Asleep in Different Languages
Discover 'Asleep' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'asleep' holds a special significance in our daily lives, as it signifies a state of rest and rejuvenation that is vital to our well-being. This simple word carries a world of cultural importance, as it is woven into the fabric of our bedtime rituals, lullabies, and stories. From a historical perspective, the word 'asleep' has been used in various literary and cultural contexts to evoke emotions of peace, tranquility, and even mystery.
Given the global and cross-cultural relevance of the word 'asleep', it is not surprising that people from different linguistic backgrounds might be interested in knowing its translation in their native languages. For instance, in Spanish, the word 'asleep' translates to 'dormido', while in French, it is 'endormi'. In German, the word 'asleep' is translated as 'schlafend', and in Japanese, it is 'nemui'.
In this article, we will explore the translations of the word 'asleep' in various languages, shedding light on the fascinating cultural and linguistic nuances that underlie this simple yet profound word.
Asleep
Asleep in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | aan die slaap | ||
| The Afrikaans word "aan die slaap" directly translates to "at sleep", but it also has the connotation of "about to fall asleep". | |||
| Amharic | ተኝቷል | ||
| The word 'ተኝቷል' can also refer to a state of unconsciousness caused by fainting or a coma. | |||
| Hausa | barci | ||
| The etymology of barci is uncertain, but it may derive from the Hausa verb bar "to sleep", with the suffix -ci indicating a state or condition. | |||
| Igbo | na-ehi ụra | ||
| The Igbo word "na-ehi ụra" can also mean "to pass out" or "to lose consciousness." | |||
| Malagasy | am-patoriana | ||
| The etymology of "Am-patoriana" is unknown, but it is possibly derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*pator" meaning "to lie down". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | akugona | ||
| "Akugona" (asleep) comes from the verb "kugona" (to lie/sleep) and derives from the Proto-Bantu root "-gon-a" (to lean/lie). | |||
| Shona | akarara | ||
| The word "akarara" can also refer to a state of unconsciousness or a trance-like state. | |||
| Somali | hurdo | ||
| The word "hurdo" also means "to be unconscious" or "to faint" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | robetse | ||
| While 'robetse' is usually used as a synonym of 'koala', a variant of the word 'robetse' is 'roroetsa', which has the same meaning, but is less commonly used. | |||
| Swahili | amelala | ||
| The Swahili word 'amelala' can also mean 'to lie down' or 'to relax'. | |||
| Xhosa | ndilele | ||
| Ndil' ndile means "asleep" in the Xhosa language. | |||
| Yoruba | sun oorun | ||
| "Sun oorun" in Yoruba means not just "asleep" but also "to lie down and rest." | |||
| Zulu | elele | ||
| In Zulu, the word "elele" can also mean "unconscious" or "in a trance-like state". | |||
| Bambara | ka sunɔgɔ | ||
| Ewe | dɔ alɔ̃ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gusinzira | ||
| Lingala | kolala | ||
| Luganda | okwebaka | ||
| Sepedi | robetše | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ada | ||
Asleep in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نائما | ||
| The word "نائما" ("asleep") in Arabic also means "lying down" or "resting" | |||
| Hebrew | יָשֵׁן | ||
| The word "יָשֵׁן" has a double meaning in Hebrew, also connoting "old" and thus is related to the name "יִשְׂרָאֵל" (Israel). | |||
| Pashto | خوب | ||
| The word "خوب" in Pashto can also mean "safe" or "well". | |||
| Arabic | نائما | ||
| The word "نائما" ("asleep") in Arabic also means "lying down" or "resting" | |||
Asleep in Western European Languages
| Albanian | në gjumë | ||
| Basque | lotan | ||
| "Lotan" literally means "place of flowers" | |||
| Catalan | adormit | ||
| "Adormir" in Catalan comes from the Latin "ad dormire," meaning "to sleep" or "to fall asleep". | |||
| Croatian | zaspao | ||
