How to say “black” around the world

306 languages · 306 in their own spelling

أَسْوَد · чёрный · siyahकाला · কালো · 黒negro · noir · nyeusihitam · đen · dúdúmoíndo · madow · μαύροςblack · preto · feketereş · ڕەش · -irũOther shapes

Dots of one colour begin with a similar sound. Colours group words by the class of their first consonant (a sound-class method used in linguistics): words that begin alike share a colour. This shows resemblance, not common origin — proving relationship needs case-by-case comparison. Readable forms come from Wiktionary translation tables; many smaller languages come from the ASJP word lists, in ASJP’s simplified transcription.

Language	Word	Romanization	Family
Chinese	黑	hēi	Sino-Tibetan
English	black		Indo-European
Spanish	negro		Indo-European
Hindi	काला	kālā	Indo-European
Arabic	أَسْوَد	ʔaswad	Afro-Asiatic
Bengali	কালো	kalō	Indo-European
Indonesian	hitam		Austronesian
Portuguese	preto		Indo-European
French	noir		Indo-European
Russian	чёрный	čórnyj	Indo-European
Japanese	黒	kuro	Japonic
Marathi	काळा	kāḷā	Indo-European
Swahili	nyeusi		Atlantic-Congo
Turkish	siyah		Turkic
Telugu	నల్ల	nalla	Dravidian
Wu Chinese	黑		Sino-Tibetan
Korean	검정	geomjeong	Koreanic
German	schwarz		Indo-European
Vietnamese	đen		Austroasiatic
Tamil	கருப்பு	karuppu	Dravidian
Cantonese	黑	hak¹	Sino-Tibetan
Urdu	کالا	kālā	Indo-European
Italian	nero		Indo-European
Egyptian Arabic	اسود	eswid	Afro-Asiatic
Gujarati	કાળું	kāḷũ	Indo-European
Western Farsi	سِیاه	siyâh	Indo-European
Min Nan Chinese	黑	hek	Sino-Tibetan
Kannada	ಕಪ್ಪು	kappu	Dravidian
Polish	czarny		Indo-European
Yoruba	dúdú		Atlantic-Congo
Malayalam	കറുപ്പ്	kaṟuppŭ	Dravidian
Odia	କଲା	kalā	Indo-European
Burmese	နက်	nak	Sino-Tibetan
Moroccan Arabic	كحل	kḥal	Afro-Asiatic
Igbo	nwa		Atlantic-Congo
Ukrainian	чо́рний	čórnyj	Indo-European
Uzbek	qora		Turkic
Sindhi	ڪارو	kāro	Indo-European
Romanian	negru		Indo-European
Dutch	zwart		Indo-European
Amharic	ጥቁር	ṭəḳur	Afro-Asiatic
Thai	ดำ	dam	Tai-Kadai
Lingala	moíndo		Atlantic-Congo
Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian	цр̑н		Indo-European
Khmer	ខ្មៅ	kmav	Austroasiatic
Somali	madow		Afro-Asiatic
Turkmen	gara		Turkic
Cebuano	itom		Austronesian
Nepali	कालो	kālo	Indo-European
Assamese	ক’লা	koöla	Indo-European
Sinhala	කළු	kaḷu	Indo-European
Greek	μαύρος	mávros	Indo-European
Madurese	celleng		Austronesian
Kurdish	reş		Indo-European
Hijazi Arabic	أسود	ʔaswad	Afro-Asiatic
Tajik	сиёҳ	siyoh	Indo-European
Sylheti	ꠇꠣꠟꠣ	xala	Indo-European
Kazakh	қара	qara	Turkic
Hungarian	fekete		Uralic
Zulu	-mnyama		Atlantic-Congo
Southern Pashto	تور		Indo-European
