Turkmenistan (Türkmenistan) in other languages: Ashgabat and regions
Turkmenistan is Türkmenistan in Turkmen, written Түркменистан until 1993, with the ISO codes TM, TKM and 795. Here are the name in 171 languages and varieties, Ashgabat in 73, and the five regions and the capital city with their codes and centres.
Official languagesTurkmen (türkmençe)
Checked
- alpha-2
- TM
- alpha-3
- TKM
- numeric
- 795
- English
- Turkmenistan
- Capital
- AşgabatАшгабатAşgabat · Ashgabat
ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026. Flag after the Wikimedia Commons drawing, simplified: the five carpet ornaments in the red stripe are left out; field, stripe, crescent and stars keep their geometry and colours.
Turkmenistan in other languages: list of exonyms
| Languages | ISO 639 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English, Breton, Catalan, Danish, Lower Sorbian, Basque, Faroese, Finnish, Kven, West Frisian, Croatian, Upper Sorbian, Interlingua, Indonesian, Italian, Javanese, Jersey Norman French, Limburgish, Ladin, Maltese, Dutch, Norwegian, Novial, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Northern Sami, Saterland Frisian, Swahili, Swedish | eng / bre / cat / dan / dsb / eus / fao / fin / fkv / fry / hrv / hsb / ina / ind / ita / jav / jnf / lim / lld / mlt / nld / nor / nov / pol / ron / slv / sme / stq / swa / swe | Turkmenistan | same as written |
| Friulian, Occitan, Romansh, Aromanian, Walloon | fur / oci / roh / rup / wln | Turcmenistan | same as written |
| Asturian, Czech, Galician, Spanish | ast / ces / glg / spa | Turkmenistán | same as written |
| German, Luxembourgish, Low German | deu / ltz / nds | Turkmenistan, Turkmenien | same as written |
| Kinyarwanda, Rundi, Albanian | kin / run / sqi | Turkmenistani | same as written |
| Estonian, Võro | est / vor | Türkmenistan | same as written |
| Sicilian, Sardinian | scn / srd | Turkmenistàn | same as written |
| Afrikaans | afr | Turkmenië, Turkmenistan | same as written |
| Aragonese | arg | Turkmenistán, Turcomanistán | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Türkmənistan / Түркмәнистан | Türkmənistan |
| Bambara | bam | Tirikimenisitan | same as written |
| Bosnian | bos | Turkmenistan / Туркменистан / تۆرقمەنٖىستان | Turkmenistan |
| Cornish | cor | Pow Turkmen | same as written |
| Crimean Tatar | crh | Türkmenistan / Тюркменистан | Türkmenistan |
| Kashubian | csb | Turkmenjistan | same as written |
| Welsh | cym | Twrcmenistan | same as written |
| Esperanto | epo | Turkmenistano, Turkmenio | same as written |
| French | fra | Turkménistan | same as written |
| Franco-Provençal | frp | Turcmènistan | same as written |
| Gagauz | gag | Türkmenistan / Тӱркменистан | Türkmenistan |
| Scottish Gaelic | gla | Turcmanastàn, Tuircmeanastan | same as written |
| Irish | gle | An Tuircméanastáin | same as written |
| Manx | glv | Yn Turkmenistaan | same as written |
| Haitian Creole | hat | Tirkmenistan | same as written |
| Hungarian | hun | Türkmenisztán | same as written |
| Igbo | ibo | Takmenistan | same as written |
| Icelandic | isl | Túrkmenistan | same as written |
| Karakalpak | kaa | Tuʻrkmenstan / Түркменстан | Tuʻrkmenstan |
| Kurmanji Kurdish | kur | Tirkmenistan | same as written |
| Latin | lat | Turcmenistania, Turkmenistania, Turcmenia, Turcomania | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Turkmenistāna | same as written |
| Lingala | lin | Turkmenistáni | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Turkmėnistanas, Turkmėnija | same as written |
