• In
Albanian, the word (meaning
friend, from
Latin ) was used within communist circles. The female form is . • In
Ethiopia, the
Amharic word for "comrade" is "Guade" written with ancient
Geʽez script as "ጓድ". The word "Guade" trace its origin to the Amharic word of "Guadegna/ ጓደኛ" meaning " a friend". The word was in popular use after the 1974 revolution particularly by members of the socialist party to refer to another person of the similar political group, belongs to the same ideology, or similar style. The usage of the word is eroded since 1991 and it is limited to political party conventions or meetings. A rather the most popular variation of the word in the past and currently is "Guadochae/ ጓዶቼ" meaning "my friends" which is a humble way of address for a valued colleague or friend. • The Arabic word () (meaning
comrade, companion) is used in Arabic,
Urdu and
Persian with the same political connotation as "comrade". The term is used both among
Arab communists as well as within the
Ba'ath movement, the
Yemeni Socialist Party, and the
Lebanese Forces. The term predates modern political usage, and is an Arabic male proper name. Iranian communists use the same term. In
Pakistan, the term is sometimes used to refer to
Islamist members of
Jama'at-e-Islami and
Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami). • The
Armenian word for comrade is () for boys and men and () for girls and women. This word literally translates as "friend". It is used by members of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation,
Ramgavar and
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party when addressing other members of the party. The term is also used by the
Armenian Communist Party. • The
Azerbaijani word for comrade is (literally "co-traveller"). • The
Belarusian word for comrade is (), with the same origin as the Russian word. It is usually used only with a political or historical meaning in connection with the Communists. • The
Bengali word () is used by all leftist groups especially by the
Communist Party of Bangladesh (),
Communist Party of India,
Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other Communist Parties in India (especially in the States of
West Bengal and
Tripura) and
Socialist Party of Bangladesh-SPB,
Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal-JSD (
Bangladesh) etc. • The
Burmese word () is used in the
Communist Party of Burma. • The
Bulgarian word for comrade is (), female (). It translates as friend or colleague. In Communist times, it was the general form of address, also used in reference to schoolteachers etc. • In
Catalan, the word for comrade is for males, for females. It is still in widespread use among communist and anarchist organisations, but it also occurs often in everyday speech to refer to neutral relationships such as classmates or flatmates with no political connotation. • In Chinese, the word () is used. The meaning of the word refers to a like-minded person. It is, through usage, associated with Communism, however, it may be used as a friendly epithet between friends or colleagues, mostly of the older generation. It is still currently used in
Chinese state media to address top
party and state leaders such as
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping as well as within the
People's Liberation Army to address soldiers and officers. In current usage, it is also used by
LGBT people in China to refer to one another. • The
Czech word for comrade is (m.) and (f.). In 19th century Czech, it was a poetic word, meaning "fellow". As elsewhere in Europe, the term was originally introduced by the Czech Social Democrats and subsequently carried over to Czech Communists as well when these split off from the Social Democrats. After the Communist Party gained power in 1948, the word displaced all prior titles like , ("Mister", "Madam") and became the title used generally for everyone. Nowadays, it is used only in (actual or, more often, ironic) Communist context. After the
Velvet Revolution, an attempt was made in the
Czech Social Democratic Party to replace with ("friend") as a form of an address, but it didn't catch on. A cognate to English word "comrade", , means "friend" in Czech. It is a very commonly used word and it has no political connotations. A cognate (now obsolete) to the Russian word , , means "
journeyman" in Czech and has no political connotations (compare , lit. "Jesus's Journeymen"). • The
Dutch word is . In
Common Dutch the word is mostly reminiscent of communists, whereas in informal speech and dialects it can be used to indicate friends or acquaintances. It was used as a form of address in the
Communist Party of the Netherlands, as well as in the pre-war
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands, the latter also using the female neologism . The pseudo-Russian word is used informally as a
sobriquet for a person with leftist sympathies. • The
Danish word is (plural ) which literally translates as "
mate," or "
buddy". It is normally used to refer to someone's childhood friend or friends, but can also be used interchangeably with , which means
friend. • The
