How to say “cow” around the world

317 languages · 317 in their own spelling

cow · गाय · গাইvaca · بَقَرَة · vaca牛 · ng'ombe · ineksapi · 牛 · 소ላም · ላም · lehmämucca · មេគោ · mhóuදෙන · tehén · tafunastOther 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	牛	niú	Sino-Tibetan
English	cow		Indo-European
Spanish	vaca		Indo-European
Hindi	गाय	gāy	Indo-European
Arabic	بَقَرَة	baqara	Afro-Asiatic
Bengali	গাই	gai	Indo-European
Indonesian	sapi		Austronesian
Portuguese	vaca		Indo-European
French	vache		Indo-European
Russian	коро́ва	koróva	Indo-European
Japanese	牛	ushi	Japonic
Marathi	गाय	gāy	Indo-European
Swahili	ng'ombe		Atlantic-Congo
Turkish	inek		Turkic
Telugu	ఆవు	āvu	Dravidian
Wu Chinese	牛		Sino-Tibetan
Korean	소	so	Koreanic
German	Kuh		Indo-European
Vietnamese	bò cái		Austroasiatic
Tamil	பசு	pacu	Dravidian
Cantonese	牛	ngau⁴	Sino-Tibetan
Urdu	گائے	gāe	Indo-European
Italian	mucca		Indo-European
Egyptian Arabic	بقرة	baʔara	Afro-Asiatic
Gujarati	ગાય	gāya	Indo-European
Western Farsi	گاو	gâv	Indo-European
Min Nan Chinese	牛	gû	Sino-Tibetan
Hakka Chinese	牛嫲	ngiù-mà	Sino-Tibetan
Hausa	saniya		Afro-Asiatic
Kannada	ಹಸು	hasu	Dravidian
Polish	krowa		Indo-European
Yoruba	abo màluu		Atlantic-Congo
Malayalam	പശു	paśu	Dravidian
Burmese	နွားမ	nwa:ma.	Sino-Tibetan
Moroccan Arabic	بقرة	baqra	Afro-Asiatic
Ukrainian	коро́ва	koróva	Indo-European
Uzbek	sigir		Turkic
Sindhi	ڳَئُون	g̠aū̃	Indo-European
Romanian	vacă		Indo-European
Dutch	koe		Indo-European
Amharic	ላም	lam	Afro-Asiatic
Thai	วัว	wuua	Tai-Kadai
Lingala	ngombe		Atlantic-Congo
Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian	крȁва		Indo-European
Khmer	មេគោ	mee koo	Austroasiatic
Somali	sac		Afro-Asiatic
Turkmen	sygyr		Turkic
Cebuano	baka		Austronesian
Nepali	गाई	gāī	Indo-European
Assamese	গৰু	goru	Indo-European
Sinhala	දෙන	dena	Indo-European
Greek	αγελάδα	ageláda	Indo-European
Kurdish	çêl		Indo-European
Hijazi Arabic	بقرة	bagara	Afro-Asiatic
Tajik	гов	gov	Indo-European
Sylheti	ꠉꠞꠥ	goru	Indo-European
Kazakh	сиыр	sıyır	Turkic
Hungarian	tehén		Uralic
Kinyarwanda	inka		Atlantic-Congo
Zulu	inkomazi		Atlantic-Congo
Nyanja	ng'ombe		Atlantic-Congo
Akan	nantwi		Atlantic-Congo
Southern Pashto	غوا	ġwā	Indo-European
Czech	kráva		Indo-European
Uighur	ئىنەك	inek	Turkic
Afrikaans	koei		Indo-European
Min Dong Chinese	牛母	ngù-mō̤	Sino-Tibetan
Haitian	vach		Indo-European
Kanuri	fê		Saharan
Swedish	ko		Indo-European
Azerbaijani	inək		Turkic
Bulgarian	кра́ва	kráva	Indo-European
Shona	mhóu		Atlantic-Congo
