How To Say “Penguin” In Different Languages

Blog
7 September 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House
Unsplash: Jason Row

It is estimated that there are about 18 species of penguins in the world. But some do like to argue that there are actually anywhere from 17 to 22 penguin species. These flightless birds are known to live in colonies, aka rookeries, along the cooler waters of the Southern Hemisphere. To be specific, only two species live on the Antarctic coasts (Emperor and Adélie) while the rest are found around the sub-Antarctic islands. On the other hand, there is one more of these adorable species that lives just right up north of the equator. Unfortunately, these are the rarest and they are known as the Galápagos penguins.

The small but not the smallest Galápagos penguin is just one of the many penguin species out there. Due to climate change and loss of nesting sites and their small population and several more reasons, the population of this people-friendly group of penguins is in decline. Sadly, this population decline is similar to other penguin species like the African penguin, Erect-crested penguin, Northern Rockhopper penguin, to name a few. Anyway, before you read more about the rest of the 18 penguin species, as well as learn about the beauty and diversity of the animal kingdom, find out what “penguin” is called around the world.

  • English: penguin (peng-gwin)
  • Italian: il pinguino (il ping-gwee-noh)
  • Spanish: el pingüino (el ping-gwee-noh)
  • German: der Pinguin (der ping-gween)
  • Dutch: de pinguïn (de ping-gween)
  • Korean: 펭귄 (peng-gwin)
  • Japanese: ペンギン (peng-gin)
  • Indonesian: pinguin (ping-ween)
  • Mandarin Chinese: 企鹅 (qì'é)
  • Brazilian Portuguese: o pinguim (oh ping-gweem)
  • European Portuguese: o pinguim (oh ping-gweem)
  • Vietnamese: chim cánh cụt (keem kan koo)
  • Swedish: pingvin (ping-vin)
  • French: le manchot (luh man-sho)
  • Norwegian: pingvin (ping-vin)
  • Greek: πιγκουίνος (pin-kouínos)
  • Turkish: penguen (peng-gwehn)
  • Arabic: البطريق (albatariq)
  • Russian: пингвин (ping-vin)
  • Tagalog: penguin (peng-gween)
  • Icelandic: mörgæs (mur-guys)
  • Ukrainian: пінгвін (pin-hvin)