Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'attract' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting the ability to draw something or someone towards oneself due to a compelling quality or force. This concept is not only crucial in our personal lives but also plays a pivotal role in various fields such as marketing, physics, and biology.
Culturally, the idea of attraction has been explored and celebrated in numerous ways across the globe. From ancient myths and legends to modern literature and media, the power of attraction has always been a fascinating subject. Moreover, understanding how to say 'attract' in different languages can help us appreciate the diverse linguistic and cultural perspectives on this universal concept.
For instance, in Spanish, 'attract' is 'atraer', while in French, it is 'attirer'. In German, the word is 'anziehen', and in Japanese, it is '引きつける (hikitsukeru)'. These translations not only reveal linguistic nuances but also offer insights into how different cultures perceive and express the concept of attraction.
In this article, we delve into the translations of 'attract' in various languages, shedding light on the fascinating world of linguistic and cultural diversity.
Afrikaans | lok | ||
Lok also means 'bait' or 'lure' (for hunting or fishing). | |||
Amharic | መሳብ | ||
The word 'መሳብ' can also mean 'to tempt' or 'to charm'. | |||
Hausa | jawo hankalin | ||
The word "jawo hankali" can also mean "to pay attention" or "to be aware of" in Hausa. | |||
Igbo | na-adọta | ||
The verb "na-adọta" in Igbo also means "to desire" or "to long for". | |||
Malagasy | mahasarika | ||
The word "mahasarika" in Malagasy has its roots in the old Indonesian "asar" meaning "smoke". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kukopa | ||
"Kukopa" can also mean "to call" or "to summon" in Nyanja. | |||
Shona | kukwezva | ||
The word "kukwezva" can also mean "to call upon" or "to invite." | |||
Somali | soo jiito | ||
The word 'soo jiito' can also mean 'to entice' or 'to persuade'. | |||
Sesotho | hohela | ||
The Sesotho word "hohela" can also mean "to tempt" or "to entice." | |||
Swahili | kuvutia | ||
The verb "kuvutia" is derived from the root "vut", meaning "to pull or drag". | |||
Xhosa | tsala | ||
The word "tsala" in Xhosa can also mean "to invite" or "to summon". | |||
Yoruba | fa | ||
The word 'fa' can also mean 'to hunt' or 'to kill' in Yoruba. | |||
Zulu | ukuheha | ||
The Zulu word `ukuheha` is derived from the Bantu root *ku-keka*, meaning "pull" or "stretch" and also appears in several southern Khoisan languages, e.g. |'aa-|xam "take away; take possession of; capture", |xam: "drag". | |||
Bambara | lasamali | ||
Ewe | he | ||
Kinyarwanda | gukurura | ||
Lingala | kobenda | ||
Luganda | okusikiriza | ||
Sepedi | ba le maatlakgogedi | ||
Twi (Akan) | twe | ||
Arabic | جذب | ||
The word "جذب" also means "to pull" or "to drag" in Arabic, and comes from the root word "جذب" which means "to pull" or "to drag". | |||
Hebrew | לִמְשׁוֹך | ||
"לִמְשׁוֹך" can also mean to pull, derive, or delay. | |||
Pashto | متوجه کیدل | ||
The word "متوجه کیدل" ("attract") in Pashto also means "to cause to turn or move in a particular direction". | |||
Arabic | جذب | ||
The word "جذب" also means "to pull" or "to drag" in Arabic, and comes from the root word "جذب" which means "to pull" or "to drag". |
Albanian | tërheq | ||
The Albanian word "tërheq" is an example of back-formation: the original verb form "tërhiq" was shortened to "tërheq" and then reinterpreted with a new ending "-eq" to create a new noun meaning "attraction". | |||
Basque | erakarri | ||
Erakarri also means to "bring" in Basque (as in "bringing" someone to a place). | |||
