Books are gateways to different worlds, sources of knowledge, and treasures of wisdom. No matter where you are in the world, the value of a book remains universal. However, just like the simple word “yes,” the term for “book” varies across languages and cultures. This linguistic diversity highlights the unique identity and history of each language.
Here’s how to say “book” in 70 different languages, providing a glimpse into the world’s linguistic richness:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Libër | Pronunciation: Lee-buhr
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – كتاب (Kitab) | Pronunciation: Kee-tab
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Գրք (Grk’) | Pronunciation: Ghruk
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Kitab | Pronunciation: Kee-tab
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Liburu | Pronunciation: Lee-boo-roo
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Кніга (Kniha) | Pronunciation: Kni-ga
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – বই (Boi) | Pronunciation: Boi
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Knjiga | Pronunciation: Knyee-ga
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Книга (Kniga) | Pronunciation: Kni-ga
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Llibre | Pronunciation: Yee-breh
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Kniha | Pronunciation: Kni-ha
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Bog | Pronunciation: Boh
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Boek | Pronunciation: Book
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Book | Pronunciation: Book
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Raamat | Pronunciation: Rah-mat
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – کتاب (Ketâb) | Pronunciation: Ke-taahb
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Kirja | Pronunciation: Keer-ya
- French (🇫🇷) – Livre | Pronunciation: Leev-ruh
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – წიგნი (Tsigni) | Pronunciation: Tsig-ni
- German (🇩🇪) – Buch | Pronunciation: Book
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Βιβλίο (Vivlio) | Pronunciation: Vee-vlee-o
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – ספר (Sefer) | Pronunciation: Se-fer
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – किताब (Kitaab) | Pronunciation: Ki-taab
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Könyv | Pronunciation: Kuuh-nyv
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Bók | Pronunciation: Bowk
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Buku | Pronunciation: Boo-koo
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Leabhar | Pronunciation: Lya-vahr
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Libro | Pronunciation: Lee-bro
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – 本 (Hon) | Pronunciation: Hawn
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Кітап (Kitap) | Pronunciation: Kee-tap
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – សៀវភៅ (Sivpho) | Pronunciation: Seev-pow
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 책 (Chaek) | Pronunciation: Chayk
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – پەرتووک (Pertûk) | Pronunciation: Per-too-k
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Китеп (Kitep) | Pronunciation: Kee-tep
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ປື້ມ (Pheum) | Pronunciation: Pheum
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Grāmata | Pronunciation: Grah-mah-ta
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Knyga | Pronunciation: Kni-gah
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Buch | Pronunciation: Book
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Книга (Kniga) | Pronunciation: Kni-ga
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Buku | Pronunciation: Boo-koo
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Kotba | Pronunciation: Koht-ba
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 书 (Shū) | Pronunciation: Shoo
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – पुस्तक (Pustak) | Pronunciation: Pus-tuk
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Ном (Nom) | Pronunciation: Nom
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – पुस्तक (Pustak) | Pronunciation: Pus-tuk
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Bok | Pronunciation: Bawk
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – کتاب (Kitab) | Pronunciation: Kee-tahb
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – کتاب (Ketâb) | Pronunciation: Ke-taahb
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Książka | Pronunciation: Kshonzh-ka
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Livro | Pronunciation: Lee-vro
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Carte | Pronunciation: Kar-te
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Книга (Kniga) | Pronunciation: Kni-ga
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Књига (Knjiga) | Pronunciation: Knyee-ga
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – පොත (Poṭa) | Pronunciation: Po-ta
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Kniha | Pronunciation: Kni-ha
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Knjiga | Pronunciation: Knyee-ga
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Buug | Pronunciation: Boo-ug
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Libro | Pronunciation: Lee-bro
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Kitabu | Pronunciation: Kee-tah-boo
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Bok | Pronunciation: Bawk
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Китоб (Kitob) | Pronunciation: Kee-tob
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – புத்தகம் (Puttakam) | Pronunciation: Puth-ta-kum
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – పుస్తకం (Pustakam) | Pronunciation: Pus-ta-kum
- Thai (🇹🇭) – หนังสือ (Nangsue) | Pronunciation: Nang-soo
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Kitap | Pronunciation: Kee-tap
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Книга (Knyha) | Pronunciation: Kni-ha
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – کتاب (Kitaab) | Pronunciation: Ki-taab
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Kitob | Pronunciation: Kee-tob
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Sách | Pronunciation: Sakh
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Llyfr | Pronunciation: Ll-uh-vur