Chicken in Different Languages: How to Say “Chicken”

Chicken is one of the most familiar food words across cultures. Whether you are traveling, reading an international menu, learning vocabulary, cooking a recipe, or simply exploring languages, knowing how to say chicken in different languages can be surprisingly useful.

The word can refer to the bird itself or to chicken meat, and some languages use different words depending on the context. For this list, the most common everyday term is used where possible.

Chicken in All Languages: 70 Translations

Here is a simple table showing chicken in 70 different languages, including the native word, an easy English pronunciation, a practical example, and its English meaning.

#	Language	Native phrase	Easy English pronunciation	Real-life example	English meaning
1	English	Chicken	chik-en	I cooked chicken for dinner.	I cooked chicken for dinner.
2	Spanish	Pollo	POH-yoh	Me gusta el pollo.	I like chicken.
3	French	Poulet	poo-LAY	J’aime le poulet.	I like chicken.
4	German	Hähnchen	HEN-chen	Ich esse gern Hähnchen.	I like eating chicken.
5	Italian	Pollo	POL-loh	Mi piace il pollo.	I like chicken.
6	Portuguese	Frango	FRAN-goo	Eu gosto de frango.	I like chicken.
7	Dutch	Kip	kip	Ik hou van kip.	I like chicken.
8	Russian	Курица	koo-REE-tsa	Я люблю курицу.	I love chicken.
9	Ukrainian	Курка	KOOR-ka	Я люблю курку.	I love chicken.
10	Polish	Kurczak	KOOR-chak	Jem kurczaka na obiad.	I eat chicken for lunch.
11	Czech	Kuře	KOO-rzhe	Dnes jím kuře.	I am eating chicken today.
12	Slovak	Kurča	KOOR-cha	Varím kurča.	I am cooking chicken.
13	Hungarian	Csirke	CHEER-keh	Szeretem a csirkét.	I like chicken.
14	Romanian	Pui	POO-ee	Mănânc pui azi.	I am eating chicken today.
15	Greek	Κοτόπουλο	ko-TO-poo-lo	Μου αρέσει το κοτόπουλο.	I like chicken.
16	Turkish	Tavuk	ta-VOOK	Tavuk yiyorum.	I am eating chicken.
17	Arabic	دجاج	da-JAJ	أحب الدجاج.	I love chicken.
18	Hebrew	עוף	oof	אני אוהב עוף.	I like chicken.
19	Persian	مرغ	morgh	من مرغ دوست دارم.	I like chicken.
20	Hindi	चिकन	CHIK-en	मुझे चिकन पसंद है।	I like chicken.
21	Urdu	چکن	CHIK-en	مجھے چکن پسند ہے۔	I like chicken.
22	Punjabi	ਮੁਰਗ਼ੀ	MOOR-ghee	ਮੈਨੂੰ ਮੁਰਗ਼ੀ ਪਸੰਦ ਹੈ।	I like chicken.
23	Bengali	মুরগি	MOOR-gee	আমি মুরগি পছন্দ করি।	I like chicken.
24	Gujarati	ચિકન	CHIK-en	મને ચિકન ગમે છે.	I like chicken.
25	Marathi	चिकन	CHIK-en	मला चिकन आवडते.	I like chicken.
26	Nepali	कुखुरा	koo-KHOO-ra	मलाई कुखुरा मन पर्छ।	I like chicken.
27	Sinhala	කුකුල් මස්	koo-kul mas	මම කුකුල් මස් කනවා.	I eat chicken.