Catalan | atreure | ||
The word "atreure" comes from the Latin "attrahere", meaning "to draw to oneself". | |||
Croatian | privući | ||
'Privući' can also mean 'to pull', 'to drag', or 'to draw'. | |||
Danish | at tiltrække | ||
The verb "at tiltrække" is the Danish translation of the German "anziehen", which can both mean "to attract" or "to put on clothes". | |||
Dutch | aantrekken | ||
The word “aantrekken” in Dutch not only means to attract, but also to put on clothing | |||
English | attract | ||
The word "attract" comes from the Latin word "attrahere," meaning "to draw or drag." | |||
French | attirer | ||
The French word "attirer" also means "to arouse interest or attention" or "to lure or entice". | |||
Frisian | oanlûke | ||
The Frisian word "oanlûke" comes from the Dutch "aanlokken" and the older German "anlocken" which both mean "to allure". | |||
Galician | atraer | ||
The Galician word 'atraer' ('attract') comes from the Latin word 'trahere' ('to drag, to pull'). | |||
German | anziehen | ||
Anziehen in German also means "to put on" clothing. | |||
Icelandic | aðlaða | ||
The word 'aðlaða' is derived from the same Old Norse root as the English word 'allure', meaning 'to entice' or 'to seduce'. | |||
Irish | mhealladh | ||
Italian | attirare | ||
"Attirare" derives from the Latin verb "adtrahere". It also means "to tow" or "to drag". | |||
Luxembourgish | unzezéien | ||
"Unzezéien" is derived from the Old French word "enchacier" which means "to drive out" or "to chase away". It is also used to describe a person who is very active or excitable. | |||
Maltese | tattira | ||
The word "tattira" in Maltese, meaning "attract," may originate from the Arabic word "tatarra" (to allure) or the Italian word "attrarre" (to draw near). | |||
Norwegian | tiltrekke | ||
Tiltrekke is cognate with English "trick" and "intrigue". | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | atrai | ||
"Atrai" (Portuguese) comes from the Latin "attrahere" (to draw towards), from "ad" (towards) and "trahere" (to draw). | |||
Scots Gaelic | tàladh | ||
The Scots Gaelic word "tàladh" has its roots in the Old Irish "talam" meaning "treasure" or "wealth". | |||
Spanish | atraer | ||
From Latin adtrahere, meaning “to draw or drag to,” from ad-, “to,” + trahere, “to draw.” | |||
Swedish | locka till sig | ||
The Swedish word "locka till sig" literally means "lure to oneself". | |||
Welsh | denu | ||
The word "denu" in Welsh is also used to mean "to entice" or "to lure." |
Belarusian | прыцягваць | ||
Прыцягваць could also mean "bring," "move to oneself," or "get something closer". | |||
Bosnian | privući | ||
"Pivući" also means “to pull, to drag, to draw.” | |||
Bulgarian | привличам | ||
The word "привличам" also means "to entice", "to lure", or "to pull towards" in Bulgarian. | |||
Czech | přilákat | ||
Czech word "přilákat" derives from "lákadlo" („lure“), akin to Sanskrit "lad" ("sport, play"). | |||
Estonian | meelitama | ||
The word "meelitama" comes from the Proto-Finnic word "*meeli-ta-ma-, meaning "to be pleasing to". | |||
Finnish | vetää puoleensa | ||
The word "vetää puoleensa" literally translates to "pull towards itself" or "to draw in" in Finnish. | |||
Hungarian | vonz | ||
The word "vonz" in Hungarian, meaning "attract," is derived from the Proto-Uralic word *woŋke, meaning "to wish, desire," and was originally used in the sense of "to evoke a longing or desire in someone." | |||
Latvian | piesaistīt | ||
The word "piesaistīt" is derived from the Latin word "applicare," meaning "to join" or "to attach." | |||
Lithuanian | pritraukti | ||
