Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'absorb' holds a significant and versatile role in our vocabulary, denoting various concepts such as taking in liquids or information, assimilating ideas, or enduring hardship. Its importance transcends cultural boundaries, making it a valuable word to know in different languages.
Through history, 'absorb' has been used in various contexts, from scientific discussions about matter and energy to philosophical debates on knowledge and experience. This versatility has led to its inclusion in many languages, allowing for a richer and more nuanced understanding of the world around us.
For instance, in Spanish, 'absorb' translates to 'absorber', while in French, it becomes 'absorber'. In German, the word is 'absorbieren', and in Japanese, it is '吸収する' (kyūshū suru). These translations not only help us communicate more effectively but also offer insights into how different cultures perceive and interact with the concept of 'absorb'.
Join us as we delve deeper into the translations of 'absorb' in various languages, uncovering fascinating insights into the global cultural and linguistic landscape.
Afrikaans | absorbeer | ||
In Afrikaans, the word "absorbeer" is also used to refer to the process of drying something out or taking up moisture. | |||
Amharic | መሳብ | ||
"መሳብ" can also mean "to melt" or "to soak" in Amharic. | |||
Hausa | sha | ||
The word "sha" is also used to describe the process of inhaling or sniffing. | |||
Igbo | nuo | ||
In Igbo, the verb "nuo" can also mean "to drink"} | |||
Malagasy | mandray | ||
Malagasy 'mandray' also means 'accept', 'hold', 'contain', 'tolerate', 'receive', and 'keep' | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuyamwa | ||
"Kuyamwa" is also used to refer to the process of absorbing knowledge or information. | |||
Shona | kupinza | ||
"Kupinza" can also mean "absorb" in the context of taking in information, learning something, or understanding a concept. | |||
Somali | dhuuqo | ||
This word derives from the root | |||
Sesotho | monya | ||
The Sesotho word "monya" also means "to be born" or "to originate from". | |||
Swahili | kunyonya | ||
Xhosa | ukufunxa | ||
"Ukufunxa" also means "to be soaked or saturated" in Xhosa. | |||
Yoruba | fa | ||
"Fa" is also an archaic term for "hold" or "carry". | |||
Zulu | ukuncela | ||
The word `ukuncela` in Zulu can also refer to the process of soaking up something, such as the sunlight being soaked up by the leaves of a tree. | |||
Bambara | ka kunu | ||
Ewe | no | ||
Kinyarwanda | gukuramo | ||
Lingala | komela | ||
Luganda | okunywa | ||
Sepedi | mona | ||
Twi (Akan) | twe | ||
Arabic | تمتص | ||
Hebrew | לִסְפּוֹג | ||
"לִסְפּוֹג" is cognate with the Greek word σπόγγος ('sponge'). | |||
Pashto | جذب کول | ||
The word "جذب کول" ("absorb") in Pashto is derived from the Arabic word "جذب" ("attraction"), and also means "to draw in" or "to gather together". | |||
Arabic | تمتص | ||
Albanian | thithin | ||
The Albanian word "thithin" comes from the Proto-Albanian root "*thith-n-", which also means "to drink". | |||
Basque | xurgatu | ||
"Xurgatu" also means "to arise or to emerge" in Basque. | |||
Catalan | absorbir | ||
In Catalan, "absorbir" can also refer to "to assume someone else's debts or responsibilities", derived from Latin "absorbere" meaning "to swallow up, devour". | |||
Croatian | upiti | ||
The word "upiti" in Croatian, meaning "to absorb," originates from the Latin word "bibere," which also means "to drink." | |||
Danish | absorbere | ||
The Danish word "absorbere" comes from the Latin word "absorbere", which also has medical and alchemical meanings. | |||
Dutch | absorberen | ||
"Absorberen" in Dutch can also refer to the process of absorbing carbon dioxide or other gases. | |||
English | absorb | ||
"Absorb" comes from Latin "absorbere," meaning "swallow up." | |||
French | absorber | ||
In French, "absorber" can mean "to absorb, take in" or "to engage fully in something." | |||
Frisian | absorbearje | ||
Galician | absorber | ||
In Galician, "absorber" can also mean "to take in", "to soak up" or "to assimilate". | |||
German | absorbieren | ||
The German word "absorbieren" comes from the Latin "absorbere," meaning "to swallow up." | |||
Icelandic | gleypa | ||
Gleypa is likely cognate to the word "glapa" meaning "to slip". | |||
Irish | ionsú | ||
The word 'ionsú' derives from the Proto-Indo-European root '*h₂ens', meaning 'to breathe in'. It also has the alternate meaning of 'to drink' or 'to take in liquid'. | |||
Italian | assorbire | ||
The Italian word "assorbire" originally meant "to swallow up", from the Latin word "sorbere". | |||