| Malagasy | mlg | Torkmenistana | same as written |
| Moldovan | mol | Turkmenistan / Туркменистан, Turkmenia / Туркмения | Turkmenistan, Turkmenia |
| Malay | msa | Turkmenistan / توركمينستان | Turkmenistan |
| Nahuatl | nah | Turcmentlālpan | same as written |
| Norman French | nrm | Turqueménîn | same as written |
| Portuguese | por | Turquemenistão, Turcomenistão, Turquemanistão, Turcomanistão, Turqueménia, Turcoménia, Turcomânia, Turquemânia, Turquimenistão, Turquimênia, Turquemênia, Turcomênia | same as written |
| Quechua | que | Turkminsuyu | same as written |
| Kalderash Romani | rmy | Turkmenistan / तुर्क्मेनिस्तान | Turkmenistan |
| Slovak | slk | Turkménsko | same as written |
| Slovio | slo | Turkmenia / Туркмениа, Turkmenzem / Туркмензем | Turkmenia, Turkmenzem |
| Samogitian | smg | Torkmėnistans, Torkmienėjė | same as written |
| Samoan | smo | Tekimenisitane | same as written |
| Somali | som | Turkumaanistaan | same as written |
| Silesian | szl | Turkmyńistan | same as written |
| Tetum | tet | Turkomenistaun | same as written |
| Tagalog | tgl | Turkmenya | same as written |
| Tongan | ton | Tekimenisitani | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | Türkmenistan / Түркменистан | Türkmenistan |
| Turkish | tur | Türkmenistan, Türkmeneli | same as written |
| Uzbek | uzb | Turkmaniston / Туркманистон / تۇركمەنىستان | Turkmaniston |
| Vietnamese | vie | Tuốc-mê-ni-xtan | same as written |
| Volapük | vol | Türkmenän | same as written |
| Wolof | wol | Turkumenistaan | same as written |
| Zazaki | zza | Tırkmenıstan | same as written |
| Gothic | got | 𐍄𐌿𐍂𐌺𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 | Turkmenistan |
| Abaza, Altai, Komi, Russian, Tuvan, Udmurt, Kalmyk | abq / alt / kom / rus / tyv / udm / xal | Туркменистан, Туркмения | Turkmenistan, Turkmenija |
| Avar, Bulgarian, Khakas, Kumyk, Macedonian, Mongolian | ava / bul / kjh / kum / mkd / mon | Туркменистан | Turkmenistan |
| Chuvash, Ossetian | chv / oss | Туркменистан, Туркмени | Turkmenistan, Turkmeni |
| Abkhaz | abk | Туркменистан, Туркмениа | Turkmenistan, Turkmenia |
| Bashkir | bak | Төрөкмәнстан / Törökmänstan | Törökmänstan |
| Belarusian | bel | Туркменістан / Turkmienistan, Туркменія / Turkmienija, Туркмэністан / Turkmenistan, Туркмэнія / Turkmenija | Turkmienistan, Turkmienija, Turkmenistan, Turkmenija |
| Chechen | che | Туркменистан / Turkmenistan, Туркмени / Turkmeni | Turkmenistan, Turkmeni |
| Kazakh | kaz | Түрікменстан / تۇرىكمەنستان / Türikmenstan | Türikmenstan |
| Kabardian | kbd | Туркменстэн, Туркмениэ | Turkmenstăn, Turkmeniă |
| Kyrgyz | kir | Түркмөнстан / تۉركمۅنستان / Türkmönstan | Türkmönstan |
| Kurdish (Caucasus, Cyrillic) | kmr | Т’ӧркменьстан / T’urkmênistan, Т’уркмәнистан / T’ûrkmenîstan, Т’ьркәманистан / T’irkemanîstan, Т’ьркәманистан / T’irkmenîstan | T’urkmênistan, T’ûrkmenîstan, T’irkemanîstan, T’irkmenîstan |
| Karachay-Balkar | krc | Тюркменистан, Тюркмения | Türkmenistan, Türkmenija |
| Lak | lbe | Туркманисттан | Turkmanisttan |
| Lezgi | lez | Туркменистан | Turkmenistan |
| Meadow Mari | mhr | Тӱркменистан, Туркмений | Türkmenistan, Turkmenij |
| Rusyn | rue | Туркменістан, Туркменія | Turkmenistan, Turkmenija |
| Yakut | sah | Түркменистан | Türkmenistan |
| Serbian | srp | Туркменистан / Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan |
| Tatar | tat | Төрекмәнстан / Törekmänstan / تۆرېكمەنستان | Törekmänstan |
| Tajik | tgk | Туркманистон / ترکمنستان / Turkmaniston | Turkmaniston |
