How to say “prostitute” 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.
- 창녀[t͡ɕʰa̠ŋɲʌ̹] Korean
- वेश्या/ʋeːʃ.jɑː/ Hindi
- വേശ്യ/ʋeːʃjɐ/ Malayalam
- వేశ్య/ʋeːɕja/ Telugu
- جنده[d͡ʒen̪.d̪e] Persian
“prostitute” in Korean: 창녀 · Hindi: वेश्या · Turkish: fahişe
It is commonest in Slovak, where kurva is the 174th most used word.
Prostitute in other languages, A to Z
- Albanian kurvë/kuːɾv/ prostitute, hooker, call girl #954
- Basque puta/puta/ whore, prostitute #263
- Bengali বেশ্যা/beʃːa/ a female prostitute #1,437
- Bosnian kurva/kûːrʋa/ whore, prostitute #1,447
- Bulgarian проститутка[prostiˈtutkɐ] whore, prostitute #2,253
- Chinese 婊子/pi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴ d͡z̥ɹ̩⁴/ female prostitute; whore #368
- Croatian kurva/kûːrʋa/ whore, prostitute #1,709
- Dutch hoer/ɦur/ whore, prostitute #1,516
- English whore/hɔɚ/ Synonym of prostitute: a person who offers… #2,156
- Finnish huora/ˈhuo̯rɑ/ prostitute, whore #2,073
- Georgian ბოზო[b̥o̞zo̞] whore, prostitute, tart #1,173
- Greek πόρνη/ˈpoɾ.ni/ harlot; prostitute; whore #1,607
- Hebrew זונה/zoˈna/ female prostitute #433
- Hindi वेश्या/ʋeːʃ.jɑː/ #1,927
- Indonesian pelacur/pəˈlat͡ʃur/ #854
- Korean 창녀[t͡ɕʰa̠ŋɲʌ̹] prostitute, hooker #1,526
- Lithuanian prostitutė[prɔsʲtʲɪˈtʊtʲeː] #2,003
- Macedonian курва[ˈkurva] whore, prostitute #997
- Malay pelacur/pəˈlat͡ʃur/ #1,052
- Malayalam വേശ്യ/ʋeːʃjɐ/ #900
- Persian جنده[d͡ʒen̪.d̪e] a prostitute #611
- Polish kurwa/ˈkur.va/ prostitute, whore #304
- Russian блядь[blʲætʲ] whore, slut, prostitute #1,340
- Serbian kurva/kûːrʋa/ whore, prostitute #1,555
- Slovak kurva/kurva/ prostitute, whore, hooker, slut #174
- Slovenian kurba/kúːrba/ whore, prostitute #569
- Tagalog puta/ˈputa/ #820
- Telugu వేశ్య/ʋeːɕja/ a prostitute, courtesan, harlot, whore #1,054
- Turkish fahişe/fɑ.hi.ˈʃe/ prostitute, hooker, whore #1,454
- Ukrainian курва[ˈkurʋɐ] whore, prostitute #467
- Urdu رنڈی/ɾəɳ.ɖiː/ #1,453
- Vietnamese đĩ[ʔɗi˦ˀ˥] whore; prostitute #2,022
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), 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.