| Language | Language (in English) | turtle | gender | pronounced as: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans | skilpad | |||
| Bahasa Indonesia | Indonesian | kura-kura & penju | |||
| Bahasa Melayu | Malaysian |
penyu (sea-turtle) labi-labi (softshell) kura-kura (other turtles) | |||
| Bambara | Bambara | koorakaara | |||
| Bangla | Bengali | Kachhim & Kochchhop | |||
| Brezhoneg | Breton | baot-vor | f | ||
| Bundjalung | Bundjalung (New South Wales, Australia) | bingihyn | |||
| Cesky | Czech | želva | f | ||
| Cymraeg | Welsh | môr-grwban | m | ||
| dansk | Danish | skildpadde | |||
| Datiwuy | Datiwuy (Western Australia) | dhalwartpu (green turtle) garriwa (flatback turtle) | |||
| Deutsch | German | Schildkröte | f | (audio) | |
| Eesti | Estonian | kilpkonn | |||
| English | English | turtle | |||
| Español | Spanish | tortuga | f | ||
| Esperanto | Esperanto | testudo | |||
| Euskara | Basque | dortoka | |||
| Français | French | tortue | f | ||
| Frysk | Frisian | skýldpod | |||
| Gaeilge | Irish | turtar | m | ||
| Gaelg | Manx | turtyl | m | ||
| Gooniyandi | Gooniyandi (Western Australia) | wilirrabi (long-necked turtle) | |||
| Gullah | Gullah | cootah | |||
| Guaraní | Guarani (Paraguayan) | karumbe | |||
| Hawai'i | Hawaiian | honu | |||
| Hindi | Hindi | kachua | |||
| Igbo | Igbo | mbé | |||
| ìslenska | Icelandic | skjaldbaka | f | ||
| Italiano | Italian | tartaruga | f | ||
| jezyk polski | Polish | zółw | (audio) | ||
| Lacandón | Lacandón (a Maya language) | aak | |||
| Ladino | Ladino | tartuga | f | ||
| Lakota | Lakota Sioux | keha | |||
| lingua Latina | Latin | testudo | f | ||
| Magyar | Hungarian | teknősbéka | |||
| Maori | Maori | honu / nguturoa | |||
| Meryam Mir | Meryam Mir (Torres Strait Area, Australia) | bawg (hawksbill turtle) nam (turtle (generic)) uriz (flatback turtle) zegnaypul (a type of turtle) | |||
| Murrinh-Patha | Murrinh-Patha (Northern Territory Australia) | ngupu (loggerhead turtle) | |||
| Nahuatl | Nahuatl (Aztec) | áyotl | |||
| Nederlands | Dutch | schildpad | f(m) | ||
| Norsk | Norwegian | skilpadde | |||
| Nukuoro | Polynesian | honu tolo/honu ssele | |||
| Nyungar | Nyungar (Western Australia) | kilang (turtle) buyi (turtle) yakany (freshwater turtle) | |||
| Occitan | Provençal | tartuga | ? | ||
| Paakantyi | Paakantyi (New South Wales, Australia) | pumarla-puka | |||
| Papiamentu | Papiamento | morkoi,tortuga,karèt | |||
| Papuan Pidgin | Papuan Pidgin | torasel | |||
| português | Portuguese | tartaruga/cágado | f | ||
| Romîn | Romanian | broascâ ţestoasâ | f | ||
| Samoan | Samoan | laumei | |||
| Shqipe | Albanian | breshkë | f | ||
| ? | Sicilian | tartuca | f | ||
| Slovensko | Slovak | korytnačka | f | ||
| Slovenčina | Slovenian | želva | f | ||
| af-Somaliga | Somali | diin-ka | m | ||
| Suomi | Finnish | kilpikonna | |||
| Svenska | Swedish | sköldpadda | |||
| Swahili | Swahili | kobe | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Philippine | pagong | |||
| tiêng Viêt | Vietnamese | con-rùa | |||
| Tongan | Tongan | fonu | |||
| Torres Strait Creole | Torres Strait Creole (Torres Strait Area, Australia) | biged (loggerhead turtle) platplat (flatback turtle) totol (turtle (generic from English)) | |||
| Türkçe | Turkish | kaplumbağa | |||
| Wembawemba | Wembawemba (Victoria Australia) | nyim (short-necked turtle) pil-wil lernget (broad-shelled turtle) | |||
| Wik-Mungkan | Wik-Mungkan (Torres Strait Area, Australia) | minh miintim (sea turtle) nhengk tung-tung (long-necked turtle) | |||
| Wiradjuri | Wiradjuri (New South Wales Australia) | gandhalwaa (long-necked turtle) guudhamang (striped turtle) | |||
| Wolof | Wolof | nduumaar | |||
| Xhosa | Xhosa | i-sikolopati | |||
| Ye' Iswa | Catawba (South-Carolina) | Kayäk | |||
| Yindjibarndi | Yindjibarndi (Western Australia) | thatharruga (sea turtle) | |||
| Thai | 1: ta pab nam/plapha (softshells) 2: tao (all other species) | ||||
| Japanese |  | umigame, kame | |||
| Greek |  | f | chelona | ||
| Russian |  | f | tchiripacha | ||
| Farsi (Persian) |  | laakposht | |||
| Arabic | 1:  2:  | f | 1: soulhoufat 2: kashf (dialect) 3: fakrun (Tunisian dialect) | ||
| Hebrew |  | tsav (zav) | |||
| Bulgarian |  | kostenurka | |||
| Chinese (traditional) | 1: 2:  | 1: pie (only softshells) 2: uguei (all other species) | |||
| Chinese (simplified) |  | 1: pie (only softshells) 2: uguei (all other species) | |||
| Marathi | कासव | kasav (audio) |
N.B.: this is a collection of general words for 'turtle'. As a rule, more specific words like 'tortoise' and 'terrapin' are not listed because they don't refer to all turtle species. An exception is made if a language does not have an all-inclusive word for 'turtle'.
Please inform me if your language is missing, or if you want to make a correction. If your language uses non-standard symbols please email me an image of the written word for 'turtle', and a transcription of this word. My email address:
This list is my intellectual property. The first version of it went online in May 2000 and it is older than other such lists. Please do not copy this list to other sites. You are welcome to link to it though.
I would like to thank Eena Bravo, Guneet Singh, Franz Fischer, Martin, Zahra PourMorady, Barak Gull, Kei, Anna (Elbereth), Rawad Massoud, Mohd Uzairi Zailani, Yehuda Hatsvi, Mindy Chapman, Matt Lund, Imaam Chowdhury, Nikhil Umale, Anna Dachowska, Andreas Dietzel, Patrick E. Kennon, and others for their contributions to this page.
