How to say “friend” around the world
283 languages · 283 in their own spelling
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 | 朋友 | péngyǒu | Sino-Tibetan |
| English | friend | Indo-European | |
| Spanish | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Hindi | दोस्त | dost | Indo-European |
| Arabic | صَدِيق | ṣadīq | Afro-Asiatic |
| Bengali | বন্ধু | bondhu | Indo-European |
| Indonesian | teman | Austronesian | |
| Portuguese | amigo | Indo-European | |
| French | ami | Indo-European | |
| Russian | друг | drug | Indo-European |
| Japanese | 友達 | tomodachi | Japonic |
| Marathi | बंधु | bandhu | Indo-European |
| Swahili | rafiki | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Turkish | arkadaş | Turkic | |
| Telugu | స్నేహితుడు | snēhituḍu | Dravidian |
| Wu Chinese | 朋友 | ⁶ban-yeu⁶ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Korean | 동무 | dongmu | Koreanic |
| German | Freund | Indo-European | |
| Vietnamese | bạn | Austroasiatic | |
| Tamil | நண்பன் | naṇpaṉ | Dravidian |
| Cantonese | 朋友 | pang⁴ jau⁵ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Urdu | دوسْت | dost | Indo-European |
| Italian | amico | Indo-European | |
| Egyptian Arabic | صاحب | ṣāḥib | Afro-Asiatic |
| Gujarati | દોસ્ત | dost | Indo-European |
| Western Farsi | دوسْت | dōst | Indo-European |
| Min Nan Chinese | 朋友 | pêng-iú | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hakka Chinese | 朋友 | phèn-yû | Sino-Tibetan |
| Jinyu Chinese | 朋友 | peng¹ iou² | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hausa | aboki | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Kannada | ಮಿತ್ರ | mitra | Dravidian |
| Polish | przyjaciel | Indo-European | |
| Yoruba | ọ̀rẹ́ | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Xiang Chinese | 朋友 | bong² iou³ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Malayalam | കൂട്ടുകാരൻ | kūṭṭukāraṉ | Dravidian |
| Odia | ମିତ | mita | Indo-European |
| Burmese | သူငယ်ချင်း | su-ngaihkyang: | Sino-Tibetan |
| Moroccan Arabic | صاحب | ṣāḥib | Afro-Asiatic |
| Igbo | enyi | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Ukrainian | друг | druh | Indo-European |
| Uzbek | doʻst | Turkic | |
| Sindhi | سکو | sakō | Indo-European |
| Romanian | prieten | Indo-European | |
| Dutch | vriend | Indo-European | |
| Gan Chinese | 朋友 | pung² iu | Sino-Tibetan |
| Amharic | ጓደኛ | gʷadäña | Afro-Asiatic |
| Thai | เพื่อน | pʉ̂ʉan | Tai-Kadai |
| Lingala | moninga | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian | при̏јатељ | Indo-European | |
| Khmer | មិត្ត | mɨt | Austroasiatic |
| Somali | saaxiib | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Turkmen | dost | Turkic | |
| Cebuano | higala | Austronesian | |
| Nepali | मित्र | mitra | Indo-European |
| Assamese | বন্ধু | bondhu | Indo-European |
| Sinhala | මිතුරා | miturā | Indo-European |
| Greek | φίλος | fílos | Indo-European |
| Kurdish | heval | Indo-European | |
| Hijazi Arabic | صَاحِب | ṣāḥib | Afro-Asiatic |
| Tajik | дӯст | düst | Indo-European |
| Kazakh | дос | dos | Turkic |
| Hungarian | barát | Uralic | |
| Kinyarwanda | inshuti | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Zulu | umngane | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Nyanja | mnza | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Tunisian Arabic | صاحب | ṣāḥib | Afro-Asiatic |
