Around in Different Languages
Discover 'Around' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'around' is a simple preposition in English, but it carries significant meaning and cultural importance in various languages and contexts. It is used to describe location, movement, and even time, making it an essential word in everyday conversations. Moreover, understanding the translations of 'around' in different languages can open doors to cultural exchange and global understanding.
For instance, in Spanish, 'around' can be translated to 'alrededor,' which is used to describe a physical location or a group of people. In French, 'autour' is the equivalent, often used when talking about a place or a subject of interest. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'mawari' is the term for 'around,' reflecting the language's unique phonetic and grammatical structure.
In this article, we will explore the translations of 'around' in various languages, shedding light on the cultural nuances and historical contexts associated with this simple yet powerful word. So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a traveler, or someone looking to expand your cultural knowledge, read on to discover the fascinating world of 'around' in different languages!
Around
Around in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | rondom | ||
| The word "rondom" is derived from the Dutch word "rondom", which means "around" or "in all directions". | |||
| Amharic | ዙሪያ | ||
| The word "ዙሪያ" can also mean "border" or "circumference". | |||
| Hausa | kewaye | ||
| The word 'kewaye' in Hausa also signifies 'the environment' as well as 'the surrounding area'. | |||
| Igbo | gburugburu | ||
| 'Gburugburu', meaning 'around' in Igbo, also means 'enclosure' or 'surroundings'. | |||
| Malagasy | around | ||
| In Malagasy, "around" can also mean "nearly" or "approximately". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mozungulira | ||
| The word "mozungulira" is also used to refer to the movement of a person or an object around a central point | |||
| Shona | kutenderedza | ||
| The word "kutenderedza" in Shona is derived from the prefix "ku-" (to) and the verb stem "enderedza" (to twist or turn), indicating a sense of wrapping or going around something. | |||
| Somali | hareeraha | ||
| The word "hareeraha" in Somali also refers to the peripheral edge of something. | |||
| Sesotho | ho potoloha | ||
| Ho potoloha also means "to surround" or "to envelop". | |||
| Swahili | karibu | ||
| Swahili word "karibu" is also used to express welcome or invitation, possibly derived from Arabic "qarib" meaning "near" or "close". | |||
| Xhosa | ngeenxa zonke | ||
| The word ngeenxa zonke can also refer to someone who is sneaky or roundabout. | |||
| Yoruba | ni ayika | ||
| In the Yoruba language, "ni ayika" is also used to refer to a person's surroundings, environment or circumstances. | |||
| Zulu | nxazonke | ||
| The word 'nxazonke' can also mean 'near' or 'close by' in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | dafɛ | ||
| Ewe | le wo dome | ||
| Kinyarwanda | hirya no hino | ||
| Lingala | zingazinga | ||
| Luganda | okwetooloola | ||
| Sepedi | raretša | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ho | ||
Around in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حول | ||
| The word "حول" in Arabic can also mean "time" or "power". | |||
| Hebrew | סְבִיב | ||
| The Hebrew word "סְבִיב" ("around") is cognate with the Arabic word "حَوْل" ("around") and the Akkadian word "sabābu" ("to surround"). | |||
| Pashto | شاوخوا | ||
| The Pashto word "شاوخوا" is also used to refer to a group of things or people in a specific location or context. | |||
| Arabic | حول | ||
| The word "حول" in Arabic can also mean "time" or "power". | |||
Around in Western European Languages
| Albanian | përreth | ||
| The word "përreth" shares its Proto-Indo-European root with the English word "perimeter" and the German word "Rand". | |||
| Basque | inguruan | ||
| The Basque word 'inguruan' also means 'environment' or 'surroundings'. | |||
| Catalan | al voltant | ||
| “Al voltant” can also mean “the area or vicinity” or “the circumstances or context”. | |||
| Croatian | oko | ||
| In Croatian, "oko" can also mean "eye" and is possibly derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*okъ" with the same meaning. | |||
| Danish | rundt om | ||
| "Rundt om" in Danish literally means "round about" and comes from the preposition "rundt" (around) and the adverb "om" (about). | |||
| Dutch | in de omgeving van | ||
| "In de omgeving van" means more than just "around" in Dutch, it often implies a close neighborhood, or vicinity. | |||
| English | around | ||
| "Around' derives from Old Norse 'á rönd,' meaning 'on a circle' or 'in the direction of.' | |||
| French | environ | ||
| "Environ" derives from the Latin "in viron," meaning "in the green," and in Old French referred to fields outside town walls. | |||
| Frisian | rûnom | ||
| The Frisian word 'rûnom' is related to the English words 'room' and 'roam' and the German preposition 'rum'. | |||
| Galician | arredor | ||
| The Galician word "arredor" derives from the Latin word "ad redor" meaning "towards the edge" or "towards the wheel". | |||
