Beside in Different Languages
Discover 'Beside' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'beside' is a small but powerful term, carrying with it a sense of proximity and connection. It's a word that transcends cultural boundaries and can be found in various forms across different languages, highlighting the universal nature of its meaning.
In English, 'beside' is often used to indicate physical closeness or association. However, its significance goes beyond the literal, often conveying emotional or metaphorical nearness as well. From Shakespeare's sonnets to modern-day literature, 'beside' has been a mainstay in expressing companionship, comparison, and contrast.
Delving into its translations in different languages offers a fascinating glimpse into how cultures interpret and express this concept. For instance, in Spanish, 'beside' translates to 'junto a' (hwonto ah), while in French, it's 'à côté de' (ah ket duh). In Mandarin, the translation is '旁边' (páng biān), and in Japanese, it's 'そば' (so-ba).
Understanding these translations not only enriches our linguistic abilities but also provides cultural context, showing how different languages and cultures perceive and express proximity and connection.
Beside
Beside in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | langsaan | ||
| In Afrikaans, the word "langsaan" can also refer to a specific direction, such as "to the left" or "to the right." | |||
| Amharic | አጠገብ | ||
| "አጠገብ" is also used to mean "near" or "adjacent to". | |||
| Hausa | kusa da | ||
| “Kusa da” can also mean “to be near” or “to be close to” and is often used in the context of physical proximity or association. | |||
| Igbo | n'akụkụ | ||
| In addition to its literal meaning, "n'akụkụ" can also be used figuratively to indicate "support" or "cooperation." | |||
| Malagasy | afa-tsy | ||
| "Afa-tsy" comes from the word "an-tsi-a" which means "to sit". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | pambali | ||
| The word "pambali" in Nyanja is also used to describe a person or thing that is close by or nearby. | |||
| Shona | parutivi | ||
| The word "parutivi" in Shona can also mean "on the side" or "adjacent to". | |||
| Somali | dhinac | ||
| The word "dhinac" can also mean "direction" or "side." | |||
| Sesotho | ka thoko | ||
| The phrase "ka thoko" in Sesotho is an idiomatic expression that signifies spatial proximity and close association. | |||
| Swahili | kando | ||
| The word 'kando' can also mean 'nearby' or 'at the side', indicating proximity to a location. | |||
| Xhosa | ecaleni | ||
| Ecaleni is derived from the Xhosa word "eca" meaning "to turn" and can also mean "at the side of" or "next to" | |||
| Yoruba | lẹgbẹẹ | ||
| Another meaning of lẹgbẹẹ is 'a small, sharp-pointed stick that children use to play with'. | |||
| Zulu | eceleni | ||
| "Eceleni" is possibly a cognate of "eceleni" in Xhosa and "seceleni" in Swahili, both of which also mean "beside." | |||
| Bambara | kɛrɛ fɛ | ||
| Ewe | kpeɖe eŋu la | ||
| Kinyarwanda | iruhande | ||
| Lingala | pene ya | ||
| Luganda | kumabbaliga | ||
| Sepedi | ntle le | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛno akyi | ||
Beside in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | بجانب | ||
| بجانب also means 'with, in addition to, in company with.' | |||
| Hebrew | לְיַד | ||
| "לְיַד" can refer to being next to someone or something physically but also, figuratively, to having something in one's possession and also as a metaphor for support | |||
| Pashto | څنګ | ||
| The word "څنګ" in Pashto not only means "beside" but also "near" or "close to something or someone." | |||
| Arabic | بجانب | ||
| بجانب also means 'with, in addition to, in company with.' | |||
Beside in Western European Languages
| Albanian | pranë | ||
| The word "pranë" derives from the Proto-Albanian word "*pra" meaning "behind, near". | |||
| Basque | ondoan | ||
| The Basque word "ondoan" is derived from the root "ondo", meaning "good" or "well," and hence originally meant "for good" or "on the good side." | |||
| Catalan | al costat | ||
| The Catalan phrase "al costat" also means "on the side" or "next to". | |||
| Croatian | pokraj | ||
| Pokraj can also mean "alongside" or "next to," and is often used in Croatian geography. | |||
| Danish | ved siden af | ||
| In Danish, the word "ved siden af" can also mean "to know" or "to be aware of". | |||
| Dutch | naast | ||
| "Naast" is also the imperative of the verb "naien" ("to sew"), used to tell someone to start sewing something. | |||
| English | beside | ||
| The term beside can be used to mean near or next to someone or something. | |||
| French | à côté de | ||
| "À côté de" can mean "to be wrong or mistaken" in French. | |||
| Frisian | neist | ||
| The Frisian word "neist" can also mean "recently" or "just". | |||
| Galician | á beira | ||
| In Portuguese, "á beira" also means "in danger", while in Galician this meaning is obsolete and only remains in the expression "estar á beira" (to be in danger). | |||
| German | neben | ||
| The word "neben" may also mean "close to" or "near" in German as well as "beside". | |||
| Icelandic | við hliðina | ||
| "Við hliðina" literally translates to "with side-door", and was likely originally used to refer to an attached room, or perhaps one of two doors to a house. | |||
