How to say “child” around the world

293 languages · 293 in their own spelling

बच्चा · وَلَد · বাচ্চা子供 · Kind · con小孩 · child · çocukребёнок · ልጅ · ลูกanak · enfant · 小囡मूल · mtoto · mwǎnaдити́на · де́те · dítěOther 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	小孩	xiǎohái	Sino-Tibetan
English	child		Indo-European
Spanish	hijo		Indo-European
Hindi	बच्चा	baccā	Indo-European
Arabic	وَلَد	walad	Afro-Asiatic
Bengali	বাচ্চা	bacca	Indo-European
Indonesian	anak		Austronesian
Portuguese	filho		Indo-European
French	enfant		Indo-European
Russian	ребёнок	rebjónok	Indo-European
Japanese	子供	kodomo	Japonic
Marathi	मूल	mūl	Indo-European
Swahili	mtoto		Atlantic-Congo
Turkish	çocuk		Turkic
Telugu	పాప	pāpa	Dravidian
Wu Chinese	小囡		Sino-Tibetan
Korean	아이	ai	Koreanic
German	Kind		Indo-European
Vietnamese	con		Austroasiatic
Tamil	குழந்தை	kuḻantai	Dravidian
Cantonese	仔女		Sino-Tibetan
Urdu	بَچَّہ	bacca	Indo-European
Italian	figlio		Indo-European
Gujarati	બાળક	bāḷka	Indo-European
Western Farsi	بَچِّه	bačče	Indo-European
Min Nan Chinese	囡仔	gín-á	Sino-Tibetan
Hakka Chinese	細人仔	se-ngìn-è	Sino-Tibetan
Nigerian Pidgin	pikin		Indo-European
Jinyu Chinese	娃娃		Sino-Tibetan
Hausa	ya’ya		Afro-Asiatic
Kannada	ಹಸುಳೆ	hasuḷe	Dravidian
Polish	dziecko		Indo-European
Yoruba	èwe		Atlantic-Congo
Xiang Chinese	细伢子	si⁴ nga² zr	Sino-Tibetan
Malayalam	കുട്ടി	kuṭṭi	Dravidian
Odia	ପିଲା	pilā	Indo-European
Burmese	ကလေး	ka.le:	Sino-Tibetan
Igbo	nyaka		Atlantic-Congo
Ukrainian	дити́на	dytýna	Indo-European
Uzbek	bola		Turkic
Sindhi	ٻارُ	ḇāru	Indo-European
Romanian	fiu		Indo-European
Dutch	kind		Indo-European
Gan Chinese	细人子	xi⁴ nyin zi	Sino-Tibetan
Amharic	ልጅ	ləǧ	Afro-Asiatic
Thai	ลูก	lûuk	Tai-Kadai
Saraiki	ٻال	ḇāl	Indo-European
Lingala	mwǎna		Atlantic-Congo
Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian	де́те		Indo-European
Khmer	កូន	koun	Austroasiatic
Somali	ilmo		Afro-Asiatic
Turkmen	çaga		Turkic
Cebuano	bata		Austronesian
Nepali	बच्चा	baccā	Indo-European
Assamese	ল’ৰা-ছোৱালী	löra-süali	Indo-European
Sinhala	ළමයා	ḷamayā	Indo-European
Greek	παιδί	paidí	Indo-European
Kurdish	zarok		Indo-European
Tajik	кӯдак	küdak	Indo-European
Sylheti	ꠛꠣꠁꠌ꠆ꠌꠣ	baicca	Indo-European
Kazakh	бала	bala	Turkic
Hungarian	gyerek		Uralic
Zulu	umntwana		Atlantic-Congo
Nyanja	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Southern Pashto	ماشوم	māšum	Indo-European
Czech	dítě		Indo-European
Uighur	بالا	bala	Turkic
Afrikaans	kind		Indo-European
Min Dong Chinese	伲囝	niê-giāng	Sino-Tibetan
Haitian	timoun		Indo-European
Swedish	barn		Indo-European
Azerbaijani	uşaq		Turkic
Iloko	anak		Austronesian
Bulgarian	дете́	deté	Indo-European
Hiligaynon	bata		Austronesian
Xhosa	umntwana		Atlantic-Congo
Belarusian	дзіця́	dzicjá	Indo-European
Tigrinya	ሕጻን	ḥəṣan	Afro-Asiatic
Central Kurdish	منداڵ	mindall	Indo-European
Santali	ᱜᱳᱱ	gon	Austroasiatic
Tumbuka	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Kashmiri	شُر	śur	Indo-European
Kikuyu	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Luba-Lulua	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Northern Thai	ᩃᩪᨠ		Tai-Kadai
Danish	barn		Indo-European
Slovak	dieťa		Indo-European
Southern Sotho	ngwana		Atlantic-Congo
Kabyle	agrud		Afro-Asiatic
