# names of flags



## betulina

Hi there!

Having read this thread about flags, I was wondering how you call your national flag. Does it have an own name or is it just "the flag", for example?

I know the UK flag is "the Union Jack".

The Basque flag is the "ikurriña".

In Catalan we call it "la senyera".

What about your country flag?

Thanks!!


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## Jana337

Czech - it's just the flag, vlajka.

Jana


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## french4beth

In the United States - "Old Glory". See here.


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## Chazzwozzer

Turkish flag is called *Ay Yıldız ("moon star")* or *al bayrak* *("red flag")*


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## Vanda

Brazilian flag (bandeira), just it.


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## CatStar

The Irish flag is referred to in English as the Tricolour (not a very imaginative name!)
image

In Irish it´s called _an bhratach náisiúinta _which means _the national flag_...not very imaginative either!

Cat


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## ErOtto

I don't think the german flag has an "official" name, but
"die schwarz-rot-goldene" (black-red-gold, the colours of the flag) is often used in Germany as reference.


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## ErOtto

betulina said:
			
		

> The Basque flag is the "ikurriña".
> 
> In Catalan we call it "la senyera".


 
I also heard "la rojigualda" for the spanish flag... but i don't think
that this is an "official" term.


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## panjabigator

In India I believe the flag is called the "taranga" which means "tri-colored."  But a generic flag is called a Jhanda.  In Sikhism, the orange flag which is right in front of the Gurudwara Sahib is called the Nishan Sahib.


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## Becker

In Sinhalese the Sri Lankan flag is called the _Sinha Kodiya_ or _Sinha Dhajaya_ which means The Lion Flag.


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## Miguelillo 87

In Mexico we call it bandera (flag) just with and adjective *Bandera tricolor*


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## betulina

Thank you all for your answers! Keep them coming!



			
				ErOtto said:
			
		

> I also heard "la rojigualda" for the spanish flag... but i don't think
> that this is an "official" term.



Yes, ErOtto, you are right, I hear it, too! I think it's not official, but I'm not asking for an official term only, a popular one is also useful.


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## panjabigator

Becker said:
			
		

> In Sinhalese the Sri Lankan flag is called the _Sinha Kodiya_ or _Sinha Dhajaya_ which means The Lion Flag.



Sinha makes sense to me because Singh is lion in Panjabi (although it's not used like that...it's a surname).


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## ukuca

In Turkish we don't have an official one but people say sometimes "*ay yıldız*"  (crescent & star) or "*ay yıldızlı bayrak*" (flag with crescent & star)


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## Cereth

Nice question!! mm i´m afraid the mexican flag is only known as "Bandera"-flag-
and like miguelillo said sometimes we say Bandera tricolor ....
it would be nice that it have a name of its own...


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## Arenita

In Peru, there is no an official name, it is the flag (bandera), but sometimees it is called "la rojiblanca" (the red-and-white).


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## SpiceMan

Argentina: "la celeste y blanca" - the light blue/cerulean and white 

Japan: 日の丸 hi no maru


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## Pivra

In Thai its Trairang ไตรรงค์(read Trai- Rong) means three colors. Not a very imaginative name either.


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## betulina

SpiceMan said:
			
		

> Japan: 日の丸 hi no maru



Hi! And what's the meaning? Is it "flag" or a description of it or a name?


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## Bosta

Sorry to be pedantic re. the UK flag.
The correct name is the Union Flag.
It is called the Union Jack when it is flying on a ship.
I have to admit that most British people ignore this formal difference!


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## Maja

In Serbian:

flag - "zastava" (застава) or smt "trobojka" (тробојка) which means tricolor flag.


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## Tensai

betulina said:
			
		

> Hi! And what's the meaning? Is it "flag" or a description of it or a name?


 
'Hi no maru' is the name of the Japanese flag, it means 'disc of the sun' or 'sun circle'


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## alby

In Croatia is Just *Flag - Zastava* or sometimes people use term* Trobojnica - tricolor*

Nataša


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## betulina

Bosta said:
			
		

> Sorry to be pedantic re. the UK flag.
> The correct name is the Union Flag.
> It is called the Union Jack when it is flying on a ship.
> I have to admit that most British people ignore this formal difference!



 Wow! I had no idea!! Thank you for the information!!


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## Etcetera

In Russia, we call our flag (white, blue and red) *Триколор *(trikolor). 
In 1703-1917, and since 1992, the Russian navy uses white flag with an oblique blue cross. It is called *Andreevskij flag* - after one of the Apostles. 



			
				Bosta said:
			
		

> Sorry to be pedantic re. the UK flag.
> The correct name is the Union Flag.
> It is called the Union Jack when it is flying on a ship.
> I have to admit that most British people ignore this formal difference!


I didn't know this! Thank you for the information, Bosta.


