There are thousands of languages in the world today, and it’s not uncommon for them to contain unique words that you won’t come by elsewhere. But certain phrases will find their way into all world’s languages alike. For example, you will definitely find the word for death in different languages. You may find it morbid for us to distinguish such a word for our research, but its significance truly cannot be overlooked. It doesn’t matter what nationality you are, which part of the planet you come from, or even which era you live in – death is a common denominator for all of us. That is why we’re here to learn more.

Words for Death in Different Languages

Below you can find numerous translation options in 50 languages from across the world. It is interesting to trace a single word’s origins and form. Seeing how something was referred to by different people gives you a great perspective on both the world’s languages and the people who spoke them.

1. Latin. Arguably Latin is a language that has the most words that mean death. Translation from Latin uses such words as mortis, mors, fatum, nex, letum. Curiously, most of these words are used to form the same phrases, for example if you need to say bringer of death in Latin you could try using these different words mortifer, fatifer or letifer, which will have the same meaning.

2. English. In reality, there is more than one way to refer to death in English – other different options are demise, passing, decease, etc.

3. German. Most common names for death in German are der Tod, der Todesfall and das Sterben.

4. French. The French may refer to death as mort, deces, le décès. You can find a word similar to "mort" as the main word for death in other languages.

5. Italian. You may use la morte, il decesso and giustiziere.

6. Spanish. In Spain name options for death are la muerte, la defunción, el fallecimiento.

7. Chinese. Phrases describing death are 死亡 (Sǐwáng), 终 (Zhōng), 长眠 (Chángmián).

8. Japanese. One can often hear 死 (Shi), 死亡 (Shibō), 死神 (Shinigami), 死去 (Shikyo). If this seems overwhelming, always contact the best Japanese translation services for professional translation.

9. Indonesian. You may hear kematian, mati, and kemangkatan when people refer to death in Indonesian.

10. Korean. Words like 죽음 (jug-eum), 죽는 꼴 (jugneun kkol), 죽음의 신 (jug-eum-ui sin), or 최후 (choehu) apply. Translation to Korean is especially hard for a person with no prior experience. If you want to ensure it's done right, it is best to get in touch with professional Korean translation services.

11. Arabic. Names for death are aihtidar, almawt, wafa, and masra.

12. Armenian. Commonly used are կործանում (kortsanum), մահացու (mahats’u), մահվան (mahvan).

13. Russian. Both смерть (smert'), гибель (gibel') are an option.

14. Ukrainian. Main option is смерть (smert'), but загибель (zahybelʹ) is also frequently utilized.

15. Tajik. Those who speak this language may use марг (marg), and қатл (qatl).

16. Polish. In Poland, you might hear manes śmierć, umieranie, padnięcie, or kostucha.

17. Romanian. The main word for loss of life is moarte.

18. Hungarian. Words that mean death in other languages are halál, elhalálozás.

19. Czech. It calls for smrt, skon, úmrtí.

20. Portuguese. Say morte, falecimento, or óbito when you need to talk about death.

21. Hindi. Decease is मौत (Mauta), or मृत्यु (Mr̥tyu).

22. Turkish. Mostly used names are ölüm, ölme, tükeniş.

23. Vietnamese. Go for tử vong, bộ khai tử.

24. Urdu. The primary name for death is موت (Mout).

25. Thai. Dying is said as ความตาย (Khwām tāy),  มรณกรรม (Mrṇkrrm), or อนิจกรรม (Xnickrrm).

26. Zulu. Locals describe death with ukufa, lokufa, ukusweleka.

27. Telugu. Go-to ones are మరణం (Maraṇaṁ), చావుకు (Cāvuku).

28. Tamil. One may utilize phrases மரணம் (Maraṇam), and சாவு (Cāvu) for death translation.

29. Norwegian. Passing is referred to as død, døden.

30. Swedish. People often use död, dödsfall, livsfara. Are you looking for professional Norwegian translation services? See the list we have compiled.

31. Dutch. Available phrases are dood, overlijden.

32. Punjabi. This language uses ਮੌਤ (Mauta), ਮਰਹੱਲਾ (Marahalā) to name dying.

33. Afrikaans. Most used options are dood, afsterwe.

34. Marathi. Try मृत्यू (Mr̥tyū), मरण (Maraṇa).

35. Lao. Multiple names one could use are ມະຣະ (ma ra), ປະໄວ້ (pauaai), ມະຣະນະ (ma rana).

36. Kannada. Your main choices for word death in all languages are ಸಾವು (Sāvu), ಮರಣ (Maraṇa).

37. Filipino. Go ahead and say kamatayan, pagkamatay, or huling-buhay.

38. Malayalam. Try and use മരണം (maraṇaṁ).

39. Samoan. Death may be called maliu.

40. Maori. Names for death are mate, hemonga.

41. Amharic. It translates as ሞት (moti), የመሞቻው (yememochawi).

42. Somali. Dhimasho, geerida, geerka can be used.

43. Nepali. The most used word is मृत्यु (Mr̥tyu).

44. Greek. Variants you can use are θάνατος (thánatos), χάρος (cháros).

45. Icelandic. Your options are dauða, andlát, ævilok.

46. Mongolian. The main one is ухэл (ukhel).

47. Irish. Several different variations are bás, baois, éag.

48. Kurdish. The word for dying is mirin.

49. Nahuatl. You can try saying miquiztli.

50. Kinyarwanda. Feel free to use pfu, urupfu.

Saying Death in Other Languages

These were a few examples we could think of! It is evident that many languages share very similar words – this is usually the case with languages that originated in the same general area of the world or have a common linguistic ancestor they originated from – like Latin. Therefore, names for passing in other languages sound alike. Hopefully, you will now have no trouble with translating the word "death" into any language you might need! 

If your needs go beyond what we could address here, ask for a professional opinion. Some of the best translation services online help you with your translation, having the needed knowledge and experience to deliver a premium result. For a more specific task, there are different great technical translation companies that will do the trick for you.

Allowing the Exchange of Emotions

People wouldn't get far as a species if we weren't able to communicate. The existence of multiple languages allows us to make our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and intentions clear. However, the spoken word does even more than that. While we're on the topic of loss of life, it is fitting to mention that language helps us release our feelings, emotions, share them with a friend, and even find healing along the way. That is why it is important to know multiple different foreign words for passing away to discuss something that transcends all languages – and there is what this article may help you with.

Final Thoughts on Foreign Words for Death

Humans use words abundantly throughout their life, so we invented many ways to speak of something. Different words exist for the same object or occurrence because they fit different situations and emotions. Words and languages help us define the surrounding world, communicate with each other, and, to an extent, get an illusion of control over something – after all, once something is named it becomes more familiar.