City in Different Languages: How to Say “City”

The word “city” is one of the most useful everyday words for travelers, language learners, writers, and anyone interested in world languages. Although the idea of a city is universal, the word itself changes significantly from one language to another.

If you are searching for city in all languages, wondering how to say city in different languages, or looking for useful city translations, this guide gives you 70 carefully selected languages in one easy-to-read table.

You will find the native word, an easy English pronunciation, a short example sentence, and the English meaning. This makes it easier to understand how the word city is actually used in everyday communication around the world.

What Does “City” Mean?

A city is generally a large and densely populated urban settlement with buildings, roads, businesses, public services, and communities.

The exact definition of a city can vary between countries because different governments use different population, administrative, or legal standards. However, the basic idea remains similar: a city is a significant urban place where many people live and work.

City in Different Languages: 70 Translations

Here is a practical collection of city in different languages, including common native forms and simple pronunciation guides.

#	Language	Native Phrase	Easy English Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
1	Afrikaans	stad	staht	Ek woon in die stad.	I live in the city.
2	Albanian	qytet	CHOO-et	Ky qytet është i bukur.	This city is beautiful.
3	Amharic	ከተማ	keh-teh-ma	ይህ ከተማ ትልቅ ነው።	This city is large.
4	Arabic	مدينة	ma-DEE-na	هذه مدينة جميلة.	This is a beautiful city.
5	Armenian	քաղաք	kah-GHAHK	Այս քաղաքը գեղեցիկ է։	This city is beautiful.
6	Assamese	চহৰ	SO-ho-r	এই চহৰখন ধুনীয়া।	This city is beautiful.
7	Aymara	jach’a marka	HAH-cha MAR-ka	Jach’a marka wali suma-wa.	The city is very beautiful.
8	Azerbaijani	şəhər	sheh-HER	Bu şəhər çox gözəldir.	This city is very beautiful.
9	Basque	hiria	hee-REE-ah	Hiria handia da.	The city is large.
10	Belarusian	горад	HO-rat	Гэты горад прыгожы.	This city is beautiful.
11	Bengali	শহর	SHO-hor	এই শহরটি সুন্দর।	This city is beautiful.
12	Bhojpuri	शहर	sha-HAR	ई शहर बहुत सुंदर बा।	This city is very beautiful.
13	Bosnian	grad	grahd	Ovaj grad je lijep.	This city is beautiful.
14	Bulgarian	град	graht	Този град е красив.	This city is beautiful.
15	Burmese	မြို့	myoh	ဒီမြို့က လှတယ်။	This city is beautiful.
16	Catalan	ciutat	see-oo-TAHT	Aquesta ciutat és gran.	This city is large.
17	Cebuano	siyudad	see-yoo-DAD	Matahum ang siyudad.	The city is beautiful.
18	Chinese (Simplified)	城市	chéng-shì	这个城市很漂亮。	This city is beautiful.
19	Chinese (Traditional)	城市	chéng-shì	這個城市很漂亮。	This city is beautiful.
20	Corsican	cità	chee-TAH	A cità hè bella.	The city is beautiful.
21	Croatian	grad	grahd	Ovaj grad je lijep.	This city is beautiful.
22	Czech	město	MYEH-stoh	Toto město je krásné.	This city is beautiful.
23	Danish	by	boo	Denne by er smuk.	This city is beautiful.
24	Dhivehi	ޝަހަރު	sha-ha-roo	މި ޝަހަރަކީ ރީތި ޝަހަރެއް.	This is a beautiful city.
25	Dutch	stad	staht	Deze stad is mooi.	This city is beautiful.
26	Esperanto	urbo	OOR-boh	Ĉi tiu urbo estas bela.	This city is beautiful.
27	Estonian	linn	linn	See linn on ilus.	This city is beautiful.
