How to say “dog” around the world
5,777 languages · 665 in their own spelling
English dog is a famous etymological puzzle: rare in Old English, it later displaced the older hound, a cousin of German Hund.
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 | 狗 | gǒu | Sino-Tibetan |
| English | dog | Indo-European | |
| Spanish | perro | Indo-European | |
| Hindi | कुत्ता | kuttā | Indo-European |
| Arabic | كَلْب | kalb | Afro-Asiatic |
| Bengali | কুকুর | kukur | Indo-European |
| Indonesian | anjing | Austronesian | |
| Portuguese | cão | Indo-European | |
| French | chien | Indo-European | |
| Russian | соба́ка | sobáka | Indo-European |
| Japanese | 犬 | inu | Japonic |
| Marathi | कुत्रा | kutrā | Indo-European |
| Swahili | mbwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Turkish | köpek | Turkic | |
| Telugu | కుక్క | kukka | Dravidian |
| Wu Chinese | 狗 | Sino-Tibetan | |
| Korean | 개 | gae | Koreanic |
| German | Hund | Indo-European | |
| Vietnamese | chó | Austroasiatic | |
| Tamil | நாய் | nāy | Dravidian |
| Cantonese | 狗 | gau² | Sino-Tibetan |
| Urdu | کُتّا | kuttā | Indo-European |
| Italian | cane | Indo-European | |
| Egyptian Arabic | كلب | kalb | Afro-Asiatic |
| Gujarati | કુતરો | kutro | Indo-European |
| Western Farsi | سَگ | sag | Indo-European |
| Min Nan Chinese | 狗 | káu | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hakka Chinese | 狗仔 | kéu-é | Sino-Tibetan |
| Nigerian Pidgin | dọg | Indo-European | |
| Hausa | kàrē | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Kannada | ನಾಯಿ | nāyi | Dravidian |
| Polish | pies | Indo-European | |
| Yoruba | ajá | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Xiang Chinese | 狗 | gou³ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Malayalam | നായ | nāya | Dravidian |
| Odia | କୁକୁର | kukura | Indo-European |
| Burmese | ခွေး | hkwe: | Sino-Tibetan |
| Sudanese Arabic | كلب | kalib | Afro-Asiatic |
| Moroccan Arabic | كلب | kalb | Afro-Asiatic |
| Igbo | nkịtā | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Ukrainian | соба́ка | sobáka | Indo-European |
| Uzbek | it | Turkic | |
| Sindhi | ڪتو | kuto | Indo-European |
| Romanian | câine | Indo-European | |
| Dutch | hond | Indo-European | |
| Gan Chinese | 狗 | gieu³ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Awadhi | कूकर | kūkar | Indo-European |
| Amharic | ውሻ | wəša | Afro-Asiatic |
| Thai | หมา | mǎa | Tai-Kadai |
| Lingala | mbwá | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian | пас | Indo-European | |
| Khmer | ឆ្កែ | chkae | Austroasiatic |
| Somali | eey | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Turkmen | it | Turkic | |
| Cebuano | iro | Austronesian | |
| Nepali | कुकुर | kukura | Indo-European |
| Assamese | কুকুৰ | kukur | Indo-European |
| Sinhala | බල්ලා | ballā | Indo-European |
| Greek | σκύλος | skýlos | Indo-European |
| Madurese | pateʔ | Austronesian | |
| Kurdish | se | Indo-European | |
| Hijazi Arabic | كَلْب | kalb | Afro-Asiatic |
| Tajik | саг | sag | Indo-European |
| Tsonga | mbyana | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Kazakh | ит | ıyt | Turkic |
| Hungarian | kutya | Uralic | |
| Kinyarwanda | bwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Zulu | inja | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Nyanja | galú | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Akan | kraman | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Southern Pashto | سپۍ | spëy | Indo-European |
| Czech | pes | Indo-European | |
| Uighur | ئىت | it | Turkic |
| Afrikaans | hond | Indo-European | |
