The concept of the undead, reanimated bodies that roam the earth with a hunger for the living, is a fascinating and eerie one that transcends cultures and languages, much like the universal affirmation “yes.” In this article, we delve into the linguistics of the undead, exploring how the term “zombie” is expressed in various languages around the globe. This journey offers a glimpse into the global fascination with the undead, showcasing the diversity in language and the shared intrigue in this horror genre staple.
Here is a list of how to say “zombie” in 70 different languages:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – زومبي (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Զոմբի (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Зомбі (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – জম্বি (Jombi) | Pronunciation: Jom-bee
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – زامبی (Zambi) | Pronunciation: Zam-bee
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- French (🇫🇷) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – ზომბი (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- German (🇩🇪) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Ζόμπι (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – זומבי (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – ज़ोम्बी (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Zombí | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Síofra | Pronunciation: Shee-fra (Note: There is no exact word for zombie in Irish Gaelic, so “síofra,” meaning ghost or spirit, is sometimes used.)
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – ゾンビ (Zonbi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – ហ្សូមបី (Zoumbi) | Pronunciation: Zoum-bee
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 좀비 (Jombi) | Pronunciation: Jom-bee
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Zombî | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ຊົມບີ (Som bi) | Pronunciation: Som bee
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Zombijs | Pronunciation: Zom-bee-yas
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Zombis | Pronunciation: Zom-bis
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Żombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 僵尸 (Jiāngshī) | Pronunciation: Jiang-shee
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – झोंबी (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – जोम्बी (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – زومبي (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – زامبی (Zambi) | Pronunciation: Zam-bee
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Zumbi | Pronunciation: Zoo-mbee
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Зомби (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – සොම්බි (Sombi) | Pronunciation: Som-bee
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Zombík | Pronunciation: Zom-beek
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Zombie | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Зомбӣ (Zombī) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – ஜொம்பி (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – జాంబీ (Jāmbī) | Pronunciation: Jam-bee
- Thai (🇹🇭) – ซอมบี้ (Som bi) | Pronunciation: Som bee
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Зомбі (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – زومبی (Zombi) | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Zombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Xác sống | Pronunciation: Sak song
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Sombi | Pronunciation: Zom-bee