How To Say “Bee” In Different Languages

Some time ago, I was listening to a podcast about this story of a person’s love for their dog. I can’t really remember the details but I remember how I felt listening. I felt rosy hearing happy moments and I felt blue hearing tragic moments. In a way, I felt I could relate to the story because one way or another I have experienced something like it before. Then, in the middle of the podcast, the host shared two bee stories.

The bee stories had one thing in common: the tradition of telling the bees. And that got me fascinated, buzzed with curiosity. Because what was this whole shebang about telling the bees? I had no idea about that but I wanted to know more.

Now, I’m not sure if this was the order but one of the stories was about how this hive of bees showed up in the middle of winter to pay respects to their beekeeper. And the other one was something similar. The beekeeper passed away so the daughter followed the tradition of telling the bees. She told the hive of the tragic news and… the bees were then in mourning.

Hearing these stories fascinated me because I had no idea that these black and yellow, waggle-dancing creatures could possess such power to tug at your heartstrings. And in a way, that was quite comforting. It was and still is comforting to know that even the hardworking bees care. So we should continue caring, saving, and learning more about them. Because the bees know a lot more than what we know. Long live the bees.

• English: bee (bee)
• French: abeille (ah-bey)
• Filipino: bubuyog (bu-bu-yog)
• Korean: 벌 (beohl)
• German: Biene (bee-nuh)
• Dutch: bij (bey)
• Indonesian: lebah (luh-bah)
• Turkish: arı (ah-ruh)
• Vietnamese: ong (ohng)
• Japanese: はち (ha-chi)
• Ukrainian: бджола (bdjoh-lah)
• Russian: пчела (pchye-lah)
• Norwegian: bie (bee-eh)
• Swedish: bi (bee)
• Greek: μέλισσα (meh-lee-sah)
• Italian: ape (ah-peh)
• Mandarin Chinese: 蜜蜂, mì fēng (mee-fuhng)
• Polish: pszczoła (psh-choh-wah)
• Finnish: mehiläinen (meh-hee-lie-nen)
• Spanish: abeja (ah-be-ha)
• Brazilian Portuguese: abelha (ah-behl-yah)
• European Portuguese: abelha (ah-behl-yuh)
• Arabic: نحلة (nah-lah)
• Hindi: मधुमक्खी (muh-dhoo-muh-khee)
• Esperanto: abelo (ah-be-loh)