| Min Dong Chinese | 犬 | kēng | Sino-Tibetan |
| Haitian | chen | Indo-European | |
| Swedish | hund | Indo-European | |
| Azerbaijani | it | Turkic | |
| Iloko | aso | Austronesian | |
| Bulgarian | ку́че | kúče | Indo-European |
| Shona | imbwá | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Hiligaynon | ido | Austronesian | |
| Xhosa | inja | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Tachelhit | aydi | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Belarusian | саба́ка | sabáka | Indo-European |
| Tigrinya | ከልቢ | kälbi | Afro-Asiatic |
| Neapolitan | ccane | Indo-European | |
| Central Kurdish | سەگ | seg | Indo-European |
| Santali | ᱥᱮᱛᱚ | setô | Austroasiatic |
| Tumbuka | nchewe | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Kashmiri | ہوٗن | hūn | Indo-European |
| Northern Thai | ᩉ᩠ᨾᩣ | Tai-Kadai | |
| Danish | hund | Indo-European | |
| Slovak | pes | Indo-European | |
| Southern Sotho | ntja | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Umbundu | ombwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Wolaytta | kanaa | Ta-Ne-Omotic | |
| Kabyle | aydi | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Minangkabau | anjiang | Austronesian | |
| Finnish | koira | Uralic | |
| Lao | ໝາ | mā | Tai-Kadai |
| Norwegian | hund | Indo-European | |
| Tatar | эт | et | Turkic |
| Buginese | asu | Austronesian | |
| Catalan | gos | Indo-European | |
| Guarani | jagua | Tupian | |
| Sicilian | cani | Indo-European | |
| Kirghiz | ит | it | Turkic |
| Swiss German | Hund | Indo-European | |
| Tswana | ntša | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Riffian | aydi | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Armenian | շուն | šun | Indo-European |
| Bambara | wùlù | Mande | |
| Balinese | cicing | Austronesian | |
| S'gaw Karen | ထွံၣ် | hṭweè | Sino-Tibetan |
| Lithuanian | šuo | Indo-European | |
| Tok Pisin | dok | Indo-European | |
| Lombard | can | Indo-European | |
| Georgian | ძაღლი | ʒaɣli | Kartvelian |
| Goan Konkani | सूणे | sūṇe | Indo-European |
| Bemba | imbwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Acehnese | asèë | Austronesian | |
| Waray | ayam | Austronesian | |
| Albanian | qen | Indo-European | |
| Ewe | avu | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Shan | မႃ | mǎa | Tai-Kadai |
| Mongolian | нохой | noxoj | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Chadian Arabic | كلب | kalib | Afro-Asiatic |
| Bikol | ayam dayo ido | Austronesian | |
| Galician | can | Indo-European | |
| Pampanga | asu | Austronesian | |
| Slovenian | pes | Indo-European | |
| Iban | asu | Austronesian | |
| Swati | înjá | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Batak Toba | asu | Austronesian | |
| Bouyei | mal | Tai-Kadai | |
| Esperanto | hundo | Artificial Language | |
| Macedonian | куче | kuče | Indo-European |
| Sichuan Yi | ꈌ | ke | Sino-Tibetan |
| Piedmontese | can | Indo-European | |
| Sasak | asu | Austronesian | |
| Tulu | ನಾಯಿ | nāyi | Dravidian |
| Venetian | can | Indo-European | |
| Zhuang | ma | Tai-Kadai | |
| Fon | agla | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Rohingya | kutta | Indo-European | |
| Sidamo | woshichcho | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Afar | kuta | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Kabardian | хьэ | ḥɛ | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Bini | àwá | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Igala | ábíá | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Limburgan | hóndj | Indo-European | |
| Makasar | kongkong | Austronesian | |
