Arrest in Different Languages
Discover 'Arrest' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'arrest' carries significant weight in our daily lives and in the annals of history. It represents the power of law enforcement to maintain order and protect citizens, while also symbolizing a crucial moment in the course of justice. From famous arrests that sparked cultural revolutions to the simple act of stopping a crime in progress, the concept of arrest is both universal and deeply personal.
Given its importance, it's no surprise that people around the world may want to know the translation of 'arrest' in different languages. After all, understanding this term can help bridge cultural gaps, facilitate international cooperation, and even provide a fascinating glimpse into the legal systems of other countries.
For instance, the French translation of 'arrest' is 'arrestation,' while in Spanish, it's 'arresto.' In German, the term is 'Festnahme,' and in Mandarin Chinese, it's '逮捕' (dàibǔ).
Arrest
Arrest in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | inhegtenisneming | ||
| The word 'inhegtenisneming' comes from the Dutch word 'inhechtenisneming,' which means 'detention' or 'custody'. | |||
| Amharic | ማሰር | ||
| In Amharic, ማሰር (māser) can also mean 'to secure' or 'hold fast,' reflecting its original usage related to guarding or confinement. | |||
| Hausa | kama | ||
| The word 'kama' can also refer to a lasso or hook used for catching animals. | |||
| Igbo | nwudo | ||
| Nwudo's root word is 'nwụdọ' meaning 'to seize', and the word 'nwụpụ' means 'to bring out or fetch'. | |||
| Malagasy | hisambotra | ||
| The word "hisambotra" in Malagasy is derived from the verb "hisambotra" meaning "to hold". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kumanga | ||
| The Nyanja word kumanga is derived from the verb kumanga meaning 'to hold' and 'to seize' in other contexts. | |||
| Shona | kusunga | ||
| "Kusunga" also means to hold, support, or restrain. | |||
| Somali | qabasho | ||
| The word "qabasho" is also used to refer to the act of seizing or taking possession of something. | |||
| Sesotho | ts'oaroa | ||
| The word comes from the verb "tsoara" meaning "to catch". | |||
| Swahili | kukamatwa | ||
| Kukamatwa also means "to catch the bird" or "to catch the animal" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | ukubanjwa | ||
| The word "ukubanjwa" also means "to be caught" or "to be trapped". | |||
| Yoruba | sadeedee | ||
| The Yoruba word "sadeedee" derives from the verb "sa," meaning "to catch" or "to hold," likely influenced by the English word "arrest" | |||
| Zulu | ukuboshwa | ||
| The Zulu word 'ukuboshwa' also means 'to be ensnared' or 'to be trapped'. | |||
| Bambara | minɛni | ||
| Ewe | ameléle | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gutabwa muri yombi | ||
| Lingala | kokangama | ||
| Luganda | okukwatibwa | ||
| Sepedi | go swarwa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | kyere a wɔkyere | ||
Arrest in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يقبض على | ||
| The Arabic word "يقبض على" also means to hold something securely or to grab something. | |||
| Hebrew | מַעְצָר | ||
| The word "arrest" comes from the Latin "arrestare," meaning "to stop" or "to seize," and is related to the word "stay" | |||
| Pashto | نیول | ||
| The Pashto word "نیول" (arrest) can also refer to the act of apprehending or detaining someone. | |||
| Arabic | يقبض على | ||
| The Arabic word "يقبض على" also means to hold something securely or to grab something. | |||
Arrest in Western European Languages
| Albanian | arrestimi | ||
| The word "arrestimi" in Albanian originates from the Latin word "arrestare," meaning "to stop or seize." | |||
| Basque | atxilotu | ||
| The Basque word "atxilotu" literally means "to hold by the hand." | |||
| Catalan | aturar | ||
| The Catalan word "aturar" also means to interrupt or to slow down something. | |||
