# Smurfs



## Alxmrphi

What is the word for the name of the little blue character that wears white clothes, popularly used in children's books? I'm aware they are called *i puffi* in Italy through my experience with Italian, and right now I'm practicing my Icelandic with this book, and I know the word in that language is* strumparnir*.

So for me there is not really any sort of 'link' in this concept, and I wondered across the cultures that have this cartoon, how variable the term is.
I think it'd be strange (in a good way) if really different names in different languages were used, so I wanted to find out.

What would you call these people?


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## jazyk

They are called Smurfs in Brazil, pronounced more or less like izmurf(i)s.


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## DearPrudence

Hey, it's Belgian originally!
In French:* les Schtroumpfs *(pretty hard to get the spelling right! )

Wiki in Spanish gives you several translations:
*Schlümpfe *en alemán
*Smurfen *en neerlandés
*Hupikék Törpikék *en húngaro
*Smerfy *en polaco
*Στρουμφάκια (Stroumfakia)* en griego
*Barrufets *en catalán
*Pottokiak *en euskera

And the origin of the French name here:


> The original term and the accompanying language came during a meal Peyo was having with his colleague and friend André Franquin  in which, having momentarily forgotten the word "salt", Peyo asked him  (in French) to pass the schtroumpf. Franquin replied: "Here's the  Schtroumpf — when you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back" and  the two spent the rest of that weekend speaking in schtroumpf language. The name was later translated into Dutch as Smurf, which was adopted in English.


In French, in the comic book, the schtroumpfs use the word "schtroumpf" to replace a noun or verb:
_Imaginary example: "Tu vas voir, je vais te schtroumpfer avec mon schtroumpf !" _


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## bibax

Czech:

*šmoula* (sing., pron. shmow-lah), *šmoulové* (plur.), *šmoulinka* (fem. sing.)

Verbs: *šmoulit, šmoulovat*

derived from the noun *šmolka* (from Germ. Schmalte, from Lat. smaltum) = a blue pigment with cobalt monoxide (CoO).


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## hui

In Finnish, a smurf was called* strumffi *in a comics magazine in the 1970's. When the magazine was discontinued (after about five years), another publisher released a few albums using the name* muffe. *Then in the 1980's (poorly-drawn) TV cartoon version, the current name* smurffi *was adopted.

However, I prefer the original name* strumffi.*


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## Olivia98

In Spanish they are called "petufinos"


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## swift

Olivia98 said:


> In Spanish they are called  "petufinos"


Se llaman *pitufos* y el femenino es *pitufina*. Y el viejito se llama *Papá pitufo*.


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## Frank06

Hi,

In Dutch they are called _smurf_, _smurfen_. The female smurf is called _smurfin_. No plural . The verb (inf.) also is _smurfen_.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Alxmrphi

Yeah it'd be interesting to see the names for Papa Smurf and Smurfette, too. 
*
Italian*
- _Papa Smurf _= Grande Puffo
- _Smurfette_ = Puffetta

*Icelandic*
-_ Papa Smurf_ = Æðstistrumpur
- _Smurfette_ = Strympa

Didn't know it was from Belgium, I'm sure that infomration will come in handy in some pub quiz in the future


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## swift

Alex, you won't ask for the names of every single _Smurf_ character, will you?


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## Alxmrphi

swift said:


> Alex, you won't ask for the names of every single _Smurf_ character, will you?


I'm not ruling anything out just yet..... 

(Nah.. of course not! )


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## DenisBiH

Bosnian / BCS:

smurfs : *štrumfovi*
Smurfette: *Štrumfeta*
Papa Smurf : not sure, perhaps *Papa Štrumf


*


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## Rallino

In Turkish:

Smurfs = *Şirinler* (Pronunced: Shee-reen-ler)
Smurfette = *Şirine*
Papa Smurf = *Şirin baba*

Şirin litterally means 'cute', so 'Şirinler' is _The cutes_.


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## Lurrezko

*Barrufets* in Catalan
*Pottokiak* in Basque

Papa Smurf = Gran Barrufet (Catalan), Pottoki Aita (Basque)
Smurfette = Barrufeta (Catalan), Pottokina (Basque)

Saludos


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## swift

I didn't mention that *pitufa* (fem. of "pitufo", smurf) is the name Costa Rican give to the small bottles of _Coke_.


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## Tamar

In Hebrew they are called הדרדסים ha-dardasim the smurfs

Singular - דרדס dardas
Smurfette - דרדסית dardasit
Papa Smurf - דרדסבא = dardasab, which is dardas + saba, meaning grandpa.
And don't forget גרגמל gargamel. 

I remember being told that it was a translator who came up with the name (unfortunately, I don't remember his name).
I saw on line that it maybe comes from a combination of: 
דרדק dardak + ננס nanas
dardak = young child, nanas = dwarf, midget.


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## rayloom

In Arabic, smurfs is sanaafir سنافر (broken plural), singular is sanfuur سنفور.
Smurfette is sanfuura سنفورة (basically the feminine of sanfuur), and Papa smurf is baba sanfuur بابا سنفور.
Verb is sanfara سنفر (which is the 3rd person singular masculine perfective).
And Gargamel in Arabic is called Sharshabiil شرشبيل.


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## apmoy70

In Greek we call them «στρουμφάκια» (strum'faca, _pl. neuter_) lit. "little schtroumpfs", with «στρουμφάκι» (strum'faci, _sing. neuter_) being the diminutive of «στρουμφ» (strumf, _sing. neuter_). The female smurf is called «στρουμφίτα» (strum'fita, _f._), and papa smurf is «μπαμπα-στρουμφ» (bamba-strumf, _m._). The sworn enemy of smurfs is «Δρακουμέλ» (ðraku'mel, _m._) and his cat is «ψιψινέλ» (psipsi'nel, _f._). The verb is «στρουμφίζω» (strum'fizo)


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## Tjahzi

Singular: [smɵrf].
Plural definite: ['smɵrfaɳa].


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## sakvaka

Tjahzi said:


> Singular: [smɵrf].
> Plural definite: ['smɵrfaɳa].



Jag antar att orden stavas _smurf_ och _smurfarna._


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## Tjahzi

Precis, således utrum.


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## Olivia98

swift said:


> Se llaman *pitufos* y el femenino es *pitufina*. Y el viejito se llama *Papá pitufo*.


 
Disculpame Swift porque lo escribi con la "e" en vez de la "i" pero si tiene razon es con "i"!


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