"Pritraukti" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*terq-," meaning "to draw, drag, pull," and is related to the Latin "trahere," meaning "to draw, drag, pull," and the English "trac-," meaning "to draw, pull, drag." | |||
Macedonian | привлече | ||
The word "привлече" in Macedonian also means "to entice" or "to draw attention." | |||
Polish | pociągać | ||
The Polish verb "pociągać" derives from the Proto-Slavic word for "pull," reflecting its literal meaning of "drawing something toward oneself." | |||
Romanian | a atrage | ||
The Romanian word "a atrage" ultimately derives from the Latin verb trahere, meaning "to drag" or "to pull." | |||
Russian | привлекать | ||
The verb "привлекать" also means "to entail, involve, or implicate" in Russian. | |||
Serbian | привући | ||
The word "привући" (attract) is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *vьkъ, which also means "wolf" and "to drag". | |||
Slovak | prilákať | ||
The verb "prilákať" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*lěkati", meaning "to deceive" or "to entice". | |||
Slovenian | privabiti | ||
The verb 'privabiti' in Slovenian is derived from the Slavic root 'vabiti', meaning 'to call' or 'to invite'. | |||
Ukrainian | залучити | ||
The verb "залучити" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*loviti", meaning "to hunt, to catch". |
Bengali | আকর্ষণ | ||
আকর্ষণ shares the same root as আক্রমণ (attack) and আকৃতি (shape), implying a broad sense of motion or form that can be both positive and negative. | |||
Gujarati | આકર્ષિત કરો | ||
The word "આકર્ષિત કરો" comes from the Sanskrit word "आकर्षति" (ākṛṣati), meaning "to draw towards", and is related to the English word "attract". It can also be used to describe someone who is charming or captivating. | |||
Hindi | आकर्षित | ||
The word "आकर्षित" is derived from the Sanskrit root "कृष" (to draw or pull) and is related to the words "कर्षण" (attraction) and "कृषक" (farmer). | |||
Kannada | ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸಿ | ||
The word "ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸಿ" can also mean to charm or fascinate, derived from the root word "ಆಕರ್ಷಣ" meaning charm or attraction. | |||
Malayalam | ആകർഷിക്കുക | ||
The word "attract" can also mean "lure" or "entice" in English. | |||
Marathi | आकर्षित करणे | ||
In Marathi, the word 'आकर्षित करणे' has the alternate meaning of 'to fascinate' or 'to impress'. | |||
Nepali | आकर्षित | ||
The Nepali word "आकर्षित" also means "to be impressed" or "to be moved". | |||
Punjabi | ਆਕਰਸ਼ਤ ਕਰੋ | ||
The Punjabi word "ਆਕਰਸ਼ਤ ਕਰੋ" (attract) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आकर्षण" (ākarṣaṇa), which means "drawing towards," and is related to the word "कर्षण" (karṣaṇa), which means "pulling" or "drawing." | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ආකර්ෂණය කරගන්න | ||
Tamil | ஈர்க்க | ||
The word ஈர்க்க (eerka) can also mean 'to be wet', 'to feel damp', or 'to be moistened' in Tamil. | |||
Telugu | ఆకర్షించండి | ||
Urdu | اپنی طرف متوجہ | ||
Chinese (Simplified) | 吸引 | ||
吸引 (xīyǐn) can also mean to absorb, allure, or entice. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 吸引 | ||
The word “吸引” can also mean “to absorb” or “to inhale”. | |||
Japanese | 引き付ける | ||
'引き付ける' can also mean 'to tighten' (e.g., a rope). | |||
Korean | 끌다 | ||
끌다 (kkeulda) derives from the Proto-Korean word *kwel-t-, meaning "to pull, draw, attract" | |||
Mongolian | татах | ||
The Mongolian word "татах" ("attract") is probably derived from the word "татах" ("to gather"). | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ဆွဲဆောင်သည် | ||
Indonesian | menarik | ||
"Menarik" in Indonesian can also mean "interesting" or "fascinating". | |||
Javanese | narik kawigaten | ||
Khmer | ទាក់ទាញ | ||
