Have You Ever Wondered How to Say “Big” in Different Languages?
Discovering how to say “big” in different languages enriches your language knowledge and brings you closer to diverse cultures.
Whether you’re passionate about languages, fascinated by cross-cultural expressions, or just curious about size words, learning to say “big” in different languages can be interesting and useful.
This guide explores translations, pronunciations, and cultural nuances of the word “big” across more than 100 languages.
Why Understanding “Big” Is Important
“Big” is a simple yet powerful word, commonly used to describe size, importance, and even status. Knowing how to express “big” in various languages can broaden your understanding of how different cultures describe magnitude and significance.
Saying “Big” in European Languages
Western European Languages
- English: Big (pronounced BIG)
- French: Grand (pronounced grahn)
- German: Groß (pronounced gross)
- Spanish: Grande (pronounced GRAHN-deh)
- Italian: Grande (pronounced GRAHN-deh)
- Portuguese: Grande (pronounced GRAHN-deh)
- Dutch: Groot (pronounced hrote)
- Catalan: Gran (pronounced grahn)
Northern European Languages
- Swedish: Stor (pronounced stohr)
- Danish: Stor (pronounced stohr)
- Norwegian: Stor (pronounced stohr)
- Finnish: Iso (pronounced ee-soh)
- Icelandic: Stór (pronounced stohr)
Eastern European Languages
- Russian: Большой (pronounced bol-SHOY)
- Polish: Duży (pronounced DOO-zhee)
- Czech: Velký (pronounced VEL-kee)
- Hungarian: Nagy (pronounced nawd-y)
- Slovak: Veľký (pronounced VYEL-kee)
- Ukrainian: Великий (pronounced veh-LEE-kee)
- Bulgarian: Голям (pronounced go-LYAM)
- Serbian: Велики (pronounced VEH-lee-kee)
Celtic Languages
- Irish Gaelic: Mór (pronounced mohr)
- Scottish Gaelic: Mòr (pronounced mohr)
- Welsh: Mawr (pronounced mawr)
Other European Languages
- Basque: Handia (pronounced hahn-DEE-ah)
- Maltese: Kbir (pronounced kbeer)
- Albanian: I madh (pronounced ee madh)
Saying “Big” in Asian Languages
East Asian Languages
- Chinese (Simplified): 大 (pronounced dà)
- Chinese (Traditional): 大 (pronounced dà)
- Japanese: 大きい (pronounced OH-kee)
- Korean: 큰 (pronounced keun)
South Asian Languages
- Hindi: बड़ा (pronounced buh-RAH)
- Bengali: বড় (pronounced baw-roh)
- Tamil: Periya (pronounced peh-ree-yah)
- Urdu: بڑا (pronounced buh-RAH)
- Punjabi: ਵੱਡਾ (pronounced vuh-DAH)
- Telugu: పెద్ద (pronounced pehd-dah)
- Gujarati: મોટું (pronounced moh-too)
- Kannada: ದೊಡ್ಡ (pronounced doh-dah)
Southeast Asian Languages
- Thai: ใหญ่ (pronounced yai)
- Vietnamese: Lớn (pronounced lurn)
- Indonesian: Besar (pronounced beh-SAHR)
- Malay: Besar (pronounced beh-SAHR)
- Khmer (Cambodian): ធំ (pronounced thom)
- Burmese (Myanmar): ကြီး (pronounced ji)
Central Asian Languages
- Kazakh: Үлкен (pronounced ool-KEN)
- Uzbek: Katta (pronounced kaht-tah)
- Turkmen: Uly (pronounced oo-loo)
- Tajik: Калон (pronounced kah-lohn)
Saying “Big” in Middle-Eastern Languages
- Arabic: كبير (pronounced kah-BEER)
- Hebrew: גדול (pronounced gah-DOLE)
- Persian (Farsi): بزرگ (pronounced boh-ZORG)
