TV in Different Languages
Discover 'TV' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
TV, short for television, is a ubiquitous technology that has transformed the way we consume information and entertainment. From its early days as a mechanical device to the modern flat-screen, TV has held a significant place in our cultural and social lives. It has brought the world into our living rooms, allowing us to witness historical events, enjoy captivating stories, and learn about diverse cultures.
Understanding the translation of TV in different languages is not only a fun exercise in language learning but also a glimpse into how this technology has been adopted and integrated into various cultures around the world. For instance, in Spanish, TV is 'televisión,' while in French, it's 'télévision.' In Mandarin, it's '电视' (diànshì), and in Japanese, it's 'テレビジョン' (terebijon).
Exploring these translations offers a unique perspective on how different languages and cultures have embraced this global phenomenon. Stay tuned for more translations of TV in various languages!
TV
TV in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | tv | ||
| In Afrikaans, TV can also be referred to as "kleinkassie" which means "small box". | |||
| Amharic | ቴሌቪዥን | ||
| The Amharic word "ቴሌቪዥን" is a compound word meaning "from afar" + "sight." | |||
| Hausa | tv | ||
| In the Hausa language TV is also a short form for "tarbiya", which means both "training" or "education." | |||
| Igbo | tv | ||
| 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. | |||
| Malagasy | tv | ||
| "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." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | tv | ||
| The word "TV" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is also used to refer to a "television set". | |||
| Shona | tv | ||
| In Shona, "TV" can also mean "television screen" or "television set." | |||
| Somali | tv | ||
| "TV" is also a Somali word meaning "to weave" or "to knit". | |||
| Sesotho | tv | ||
| In Sesotho, "TV" can also mean "television set" or "television program". | |||
| Swahili | tv | ||
| In Swahili, "TV" is occasionally used as an abbreviation for "Televisheni," meaning "television." | |||
| Xhosa | umabonwakude | ||
| The word "Umabonwakude" is also used to refer to a "window" or an "aperture". | |||
| Yoruba | tv | ||
| The word "TV" in Yoruba is also a shortened form of the word "telefunken", which is a brand of television. | |||
| Zulu | i-tv | ||
| I-TV in Zulu also means 'I have seen you' or 'I have found you' | |||
| Bambara | telewisɔn | ||
| Ewe | tv dzi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | tv | ||
| Lingala | tv | ||
| Luganda | tv | ||
| Sepedi | tv | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tv so | ||
TV in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تلفزيون | ||
| "تلفزيون" comes from Greek "τηλέ" (tele, "far") and Latin "visio" (vision, "act of seeing") and literally means "far-seeing device" | |||
| Hebrew | טֵלֶוִיזִיָה | ||
| טֵלֶוִיזִיָה derives from Greek roots meaning "distance" and "vision." | |||
| Pashto | تلویزیون | ||
| The word "تلویزیون" (TV) is derived from the Greek word "τηλεόραση" (teleorasi), meaning "distance viewing." | |||
| Arabic | تلفزيون | ||
| "تلفزيون" comes from Greek "τηλέ" (tele, "far") and Latin "visio" (vision, "act of seeing") and literally means "far-seeing device" | |||
TV in Western European Languages
| Albanian | tv | ||
| Basque | telebista | ||
| Telebista, Basque for "television," is a compound word derived from "tele" (distance) and "bista" (vision). | |||
| Catalan | tv | ||
| In Catalan, "TV" is also used to represent the phrase "tren de vapor", meaning "steam train." | |||
| Croatian | televizor | ||
| "Televizor" is of Latin-Greek origin and means literally "I see far". | |||
| Danish | tv | ||
| The Danish word "TV" can also refer to a "telephone" or a "public telephone booth." | |||
| Dutch | tv | ||
| In Dutch, "TV" can also stand for "televisie," meaning "television." | |||
| English | tv | ||
| Short for **t**ele**v**ision, TV can also refer to a TV **s**how or **s**tation. | |||
| French | la télé | ||
| La télé, the informal word for "TV" in French, derives from its early use as slang for the "telegraph" | |||
| Frisian | tv | ||
| The word 'TV' is used in Frisian for 'live television', as well as for 'recorded television'. | |||
| Galician | tv | ||
| In Galician, "TV" can also mean "television station" or "television program". | |||
| German | fernseher | ||
| Fernseher derives from the word 'fern,' meaning 'far,' and 'sehen,' meaning 'to see.' | |||
| Icelandic | sjónvarp | ||
| The word "Sjónvarp" in Icelandic literally means "seeing afar" and was originally coined to describe a type of optical telegraph. | |||
| Irish | teilifís | ||
