Surfing is a universal language. Do you know how to write the name of your favorite sport in Mandarin?
Let's learn how to jot down "surfing" in the 35 most spoken languages. International English is a global language, but it is not alone in the world.
To get things started, we should keep in mind that there are approximately 955 million Mandarin native speakers, i.e., 14.4 percent of the world population.
We've traced the origin of the word "surfing," and we know that, in Hawaiian, "he'e nalu" stands for "to surf waves."
Now, it's time to travel the planet and ask how you write it down in multiple languages.
Interestingly, many languages have adopted the English word or, at least, part of the expression.
The Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, and Swedish, for example, have decided to keep the core of the term.
Others - basically the majority of the languages that do not follow the Latin alphabet - have set their own graphic design to express the sport of surfing in written form.
The Word "Surfing" in 35 Languages
Let's see how surfing is typed on the keyboards of the world:
Language | Native Speakers (millions) | Translation |
---|---|---|
Mandarin | 955 | 冲浪 |
Spanish | 405 | surf |
English | 360 | surfing |
Hindi | 310 | सर्फ़िंग |
Arabic | 295 | ركوب الأمواج |
Portuguese | 215 | surf/surfe |
Bengali | 205 | সার্ফিং |
Russian | 155 | серфинг |
Japanese | 125 | サーフィン |
Punjabi | 102 | ਤਰੰਗ |
German | 89 | surfen |
Javanese | 82 | selancar |
Malay/Indonesian | 77 | berselancar |
Telugu | 76 | సర్ఫింగ్ |
Vietnamese | 76 | lướt sóng |
Korean | 76 | 서핑 |
French | 74 | surf |
Marathi | 73 | सर्फ |
Tamil | 70 | உலாவல் |
Urdu | 66 | سرفنگ |
Persian | 65 | گشت و گذار |
Turkish | 63 | sörf |
Italian | 59 | surfing |
Thai | 56 | ท่อง |
Gujarati | 49 | સર્ફિંગ |
Polish | 40 | surfowanie/surfing |
Kannada | 38 | ಸರ್ಫಿಂಗ್ |
Malayalam | 38 | സർഫിംഗ് |
Ukrainian | 30 | серфінг |
Nepali | 17 | सर्फिङ |
Hungarian | 13 | szörfözés |
Greek | 12 | σέρφινγκ |
Czech | 10 | surfování |
Swedish | 8.7 | surfning/surfing |
Belarusian | 7.6 | сёрфінг |
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com