- Turkish: Büyük (pronounced byoo-YOOK)
- Kurdish (Sorani): گهوره (pronounced gah-WEH-rah)
Saying “Big” in African Languages
- Swahili: Kubwa (pronounced koo-bwah)
- Zulu: Khulu (pronounced koo-loo)
- Afrikaans: Groot (pronounced hrote)
- Amharic: ትልቅ (pronounced til-ik)
- Yoruba: Nla (pronounced en-lah)
- Igbo: Ukwu (pronounced oo-koo)
- Hausa: Babba (pronounced bah-bah)
- Somali: Weyn (pronounced weyn)
Saying “Big” in Austronesian Languages
- Filipino (Tagalog): Malaki (pronounced mah-lah-KEE)
- Cebuano: Dako (pronounced dah-koh)
- Maori: Nui (pronounced noo-ee)
- Hawaiian: Nui (pronounced noo-ee)
- Javanese: Gedhe (pronounced geh-deh)
- Malagasy: Lehibe (pronounced lay-HEE-beh)
Saying “Big” in Indigenous Languages
Native American Languages
- Quechua: Hatun (pronounced hah-TOON)
- Navajo: Bidááʼ (pronounced bee-DAAH)
Australian Aboriginal Languages
- Pitjantjatjara: Tjara (representing size and significance)
More Translations of BIG in Different Languages
- Amharic (Ethiopia): ትልቅ (til-ik)
- Georgian: დიდი (dee-dee)
- Mongolian: Том (tom)
- Nepali: ठूलो (thoo-lo)
- Sinhala (Sri Lanka): ලොකු (lo-ku)
- Xhosa (South Africa): Enkulu (en-KOO-loo)
- Estonian: Suur (soor)
- Latvian: Liels (lee-els)
- Lithuanian: Didelis (dee-deh-lis)
- Macedonian: Голем (go-lem)
- Armenian: Մեծ (mets)
- French: Grand (grahn)
- German: Groß (gros)
- Spanish: Grande (gran-deh)
- Italian: Grande (grahn-deh)
- Portuguese: Grande (grahn-deh)
- Dutch: Groot (hrote)
- Catalan: Gran (grahn)
- Swedish: Stor (stohr)
- Danish: Stor (stohr)
- Norwegian: Stor (stohr)
- Finnish: Iso (ee-so)
- Icelandic: Stór (stohr)
- Russian: Большой (bol-SHOY)
- Polish: Duży (doo-zhih)
- Czech: Velký (vel-kee)
- Hungarian: Nagy (nah-dy)
- Slovak: Veľký (vel-kee)
- Ukrainian: Великий (veh-LEE-key)
- Bulgarian: Голям (go-LYAM)
- Serbian: Велики (veh-LEE-kee)
- Irish Gaelic: Mór (mohr)
- Scottish Gaelic: Mòr (mohr)
- Welsh: Mawr (maur)
- Basque: Handia (ahn-dee-ah)
- Maltese: Kbir (kbeer)
- Albanian: Madh (mah-th)
- Chinese (Simplified): 大 (dà)
- Chinese (Traditional): 大 (dà)
- Japanese: 大きい (ō-kee)
- Korean: 큰 (keun)
- Hindi: बड़ा (bada)
- Bengali: বড় (bo-ro)
- Tamil: பெரிய (peh-ree-yah)
- Urdu: بڑا (bara)
- Punjabi: ਵੱਡਾ (vadda)
- Telugu: పెద్ద (ped-da)
- Gujarati: મોટું (mo-tun)
- Kannada: ದೊಡ್ಡ (dod-da)
- Thai: ใหญ่ (yai)
- Vietnamese: Lớn (lun)
- Indonesian: Besar (be-sar)
- Malay: Besar (be-sar)
- Khmer (Cambodian): ធំ (tom)
- Burmese (Myanmar): ကြီး (kyee)
- Kazakh: Үлкен (ul-ken)
- Uzbek: Katta (kah-tah)
- Turkmen: Uly (oo-lee)
- Tajik: Калон (kah-lon)
- Arabic: كبير (kabeer)
- Hebrew: גדול (gadol)
- Persian (Farsi): بزرگ (bozorg)
- Turkish: Büyük (boo-yook)
- Kurdish (Sorani): گەورە (ga-oo-reh)
- Swahili: Kubwa (koo-bwa)
- Zulu: Mkulu (mm-KOO-loo)
- Afrikaans: Groot (hrote)
- Yoruba: Nla (in-la)
- Igbo: Uk’olu (oo-ko-loo)
- Hausa: Babba (bah-bah)
- Somali: Weyn (wayn)
- Filipino (Tagalog): Malaki (mah-lah-kee)
- Cebuano: Dako (dah-ko)
- Maori: Nui (noo-ee)
- Hawaiian: Nui (noo-ee)
- Javanese: Gede (geh-deh)
- Malagasy: Lehibe (lay-hee-bay)
- Quechua: Hatun (ha-toon)
