How To Say ‘Dragon’ In Different Languages

This page on how to say ‘dragon’ in different languages was published long ago in the early 2000s.

Do you hang out at Duolingo and other language apps?

Languages are a fantastic way to get to know other cultures better. And isn’t it interesting that there are so many cultures and languages that have the word ‘dragon’ as part of their vocabulary?

The following list was originally mostly compiled from Draconian.com — visit that page to view the full list of dragon words in other languages. You can also try the online dictionary at Omniglot.

Included below are some of the more well-known words!

TOP THREE REQUESTS

What is the Chinese word for dragon?

The Chinese word for dragon is ‘lóng.’ 龙

What is the Norse word for dragon?

The Norse word for dragon is ‘Ormr.’ The name Lindwyrm comes from the old norse word Linnormr which means ‘ensnaring snake.’

What is the Celtic word for dragon?

The Celtic word for dragon is ‘Aerouant.’ The masculine Breton name Erwan and French equivalent Yves come from this Celtic word.

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‘Dragon’ in Different Languages

African: Nrgwenya
Afrikaans: Draak
Albanian: Dragua

Arabic: 
Ah-teen, Tah-neen (plural),
(Al)Tineen, (Al)Tananeen (plural)

Austrian: Drach`n, Lindwurm
Bhutanese: Druk
Breton (Celtic): Aerouant
Bulgarian: Drakon (phonetic)
Catalan (N/E Spain): Drac
Cherokee: Unktena

Chinese: lung/long, Liung (Hakka dialect)

Mandarin Characters:

[Left is “long” in Traditional Chinese.
Right is “long” in Simplified Chinese.]

Spiritual Calligraphy from the Chinese character ‘long’: dragon.
from Zhongxian Wu, Introduction of “Fu”

Croatian/Serbian: Zmij, Krilat Zmaj (pronounced “Mai” means Dragon), Azdaja (pronounced “Azhdaya” means Hydra)
Czech: Drak, Dráèek (Draaachek)
Danish: Drage
Draconian: Khoth, (pl. Khothu)
Dutch: Draak
Elven/Drow: Tagnik’zur
Elvish: Fenume, Amlub, Angulooke, Looke

English: DRAGON

Estonian: Draakon, lohe, lohemadu or tuuleuss (Wind Snake), lendav madu
Finnish: lohikäärme, draakki, dragoni
Fire Witch tongue: Katash wei’ vorki (kah-TASH whey VOR-key)
Flemish: Draeke
French: Dragun, dargon
Gaelic: Arach
German: Drache (pl. Drachen), Lindwurm, drake (pl. draken)

Greek: 

Drakontas. Male: drakos (or thrakos), Female: drakena (or thrakena)

Hawaiian: Kelekona, (plural) Na Kelekona

Hebrew:

Drakon, (plural) Drakonim, Tanniym

Hindi:

Go-ta (phonetic)

Hmong: Zaj
Hungarian: Sárkány
Icelandic: Dreki
Indonesian: Naga
Iranian: Ejdeha
Irish: Draic
Islamic: th’uban, tinnin
Italian: Drago, dragone, volante, dragonessa

Japanese: Ryu (pronounced “Riu”, rhyming with “few”), Tatsu

Kanji “Ryu” magnet from J-Box

Jibberish: Gidadraggidaen (pronunced “gid-a-drag-gid-ah-en”)
Klingon: lung’a’ puv (pronounced loong-AH poov) “Flying Great Lizard”
Korean: Yong
Latin: Draco, dracon, draco, dragon, dragoon, serpent, serpens
Luxembourgian: Draach
Malay: Naga
Mongolian: Luu
New Zealand (Maori): Tarakona
Norse: Ormr
Norwegian: Drage
Pig-Latin: Agon-dray. Pig-Latin is a language game.
Polish: Smok
Portugese: Dragão
Quenya (elven): Loke, winged: Ramaloke, sea: Lingwiloke, fire: Uruloke
Roman: Draco
Romanian: Dragon (pl. Dragoni), Zmeu (pl. Zmei), dracul, drakul

Russian:

Drakon

Sanskrit: Naga (type of snake-human-dragon)
Scandinavian: Orm, Ormr
Scottish: Dreugan
Slovenia: Zmaj = Dragon, Hidra = Hydra.
Spanish: Dragón, El Draque, Brujah
Swedish: Drake, lindorm
Tagalog: Drakón

Thai:

Mung-korn

Tibetan: Brug (Ladakh dialect)
Turkish: Ejderha
Ukrainian: Drakon
Vietnamese: Rong (poetic), rng (regular)
Welsh: Ddraig
Yugoslav: Zmaj, Azdaja
Zulu: Uzekamanzi

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As a bonus, here are some famous cultural sayings about dragons.

Famous Chinese Quotes and Proverbs about Dragons

人中之龙 (rén zhōng zhī lóng)
Means: “A dragon among men.”
This proverb or idiom is used when describing a superlative and exceptional talent.

降龍伏虎 (xiáng lóng fú hǔ)
Means: “To vanquish the dragon and tiger.”
Refers to overcoming powerful enemies.

龙飞凤舞 (lóng fēi fèn gwǔ)
Means: “Dragon flies and phoenix dances.”
Refers to a flamboyant calligraphy style where the writing is absent of real content. In other words, all fluff and no substance.

Sources: FluentU.com, Quora, China Highlights

Japanese Quotes and Proverbs about Dragons

The head of a dragon, the tail of a snake.
ドラゴンの頭、ヘビの尾。
This refers to how the start is grand and majestic, similar to a dragon’s head. However the ending is small and pathetic, like a snake’s tail.

Source: Kameng Shambhala

Other Sayings

Latin: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus translated from Latin means ‘never tickle a sleeping dragon.’ It is the Hogwarts school motto in the Harry Potter series.

Icelandic Proverb: The proverb ‘dragons often rise up on their tails’ is recorded in Málsháttakvæði, a 12th century Icelandic poem. The dragon often encountered in the poetry of medieval Scandinavian poetry is a ship, referring to the dragon shape on the warships of the Viking era.