How to say “white” around the world

313 languages · 313 in their own spelling

白 · white · blancooq · ขาว · caddaanसफ़ेद · সাদা · 白తెల్లని · trắng · ଧଳାalb · haaul · лацуmpɛ́mbɛ́ · -mhlophe · mhlophejanco · jancu · jèmanOther 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	白	bái	Sino-Tibetan
English	white		Indo-European
Spanish	blanco		Indo-European
Hindi	सफ़ेद	safed	Indo-European
Arabic	أَبْيَض	ʔabyaḍ	Afro-Asiatic
Bengali	সাদা	śada	Indo-European
Indonesian	putih		Austronesian
Portuguese	branco		Indo-European
French	blanc		Indo-European
Russian	бе́лый	bélyj	Indo-European
Japanese	白	shiro	Japonic
Marathi	पांढरा	pāṇḍhrā	Indo-European
Swahili	nyeupe		Atlantic-Congo
Turkish	beyaz		Turkic
Telugu	తెల్లని	tellani	Dravidian
Wu Chinese	白		Sino-Tibetan
Korean	하양	hayang	Koreanic
German	weiß		Indo-European
Vietnamese	trắng		Austroasiatic
Tamil	வெள்	veḷ	Dravidian
Cantonese	白	baak⁶	Sino-Tibetan
Urdu	سَفید	safed	Indo-European
Italian	bianco		Indo-European
Egyptian Arabic	أبيض	ʔabyaḍ	Afro-Asiatic
Gujarati	સફેદ	saphed	Indo-European
Western Farsi	سَفید	safēd	Indo-European
Hausa	feri		Afro-Asiatic
Kannada	ಬಿಳಿ	biḷi	Dravidian
Polish	biały		Indo-European
Yoruba	funfun		Atlantic-Congo
Malayalam	വെളുത്ത	veḷutta	Dravidian
Odia	ଧଳା	dhaḷā	Indo-European
Burmese	ဖြူ	hpru	Sino-Tibetan
Igbo	ọcha		Atlantic-Congo
Ukrainian	бі́лий	bílyj	Indo-European
Uzbek	oq		Turkic
Sindhi	اڇو	ačʰo	Indo-European
Romanian	alb		Indo-European
Dutch	wit		Indo-European
Amharic	ነጭ	näč̣	Afro-Asiatic
Thai	ขาว	kǎao	Tai-Kadai
Lingala	mpɛ́mbɛ́		Atlantic-Congo
Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian	бе̏о		Indo-European
Khmer	ស	sɑɑ	Austroasiatic
Somali	caddaan		Afro-Asiatic
Turkmen	ak		Turkic
Cebuano	puti		Austronesian
Nepali	सेतो	seto	Indo-European
Assamese	বগা	boga	Indo-European
Sinhala	සුදු	sudu	Indo-European
Greek	άσπρος	áspros	Indo-European
Madurese	pote		Austronesian
Kurdish	spî		Indo-European
Tajik	сафед	safed	Indo-European
Sylheti	ꠗꠟꠣ	dóla	Indo-European
Tsonga	basa		Atlantic-Congo
Kazakh	ақ	aq	Turkic
Hungarian	fehér		Uralic
Zulu	-mhlophe		Atlantic-Congo
Southern Pashto	سپين	spin	Indo-European
Czech	bílý		Indo-European
Uighur	ئاق	aq	Turkic
Afrikaans	wit		Indo-European
Min Dong Chinese	白	băh	Sino-Tibetan
Haitian	blan		Indo-European
Swedish	vit		Indo-European
Azerbaijani	ağ		Turkic
Bulgarian	бял	bjal	Indo-European
Shona	chena		Atlantic-Congo
Hiligaynon	pution		Austronesian
Xhosa	mhlophe		Atlantic-Congo
Tachelhit	amllal		Afro-Asiatic
Belarusian	бе́лы	bjély	Indo-European