Czech	černý		Indo-European
Uighur	قارا	qara	Turkic
Afrikaans	swart		Indo-European
Min Dong Chinese	烏	ŭ	Sino-Tibetan
Haitian	nwa		Indo-European
Swedish	svart		Indo-European
Azerbaijani	qara		Turkic
Iloko	nangisit		Austronesian
Bulgarian	че́рен	čéren	Indo-European
Shona	dema		Atlantic-Congo
Hiligaynon	maitum		Austronesian
Xhosa	-mnyáma		Atlantic-Congo
Belarusian	чо́рны	čórny	Indo-European
Neapolitan	niro		Indo-European
Central Kurdish	ڕەش	reş	Indo-European
Kikuyu	-irũ		Atlantic-Congo
Danish	sort		Indo-European
Slovak	čierny		Indo-European
Minangkabau	itam		Austronesian
Finnish	musta		Uralic
Lao	ດຳ	dam	Tai-Kadai
Norwegian	svart		Indo-European
Tatar	кара	qara	Turkic
Buginese	ma-lotoŋ		Austronesian
Catalan	negre		Indo-European
Sicilian	nìuru		Indo-European
Kirghiz	кара	kara	Turkic
Riffian	aberkan		Afro-Asiatic
Armenian	սև	sew	Indo-European
Balinese	badeng		Austronesian
Lithuanian	júodas		Indo-European
Lombard	négher		Indo-European
Georgian	შავი	šavi	Kartvelian
Acehnese	itam		Austronesian
Albanian	zi		Indo-European
Ewe	yibɔ		Atlantic-Congo
Mongolian	хар	xar	Mongolic-Khitan
Chadian Arabic	أزرق	ʔazrag	Afro-Asiatic
Galician	negro		Indo-European
Pampanga	matuling		Austronesian
Slovenian	črn		Indo-European
Chaouia of the Aures	aberkan		Afro-Asiatic
Swati	mnyáma		Atlantic-Congo
Esperanto	nigra		Artificial Language
Macedonian	црн	crn	Indo-European
Piedmontese	neir		Indo-European
Sasak	bidəŋ		Austronesian
Zhuang	ndaem		Tai-Kadai
Rohingya	hala		Indo-European
Limburgan	zwart		Indo-European
Makasar	le'leng		Austronesian
Latvian	melns		Indo-European
Quechua	yana		Quechuan
Chechen	ӏаьржа	ˀärža	Nakh-Daghestanian
Estonian	must		Uralic
Bashkir	ҡара	qara	Turkic
Tibetan	ནག་པོ	nag po	Sino-Tibetan
Pangasinan	deket		Austronesian
Romagnol	négar		Indo-European
Tausug	maitum		Austronesian
Gorontalo	yitomo		Austronesian
Kachin	chyang		Sino-Tibetan
Western Frisian	swart		Indo-European
Nias	a-itö		Austronesian
Iu Mien	jieqv		Hmong-Mien
Kalmyk	хар	xar	Mongolic-Khitan
Maranao	maitem		Austronesian
Avar	чӏегӏера	čʼeʻera	Nakh-Daghestanian
Talysh	siyo		Indo-European
Basque	beltz		Isolates
Chuvash	хура	hura	Turkic
Welsh	du		Indo-European
Lü	ᦡᧄ	ḋam	Tai-Kadai
Lezghian	чӏулав	č̣ulav	Nakh-Daghestanian
Morisyen	nwar		Indo-European
Walloon	noer		Indo-European
Maltese	iswed		Afro-Asiatic
Balkan Romani	kalo		Indo-European
Crimean Tatar	qara		Turkic
Occitan	negre		Indo-European
Vlax Romani	kalo		Indo-European
Ligurian	néigro		Indo-European
Mizo	dum		Sino-Tibetan
Silesian	czŏrny		Indo-European
Asturian	ñegru		Indo-European
Yakut	хара	xara	Turkic
Kumyk	къара	qara	Turkic
