# Non-English speaking dopers, how do you say "roller coaster" in your language? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854 "2010-01-21T16:09:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/1 "2010-01-21T16:09:06Z")
and what is the literal English translation? I was watching a Mexican movie the other day and they spoke about going on the “Montaña Rusa”. I had never really paid any attention to it but it translates to: **Russian Mountain.** What the heck? Anyways, I ran it by a Russian co-worker today and she found it very amusing, until she told me in Russia, they call them: **American Mountain!** Wha what? Anyways… I just had to know what they’re called in other languages, and what Doper’s thoughts on the matter were. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/2 "2010-01-21T16:25:41Z")
Portuguese also uses _montanha-russa_, Russian mountain, and similarly in French it is _montagnes russes_ (plural). ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/3 "2010-01-21T16:28:07Z")
I just asked a Romanian co-worker and she says they’re called “Metal Wave” ---
**Author:** ![Juggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/juggler/32/3194_2.png) [@Juggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juggler)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/4 "2010-01-21T16:29:32Z")
Wikipedia knows why they are called [russian mountains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Mountains). In swedish it’s called berg- och dalbana which directly translates to mountain and valley track. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/5 "2010-01-21T16:56:15Z")
In Dutch roller coasters are known as achtbaan, or ‘eight-track’ - presumably because of the shape. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/6 "2010-01-21T17:33:26Z")
> [@Svejk](#): > > In Dutch roller coasters are known as achtbaan, or ‘eight-track’ - presumably because of the shape. Yeah, because if you called them “mountains” the Dutch wouldn’t know what you were talking about. 😛 (Ja, ja, pardon, het spijt me, ik weet dat Nederlanders met bergen bekend zijn. 🙂 ) Oh, and just to justify my presence here, the Hindi word for rollercoaster is टेढा़-मेढा़ रस्ता (“tedhaa-medhaa rastaa”) or something like “twisty-curly road”, although they also use a transliteration of the English word “switchback”. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/7 "2010-01-21T17:55:03Z")
If you ever need coaster trivia/information try some of the links on [http://www.aceonline.org/links/](http://www.aceonline.org/links/) They list parks from around the world which could get you into some of the names/terminology. (My favorite coaster is the Dog Fart at BonBon Land, Denmark) ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/8 "2010-01-21T18:09:37Z")
In German: Berg- und Talbahn (mountain and valley-train, like in Swedish) or Achterbahn (figure-eight train, as in Dutch), mainly since the traditional mobile ones you see at fairs usually are built in a figure eight conformation. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/9 "2010-01-21T18:40:35Z")
In Japanese, it’s just ローラーコースター (_rōrākōsutā_), a pretty straightforward borrowing of “roller coaster.” You might also see 絶叫マシン (_zekkyoumashin_, also with a long i variant), literally “scream machine” or “shout machine,” in a more general context of thrill rides, which would include but not be limited to roller coasters. > [@Livardo](#): > > **Russian Mountain.** > > What the heck? Quoting from [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_coaster): > [@](#): > > The oldest roller coasters are believed to be descended from the so-called “Russian Mountains,” which were specially constructed hills of ice, located especially around Saint Petersburg. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/10 "2010-01-21T19:04:56Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > In Japanese, it’s just ローラーコースター (_rōrākōsutā_), a pretty straightforward borrowing of “roller coaster.” I thought it was called ジェットコースター　“jet coaster”. Is that a regional difference? ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/11 "2010-01-21T19:13:00Z")
Montagnes russes or Grand 8, in French. Russian mountains and Great/Big/Tall 8. I have no idea from where comes grand 8. Maybe the shape of the path? ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/12 "2010-01-21T19:24:27Z")
Just a bit off-topic but in Spanish (in El Salvador anyways) we call Ferris Wheels “Chicago/s” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/13 "2010-01-21T20:12:05Z")
In Hungarian, it’s “hullámvasút,” which means something like “wave railway/road.” ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/14 "2010-01-21T21:28:58Z")
In Finnish, it’s “vuoristorata”, mountain range track. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/15 "2010-01-21T21:53:32Z")
in Russian it is “American (small) mountains”. Incidentally, there is no equivalent “stock price roller coaster” and similar idiomatic expressions, so the phrase refers only to the actual ride. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/16 "2010-01-21T23:22:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In Hungarian, it’s “hullámvasút,” which means something like “wave railway/road.” I was coming in to say this. If you break down ‘vasút’ or ‘railway’ even further the translation is iron road. So, ‘iron road wave’. Hungarian tends towards the literally descriptive. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/17 "2010-01-21T23:35:18Z")
I grew up speaking Polish, but, oddly enough, while I knew the Hungarian word for it, didn’t have a clue what the Polish was, so had to look it up. Apprently, it’s “kolejka górska,” which means something like “mountain train/rail.” ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/18 "2010-01-22T16:06:06Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I thought it was called ジェットコースター　“jet coaster”. Is that a regional difference? Looks like it’s both. I was doing the “check Wikipedia, then verify on WWWJDIC” method, but I forgot to look for alternate words. Didn’t read past the article title, either, or I would have seen: > [@](#): > > 日本ではジェットコースターと呼ばれることが多い（ジェット噴射するように加速していくことから由来）が、ジェットエンジンなどは使われていない。 Rough and dirty translation being: > [@](#): > > In Japan, they are often referred to as “jet coasters” (called such because of the way they accellerate like a jet), but they do not actually use a jet engine. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/19 "2010-01-22T16:23:25Z")
One of my Welsh dictionaries lists _ffigar-êt_, which took me a minute to parse: It’s the British English word “figure” + “eight” (Welsh would be “ffurf” + “wyth”). So “Figure Eight” must have been used in English at one time, too. That said, looking around online, most Welsh speakers seem to say “roller coaster” with English spelling and pronuciation. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854/20 "2010-01-22T17:32:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I grew up speaking Polish, but, oddly enough, while I knew the Hungarian word for it, didn’t have a clue what the Polish was, so had to look it up. Apprently, it’s “kolejka górska,” which means something like “mountain train/rail.” It’s the same in Czech: horská dráha - mountain track. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-english-speaking-dopers-how-do-you-say-roller-coaster-in-your-language/525854.md?page=2)