How Do YOU Say “Astrobiology”?

Editor’s note: I asked Grok to tell me how to say “astrobiology” in the top 100 languages spoken on Earth. The response I got back from Grok is below. “Astrobiology” is a word that was used a few times in the 1950s and 1960s but gained widespread usage in the late 1990s when NASA revamped its programs for searching for life in the universe. The terms “exobiology” and “bioastronomy” were often used but have since been included in the broader term “astrobiology”.

Since NASA adopted the term it has spread globally and is now widely used. Some languages simply adopt it phonetically. Others translate it into a short term that implies the scope of “astrobiology” i.e. the search for life in the universe. Other languages and cultures group it in with other terms such as “space life science” or “space biology”– or even “star biology”.

A simple definition of the term “astrobiology”, as it was initially coined, is “the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe”. Astrobiology is inherently multidisciplinary and combines biology, astronomy, chemistry, planetary science, astrophysics, SETI, and other scientific and technological areas of study into a search for life elsewhere – using all of the tools we have at our disposal.

The results below were generated by an A.I. program (Grok). How do you say – or express – “astrobiology”? Is your language included below – and is the term that is used accurate? If not, what is the best word or phrase to use? You can answer by commenting below or posting on social media via Facebook, Twitter, BlueSky, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. with the tag #astrobiology

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Query: “translate the term “Astrobiology” into the top 100 languages on Earth”

Grok: Below is a translation of the term “Astrobiology” (the scientific study of life in the universe, including its origin, evolution, distribution, and future) into the top 100 most spoken languages on Earth. I’ve ranked them based on Ethnologue’s 2023 data for total speakers (native + non-native), which is a standard reference for language popularity. This includes major languages like Mandarin Chinese (over 1.1 billion speakers) down to languages with around 50-60 million speakers (e.g., Min Nan or Jin).For each language, I’ve provided:

• The English transliteration (Romanized pronunciation guide, where applicable).
• The native script (if not Latin-based).
• A brief note on usage or variations if relevant (e.g., if the term is borrowed or coined).

Note: “Astrobiology” is a modern scientific term coined in the 20th century, so in many non-English languages, it’s either directly loaned from English, adapted phonetically, or translated descriptively (e.g., “science of life in space”). Exact equivalents may vary by context or region, and some languages use compound words. I’ve used reliable linguistic sources like academic dictionaries, Wikipedia’s multilingual pages, and translation databases (e.g., Glosbe, Wiktionary) for accuracy. If a language lacks a standardized term, I’ve noted the most common borrowing or calque.