28	Ewe	dugã	doo-GAH	Dugã la nyo.	The city is beautiful.
29	Filipino	lungsod	LOONG-sod	Maganda ang lungsod.	The city is beautiful.
30	Finnish	kaupunki	KOW-poon-kee	Tämä kaupunki on kaunis.	This city is beautiful.
31	French	ville	veel	Cette ville est belle.	This city is beautiful.
32	Galician	cidade	see-DAH-deh	Esta cidade é fermosa.	This city is beautiful.
33	Georgian	ქალაქი	ka-la-kee	ეს ქალაქი ლამაზია.	This city is beautiful.
34	German	Stadt	shtat	Diese Stadt ist schön.	This city is beautiful.
35	Greek	πόλη	PO-lee	Αυτή η πόλη είναι όμορφη.	This city is beautiful.
36	Gujarati	શહેર	SHA-her	આ શહેર સુંદર છે.	This city is beautiful.
37	Haitian Creole	vil	veel	Vil la bèl.	The city is beautiful.
38	Hausa	birni	BEER-nee	Wannan birni yana da kyau.	This city is beautiful.
39	Hawaiian	kulanakauhale	koo-lah-nah-kow-HAH-leh	He nani kēia kulanakauhale.	This city is beautiful.
40	Hebrew	עיר	EER	העיר הזאת יפה.	This city is beautiful.
41	Hindi	शहर	SHA-har	यह शहर बहुत सुंदर है।	This city is very beautiful.
42	Hungarian	város	VAA-rosh	Ez a város szép.	This city is beautiful.
43	Icelandic	borg	por-k	Þessi borg er falleg.	This city is beautiful.
44	Indonesian	kota	KOH-ta	Kota ini indah.	This city is beautiful.
45	Irish	cathair	KA-hir	Tá an chathair go hálainn.	The city is beautiful.
46	Italian	città	chee-TAH	Questa città è bella.	This city is beautiful.
47	Japanese	都市	TO-shi	この都市は美しいです。	This city is beautiful.
48	Javanese	kutha	KOO-thah	Kutha iki apik.	This city is beautiful.
49	Kannada	ನಗರ	NA-ga-ra	ಈ ನಗರ ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿದೆ.	This city is beautiful.
50	Kazakh	қала	qa-LA	Бұл қала әдемі.	This city is beautiful.
51	Khmer	ទីក្រុង	tii-krong	ទីក្រុងនេះស្អាត។	This city is beautiful.
52	Korean	도시	do-si	이 도시는 아름다워요.	This city is beautiful.
53	Lao	ເມືອງ	meuang	ເມືອງນີ້ງາມ.	This city is beautiful.
54	Latin	urbs	oorbs	Haec urbs pulchra est.	This city is beautiful.
55	Latvian	pilsēta	pil-SAY-ta	Šī pilsēta ir skaista.	This city is beautiful.
56	Lithuanian	miestas	MYES-tas	Šis miestas yra gražus.	This city is beautiful.
57	Malagasy	tanàna	ta-NAH-na	Tsara ity tanàna ity.	This city is beautiful.
58	Malay	bandar	BAHN-dar	Bandar ini cantik.	This city is beautiful.
59	Malayalam	നഗരം	na-ga-ram	ഈ നഗരം മനോഹരമാണ്.	This city is beautiful.
60	Marathi	शहर	sha-HAR	हे शहर सुंदर आहे.	This city is beautiful.
61	Mongolian	хот	khot	Энэ хот үзэсгэлэнтэй.	This city is beautiful.
62	Nepali	शहर	sha-HAR	यो शहर सुन्दर छ।	This city is beautiful.
63	Norwegian	by	bee	Denne byen er vakker.	This city is beautiful.
64	Persian	شهر	shahr	این شهر زیباست.	This city is beautiful.
65	Polish	miasto	MYA-stoh	To miasto jest piękne.	This city is beautiful.
66	Portuguese	cidade	see-DAH-deh	Esta cidade é bonita.	This city is beautiful.
67	Romanian	oraș	oh-RASH	Acest oraș este frumos.	This city is beautiful.
68	Russian	город	GO-rat	Этот город красивый.	This city is beautiful.
69	Serbian	град	grahd	Ovaj grad je lep.	This city is beautiful.
70	Slovak	mesto	MES-toh	Toto mesto je krásne.	This city is beautiful.

How to Say “City” in Different Languages

There is no single universal translation for city. The word changes according to the language and its grammatical system.

For example, some familiar forms include ville in French, ciudad in Spanish, Stadt in German, città in Italian, miasto in Polish, город in Russian, and şehir in Turkish.