| Ukrainian | ukr | Туркменістан | Turkmenistan |
| Arabic | ara | تركمانستان, تركمنستان | Turkumānistān, Turkumanistān |
| South Azerbaijani | azb | تورکمنیستان / Türkmənistan | Türkmənistan |
| Sorani Kurdish | ckb | تورکمەنستان / Turkmenistan, تورکمانستان / Turkmanistan | Turkmenistan, Turkmanistan |
| Persian | fas | ترکمنستان / Torkamanestân | Torkamanestân |
| Western Punjabi | pnb | ترکمانستان | Turkmānistān |
| Dari | prs | ترکمنستان | Torkmanestān |
| Pashto | pus | ترکمنستان | Turkmanistān |
| Uyghur | uig | تۈركمەنىستان / Türkmenistan / Түркмәнистан | Türkmenistan |
| Urdu | urd | ترکمانستان, ترکمنستان | Turkmānistān, Turkmanistān |
| Dhivehi | div | ޓާރްކްމަނިސްތާން | Ṫārkmanistān |
| Hebrew | heb | טורקמניסטן, טורקמניסטאן, תורכמניסטן, תורכמניסטאן | Ṭūrqmenīsṭan, Ṭūrqmenīsṭān, Tūrkmenīsṭan, Tūrkmenīsṭān |
| Ladino | lad | טורקמיניסטאן / Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan |
| Yiddish | yid | טורקמעניסטאַן | Turkmenistan |
| Berber (Tifinagh) | ber | ⵜⵓⵔⴽⵎⴻⵏⵙⵜⴰⵏ / Turkmenstan | Turkmenstan |
| Amharic | amh | ቱርክሜኒስታን | Turkmenistan |
| Greek | ell | Τουρκμενιστάν | Toyrkmenistán |
| Armenian | hye | Թուրքմենստան | T̕ourk̕menstan |
| Georgian, Mingrelian | kat / xmf | თურქმენეთი | Ṭurḳmeneṭi |
| Laz | lzz | თურქმენისტანი / Turkmenist’ani | Turkmenist’ani |
| Hindi | hin | तुर्कमेनिस्तान, तुर्कमनिस्तान | Turkmenistān, Turkmanistān |
| Bengali | ben | তুর্কমেনিস্তান, তুর্কমেনিয়া | Turkmenistān, Turkmeniyā |
| Gujarati | guj | તુર્કમેનિસ્તાન | Turkmenistān |
| Oriya | ori | ତୁର୍କମେନିସ୍ତାନ | Turkmenistān |
| Punjabi | pan | ਤੁਰਕਮਾਨਿਸਤਾਨ | Turkmānistān |
| Sinhala | sin | ටර්ක්මෙනිස්තානය | Ṭarkmenistānaya |
| Kannada | kan | ತುರ್ಕ್ಮೇನಿಸ್ತಾನ್ | Turkmēnistān |
| Malayalam | mal | തുര്ക്ക്മെനിസ്ഥാൻ | Turkkmenistʰān |
| Tamil | tam | துருக்மெனிஸ்தான், துர்க்மெனிஸ்தான் | Turukmeṉistāṉ, Turkmeṉistāṉ |
| Telugu | tel | తుర్క్మెనిస్తాన్ | Turkmenistān |
| Chinese | zho | 土庫曼斯坦/土库曼斯坦 | Tǔkùmànsītǎn |
| Japanese | jpn | トルクメニスタン | Torukumenisutan |
| Korean | kor | 투르크메니스탄 | Tureukeumeniseutan |
| Tibetan | bod | ཏུརཀ་མེ་ནི་སུཏན། | Turk.me.ni.sutan |
| Burmese | mya | တပ်မင်နစ္စတန် | Taʿmĩniʿstã |
| Thai | tha | เติร์กเมนิสถาน | Tə̄[r]kmēnittʰān |
| Lao | lao | ຕວຽກເມນີ, ຕຸກເມເນຍ | Twaẏkmēnī, Tukmēniya |
| Khmer | khm | ទួគមេនីស្តង់, ទួរមេនីស្តង់ | Tuakmenīstăṅ, Tuarmenīstăṅ |
Many languages keep a second, shorter form from the Soviet period beside the -stan name: Туркмения in Russian, Turkmenien in German, Turkmenia in Moldovan. Portuguese lists twelve spellings.
Türkmen and -stan: where the name comes from
Turkmenistan joins the people's name, Türkmen, to the Persian suffix -stan, place or country. The ethnonym itself has been read as Turk with the Sogdian suffix -men; medieval Muslim chroniclers such as Ibn Kathir preferred a link with Arabic īmān, faith. Article 1 of the constitutional law adopted on 27 October 1991, after the independence referendum, fixed the name of the state as Turkmenistan, Türkmenistan in Turkmen.
The exonym list shows two layers. One is the -stan form, which nearly every language now uses: Türkmenistan in Turkish and Estonian, Turkménistan in French, Туркменистан in Russian, 土庫曼斯坦 Tǔkùmànsītǎn in Chinese. The other is the shorter name of the Soviet republic, Turkmenia, which survives as Туркмения in Russian, Turkmenien in German, Turkmėnija in Lithuanian, Turkmenia in Moldovan and Turcmenia in Latin. Turkish adds Türkmeneli, the land of the Turkmens, and Tagalog writes Turkmenya.