- Navajo: Naatʼáanii (large, often used to describe something great or notable)
- Pitjantjatjara: Piti (large or big in traditional contexts)
- French (Canada): Grand (grahn)
- Haitian Creole: Gwo (gwo)
- Romanian: Mare (mah-reh)
- Greek: Μεγάλος (meh-GAH-los)
- Croatian: Velik (ve-lik)
- Bosnian: Velik (ve-lik)
- Slovenian: Velik (ve-lik)
- Esperanto: Granda (gran-dah)
- Luxembourgish: Grouss (grows)
- Azerbaijani: Böyük (boe-yook)
- Belarusian: Вялікі (vya-LEE-kee)
- Tatar: Зур (zoor)
- Bashkir: Оло (oh-lo)
- Macedonian: Голем (go-lem)
- Finnish: Iso (ee-so)
- Icelandic: Stór (stohr)
- Estonian: Suur (soor)
Pronunciation Guide and Cultural Insights
Tips for Proper Pronunciation
Mastering pronunciation is key when learning to say “big” in different languages. Here are some effective techniques to help:
- Listen and Repeat: Use language apps or online resources to listen to native speakers. Repeating after them helps to improve accuracy.
- Use Phonetic Spelling: Phonetic guides are useful for matching sounds, especially when the language has different rules for pronunciation.
- Practice Often: Frequent repetition and practice help reinforce correct pronunciation and make it feel natural over time.
Cultural Significance of “Big”
The concept of “big” often holds deeper cultural meaning, symbolizing greatness, grandeur, and importance:
- National Symbols: In many cultures, landmarks, events, or historical figures described as “big” are often symbols of pride or significance.
- Literary and Artistic Expression: “big” is commonly used in art and literature to represent important themes or characters, highlighting importance or scale.
- Human Achievements: “big” can refer to groundbreaking events or accomplishments, emphasizing their impact and magnitude.
Translation, Meaning, and Usage in Sentences
Here’s how “big” is expressed in several languages, along with its meaning and example usage:
French
- Translation: Grand
- Meaning: Big
- Sentence: Cette ville est très grande. (This city is very big.)
Russian
- Translation: Большой (bol-SHOY)
- Meaning: Big
- Sentence: Это очень большое здание. (This is a very big building.)
Swahili
- Translation: Kubwa
- Meaning: Big
- Sentence: Mlima Kilimanjaro ni mlima mkubwa. (Mount Kilimanjaro is a big mountain.)
Arabic
- Translation: كبير (kabeer)
- Meaning: Big
- Sentence: هذا منزل كبير. (This is a big house.)
Hindi
- Translation: बड़ा (bada)
- Meaning: Big
- Sentence: यह एक बड़ा शहर है। (This is a big city.)
Conclusion
Exploring how to say “big” in different languages illuminates the unique ways various cultures view size and importance. Each translation captures the essence of largeness while reflecting cultural nuances around size and significance.
Learning these translations expands your vocabulary and deepens your appreciation for cultural perspectives. Whether you’re studying languages, exploring cultural insights, or simply curious, knowing how different communities express “big” provides valuable insight into shared human experiences of grandeur and importance.
Reference: Stanford University Linguistics Department
