Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'agenda' has a fascinating history and a wide range of significance in different cultures. Originally derived from the Latin word 'agendum,' which means 'things to be done,' the term has evolved to encompass a variety of meanings in modern language.
In its most common usage, 'agenda' refers to a list of items to be discussed or accomplished in a meeting or event. However, it can also refer to a person's underlying motivations or goals, as in the phrase 'hidden agenda.'
Beyond its practical uses, the word 'agenda' has also taken on cultural importance in many parts of the world. For example, in South Africa, the 'Agenda' was a prominent anti-apartheid newspaper that played a crucial role in the country's struggle for freedom and equality.
Given its significance and wide range of uses, it's no wonder that someone might want to know the translation of 'agenda' in different languages. Here are just a few examples:
Afrikaans | agenda | ||
In Afrikaans, 'agenda' can also mean 'intention' or 'motive'. | |||
Amharic | አጀንዳ | ||
The word “አጀንዳ” (“agenda”) is borrowed from Italian and ultimately derives from Latin “agenda” meaning “things to be done”. | |||
Hausa | ajanda | ||
In Hausa, "ajanda" originates from Arabic and also means "a list of topics to be discussed". | |||
Igbo | ihe omume | ||
The Igbo word "ihe omume" literally translates to "things to be done". | |||
Malagasy | agenda | ||
The Malagasy word "agenda" also means "diary" or "journal". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | zokambirana | ||
Shona | ajenda | ||
The word "ajenda" in Shona is also used as a plural form of "njenda", which means "a matter or affair". | |||
Somali | ajandaha | ||
The Somali word "ajandaha" is derived from the Arabic word "ajanda", meaning "list" or "outline." | |||
Sesotho | lenanetsamaiso | ||
The word “lenanetsamaiso” in Sesotho is derived from the verb “lenanetsama”, meaning “to arrange” or “to put in order.” | |||
Swahili | ajenda | ||
In Swahili, 'ajenda' can also refer to a small bird known as the 'agenda bird' or 'robin chat'. | |||
Xhosa | ajenda | ||
The Xhosa word "ajenda" also means "intention" or "purpose". | |||
Yoruba | agbese | ||
The word agbese can also mean "a plan" or "a goal". | |||
Zulu | i-ajenda | ||
The Zulu word "i-ajenda" is derived from the Portuguese word "agenda" meaning "things to be done" also used to refer to an "official list of items to be discussed at a meeting". | |||
Bambara | agenda (agenda) ye | ||
Ewe | ɖoɖowɔɖi | ||
Kinyarwanda | gahunda | ||
Lingala | programme ya misala | ||
Luganda | enteekateeka y’emirimu | ||
Sepedi | lenaneo la ditaba | ||
Twi (Akan) | nhyehyɛe a wɔde bɛyɛ adwuma | ||
Arabic | جدول أعمال | ||
The word "جدول أعمال" (agenda) in Arabic literally means "table of work", highlighting its role as an organizational tool. | |||
Hebrew | סֵדֶר הַיוֹם | ||
The Hebrew word "סדר היום" literally means "order of the day," reflecting its role in structuring the flow of a meeting or event. | |||
Pashto | اجنډا | ||
The Pashto word "اجنډا" is derived from the Arabic word "أجندة" meaning "an intention or purpose" and is related to words in other Indo-European languages such as the Latin "agere" (to do) and the English "agency". | |||
Arabic | جدول أعمال | ||
The word "جدول أعمال" (agenda) in Arabic literally means "table of work", highlighting its role as an organizational tool. |
Albanian | agjendë | ||
Agjendë is also a verb in Albanian meaning "to plan or organize". | |||
Basque | agenda | ||
In Basque, "agenda" can also refer to a "schedule" or a "notebook". | |||
Catalan | agenda | ||
In Catalan, "agenda" also means "notebook" or "diary". | |||
Croatian | dnevni red | ||
"Dnevni red" literally means "daily row" in Croatian, referring to the rows of items on the agenda. | |||
Danish | dagsorden | ||
Dagsorden is the Danish word for agenda, as in the scheduled order of business for a meeting. | |||
