# USB flash drive



## Cracker Jack

How do you say USB in your language?  USB of course is an acronym for Universal Serial Bus.  The complete name is actually Universal Serial Bus Flash Drive.  It is also known as flash drive.  Here in Spain, it is most commonly referred to as ''pen drive.''

Thanks a lot.


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## sam1978

In Italian we say "USB" or "Chiavetta USB".


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## Kangy

Cracker Jack said:


> Here in Spain, it is most commonly referred to as ''pen drive.''



A USB is not the same as a pen drive. A USB is the kind of plug you can find in cables, cameras, and other devices. A pen drive is just one of these devices, and it's basically a small portable hard-drive, where you can store information and take it around with you.

In Spanish, USB is commonly referred to as *USB*, pronounced: u-ese-be
The USB cable is *cable USB*, and the slot where you connect it is called *puerto USB* (USB port)


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## sokol

The storage facility which you plug in via an USB bus to a computer, media player, car radio etc. is called *USB Stick* in German = *[u-es-be-stik].
*
And even though this seems to be an English loan (the additional 'stick'), the official English name is USB flash drive (or USB flash stick). Does anyone know if the short form of 'USB stick' is used at all in English speaking countries?

If you're talking of the USB bus only then this is just simply USB in German (u-es-be).


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## cyanista

In Russian a USB flash drive is colloqially called флэшка (flash + the diminutive suffix -ka). Officially it seems to be called карта памяти USB ("memory card USB") or накопитель USB ("USB storage unit").


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## Nizo

In *Esperanto*, we use* USB-poŝmemorilo* (or *memorbastoneto*).  Flash memory is *fulmmemoro* (or *flaŝmemoro*) and a USB connector is a *USB-konektilo*.


http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-poŝmemorilo


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## Nanon

In French, the USB flash drive is commonly called "clef USB" (key, like in Italian).

"Pen drive" is also commonly used throughout Latin America (Spanish + Portuguese) in my experience.


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## avok

In Turkey people usually say:

USB

Flash Memory

Stick

Flash stick

Flaş bellek 

One of our Italian clients said "pen" and I was a bit surprised. (you know it is not a pen  or is it? )


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## Flaminius

Hello, here are Japanese words.

USBメモリ (yū esu bī memori) <— USB memory
メモリスティック (memori sutikku) <— memory stick

"Memory" is  very often spelt メモリ in technical writings but メモリー (memorī) is a representation more faithful to the actual pronunciation.


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## Cracker Jack

Thanks a lot for your replies.


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## Outsider

For the time being, a pen drive is called "pen drive" or simply "pen" in Portugal.

For USB or USB cable, we say "cabo _USB_".

P.S. There's a thread about "pen drive" in the Spanish forum.


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## dn88

*Polish:*
USB - _USB_
pendrive - _pendrive _or _pamięć flash
_


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## Encolpius

Useful thread. 

*Czech: fleška*

(Hungarian: ???)


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## vianie

In Slovak, it is called simpliciter "úesbéčko".


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## itreius

*Croatian*

USB stick


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*: _muistitikku_ (memory stick)


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## The Pope

Em portugués é um poco engraçado por que a palavra "Stick" tem un som final de _.  Soa como "Stickee" or "Sticky"

In Portuguese the word "Stick" sounds funny because of a final  they add to the word.  It souns like "Stickee" or "Sticky"

En portugais, le mot "Stick" drôles de  bruits à cause d'un final  ils ajoutent à la parole. Il souns comme "Stickee" ou "Sticky"_


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## phosphore

Serbian

"USB" [uez'bê:]

sometimes also "USB memorija"

in specialised magazines also "USB fleš drajv"


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
USB pron. «γιού-ες-μπι» (ʝu-es-bi).
USB port-->«θύρα γιού-ες-μπι» ('θira ʝu-es-bi, lit. USB door).
The most common name for the stick is «μνήμη γιού-ες-μπι» ('mnimi ʝu-es-bi, lit. USB memory).

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


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## Csaba

In Romania people usually call it 'stick'.


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## bibax

Czech:

fleška or (USB) klíčenka (klíč = key)

(N.B. flaška = bottle)


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## Favara

*Catalan:
*Pintxo (an appetizer served on a stick)
Punxó ("awl")
Caparra ("tick")
Memòria ("memory")
Pen (derived from English pen/pendrive)
Llapis ("pen")


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## OneStroke

In Cantonese, it is usually called a finger: 手指 sau2 zi2


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## Grefsen

sokol said:


> And even though this seems to be an English loan (the additional 'stick'), the official English name is USB flash drive (or USB flash stick). Does anyone know if the short form of 'USB stick' is used at all in English speaking countries?


Here in the U.S., a USB flash drive is sometimes called a *USB stick* or a *data stick*. Some of the other names I've heard used are *pen drive*, *jump drive*, and *thumb drive*.


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## arielipi

hebrew:
disk-on-key or usb.
and also, in general all memory drives that are easily removed are called זיכרון נייד zicaron nayad.


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## Grefsen

^Your post reminded me that USB flash drives are sometimes called *keychain drives* too.


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## Perseas

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:[...]


In addition to apmoy's answer:
I usually hear _στικάκι_ (stik*a*ki) or _φλασάκι_ (flas*a*ki).
Obviously from _stick_ and _flash_. _-aki_ is a suffix for diminutives.


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## jakartaman

"USB" in Korean. We just use the Roman letters for this. It's easier that way


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## ger4

In German: USB-Stick


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## M Mira

Taiwan, Mandarin:
隨身碟 sui2shen1die2 "portable disk"
USB, yoo-es-bee


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## Panceltic

Slovene:

USB
USB ključek ("little USB key")


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## StrangerInAStrangeLand

sam1978 said:


> In Italian we say "USB" or "Chiavetta USB".


I would add a third choise: "Penna/Pennetta USB"


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## SuperXW

In Mainland China, it's usually U盘 "U-disk".


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## spindlemoss

In Welsh we use *co' bach*, literally "a little memory".


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## Penyafort

In Catalan:

*USB*, pronounced ['u.'esə.'βe]
*memòria USB* (if it refers to the storage)
*llapis de memòria USB* (if it refers to the common device)


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## ilocas2

Czech (colloquial names):

*fleška, fleš, úesbéčko* (pronounced úezbéčko)

EDIT:
according to a scientific work about computer slang, other colloquial names are *dudlík, flaška, gumák*


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## Gavril

Grefsen said:


> Here in the U.S., a USB flash drive is sometimes called a *USB stick* or a *data stick*. Some of the other names I've heard used are *pen drive*, *jump drive*, and *thumb drive*.



_*jump stick*_ is used as well.


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