Approximately in Different Languages
Discover 'Approximately' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Have you ever wondered how to say 'approximately' in different languages? This simple word, often used in mathematics and everyday conversations, carries significant importance in expressing estimates and rough values. Its cultural significance is vast, as it allows us to communicate uncertain information in a precise manner.
For instance, the French say 'environ' to convey the idea of approximately, while the Germans use 'ungefähr'. In Spanish, 'aproximadamente' is the word of choice, and in Japanese, 'およそ (oyoso)' is used to express the same concept. These translations not only bridge the linguistic gap but also provide insight into how different cultures approach the idea of estimation.
Understanding the translation of 'approximately' in various languages can enhance your communication skills and cultural awareness. It can also help you navigate foreign languages more effectively, making travel and international interactions more enjoyable and fruitful.
Join us as we explore the various translations of 'approximately' in different languages, from common ones like Spanish and French to more unique ones like Chinese and Arabic. Expand your linguistic and cultural horizons with us!
Approximately
Approximately in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ongeveer | ||
| In Afrikaans "ongeveer" is derived from the Dutch "ongever" which means "not far" or "nearby" and still has that meaning in South African English. | |||
| Amharic | በግምት | ||
| The word "በግምት" originated from the Geez word "ምጥ", meaning "judgment" or "estimation." | |||
| Hausa | kamar | ||
| Kamar can also mean "to compare" or "to equate". | |||
| Igbo | ihe dị ka | ||
| "Ihe dị ka" also means "something like" in Igbo, a different English meaning from its mathematical sense | |||
| Malagasy | eo ho eo | ||
| The Malagasy word "eo ho eo" (pronounced "yoo how yoo") literally translates to "little by little" or "step by step," implying a gradual or approximate approach. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | pafupifupi | ||
| The word "pafupifupi" can also mean "roughly", "more or less", or "about". | |||
| Shona | anenge | ||
| The word "anenge", commonly used in Shona to mean "approximately", is derived from the root "-nene", which signifies movement, proximity or closeness. | |||
| Somali | qiyaastii | ||
| The word "qiyaastii" is derived from the Arabic word "qistas" meaning "measuring instrument" or "balance". | |||
| Sesotho | hoo e ka bang | ||
| The etymology of "hoo e ka bang" is unclear. | |||
| Swahili | takriban | ||
| The word 'takriban' is derived from the Arabic word 'taqriban', meaning 'nearly' or 'about'. | |||
| Xhosa | malunga | ||
| "Malunga" is a Xhosa word roughly equivalent to the English word "approximately" but it also means "about the same" or "similar". | |||
| Yoruba | isunmọ | ||
| Isunmọ is also the Yoruba word for 'neighbor,' suggesting a connotation of nearness or proximity when used to mean 'approximately'. | |||
| Zulu | cishe | ||
| The Zulu word 'cishe' also means 'nearby' or 'close by'. | |||
| Bambara | masurun | ||
| Ewe | anᴐ abe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | hafi | ||
| Lingala | pene | ||
| Luganda | okutuuka ku | ||
| Sepedi | e ka bago | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɛyɛ | ||
Approximately in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تقريبا | ||
| "تقريبا" (approximately) in Arabic comes from the root word "قر" (circle), and its literal meaning is "near the circle," suggesting a close but not exact amount. | |||
| Hebrew | בְּעֵרֶך | ||
| The word "בְּעֵרֶך" is derived from the root "ערך", meaning "value" or "worth". | |||
| Pashto | نږدې | ||
| The Pashto word "نږدې" can also mean "about" or "roughly". | |||
| Arabic | تقريبا | ||
| "تقريبا" (approximately) in Arabic comes from the root word "قر" (circle), and its literal meaning is "near the circle," suggesting a close but not exact amount. | |||
Approximately in Western European Languages
| Albanian | afërsisht | ||
| The word "afërsisht" in Albanian can also mean "roughly", "almost", or "nearly". | |||