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## Aldin

In Bosnian flag=zastava(slav).;bajrak(tur.)
in croatia=šahovnica


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## Rogo

We don't have a name for our flag, but it's adapted from the Danish flag, which does have a name. It's called the Dannebrog, and it has an ancient history.

The Scottish flag (white cross of St Andrew on blue) is called the Saltire, and is incorporated into the Union Jack, sorry Flag


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## kusurija

In Lithuanian the flag (vėliava) is named _trispalvė_ (which means tricolor[flag]).


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## federicoft

Same in Italian:

_Il Tricolore _- The Tricolour [flag].

Regional flags have their names too. For example the flag of Sicily is called:

_Il Triscele _- The Three-Legged [flag]_.
_


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## blue_jewel

In our country, we are calling it: 

Bandila for Banner
Watawat for Flags.


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## Kevin Beach

Bosta said:


> Sorry to be pedantic re. the UK flag.
> The correct name is the Union Flag.
> It is called the Union Jack when it is flying on a ship.
> I have to admit that most British people ignore this formal difference!


I'm afraid that's not exactly right.

Strictly speaking, the constituent nations of the United Kingdom have their own flags. In the 17th century, after the ascension of a Scottish king onto the English throne, a practice arose of combining the English and Scottish flags (St George's Cross and St Andrew's Cross) as a jack on naval vessels. It was formalised after the Act of Union in 1701, but no flag for the United Kingdom was designated as such.

British ships flew the Union Jack as they travelled the world. A captain landing on new land would plant his ship's jack as a symbol of Britain's claim. The jack was taken up by the marines who were tasked to control the territory; so it became a military symbol too.

When Ireland joined the union in 1806, St Patrick's Cross was added. As national awareness grew, the military men returning home would fly the Union Jack as a sign of loyalty. It gradually became the national flag. 

But it remains as it began - the Union Jack. One could argue that, on land, it is _de facto_ a flag and not a jack, but that doesn't change its name. The "flag of the union" is called the Union Jack.

I know the Boy Scouts and several reference books would disagree with me.


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## Kanes

Bulgarian:
flag - zname
banner - bairiak
tricolor - tribagrenik


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## madshov

The Danish flag is called Dannebrog and actually means 'Danish garment' or 'cloth' in Old Danish


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## molpy

hullow here i"m new,in France the flag's don't has a specific name he's just called the tricolors


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## MaxJ

We don't have a specific name for it in The Netherlands, but it's sometimes called as Driekleur(tricolour) or Rood-wit-blauw(Red, white, blue). The old name of the Dutch flag(when we had the colours Orange, white, blue) is De Prinsenvlag.


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## elirlandes

CatStar said:


> The Irish flag is referred to in English as the Tricolour (not a very imaginative name!)
> image
> 
> In Irish it´s called _an bhratach náisiúinta _which means _the national flag_...not very imaginative either!
> 
> Cat



Sometimes the flag of Ireland is referred to poetically or in song as "green, white and gold" which is technically incorrect as the third colour of the flag is orange. 

These are often poems/songs with nationalist overtones, and so I imagine that the mention of gold instead of orange was as a result of the fact that the orange is said to represent the minority protestant population (mainly in Northern Ireland) who's sympathies lie less with the republic, and more with the crown of the UK.


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## Kevin Beach

elirlandes said:


> Sometimes the flag of Ireland is referred to poetically or in song as "green, white and gold" which is technically incorrect as the third colour of the flag is orange.
> 
> These are often poems/songs with nationalist overtones, and so I imagine that the mention of gold instead of orange was as a result of the fact that the orange is said to represent the minority protestant population (mainly in Northern Ireland) who's sympathies lie less with the republic, and more with the crown of the UK.


I hope this isn't too off topic to stand, but my understanding is that the Irish flag was deliberately made green white and orange so that the green of nationalism and the orange of loyalism could fly together, joined by the white of peace.


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## Hakro

The Finnish national flag is called _Siniristilippu_, Blue Cross Flag.



molpy said:


> hullow here i"m new,in France the flag's don't has a specific name he's just called the tricolors



As far as I understand, the French word _tricolore_ refers especially to _bleu-blanc-rouge_ and not any other three-colour combination. Even in Finnish the word _trikolori_ always means the French national flag.


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## elirlandes

Hakro said:


> The Finnish national flag is called _Siniristilippu_, Blue Cross Flag.
> 
> 
> 
> As far as I understand, the French word _tricolore_ refers especially to _bleu-blanc-rouge_ and not any other three-colour combination. Even in Finnish the word _trikolori_ always means the French national flag.



The tricolour (pronounced as in English) in Ireland is usually understood to mean the national flag of the Irish Republic.


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## MarcB

french4beth said:


> In the United States - "Old Glory". See here.


