How to say “lady” in 42 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.
- damas/ˈdamas/ Spanish
- леди[ˈlʲedʲɪ] Russian
- 夫人/fu⁵⁵ ɻən³⁵/ Chinese
- 숙녀[sʰuŋɲʌ̹] Korean
- महिला/mə.ɦɪ.lɑː/ Hindi
- λαίδη/ˈleði/ Greek
“lady” in Spanish: damas · French: dame · German: dame · Italian: signore · Portuguese: senhora · Chinese: 夫人 · Korean: 숙녀 · Russian: леди
It is commonest in Chinese, where 夫人 is the 116th most used word.
Lady in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans mevrou/məˈfrəʊ/ madam, lady #335
- Albanian zonja/zɔɲa/ lady in a wealthy family with servants #321
- Armenian տիկին/tiˈkin/ married woman; lady, madam #136
- Bengali বিবি/bibi/ woman, gentlewoman, lady #2,352
- Bosnian dama/dǎːma/ #1,197
- Bulgarian дама[ˈdamɐ] #1,129
- Catalan senyoreta[sə.ɲuˈɾɛ.tə] girl; young lady #638
- Chinese 夫人/fu⁵⁵ ɻən³⁵/ lady; madam; Mrs #116
- Croatian dama/dǎːma/ #1,227
- Czech madam[ˈmadam] madam, lady #630
- Danish damer/ˈdaːmɐ/ lady, woman #722
- French dame/dam/ #965
- Galician dama/ˈdama/ lady, dame, woman of high status #1,573
- Georgian ლედი[le̞di] #179
- German dame/ˈdaːmə/ #1,021
- Greek λαίδη/ˈleði/ #2,019
- Hebrew גברת/ɡ(e)ˈveʁet/ lady, madam #246
- Hindi महिला/mə.ɦɪ.lɑː/ lady, female, woman #247
- Hungarian asszonyom[ˈɒsːoɲom] my lady #655
- Icelandic frú[ˈfruː] madam, lady #191
- Indonesian wanita/waˈnita/ woman; lady #170
- Italian signore/siɲˈɲo.re/ #168
- Korean 숙녀[sʰuŋɲʌ̹] #892
- Latvian dāma[ˈdāːma] #1,480
- Lithuanian dama[d̪ɐˈmɐ] #1,866
- Macedonian дами[ˈdami] #504
- Malay wanita/waˈnita/ A female person; woman, lady #236
- Malayalam യുവതി/juʋɐd̪i/ young lady #1,727
- Norwegian damer/ˈdɑːmər/ a lady, woman #635
- Persian بانو[bɒː.núː] #964
- Portuguese senhora/sẽˈɲɔ.ɾɐ/ #362
- Romanian doamnă/ˈdo̯am.nə/ lady, polite term for a woman, madam, ma'am #441
- Russian леди[ˈlʲedʲɪ] #777
- Serbian dama/dǎːma/ #1,147
- Slovak pani/ˈpaɲi/ #211
- Slovenian dama/dàːma/ #602
- Spanish damas/ˈdamas/ lady, dame #1,412
- Swedish damer/ˈdɑːmɛr/ a lady woman – similar tone to English in… #937
- Tagalog binibini/biniˈbini/ maiden; young lady; unmarried woman #2,212
- Tamil கிழவி/kɪɻɐʋiː/ old lady, grandmother #1,563
- Ukrainian пані/ˈpɑ.nʲi/ lady, madam, Mrs #265
- Urdu محترمہ/mʊɦ.t̪əɾ.mɑː/ #562
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 Bengali (google (bn_BD), CC BY-SA 4.0), Catalan (upc_ona (ca_ES), CC BY-SA 4.0) and Slovenian (artur (sl_SI), CC BY 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.