Luxembourgish | absorbéieren | ||
Maltese | assorbi | ||
The Maltese 'assorbi' is derived from the Italian 'assorbire', both meaning 'absorb', and the Spanish 'absorber', meaning to 'immerse' or 'suck up'. | |||
Norwegian | absorbere | ||
"Absorbere" is Latin, and can also refer to "consume", "take in" or "seize" in modern Norwegian. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | absorver | ||
In Portuguese, "absorver" can also mean "to absorb (sound)" or "to absorb (energy)" in the context of physics. | |||
Scots Gaelic | sùghadh a-steach | ||
"Sugh" means "juice" but here "Sùghadh" refers to the soaking up (not necessarily of a liquid) and the noun form, "sruthadh", refers either to a current flowing (in water or air) or to something absorbing, such as a towel. | |||
Spanish | absorber | ||
In Spanish, "absorber" also means to take in and incorporate ideas or knowledge. | |||
Swedish | absorbera | ||
Absorbera can also mean 'to take in or soak up', or 'to engage fully in' something. | |||
Welsh | amsugno | ||
The word 'amsugno' derives from 'am' ('around') and 'sugno' ('suck'), and is also used to mean 'to sip' or 'to drink'. |
Belarusian | паглынуць | ||
The word "паглынуць" also means "to devour" or "to swallow" in Belarusian. | |||
Bosnian | upiti | ||
The word "upiti" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *obьjьniti, meaning "to take or seize". | |||
Bulgarian | абсорбират | ||
The word "абсорбират" can also mean "to engage completely" or "to be absorbed in thought". | |||
Czech | absorbovat | ||
Czech "absorbovat" (absorb) derives from Latin "sorbeo" (to suck up), also the root of English "absorb" and "sorbent" and French "sorbet". | |||
Estonian | neelama | ||
The word "neelama" comes from the Proto-Finnic word "*neelV-," meaning "to swallow" or "to devour." | |||
Finnish | omaksua | ||
"Omaksua" is also used figuratively to mean "understand" or "internalize". | |||
Hungarian | elnyel | ||
The word "elnyel" can also mean "sink" or "disappear" in Hungarian. | |||
Latvian | absorbēt | ||
Latvian "absorbēt" originally meant to "seize" or "appropriate", but later gained its current meaning from German. | |||
Lithuanian | sugeria | ||
The word "sugeria" in Lithuanian, meaning "absorb", shares its root with the word "sunkti", meaning "to soak up liquids" | |||
Macedonian | апсорбираат | ||
The verb "апсорбираат" in Macedonian also means "to assimilate" and "to adopt or take in (ideas or knowledge)" in English. | |||
Polish | absorbować | ||
Absorbować in Polish also means to dominate or captivate | |||
Romanian | absorbi | ||
The word "absorbi" in Romanian can also mean to absorb knowledge, ideas, and experiences. | |||
Russian | впитывать | ||
Впитывать — от слова «пить», первоначально — пить в себя. | |||
Serbian | упити | ||
The word "упити" in Serbian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *ǫpeti, which meant "to drink". | |||
Slovak | vstrebať | ||
"Vstrebať" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "strebati," meaning "to draw up liquid with noise," and also the Proto-Slavic word "sъstrebati," where "sъ" is a prefix denoting the completion of an action. | |||
Slovenian | absorbirajo | ||
The Slovene word "absorbirajo" can also mean "immerse", "engross", or "engulf". | |||
Ukrainian | поглинати | ||
The verb "поглинати" is also used figuratively to mean "to take in information or knowledge". |
Bengali | শোষণ | ||
{"text": "শোষণ, শোষ্য and শোষক are related to Sanskrit word "शोष (śóṣa), शोष्य (śóṣya) and शोषक (śóṣaka)" which means "to drain out", "to be drained out", "one who drains out" respectively."} | |||
Gujarati | શોષી લેવું | ||
Hindi | सोख लेना | ||
The Hindi word "सोख लेना" is also used to describe the process of imbibing knowledge or information. | |||
Kannada | ಹೀರಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ | ||
The word "ಹೀರಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ" in Kannada can also mean to "take in" or "assimilate". | |||
Malayalam | ആഗിരണം ചെയ്യുക | ||
Marathi | शोषून घेणे | ||
The word "शोषून घेणे" in Marathi originates from the Sanskrit word "शुष," meaning "to dry out" or "to draw in." | |||
Nepali | अवशोषित | ||
The term originated from "अव-" (off/not) + "शोषण" (taking) or "अव+शोषण", which later changed to "शोष". In ancient India, "शोष" meant to draw out liquids like water. | |||
Punjabi | ਸੋਖਣਾ | ||
The Punjabi word "ਸੋਖਣਾ" is also used to refer to the process of absorbing knowledge or understanding. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අවශෝෂණය කරගන්න | ||
Tamil | உறிஞ்சி | ||
"உறிஞ்சி" is also used to refer to a type of mosquito or a leech | |||
