# Milk teeth, permanent teeth



## sakvaka

In _English_:
(1) *milk teeth*, *baby teeth*, *temporary teeth* or *primary  teeth
*(2) *permanent teeth

*In _Finnish_:
(1) *maitohampaat* (milk teeth)
(2) *rautahampaat* (iron teeth), *pysyvät hampaat *(permanent, "staying" teeth)

What words do you use for these two phases of dental development?


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## Awwal12

In *Russian*:
молочные зубы (mol*o*chnyie z*u*by) - "milk (adj.) teeth"
постоянные зубы (postoy*a*nnyie z*u*by) - "permanent teeth"


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
1-Νεογιλά* or παιδικά δόντια
neoʝi'la or peði'ka 'ðondʝa
(young or childhood teeth)
2-Μόνιμα δόντια
'monima 'ðondʝa
(permanent teeth)

*νεογιλός-νεογιλή-νεογιλό (neoʝi'los, _m._-neoʝi'li, _f._-neoʝi'lo, _n._), from the same ancient Greek adjective «νεογιλός»-->new-born, young

[ð] is a voiced dental non-sibilant fricative
[ʝ] is a voiced palatal fricative


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## RaLo18

Hebrew:
(1) שיני חלב (_shiney khalav_ - milk teeth)
(2) שיני בשר (_shiney basar - _flesh teeth)


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## Rallino

Turkish:

*Süt dişleri *(--> lit. milk teeth)
*Kalıcı dişler* (--> lit. permanent teeth)

Wisdom tooth is called: *Yirmi yaş dişi* (-->lit. tooth of the age of twenty) I guess it starts hurting at around that age, thus they named it like that.


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## enoo

French:
(1) Dents de lait (lit. milk teeth)
(2) Dents permanentes 

Funny to see that so many languages use the reference to "milk" for the (1).


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## rusita preciosa

I can attest to the fact that in AE they do not call baby teeth "milk teeth"! I puzzled my dentist to no end when I started talking about "milk teeth". When he finally undersood what I was talking about, he siad it was oh so cute and that he had never heard that term.

I wonder if it would be a BE/AusE term if used at all.


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## amikama

RaLo18 said:


> Hebrew:
> (1) שיני חלב (_shiney khalav_ - milk teeth)
> (2) שיני בשר (_shiney basar - _flesh teeth)


(2) also שיני בינה ("wisdom teeth")


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## gilon

rusita preciosa said:


> I can attest to the fact that in AE they do not call baby teeth "milk teeth"! I puzzled my dentist to no end when I started talking about "milk teeth". When he finally undersood what I was talking about, he siad it was oh so cute and that he had never heard that term.
> 
> I wonder if it would be a BE/AusE term if used at all.


Yes, it's the normal term here, can't see anything cute about it myself. Looking at the other posts, it seems "milk teeth" is used in many other languages, so not sure why it's different in AE.


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## Encolpius

Very very interesting indeed. 
In *Hungarian *milk teeth is the literal translation *tejfog *[tej = milk + tooth = fog]. Permanent teeth are called maradandó fogak [maradandó = staying], but there is something very interesting. When I was a child and one of my milk teeth fell out my mother taught me (and of course other mothers ot their children, too) to say a short rhyme: Adok neked tejfogat, hozzál nekem *vasfogat*. [I'll give you a milk tooth and bring me an *iron tooth*]. I wonder where the heck this comes from! From German? I doubt we sang that at the Ural.


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## rusita preciosa

gilon said:


> Yes, it's the normal term here, can't see anything cute about it myself. Looking at the other posts, it seems "milk teeth" is used in many other languages, so not sure why it's different in AE.


Good topic for "English Only" forum.


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## Angel.Aura

In *Italian*:
1. denti da latte / denti decidui
2. denti permanenti

(3. denti del giudizio = wisdom teeth)


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## ElFrikiChino

Italian (in bold the ones I use):
1: *denti da latte* (milk teeth)
    dentizione decidua (technical term - sort of _temporary teeth_)
2: *denti* (teeth)
    denti permanenti (permament teeth)
    dentizione permanente (techical term)

I'd add the third painful stage:
3: *denti del giudizio* (wisdom teeth)
    molare permanente (technical term - permanent molar)
    ottavo (how my dentist calls it - eighth)


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## Encolpius

ElFrikiChino said:


> ... 3: *denti del giudizio* (wisdom teeth)
> molare permanente (technical term - permanent molar)
> *ottavo *(how my dentist calls it - eighth)



Very interesting you call it ottavo, *Czech *also say *osmička *which means the same (eight).


