Reference · Language
The Word for Honey
in Every Language
Honey is one of the oldest words in the human vocabulary. In Proto-Indo-European — the reconstructed ancestor of half the world's languages — the root word for honey was *médhu, which also gave us the word mead. Here is how that original sweetness sounds in 80+ languages today.
Advertisement
The Proto-Indo-European root *médhu meant both "honey" and "honey-mead." It survives today in the English word "mead," the Greek "méli," the Sanskrit "madhu," and dozens of related forms across languages that haven't shared a common ancestor in 6,000 years.
European Languages
EnglishHoney
SpanishMiel
FrenchMiel
ItalianMiele
PortugueseMel
RomanianMiere
GermanHonig
DutchHoning
SwedishHonung
NorwegianHonning
DanishHonning
FinnishHunaja
RussianМёд (myod)
PolishMiód
CzechMed
SlovakMed
BulgarianМед (med)
UkrainianМед (med)
CroatianMed
SerbianМед (med)
GreekΜέλι (méli)
LatinMel
WelshMêl
IrishMil
Scottish GaelicMil
BasqueEztia
CatalanMel
HungarianMéz
AlbanianMjaltë
LithuanianMedus
LatvianMedus
EstonianMesi
Asian Languages
Mandarin Chinese蜂蜜 (fēngmì)
Cantonese蜜糖 (mat tong)
Japanese蜂蜜 (hachimitsu)
Korean꿀 (kkul)
Hindiशहद (shahad)
Sanskritमधु (madhu)
Bengaliমধু (modhu)
Urduشہد (shahad)
Tamilதேன் (thēn)
Teluguతేనె (tēne)
Marathiमध (madh)
Gujaratiમધ (madh)
Punjabiਸ਼ਹਿਦ (shahid)
Thaiน้ำผึ้ง (nam phueng)
VietnameseMật ong
IndonesianMadu
MalayMadu
TagalogPulot
Burmeseပျားရည် (pyar ye)
Khmerទឹកឃ្មុំ (tuk khmum)
MongolianБал (bal)
Tibetanསྦྲང་རྩི (sbrang rtsi)
Nepaliमह (mah)
Sinhalaමී පැණි (mee pani)
Middle Eastern & African Languages
Arabicعسل (asal)
Hebrewדבש (dvash)
Persian / Farsiعسل (asal)
TurkishBal
AzerbaijaniBal
ArmenianՄեղր (meghr)
Georgianთაფლი (tapli)
SwahiliAsali
Amharicማር (mar)
SomaliMacaan
HausaZuma
YorubaOyin
IgboMmanụ ọcha
ZuluUju
XhosaUbusi
AfrikaansHeuning
Americas & Oceania
Nahuatl (Aztec)Necuhtli
Mayan (Yucatec)Cab
QuechuaMisk'i
GuaraníEirete
HawaiianMeli
MāoriHoni
SamoanMeli
TonganMeli
The word "meli" appears independently in Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, and several other Pacific languages — all derived from the English "honey" introduced by missionaries and traders. The original Polynesian word for honey was rarely documented, as honeybees are not native to the Pacific islands and the concept of beekeeping arrived with European contact.
Translations represent standard written forms and may not capture regional dialects or alternative spellings. The Proto-Indo-European root *médhu is visible in dozens of entries — from the Slavic "med" to the Greek "méli" to the Sanskrit "madhu" — a 6,000-year linguistic thread connecting honey to the earliest human civilization.