Turkmen itself changed script. Turkmenistan moved to the Latin alphabet in 1993, with letters such as ň, ý and ş, so the Soviet-era Cyrillic Түркменистан became Türkmenistan and Ашгабат became Aşgabat. The capital shows the same layering: Russian keeps Ашхабад, Ašȟabad, and Persian writes عشقآباد, ʿIšqābād, a form Arabic, Pashto and Urdu share, while English follows the Turkmen Aşgabat as Ashgabat.
Ashgabat in other languages
| Languages | ISO 639 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | eng | Ashgabat | same as written |
| German, Luxembourgish, Low German | deu / ltz / nds | Aschgabat | same as written |
| Estonian, Finnish | est / fin | Ašgabat | same as written |
| Dutch, Swedish | nld / swe | Asjchabad | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Aşqabad / Ашгабад | Aşqabad |
| Bosnian | bos | Ašgabat / Ашгабат / آشغابات | Ašgabat |
| Czech | ces | Ašchabád | same as written |
| Danish | dan | Asjkhabad | same as written |
| Esperanto | epo | Aŝgabato | same as written |
| French | fra | Achgabat | same as written |
| Irish | gle | Ashgabat / Aṡgabat | same as written |
| Galician | glg | Achkhabad | same as written |
| Hungarian | hun | Asgabat | same as written |
| Icelandic | isl | Askabad | same as written |
| Kurmanji Kurdish | kur | Eşqabad | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Ašgabata, Ašhabada | same as written |
| Limburgish | lim | Asjgabad | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Ašgabatas, Ašchabadas | same as written |
| Moldovan | mol | Așhabad / Ашхабад | Așhabad |
| Malay | msa | Ashgabat / اشݢابات | Ashgabat |
| Polish | pol | Aszchabad | same as written |
| Romanian | ron | Așhabad | same as written |
| Slovak | slk | Ašchabad | same as written |
| Samogitian | smg | Aškabads | same as written |
| Tetum | tet | Axgabade | same as written |
| Tagalog | tgl | Ashabad | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | Aşgabat / Ашгабат | Aşgabat |
| Turkish | tur | Aşkabat | same as written |
| Uzbek | uzb | Ashxobod / Ашхобод / ئەشخاباد, Ashgabat / Ашгабат / ئەشگەبەت | Ashxobod, Ashgabat |
| Zazaki | zza | Aşgabat | same as written |
| Bulgarian, Russian | bul / rus | Ашхабад | Ašȟabad |
| Bashkir | bak | Ашхабад / Aşxabad | Aşxabad |
| Belarusian | bel | Ашгабад / Ašhabad, Ашхабад / Ašchabad | Ašhabad, Ašchabad |
| Kazakh | kaz | Ашғабат / اشعابات / Aşğabat | Aşğabat |
| Kyrgyz | kir | Ашкабат / اشقابات / Aşqabat | Aşqabat |
| Mongolian | mon | Ашгабат | Ašgabat |
| Serbian | srp | Ашхабад / Ašhabad | Ašhabad |
| Tabassaran | tab | Ашгъабат | Ašġabat |
| Tatar | tat | Ашхабад / Aşxabad / ئاشخاباد | Aşxabad |
| Tajik | tgk | Ашқобод / عشقآباد / Aşqobod | Aşqobod |
| Ukrainian | ukr | Ашґабат | Ašgabat |
| Arabic | ara | عشقآباد, أشغبات | ʿIšqābād, Ašġabāt |
| South Azerbaijani | azb | آشقاباد / Aşqabad | Aşqabad |
| Persian | fas | عشقآباد / Ešqâbâd | Ešqâbâd |
| Western Punjabi | pnb | اشکآباد | Aškābād |
| Pashto | pus | عشقآباد | ʿAšqābād |
| Uyghur | uig | ئەشخاباد / Eshxabad / Әшхабад | Eshxabad |
| Urdu | urd | عشقآباد | ʿAšqābād |
| Hebrew | heb | אשגבט, אשגאבט, אשגאבאט, אשחבאד | Ašgabaṭ, Ašgābaṭ, Ašgābāṭ, Ašḥabād |
| Yiddish | yid | אַשגאַבאַט | Ašgabat |
| Amharic | amh | አሽጋባት, አሽካባድ | Ăšgabat, Ăškabad |
| Greek (Demotic) | ell-dhi | Ασγκαμπάτ, Ασχαμπάντ | Asgkampát, Asȟampánt |
| Greek (Katharevousa) | ell-kat | Ἀσχαμπάντ | Asȟampánt |
| Armenian | hye | Աշգաբատ, Աշխաբադ | Ašgabat, Ašxabad |
| Georgian | kat | აშგაბატი, აშხაბადი | Ašgabati, Ašȟabadi |