| Irish | in aice leis | ||
| The word 'leis' is derived from the Old Irish word 'léis', meaning 'with' or 'by' | |||
| Italian | accanto | ||
| The Italian word "accanto" comes from the Latin "ad canto", meaning "near the corner". | |||
| Luxembourgish | nieft | ||
| Nieft is a shortened form of "denieft", which is etymologically related to "nach" (after) and "neben" (beside) in German. | |||
| Maltese | ħdejn | ||
| Ħdejn can also mean 'at', 'near' or 'right in front of' and is similar to the French "chez" and the Italian "da". | |||
| Norwegian | ved siden av | ||
| The Norwegian phrase "ved siden av" can also mean "in addition to" or "in connection with" | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ao lado | ||
| The expression "ao lado" also means "next to", "close to" or "nearby" in Portuguese. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ri taobh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "ri taobh" also translates to "to help" or "to support". | |||
| Spanish | junto a | ||
| "Junto a" es una contracción de la frase "yunto a", que a su vez deriva del latín "iunctus ad". Este origen común explica la similitud entre las expresiones "junto a" y "al lado de". | |||
| Swedish | bredvid | ||
| The word "bredvid" is cognate with the Norwegian "bredved" and the Danish "bredved", all meaning "beside". | |||
| Welsh | wrth ochr | ||
| The word "wrth ochr" can also mean "in front of" or "in the presence of". | |||
Beside in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | побач | ||
| In some dialects, "побач" can also mean "afterwards" or "later." | |||
| Bosnian | pored | ||
| Bosnian "pored" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *porъ, meaning "beside". | |||
| Bulgarian | до | ||
| The Bulgarian word "до" can also mean "until" or "up to". | |||
| Czech | vedle | ||
| In Czech, "vedle" also has the archaic meaning of "next to each other". | |||
| Estonian | kõrval | ||
| The word "kõrval" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Uralic word *kwāle, meaning "nearby" or "side". | |||
| Finnish | vieressä | ||
| "Vieressä" means "beside" in Finnish, but it can also mean "near" or "close to". | |||
| Hungarian | mellett | ||
| The word "mellett" in Hungarian is derived from the Proto-Uralic word *melleh, meaning "side" or "beside." | |||
| Latvian | blakus | ||
| The Latvian word "blakus" is also used to mean "in parallel" or "alongside". | |||
| Lithuanian | šalia | ||
| The word "šalia" can also mean "with" or "next to" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | покрај | ||
| The word покрај also means "along" or "near" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | oprócz | ||
| The word "oprócz" derives from "oprocz", meaning "in addition" in Old Polish. | |||
| Romanian | lângă | ||
| The Romanian word "lângă" derives from the Latin "latus" meaning "broad" or "side" and is cognate with the Spanish "lado" meaning "side". | |||
| Russian | рядом | ||
| The word "рядом" can also be used in the sense of "together" or "side by side". | |||
| Serbian | поред | ||
| The word "поред" in Serbian can also mean "besides" or "in addition to". | |||
| Slovak | vedľa | ||
| The word "vedľa" in Slovak can also mean "next to" or "near". | |||
| Slovenian | poleg | ||
| The word "poleg" in Slovenian shares the same Slavic root as its Serbian equivalent "pored", which is also derived from the Proto-Slavic word "podъ", meaning "under" or "towards". | |||
| Ukrainian | поруч | ||
| The Ukrainian word "поруч" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*porǫkъ", which also meant "near" or "at hand". | |||
Beside in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পাশে | ||
| The word "পাশে" can also mean "at the side" or "near" in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | બાજુમાં | ||
| The word "બાજુમાં" is also used to refer to the side or edge of something. | |||
| Hindi | के बगल में | ||
| The word "के बगल में" ("beside") derives from the Sanskrit word "बगल" ("arm") and means to be next to something. | |||
| Kannada | ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ | ||
| ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ means 'by the side of' or 'alongside'. Kannada words derived from Sanskrit often undergo a phonetic change when they are adopted into Kannada, such as పక్కన in Telugu, which has changed to ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | അരികിൽ | ||
| The word "അരികിൽ" can also mean "on the edge" or "near" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | बाजूला | ||
| "बाजूला" also means "side" or "part" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | छेउमा | ||
| The word "छेउमा" is derived from the Sanskrit word "छि", meaning "to touch". | |||
| Punjabi | ਇਲਾਵਾ | ||
| "ਇਲਾਵਾ" also means "addition" in Punjabi, which shows the overlapping relationship between concepts of "beside" and "addition". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පසෙකින් | ||
| The word පසෙකින් "beside" is derived from the Pali word passika, which means "back" or "rear". It can also mean "aside" or "apart from". | |||
| Tamil | அருகில் | ||
| The word "அருகில்" also means "near" or "nearby" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | పక్కన | ||
