How to say “magic” in 32 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.
It is commonest in Urdu, where جادو is the 264th most used word.
- Albanian magji #1,233
- Bengali জাদু magic; witchcraft #575
- Bosnian magija #2,235
- Bulgarian магия magic, sorcery, witchcraft, spell #1,443
- Catalan màgia magic; magick #1,264
- Chinese 魔法 magic; wizardry; witchcraft; sorcery #592
- Danish magi #1,404
- Dutch magie magic, sorcery; hence supernatural… #1,589
- Esperanto magio #2,088
- French magie #1,555
- Georgian მაგია #1,228
- German magie #2,080
- Greek μαγεία magic, sorcery, witchcraft #1,486
- Hebrew קסם a spell, enchantment, magic #1,127
- Hindi जादू jadoo; magic; witchcraft #670
- Icelandic töfrar magic, spell, enchantment #2,059
- Indonesian sihir magic, sorcery, witchcraft #947
- Italian magia #1,618
- Korean 마법 magic, sorcery, black art #1,287
- Macedonian магија #914
- Malayalam മായ maya; magic, infatuation, juggling,… #2,014
- Norwegian magi #2,175
- Persian جادو magic, charm, enchantment, conjuration #1,039
- Romanian magie #1,937
- Serbian magija #2,207
- Spanish magia #1,635
- Swedish magi #1,550
- Tagalog salamangka magic; sorcery; witchcraft #1,588
- Tamil ஜாலம் magic, trick #1,673
- Telugu మంత్రించు to charm, or perform magic spells over #1,892
- Turkish büyü charm, spell, magic #1,410
- Urdu جادو #264
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.