Abandon in Different Languages
Discover 'Abandon' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'abandon' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, often used to describe the act of leaving something or someone behind without any intention of returning. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, films, and music, where it's used to convey a range of emotions from liberation to despair.
But what happens when we want to express this concept in different languages? Understanding the translation of 'abandon' can open up new avenues of communication and cultural exchange. For instance, in Spanish, 'abandon' translates to 'abandonar', while in French, it's 'abandonner'. In German, it's 'aufgeben', and in Japanese, it's '諦める (akirameru)'.
Did you know that the word 'abandon' comes from the Latin 'ab-', meaning 'from' and 'bandonare', meaning 'to surrender'? This historical context adds a layer of depth to our understanding of the word.
So, whether you're a language learner, a culture enthusiast, or a global citizen, knowing the translation of 'abandon' in different languages can be a fascinating journey. Let's explore these translations together.
Abandon
Abandon in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | verlaat | ||
| The word "verlaat" in Afrikaans also means "abandoned place" or "wilderness". | |||
| Amharic | መተው | ||
| The word "መተው" can also mean "to leave" or "to forsake". | |||
| Hausa | watsi | ||
| The Hausa word 'watsi' also has a metaphorical meaning, referring to 'breaking off of familial or marital ties'. | |||
| Igbo | gbahapụ | ||
| The Igbo word "gbahapụ" also means "leave behind, omit, or discard." | |||
| Malagasy | hanary | ||
| The word "hanary" can also refer to divorce. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kusiya | ||
| Kusiya, or kushiya, in Nyanja means "abandon," with the verb meaning "to leave or forsake," and the noun meaning "a state of abandonment," while it derives from the verb -siya meaning "to leave". | |||
| Shona | siya | ||
| The word "siya" in Shona can also refer to the act of ignoring or neglecting something. | |||
| Somali | ka tagid | ||
| The term "ka tagid" also carries the connotation of "setting something aside" or "leaving something behind" without the negative implications of abandonment. | |||
| Sesotho | tlohela | ||
| In Sesotho, "tlohela" can also mean "to leave behind" or "to forsake". | |||
| Swahili | achana | ||
| The Swahili word "achana" also has the alternate meaning of "leave someone alone" or "let go". | |||
| Xhosa | ukulahla | ||
| The Xhosa word "ukulahla" shares etymological roots with "lahla," meaning "to throw away" or "to waste." | |||
| Yoruba | fi silẹ | ||
| The word "fi silẹ" in Yoruba has a similar root to the word "fi ṣilẹ̀", which means "to free" or "to release". | |||
| Zulu | shiya | ||
| The Zulu word "shiya" also means "leave" or "relinquish". | |||
| Bambara | ka fili | ||
| Ewe | gble ɖi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kureka | ||
| Lingala | kotika | ||
| Luganda | okulekulira | ||
| Sepedi | hlokomologa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | gya si hɔ | ||
Abandon in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تخلى | ||
| تخلى, from the root خلى, also means 'to empty' or 'to make something vacant'. | |||
| Hebrew | לִנְטוֹשׁ | ||
| The verb לִנְטוֹשׁ 'abandon' is related to the noun נֶטֶל 'burden' and originally meant 'to throw down a burden'. | |||
| Pashto | پرېښودل | ||
| The Pashto word "پرېښودل" originally meant "to let go" or "to loosen," but its meaning shifted to "abandon," possibly influenced by the Persian word "گذاشتن" (gozâštan), which has a similar meaning. | |||
| Arabic | تخلى | ||
| تخلى, from the root خلى, also means 'to empty' or 'to make something vacant'. | |||
Abandon in Western European Languages
| Albanian | braktis | ||
| Braktis is also an antiquated spelling of | |||
| Basque | abandonatu | ||
| The word “abandonatu” likely derives from the Vulgar Latin word “abandonare,” meaning “to give up or surrender.” | |||
