Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'believe' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting a deep level of confidence and trust in something or someone. It's a powerful concept that transcends cultural boundaries and is a fundamental aspect of human experience. Belief can shape our perspectives, influence our actions, and even define our identities.
Throughout history, belief has played a crucial role in various cultural movements, religious traditions, and philosophical systems. From the Christian creed of 'I believe' to the Islamic declaration of faith 'I bear witness', belief is a central tenet of many religions. Moreover, belief in oneself is a key component of self-empowerment and personal growth.
Understanding the translation of 'believe' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the cultural nuances and philosophical underpinnings of various societies. For instance, the Spanish 'creer' and French 'croire' convey a sense of trust and confidence, while the German 'glauben' and Russian 'verit' imply a more personal and subjective experience of belief.
Join us as we explore the fascinating world of belief through the lens of language and culture. Discover how this powerful concept is expressed in different tongues, and deepen your appreciation for the richness and diversity of human experience.
Afrikaans | glo | ||
The word 'glo' in Afrikaans is derived from the Old Norse word 'trúa', meaning 'to trust' or 'to have faith'. | |||
Amharic | እመን | ||
The word "እመን" in Amharic can also refer to the act of trusting or relying on someone or something. | |||
Hausa | yi imani | ||
In Hausa, 'yi imani' translates as 'to believe', sharing an etymological root with 'imani' (Arabic for 'faith'). | |||
Igbo | kwere | ||
"Kwere" in Igbo can also refer to "accept" or "trust". | |||
Malagasy | mino | ||
"Mino" also means "to hope" or "to expect" in Malagasy. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | khulupirirani | ||
The word “khulupirirani” can also mean “being confident” or “having hope.” | |||
Shona | tenda | ||
The word 'tenda' in Shona can also mean 'to rely on' or 'to trust in'. | |||
Somali | aamin | ||
The word "aamin" in Somali also means "confirmation". | |||
Sesotho | lumela | ||
The word "lumela" in Sesotho also means "the act of believing", "faith", and "trust". | |||
Swahili | amini | ||
The word "amini" in Swahili can also mean "trustee" or "keeper of property." | |||
Xhosa | kholwa | ||
"Kholwa," meaning "believe" in Xhosa, also denotes a "Christian" or "believer," reflecting the influence of missionary Christianity on the language. | |||
Yoruba | gbagbọ | ||
Gbagbọ in Yoruba holds the extended meaning of "to trust something or someone without concrete evidence or proof." | |||
Zulu | kholwa | ||
The Zulu word "kholwa" can also mean "to trust" or "to have faith in". | |||
Bambara | danaya | ||
Ewe | xᴐe se | ||
Kinyarwanda | bizere | ||
Lingala | kondima | ||
Luganda | okukkiriza | ||
Sepedi | dumela | ||
Twi (Akan) | gye di | ||
Arabic | يصدق | ||
The word "يصدق" also means "to verify" or "to authenticate". | |||
Hebrew | לְהֶאֱמִין | ||
The Hebrew word "לְהֶאֱמִין" is rooted in strength and firmness, implying unwavering belief and trust. | |||
Pashto | باور وکړئ | ||
The Pashto word "باور وکړئ" is often used for "trust" as well, similar to how the French word "croire" can mean both "believe" and "trust" | |||
Arabic | يصدق | ||
The word "يصدق" also means "to verify" or "to authenticate". |
Albanian | besoj | ||
The word "besoj" in Albanian can also mean "faith" or "trust". | |||
Basque | sinetsi | ||
The Basque word "sinetsi" is derived from the Proto-Basque root "*(s)inetsi," meaning "to trust." | |||
Catalan | creure | ||
The Catalan verb "creure" ultimately derives from Latin "credere" (to believe), but also has the secondary meaning "to fear". | |||
Croatian | vjerujte | ||
The verb "vjerovati" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "věra" meaning "faith". | |||
Danish | tro på | ||
The Danish word "tro på" can also mean "to trust in" or "to have faith in". | |||
Dutch | geloven | ||
The Dutch word "geloven" can also refer to promising or vowing, as in the expression "geloven te komen" (promise to come). | |||
English | believe | ||
The word 'believe' originates from the Old English word 'geliefan', meaning 'to hold dear or love'. | |||
French | croyez | ||
The word "croyez" in French comes from the Latin word "credere", meaning "to trust" or "to have faith in." | |||
Frisian | leauwe | ||
The Frisian word "leauwe" can also mean "approve, agree, or suppose." | |||
Galician | crer | ||
The word 'crer' also means 'to create' in Galician. | |||
German | glauben | ||
The German word "glauben" is derived from the Old High German "gilouban", which means "to promise" or "to pledge". | |||
