Across in different languages

Across in Different Languages

Discover 'Across' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'across' is a common and simple term, but it holds a significant place in our language and communication. It is used to describe the action or state of something extending from one side to the other, or the act of moving from one side to the other. This word has been used in various historical and cultural contexts, including literature, music, and art, making it a culturally important term.

Moreover, knowing the translation of 'across' in different languages can be beneficial for individuals who are interested in language and culture, or for those who are traveling or communicating with people from different linguistic backgrounds. For instance, in Spanish, 'across' is translated as 'a través de', while in French, it is 'travers'. In German, it is 'überqueren', and in Japanese, it is '横切る'.

In this article, we will explore the significance and cultural importance of the word 'across', as well as its translations in different languages. So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a traveler, or someone who simply loves learning new things, this article is for you!

Across


Across in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansdwarsoor
The word "dwarsoor" is derived from the Dutch word "dwarsdoor", which means "straight through".
Amharicማዶ
"ማዶ" is derived from the Cushitic term "*màdò", meaning "to pass".
Hausafadin
An alternative meaning of "fadin" is the "other side of a river, stream or ravine".
Igbon'ofe
The word "n'ofe" can also refer to the "other side" of a river or a body of water.
Malagasymanerana
The word "manerana" also means "bridge" or "pathway".
Nyanja (Chichewa)kuwoloka
The word "kuwoloka" in Nyanja can also mean "to pass by" or "to cross over".
Shonakuyambuka
Derived from the archaic Shona verb 'kuyama', meaning 'to go over'.
Somaliguud ahaan
The word "guud ahaan" is also used figuratively as a preposition to mean "over, on, upon".
Sesothoka mose
"Ka mose" can also mean "on the other side" or "in the opposite direction".
Swahilihela
The Swahili word "hela" has a second meaning as "property" or "money".
Xhosangaphaya
In Xhosa, "ngaphaya" also connotes the idea of "being on the other side of something" or "beyond" something.
Yorubakọja
Kọja is a homophone also meaning "to be enough" or "to reach a goal".
Zulungaphesheya
Ngaphesheya can also mean 'on the other side of' or 'beyond' in Zulu.
Bambara
Eweto eme
Kinyarwandahakurya
Lingalana
Lugandaokusomoka
Sepedikgabaganya
Twi (Akan)twam

Across in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicبجانب
The word "بجانب" can also mean "beside" or "next to" in Arabic.
Hebrewברחבי
The word 'barchavi' is also used in the context of a cross-section of society or a variety of topics.
Pashtoپه پار
The word 'په پار' is also used in Pashto to mean 'the other side of' or 'the other side of a river'.
Arabicبجانب
The word "بجانب" can also mean "beside" or "next to" in Arabic.

Across in Western European Languages

Albanianpërtej
"Përtej" derives from Proto-Albanian *perdhei and is cognate with Ancient Greek "πέρη" (péré) "opposite shore, distant land".
Basquezehar
In Basque, "zehar" can also mean "through", "across", or "during".
Catalana través de
The Catalan phrase 'a través de' derives from the Latin 'transversus', meaning 'turned across'.
Croatianpreko
Preko derives from the Proto-Slavic word *prek, meaning 'across' or 'over'.
Danishet kors
"Et kors" can also mean "to fail" or "an intersection"
Dutchaan de overkant
The Dutch idiom "aan de overkant" ("across") also means "on the other side of something that separates or divides".
Englishacross
The word "across" derives from Middle English and Old English, meaning "on the other side" or "in opposition to". It has come to mean "from one side to the other" or "in a crosswise direction".
Frenchà travers
The French phrase "à travers" also means "through" or "by means of" or "in spite of" and is derived from Old French "atravès" from Vulgar Latin "atraversus".
Frisianoer
The Old Frisian word “oer” also has the meaning “by means of”, similar to the Dutch “door”. This usage of oer still occurs in compounds, such as oerien (“to earn”) and oordiel (“verdict”, from “oer” and “diel”, meaning “part”).
Galiciana través
"A través" can also mean "through", "during", or "after".
Germanüber
The German word 'über' can also mean 'above', 'beyond', or 'on top of' something.
Icelandicþvert yfir
Þvert yfir is an Icelandic directional phrase meaning 'across' or 'crosswise'. It is composed of the words þvert (adverb) meaning 'directly' and yfir (preposition) meaning 'over' or 'across'.
Irishtrasna
In Irish, "trasna" also means perpendicular, cross-eyed, and contrary.
Italianattraverso
In Tuscan, "attraverso" can also mean "through" or "from one side to the other".
Luxembourgishiwwer
The "iwwer" in "iwwermoien", which means "good morning", actually means "over". This is because in the past people used to greet those above them first.
Maltesemadwar
The word "madwar" can also mean "around" or "surrounding" in Maltese.
Norwegianpå tvers
"På tvers" also means "contrariness" or "in opposition," from Old Norse "þvert," "oblique."
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)através
Atrevés in Portuguese comes from the Latin adverb “transversus“ (turned or directed across) and was originally used to mean “obliquely” or “slanting”.
Scots Gaelictarsainn
"Tarsainn" can also mean "the cross" in Scottish Gaelic, indicating its deep connection to the concept of crossing.
Spanisha través de
In Spanish, the expression "a través de" can also mean "by means of" or "through the medium of."
Swedishtvärs över
"Tvärs över" derives from "tvär" ("crosswise"), denoting "cutting across".
Welshar draws
The Welsh word "ar draws" also means "on foot" or "walking".