Telugu | గ్రహించండి | ||
Urdu | جذب | ||
In Urdu, "جذب" (jazb) also means "attraction" or "fascination". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 吸收 | ||
"吸收" can also mean "assimilate" or "intake". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 吸收 | ||
吸收 can also refer to the process of taking in ideas or knowledge. | |||
Japanese | 吸収します | ||
'吸收' is a wasei kango word originating from the word 'absorption' in English. | |||
Korean | 없애다 | ||
The origin of the Korean word '없애다' is not completely clear, although it has been suggested that it could be related to the Japanese word '亡す' ('horosu'), which means 'to cause to die' or 'to destroy'. The same expression with the opposite meaning, '살리다', is often used to describe acts of saving lives. | |||
Mongolian | шингээх | ||
"Шигээх" also means "to be drunk" or "to be absorbed into a group or activity" in Mongolian. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | စုပ်ယူ | ||
Indonesian | menyerap | ||
The word "menyerap" also means "to soak up" or "to imbibe". | |||
Javanese | nyerep | ||
In Banyumas dialect of Javanese, the word "nyerep" also means "to disappear". In Serang dialect of Javanese, the word "nyerep" means "to be absorbed or sucked in by the ground (of water)" while in Indramayu it means "to become wet or soaked (of clothes)". | |||
Khmer | ស្រូបយក | ||
ស្រូបយក is derived from the Sanskrit word "sṛbhati," meaning "to drink." The word also has the alternate meaning of "to absorb knowledge or information." | |||
Lao | ດູດຊຶມ | ||
Malay | menyerap | ||
The word "menyerap" can also refer to an act of soaking up liquid as well as taking in knowledge or an emotion. | |||
Thai | ดูดซับ | ||
Besides "absorb", "ดูดซับ" can also mean "to take in" or "to inhale" in Thai. | |||
Vietnamese | hấp thụ | ||
"Hấp thụ" comes from the Chinese word "吸取" (pronounced as "xīqǔ"), meaning "to absorb" or "to take in". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | sumipsip | ||
Azerbaijani | udmaq | ||
The Azerbaijani word "udmaq" is related to the Turkish words "udmak" (to fly) and "udma" (flight) | |||
Kazakh | жұтып | ||
The word “жұту”, meaning “to swallow”, is derived from the Turkic root *jut-*, which also means “to eat” and “to drink”. | |||
Kyrgyz | сиңирүү | ||
The word "сиңирүү" in Kyrgyz can also mean "to filter" or "to seep". | |||
Tajik | бирӯяд | ||
The word "бирӯяд" can also mean "to take in something mentally," like an idea or emotion. | |||
Turkmen | siňdirmek | ||
Uzbek | singdirmoq | ||
The word 'singdirmoq' is derived from the Turkish word 'sindirmek', meaning 'to digest'. | |||
Uyghur | سۈمۈرۈڭ | ||
Hawaiian | omo | ||
"Omo" also means "to kiss" or "to be kissed" in Hawaiian. | |||
Maori | mimiti | ||
Samoan | mitiia | ||
Mitia derives from the Proto-Polynesian word *miti, which also meant "to eat", "to drink", and "to kiss" | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | sumipsip | ||
Aymara | ch'amsuña | ||
Guarani | mbopyte | ||
Esperanto | sorbi | ||
In Esperanto, "sorbi" means "absorb", and is also related to the words "sorĉi" (to conjure) and "sorĉisto" (conjuror, wizard). | |||
Latin | sorbere | ||
The Latin word "sorbere" also meant "to sip" or "to swallow", and its past participle "sorptus" meant "drunk". |
Greek | απορροφώ | ||
The verb "απορροφώ" in Greek means "absorb", "assimilate", "admit" or "accept" | |||
Hmong | nqus | ||
The Hmong word "nqus" originates from the Austroasiatic language family, where it also means "to drink" or "to swallow." | |||
Kurdish | mehandin | ||
Mehandin also means "to be immersed in" or "to be absorbed by something". | |||
Turkish | emmek | ||
Xhosa | ukufunxa | ||
"Ukufunxa" also means "to be soaked or saturated" in Xhosa. | |||
Yiddish | אַרייַנציען | ||
The origin of the י is obscure, as Yiddish usually drops this letter in loan words | |||
Zulu | ukuncela | ||
The word `ukuncela` in Zulu can also refer to the process of soaking up something, such as the sunlight being soaked up by the leaves of a tree. | |||
Assamese | শুহি লোৱা | ||
Aymara | ch'amsuña | ||
Bhojpuri | सोख लिहल | ||
Dhivehi | ފޯވުން | ||
Dogri | सोखना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | sumipsip | ||
Guarani | mbopyte | ||
Ilocano | sagipsipen | ||
Krio | pe atɛnshɔn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | هەڵمژین | ||
Maithili | सोख लेनाइ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯨꯞꯁꯤꯟꯕ | ||
Mizo | hip lut | ||
Oromo | xuuxxachuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଶୋଷଣ | ||
Quechua | chunqay | ||
Sanskrit | अवशोस् | ||
Tatar | сеңдерү | ||
Tigrinya | መጢጡ | ||
Tsonga | tsonga | ||