| Hindi | hin | अशगाबाट, अशकाबाद | Ašgābāṭ, Aškābād |
| Nepali | nep | आश्गाबाट | Āšgābāṭ |
| Bengali | ben | অশগাবাট, আশখাবাদ, আসখাবাদ | Ôšgābāṭ, Āškʰābād, Āskʰābād |
| Punjabi | pan | ਅਸ਼ਗਾਬਾਟ | Ašgābāṭ |
| Kannada | kan | ಆಶ್ಗಬಾತ್ | Āšgabāt |
| Malayalam | mal | അഷ്ഗബാത് | Aṣgabāt |
| Tamil | tam | அஸ்காபாத், ஆஷ்காபாத் | Askāpāt, Āškāpāt |
| Telugu | tel | అశ్గబత్ | Ašgabat |
| Chinese | zho | 阿什哈巴德 | Āshíhābādé |
| Japanese | jpn | アシガバート | Ashigabāto |
| Korean | kor | 아시가바트 | Asigabateu |
| Thai | tha | อาชคาบัด, อาชกาบัต | Ātkʰābât, Ātkābât |
| Khmer | khm | អាស់ហ្គាបាត | Ashkābāt |
Regions of Turkmenistan and the city of Ashgabat
Turkmenistan has five regions (welaýat) and the capital Ashgabat, a city with regional status (şäher). ISO 3166-2:TM gives each a one-letter code. Names are shown in the Latin alphabet Turkmenistan uses today and in the Cyrillic one it used until 1993.
| ISO 3166-2 | Turkmen | Turkmen (Cyrillic) | English | Administrative centre | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regions welaýatlar5 | |||||
| TM-A | Ahal welaýaty | Ахал велаяты | Ahal Region | ArkadagArkadag | 2022 Arkadag, a newly built city, became the regional centre on 9 November 2022, replacing Änew |
| TM-B | Balkan welaýaty | Балкан велаяты | Balkan Region | BalkanabatBalkanabat | |
| TM-D | Daşoguz welaýaty | Дашогуз велаяты | Dashoguz Region | DaşoguzDashoguz | |
| TM-L | Lebap welaýaty | Лебап велаяты | Lebap Region | TürkmenabatTurkmenabat | |
| TM-M | Mary welaýaty | Мары велаяты | Mary Region | MaryMary | |
| City şäher1 | |||||
| TM-S | Aşgabat şäheri | Ашгабат шәхери | Ashgabat | AşgabatAshgabat | 2010 Added by ISO as a city with the rank of a region |
Codes: ISO 3166-2:TM on the ISO Online Browsing Platform, change history (Newsletter II-2 of 30 June 2010) as tabulated in Wikipedia's ISO 3166-2:TM, checked 28 October 2026. Regional centres: Wikipedia, Regions of Turkmenistan and Ahal Region, checked 28 October 2026.
What changed in the regions
The five regions have kept their codes since ISO 3166-2 was first published in 1998. Newsletter II-2 of 30 June 2010 added Ashgabat as TM-S, a city with the rank of a region. The regional centres have moved more often than the borders: Ahal was governed from Annau, written Änew in Turkmen, until Arkadag was formally incorporated as its new centre on 9 November 2022. Balkanabat, Daşoguz, Türkmenabat and Mary remain the seats of the other four regions.
Flag of Turkmenistan
A green field with a red vertical stripe near the hoist, filled with five carpet ornaments, the guls, one above the other. In the green part beside it stand a white crescent and five white stars. The flag is drawn in the proportion 2:3; on this page the guls are left out and the rest follows the Wikimedia Commons construction.
Questions about the names and regions of Turkmenistan
How do you write Turkmenistan in Turkmen?
Türkmenistan in the Latin alphabet used since 1993; in Cyrillic it was Түркменистан.
What does Türkmeneli mean?
The land of the Turkmens. Turkish uses it beside Türkmenistan.
How many regions does Turkmenistan have?
Five regions (welaýat) plus the city of Ashgabat, which has the rank of a region. Their ISO codes are TM-A, TM-B, TM-D, TM-L, TM-M and TM-S.
Why is Ashgabat Ашхабад in Russian?
Russian keeps the form Ашхабад, Ašȟabad; Turkmen writes Aşgabat, and Persian عشقآباد, ʿIšqābād.
What are the ISO codes of Turkmenistan?
TM (alpha-2), TKM (alpha-3) and 795 (numeric) in ISO 3166-1.