| The word 'zaspao' in Croatian is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *zaspъ, meaning 'to fall asleep', and is also related to the Russian word 'zaspat' with the same meaning. | |||
| Danish | i søvn | ||
| "I søvn" is Danish for "asleep," but it literally means "in sleep." | |||
| Dutch | in slaap | ||
| The term "in slaap" in Dutch literally means "in sleep", highlighting the notion of being immersed in the state of slumber. | |||
| English | asleep | ||
| The word 'asleep' derives from the Old English 'on slep', meaning 'in sleep'. | |||
| French | endormi | ||
| The word "endormi" in French shares its etymology with the English word "dormant", both deriving from the Latin "dormire" meaning "to sleep". | |||
| Frisian | sliep | ||
| The Frisian word "sliep" is derived from the Old Frisian word "slepa", meaning "to sleep". | |||
| Galician | durmindo | ||
| The word "durmindo" in Galician comes from the Latin word "dormire", meaning "to sleep". | |||
| German | schlafend | ||
| "Schlafend" also has the archaic meaning "unoccupied" and in some regions it means "inactive". | |||
| Icelandic | sofandi | ||
| The word "sofandi" in Icelandic means not only "asleep" but also "quiet" or "still". | |||
| Irish | ina chodladh | ||
| The word "ina chodladh" in Irish has the alternate meaning of "in a state of shock or numbness". | |||
| Italian | addormentato | ||
| The Italian word "addormentato" (asleep) derives from the Latin verb "dormire" (to sleep), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *der- (to sleep). | |||
| Luxembourgish | schlofen | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "schlofen" is thought to derive from the Old High German word "slafan", meaning "to sleep". | |||
| Maltese | rieqed | ||
| Maltese word "rieqed" comes from Arabic "rقد" which means "to fall unconscious" or "to put to sleep". | |||
| Norwegian | sover | ||
| The word "sover" derives from the verb "sove" which means "to sleep", and can also refer to the act of sleeping. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | adormecido | ||
| "Adormecido" in Portuguese derives from the Latin word "dormitare", meaning to fall asleep lightly, and can also figuratively refer to a state of inactivity or negligence. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | na chadal | ||
| The noun 'na chadal' also has the sense of 'slumber' or 'sleep' in Scots Gaelic, and is related to the word 'codhail' which means 'sleep' or 'rest'. | |||
| Spanish | dormido | ||
| The word "dormido" originates from the Latin verb "dormire" meaning "to sleep". | |||
| Swedish | sovande | ||
| "Sova" means "to sleep" and is related to "somnus" (Latin for sleep) and "hypnos" (Greek for sleep). | |||
| Welsh | cysgu | ||
| "Cysgu" also means "to lie" or "to recline" in Welsh. | |||
Asleep in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | спіць | ||
| The word "спіць" in Belarusian can also refer to the spokes of a wheel or the knitting needles used in lace-making. | |||
| Bosnian | zaspati | ||
| The word "zaspati" in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian also means "to arrive late for an appointment" or "to miss an opportunity". | |||
| Bulgarian | заспал | ||
| The word "заспал" also means "stayed late" or "overslept" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | spící | ||
| The word "spící" in Czech is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *spáti, meaning "to sleep". | |||
| Estonian | magama | ||
| The word "magama" in Estonian is cognate with the Finnish word "nukkua", which also means "to sleep". | |||
| Finnish | unessa | ||
| "Unessa" means both "in a dream" and "in sleep" in Finnish, which is related to the word "uni" meaning "dream". | |||
| Hungarian | alva | ||
| Alva, like álom (dream) is derived from the Proto-Uralic *un̮a 'to sleep'. | |||
| Latvian | aizmigusi | ||
| The word "aizmigusi" is related to the word "aizmigt" (to fall asleep) and the Lithuanian word "užmigti" (to fall asleep). | |||
| Lithuanian | miega | ||
| The word "miega" is related to the words "miegoti" (to sleep) and "miegas" (sleep), and its root "mieg-" is Indo-European in origin. | |||