28	Tamil	கோழி	KOH-zhi	எனக்கு கோழி பிடிக்கும்.	I like chicken.
29	Telugu	కోడి	KOH-dee	నాకు కోడి ఇష్టం.	I like chicken.
30	Kannada	ಕೋಳಿ	KOH-lee	ನನಗೆ ಕೋಳಿ ಇಷ್ಟ.	I like chicken.
31	Malayalam	കോഴി	KOH-zhi	എനിക്ക് കോഴി ഇഷ്ടമാണ്.	I like chicken.
32	Chinese (Mandarin)	鸡肉	jee-ROH	我喜欢鸡肉。	I like chicken.
33	Japanese	鶏肉	toh-ree-nee-koo	鶏肉が好きです。	I like chicken.
34	Korean	닭고기	dalk-go-gi	저는 닭고기를 좋아해요.	I like chicken.
35	Thai	ไก่	guy	ฉันชอบไก่	I like chicken.
36	Vietnamese	Gà	gah	Tôi thích gà.	I like chicken.
37	Indonesian	Ayam	AH-yam	Saya suka ayam.	I like chicken.
38	Malay	Ayam	AH-yam	Saya suka ayam.	I like chicken.
39	Filipino	Manok	MA-nok	Gusto ko ang manok.	I like chicken.
40	Mongolian	Тахиа	ta-KHEE-a	Би тахиа иддэг.	I eat chicken.
41	Swahili	Kuku	KOO-koo	Ninapenda kuku.	I like chicken.
42	Zulu	Inkukhu	in-KOO-koo	Ngithanda inkukhu.	I like chicken.
43	Xhosa	Inkukhu	in-KOO-koo	Ndiyayithanda inkukhu.	I like chicken.
44	Afrikaans	Hoender	HOON-der	Ek hou van hoender.	I like chicken.
45	Somali	Digaag	dee-GAAG	Waxaan jeclahay digaag.	I like chicken.
46	Amharic	ዶሮ	DOH-ro	ዶሮ እወዳለሁ።	I like chicken.
47	Yoruba	Adìẹ	ah-DEE-eh	Mo fẹ́ adìẹ.	I like chicken.
48	Igbo	Okuko	oh-KOO-koh	Ana m eri okuko.	I eat chicken.
49	Hausa	Kaza	KAH-zah	Ina cin kaza.	I am eating chicken.
50	Malagasy	Akoho	ah-KOH-ho	Mihinana akoho aho.	I eat chicken.
51	Maori	Heihei	HAY-hay	Ka kai au i te heihei.	I eat chicken.
52	Hawaiian	Moa	MO-ah	ʻAi au i ka moa.	I eat chicken.
53	Samoan	Moa	MO-ah	Ou te ʻai moa.	I eat chicken.
54	Fijian	Toa	TOH-ah	Au kania toa.	I eat chicken.
55	Finnish	Kana	KAH-nah	Syön kanaa.	I eat chicken.
56	Estonian	Kana	KAH-nah	Ma söön kana.	I eat chicken.
57	Latvian	Vista	VIS-tah	Es ēdu vistu.	I eat chicken.
58	Lithuanian	Vištiena	vish-TYEH-nah	Aš valgau vištieną.	I eat chicken.
59	Swedish	Kyckling	SHICK-ling	Jag äter kyckling.	I eat chicken.
60	Norwegian	Kylling	SHILL-ing	Jeg spiser kylling.	I eat chicken.
61	Danish	Kylling	KOO-ling	Jeg spiser kylling.	I eat chicken.
62	Icelandic	Kjúklingur	KYOO-kling-ur	Ég borða kjúkling.	I eat chicken.
63	Basque	Oilasko	oy-LAHS-koh	Oilaskoa jaten dut.	I eat chicken.
64	Catalan	Pollastre	poh-YAHS-treh	Menjo pollastre.	I eat chicken.
65	Galician	Polo	POH-loh	Como polo.	I eat chicken.
66	Irish	Sicín	shi-KEEN	Ithim sicín.	I eat chicken.
67	Welsh	Cyw iâr	KOO-yar	Rwy’n bwyta cyw iâr.	I eat chicken.
68	Scottish Gaelic	Cearc	KYARK	Ith mi cearc.	I eat chicken.
69	Albanian	Pulë	POO-leh	Ha pulë sot.	I eat chicken today.
70	Serbian	Piletina	pee-leh-TEE-nah	Jedem piletinu.	I eat chicken.

