# How was Pope John Paul II referred to in other languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707 "2005-04-04T18:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/21 "2005-04-05T00:34:38Z")
> [@Dubious Weasle](#): > > In Korean it appears to be > 바오로 2세 > > Basically, it’s just Paul the 2nd. Actually a little closer to Pa-oh-roh. So, how do they distinguish JP I and II from Paul I-Paul VI (JPI’s predecessor), if they call John Paul ‘Paul’? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/22 "2005-04-05T13:15:37Z")
Any hits for Arabic, Farsi, or Japanese? I can take a stab at Arabic with the Arabic forms of the two name – _Yahya Boulos_. No idea how “the Second” would be translated. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/23 "2005-04-07T20:41:50Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > How’d you Google that? I have NJStar Communicator, which lets me type in Chinese, and I ran a search on the Chinese for “John” and “Pope”. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/24 "2005-04-07T21:26:00Z")
I think in Nihongu Televides he is called 大きい脂肪質のろば. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/25 "2005-04-08T00:54:25Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > I think in Nihongu Televides he is called 大きい脂肪質のろば. :rolleyes: I don’t know what “nihongu televides” is supposed to mean but in Japanese, he’s called ローマ法王ヨハネ・パウロ２ : rooma hoo-oo yohane pauro 2. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/26 "2005-04-08T00:59:51Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I don’t know what “nihongu televides” is supposed to mean but in Japanese, he’s called ローマ法王ヨハネ・パウロ２ : rooma hoo-oo yohane pauro 2. That should read ローマ法王ヨハネ・パウロ２世 :rooma hoo-oo yohane pauro 2-sei ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/27 "2005-04-08T03:30:41Z")
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA, of Iran), it is “ژان پل دوم” which is pronounced as “zhaan pol dovvam” (“zh” like the “s” in “pleasure”). By the way, in Urdu it is written as “جان پال دؤم;” in Hindi it is written as “जोन पोल द्वितीय”. According to BBC Arabic, in Arabic it is written as “يوحنا بولس الثاني” which would be pronounced as “yoohnaa boolas ath-thaanee” (“th” as in the English word “thing”). (I magnified the size of the words in foreign fonts so that the orthography would be clear.) WRS ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/28 "2005-04-08T07:50:28Z")
In Hebrew: Yochanan Paulus haSheni ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/29 "2005-04-09T08:52:51Z")
In Irish he is “an Pápa Eoin Pól 2” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/30 "2005-04-11T12:48:36Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > In Irish he is “an Pápa Eoin Pól 2” How do you pronounce “Eoin?” Is it like “Ian?” ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/31 "2005-04-11T14:01:13Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > In France, _Jean-Paul le Deuxième_? Well, in Quebec it’s Jean-Paul II, said _Jean-Paul Deux_. It’s usually just name and number, without making it into “the second” or “the ninth” or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707/32 "2005-04-11T15:49:23Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > How do you pronounce “Eoin?” Is it like “Ian?” I believe it would be like “Yone” (rhyming with English “Joan”). But why would it be “Eoin” and not “Sean”? > [@](#): > > According to BBC Hindi, he is known as “Jon Pol Dviteey” (“dviteey” meaning “second”). In Bengali, it would be “Jon Pol Ditiyo.” Note that the Hindi Os would be [o] as in Italian “solo,” so to English ears, it would sound like “Joan Pole.” The Bengali Os would be [O] as in “caught” (CINC accent), which would make it closer to the English pronunciation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-pope-john-paul-ii-referred-to-in-other-languages/297707.md?page=1)