Afford in Different Languages
Discover 'Afford' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'afford' is a common English verb that holds great significance in our daily lives. It refers to the ability to pay for or provide something, or to have enough resources, such as time, money, or energy, to do something. Understanding the concept of affordability is crucial in making informed decisions, whether it's about purchasing a house, investing in a business, or planning a vacation.
The word 'afford' has cultural importance as well, as it reflects the economic realities of individuals and societies. It highlights the disparities between the haves and have-nots, and sheds light on issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice. Moreover, the ability to afford something can also impact our mental and emotional well-being, as it can bring a sense of security, comfort, and satisfaction.
For those interested in language and culture, knowing the translation of 'afford' in different languages can be fascinating and enlightening. It can provide insights into the economic systems, social values, and cultural norms of various countries and communities.
Here are some translations of 'afford' in different languages: English ('afford'), Spanish ('poder permitirse'), French ('se permettre'), German ('sich leisten können'), Italian ('permettersi'), Japanese ('購入する余裕がある'), Chinese ('能夠承擔'), and Arabic ('استطاع أن يشتري').
Afford
Afford in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bekostig | ||
| The Afrikaans word "bekostig" originated from the Dutch word "bekostigen", which also means "to defray the expenses of". | |||
| Amharic | አቅም | ||
| The Amharic word "አቅም" also has the alternate meaning "ability" or "capability". | |||
| Hausa | iya | ||
| The word 'iya' in Hausa is related to the word 'yawan da yawa ' meaning 'much,' as they both stem from the root 'yaw'. | |||
| Igbo | imeli | ||
| The Igbo word "imeli" can also mean "to get to" or "to have the means to accomplish something." | |||
| Malagasy | manam-bola | ||
| Malagasy terms manam-bola and bola can refer to either affordability in the sense of buying an object or to its value in exchange. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kukwanitsa | ||
| Kukwanitsa in Nyanja originally meant "to pay the bride price", and has broadened in meaning to refer to the ability to pay for anything. | |||
| Shona | kukwanisa | ||
| "Kukwanisa" in Shona means to be able to do something, have the resources to do something, or to make something possible. | |||
| Somali | awoodo | ||
| Awoodo can also mean "can manage to do something" or "able to do something" | |||
| Sesotho | khona | ||
| "Khona" in Sesotho derives from the root "-khon-" meaning "to possess" and can also refer to "space" or "opportunity". | |||
| Swahili | kumudu | ||
| The word "kumudu" in Swahili can also mean "to be able to do something" or "to have the ability to do something". | |||
| Xhosa | ukuhlawula | ||
| The Xhosa word "ukuhlawula" also means "to repay" or "to pay back". | |||
| Yoruba | ifarada | ||
| In Yoruba, "ifarada" also refers to the process of making something affordable or creating opportunities for others to afford something. | |||
| Zulu | amandla | ||
| The Zulu word 'amandla' also means 'power' or 'strength'. | |||
| Bambara | ka san | ||
| Ewe | ate ŋu aƒle | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ubushobozi | ||
| Lingala | kopesa nzela | ||
| Luganda | obusobozi | ||
| Sepedi | nea | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tɔ | ||
Afford in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تحمل | ||
| The word "تحمل" can also mean "to endure," "to bear," or "to tolerate." | |||
| Hebrew | לְהַרְשׁוֹת לְעַצמוֹ | ||
| The verb "לְהַרְשׁוֹת לְעַצמוֹ" comes from the root "ר.ש.ה" which also means "license" or "permit". | |||
| Pashto | برداشت کول | ||
| The word can also refer to "receiving" or "earning" something. | |||
| Arabic | تحمل | ||
| The word "تحمل" can also mean "to endure," "to bear," or "to tolerate." | |||
Afford in Western European Languages
| Albanian | të përballojë | ||
| The Albanian word "të përballojë" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰer-, meaning "to bear" or "to carry". | |||
| Basque | ordaindu | ||
