Yes, other languages do have different names.
The following Wikipedia article has a large number of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_piece
chess pieces at different languages
Sort:
Portuguese:
Pawn - Peão
Rook - Torre (meaning Tower)
Knight - Cavalo (meaning Horse)
Bishop - Bispo
Queen - Dama
King - Rei
Pawn - Peão
Rook - Torre (meaning Tower)
Knight - Cavalo (meaning Horse)
Bishop - Bispo
Queen - Dama
King - Rei
I think it would be better if a native wrote the meaning of the piece in his language adding his opinion.
Yes, bishop is named alfil here, an Arabic word for elephant if I'm not wrong.
Apr 20, 2016
0
#7
Hebrew: King, knights and queens are the same as in English.
The rook becomes a turret (on top of the castle)
The bishop is a courier or a messenger
The pawn is called "foot soldier"
By the way "Alfil" is THE elephent in Arabic... the word you have for "the" in Spanish comes from Arabic...
Yes, there are lots of Spanish words wich start with "al" due to that.
Apr 20, 2016
0
#9
In German the knight is a "springer" or a jumper... and the bishop is "laufer" - simply a runner.
In Italian and French the queen is "Dama" or "Dame" - the lady
In French "Alfil" becomes "le fou" - the madman, the crazy person.. strange how these things evolve
Apr 20, 2016
0
#10
<Pulpofeira> not only that - your most standard "el" simply derives directly from Arabic.
So "el alfil" is "the the elephant", then. :)
In Danish the the knight is a "springer" meaning jumper.
The rook is a "tårn" meaning a tower
The pawn is a "bonde". Bonde is an old word for a farmer, maybe peasant is better translation for bonde than farmer.
( I guess it comes from a time where the minor soldiers in the army were peasants called in for each occasion )
The Bishop is a "løber" meaning a runner.
Another meaning of the word "løber" is some one that serve Monarch's spouse during an official event. Maybe thats the kind of "løber" that has given the chesspiece th it's name.
In Arabic the queen is a minister , The bishop is an elephant! and the knight is only a hours ( apparently moving on its own) ..I wonder if other languages have different names.