Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'approve' carries great significance in our daily lives, as it often signifies acceptance, agreement, or endorsement. Its cultural importance is evident in various aspects, from business transactions and legal documents to personal relationships and social etiquette.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'approve' in different languages can be a fascinating exploration of cultural nuances and language diversity. For instance, the Spanish translation of 'approve' is 'aprobar', while in French, it is 'approuver'. These translations not only help in effective communication but also offer a glimpse into the history and cultural contexts of the respective languages.
So, whether you're a global citizen, a language learner, or a cultural enthusiast, knowing the translation of 'approve' in various languages can be a rewarding journey. Let's embark on this journey together, starting with these translations...
Afrikaans | goedkeur | ||
Afrikaans "goedkeur" (approve) derives from Dutch "goedkeuren" (to ratify), ultimately from medieval Latin "approbare" (to test, to prove) | |||
Amharic | ማጽደቅ | ||
"ማጽደቅ" derives from the Semitic root "*ṣdq," meaning 'to be just' or 'to be righteous.' | |||
Hausa | yarda | ||
"Yarda" in Hausa is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "ridā" meaning consent or acceptance. | |||
Igbo | kwado | ||
The word "kwado" can also mean "to support" or "to agree with" in Igbo. | |||
Malagasy | hanaiky | ||
The word "hanaiky" also means "to like" in Malagasy. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | vomereza | ||
The word 'vomereza' in Nyanja is derived from the verb 'vomera', meaning 'to agree' or 'to consent'. | |||
Shona | tendera | ||
Alternatively, 'tendera' in Shona refers to an arrangement of small stones on which a cooking pot is placed on an open fire. | |||
Somali | ansixiyo | ||
The word "ansixiyo" derives from the Arabic word "ansah" meaning "to support" or "to consent to". | |||
Sesotho | amohela | ||
"Amohela" also means "to let down," "to disappoint," and "to neglect" in Sesotho. | |||
Swahili | idhinisha | ||
The word "idhinisha" comes from the Arabic word "idhn" which means "permission". | |||
Xhosa | vuma | ||
The word "vuma" in Xhosa may have its roots in the ancient Bantu language and is related to the concept of "agreeing" or "consenting". | |||
Yoruba | fi ọwọ si | ||
'Fi ọwọ si' can also mean 'to apply', 'to utilize', 'to commence', or 'to engage'. | |||
Zulu | vuma | ||
The Zulu word "vuma" means both "to approve" and "to give permission". | |||
Bambara | ka sɔ̀n | ||
Ewe | da asi ɖe edzi | ||
Kinyarwanda | kwemeza | ||
Lingala | kondima | ||
Luganda | okusiima | ||
Sepedi | dumelela | ||
Twi (Akan) | ma kwan | ||
Arabic | يوافق | ||
يعنى يوافق من وافى فلانا إذا صار موافقا له في سفره أو في غيره ووافق إذا وافى من يوافق أي وافقه في رأيه وفي فعله وفي كلامه أو نحو ذلك أو في غير ذلك وفي التنزيل فمن تبع هداى فلا يضل ولا يشقى | |||
Hebrew | לְאַשֵׁר | ||
The word "לְאַשֵׁר" in Hebrew can also mean "to give legal validity" or "to confirm". | |||
Pashto | منظورول | ||
The word "منظورول" can also mean "to be considered" or "to be accepted." | |||
Arabic | يوافق | ||
يعنى يوافق من وافى فلانا إذا صار موافقا له في سفره أو في غيره ووافق إذا وافى من يوافق أي وافقه في رأيه وفي فعله وفي كلامه أو نحو ذلك أو في غير ذلك وفي التنزيل فمن تبع هداى فلا يضل ولا يشقى |
Albanian | aprovoj | ||
The Albanian word "aprovoj" is derived from the Latin word "approbare", meaning "to sanction" or "to confirm". | |||
Basque | ontzat eman | ||
"Ontzat eman" is composed of the words "ontzat" (valid) and "eman" (give), and can also mean "to authorize" or "to permit." | |||
Catalan | aprovar | ||
The Catalan 'aprovar' ultimately derives from the Latin 'probare', 'to test' or 'to find good'. In Spanish its meaning shifted to 'approve', while in Catalan it has a broader sense. | |||
Croatian | odobriti | ||
Odobriti can be traced back to the Latin word "approbare," meaning "to agree," and is related to the Greek word "apodechos," meaning "acceptable." | |||
