How To Say "Perfume" In Different Languages

Should you get a perfume or eau de parfum or eau de toilette or eau de cologne or eau fraîche? Hmmm, well that really depends on the type of fragrance journey you’re looking for. And yes, they have their differences. Also, another yes: guys can wear perfume, and a double yes to gals wearing cologne. It’s all about what smells good on you!

Before you get lost in a cloud of your favorite scent, here’s a quick tip on what those "eau's" actually mean. Are they different, or is it just clever marketing? The answer is: both! They are marketed differently because they are chemically different. It mostly comes down to the oil-to-alcohol ratio.

• Perfume or parfum: The heavy hitter. It has more than 20% oil concentration, so it can last six to eight hours.
• Eau de Parfum: The popular choice. With 15% to 20% oil, it’ll stay with you for about four to five hours.
• Eau de Toilette: A lighter touch. It has 5% to 15% oil and typically lasts around two to three hours.
• Eau de Cologne: The refresher. This has a 2% to 4% concentration and lasts up to two hours.
• Eau Fraîche: The subtle mist. At 1% to 3% concentration, it lasts about two hours and contains very little alcohol, mostly water and scent.

So which fragrance journey are you looking for this time?

• English: perfume (per-fyoom)
• French: le parfum (luh par-fuhm)
• Dutch: het parfum (het par-fum)
• Japanese: こうすい, kōsui (koh-soo-ee)
• Spanish: el perfume (el per-foo-meh)
• Romanian: parfumul (par-foom-ool)
• Swedish: parfymen (par-feem-en)
• Vietnamese: nước hoa (nook hwa)
• Polish: perfumy (per-foo-mee)
• Korean: 향수 (hyang-soo)
• Tagalog: pabango (pah-bah-ngoh), perfume (per-fyoom)
• Brazilian Portuguese: o perfume (oo per-foo-mee)
• Indonesian: parfum (par-foom)
• German: das Parfüm (dahs par-fuem)
• Mandarin Chinese: 香水, xiāng shuǐ (shyahng shway)
• Turkish: parfüm (par-fuem)
• Hindi: इत्र (itr)
• Greek: το άρωμα (toh ah-roh-mah)
• Finnish: hajuvesi (hah-yoo-veh-see)
• Norwegian: parfymen (par-fee-mehn)
• Russian: духи (doo-hee)
• Italian: il profumo (eel pro-foo-moh)
• Arabic: العطر (al-ʿiṭr)