| Akan | adamfo | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Southern Pashto | دوست | dost | Indo-European |
| Czech | přítel | Indo-European | |
| Uighur | دوست | dost | Turkic |
| Afrikaans | vriend | Indo-European | |
| Min Dong Chinese | 朋友 | bèng-īu | Sino-Tibetan |
| Haitian | zanmi | Indo-European | |
| Swedish | vän | Indo-European | |
| Azerbaijani | dost | Turkic | |
| Iloko | gayyem | Austronesian | |
| Bulgarian | прия́тел | prijátel | Indo-European |
| Hiligaynon | abyan | Austronesian | |
| Xhosa | umhlobo | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Belarusian | ся́бар | sjábar | Indo-European |
| Tigrinya | ዓርኪ | ʿarki | Afro-Asiatic |
| Central Kurdish | ھەڤاڵ | hevall | Indo-European |
| Santali | ᱜᱟᱛᱮ | gate | Austroasiatic |
| Kikuyu | mũrata | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Northern Thai | ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶ | poen | Tai-Kadai |
| Danish | ven | Indo-European | |
| Slovak | priateľ | Indo-European | |
| Southern Sotho | motswalle | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Kabyle | amdakkel | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Finnish | ystävä | Uralic | |
| Lao | ສັມພັດຕະ | sam phat ta | Tai-Kadai |
| Norwegian | venn | Indo-European | |
| Tatar | дус | dus | Turkic |
| Catalan | amic | Indo-European | |
| Guarani | angirũ | Tupian | |
| Sicilian | amicu | Indo-European | |
| Kirghiz | дос | dos | Turkic |
| Swiss German | Fründ | Indo-European | |
| Riffian | ameddukeř | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Armenian | ընկեր | ənker | Indo-European |
| Lithuanian | draugas | Indo-European | |
| Tok Pisin | pren | Indo-European | |
| Lombard | amis | Indo-European | |
| Georgian | მეგობარი | megobari | Kartvelian |
| Acehnese | rakan | Austronesian | |
| Waray | sangkay | Austronesian | |
| Albanian | mik | Indo-European | |
| Ewe | velia | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Shan | တႆးၵေႃႉ | tái kâ̰u | Tai-Kadai |
| Mongolian | найз | najz | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Chadian Arabic | رفيق | rafīg | Afro-Asiatic |
| Galician | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Pampanga | kaluguran | Austronesian | |
| Slovenian | prijatelj | Indo-European | |
| Esperanto | amiko | Artificial Language | |
| Macedonian | пријател | prijatel | Indo-European |
| Piedmontese | amis | Indo-European | |
| Venetian | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Zhuang | baengz | Tai-Kadai | |
| Afar | kataysa | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Latvian | draugs | Indo-European | |
| Quechua | atillcha | Quechuan | |
| Chechen | доттагӏ | dottağ | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Estonian | sõber | Uralic | |
| Bashkir | дуҫ | duś | Turkic |
| Tibetan | གྲོགས་པོ | grogs po | Sino-Tibetan |
| Pangasinan | kaaro | Austronesian | |
| Romagnol | amig | Indo-European | |
| Kinaray-a | higala | Austronesian | |
| Kabuverdianu | amigu | Indo-European | |
| Western Frisian | freon | Indo-European | |
| Kalmyk | иньг | inʹg | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Pontic | εταίριν | etaírin | Indo-European |
| Avar | гьудул | hudul | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Talysh | rafeğ | Indo-European | |
