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Flag in different languages

Norwegian:: FLAGG
Danish:: FLAG
Swedish:: FLAGGA
German:: FLAGGE, FAHNE
Dutch:: VLAG
Frisian (second official language in the Dutch province of Friesland):: FLAGGE
Afrikaans:: VLAG, pl. VLAE
Russian:: ZNAM'YA
Croatian:: ZASTAVA, BARJAK, STIJEG; PLAMENAC
Slovenian:: ZASTAVA
Chech:: VLAJKA, PRAPOR
Polish:: FLAGA, PRAPORZEC
Bulgarian:: ZNAME, FLAG, BAJRAK (slang)
Latin:: VEXILLUM
Portuguese:: BANDEIRA
Spanish:: BANDERA
Italian:: BANDIERA
French:: DRAPEAU, PAVILLON
Estonian:: LIPP
Finnish:: LIPPU
Hungarian:: ZÁSZLÓ, Lobogó
Welsh:: BANER, FFLAG; LLECH
Hebrew:: DEGEL, NES (meaning also miracle)
Japanese:: HATTA
Chinese:: QI
Hindustani:: JHANDA
Indonesian and Malay:: BENDERA (probably influenced by Portuguese)
Tahitian:: REVA
Asante, Twi and Fante (west Africa):: FRANKAA
Esperanto:: FLAGO, pl. FLAGOJ

compiled from several contributors

New Zealand Maori uses two words

kara (which is a derivative of "Colour") and

haki (which is a derivative of "Jack").

L and J are not represented in the Maori alphabet, hence the substitution.

Although there is one tantalising reference from the journal of Abel Tasman (1642) to the pre-European use of flags by the Maori, the pre-European Maori word for flag (if there was one) does not seem to have survived.

stuart park 23-JAN-1996

The French word "PAVILLON(S)" is the same (theorically) as the English "ENSIGN".Pavillon is only used now to name a flag displayed on a boat at see.However in the past, pavillon was more used than drapeau and was the name for all the flags.When it was an ensign, we said "pavillon en mer" or "pavillon de commerce".

Other words:

banniere (not used now to name a flag, we use it more to say that "we put us under the banniere of a party".It was the middle-ages word for flag in France.
couleurs (same as colors): les couleurs de la France sont bleu-blanc-rouge.
pavillon de beaupre is the word for jack.I think the word "beaupre" is coming from german "Bugspriet".
etendard (standard) is rarely said and means in France more a sort of flag (middle-ages) than the personal flag of a head of state.
gonfalon/gonfanon is the word for church flags which are hanged vertically and have cutted stripes at the bottom.(see Venice).

I advice to have a look in the Year book of the french "Encyclopaedia universalis".At the end of the book, there are flags and a glossary with many useful words which can complete what I just said.

At the beginning of the glossary of W.Smith's book (at least in the french version), there is an explanation of the translator who says that the same word doesn't mean the same in different language.Have a look in it.I think it could be interesting to have all the different version of Smith's book (english, french, german, spanish...) to complete the research.

pascal vagnat 23-JAN-1996

"A magyar zászló piros, fehér, zöld"

It means: the Hungarian flag is red, white, green.

rumi tamas 25-JAN-1996

The national anthem of Slovenia until 1941 was 'Naprej zastava Slave' - The flag of Slavia, forward.

zeljko heimer 26-JAN-1996

The Croatian word 'bandjera' is really used in Dalmatia, in fact, in whole coastal area of Croatia, and is influenced by Italian. On the other hand 'bandera' is a provincialism for a flag pole.

zeljko heimer 28-JAN-1996

In Chinese it's:

     \    /
   ----- /----
     lB-- -+-+-
     lB lB  lB=lB
     lB / -----
     lB    / \

The Pinyin transscription (i.e. the one officially used in the PRC) is "QI" (pronounced as chi, for experts: rising tone). If you add the sign for country, "GUO" in Pinyin, you get the word for national flag: "guoqi".

In Japan the same two signs are used for national flag. Here they are read "kokki".

BTW, recently somebody has said "hata" to be the japanese word for flag. Indeed, the sign which I sketched above can be read in different ways, among them "ki" and "hata", which then result in different meanings.

harald mueller 30-JAN-1996