Dutch | agenda | ||
In Dutch the word "agenda" also means "notebook" or "diary". | |||
English | agenda | ||
The word 'agenda' derives from the Latin word 'agere', meaning 'to do'. | |||
French | ordre du jour | ||
The French phrase "ordre du jour" literally translates to "order of the day" and, in addition to its meaning as "agenda," can also refer to the "business of the day" or a "course of action." | |||
Frisian | wurklist | ||
In medieval Low German, "wurklist" originally referred to a list of tasks to be performed by a craftsman, later adopted by Frisian. | |||
Galician | axenda | ||
In Galician, "axenda" also refers to a wooden tablet used to make notes in the past. | |||
German | agenda | ||
In German, the word "Agenda" (pronounced "ah-gen-da") also refers to a public notice of legal or official matters to be addressed. | |||
Icelandic | dagskrá | ||
Dagskrá is an Icelandic word that literally means day chart, and can also refer to a newspaper or a magazine. | |||
Irish | clár oibre | ||
The word "clár oibre" in Irish can also refer to a "working paper" or "worksheet." | |||
Italian | agenda | ||
In Italian, "agenda" can also refer to a "diary" or a "calendar". | |||
Luxembourgish | agenda | ||
In Luxembourgish, "Agenda" can also mean "diary" or "to-do list". | |||
Maltese | aġenda | ||
"Agenda" (aġenda) in Maltese also refers to a list of duties to be performed. | |||
Norwegian | dagsorden | ||
The word "dagsorden" in Norwegian also means "the order of the day" in a meeting or an assembly. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | agenda | ||
In Portuguese, "agenda" is also used to refer to a politician's plan of action. | |||
Scots Gaelic | clàr-gnothaich | ||
The Scots Gaelic word "clàr-gnothaich" comes from the Gaelic "clàr" meaning "table" and "gnothaich" meaning "business" or "affairs". Thus, the term literally translates to "business table" or "table of business". | |||
Spanish | agenda | ||
En español, "agenda" se refiere tanto a una lista de temas a tratar en una reunión como a un diario o libro de citas. | |||
Swedish | dagordning | ||
The word "dagordning" in Swedish comes from the word "dag" meaning "day" and "ordning" meaning "order," referring to the order of the day. | |||
Welsh | agenda | ||
In Welsh, 'agenda' is related to the word for 'business' or 'affair', and was borrowed into English from Latin in the early 20th century. |
Belarusian | парадак дня | ||
“Парадак дня” is the Belarusian cognate of the Old Slavonic word “рѣдъ”, meaning “row” or “sequence”, used in various contexts to denote order and succession, with the meaning of "agenda" as a semantic calque introduced into Belarusian under Russian influence. | |||
Bosnian | dnevni red | ||
The word "dnevni red" (agenda) is derived from the word "dan" (day), and literally means "daily order". It can also refer to the order of the day in a meeting or assembly. | |||
Bulgarian | дневен ред | ||
The Bulgarian word "дневен ред" ("agenda") is derived from the Old Church Slavonic words "дьнь" ("day") and "рѧдъ" ("order"). | |||
Czech | denní program | ||
The word "denní program" in Czech also means "daily programme" or "schedule". | |||
Estonian | päevakord | ||
The Estonian word "päevakord" originates from "päev" (day) and "kord" (order), referring to the daily order or schedule. | |||
Finnish | esityslista | ||
"esityslista" can also refer to the "list of songs to be played at a concert or other performance". | |||
Hungarian | napirend | ||
The Hungarian word "napirend" is derived from the German word "Tagesordnung", meaning "daily order". | |||
Latvian | darba kārtība | ||
"Darba kārtība" comes from the German word "Tagesordnung," which means "order of the day." | |||
Lithuanian | darbotvarkę | ||
The word "darbotvarkę" (agenda) in Lithuanian is derived from the verb "dirbti" (to work) and the noun "tvarka" (order), meaning "an order of work." | |||
Macedonian | агенда | ||
