About in Different Languages
Discover 'About' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'about' is a versatile and essential part of our daily communication. It is used to indicate proximity, direction, or to provide information or opinions on a particular topic. The significance of 'about' extends beyond English, as it has equivalents in many languages, each with its unique cultural context and usage.
For instance, in Spanish, 'about' can be translated as 'sobre' or 'acerca de'. In French, it becomes 'à propos' or 'environ'. These translations not only help us understand the word in different languages but also offer a glimpse into the diverse cultural perspectives of the world. The word 'about' is also used in many idioms and phrases, such as 'about time', 'about face', or 'about nothing', adding to its cultural importance.
Understanding the translation of 'about' in different languages can be beneficial for travelers, language learners, or anyone interested in global culture. It can help you navigate foreign languages, enhance your cross-cultural communication, and deepen your appreciation for the richness of global linguistic diversity.
Here are some translations of 'about' in various languages:
About
About in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | oor | ||
| The phrase "oor die maan" means "about the moon" in Afrikaans, and refers to a person who is eccentric or distracted. | |||
| Amharic | ስለ | ||
| 'ስለ' can be used to refer to an action performed indirectly. For example, 'እሱን ስለ ሰጠኝ መረዳሁ' ('I understood him because he gave it to me.') | |||
| Hausa | game da | ||
| In ancient Hausa texts, "game da" was also used to mean "of" or "from" before transitioning to its modern meaning. | |||
| Igbo | banyere | ||
| The word "banyere" can also mean "around" or "concerning". | |||
| Malagasy | momba ny | ||
| While "momba" means "from" in English, it's used as "about" or "concerning" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | za | ||
| "Za" in Nyanja can also mean "with," "by," or "from," depending on the context. | |||
| Shona | nezve | ||
| The word 'nezve' can also refer to a 'certain type of grass' in Shona. | |||
| Somali | ku saabsan | ||
| The word "ku saabsan" can also mean "concerning" or "regarding" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | mabapi le | ||
| The word "mabapi le" can also mean "concerning" or "in relation to." | |||
| Swahili | kuhusu | ||
| In Swahili, 'kuhusu' signifies a relationship or involvement with something, akin to the English 'concerning' or 'regarding' | |||
| Xhosa | malunga | ||
| Malunga in Xhosa can be a noun (the mouth of a river), or an adjective (deep) | |||
| Yoruba | nipa | ||
| Nipa is also used to describe the circumference of something. | |||
| Zulu | mayelana | ||
| The word "mayelana" in Zulu can also mean "concerning", "with regard to", or "in relation to". | |||
| Bambara | kan | ||
| Ewe | ku ɖe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | hafi | ||
| Lingala | pene | ||
| Luganda | ku | ||
| Sepedi | mabapi le | ||
| Twi (Akan) | fa ho | ||
About in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حول | ||
| حول is also the word for the compass points and directions, i.e. north, south, east, and west. | |||
| Hebrew | על אודות | ||
| The Hebrew word "על אודות" can also be used to express the meaning of "concerning". | |||
| Pashto | په اړه | ||
| په اړه also means 'in connection with' or 'regarding' in addition to 'about'. | |||
| Arabic | حول | ||
| حول is also the word for the compass points and directions, i.e. north, south, east, and west. | |||
About in Western European Languages
| Albanian | rreth | ||
| The word "rreth" in Albanian has a related meaning of "sphere" or "circle", suggesting a broader sense of "surrounding" or "encompassing". | |||
| Basque | buruz | ||
| The Basque word "buruz" can also mean "head" or "mind." | |||
| Catalan | sobre | ||
| The Catalan word "sobre" can also mean "envelope" or "on top of" | |||
| Croatian | oko | ||
| The word "oko" in Croatian, originally meaning "surrounding," can also mean "around" or "about something" in a more abstract sense. | |||
| Danish | om | ||
| "Om" can also mean "around" or "concerning" in Danish. | |||
| Dutch | over | ||
| In Dutch, "over" also refers to "across," "past," or "more than," and is related to the English "over." | |||
| English | about | ||
| As a preposition, 'about' can refer to physical proximity, a matter of concern, or an approximation. | |||
| French | à propos | ||
| À propos' derives from the Old French word 'a propos,' meaning 'for the purpose,' also with the senses 'accordingly,' 'opportunely,' 'to the point,' 'aptly,' 'seasonably,' 'conveniently,' and 'by the way'. | |||
| Frisian | oer | ||
| The word "oer" in Frisian, related to English "over" and the German "über," once meant "on top of something" or "up on something." | |||
| Galician | sobre | ||
| In Galician, "sobre" can mean "about" but also "envelope" or "cover" and it comes from the Latin word "super" which means "above". | |||
| German | über | ||
| In German, the homograph "Über" can also mean "over", "across", or as a prefix "super" as in "Übermensch" or Nietzsche's concept of the "superman". | |||
| Icelandic | um | ||
| In Old Norse, "um" also meant "around, about, concerning" and is cognate with the English preposition "about". | |||