| Basque | gutxi gorabehera | ||
| The Basque word "gutxi gorabehera" literally means "a little more or less". | |||
| Catalan | aproximadament | ||
| The word "aproximadament" in Catalan comes from the Latin "approximare", meaning "to bring near". | |||
| Croatian | približno | ||
| The Croatian word "približno" also means "roughly" or "nearly". | |||
| Danish | rundt regnet | ||
| When used colloquially, it can mean 'roughly', 'more or less', or 'in the vicinity of'. | |||
| Dutch | ongeveer | ||
| The Dutch word 'ongeveer' ('approximately') is an ellipsis of the Middle Dutch phrase 'om gaerne' ('about willingly') | |||
| English | approximately | ||
| The word "approximately" comes from the Latin "approximare," meaning "to come near to" or "to approach". | |||
| French | environ | ||
| The French word "environ" comes from the Latin "in viron," meaning "around a circle" or "in the vicinity." | |||
| Frisian | sawat | ||
| The Frisian word "sawat" can mean "approximately" or "a little bit". | |||
| Galician | aproximadamente | ||
| The Galician word "aproximadamente" comes from the Latin "approximatus" and also means "brought closer together". | |||
| German | etwa | ||
| "Etwa" is not only used as an adverb meaning "approximately," but can also be used as a noun meaning "something," a pronoun meaning "one," or an interjection meaning "well." | |||
| Icelandic | um það bil | ||
| It literally translates to "about that amount" | |||
| Irish | timpeall | ||
| The noun "timpeall" can also mean "circumference" or "a turn" in Irish. | |||
| Italian | circa | ||
| "Circa" in Italian also means "around" or "close to". | |||
| Luxembourgish | ongeféier | ||
| The word "ongeféier" (approximately) is derived from the German word "ungefähr". It can also mean "more or less", "about", or "nearly" | |||
| Maltese | bejn wieħed u ieħor | ||
| The word 'bejn wieħed u ieħor' can also mean 'one or the other', 'more or less', or 'so-so' in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | omtrent | ||
| The compound word "omtrent" is derived from the words "om" (around) and "trent" (a third), suggesting a meaning of "around a third". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | aproximadamente | ||
| "Aproximadamente" derives from the Latin "approximare". It is also used in the sense of "approximate value" in mathematics. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | timcheall air | ||
| Timcheall air also means "generally" or "in general", or is used for emphasis as "exactly". | |||
| Spanish | aproximadamente | ||
| The word "aproximadamente" comes from the Greek word "aproximao", which means "to come close". | |||
| Swedish | ungefär | ||
| The etymology of "ungefär" is unclear, with hypotheses including the German " ungefähr " and the Latin " uniuersus." | |||
| Welsh | oddeutu | ||
| The word "oddeutu" derives from "oddi", meaning "near" or "close", and "etu", meaning "approximately". | |||
Approximately in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | прыблізна | ||
| The word "прыблізна" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *pribliti, meaning "to approach". It can also mean "about" or "more or less". | |||
| Bosnian | otprilike | ||
| The word 'otprilike' in Bosnian originates from the Old Slavic word 'otpriliku', meaning 'at about' or 'more or less'. | |||
| Bulgarian | приблизително | ||
| The word "приблизително" derives from the Greek word "aproksimatikos", meaning "close to" or "nearly." | |||
| Czech | přibližně | ||
| The word "přibližně" in Czech also means "approximately; nearly" and can be used to express a range of values. | |||
| Estonian | umbes | ||
| The word "umbes" in Estonian is derived from the German word "ungefähr", meaning "approximately". | |||
| Finnish | noin | ||
| It's derived from the Proto-Finno-Ugric noun *noina, meaning "small amount". | |||
| Hungarian | hozzávetőlegesen, körülbelül | ||
| The Hungarian word for "approximately" is derived from the word hozzávet, which means "to throw to". Thus, hozzávetőlegesen literally means "thrown to", indicating an estimation that is not exact but close to the target. | |||
| Latvian | aptuveni | ||
