Dates—sweet, nutrient-rich, and deeply rooted in history—are a cherished fruit enjoyed across continents and cultures. Whether served during festive gatherings, used as a natural sweetener, or eaten for their countless health benefits, dates have earned a special place in hearts and cuisines worldwide. But did you know that this humble fruit goes by many different names depending on where you are in the world? From “Khajoor” in Urdu and Hindi to “Tamar” in Arabic and “Dattel” in German, each name carries with it cultural flavor and linguistic richness. In this article, we explore the fascinating world of languages and how they’ve embraced this ancient fruit in their own unique ways.
Date Fruit Meaning in Widely Spoken Languages of the World
Date Fruit is known with differnt names in various parts of the world. However, we provide translations in a selection of widely spoken languages:
- Afrikaans: Datumvrug
- Amharic: የቀኝች ፍራል (yeqeñč ḥāmäl)
- Arabic: فاكهة التمر (fakihat al-tamar)
- Armenian: Գետերի միջին (Geteri mijin)
- Azerbaijani: Dadıl meyvəsi
- Basque: Datil fruitua
- Belarusian: Фрукт фініка (frukt finika)
- Bengali: খেজুর ফল (khejur fol)
- Bulgarian: Плод на палма (plod na palma)
- Chichewa: Mnthazi m’maoyo
- Chinese (Simplified): 枣果 (zǎo guǒ)
- Czech: Datlový ovoc
- Danish: Dadelfrugt
- Dutch: Dadelfruit
- English: Date Fruit
- Esperanto: Daktilo frukto
- Filipino: Prutas ng dates
- Finnish: Taateli hedelmä
- French: Fruit de datte
- Galician: Froita de támara
- Georgian: თავის ნაყოფი (tavis naqopi)
- German: Dattel-Frucht
- Greek: Καρπός χουρμάδας (Karpós chourmádas)
- Gujarati: તારીખનું ફળ (tārīkhnuṁ phaḷ)
- Haitian Creole: Fwi dat
- Hawaiian: Hua huna
- Hebrew: פרי תמר (peri tamar)
- Hindi: खजूर का फल (khajoor ka phal)
- Hungarian: Datolya gyümölcs
- Icelandic: Döðlu ávöxtur
- Igbo: Ọma nwee mmiri
- Indonesian: Buah kurma
- Irish: Fréamh dáta
- Italian: Frutto di dattero
- Japanese: デーツの果物 (dētsu no kudamono)
- Javanese: Buah tanggal
- Kannada: ಖಜೂರದ ಹಣ್ಣು (Khajūrada haṇṇu)
- Kazakh: Даттың мөлшері (dattyń mölşeri)
- Korean: 대추 과일 (daechu gwail)
- Kurdish: Meyê xewk
- Lao: ຫມາກນາວ (hmak naw)
- Latvian: Ķiršu auglis
- Lithuanian: Datulių vaisius
- Macedonian: Датумов плод (datumov plod)
- Malay: Buah kurma
- Malayalam: പഴം പഴമക്കള് (pazhaṁ pazhamakkaḷ)
- Maltese: Froġa tal-ħdura
- Maori: Hua rākau
- Marathi: खजूरचे फळ (khajūrche phaḷ)
- Mongolian: Огнооны жимс (Ognoony zhims)
- Nepali: खजूरको फल (khajurko phal)
- Norwegian: Dadelfrukt
- Odia: ଖଜୁର ଫଳ (khajura phala)
- Pashto: کجورې مېوه (khajoory meewa)
- Persian: میوه خرما (miveye khurma)
- Polish: Owoc daktyla
- Portuguese: Fruta de tâmara
- Punjabi: ਖਜੂਰ ਦਾ ਫਲ (khajoor da phal)
- Romanian: Fruct de curmală
- Russian: Фрукт финика (frukt finika)
- Scots Gaelic: Toradh dàta
- Serbian: Воће палме (Voće palme)
- Sesotho: Tlala tse lilemo
- Sindhi: کجيءَ جو ميوو – کارڪون (kharikoon – kharik – khaji jo mewo)
- Sinhala: කොළ පලතුරු (kola palathuru)
- Slovak: Datľový plod
- Slovenian: Sadje datlje
- Somali: Timir
- Spanish: Fruta de dátil
- Sundanese: Buah tanggal
- Swahili: Tunda la tende
- Swedish: Dadelfrukt
- Tajik: Меваи хурма (mevai khurma)
- Tamil: தேத்தியின் பழம் (Tēttiyiṉ paḻam)
- Telugu: ఖర్జూరం పండు (khajuram pandu)
- Thai: ผลไม้แห้ง (phonlamai hǽng)
- Tigrinya: ርኽበት ፍራል (rḫbt’ färäl)
- Turkish: Hurma meyvesi
- Turkmen: Hurma meýwa
- Uighur: ھۆلمە مېۋا (holme mewa)
- Ukrainian: Плід фініка (plid finika)
- Ukrainian: Фрукт фініка (frukt finika)
- Urdu: کھجور کا پھل (khajoor ka phal)
- Uyghur: ھۆلمە مېۋا (holme mewa)
- Uzbek: Xurma mevasi
- Vietnamese: Trái cây chà là
- Welsh: Ffrwyth dyddiad
- Xhosa: Iingqelelo zezinkanyezi
- Yiddish: דייט פרוכט (dayt frukt)
- Yoruba: Eso dádì
- Zulu: Ikhabe lezintombi
No matter what it’s called—be it “Aseel Khajoor” in Pakistan, “Medjool” in United States of America (USA), “Deglet Nour” in North Africa, “Kurma” in Indonesia, or “Date” in English—the love for this sweet fruit transcends borders. Its universal appeal lies not only in its delightful taste and nutritional value but also in the cultural stories and traditions it represents. By discovering the different names for dates across languages, we gain more than just linguistic insight—we tap into a shared human experience, one that’s as rich and timeless as the date fruit itself.