The exact word can vary according to whether a speaker means the bird, a hen, a young chicken, or chicken meat. For example, English “chicken” covers several meanings, while some languages make more distinctions.

How to Say Chicken in Different Languages

The table makes it easy to see how widely the word varies. Some translations are closely related because the languages share historical roots. Spanish pollo and Italian pollo, for example, look and sound similar.

Other languages have completely different-looking words. Indonesian and Malay use ayam, Swahili uses kuku, Turkish uses tavuk, and Arabic uses دجاج. These differences make language learning especially interesting.

Chicken Translations in European Languages

European languages offer many recognizable patterns. Romance languages commonly have forms such as pollo, poulet, frango, pui, and pollastre.

Germanic languages use very different forms, including German Hähnchen, Dutch kip, Swedish kyckling, Norwegian kylling, Danish kylling, and English chicken.

Slavic languages also show related vocabulary, including Russian курица, Ukrainian курка, Polish kurczak, Czech kuře, and Slovak kurča.

Chicken Around the World

Chicken vocabulary becomes even more diverse across Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

In South Asia, you may encounter Hindi चिकन, Urdu چکن, Punjabi ਮੁਰਗ਼ੀ, Bengali মুরগি, Nepali कुखुरा, and Tamil கோழி.

Across East and Southeast Asia, common terms include Mandarin 鸡肉, Japanese 鶏肉, Korean 닭고기, Thai ไก่, Vietnamese gà, Indonesian ayam, Malay ayam, and Filipino manok.

African languages also have distinctive words, including Swahili kuku, Zulu inkukhu, Somali digaag, Amharic ዶሮ, Yoruba adìẹ, and Hausa kaza.

Chicken as Food vs. the Chicken Bird

One useful point when learning chicken translations is that the English word can have more than one meaning.

“Chicken” may describe the living bird, while “chicken” can also mean the meat served as food. Other languages may use separate vocabulary for these meanings.

For example, Mandarin commonly uses 鸡 for chicken as a bird and 鸡肉 for chicken meat. Similarly, English dictionaries distinguish the bird from its meat.

This distinction matters when ordering food, reading recipes, or creating accurate translations.

Useful Chicken Vocabulary for Travelers

Knowing just the word for chicken can be helpful when traveling, but a few related phrases can make communication easier.

You might want to learn phrases such as:

• chicken soup
• grilled chicken
• fried chicken
• chicken rice
• chicken sandwich
• chicken breast
• chicken wings
• I would like chicken
• I don’t eat chicken
• Is this chicken?

Learning these expressions together with the basic food vocabulary can make restaurant conversations much easier.

Why Learn “Chicken” in Different Languages?

There are several practical reasons to learn this simple word.

Travel: Knowing food vocabulary can help you understand menus and communicate basic preferences.

Language learning: Everyday nouns are useful building blocks for forming sentences.

Cooking: International recipes frequently use local names for ingredients.

Culture: Food vocabulary provides a simple way to discover similarities and differences between languages.

Communication: Even one familiar word can make an interaction more comfortable when you are speaking with someone in another language.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you say chicken in different languages?

“Chicken” has many translations. Some common examples are pollo in Spanish and Italian, poulet in French, frango in Portuguese, kip in Dutch, tavuk in Turkish, ayam in Indonesian and Malay, kuku in Swahili, and manok in Filipino.

2. What is chicken in the most common languages?

Some widely used translations include pollo in Spanish, poulet in French, Hähnchen in German, pollo in Italian, frango in Portuguese, 鸡肉 in Mandarin, 鶏肉 in Japanese, 닭고기 in Korean, دجاج in Arabic, चिकन in Hindi, and چکن in Urdu.

3. How do you say chicken in Asian languages?

Examples include 鸡肉 in Mandarin, 鶏肉 in Japanese, 닭고기 in Korean, ไก่ in Thai, gà in Vietnamese, ayam in Indonesian and Malay, manok in Filipino, கோழி in Tamil, and को कुखुरा in Nepali.

4. How do you say chicken in European languages?

Examples include pollo in Spanish and Italian, poulet in French, Hähnchen in German, frango in Portuguese, kip in Dutch, kurczak in Polish, kuře in Czech, pui in Romanian, kylling in Norwegian and Danish, and kyckling in Swedish.

5. Why are chicken translations different from one language to another?

Languages developed independently across different regions and cultures, so the same animal or food can have very different names. Historical relationships between languages can explain some similarities, while borrowing, sound changes, and local vocabulary explain many differences.

Conclusion

Learning chicken in different languages is a simple way to expand your vocabulary and explore how people around the world talk about food. From pollo and poulet to ayam, kuku, tavuk, and manok, these 70 translations show the remarkable variety of everyday language.

Whether you are studying languages, traveling, reading international menus, or simply curious about chicken around the world, this list provides a convenient starting point for learning and comparison.