| Teilifís originates from the Greek words 'tele' (far) and 'opsis' (sight), capturing the idea of seeing from a distance. | |||
| Italian | tv | ||
| "tv" is also the abbreviation of the word "taverna" (Italian for "pub"). | |||
| Luxembourgish | fernseh | ||
| The word "Fernseh" in Luxembourgish was borrowed from the German word "Fernsehen", which literally means "far-seeing". | |||
| Maltese | tv | ||
| The Maltese word "TV" can also mean "televiewer" or "television set". | |||
| Norwegian | tv | ||
| In Norwegian, "TV" can also mean "theatrical performance". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | televisão | ||
| The Portuguese word "televisão" derives from Greek "τῆλε" (tele), "far," + Latin "-vīsiō" (-visio), "act of seeing." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | tbh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "Tbh" is also a term of endearment for a child. | |||
| Spanish | televisión | ||
| The Spanish word "televisión" comes from the Greek word "tele" meaning "far" and the Latin word "visio" meaning "sight". | |||
| Swedish | tv | ||
| In Swedish, "TV" also stands for "tidningsutdelning", meaning "newspaper delivery". | |||
| Welsh | teledu | ||
| 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. | |||
TV in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | тэлевізар | ||
| 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. | |||
| Bosnian | tv | ||
| "TV" is also a word for "your" in Bosnian, and is derived from Serbian/Croatian "tvoj". | |||
| Bulgarian | телевизор | ||
| The word "телевизор" derives from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "horama" (sight), meaning "vision from afar". | |||
| Czech | televize | ||
| The word "televize" in Czech can also refer to a "television set" | |||
| Estonian | tv | ||
| Estonian "TV" has the alternate meaning of "television station." | |||
| Finnish | tv | ||
| The original name used for TV in Finnish was 'television' ('telvisio') but it has been superseded by 'teevee' ('TV'). | |||
| Hungarian | tévé | ||
| Hungarian's word for "TV", "tévé", is derived from televízió, a compound word composed of "táv" meaning "distance" and "lát" meaning "to see". | |||
| Latvian | tv | ||
| "TV" is also used to mean "television camera" and "telecast" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | televizorius | ||
| The word "Televizorius" shares its root with the words "telekinesis" and "television". | |||
| Macedonian | телевизија | ||
| The name "телевизија" derives from the Greek word "τηλεόραση," meaning "far-seeing". | |||
| Polish | telewizor | ||
| Alternate meanings of "telewizor" in Polish include its former meanings of "television" and "telespectator." | |||
| Romanian | televizor | ||
| 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 | ||
| Телевидение's (TV) etymology comes from combining 'tele' and 'видение' (vision), and the word can mean both 'television' and 'broadcast television'. | |||
| Serbian | тв | ||
| "ТВ" can also mean "telephone" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | tv | ||
| TV is also short for "televisor". | |||
| Slovenian | tv | ||
| TV is the abbreviation of the Slovene word "televizija", which derives from the Greek "tele" ("far" or "distant") and "visio" ("seeing"). | |||
| Ukrainian | телевізор | ||
| The Ukrainian word "Телевізор" literally means "far viewer" or "distant seer," referring to the technology's ability to transmit images from remote locations. | |||
TV in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | টেলিভিশন | ||
| টেলিভিশন শব্দটি গ্রিক শব্দ 'টেলে' (দূর) এবং 'ভিশন' (দৃষ্টি) থেকে এসেছে, যার অর্থ দূর থেকে দৃশ্যমান করা। | |||
| Gujarati | ટી.વી. | ||
| The Gujarati acronym ટી.વી. can mean either “television,” or in the context of a name, "Toji Vinay” or "Tilak Varshi". | |||
| Hindi | टीवी | ||
| 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). | |||
| Kannada | ಟಿವಿ | ||
| "ಟಿವಿ" is the Kannada abbreviation for "television". | |||
| Malayalam | ടിവി | ||
| In Malayalam, "ടിവി" (TV) is also used colloquially to refer to screens, televisions, or movies. | |||
| Marathi | टीव्ही | ||
| The Marathi word "टीव्ही" (TV) is derived from the English word "television" and can also refer to a "viewing box" or "monitor". | |||
| Nepali | टिभी | ||
| The word 'टिभी' is derived from the English word 'television', which in turn comes from the Greek words 'tele' ('far') and 'visio' ('sight'). | |||
| Punjabi | ਟੀ | ||
| The word "ਟੀ" can mean either "TV" or "tea" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | රූපවාහිනී | ||
| The Sinhala word for "TV" is a compound of "රූප" (image) and "වාහිනී" (vehicle), meaning "a vehicle that carries images". | |||
| Tamil | டிவி | ||
| Telugu | టీవీ | ||
| In Telugu, the word "టీవీ" can also refer to a "drawer" or a "window shutter". | |||