| Irish | faoi | ||
| The word "faoi" can also mean "under" or "subject to". | |||
| Italian | di | ||
| The word "di" in Italian can also function as a possessive article that means "of" or "from." | |||
| Luxembourgish | iwwer | ||
| The French word “ouvrier” translates into Luxembourgish as “iwwer”, which was likely used as a verb (“to work”) as well as a preposition (“about, concerning”) in older forms of the language. | |||
| Maltese | madwar | ||
| The word "madwar" in Maltese can also mean "around" or "approximately". | |||
| Norwegian | om | ||
| The Norwegian word "om" comes from the Old Norse word "um", which also means "around" or "about". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | sobre | ||
| The verb "sobrevir" (to survive), and the preposition "sobre" ("on"), derive directly from the Latin expression "super venire" (to come from above). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | mu dheidhinn | ||
| "Mu dheidhinn" is cognate with the Irish "im dhéidh," the Manx "mychione," and with the Welsh "amgylch" meaning "around" or "about". | |||
| Spanish | acerca de | ||
| The preposition 'acerca de', which means 'about', comes from the Latin 'ad circuitu', which means 'around the periphery'. | |||
| Swedish | handla om | ||
| The origin of "handla om" is a contraction of "handla med om" which means "to have to do with". | |||
| Welsh | am | ||
| In the Middle Ages, Welsh "am" often meant "time". | |||
About in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | пра | ||
| "Пра" is also used in a number of idiomatic expressions with the same basic meaning, e.g."пра вас" "about you"} | |||
| Bosnian | o | ||
| The word "o" can also mean "over there" or "at that place" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | относно | ||
| The word "относно" in Bulgarian can also mean "regarding", "with respect to", or "concerning". | |||
| Czech | o | ||
| In Czech, the word "o" can also mean "regarding" or "related to" | |||
| Estonian | umbes | ||
| The word "umbes" is derived from the Proto-Finnic *um̮bi, meaning "around" or "near". It can also mean "approximately" or "more or less". | |||
| Finnish | noin | ||
| The word "noin" in Finnish can also mean "almost" or "approximately". | |||
| Hungarian | ról ről | ||
| The suffix "-ról/-ről" can also be used to indicate movement from a location, similar to the English preposition "from." | |||
| Latvian | par | ||
| Latvian "par" means "approximately", denoting a range | |||
| Lithuanian | apie | ||
| The word "apie" also means "near" or "around" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | за | ||
| The word "за" in Macedonian comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "za", which has the same meaning. | |||
| Polish | o | ||
| The Polish word "o" can also mean "for" in the sense of "in honor of" or "because of". | |||
| Romanian | despre | ||
| In Romanian, "despre" can also refer to a topic of conversation or a subject matter. | |||
| Russian | около | ||
| The word "около" can also mean "near", "around" or "approximately." | |||
| Serbian | о томе | ||
| The word 'О томе' ('about') has roots in Slavic languages and is related to words for 'topic' and 'matter'. | |||
| Slovak | o | ||
| The word "o" in Slovak also means "of" or "from", and is used in conjunction with the possessive case. | |||
| Slovenian | približno | ||
| The word 'približno' comes from the Proto-Slavic *priblьžь, which also meant 'near' or 'close by'. | |||
| Ukrainian | про | ||
| The Ukrainian word "про" ("about") also means "through" and is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "per-". | |||
About in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সম্পর্কিত | ||
| Gujarati | વિશે | ||
| The word 'વિશે' can also mean 'concerning', 'with reference to', or 'in relation to' in English. | |||
| Hindi | के बारे में | ||
| In Hindi, "के बारे में" can also mean "concerning" or "regarding". | |||
| Kannada | ಸುಮಾರು | ||
| The word "ಸುಮಾರು" is derived from the Sanskrit word "सुमारी", meaning "to count" or "to calculate, implying an approximation. | |||
| Malayalam | കുറിച്ച് | ||
| The word 'കുറിച്ച്' is often used in written Malayalam to indicate the author's personal viewpoint instead of conveying an established fact. | |||
| Marathi | बद्दल | ||
| Marathi "बद्दल" comes from Arabic "badal" (exchange), suggesting its original meaning of "on behalf of" or "in exchange for". | |||
| Nepali | बारेमा | ||
| The word 'बारेमा' ('about') in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word 'विषय' ('topic') and can also mean 'regarding' or 'concerning'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਾਰੇ | ||
| The word 'ਬਾਰੇ' comes from the Sanskrit word 'वा' (vā) meaning 'to speak' or 'to say'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පිළිබඳව | ||
| The word 'පිළිබඳව' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'प्रतिविषयक' (prativiṣayaka), meaning 'object-related' or 'concerning'. | |||
| Tamil | பற்றி | ||
| The word "பற்றி" which means "about" in Tamil, is derived from the root word "பற்று" which means attachment or connection. | |||
| Telugu | గురించి | ||
| ‘గురించి’ is also used to refer to a specific topic or subject matter, similar to the English word ‘on’. | |||
| Urdu | کے بارے میں | ||
| The word 'about' has many meanings, including 'approximately', 'concerning', and 'with reference to'. | |||
