How to say “red” around the world

300 languages · 300 in their own spelling

red · rojo · लालசிவப்பு · ചുമപ്പ് · черво́нийкра́сный · 赤 · kırmızıأَحْمَر · merah · أحمرvermelho · 빨강 · pupađỏ · แดง · -tune红 · nyekundu · 紅Other 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	红	hóng	Sino-Tibetan
English	red		Indo-European
Spanish	rojo		Indo-European
Hindi	लाल	lāl	Indo-European
Arabic	أَحْمَر	ʔaḥmar	Afro-Asiatic
Bengali	লাল	lal	Indo-European
Indonesian	merah		Austronesian
Portuguese	vermelho		Indo-European
French	rouge		Indo-European
Russian	кра́сный	krásnyj	Indo-European
Japanese	赤	aka	Japonic
Marathi	लाल	lāl	Indo-European
Swahili	nyekundu		Atlantic-Congo
Turkish	kırmızı		Turkic
Telugu	ఎర్ర	erra	Dravidian
Korean	빨강	ppalgang	Koreanic
German	rot		Indo-European
Vietnamese	đỏ		Austroasiatic
Tamil	சிவப்பு	civappu	Dravidian
Cantonese	紅	hung⁴	Sino-Tibetan
Urdu	لال	lāl	Indo-European
Italian	rosso		Indo-European
Egyptian Arabic	أحمر	ʔaḥmar	Afro-Asiatic
Gujarati	લાલ	lāl	Indo-European
Western Farsi	قِرْمِز	qirmiz	Indo-European
Min Nan Chinese	紅	âng	Sino-Tibetan
Levantine Arabic	أحمر	ʔaḥmar	Afro-Asiatic
Hausa	ja		Afro-Asiatic
Kannada	ಕೆಂಪು	kempu	Dravidian
Polish	czerwony		Indo-European
Yoruba	pupa		Atlantic-Congo
Malayalam	ചുമപ്പ്	cumappŭ	Dravidian
Odia	ଲାଲ	lāla	Indo-European
Burmese	နီ	ni	Sino-Tibetan
Igbo	uhie		Atlantic-Congo
Ukrainian	черво́ний	červónyj	Indo-European
Uzbek	qizil		Turkic
Romanian	roșu		Indo-European
Dutch	rood		Indo-European
Amharic	ቀይ	ḳäy	Afro-Asiatic
Thai	แดง	dɛɛng	Tai-Kadai
Lingala	ngóla		Atlantic-Congo
Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian	цр̀вен		Indo-European
Khmer	ក្រហម	krɑɑhɑɑm	Austroasiatic
Somali	casaan		Afro-Asiatic
Turkmen	gyzyl		Turkic
Cebuano	pula		Austronesian
Nepali	रातो	rāto	Indo-European
Assamese	ৰঙা	roṅa	Indo-European
Sinhala	රතු	ratu	Indo-European
Greek	κόκκινος	kókkinos	Indo-European
Madurese	mera		Austronesian
Kurdish	sor		Indo-European
Hijazi Arabic	أحمر	ʔaḥmar	Afro-Asiatic
Tajik	сурх	surx	Indo-European
Kazakh	қызыл	qızıl	Turkic
Hungarian	piros		Uralic
Akan	kɔkɔɔ		Atlantic-Congo
Southern Pashto	سور	sur	Indo-European
Czech	červený		Indo-European
Uighur	قىزىل	qizil	Turkic
Afrikaans	rooi		Indo-European
Min Dong Chinese	红	oing	Sino-Tibetan
Haitian	wouj		Indo-European
Swedish	röd		Indo-European
Azerbaijani	qırmızı		Turkic
Bulgarian	черве́н	červén	Indo-European
Shona	tsvuku		Atlantic-Congo
Hiligaynon	pulahon		Austronesian
Belarusian	чырво́ны	čyrvóny	Indo-European
Central Kurdish	سوور	sûr	Indo-European
Kikuyu	-tune		Atlantic-Congo
Danish	rød		Indo-European
Slovak	červený		Indo-European
Minangkabau	sirah		Austronesian
Finnish	punainen		Uralic
Lao	ແດງ	dǣng	Tai-Kadai
Norwegian	rød		Indo-European
Tatar	кызыл	qızıl	Turkic
Buginese	ma-cəllaʔ		Austronesian
Catalan	roig		Indo-European
Guarani	pytã		Tupian
Sicilian	russu		Indo-European
Kirghiz	кызыл	kızıl	Turkic
Riffian	azeggʷaɣ		Afro-Asiatic
Armenian	կարմիր	karmir	Indo-European
Balinese	barak		Austronesian
Lithuanian	raudónas		Indo-European
Tok Pisin	ret		Indo-European
Georgian	წითელი	c̣iteli	Kartvelian
Goan Konkani	तांबडें	tāmbḍẽ	Indo-European
Acehnese	mirah		Austronesian
Albanian	kuq		Indo-European
Ewe	dzĩ		Atlantic-Congo
Southern Kurdish	سۊیەر	süyer	Indo-European
Shan	လႅင်	lěng	Tai-Kadai
Mongolian	улаан	ulaan	Mongolic-Khitan