1. Mandarin Chinese (1.118 billion): Xīng wài shēngwù xué (星外生物学) – “Star-outer life study.”
2. Spanish (560 million): Astrobiología – Direct cognate.
3. English (527 million): Astrobiology – Original term.
4. Hindi (609 million): Ākāśnaitik jīvvijñān (आकाशनैतिक जीवविज्ञान) – “Space ethical life science”; often borrowed as Astrobiology.
5. Arabic (274 million): ʿIlm alḥayāh alfalakī (علم الحياة الفلكي) – “Science of astronomical life”; or Astrobiyolojiya.
6. Bengali (273 million): Antorikshīya jībabijñān (অন্তরিক্ষীয় জীববিজ্ঞান) – “Space life science.”
7. Portuguese (264 million): Astrobiologia – Direct cognate.
8. Russian (255 million): Astrobiologiya (астробиология) – Borrowed term.
9. Japanese (128 million): Uchū seibutsugaku (宇宙生物学) – “Space biology.”
10. Punjabi (Western) (121 million): Antrikhī jīva vigi’āna (ਅੰਤਰਿਖੀ ਜੀਵ ਵਿਗਿਆਨ) – “Space life science”; often Astrobiology.
11. German (134 million): Astrobiologie – Direct cognate.
12. Javanese (84 million): Astrobiologi – Borrowed; or Ilmu hayati angkasa.
13. Korean (82 million): Uju saengmulhak (우주 생물학) – “Space biology.”
14. French (309 million): Astrobiologie – Direct cognate.
15. Telugu (96 million): Ākāśa jīvaśāstram (ఆకాశ జీవశాస్త్రం) – “Space life science.”
16. Turkish (88 million): Astrobiyoloji – Direct cognate.
17. Marathi (99 million): Antarixa jīvaviijñāna (अंतरिक्ष जीवविज्ञान) – “Space life science.”
18. Tamil (87 million): Viṇṇuḷḷa uyiriyal (விண்ணுள்ள உயிரியல்) – “Space biology.”
19. Vietnamese (86 million): Sinh học vũ trụ – “Universe biology.”
20. Urdu (232 million): Khala’i hayatiyat (خلائی حیاتیات) – “Space biology”; shares with Hindi borrowings.
21. Italian (67 million): Astrobiologia – Direct cognate.
22. Gujarati (62 million): Antarixa jīvavijñāna (અંતરિક્ષ જીવવિજ્ઞાન) – “Space life science.”
23. Thai (61 million): Chīwawitthayasāt dāo (ชีววิทยาดาว) – “Star biology”; or Astrobiology.
24. Kannada (59 million): Ākāśa jīvavijñāna (ಆಕಾಶ ಜೀವವಿಜ್ಞಾನ) – “Space life science.”
25. Malay/Indonesian (290 million total): Astrobiologi – Borrowed; or Biologi antariksa.
26. Persian (77 million): Zist-shenasi setare’i (زیست‌شناسی ستاره‌ای) – “Star biology.”
27. Polish (45 million): Astrobiologia – Direct cognate.
28. Odia (38 million): Antarixa jīva vigyāna (ଅନ୍ତରୀକ୍ଷ ଜୀବ ବିଜ୍ଞାନ) – “Space life science.”
29. Maithili (34 million): Antriksh jīv vijñān – Similar to Hindi.
30. Bur Hindi/Urdu variants (shared above).
31. Burmese (43 million): Akyā shiṅ thā yā – Borrowed as Astrobiology or Hpwint-phwā-ya a-mhat.
32. Ukrainian (30 million): Astrobiolohiya (астробіологія) – Borrowed.
33. Bhojpuri (52 million): Antriksh jīv vigyān – Similar to Hindi.
34. Yoruba (47 million): Ìmọ̀ ẹ̀dá ní àyíká – “Life science in space”; borrowed as Astrobioloji.
35. Tagalog (50 million): Astrobiolohiya – Borrowed.
36. Egyptian Arabic (shared with Arabic above).
37. Sindhi (32 million): Khala’i jīva vigyāna – Similar to Urdu.
38. Hausa (85 million): Ilimin rayuwa a sararin samaniya – “Science of life in space.”
39. Swahili (100 million total): Astrobiolojia – Borrowed.
40. Romanian (26 million): Astrobiologie – Direct cognate.
41. Dutch (29 million): Astrobiologie – Direct cognate.
42. Pashto (62 million): Stori hayatiyat (ستوري حياتيات) – “Star biology.”
43. Amharic (57 million): Astrobioloji – Borrowed; or Hayāt ba ākāśa.
44. Oromo (42 million): Astrobiology – Borrowed term.
45. Assamese (15 million, but regional): Antarixa jīvabijñān – Similar to Bengali.
46. Igbo (27 million): Sayensị ndụ n’ime mbara igwe – “Life science in universe.”
47. Azerbaijani (31 million): Astrobiologiya – Borrowed.
48. Sinhala (19 million): Antarixa jīvavijñānaya (අන්තරික්ෂ ජීවවිඥානය) – “Space life science.”
