Actual in Different Languages
Discover 'Actual' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'actual' is a small but powerful term, often used to distinguish between what is real, authentic, and up-to-date, versus what is merely potential, assumed, or outdated. Its significance extends beyond grammar, touching on epistemological questions about reality, truth, and knowledge. Moreover, the cultural importance of 'actual' is evident in its widespread use across various languages and contexts.
For instance, did you know that the French translation of 'actual' is 'actuel'? Or that in Spanish, 'actual' translates to 'actual'? These similarities reflect the global influence of Latin, the root of many Romance languages. Meanwhile, in German, 'actual' becomes 'aktuell', a term that also means 'topical' or 'up-to-date', highlighting the word's temporal connotations.
Given this rich cultural and linguistic significance, you might be wondering: what other meanings and translations of 'actual' are out there? Read on to discover the fascinating world of 'actual' in different languages!
Actual
Actual in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | werklike | ||
| The word "werklike" in Afrikaans has a broader meaning than "actual," also encompassing "genuine," "authentic," and "real." | |||
| Amharic | ትክክለኛ | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "actual," the word "ትክክለኛ" can also refer to something that is "correct" or "accurate." | |||
| Hausa | ainihin | ||
| The word "ainihin" can also mean "in truth" or "in fact". | |||
| Igbo | n'ezie | ||
| The word "n'ezie" in Igbo can also mean "truth" or "reality". | |||
| Malagasy | raha tena | ||
| The Malagasy word "RAHA TENA" also means "the real", "the genuine", or "the substantial" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zenizeni | ||
| The word "zenizeni" can also mean "genuine" or "real" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | chaiko | ||
| The word "chaiko" is also used as an emphatic word, especially in questions and imperatives. | |||
| Somali | dhab ah | ||
| The word "dhab ah" in Somali has a similar root to the word for "truth" and is used in legal contexts to denote something that is "in fact" or "incontrovertible." | |||
| Sesotho | ea sebele | ||
| The word "ea sebele" in Sesotho can also mean "exactly" or "truthfully". | |||
| Swahili | halisi | ||
| "Halisi" has various meanings in Swahili, including "of good quality", "genuine", and "real thing". | |||
| Xhosa | eyona | ||
| The word 'eyona' also encompasses the notions of 'true', 'correct', and 'real'. | |||
| Yoruba | gangan | ||
| Gangan, meaning 'actual' or 'real', is related to the word 'gangan' which means 'to happen' or 'to occur'. | |||
| Zulu | uqobo | ||
| The Zulu word "uqobo" can also refer to a physical body or a corpse. | |||
| Bambara | sisan | ||
| Ewe | si li fia | ||
| Kinyarwanda | nyabyo | ||
| Lingala | ezali mpenza | ||
| Luganda | kituufu | ||
| Sepedi | makgonthe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ankasa | ||
Actual in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | فعلي | ||
| The word "فعلي" can also mean "deed", "act" or "action" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | מַמָשִׁי | ||
| "מַמָשִׁי" is derived from the Aramaic root "מַמָשׁ", meaning "in truth" or "verily". | |||
| Pashto | اصل | ||
| The word "اصل" in Pashto has its roots in Arabic, meaning "origin" or "source". | |||
| Arabic | فعلي | ||
| The word "فعلي" can also mean "deed", "act" or "action" in Arabic. | |||
Actual in Western European Languages
| Albanian | aktuale | ||
| Aktuale, meaning “actual”, is also used to describe something that is “of the present time”. | |||
| Basque | benetakoa | ||
| The word "benetakoa" is the past participle of the verb "esan", meaning to say, tell or speak, and can also refer to something that is real or true. | |||
| Catalan | real | ||
| The word «real» derives from the Latin «res» meaning «thing» and is also related to the Catalan word «reial» meaning «royal». | |||
| Croatian | stvarni | ||
| The Croatian word 'stvarni' (actual) comes from the Slavic root 'stor', meaning 'to do' or 'to create'. | |||
| Danish | faktiske | ||
| The Danish word "faktiske" is derived from the Latin word "factum", meaning "deed" or "act". | |||
| Dutch | feitelijk | ||
| The word "feitelijk" can also mean "in fact" or "in reality". | |||
| English | actual | ||
| The word 'actual' comes from the Latin word 'actus', which means 'action' or 'activity'. | |||
| French | réel | ||
| The word "réel" comes from the Latin "res" meaning "thing" and has retained its original meaning, while in English "real" has acquired an additional philosophical meaning. | |||
| Frisian | feitlik | ||
| The word "feitlik" in Frisian also means "definitely" or "certainly". | |||
| Galician | real | ||
| In Galician, the word "real" can also refer to certain units of currency in use both before and after the Euro was adopted in 2002. | |||
| German | tatsächlich | ||