| The verb "ordaindu" also means "to give an order" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | permetre’s | ||
| The verb "permetre" in Catalan, which means "to allow", shares a common etymological root with the word "permit" in English, both of which trace back to the Latin "permittere". | |||
| Croatian | priuštiti | ||
| The word *priuštiti* is derived from the Old Slavic root *pri-, meaning "to," and *u-, meaning "in, inside." | |||
| Danish | har råd til | ||
| The word "har råd til" literally means "has advice for" in Danish. | |||
| Dutch | veroorloven | ||
| In Dutch "veroorloven" also means "to excuse". | |||
| English | afford | ||
| "Afford" comes from the Middle English word "aforden," meaning to provide, grant, or give. | |||
| French | offrir | ||
| The French word "offrir" can also mean "to offer" or "to present". | |||
| Frisian | bekostigje | ||
| The word "bekostigje" in Frisian may also refer to supporting someone financially or providing them with something they need. | |||
| Galician | permitirse | ||
| "Permitirse" in Galician, comes from the Latin "permittere", meaning "to allow". | |||
| German | sich leisten | ||
| The word 'sich leisten' (afford) comes from 'sich lassen' (allow), suggesting that something 'afforded' is something one 'allows oneself' (to have). | |||
| Icelandic | efni á | ||
| "Efni á" in Icelandic can also mean "have the means," "be able to," or "have the capacity to do something." | |||
| Irish | acmhainn | ||
| In Scottish Gaelic, “acmhainn” also means the ability or power to do or accomplish something. | |||
| Italian | permettersi | ||
| "Permettersi" comes from the Latin "permittere", meaning "to allow", "to consent". | |||
| Luxembourgish | leeschten | ||
| Leeschten derives from the Middle High German "leschen", meaning 'to quench', and is related to "lesch", the Luxembourgish word for 'extinguishing' thirst, and "lösche", a German term for 'quenching' anger. Thus, its original meaning was not material affordability, but rather the satisfaction of a desire. | |||
| Maltese | jaffordjaw | ||
| The Maltese word "jaffordjaw" is derived from the Arabic word "aḥkama" which means to make firm or stable. | |||
| Norwegian | ha råd til | ||
| Ha råd til literally means "have advice to" in Norwegian, as råd can mean both "advice" and "afford." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | proporcionar | ||
| The Portuguese "proporcionar" also means to "supply, provide". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cothrom a thoirt | ||
| The alternative meaning of "cothrom a thoirt" is "to give an opportunity". | |||
| Spanish | permitirse | ||
| Permitirse's etymology likely refers to the freedom or permission one gives themselves to do an action or acquire something. | |||
| Swedish | råd | ||
| **Etymology:** Old Norse *ráða*, "to rule, control, decide, advise"; compare to Old English *rædan*, "to rule, advise" | |||
| Welsh | fforddio | ||
| The Welsh word 'fforddio' has the same root as the English word 'ford', both derived from the Proto-Indo-European root '*pert-' meaning 'to cross'. | |||
Afford in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | дазволіць сабе | ||
| The verb "дазволіць сабе" can also mean "to indulge in", "to allow oneself to do something". | |||
| Bosnian | priuštiti | ||
| The word "priuštiti" is derived from the Slavic root "priti", meaning "to come to" or "to approach". | |||
| Bulgarian | позволете си | ||
| The Bulgarian "позволете си" comes from the Old Slavic "povoziti" (to cart) and also means "to indulge in". | |||
| Czech | si dovolit | ||
| The verb "si dovolit" in Czech literally means "to allow oneself" and is used to express affording something. | |||
| Estonian | endale lubada | ||
| In Estonian, “endale lubada” can also mean “to let oneself” or “to dare to”. | |||
| Finnish | olla varaa | ||
| "Olla varaa" literally means "there is stock". | |||
| Hungarian | engedheti meg magának | ||
| The verb "engedheti meg magának" literally means "to allow oneself" in Hungarian. | |||
| Latvian | atļauties | ||
| The word "atļauties" comes from the same root as the Lithuanian word "leisti", which means "to allow" or "to permit." | |||
| Lithuanian | sau leisti | ||
| The Lithuanian verb “sau leisti” (“afford”) also has the meaning “to allow”. | |||
| Macedonian | си дозволи | ||
