The term “plague” has been a significant part of human history, impacting countless lives and cultures. The word for “plague” varies across languages, reflecting the diverse ways in which societies have encountered and conceptualized this devastating disease.
In this article, we’ll explore how to say “plague” in 70 different languages, showcasing the linguistic diversity around the world.
Here is the revised list including pronunciations for each language:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Murtajë | Pronunciation: Moor-tah-yuh
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – طاعون (Tāʿūn) | Pronunciation: Tah-oon
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Ժանտախտ (Zhantakht) | Pronunciation: Zhan-takht
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Taun | Pronunciation: Tah-oon
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Izurri | Pronunciation: Ee-zoo-ree
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Чума (Chuma) | Pronunciation: Choo-mah
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – প্লেগ (Pleg) | Pronunciation: Pleg
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Kuga | Pronunciation: Koo-gah
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Чума (Chuma) | Pronunciation: Choo-mah
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Pesta | Pronunciation: Pes-tah
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Mor | Pronunciation: Mor
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Pest | Pronunciation: Pest
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Pest | Pronunciation: Pest
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Plague | Pronunciation: Pleɪɡ
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Katk | Pronunciation: Katk
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – طاعون (Tāʿūn) | Pronunciation: Tah-oon
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Rutto | Pronunciation: Root-toh
- French (🇫🇷) – Peste | Pronunciation: Pest
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – შავი ჭირი (Shavi Ch’iri) | Pronunciation: Shah-vi Chee-ri
- German (🇩🇪) – Pest | Pronunciation: Pest
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Πανούκλα (Panoukla) | Pronunciation: Pa-noo-kla
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – דבר (Dever) | Pronunciation: Deh-ver
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – प्लेग (Pleg) | Pronunciation: Pleg
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Pestis | Pronunciation: Pes-tish
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Plága | Pronunciation: Plow-ga
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Wabah | Pronunciation: Wah-bah
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Plá | Pronunciation: Plaw
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Peste | Pronunciation: Pes-teh
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – ペスト (Pesuto) | Pronunciation: Peh-su-to
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Оба (Oba) | Pronunciation: Oh-ba
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – រោគរាតត្បាត (Rok Riehtbat) | Pronunciation: Roak Ree-eht-bat
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 전염병 (Jeonyeombyeong) | Pronunciation: Jon-yum-byong
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Taun | Pronunciation: Tah-oon
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Оба (Oba) | Pronunciation: Oh-ba
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ການແຜ່ລະບາດ (Kanphala Bat) | Pronunciation: Kan-pla Bat
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Mēris | Pronunciation: Meh-ris
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Maras | Pronunciation: Mah-ras
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Pest | Pronunciation: Pest
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Чума (Chuma) | Pronunciation: Choo-mah
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Wabak | Pronunciation: Wah-bak
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Pesta | Pronunciation: Pes-ta
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 瘟疫 (Wēnyì) | Pronunciation: Wen-yee
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – प्लेग (Pleg) | Pronunciation: Pleg
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Тахал (Tahal) | Pronunciation: Tah-hal
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – प्लेग (Pleg) | Pronunciation: Pleg
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Pest | Pronunciation: Pest
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – طاعون (Tāʿūn) | Pronunciation: Tah-oon
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Dżuma | Pronunciation: Joo-ma
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Peste | Pronunciation: Pesh-te
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Ciumă | Pronunciation: Choo-muh
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Чума (Chuma) | Pronunciation: Choo-mah
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Куга (Kuga) | Pronunciation: Koo-ga
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – මාදුරුව (Mādurūva) | Pronunciation: Maa-du-roo-va
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Mor | Pronunciation: Mor
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Kuga | Pronunciation: Koo-ga
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Jadeeco | Pronunciation: Jah-deh-eh-ko
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Peste | Pronunciation: Pes-te
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Tauni | Pronunciation: Ta-oo-nee
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Pest | Pronunciation: Pest
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Вабо (Vabo) | Pronunciation: Va-bo
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – பிளேக் (Pilēk) | Pronunciation: Pi-lake
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – ప్లేగు (Plēgu) | Pronunciation: Pleh-goo
- Thai (🇹🇭) – กาฬโรค (Kāl Rōk) | Pronunciation: Kahl Roke
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Veba | Pronunciation: Veh-bah
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Чума (Chuma) | Pronunciation: Choo-mah
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – طاعون (Tāʿūn) | Pronunciation: Tah-oon
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Vabo | Pronunciation: Va-bo
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Bệnh dịch hạch | Pronunciation: Beng-zik-hach
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Pla | Pronunciation: Plah
- Yoruba (🇳🇬) – Ààrùn jàdẹ́ | Pronunciation: Ah-ah-roon jah-deh