The word for coffee around the world
Here’s a table listing the terms for “coffee” in the world’s 30 most spoken languages, as well as the nations where these languages are most commonly spoken. Please keep in mind that some languages are spoken in more than one country, and that some countries have multiple official languages. I’ve listed one or more representative countries in such circumstances.
| Language | Country | Word for “coffee” |
|---|---|---|
| English | United States, UK | Coffee |
| Mandarin Chinese | China | 咖啡 (kāfēi) |
| Spanish | Spain, Mexico | Café |
| Hindi | India | कॉफ़ी (koffee) |
| French | France, Canada | Café |
| Standard Arabic | Saudi Arabia, Egypt | قهوة (qahwa) |
| Bengali | Bangladesh, India | কফি (kôphi) |
| Russian | Russia | кофе (kofe) |
| Portuguese | Portugal, Brazil | Café |
| Indonesian | Indonesia | Kopi |
| Urdu | Pakistan | کافی (kafi) |
| German | Germany | Kaffee |
| Japanese | Japan | コーヒー (kōhī) |
| Swahili | Kenya, Tanzania | Kahawa |
| Marathi | India | कॉफी (kofi) |
| Telugu | India | కాఫీ (kāfī) |
| Vietnamese | Vietnam | Cà phê |
| Korean | South Korea | 커피 (keopi) |
| Tamil | India, Sri Lanka | காபி (kāpi) |
| Italian | Italy | Caffè |
| Turkish | Turkey | Kahve |
| Yue Chinese | Hong Kong, China | 咖啡 (ga1 fe1) |
| Thai | Thailand | กาแฟ (kaafae) |
| Gujarati | India | કોફી (kofi) |
| Polish | Poland | Kawa |
| Ukrainian | Ukraine | кава (kava) |
| Persian | Iran | قهوه (qahve) |
| Malayalam | India | കാപ്പി (kāppi) |
| Kannada | India | ಕಾಫಿ (kāfi) |
| Oriya | India | କଫି (kôphi) |
The table includes the most spoken languages, not necessarily the official languages of the countries. Languages listed here are only representative of those spoken by a significant portion of the population in some countries.