Because in Different Languages
Discover 'Because' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Because is a small word with a big impact. It's a conjunction that explains the cause-and-effect relationship between two ideas, and it's used in virtually every language in the world. Its significance lies in its ability to connect thoughts and ideas, making it a fundamental building block of communication. The word 'because' has even made its way into popular culture, inspiring books, songs, and movies. Its importance cannot be overstated, as it helps us make sense of the world around us and communicate our thoughts more effectively.
Understanding the translation of 'because' in different languages can be fascinating and enlightening. For example, in Spanish, 'because' is 'porque,' while in French, it's 'parce que.' In German, it's 'weil,' and in Japanese, it's 'kara.' These translations not only provide insight into the language itself but also offer a glimpse into the culture and history of the people who speak it.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or simply curious about the world around you, learning the translation of 'because' in different languages is a great place to start. Here are some translations to get you started:
Because
Because in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | omdat | ||
| In Afrikaans, "omdat" is derived from the Dutch word "omdat" and also means "because". | |||
| Amharic | ምክንያቱም | ||
| The word is derived from the Ge'ez phrase 'mekwan ya-tum', loosely meaning 'what is its foundation'. | |||
| Hausa | saboda | ||
| "Saboda" is also used to mean "reason" or "motive" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | n'ihi na | ||
| The expression "n'ihi na" in Igbo can also mean "because of" or introduce a relative clause. | |||
| Malagasy | satria | ||
| SATRIA is derived from the Arabic word 'sabab' which means 'cause' | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chifukwa | ||
| The word "chifukwa" can also mean "the reason why" or "the cause of something". | |||
| Shona | nekuti | ||
| The word `nekuti` ('because') in Shona originally meant a debt obligation. | |||
| Somali | maxaa yeelay | ||
| Somali 'maxaa yeelay' derives from 'maxa' 'what' and 'yeelay' 'do', and is sometimes used elliptically in the sense of 'that is why' | |||
| Sesotho | hobane | ||
| The word hobane is also used to mean 'reason' or 'motive'. | |||
| Swahili | kwa sababu | ||
| The word "kwa sababu" in Swahili can also mean "for the reason that" or "due to the fact that." | |||
| Xhosa | kuba | ||
| The word "kuba" in Xhosa has additional meanings, including "due to" and "consequently." | |||
| Yoruba | nitori | ||
| Nitori may also refer to a spirit of the waters in Yoruba mythology. | |||
| Zulu | ngoba | ||
| The Zulu word 'ngoba' also means 'with' and derives from the verb 'ukuba' meaning 'to be' or 'to have'. | |||
| Bambara | barisa | ||
| Ewe | elabena | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kubera | ||
| Lingala | mpo | ||
| Luganda | olw'okuba | ||
| Sepedi | ka lebaka la | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛfiri | ||
Because in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | لان | ||
| The word "لان" can also mean "when" in some contexts. | |||
| Hebrew | כי | ||
| Historically, 'כי' also meant 'if', 'when', 'that', 'since', and 'for'. Today, 'if' is usually expressed using 'אם' instead. | |||
| Pashto | ځکه | ||
| The word "ځکه" is derived from the Proto-Iranian root "*kad-," meaning "when, that." | |||
| Arabic | لان | ||
| The word "لان" can also mean "when" in some contexts. | |||
Because in Western European Languages
| Albanian | sepse | ||
| "Sepse" is derived from Proto-Albanian "*se pse", meaning "for" or "for the purpose of." | |||
| Basque | delako | ||
| The Basque word "delako" is derived from the words "del" (manner) and "ako" (that), and can also mean "that is why" or "for that reason". | |||
| Catalan | perquè | ||