| Croatian | uhićenje | ||
| In Croatian, "uhićenje" can also mean "imprisonment" or "detention," and derives from the verb "hititi," meaning "to catch" or "to seize." | |||
| Danish | anholdelse | ||
| The verb "at anholde" likely derives from an older meaning "at holde an" meaning "to approach, to make a request" and later extended to "at holde an om anholdelse" ("request an arrest"). | |||
| Dutch | arresteren | ||
| "Arresteren" in Dutch can derive from the word "rest" in English meaning "to interrupt something or someone", or "to detain". | |||
| English | arrest | ||
| The word "arrest" also refers to a sudden stoppage of a process or an unexpected event that prevents further progress. | |||
| French | arrêter | ||
| "Arrêter" in French can mean many things, including "to stop," "to halt," and even "to decide upon". | |||
| Frisian | arrestaasje | ||
| The Frisian word "arrestaasje" also means "arrest" in Dutch, its related language. | |||
| Galician | detención | ||
| In Galician, "detención" also means "delay" or "suspension". | |||
| German | festnahme | ||
| The word "Festnahme" can also refer to the act of detaining someone for questioning or investigation. | |||
| Icelandic | handtaka | ||
| In 15th-century Icelandic, "handtaka" also meant to "receive, grab, catch hold of something," or "get possession of." | |||
| Irish | gabhála | ||
| The Irish word "gabhála" ('gabhalah') initially referred to capturing or seizing and has also denoted battles, occupations, and confiscations. | |||
| Italian | arresto | ||
| The word "arresto" in Italian can also mean "suspension" or "stoppage". | |||
| Luxembourgish | verhaft | ||
| The German term, which is etymologically unrelated, also refers to a legal complaint that results from an accusation of wrongdoing in a legal proceeding | |||
| Maltese | arrest | ||
| The Maltese "arrest" has a Latin root, "ad+restare" meaning to "stand by" or "stop". | |||
| Norwegian | arrestere | ||
| The word arrestere comes from the French word 'arrêster', meaning 'to stop'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | prender | ||
| The Portuguese word "prender" can also mean "to set alight" or "to light a fire". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | chur an grèim | ||
| The Gaelic word "chur an grèim" derives from the verb "cur" (put) and the noun "grèim" (grip), suggesting the act of seizing or holding fast. | |||
| Spanish | arrestar | ||
| "Arrestar" also means "to detain or stop" or "to block" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | gripa | ||
| The original meaning of "gripa" is to grasp firmly, from the old Germanic word for the hand. " | |||
| Welsh | arestio | ||
| The word "arest" shares its etymology with "arestio" and other words meaning "arrest" in various other languages, potentially deriving from a Proto-Indo-European root referring to tying or binding. | |||
Arrest in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | арышт | ||
| The Belarusian word "арышт" is derived from the Russian word "арест", which in turn comes from the Latin "arrestum" meaning "seizure". | |||
| Bosnian | hapšenje | ||
| Hapšenje is derived from the Hungarian word kapás, meaning "seizure" or "grasping" | |||
| Bulgarian | арест | ||
| The word "арест" also has other meanings like "frozen" and "interruption". | |||
| Czech | zatknout | ||
| The etymology of zatknout may stem from the Slavic words "zatъk" (wedge) and "nǫti" (to pierce or nail down). | |||
| Estonian | vahistamine | ||
| The word "vahistamine" in Estonian is derived from the verb "vahistama", meaning "to keep an eye on" or "to watch over". | |||
| Finnish | pidätys | ||
| "Pidätys" also has the archaic meanings "hold, detain and keep" and "sustenance". | |||
| Hungarian | letartóztatás | ||
| The original meaning of the word "letartóztatás" was "holding back" or "detaining". Over time, it acquired its current meaning of "arresting" someone. | |||