Also the Red White and Blue, Star-Spangled Banner, Stars and Stripes.


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## Frank06

Hi,

In *Dutch* (Flanders/Belgium):
- flag: vlag
- the Belgian flag is sometimes called 'de Belgische driekleur' (Belgian tricolor)
- the flag of Flanders: de Vlaamse Leeuw or de leeuwenvlag (the Flemish lion or 'lion-flag').

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Grop

molpy said:


> hullow here i"m new,in France the flag's don't has a specific name he's just called the tricolors



To be specific, _tricolore_ is generally used as an adjective: _le drapeau tricolore_.

I don't know how French speakers from other countries understand this phrase; in France it is clearly the French flag, and a symbol of the republic.


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## Wilma_Sweden

The Swedish flag doesn't have a particular name either. However, we sometimes use the term blågul (=blue-yellow) as a synonym for Swedish (as a general adjective), after the colours of the flag.

Trikoloren (=the tricolour) is primarily understood as the French flag. 

/Wilma


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## Hakro

Wilma_Sweden said:


> - - - we sometimes use the term blågul (=blue-yellow) as a synonym for Swedish (as a general adjective), after the colours of the flag.


The same in Finnish: The term sinivalkoinen (blue-white) in often used as a synonym for "Finnish".


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## Epilio

I think nobody did mention the Spanish one: *Roji**gualda*


_Roji_ is a contraction of _rojo_ (red), from Latin _russus_.
_Gualda_ is a yellow plant. Its etymology implies that it comes from a Germanic word; _walda_. _Woude_ and _wolde_ in Middle Dutch and Middle English respectively.

Greetings


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## Spiritoso78

Ciao,

to define our flag, we are used to calling it " IL TRICOLORE" meaning a three-colour flag, green,white and red!

AAAAAttention!


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## almufadado

Em Português :

"A bandeira nacional" 

 A Bandeira Nacional, com a Implantação                      da República passa a ser verde e vermelha, sendo composta                      por um rectângulo de pano cuja altura é igual                      a dois terços da largura.É                      dividida em duas partes, na vertical, sendo a parte que fica                      junto à haste de cor verde, ocupando dois quintos da                      superfície e a outra parte de cor vermelha, ocupando                      três quintos.
*Simbologia*
*Cor                      Verde* - Representa a esperança                      em melhores dias de prosperidade e bem-estar e também                      os campos verdejantes.
*Cor                      Vermelha* - Representa                      o valor e o sangue derramado nas conquistas, nas descobertas,                      na defesa e no engrandecimento da Pátria.
*Esfera                      Armilar* - Situa-se no                      centro da divisão das duas faixas, simbolizando as                      viagens dos navegadores portugueses pelo Mundo, nos séculos                      XV e XVI.
*Armas de                      Portugal* - Assentam sobre                      a esfera armilar, sendo compostas por um escudo maior com                      outro mais pequeno brocante, simbolizando o escudo, a arma                      de defesa utilizada pelos nossos antepassados nos combates.
*Escudo                      Maior* - É vermelho                      e à sua volta estão representados sete castelos                      que representam as cidades fortificadas que D. Afonso III                      tomou aos mouros.
*Escudo                      Pequeno* - É branco                      e encerra cinco escudetes azuis pequenos, fazendo alusão                      às cinco chagas de Jesus Cristo. Cada um desses escudos                      contêm cinco besantes de prata que contando duas vezes                      os da quina do meio, recordam os trinta dinheiros pelos quais                      Judas vendeu Jesus Cristo e simbolizam o poder régio                      de cunhar moeda.
*Autores                      da Bandeira Republicana*
Columbano,                      João Chagas e Abel Botelho.


En Français :
Le drapeau national à la mise en œuvre de la République doit être vert et rouge, qui est composé d'un rectangle de tissu dont la hauteur est égale à deux tiers de la largeur.  ​Il est divisé en deux parties, verticalement, et la partie qui se trouve à proximité du mât de vert, avec deux cinquièmes de la surface et une autre partie de rouge, avec trois cinquièmes. 
​*Symbolisme* 
​*Couleur Vert* - représente le meilleur espoir dans les jours de la prospérité et le bien-être et les champs verts. 
*
*​*Couleur Rouge* - représente la valeur et les réalisations dans le sang, les découvertes dans la défense et l'élargissement de la patrie. 
*
*​*Sphère armillaire* - Il est situé dans le centre de la division des deux bandes, symbolisant les voyages des navigateurs portugais dans le monde dans les siècles XV et XVI. 
*
*​*Les armes de Portugal* - est basée sur la sphère armillaire, étant composée d'un grand bouclier avec une autre petite brocante, symbolisant le bouclier, une arme de défense utilisés par nos ancêtres dans les combats. 

