The Rat Fan Club

How to Say “Rat” in Other Languages

If you have a new language to add, please email me at ratlady@ratfanclub.org.

In many European languages, the word “rat” is similar to English. It is Ratte in German, rotte in Norwegian and Danish, rott in Estonian, rata in Swedish, Italian and Spanish, rat in French, and ratazana in Portuguese.

Here is how to say “rat” in some other languages:

Abuan (Nigeria)—ókètè

Amharic (Ethiopia)—ayt

Arabic—fahr fara

Basque—arratoi

Blackfoot—omahksikanaisskiinaa

Cantonese—lou-syu

Canuilla (Southern Calif. Indian)—qáwal, yuul

Castellana—quimichin

Cayapa (Ecuador)—iyu

Kazakh—egeukuyrik

Chinese—lao see

Choco (Panama)—cado

Croation—loviti

Cuna (Panama)—nusa

Czech—krysa

Estonian—rott, rotid (plural)

Farsi (Persian)—mooshé sahrayee

Greek—αρουραίος pronounced a-rOO-re-os

Guarani (Paraguay River & Atlantic)—anguya (guasú)

Hausa (Nigeria)—bira, or kusu

Hawaiian—iole

Harari (Ethiopia)—fu’ur, fur

Hebrew—Khulda or Achbarosh (these forms are equivalent, but the former is usually used for “pet rat”)

Hopi—wupavösa

Hungarian—patkany

Indonesian—tikus

Japanese—nezumi

Kikuyu (Kenya)—mbia

Korean—jwee (chwi)

Kurdish—beleban

Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzland [Kyrgyzstan])—kelemysh

Lao—nu

Latvian—zurka

Lithuanian—ziurke

Maori (New Zealand)—kiore

Maranoa (Phillipines)—ria

Marshallese—kijdik

Mongolian—kharkh

Navaho—té’étson

Ngizin (Nigeria)—gáadàgùm

Nukuoro (a Polynesian language)—Gimoo

Polish—szczur

Punjabi (India)—chŭha

Quichua (Inca)—ucucha

Romani (Kalderas dialect)—Sobolako

Romanian—Shobolan

Russian—krisa

Sa’a (Ulawa Island, Solomon Isles)—‘asuhe or likisi to’i

Shoshone—kawan

Swahili—panya or puku

Tagalog—daga

Tatar—kuse

Thai—nŏo

Vietnamese—chuot

Welsh—ffrengig

Thanks to Andras Rajki for the entries for Cantonese, Kazakh, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Lithuanian, Mongolian, Tagalog and Tatar.

Rat Fan Club
857 Lindo Lane
Chico, CA 95973
(530) 899-0605 ratlady@ratfanclub.org