| The word "perquè" in Catalan has the same Indo-European root as the English word "for". | |||
| Croatian | jer | ||
| Jer, which translates to "because" in English, can also be a short form of the female name Jerka in the Croatian language. | |||
| Danish | fordi | ||
| In Danish, "fordi" also means "therefore" and "for that reason", further strengthening its causal connection. | |||
| Dutch | omdat | ||
| The word "omdat" is derived from the Old Dutch "umbedat," which means "in order that" or "with the intention that." | |||
| English | because | ||
| The word "because" is derived from the Old English phrase "by cause," meaning "for the reason that." | |||
| French | car | ||
| The French word 'car' originates from the Latin word 'quare', which means 'for what reason'. | |||
| Frisian | omdat | ||
| De term 'omdat' kan ook verwijzen naar 'nadat' of 'omdat'. | |||
| Galician | porque | ||
| In Galician, "porque" can also mean "why" or "for". | |||
| German | weil | ||
| The German word "weil" is related to the English word "while" and originally meant "during the time that". | |||
| Icelandic | vegna þess | ||
| "Vegna þess" also means "on behalf of" in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | mar | ||
| "Mar" in Irish also means "sea" or "great". | |||
| Italian | perché | ||
| "Perché" also means "why" and "for which reason" in Italian. | |||
| Luxembourgish | well | ||
| In Luxembourgish, the word "well" can also refer to the concept of "thus" or "therefore". | |||
| Maltese | għaliex | ||
| The Maltese word "għaliex" derives from the Arabic "li-ayyi shay", "for what". | |||
| Norwegian | fordi | ||
| Fordi is a conjunction derived from the Old Norse word "fyrir því," meaning "for this." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | porque | ||
| In Portuguese, "Porque" can also mean "why" or "for which reason". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | oir | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "oir" can also mean "for the sake of" or "instead of". | |||
| Spanish | porque | ||
| "Porque" comes from Latin "pro qua re," meaning "for which thing." | |||
| Swedish | eftersom | ||
| The Swedish word "eftersom" originally meant "after all" or "in consequence of." | |||
| Welsh | oherwydd | ||
| Oherwydd is derived from the Old Welsh words 'herwyd' (according to) and 'o' (from). Historically it could mean 'according to', 'by means of', 'because of', 'in spite of', 'nevertheless', 'although', and 'whereas'. | |||
Because in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | таму што | ||
| There are also other meanings of the word "таму што", such as "so that" or "in order to". | |||
| Bosnian | jer | ||
| This word possibly originates from the Persian word "gar" which means "if" or "for". It can also be used in the sense of "or" or "but". | |||
| Bulgarian | защото | ||
| The word “защото” also means “since” and can connect an independent clause with a subordinate clause expressing cause, condition, or time, introducing the meaning “since,” “for,” and “as”. | |||
| Czech | protože | ||
| The Czech word "protože" is a compound of "proto" (from "pro" or "for") and "že" (meaning "that"). | |||
| Estonian | sest | ||
| The word "sest" comes from the Proto-Uralic word "*seŋke", meaning "therefore, for this reason". | |||
| Finnish | koska | ||
| The word "koska" derives from the Finnish word "kossa", meaning "corner", and originally referred to the point in time or space where two events or actions meet. | |||
| Hungarian | mivel | ||
| Mivel contains a noun that originally designated a balance-scale and means that one part corresponds to the other. | |||
| Latvian | jo | ||
| The Latvian word "jo" can also be used as an interjection or as an emphatic particle to indicate strong affirmation. | |||
| Lithuanian | nes | ||
| The word "nes" originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ne- "not" and took on its current meaning in Lithuanian through a semantic shift. | |||
| Macedonian | затоа што | ||