Hiligaynon	baka		Austronesian
Xhosa	inkomo		Atlantic-Congo
Tachelhit	tafunast		Afro-Asiatic
Belarusian	каро́ва	karóva	Indo-European
Mossi	naafo		Atlantic-Congo
Tigrinya	ላም	lam	Afro-Asiatic
Central Kurdish	مانگا		Indo-European
Santali	ᱜᱟᱤ	gai	Austroasiatic
Tumbuka	ng'ombe		Atlantic-Congo
Northern Thai	ᨦᩫ᩠ᩅ		Tai-Kadai
Danish	ko		Indo-European
Slovak	krava		Indo-European
Wolaytta	miizziyo		Ta-Ne-Omotic
Kabyle	tafunast		Afro-Asiatic
Minangkabau	jawi		Austronesian
Finnish	lehmä		Uralic
Lao	ງົວ	ngūa	Tai-Kadai
Norwegian	ku		Indo-European
Tatar	сыер	sıyır	Turkic
Catalan	vaca		Indo-European
Sicilian	vacca		Indo-European
Kirghiz	уй	uy	Turkic
Swiss German	Chue		Indo-European
Tswana	kgomo		Atlantic-Congo
Armenian	կով	kov	Indo-European
Bambara	misi		Mande
Lithuanian	kárvė		Indo-European
Tok Pisin	bulmakau meri		Indo-European
Balinese	sampi		Austronesian
Georgian	ძროხა	ʒroxa	Kartvelian
Goan Konkani	गाय	gāy	Indo-European
Bemba	nañ-ñombe		Atlantic-Congo
Acehnese	leumo		Austronesian
Mazanderani	گو	gu	Indo-European
Albanian	lopë		Indo-European
Luo	dhiang'		Nilotic
Shan	ငူဝ်း	ngó	Tai-Kadai
Mongolian	үнээ	ünee	Mongolic-Khitan
Bikol	baka		Austronesian
Galician	vaca		Indo-European
Slovenian	krava		Indo-European
Swati	ín-khomâti		Atlantic-Congo
Esperanto	bovino		Artificial Language
Macedonian	крава	krava	Indo-European
Sichuan Yi	ꑍꃀ	nyip mop	Sino-Tibetan
Venetian	vaca		Indo-European
Zhuang	vaizmeh		Tai-Kadai
Rohingya	gai		Indo-European
Sidamo	sa'a		Afro-Asiatic
Afar	saga		Afro-Asiatic
Kabardian	жэм	žɛm	Abkhaz-Adyge
Limburgan	koe		Indo-European
Latvian	govs		Indo-European
Quechua	waka		Quechuan
Scots	coo		Indo-European
Chechen	етт	jett	Nakh-Daghestanian
Estonian	lehm		Uralic
Bashkir	һыйыр	hıyır	Turkic
Tibetan	བ་ཕྱུགས	ba phyugs	Sino-Tibetan
Romagnol	munghèna		Indo-European
Tausug	baka		Austronesian
Central Okinawan	うし	ushi	Japonic
Khasi	masi		Austroasiatic
Mon	ဂၠဴၝောံ		Austroasiatic
Western Frisian	ko		Indo-European
Frafra	naafɔ		Atlantic-Congo
Kalmyk	үкр	ükr	Mongolic-Khitan
Maranao	sapi'		Austronesian
Avar	гӏака	ʻaka	Nakh-Daghestanian
Basque	behi		Isolates
Chuvash	ӗне	ĕne	Turkic
Welsh	buwch		Indo-European
Yucatec Maya	wakax		Mayan
Lü	ᦷᦣ	ho	Tai-Kadai
Lezghian	ккал	k̄al	Nakh-Daghestanian
Morisyen	vas		Indo-European
Walloon	vatche		Indo-European
Kara-Kalpak	sıyır		Turkic
Adyghe	чэмы	čɛmə	Abkhaz-Adyge
Maltese	baqra		Afro-Asiatic
Crimean Tatar	sığır		Turkic
Occitan	vaca		Indo-European
Vlax Romani	gurumni		Indo-European
Mari	ушкал	uškal	Uralic
Asturian	vaca		Indo-European