| Macedonian | спие | ||
| The word "спие" ("asleep") derives from Proto-Slavic сыпати ("to sleep"), from the earlier *sŭpъ, from the PIE root *ḱew-. | |||
| Polish | we śnie | ||
| The phrase 'na śnie' also means 'on snow'} | |||
| Romanian | adormit | ||
| The word "adormit" is derived from the Latin verb "adormiri" (to fall asleep), which is composed of the prefix "ad" (to) and the verb "dormire" (to sleep). | |||
| Russian | спит | ||
| The word "спит" is also used in the expression "спит как убитый", which means "to sleep like a log". | |||
| Serbian | заспао | ||
| The word "заспао" can also mean "bewildered" or "stunned" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | spí | ||
| The word "spí" also means "to sleep" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | spati | ||
| The word 'spati' in Slovenian is thought to derive from the Proto-Slavic word for 'to sleep' ('*spati'), which is also the root of the English word 'sleep' and the Russian word 'спать' ('spat', 'to sleep'). | |||
| Ukrainian | спить | ||
| The word "спить" can also mean "to be drunk" in Ukrainian slang. | |||
Asleep in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | নিদ্রা | ||
| "নিদ্রা" can also mean "dream" or "sleep itself". | |||
| Gujarati | asleepંઘ | ||
| In Gujarati, the word "asleep" can also mean "inactive" or "dormant." | |||
| Hindi | सो | ||
| The Hindi word सो (asleep) derives from the Sanskrit word स्वप्न (svapna) meaning "dream", and is related to the English words "soporific", "somnolent", and "hypnos" (Greek for sleep). | |||
| Kannada | ನಿದ್ದೆ | ||
| The word "ನಿದ್ದೆ" is also used to refer to a state of unconsciousness caused by anesthesia or other drugs. | |||
| Malayalam | ഉറങ്ങുക | ||
| "ഉറങ്ങുക" is also used to mean "to become unconscious" or "to die". | |||
| Marathi | झोपलेला | ||
| The Marathi word, झोपलेला (झोप), can refer to either being asleep and unconscious or simply being in a state of rest without necessarily being fully unconscious. | |||
| Nepali | निद्रा | ||
| In Sanskrit, निद्रā (nidrā) means "sleep" or "torpor," and also refers to the goddess of sleep who is known as Nīla Saraswatī. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸੁੱਤਾ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නිදාගන්න | ||
| The word "නිදාගන්න," meaning sleepy or to sleep in Sinhala, originates from the Indian word "निद्रा" and the Middle Indo-Aryan word "निंदा", both meaning "sleep". | |||
| Tamil | தூங்குகிறது | ||
| The word "தூங்குகிறது" also means "to be unconscious" or "to be in a coma" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | నిద్ర | ||
| The Telugu word "నిద్ర" is a cognate of the Sanskrit word "निद्र" and the Old Tamil word "నిదிர", both of which also mean "asleep". | |||
| Urdu | سو رہا ہے | ||
| سو رہا ہے" means "sleeping" or "at rest" in Urdu. Its root word, "سو, | |||
Asleep in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 睡着了 | ||
| 睡不着 (shuì bù zháo) literally means "can't fall asleep" | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 睡著了 | ||
| 睡著了 (shuì zháo le) literally means “fallen asleep”, with 睡 (shuì) meaning “to sleep” and 著 (zháo) meaning “to fall”. | |||
| Japanese | 眠っている | ||
| 眠っている's original meaning was 'to close one's eyes', and it later came to mean 'to be asleep'. | |||
| Korean | 죽어 | ||
| "죽어" does not literally mean "asleep" in Korean; its etymology refers to something "fixed in place" or "frozen". The term "잠자" ("sleeping") is more apt in meaning, although both are common words to indicate an inactive state. | |||
| Mongolian | унтаж байна | ||
| The word "унтаж байна" can also mean "to be unconscious" or "to be in a coma." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အိပ်ပျော်သည် | ||
Asleep in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tertidur | ||
| Tertidur originates from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word *tiduq, which also means "to lie down" or "to recline". | |||
| Javanese | turu | ||
| The word "turu" in Javanese also means "to die" or "to be dead". | |||
| Khmer | ដេកលក់ | ||