Ibanag	ngisit		Austronesian
Fijian	loaloa		Austronesian
Ingush	ӏаьржа	ˀärža	Nakh-Daghestanian
Icelandic	svartur		Indo-European
Ngazidja Comorian	-ɗu		Atlantic-Congo
Karachay-Balkar	къара	qara	Turkic
Naxi	naq		Sino-Tibetan
Friulian	neri		Indo-European
Udmurt	сьӧд	śöd	Uralic
Nama	ǂnū		Khoe-Kwadi
Dzongkha	གནགཔོ	gngpo	Sino-Tibetan
Zeelandic	zwart		Indo-European
Buriat	хара	xara	Mongolic-Khitan
Māori	mangu		Austronesian
Extremaduran	negru		Indo-European
Abkhaz	аиқәаҵәа	ajkʷacʷʼa	Abkhaz-Adyge
Tonga (Tonga Islands)	ʻuliʻuli		Austronesian
Navajo	łizhin		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Komi	сьӧд	śöd	Uralic
Corsican	neru		Indo-European
Central Romani	kalo		Indo-European
Solu-Khumbu Sherpa	ནག་པུ	nag pu	Sino-Tibetan
Irish	dubh		Indo-European
Ladino	preto		Indo-European
Aromanian	negru		Indo-European
Kashubian	czôrny		Indo-European
Breton	du		Indo-European
Mwani	cerufi		Atlantic-Congo
Erzya	раужо	raužo	Uralic
Nogai	кара	kara	Turkic
Tabasaran	кӏару	ḳaru	Nakh-Daghestanian
Asháninka	cheenkari		Arawakan
Faroese	svartur		Indo-European
Tahitian	ʻereʻere		Austronesian
Komi-Permyak	сьӧд	śöd	Uralic
Scottish Gaelic	dubh		Indo-European
Mansaka	maitum		Austronesian
Southern Altai	кара	kara	Turkic
Chuukese	chon		Austronesian
Baltic Romani	kalo		Indo-European
Sanskrit	कृष्ण	kṛṣṇa	Indo-European
Khakas	хара	xara	Turkic
Dungan	хи	hi	Sino-Tibetan
Romansh	nair		Indo-European
Tlaxcala-Puebla-Central Nahuatl	tliltic		Uto-Aztecan
Higaonon	maitum		Austronesian
Ladin	fosch		Indo-European
Hawaiian	ʻeleʻele		Austronesian
North Saami	čáhppes		Uralic
Kajtak	хъерхъ	qerq	Nakh-Daghestanian
Andi	бечӏедир	bečʼedir	Nakh-Daghestanian
Palauan	chedelekelek		Austronesian
Evenki	конңорин		Tungusic
Western Bukidnon Manobo	me'item		Austronesian
Tohono O'odham	chuk		Uto-Aztecan
Svan	მეშხე	mešxe	Kartvelian
Leh Ladakhi	ནག་པོ	nag po	Sino-Tibetan
Western Apache	diłhił		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Upper Sorbian	čorny		Indo-European
Cherokee	ᎬᎿᎨ	gvhnage	Iroquoian
Yagnobi	шов	šov	Indo-European
Northern Frisian	suart		Indo-European
Nauru	etangang		Austronesian
Aragonese	negro		Indo-European
Hopi	qömvi		Uto-Aztecan
Lower Sorbian	carny		Indo-European
Atikamekw	makatewaw		Algic
Even	хакарин	hakarin	Tungusic
Jejueo	검다	geomda	Koreanic
Megleno-Romanian	negru		Indo-European
Rapanui	kere kere		Austronesian
Dolgan	кара		Turkic
Pitjantjatjara	maṟu		Pama-Nyungan
Bats	ჺარჭი^ნ	ʿarč̣iⁿ	Nakh-Daghestanian
Mrassu Shor-Tutal	қара	qara	Turkic
Moksha	равжа	ravža	Uralic
Lakota	sápA		Siouan
Mòcheno	schbòrz		Indo-European
Manx	doo		Indo-European