Icelandic | trúa | ||
The Icelandic word "trúa" originates from Old Norse and Proto-Germanic, and also refers to "rely" and "trust". | |||
Irish | creidim | ||
The Irish word "creidim" is also used in a secular context to mean "I think" or "I suppose". | |||
Italian | credere | ||
The word 'credere' in Italian can also refer to the act of trusting or lending faith to something. | |||
Luxembourgish | gleewen | ||
The verb "gleewen" is derived from the Old High German verb "gilaubjan", which also means "to believe". | |||
Maltese | emmen | ||
The word "emmen" in Maltese also has the alternate meaning of "think". | |||
Norwegian | tro | ||
The word "tro" can also mean "faith" or "creed" in a religious context. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | acreditam | ||
The word "acreditam" is derived from the Latin word "credere," meaning "to trust" or "to have faith in." | |||
Scots Gaelic | creidsinn | ||
In Gaelic, "creidsinn" means "belief" but also carries a connotation of certainty, like the "creed" in "credible." | |||
Spanish | creer | ||
Creer can also mean "to create" in Spanish, derived from the Latin "creare". | |||
Swedish | tro | ||
The Swedish word "tro" also means "to think", "to guess", or "to imagine" | |||
Welsh | credu | ||
The Welsh word 'credu' is also used in the phrase 'credu ar ddim', meaning 'to disbelieve'. |
Belarusian | веру | ||
The word "веру" can also mean "faith" or "religion" in Belarusian. | |||
Bosnian | vjeruj | ||
"Vjeruj" is rooted in the Slavic "vera" meaning "faith" and is cognate with many Indo-European languages including Latin's "verus" (true) and English's "verify". | |||
Bulgarian | вярвам | ||
"Вярвам" идва от праславянската дума "vira", която означава "вяра". | |||
Czech | věřit | ||
"Věřit" originated from "věr", meaning "faith" or "loyalty", and also relates to "víra", meaning "belief", in Slovak. | |||
Estonian | uskuma | ||
The word "uskuma" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "usko", meaning "faith" or "trust". | |||
Finnish | uskoa | ||
The Finnish word 'uskoa' originates from Proto-Finnic '*usko' (faith), related to '*uskua' (to desire) and the Hungarian 'óhaj' (wish). | |||
Hungarian | hinni | ||
The Hungarian word "hinni" is related to the Proto-Indo-European root *dhei- "to seek, to aim", which also provided the English word "opinion" and the Latin verb "fido" meaning "to trust". | |||
Latvian | ticēt | ||
The word "ticēt" is believed to derive from the Proto-Baltic root "*teitk-," meaning "to hope" or "to trust." | |||
Lithuanian | tikėk | ||
The word "tikėk" also has an archaic meaning of "hope" or "expect". | |||
Macedonian | верувај | ||
The word "верувај" in Macedonian derives from the Proto-Slavic *вѣровати, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *wer- (to perceive, to guard). | |||
Polish | uwierzyć | ||
The verb "uwierzyć" can also mean "to credit" something to someone's account. | |||
Romanian | crede | ||
The Romanian word "crede" derives from the Latin "credo" (literally "I trust") and also signifies "to be of opinion". | |||
Russian | верить | ||
The word "верить" in Russian also means "to trust" or "to have faith" in something or someone. | |||
Serbian | верујте | ||
"Верујте" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *vĕriti, meaning "to speak the truth." | |||
Slovak | ver | ||
Slovak word "ver", derived from Proto-Slavic root "vĕr-a", can also refer to "faith" or "conviction" | |||
Slovenian | verjeti | ||
Verjeti originally meant 'to speak the truth' and is etymologically related to 'govoriti' ('to speak'). | |||
Ukrainian | повірте | ||
The Ukrainian word "повірте" has Indo-European roots, sharing cognates with words for "true" and "faith" in other languages. |
Bengali | বিশ্বাস | ||
The Bengali word "বিশ্বাস" can also mean "trust" or "confidence". | |||
Gujarati | માને છે | ||
"માને છે" means to accept something as true or to have a belief in something. | |||
Hindi | मानना | ||
"मानना" की व्युत्पत्ति संस्कृत मूल "मन" से हुई है, जिसका अर्थ है "सोचना"। | |||
Kannada | ನಂಬಿರಿ | ||
The word "ನಂಬಿರಿ" (believe) derives from the Sanskrit root " श्रद्धा," meaning "faith, belief, or confidence." | |||
Malayalam | വിശ്വസിക്കുക | ||
Marathi | विश्वास ठेवा | ||
"विश्वास ठेवा" in Marathi literally means "to establish stability," which can also be interpreted as "to trust." | |||
Nepali | विश्वास गर्नुहोस् | ||
The Nepali word "विश्वास गर्नुहोस्" comes from the Sanskrit word "विश्वस्," meaning "to have faith in" or "to be confident." | |||
Punjabi | ਵਿਸ਼ਵਾਸ ਕਰੋ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විශ්වාස කරන්න | ||
Tamil | நம்புங்கள் | ||
Telugu | నమ్మండి | ||
The Telugu word నమ్మండి (nammundi) has alternate meanings such as trust, rely on, and believe in, and is derived from the verb నమ్మడం (nammuddam), meaning "to believe, trust". | |||
Urdu | یقین | ||
