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Flag in different languages

Last modified: 2002-03-08 by phil nelson
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Norwegian:
FLAGG
Danish:
FLAG
Swedish:
FLAGGA
German:
FLAGGE, FAHNE
Dutch:
VLAG
Frisian (second official language in the Dutch province of Friesland):
FLAGGE
Afrikaans:
VLAG, pl. VLAE
Russian:
FLAG, (ZNAM'YA = banner)
Croatian:
ZASTAVA, BARJAK, STIJEG; PLAMENAC
Slovenian:
ZASTAVA
Czech:
VLAJKA, (PRAPOR = banner)
Polish:
FLAGA, PRAPORZEC
Bulgarian:
ZNAME, FLAG, BAJRAK (slang)
Latin:
VEXILLUM
Portuguese:
BANDEIRA
Spanish:
BANDERA
Italian:
BANDIERA
French:
DRAPEAU, PAVILLON
Breton:
BANNIEL
Estonian:
LIPP
Finnish:
LIPPU
Hungarian:
ZÁSZLÓ
Welsh:
BANER, FFLAG; LLECH
Hebrew:
DEGEL, NES (meaning also miracle)
Japanese:
HATA
KOKKI = national flag
GUNKI = military flag
KOUSHITSUKI = royal flag
Chinese:
QI (pronounced chi)
HUNG-QI = red flag
Hindi:
JHANDA
Indonesian and Malay:
BENDERA (probably influenced by Portuguese)
Tahitian:
REVA
Asante, Twi and Fante (west Africa):
FRANKAA
Esperanto:
FLAGO, pl. FLAGOJ
Cebuano:
BANDERA
Maori:
HAKI
Guarani:
POYVI
Swahili:
BENDERA
Turkmen:
BAYDAK
Belarussian:
FLAG
Hmong:
CHIJ
Lithuanian:
VELIAVA
Maltese:
BANDIERA
Romanian:
STEAG
Sami:
FLAGG
Ukranian:
PRAPOR
Urdu:
JANDA, PARCHAM
Vietnamese:
CO
Zulu:
IDUKU, AMADUKU
Piedmontese:
Drapo

compiled from several contributors


New Zealand Maori uses two words

kara (which is a derivative of "Colour") and
haki (which is a derivative of "Jack").
L and J are not represented in the Maori alphabet, hence the substitution.

Although there is one tantalising reference from the journal of Abel Tasman (1642) to the pre-European use of flags by the Maori, the pre-European Maori word for flag (if there was one) does not seem to have survived.

stuart park, 1996-JAN-23

The French word "PAVILLON(S)" is the same (theorically) as the English "ENSIGN". Pavillon is only used now to name a flag displayed on a boat at sea. However in the past, pavillon was more used than drapeau and was the name for all the flags. When it was an ensign, we said "pavillon en mer" or "pavillon de commerce".

Other words:

  • bannière (not used now to name a flag, we use it more to say that "we put us under the bannière of a party". It was the middle-ages word for flag in France.
  • couleurs (same as colors): les couleurs de la France sont bleu-blanc-rouge.
  • pavillon de beaupré is the word for jack. I think the word "beaupré" is coming from german "Bugspriet".
  • étendard (standard) is rarely said and means in France more a sort of flag (middle-ages) than the personal flag of a head of state.
  • gonfalon/gonfanon is the word for church flags which hang vertically and have cut stripes at the bottom. (see Venice).

I advise you to have a look in the Yearbook of the French "Encyclopaedia Universalis". At the end of the book, there are flags and a glossary with many useful words which can complete what I just said.

At the beginning of the glossary of W. Smith's book (at least in the French version), there is an explanation by the translator who says that the same word doesn't mean the same in different language. Have a look at that too. I think it could be interesting to have all the different version of Smith's book (English, French, German, Spanish...) to complete the research.

pascal vagnat, 1996-JAN-23

"A magyar zászló piros, fehér, zöld"
It means: the Hungarian flag is red, white, green.

rumi tamas, 1996-JAN-25

The national anthem of Slovenia until 1941 was 'Naprej zastava Slave' - The flag of Slavia, forward.

zeljko heimer, 1996-JAN-26


The Croatian word 'bandjera' is really used in Dalmatia, in fact, in the whole coastal area of Croatia, and is influenced by Italian. On the other hand 'bandera' is a provincialism for a flag pole.

zeljko heimer, 1996-JAN-28


In Chinese it's:

     \    /
   ----- /----
     lB-- -+-+-
     lB lB  lB=lB
     lB / -----
     lB    / \
The Pinyin transscription (i.e. the one officially used in the PRC) is "QI" (pronounced as chi, for experts: rising tone). If you add the sign for country, "GUO" in Pinyin, you get the word for national flag: "guoqi".

In Japan the same two signs are used for national flag. Here they are read "kokki".

BTW, recently somebody has said "hata" to be the japanese word for flag. Indeed, the sign which I sketched above can be read in different ways, among them "ki" and "hata", which then result in different meanings.

harald müller, 1996-JAN-30



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