How to say “coffee” around the world
344 languages · 344 in their own spelling
Almost every word for coffee goes back to one source: Arabic qahwa, carried into Europe through Ottoman Turkish kahve — coffee, café, Kaffee, кофе and 咖啡 are all its descendants.
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 | 咖啡 | kāfēi | Sino-Tibetan |
| English | coffee | Indo-European | |
| Spanish | café | Indo-European | |
| Hindi | कॉफ़ी | kŏfī | Indo-European |
| Arabic | قَهْوَة | qahwa | Afro-Asiatic |
| Bengali | কফি | kophi | Indo-European |
| Indonesian | kopi | Austronesian | |
| Portuguese | café | Indo-European | |
| French | café | Indo-European | |
| Russian | ко́фе | kófe | Indo-European |
| Japanese | コーヒー | kōhī | Japonic |
| Marathi | कॉफी | kŏphī | Indo-European |
| Swahili | kahawa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Turkish | kahve | Turkic | |
| Telugu | కాఫీ | kāphī | Dravidian |
| Wu Chinese | 咖啡 | Sino-Tibetan | |
| Korean | 커피 | keopi | Koreanic |
| German | Kaffee | Indo-European | |
| Vietnamese | cà phê | Austroasiatic | |
| Tamil | காபி | kāpi | Dravidian |
| Cantonese | 咖啡 | gaa³ fe¹ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Urdu | کافی | kāfī | Indo-European |
| Italian | caffè | Indo-European | |
| Egyptian Arabic | قَهْوَة | ʔahwa | Afro-Asiatic |
| Gujarati | કૉફી | kŏphī | Indo-European |
| Western Farsi | قَهْوَه | qahwa | Indo-European |
| Min Nan Chinese | 咖啡 | ka-pi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hakka Chinese | 咖啡 | kâ-pî | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hausa | kṑfī | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Kannada | ಕಾಫಿ | kāphi | Dravidian |
| Polish | kawa | Indo-European | |
| Yoruba | kọfí | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Malayalam | കാപ്പി | kāppi | Dravidian |
| Odia | କଫୀ | kaphi | Indo-European |
| Burmese | ကော်ဖီ | kauhpi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Sudanese Arabic | جبنة | jabana | Afro-Asiatic |
| Moroccan Arabic | قهوة | qahwa | Afro-Asiatic |
| Igbo | kọfị̀ | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Ukrainian | ка́ва | káva | Indo-European |
| Uzbek | qahva | Turkic | |
| Sindhi | ڪافي | kāfe | Indo-European |
| Romanian | cafea | Indo-European | |
| Dutch | koffie | Indo-European | |
| Amharic | ቡና | buna | Afro-Asiatic |
| Thai | กาแฟ | gaa-fɛɛ | Tai-Kadai |
| Lingala | kawa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian | ка̀фа | Indo-European | |
| Khmer | កាហ្វេ | kaafee | Austroasiatic |
| Somali | bun | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Turkmen | kofe | Turkic | |
| Cebuano | kape | Austronesian | |
| Nepali | कफी | kaphī | Indo-European |
| Assamese | কফি | kophi | Indo-European |
| Sinhala | කෝපි | kōpi | Indo-European |
| Greek | καφές | kafés | Indo-European |
| Kurdish | qehwe | Indo-European | |
| Hijazi Arabic | قَهْوَة | gahwa | Afro-Asiatic |
| Tajik | қаҳва | qahva | Indo-European |
| Kazakh | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Hungarian | kávé | Uralic | |
| Kinyarwanda | ikawa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Zulu | ikhofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Nyanja | kofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Sanaani Arabic | كافي | kāfi | Afro-Asiatic |
| Southern Pashto | قهوه | qahwa | Indo-European |
| Czech | káva | Indo-European | |
| Uighur | قەھۋە | qehwe | Turkic |
| Afrikaans | koffie | Indo-European | |
| Min Dong Chinese | 咖啡 | gă-pĭ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Haitian | kafe | Indo-European | |
| Swedish | kaffe | Indo-European | |
| Azerbaijani | qəhvə | Turkic | |
| Iloko | kape | Austronesian | |
| Bulgarian | кафе́ | kafé | Indo-European |
| Shona | kofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Hiligaynon | kape | Austronesian | |