| The word "aptuveni" can also mean "about" or "around" in Latvian, depending on the context. | |||
| Lithuanian | maždaug | ||
| The Lithuanian word "maždaug" is cognate with the Latvian "mazdaug" and the Russian "примерно" meaning "примерно", and ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *meh₂- meaning "to measure, divide". | |||
| Macedonian | приближно | ||
| "Приближно" в переводе с греческого means "close to". | |||
| Polish | w przybliżeniu | ||
| The word 'w przybliżeniu' is derived from the Latin phrase 'proximus', meaning 'near' or 'close'. It can also mean 'about', 'more or less', or 'roughly'. | |||
| Romanian | aproximativ | ||
| The word "aproximativ" in Romanian also means "hasty" or "inattentive", emphasizing the provisional nature of an approximation. | |||
| Russian | примерно | ||
| The word "примерно" can also mean "about, more or less" or "for example". | |||
| Serbian | приближно | ||
| Приблизно can also mean “about” or “roughly” depending on the context, and it is originally derived from the noun приближај “approach”. | |||
| Slovak | približne | ||
| "Približne" can also mean "about" or "around" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | približno | ||
| The word "približno" is a loanword from the Slavic root "pribliziti se", meaning "to come closer" or "to approach". | |||
| Ukrainian | приблизно | ||
| In addition to meaning “approximately”, the word “приблизно” can mean “roughly”, “about”, “more or less” or “nearly”. | |||
Approximately in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আন্দাজ | ||
| আন্দাজ' is derived from the Arabic word 'andāza', meaning 'estimation', 'measurement', or 'conjecture'. | |||
| Gujarati | લગભગ | ||
| "લગભગ" means both "approximately" and "about to," suggesting a sense of impending action. | |||
| Hindi | लगभग | ||
| The word "लगभग" can also mean "nearby" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಸರಿಸುಮಾರು | ||
| Malayalam | ഏകദേശം | ||
| The word "ഏകദേശം" is derived from the Sanskrit word "एकदेश" meaning "a particular region" or "a part of the whole" and came to mean "approximately" or "nearly" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | अंदाजे | ||
| "अंदाजे" is often used interchangeably with "साधारणतः" (generally), but it also has the connotation of "guesstimating" or "approximating" something without precise measurement. | |||
| Nepali | लगभग | ||
| लगभग derives from the Sanskrit word 'laghava', meaning 'lightness', 'facility', and can also signify a vague notion of 'nearness' or a 'rough idea' | |||
| Punjabi | ਲਗਭਗ | ||
| The word "ਲਗਭਗ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "लगभग" (lagbhaga), meaning "at hand" or "near at hand". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ආසන්න වශයෙන් | ||
| Tamil | தோராயமாக | ||
| The word "தோராயமாக" (approximately) is derived from the root word "தோர்" (to guess, to estimate), and hence implies a sense of approximation or estimation. | |||
| Telugu | సుమారు | ||
| The word "సుమారు" is derived from the Sanskrit word "सम्यक्" meaning "completely, fully" and is also used to mean "about, around, approximately". | |||
| Urdu | تقریبا | ||
| In addition to its common meaning of "approximately," "تقریبا" can also mean "almost" or "nearly." | |||
Approximately in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 约 | ||
| 约 has alternate meanings of "to agree on" and "to bind" in Chinese. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 約 | ||
| 約 can also mean 'agreement', or 'promise'. | |||
| Japanese | 約 | ||
| The word "約" can also mean "contract" or "promise" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 대략 | ||
| The word '대략' originated around 1446 from the Middle Korean word '대룷' meaning 'general outline' or 'rough overview'. | |||
| Mongolian | ойролцоогоор | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခန့်မှန်းခြေအားဖြင့် | ||
Approximately in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sekitar | ||
| Sekitar (literally meaning "around") can be roughly translated to "about", "approximately" and even "nearly". | |||
| Javanese | udakara | ||
| "Udakara" is derived from the Javanese word "udak" meaning "a bit" and the Sanskrit suffix "kara" indicating an approximation. | |||
