Ghosts—mysterious beings that float between life and death—have captivated cultures worldwide for centuries.
Whether you believe in them or just enjoy ghost stories, the word “ghost” appears in nearly every language, often tied deeply to local beliefs, legends, and fears.
This post explores how to say “ghost” in 70 different languages, along with pronunciations and example sentences to help you understand their context.
Let’s take a ghostly journey around the world through language!
👻 How to Say Ghost in 70 Different Languages
| Language | Word for Ghost | Pronunciation | Example Sentence |
| Afrikaans | spook | spook | Ek het ‘n spook in die huis gesien. (I saw a ghost in the house.) |
| Albanian | fantazmë | fahn-TAHZ-muh | Ajo beson në fantazmat. (She believes in ghosts.) |
| Amharic | ጓድ (gwad) | gwahd | በሌሊት ጓድ አየሁ። (I saw a ghost at night.) |
| Arabic | شبح (shabah) | SHAH-bah | رأيت شبحاً في الغرفة. (I saw a ghost in the room.) |
| Armenian | ուրվական (urvakan) | oor-vah-KAHN | Նա ուրվական տեսավ։ (He saw a ghost.) |
| Azerbaijani | ruh | rooh | O, bir ruh gördü. (He saw a ghost.) |
| Basque | mamu | MAH-moo | Mamu bat ikusi dut. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Belarusian | прывід (pryvid) | PREE-veed | Ён прывід убачыў. (He saw a ghost.) |
| Bengali | ভূত (bhut) | bhoot | আমি ভূত দেখেছি। (I saw a ghost.) |
| Bosnian | duh | dooh | Vidio sam duha. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Bulgarian | призрак (prizrak) | PREEZ-rak | Видях призрак. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Catalan | fantasma | fan-TAS-ma | He vist un fantasma. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Cebuano | multo | MOOL-toh | Nakakita ko ug multo. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 鬼 (guǐ) | gway | 我看到一个鬼。 (I saw a ghost.) |
| Croatian | duh | dooh | Vidio sam duha. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Czech | duch | dookh | Viděl jsem ducha. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Danish | spøgelse | SPUHR-guh-seh | Jeg så et spøgelse. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Dutch | geest | khayst | Ik zag een geest. (I saw a ghost.) |
| English | ghost | gohst | I saw a ghost. |
| Estonian | kummitus | KOO-mee-toos | Ma nägin kummitust. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Filipino | multo | MOOL-toh | Nakakita ako ng multo. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Finnish | kummitus | KOOM-mee-toos | Näin kummituksen. (I saw a ghost.) |
| French | fantôme | fahn-TOHM | J’ai vu un fantôme. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Galician | pantasma | pahn-TAS-mah | Vin un pantasma. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Georgian | მოჩვენება (mochveneba) | moh-CHWEH-neh-bah | მოჩვენება ვნახე. (I saw a ghost.) |
| German | Geist | guyst | Ich habe einen Geist gesehen. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Greek | φάντασμα (fántasma) | FAHN-tahs-ma | Είδα ένα φάντασμα. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Gujarati | ભૂત (bhut) | bhoot | હું ભૂત જોયું. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Haitian Creole | lespri | leh-SPREE | Mwen wè yon lespri. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Hausa | fatalwa | fah-TAHL-wah | Na ga fatalwa. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Hawaiian | ʻuhane | oo-HAH-neh | Ua ʻike au i kekahi ʻuhane. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Hebrew | רוּחַ (ruach) | ROO-akh | ראיתי רוח רפאים. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Hindi | भूत (bhoot) | bhoot | मैंने भूत देखा। (I saw a ghost.) |
| Hmong | dab | dah | Kuv pom ib tug dab. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Hungarian | szellem | SEL-lem | Láttam egy szellemet. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Icelandic | draugur | DROY-gur | Ég sá draug. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Igbo | mmụọ | mm-oh | Ahụrụ m mmụọ. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Indonesian | hantu | HAN-too | Saya melihat hantu. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Irish | taibhse | TYVE-sheh | Chonaic mé taibhse. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Italian | fantasma | fahn-TAHZ-ma | Ho visto un fantasma. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Japanese | 幽霊 (yūrei) | YOO-ray | 幽霊を見た。 (I saw a ghost.) |
| Javanese | lelembut | leh-LEM-boot | Aku weruh lelembut. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Kannada | ಭೂತ (bhūta) | BOO-tah | ನಾನು ಭೂತವನ್ನು ಕಂಡೆ. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Kazakh | елес (eles) | yeh-LES | Мен елесті көрдім. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Khmer | ខ្មោច (khmouch) | khmao-ch | ខ្ញុំបានឃើញខ្មោច។ (I saw a ghost.) |
| Korean | 유령 (yuryeong) | yoo-RYONG | 나는 유령을 봤어. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Kurdish | alin | ah-LEEN | Ez alinek dîtim. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Kyrgyz | арбак (arbak) | ahr-BAHK | Мен арбак көрдүм. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Lao | ຜີ (phi) | pee | ຂ້ອຍເຫັນຜີ. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Latvian | spoks | spohks | Es redzēju spoku. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Lithuanian | vaiduoklis | vy-DOH-klis | Aš mačiau vaiduoklį. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Luxembourgish | Geescht | gesht | Ech hu Geescht gesinn. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Macedonian | дух (dukh) | dookh | Видов дух. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Malagasy | matoatoa | mah-too-ah-too-ah | Nahita matoatoa aho. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Malay | hantu | HAN-too | Saya nampak hantu. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Malayalam | ഭൂതം (bhūtham) | BOO-tham | ഞാൻ ഒരു ഭൂതത്തെ കണ്ടു. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Maltese | spirtu | SPEER-too | Rajt spirtu. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Maori | wairua | WHY-roo-ah | I kite ahau i te wairua. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Marathi | भूत (bhut) | bhoot | मी भूत पाहिलं. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Mongolian | сүнс (süns) | soons | Би сүнс харсан. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Nepali | भूत (bhoot) | bhoot | मैले भूत देखें। (I saw a ghost.) |
| Norwegian | spøkelse | SPUR-kuhl-seh | Jeg så et spøkelse. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Pashto | روح (rooh) | rooh | ما يو روح وليدو. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Persian | روح (rooh) | rooh | من یک روح دیدم. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Polish | duch | dookh | Widziałem ducha. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Portuguese | fantasma | fahn-TAHZ-ma | Eu vi um fantasma. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Punjabi | ਭੂਤ (bhoot) | bhoot | ਮੈਂ ਭੂਤ ਦੇਖਿਆ। (I saw a ghost.) |
| Romanian | fantomă | fahn-TOH-muh | Am văzut o fantomă. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Russian | призрак (prizrak) | PREEZ-rak | Я видел призрак. (I saw a ghost.) |
| Samoan | agaga | AH-gah-gah | Na ou vaʻai i se agaga. (I saw a ghost.) |
🌍 Final Thoughts: A Universal Phantom
The word “ghost” might be spoken differently around the world, but the idea behind it remains surprisingly similar—an unseen presence, a whisper from another world, a chill in the night air. Whether you’re learning a new language, writing a spooky story, or simply exploring folklore, this list shows how hauntingly connected humanity is through