| Latvian | arests | ||
| Another meaning of "arests" is "arrests" or "to arrest" in English. | |||
| Lithuanian | areštuoti | ||
| Etymology of "areštuoti": Latin "arrestare" (to stop). | |||
| Macedonian | апсење | ||
| The word "апсење" can also mean "seizure" in a medical context. | |||
| Polish | aresztować | ||
| "Areszt” nie jest nazwą pochodzi od miejsca przetrzymywania ludzi w więzieniu. | |||
| Romanian | arestare | ||
| The Romanian word "arestare" comes from the Latin word "arrestare," which means "to stop" or "to seize." | |||
| Russian | арестовать | ||
| "Арестовать" is derived from Polish "aresztować," which in turn comes from Latin "arrestare." It also bears a secondary meaning in Russian: "to freeze assets or property." | |||
| Serbian | хапшење | ||
| The Serbian word "хапшење" ultimately derives from the Turkish "hapis", meaning "prison", and originally denoted the act of imprisoning someone. | |||
| Slovak | zatknutie | ||
| Slovak word "zatknutie" originally meant "taking into custody" or "deprivation of liberty". | |||
| Slovenian | aretirati | ||
| The word "aretirati" can also mean "arrest" in Croatian. | |||
| Ukrainian | арешт | ||
| The Ukrainian word "арешт" derives from the French word "arrêt", meaning "stop" or "detention". | |||
Arrest in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | গ্রেফতার | ||
| The word "গ্রেফতার" in Bengali can also mean "seizing" or "capturing". | |||
| Gujarati | ધરપકડ | ||
| The word "ધરપકડ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "dhara," meaning "to hold" or "to seize," and the Persian word "pakad," meaning "to catch" or "to apprehend." | |||
| Hindi | गिरफ़्तार करना | ||
| The word "गिरफ़्तार करना" is a Persian loanword, originally a calque for "catching" and later used in a juridical and financial context (to seize, confiscate). | |||
| Kannada | ಬಂಧನ | ||
| ಬಂಧನ can also refer to binding, imprisonment, bondage, attachment or the act of being imprisoned. | |||
| Malayalam | അറസ്റ്റ് | ||
| The word "അറസ്റ്റ്" is derived from the Latin word "arrestare", meaning "to stop" or "to hold back." | |||
| Marathi | अटक | ||
| The word "अटक" (arrest) in Marathi also means "surprise" or "unexpected happening". | |||
| Nepali | पक्राउ | ||
| Nepali 'पक्राउ' (arrest) is derived from the Sanskrit root 'ग्रह' (seize), also the root of 'ग्रहण' (eclipse). | |||
| Punjabi | ਗ੍ਰਿਫਤਾਰੀ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම | ||
| Tamil | கைது | ||
| The word 'கைது' also means 'defeat' or 'capture' in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | అరెస్ట్ | ||
| "అరెస్ట్" means "arrest" in Telugu, but did you know that it also implies "stoppage" or "prohibition"? | |||
| Urdu | گرفتاری | ||
| The word "گرفتاری" can also mean "trouble" or "difficulty". | |||
Arrest in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 逮捕 | ||
| "逮捕" can also mean "catch" or "apprehend". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 逮捕 | ||
| 逮捕 originally meant 'to seize a runaway horse' before it came to mean 'arresting a person' during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century. | |||
| Japanese | 逮捕 | ||
| The word "逮捕" can also mean "to take (someone) into custody" or "to capture". | |||
| Korean | 체포 | ||
| 체포 originates from the Sino-Korean word 捉捕, meaning 'to seize and hold'. | |||
| Mongolian | баривчлах | ||
| The term “баривчлах” (arrest) in Mongolian originates from the verb “барих” (to take hold of), which suggests a sense of physically restraining or apprehending an individual. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဖမ်းဆီး | ||
Arrest in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menangkap | ||
| The word "menangkap" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *tangkap, which also means "to catch" or "to hold." | |||
| Javanese | nyekel | ||
| "Nyekel" is also used to describe the action of holding or grasping something tightly. | |||
