At in Different Languages
Discover 'At' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'at' may seem simple, but it holds great significance in expressing location and time in English. It's a versatile preposition and adverb, used in various contexts such as 'meeting at the park' or 'five minutes at noon.' Beyond English, the concept of 'at' is culturally important, as it bridges communication gaps across languages and borders.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'at' in different languages can enrich your linguistic abilities and cultural intelligence. For instance, in Spanish, 'at' translates to 'en' for physical locations and 'a' for time expressions. In French, 'at' becomes 'à' for both purposes. These distinctions highlight the unique linguistic nuances that make language learning exciting and rewarding.
Intriguing, isn't it? Scroll down to explore how 'at' is translated in a variety of languages, from common ones like Mandarin and German to lesser-known ones such as Swahili and Welsh.
At
At in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | by | ||
| In Afrikaans, the word "by" can also mean "at", "to", "with", or "from". | |||
| Amharic | በ | ||
| "በ" can also mean "under," "on," or "within." | |||
| Hausa | a | ||
| "A" can be used as a pronoun, meaning "it", or as a locative, indicating a place or position. | |||
| Igbo | na | ||
| The form “na” serves as a suffix in some words to indicate place or time. For example, ebeana (place of origin). | |||
| Malagasy | amin'ny | ||
| Amin'ny can also mean "in" or "on" in relation to a specific location, such as a room or a surface. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | pa | ||
| In Chichewa, the word 'pa' also means 'to' or 'for', indicating directionality or purpose. | |||
| Shona | pa | ||
| The Shona word 'pa' can also mean 'to' or 'for' when used in conjunction with a verb. | |||
| Somali | at | ||
| The word "at" comes from the Old English word "æt", which means "to" or "near". | |||
| Sesotho | nakong | ||
| The word "nakong" also means "with," "together with," or "simultaneously with." | |||
| Swahili | katika | ||
| "Katika" is a Swahili word that is also used in some Bantu languages and means "inside" or "within". | |||
| Xhosa | e | ||
| The Xhosa word "e" can also mean "in" or "on" depending on context. | |||
| Yoruba | ni | ||
| "Ni" in Yoruba also means 'at' in the sense of 'at home' or 'at a place of work'. | |||
| Zulu | e | ||
| "e" can also mean "in order that" or "so that". | |||
| Bambara | fɛ | ||
| Ewe | le | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kuri | ||
| Lingala | na | ||
| Luganda | ku | ||
| Sepedi | ga | ||
| Twi (Akan) | wɔ | ||
At in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | في | ||
| The word "في" can also mean "in", "on", or "during". | |||
| Hebrew | בְּ- | ||
| The word "בְּ-" in Hebrew can also mean "in" or "by" depending on the context. | |||
| Pashto | په | ||
| In Pashto, the word "په" ("at") can also mean "in," "on," or "with." | |||
| Arabic | في | ||
| The word "في" can also mean "in", "on", or "during". | |||
At in Western European Languages
| Albanian | në | ||
| The Albanian word "në" derives from the Proto-Indo-European preposition "*en" meaning "in" or "on". | |||
| Basque | helbidean | ||
| The word "helbidean" can also mean "address" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | a | ||
| The Catalan word "a" can also mean "in", "on", or "to", depending on the context. | |||
| Croatian | na | ||
| The word "na" in Croatian can also mean "on", "in", "to", or "towards" | |||
| Danish | på | ||
| The Danish word "på" can also mean "on" or "in". | |||
| Dutch | bij | ||
| The word "Bij" in Dutch can also refer to a beehive or a gathering of people. | |||
| English | at | ||
| Preposition 'at' originates from the Old English word 'æt', meaning 'near', 'to', or 'on'. It can also mean 'being engaged in', as in 'at work'. | |||
| French | à | ||
| "À" derives from the Latin "ad," and can also indicate direction ("to"), purpose ("for"), or possession ("of, belonging to"). | |||
| Frisian | by | ||
| The Frisian word "by" derives from the Proto-Germanic word "bi", meaning "near" or "beside". | |||
| Galician | en | ||
| Galician word "en" also means "in" (Latin "in") and "there" (Latin "inde"). | |||
| German | beim | ||
| The word 'beim' can also mean 'with' and is a contraction of the archaic form 'bi deme' which is equivalent to the modern German expression 'bei dem'. | |||
| Icelandic | kl | ||
| Kl's spelling in older Icelandic reflected its etymology by including a K as in the Norse word kløt | |||
| Irish | ag | ||
| The Irish word "ag" can also mean "in the process of" or "about to" and has given rise to the phrase "ag dul am" (approximately, "on the verge of fainting") | |||
| Italian | a | ||
| "A" in Italian also means "to" or "in" (location), "of", "on" (time), "during", "for", "by" (means), "with". | |||
