It doesn’t matter where they live in the world, how we met them or even how long we’ve known them – our friends mean the world to us!
Friendships take on many forms. Perhaps you were at school together as children, maybe you work together, or love the same books and movies. Or (quite often for me) you’re all fans of the Eurovision Song Contest! For many of us, our friends are what make our lives feel fun, exciting and fulfilled.
So whether its your mates, your crew, your BFFs or even your FWBs, here’s how to say friend in the 50 languages of Europe in a Day!
Some languages differentiate between male and female friends and in those cases the words have been listed like so: (Male friend / Female friend). Also, remember that in some cultures their terms for “friend” are also used interchangeably with “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” – so you might find yourself explaining you’re not a couple!!
- Albanian – Mik
- Arabic – صديقة /صديق (Sadiq / Sadiqa)
- Armenian – ընկեր / ընկերուհի (Enker / Enkeruhi)
- Azerbaijani – Dost
- Basque – Lagun
- Belarusian – Сябар (Syabar)
- Bulgarian – Приятел / Приятелка (Priyatel / Priyatelka)
- Catalan – Amic / Amiga
- Croatian – Prijatelj / Prijateljica
- Czech – Přítel / Přítelkyně
- Danish – Ven / Veninde
- Dutch – Vriend / Vriendin
- Estonian – Sõber
- Faroese – Vinur / Vinkona
- Finnish – Ystävä
- French – Ami / Amie
- Georgian – მეგობარი (Megobari)
- German – Freund / Freundin
- Greek – Φίλος / Φίλη (Fílos / Fíli)
- Greenlandic – Ikinngut
- Hungarian – Barát / Barátnő
- Icelandic – Vinur / Vinkona
- Irish Gaelic – Cara
- Italian – Amico / Amica
- Jèrriais – Anmîn / Anmie
- Latin – Amicus / Amica
- Latvian – Draugs / Draudzene
- Lithuanian – Draugas / Draugė
- Low German – Fründ / Fründin
- Luxembourgish – Frënd / Frëndin
- Macedonian – Пријател / Пријателка (Prijatel / Prijatelka)
- Maltese – Ħabib / Ħabiba
- Manx – Carrey
- Monégasque – Amigu / Amiga
- Northern Sami – Ustit
- Norwegian – Venn / Venninne
- Polish – Przyjaciel / Przyjaciółka
- Portuguese – Amigo / Amiga
- Romanian – Prieten / Prietenă
- Russian – Друг / Подруга (Drug / Podruga)
- Scots Gaelic – Caraid
- Serbian – Пријатељ / Пријатељица (Prijatelj / Prijateljica)
- Slovak – Priateľ / Priateľka
- Slovene – Prijatelj / Prijateljica
- Spanish – Amigo / Amiga
- Swedish – Vän
- Swiss German – Fründ / Fründin
- Turkish – Arkadaş
- Ukrainian – Друг / Подруга (Druh / Podruha)
- Welsh – Ffrind
Author: James Scanlan
Banner Image Source: linguaholic.com
Europe in a Day 