| In French, the word "afford" originated from the Old French verb "afforer" which meant "to furnish" or "to supply." | |||
| Polish | pozwolić sobie | ||
| The word "pozwolić sobie" derives from the Proto-Slavic language and literally means "to allow oneself" or "to be able to allow oneself." | |||
| Romanian | permite | ||
| The Romanian word "permite" originally signified "to permit" in French and Latin. | |||
| Russian | позволить себе | ||
| The word "позволить себе" can also mean "to indulge in" or "to allow oneself." | |||
| Serbian | приуштити | ||
| The word "приуштити" derives from the Old Church Slavonic "приоуштати" meaning "to acquire". | |||
| Slovak | dovoliť | ||
| The word "dovoliť" can also mean "to allow" or "to permit" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | privoščite si | ||
| The Slovenian word "privoščite si" can also mean "to indulge" or "to treat oneself". | |||
| Ukrainian | дозволити собі | ||
| The Ukrainian verb for "afford" – "дозволити собі" – also means "to allow oneself". | |||
Afford in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সামর্থ | ||
| The word "সামর্থ" has its roots in Sanskrit, where it originally meant "strength" or "capability". | |||
| Gujarati | પરવડી | ||
| The word "परवडी" in Gujarati has a similar etymology to the English word "afford" and can also mean "to be able to do something"} | |||
| Hindi | बर्दाश्त | ||
| The word 'बर्दाश्त' is derived from the Persian word 'bardashtan', meaning 'to tolerate' or 'to endure'. | |||
| Kannada | ನಿಭಾಯಿಸು | ||
| "ನಿಭಾಯಿಸು" (afford) is derived from the verb "ನಿಬ್ಬ" (to bear, to withstand), suggesting the ability to bear the financial burden of something. | |||
| Malayalam | താങ്ങാവുന്ന വില | ||
| The word "താങ്ങാവുന്ന വില" (afford) comes from the Old English word "gefordian," which meant "to provide for." In Middle English, to afford came to mean paying out; bearing or suffering something; or granting or giving something to someone. | |||
| Marathi | परवडेल | ||
| The word "परवडेल" is derived from the root word "पारवणे" (pāravaṇe), which means "to be able to" or "to have the means to do something." | |||
| Nepali | किन्न | ||
| 'किन्न' also means 'to get', 'to obtain' or 'to procure' in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਰਦਾਸ਼ਤ ਕਰਨਾ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਬਰਦਾਸ਼ਤ ਕਰਨਾ" originally referred to bearing something, or having the capacity to withstand something, which then evolved to mean being able to pay for it. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දැරිය හැකි | ||
| Tamil | வாங்க | ||
| "வாங்க" also means 'come in' in Tamil, a sense derived from its original meaning 'to take' | |||
| Telugu | స్థోమత | ||
| The word "స్థోమత" is derived from the Sanskrit word "sthāma", meaning "to stand" or "to be able to bear something. | |||
| Urdu | برداشت کرنا | ||
| In Urdu, برداشت کرنا, is also used to mean 'to gather', 'to harvest', or 'to reap'. | |||
Afford in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 买得起 | ||
| 买得起 is a slang phrase that means "cheap enough to buy" or "a good value for the price." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 買得起 | ||
| "買得起" can be decomposed into the verb "買 (buy)" and the measure word "得起 (afford)" | |||
| Japanese | 余裕がある | ||
| 余裕がある's literal meaning in Japanese is 'to have leeway', thus can figuratively mean being in a comfortable position. | |||
| Korean | 형편이되다 | ||
| The word 형편이 되다 (afford) can also mean "to have the circumstances or means to do something"} | |||
| Mongolian | боломжийн | ||
| The Mongolian word "боломжийн" derives from the root "болох" (to be), and can also mean "feasible" or "capable of being done." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မတတ်နိုင် | ||
Afford in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mampu | ||
| Mampu is derived from the Sanskrit word "sam-pati," meaning "to obtain or reach." | |||
| Javanese | saged | ||
| The word "saged" in Javanese also means "capable" or "managed to accomplish something." | |||
| Khmer | មានតំលៃសមរម្យ | ||
| The word "afford" can also refer to the ability to endure or withstand something, or to have the courage to do something. | |||
| Lao | ພໍຈ່າຍໄດ້ | ||
| The word "ພໍຈ່າຍໄດ້" (afford) is derived from the verb "ຈ່າຍ" (pay) and the adverb "ພໍ" (enough), together meaning "to pay enough". It can also mean "to be able to pay for something" or "to have enough money to buy something". | |||
