handkerchief

English

Alternative forms

• handkercher (obsolete)
• hanky (informal)

Etymology

From hand +‎ kerchief.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhæŋkətʃiːf/, /ˈhæŋkətʃɪf/
• IPA^(key): /ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

handkerchief (plural handkerchiefs or handkerchieves)

1. A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands.
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎^[1]:

     Mr. Banks’ panama hat was in one hand, while the other drew a handkerchief across his perspiring brow.

2. A piece of cloth shaped like a handkerchief to be worn about the neck; a neckerchief or neckcloth.

Synonyms

• hanky
• pocket handkerchief

Translations

cloth for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands

• Afrikaans: sakdoek
• Albanian: shami (sq) f
• Arabic: مِنْدِيل m (mindīl), مَحْرَمَة f (maḥrama)

  Egyptian Arabic: منديل m (mandīl)

• Armenian: թաշկինակ (hy) (tʻaškinak)
• Assamese: ৰুমাল (rumal)
• Asturian: pañuelu m
• Azerbaijani: məndil, dəsmal (az), cib dəsmalı
• Bashkir: ҡулъяулыҡ (qulʺyawlıq)
• Belarusian: насо́ўка f (nasóŭka), насава́я ху́стачка (nasavája xústačka), ху́стачка f (xústačka)
• Bengali: রুমাল (rumal)
• Bulgarian: но́сна къ̀рпа f (nósna kǎ̀rpa), къ̀рпичка f (kǎ̀rpička)
• Burmese: လက်ကိုင်ပဝါ (my) (lakkuingpa.wa)
• Catalan: mocador (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 手帕 (zh) (shǒupà), 手絹／手绢 (zh) (shǒujuàn), 手绢 (zh) (shǒujuàn)

• Crimean Tatar: yavluq
• Czech: kapesník (cs) m
• Dalmatian: fazuol m, sedarul m
• Danish: lommetørklæde (da) n
• Dutch: zakdoek (nl) m
• Elfdalian: snortrasu f, snorslarv f
• Esperanto: naztuko, poŝtuko
• Estonian: taskurätik, taskurätt
• Faroese: lummaturriklæði n
• Finnish: nenäliina (fi)
• French: mouchoir (fr) m
• Friulian: façolet m, smočhìt
• Galician: pano da man m
• Georgian: ცხვირსახოცი (cxvirsaxoci)
• German: Taschentuch (de) m
• Greek: μαντήλι (el) n (mantíli)

  Ancient: σουδάριον n (soudárion)

• Greenlandic: kakkissarfik
• Hebrew: מִמחָטָה (he) m
• Hindi: रूमाल (hi) m (rūmāl)
• Hungarian: zsebkendő (hu)
• Icelandic: vasaklútur (is)
• Ido: nazotuko (io)
• Indonesian: saputangan (id)
• Irish: ciarsúr (ga) m, ciarsúr póca m, naipcín póca m
• Istriot: fassulito m
• Italian: fazzoletto (it) m
• Japanese: ハンカチ (hankachi), ハンカチーフ (hankachīfu), 鼻拭き (はなふき, hanafuki)
• Kazakh: қол орамал (kk) (qol oramal)
• Khmer: កន្សែងដៃ (kɑnsaeŋ day)
• Korean: 손수건 (ko) (sonsugeon)
• Kurdish:

  Kurmanji:

  Sorani: ,

• Kyrgyz: бет аарчы (bet aarcı), бет аарчу жоолук (bet aarcu jooluk)
• Lao: ມົນ (mon), ແພມົນ (phǣ mon), ຜ້າເຊັດໜ້າ (phā set nā)
• Latin: sūdārium m
• Latvian: kabatlakats m, kabatlakatiņš m (diminutive), mutautiņš m
• Lithuanian: nosinė f, nosinaitė f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Lower Sorbian: šantk m
• Luxembourgish: Nuesnappech
• Macedonian: ша́мивче n (šámivče), ма́рамче n (máramče)
• Malay: sapu tangan
• Maltese: maktur m
• Maori: aikiha
• Marathi: रुमाल m (rumāl)
• Mongolian: нусны алчуур (nusny alčuur), гурвалжин алчуур (gurvalžin alčuur), ᠭᠠᠷ
  ᠠᠯᠴᠢᠭᠤᠷ (ɣar alčiɣur)
• Neapolitan: maccaturo m
• Norman: mouoché m, torche-nez m
• Norwegian: snørrfille

  Bokmål: lommetørkle n

  Nynorsk: lommetørkle n

• Occitan: mocador (oc) m
• Ojibwe: moshwens
• Pashto: دستمال (ps) m (dastmãl), دسمال (ps) m (dәsmãl)
• Persian: دستمال (fa) (dastmâl)
• Polish: chusteczka do nosa (pl) f, chusteczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: lenço (pt) m
• Romanian: batistă (ro) f, năframă (ro) f
• Romansch: faziel m, fazielet m, fazöl m, fazalet m
• Russian: носово́й плато́к (ru) m (nosovój platók), плато́к (ru) m (platók), плато́чек (ru) m (platóček)
• Rwanda-Rundi:

  Kinyarwanda: umushwara

• Sardinian: macadori, mucadore, mancaloru
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ма̀рамица f

  Latin: màramica (sh) f

• Sicilian: fazzulettu (scn) m
• Slovak: vreckovka f
• Slovene: robec (sl) m
• Spanish: pañuelo (es) m
• Swahili: leso (sw)
• Swedish: näsduk (sv)
• Tagalog: panyo, panyolito
• Tajik: дастмол (dastmol), рӯймол (rüymol), рӯмол (rümol)
• Tatar: кулъяулык (tt) (qulʺyawlıq)
• Thai: ผ้าเช็ดหน้า (th) (pâa-chét-nâa)
• Tok Pisin: hankisip
• Turkish: mendil (tr)
• Turkmen: elýaglyk
• Ukrainian: носова́ ху́стка f (nosová xústka), ху́стка f (xústka), ху́сточка f (xústočka)
• Upper Sorbian: nósnik m, šnuptichl m
• Urdu: رومال m (rūmāl)
• Uyghur: قول ياغلىق (qol yaghliq)
• Uzbek: dastroʻmol (uz), roʻmolcha (uz)
• Varhadi-Nagpuri: दस्ती (dastī)
• Venetian: fasołeto m
• Vietnamese: khăn tay (vi)
• Volapük: pokasärvätül (vo)
• Welsh: hances (cy) f, macyn (cy) m, ffunen f, neisied f, cadach (cy) m
• West Frisian: bûsdoek
• Yiddish: נאָזטיכל n (noztikhl), טיכל n (tikhl)
• Zazaki: desmal

cloth to be worn about the neck

• Bulgarian: кърпа за врата f (kǎrpa za vrata)
• Catalan: mocador (ca) m
• French: foulard (fr) m
• German: Halstuch (de) n, (silk) Seidenhalstuch n, Nickituch n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: nyaksál (hu), nyakba való kendő
• Swedish: snusnäsduk c, sjal (sv) c, halsduk (sv) c
• Volapük: tanod (vo)