| Basque | lagun | Isolates | |
| Chuvash | тус | tus | Turkic |
| Welsh | ffrind | Indo-European | |
| Yucatec Maya | etail | Mayan | |
| Lü | ᦉᦠᦻ | ṡḣaay | Tai-Kadai |
| Krio | padi | Indo-European | |
| Lezghian | дуст | dust | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Rusyn | прия́тель | pryjátelʹ | Indo-European |
| Réunion Creole French | zami | Indo-European | |
| Maltese | ħabib | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Crimean Tatar | dost | Turkic | |
| Occitan | amic | Indo-European | |
| Vlax Romani | amal | Indo-European | |
| Ligurian | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Asturian | amigu | Indo-European | |
| Yakut | доҕор | doɣor | Turkic |
| Kumyk | дост | dost | Turkic |
| Dhivehi | ރަތތެހި | rattehi | Indo-European |
| Ingush | доттагӏа | dottağa | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Papiamento | amigu | Indo-European | |
| Icelandic | vinur | Indo-European | |
| Karachay-Balkar | нёгер | nöger | Turkic |
| Friulian | amì | Indo-European | |
| Tuvinian | өңнүк | öñnük | Turkic |
| Udmurt | эш | eš | Uralic |
| Plautdietsch | Frint | Indo-European | |
| Laz | მეგაბრე | megabre | Kartvelian |
| Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | ܚܲܒ݂ܪܵܐ | ḳawra | Afro-Asiatic |
| Buriat | нүхэр | nüxer | Mongolic-Khitan |
| Māori | hoa | Austronesian | |
| Extremaduran | collazu | Indo-European | |
| Dongxiang | dosi | Mongolic-Khitan | |
| Hiri Motu | turana | Pidgin | |
| Navajo | akʼis | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Gagauz | arkadaş | Turkic | |
| Irish | cara | Indo-European | |
| Ladino | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Kashubian | przëcél | Indo-European | |
| Breton | mignon | Indo-European | |
| Gallurese Sardinian | amicu | Indo-European | |
| Sassarese Sardinian | amiggu | Indo-European | |
| Erzya | оя | oja | Uralic |
| Faroese | vinur | Indo-European | |
| Komi-Permyak | ёрт | jort | Uralic |
| Scottish Gaelic | caraid | Indo-European | |
| Southern Altai | ынак | ïnak | Turkic |
| Sanskrit | सखि | sakhi | Indo-European |
| Khakas | нанҷы | nancı | Turkic |
| Dungan | пын-ю | pɨn-iu | Sino-Tibetan |
| Romansh | ami | Indo-European | |
| Motu | turana | Austronesian | |
| Karelian | ystävy | Uralic | |
| Hawaiian | hoa | Austronesian | |
| North Saami | verdde | Uralic | |
| Kajtak | урта́къкъ | urtáɢɢ | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Lamboya | ole | Austronesian | |
| Central Yupik | aiparnaarraq | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Evenki | гирки | girki | Tungusic |
| Mirandese | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Svan | აფხნეგ | apxneg | Kartvelian |
| Western Apache | -dekee | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Upper Sorbian | přećel | Indo-European | |
| Cherokee | ᎣᎩᎾᎵᎢ | oginalii | Iroquoian |
| Northern Frisian | waane | Indo-European | |
| Louisiana Creole | zami | Indo-European | |
| Aragonese | amigo | Indo-European | |
| Lower Sorbian | pśijaśel | Indo-European | |
| Chukchi | ыʼԓгытумгытум | yʼłgytumgytum | Chukotko-Kamchatkan |
| Jejueo | 벗 | beot | Koreanic |
| Rapanui | hoa | Austronesian | |
| Dolgan | атас | Turkic | |
| Pitjantjatjara | iṉa | Pama-Nyungan | |
| Bats | მეგობარ | megobar | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Mrassu Shor-Tutal | нанчы | nançı | Turkic |