| The Slavic word 'затоа што' is composed of two words: 'затоа' (therefore) and 'што' (what), and it has a broader meaning than the English 'because' as it can also be used to express purpose or reason. | |||
| Polish | dlatego | ||
| The word 'dlatego' is also used in Polish as a conjunction meaning 'therefore' or 'for this reason'. | |||
| Romanian | deoarece | ||
| The word "deoarece" is derived from the Latin phrase "de hoc ergo", meaning "from this therefore". It can also mean "for this reason" or "since". | |||
| Russian | так как | ||
| The word "так как" can also mean "in the same way as" or "just as". | |||
| Serbian | јер | ||
| In addition to meaning "because," "јер" also derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "jeirь," meaning "but," and can be used in this sense in modern Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | pretože | ||
| "Pretože" (because) derives from the Proto-Slavic word *pretekъ, meaning "cause" or "reason". | |||
| Slovenian | ker | ||
| The word 'Ker' can also mean 'for this reason,' 'since,' or 'therefore,' depending on the context. | |||
| Ukrainian | оскільки | ||
| The word "оскільки" also means "since" in Ukrainian. | |||
Because in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কারণ | ||
| The Bengali word "কারণ" (kāraṇ) can also refer to a cause, reason, or motive, as well as the source of an action. | |||
| Gujarati | કારણ કે | ||
| The Gujarati word "કારણ કે" (karaNa ke) is a compound word consisting of the noun "કારણ" (karaNa) meaning "reason" or "cause" and the conjunction "કે" (ke) meaning "that" or "because". | |||
| Hindi | चूंकि | ||
| The word 'चूंकि' can also mean 'since' or 'as'} | |||
| Kannada | ಏಕೆಂದರೆ | ||
| ಏಕೆಂದರೆ (ēkēndare) is composed of the words ēke ('why') and ēndre ('this'). | |||
| Malayalam | കാരണം | ||
| The word 'കാരണം' ('kāraṇam') in Malayalam can also mean 'reason', 'cause', or 'purpose'. | |||
| Marathi | कारण | ||
| The Marathi word "कारण" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कारणम्" and also means "cause" or "reason". | |||
| Nepali | किनभने | ||
| The word "किनभने" derives from the Sanskrit word "किम्" (kim), meaning "what" and "भने" (bhane), meaning "reason". Hence, it literally translates to "for what reason?" or "why?". | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਿਉਂਕਿ | ||
| The word “ਕਿਉਂਕਿ” (“because”) originated from the ancient Persian word “ciyun” meaning “since” or “since then,” and in some contexts, it still retains the connotation of sequence or consequence. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නිසා | ||
| The word "නිසා" in Sinhala has also been used as a conjunction meaning "namely" or "since". | |||
| Tamil | ஏனெனில் | ||
| The Tamil word "ஏனெனில்" can also mean "for the reason that" or "since". | |||
| Telugu | ఎందుకంటే | ||
| The word "ఎందుకంటే" can be a question or an answer, depending on the context. | |||
| Urdu | کیونکہ | ||
| The word "کیونکہ" is derived from the Persian word "کیون" meaning "how" and the Arabic word "که" meaning "that", so it literally means "that how". | |||
Because in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 因为 | ||
| The word 因为 (yīnwèi) is a combination of the words 以 (yǐ) meaning “to rely on” and 为 (wéi) meaning “to do”. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 因為 | ||
| "因為" can also mean "reason" or "cause" in Chinese. | |||
| Japanese | なぜなら | ||
| The word "なぜなら" (nazenara) is a compound of the words "naze" (why) and "nara" (if). | |||
| Korean | 때문에 | ||
| 때문에, originally meaning "by reason of" or "in view of," can also be interpreted as "thanks to" or "as a result of". | |||
| Mongolian | учир нь | ||
| The word "Учир нь" in Mongolian can also mean "reason" or "cause". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဘာဖြစ်လို့လဲဆိုတော့ | ||
Because in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | karena | ||
| "Karena" can also mean "indeed" or "for sure" in Indonesian, derived from the Sanskrit word "kārana" which means "cause" | |||