Across in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпапярок
The word "папярок" also has the alternate meaning of "on the other side" in Belarusian.
Bosnianpreko puta
It is a calque from the German "gegenüber" with the same meaning.
Bulgarianпрез
The word "през" in Bulgarian is cognate with the Russian word "через" and the Polish word "przez", all meaning "through" or "across".
Czechpřes
The word "přes" can also mean "over" or "through" and is related to the Proto-Slavic word "*peres" meaning "to cross".
Estonianüle
Üle, in addition to its primary meaning of "across," can also mean "over," "more than," or "too much."
Finnishpoikki
In Estonian, "poikki" means "in two pieces".
Hungarianát
The word "át" also means "to take over" or "to switch over" in Hungarian.
Latvianpāri
"Pāri" is also used to indicate "exceedingly" or "too much."
Lithuanianskersai
The word “skersai” derives from the Proto-Indo-European base “*t(e)h₂wers-” meaning “to turn, twist”.
Macedonianпреку
The word "преку" in Macedonian can also mean "over" or "on the other side".
Polishprzez
The word "przez" in Polish also means "through, by, during, or for".
Romanianpeste
The Romanian word "peste" can also mean "over" or "on the other side of."
Russianчерез
"Через" also means "via" and is often used to indicate an intermediary or a means of doing something.
Serbianпреко
The word "преко" can also mean "too much", "excessively", or "beyond".
Slovaknaprieč
The word "naprieč" has two synonyms, "priečne" and " priečky" which mean "transversal" and " crossbars", respectively.
Sloveniančez
The word "čez" also means "over",
Ukrainianпоперек
"Поперек" can also mean "unpleasantly" in Ukrainian.

Across in South Asian Languages

Bengaliওপারে
"ওপারে" is derived from the Sanskrit word "upari" and also means "opposite direction".
Gujaratiસમગ્ર
The word "સમગ્ર" also means "entire", "all", "whole", or "complete" and comes from the Sanskrit root "sam" (together) and "agra" (tip or extremity).
Hindiभर में
The word 'भर में' can also mean 'in' or 'within' in Hindi.
Kannadaಅಡ್ಡಲಾಗಿ
ಅಡ್ಡಲಾಗಿ is also used to refer to something that is placed in a horizontal position.
Malayalamകുറുകെ
The word "kurakey" can also mean "opposite" or "contrary".
Marathiओलांडून
"ओलांडून" is a Marathi preposition that also has the alternate meanings of "passing through" and "overcoming".
Nepaliपार
The word "पार" in Nepali has two meanings: one referring to an end or limit, and the other referring to the act of crossing to the other side of something.
Punjabiਪਾਰ
The word "ਪਾਰ" also means "edge" or "shore" in Punjabi.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)හරහා
The word "හරහා" is derived from the Sanskrit word "पार" (pāra), meaning "shore" or "edge".
Tamilகுறுக்கே
In Tamil, குறுக்கே can also mean 'in opposition' or 'blocking the way'.
Teluguఅంతటా
అంతటా can also mean 'everywhere' or 'throughout'.
Urduاس پار
The word "اس پار" can also mean "on the other side" or "opposite."