Esperanto word for comrade is either in the sense of a friend or a political fellow-traveller. In the latter case, when used in writing, it is often abbreviated to . It is the preferred form of address among members of . The word , literally "same-thinker", usually refers to a fellow Esperantist. • The
Estonian word is which originally comes from German . Having initially a neutral meaning, the term was later adapted by local communists. Today it has an ironical meaning, referring to Soviet times. • The
Finnish word is which literally translates as "
companion". This has a heavy socialist connotation, but may sometimes be used in humorous manner. Mates in an institution like school, jail or hospital could also be addressed thus, but not in the army. • The French word is . It is mainly used by communists and can apply to classmates or friends. • The
Georgian word is (). • In German, the word is for a male, or for a female. The meaning is that of a fellow, a companion or an associate. Since
Kamerad is the usual term for a fellow soldier in German military language, the word is associated with right-wing rather than left-wing groups. Communists and socialists, especially party members of the
SED and
SPD use the word (fem. ; i.e. "partner", in the sense of a fellow member of a
co-operative) with the socialist association that "comrade" has in English. Members of the
NSDAP used the variant
Parteigenosse (lit. party-comrade). • The
Greek word is (, m.) and (, f.), used by communists, socialists and other left-wing groups. Other meanings of this word are: mate, pal, friend, companion, even partner or associate etc. • The
Hebrew equivalent is (), a word which can mean both "friend" and "member" (of a group or organization). During the time of
Socialist Zionist political and ideological dominance of the 1930s to the 1960s, the word in a sense similar to English "comrade" was in widespread use, in the
Kibbutz movement, the
Histadrut trade unions, the driver-owned bus companies etc., though this implication is carried only when it is used as a title to precede a name, in which case it includes a
definite article (e.g. ). At present, its political use is considered old-fashioned, mainly restricted to Israeli Communists; the same word exists also in
Yiddish, which is one possible origin of the colloquial Australian word
cobber.) The Hebrew and the female are still widely used in a non-political sense, as meaning simply "friend" (in certain contexts also meaning "boyfriend"/"girlfriend"). • The
Hindi equivalent for comrade is
kômrēḍ (कॉमरेड) or
sāthī (साथी). It is widely used among leftist (communist) parties of India, e.g.,
Communist Party of India,
Communist Party of India (Marxist),
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India),
Forward Bloc and others. • The
Hungarian word for comrade is ; means "
principle" or "
tenet" while means "fellow". As the
Hungarian Working People's Party gradually gained power after the
Second World War, the word displaced all prior titles like ("Mister") and became the title used generally for everyone except for people who were obviously not "tenet fellows" e.g. those who committed
political crime against the socialist state. After the democratic transition the word became obsolete and it is used derogatorily to address politicians on the
political left. • The
Icelandic word for comrade is , which is cognate to English "fellow". It is used as a less intimate alternative to (friend). It is also the word used for a "member" of club or association. When used as a title to precede a name (e.g., or ) it has a communist implication. • In
Indonesian, the word is . In the early days of independence, , meaning "brother", was commonly used as an egalitarian form of address for people of any status. The word
kawan (friend) is now also widely used among leftists. • In Irish the word for comrade is , with (friend) used as a term of address. Both expressions are used largely by
Irish Republicans,
Nationalism,
Communists, and
Socialists. • The Italian word for comrade is (male) or (female), meaning "companion". This word is in widespread use among left-wing circles, including not just communists but also many socialists. The literal translation of the word comrade is , with the specific meaning of "comrade-in-arms" or "fellow soldier": it is used by nationalist and militarist right-wing groups. Using one word or the other is a quick way to announce one's political views. • The Japanese word for comrade is (), using the same Han characters as in Chinese. The word is used to refer to like-minded persons and the usage is not necessarily limited to Communists, though the word is to some extent associated with Communism. The word should not be confused with a homonym , which is a more commonly used postfix to show people sharing a certain property. • In
Kannada, the word , () is used among communist people's while addressing its people. • In
Kazakh, the translation of "tovarish" was similar to other Turkic translations, (literally "co-traveller", most often used referring to friends and spouses) was used. • In
Khmer, the word
comrade ( or ) was used by the
Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation during the
People's Republic of Kampuchea era. • In
Korean, a good equivalent of the word would be () or (, senior comrade). Although the word was originally used by Korean people all over the
Korean Peninsula, people living south of the
38th Parallel began avoiding using the word after a
communist state was set up in the north. In
North Korea, the word replaced all prior social titles and earned a new meaning as "a fellow man fighting for the revolution". The word originally meant "friend". On the other hand, the word () is frequently used in North Korean state media to address senior state and party leaders such as
Kim Jong-un. • In
Kurdish, the word ("friend" or "companion on a long journey") is widely used among Kurdish political parties and organizations. • In
Lao, the word is (). • In
Latvian, the word is for males and or for females. • In
Lithuanian, the word is for males and for females; both of which originally meant "friend". • In
Macedonian, the word is () for men and () for women. • In
Malay, the words , and are used among socialist organizations. • In
Malayalam, the word () (meaning friend, ally, partner) is used among communist organisations while addressing fellow members. Due to the strong presence of the Communist Party of India in Kerala, the word is almost exclusively used to refer to a member of the party or to imply an association with communism. • In Mexico, the word is and can be (and often is) used with no political connotation. • In
Mongolian, the word is (). It is still in use but less than before. • The
Nepali equivalent for comrade is () or () as in Hindi. It is used by communists in Nepal such as the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre),
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist),
Janamorcha Nepal and others. • In
Norwegian, the word is . It can be associated with communist usage, but more commonly refers simply to an associate, a co-worker (), or a classmate in school ( or ). In everyday use, the word on its own is considered a masculine term, referring to boys/men. For girls/women, the term (female form of friend) is used instead. When joined with other words, such as , the word is gender neutral. (Although Norwegians would understand what is meant by , it would also sound awkward and somewhat archaic.) • In the
Philippines, communist and left-leaning activists prefer the term (roughly, companion), and the short form, before the name (e.g.
Ka Bel).
Protestant (usually
Evangelical) clerics and members of the also use before names or
nicknames, but as a contraction of ("brother"/"sister"), denoting spiritual brotherhood. Practitioners of law informally use the
Spanish terms and when referring to each other, albeit without any socio-political connotation. • In the
Pashto language, the word for comrade is . It is used by and refers to communists, socialists, or supporters of the communist system across the
Durand Line (i.e. in
Afghanistan and
Pakistan) by Pashto speakers. For the last decade or so it has also been used by the nationalists. The word is also used by common people both male and female for a very close friend. • In
Poland, the word is , which has the same origin as the Russian word. In non-political sense, it means "companion". • In
Portugal and Brazil, the word is , now being commonly employed to refer to communists or supporters of the communist system (result of the overusage of the term in the
post-revolutionary society). It is also prevalent in the army, and has been gaining popularity among nationalist movements. The term used among socialist activists nowadays tends to be / although in Portugal is still commonly used. Brazilian president
Lula is widely known for addressing his political mates and supporters as , however this decreased during the last years of his presidential term, while it was very popular during the elections, often imitated by comedians who satirized Lula's idiosyncratic manners. The terms and / are also used without political connotations, meaning "mate", "partner", "fella". • In the
Punjabi language the word for comrade is (). However, the word "Comrade" itself, or ਕਾਮਰੇਡ (
Kāmrēḍ), is used to refer to a communist or communist party member, and is often used as a more linguistically acceptable replacement for the word "communist," with the communist party often being called "The Comrades" or communist thought being called "ਕਾਮਰੇਡ ਸੋਚਣੀ" (
Kāmrēḍ Sōcaṇī). • In the
Romani language the word for comrade is as seen in the phrase or
Long live comrade Tito and long live the Yugoslav people. • In
Romanian the exact translation is , a
neologism introduced from French in the 19th century, which does not bear a political connotation, referring mainly to wartime allies and friends. During the communist era an older term, , derived from a Slavic source, was used to convey the political meaning. • The
Serbo-Croatian equivalent for comrade is () for males and () for females; it's also a regular and colloquial word for "friend", although largely replaced by and in standard varieties of the language.