| Luxembourgish | um | ||
| The word "um" in Luxembourgish can also be used to mean "on" or "in". | |||
| Maltese | fi | ||
| The word "fi" in Maltese also means "inside" or "within", and can be used to indicate a location or a state of being. | |||
| Norwegian | på | ||
| The Norwegian word "på" can also mean "on", "upon", "to", or "onto". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | em | ||
| The word "em" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin preposition "in" and can also mean "within" or "inside" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | aig | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "aig" can also mean "with" or "on" | |||
| Spanish | a | ||
| In pre-Classical Latin "at" was a full word, but it later became a prefix ("ad-") and finally just "a". The prefix "ad-" still survives in Spanish, for example in the word "adonde" (to where). | |||
| Swedish | på | ||
| "På" can also mean "on" or "upon", like in "på bordet" (on the table). | |||
| Welsh | yn | ||
| The word "yn" in Welsh can also mean "of", "in" or "on", depending on the context. | |||
At in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | у | ||
| The word "у" also means "near" or "by" in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | u | ||
| The word "u" ("at") in Bosnian can also be used as a preposition meaning "in" or "on", or as an adverb meaning "here". The preposition "u" with the genitive case can indicate "in" or "on" a specific place or object, like "u kući" ("in the house") or "u stolu" ("on the table"). The preposition "u" with the accusative case can indicate "into" or "onto" a specific place or object, like "u kuću" ("into the house") or "u stolice" ("onto the chair"). The adverb "u" can be used to indicate "here" or "over here", like "u je soba" ("here is the room") or "u dođi" ("come over here"). | |||
| Bulgarian | в | ||
| The preposition в can also mean 'on', 'to' or 'into', depending on the context. | |||
| Czech | v | ||
| The Czech word "v" can also mean "in" or "on" depending on the context. | |||
| Estonian | kell | ||
| The word "kell" in Estonian can also mean "time" or "clock". | |||
| Finnish | klo | ||
| Klo is also a slang term for 'o'clock' or 'hour', as in 'hän tuli klo 10' ('he came at 10 o'clock'). | |||
| Hungarian | nál nél | ||
| The Hungarian word "nál nél" is an archaic form of "nála" and "náluk," respectively meaning "by him" and "by them." | |||
| Latvian | plkst | ||
| The word "plkst" in Latvian also means "about" or "approximately". | |||
| Lithuanian | prie | ||
| The word "prie" (at) is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*prei- (before)" | |||
| Macedonian | во | ||
| The word "во" (at) in Macedonian also means "about" or "concerning". | |||
| Polish | w | ||
| The Polish letter „w” can also be used with verbs of motion to refer to the destination. | |||
| Romanian | la | ||
| The Romanian word "la" can also mean "to" or "for" depending on the context. | |||
| Russian | в | ||
| The word “в” can also mean “into” or “within” and is used to indicate a direction towards or a location inside something. | |||
| Serbian | у | ||
| In Serbian, "у" (at) also means "in" and can be used to indicate locations within a place. | |||
| Slovak | o | ||
| In Slovak, the word 'o' ('at') derives from the Proto-Slavic preposition '*vъ', meaning 'in', 'on'. It also means 'about' or 'concerning', as in 'o čom píšeš?' ('what are you writing about?'). | |||
| Slovenian | ob | ||
| Ob can also mean around, by, on, over, near, during, in, for, to, because, with, and against. | |||
| Ukrainian | в | ||
| In addition to its main meaning, "в" can also mean "into", "in", or "inside" in Ukrainian. | |||
At in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | at | ||
| "At" in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word "atra" meaning "here" or "in this place." | |||
| Gujarati | પર | ||
| The word "પર" can also mean "on", "over", or "upon" in Gujarati. | |||
| Hindi | पर | ||
| The word "पर" can also mean "on" but only when in contact with something | |||
| Kannada | ನಲ್ಲಿ | ||
| In Kannada, "ನಲ್ಲಿ" can also mean "faucet" or "tap for water". | |||
| Malayalam | at | ||
| The Malayali word "at" means to give in addition to or in return of something else. | |||
| Marathi | येथे | ||
| The word "येथे" can also mean "here" or "present" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | मा | ||
| मा can also mean 'mother' in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਤੇ | ||
| The word "ਤੇ" also means "on" or "upon" in Punjabi and is often used in contexts where something is located or positioned on top of something else. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හිදී | ||
| The Sinhala word 'හිදී' (at) is also used as a suffix to mark the dative plural in Sinhala and also has a homophone හිදී (hidī) that means the same as English word 'pain'. | |||
| Tamil | இல் | ||