Dogrib	dezǫ		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Interlingua	nigre		Artificial Language
Nanai	сахарин	saharin	Tungusic
Istriot	nìgaro		Indo-European
Istro-Romanian	negru		Indo-European
Khinalug	мичӏаь	mič̣ä	Nakh-Daghestanian
Northern Mansi	сэ̄мыл	sè̄myl	Uralic
Cornish	du		Indo-European
Kwakʼwala	t̕so'la̱m		Wakashan
Narrinyeri	kro:tin		Pama-Nyungan
Halkomelem	ts'q'éyx̱		Salishan
Ket	тум	tum	Yeniseian
Godoberi	бечӏер		Nakh-Daghestanian
Straits Salish	NEKIX		Salishan
Chickasaw	losa'		Muskogean
Maricopa	nilyig		Cochimi-Yuman
Manchu	ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ	sahaliyan	Tungusic
Chamicuro	kosewa		Arawakan
Adnyamathanha	waurrunha		Pama-Nyungan
Aklanon	maitum		Austronesian
Archaic Angloromani	kalo		Indo-European
Eastern Arrernte	artepe		Pama-Nyungan
Atong (India)	pinak		Sino-Tibetan
Aymara	ch’iyara		Aymaran
Bobangi	-yindo		Atlantic-Congo
Banjar	hirang		Austronesian
Big Nambas	im'ət		Austronesian
Boloki	-yindo		Atlantic-Congo
Coptic	ⲭⲁⲙⲉ	khame	Afro-Asiatic
Dalmatian	fosc		Indo-European
Etruscan	𐌑𐌖𐌓𐌉	śuri	Isolates
Old Frisian	swart		Indo-European
Old High German	swarz		Indo-European
Gondi	నల్లా	nallā	Dravidian
Gothic	𐍃𐍅𐌰𐍂𐍄𐍃	swarts	Indo-European
Ancient Greek	ἀμαυρός	amaurós	Indo-European
Kalaallisut	qernertoq		Eskimo-Aleut
Hebrew	שחור \ שָׁחֹר	shakhór	Afro-Asiatic
Hittite	𒁕𒀭𒆪𒅖	da-an-ku-iš	Indo-European
Hmong Daw	dub		Hmong-Mien
Iranun	maitem		Austronesian
Isnag	ngisit		Austronesian
Javanese	ireng		Austronesian
Kaurna	pulyuna		Pama-Nyungan
South-Central Koongo	ndombe		Atlantic-Congo
Latin	ater		Indo-European
Maru	no		Sino-Tibetan
Low German	swart		Indo-European
Luba-Katanga	-fita		Atlantic-Congo
Malagasy	mainty		Austronesian
Malay	hitam		Austronesian
Mopan	bʼox		Mayan
Classical Nahuatl	tliltic		Uto-Aztecan
Nuu-chah-nulth	tupkuk		Wakashan
Ojibwa	makade-		Algic
Church Slavic	чрьнъ	črĭnŭ	Indo-European
Old Russian	чьрнъ	čĭrnŭ	Indo-European
Old English	blæc		Indo-European
Old Norse	svartr		Indo-European
Old Saxon	swart		Indo-European
Old Turkic	𐽲𐾄𐽰𐽾𐽰	kara	Turkic
Oromo	gurraacha		Afro-Asiatic
Iron Ossetian	сау	saw	Indo-European
Powhatan	mahcatawaiuwh		Algic
Eastern Panjabi	ਕਾਲਾ	kālā	Indo-European
Quileute	shĺpa		Chimakuan
Sinte-Manus Romani	kalo		Indo-European
Campidanese Sardinian	nieddu		Indo-European
Sardinian	niéddhu		Indo-European
Savosavo	boboragha		Isolates
Nafanan	wɔɔ		Atlantic-Congo
Sundanese	hideung		Austronesian
Tagalog	itim		Austronesian
Muslim Tat	siyə		Indo-European
Tokharian B	erkent		Indo-European
Ho-Chunk	seep		Siouan
Wolof	kawe-yolet		Atlantic-Congo
Yiddish	שוואַרץ	shvarts	Indo-European
Dimli	siya		Indo-European