How to say “monster” in 33 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.
- monstruo/ˈmonstɾwo/ Spanish
- 怪物/ku̯aɪ̯⁵¹ u¹/ Chinese
- 괴물[ˈkwe̞(ː)muɭ] Korean
- τέρας/ˈteras/ Greek
- מפלצת/miˈflet͡set/ Hebrew
- அரக்கன்/ɐɾɐkːɐn/ Tamil
“monster” in Spanish: monstruo · French: monstre · German: monster · Italian: mostri · Chinese: 怪物 · Korean: 괴물 · Turkish: canavar · Greek: τέρας
It is commonest in Chinese, where 怪物 is the 477th most used word.
Monster in other languages, A to Z
- Albanian përbindësh[pəɾˈbindəʃ] #1,182
- Basque munstro/ˈmuns̺tɾo/ #700
- Bengali রাক্ষস/rakʰːɔʃ/ demon, monster #1,623
- Bosnian čudovište/t͡ʃudǒʋiːʃte/ #1,546
- Bulgarian чудовище[t͡ʃo̟ˈdɔviʃtɛ] monster, abomination #1,402
- Catalan monstre[ˈmɔns.tɾə] #1,058
- Chinese 怪物/ku̯aɪ̯⁵¹ u¹/ #477
- Croatian čudovište/t͡ʃudǒʋiːʃte/ #1,354
- Dutch monster/ˈmɔnstər/ a monster, terrifying and dangerous creature #1,208
- English creature/ˈkɹi.tʃɚ/ A living being, such as an animal, monster,… #2,349
- Esperanto monstro/ˈmonstro/ #1,296
- Finnish hirviö/ˈhirʋiø/ #2,175
- French monstre/mɔ̃stʁ/ #1,292
- Galician monstro/ˈmonstɾo/ #1,834
- German monster/ˈmɔnstər/ #1,380
- Greek τέρας/ˈteras/ #1,094
- Hebrew מפלצת/miˈflet͡set/ #1,174
- Hungarian szörnyeteg[ˈsørɲɛtɛɡ] #2,280
- Icelandic skrímsli[ˈskrimstlɪ] #1,233
- Indonesian monster/ˈmons.tər/ a monster #786
- Italian mostri/ˈmos.tri/ #2,127
- Korean 괴물[ˈkwe̞(ː)muɭ] monster; freak #1,005
- Latvian briesmonis/ˈbriesmuonis/ #2,246
- Lithuanian pabaisa[pɐ¹ˈbɑˑɪsɐ] #1,042
- Macedonian али[ˈali] #1,105
- Persian هیولا[hæ.juː.lɒ́ː] #2,174
- Romanian monstru/ˈmon.stru/ #1,586
- Serbian čudovište/t͡ʃudǒʋiːʃte/ #1,451
- Spanish monstruo/ˈmonstɾwo/ monster, beast, behemoth #1,646
- Swedish monster/ˈmʊnstɛr/ a monster #1,318
- Tagalog halimaw/haˈlimaw/ beast; monster; ferocious animal #676
- Tamil அரக்கன்/ɐɾɐkːɐn/ monster, demon #1,885
- Turkish canavar/d͡ʒa.naˈvaɾ/ #1,171
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.