| Khmer | ការចាប់ខ្លួន | ||
| Lao | ການຈັບກຸມ | ||
| ການຈັບກຸມ (arrest) comes from the Pali word “gantho” which means "to tie up, grasp". In Lao, it also means "to catch" or "to seize". | |||
| Malay | penangkapan | ||
| "Penangkapan" can also refer to the act of catching fish or collecting rubber in Malay | |||
| Thai | จับกุม | ||
| “จับกุม” originally derived from Thai word “จับ” (chop : “to take”) and “กุม” (kum : “to hold”). | |||
| Vietnamese | bắt giữ | ||
| "bắt giữ" in Vietnamese also means "catch and hold". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pag-aresto | ||
Arrest in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | həbs | ||
| The word "həbs" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Arabic word "habasa", which means "to detain" or "to imprison". | |||
| Kazakh | қамауға алу | ||
| The verb "қамауға алу" can also mean "to occupy" or "to enclose". | |||
| Kyrgyz | камакка алуу | ||
| Tajik | ҳабс | ||
| The word ҳабс (arrest) is derived from the Arabic word ḥabs (detention) and has similar meanings in other Iranian languages. | |||
| Turkmen | tussag etmek | ||
| Uzbek | hibsga olish | ||
| The word "hibsga olish" can also mean "to be captured" or "to be detained". | |||
| Uyghur | قولغا ئېلىش | ||
Arrest in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hopu | ||
| When one is arrested in Hawaii, they are placed into "hopu," a term which also means "to seize a canoe." | |||
| Maori | hopukina | ||
| Hopukina in Maori also means 'to take hold of' or 'to seize'. | |||
| Samoan | puʻeina | ||
| Puʻeina is also used as a noun for a prisoner or a convict. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | arestuhin | ||
| The word 'arestuhin' comes from the Spanish word 'arrestar', which means to apprehend or take into custody. | |||
Arrest in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | katuntaña | ||
| Guarani | ojeapresa haguã | ||
Arrest in International Languages
| Esperanto | aresti | ||
| The word "aresti" comes from the French word "arrêter" which also means "to stop" or "to stay". | |||
| Latin | tenuistis | ||
| Tenues, from which tenuistis is derived, also means 'thin', 'slender' or 'small'. | |||
Arrest in Others Languages
| Greek | σύλληψη | ||
| Σύλληψη is derived from the verb συλλαμβάνω, which means to conceive or grasp. | |||
| Hmong | ntes | ||
| The word "ntes" can also mean "to hold someone" or "to detain someone". | |||
| Kurdish | tewqîf | ||
| The word "tewqîf" in Kurdish can also refer to "detention" or "imprisonment". | |||
| Turkish | tutuklamak | ||
| "Tutuklamak" in Turkish derives from "tutmak" (hold) as well as "tutkun" (captive) and is cognate with Kazakh "tutqu" (arrest) and Turkmen "tutyly" (captive). | |||
| Xhosa | ukubanjwa | ||
| The word "ukubanjwa" also means "to be caught" or "to be trapped". | |||
| Yiddish | אַרעסטירן | ||
| The Yiddish word "אַרעסטירן" ("arrest") is derived from the French word "arrêter" and ultimately from the Latin word "arrestare," meaning "to stop." | |||
| Zulu | ukuboshwa | ||
| The Zulu word 'ukuboshwa' also means 'to be ensnared' or 'to be trapped'. | |||
| Assamese | গ্ৰেপ্তাৰ কৰা | ||
| Aymara | katuntaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | गिरफ्तार कर लिहल गइल | ||
| Dhivehi | ހައްޔަރުކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | गिरफ्तारी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pag-aresto | ||
| Guarani | ojeapresa haguã | ||
| Ilocano | ti pannakaaresto | ||
| Krio | arɛst pɔsin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دەستگیرکردن | ||
| Maithili | गिरफ्तारी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯦꯔꯦꯁ꯭ꯠ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | man a ni | ||
| Oromo | hidhamuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗିରଫ | ||
| Quechua | hap’iy | ||
| Sanskrit | ग्रहणम् | ||
| Tatar | кулга алу | ||
| Tigrinya | ምእሳር | ||
| Tsonga | ku khomiwa | ||