​*Grand bouclier* - et est de couleur rouge autour de lui sont représentés sept châteaux représentent les villes fortifiées que D. Afonso III​ a pris aux Maures. 

​*Petit** bouclier* - Elle dispose de cinq scutum blanc et bleu, petit, de faire allusion aux cinq plaies du Christ. ​Chacun de ces coin contiennent cinq cocarde d'argent  que le double comptage de le coin central, por rappelez  la trente pièces Judas a vendu Jésus, et symbolisent la puissance régalienne de frapper monnaie.


​*Auteurs du Drapeau** Républicain * 
​ Columbano, João Chagas et Abel Botelho. 


*In English :*

The national flag, after the implementation of the Republic, must be green and red, which is composed of a fabric rectangle whose height is equal to two thirds of the width. 

 It is divided into two parts, vertically, and the party is close to the mast of green, with two fifths of the surface and another part of red with three-fifths. 


*Symbolism  *

*Color Green -* represents the best hope in the days of prosperity and well-being and green fields.  


*Color Red *- represents the value and achievements in the blood, discovered in the defense and enlargement of the homeland.  

*Armillary Sphere -* It is located in the center of the division of two bands, symbolizing the voyages of Portuguese navigators in the world in the centuries XV and XVI. 

*Weapons of Portugal* - is based on the armillary sphere, consisting of a large shield with a small one whithin, symbolizing the shield, a weapon of defense used by our ancestors in the fighting. 

*Large Shield* - A big red one, and around him the seven castles representing the fortified cities D. Afonso III took from the Moors. 

*Small Shield -* It is white and has five blue scutums, small, to allude to the five wounds of Christ. Each of these corners contain five silver roundels that double counting central corner total the thirty pieces Judas sold Jesus for, and symbolize the sovereignty power for coining money. 

*Creators of the Republican Flag  *

 Columbano, João Chagas and Abel


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## Frank78

The German flag has no nick name. We just say the "Schwarz-Rot-Goldene Fahne" (the black red golden flag)

Nowadays we use it upside down. The original meaning of it, is "from a dark past (black-meaning the pre 19th century era) through bloody fights (red- refering to the democratic movements in the 19th century) to a golden future (gold). So it should be gold on top and black on bottom, but it´s vice versa today


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## zainada

_salam,_
Also in Saudi Arabia we do not have a specific name, just called it national flag (al a'alam l sa'audi).
It is a green flag featuring in white Arabic words (_la ilaha ill allah muhammadun rasul allah) mean_= "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger" and under it there is a sword. It's been used since 1973.


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## Adam S.

*In Kazakh:*

"Байрақ", "ту" or "жалау"
Көгілдір байрақ (ту, жалау) = Blue flag


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## ahshav

elirlandes said:


> Sometimes the flag of Ireland is referred to poetically or in song as "green, white and gold"



The same is true in Israel. While the flag is just called "Flag of Israel" (Degel Yisrael), the phrase blue-white is used sometimes to refers to Israeli things, most commonly to products manufactured in Israel - a "product of blue-white" (totzeret kakhol-lavan).


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## fsabroso

Arenita said:


> In* Peru,* there is no an official name, it is the flag (bandera), but sometimees it is called "la rojiblanca" (the red-and-white).


I agree, although "_*blanquirroja*_" is heard more often.


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## akaAJ

In the US we have, at least, "Old Glory" and "the Stars and Stripes".  As befits the caricatural national character, these, and others I forget, are used as often as "flag" or "national flag".


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## mataripis

*Tagalog: Watawat/ Bandila(spanish origin)*


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## apmoy70

In Greek we call our national flag «η γαλανόλευκη» (i ɣala'nolefci, _f._) lit. the "sky blue-white"; compound formed with the joining together of the adj. «γαλανός, -ή, -ό» (ɣala'nos, _m._/ɣala'ni, _f._/ɣala'no, _n._), which derives from the Hellenistic adjective «καλάϊνoς» (kăl'ainŏs) or «καλλάϊνος» (kă'llainŏs)--> _between blue and green_, from the gem «κάλαϊς» ('kălāīs, _f._--> _turquoise_), which in Byzantine Greek became «γαλεανός» (ɣalea'nos), later «γαλανός» + adj. «λευκός, -ή, -ό» (lef'kos, _m._/lef'ci, _f._/lef'ko, _n._)--> _white, clear_, deriving from the Classical «λευκὸς, -ὴ, -ὸν» (leu'kŏs _m._, leu'kē _f._, leu'kŏn _n._)-->_ light, bright, clear, white_. PIE base *leuqόs, _shiny, bright_.
Flag is «σημαία» (si'mea), which comes from the Classical feminine noun «σημεία» (sē'meiă)--> _military standard_, ultimately from «σῆμα» ('sēmă)--> _sign, mark, token_ with obscure etymology


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