| Catalan | abandonar | ||
| The verb "abandonar" is also used in Catalan to refer to the act of leaving a place or situation, or to give up a habit or activity. | |||
| Croatian | napustiti | ||
| The word "napustiti" in Croatian likely derives from the Latin word "exponere", which means "to put out" or "leave behind." | |||
| Danish | opgive | ||
| The word 'opgive' derives from the Old Danish 'opgjeva', meaning 'to give up' or 'to surrender'. | |||
| Dutch | verlaten | ||
| Verlaten can also mean 'empty of water' or 'isolated' in Dutch. | |||
| English | abandon | ||
| Abandon originates from the Latin word 'abandonare', meaning 'to give up' or 'to leave something to its fate'. | |||
| French | abandonner | ||
| "Abandonner" in French originated from "a bandon," meaning "to give over to the mercy of," implying the act of leaving someone or something vulnerable. | |||
| Frisian | opjaan | ||
| The word "opjaan" in Frisian is derived from the Old Frisian word "opgia,'' likely meaning "to give over" or "to surrender." | |||
| Galician | abandonar | ||
| The Galician word "abandonar" comes from the Latin word "abandonare" which means "to leave to chance". | |||
| German | verlassen | ||
| Verlassen can also be translated to 'forsaken' and is related to 'loss', 'leave' and 'let go'. | |||
| Icelandic | að segja skilið við | ||
| Irish | thréigean | ||
| The word "thréigean" also means "to turn away from" or "to forsake". | |||
| Italian | abbandono | ||
| In Italian, the word "abbandono" has other meanings, including "neglect" and "lack of care". | |||
| Luxembourgish | opginn | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "opginn" may have derived from the Old High German "*uppigan" (to hand over). | |||
| Maltese | abbanduna | ||
| Maltese "abbanduna" is related to the Sicilian "abbannunari" and the Italian "abbandonare", and ultimately derives from the Latin "abandonare" (to leave). | |||
| Norwegian | forlate | ||
| The word 'forlate' has a literal meaning of 'to leave behind' in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | abandono | ||
| In Portuguese, "abandono" can also refer to the physical or moral condition of someone who is helpless or destitute. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | trèigsinn | ||
| "Trèigsinn" also means "negligence" or "indifference" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | abandonar | ||
| The Spanish word "abandonar" also has the metaphorical meaning "to give up on an idea or plan." | |||
| Swedish | överge | ||
| Överge means 'to cross' in archaic Swedish, 'to be over' or 'on top' in Norwegian and 'to cover' in German. | |||
| Welsh | cefnu | ||
| "Cefnu" comes from "cefn" (back) and refers to the turning of the back of an animal upon something, thus leaving or abandoning it. | |||
Abandon in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | адмовіцца | ||
| The verb "адмовіцца" in Belarusian means "to refuse" but also, depending on context, "to abandon". | |||
| Bosnian | napustiti | ||
| "Napustiti" can also mean "to leave" or "to give up" in some contexts. | |||
| Bulgarian | изоставете | ||
| The word "изоставете" (abandon) is derived from the Slavic root "ostati," which means "to remain" or "to leave behind." | |||
| Czech | opustit | ||
| Czech "opustit" has two separate origins: *opuščati, opustím* from Proto-Slavic *ǫpustъ*, and a second origin in Latin opus (work) with -t- from an agent noun. | |||
| Estonian | loobuma | ||
| The word "loobuma" in Estonian is cognate with the Finnish word "luopua," which means "to give up" or "to abandon." | |||
| Finnish | luopua | ||
| "Luopua" is derived from the Proto-Uralic root *luopa-*, which also means "leave, depart" | |||
| Hungarian | elhagyott | ||
| The verb "elhagyott" in Hungarian also means "left behind", "lost", or "forgotten". | |||
| Latvian | pamest | ||
| "Pamest" can also mean "to lose" or "to forget" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | palikti | ||