Communist Party/League of Communists of Yugoslavia promoted the use of the term between the members and generally among the society throughout existence of the
Socialist Yugoslavia, from
World War II in early 1940s to
Yugoslav Wars in early 1990s. It was not unusual to hear political leaders referring to their audience as . Its intention was to emphasize empathy and equality, and it is still used by the most fervocious adherents of leftist ideologies. • The
Slovak word for comrade is (m.) and (f.). The term is used too, but it is normally translated as friend. • The
Slovenian word for comrade is (m.) and (f.), first attested in the 16th century. After the Second World War it was also colloquially used for "teacher" (as an elliptical form of the official (m.) and (f.) "comrade teacher"). After 1991 it rapidly fell out of use as a general term of address, but is still used when expressing
comradeship among individuals. • The
Sindhi word for comrade is , ; it is normally translated as friend. • The
Somali word for comrade is ; it is normally translated as friend. It was widely used by the erstwhile
Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (1969–1991). The word fell out of use after the fall of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party. • In Spain, the word is (m.) / (f.) ("companion"); the term ("comrade") has also been used, but it is more associated with the communist and
Falange tradition. In Spain the word can be (and often is) used with no political connotation. • The standard form in
Cuba is / , as it was in socialist
Nicaragua and Chile. In some parts of Latin America, is the more frequent word, except in
Peru, where the term is commonly associated with the of members of far left groups
Shining Path and
MRTA, while members of the social-democrat party
APRA as well as other left parties or left-leaning organizations employ to refer to fellow members. The term is the more normal among
Spanish Communists. • In Chile, much like as in Italy, has traditionally been used by
its army, and historically by fascist groups, such as the
National Socialist Movement of Chile, while is commonplace within far-left wing groups and the
Socialist and
Communist parties. • In
Sinhala, the word is , which literally means brother. • In
Swahili, the equivalent word is for brother-in-arms, or for a female comrade. The word is still used in formerly socialist Tanzania as a way of showing (political) solidarity. • The
Swedish word is . Although it can be associated with communist usage, it can equally well refer simply to a friend, a co-worker (), or a classmate in school ( or ). Unlike the corresponding
Norwegian word, the term is commonly used for both boys and girls in non-communist usage. See also
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna • The
Tamil word for comrade is () and is a regular word for "friend". • In
Tetun, the national language of
Timor Leste, the word is used – a direct loan from the language of the former colonial power, Portugal. During the 1970s the word was a common term of address within the left-leaning
Fretilin party, and after the Indonesian invasion, continued to be used by the Fretilin associated guerrillas waging a war of resistance in the jungle. Though largely falling out of use since 1999 Fretilin politicians and veterans of the guerrillas struggle continue to use the term to refer to each other. • The
Thai word () was used in the communist movement. • The
Turkish word (literally "co-traveller") has become used within the communist movement, meaning "way" and "cause".
Ottoman Janissaries used to call each other ( "comrade") or (, plural: "comrades"). Turkish communists, being morally affected by
Bektashi values of the older era, adopted this term. In the climate of harsh anticommunist repression the word largely disappeared from common usage. is also a male name in Turkish. • In
Ukraine comrade was still the standard form of address in the
armed forces and
police until October 2018, when it was changed into "sir" () by law. • In the United Kingdom, political use of the term
comrade is strongly associated with both Communism and, historically, Fascism. However it is still used as an informal form of address among some
Labour Party members, and in a more serious manner by many smaller parties of the left. Use of the term is generally restricted to people with whom the speaker agrees politically. It is usually written in full, the abbreviation
Cde being associated with southern African usage. The honorific terms
sister and
brother, also declining in usage, are more politically inclusive, encompassing everyone from the centre-left to the far-left, without necessarily indicating complete political agreement. All three terms are occasionally used in a mocking or patronising manner by political opponents. On the far right,
comrade was the standard form of address between members of the
British Union of Fascists and featured widely in their publications and marching songs. • In the United States, the word
comrade carries a strong connotation with Communism,
Marxism–Leninism, and the former Soviet Union. Especially during the
Cold War, to address someone as "comrade" marked either the speaker, person addressed, or both as suspected communist sympathizers. It is frequently used ironically in that way. In addition, it is still used in its generic context by some American socialists. Despite this, it has been adopted into the U.S. Army
Soldier's Creed in the statement "I will never leave a fallen comrade". It is also used at meetings of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars to address a fellow member. • The
Vietnamese word is , which is derived from Chinese . Due to the influence of Chinese revolutionary groups during the early 20th century on the Vietnamese independence movement, its usage was first seen among members of the
Kuomintang-backed
Vietnamese Nationalist Party and then later spread to members of the
Vietnamese Communist Party. It is still being used openly in public to address state and Communist Party leaders as well as among soldiers and military officers in the Army. == See also ==