hum

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• /ˈhʌm/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ʌm
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• Singapore: /hʌm/
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• Singapore: [häm(˦)]
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• CMU ARPABET: HH AH1 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Middle English hummen (“to hum, buzz, drone, make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment”); akin to Dutch hommelen (“to bumble, buzz”), dialectal Dutch hommen (“to buzz, hum”), Middle High German hummen (“to hum”), probably ultimately of imitative origin.

From German Cholm, from Italian Colmo.

Borrowed from Hokkien 蚶 (ham).

127 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: هَمْهَمَة (hamhama) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Catalan: taral·la — tune created orally with lips closed
• Dutch: gebrom — tune created orally with lips closed
• Dutch: geneurie — tune created orally with lips closed
• Esperanto: zumo — tune created orally with lips closed
• Finnish: hyminä — tune created orally with lips closed
• Finnish: hyrinä — tune created orally with lips closed
• Galician: cantaruxar — tune created orally with lips closed
• German: Summen — tune created orally with lips closed
• Hebrew: המהום (himhúm) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Japanese: ハミング (hamingu) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Japanese: 鼻歌 (hanauta) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Korean: 허밍 (heoming) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Korean: 콧노래 (konnorae) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Māori: momi — tune created orally with lips closed
• Portuguese: cantarolar — tune created orally with lips closed
• Russian: жужжа́ние (žužžánije) — tune created orally with lips closed
• Serbo-Croatian: pjevušenje — tune created orally with lips closed
• Spanish: tarareo — tune created orally with lips closed
• Dutch: gebrom — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Finnish: hyminä — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Finnish: hurina — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Finnish: surina — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Finnish: hyrinä — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Finnish: pörinä — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Finnish: porina — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Hebrew: המיה (hemyá) — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Hebrew: המהום (himhúm) — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Irish: drantán — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Italian: ronzio — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Māori: tāwara — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Māori: rangorango — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Māori: rarā — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Māori: hāmumumumu — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Māori: ngī — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Russian: жужжа́ние (žužžánije) — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Ottoman Turkish: زر (zır) — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Ottoman Turkish: طنطنه (tantana) — indistinct sound resembling human humming
• Bulgarian: бръмчене (brǎmčene) — busy activity
• Finnish: hyörinä — busy activity
• Hebrew: המולה (hamulá) — busy activity
• Hebrew: המיה (hemyá) — busy activity
• Māori: tāwara — busy activity
• Arabic: هَمْهَمَ (hamhama) — to make sound with lips closed
• Arabic: دَنْدَنَ (dandana) — to make sound with lips closed
• Azerbaijani: mızıldamaq — to make sound with lips closed
• Catalan: zumzejar — to make sound with lips closed
• Chinese Mandarin: 哼 (hēng) — to make sound with lips closed
• Chinese Mandarin: 哼唱 (hēngchàng) — to make sound with lips closed
• Czech: broukat si — to make sound with lips closed
• Dutch: neuriën — to make sound with lips closed
• Dutch: brommen — to make sound with lips closed
• Esperanto: zumi — to make sound with lips closed
• Finnish: hymistä — to make sound with lips closed
• Finnish: hyristä — to make sound with lips closed
• Finnish: hyräillä — to make sound with lips closed
• French: fredonner — to make sound with lips closed
• German: summen — to make sound with lips closed
• Greek: μουρμουρίζω (mourmourízo) — to make sound with lips closed
• Ancient Greek: τερετίζω (teretízō) — to make sound with lips closed
• Greenlandic: niperujoorpoq — to make sound with lips closed
• Hebrew: זִמְזֵם (zimzém) — to make sound with lips closed
• Hungarian: dúdol — to make sound with lips closed
• Icelandic: raula — to make sound with lips closed
• Italian: canticchiare — to make sound with lips closed
• Italian: canterellare — to make sound with lips closed
• Italian: mormorare — to make sound with lips closed
• Italian: brontolare — to make sound with lips closed
• Italian: sibilare — to make sound with lips closed
• Italian: bofonchiare — to make sound with lips closed
• Malay: rinai — to make sound with lips closed
• Malay: senandung — to make sound with lips closed
• Māori: tamumu — to make sound with lips closed
• Māori: tamūtamū — to make sound with lips closed
• Nepali: गुनगुनाउनु (gunagunāunu) — to make sound with lips closed
• Norman: monmer — to make sound with lips closed
• Norwegian: nynna — to make sound with lips closed
• Polish: nucić — to make sound with lips closed
• Portuguese: cantarolar — to make sound with lips closed
• Portuguese: trautear — to make sound with lips closed
• Romanian: fredona — to make sound with lips closed
• Russian: жужжа́ть (žužžátʹ) — to make sound with lips closed
• Sanskrit: गुञ्जति (guñjati) — to make sound with lips closed
• Serbo-Croatian: pjevušiti — to make sound with lips closed
• Spanish: canturrear — to make sound with lips closed
• Spanish: tararear — to make sound with lips closed
• Spanish: cantusar — to make sound with lips closed
• Spanish: cantusear — to make sound with lips closed
• Spanish: canturriar — to make sound with lips closed
• Swedish: nynna — to make sound with lips closed
• Swedish: gnola — to make sound with lips closed
• Turkish: mırıldanmak — to make sound with lips closed
• Catalan: taral·lejar — to express by humming
• Finnish: hyräillä — to express by humming
• Greek: βουίζω (vouízo) — to express by humming
• Korean: 콧노래를 부르다 (konnorae-reul bureuda) — to express by humming
• Māori: momi — to express by humming
• Māori: hamumu — to express by humming
• Azerbaijani: vızıldamaq — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Bulgarian: бръмча (brǎmča) — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Czech: bzučet — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Dutch: zoemen — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Dutch: brommen — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Finnish: surista — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• French: bourdonner — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Ingrian: pörissä — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Italian: ronzare — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Māori: wheo — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Māori: wheowheo — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Māori: tamumu — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Māori: tamūtamū — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Māori: ngī — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Russian: жужжать (žužžatʹ) — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Turkish: vızıldamak — to drone like certain insects naturally do in motion
• Finnish: kuhista — to be busily active like a beehive
• French: fourmiller — to be busily active like a beehive
• Bulgarian: мънкам (mǎnkam) — to produce low sounds which blend continuously
• Finnish: hurista — to produce low sounds which blend continuously
• Finnish: surista — to produce low sounds which blend continuously
• Māori: mapu — to produce low sounds which blend continuously
• Bulgarian: воня (vonja) — to smell bad
• Dutch: stinken — to smell bad
• Finnish: haista — to smell bad
• Spanish: apestar — to smell bad
• Spanish: jeder — to smell bad
• Finnish: hämätä — to deceive
• Finnish: hymistellä — to flatter by approving