| "Palikti" originally meant "to leave," "to let lie," or "to leave behind," indicating the concept of separation or desertion. | |||
| Macedonian | напушти | ||
| "Напушти" is the Macedonian translation of the Persian "нафт", which means "oil" | |||
| Polish | porzucić | ||
| The Polish word "porzucić" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*porzъ", which also means "to let go" or "to give up" | |||
| Romanian | abandon | ||
| In Romanian, "abandon" can also mean "to give up", "to leave behind", or "to forsake". | |||
| Russian | отказаться | ||
| "Отказаться" is derived from the prefix "от" (away) and the verb "казаться" (to seem) and it originally meant "to cease to appear to be something" | |||
| Serbian | напустити | ||
| The etymology of 'напустити' is Slavic, and it can also mean 'to release', 'to let go', or 'to set free'. | |||
| Slovak | opustiť | ||
| The word "opustiť" also means "to leave" or "to desert" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | opustiti | ||
| The Slovene word 'opustiti' (abandon) comes from the Latin word 'obpositus', meaning 'placed before' or 'opposite'. | |||
| Ukrainian | кинути | ||
| The Ukrainian verb "кинути" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *met-, which also means "throw" or "cast". | |||
Abandon in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পরিত্যাগ করা | ||
| The word "পরিত্যাগ করা" comes from the Sanskrit word "परित्यक्त", which means "to abandon, renounce, or leave behind". | |||
| Gujarati | છોડી દો | ||
| છોડી દો also means to release or let go of something. | |||
| Hindi | छोड़ देना | ||
| "छोड़ देना" (abandon) is derived from the Sanskrit word "छद्" (protection) and is also used to mean "to leave behind" or "to give up on." | |||
| Kannada | ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ | ||
| The term 'ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ', which means 'abandon' in Kannada, is a verbal form derived from the Sanskrit root 'त्यज्' (tyaj), which carries the same meaning of 'abandoning' or 'giving up'. | |||
| Malayalam | ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | सोडून द्या | ||
| सोडून द्या comes from the Sanskrit words 'su' (good) and 'tyaj' (to let go), meaning 'to let go of something good' | |||
| Nepali | छोड्नुहोस् | ||
| The verb "छोड्नुहोस्" also means "to let go" or "to release" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਛੱਡ | ||
| The word "ਛੱਡ" (chhadd) can also mean "to let go" or "to leave behind" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අත්හරින්න | ||
| Tamil | கைவிடு | ||
| The word "கைவிடு" (kaivitu) in Tamil also means "to give up" or "to leave alone". | |||
| Telugu | వదలివేయండి | ||
| The word "వదలివేయండి" can also mean to dismiss or disregard something. | |||
| Urdu | ترک کرنا | ||
| The Urdu word "ترک کرنا" can also mean "to give up" or "to leave". | |||
Abandon in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 放弃 | ||
| "放弃" (fàngqì) literally means "put down/away," but has the extended meaning of "abandon/give up." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 放棄 | ||
| 放棄, 放弃, can be traced back to the Oracle bone script and means "let go" or "give up". | |||
| Japanese | 放棄する | ||
| 放棄する (ほうきする) can also mean "to resign" or "to give up". | |||
| Korean | 버리다 | ||
| 버리다 can also refer to disposal or discarding, and can be used to describe actions ranging from discarding unwanted items to ending a relationship. | |||
| Mongolian | орхих | ||
| Орхих is derived from an Old Turkic term meaning "abandon" or "leave behind", and is related to the word орх in Mongolian meaning "track" or "trail."} | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စွန့်လွှတ် | ||
Abandon in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mengabaikan | ||
| The word "mengabaikan" comes from the Malay word "abaikan", which means "to neglect" or "to disregard". | |||
| Javanese | nglirwaaken | ||
| The Javanese word “nglirwaaken” comes from “lir”, a kind of plant used to tie things up, as one does when abandoning something. | |||
