TV in Different Languages
Discover 'TV' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
TV
Afrikaans tv | ||
Albanian tv | ||
Amharic ቴሌቪዥን | ||
Arabic تلفزيون | ||
Armenian հեռուստացույց | ||
Assamese টিভি | ||
Aymara tv ukan uñacht’ayata | ||
Azerbaijani tv | ||
Bambara telewisɔn | ||
Basque telebista | ||
Belarusian тэлевізар | ||
Bengali টেলিভিশন | ||
Bhojpuri टीवी पर दिहल गइल बा | ||
Bosnian tv | ||
Bulgarian телевизор | ||
Catalan tv | ||
Cebuano tv | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 电视 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 電視 | ||
Corsican tv | ||
Croatian televizor | ||
Czech televize | ||
Danish tv | ||
Dhivehi ޓީވީ... | ||
Dogri टीवी | ||
Dutch tv | ||
English tv | ||
Esperanto televido | ||
Estonian tv | ||
Ewe tv dzi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) tv | ||
Finnish tv | ||
French la télé | ||
Frisian tv | ||
Galician tv | ||
Georgian სატელევიზიო | ||
German fernseher | ||
Greek τηλεόραση | ||
Guarani tv rehegua | ||
Gujarati ટી.વી. | ||
Haitian Creole televizyon | ||
Hausa tv | ||
Hawaiian kīwī | ||
Hebrew טֵלֶוִיזִיָה | ||
Hindi टीवी | ||
Hmong tv | ||
Hungarian tévé | ||
Icelandic sjónvarp | ||
Igbo tv | ||
Ilocano tv | ||
Indonesian televisi | ||
Irish teilifís | ||
Italian tv | ||
Japanese テレビ | ||
Javanese tv | ||
Kannada ಟಿವಿ | ||
Kazakh теледидар | ||
Khmer ទូរទស្សន៍ | ||
Kinyarwanda tv | ||
Konkani टीव्ही | ||
Korean tv | ||
Krio tv | ||
Kurdish tv | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) تیڤی | ||
Kyrgyz сыналгы | ||
Lao ໂທລະພາບ | ||
Latin tv | ||
Latvian tv | ||
Lingala tv | ||
Lithuanian televizorius | ||
Luganda tv | ||
Luxembourgish fernseh | ||
Macedonian телевизија | ||
Maithili टीवी | ||
Malagasy tv | ||
Malay tv | ||
Malayalam ടിവി | ||
Maltese tv | ||
Maori tv | ||
Marathi टीव्ही | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯇꯤ.ꯚꯤ | ||
Mizo tv a ni | ||
Mongolian тв | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) တီဗီ | ||
Nepali टिभी | ||
Norwegian tv | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) tv | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଟିଭି | | ||
Oromo tv | ||
Pashto تلویزیون | ||
Persian تلویزیون | ||
Polish telewizor | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) televisão | ||
Punjabi ਟੀ | ||
Quechua tv | ||
Romanian televizor | ||
Russian телевидение | ||
Samoan tv | ||
Sanskrit टीवी | ||
Scots Gaelic tbh | ||
Sepedi tv | ||
Serbian тв | ||
Sesotho tv | ||
Shona tv | ||
Sindhi ٽي وي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) රූපවාහිනී | ||
Slovak tv | ||
Slovenian tv | ||
Somali tv | ||
Spanish televisión | ||
Sundanese tv | ||
Swahili tv | ||
Swedish tv | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) tv | ||
Tajik тв | ||
Tamil டிவி | ||
Tatar телевизор | ||
Telugu టీవీ | ||
Thai โทรทัศน์ | ||
Tigrinya ቲቪ | ||
Tsonga tv | ||
Turkish televizyon | ||
Turkmen telewizor | ||
Twi (Akan) tv so | ||
Ukrainian телевізор | ||
Urdu ٹی وی | ||
Uyghur tv | ||
Uzbek televizor | ||
Vietnamese tv | ||
Welsh teledu | ||
Xhosa umabonwakude | ||
Yiddish טעלעוויזיע | ||
Yoruba tv | ||
Zulu i-tv |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, TV can also be referred to as "kleinkassie" which means "small box". |
| Amharic | The Amharic word "ቴሌቪዥን" is a compound word meaning "from afar" + "sight." |
| Arabic | "تلفزيون" comes from Greek "τηλέ" (tele, "far") and Latin "visio" (vision, "act of seeing") and literally means "far-seeing device" |
| Azerbaijani | In Azerbaijani, "TV" (televizor) has two alternate meanings: "picture tube" and "picture projector." |
| Basque | Telebista, Basque for "television," is a compound word derived from "tele" (distance) and "bista" (vision). |
| Belarusian | The word "Тэлевізар" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "vision" (sight), and originally referred to any device that allowed for the transmission of images over long distances. |
| Bengali | টেলিভিশন শব্দটি গ্রিক শব্দ 'টেলে' (দূর) এবং 'ভিশন' (দৃষ্টি) থেকে এসেছে, যার অর্থ দূর থেকে দৃশ্যমান করা। |
| Bosnian | "TV" is also a word for "your" in Bosnian, and is derived from Serbian/Croatian "tvoj". |
| Bulgarian | The word "телевизор" derives from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "horama" (sight), meaning "vision from afar". |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "TV" is also used to represent the phrase "tren de vapor", meaning "steam train." |
| Cebuano | TV in Cebuano can also mean 'to call' or 'to invite'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 电视 literally means "electric viewing" and can also refer to general electronic media. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 電視 is a Chinese compound word formed from 電 (diàn, "electricity") and 視 (shì, "to see"). |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "TV" can also refer to "televisione", the Italian word for "television". |
| Croatian | "Televizor" is of Latin-Greek origin and means literally "I see far". |
| Czech | The word "televize" in Czech can also refer to a "television set" |