| இல் can also mean 'with' or 'to'. | |||
| Telugu | వద్ద | ||
| The word "వద్ద" can also mean "near", "with", or "by". | |||
| Urdu | پر | ||
| The Urdu word "پر" can also mean "on", "over", "by", "to", "for", "with", "as" or "according to". | |||
At in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 在 | ||
| "在" can also mean "exist" or "be present". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 在 | ||
| The character "在" can also mean "to be present", "to exist", or "to stay". | |||
| Japanese | で | ||
| The character "で" can also mean "by" or "with" in Japanese, depending on the context. | |||
| Korean | ...에서 | ||
| The word "...에서" can also mean "from" or "in" depending on context. | |||
| Mongolian | үед | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "at," "үед" can also mean "time," "occasion," or "period of time." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မှာ | ||
| In archaic usage, 'မှာ' (pronounced /hmɑ̀/) carries the additional meaning of 'because' or 'as long as'. | |||
At in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | di | ||
| The word "di" in Indonesian can also mean "in" or "on", depending on the context. | |||
| Javanese | ing | ||
| The etymology of the Javanese word "ing" is uncertain, but it may be related to the Malay word "di" or the Thai word "ที่". In addition to its spatial meaning, "ing" can also be used to indicate possession, instrumentality, or time. | |||
| Khmer | នៅ | ||
| នៅ is an ancient Mon-Khmer root that also means 'near to' or 'close to'. | |||
| Lao | ຢູ່ | ||
| The word ຢູ່ "at" also means "to live in" in Lao, and shares etymology with the root for "house" (ເຮືອນ), suggesting a historical sense of place as "being-at-home". | |||
| Malay | di | ||
| "Di" as a prefix also means to make / do something, e.g. "diminum" (to drink), "diduga" (it is alleged). | |||
| Thai | ที่ | ||
| "ที่" can also mean 'to', 'from', 'of', or 'by' (as an agent). | |||
| Vietnamese | tại | ||
| "Tại" (at) also means "because" or "by" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa | ||
At in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | at | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "at" can also mean horse, the chess move "check" or the expression "on foot" | |||
| Kazakh | кезінде | ||
| In modern Kazakh, кезінде also has the meanings "in due time" and "in season". | |||
| Kyrgyz | at | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "at" is also used to indicate time, like "at 10 o'clock". | |||
| Tajik | дар | ||
| The word "дар" in Tajik can also mean "on" or "to". | |||
| Turkmen | at | ||
| Uzbek | da | ||
| The word "da" also means "then" and "after" when used as a conjunction in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | at | ||
At in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ma | ||
| The Hawaiian word "ma" can also mean "with" or "in the presence of". | |||
| Maori | i | ||
| I also means 'in' which is expressed in other Polynesian languages by the cognate kei | |||
| Samoan | i le | ||
| The Samoan word 'i le' is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word *i te, meaning 'at' or 'on'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sa | ||
| Tagalog 'sa' can mean 'in', 'on', or even 'with' (in a figurative sense). | |||
At in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukana | ||
| Guarani | pe | ||
At in International Languages
| Esperanto | ĉe | ||
| Ĉe can also mean "when" in Esperanto, and is similar to the Polish word "cze". | |||
| Latin | apud | ||
| In Latin, "apud" also means "in the presence of" or "at the house of." | |||
At in Others Languages
| Greek | στο | ||
| The word "στο" in Greek can also mean "in order to" or "for the purpose of." | |||
| Hmong | ntawm | ||
| "Ntawv" means "leaf" in Hmong. "Ntawv" is also sometimes used for "book" because paper for writing used to be made of leaves | |||
| Kurdish | ba | ||
| The word 'ba' in Kurdish can also mean 'in the presence of' or 'with'. | |||
| Turkish | -de | ||
| '-De' is a Turkish suffix that can also mean 'of', 'from', 'about', 'by', or 'with'. | |||
| Xhosa | e | ||
| The Xhosa word "e" can also mean "in" or "on" depending on context. | |||
| Yiddish | ביי | ||
| The word "ביי" (bey) in Yiddish also means "near" or "beside". | |||
| Zulu | e | ||
| "e" can also mean "in order that" or "so that". | |||
| Assamese | at | ||
| Aymara | ukana | ||
| Bhojpuri | पर | ||
| Dhivehi | ގައި | ||
| Dogri | पर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa | ||
| Guarani | pe | ||
| Ilocano | iti | ||
| Krio | at | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لە | ||
| Maithili | पे | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯦꯠ | ||
| Mizo | hmunah | ||
| Oromo | itti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | at | ||
| Quechua | at | ||
| Sanskrit | इत्युपरि | ||
| Tatar | at | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣብ | ||
| Tsonga | e | ||