A “hug” is a universal gesture of affection and comfort, but the word for it can vary widely across different languages and cultures. In this article, we’ll explore how the word for “hug” is expressed in different languages around the world, from the most commonly spoken languages to some of the lesser-known ones.
Here is a list of how to say “hug” in 70 different languages:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Përqafim | Pronunciation: Pur-cha-feem
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – عناق (Einaaq) | Pronunciation: Ee-naaq
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Գրկախառնություն (Grkakharnutyun) | Pronunciation: Gr-ka-khar-noo-tyoon
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Qucaq | Pronunciation: Koo-jak
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Besarkada | Pronunciation: Be-sar-kah-da
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Абдымкі (Abdymki) | Pronunciation: Ab-dym-kee
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – আলিঙ্গন (Aalingan) | Pronunciation: Aa-ling-gan
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Zagrljaj | Pronunciation: Zah-ger-lyai
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Прегръдка (Pregrudka) | Pronunciation: Pre-grud-ka
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Abraçada | Pronunciation: Ah-bra-sah-dah
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Objetí | Pronunciation: Ob-ye-tee
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Kram | Pronunciation: Kram
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Knuffel | Pronunciation: Knuh-fel
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Hug | Pronunciation: Huhg
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Kallistus | Pronunciation: Kah-lee-stoos
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – بغل (Baghal) | Pronunciation: Bah-ghal
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Halaus | Pronunciation: Ha-lows
- French (🇫🇷) – Câlin | Pronunciation: Kah-lan
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – ჩახუტება (Chakuteba) | Pronunciation: Cha-koo-teh-ba
- German (🇩🇪) – Umarmung | Pronunciation: Oo-mahr-moong
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Αγκαλιά (Agkalia) | Pronunciation: An-ga-lee-ah
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – חיבוק (Chibuk) | Pronunciation: Hee-book
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – गले लगाना (Gale Lagana) | Pronunciation: Ga-leh La-ga-na
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Ölelés | Pronunciation: O-le-lesh
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Faðmlag | Pronunciation: Fathm-lag
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Pelukan | Pronunciation: Peh-loo-kan
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Barróg | Pronunciation: Bah-rog
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Abbraccio | Pronunciation: Ah-brach-cho
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – ハグ (Hagu) | Pronunciation: Ha-goo
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Құшақ (Qushaq) | Pronunciation: Koo-shak
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – អោប (Aob) | Pronunciation: Awp
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 포옹 (Poong) | Pronunciation: Poh-ohng
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Helbest | Pronunciation: Hel-best
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Кучакташуу (Kuchaktashuu) | Pronunciation: Koo-chak-tah-shoo
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ກອງອຸ່ມ (Kong Um) | Pronunciation: Kong oom
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Apskāviens | Pronunciation: Ap-ska-vyens
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Apkabinimas | Pronunciation: Ap-ka-bin-i-mas
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Emarmung | Pronunciation: Eh-mar-moong
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Прегратка (Pregratka) | Pronunciation: Pre-grat-ka
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Pelukan | Pronunciation: Peh-loo-kan
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Ħadd | Pronunciation: Hahd
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 拥抱 (Yǒngbào) | Pronunciation: Yawng-bao
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – मिठी (Mithi) | Pronunciation: Mee-thee
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Тэврэлт (Tevrel’t) | Pronunciation: Tev-relt
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – अँगालो (Angalo) | Pronunciation: An-ga-lo
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Klem | Pronunciation: Klem
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – غېږه (Ghegha) | Pronunciation: Ghe-gha
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Uścisk | Pronunciation: Oosh-cheesk
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Abraço | Pronunciation: Ah-brah-soo
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Îmbrățișare | Pronunciation: Um-brah-tsee-sha-reh
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Объятие (Ob’yatie) | Pronunciation: Ahb-yat-ye
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Загрљај (Zagrljaj) | Pronunciation: Zah-gr-lyai
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – ඇරඹුම (Aarambuma) | Pronunciation: Ah-ram-boo-ma
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Objatie | Pronunciation: Ob-ya-tye
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Objem | Pronunciation: Ob-yem
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Hab | Pronunciation: Hab
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Abrazo | Pronunciation: Ah-brah-so
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Kukumbatia | Pronunciation: Koo-koom-bah-tee-ah
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Kram | Pronunciation: Kram
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Ба оғӯш гирифтан (Ba Oghush Giriftan) | Pronunciation: Bah oh-guhsh gee-reef-tan
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – அணைப்பு (Anaippu) | Pronunciation: Ah-nay-poo
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – ఆలింగనం (Aalinganam) | Pronunciation: Ah-ling-a-nam
- Thai (🇹🇭) – กอด (Gòt) | Pronunciation: Gaawt
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Sarılma | Pronunciation: Sa-ril-mah
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Обійми (Obiymy) | Pronunciation: Ob-ee-yim
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – گلے لگانا (Gale Lagana) | Pronunciation: Ga-leh la-ga-na
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Quchoqlamoq | Pronunciation: Koo-chok-la-mok
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Ôm | Pronunciation: Ohm
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Cwtch | Pronunciation: Kootch
- Zulu (🇿🇦) – Ukumanga | Pronunciation: Oo-koo-man-ga