| Khmer | ប្រមាណ | ||
| ប្រមាណ is derived from the Sanskrit word 'pramana', originally meaning 'proof' or 'evidence', and later acquiring the meaning of 'measure' or 'limit'. | |||
| Lao | ປະມານ | ||
| ປະມານ is derived from Pali and Sanskrit, meaning 'to think' or 'to estimate'. | |||
| Malay | lebih kurang | ||
| The expression "lebih kurang" is a portmanteau of "lebih" (more) and "kurang" (less). | |||
| Thai | ประมาณ | ||
| "ประมาณ" also means "to estimate" or "to assess". | |||
| Vietnamese | xấp xỉ | ||
| "Xấp xỉ" cũng có nghĩa là "xếp chồng lên nhau". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | humigit-kumulang | ||
Approximately in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | təxminən | ||
| "Təxminən" is a word used in Azerbaijani derived from the Persian word "təxmin" which means "guess" or "estimate." | |||
| Kazakh | шамамен | ||
| The word "шамамен" in Kazakh can also refer to a rough estimate or a guess. | |||
| Kyrgyz | болжол менен | ||
| "Болжол менен" literally translates to "with guess" in Kyrgyz, revealing its approximate nature. | |||
| Tajik | тақрибан | ||
| The word "тақрибан" is derived from the Arabic word "تقريبًا" which means "close to" or "near". | |||
| Turkmen | takmynan | ||
| Uzbek | taxminan | ||
| Uzbek word "taxminan" derives from the Arabic word "taqreeban" meaning approximately or nearly. | |||
| Uyghur | تەخمىنەن | ||
Approximately in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻaneʻane | ||
| 'Āneʻane' can also mean 'almost', 'nearly', 'just about', or 'on the verge of'. | |||
| Maori | āwhiwhiwhi: | ||
| The word "āwhiwhiwhi" is derived from "āwhi" meaning "to twist" and "whi" meaning "to turn". | |||
| Samoan | tusa | ||
| Tusa is used to express an amount that is neither exact nor approximate, but somewhere in between. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | humigit-kumulang | ||
| The word "humigit-kumulang" can also mean "more or less" or "around". | |||
Approximately in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | niyapuni | ||
| Guarani | ag̃uiete | ||
Approximately in International Languages
| Esperanto | proksimume | ||
| "Proksimume" originated from "proksimumus" (Latin), and is related to "proksimal" (Esperanto). | |||
| Latin | circa | ||
| In Latin, "circa" also means circle, ring, or orbit, and derives from the Greek word "kirkos" (circle). | |||
Approximately in Others Languages
| Greek | κατά προσέγγιση | ||
| "Κατά προσέγγιση" is a Greek adverb and prepositional phrase meaning "by approximation, near to, about". It consists of the preposition κατά (kata) meaning "according to" and the noun προσέγγιση (proseggisi) meaning "a drawing near, an approach, approximation." | |||
| Hmong | kwv yees li | ||
| "Kwv yees li" is used in various ways, from estimates, to guesses, and to "probably," or "likely." | |||
| Kurdish | teqrîben | ||
| Teqrîben is derived from the Arabic word 'taqrîb' which means 'to bring near' or 'to approximate'. | |||
| Turkish | yaklaşık olarak | ||
| "Yaklaşık" kelimesi, Arapça "yakınlaşmak" anlamına gelen "karaba" fiilinden türemiştir. | |||
| Xhosa | malunga | ||
| "Malunga" is a Xhosa word roughly equivalent to the English word "approximately" but it also means "about the same" or "similar". | |||
| Yiddish | בעערעך | ||
| 'בערעך' (beyrekh), meaning "roughly" or "about" in Yiddish, is derived from the Hebrew word 'בערך' (b'erech), which also means "roughly" or "about". | |||
| Zulu | cishe | ||
| The Zulu word 'cishe' also means 'nearby' or 'close by'. | |||
| Assamese | অনুমানিক | ||
| Aymara | niyapuni | ||
| Bhojpuri | लगभग | ||
| Dhivehi | ގިނަވެގެން | ||
| Dogri | अंदाजन | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | humigit-kumulang | ||
| Guarani | ag̃uiete | ||
| Ilocano | nasurok | ||
| Krio | lɛkɛ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نزیکەی | ||
| Maithili | लगभग | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯥꯎꯔꯥꯛꯄ | ||
| Mizo | vel | ||
| Oromo | siiqsuudhaan | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପାଖାପାଖି | ||
| Quechua | yaqa | ||
| Sanskrit | आसन्न | ||
| Tatar | якынча | ||
| Tigrinya | ብፅግግዕ | ||
| Tsonga | kwalomu | ||