| The word "పక్కన" also means "near" or "close to" in Telugu, in addition to its primary meaning of "beside". | |||
| Urdu | کے پاس | ||
| In addition to meaning "beside," the word "کے پاس" can also mean "with" or "in the presence of." | |||
Beside in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 旁 | ||
| 旁 originally meant to assist or stand by and later expanded to mean beside. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 旁 | ||
| The original meaning of 旁 is 'next to someone with respect', which has evolved to mean 'next to someone or something' later on. | |||
| Japanese | 横に | ||
| "横に" (beside) has an alternate meaning "to the side, out of the way", which is related to its original meaning "to the side"} | |||
| Korean | 빗나가서 | ||
| 빗나가서 can also mean 'to deviate', 'to miss', or 'to go astray' | |||
| Mongolian | хажууд | ||
| The word "хажууд" is also used to mean "nearby" or "next to". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အနားမှာ | ||
| The word "အနားမှာ" also refers to the surrounding or outer part of something, such as a riverbank or the edge of a field. | |||
Beside in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | di samping | ||
| "Di samping" also colloquially means "however" | |||
| Javanese | ing sandhinge | ||
| The word "ing sandhinge" in Javanese can also mean "close to" or "near". | |||
| Khmer | នៅក្បែរ | ||
| The term 'នៅក្បែរ' can also denote proximity, as in 'he lives near the temple'. | |||
| Lao | ຂ້າງ | ||
| "ຂ້າງ" also means "near the river" or "along the river." | |||
| Malay | di sebelah | ||
| The Malay word "di sebelah" can also mean "next to" or "close to" and derives from the Sanskrit word "sabhya", meaning "neighbour". | |||
| Thai | ข้าง | ||
| The Thai word "ข้าง" ("beside") also means "next to" or "nearby" and can be used to describe spatial relationships as well as time. | |||
| Vietnamese | bên cạnh | ||
| The word "bên cạnh" also means "nearby" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa tabi | ||
Beside in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yaninda | ||
| Yanında means both "beside" and "nearby" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | жанында | ||
| The word "жанында" in Kazakh can also mean "in addition to" or "apart from". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жанында | ||
| The word "жанында" can also mean "near" or "close to" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | дар ғайри | ||
| The word "дар ғайри" is a compound word consisting of two elements: "дар" (in) and "ғайри" (other, different), and refers to something being located outside, separate from, or distinct from something else. | |||
| Turkmen | gapdalynda | ||
| Uzbek | yonida | ||
| In Uzbek, "yonida" not only means "beside" but also "next to" or "in addition to". | |||
| Uyghur | يېنىدا | ||
Beside in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻaoʻao aʻe | ||
| ʻAoʻao aʻe can also mean a boundary, the border of a property, or the side of something. | |||
| Maori | i te taha | ||
| Synonym "ki te taha" emphasizes proximity, while "i te taha" implies adjacency or contact. | |||
| Samoan | i talaane | ||
| The word 'i talaane' can also mean 'later on' or 'afterwards'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sa tabi | ||
| Sa tabi is often used in Filipino to mean "next to" or "alongside," but it can also mean "with" or "together with." | |||
Beside in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jupa thiyana | ||
| Guarani | ipýpe | ||
Beside in International Languages
| Esperanto | apud | ||
| Latin | præter | ||
| Præter also means "without, except" and "past". | |||
Beside in Others Languages
| Greek | δίπλα | ||
| The word "δίπλα" derives from the Ancient Greek word "δίς", meaning "twice". | |||
| Hmong | ib sab | ||
| It shares the same root as "ib" meaning "to be able to" and "ib lub" meaning "to be possible." | |||
| Kurdish | bêvî | ||
| The word "bêvî" is also used in the sense of "in the presence of" or "with". | |||
| Turkish | yanında | ||
| Yanında is also used to refer to something that is in addition or something that accompanies another thing. | |||
| Xhosa | ecaleni | ||
| Ecaleni is derived from the Xhosa word "eca" meaning "to turn" and can also mean "at the side of" or "next to" | |||
| Yiddish | אויסער | ||
| In addition to its literal meaning, "אויסער" can also be used figuratively to mean "except" or "other than." | |||
| Zulu | eceleni | ||
| "Eceleni" is possibly a cognate of "eceleni" in Xhosa and "seceleni" in Swahili, both of which also mean "beside." | |||
| Assamese | কাষত | ||
| Aymara | jupa thiyana | ||
| Bhojpuri | लगे | ||
| Dhivehi | އެހެންނޫނަސް | ||
| Dogri | छुट्ट | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa tabi | ||
| Guarani | ipýpe | ||
| Ilocano | arpad | ||
| Krio | nia | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | سەرەڕای | ||
| Maithili | बगल मे | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯥꯀꯜꯗ | ||
| Mizo | bul | ||
| Oromo | cinatti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପାଖରେ | ||
| Quechua | waqtanpi | ||
| Sanskrit | पार्श्व | ||
| Tatar | янында | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣብ ጎኒ | ||
| Tsonga | handleka | ||