| 'ដេកលក់' comes from the Sanskrit word 'ni + dra' meaning 'to throw or cast oneself' and 'lok' meaning 'to look or appear,' implying the act of lying down and closing one's eyes. | |||
| Lao | ນອນຫລັບ | ||
| The word "ນອນຫລັບ" can also refer to the act of taking a nap or resting for a short period of time. | |||
| Malay | tertidur | ||
| "Tertidur" also means "to be unconscious" or "to be in a trance". | |||
| Thai | นอนหลับ | ||
| In Thai, "นอนหลับ" is a compound word of "นอน" (lie down) and "หลับ" (sleep) meaning "to be asleep." | |||
| Vietnamese | ngủ | ||
| The word "ngủ" also refers to "the first stage of sleep" or "to lie down for the purpose of sleeping" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | natutulog | ||
Asleep in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yuxuda | ||
| "Yuxuda" means "in a dream" in Azerbaijani, derived from the word "yuxu" meaning "dream". | |||
| Kazakh | ұйықтап жатыр | ||
| "Ұйықтап жатыр" is also used to describe a person or thing that is inactive or dormant. | |||
| Kyrgyz | уктап жатат | ||
| Tajik | дар хоб | ||
| Etymology: from Middle Persian *xāp xauβ, from Old Persian *xāp pati xauβ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *swep-op-s kʰóp-os | |||
| Turkmen | uklap ýatyr | ||
| Uzbek | uxlab yotgan | ||
| The word "uxlab yotgan" means "asleep", but it also has the alternate meaning of "deceased". | |||
| Uyghur | ئۇخلاۋاتىدۇ | ||
Asleep in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hiamoe | ||
| The Hawaiian word "hiamoe" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *siyam, meaning "to sleep". | |||
| Maori | e moe ana | ||
| The Maori word "e moe ana" has other meanings, such as "to be unconscious" or "to be unaware of one's surroundings". | |||
| Samoan | moe | ||
| In Samoan, the word ''moe'' can also mean, ''to die'' when used as a noun. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tulog na | ||
| The Tagalog word "tulog na" can also refer to someone who is not paying attention or is not interested in something. | |||
Asleep in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ikita | ||
| Guarani | kerambi | ||
Asleep in International Languages
| Esperanto | dormanta | ||
| The root "dorm" in "dormanta" comes from Latin and is found in many European languages including English "dormant", French "dormir", Italian "dormire", etc., all referring to sleep or sleeping. | |||
| Latin | somnum | ||
| Somnus, the Latin word for "asleep," also refers to the Roman god of sleep, Somnus, who was the son of Nyx, the goddess of night. | |||
Asleep in Others Languages
| Greek | κοιμισμένος | ||
| The word "κοιμισμένος" (asleep) can also refer to someone who is in a state of hibernation or who is in a coma. | |||
| Hmong | pw tsaug zog | ||
| "Pw tsaug zog" can refer to the state of being asleep as well as to an action of sleeping. | |||
| Kurdish | nivistî | ||
| The word "nivistî" in Kurdish has the alternate meanings of "calm" and "peaceful". | |||
| Turkish | uykuda | ||
| The word "uykuda" can also refer to a state of hibernation or dormancy. | |||
| Xhosa | ndilele | ||
| Ndil' ndile means "asleep" in the Xhosa language. | |||
| Yiddish | שלאָפנדיק | ||
| The Yiddish word 'schlofendik' evolved from the German word 'schlafend', meaning 'sleeping' and is related to 'schlaff', meaning 'slack'. | |||
| Zulu | elele | ||
| In Zulu, the word "elele" can also mean "unconscious" or "in a trance-like state". | |||
| Assamese | টুপনি যোৱা | ||
| Aymara | ikita | ||
| Bhojpuri | सुतल | ||
| Dhivehi | ނިދާފަ | ||
| Dogri | नींदरै च | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | natutulog | ||
| Guarani | kerambi | ||
| Ilocano | nakaturog | ||
| Krio | slip | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | خەوتوو | ||
| Maithili | सुतल | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯨꯝꯂꯤꯕ | ||
| Mizo | muhil | ||
| Oromo | hirriba keessa jiraachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଶୋଇଛି | ||
| Quechua | puñusqa | ||
| Sanskrit | सुप्तः | ||
| Tatar | йоклый | ||
| Tigrinya | ምድቃስ | ||
| Tsonga | etlerile | ||