Danish | godkende | ||
Godkende is derived from the Old Norse word | |||
Dutch | goedkeuren | ||
"Goedkeuren" is historically used for approving, but also to show that someone thinks something is good. | |||
English | approve | ||
The word 'approve' derives from the Latin word 'approbare', meaning 'make right' or 'put right'. | |||
French | approuver | ||
Approuver, meaning 'to approve', stems from the Old Frankish word 'apprubare' and can also mean 'to try' | |||
Frisian | goedkarre | ||
The etymology of Goedkarre is not entirely certain, but it is likely related to the Middle Dutch word "goet", which means "good". | |||
Galician | aprobar | ||
In Galician, the verb "aprobar" can also mean "to pass by," in the sense of moving past something. | |||
German | genehmigen | ||
Genehmigen may derive from German "genehm" meaning "comfortable" or "pleasant" and can mean both "to approve" and "to accept a drink offered." | |||
Icelandic | samþykkja | ||
The Old Norse root of samþykkja ('accept') is þokk ('thanks'), which also meant 'acceptance' and 'liking'. | |||
Irish | cheadú | ||
Cheadú also means a 'consent', 'approval' and 'permission'. | |||
Italian | approvare | ||
The Italian word "approvare," derived from the Latin "approbare," also means "to confirm, to verify, to ratify, to endorse, to sanction, to authorize, to homologate, to validate, to accept, to agree to, to assent to, to subscribe to, to consent to, to concur with, to acquiesce in, to tolerate, to permit, to allow, to grant, to concede, to yield to, to submit to, to resign oneself to, to accept defeat, to come to terms with, to make peace with, to reconcile oneself to, to bow to the inevitable, to throw in the towel, to give up, to surrender, to capitulate, to yield, to submit, to prostrate oneself, to grovel, to crawl, to cringe, to fawn, to flatter, to curry favor, to toady, to lickspittle, to brown-nose, to suck up to, to bootlick, to kowtow to, to salaam to, to bow and scrape to, to cringe before, to prostrate oneself before, to grovel before, to crawl before, to lick the boots of, to kiss the feet of, to worship the ground someone walks on. | |||
Luxembourgish | stëmmen | ||
The term "stëmmen" originally referred to the act of casting a vote rather than signifying assent | |||
Maltese | japprova | ||
"Japprova" is the spelling of "approve" in Maltese, ultimately derived from the French verb "approuver". | |||
Norwegian | vedta | ||
The word 'vedta' comes from the Old Norse word 'veðr' meaning 'weather', and originally meant 'to decide' or 'to make a decision'. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | aprovar | ||
The word "aprovar" in Portuguese derives from the Latin "approbare," which can also mean "to agree" or "to prove." | |||
Scots Gaelic | aontachadh | ||
The Gaelic word "aontachadh" has a dual meaning of "approve" and "reconcile". | |||
Spanish | aprobar | ||
Aprobar derives from Latin 'ad' towards + 'probare' to test; meaning literally 'to test (an action) for approval'. | |||
Swedish | godkänna | ||
"Godkänna" comes from the German "gut kennen" (lit. "to know well"), reflecting a notion of approval based on understanding. | |||
Welsh | cymeradwyo | ||
Cymeradwyo is also used to ask for something, especially in the context of a wish or a favour, and in this context it can be translated as "to wish for, to desire" or "to ask for something as a favour." |
Belarusian | зацвердзіць | ||
**Alternate meanings:** - (rare) to freeze over, get iced over | |||
Bosnian | odobriti | ||
The word odobriti means 'to approve' in Bosnian, but it also has a secondary meaning of 'to authorize'. | |||
Bulgarian | одобри | ||
"Одобри" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "до̂бро", meaning "good" or "right". | |||
Czech | schválit | ||
The word "schválit" is derived from the German word "schwören", meaning "to swear", which reflects the legal nature of the approval process in the past. | |||
Estonian | heaks kiitma | ||