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## jazyk

In Portuguese:

dentes de leite (lit. milk teeth)
dentes permanentes (lit. permant teeth)


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## sokol

Encolpius said:


> Very very interesting indeed.
> In *Hungarian *milk teeth is the literal translation *tejfog *[tej = milk + tooth = fog]. Permanent teeth are called maradandó fogak [maradandó = staying], but there is something very interesting. When I was a child and one of my milk teeth fell out my mother taught me (and of course other mothers ot their children, too) to say a short rhyme: Adok neked tejfogat, hozzál nekem *vasfogat*. [I'll give you a milk tooth and bring me an *iron tooth*]. I wonder where the heck this comes from! From German? I doubt we sang that at the Ural.


No, it shouldn't be from German, or not that I'm aware of, except if it refers to ancient prosthetics made of iron (and thus referring to "prosthetic teeth which will never go bad"), if such were ever made.

And don't laugh, this Wiki entry (history of dentures) might indicate that iron dentures indeed were made at some point (possibly an iron structure into which wooden teeth were set, or something like that; the article mentions "ivory turners" involved in the business, so who knows ...). 

In German it is:
- Milchzähne (again, "milk + teeth")
- bleibende Zähne (or, more typically, simply "Zähne")



Encolpius said:


> Very interesting you call it ottavo, *Czech *also say *osmička *which means the same (eight).


See for that this new thread.


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## apmoy70

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:
> 1-Νεογιλά* or παιδικά δόντια
> neoʝi'la or peði'ka 'ðondʝa
> (young or childhood teeth)
> 2-Μόνιμα δόντια
> 'monima 'ðondʝa
> (permanent teeth)
> 
> *νεογιλός-νεογιλή-νεογιλό (neoʝi'los, _m._-neoʝi'li, _f._-neoʝi'lo, _n._), from the same ancient Greek adjective «νεογιλός»-->new-born, young
> 
> [ð] is a voiced dental non-sibilant fricative
> [ʝ] is a voiced palatal fricative


I apologize for quoting myself, I just wanted to add the name(s) for the wisdom teeth:
1-Φρονιμίτης (froni'mitis, _m. sing._), φρονιμίτες (froni'mites, _m. pl._); lit. "of wisdom"
2-Σωφρονιστήρας (sofroni'stiras, _m. sing._), σωφρονιστήρες (sofroni'stires, _m. pl._); lit. "of prudence"


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## kloie

rusita preciosa said:


> I can attest to the fact that in AE they do not call baby teeth "milk teeth"! I puzzled my dentist to no end when I started talking about "milk teeth". When he finally undersood what I was talking about, he siad it was oh so cute and that he had never heard that term.
> 
> I wonder if it would be a BE/AusE term if used at all.


My grandma calls them milk teeth


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## Dymn

Catalan:

_Dents de llet _("milk teeth")
_Dents permanents _("permanent teeth")
_Queixals del seny* _("common sense molars")

_* Seny _is somewhat difficult to translate. It isn't "wisdom", but rather the ability to think the consequences of one's acts, "sanity" or "common sense"

Spanish:

_Dientes de leche _("milk teeth")
_Dientes permanentes _("permanent teeth")
_Muelas del juicio _("judgement molars")


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## DearPrudence

*French*, generally:
(1) milk teeth : *dents de lait* _(literally: milk teeth)_
(2) permanent teeth : *dents définitives*_ (literally: definitive teeth)_
(3) wisdom teeth :* dents de sagesse *_(literally: wisdom teeth)_


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## morior_invictus

Slovak:

*mliečne zuby* _(lit. milk teeth)_ (rarely "*dočasné zuby*") = deciduous teeth (lat. _dentes decidui_)
*trvalé zuby* = permanent teeth (lat. _dentes permanentes_)
*zuby múdrosti *_(lit. wisdom teeth)_* / osmičky *_(colloq.)_* / tretie moláre* = third molars (lat. _dentes sapientiae_)


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## 810senior

Japanese:
*乳歯nyuu-shi* = milk teeth
*永久歯eikyuu-shi* = permanent teeth
*親知らずoya-shirazu*(lit. _not-know-of-parents_) = wisdom teeth


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## Messquito

Chinese:
乳齒、乳牙：Milk teeth
恆齒：Permanent teeth
Both literal


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*млечни заби *- milk teeth
*трајни заби - *permanent/lasting teeth


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## Nizo

Esperanto:

*laktodentoj* (milk teeth)
*daǔraj dentoj* (permanent, "lasting," "enduring" teeth)
*saĝodentoj* (wisdom teeth)


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