| Xhosa | ikofu | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Tachelhit | l-qhwa | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Belarusian | ка́ва | káva | Indo-European |
| Tigrinya | ቡን | bun | Afro-Asiatic |
| Neapolitan | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Central Kurdish | قاوە | qawe | Indo-European |
| Santali | ᱠᱚᱯᱷᱤ | kôphi | Austroasiatic |
| Northern Thai | ᨠᩣᨼᩯ | Tai-Kadai | |
| Danish | kaffe | Indo-European | |
| Slovak | káva | Indo-European | |
| Southern Sotho | kofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Kabyle | taɣlust | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Finnish | kahvi | Uralic | |
| Lao | ກາເຟ | kā fē | Tai-Kadai |
| Norwegian | kaffe | Indo-European | |
| Tatar | каһвә | qähwä | Turkic |
| Betawi | gahwa | Austronesian | |
| Catalan | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Guarani | café | Tupian | |
| Sicilian | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Kirghiz | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Swiss German | Kàffe | Indo-European | |
| Armenian | սուրճ | surč | Indo-European |
| Bambara | kafe | Mande | |
| Ganda | emwaanyi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Lithuanian | kava | Indo-European | |
| Tok Pisin | kopi | Indo-European | |
| Lombard | café | Indo-European | |
| Georgian | ყავა | q̇ava | Kartvelian |
| Goan Konkani | कापि | kāpi | Indo-European |
| Waray | kape | Austronesian | |
| Albanian | kafe | Indo-European | |
| Mongolian | кофе | kofe | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Bikol | kape | Austronesian | |
| Galician | café | Indo-European | |
| Pampanga | kapi | Austronesian | |
| Slovenian | káva | Indo-European | |
| Esperanto | kafo | Artificial Language | |
| Kʼicheʼ | kapeh | Mayan | |
| Macedonian | кафе | kafe | Indo-European |
| Piedmontese | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Venetian | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Zhuang | gahfeih | Tai-Kadai | |
| Rohingya | kofí | Indo-European | |
| Afar | buun | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Limburgan | koffie | Indo-European | |
| Latvian | kafija | Indo-European | |
| Quechua | kaphiy | Quechuan | |
| Scots | coffee | Indo-European | |
| West Flemish | kaffie | Indo-European | |
| Chechen | къахьо | qʼaḥʳo | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Emilian | cafa | Indo-European | |
| Estonian | kohv | Uralic | |
| Bashkir | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Tibetan | ཁོ་ཕི | kho phi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Maguindanao | kahawa | Austronesian | |
| Pangasinan | kape | Austronesian | |
| Tausug | kahawa | Austronesian | |
| Kabuverdianu | kafé | Indo-European | |
| Fang | kofe | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Western Frisian | kofje | Indo-European | |
| Ndonga | okoofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Kalmyk | кофе | kofe | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Maranao | kahawa | Austronesian | |
| Avar | къагьва | qxʼahʷa | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Basque | kafe | Isolates | |
| Chuvash | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Welsh | coffi | Indo-European | |
| Yucatec Maya | káapej | Mayan | |
| Lü | ᦆᦱᧈᦵᦝᧀᧈ | xaa¹foey¹ | Tai-Kadai |
| Krio | kɔfi | Indo-European | |
| Lezghian | кофе | kofe | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Rusyn | ка́ва | káva | Indo-European |
| Lozi | kofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Morisyen | kafe | Indo-European | |
| Réunion Creole French | kafé | Indo-European | |
| Walloon | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Adyghe | коф | kʷof | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Classical Syriac | ܩܗܘܐ | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Maltese | kafè | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Crimean Tatar | qave | Turkic | |