The Estonian word "heaks kiitma" is derived from the German phrase "gut heissen", which means "to say that something is good". | |||
Finnish | hyväksyä | ||
The word hyväksyä comes from the Finnish word hyvä, meaning “good” or “well. | |||
Hungarian | jóváhagy | ||
A "jóváhagy" (to approve) szó valószínű eredete a "jó" és a "vágy" szavak összetételéből származik. | |||
Latvian | apstiprināt | ||
The Latvian word "apstiprināt" is derived from the Proto-Baltic word *twerti, meaning "to confirm" or "to strengthen." | |||
Lithuanian | patvirtinti | ||
The word "patvirtinti" is derived from the verb "tvirtinti" meaning "to confirm". | |||
Macedonian | одобри | ||
The word "одобри" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*dobriti", meaning "to do good". | |||
Polish | zatwierdzać | ||
Zatwierdzać is also used in the sense of 'to confirm' or 'to endorse' and comes from the Old Polish word 'twierdź', meaning 'fortress' or 'stronghold'. | |||
Romanian | aproba | ||
The Romanian word "aproba" is derived from the Latin "approbare", meaning "to sanction" or "to ratify". | |||
Russian | утвердить | ||
"Утвердить" means "to approve," but it can also mean "to establish" or "to make firm." | |||
Serbian | одобрити | ||
The word "одобрити" can also mean "to confirm" or "to sanction" in Serbian. | |||
Slovak | schváliť | ||
"Schváliť" is derived from the Middle High German "schweben," meaning "to float" or "to hover". | |||
Slovenian | odobriti | ||
The Slovenian word "odobriti" is rooted in the verb "dobiti", meaning "to obtain" or "to get." | |||
Ukrainian | затвердити | ||
«Затвердити», як і «твердити», означають «проголошувати щось за правду, істинне», так само як латинське слово affirmare («стверджувати») і його український похідний «афірмація» («твердження»). |
Bengali | অনুমোদন | ||
"অনুমোদন" is the Bengali equivalent of the English word "approve", but it can also refer to "permission" or "consent." | |||
Gujarati | મંજૂર | ||
The alternate meaning of "મંજૂર" is "accepted" or "allowed". | |||
Hindi | मंजूर | ||
The word 'मंजूर' in Hindi originates from the Arabic word 'manzūr' meaning 'to look at' or 'to regard with favor'. | |||
Kannada | ಅನುಮೋದಿಸಿ | ||
"ಅನುಮೋದಿಸಿ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "anumodate", meaning "to rejoice" or "to assent." | |||
Malayalam | അംഗീകരിക്കുക | ||
Marathi | मंजूर | ||
Marathi word "मंजूर" ultimately derives from Arabic word "منشور", meaning "published" or "proclaimed." | |||
Nepali | स्वीकृत | ||
The word "स्वीकृत" can also refer to acceptance or permission. | |||
Punjabi | ਮਨਜ਼ੂਰ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අනුමත කරන්න | ||
The Sinhalese word "අනුමත කරන්න" ("approve") is derived from the Sanskrit word "अनुमत" ("permission"), which in turn comes from the root "√मति" (meant "to think"). | |||
Tamil | ஒப்புதல் | ||
The Tamil word "ஒப்புதல்" (approve) also means "to agree" or "to accept". | |||
Telugu | ఆమోదించడానికి | ||
The word "approve" derives from the Latin "approbare", meaning "to regard as good" or "to deem worthy of acceptance." | |||
Urdu | منظور کریں | ||
"منظور کریں" is derived from the Arabic word "نظر" meaning "vision" and "کرنا" meaning "to do". It can also refer to "looking at" or "considering" something. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 批准 | ||
The character 准 means 'follow', and 批 means 'to compare'. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 批准 | ||
The word 批准 (approve) is a combination of 批 (to judge) and 准 (to permit) and is also used in the sense of “to ratify”. | |||
Japanese | 承認する | ||
The word承認する(approve) is comprised of the kanji 認(knowledge), 承(inherit), and する(to do) | |||
Korean | 승인하다 | ||
승인하다 can also mean 'to give official sanction to' or 'to authorize'. | |||
Mongolian | зөвшөөрөх | ||
The word "зөвшөөрөх" can also mean "to permit" or "to allow". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ခွင့်ပြု | ||
No information available. |
Indonesian | menyetujui | ||
