How to say “bus” in 41 different languages
Every one of these is a word that turns up in ordinary speech, not a dictionary curiosity — the number beside it is where it ranks in that language.
- autobús/autoˈbus/ Spanish
- автобус[ɐfˈtobʊs] Russian
- حافلة/ħaː.fi.la/ Arabic
- 巴士/pä⁵⁵ ʂɻ̩⁵¹/ Chinese
- 버스[p͈ʌ̹s͈ɯ] Korean
- λεωφορείο/ˌleofoˈrio/ Greek
“bus” in Spanish: autobús · German: bus · Italian: autobus · Portuguese: autocarro · Chinese: 巴士 · Korean: 버스 · Russian: автобус · Arabic: حافلة
It is commonest in Telugu, where బస్సు is the 471st most used word.
Bus in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans bus/ˈbœs/ #725
- Albanian autobus/autɔbus/ #1,439
- Arabic حافلة/ħaː.fi.la/ bus; streetcar #1,713
- Basque autobusa/aʊˈtoβuˌs̺a/ #923
- Bosnian autobus/autǒːbus/ #1,527
- Bulgarian автобус[ɐftoˈbus] bus, motorbus #2,146
- Catalan autobús[ˌaw.tuˈβus] #1,744
- Chinese 巴士/pä⁵⁵ ʂɻ̩⁵¹/ #1,266
- Croatian autobus/autǒːbus/ #1,771
- Czech autobus[ˈau̯tobus] bus, coach, omnibus #2,058
- Danish bussen/ˈbusən/ bus, coach #1,643
- Dutch bus/bʏs/ bus, omnibus #1,145
- Esperanto buso/ˈbuso/ bus, coach, autobus #2,096
- Estonian bussi/ˈb̥usːi/ #1,405
- German bus/bʊs/ #1,534
- Greek λεωφορείο/ˌleofoˈrio/ bus, omnibus #1,288
- Hebrew אוטובוס/ˈoto.bus/ a bus #1,809
- Hindi गाड़ी/ɡɑː.ɽiː/ car, truck, bus #1,219
- Italian autobus/ˈaw.to.bus/ #1,884
- Korean 버스[p͈ʌ̹s͈ɯ] #951
- Latvian autobusā/ˈautobusaː/ #2,405
- Lithuanian autobusas[ɒʊtɔˈbʊsɐs] #1,664
- Macedonian автобус[aftɔˈbus] #1,440
- Malay bas/bas/ #906
- Malayalam ബസ്/bɐsɨ/ #586
- Norwegian bussen/ˈbʉsn̩/ #1,464
- Persian اتوبوس[ʔo.t̪ʰo.buːs] #868
- Portuguese autocarro/ˌaw.toˈka.ʁu/ #1,449
- Romanian autobuz/a.u.toˈbuz/ #1,593
- Russian автобус[ɐfˈtobʊs] bus, motorbus #2,294
- Serbian autobus/autǒːbus/ #1,636
- Slovak autobus/ˈau̯tɔbus/ a bus #1,015
- Slovenian avtobus/áːʋtɔbus/ #654
- Spanish autobús/autoˈbus/ bus, coach #1,648
- Swedish bussen/ˈbɵsɛn/ a bus, a vehicle to transport people #1,677
- Tagalog bus/ˈbus/ #1,777
- Tamil பஸ்/bɐs/ #829
- Telugu బస్సు/basːu/ #471
- Turkish otobüs/o.tɔ.ˈbys/ #1,717
- Ukrainian автобус[ɐu̯ˈtɔbʊs] bus, motorbus #1,242
- Vietnamese buýt[ʔɓwit̚˧˦] #1,697
The speaker reads the word in the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a recording of a native speaker, so treat it as a guide. A row without a button has no reading we are free to use, or none we trust, yet. Voices for Catalan (upc_ona (ca_ES), CC BY-SA 4.0), Estonian (news (et_EE), CC BY 4.0), Slovenian (artur (sl_SI), CC BY 4.0) and Vietnamese (vais1000 (vi_VN), CC BY 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.