Albanian exonyms

Many places have exonyms, names for places that differs from that used in the official or well-established language within that place, in the Albanian language. This article attempts to give all known different Albanian exonyms for all major cities and regions as well as some smaller towns that are important because of their location or history.

Albanian has a relatively small number of true exonyms in areas beyond the current borders of Albania and Kosovo, mostly in neighboring countries, and those are listed here.

Cities are grouped by country and then listed alphabetically by their current best-known name in English. The English version is followed by Albanian variants in order of significance. A blue asterisk generally indicates the availability of an Albanian Wikipedia article for that city under that name which may also provide additional reference for the equivalence. Any other equivalents without further footnotes should be viewed with caution.

Orthographic exonymy in Albanian

In addition, Albanian is a language with phonetic spelling that includes orthographic exonymy, i.e. it renders the names of non-Albanian places and people phonetically according to Albanian orthography. For example, Manchester is written as Mançester, Los Angeles as Los Anxheles, and New York as Nju Jork. Although these forms are commonly used in Albanian, there is not a systematic attempt to include them here.

Grammatical forms of Albanian placenames

True Albanian exonyms, not mere orthographic exonyms, like all Albanian placenames can be rendered in two forms the same way as common nouns, the definite and indefinite forms. These forms are created with postpositions to the placename.

When using English or another foreign language, Albanians tend to use the definite form but on road signs and other similar usage, the indefinite form is used because there is an implied preposition në, meaning "to" or "in", which is followed by the indefinite. Maps, especially those produced in Albania, consistently use the indefinite form.

The two forms are applied differently depending on grammatical gender of the word. "Recommended international usage for Albanian toponyms" in Kosovo has feminine place names appearing in the definite form and masculine place names in the indefinite form. However, in Albania, English usage is of the indefinite for both feminine and masculine placenames except for the capital, Tirana. Thus the following usage in English with the preferred form in bold and link to the respective article:

Albanian-Language Placename Forms (Forms normally used in English sources in boldface)
Feminine Albanian-Language Placenames
Indefinite Form	Definite Form	Country
Korçë	Korça	Albania
Prishtinë	Prishtina	Kosovo
Pejë	Peja	Kosovo
Shkodër	Shkodra	Albania
Tiranë	Tirana	Albania
Masculine Albanian-Language Placenames
Indefinite Form	Definite Form	Country
Durrës	Durrësi	Albania
Elbasan	Elbasani	Albania
Fier	Fieri	Albania
Lipjan	Lipjani	Kosovo
Prizren	Prizreni	Kosovo

Since Albanian exonyms by nature are rarely seen in English texts, there are no strict rules as to which is the "correct" form for places outside of Albania and Kosovo. When available, both are given with the indefinite followed by the definite separated by a slash (stroke, i.e. "/").

