# Swastika



## panjabigator

Im curious to know what the is the word for "Swastika" in your respective languages.  The word, at least to my eyes, is blatantly sanskritic...perhaps this question merits it's own thread...


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## Porteño

En español es 'esvástica' o 'cruz gamada'.


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## Arrius

In German it is, as I said earlier, _das Hakenkreuz_ (cross with hooks). There was a move by the Nazis to avoid words of non-Germanic origin and invent "pure" German ones to replace those that were. _Die Swastika_ was and is the term used by anthropologists for the original "sun-wheel" symbol denoting good fortune, but is seldom used, and does not even appear in my quite thick German dictionary, only _Hakenkreuz._
By the way, _la croix gammée_ (French) and _la cruz gamada_ (Spanish) are so called because the flanged lines of the sign look like four Greek gammas joined together at the base: i.e. the large gamma that looks like a gallows without the diagonal supporting strut, not the smaller gamma split at the top.


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## Benvindo

panjabigator said:


> Im curious to know what the is the word for "Swastika" in your respective languages. The word, at least to my eyes, is blatantly sanskritic...perhaps this question merits it's own thread...


 
- - - -
In portuguese the word is _suástica, _the_ á_ marking where the accent falls.
BV


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## Snik

In Swedish it's "svastika", and more commonly "hakkors" (lit. "hook-cross" from the german word Arrius posted, "hakenkreuz")


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## Outsider

Portuguese: *suástica* or *cruz gamada* ("gamma-shaped cross"). This dictionary traces the former word back to Sanskrit, but I suspect it actually reached Portuguese fairly recently, probably via English or German (just my opinion).


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## heaa

Hungarian:

'horogkereszt'

Literally, 'hook-cross', probably from the German word.


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## Nizo

The _Plena Ilustrita Vortaro_, the most comprehensive monolingual *Esperanto* dictionary, gives this definition for _*svastiko*_:

_Hinduisma simbolo…; uzata ankaŭ kiel simbolo de naziismo_.  [A symbol of Hinduism…; used also as a symbol of Naziism.]

The dictionary also gives _*hokokruco*_ [hook-cross] as a synonym for the Nazi symbol.


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## spakh

Turkish

svastika or gamalı haç (cross with gammas)


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## DrWatson

Finnish: *hakaristi* ("hook cross")


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## Lingvisten

Danish: Hagekors (cross with hooks)


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## Flaminius

Japanese:
まんじ (manji) refers to the symbol 卍 and the flipped version (more accurately 裏卍; ura manji, reversed manji).  Nazi's symbol (hākenkuroitsu < G. Hakenkreuz or kagijūji = hooked cross) is regarded as a separate symbol, even if historically it has been part of the Buddhist iconography.


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## Joannes

Dutch: *hakenkruis* (or *swastika*)


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## imagination

Serbian: kukasti krst


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## aurette

In Romanian we say *zvastica.*

An interesting thing I found in an article in Romanian is that it had of course many names in different parts of the world. One of them was *Thor's Hammer.* It represented the four primary forces and it was a good luck sign.


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## aurette

In the same article I found the etimology of the german word Swastika. 
It derrives from the sanskrit words *su* meaning _good_ and *asti* meaning _to be._ The word *svasti* would translate a _state of wellbeing_ (i'm not sure if it's the right word).


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## Kazuma

Flaminius said:


> Japanese:
> まんじ (manji) refers to the symbol 卍 and the flipped version (more accurately 裏卍; ura manji, reversed manji).  Nazi's symbol (hākenkuroitsu < G. Hakenkreuz or kagijūji = hooked cross) is regarded as a separate symbol, even if historically it has been part of the Buddhist iconography.



裏卍は「卍」もしくは「卐」の名ですか。


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## Flaminius

裏卍 (uramanji) is not the name for 卍 but that of the flipped version (Hakenkreuz in a square box).


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## MagdaDH

It's _*swastyka *_in Polish.


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## irene.acler

In *Italian*: svastica.


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## Maja

imagination said:


> Serbian: kukasti krst


 Аnd "svastika".


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## kusurija

In Czech:
svastika or hákový kříž (from German ("hakenkreuz") or rarely we say it in "German" - hákenkrojc).


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## robbie_SWE

aurette said:


> In Romanian we say *zvastică.*
> 
> An interesting thing I found in an article in Romanian is that it had of course many names in different parts of the world. One of them was *Thor's Hammer.* It represented the four primary forces and it was a good luck sign.


 
According to my dictionary *svastică *is more commonly used, even if the word you listed is also present in some regions. 

 robbie


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## ilocas2

kusurija said:


> In Czech:
> svastika or hákový kříž (from German ("hakenkreuz") or rarely we say it in "German" - hákenkrojc). *hákáč*



I'm adding a slang word for swastika.


