Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'allow' is a small but powerful part of our daily vocabulary. It holds significance in various cultural and linguistic contexts, often representing the concept of permission or enabling possibilities. Understanding its translation in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural appreciation.
For instance, in Spanish, 'allow' is 'permitir,' while in French, it's 'permettre.' These translations not only help in cross-cultural communication but also provide insight into how different languages and cultures perceive the concept of permission.
Moreover, the word 'allow' has historical contexts that are fascinating to explore. In Old English, 'allow' was derived from 'alowen,' which means 'to let or approve.' This historical context adds depth to our understanding of the word's cultural importance.
So, why should you learn the translations of 'allow' in various languages? It's not just about expanding your vocabulary, but also about appreciating the diversity and richness of different cultures and languages. By understanding the nuances of this simple yet powerful word, you can build bridges of communication and foster cultural understanding.
Afrikaans | toelaat | ||
Afrikaans 'toelaat', like Dutch 'toelaten', comes from the Old English word 'tolaten', meaning to let out, and is related to the Old French 'toler'. | |||
Amharic | ፍቀድ | ||
The word "ፍቀድ" ("to allow") in Amharic can also mean "to make a wish" or "to decide." | |||
Hausa | ba da izini | ||
"Ba da izini" can also mean "to pardon" or "to let go" in Hausa. | |||
Igbo | kwere | ||
"Kwère" also means "sit" or "remain" in Igbo, and can be used in the context of "staying put" or "enduring a situation" | |||
Malagasy | avelao | ||
The word "Avelao" in Malagasy is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ava-la" meaning "to bring down". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | lolani | ||
The word "lolani" is derived from the word "lola," which means "to permit" or "to consent". | |||
Shona | bvumira | ||
Bvumira is also the name of a spirit medium that has been possessed by an ancestral spirit of the same name. | |||
Somali | u oggolow | ||
The Somali word "u oggolow" can also mean "to permit," "to tolerate," or "to give permission." | |||
Sesotho | lumella | ||
The Zulu word "lumelana" is cognate with "lumella" and also means "allow". | |||
Swahili | ruhusu | ||
The word "ruhusu" in Swahili can also mean "permission" or "authority". | |||
Xhosa | vumela | ||
The word 'vumela' is related to 'mvumelo', which means 'permission' and 'vumelana', which means 'agree'. | |||
Yoruba | gba laaye | ||
It derives from the verb 'gba' (take) and 'laaye' (life) connoting 'granting someone life or a chance' | |||
Zulu | vumela | ||
The Zulu word "vumela" also means "to concede" in English. | |||
Bambara | ka yamaruya | ||
Ewe | ɖe asi le eŋu | ||
Kinyarwanda | emera | ||
Lingala | kopesa nzela | ||
Luganda | okukkiriza | ||
Sepedi | dumelela | ||
Twi (Akan) | ma kwan | ||
Arabic | السماح | ||
السماح comes from the word سمح meaning 'ease', which is related to the verb سمح 'to be easy, to flow' | |||
Hebrew | להתיר | ||
The word להתיר also has a secondary meaning of "to untie", coming from the root התר (heitar) meaning "to separate" or "to dissolve". | |||
Pashto | اجازه ورکړه | ||
The etymology of "اجازه ورکړه" in Pashto is from the Persian word "اجازه", meaning "permission" or "authority". | |||
Arabic | السماح | ||
السماح comes from the word سمح meaning 'ease', which is related to the verb سمح 'to be easy, to flow' |
Albanian | lejoj | ||
The Albanian word "lejoj" originates from the Proto-Albanian word "*lʲehoj" which likely meant "to permit, to give permission". | |||
Basque | baimendu | ||
The word 'baimendu' is derived from 'bai' meaning 'yes' and 'mendu' meaning 'will', suggesting the granting of a wish. | |||
Catalan | permetre | ||