Neapolitan	janco		Indo-European
Central Kurdish	سپی	spî	Indo-European
Santali	ᱯᱳᱱᱰ	ponḍ	Austroasiatic
Danish	hvid		Indo-European
Slovak	biely		Indo-European
Minangkabau	putiah		Austronesian
Finnish	valkoinen		Uralic
Lao	ຂາວ	khāo	Tai-Kadai
Norwegian	hvit		Indo-European
Tatar	ак	aq	Turkic
Buginese	ma-pute		Austronesian
Catalan	blanc		Indo-European
Sicilian	jancu		Indo-European
Kirghiz	ак	ak	Turkic
Swiss German	wiiss		Indo-European
Tswana	sweu		Atlantic-Congo
Armenian	սպիտակ	spitak	Indo-European
Bambara	jèman		Mande
Ganda	yeru		Atlantic-Congo
S'gaw Karen	ဝါ	wah	Sino-Tibetan
Lithuanian	baltas		Indo-European
Tok Pisin	waitpela		Indo-European
Lombard	bianch		Indo-European
Georgian	თეთრი	tetri	Kartvelian
Acehnese	puteh		Austronesian
Mazanderani	اسپه		Indo-European
Albanian	bardhë		Indo-European
Shan	ၶၢဝ်	khǎao	Tai-Kadai
Mongolian	цагаан	cagaan	Mongolic-Khitan
Bikol	puti		Austronesian
Galician	branco		Indo-European
Pampanga	maputi		Austronesian
Slovenian	bel		Indo-European
Swati	mhlôphe		Atlantic-Congo
Bouyei	haaul		Tai-Kadai
Esperanto	blanka		Artificial Language
Kʼicheʼ	saq		Mayan
Macedonian	бел	bel	Indo-European
Piedmontese	bianch		Indo-European
Sasak	putiq		Austronesian
Venetian	bianco		Indo-European
Zhuang	hau		Tai-Kadai
Rohingya	cáda		Indo-European
Kabardian	хужь	xʷuź	Abkhaz-Adyge
Makasar	kebo'		Austronesian
Latvian	balts		Indo-European
Quechua	yuraq		Quechuan
Tày	khao		Tai-Kadai
Chechen	кӏай	kʼaj	Nakh-Daghestanian
Estonian	valge		Uralic
Bashkir	аҡ	aq	Turkic
Tibetan	དཀར་པོ	dkar po	Sino-Tibetan
Maguindanao	maputi		Austronesian
Pangasinan	amputi		Austronesian
Tausug	puti		Austronesian
Bakhtiari	اسپید	espēð	Indo-European
Gorontalo	puti'o		Austronesian
Central Okinawan	白さん	shirusan	Japonic
Kabuverdianu	branku		Indo-European
Pa'o Karen	ဗွာ		Sino-Tibetan
Mon	ကၟု		Austroasiatic
Western Frisian	wyt		Indo-European
Nias	fusi		Austronesian
Kalmyk	цаһан	tsağan	Mongolic-Khitan
Maranao	mapoti'		Austronesian
Tai Dam	ꪄꪱꪫ		Tai-Kadai
Basque	zuri		Isolates
Chuvash	шурӑ	šură	Turkic
Welsh	gwyn		Indo-European
Lü	ᦃᦱᧁ	ẋaaw	Tai-Kadai
Tai Nüa	ᥑᥣᥝᥴ	xáaw	Tai-Kadai
Lezghian	лацу	lacu	Nakh-Daghestanian
Rusyn	білый	bilŷj	Indo-European
Morisyen	blan		Indo-European
Walloon	blanc		Indo-European
Adyghe	фыжьы	fəźə	Abkhaz-Adyge
Maltese	abjad		Afro-Asiatic
Occitan	blanc		Indo-European
Vlax Romani	parno		Indo-European
Ligurian	giànco		Indo-European
Tetum	mutin		Austronesian
Silesian	bioły		Indo-European
Asturian	blancu		Indo-European
Yakut	үрүҥ	ürüŋ	Turkic
Samoan	paʔepaʔe		Austronesian
