How to say “magic” in 32 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.
- magia/ˈmaxja/ Spanish
- 魔法/mu̯ɔ³⁵ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ Chinese
- 마법[ma̠bʌ̹p̚] Korean
- μαγεία/maˈʝi.a/ Greek
- მაგია[mäɡiä] Georgian
- জাদু/d͡ʒad̪u/ Bengali
“magic” in Spanish: magia · French: magie · German: magie · Italian: magia · Chinese: 魔法 · Korean: 마법 · Greek: μαγεία
It is commonest in Urdu, where جادو is the 264th most used word.
Magic in other languages, A to Z
- Albanian magji/maɟi/ #1,233
- Bengali জাদু/d͡ʒad̪u/ magic; witchcraft #575
- Bosnian magija/mǎɡija/ #2,235
- Bulgarian магия[mɐˈɡijɐ] magic, sorcery, witchcraft, spell #1,443
- Catalan màgia[ˈma.ʒi.ə] magic; magick #1,264
- Chinese 魔法/mu̯ɔ³⁵ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ magic; wizardry; witchcraft; sorcery #592
- Danish magi/maˈɡi/ #1,404
- Dutch magie/maːˈɣi/ magic, sorcery; hence supernatural… #1,589
- Esperanto magio/maˈɡio/ #2,088
- French magie/ma.ʒi/ #1,555
- Georgian მაგია[mäɡiä] #1,228
- German magie/maˈɡiː/ #2,080
- Greek μαγεία/maˈʝi.a/ magic, sorcery, witchcraft #1,486
- Hebrew קסם/ˈkesem/ a spell, enchantment, magic #1,127
- Hindi जादू/d͡ʒɑː.d̪uː/ jadoo; magic; witchcraft #670
- Icelandic töfrar/ˈtœvrar/ magic, spell, enchantment #2,059
- Indonesian sihir[sihɪr] magic, sorcery, witchcraft #947
- Italian magia/maˈd͡ʒi.a/ #1,618
- Korean 마법[ma̠bʌ̹p̚] magic, sorcery, black art #1,287
- Macedonian магија[ˈmaɡi(j)a] #914
- Malayalam മായ/maːjɐ/ maya; magic, infatuation, juggling,… #2,014
- Norwegian magi/mɑˈɡiː/ #2,175
- Persian جادو[d͡ʒɒː.d̪úː] magic, charm, enchantment, conjuration #1,039
- Romanian magie/madˈʒie/ #1,937
- Serbian magija/mǎɡija/ #2,207
- Spanish magia/ˈmaxja/ #1,635
- Swedish magi/ˈmɑːɡiː/ #1,550
- Tagalog salamangka/salaˈmaŋka/ magic; sorcery; witchcraft #1,588
- Tamil ஜாலம்/dʒɑːlɐm/ magic, trick #1,673
- Telugu మంత్రించు/ˈmantrincu/ to charm, or perform magic spells over #1,892
- Turkish büyü[byˈjy] charm, spell, magic #1,410
- Urdu جادو/d͡ʒɑː.d̪uː/ #264
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) and Catalan (upc_ona (ca_ES), CC BY-SA 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.