Finnish	lapsi		Uralic
Lao	ເດັກນ້ອຍ	dek nǭi	Tai-Kadai
Norwegian	barn		Indo-European
Tatar	бала	bala	Turkic
Catalan	nen		Indo-European
Guarani	mitã		Tupian
Kirghiz	бала	bala	Turkic
Swiss German	Chind		Indo-European
Chuanqiandian Cluster Miao	lx		Hmong-Mien
Armenian	երեխա	erexa	Indo-European
Ganda	omwana		Atlantic-Congo
Lithuanian	vaikas		Indo-European
Tok Pisin	pikinini		Indo-European
Georgian	ბავშვი	bavšvi	Kartvelian
Acehnese	aneuk		Austronesian
Mazanderani	وچه	vače	Indo-European
Jamaican Creole English	pickney		Indo-European
Albanian	fëmijë		Indo-European
Ewe	vi		Atlantic-Congo
Luo	nyithindo		Nilotic
Shan	လုၵ်ႈ	lūk	Tai-Kadai
Mongolian	хүү	xüü	Mongolic-Khitan
Bikol	aki		Austronesian
Galician	nena		Indo-European
Slovenian	otrok		Indo-European
Iban	anak		Austronesian
Bouyei	leg		Tai-Kadai
Esperanto	infano		Artificial Language
Macedonian	дете	dete	Indo-European
Zhuang	lwg		Tai-Kadai
Afar	awka		Afro-Asiatic
Kabardian	сабий	sabij	Abkhaz-Adyge
Latvian	bērns		Indo-European
Quechua	wamra		Quechuan
Scots	bairn		Indo-European
Chechen	бер	ber	Nakh-Daghestanian
Estonian	laps		Uralic
Bashkir	бала	bala	Turkic
Tibetan	ཕྲུ་གུ	phru gu	Sino-Tibetan
Maguindanao	wata		Austronesian
Tausug	anak		Austronesian
Central Okinawan	子	kkwa	Japonic
Nuer	gat		Nilotic
Kabuverdianu	fidju		Indo-European
Mon	ကွေန်	kon	Austroasiatic
Western Frisian	bern		Indo-European
Nupe-Nupe-Tako	egi		Atlantic-Congo
Maranao	wata'		Austronesian
Avar	лъимер	lˢimer	Nakh-Daghestanian
Talysh	bâla		Indo-European
Tai Dam	ꪩꪴꪀ		Tai-Kadai
Basque	sein		Isolates
Chuvash	ача	ač̬a	Turkic
Welsh	plentyn		Indo-European
Yucatec Maya	paal		Mayan
Lü	ᦟᦴᧅ	luuk	Tai-Kadai
Krio	pikin		Indo-European
Tai Nüa	ᥘᥧᥐ	luk	Tai-Kadai
Lezghian	аял	aäl	Nakh-Daghestanian
Rusyn	дїтя	djitja	Indo-European
Walloon	efant		Indo-European
Kara-Kalpak	bala		Turkic
Adyghe	сабый	sabəj	Abkhaz-Adyge
Classical Syriac	ܙܪܥܐ		Afro-Asiatic
Maltese	tfal		Afro-Asiatic
Crimean Tatar	bala		Turkic
Upper Guinea Crioulo	fidju		Indo-European
Mizo	fa		Sino-Tibetan
Tetum	labarik		Austronesian
Silesian	dziycio		Indo-European
Asturian	fíu		Indo-European
Yakut	оҕо	oɣo	Turkic
Kumyk	яш	yaş	Turkic
Ingush	бер	ber	Nakh-Daghestanian
Papiamento	mucha		Indo-European
Icelandic	barn		Indo-European
Karachay-Balkar	бала	bala	Turkic
Tuvinian	уруг	urug	Turkic
Saho	awka		Afro-Asiatic
Udmurt	нылпи	nylpi	Uralic
Plautdietsch	Kjint		Indo-European
Nama	ǀgôa-i		Khoe-Kwadi
Zeelandic	kind		Indo-European
Buriat	хүүгэд	xüüged	Mongolic-Khitan
Māori	pangore		Austronesian
Dongxiang	kewosi		Mongolic-Khitan
Abkhaz	аԥшқа	apŝka	Abkhaz-Adyge
Navajo	awééʼ		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Pennsylvania German	Kind		Indo-European
Irish	páiste		Indo-European
Ladino	kreatura		Indo-European
Kashubian	òtrok		Indo-European
Breton	bugel		Indo-European
Judeo-Tat	гIэиль		Indo-European
Mwani	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Erzya	эйде	ejde	Uralic
Faroese	barn		Indo-European
Scottish Gaelic	pàisde		Indo-European
Southern Altai	бала	bala	Turkic
Sanskrit	शिशु	śiśu	Indo-European
Ternate	ngofa		North Halmahera
Dungan	хэзы	hezɨ	Sino-Tibetan
Romansh	uffant		Indo-European
Higaonon	bata		Austronesian
Hawaiian	keiki		Austronesian
North Saami	mánná		Uralic