“Агенда” (agenda) is also a type of book of the Gospels used in the Orthodox Church to indicate the service of the day. | |||
Polish | program | ||
The word 'program' in Polish has an additional meaning of 'schedule' or 'timetable'. | |||
Romanian | agendă | ||
In Romanian, the word "agendă" can also refer to a personal organizer or notebook. | |||
Russian | повестка дня | ||
The Russian word "повестка дня" (literally "notice of the day") also has a second meaning: a document specifying a list of issues to be discussed at a meeting. | |||
Serbian | дневни ред | ||
The word 'дневни ред' can also mean 'an event planner' or 'a schedule' in Serbian. | |||
Slovak | agenda | ||
The Slovak word "agenda" (agenda) came to Slovak from German, where it originally meant "things to be dealt with". | |||
Slovenian | dnevni red | ||
"Dnevni red" comes from the Slavic root "dânъ" which also means "day", thus denoting a list of things to be done during the day. | |||
Ukrainian | порядок денний | ||
"Порядок денний" also means "due process" in Ukrainian. |
Bengali | আলোচ্যসূচি | ||
The word “আলোচ্যসূচি” (“agenda”) is a compound of | |||
Gujarati | કાર્યસૂચિ | ||
The word "कार्यसूचि" comes from the Sanskrit words "कार्य" (action, work) and "सूची" (list), and literally means "list of actions". In Gujarati, it can also refer to "action plan" or "task list". | |||
Hindi | कार्यसूची | ||
In Hindi, the word कार्यसूची means not only agenda, but also the items that will be discussed in an upcoming meeting and the actions taken during a meeting or discussion | |||
Kannada | ಕಾರ್ಯಸೂಚಿ | ||
In Kannada, "ಕಾರ್ಯಸೂಚಿ" is used as both a noun meaning "agenda" and a verb meaning "to schedule" an activity. | |||
Malayalam | അജണ്ട | ||
The Malayalam word "അജണ്ട" comes from the Portuguese word "agenda", which means "things to be done". | |||
Marathi | अजेंडा | ||
The Marathi word अजेंडा also means 'a topic of discussion' or 'a subject of debate'. | |||
Nepali | एजेन्डा | ||
"एजेन्डा" (agenda) is a loanword from English, ultimately derived from the Latin word "agere," meaning "to do". | |||
Punjabi | ਏਜੰਡਾ | ||
The Punjabi word "ਏਜੰਡਾ" (agenda) is derived from the Latin word "agere", meaning "to do" or "to act". It can also refer to a list of items to be discussed at a meeting or event. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | න්යාය පත්රය | ||
Tamil | நிகழ்ச்சி நிரல் | ||
Telugu | ఎజెండా | ||
ఎజెండా (agenda) has the alternate meaning of "list" or "index" in Telugu. | |||
Urdu | ایجنڈا | ||
The word 'ایجنڈا' is derived from the Latin 'agendus', which means 'things to be done'. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 议程 | ||
在中文里,“议程”一词不仅指会议日程,还可表示“计划”或“方针”之意。 | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 議程 | ||
日語「議題」之借詞,另有「計議」之意,同「討論議題」。」} | |||
Japanese | 議題 | ||
議題 shares the Kanji 議 and 題 with 議論, a word for a "debate" or "discussion", highlighting the idea of bringing a subject under consideration. | |||
Korean | 의제 | ||
의제 (agenda)는 원래 '행동을 하거나 수행해야 하는 것들'의 목록이라는 의미에서 사용되었는데 오늘날에는 회의나 행사에서 논의되는 항목 목록을 뜻합니다. | |||
Mongolian | хэлэлцэх асуудал | ||
Khalkha Mongolian 'khéléltsékh asuudal' ultimately comes from French 'ajander', but is also sometimes used specifically to mean 'topics for discussion at a meeting' | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | အစီအစဉ် | ||
The word also means "order" or "arrangement", and is related to the word "ဆင် (hsin)", which means "to prepare". |
Indonesian | jadwal acara | ||
In 1899, "schudul","schedula","scheduul", "scedel", and "chedula" all meant a sheet or note, but by 1905, "schedule" had become the accepted English spelling. | |||
Javanese | agenda | ||
In Javanese, "agenda" also refers to a type of traditional performance featuring a female singer and a male dancer. | |||
Khmer | របៀបវារៈ | ||
The Khmer word "របៀបវារៈ" ("agenda") is derived from the French word "ordre du jour," meaning "order of the day." | |||
Lao | ວາລະ | ||
The Lao word "ວາລະ" (agenda) is derived from the Pali word "วาระ" meaning "time, occasion, or session." | |||