This word is related to a word that means "to hook" in Khmer (ចង្កោម). | |||
Lao | ດຶງດູດ | ||
The Lao word ດຶງດູດ can also refer to the feeling of being pulled or drawn towards someone or something. | |||
Malay | tertarik | ||
Tertarik can also mean 'interested' or 'tempted' in Malay. | |||
Thai | ดึงดูด | ||
The Thai word "ดึงดูด" can also refer to "magnetism" or "attraction of objects to one another". | |||
Vietnamese | thu hút | ||
The Vietnamese word "thu hút" can also refer to the action of pulling or dragging something towards oneself. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | akitin | ||
Azerbaijani | cəlb etmək | ||
The word could be related to "çəlmək" meaning "to shake, to move". | |||
Kazakh | тарту | ||
The word "тарту" also means "to select" or "to choose" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | тартуу | ||
"Тартуу" in Kyrgyz can also mean "to pull" or "to draw". | |||
Tajik | ҷалб кардан | ||
The Tajik word "ҷалб кардан" is derived from the Persian word "جلب کردن" and also means "to gather" in addition to "to attract." | |||
Turkmen | çekmek | ||
Uzbek | jalb qilmoq | ||
The Uzbek word "jalb qilmoq" is derived from the Arabic word "jalba", meaning "to bring" or "to cause to come." | |||
Uyghur | جەلپ قىلىش | ||
Hawaiian | ʻumeʻume | ||
ʻumeʻume also means to gather, flock, or crowd. | |||
Maori | kukume | ||
The word "kukume" can also refer to the process of collecting food or drawing something towards oneself. | |||
Samoan | faatosina | ||
The word "faatosina" is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word "*fato" meaning "to draw" or "to pull". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | makaakit | ||
The term is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*makaqit" meaning "to bind, attach, or fasten". |
Aymara | munayaña | ||
Guarani | poropy'areraha | ||
Esperanto | altiri | ||
"Altiri" is derived from the Latin "alter," meaning "other," and carries the connotation of shifting or moving towards something different. | |||
Latin | attrahunt | ||
The verb 'attrahunt' is derived from the Latin word 'adtrahere', meaning 'to draw towards'. |
Greek | προσελκύω | ||
"Προσελκύω" can also mean "to charm" or "to lure" in Greek. | |||
Hmong | nyiam | ||
The word "nyiam" also means "to be magnetized". | |||
Kurdish | sorkirin | ||
The word "sorkirin" also means "to call" in the sense of "to summon" or "to invite". | |||
Turkish | çekmek | ||
"Çekmek" is derived from the word "çeki" in old Turkish, which means "power". Hence, it also means "to pull". It has a wide range of meanings across different dialects and usage contexts. | |||
Xhosa | tsala | ||
The word "tsala" in Xhosa can also mean "to invite" or "to summon". | |||
Yiddish | צוציען | ||
In Yiddish, the word "צוציען" can also mean "to draw" or "to entice." | |||
Zulu | ukuheha | ||
The Zulu word `ukuheha` is derived from the Bantu root *ku-keka*, meaning "pull" or "stretch" and also appears in several southern Khoisan languages, e.g. |'aa-|xam "take away; take possession of; capture", |xam: "drag". | |||
Assamese | আকৰ্ষণ | ||
Aymara | munayaña | ||
Bhojpuri | आकर्षित कईल | ||
Dhivehi | ގަޔާވާ | ||
Dogri | मोहत होना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | akitin | ||
Guarani | poropy'areraha | ||
Ilocano | awisen | ||
Krio | lɛk | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | سەرنج ڕاکێشان | ||
Maithili | आकर्षक | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯨꯛꯅꯤꯡ ꯆꯤꯡꯁꯤꯟꯕ | ||
Mizo | hip | ||
Oromo | hawwachuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଆକର୍ଷିତ କର | | ||
Quechua | aysay | ||
Sanskrit | लोभयति | ||
Tatar | җәлеп итү | ||
Tigrinya | ምስሓብ | ||
Tsonga | koka rinoko | ||