"Menyetujui" comes from "setuju" meaning "agree" with the prefix "menye-," which indicates an ongoing action or process. | |||
Javanese | sarujuk | ||
The word 'sarujuk' can also mean 'like' or 'be agreeable to' something | |||
Khmer | អនុម័ត | ||
The word "អនុម័ត" is derived from the Sanskrit word "anumodana", which means "to assent, approve, or rejoice with". | |||
Lao | ອະນຸມັດ | ||
Malay | terima | ||
The word 'terima' in Malay means 'to receive', 'to take' or 'to accept'. It originates from the Sanskrit word 'tri' meaning 'three' and 'ma' meaning 'to measure', together meaning 'to measure three times' before making a decision. | |||
Thai | อนุมัติ | ||
The word "อนุมัติ" (approve) is derived from the Sanskrit word "anumati", meaning "permission" or "consent". | |||
Vietnamese | chấp thuận | ||
The word "chấp thuận" also means "to accept" or "to agree". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | aprubahan | ||
Azerbaijani | təsdiq | ||
In addition to "approve", "təsdiq" also carries the meaning of "confirmation". | |||
Kazakh | мақұлдау | ||
"Мақұлдау" is derived from the Arabic word "maqūl", meaning "rational, reasonable". | |||
Kyrgyz | бекитүү | ||
"Бекитүү" can also mean "to consolidate" or "to strengthen" in Kyrgyz. | |||
Tajik | тасдиқ мекунад | ||
The word "тасдиқ мекунад" comes from the Arabic word "تصديق" meaning "to confirm" or "to verify". It can also mean "to agree" or "to consent". | |||
Turkmen | tassyklamaly | ||
Uzbek | tasdiqlash | ||
The verb "tasdiqlash" also has the meaning of "to confirm" in its alternative and archaic forms. | |||
Uyghur | تەستىق | ||
Hawaiian | ʻāpono | ||
'Āpono derives from the same root word as 'apo,' meaning 'sufficient,' and in some contexts can be translated as 'be sufficient.' | |||
Maori | whakaae | ||
The word "whakaae" can also mean "to assent" or "to agree". | |||
Samoan | faamaonia | ||
The word "faamaonia" can also mean "to acknowledge", "to consent", or "to accept". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | aprubahan | ||
The word "aprubahan" in Tagalog (Filipino) ultimately originates from the Spanish word "aprobar", meaning "to approve", but is cognate with the Malay word "perakuan", meaning "declaration", or "certificate". |
Aymara | jaysaña | ||
Guarani | hasapyre | ||
Esperanto | aprobi | ||
"Aprobi" is cognate with "aprobar" in Spanish and "approuver" in French, and shares the same Latin roots as the English verb "to approve" | |||
Latin | probant | ||
The Latin word "probant" can also mean "to test" or "to examine". |
Greek | εγκρίνω | ||
The Greek word "εγκρίνω" is derived from the words "en" (meaning "in") and "krino" (meaning "to judge" or "to decide"). | |||
Hmong | pom zoo | ||
"Pom zoo" literally means "smell good" in Hmong, but it is used figuratively to mean "approve". | |||
Kurdish | destûrdan | ||
The word "destûrdan" in Kurdish originates from the Persian word "dastūr", meaning "order" or "permission." | |||
Turkish | onaylamak | ||
"Onay" also means "to feel sorry" in Turkish, derived from the Arabic word "inayat" meaning "care" or "favor". | |||
Xhosa | vuma | ||
The word "vuma" in Xhosa may have its roots in the ancient Bantu language and is related to the concept of "agreeing" or "consenting". | |||
Yiddish | באַשטעטיקן | ||
In Yiddish, the word 'באַשטעטיקן' ('approve') also means 'to confirm,' 'to establish,' and 'to strengthen'. | |||
Zulu | vuma | ||
The Zulu word "vuma" means both "to approve" and "to give permission". | |||
Assamese | অনুমোদন | ||
Aymara | jaysaña | ||
Bhojpuri | मंजूर करऽ | ||
Dhivehi | ރުހުން | ||
Dogri | मंजूर करना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | aprubahan | ||
Guarani | hasapyre | ||
Ilocano | aprubaran | ||
Krio | gri | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | پەسەندکردن | ||
Maithili | अनुमोदन | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯌꯥꯕ ꯄꯤꯕ | ||
Mizo | remti | ||
Oromo | mirkaneessuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଅନୁମୋଦନ | ||
Quechua | uyakuy | ||
Sanskrit | जानाति | ||
Tatar | раслау | ||
Tigrinya | ምቕባል | ||
Tsonga | pasisa | ||