Cats, with their mysterious allure and playful demeanor, have captured human hearts for millennia. From ancient Egypt, where they were revered as divine creatures, to the internet age, where they reign supreme as viral sensations, cats continue to be a universal favorite. Interestingly, the word for “cat” varies widely across languages, reflecting the cultural nuances and the special place these feline friends hold in societies around the world. In this fascinating linguistic journey, we’ll explore how to say “cat” in 70 different languages, celebrating the global adoration for these enigmatic creatures.
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Mace | Pronunciation: Mah-che
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – قطة (Qittah) | Pronunciation: Kit-tah
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Կատու (Katoo) | Pronunciation: Kah-too
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Pişik | Pronunciation: Pee-sheek
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Katu | Pronunciation: Kah-too
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Кот (Kot) | Pronunciation: Kot
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – বিড়াল (Biṛāl) | Pronunciation: Bee-ral
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Mačka | Pronunciation: Match-ka
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Котка (Kotka) | Pronunciation: Kot-ka
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Gat | Pronunciation: Gat
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Kočka | Pronunciation: Koach-ka
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Kat | Pronunciation: Kat
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Kat | Pronunciation: Kat
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Cat | Pronunciation: Kat
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Kass | Pronunciation: Kass
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – گربه (Gorbe) | Pronunciation: Gor-beh
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Kissa | Pronunciation: Kiss-ah
- French (🇫🇷) – Chat | Pronunciation: Sha
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – კატა (K’ata) | Pronunciation: Ka-tah
- German (🇩🇪) – Katze | Pronunciation: Kat-se
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Γάτα (Gáta) | Pronunciation: Ga-ta
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – חתול (Chatul) | Pronunciation: Kha-tool
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – बिल्ली (Billi) | Pronunciation: Bil-lee
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Macska | Pronunciation: Match-ka
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Köttur | Pronunciation: Kœt-ur
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Kucing | Pronunciation: Koo-ching
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Cat | Pronunciation: Kat
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Gatto | Pronunciation: Gat-to
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – 猫 (Neko) | Pronunciation: Neh-ko
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Мысық (Mysyq) | Pronunciation: Muh-suhk
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – ឆ្មា (Chhma) | Pronunciation: Chma
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 고양이 (Goyangi) | Pronunciation: Go-yang-ee
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Pişîk | Pronunciation: Pee-sheek
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Мышык (Myshyk) | Pronunciation: Mish-ik
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ແມວ (Maeo) | Pronunciation: Mao
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Kaķis | Pronunciation: Kah-kis
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Katė | Pronunciation: Ka-teh
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Kaz | Pronunciation: Kats
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Мачка (Mačka) | Pronunciation: Mach-ka
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Kucing | Pronunciation: Koo-ching
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Qattus | Pronunciation: Att-us
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 猫 (Māo) | Pronunciation: Mao
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – मांजर (Mānjar) | Pronunciation: Maan-jar
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Муур (Muur) | Pronunciation: Moor
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – बिरालो (Birālo) | Pronunciation: Bee-ra-lo
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Katt | Pronunciation: Katt
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – پیشو (Pisho) | Pronunciation: Pee-sho
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – گربه (Gorbe) | Pronunciation: Gor-beh
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Kot | Pronunciation: Kot
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Gato | Pronunciation: Ga-too
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Pisică | Pronunciation: Pee-see-ka
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Кот (Kot) | Pronunciation: Kot
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Мачка (Mačka) | Pronunciation: Mach-ka
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – බළලා (Baḷalā) | Pronunciation: Balla-la
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Mačka | Pronunciation: Match-ka
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Maček | Pronunciation: Ma-check
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Bisad | Pronunciation: Bee-sahd
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Gato | Pronunciation: Ga-to
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Paka | Pronunciation: Pa-ka
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Katt | Pronunciation: Kat
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Гурба (Gurba) | Pronunciation: Gur-bah
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – பூனை (Pūṉai) | Pronunciation: Poo-nai
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – పిల్లి (Pilli) | Pronunciation: Pil-lee
- Thai (🇹🇭) – แมว (Maew) | Pronunciation: Mew
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Kedi | Pronunciation: Keh-dee
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Кіт (Kit) | Pronunciation: Kit
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – بلی (Billi) | Pronunciation: Bil-lee
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Mushuk | Pronunciation: Moo-shook
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Mèo | Pronunciation: Meow
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Cath | Pronunciation: Kath