| Danish | The Danish word "TV" can also refer to a "telephone" or a "public telephone booth." |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "TV" can also stand for "televisie," meaning "television." |
| Esperanto | "Televido" was made up of words meaning "far" and "to see" and the spelling was made to closely resemble the Esperanto word for "sight" (vido). |
| Estonian | Estonian "TV" has the alternate meaning of "television station." |
| Finnish | The original name used for TV in Finnish was 'television' ('telvisio') but it has been superseded by 'teevee' ('TV'). |
| French | La télé, the informal word for "TV" in French, derives from its early use as slang for the "telegraph" |
| Frisian | The word 'TV' is used in Frisian for 'live television', as well as for 'recorded television'. |
| Galician | In Galician, "TV" can also mean "television station" or "television program". |
| Georgian | სატელევიზიო is derived from the Greek roots “tele” (far) and “vision” (sight) and initially referred to distance-viewing devices in general. |
| German | Fernseher derives from the word 'fern,' meaning 'far,' and 'sehen,' meaning 'to see.' |
| Greek | The Greek word "τηλεόραση" is derived from "τηλε" (far) and "όραση" (vision), and can also refer to the concept of "distance vision". |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati acronym ટી.વી. can mean either “television,” or in the context of a name, "Toji Vinay” or "Tilak Varshi". |
| Haitian Creole | "Televizyon" is a word borrowed from French and is used to refer to a television set in Haitian Creole. |
| Hausa | In the Hausa language TV is also a short form for "tarbiya", which means both "training" or "education." |
| Hawaiian | "Kīwī" also means "climbing up" in Hawaiian, referencing the knobs on TVs that were used to adjust the channel. |
| Hebrew | טֵלֶוִיזִיָה derives from Greek roots meaning "distance" and "vision." |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "टीवी" (TV) is derived from the English word "television" and is also commonly used as an abbreviation for "टीवी सीरियल" (TV series). |
| Hmong | In Hmong, "TV" (τηλεόραση) is an acronym for "Ταχυδρομικός & Τηλεγραφικός Οργανισμός" (Telegraph and Post Organization). |
| Hungarian | Hungarian's word for "TV", "tévé", is derived from televízió, a compound word composed of "táv" meaning "distance" and "lát" meaning "to see". |
| Icelandic | The word "Sjónvarp" in Icelandic literally means "seeing afar" and was originally coined to describe a type of optical telegraph. |
| Igbo | Igbo word for TV, 'Igwe onyonyo,' literally translates to 'King of Birds' or 'King of the Sky,' referring to the bird-like antenna of early TV sets. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word 'televisi' comes from 'télé' (meaning 'far') and 'visi' (meaning 'sight'). |
| Irish | Teilifís originates from the Greek words 'tele' (far) and 'opsis' (sight), capturing the idea of seeing from a distance. |
| Italian | "tv" is also the abbreviation of the word "taverna" (Italian for "pub"). |
| Javanese | In Javanese, "TV" can also refer to a "transvestite" |
| Kannada | "ಟಿವಿ" is the Kannada abbreviation for "television". |
| Kazakh | "телевизор" (TV) is derived from two Ancient Greek words, "τηλε" (tele), meaning "far", and "οράω" (orao), meaning "to see". In Russian, the word was borrowed and slightly altered to "телевизор", which was then adopted into Kazakh as "Теледидар". |
| Khmer | "ទូរទស្សន៍" also refers to traditional forms of long-distance communication that predate modern TVs, e.g. "optical telegraph". |
| Korean | In South Korea, the word "TV" refers to the television channel rather than the device. |
| Kurdish | TV is an acronym that stands for “tele” (Greek for “far”) and “vision” (Latin for “to see”). |
| Kyrgyz | Сыналгы (телевидение) происходит от кыргызских слов «сын» (разбивать, ломать) и «алгы» (далеко). |
| Latin | In Latin, "TV" can also mean "te videas," which translates to "may you see yourself." |
| Latvian | "TV" is also used to mean "television camera" and "telecast" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | The word "Televizorius" shares its root with the words "telekinesis" and "television". |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Fernseh" in Luxembourgish was borrowed from the German word "Fernsehen", which literally means "far-seeing". |
| Macedonian | The name "телевизија" derives from the Greek word "τηλεόραση," meaning "far-seeing". |
| Malagasy | "The Malagasy word " fahitalavitra " is a compound word derived from the Malagasy words " fahita " (literally, "view" or "appearance") and " lavitra " (literally, "far") and refers the image coming from afar, i.e. the TV image." |
| Malay | In Malay, "TV" does not originate from English, but "televisyen", derived from the Greek words "tele" (distance) and "visio" (vision). |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, "ടിവി" (TV) is also used colloquially to refer to screens, televisions, or movies. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "TV" can also mean "televiewer" or "television set". |
