Pregnant women in India, where the word for "mom," in Hindi, is "mām̐" Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters Is there anything inherently “doggy” about the word “dog”? Obviously not—to the French, a dog is a chien, to Russians a sobaka, to Mandarin Chinese-speakers a gǒu. These words have nothing in common, and none seem any more connected to the canine essence than any other.