The word "yakeen" is derived from the Arabic word "yaqin", which means "certainty". In Urdu, it is also used to refer to "belief" or "conviction" |
Chinese (Simplified) | 相信 | ||
"相信" (believe) is composed of two characters: "信" (trust) and "心" (heart), suggesting a deep and heartfelt belief. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 相信 | ||
相信 is composed of two parts, “信” which means the heart and “由” which means an order. It originally meant to receive a message, and later developed to mean faith or trust. | |||
Japanese | 信じる | ||
The word 「信じる」 (shinjiru) can also mean "trust" or "have faith in". | |||
Korean | 믿다 | ||
"믿다" originally meant to place trust in others before it took on the meaning of faith in religious beliefs. | |||
Mongolian | итгэх | ||
The word "итгэх" is related to the word "итгэл" which means "faith" or "trust". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ယုံတယ် | ||
The word "ယုံတယ်" (believe) can also mean "to trust" or "to rely on", and is derived from the Proto-Burman word "*ruŋ" meaning "to feel secure." |
Indonesian | percaya | ||
The Indonesian word "percaya" has Sanskrit and Arabic derivations, and carries additional connotations such as "to trust" or "to have confidence in". | |||
Javanese | percaya | ||
The word "percaya" in Javanese also means "to trust" or "to have faith in". | |||
Khmer | ជឿ | ||
The word "ជឿ" in Khmer is derived from the Sanskrit word "śraddha", which means "faith, trust, or confidence". | |||
Lao | ເຊື່ອ | ||
The word "ເຊື່ອ" in Lao also refers to trust, faith, and belief in the power of something. | |||
Malay | percaya | ||
The word "percaya" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *pacay, meaning "to trust" or "to rely on"} | |||
Thai | เชื่อ | ||
The word "เชื่อ" also means "trust" or "have faith in" in Thai. | |||
Vietnamese | tin | ||
Tin can also mean "trust" or "confidence" in Vietnamese. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | maniwala | ||
Azerbaijani | inanın | ||
"İnanın" can also mean "to trust" or "to rely on." | |||
Kazakh | сену | ||
The Kazakh word "сену" (believe) originates from the Proto-Turkic word "*sen-ü" (to believe, to trust). | |||
Kyrgyz | ишенем | ||
ишенем means "to rely" on an object or "to hold a belief", and its origin is in the Persian word "eshān" meaning "a belief"} | |||
Tajik | бовар кунед | ||
The word "бовар кунед" in Tajik is derived from the Persian word " باور کردن" (bāvar kardan), which also means "believe". | |||
Turkmen | ynan | ||
Uzbek | ishon | ||
The word "ishon" is derived from the Arabic word "iman", which means "faith" or "belief". | |||
Uyghur | ئىشىنىش | ||
Hawaiian | paulele | ||
The Hawaiian word “paulele” also means “to be convinced” or “to be satisfied” | |||
Maori | whakapono | ||
Whakapono can also mean 'acknowledge' or 'admit' something. | |||
Samoan | talitonu | ||
The word can also be used to mean 'think', 'understand' or 'know'. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | maniwala | ||
The Tagalog word "maniwala" also means "to trust" or "to have faith in". |
Aymara | chiqawsaña | ||
Guarani | guerovia | ||
Esperanto | kredas | ||
Kredas is derived from the Latin word 'credo', meaning 'I believe' but its singular form is rarely used in Esperanto. | |||
Latin | credo | ||
The word 'Credo' is derived from the Latin verb 'credere', meaning 'to put faith in', 'to trust', or 'to rely on'. |
Greek | πιστεύω | ||
The Greek word 'πιστεύω' (believe) derives from the verb 'πείθω' (persuade), suggesting the notion of being convinced or persuaded by someone or something. | |||
Hmong | ntseeg | ||
"Ntseeg" in Hmong also means "hope" or "trust". | |||
Kurdish | bawerîn | ||
The word "bawerîn" also means "trust" or "faith" in Kurdish. | |||
Turkish | inanmak | ||
İnanmak, in Turkish, is derived from the word | |||
Xhosa | kholwa | ||
"Kholwa," meaning "believe" in Xhosa, also denotes a "Christian" or "believer," reflecting the influence of missionary Christianity on the language. | |||
Yiddish | גלויבן | ||
The Yiddish word "גלויבן" derives from the Middle High German "gelouben," meaning "promise" or "assure." | |||
Zulu | kholwa | ||
The Zulu word "kholwa" can also mean "to trust" or "to have faith in". | |||
Assamese | বিশ্বাস | ||
Aymara | chiqawsaña | ||
Bhojpuri | बिस्वास | ||
Dhivehi | ޤަބޫލުކުރުން | ||
Dogri | मन्नो | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | maniwala | ||
Guarani | guerovia | ||
Ilocano | patien | ||
Krio | biliv | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | باوەڕ | ||
Maithili | विश्वास | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯥꯖꯕ | ||
Mizo | ring | ||
Oromo | amanuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ବିଶ୍ୱାସ କର | ||
Quechua | iñiy | ||
Sanskrit | विश्वसितु | ||
Tatar | ышан | ||
Tigrinya | እመን | ||
Tsonga | tshembha | ||