| Occitan | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Ligurian | caffè | Indo-European | |
| Mari | кофе | kofe | Uralic |
| Tetum | kafé | Austronesian | |
| Silesian | kafej | Indo-European | |
| Asturian | café | Indo-European | |
| Yakut | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Kumyk | къагьва | qahwa | Turkic |
| Samoan | kofe | Austronesian | |
| Sranan Tongo | kofi | Indo-European | |
| Tzotzil | kajve | Mayan | |
| Fijian | kofe | Austronesian | |
| Dhivehi | ގަހުވަ | gahuva | Indo-European |
| Ingush | кофи | kofi | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Papiamento | kòfi | Indo-European | |
| Icelandic | kaffi | Indo-European | |
| Ngazidja Comorian | kafe | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Karachay-Balkar | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Friulian | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Tuvinian | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Udmurt | кофе | kofe | Uralic |
| Plautdietsch | Koffe | Indo-European | |
| Bade | sāyì | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Kuanyama | okofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Dzongkha | ཀཱ་ཕི། | kā phi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Herero | ozo-mbonde | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Zeelandic | koffie | Indo-European | |
| Buriat | кофе | kofje | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Māori | kawhe | Austronesian | |
| Extremaduran | café | Indo-European | |
| Abkhaz | акаҳуа | akʼaḥwa | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Chol | cajpe' | Mayan | |
| Navajo | gohwééh | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Komi | кофе | kofe | Uralic |
| Lak | ккупи | k:upi | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Corsican | caffè | Indo-European | |
| Pennsylvania German | Kaffi | Indo-European | |
| Irish | caife | Indo-European | |
| Western Highland Purepecha | kafe | Tarascan | |
| Ladino | kavé | Indo-European | |
| Gilbertese | koobe | Austronesian | |
| Aromanian | cafe | Indo-European | |
| Kashubian | kawa | Indo-European | |
| Breton | kafe | Indo-European | |
| Gallurese Sardinian | gaffè | Indo-European | |
| Sassarese Sardinian | caffè | Indo-European | |
| Erzya | кохве | kohve | Uralic |
| Nogai | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Ngizim | shāyì | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Võro | kohv | Uralic | |
| Tabasaran | кофе | kofe | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Faroese | kaffi | Indo-European | |
| Tahitian | taofe | Austronesian | |
| Chamorro | café | Austronesian | |
| Marshallese | ko̧pe | Austronesian | |
| Scottish Gaelic | cofaidh | Indo-European | |
| Sanskrit | पीयूष | pīyūṣa | Indo-European |
| Abaza | ко́фе | kófe | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Chuj | kapeh | Mayan | |
| Khakas | кофе | kofe | Turkic |
| Dungan | кофе | kofiə | Sino-Tibetan |
| Romansh | café | Indo-European | |
| Highland Popoluca | capel | Mixe-Zoque | |
| Plains Cree | ᐱᐦᑲᐦᒉᐋᐧᐳᐢ | pihkahcewâpos | Algic |
| Ch'orti' | kahwe | Mayan | |
| Ladin | cafè | Indo-European | |
| Hawaiian | kope | Austronesian | |
| North Saami | gáffe | Uralic | |
| Inabaknon | kapi | Austronesian | |
| Rarotongan | kaope | Austronesian | |
| Central Yupik | kuuvviaq | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Evenki | кофе | kofe | Tungusic |
| Comorian | buni | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Mirandese | café | Indo-European | |
| Western Apache | tudiłhiłi | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Upper Sorbian | kofej | Indo-European | |
| Tuvalu | kofe | Austronesian | |
| Cherokee | ᎧᏫ | kawi | Iroquoian |
| Bislama | kofi | Indo-European | |