| Latvian | suns | Indo-European | |
| Mundari | सेत | seta | Austroasiatic |
| Quechua | alkho | Quechuan | |
| Scots | dug | Indo-European | |
| Kelantan-Pattani Malay | anjing | Austronesian | |
| Chechen | жӏаьла | žˀäla | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Emilian | can | Indo-European | |
| Venda | mmbwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Estonian | koer | Uralic | |
| Bashkir | эт | et | Turkic |
| Tibetan | ཁྱི | khyi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Beja | yaas | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Muong | chỏ | Austroasiatic | |
| Maguindanao | asu | Austronesian | |
| Pangasinan | aso | Austronesian | |
| Romagnol | can | Indo-European | |
| Tausug | iru' | Austronesian | |
| Kinaray-a | ayam | Austronesian | |
| Newari | खिचा | khicā | Sino-Tibetan |
| Central Okinawan | 犬 | in | Japonic |
| Kachin | guì | Sino-Tibetan | |
| Nuer | jiök | Nilotic | |
| Kabuverdianu | katxor | Indo-European | |
| Khasi | ksew | Austroasiatic | |
| Mon | ကၠဵု | Austroasiatic | |
| Western Frisian | hûn | Indo-European | |
| Nias | asu | Austronesian | |
| Iu Mien | juv | Hmong-Mien | |
| South Sudanese Creole Arabic | kelib | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Tigre | ከልብ | kälb | Afro-Asiatic |
| Kalmyk | ноха | noxa | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Maranao | aso | Austronesian | |
| Avar | гьой | hoj | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Talysh | sıpə | Indo-European | |
| Tai Dam | ꪢꪱ | ma | Tai-Kadai |
| Basque | txakur | Isolates | |
| Chuvash | йытӑ | jyt̬ă | Turkic |
| Welsh | ci | Indo-European | |
| Yucatec Maya | peek’ | Mayan | |
| Lü | ᦖᦱ | ṁaa | Tai-Kadai |
| Tai Nüa | ᥛᥣᥴ | máa | Tai-Kadai |
| Lezghian | кицӏ | kic̣ | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Rusyn | пес | pes | Indo-European |
| Morisyen | lisien | Indo-European | |
| Réunion Creole French | sien | Indo-European | |
| Walloon | tchén | Indo-European | |
| Kara-Kalpak | iyt | Turkic | |
| Adyghe | хьэ | ḥɛ | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Classical Syriac | ܟܠܒܐ | kalbā | Afro-Asiatic |
| Maltese | kelb | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Crimean Tatar | köpek | Turkic | |
| Occitan | gos | Indo-European | |
| Vlax Romani | ʒukel | Indo-European | |
| Ligurian | càn | Indo-European | |
| Mizo | ui | Sino-Tibetan | |
| Mari | пий | pij | Uralic |
| Asturian | perru | Indo-European | |
| Yakut | ыт | ït | Turkic |
| Kumyk | ит | it | Turkic |
| Samoan | maile | Austronesian | |
| Sranan Tongo | dagu | Indo-European | |
| Ibanag | kitu | Austronesian | |
| Fijian | koli | Austronesian | |
| Dhivehi | ބަޅު | baḷu | Indo-European |
| Chakma | 𑄇𑄪𑄉𑄪𑄢𑄴 | kugur | Indo-European |
| Ingush | жӏали | žˀali | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Papiamento | kachó | Indo-European | |
| Icelandic | hundur | Indo-European | |
| Ngazidja Comorian | mɓwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Karachay-Balkar | ит | it | Turkic |
| Friulian | cjan | Indo-European | |
| Mapuche | xewa | Araucanian | |
| Sumbawa | asu | Austronesian | |
| Tuvinian | ыт | ıt | Turkic |
| Saho | kare | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Udmurt | пуны | puny | Uralic |
| Jarai | asâo | Austronesian | |
| Plautdietsch | Hunt | Indo-European | |
| Nama | arib | Khoe-Kwadi | |
| Laz | ლაკი | laǩi | Kartvelian |
| Kuanyama | ombwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Dzongkha | ཁྱི | khyi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | ܟܲܠܒ݂ܵܐ | kalwa | Afro-Asiatic |