| In older German, "tatsächlich" meant "deed-like", "real", "genuine" or "effective". | |||
| Icelandic | raunverulegur | ||
| It derives from the Old Norse verb 'reyna', meaning 'to try or test' and was originally used to mean 'tried and tested'. | |||
| Irish | iarbhír | ||
| The word 'iarbhír' in Irish originally meant 'certain', but has come to mean 'actual' in modern usage. | |||
| Italian | effettivo | ||
| The word "effettivo" in Italian also means "effective" or "real" | |||
| Luxembourgish | aktuell | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "aktuell" can also mean "recent" or "present". | |||
| Maltese | attwali | ||
| In Maltese, "attwali" comes from the Arabic word "waqti" ( وقتي) meaning "temporal". | |||
| Norwegian | faktiske | ||
| In Nynorsk, "faktiske" also means "subjective" or "personal". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | real | ||
| In Portuguese, 'real' also refers to the old currency of Brazil and Portugal, replaced by the euro and the real, respectively. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | fìor | ||
| "Fìor" is also used in Scottish Gaelic as a prefix meaning "very". | |||
| Spanish | real | ||
| "Real" is the royal standard monetary unit in Brazil and is often referred to as the "real Brazilian" | |||
| Swedish | faktisk | ||
| In older Swedish, "faktisk" also meant "thorough" or "complete". | |||
| Welsh | gwirioneddol | ||
| 'Gwirioneddol' is also the word for 'sincere' or 'true'. | |||
Actual in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | фактычны | ||
| The word "фактычны" is derived from the Proto-Slavic term "*faktyčьnъ" meaning "present, current, existing" and shares a root with the word "факт" meaning "fact". | |||
| Bosnian | stvarno | ||
| The word "stvarno" also means "thing" or "possession" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | действително | ||
| The word "действително" can also mean "truly," "indeed," or "in reality." | |||
| Czech | aktuální | ||
| The Czech "aktuální" can also mean "topical" or "present". | |||
| Estonian | tegelik | ||
| The Estonian word "tegelik" is also used for "real" as well as "effective" in a more general sense. | |||
| Finnish | todellinen | ||
| The word "todellinen" has a rare alternate meaning of "sincere". | |||
| Hungarian | tényleges | ||
| The word "tényleges" (meaning 'actual') comes from the Turkish "tekil", which literally means 'single'. | |||
| Latvian | faktiskais | ||
| "Faktiskais" also means “the actual”, but it is also derived from the Latin word “factus”, which means both "to do," “act,” and "to be done," "fact," "occurrence." | |||
| Lithuanian | faktinis | ||
| In Old Prussian, faktinas meant "good". | |||
| Macedonian | вистински | ||
| Вистински is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *istъ, meaning "true" or "real". | |||
| Polish | rzeczywisty | ||
| "Rzeczywisty" has two meanings: 1. real or true, 2. (in philosophy) not apparent or illusory; real. | |||
| Romanian | real | ||
| The Romanian word "real" comes from the Latin word "res" meaning "thing" and has a secondary meaning of "genuine" or "authentic". | |||
| Russian | актуальный | ||
| The Russian word "актуальный" comes from the Latin word "actuālis", meaning "active" or "real". | |||
| Serbian | стварни | ||
| The word "стварни" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *stьvъьnъ, which originally meant "solid" or "tangible". | |||
| Slovak | skutočné | ||
| The Slovak word "skutočné" is also used in the sense of "really" or "truly", like its Russian cognate действительный. | |||
| Slovenian | dejansko | ||
| The word "dejansko" can also mean "indeed" or "in fact". | |||
| Ukrainian | фактичний | ||
| Фактичний means “current,” "existing,", and "present.” | |||
Actual in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আসল | ||
| আসল comes from the Arabic word 'aṣl', meaning 'root', 'origin', or 'foundation'. | |||
| Gujarati | વાસ્તવિક | ||
| The Gujarati word "વાસ્તવિક" also means "substantive" or "real in nature", implying something that exists independently of our perception. | |||
| Hindi | वास्तविक | ||
| The word वास्तविक ('actual') derives from the Sanskrit word वास्तव (vastav), meaning 'real' or 'true'. | |||
| Kannada | ನಿಜವಾದ | ||
| ನಿಜವಾದ can also mean real, true, sincere, genuine, or authentic. | |||
| Malayalam | യഥാർത്ഥ | ||
| The word "യഥാർത്ഥ" is derived from Sanskrit and literally means "truly existing" or "real." | |||
| Marathi | वास्तविक | ||
| The Marathi word "वास्तविक" (actual) also means "tangible" and "material". | |||
| Nepali | वास्तविक | ||
| The word "वास्तविक" in Nepali can also mean "real" or "genuine". | |||
| Punjabi | ਅਸਲ | ||
| The word "ਅਸਲ" also means "real", "authentic", or "genuine" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තථ්ය | ||
| The Sinhala word "තථ්ය" also means "truth" or "reality". | |||
| Tamil | உண்மையானது | ||
| Telugu | వాస్తవమైనది | ||
| The word "వాస్తవమైనది" (actual) is derived from the Latin word "actuālis", and can also mean "real" or "present". | |||
