WordStudyEnglish words used in other languages
Lists of English loanwords for 12 languages: how people write them at home, what they mean in English, and where the meaning drifted.
Manager, weekend, online, marketing, smartphone: these English words now live inside many other languages. For a learner that is good news, because each one is a word you can already read.
Each list below is written for speakers of that language, in that language. It is not one list translated many times: Turkish took different words from English than Russian did, and spells them in its own way.
Some loans kept the English meaning and some moved away from it. In Brazil, a «notebook» is a laptop, not a paper book for notes. Each list marks these words, so you know which ones need a second look.
English words used in Russian (80)
80 words · 22 changed their meaning
file → файлsmartphone → смартфонgadget → гаджетbrowser → браузерserver → сервер
English words used in Turkish (80)
80 words · 16 changed their meaning
chip → çiptroll → trollobby → lobisandwich → sandviçchips → cips
Türkçede kullanılan İngilizce kelimeler — anlamlarıyla liste
English words used in Romanian (80)
80 words · 23 changed their meaning
email → e-mailsandwich → sandvișjam → gemcocktail → cocteilfootball → fotbal
English words used in Ukrainian (80)
80 words · 12 changed their meaning
file → файлprinter → принтерsmartphone → смартфонgadget → гаджетrouter → роутер
English loanwords in Korean (80)
80 words · 15 changed their meaning
computer → 컴퓨터camera → 카메라app → 앱keyboard → 키보드program → 프로그램
English words used in Spanish (80)
80 words · 20 changed their meaning
scanner → escánerclick → cliccheck → chequearmanager → mánagerstress → estrés
English words used in Brazilian Portuguese (80)
80 words · 23 changed their meaning
email → e-mailclick → clicarwebsite → sitestress → estressehamburger → hambúrguer
English words used in Indonesian (80)
80 words · 10 changed their meaning
computer → komputerclick → klikpost → postingaccount → akuncontent → konten
English loanwords in Japanese (80)
80 words · 9 changed their meaning
camera → カメラapp → アプリcomputer → コンピューターkeyboard → キーボードdownload → ダウンロード
English words used in Vietnamese (80)
80 words · 16 changed their meaning
jeans → jeanfile → filelaptop → laptopscan → scanchip → chip
English words used in French (80)
80 words · 24 changed their meaning
smartphone → le smartphonedrone → le dronescanner → le scannerbug → le bugwebcam → la webcam
English words used in German (80)
80 words · 9 changed their meaning
computer → der Computerapp → die Applaptop → der Laptopdownload → der Downloadsmartphone → das Smartphone
Frequently asked questions
What is a loanword?
A loanword is a word that one language takes from another and keeps using, often with its own spelling and pronunciation. Russian «менеджер» and Turkish «menajer» are loanwords from English «manager».
Why do so many languages borrow English words?
Most of the borrowing comes with new things: computers, the internet, business, sport, music and food. When a new idea arrives together with its English name, the name often stays.
Does a loanword always mean the same as in English?
No. Many loans keep the meaning, but some get narrower, wider or simply different. Those are the ones to watch when you speak English, and each list marks them.
How do loanwords help me learn English?
They give you a head start: you can recognise these words in English texts right away. Learn the correct English spelling and pronunciation, and check the few whose meaning changed.
Keep going
- False friends in English
- How many English words do you know? Take the test
- English dictionary by CEFR level
More languages are on the way. Levels (A1–C2) come from the WordStudy dictionary.
