Ten Commandments

English

Alternative forms

• ten commandments

Etymology

Calque of Biblical Hebrew עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים ('aséret had'varím, “the ten items”), from Exodus 34:28 and elsewhere in the Bible.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Proper noun

Ten Commandments pl

1. (religion) A particular list of religious and moral imperatives which, according to the Old Testament of the Bible or the Hebrew Bible, were twice given or dictated by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and inscribed on two stone tablets.
2. (slang, dated) The ten fingernails, used by women when fighting.
   • 1876, Evening Hours (page 629)

     She'd drink the gin fust and give him her ten commandments artervards, when she'd aggerawated him to try it on.

   • 1881, William Henry Thomes, Running the Blockade: Or, U. S. Secret Service Adventures (page 148)

     […] once or twice, when he cut up bad, she appeared to him, and scratched his face with her ten commandments […]

Synonyms

• Decalogue

Coordinate terms

• Five Pillars

Derived terms

• 11th commandment
• ethical Ten Commandments
• ritual Ten Commandments

Translations

religious ten commandments

• Afrikaans: tien gebooie pl
• Albanian: Dhjetë urdhëresat
• Amharic: አስርቱ ቃላት (ʾäsrətu ḳalat)
• Arabic: الْوَصَايَا الْعَشْر pl (al-waṣāyā l-ʕašr)
• Armenian: Տասնաբանյա (Tasnabanya)
• Basque: Hamar Aginduak
• Belarusian: Дзесяць запаведзей f pl (Dzjesjacʹ zapavjedzjej)
• Breton: Dek Gourc'hemenn
• Bulgarian: десетте Божи заповеди f pl (desette Boži zapovedi)
• Catalan: Deu Manaments m pl
• Cebuano: Napulo ka Sugo
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 十誡／十诫 (sap⁶ gaai³), 十诫 (sap⁶ gaai³)

  Mandarin: 十誡／十诫 (zh) (Shíjiè)

  Min Dong: 十誡／十诫, 十诫 (Sĕk Gái)

  Min Nan: 十誡／十诫, 十诫 (cha̍p-kài), 十條誡／十条诫, 十条诫 (cha̍p-tiâu-kài)

• Cornish: Deg Arhadow
• Czech: Desatero (cs) n
• Danish: de ti bud pl
• Dutch: tien geboden n pl
• Esperanto: la Dekalogo, Dekalogo
• Estonian: kümme käsku
• Faroese: tey tíggju boðini n pl
• Fijian: Na Vunau e Tini
• Finnish: kymmenen käskyä
• French: Décalogue m, dix commandements m pl
• Friulian: Dîs Comandaments m pl
• Galician: Dez Mandamentos m pl
• Georgian: ათი მცნება (ati mcneba)
• German: zehn Gebote n pl, Zehn Gebote (de) n pl, Dekalog (de) m
• Greek: δέκα εντολές pl (déka entolés)

  Ancient Greek: δεκάλογος m (dekálogos), οἱ δέκα λόγοι m pl (hoi déka lógoi)

• Guaraní: Tupã oheja ñandéve pa porokuaitáva
• Hausa: Dokokin nan goma
• Hebrew: עשרת הדיברות (he) pl
• Hiligaynon: Napulong Sugo
• Hindi: दस धर्मादेश (das dharmādeś)
• Hungarian: tízparancsolat (hu)
• Icelandic: boðorðin tíu n pl
• Indonesian: Sepuluh Perintah Allah
• Interlingua: Dece Commandamentos
• Irish: na Deich nAitheanta
• Italian: dieci comandamenti m pl, Decalogo m, decalogo (it) m
• Japanese: モーセの十戒 (Mōse no jikkai), 十戒 (じっかい, jikkai)
• Khmer: ទសបញ្ញត្តិ (tʊəh baññat)
• Korean: 십계명(十誡命) (ko) (sipgyemyeong)
• Latin: Decalogus m
• Latvian: desmit baušļi m pl
• Limburgish: Tièn Gebode n pl
• Lithuanian: Dešimt Dievo įsakymų
• Macedonian: Десет Божји заповеди f pl (Deset Božji zapovedi)
• Maguindanao: Sapulu a Sugu
• Malagasy: Didy Folo
• Malay: Sepuluh Rukun
• Malayalam: പത്ത് കൽപ്പനകൾ (pattŭ kalppanakaḷ)
• Maltese: għaxar kmandamenti
• Manx: Jeih Annaghyn
• Maori: ture tekau
• Maranao: please add this translation if you can
• Navajo: Neeznáago bikʼeh óʼooʼníiłii
• Norwegian: de ti bud pl

  Nynorsk: dei ti bodorda pl

• Occitan: Decalòg m, detz comandaments m pl
• Ojibwe: gichi-manidoo odaangwaamitaagoziwinan
• Pangasinan: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: ده فرمان (dah farmân)
• Polish: dekalog (pl) m, dziesięcioro przykazań (pl) pl or n, dziesięć przykazań (pl) pl or n
• Portuguese: Dez Mandamentos m pl
• Quechua: Chunkantin Kamachiykuna pl
• Romanian: cele zece porunci (ro) pl
• Russian: де́сять за́поведей f pl (désjatʹ zápovedej), декало́г (ru) m (dekalóg)
• Samoan: E Sufulu 'Upu
• Scottish Gaelic: Na Deich Àitheantan
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: десет Божјих заповести f pl

  Roman: deset Božijih zapovijedi f pl

• Slovak: desatoro n, dekalóg m, desať Božích prikázaní
• Slovene: Deset Božjih zapovedi pl
• Spanish: Diez Mandamientos m pl, Diez Palabras f pl, Decálogo m, decálogo (es) m
• Swahili: Amri Kumi
• Swedish: de tio budorden pl, tio Guds bud pl
• Tagalog: Sampung Utos
• Tamil: பத்துக் கட்டளைகள் pl (pattuk kaṭṭaḷaikaḷ)
• Thai: บัญญัติ 10 ประการ (banyát tót bpràgaan)
• Turkish: On Emir pl
• Ukrainian: де́сять за́повідей f pl (désjatʹ zápovidej)
• Vietnamese: Mười điều răn
• Welsh: Deg Gorchymyn
• West Frisian: Tsien geboaden
• Yakan: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: עשׂרת הדיברות pl (aseres hadibres)

See also

• Nine Commandments (“Ennealogue”)
• mortal sin