Galician	vermello		Indo-European
Pampanga	malutu		Austronesian
Slovenian	rdeč		Indo-European
Swati	bovú		Atlantic-Congo
Esperanto	ruĝa		Artificial Language
Macedonian	црвен	crven	Indo-European
Sasak	abaŋ		Austronesian
Rohingya	lal		Indo-European
Makasar	ɛja		Austronesian
Laki	سور	sur	Indo-European
Latvian	sarkans		Indo-European
Quechua	puka		Quechuan
Scots	reid		Indo-European
Tày	đeng		Tai-Kadai
Chechen	цӏе	cʼe	Nakh-Daghestanian
Estonian	punane		Uralic
Bashkir	ҡыҙыл	qıðıl	Turkic
Tibetan	དམར	dmar	Sino-Tibetan
Maguindanao	mariga		Austronesian
Pangasinan	ambalanga		Austronesian
Romagnol	råss		Indo-European
Gorontalo	meela		Austronesian
Western Frisian	read		Indo-European
Nias	oyo		Austronesian
Maranao	mariga'		Austronesian
Avar	багӏараб	baʻarab	Nakh-Daghestanian
Talysh	sər		Indo-European
Tai Dam	ꪵꪒꪉ	deng1	Tai-Kadai
Basque	gorri		Isolates
Chuvash	хӗрлӗ	hĕrlĕ	Turkic
Welsh	coch		Indo-European
Yucatec Maya	chak		Mayan
Lü	ᦶᦡᧂ	ḋaeng	Tai-Kadai
Rusyn	червеный	červenŷj	Indo-European
Morisyen	rouz		Indo-European
Réunion Creole French	rouz		Indo-European
Walloon	rodje		Indo-European
Adyghe	плъыжьы	plˢəźə	Abkhaz-Adyge
Maltese	aħmar		Afro-Asiatic
Crimean Tatar	qızıl		Turkic
Occitan	rog		Indo-European
Vlax Romani	lolo		Indo-European
Ligurian	rósso		Indo-European
Mizo	sen		Sino-Tibetan
Silesian	czyrwōny		Indo-European
Asturian	bermeyu		Indo-European
Yakut	кыһыл	kïhïl	Turkic
Samoan	ʔula		Austronesian
Tzotzil	tsoj		Mayan
Fijian	damudamu		Austronesian
Ingush	цӏе	cʼe	Nakh-Daghestanian
Papiamento	korá		Indo-European
Icelandic	rauður		Indo-European
Ngazidja Comorian	-nkuɗu		Atlantic-Congo
Friulian	ros		Indo-European
Tuvinian	кызыл	kızıl	Turkic
Udmurt	горд	gord	Uralic
Jarai	mraih		Austronesian
Plautdietsch	root	nds	Indo-European
Nama	ǀnawa		Khoe-Kwadi
Dzongkha	དམརཔོ	dmrpo	Sino-Tibetan
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic	ܣܡܘܿܩܵܐ	smoqa	Afro-Asiatic
Zeelandic	roôd		Indo-European
Buriat	улаан	ulaan	Mongolic-Khitan
Māori	whero		Austronesian
Dongxiang	hulan		Mongolic-Khitan
Abkhaz	аҟаԥшь	aqʼapš	Abkhaz-Adyge
Tonga (Tonga Islands)	kulokula		Austronesian
Central Dusun	aragang		Austronesian
Navajo	łichííʼ		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Tornedalen Finnish	punanen		Uralic
Solu-Khumbu Sherpa	མར་རུ	mar ru	Sino-Tibetan
Pennsylvania German	rot		Indo-European
Irish	dearg		Indo-European
Ladino	kolorado		Indo-European
Gilbertese	uráura		Austronesian
Aromanian	arosh		Indo-European
Kashubian	czerwòny		Indo-European
Breton	ru		Indo-European
Mwani	ceundu		Atlantic-Congo
Erzya	якстере	jakstere	Uralic
Paiwan	qudjilj		Austronesian
Seselwa Creole French	rouz		Indo-European
Võro	verrev		Uralic
Asháninka	kityonkari		Arawakan
Sikkimese	སྐྱག	skyag	Sino-Tibetan
Faroese	reyður		Indo-European
Tahitian	'ute'ute		Austronesian
Marshallese	būrōrō		Austronesian
Scottish Gaelic	dearg		Indo-European
Southern Altai	кызыл	kïzïl	Turkic
Sanskrit	रुधिर	rudhira	Indo-European
Romansh	cotschen		Indo-European
Higaonon	maliga		Austronesian
Ladin	cöce		Indo-European
Hawaiian	'ula		Austronesian
Kajtak	итӏин	iṭin	Nakh-Daghestanian
Tsakhur	чӏаран	č̣aran	Nakh-Daghestanian
Andi	гьири	hiri	Nakh-Daghestanian
Evenki	хулама	hulama	Tungusic
Comorian	-kundru		Atlantic-Congo
Western Bukidnon Manobo	meriɣa'		Austronesian