The word "permetre" in Catalan comes from the Latin word "permittere", which means "to allow" or "to grant". Besides its literal meaning, "permetre" can also be used in a more figurative sense, such as to tolerate or to accept something. | |||
Croatian | dopustiti | ||
Dopustiti comes from the verb 'dozvoliti' which means 'to permit' or 'to give permission', and it is closely related to the noun 'dopuštenje' which means 'permission' or 'license'. | |||
Danish | tillade | ||
The word "tillade" in Danish also means "to allow" in other Germanic languages, such as Swedish and Norwegian. | |||
Dutch | toestaan | ||
The word 'toestaan' (allow) comes from the Old Dutch word 'toe-staen', meaning 'to admit' or 'to accept'. | |||
English | allow | ||
The Middle English "alowwen" ultimately derives from the Old French "alouer," which stemmed from a late Latin use of "allocare" ("rent or place") | |||
French | autoriser | ||
The French verb "autoriser" derives from the Latin word "auctoritas," meaning "authority" or "power." | |||
Frisian | talitte | ||
The word "talitte" can also mean "to permit" or "to let". | |||
Galician | permitir | ||
In Galician, "permitir" also means "to enable" or "to make possible". | |||
German | ermöglichen | ||
The word "ermöglichen" also has the alternate meaning of "make possible". | |||
Icelandic | leyfa | ||
Leyfa is a derivative of leyfi or leyfi (leave), which can also mean 'permission', or 'license'. | |||
Irish | cead a thabhairt | ||
The Irish word "cead a thabhairt" translates literally as "giving leave/permission". | |||
Italian | permettere | ||
The word "permettere" derives from the Latin "permittere," which also means "to send for". | |||
Luxembourgish | erlaben | ||
The word “erlaben” in Luxembourgish, meaning “to allow”, shares its roots with “erlauben” in German | |||
Maltese | jippermettu | ||
The etymology of "jippermettu" is unclear, with alternative meanings including "give permission" and "permit". | |||
Norwegian | tillate | ||
"Tillate" is derived from the Latin verb "tollere," meaning "to lift up" or "to remove." | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | permitir | ||
The verb "permitir" derives from the Latin "permittere", which meant "to send through" or "to give access to". | |||
Scots Gaelic | ceadaich | ||
The Gaelic word "ceadaich" (allow) is derived from the Old Irish word "cead", which means "permission"} | |||
Spanish | permitir | ||
The verb "permitir" evolved from the Latin "permittere" and can also mean "authorize." | |||
Swedish | tillåta | ||
"Tillåta" originates from the Proto-Germanic word "*tilahwōjaną", meaning "to give permission" or "to permit". | |||
Welsh | caniatáu | ||
The word "caniatáu" is derived from the root "can" meaning "with" and "iat" meaning "go". It can also mean "to permit" or "to give permission". |
Belarusian | дазволіць | ||
The word "дазволіць" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "dovoliti", meaning "to give permission" or "to consent". | |||
Bosnian | dopustiti | ||
The verb 'dopustiti' also means 'to admit' but only in the sense of admitting guilt or responsibility. | |||
Bulgarian | позволява | ||
The word "позволява" ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic root *volja, meaning "will" or "desire". | |||
Czech | dovolit | ||
The word "dovolit" is derived from the Old Czech word "dovoliti", which means "to grant". | |||
Estonian | lubama | ||
In Estonian, "lubama" also means to grant permission, authorize, permit, and let. | |||
Finnish | sallia | ||
The word "sallia" is derived from the Proto-Uralic verb *sale- "to permit, allow". | |||
Hungarian | lehetővé teszi | ||
The word "lehetővé teszi" is derived from the word "lehet" which means "it is possible". | |||
Latvian | atļaut | ||
"Atļaut" is derived from the French word "autoriser", meaning "to give permission or authority". | |||
Lithuanian | leisti | ||
