How to say “game” in 45 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.
- игра[ɪˈɡra] Russian
- 게임[k͈e̞im] Korean
- משחק/misˈχak/ Hebrew
- თამაში[tʰämäʃi] Georgian
- խաղ/χɑʁ/ Armenian
- விளையாட்டு/ʋɪɭɐɪ̯jɑːʈːɯ/ Tamil
“game” in French: jeu · Portuguese: brincadeira · Korean: 게임 · Russian: игра · Turkish: oyunu
It is commonest in Malayalam, where കളി is the 227th most used word.
Game in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans spel/spɛl/ game, play #452
- Armenian խաղ/χɑʁ/ game, play #391
- Basque joko/ɟoko/ #381
- Bosnian utakmicu/ˈutɐkˌmɪtsʊ/ sports game #1,808
- Bulgarian игра[iˈɡra] play, game #549
- Catalan joc[ˈʒɔk] #586
- Chinese 打球/tä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯³⁵/ to play a ball game #1,852
- Croatian utakmicu/ˈutɐkˌmɪtsʊ/ sports game #1,981
- Czech hra[ˈɦra] play, game #952
- Danish spil/ˈsbel/ A game #589
- Dutch spelen/ˈspeːlə(n)/ #435
- English player/ˈpleɪ.ɚ/ One who plays any game or sport #1,970
- Esperanto ludo/ˈludo/ #603
- Estonian mäng/mˈæŋɡ̊/ #708
- Finnish peli/ˈpeli/ #1,388
- French jeu/ʒø/ #486
- Galician xogos/ˈʃoɡos/ #2,188
- Georgian თამაში[tʰämäʃi] #1,011
- Hebrew משחק/misˈχak/ a game #371
- Hungarian parti[ˈpɒrti] a game of #2,078
- Icelandic spil[ˈspɪːl] #1,432
- Indonesian permainan/pərmaˈinan/ #514
- Italian gioco/ˈd͡ʒɔ.ko/ to play a game, for fun or as a pastime #570
- Korean 게임[k͈e̞im] game, especially computer games #574
- Macedonian игра[ˈiɡra] #316
- Malay permainan/pərmaˈinan/ #424
- Malayalam കളി/kɐɭi/ #227
- Norwegian spillet/ˈspɪlə/ a game; equipment for a game #1,365
- Persian بازی[bɒː.zíː] #374
- Polish zabawy/zaˈba.vɘ/ fun, amusement; game #1,634
- Portuguese brincadeira/bɾĩ.kaˈde(j).ɾɐ/ game, play #2,327
- Romanian jocul/ˈʒokul/ game, play #976
- Russian игра[ɪˈɡra] #1,009
- Serbian utakmicu/ˈutɐkˌmɪtsʊ/ sports game #1,815
- Slovak hra/ˈɦra/ play, game #539
- Slovenian as/áːs/ An ace; in a game of cards #1,613
- Spanish dispuesto/disˈpwesto/ willing, ready, game, down #1,977
- Swedish spelar/²speːlar/ to play; a game, a tune, a melody, an… #375
- Tagalog laro/laˈɾoʔ/ game; play #1,859
- Tamil விளையாட்டு/ʋɪɭɐɪ̯jɑːʈːɯ/ game, sport, recreation, pastime #264
- Telugu ఆట/aːʈa/ play, sport, game #220
- Turkish oyunu/ojuˈnu/ game, amusement, entertainment #923
- Ukrainian гра[ɦra] game, play #1,077
- Urdu کھیل/kʰeːl/ game, sport; fun #336
- Vietnamese bài[ʔɓaːj˨˩] card, playing card, card game #439
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.