| German | um | ||
| The word "um" can also mean "about", "approximately", or "over" in German. | |||
| Icelandic | í kring | ||
| Í kring is also used as a preposition meaning "about" or "approximately". | |||
| Irish | timpeall | ||
| In Irish folklore, 'timpeall' also refers to a supernatural protective boundary or enchantment. | |||
| Italian | in giro | ||
| The term "in giro" also means "itinerant" as a noun in Italian. | |||
| Luxembourgish | ronderëm | ||
| The word "ronderëm" in Luxembourgish derives from the Old High German "umbiring" and Latin "rotūnda," connoting a circular shape or motion. | |||
| Maltese | madwar | ||
| The word "madwar" in Maltese is also related to the concepts of "nearby" and "surrounding". | |||
| Norwegian | rundt | ||
| The Norwegian word "rundt" is related to "runde", meaning run or turn. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | por aí | ||
| 'Por aí' could also mean 'approximately'. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | timcheall | ||
| The word "timcheall" is derived from the Old Irish word "timchill," which meant "a circuit" or "a going around." | |||
| Spanish | alrededor | ||
| The word "alrededor" comes from Latin "al-red-edor", which means "on the border of" or "around". | |||
| Swedish | runt omkring | ||
| Runt omkring is a phrase in Swedish that literally translates to "around around". | |||
| Welsh | o gwmpas | ||
| The Welsh word "o gwmpas" can also mean "approximately" or "more or less." | |||
Around in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | вакол | ||
| A cognate of "вокруг" in Russian and "вокал" in Ukrainian, which in turn comes from Old Church Slavonic "около" | |||
| Bosnian | okolo | ||
| The word "okolo" also has a meaning in the sense of "near" or "nearby". | |||
| Bulgarian | наоколо | ||
| The word "наоколо" can also mean "around there" or "in the neighborhood". | |||
| Czech | kolem | ||
| In Old Czech, "kolem" originally meant "wheel" and the preposition developed from there. | |||
| Estonian | ümber | ||
| "Ümber" also means "over" and "across". | |||
| Finnish | noin | ||
| In addition to its meaning of "around," "noin" can also mean "approximately" or "about." | |||
| Hungarian | körül | ||
| The Hungarian word "körül" originally meant “circle" and is related to the Finnish word "kera" which means “ball”. | |||
| Latvian | apkārt | ||
| The word "apkārt" can also mean "about" or "approximately". | |||
| Lithuanian | aplinkui | ||
| The word "aplinkui" in Lithuanian is derived from the word "linkus", which means "to bend" or "to curve". | |||
| Macedonian | околу | ||
| Macedonian "околу" also means "near", "close to", and "approximately." | |||
| Polish | na około | ||
| The Polish word "na około" can also mean "approximately" or "more or less" | |||
| Romanian | în jurul | ||
| "În jurul", as its etymology suggests, also means "enclosed by" in a manner similar to the English word "environ" | |||
| Russian | вокруг | ||
| The word "вокруг" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vъkrugъ, meaning "a circle". It can also be used figuratively to mean "around" or "in the vicinity of" something. | |||
| Serbian | око | ||
| The word "око" also means "eye" in Serbian, deriving from the Proto-Slavic word "oko", meaning "eye, face, appearance." | |||
| Slovak | okolo | ||
| While "okolo" is the common Slovak word for "around" and literally means "approximately," it can also mean "near," "close to," or "in the vicinity of." | |||
| Slovenian | okoli | ||
| The word "okoli" can also mean "approximately" or "nearly". | |||
| Ukrainian | навколо | ||
| The word "навколо" is also a preposition meaning "about" or "concerning" in Ukrainian. | |||
Around in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কাছাকাছি | ||
| The word "কাছাকাছি" is also used to describe something that is close to being, but not yet, complete. | |||
| Gujarati | આસપાસ | ||
| The word "આસપાસ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "आसपास" (āsa-pāsa), which means "a binding or connection". In Gujarati, it can also refer to a "group of people" or a "neighborhood". | |||
| Hindi | चारों ओर | ||
| In Hindi, "चारों ओर" can also mean "completely" or "thoroughly". | |||
| Kannada | ಸುತ್ತಲೂ | ||
| The word ಸುತ್ತಲೂ also has a meaning of 'encompass' or 'surround' | |||
| Malayalam | ചുറ്റും | ||
| The root "చుట్టు" (chuttu) means "to enclose" or "to surround", hence why its derivative "ചുറ്റും" (chutum) means "around". | |||
| Marathi | सुमारे | ||
| "सुमारे" is also used to refer to the circumference of a circle, adding a new dimension to its meaning. | |||
| Nepali | वरपर | ||
| वरपर is cognate to 'परि' which means to encircle, encompass or be located near something. | |||
| Punjabi | ਆਲੇ ਦੁਆਲੇ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අවට | ||
| The word "අවට" is also used in Sinhala to describe the area immediately surrounding a person or place or the neighborhood of a residence. | |||
| Tamil | சுற்றி | ||
| "சுற்றி" also means "surround" or "encircle" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | చుట్టూ | ||
| The word "చుట్టూ" also means "in a circle" and "on all sides" in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | آس پاس | ||
