Vietnam (Country) English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Indonesian, MalayFrom
Việt Nam, meaning
"southern Yue", derived from Sino-Vietnamese
越 (việt), referring to the Yue people, and
南 (nam) meaning "south". This is the name of a country in southeastern Asia.
Viro (Country) FinnishFrom the name of the old region of
Virumaa in northern Estonia, which got its name from the Finnic tribe of the Vironians. This is the Finnish name for
Estonia.
Viti (Country & Island) Fijian, EnglishFijian form of
Fiji. This name is also used in English (and other languages) to refer to the main Fijian island of Viti Levu.
Wales (Country) English, German, DutchFrom Old English
Wealas, derived from
wealh meaning
"foreigner, Celt". This is the name of a country (part of the
United Kingdom) in the west of the island of Great Britain. In Welsh it is called
Cymru.
Yamato (Country) JapanesePossibly related to Japanese
山 (yama) meaning
"mountain". This was the old name for the area around the city of Nara, though it was later applied to the entire country of Japan. Chinese scribes originally wrote this name using the character
倭 meaning "short". However, this was revised to the more favourable
和 meaning "harmony" in the 8th century. The prefixed character
大 means "great".
Yemen (Country) English, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Chinese, Korean, Thai, TagalogFrom Arabic
يمن (Yaman), probably derived from
يمين (yamin) meaning
"right hand, south". This is the name of a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.
Zaire (River & Country) Portuguese, EnglishOlder name of the
Congo River, said to be derived via Portuguese from Kikongo
nzadi o nzere meaning
"river swallowing rivers". This was also the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zambia (Country) Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, RomanianFrom the name of the
Zambezi River. It was adopted as the name of the African country of Zambia, formerly called Northern
Rhodesia, when it became independent of the United Kingdom in 1964.
Zealand (Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, SwedishFrom Dutch
Zeeland, from Middle Dutch
Seelant, derived from
see "sea" and
lant "land". This is the name of a province in the western Netherlands (now typically called
Zeeland in many languages). It is also borne by the country of New Zealand in the South Pacific, which was named by the Dutch in the 17th century.
Zhongguo (Country) ChineseMeans
"middle kingdom", from Chinese
中 (zhōng) meaning "middle" and
国 (guó) meaning "country, state". This is the Chinese name for
China. The name originally referred to China's central regions, as opposed to the territory on the fringes.
Zimbabve (Country) Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Armenian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, MongolianForm of
Zimbabwe in several languages.
Zimbabwe (Country & Settlement) Shona, Ndebele, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, RomanianFrom the Shona language, possibly from
dzimba "houses" and
ibwe "stone". Great Zimbabwe was an ancient city, falling into ruin in the 15th century. It was located in the country of Zimbabwe, which was named after the ancient city in 1980 when it gained independence from the United Kingdom. It was formerly called Southern
Rhodesia by the British.