Standard Lemma guide

bulbul

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈbʊlbʊl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of several passerine songbirds, of the family Pycnonotidae (currently, 27 genera recognized), native to Africa and Eurasia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any of the bulbul species of the Middle East, popular in poetry; sometimes known as the ‘nightingale of the East’.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

nightingale spoken of in Persian poetry

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian بلبل (bulbul) or from Arabic بُلْبُل (bulbul).

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: tiptolle — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Arabic: بُلْبُل (bulbul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Arabic: بلبل (bulbul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鵯 /鹎 (bēi) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Dutch: buulbuul — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Finnish: bulbuli — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • French: bulbul — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • German: Bülbül — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Hebrew: בולבול (bulbul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Hindi: बुलबुल (bulbul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Hindi: अंदलीब (andlīb) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Hindi: हजारदास्ताँ (hajārdāstā̃) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Indonesian: merbah — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Indonesian: cucak — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Indonesian: bulbul — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Italian: bulbul — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Japanese: 鵯 (hiyodori) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Javanese: cucak — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Kashmiri: بُلبُل (bulbul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Lithuanian: biulbiulis — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Odia: ବୁଲବୁଲ୍ (bulabul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Pashto: بلبله — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Persian: بلبل (bolbol) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Persian: هزاردستان (hezârdastân) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Persian: شباهنگ (šabâhang) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Polish: bilbil — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Russian: бюльбюль (bjulʹbjulʹ) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Spanish: bulbul — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Tibetan: ཀ་ལ་པིང་ཀ (ka la ping ka) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae
  • Urdu: بلبل (bulbul) — bird of the family Pycnonotidae