The word "leisti" can also mean "to give permission" or "to permit". | |||
Macedonian | дозволи | ||
The Macedonian word `дозволи` is a cognate of the Russian `дозволить`, and both ultimately derive from the Old Slavic `dozvoliti`, meaning `to permit` or `to grant permission`. | |||
Polish | dopuszczać | ||
In the past "dopuszczać" also meant "admit" and "grant". | |||
Romanian | permite | ||
The Romanian word "permite" comes from the Latin "permittere" and also means "to commit". | |||
Russian | позволять | ||
The word 'позволять' is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *vol- (meaning 'will, power, permission'), and shares the same etymology with the words 'власть' ('power'), 'свобода' ('freedom'), and 'воля' ('will'). | |||
Serbian | допустити | ||
Допустити is also a Serbian word that can mean 'to admit', 'to assume', or 'to tolerate'. | |||
Slovak | povoliť | ||
"Povoliť" is also used in the sense of "grant" or "permit" in Slovak. | |||
Slovenian | dovolite | ||
The word "dovoliti" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *dovoliti, which also means "to grant" or "to permit." | |||
Ukrainian | дозволити | ||
The word "дозволити" in Ukrainian originates from the Old Slavonic word "dozvoliti", which means "to permit" or "to grant permission", and is related to the word "звóлити" (zvoliti), which means "to choose" or "to select". |
Bengali | অনুমতি দিন | ||
The word 'অনুমতি দিন' ('allow') in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word 'anumati,' which means 'permission' or 'approval'. | |||
Gujarati | પરવાનગી આપે છે | ||
Hindi | अनुमति | ||
As an extension from its literal sense of “pertaining to the mind’s approval of an action,” “अनुमति” also conveys a sense of “permission.” | |||
Kannada | ಅನುಮತಿಸಿ | ||
The word "ಅನುಮತಿಸಿ" originated from the Sanskrit verb "anu-√man" which means "to permit, to grant an allowance". | |||
Malayalam | അനുവദിക്കുക | ||
Marathi | परवानगी द्या | ||
The word 'परवानगी' is derived from the Persian word 'parvānagī', which means 'permission' or 'authorization'. | |||
Nepali | अनुमति दिनुहोस् | ||
अनुमति दिनुहोस् is derived from the Sanskrit word 'anumati', meaning 'permission', and is used in Nepali to grant permission or consent. | |||
Punjabi | ਦੀ ਇਜਾਜ਼ਤ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉඩ දෙන්න | ||
"ඉඩ දෙන්න" originated from the Sanskrit word "anu + da" meaning "grant or allow", with the Pali form "anujānāti" and the Sinhala form "anujā" with the addition of the "-nna" suffix. | |||
Tamil | அனுமதி | ||
The word "அனுமதி" is derived from the Sanskrit word "anujñā", which means "permission" or "consent". | |||
Telugu | అనుమతించు | ||
This word is derived from the Sanskrit word 'anumati', which means 'consent' or 'permission'. | |||
Urdu | اجازت دیں | ||
اجازت دیں (allow) is the Urdu equivalent of the French word "permission" (permission), meaning the action of allowing someone to do something. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 允许 | ||
"许" in "允许" means "promise" and "允" means "agree", and there is a saying "一诺千金" in Chinese, which means a promise is worth a thousand golds. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 允許 | ||
The Chinese character 允許 "allow" originally meant "to follow," hence its structure of following the radical "人" (person) with "允" (accepting, following) and "許" (permitting, allowing). | |||
Japanese | 許可する | ||
許可する is a Japanese verb meaning "to allow", derived from the verb 許す (yurusu) and the suffix -ける (-keru). | |||
Korean | 허용하다 | ||
허용하다 is also used in the sense of "to tolerate" or "to put up with". | |||
Mongolian | зөвшөөрөх | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ခွင့်ပြု | ||
Indonesian | mengizinkan | ||
The word "mengizinkan" shares its etymology with the Malay word "izinkan" and the Javanese word "pareng", meaning "to permit" or "to give permission". | |||
Javanese | ngidini | ||