About in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 关于 | ||
| Its use as a preposition first appeared in the late Qing Dynasty under Western influence. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 關於 | ||
| "關於" is an adverb, a preposition, a conjunction, and also a noun meaning "the subject of" in Chinese (Traditional). | |||
| Japanese | 約 | ||
| The Chinese character 約 can also mean to bind, restrain, constrain, limit | |||
| Korean | 약 | ||
| 약, originally meant 'to measure something in order to find its size'. | |||
| Mongolian | тухай | ||
| The word "тухай" can also mean "concerning" or "regarding". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အကြောင်း | ||
| In English, 'about' can also mean approximately or nearly, e.g., "It was about noon when he arrived." | |||
About in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tentang | ||
| "Tentang" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*taŋada", meaning "to be present" or "to be located". | |||
| Javanese | babagan | ||
| The word 'babagan' in Javanese also means 'the context of a story' or 'the content of a conversation'. | |||
| Khmer | អំពី | ||
| អំពី' in Khmer also means 'concerning' or 'regarding'. | |||
| Lao | ກ່ຽວກັບ | ||
| The word "ກ່ຽວກັບ" ("about") can also mean "in connection with", "concerning", or "with regard to". | |||
| Malay | mengenai | ||
| The Malay word "mengenai" can also refer to a specific topic or matter under discussion. | |||
| Thai | เกี่ยวกับ | ||
| The word "เกี่ยวกับ" can also mean "connected to" or "related to" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | trong khoảng | ||
| "Trong khoảng" is derived from the Chinese word "tongliang", meaning "between two limits". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tungkol sa | ||
About in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | haqqında | ||
| The word "haqqında" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Persian word "haq" meaning "right" or "truth" and the suffix "-ında" meaning "in" or "on". | |||
| Kazakh | туралы | ||
| The word "туралы" comes from the Old Turkic word "turu", meaning "kind, species, sort". Hence its alternate meaning – "as to, according to, concerning". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жөнүндө | ||
| The word "жөнүндө" is derived from the Persian word "juzun" and also means "concerning" or "regarding". | |||
| Tajik | дар бораи | ||
| The word "дар бораи" literally means "in the circle of" or "in the vicinity of" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | hakda | ||
| Uzbek | haqida | ||
| The word "haqida" can also mean "concerning" or "with regard to" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ھەققىدە | ||
About in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | e pili ana | ||
| "E pili ana" also means "to be attached" or "to be related" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | e pā ana ki | ||
| In Maori, “e pā ana ki” can also mean “to touch” or “to relate to”. | |||
| Samoan | tusa | ||
| Tusa's etymology points to the Samoan word tusā meaning 'two' or 'double' | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tungkol sa | ||
| The word "tungkol sa" is also used in Tagalog to mean "regarding" or "with respect to". | |||
About in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukxata | ||
| Guarani | upéva rehegua | ||
About in International Languages
| Esperanto | pri | ||
| "Pri" derives from the Russian "при", which signifies presence, and can be translated as "near", "by", or "at" | |||
| Latin | fere | ||
| Fere is a contraction of ferē and means 'almost, nearly, about, as it were, so to speak, to all intents and purposes, all but, well-nigh' | |||
About in Others Languages
| Greek | σχετικά με | ||
| "Σχετικά με" can also mean "compared to" in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | hais txog | ||
| Hais txog was used as 'say' in Hmong and now is only used as 'about' because it is easier to pronounce. | |||
| Kurdish | ji dor | ||
| Ji dor is derived from the Persian word 'dar' meaning 'in, inside, or regarding' and can also mean 'to, from, on, or around'. | |||
| Turkish | hakkında | ||
| The word "hakkında" is a compound, composed of the words "hak" ("right") and "kında" ("in the sheath of") and thus has the literal meaning of "in the sheath of the right". | |||
| Xhosa | malunga | ||
| Malunga in Xhosa can be a noun (the mouth of a river), or an adjective (deep) | |||
| Yiddish | וועגן | ||
| The Yiddish word "וועגן" also means "on the way" or "about to". | |||
| Zulu | mayelana | ||
| The word "mayelana" in Zulu can also mean "concerning", "with regard to", or "in relation to". | |||
| Assamese | বিষয়ে | ||
| Aymara | ukxata | ||
| Bhojpuri | बारे में | ||
| Dhivehi | ގުޅިގެން | ||
| Dogri | तकरीबन | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tungkol sa | ||
| Guarani | upéva rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | maipapan | ||
| Krio | bɔt | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دەربارەی | ||
| Maithili | विषय में | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯝꯗꯤ | ||
| Mizo | lam | ||
| Oromo | waa'ee | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବିଷୟରେ | ||
| Quechua | manta | ||
| Sanskrit | विषये | ||
| Tatar | турында | ||
| Tigrinya | ብዝዕባ | ||
| Tsonga | hi | ||