| Khmer | បោះបង់ចោល | ||
| In Khmer, the word "បោះបង់ចោល" can also be used to refer to the act of "rejecting" or "discarding" something. | |||
| Lao | ປະຖິ້ມ | ||
| Malay | meninggalkan | ||
| The word "meninggalkan" also means "to leave behind" or "to depart from" | |||
| Thai | ละทิ้ง | ||
| The word "ละทิ้ง" can also mean "relinquish", "forsake", or "give up". | |||
| Vietnamese | bỏ rơi | ||
| The word "bỏ rơi" in Vietnamese literally means "to throw away" or "to leave behind". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | iwanan | ||
Abandon in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | tərk etmək | ||
| The word "tərk etmək" also means "leave out" or "skip" in the context of tasks or activities. | |||
| Kazakh | тастау | ||
| Тастау (abandon) literally means “tie and leave” in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | таштоо | ||
| The word "таштоо" in Kyrgyz also means "to reject", "to refuse" or "to deny". | |||
| Tajik | партофтан | ||
| The word “Партофтан ”is used to describe when someone leaves their job, or a task that they were previously working on. | |||
| Turkmen | terk et | ||
| Uzbek | tark etish | ||
| "Tark etish" also means "to make sth obsolete" or "to give up sth willingly" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ۋاز كېچىش | ||
Abandon in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | haʻalele | ||
| "Haʻalele", which originally meant "to turn away"} | |||
| Maori | whakarere | ||
| The Maori word "whakarere" can also mean "to turn away", "to refuse", or "to reject". | |||
| Samoan | lafoai | ||
| In Samoan, the word "lafoai” can also mean "to leave behind" or "to forsake." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | talikuran | ||
| The word "talikuran" originally meant "to throw away" or "to discard" in Old Tagalog. | |||
Abandon in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jaytaña | ||
| Guarani | hejarei | ||
Abandon in International Languages
| Esperanto | forlasi | ||
| The word "forlasi" is likely derived from the Esperanto words "for" meaning "away" and "lasi" meaning "to leave" or "to let go". | |||
| Latin | relinquere | ||
| In Latin, "relinquere" can also mean "leave behind" or "hand over".} | |||
Abandon in Others Languages
| Greek | εγκαταλείπω | ||
| The Greek word εγκαταλείπω can also mean to leave behind, to desert, to neglect. | |||
| Hmong | tso tseg | ||
| The word "tso tseg" in Hmong has additional meanings of "give up" and "leave something behind". | |||
| Kurdish | terikandin | ||
| The Kurdish word "terikandin" also means "to go away" or "to leave" in other contexts. | |||
| Turkish | terk etmek | ||
| Terk etmek is derived from the Arabic word 'taraka', meaning 'to leave' or 'to forsake'. | |||
| Xhosa | ukulahla | ||
| The Xhosa word "ukulahla" shares etymological roots with "lahla," meaning "to throw away" or "to waste." | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרלאָזן | ||
| The Yiddish verb "פאַרלאָזן" ("farlozn") derives from the Middle High German "verlâzen," which could mean "to give up, abandon, leave behind, betray, deny" or "entrust, let, permit, give." | |||
| Zulu | shiya | ||
| The Zulu word "shiya" also means "leave" or "relinquish". | |||
| Assamese | পৰিত্যাগ | ||
| Aymara | jaytaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | छोड़ दिहल | ||
| Dhivehi | އެކަހެރިކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | तज्जे दा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | iwanan | ||
| Guarani | hejarei | ||
| Ilocano | ibati | ||
| Krio | lɛf | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | وازهێنان | ||
| Maithili | छोड़नाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯨꯟꯗꯣꯛꯄ | ||
| Mizo | kalsan | ||
| Oromo | dhiisuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପରିତ୍ୟାଗ କରିବା | ||
| Quechua | saqiy | ||
| Sanskrit | स्थगन | ||
| Tatar | ташлау | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣቋረፀ | ||
| Tsonga | lan'wa | ||