Names of α-amino acids in different languages

Axel Drefahl •

The English (en), French (fr), German (de), Italian (it), Portuguese (pt), and Spanisch (es) names of 20 α-amino acids, commonly grouped together and called the “standard” amino acids, are given in the following table. The amino acids appear in alphabetical order of their three-letter codes (3LCs). Corresponding one-letter codes (1LCs), based on IUPAC recommendations (see Bibliography and Links ), are shown in the second column. The last column contains Wikipedia links connecting to amino acids entries in one of the six languages in response to the selected language code. A German-language version of this page is available.
3LC 1LC English French German Italian Portuguese Spanish Wikipedia
Ala A alanine alanine Alanin alanina alanina alanina en fr de it pt es
Arg R arginine arginine Arginin arginina arginina arginina en fr de it pt es
Asn N asparagine asparagine Asparagin asparagina asparagina asparagina en fr de it pt es
Asp D aspartic acid acide aspartique Asparagin- säure acido aspartico ácido aspártico ácido aspártico en fr de it pt es
Cys C cysteine cystéine Cystein cisteina cisteína cisteína en fr de it pt es
Gln Q glutamine glutamine Glutamin glutammina glutamina glutamina en fr de it pt es
Glu E glutamic acid acide glutamique Glutamin- säure acido glutammico ácido glutâmico ácido glutâmico en fr de it pt es
Gly G glycine glycine Glycin glicina glicina glicina en fr de it pt es
His H hystidine hystidine Hystidin istidina histidina histidina en fr de it pt es
Ile I isoleucine isoleucine Isoleucin isoleucina isoleucina isoleucina en fr de it pt es
Leu L leucine leucine Leucin leucina leucina leucina en fr de it pt es
Lys K lysine lysine Lysin lisina lisina lisina en fr de it pt es
Met M methionine méthionine Methionin metionina metionina metionina en fr de it pt es
Phe F phenylalanine phénylalanine Phenylalanin fenilalanina fenilalanina fenilalanina en fr de it pt es
Pro P proline proline Prolin prolina prolina prolina en fr de it pt es
Ser S serine sérine Serin serina serina serina en fr de it pt es
Thr T threonine thréonine Threonin treonina treonina treonina en fr de it pt es
Trp W tryptophan tryptophane Tryptophan triptofano triptófano triptófano en fr de it pt es
Tyr Y tyrosine tyrosine Tyrosin tirosina tirosina tirosina en fr de it pt es
Val V valine valine Valin valina valina valina en fr de it pt es

Different spellings and synonymous names

In German, especially in non-scientific text, the letter z may be used instead of c, resulting in Zystein, Glyzin, Leuzin, and Isoleuzin for Cystein, Glycin, Leucin, and Isoluecin, respectively. In Portuguese, the name glicocola is also used for glicina.


More about α-amino acids
Notations, formulae and ThermoML links
One-letter code (1LC)
Three-letter code (3LC)
Name composition and comparison


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