| Maori | "TV" is short for "tiwhitiwhiti" in Maori, meaning "to vibrate" or "to flicker." |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "टीव्ही" (TV) is derived from the English word "television" and can also refer to a "viewing box" or "monitor". |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian, the word "ТВ" can also mean "тунгуур" (cable), "телевиз" (television), or "техник" (technician). |
| Nepali | The word 'टिभी' is derived from the English word 'television', which in turn comes from the Greek words 'tele' ('far') and 'visio' ('sight'). |
| Norwegian | In Norwegian, "TV" can also mean "theatrical performance". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "TV" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is also used to refer to a "television set". |
| Pashto | The word "تلویزیون" (TV) is derived from the Greek word "τηλεόραση" (teleorasi), meaning "distance viewing." |
| Persian | The Persian word "تلویزیون" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (meaning "far") and "opsis" (meaning "sight") and also refers to a play by Sophocles. |
| Polish | Alternate meanings of "telewizor" in Polish include its former meanings of "television" and "telespectator." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "televisão" derives from Greek "τῆλε" (tele), "far," + Latin "-vīsiō" (-visio), "act of seeing." |
| Punjabi | The word "ਟੀ" can mean either "TV" or "tea" in Punjabi. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "televizor" comes from the ancient Greek "tele" (far) and "horao" (visible), and is synonymous with the archaic and poetic "scrinocul fermecat" (the "enchanted screen") |
| Russian | Телевидение's (TV) etymology comes from combining 'tele' and 'видение' (vision), and the word can mean both 'television' and 'broadcast television'. |
| Samoan | Samoan TV stands for Televise, which is derived from the English word Television. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Scots Gaelic word "Tbh" is also a term of endearment for a child. |
| Serbian | "ТВ" can also mean "telephone" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | In Sesotho, "TV" can also mean "television set" or "television program". |
| Shona | In Shona, "TV" can also mean "television screen" or "television set." |
| Sindhi | In Sindhi, "ٽي وي" can also refer to a show or broadcast on television and not just the device. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word for "TV" is a compound of "රූප" (image) and "වාහිනී" (vehicle), meaning "a vehicle that carries images". |
| Slovak | TV is also short for "televisor". |
| Slovenian | TV is the abbreviation of the Slovene word "televizija", which derives from the Greek "tele" ("far" or "distant") and "visio" ("seeing"). |
| Somali | "TV" is also a Somali word meaning "to weave" or "to knit". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "televisión" comes from the Greek word "tele" meaning "far" and the Latin word "visio" meaning "sight". |
| Sundanese | TV is an abbreviation of "televisi" in Sundanese, which means "television." |
| Swahili | In Swahili, "TV" is occasionally used as an abbreviation for "Televisheni," meaning "television." |
| Swedish | In Swedish, "TV" also stands for "tidningsutdelning", meaning "newspaper delivery". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In the Philippines, "TV" can also be an informal abbreviation for "telebabad" (television marathon). |
| Tajik | In Tajik, "ТВ" can also mean "текущий счёт" (current account). |
| Telugu | In Telugu, the word "టీవీ" can also refer to a "drawer" or a "window shutter". |
| Thai | The word "โทรทัศน์" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "opsis" (sight), reflecting its ability to transmit images and sound over long distances. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "televizyon" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "opsis" (sight), and originally meant "seeing from afar". |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "Телевізор" literally means "far viewer" or "distant seer," referring to the technology's ability to transmit images from remote locations. |
| Urdu | The word "ٹی وی" in Urdu can also mean "screen", "monitor" or "display". |
| Uzbek | The word "televizor" comes from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "visio" (vision), and it originally referred to a device that allowed people to see distant objects. |
| Vietnamese | In Vietnamese, TV is an abbreviation for "Truyền hình." |
| Welsh | Teledu is the Welsh word for 'otter' and was chosen as the name for the first Welsh-language TV channel because 'otter' is a semi-aquatic mammal, and TV signals were transmitted by cable under the sea. |
| Xhosa | The word "Umabonwakude" is also used to refer to a "window" or an "aperture". |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "טעלעוויזיע" (TV) is a calque from German "television," which in turn comes from Greek "tele-" (far) and Latin "video" (to see). |
| Yoruba | The word "TV" in Yoruba is also a shortened form of the word "telefunken", which is a brand of television. |
| Zulu | I-TV in Zulu also means 'I have seen you' or 'I have found you' |
| English | Short for **t**ele**v**ision, TV can also refer to a TV **s**how or **s**tation. |