| Iriga Bicolano | ayam | Austronesian | |
| Zeelandic | 'ond | Indo-European | |
| Buriat | нохой | noxoj | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Amis | wacu | Austronesian | |
| Māori | kurī | Austronesian | |
| Egene | ạ́ḅụạ | Atlantic-Congo | |
| West Coast Bajau | owa' | Austronesian | |
| Abkhaz | ала | ala | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Tonga (Tonga Islands) | kulī | Austronesian | |
| Central Dusun | tasu | Austronesian | |
| Hiri Motu | sisia | Pidgin | |
| Mískito | yul | Misumalpan | |
| Navajo | łééchąąʼí | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Bahnar | kŏ | Austroasiatic | |
| Komi | пон | pon | Uralic |
| Lak | ккаччи | k:ač:i | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Corsican | cane | Indo-European | |
| Solu-Khumbu Sherpa | ཀྱི | kyi | Sino-Tibetan |
| Gagauz | köpek | Turkic | |
| Irish | madra | Indo-European | |
| Western Highland Purepecha | uíchu | Tarascan | |
| Ladino | pero | Indo-European | |
| Pamona | asu | Austronesian | |
| Mambae | ausa | Austronesian | |
| Aromanian | cãni | Indo-European | |
| Yakan | asu | Austronesian | |
| Kashubian | tósz | Indo-European | |
| Breton | ki | Indo-European | |
| Gallurese Sardinian | cani | Indo-European | |
| Mwani | umbwa | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Sassarese Sardinian | cani | Indo-European | |
| Erzya | киска | kiska | Uralic |
| Paiwan | vatu | Austronesian | |
| Tboli | ohu | Austronesian | |
| Nogai | ийт | iyt | Turkic |
| Zapotec | biʼcuʼ | Otomanguean | |
| Cia-Cia | 아우 | au | Austronesian |
| Võro | pini | Uralic | |
| Tabasaran | ху | ꭓu | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Asháninka | otsitzi | Arawakan | |
| Faroese | hundur | Indo-European | |
| Tahitian | ʻurī | Austronesian | |
| Chamorro | ga'lagu | Austronesian | |
| Komi-Permyak | пон | pon | Uralic |
| Marshallese | kidu | Austronesian | |
| Scottish Gaelic | cù | Indo-European | |
| Mansaka | ido | Austronesian | |
| Southern Altai | ийт | iyt | Turkic |
| Chuukese | konak | Austronesian | |
| Sanskrit | श्वन् | śvan | Indo-European |
| Abaza | ла | la | Abkhaz-Adyge |
| Rutul | тыла | tɨla | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Argobba | ውሻ | wǝša | Afro-Asiatic |
| Khakas | адай | aday | Turkic |
| Ternate | kaso | North Halmahera | |
| Dungan | гу | gu | Sino-Tibetan |
| Romansh | chaun | Indo-European | |
| Tlaxcala-Puebla-Central Nahuatl | chichi | Uto-Aztecan | |
| Mayo | čū’u | Uto-Aztecan | |
| Motu | sisia | Austronesian | |
| Bunun | asu | Austronesian | |
| Car Nicobarese | am | Austroasiatic | |
| Chepang | कुयः | Sino-Tibetan | |
| Karelian | koira | Uralic | |
| Plains Cree | ᐊᑎᒼ | atim | Algic |
| Ch'orti' | c'i' | Mayan | |
| Higaonon | asu | Austronesian | |
| Ladin | cian | Indo-European | |
| Naga Pidgin | kukur | Indo-European | |
| Aghul | гъуй | ğuj | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Bau-Jagoi Bidayuh | kosuong | Austronesian | |
| Pohnpeian | kidi | Austronesian | |
| Hawaiian | ʻīlio | Austronesian | |
| North Saami | beana | Uralic | |
| Kajtak | хвя | ꭓvə | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Pijin | dog | Indo-European | |
| Tsakhur | хваа | ꭓʷaa | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Andi | хой | xoj | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Taroko | huling | Austronesian | |
| Alune | asu | Austronesian | |
| Palauan | bilis | Austronesian | |
| Central Yupik | qimugta | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Yogad | atu | Austronesian | |
| Evenki | ӈинакин | ŋinakin | Tungusic |