In some languages, the same word may be used for both a city and a broader urban settlement, while other languages have separate words for concepts such as “town,” “large city,” “capital,” or “metropolis.”

City Translations Around the World

The variety of words for city shows how languages develop their own vocabulary for places and communities.

Romance languages often have forms related to historical Latin vocabulary. Germanic languages have their own distinct terms, while Slavic languages frequently use related forms such as grad, gorod, or miasto.

Asian languages can use completely different structures. For example, Mandarin Chinese uses 城市, Japanese commonly uses 都市, and Korean uses 도시.

These differences make city translations especially interesting for language learners.

Why Learn the Word “City” in Other Languages?

Learning a basic word such as “city” can be useful in many situations.

Travel

You may need the word when asking about a destination, discussing transportation, finding accommodation, or talking about where you live.

Language Learning

Common nouns provide a useful foundation for building sentences. Once you know the local word for city, you can combine it with words such as “beautiful,” “large,” “old,” “capital,” or “near.”

Cultural Understanding

Different languages divide concepts differently. Learning the local vocabulary can give you a better understanding of how people describe their surroundings.

Writing and Communication

Knowing city in all languages can also help writers, students, translators, and multilingual content creators choose appropriate terminology.

City vs. Town: Are They the Same?

Not always.

In English, a city generally refers to a larger or officially recognized urban settlement, while a town is often smaller. However, the distinction varies greatly between countries.

Some languages have words that can cover a wider range of meanings than the English word “city.” Therefore, direct word-for-word translation does not always capture every cultural or administrative distinction.

Useful Phrases With “City”

Once you know how to say city, you can build many practical phrases.

Common examples include:

• big city
• small city
• beautiful city
• old city
• modern city
• capital city
• city center
• city life
• city park
• city streets
• near the city
• in the city

These phrases are particularly useful when traveling or learning conversational vocabulary.

How to Pronounce “City” in Different Languages

Pronunciation varies considerably across languages.

Some languages use sounds that are familiar to English speakers, while others contain sounds, tones, or writing systems that require more practice. The pronunciation guides in the table are intentionally simplified for English readers rather than being strict phonetic transcriptions.

For accurate pronunciation, it is also important to remember that regional accents can change how a word sounds.

City in All Languages: A Quick Comparison

Some of the most recognizable translations are:

• English: city
• French: ville
• Spanish: ciudad
• Italian: città
• German: Stadt
• Portuguese: cidade
• Dutch: stad
• Greek: πόλη
• Russian: город
• Polish: miasto
• Arabic: مدينة
• Hindi: शहर
• Persian: شهر
• Chinese: 城市
• Japanese: 都市
• Korean: 도시
• Indonesian: kota
• Turkish: şehir

This quick comparison makes it easy to see how different languages express the same everyday idea.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you say “city” in different languages?

The word “city” has many different translations. Examples include ville in French, ciudad in Spanish, Stadt in German, città in Italian, город in Russian, 城市 in Chinese, and 도시 in Korean.

2. What is “city” in 10 different languages?

Ten examples are English city, French ville, Spanish ciudad, German Stadt, Italian città, Portuguese cidade, Russian город, Polish miasto, Arabic مدينة, and Hindi शहर.

3. What is the most common translation of “city”?

There is no single translation that is common across all languages. Every language has its own standard term, although some languages may have several words depending on size, location, or context.

4. How do you say “city” in European languages?

Examples include ville in French, ciudad in Spanish, Stadt in German, città in Italian, cidade in Portuguese, miasto in Polish, mesto in Slovak, město in Czech, and pilsēta in Latvian.

5. Why are there different words for “city” around the world?

Languages developed independently through different histories, cultures, and language families. As a result, the same concept can have completely different words and pronunciation patterns in different regions.

Conclusion

The word “city” may describe the same basic idea around the world, but its translation changes from language to language. From ville and ciudad to Stadt, città, miasto, 城市, and 도시, these 70 translations demonstrate the incredible variety of human language.

Whether you are traveling, studying languages, writing multilingual content, or simply curious about city around the world, learning these words is a simple and useful way to explore global vocabulary.