| Javanese | amarga | ||
| "Amarga" (pronounced as "AMAR-gah") is derived from the Sanskrit word "amara" which means "immortal" or "eternal". | |||
| Khmer | ដោយសារតែ | ||
| ដោយសារតែ originally meant "through the way of," with the "sao" meaning "to"} | |||
| Lao | ເພາະວ່າ | ||
| ເພາະວ່າ is also used to express the reason for something or to state a condition upon which something else depends. | |||
| Malay | kerana | ||
| In the past, 'kerana' also meant 'by reason of' or 'on account of', as well as 'since'. | |||
| Thai | เพราะ | ||
| The Thai word 'เพราะ' can also mean 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. | |||
| Vietnamese | bởi vì | ||
| The word "bởi vì" derives from the Chinese " bởi (故), " and " vì (為) ". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kasi | ||
Because in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çünki | ||
| "Çünki" can also mean "for this reason" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | өйткені | ||
| The word "өйткені" in Kazakh comes from the verb "өйту", meaning "to be like" or "to become", and is often used to indicate a cause-and-effect relationship. | |||
| Kyrgyz | анткени | ||
| In the Kyrgyz language, "анткени" also means "because of" or "on account of". | |||
| Tajik | зеро | ||
| In Tajik, it also means "for", "so", "then", "since", "while", and "but". | |||
| Turkmen | sebäbi | ||
| Uzbek | chunki | ||
| Historically, the word "chunki" was often used in the sense of "after" or "from that time on". | |||
| Uyghur | چۈنكى | ||
Because in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | no ka mea | ||
| While "no ka mea" translates to "because" in English, it literally means "of the thing." | |||
| Maori | na te mea | ||
| "Na te mea" also means "by means of" or "through the agency of". | |||
| Samoan | aua | ||
| The word "aua" can also mean "because of" or "on account of" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kasi | ||
| In addition to its use as a conjunction, "kasi" can also be used as an emphatic, similar to "for sure" or "really". | |||
Because in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kunata | ||
| Guarani | rupi | ||
Because in International Languages
| Esperanto | ĉar | ||
| "Ĉar" is also the imperative form of the verb "ĉari" ("to wheel"). | |||
| Latin | quod | ||
| The word 'quod' is also an archaic English term for a prison or jail, derived from the Latin word meaning 'that'. | |||
Because in Others Languages
| Greek | επειδή | ||
| In Ancient Greek, "επειδή" could mean "seeing that" or "when", and was originally built from "ἐπεί" and "δή". | |||
| Hmong | vim | ||
| In Hmong, "vim" can also mean "because of" or "for the reason that". | |||
| Kurdish | bo | ||
| The word "bo" in Kurdish can also mean "then" or "so". | |||
| Turkish | çünkü | ||
| "Çünkü" originates from the Persian word "çün" meaning "when" and can also mean "since" or "therefore" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | kuba | ||
| The word "kuba" in Xhosa has additional meanings, including "due to" and "consequently." | |||
| Yiddish | ווייַל | ||
| The Yiddish word "ווייַל" meaning "because" is related to the German word "weil" and the Old High German word "wila", both meaning "while". | |||
| Zulu | ngoba | ||
| The Zulu word 'ngoba' also means 'with' and derives from the verb 'ukuba' meaning 'to be' or 'to have'. | |||
| Assamese | কাৰণ | ||
| Aymara | kunata | ||
| Bhojpuri | काहें कि | ||
| Dhivehi | ސަބަބަކީ | ||
| Dogri | की जे | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kasi | ||
| Guarani | rupi | ||
| Ilocano | gapu ta | ||
| Krio | bikɔs | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەهۆی | ||
| Maithili | किएक तँ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯝꯗꯤ | ||
| Mizo | avang | ||
| Oromo | sababni isaas | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କାରଣ | ||
| Quechua | imaraykuchus | ||
| Sanskrit | यतः | ||
| Tatar | чөнки | ||
| Tigrinya | ምኽንያቱ | ||
| Tsonga | hikuva | ||