Sranan Tongo	weti		Indo-European
Fijian	vulavula		Austronesian
Ingush	кӏай	kʼaj	Nakh-Daghestanian
Papiamento	blanku		Indo-European
Icelandic	hvítur		Indo-European
Ngazidja Comorian	-eu		Atlantic-Congo
Friulian	blanc		Indo-European
Tuvinian	ак	ak	Turkic
Plautdietsch	witt		Indo-European
Nama	ǃuri		Khoe-Kwadi
Zeelandic	wit		Indo-European
Buriat	сагаан	sagaan	Mongolic-Khitan
Māori	tea		Austronesian
Abkhaz	ашкәакәа	aŝkʷʼakʷʼa	Abkhaz-Adyge
Tonga (Tonga Islands)	hinehina		Austronesian
Central Dusun	opurak		Austronesian
Navajo	łigai		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Komi	еджыд	jedžyd	Uralic
Lak	кӏяла	kʼaˤla	Nakh-Daghestanian
Corsican	biancu		Indo-European
Tornedalen Finnish	valkea		Uralic
Solu-Khumbu Sherpa	དཀར་རུ	dkar ru	Sino-Tibetan
Gagauz	ak		Turkic
Irish	bán		Indo-European
Mambae	buti		Austronesian
Gilbertese	mái		Austronesian
Aromanian	albu		Indo-European
Kashubian	biôłi		Indo-European
Breton	gwenn		Indo-European
Seselwa Creole French	blan		Indo-European
Asháninka	kitamaari		Arawakan
Sikkimese	དཀར	dkar	Sino-Tibetan
Faroese	hvítur		Indo-European
Tahitian	ʻuoʻuo		Austronesian
Komi-Permyak	чочком	ćoćkom	Uralic
Scottish Gaelic	geal		Indo-European
Mansaka	mapoti		Austronesian
Southern Altai	ак	ak	Turkic
Sanskrit	श्वेत	śveta	Indo-European
Khakas	ах	ax	Turkic
Dungan	бый	bɨy	Sino-Tibetan
Romansh	alv		Indo-European
Karelian	valgei		Uralic
Higaonon	maputi		Austronesian
Pohnpeian	pwetepwet		Austronesian
Hawaiian	kea		Austronesian
North Saami	vielgat		Uralic
Kajtak	цӏяв	c̣əv	Nakh-Daghestanian
Wakhi	ruxn		Indo-European
Evenki	багдама	bagdama	Tungusic
Western Bukidnon Manobo	puti'		Austronesian
Mirandese	branco		Indo-European
Tohono O'odham	toha		Uto-Aztecan
Western Apache	łigai		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Upper Sorbian	běły		Indo-European
Tuvalu	tea		Austronesian
Cherokee	ᎤᏁᎦ	unega	Iroquoian
Yagnobi	сафед	safed	Indo-European
Bislama	waet		Indo-European
Northern Frisian	witj		Indo-European
Louisiana Creole	blan		Indo-European
Niuean	tea		Austronesian
Choctaw	tohbi		Muskogean
Hopi	qöötsa		Uto-Aztecan
Lower Sorbian	běły		Indo-European
Atikamekw	wapaw		Algic
Even	нё̄бати	ņōʙati	Tungusic
Chukchi	иԓгыԓьын	iḷgyḷʹyn	Chukotko-Kamchatkan
Jejueo	히다	hida	Koreanic
Megleno-Romanian	alb		Indo-European
Rapanui	tea tea		Austronesian
Dolgan	чээлкээ	çeelkee	Turkic
Pitjantjatjara	piṟanpa		Pama-Nyungan
Mrassu Shor-Tutal	ақ	aq	Turkic
Mòcheno	bais		Indo-European
Manx	bane		Indo-European
Dogrib	degoo		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
