General
Have you ever wondered how people say "dad" or "father" in other languages? Maybe you've heard some already, like padre in Spanish or pèrein French, but what about Russian, Cherokee, Farsi, or Swahili?
In this article we'll teach you more than 50 words for "father" that are used around the world! Then we'll talk about some other fun facts about words for "dad" and about Father's Day celebrations around the world. By the time you're finished reading, we hope you'll have something great to talk about over Father's Day brunch!
Table of Contents
How to say "father" in 10+ languages?
Ready to make your multi-lingual Father's Day card? Let's learn how to say "father" and "dad" in some of the most popular languages offered by Mango!
Spanish: 'Padre'
Padre[PAH-dre]is the Spanish word for "father," but there are also some less formal words for "dad" in Spanish, including papá[pah-PAH] and papi[PAH-pee]. Papá is used more like "dad," while papi is a little more casual, like "daddy."
Make sure to stress the second syllable of papá! If you stress the first syllable it means "pope" instead!
Korean: 아버지 [abeoji]
The standard word for "father" in Korean is 아버지[abeoji], but if you're being formal or talking about a stranger's father it's better to add the formal ending -님[-nim] and use the word아버님[abeonim] instead. In an informal context, though, it's okay to say 아빠[appa], which is more like "dad" or "daddy."
Mandarin Chinese: 父親 [fùqīn]
The word 父親 [fùqīn] in Mandarin Chinese is a very formal word for "father," and it is mostly used in writing. In everyday speech, you're more likely to hear people say 爸爸[bàba], 爸[ba], or 爹[diē] (though this last is more common in some regions than in others).
You are more likely to hear 爹[diē] in the southern provinces, but in some regions this word may sound old-fashioned (like "pa" or "pops" in English).
French: 'Père'
The French word for "father" or "dad" is père[pehr], but if you're talking directly to your dad you might also call himpapa[pah-PAH] or pap[pahp].
German: 'Vater'
In German, the word for "father" is vater[FAH-ter]. When you're speaking less formally, you can also say papa[PAH-pah], papi[PAH-pee], or you could use other pet names like väterchen[FEH-ter-shen] (which is the diminutiveNo definition set for diminutiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of vater)
Notice that even though vater is spelled with a "v" it's pronounced with an "f" sound, just like "father."
Russian: Отец [ahtyets]
The Russian word отец[ah-TYETS] is a formal word for "father," but in everyday speech you'll probably hear папа[PAH-pah], which is a lot like saying "dad." There are also many less formal options, like папочка[PAH-pach-ka] or папуля[pa-POO-lya].
Italian: 'Padre'
In Italian, just like in Spanish, padre[PAH-dre] is the word for "father," and also, just like Spanish, the more everyday Italian word for "dad" is papà[pah-PAH]. However, there are some words for "dad" in Italian that are a little different, like babbo[BAB-bo] (common in Tuscany) or papino[pah-PEE-no].
Make sure to stress the second syllable of papá! Just like in Spanish, if you stress the first syllable it means "pope" instead!
Arabic: أب [abb]
The word for "father" in Arabic is أب[abb](pronounced with the "a" sound we use for the word "ash"). You will also hear the words والد[WAA-lid], يابا[YAH-bah], or بابا[BAH-bah] quite often in speech, though they're used a little differently in different dialects (for example, in some dialectsبابا is mostly used by children, while in others it's used by adults as well).
Portuguese: 'Pai'
The word pai[pai] means "father" or "dad" in both European and Brazilian Portuguese, but in an informal setting the word papai[pah-PAI] can also be used, a bit like the word "daddy" in English.
Japanese: 父親 [chichioya]
In Japanese, the word 父親[chichioya] is used to refer to a "father" in a general or legal sense, but usually if we're talking about a specific person's father we use another word, likeお父さん[otou-san], 父[chichi], パパ[papa], or おとん[oton]
How to say "father" in other languages?
Hungry for more? Here are the words for "father" in fifty more of the languages that we teach here at Mango!