Across in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)跨越
"跨越" can also refer to "stride", "step over" or "span over" in other contexts.
Chinese (Traditional)跨越
跨越 originally meant to straddle two horses
Japanese全体
The word "全体" (zentai) also means "the whole" or "all".
Korean건너서
Korean word "건너서" derives from word "건너" (past) and an affix "-서" indicating spatial position or relationship.
Mongolianдаяар
The word "даяар" can also mean "opposite" or "facing each other" in Mongolian.
Myanmar (Burmese)ဖြတ်ပြီး

Across in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianmenyeberang
The word "menyeberang" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*sebeRaŋ", which also means "to go across".
Javanesenyabrang
The word "nyabrang" is derived from the word "barang", which means "goods" or "merchandise". It originally referred to the act of transporting goods across a river or other body of water.
Khmerឆ្លងកាត់
Laoຂ້າມ
ຂ້າມ (khaam) in Lao, is cognate with other Tai languages, meaning "to cross over to the other side or from one side to another side".
Malayseberang
The word "seberang" can also mean "the other side" or "the opposite side" in Malay.
Thaiข้าม
ข้าม (kham) can also mean 'to ignore', 'to pass over', or 'to cross over'.
Vietnamesebăng qua
"Băng qua" is derived from the Hán character " băng" (崩) meaning "to collapse" or "to break apart".
Filipino (Tagalog)sa kabila

Across in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniqarşıdan
The word "qarşıdan" can also mean "opposite" or "facing" in Azerbaijani.
Kazakhқарсы
Қарсы (pronounced kar-sy) also means opposition or resistance in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzкаршы
The word "каршы" can also refer to a direction or to an opposite side.
Tajikдар саросари
Дарь саросари has no alternate meanings or etymologies
Turkmenüstünde
Uzbekbo'ylab
The word "bo'ylab" can mean either "across" or "according to" in Uzbek
Uyghuracross across

Across in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianma kēlā ʻaoʻao
Ma kēlā ʻaoʻao also means 'at the other side' or 'near the other side'.
Maoriwhakawhiti
Whakawhiti is also a Maori word that can refer to a transitional state or passing through a boundary.
Samoani talaatu
"I talaatu" is an alternate form of the word "i lataa" (
Tagalog (Filipino)sa kabila
Sa kabila also means 'to oppose' or 'to contradict' when used in a figurative sense.

Across in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaraukana
Guaraniambue gotyo

Across in International Languages

Esperantotrans
In Esperanto, "trans" has the additional meaning of "more than" or "beyond".
Latinper
Latin "per" can function as a noun or adverb, with meanings ranging from "through" and "by" to "in" and "during".

Across in Others Languages

Greekαπέναντι
" απέναντι" is also used figuratively to mean "opposite" or "in opposition to".
Hmongthoob plaws
The word "thoob plaws" can also mean "to go through" or "to pass by" in Hmong.
Kurdishli ser
Kurdish li ser, like French traverser, can also mean 'to get through', 'to overcome'.
Turkishkarşısında
The word "karşısında" is also used to mean "in the presence of" or "in front of".
Xhosangaphaya
In Xhosa, "ngaphaya" also connotes the idea of "being on the other side of something" or "beyond" something.
Yiddishאריבער
The Yiddish word 'ariber' is derived from German 'herüber' (over), which is in turn derived from Old High German 'heru' (back) and 'uber' (over).
Zulungaphesheya
Ngaphesheya can also mean 'on the other side of' or 'beyond' in Zulu.
Assameseইমূৰৰ পৰা সিমূৰলৈ
Aymaraukana
Bhojpuriआरपार
Dhivehiހުރަސް
Dogriआर-पार
Filipino (Tagalog)sa kabila
Guaraniambue gotyo
Ilocanoballasiw
Kriokrɔs
Kurdish (Sorani)سەرانسەر
Maithiliआर-पार
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯋꯥꯡꯝ ꯂꯥꯟꯅ
Mizopaltlang
Oromoqaxxaamura
Odia (Oriya)ପାର୍ଶ୍ୱରେ |
Quechuachimpapi
Sanskritतिरश्चीनम्‌
Tatarаша
Tigrinyaሰገር
Tsongatsemakanya

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