What are some universal words that mean the same thing in different languages?

Question

Looking for a list of words like telephone, chocolate, etc.

Answer 1

Number 1 most recoginzable word in the world is OK, Number 2 is Coca-Cola!

Answer 2

Universal Words

Answer 3

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RE:
What are some universal words that mean the same thing in different languages?
Looking for a list of words like telephone, chocolate, etc.

Answer 4

The only really universal words are going to be borrowed words, this might come with new technology or with cultures crossing boundaries (there's a specific linguistic term for this, but I can't remember it, though I know that "borrowing words" means something else in linguistics). For example, a lot of language simply don't have words for technology that was developed (and named) by English speakers. Words like internet, modem, and the like are found across many languages.

Brand names are necessarily universal, though sometimes companies change the names slightly for different markets.

As far as cross cultural things, it depends. In English we know salsa to be the stuff in the jar with the tomatoes and jalapeños. In Spanish, the word "salsa" isn't specifically that kind, but just means "sauce" generally. We call it by the Spanish name for "sauce" in English because it came to us from Spanish speaking cultures. In places where Spanish speaking cultures/food isn't really popular, you'd probably find that stuff with a different name on it, if you find it at all.

Place names can sometimes be universal, but they're also language specific, more often than not. London, for example, is Londres in Spanish.

Answer 5

Although some other languages (countries) adopt English words since they don't have such words in their own language, to find universal words, you must look to more basic needs than telephone or chocolate.

For instance, many languages have an mmm sound in their word for mother (and what is more universal to our human existence than mother?): Mother, mom, Ma, or mum in English, madre or similar words in Spanish and other Latin-based languages, and maa (pronounced like the ma in mat) in Thai.

A quick look in Babel Fish (www.altavista.com) shows also Germanic languages with Mutter or similar, French with mere (sorry about the missing accent over the first e), and Russian with Mать (just don't ask me to pronounce this one).

Similar comparisons can be made with father and certain other universal words, but most languages have broken off long ago from a basic, all-inclusive, universal stem as our ancestors, over eons of time, went off from the original groups to seek their fortunes elsewhere in the world to create what we have today.

Universal words? Maybe not. But, some universal themes in some of those words.

Answer 6

From the Latin fenestra comes the Italian finistra
the French fenetre and the German Fenster

They all mean WINDOW its related to wind

in Spanish wind is viento therefore VENTANA

Answer 7

I know "hallelujah" is common in every language, but the writting may vary.

Example:
English = hallelujah
Spanish = aleluya
French = alleluia
Hebrew = hallelu yah ( הַלְּלוּיָהּ)

Answer 8

Rose. Many languages share a form of this one.

Answer 9

Here are a few: sack (English, French, German, Hebrew, at least), papa, mama (Romance, Slavic and Indo-European), kindergarten (a good Germanic loan word), auto

Answer 10

I don't think there are any universal words, but there are universal symbols, and sounds, laughter is universal.