The following words for stuttering is from a list collected by Richard Kitchens and Van Riper's The Nature of Stuttering, 1982, p.4 with additions/corrections by Gustaf Liljegren, Marc Maes, Atila Akay, Cecelia, Sim Hyun-Sub, Jonathan Bishop, Katie Zaman, Benny Ravid, George Petrentzev, Lou Heite, Manuel Rubin, Francisco Javier Sangorrin Garcia, Anita Makri, P.P. Kini, Erki Suurjaak, Stefan Wessels, Jesus Chavez, Leela Ahmed, J Ponjit, Taiwo Adeoye, Dr. Firouzi, Isabel O'Leary, Smilja Majevic, Alice Smith, Adele Ghamedei, Emma Shah, Smilja Majevic, Katarzyna Węsierska, Luigi Long, Hana Laciková, Selma

• The Collins German to English online dictionary has several audio links to words for stutter/stammer in several different languages (about half-way down the page)

  EUROPEAN
  

  • Albanian: belbëzimi
    
  • Danish: stammen
    
  • Dutch: stotteren
    
  • Finnish: ankyttaa
    
  • French: begaiement (when speaking about the disorder), begue (person who stutters)
    
  • Norweigan: stamming
    
  • Swedish: stamning
    
  • Spanish: "tartamudez" (when speaking about the disorder) or "tartamudeo" (when speaking about a single block). The verb "to stutter" is "tartamudear." In "Galician," spoken in northern Spain, the noun for stuttering is "tatexo" and the verb "to stutter" is "tatexar." In Cataluua (North-east of Spain) "stuttering" is "caqueig," and the person who stutter is called "quec"
    
  • Estonian: kogelemine (stuttering), kogelema (to stutter) and kogeleja (stutterer)
    
  • Czech: koktani
    
  • Russian: zaikatsia; zaikanie
    
  • German: stottern
    
  • European Portuguese: gaguez
    
  • Italian: balbuzie
    
  • Latvian: stostisanas
    
  • Hungarian: dadogo
    
  • Esperanto: babuti
    
  • Yugoslavia (Slovenic): jeclijati
    
  • Bulgaria: zaekvane (n. stutterer) zaekvam (v. stuttering)
    
  • Croatia: mucanje
    
  • Iceland: stama
    
  • Greek/Greek Cypriot - "travlisma" (stutter); "travlizo" (I stutter)
    
  • Serbia: mucanje
  • Slovenia: jecljati
  • Slovak: zajakavos' - Stuttering, zajakavý, osoba so zajakavos'ou - person who stutters
  • Polish: jąkanie

  EASTERN

  • India, where many languages are spoken
    English: Stammering/Stuttering
    Hindi: Hakalaanaa
    Marathi: Totarepanaa
    Konkani: Tadasuche
    Kannada: Tadavarisudu
    Tulu: Godde
    Tamil: Konnay/Thikku Vai
    Malayalam: Vickal
    Sanskrit: Jivha Jarata
    Bangali: Totalaano
    Oriya: Khana
    Punjabi: Totalaanaa
  • Persian: locknatezaban or LOKNA`T'
    (in IRAN, Persian is 100% first spoken language; in Afghanistan it is the first spoken language, and it is also spoken In central Asian Countries like Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)
  • Turkish: kekeme - the person who stutters
    kekelemek - the verb stutter
    
  • Arabic: yutamtem; rattat; Al-ta'ta'a
    
  • Cambodian (Khmer language): niyiey drawdut (the 'u' is a schwa sound)
  • Chinese (Cantonese): hau hick; kong'-tak-lak-kak
    
  • Chinese (Mandarin): kou chi, as written in Pinyin, the official romanized alphabet for transcribing Chinese. ("Kou" rhymes with "hoe" and "chi" rhymes with "her")
    
  • Hebrew: gimgum
    
  • Hindustani: larbaraha
    
  • Vietnamese: su noi lap
    
  • Japanese: domori; kitsuon
    
  • Tagalog: patalutal
    
  • Korean: maldeodum
    
  • Bangladesh: totla
    
  • Dhivehi (spoken in Maldives which is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean): aagathun
  • Thailand: Tid Ang
  • Mirpuri (a version of Punjabi spoken by many of the immigrant population from Pakistan who are living in Sheffield UK): tata (with dentalised t)

  AFRICAN

  • Kiswahili: Kikugumizi
    
  • Xhosa: ukuthititha
    
  • Nigeria (Ibo): nsu
    
  • Somali: wuu haghaglayya or hag hago
    
  • Egyptian: tuhuhtuhuh; nit-nit
    
  • Ghana (Twi): howdodo
    
  • Shangaan: manghanghamela
    
  • Lugnada: okukunanaagira
    
  • Ga: haamuala
    
  • Zula: Amalimi
    
  • Afrikaans (spoken in South Africa - related to Dutch and Flemish) to stutter is to "hakkel" or "stotter" - "hakkel" is a lot more common.
  • The Yoruba people of Western Nigeria refer to stuttering as KALOLO
  • Shona: (spoken by some people in Zimbabwe): kundandamma

  SOUTH AMERICA

  • Brasilian Portuguese: gagueira
    

  NORTH and CENTRAL AMERICA

  • United States: stuttering
    
  • NATIVE AMERICAN
    
    • Salish: sutsuts
      
    • Tlahoose: ha'ak'ok
      
    • Chocktaw: isunash illi
      
    • Dakota: eye-hda-sna-sna
      
    • Cherokee: a-da-nv-te-hi-lo-squi
      
    • Nanaimo: skeykulskwels
      
    • Haida: kilekwigu'ung
      
    • Asage: the'-ce u-ba-ci-ge
      
    • Eskimo: iptogetok
    • Acoma people, New Mexico (Keresan language): tunu tunu kadz'i
      
  • Cuba: a person who stutters is called "Gago."

  PACIFIC

  • British Isles: stammering
    
  • Fiji: kaka
    
  • Hawaiian: uu uus
    
  • Mau Mau: kuhindahinda
    

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last modified July 7, 2026

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