Malay | agenda | ||
In Malay, 'agenda' can also refer to a 'proposal' or 'suggestion'. | |||
Thai | วาระการประชุม | ||
The Thai word "วาระการประชุม" (agenda) comes from the Sanskrit word "vara" (choice) and the Pali word "kara" (doing), meaning "things to be done." | |||
Vietnamese | chương trình nghị sự | ||
The word "chương trình nghị sự" literally means "program of the work of the government or legislature". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | agenda | ||
Azerbaijani | gündəm | ||
"Gündəm," meaning "agenda" in Azerbaijani, originates from Persian and once meant "day's issues" or "daily news" in Turkish, an uncommon usage today. | |||
Kazakh | күн тәртібі | ||
The word "күн тәртібі" can also mean "daily routine" or "daily schedule" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | күн тартиби | ||
The word "күн тартиби" in Kyrgyz can also mean "daily routine" or "schedule". | |||
Tajik | рӯзнома | ||
The word "рӯзнома" also means "newspaper" in Persian and "diary" in other languages. | |||
Turkmen | gün tertibi | ||
Uzbek | kun tartibi | ||
The Uzbek word "kun tartibi" comes from the Arabic word "qayd al-yawmi" meaning "the list of the day". | |||
Uyghur | كۈن تەرتىپى | ||
Hawaiian | papa kuhikuhi | ||
The Hawaiian word for 'agenda' is 'papa kuhikuhi,' literally meaning 'guide paper' or 'compass paper.' | |||
Maori | kaupapa mahi | ||
Kaupapa mahi also signifies "purpose of the work" and reflects the strong Māori value of having a clear sense of purpose in any group endeavor. | |||
Samoan | lisi o mea e talanoaina | ||
The word "lisi o mea e talanoaina" also means "list of topics for discussion" or simply a "to-do list". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | agenda | ||
In Tagalog, "agenda" can also refer to a notebook used for recording personal notes and reminders. |
Aymara | agenda ukax mä agenda ukankiwa | ||
Guarani | agenda rehegua | ||
Esperanto | tagordo | ||
"Tagordo" is derived from the Esperanto words "tago" meaning "day" and "ordo" meaning "order." | |||
Latin | rerum agendarum ordinem | ||
The word "agenda" is derived from the Latin phrase "rerum agendarum ordinem", which means "things to be done in order". |
Greek | ημερήσια διάταξη | ||
The Greek word "ημερήσια διάταξη" literally translates to "daily order". | |||
Hmong | txheej txheem | ||
The Hmong word "txheej txheem" can also refer to a schedule or plan of action. | |||
Kurdish | naverok | ||
The word "naverok" can also mean "list" or "schedule" in Kurdish. | |||
Turkish | gündem | ||
Turkish 'Gündem' traces back to Persian 'gün' (day) and 'dem' (breath), thus meaning 'daily respiration'. Alternatively, it has been linked to the Persian word 'gundan' (to pass), referring to time passing, which aligns with its meaning of 'agenda'. | |||
Xhosa | ajenda | ||
The Xhosa word "ajenda" also means "intention" or "purpose". | |||
Yiddish | אגענדע | ||
In Yiddish, the word "אגענדע" also means the Sabbath, possibly because a synagogue agenda was the only printed material allowed on Friday nights. | |||
Zulu | i-ajenda | ||
The Zulu word "i-ajenda" is derived from the Portuguese word "agenda" meaning "things to be done" also used to refer to an "official list of items to be discussed at a meeting". | |||
Assamese | এজেণ্ডা | ||
Aymara | agenda ukax mä agenda ukankiwa | ||
Bhojpuri | एजेंडा के बारे में बतावल गइल बा | ||
Dhivehi | އެޖެންޑާ | ||
Dogri | एजेंडा | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | agenda | ||
Guarani | agenda rehegua | ||
Ilocano | adyenda | ||
Krio | ajenda fɔ di ajenda | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | کارنامە | ||
Maithili | एजेंडा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯦꯖꯦꯟꯗꯥꯗꯥ ꯑꯦꯟ.ꯗꯤ.ꯑꯦ | ||
Mizo | agenda a ni | ||
Oromo | ajandaa | ||
Odia (Oriya) | କାର୍ଯ୍ୟସୂଚୀ | ||
Quechua | agenda nisqa | ||
Sanskrit | कार्यसूची | ||
Tatar | көн тәртибе | ||
Tigrinya | ኣጀንዳ | ||
Tsonga | ajenda ya kona | ||