The word "ngidini" in Javanese also means "to permit" or "to give permission". | |||
Khmer | អនុញ្ញាត | ||
The word “អនុញ្ញាត” derives from a Pali word that also means “to be in line” or “to be in order”. | |||
Lao | ອະນຸຍາດ | ||
The Lao word ອະນຸຍາດ, derived from Pali, can also refer to a permission document in legal or official contexts. | |||
Malay | benarkan | ||
The word "benarkan" in Malay can also mean "to correct" or "to verify." | |||
Thai | อนุญาต | ||
The Thai word "อนุญาต" derives from the Sanskrit word "anujaati" meaning "permission" or "consent". | |||
Vietnamese | cho phép | ||
The term "cho phép" in Vietnamese holds roots in the Chinese phrase "zhu xu" (许可), meaning "to permit" or "to approve." | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | payagan | ||
Azerbaijani | icazə verin | ||
"İcazə" (allow) comes from the Persian word "ejāzat", meaning "permission" or "license" | |||
Kazakh | рұқсат ету | ||
Рұқсат ету primarily means “to allow,” but can also imply permission, consent, or approval. | |||
Kyrgyz | уруксат берүү | ||
The word "уруксат берүү" comes from the Arabic word "إذن" (idhn), which means "permission" or "authorization". In Kyrgyz, it is also used to mean "to give permission" or "to allow". | |||
Tajik | иҷозат диҳед | ||
The word "иҷозат диҳед" in Tajik is derived from the Arabic word "إذن" (idhn), which means "permission". It can also have the alternate meaning of "excuse me" or "pardon me." | |||
Turkmen | rugsat beriň | ||
Uzbek | ruxsat berish | ||
The word "ruxsat berish" is the Uzbek translation of the Persian phrase "rukhṣat dādan," which means "to give permission" or "to allow." | |||
Uyghur | رۇخسەت | ||
Hawaiian | ʻae | ||
The word ʻae can also mean 'yes' or 'true' in Hawaiian. | |||
Maori | tukua | ||
The word 'tukua' can also refer to the act of freeing a prisoner or releasing something that has been captured. | |||
Samoan | faʻataga | ||
The word "faʻataga" can also be used to mean "let" or "permit." | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | payagan | ||
The word "payagan" also means "agreement" and derives from the Proto-Austronesian root word "*pagi" meaning "to promise". |
Aymara | iyawsaña | ||
Guarani | heja | ||
Esperanto | permesi | ||
Esperanto's "permesi" originates from the Latin word "permittere" and has the alternative meanings of "consent" or "approve". | |||
Latin | patitur | ||
The Latin verb "patitur" also means "suffer" or "endure". |
Greek | επιτρέπω | ||
"Επιτρέπω" contains the Ancient Greek word "τρέπω", meaning "turn", and suggests a change of direction or perspective. | |||
Hmong | tso cai | ||
Tso cai literally means to release the cai, the 'life essence' which the Hmong believe resides in humans and must sometimes be appeased. | |||
Kurdish | destûrdan | ||
The word "destûrdan" can also refer to the granting of permission or authorization by a superior or authority. | |||
Turkish | izin vermek | ||
The word "izin vermek" etymologically comes from the Persian word "iżn" meaning "permission". | |||
Xhosa | vumela | ||
The word 'vumela' is related to 'mvumelo', which means 'permission' and 'vumelana', which means 'agree'. | |||
Yiddish | דערלויבן | ||
The Yiddish word "דערלויבן" also means "to praise" | |||
Zulu | vumela | ||
The Zulu word "vumela" also means "to concede" in English. | |||
Assamese | অনুমতি দিয়া | ||
Aymara | iyawsaña | ||
Bhojpuri | आग्या दिहीं | ||
Dhivehi | ހުއްދަ ދިނުން | ||
Dogri | करन देओ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | payagan | ||
Guarani | heja | ||
Ilocano | palubusan | ||
Krio | gri | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕێپێدان | ||
Maithili | अनुमति | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯥꯍꯟꯕ | ||
Mizo | phalsak | ||
Oromo | hayyamuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଅନୁମତି ଦିଅନ୍ତୁ | | ||
Quechua | uyakuy | ||
Sanskrit | अनुमन्यताम् | ||
Tatar | рөхсәт итегез | ||
Tigrinya | ፍቀድ | ||
Tsonga | pfumelela | ||