| Urdu | ٹی وی | ||
| The word "ٹی وی" in Urdu can also mean "screen", "monitor" or "display". | |||
TV in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 电视 | ||
| 电视 literally means "electric viewing" and can also refer to general electronic media. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 電視 | ||
| 電視 is a Chinese compound word formed from 電 (diàn, "electricity") and 視 (shì, "to see"). | |||
| Japanese | テレビ | ||
| Korean | tv | ||
| In South Korea, the word "TV" refers to the television channel rather than the device. | |||
| Mongolian | тв | ||
| In Mongolian, the word "ТВ" can also mean "тунгуур" (cable), "телевиз" (television), or "техник" (technician). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တီဗီ | ||
TV in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | televisi | ||
| The Indonesian word 'televisi' comes from 'télé' (meaning 'far') and 'visi' (meaning 'sight'). | |||
| Javanese | tv | ||
| In Javanese, "TV" can also refer to a "transvestite" | |||
| Khmer | ទូរទស្សន៍ | ||
| "ទូរទស្សន៍" also refers to traditional forms of long-distance communication that predate modern TVs, e.g. "optical telegraph". | |||
| Lao | ໂທລະພາບ | ||
| Malay | tv | ||
| In Malay, "TV" does not originate from English, but "televisyen", derived from the Greek words "tele" (distance) and "visio" (vision). | |||
| Thai | โทรทัศน์ | ||
| 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. | |||
| Vietnamese | tv | ||
| In Vietnamese, TV is an abbreviation for "Truyền hình." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tv | ||
TV in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | tv | ||
| In Azerbaijani, "TV" (televizor) has two alternate meanings: "picture tube" and "picture projector." | |||
| Kazakh | теледидар | ||
| "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". | |||
| Kyrgyz | сыналгы | ||
| Сыналгы (телевидение) происходит от кыргызских слов «сын» (разбивать, ломать) и «алгы» (далеко). | |||
| Tajik | тв | ||
| In Tajik, "ТВ" can also mean "текущий счёт" (current account). | |||
| Turkmen | telewizor | ||
| Uzbek | televizor | ||
| 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. | |||
| Uyghur | tv | ||
TV in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kīwī | ||
| "Kīwī" also means "climbing up" in Hawaiian, referencing the knobs on TVs that were used to adjust the channel. | |||
| Maori | tv | ||
| "TV" is short for "tiwhitiwhiti" in Maori, meaning "to vibrate" or "to flicker." | |||
| Samoan | tv | ||
| Samoan TV stands for Televise, which is derived from the English word Television. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tv | ||
| In the Philippines, "TV" can also be an informal abbreviation for "telebabad" (television marathon). | |||
TV in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | tv ukan uñacht’ayata | ||
| Guarani | tv rehegua | ||
TV in International Languages
| Esperanto | televido | ||
| "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). | |||
| Latin | tv | ||
| In Latin, "TV" can also mean "te videas," which translates to "may you see yourself." | |||
TV in Others Languages
| Greek | τηλεόραση | ||
| The Greek word "τηλεόραση" is derived from "τηλε" (far) and "όραση" (vision), and can also refer to the concept of "distance vision". | |||
| Hmong | tv | ||
| In Hmong, "TV" (τηλεόραση) is an acronym for "Ταχυδρομικός & Τηλεγραφικός Οργανισμός" (Telegraph and Post Organization). | |||
| Kurdish | tv | ||
| TV is an acronym that stands for “tele” (Greek for “far”) and “vision” (Latin for “to see”). | |||
| Turkish | televizyon | ||
| The Turkish word "televizyon" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "opsis" (sight), and originally meant "seeing from afar". | |||
| Xhosa | umabonwakude | ||
| The word "Umabonwakude" is also used to refer to a "window" or an "aperture". | |||
| Yiddish | טעלעוויזיע | ||
| In Yiddish, "טעלעוויזיע" (TV) is a calque from German "television," which in turn comes from Greek "tele-" (far) and Latin "video" (to see). | |||
| Zulu | i-tv | ||
| I-TV in Zulu also means 'I have seen you' or 'I have found you' | |||
| Assamese | টিভি | ||
| Aymara | tv ukan uñacht’ayata | ||
| Bhojpuri | टीवी पर दिहल गइल बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ޓީވީ... | ||
| Dogri | टीवी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tv | ||
| Guarani | tv rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | tv | ||
| Krio | tv | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تیڤی | ||
| Maithili | टीवी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯤ.ꯚꯤ | ||
| Mizo | tv a ni | ||
| Oromo | tv | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଟିଭି | | ||
| Quechua | tv | ||
| Sanskrit | टीवी | ||
| Tatar | телевизор | ||
| Tigrinya | ቲቪ | ||
| Tsonga | tv | ||