Tohono O'odham	wegi		Uto-Aztecan
Svan	წჷრნი	c̣ərni	Kartvelian
Western Apache	łichíí		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Upper Sorbian	čerwjeny		Indo-European
Tuvalu	kula		Austronesian
Cherokee	ᎩᎦᎨ	gigage	Iroquoian
Yagnobi	сурх	surx	Indo-European
Innu-aimun	kamikuat		Algic
Bislama	red		Indo-European
Northern Frisian	ruad		Indo-European
Louisiana Creole	rouj		Indo-European
Nauru	ȯmwirara		Austronesian
Aragonese	royo		Indo-European
Udi	ч́оч́а	č́oč́a	Nakh-Daghestanian
Hopi	paalangpu		Uto-Aztecan
Lower Sorbian	cerwjeny		Indo-European
Atikamekw	mikwaw		Algic
Even	хуланя	hulaņa	Tungusic
Jejueo	붉다	bukda	Koreanic
Rapanui	heŋaheŋa		Austronesian
Dolgan	кыһыл		Turkic
Dakota	luta		Siouan
Moksha	якстерь	jaksteŕ	Uralic
Mòcheno	roat		Indo-European
Manx	jiarg		Indo-European
Dogrib	dekʼo		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Interlingua	rubie		Artificial Language
Nanai	сэгден	segʒen	Tungusic
Istriot	russo		Indo-European
Cornish	rudh		Indo-European
Kwakʼwala	t̕łat̕ła̱x̱wsa̱m		Wakashan
Halkomelem	tskwí:m		Salishan
Straits Salish	NEȻIM		Salishan
Chickasaw	homa		Muskogean
Maricopa	hwetam		Cochimi-Yuman
Manchu	ᡶᡠᠯᠠᡥᡡᠨ	fulahūn	Tungusic
Chamicuro	cheewa		Arawakan
Aklanon	mapuea		Austronesian
Alviri-Vidari	قیرمیز	qirmiz	Indo-European
Guerrero Amuzgo	be		Otomanguean
Gulf Arabic	أحمر	ʔaḥmar	Afro-Asiatic
Aramaic	סוּמַּק	summaq	Afro-Asiatic
Eastern Arrernte	thetheke		Pama-Nyungan
Aymara	chupika		Aymaran
Western Balochi	سہر	suhr	Indo-European
Banjar	habang		Austronesian
Big Nambas	im'iel		Austronesian
Eastern Cham	mariah		Austronesian
Western Cham	mereah		Austronesian
Coptic	ⲧⲱⲣϣ	tors	Afro-Asiatic
Old Dutch-Old Frankish	rōt		Indo-European
Old Frisian	rād		Indo-European
Old High German	rōt		Indo-European
Gothic	𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃	rauþs	Indo-European
Ancient Greek	ἐρυθρός	eruthrós	Indo-European
Kalaallisut	aappalajaarpoq		Eskimo-Aleut
Mbyá Guaraní	pytã		Tupian
Hebrew	אָדוֹם	adóm	Afro-Asiatic
Hmong Daw	liab		Hmong-Mien
Hunsrik	rod		Indo-European
Iranun	mariga'		Austronesian
Javanese	abang		Austronesian
Kaingang	kusũg		Nuclear-Macro-Je
Kaurna	kaaru-kaaru		Pama-Nyungan
Klamath-Modoc	taktakl̓i		Isolates
South-Central Koongo	mbwaki		Atlantic-Congo
Latin	rubeus		Indo-European
Livonian	punni		Uralic
Low German	root		Indo-European
Moselle Franconian	rout		Indo-European
Malagasy	mena		Austronesian
Malay	merah		Austronesian
Classical Nahuatl	chichiltic		Uto-Aztecan
Nuu-chah-nulth	ƛ̕ihuk		Wakashan
Ojibwa	misko-		Algic
Church Slavic	чрьвенъ	črĭvenŭ	Indo-European
Old English	rēad		Indo-European
Old Norse	rauðr		Indo-European
Old Saxon	rōd		Indo-European
Oromo	diimaa		Afro-Asiatic
Osage	žúuce		Siouan
Iron Ossetian	сырх	syrx	Indo-European
Parthian	𐫘𐫇𐫟𐫡	swxr	Indo-European
Old Persian	θuxrah		Indo-European
Polabian	carvenĕ		Indo-European
Powhatan	muuskwo		Algic
Eastern Panjabi	ਲਾਲ	lāl	Indo-European
Sardinian	rúbiu		Indo-European
Nafanan	ɲiɛ		Atlantic-Congo
Sundanese	beureum		Austronesian
Tagalog	mapula		Austronesian
Muslim Tat	sürx		Indo-European
Tokharian A	rtär		Indo-European
Tokharian B	ratre		Indo-European
Ulithian	checcha		Austronesian
Umbrian	𐌓𐌖𐌚𐌓𐌖	rufru	Indo-European
Unami	màxke		Algic
Ho-Chunk	šuuc		Siouan
Wolof	xonq		Atlantic-Congo
Yiddish	רויט	royt	Indo-European
Dimli	sur		Indo-European