Interlingua	blanc		Artificial Language
Nanai	чагдьан	čagʒan	Tungusic
Pipil	istak		Uto-Aztecan
Istriot	bianco		Indo-European
Istro-Romanian	åb		Indo-European
Northern Mansi	я̄ӈк	â̄ňk	Uralic
Cornish	gwynn		Indo-European
Narrinyeri	ringkari		Pama-Nyungan
Aleut	quhmax̂		Eskimo-Aleut
Ket	тагым	tagɨm	Yeniseian
Ingrian	valkia		Uralic
Karaim	акъ	aq	Turkic
Chickasaw	tohbi'		Muskogean
Votic	valka		Uralic
Kashaya	qahle		Pomoan
Manchu	ᡧᠠᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ	šanggiyan	Tungusic
Ainu	レタㇻ	retar	Ainu
N\|\|ng	ǃuri		Tuu
Chamicuro	kamalawa		Arawakan
Chinook Jargon	tk'up		Chinookan
Ahom	𑜁𑜧	khaw	Tai-Kadai
Aklanon	maputi'		Austronesian
Alviri-Vidari	ایسپی	ispi	Indo-European
Atong (India)	pibok		Sino-Tibetan
Aymara	janq’u		Aymaran
Biatah Bidayuh	buda		Austronesian
Central Atlas Tamazight	ⴰⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ	amllal	Afro-Asiatic
Chagatai	آق	āq	Turkic
Dalmatian	jualb		Indo-European
Old Dutch-Old Frankish	wīt		Indo-European
Ifè	fũfũ		Atlantic-Congo
Old French	blanc		Indo-European
Old Frisian	hwīt		Indo-European
Old High German	wīz		Indo-European
Gothic	𐍈𐌴𐌹𐍄𐍃	ƕeits	Indo-European
Ancient Greek	λευκός	leukós	Indo-European
Achaean Greek	𐀩𐀄𐀒	re-u-ko	Indo-European
Kalaallisut	qaqortoq		Eskimo-Aleut
Mbyá Guaraní	xiĩ		Tupian
Hebrew	לָבָן	laván	Afro-Asiatic
Hmong Daw	dawb		Hmong-Mien
Hunsrik	weis		Indo-European
Iranun	maputi		Austronesian
Old Irish	bán		Indo-European
Isnag	napusa		Austronesian
Javanese	putih		Austronesian
Central-Eastern Kamta	ধলা	dhola	Indo-European
Kaurna	parkana		Pama-Nyungan
South-Central Koongo	mpembe		Atlantic-Congo
Latin	albus		Indo-European
Low German	witt		Indo-European
Moselle Franconian	wäiss		Indo-European
Malagasy	tapotsiny		Austronesian
Malay	putih		Austronesian
Classical Nahuatl	iztāc		Uto-Aztecan
Old Provençal	blanc		Indo-European
Ojibwa	waabishki-		Algic
Church Slavic	бѣлъ	bělŭ	Indo-European
Old English	hwīt		Indo-European
Old Norse	hvítr		Indo-European
Old Saxon	hwīt		Indo-European
Oromo	adii		Afro-Asiatic
Iron Ossetian	урс	urs	Indo-European
Polabian	b́olĕ		Indo-European
Eastern Panjabi	ਚਿੱਟਾ	ciṭṭā	Indo-European
Saek	ห่าว		Tai-Kadai
Sardinian	abru		Indo-European
Nafanan	finge		Atlantic-Congo
Sundanese	bodas		Austronesian
Tagalog	puti		Austronesian
Tokharian A	ārki		Indo-European
Tokharian B	ārkwi		Indo-European
Ugaritic	𐎍𐎁𐎐	lbn	Afro-Asiatic
Umbrian	𐌀𐌋𐌚𐌖	alfu	Indo-European
Unami	òpinakòt		Algic
Wolof	yèes-xonq		Atlantic-Congo
Yiddish	ווײַס	vays	Indo-European
Dimli	sıpi		Indo-European