| Manx | carrey | Indo-European | |
| Interlingua | amico | Artificial Language | |
| Northern Mansi | рума | ruma | Uralic |
| Archi | дос | dos | Nakh-Daghestanian |
| Taos Northern Tiwa | púyena | Kiowa-Tanoan | |
| Cimbrian | bròint | Indo-European | |
| Aleut | agiitaadax | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Wymysorys | frajnd | Indo-European | |
| Votic | sõbrõ | Uralic | |
| Kashaya | tuka·yu | Pomoan | |
| Maricopa | naw | Cochimi-Yuman | |
| Manchu | ᡤᡠᠴᡠ | gucu | Tungusic |
| Alutor | тумгытум | tumɣətum | Chukotko-Kamchatkan |
| Chamicuro | ameko | Arawakan | |
| Northern Altai | аргыш | argïš | Turkic |
| Kiowa Apache | ch’ąą | Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit | |
| Gulf Arabic | رفيج | rfīj | Afro-Asiatic |
| Aymara | masi | Aymaran | |
| Western Balochi | دوست | dost | Indo-European |
| Central Atlas Tamazight | ⴰⵎⴷⴷⴰⴽⴽⵯⵍ | amddakkʷl | Afro-Asiatic |
| Literary Chinese | 友 | yǒu | Sino-Tibetan |
| Min Bei Chinese | 朋友 | bǎing-iǔ | Sino-Tibetan |
| Coptic | ϣⲫⲏⲣ | šphēr | Afro-Asiatic |
| Dalmatian | amaic | Indo-European | |
| Middle Dutch | vrient | Indo-European | |
| Old Dutch-Old Frankish | friund | Indo-European | |
| Old Frisian | friūnd | Indo-European | |
| Middle High German | vriunt | Indo-European | |
| Old High German | wini | Indo-European | |
| Gothic | 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 | frijōnds | Indo-European |
| Ancient Greek | φίλος | phílos | Indo-European |
| Kalaallisut | ikinngut | Eskimo-Aleut | |
| Hebrew | יָדִיד | yadíd | Afro-Asiatic |
| Hittite | 𒀀𒊏𒀸 | a-ra-aš | Indo-European |
| Hmong Daw | phooj ywg | Hmong-Mien | |
| Hunsrik | Freind | Indo-European | |
| Old Irish | carae | Indo-European | |
| Isnag | xayyam | Austronesian | |
| Ibatan | kakaddaw | Austronesian | |
| Jarawa (India) | mahema | Jarawa-Onge | |
| Javanese | kanca | Austronesian | |
| Kaingang | régre | Nuclear-Macro-Je | |
| Latin | amicus | Indo-European | |
| Low German | Fründ | Indo-European | |
| Middle Low German | Fründinne | Indo-European | |
| Bukusu | omusale | Atlantic-Congo | |
| Moselle Franconian | Frënd | Indo-European | |
| Malay | kawan | Austronesian | |
| Central Melanau | sakai | Austronesian | |
| Middle English | frend | Indo-European | |
| Khiamniungan Naga | hāimēi | Sino-Tibetan | |
| Old Provençal | amic | Indo-European | |
| Church Slavic | приꙗтєль | prijatelĭ | Indo-European |
| Old Russian | приꙗтель | prijatelĭ | Indo-European |
| Old English | frēond | Indo-European | |
| Old Norse | vinr | Indo-European | |
| Old Saxon | friund | Indo-European | |
| Oromo | michuu | Afro-Asiatic | |
| Iron Ossetian | хӕлар | xælar | Indo-European |
| Pali | mitta | Indo-European | |
| Polabian | fründ | Indo-European | |
| Eastern Panjabi | ਮਿੱਤਰ | mittar | Indo-European |
| Campidanese Sardinian | amigu | Indo-European | |
| Sardinian | amigu | Indo-European | |
| Sundanese | batur | Austronesian | |
| Tagalog | kaibigan | Austronesian | |
| Rio Grande Tewa | kʼema | Kiowa-Tanoan | |
| Tokharian B | waṣamo | Indo-European | |
| Ugaritic | 𐎈𐎁𐎗 | ḥbr | Afro-Asiatic |
| Unami | winkalit | Algic | |
| Ho-Chunk | hicakoro | Siouan | |
| Woiwurrung-Thagungwurrung | kirrip | Pama-Nyungan | |
| Yiddish | פֿרײַנד | fraynd | Indo-European |
| Dimli | ombaz | Indo-European |