Yakut	ынах	ïnax	Turkic
Kumyk	сыйыр	sıyır	Turkic
Samoan	povi		Austronesian
Sranan Tongo	kaw		Indo-European
Dhivehi	ގެރި	geri	Indo-European
Icelandic	kýr		Indo-European
Karachay-Balkar	ийнек	iynek	Turkic
Friulian	vacje		Indo-European
Mapuche	waka		Araucanian
Saho	saga		Afro-Asiatic
Udmurt	скал	skal	Uralic
Plautdietsch	Koo		Indo-European
Laz	ფუჯი	puci	Kartvelian
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic	ܬܵܘܸܪܬܵܐ	tawirta	Afro-Asiatic
Buriat	үнеэн	ünjeen	Mongolic-Khitan
Māori	kau		Austronesian
Abkhaz	ажә	aẑʷ	Abkhaz-Adyge
Tonga (Tonga Islands)	pulu fefine		Austronesian
Navajo	béégashii		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Komi	мӧс	mös	Uralic
Lak	оьл	oˤl	Nakh-Daghestanian
Corsican	vacca		Indo-European
Irish	bó		Indo-European
Ladino	vaka		Indo-European
Aromanian	vacã		Indo-European
Kashubian	karwa		Indo-European
Breton	buoc'h		Indo-European
Mwani	ng'ombe		Atlantic-Congo
Erzya	скал	skal	Uralic
Dagur	unie		Mongolic-Khitan
Nogai	сыйыр	sıyır	Turkic
Võro	lehm		Uralic
Tabasaran	хюни	ꭓjuni	Nakh-Daghestanian
Faroese	kúgv		Indo-European
Tahitian	puaʻatoro		Austronesian
Chamorro	guaka		Austronesian
Zou	bong		Sino-Tibetan
Scottish Gaelic	bò		Indo-European
Southern Altai	уй	uy	Turkic
Sanskrit	धेनु	dhenu	Indo-European
Rutul	зер	zer	Nakh-Daghestanian
Khakas	інек	ìnek	Turkic
Nubi	bagara		Afro-Asiatic
Romansh	vatga		Indo-European
Karelian	lehmä		Uralic
Livvi	lehmy		Uralic
Ladin	vacia		Indo-European
Hawaiian	pipi wahine		Austronesian
North Saami	gussa		Uralic
Tsakhur	зер	zʲer	Nakh-Daghestanian
Central Yupik	kuluvaak		Eskimo-Aleut
Evenki	мачалэ	maçalə	Tungusic
Tohono O'odham	haiwani		Uto-Aztecan
Svan	ფუ̈რ	pür	Kartvelian
Western Apache	bágashi		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Upper Sorbian	kruwa		Indo-European
Cherokee	ᏩᎧ	waka	Iroquoian
Yagnobi	ғов	ġov	Indo-European
Northern Frisian	kü		Indo-European
Aragonese	vaca		Indo-European
Udi	чур	čur	Nakh-Daghestanian
Hopi	waakasi		Uto-Aztecan
Lower Sorbian	krowa		Indo-European
Even	хөкэн	hökən	Tungusic
Jejueo	암쉐	amswe	Koreanic
Megleno-Romanian	vacă		Indo-European
Rapanui	pua'a		Austronesian
Wutunhua	nek		Sino-Tibetan
Mohawk	tiohnhónskwaron		Iroquoian
Bats	ჲეთˁ	yetˁ	Nakh-Daghestanian
Mrassu Shor-Tutal	нек	nek	Turkic
Moksha	тракс	traks	Uralic
Mòcheno	kua		Indo-European
Manx	booa		Indo-European
Interlingua	vacca		Artificial Language
Nanai	ихан	ihan	Tungusic
Veps	lehm		Uralic
Istro-Romanian	våcĕ		Indo-European
Archi	хьӏон	x̣on	Nakh-Daghestanian
Taos Northern Tiwa	kòsiʼína		Kiowa-Tanoan