Kajtak	дяргья́	dərhə́	Nakh-Daghestanian
Lamboya	ana		Austronesian
Pijin	pikinini		Indo-European
'Are'are	wera		Austronesian
Evenki	куңакан		Tungusic
Mirandese	criança		Indo-European
Tohono O'odham	ali		Uto-Aztecan
Tabaru	ngowaka		North Halmahera
Upper Sorbian	dźěćo		Indo-European
Cherokee	ᎠᏳᎴ	ayule	Iroquoian
Bislama	pikinini		Indo-European
Northern Frisian	jongen		Indo-European
Louisiana Creole	piti		Indo-European
Lower Sorbian	źiśe		Indo-European
Jejueo	아이	ai	Koreanic
Pitjantjatjara	tjitji		Pama-Nyungan
Wutunhua	galamala		Sino-Tibetan
Moksha	идь	iď	Uralic
Southern Amami-Oshima	warabɨ		Japonic
Interlingua	filia		Artificial Language
Bororo	ore		Bororoan
Nanai	пиктэ	pikte	Tungusic
Veps	lapsʹ		Uralic
Taos Northern Tiwa	ȕʼúna		Kiowa-Tanoan
Cornish	flogh		Indo-European
Kildin Saami	па̄рнэнч	pārnenč	Uralic
Skolt Sami	päärnaž		Uralic
Pirahã	tiobáhai		Isolates
Narrinyeri	porli		Pama-Nyungan
Inari Sami	páárnáš		Uralic
Nyunga	koorlingah		Pama-Nyungan
Amur Nivkh	оғла	oγla	Nivkh
Ingrian	lapsi		Uralic
Chickasaw	chipota		Muskogean
Votic	lahsi		Uralic
Prussian	malnīks		Indo-European
Pite Saami	mánná		Uralic
Maricopa	humar		Cochimi-Yuman
Aghwan	𐕘𐔰𐕙	ġar	Nakh-Daghestanian
Northern Altai	пала	pala	Turkic
Eastern Arrernte	ampe		Pama-Nyungan
Western Balochi	چک	cukk	Indo-European
Bobangi	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Banjar	anak		Austronesian
Butuanon	bata		Austronesian
Chagatai	بلا	blʾ	Turkic
Min Bei Chinese	囝仔	gṳ̌ing-ciě	Sino-Tibetan
Ifè	ɔma		Atlantic-Congo
Ancient Egyptian	X:r:d-Xrd	ẖrd	Afro-Asiatic
Eshtehardi	لَزَک	lazak	Indo-European
Geez	ወልድ	wäld	Afro-Asiatic
Gothic	𐍆𐍂𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍃	frasts	Indo-European
Ancient Greek	παῖς	paîs	Indo-European
Kalaallisut	meeraq		Eskimo-Aleut
Hebrew	יֶלֶד	yéled	Afro-Asiatic
Iranun	wata'		Austronesian
Isoko	ọmọ		Atlantic-Congo
Javanese	anak		Austronesian
Kaingang	kósin		Nuclear-Macro-Je
Kazym-Berezover-Suryskarer Khanty	њэврэм	njewrem	Uralic
Latin	filius		Indo-European
Livonian	läpš		Uralic
Low German	Kind		Indo-European
Luba-Katanga	mwana		Atlantic-Congo
Northern Lushootseed	bədaʔ		Salishan
Lautu	haatiy		Sino-Tibetan
Moselle Franconian	Kand		Indo-European
Makasae-Makalero	mata		Timor-Alor-Pantar
Malay	budak		Austronesian
Central Melanau	aneak		Austronesian
Middle English	child		Indo-European
Mori Bawah	ana		Austronesian
Khiamniungan Naga	tshōu		Sino-Tibetan
San Francisco Bay Ohlone	šiiniinikma		Miwok-Costanoan
Church Slavic	чѧдо	čędo	Indo-European
Old Russian	дѣтя	dětja	Indo-European
Old English	ċild		Indo-European
Old Norse	barn		Indo-European
Iron Ossetian	саби	sabi	Indo-European
Pali	dārako		Indo-European
Polabian	våtrük		Indo-European
Eastern Panjabi	ਬੱਚਾ	baccā	Indo-European
Saek	แด๊ก		Tai-Kadai
Savosavo	gnuba		Isolates
Sundanese	murangkalih		Austronesian
Tagalog	anak		Austronesian
Tetela	ona		Atlantic-Congo
Rio Grande Tewa	ay		Kiowa-Tanoan
Tidore	ngofa		North Halmahera
Ugaritic	𐎊𐎍𐎄	yld	Afro-Asiatic
Wappo	ʔék'a		Yuki-Wappo
Woiwurrung-Thagungwurrung	bubup		Pama-Nyungan
Wolof	xale		Atlantic-Congo
Xârâcùù	xûûchî		Austronesian
Yiddish	קינד	kind	Indo-European
Zande	gude		Atlantic-Congo
Dimli	qeç		Indo-European
East Taa	ʘqa̰a		Tuu