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## apmoy70

In Greek it's *«σβάστικα»* [ˈsvastika] (fem.), also *«γαμμάδιο»* [ɣaˈmaði.o] (neut.) < Classical neut. *«γαμμάδιον» gămmắdiŏn* --> _gammadium_ (because it resembles four gammas *Γ*), and *«τετρασκέλιο»* [tetraˈsceli.o] (neut.) < Classical neut. *«τετρασκέλιον» tĕtrăskéliŏn* --> _four-legged_ < compound; combinatory *«τετρα-» tĕtră-* of numeral *«τέσσαρες» téssarĕs* --> _four_ (PIE *kʷetuer- _four_) + Classical neut. noun *«σκέλος» skélŏs* --> _thigh, limb_ (PIE *skel- _to bend, curve_ cf Lat. scelus, _criminal, villain_, Proto-Germanic *skelwaz > Ger./Dt. scheel)


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## Frank78

Arrius said:


> In German it is, as I said earlier, _das Hakenkreuz_ (cross with hooks). There was a move by the Nazis to avoid words of non-Germanic origin and invent "pure" German ones to replace those that were.



The word wasn't a Nazi invention. It already appears in Grimm's dictionary from the 19th century as heraldic symbol.


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## Perseas

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek it's *«σβάστικα»* [ˈsvastika] (fem.), also *«γαμμάδιο»* [ɣaˈmaði.o] (neut.) < Classical neut. *«γαμμάδιον» gămmắdiŏn* --> _gammadium_ (because it resembles four gammas *Γ*), and *«τετρασκέλιο»* [tetraˈsceli.o] (neut.) < Classical neut. *«τετρασκέλιον» tĕtrăskéliŏn* --> _four-legged_ < compound; combinatory *«τετρα-» tĕtră-* of numeral *«τέσσαρες» téssarĕs* --> _four_ (PIE *kʷetuer- _four_) + Classical neut. noun *«σκέλος» skélŏs* --> _thigh, limb_ (PIE *skel- _to bend, curve_ cf Lat. scelus, _criminal, villain_, Proto-Germanic *skelwaz > Ger./Dt. scheel)


Also *αγκυλωτός σταυρός* (cross with square brackets?)


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## apmoy70

Perseas said:


> Also *αγκυλωτός σταυρός* (cross with square brackets?)


You're right of course, it eluded me. A German calque perhaps? 
*Hakenkreuz* = *αγκυλωτός σταυρός *[aɲɟiloˈtos stavˈɾos] (both masc.) --> _hooked-cross_, from Classical fem. *«ἀγκύλη» ăŋgúlē* --> _hook, bend_ (PIE *h₁enk- _to bend_ cf Skt. अञ्चति (añcati), _curl_, Latin angulus, Proto-Slavic *ѫгълъ, _angle_).


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## Nawaq

_Svastika_ or _croix gammée_ (French)


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## Dymn

Catalan: _esvàstica _or _creu gammada_ (both feminine)


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## Messquito

In Chinese there's even a character of it: 卍
There's also another version 卐, but we generally don't make a difference between them when we mention it.
We pronounce it (both of them) as 萬(wan4), which means ten thousand.


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## mataripis

The Laguna Copperplate inscriptions 822 A.D. has the word of greeting Swasti that sounds Soi ( life) in Greek.That word existed together with ancient language in Luzon island more than 1,100 years ago. It is a form of greeting in Thai Swasdee and Mabuhay Ka of Tagalog  nowadays. In my interpretation, Swastika is a symbol that mean Viva in Spanish or long life in English.In other word, it is perpetuation of a system attached to infinity.Cross or crossing is Tawid/Tuwid(go straight,pass through) and Tumawid in my Language.Cross in Christianity means something that is sacrificed for attonement.When someone is forgiven( pinatawad or pinatawid) that individual will be able to reach the next levels of existence.Swasti is a greeting while Swastika is a fixed form of word describing the perfect condition of existence.Swastika literally means Life goes with you( Swas+ ti+ ka.)


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## bazq

In Hebrew:

צלב קרס [ts(e)lav keres] = "cross (of) hook".


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## momai

Arabic:

الصليب المعقوف al-Saleeb al-ma3quf ~ the crooked/bent cross


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## Pugnator

In Italian is "Svastica" or "Croce uncinata".  The expression "Croce uncinata" it's famous also because it is used in the song "Stalingrado" which commemorate the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact one of the line say  


> "Sulla sua strada gelata la croce uncinata lo sa
> D'ora in poi troverà Stalingrado in ogni città"


Translation:


> On its frozen way, the hook-shaped cross knows it well:
> from now on it will find Stalingrad in every town.


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## stormwatch

robbie_SWE said:


> According to my dictionary *svastică *is more commonly used, even if the word you listed is also present in some regions.


"Zvastică" is the way you pronounce it, so both spellings are OK.

Another name for it, I found in a Sven Hassel translation: "cruce încârligată" (hook shaped cross), as a defamatory name for the nazi's swastika, as the author intended it to be. Other than that, there aren't other names for it in Romanian.


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