Cornish	bugh		Indo-European
Southern Sami	govse		Uralic
Kildin Saami	лӣхемь	līx’em’	Uralic
Skolt Sami	kuss		Uralic
Inari Sami	kussâ		Uralic
Northern Akhvakh	жиᵸво	žı̇̃vo	Nakh-Daghestanian
Amur Nivkh	эӻа	eġa	Nivkh
Godoberi	зини	ziní	Nakh-Daghestanian
Ingrian	lehmä		Uralic
Chickasaw	waaka'		Muskogean
Votic	lehme		Uralic
Prussian	klente		Indo-European
Maricopa	'iikway		Cochimi-Yuman
Manchu	ᡳᡥᠠᠨ	ihan	Tungusic
Central Sierra Miwok	lé·čy-		Miwok-Costanoan
Ainu	ペコ	peko	Ainu
Chamicuro	waka		Arawakan
Chinook Jargon	musmus		Chinookan
Aghwan	𐕖𐕒𐕡𐕙	čur	Nakh-Daghestanian
Ahom	𑜑𑜥	hū	Tai-Kadai
Akkadian	𒀖	arhu	Afro-Asiatic
Ambonese Malay	sapi		Austronesian
Gulf Arabic	بْقَرَة	bgərə	Afro-Asiatic
Gilit Mesopotamian Arabic	بَقَرَة	baqara	Afro-Asiatic
Aramaic	תורתא	tōrtā	Afro-Asiatic
Aymara	waka		Aymaran
Western Balochi	گوک	gúk	Indo-European
Banjar	sapi		Austronesian
Central Atlas Tamazight	ⵜⴰⴼⵓⵏⴰⵙⵜ	tafunast	Afro-Asiatic
Tedim Chin	bawng		Sino-Tibetan
Dalmatian	baca		Indo-European
Dargwa	кьел	q̇el	Nakh-Daghestanian
Eshtehardi	گاوَ	gâva	Indo-European
Saterland Frisian	Ku		Indo-European
Pular	nagge		Atlantic-Congo
Gondi	మూర	mūra	Dravidian
Ancient Greek	βοῦς	boûs	Indo-European
Kalaallisut	nersussuaq		Eskimo-Aleut
Hebrew	פָּרָה	pará	Afro-Asiatic
Hmong Daw	nyuj		Hmong-Mien
Old Irish	bó		Indo-European
Javanese	lembu		Austronesian
South-Central Koongo	ngombe		Atlantic-Congo
Latin	vacca		Indo-European
Livonian	nī’em		Uralic
Low German	Koh		Indo-European
Lautu	cue		Sino-Tibetan
Moselle Franconian	Kou		Indo-European
Makhuwa	enyompé		Atlantic-Congo
Malagasy	omby		Austronesian
Malawi Lomwe	eng'ombe		Atlantic-Congo
Malay	lembu betina		Austronesian
Western Mari	ышкал	yškal	Uralic
Mpade	sha		Afro-Asiatic
Classical Nahuatl	vaca		Uto-Aztecan
Northern Sotho	kgômogadi		Atlantic-Congo
Nyakyusa-Ngonde	ing'ombe		Atlantic-Congo
Ojibwa	ikwe-bizhiki		Algic
Old Russian	корова	korova	Indo-European
Old English	cū		Indo-European
Old Norse	kýr		Indo-European
Oromo	sa'a		Afro-Asiatic
Pali	gāvī		Indo-European
Polabian	korvo		Indo-European
Potawatomi	kwé-bzhêke		Algic
Rengao	ramo		Austroasiatic
Sardinian	bacca		Indo-European
Savosavo	buluka		Isolates
Sumerian	𒀖		Isolates
Tagalog	baka		Austronesian
Tokharian A	ko		Indo-European
Tokharian B	keu		Indo-European
Nyasa Tonga	ng'ombi		Atlantic-Congo
Ugaritic	𐎓𐎗𐎃	ʿrḫ	Afro-Asiatic
Wolof	nag		Atlantic-Congo
Yiddish	קו	ku	Indo-European
Dimli	monga		Indo-European
Eastern Cham	ꨤꨟꨯꨱꨥ		Austronesian
Western Cham	لمۉ lemou		Austronesian