How to say “dad” in 31 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.
- papá/paˈpa/ Spanish
- папа[ˈpapə] Russian
- 爸爸/pä⁵¹ b̥ä¹/ Chinese
- 아빠[a̠p͈a̠] Korean
- पापा/pɑː.pɑː/ Hindi
- μπαμπά/baˈba/ Greek
“dad” in Spanish: papá · German: dad · Italian: papà · Portuguese: papá · Chinese: 爸爸 · Korean: 아빠 · Russian: папа · Hindi: पापा
It is commonest in Chinese, where 爸爸 is the 35th most used word.
Dad in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans pa/ˈpɑː/ dad, father #145
- Albanian babi/babi/ dad, father #182
- Bosnian tata/tâta/ dad, daddy #166
- Bulgarian татко[ˈtatko] daddy, dad, papa #173
- Chinese 爸爸/pä⁵¹ b̥ä¹/ dad; papa #35
- Croatian tata/tâta/ dad, daddy #173
- Czech tati[ˈtacɪ] #346
- Danish far/fɑː/ father, dad #105
- Dutch papa/ˈpɑ.paː/ #465
- English papa/ˈpɑːpə/ Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or… #1,553
- Finnish isi/ˈisi/ dad, father, daddy #1,999
- German dad/dɛːt/ dad; Dad #362
- Greek μπαμπά/baˈba/ dad, father #236
- Hindi पापा/pɑː.pɑː/ dad, daddy #417
- Hungarian apu[ˈɒpu] #814
- Icelandic pabbi[ˈpʰap(ː)ɪ] #103
- Italian papà/paˈpa/ dad, papa #417
- Korean 아빠[a̠p͈a̠] dad, papa #105
- Latvian tēti/ˈteːti/ father, dad #327
- Macedonian тато[ˈtatɔ] #150
- Norwegian pappa/ˈpɑpɑ/ dad, daddy #203
- Persian بابا[bɒː.bɒ́ː] dad, daddy, father #157
- Polish tato/ˈta.tɔ/ #301
- Portuguese papá/paˈpa/ dad; daddy; father #781
- Russian папа[ˈpapə] dad, daddy #274
- Serbian tata/tâta/ dad, daddy #169
- Spanish papá/paˈpa/ #197
- Swedish pappa[²papːa] dad, father #130
- Tagalog papa/paˈpa/ dad; daddy #176
- Tamil அப்பா/ɐpːɑː/ father, dad #145
- Ukrainian тато[ˈtatɔ] #381
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.
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.