Armenian:հայրիկ[hayrik]
Azerbaijani: ata
Bengali: পিতা[pitaa]
Chaldean Aramaic: אבא[abba]
Cherokee: ᎠᎩᏙᏓ[agidoda]
Croatian: otac
Czech: otac
Danish: far
Dari: پدر[pedar]
Dutch: vader
Dzongha: ཨ་པ[apa]
Farsi: پدر[pedar]
Finnish: isä
Greek: πατέρας[patéras]
Haitian Creole: papa
Hawaiian: makuakāne
Hebrew: אַבָּא[abba]
Hindi: पिता[pita]
Hungarian: apa
Icelandic: föður
Igbo: nna
Indonesian: ayah
Irish: athair
Javanese: bapak
Latin: pater
Malay: ayah
Malayalam: അച്ഛൻ[achan]
Norwegian: far
Pashto: پلار[plaar]
Polish: ojciec
Potawatomi: nos
Punjabi (Pakistani): ਪਿਤਾ[pita]
Romanian: tată
Scottish Gaelic: athair
Serbian: отац[otats]
Shanghainese: 父親[fùmǔ]
Slovak: otec
Swahili: baba
Swedish: far
Tagalog: ama
Tamil: அப்பா[appā]
Telugu: తండ్రి[taṇḍri]
Thai: พ่อ[ph̀x]
Turkish: baba
Tuvan: ача[acha]
Ukrainian: батько[batko]
Urdu: والد[walid]
Uzbek: ota
Vietnamese: bố
Yiddish: פאטער[fater]
Ready to start learning a new language?
Mango offers courses in all of the languages above and more, including some specialty courses. Get started by checking out our full list of languages! Or, use our "Find Mango" tool to discover whether you already belong to an organization with a Mango subscription!
Why is the word for "dad" so similar in different languages?
Have you ever noticed that words for "dad" in different languages all sound very similar? Whether you're speaking Spanish, Arabic, English, Japanese, Chinese, or Russian, casual words for "dad" always seem to use the same sorts of sounds: "ba," "pa," "da," or sometimes "ta." Why is that?
Most linguists agree that different languages' words for "dad" are so similar because sounds like "da," "ba," and "pa," are some of the first sounds most babies can physically produce.
Babies can make "ba," "pa," and "da" sounds very early because they don't require much coordination. You can make "ba" and "pa" (called "bilabial" sounds) just with your lips, and "da" and "ta" by moving your whole tongue to the roof of your mouth as one unit.
Now, get ready for the science!
When babies are born, their throat is structured so that they can only make sounds that come out through their noses, like "ma" and "na." These sounds become words like "mama," for mothers. But as babies get a bit older, and can start to make noises through their mouths, the next easiest sounds, "ba," "pa," and "da," go to the fathers!
Why are these sounds the first sounds we make through our mouth? When babies are very young, the space between the tongue and the throat is much smaller, which restricts the range of sounds they can produce. Try making vowels like "ee" or "oo" or consonants like "r" or "sh" and feel how much the back of your tongue is moving and flexing. A tiny baby can't make those movements, and so they stick to sounds that are further forward in the mouth ("d" and "t") or even sounds made at the lips ("b" and "p").
Do they celebrate Father's Day in other countries?
In recent years, many people worldwide have recently started celebrating an American-style Father's Day on the third Sunday of June, but in a lot of countries it's not an official holiday. In some countries, though, people celebrate fathers on a different day and with a different set of traditions. Here are some examples of similar holidays that are celebrated around the world:
Italy → In Italy, Father's Day is celebrated on March 19th, which is the Festa di San Giuseppe(Feast of Saint Joseph), a Roman Catholic celebration of Saint Joseph, the earthly father of Christ. On this day, Italians eat sweet treats, especially zeppole di san Giuseppe, which is a special type of cream puff.
This Roman Catholic holiday is also celebrated as Father's Day in several other countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Croatia, and Bolivia. In Brazil, fathers are celebrated at the feast of Saint Joachim (Mary's father, the patron saint of fathers), on the first Sunday in August, instead.
Germany → In Germany, Father's Day is celebrated on Ascension Day, which is 40 days after Easter. On this holiday, called Herrentag(Gentlemen's Day), Vatertag(Father's Day), or Männertag(Men's Day), some fathers celebrate much like we do in the United States (spending time with their families), while other adult men take the day to go on group hikes or other excursions, often with wagons full of drinks and food.
South Korea → In South Korea, mothers and fathers are celebrated on the same day, 어버이날(Parents' Day), which takes place on May 8th. On this day, parents are typically given carnations, and it is broadly a day for honoring elders.
Australia and New Zealand → Australia and New Zealand celebrate Father's Day much as we do in the United States, but there it takes place on the first Sunday in September, which is the first Sunday of Spring in the southern hemisphere.