List of Albanian exonyms

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Language	Native name	Albanian exonym
Afghanistan Afganistani
Persian - Pashto	Kābul - Kabəl	Kabul / Kabuli*
Austria Austria
German	Graz	Grac / Grac-i
	Wien	Vjenë / Vjena*
Azerbaijan Azerbajxhani
Azerbaijani	Bakı	Baku*
Belgium Belgjikë
Dutch - French	Brussel - Bruxelles	Bruksel / Brukseli*
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnjë Hercegovinë
Bosnian	Banja Luka	Banja Luka
	Bihać	Bihaç
	Brčko	Bërçka*
	Sarajevo	Sarajevë / Sarajeva
Bulgaria Bullgari
Bulgarian	Sofija	Sofje / Sofja*
Canada Kanadajë
English - French	Ottawa	Otava
China Kinë
Mandarin	Běijīng	Pekin / Pekini*
Cyprus Qipro
Greek - Turkish	Lefkosía - Lefkoşa	Nikozi
Czech Republic Çeki
Czech	Praha	Pragë / Praga*
Denmark Danimarkë
Danish	København	Kopenhagë / Kopenhaga, Kopenhagen / Kopenhageni*
Estonia Estonië
Estonian	Tallinn	Talin*
Egypt Egjipt
Arabic	Qāhirah	Kajro*
France Franca
French	Paris	Paris / Parisi*
Germany Gjermani
German	Bonn	Bon
	Braunschweig	Braunshvajg
	Düsseldorf	Dyseldorf
	Hannover	Hanovër
	Heidelberg	Hajdelberg
	Kassel	Kasel
	Kiel	Kil
	Köln	Këln
	Leipzig	Lajpcig
	Lübeck	Lybek
	Mainz	Majnc
	Mannheim	Manhajm
	München	Mynih
	Schwerin	Shverin
	Stuttgart	Shtutgart
	Wiesbaden	Visbaden
Greece Greqi
Greek	Athína	Athinë
	Filiátes	Filat
	Flórina	Follorinë
	Grevená	Grebenë
	Igoumenítsa	Gumenicë
	Ioánnina	Janinë
	Kastoriá	Kostur
	Kérkyra	Korfuz
	Kónitsa	Konicë
	Margaríti	Margëlleç
	Métsovo	Meçovë
	Paramithiá	Paramithi
	Párga	Pargë
	Préveza	Prevezë
	Ptolemaïda	Ptoleimadhja
	Thessaloníki	Selanik
	Sývota	Volë
Iran Irani
Persian	Tehrān	Teheran
Iraq Iraku
Arabic - Kurdish	Baġdād - Bexda	Baghdad
Israel Izraili
Hebrew - Arabic	Yerushaláyim - al Quds	Jeruzalem
	Natzrát - Naseriyye	Nazaret
Italy Itali
Italian	Firenze	Firence
	Genova	Gjenovë
	Ragusa	Raguzë
	Roma	Romë
	Venezia	Venecie
Jordan Jordania
Arabic	Ammān	Ammani
Lebanon Libani
Arabic - French	Bayrūt - Beyrouth	Bejrut
Libya Libië
Arabic	Ṭarābulus	Tripoli
Macedonia Maqedoni
Macedonian	Berovo	Berovë / Berova*
	Bitola	Manastir / Manastiri*
	Debar	Dibër / Dibra*
	Delčevo	Dellçevë / Dellçeva*
	Gevgelija	Gjevgjeli / Gjevgjelia*
	Kičevo	Kërçovë / Kërçova*
	Kočani	Koçan / Koçani*
	Kratovo	Kratovë / Kratova*
	Kriva Palanka	Kriva Pallankë / Kriva Pallanka*
	Kruševo	Krushevë / Krusheva*
	Kumanovo	Kumanovë / Kumanova*
	Negotino	Negotinë / Negotina*
	Ohrid	Ohër / Ohri*, Ohrit
	Pehčevo	Pehçevë / Pehçeva*
	Prilep	Prilep / Prilepi*, Përlep / Përlepi
	Probištip	Probishtip / Probishtipi*
	Radoviš	Radovish / Radovishi*
	Resen	Resnjë / Resnja*
	Šar Mountains	Malet e Sharrit, Bjeshkët e Sharrit*, Mali i Sharrit
	Skopje	Shkup / Shkupi*
	Štip	Shtip / Shtipi*
	Struga	Strugë / Struga*
	Strumica	Strumicë / Strumica*
	Sveti Nikole	Sveti Nikollë / Sveti Nikolla*
	Tetovo	Tetovë / Tetova*
	Valandovo	Vallandovë / Vallandova*
	Veles	Veles / Velesi*
	Zajas	Zajaz / Zajazi*
Mongolia Mongolia
Mongolian	Ulaanbaatar	Ulan Bator
Montenegro Mali i Zi
Montenegrin	Andrijevica	Andrijevicë
	Bar	Tivar
	Berane	Beranë
	Cetinje	Cetina
	Gusinje	Guci
	Kotor	Kotorr
	Nikšić	Nikshiq
	Plav	Plavë
	Pljevlja	Plevë
	Plužine	Pluzhinë
	Rožaje	Rrozhajë
	Šavnik	Shavnik
	Ulcinj	Ulqin
	Žabljak	Zhabljak
Nepal Nepali
Nepali	Kantipur	Kathmandu
The Netherlands Hollandë
Dutch	Den Haag	Hagë
Oman Omani
Arabic	Masqaṭ	Muskat
Poland Poloni
Polish	Warszawa	Varshavë
Romania Rumani
Romanian	Bucureşti	Bukuresht
	Constanţa	Konstancë
Rwanda Ruanda
Kinyarwanda–French	Kigali	Kigal
Russia Rusii
Russian	Moskva	Moska
	Sankt-Peterburg	Shën-Pjetërburgu
Saudi Arabia Arabia Saudite
Arabic	al-Madīna	Medina
	Makkah	Meka
	Riyāḍ	Riad
Serbia Sërbi
Serbian	Kuršumlija	Kurshumli
	Medveđa	Medvegjë
	Niš	Nish
	Novi Pazar	Pazari i Ri
	Preševo	Preshevë
	Raška	Rashkë
Somalia Somalia
Somali - Arabic	Muqdisho - Maqadīshū	Mogadishu
Slovakia Sllovakië
Slovakian	Bratislava	Bratisllavë
Slovenia Slloveni
Slovenian	Ljubljana	Lubjanë
Switzerland Zvicër
German - French	Basel - Bâle	Bazell
	Bern - Berne	Berna
	Chur - Coire	Kur
	Genf - Genèvre	Gjeneva
	Lausanne	Lozana
	Luzern - Lucerne	Lucern
	Schwyz	Shvicë
	Zug - Zoug	Cug
	Zürich	Cyrih
Turkey Turqië
Türkish	İstanbul	Stamboll
Ukraine Ukrainë
Ukraine	Kyiv	Kiev
United Arab Emirates Emiratet e Bashkuara Arabe
Arabic	Abū Zabī	Abu Dabi
	Dubayy	Dubai
United Kingdom Mbretëria e Bashkuar
English	Cardiff	Kardif
	Coventry	Koventri
	Liverpool	Liverpull
	London	Londër
	Manchester	Mançester
United States Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës
English	Los Angeles	Los Anxheles
	Miami	Majemi
	New York	Nju Jork
	Washington D.C.	Uashington
Uzbekistan Uzbekistani
Uzbek	Toshkent	Tashkent
Language	Native name	Albanian exonym

See also

• List of European exonyms