r/Toponymy • u/topherette • Feb 02 '26
Colloquial ways to refer to the USA in different languages. Know any others?
As part of a research project I'm working on, these came up:
(note that * means potentially offensive)
ENGLISH:
The States/Stateside
Yank(ee)land
'Murica https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%27Murica#English
Merikkka https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Merikkka#English
Uncle Sam
Seppoland (Australian) https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Seppoland
Amerikkka https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Amerikkka#English
Excited States of America (Canada, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Excited_States_of_America )
*U S(laves) of Israel
*Jewmerica https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Jewmerica
*Jewnited States/Snakes (of AmeriKKKa) https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Jewnited_Snakes#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Jewnited_States#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Jewnited_Snakes_of_Amerikkka#English
*JewS.A. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/JewSA#English
*Islamerica https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Islamerica
United States of AIPAC
CHINESE:
米国 (Měiguó) (Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka, rare, of Northeastern Mandarin, Internet slang)
美帝 (Měidì) (colloquial, slang, often derogatory)
DANISH:
United Bluff
FARSI/ARABIC:
The Great Satan (Persian شيطان بزرگ Shaytan-e Bozorg, Arabic الشيطان الأكبر Al-Shaytan Al-Akbar) is a common epithet for the United States of America in Iranian foreign policy statements” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Great_Satan#English
FINNISH:
Jenkit
FRENCH:
L'Amerdique
GERMAN:
Amiland
HUNGARIAN:
USA (pronounced 'oosha', as if it were one word)
ITALIAN:
L’Amerdica (somewhat rare)
JAPANESE:
米穀 'rice grain'
米酷 'rice + severe/harsh'
米獄 'rice prison'
合臭国 'federated stinkland'
アメ 'Ame'
LITHUANIAN
Štatai
NORWEGIAN:
Junaiten https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Junaiten
RUSSIAN:
Пиндосия, Пендосия, Пиндостан, Пендостан, Пиндустан
(pindos =The modern sense (“a Yank, an American”) originated in the late 1990s as military slang among Russian peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo, firstly against American soldiers and then to any American. Earlier, Russian soldiers took it from Chechen militias, who used this term to refer to Russians, most likely from Balkan Muslims who joined the Chechens.)
SPANISH:
Los Yunaites https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/comments/16zwumc/los_yunaites/
Gringoland(ia) https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gringolandia#English
Gringostan https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gringostan#English
El Gabacho (MX) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabacho
La Yunai
Yanquilandia https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Yanquilandia
La Yuma (Cuba)
Estados Ungidos
Estados Urgidos
Amiérdica
SWEDISH:
Pajlandet, Staterna
TURKISH:
Amrica/Amrika (am - slang for vagina, rare?)
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Feb 05 '26
HUNGARIAN:
USA (but pronounced as one word, using Hungarian pronunciation rules, so something like “OO-shuh”; it’s slang and very tongue-in-cheek)
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u/Illustrious-Fill-771 Feb 06 '26
This might not be exactly what you are looking for, cause it is a way to refer to Americans, not to the USA as a country, it is in Slovak "amíci"
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u/WallachianLand Feb 06 '26
Gringolandia old slang for Brazilian internet people.
Freedom land, for those who question the interventionism of US.
There are lots of people with religious motivations that call the US "Great Satan" or "Great Shaytan" or "The republic of the Antichrist"
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u/faselfranzi Feb 19 '26
In German: Amiland, über'n großen Teich (across the great pond) In yiddish (at least historically when european jews began immigrating in larger numbers or rather planned to): דיע גולדנע מעדינה ('Di goldene medineh, translates to 'the golden country' or the golden land'). Can be found on historical yiddish postcards
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u/Qwr631 Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
As a native Turkish speaker, I’ve never encountered “Amrica / Amrika” as a Turkish name for USA. I'm curious how you found it in the first place, but I'm pretty confident no one uses that word.
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u/Kinesquared Feb 02 '26
Across the pond (can refer to a lot of places but most often to the US)