| Malay | mampu | ||
| The word 'mampu' has additional meanings of 'able', 'capable', or 'sufficient'. | |||
| Thai | จ่าย | ||
| The word "จ่าย" can also mean "to pay", "to spend", or "to give out". | |||
| Vietnamese | mua được | ||
| The word "mua được" in Vietnamese literally means "can buy" and can also refer to "having enough money to buy something" or "being able to attain something because of one's financial situation." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kayang | ||
Afford in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ödəyə bilər | ||
| The word "ödəyə bilər" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to be able to pay off" or "to be able to repay". | |||
| Kazakh | қол жетімді | ||
| The Kazakh word "қол жетімді" has the additional meaning of "accessible" in its literal translation, which means "reaching by hand" | |||
| Kyrgyz | мүмкүнчүлүк | ||
| The word "mүмкүнчүлүк" in Kyrgyz can also mean "opportunity" or "possibility." | |||
| Tajik | имконият | ||
| The word "имконият" in Tajik refers to both the ability to pay for something and the potential for something to happen. | |||
| Turkmen | elýeterli | ||
| Uzbek | imkoni bor | ||
| The Uzbek word "imkoni bor" is literally translated as "having the means" and also means "having the opportunity to do something." | |||
| Uyghur | ئەرزان | ||
Afford in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻolimalima | ||
| The word "hoʻolimalima" can also mean "to pay for" or "to earn money". | |||
| Maori | utu | ||
| "Utu" in Maori can also mean retribution or compensation, representing its deep cultural significance beyond mere financial implications. | |||
| Samoan | gafatia | ||
| The word 'gafatia' in Samoan is a cognate of the Fijian word 'vakavitika' and the Tongan word 'fakafatia', all of which mean 'to do' or 'to make'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | makakaya | ||
| The word "makakaya" is derived from the root word "kaya" meaning "ability" or "power". | |||
Afford in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | yanapaña | ||
| Guarani | hepyme'ẽkuaa | ||
Afford in International Languages
| Esperanto | pagi | ||
| The Esperanto word "pagi" is derived from the Russian word "платить" (platit), meaning "to pay". It also has the alternate meaning of "to be able to do something". | |||
| Latin | praestare | ||
| "Praestare" can mean 'be in charge of', 'offer', and 'guarantee' in Latin. | |||
Afford in Others Languages
| Greek | οικονομικη δυνατοτητα | ||
| Το 'οικονομική δυνατότητα' προέρχεται από το 'οίκος' και 'νόμος', δηλαδή τον κανόνα του σπιτιού. | |||
| Hmong | them taus | ||
| The word "them taus" can also mean "to have enough food, money, or other resources to buy or do something" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | ji xwere kanîn | ||
| The Kurmanji and Sorani words for "afford", "ji xwere kanîn" and "qadrakirin", derive from the words "heavy" and "able" respectively, thus suggesting a notion of bearing the weight of a financial burden. | |||
| Turkish | parası yetmek | ||
| Parası yetmek literally means “one's money is enough” in Turkish and originates from the word | |||
| Xhosa | ukuhlawula | ||
| The Xhosa word "ukuhlawula" also means "to repay" or "to pay back". | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרגינענ זיך | ||
| The word "פאַרגינענ זיך" can also mean "to treat oneself" or "to indulge oneself" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | amandla | ||
| The Zulu word 'amandla' also means 'power' or 'strength'. | |||
| Assamese | কৰিবলৈ সামৰ্থ্য হোৱা | ||
| Aymara | yanapaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | बेंवत | ||
| Dhivehi | އެފޯޑް | ||
| Dogri | खर्च करना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kayang | ||
| Guarani | hepyme'ẽkuaa | ||
| Ilocano | magatang | ||
| Krio | ebul fɔ bay | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | توانین | ||
| Maithili | खर्च | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯁꯤꯖꯤꯟꯅꯕ ꯉꯝꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tlin | ||
| Oromo | danda'uu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସୁଲଭ | ||
| Quechua | uyakuy | ||
| Sanskrit | वितरतु | ||
| Tatar | мөмкин | ||
| Tigrinya | ናይ ምግዛእ ዓቅሚ | ||
| Tsonga | fikelela | ||