| Northern Frisian | kofe | Indo-European | |
| Carib | kàpe | Cariban | |
| Louisiana Creole | kafe | Indo-European | |
| Niuean | kofe | Austronesian | |
| Aragonese | café | Indo-European | |
| Lower Sorbian | kafej | Indo-European | |
| Machiguenga | kaju | Arawakan | |
| Totontepec Mixe | café | Mixe-Zoque | |
| Jejueo | 커피 | keopi | Koreanic |
| Maia | kopi | Nuclear Trans New Guinea | |
| Bats | ყავ | q̇av | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Dakota | mni k’ata | Siouan | |
| Yatzachi Zapotec | cafe | Otomanguean | |
| Cheyenne | mo'ôhtávêhohpe | Algic | |
| Moksha | кофе | kofe | Uralic |
| Lakota | pejula sapa | Siouan | |
| Mòcheno | kafè | Indo-European | |
| Manx | caffee | Indo-European | |
| Tacana | kajue | Pano-Tacanan | |
| Kadiwéu | gaafi | Guaicuruan | |
| Interlingua | caffe | Artificial Language | |
| Huehuetla Tepehua | capen | Totonacan | |
| Veps | kofe | Uralic | |
| Arapaho | woo'teenoowu' | Algic | |
| Seri | cafee | Isolates | |
| Cornish | koffi | Indo-European | |
| Alabama | kafi | Muskogean | |
| Ahtena | guuxi | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Karaim | къахъфэ | Turkic | |
| Hinuq | ко́пе | kópe | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Guerrero Amuzgo | kajwê | Otomanguean | |
| San Pedro Amuzgos Amuzgo | café | Otomanguean | |
| Jicarilla Apache | gaʼée | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Gulf Arabic | قهوة | gəhwə | Afro-Asiatic |
| Najdi Arabic | قْهَوَة | ghawa | Afro-Asiatic |
| Western Balochi | کاوہ | káwa | Indo-European |
| Biloxi | kafi | Siouan | |
| Bole | shayì | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Bukusu | eemwaani | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Lealao Chinantec | café | Otomanguean | |
| Ozumacín Chinantec | jmɨ⁻dsɨɨ^\ | Otomanguean | |
| Coptic | ⲡⲟⲛ | pon | Afro-Asiatic |
| Tepeuxila Cuicatec | ca³fé²⁴ | Otomanguean | |
| Dargwa | кофе | kofe | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| East Futuna | kafe | Austronesian | |
| Meskwaki | kâhpîhi | Algic | |
| Saterland Frisian | Koafje | Indo-European | |
| Pular | kofi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Yuwaalaraay-Gamilaraay | gabi | Pama-Nyungan | |
| Kalaallisut | kaffi | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Hebrew | קָפֶה | kafé | Afro-Asiatic |
| Hmong Njua | kas fes | Hmong-Mien | |
| Hmong Daw | kas fes | Hmong-Mien | |
| Hunsrik | Kaffi | Indo-European | |
| Inuktitut | ᑳᐱ | kaapi | Eskimo-Aleut |
| North Alaskan Inupiatun | kuukpiaq | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Ibatan | kapi | Austronesian | |
| Javanese | kopi | Austronesian | |
| Kansa | mokáⁿ sábe | Siouan | |
| South-Central Koongo | káfé | Atlantic-Congo | |
| San Blas Kuna | kabi | Chibchan | |
| Latin | cafaea | Indo-European | |
| Low German | Kaffee | Indo-European | |
| Lucumi | asogí | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Moselle Franconian | Kaffi | Indo-European | |
| Malagasy | kafe | Austronesian | |
| Malay | kopi | Austronesian | |
| Brunei | kupi | Austronesian | |
| Chiquihuitlán Mazatec | ca³fé²⁴ | Otomanguean | |
| Isthmus Mixe | cajueey | Mixe-Zoque | |
| Movima | ka꞉pe | Isolates | |
| Musey | kàffēnā | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Classical Nahuatl | cafentzin | Uto-Aztecan | |
| Northern Sotho | ditšhumamelômo | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Nyole | kaawa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Ojibwa | makade-mashkikiwaaboo | Algic | |
| Oromo | buna | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Osage | mąhkása | Siouan | |
| Iron Ossetian | къофи | k’ofi | Indo-European |
| Mezquital Otomi | 'bodehe | Otomanguean | |
| Pali | kāphī | Indo-European | |
| Parakanã | kape | Tupian | |
| Oluta Popoluca | cafe't | Mixe-Zoque | |
| Sayula Popoluca | café | Mixe-Zoque |