| آس پاس is also used in Farsi and is derived from the root آس (aas) meaning sky or universe, emphasizing the sense of all-encompassing surroundings. | |||
Around in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 周围 | ||
| The word "周围" (zhou wei) literally means "surrounding perimeter". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 周圍 | ||
| The character 周 means "complete" or "thorough", and the character 圍 means "to surround" or "to enclose". | |||
| Japanese | 周り | ||
| "周り" also means "surroundings" or "circumference". | |||
| Korean | 주위에 | ||
| 주위에, 주변 are both common vocabulary words with the same meaning of “the surrounding areas” or “the area around something”. | |||
| Mongolian | эргэн тойронд | ||
| In astronomy, ''эргэн тойронд'' can refer to the Earth's movement around the Sun in elliptical orbit. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပတ်ပတ်လည် | ||
Around in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sekitar | ||
| The word "sekitar" in Indonesian comes from the Sanskrit word "sakrt," meaning "completely"} | |||
| Javanese | sekitar | ||
| In Javanese, 'sekitar' also means 'about' or 'approximately', indicating a range or estimation. | |||
| Khmer | នៅជុំវិញ | ||
| Lao | ຮອບ | ||
| The word can also be used to describe the period of time spent traveling around something. | |||
| Malay | sekitar | ||
| The word "sekitar" in Malay can also mean "about" or "approximately". | |||
| Thai | รอบ ๆ | ||
| 'รอบ ๆ' is a reduplication of 'รอบ'. It can also mean 'about' or 'approximately'. | |||
| Vietnamese | xung quanh | ||
| "Xung quanh" originates from Chinese, where it means "all around" and can also be used as a preposition similar to the English "around". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa paligid | ||
Around in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ətrafında | ||
| The word "ətrafında" ("around") in Azerbaijani stems from the Persian word "afrāvand" ("adjacent"), meaning it can also be used to indicate "near" or "close to" someone or something. | |||
| Kazakh | айналасында | ||
| "Айналасында" means "around" in Kazakh and also refers to "environs", "circumference", or "environment". | |||
| Kyrgyz | айланасында | ||
| The word "айланасында" can also be used to mean "in the vicinity of" or "near". | |||
| Tajik | дар гирду атроф | ||
| Etymology: From Persian دَرگِرد "around, all around" (a preposition), itself from Middle Persian 𐭣𐭥𐭫𐭥𐭰𐭠𐭩, from Old Persian 𐎹𐎬𐎼𐎹𐎰𐎢𐎯𐎧𐎠 (drayahya), from Proto-Iranian *draya- "around, around about, all around". Alternate meanings: also "near", "close to", "by", "at", "in". | |||
| Turkmen | töwereginde | ||
| Uzbek | atrofida | ||
| The word "atrofida" can also mean "surrounding" or "nearby" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ئەتراپىدا | ||
Around in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | puni | ||
| The Hawaiian word "puni" also means "to gather", "to collect", or "to surround". | |||
| Maori | huri noa | ||
| "Huri noa" is also a Māori expression for "all the way around." | |||
| Samoan | faataamilo | ||
| Fa'ataamilo is also used to describe something round or circular. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sa paligid | ||
| The word "sa paligid" can also mean "in the neighborhood" or "in the vicinity of" in Tagalog. | |||
Around in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukathiya | ||
| Guarani | jerére | ||
Around in International Languages
| Esperanto | ĉirkaŭ | ||
| The Esperanto word 'ĉirkaŭ' originates from the Polish word 'około' (around) | |||
| Latin | circum | ||
| Circum is a prefix that can also mean 'about', 'concerning', or 'around something' | |||
Around in Others Languages
| Greek | περίπου | ||
| Its second meaning is 'roughly', stemming from its use of estimating an area with a round shape | |||
| Hmong | ib ncig | ||
| The word "ib ncig" in Hmong is related to "ib" (to go) and "cig" (to turn), suggesting a circular movement. | |||
| Kurdish | dorhal | ||
| The word "dorhal" also means "about" or "concerning" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | etrafında | ||
| The word "etrafında" can also mean "in the presence of" or "in the company of". | |||
| Xhosa | ngeenxa zonke | ||
| The word ngeenxa zonke can also refer to someone who is sneaky or roundabout. | |||
| Yiddish | ארום | ||
| The Yiddish word "арум" also means elbow | |||
| Zulu | nxazonke | ||
| The word 'nxazonke' can also mean 'near' or 'close by' in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | চাৰিওফালে | ||
| Aymara | ukathiya | ||
| Bhojpuri | चारों ओर | ||
| Dhivehi | ވަށައިގެން | ||
| Dogri | आलै-दुआलै | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa paligid | ||
| Guarani | jerére | ||
| Ilocano | lawlaw ti | ||
| Krio | arawnd | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نزیکەی | ||
| Maithili | चारू दिस | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯀꯣꯏꯕ | ||
| Mizo | vel | ||
| Oromo | naannoo | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଚାରିପାଖରେ | ||
| Quechua | muyuriq | ||
| Sanskrit | सर्वतः | ||
| Tatar | тирәсендә | ||
| Tigrinya | አብ ከባቢ | ||
| Tsonga | rhendzela | ||