ancient Greek
  • Eliá (el-YAH)--Greek
  • Maslina (mahs-LEE-nah)--Bulgarian
  • Maslina (MAHS-lee-nah)--Russian, Serbian
  • Maslyna (mahs-LEE-nah)--Ukrainian
  • Oliven (oh-LEE-ven)--Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
  • Ulli (OO-lee)--Albanian
  • Zaituni (zye-TOO-nee)--Swahili*
  • Zayit (zah-YEET)--Hebrew
  • Zaytun (zay-TOON)--Arabic
  • Zeituni (zay-TOO-nee)--Swahili*
  • Zeytun (zay-TOON)--Persian

Reed
  • Ashi (ah-shee)--Japanese
  • Cana (KAH-nah)--Portuguese
  • Canya (KAHN-yah)--Catalan
  • Kaisla (KYE-slah)--Finnish*
  • Kalami (kah-LAH-mee)--Greek
  • Kamýsh (kah-MEESH)--Russian
  • Nendrė (NEN-dray)--Lithuanian
  • Ney (NAY)--Persian
  • Qasaba (KAH-suh-bah)--Arabic [also means "town"]
  • Rákosí (RAH-koh-see)--Czech
  • Roseau (roh-zoh)--French
  • Siv (SEEV)--Danish, Norwegian [*used as a name, but from a different derivation]
  • Yoshi (yoh-shee)--Japanese [*unisex name, but with different kanji/meaning(s)]