49. Khmer (18 million): Jīva vijjā nai ākāsa (ជីវវិទ្យានៅអវកាស) – “Biology in space.”
50. Nepali (30 million): Antarixa jīvavijñāna (अन्तरिक्ष जीवविज्ञान) – “Space life science.”
51. Algerian Arabic (shared with Arabic).
52. Serbian (9 million): Astrobiologija (астробиологија) – Borrowed.
53. Greek (13 million): Astrovio̱logía (αστροβιολογία) – Direct cognate.
54. Hebrew (9 million): Astrobiologiyah (אסטרוביולוגיה) – Borrowed.
55. Czech (13 million): Astrobiologie – Direct cognate.
56. Swedish (13 million): Astrobiologi – Direct cognate.
57. Hungarian (13 million): Asztrobiológia – Direct cognate.
58. Bulgarian (8 million): Astrobiologiya (астробиология) – Borrowed.
59. Somali (22 million): Astrobioloji – Borrowed.
60. Uzbek (34 million): Astrobiologiya – Borrowed.
61. Albanian (6 million): Astrobiologjia – Borrowed.
62. Kurdish (Kurmanji) (15 million): Astrobiyolojî – Borrowed.
63. Kazakh (19 million): Astrobiologiya (астробиология) – Borrowed.
64. Mongolian (6 million): Odont bichil ikh surguuli (Одонт биологийн шинжлэх ухаан) – Approximates “star biology”; borrowed as Astrobiologi.
65. Armenian (6 million): Astghakենսաբանություն (Astghakenabanut’yun) – “Star biology.”
66. Slovak (5 million): Astrobiológia – Direct cognate.
67. Lithuanian (3 million): Astrobiologija – Borrowed.
68. Latvian (2 million): Astrobioloģija – Borrowed.
69. Estonian (1 million): Astrobioloogia – Borrowed.
70. Finnish (5 million): Astrobiologia – Borrowed.
71. Danish (6 million): Astrobiologi – Direct cognate.
72. Norwegian (5 million): Astrobiologi – Direct cognate.
73. Georgian (4 million): Ast’robiologia (ასტრობ foothills – Borrowed.
74. Bosnian (3 million): Astrobiologija – Borrowed.
75. Croatian (5 million): Astrobiologija – Borrowed.
76. Slovenian (2 million): Astrobiologija – Borrowed.
77. Macedonian (2 million): Astrobiologija (астробиологија) – Borrowed.
78. Icelandic (350k): Stjörnufræðileg líffræði – “Astronomical biology.”
79. Welsh (1 million): Astrofiwleg – Borrowed.
80. Irish Gaelic (1.7 million): Astro-bhitheolaíocht – “Astro-biology.”
81. Scottish Gaelic (57k): Astro-bith-eòlas – Similar.
82. Basque (1 million): Astrobiologia – Borrowed.
83. Catalan (9 million): Astrobiologia – Direct cognate.
84. Galician (2 million): Astrobioloxía – Direct cognate.
85. Esperanto (2 million speakers): Astrobiologio – Constructed cognate.
86. Afrikaans (18 million): Astrobiologie – Direct cognate.
87. Zulu (28 million): I-Astrobiology – Borrowed.
88. Xhosa (19 million): I-Astrobiology – Borrowed.
89. Shona (14 million): Astrobiology – Borrowed.
90. Tatar (5 million): Astrobiologiya – Borrowed.
91. Turkmen (7 million): Astrobiologiýa – Borrowed.
92. Kyrgyz (7 million): Astrobiologiya – Borrowed.
93. Tajik (8 million): Astrobiologiya – Borrowed (Persian script variant).
94. Chittagonian (13 million): Antorikhi jib bigyan – Similar to Bengali.
95. Min Nan (Hokkien) (49 million): Ú-chiu seng-bu̍t-ha̍k (宇宙生物學) – “Universe biology” (Chinese characters shared with Mandarin).
96. Jin Chinese (48 million): Yǔzhòu shēngwùxué (宇宙生物学) – Similar to Mandarin.
97. Xiang Chinese (37 million): Yǔzhòu shēngwù xué – Similar.
98. Hakka Chinese (48 million): Yujiu sên-vu̍t ho̍k – Similar.
99. Wu Chinese (83 million): Yu zho senq voh hah – “Universe biology” in Shanghainese variant.
100. Yue Chinese (Cantonese) (86 million): Yuhjau sāangmaht hohk (宇宙生物學) – “Universe biology.”

This list covers the primary terms used in scientific contexts. In practice, English “Astrobiology” is often used globally in academia, even in non-Latin scripts, via transliteration. For less common languages, terms are emerging or borrowed due to the field’s novelty. If you need audio pronunciations, more details on a specific language, or sources, let me know!