| Urdu | اصل | ||
| The word "اصل" also means "principle" or "basis" in Urdu. | |||
Actual in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 实际 | ||
| The word 实际 can also mean 'substantial' or 'practical'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 實際 | ||
| 實際 may also mean 'practical' or 'realistic'. | |||
| Japanese | 実際 | ||
| The word "実際" can also mean "reality" or "practice". | |||
| Korean | 실제 | ||
| "실제(실)의 어원은 한자 '實'인데, 이는 '참되고 진실함'을 뜻하는 명사로, 또 '가득 차 있음'을 의미하는 동사를 나타내기도 한다." | |||
| Mongolian | бодит | ||
| The word "бодит" in Mongolian also means "this" or "true". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အမှန်တကယ် | ||
Actual in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sebenarnya | ||
| "Sebenarnya" also means "in fact", "sincerely", "after all", "really", "actually", "in reality", and "in truth". | |||
| Javanese | nyata | ||
| In addition to meaning 'actual', 'nyata' can also mean 'clearly visible' or 'clearly audible' in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ពិតប្រាកដ | ||
| Lao | ຕົວຈິງ | ||
| Malay | sebenarnya | ||
| The word sebenarnya in Malay can also mean 'in truth', 'in fact', or 'as a matter of fact'. | |||
| Thai | จริง | ||
| "จริง" when used as an adjective also means "right" or "correct" in Thai, similar to how "actual" is sometimes used in English. | |||
| Vietnamese | thực tế | ||
| "Thực tế" in Vietnamese can also refer to an event or situation, as opposed to "huyễn tượng" (fiction) | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | aktuwal | ||
Actual in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | faktiki | ||
| The word "faktiki" in Azerbaijani is cognate with "fakticheskiy" in Russian meaning "evidentiary", and "fact" in English indicating its etymological origin from Latin. | |||
| Kazakh | нақты | ||
| The Kazakh word "нақты" also means "precise" and "correct". | |||
| Kyrgyz | актуалдуу | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "актуалдуу" is derived from the Russian word "актуальный", meaning "current or relevant". It can also refer to something that is "urgent" or "important". | |||
| Tajik | воқеӣ | ||
| The word "воқеӣ" is derived from the Arabic word "واقع" which means "fact" or "event." | |||
| Turkmen | hakyky | ||
| Uzbek | haqiqiy | ||
| The word "haqiqiy" in Uzbek can also mean "real" or "genuine". | |||
| Uyghur | ئەمەلىي | ||
Actual in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | maoli | ||
| Maoli is also the Hawaiian word for "native" as in "born and raised in Hawaii," or "indigenous to Hawaii." | |||
| Maori | tūturu | ||
| Some believe the word 'tūturu' may have initially described an echo and was later metaphorically applied to meaning true or literal | |||
| Samoan | moni | ||
| The word 'moni' in Samoan originated from the English word 'money', but has come to mean 'actual' or 'true'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tunay na | ||
| Tunay na, meaning "actual" or "real", can also refer to a "true person" or somebody who is "honest". | |||
Actual in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jichha | ||
| Guarani | añete | ||
Actual in International Languages
| Esperanto | fakta | ||
| "Fakto" derives from Latin "factum" (that which is done) in the same way as English "fact" and Spanish "hecho." | |||
| Latin | ipsa | ||
| In Latin, “ipsa” means “self” and “he/she/it” in addition to meaning “actual.” | |||
Actual in Others Languages
| Greek | πραγματικός | ||
| The word 'πραγματικός' can also mean 'real' in philosophical and mathematical contexts | |||
| Hmong | tiag tiag | ||
| The word "tiag tiag" is a reduplication of the word "tiag", which can also mean "to follow" or "to track" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | rast | ||
| The word "rast" in Kurdish can also refer to "righteousness" or "the truth" in a religious context. | |||
| Turkish | gerçek | ||
| The word "gerçek" is derived from the Persian word "gerehk" meaning "requirement" or "need". | |||
| Xhosa | eyona | ||
| The word 'eyona' also encompasses the notions of 'true', 'correct', and 'real'. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַקטיש | ||
| The word "פאַקטיש" also has the meaning of "indeed" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | uqobo | ||
| The Zulu word "uqobo" can also refer to a physical body or a corpse. | |||
| Assamese | আচল | ||
| Aymara | jichha | ||
| Bhojpuri | वास्तविक | ||
| Dhivehi | އަސްލު | ||
| Dogri | असल | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | aktuwal | ||
| Guarani | añete | ||
| Ilocano | aktual | ||
| Krio | rial | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕاستی | ||
| Maithili | वास्तविक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯁꯦꯡꯕ | ||
| Mizo | nihna chiah | ||
| Oromo | isa dhugaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରକୃତ | ||
| Quechua | kunan | ||
| Sanskrit | वास्तविक | ||
| Tatar | актуаль | ||
| Tigrinya | ክዉን | ||
| Tsonga | kahle | ||