Business in Different Languages
Discover 'Business' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Business
Afrikaans besigheid | ||
Albanian biznesi | ||
Amharic ንግድ | ||
Arabic اعمال | ||
Armenian բիզնես | ||
Assamese ব্যৱসায় | ||
Aymara alakipa | ||
Azerbaijani biznes | ||
Bambara ko | ||
Basque negozioa | ||
Belarusian бізнес | ||
Bengali ব্যবসা | ||
Bhojpuri कारोबार | ||
Bosnian posao | ||
Bulgarian бизнес | ||
Catalan negocis | ||
Cebuano negosyo | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 商业 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 商業 | ||
Corsican affari | ||
Croatian poslovanje | ||
Czech podnikání | ||
Danish forretning | ||
Dhivehi ވިޔަފާރި | ||
Dogri बपार | ||
Dutch bedrijf | ||
English business | ||
Esperanto komerco | ||
Estonian äri | ||
Ewe dᴐwᴐna | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) negosyo | ||
Finnish liiketoimintaa | ||
French affaires | ||
Frisian bedriuw | ||
Galician negocio | ||
Georgian ბიზნესი | ||
German geschäft | ||
Greek επιχείρηση | ||
Guarani ñemuharenda | ||
Gujarati બિઝનેસ | ||
Haitian Creole biznis | ||
Hausa kasuwanci | ||
Hawaiian ʻoihana | ||
Hebrew עֵסֶק | ||
Hindi व्यापार | ||
Hmong kev lag luam | ||
Hungarian üzleti | ||
Icelandic viðskipti | ||
Igbo azụmahịa | ||
Ilocano negosio | ||
Indonesian bisnis | ||
Irish gnó | ||
Italian attività commerciale | ||
Japanese ビジネス | ||
Javanese bisnis | ||
Kannada ವ್ಯವಹಾರ | ||
Kazakh бизнес | ||
Khmer អាជីវកម្ម | ||
Kinyarwanda ubucuruzi | ||
Konkani वेवसाय | ||
Korean 사업 | ||
Krio biznɛs | ||
Kurdish dikan | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بزنس | ||
Kyrgyz бизнес | ||
Lao ທຸລະກິດ | ||
Latin negotium | ||
Latvian bizness | ||
Lingala mosala | ||
Lithuanian verslo | ||
Luganda bizinensi | ||
Luxembourgish geschäft | ||
Macedonian бизнис | ||
Maithili व्यवसाय | ||
Malagasy raharaham-barotra | ||
Malay perniagaan | ||
Malayalam ബിസിനസ്സ് | ||
Maltese negozju | ||
Maori pakihi | ||
Marathi व्यवसाय | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯀꯥꯔꯕꯥꯔ | ||
Mizo sumdawnna | ||
Mongolian бизнес | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) စီးပွားရေး | ||
Nepali व्यापार | ||
Norwegian virksomhet | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) bizinesi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବ୍ୟବସାୟ | ||
Oromo hojii | ||
Pashto سوداګري | ||
Persian کسب و کار | ||
Polish biznes | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) o negócio | ||
Punjabi ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰ | ||
Quechua qatuna | ||
Romanian afaceri | ||
Russian бизнес | ||
Samoan pisinisi | ||
Sanskrit व्यवसायः | ||
Scots Gaelic gnìomhachas | ||
Sepedi kgwebo | ||
Serbian посао | ||
Sesotho khoebo | ||
Shona bhizinesi | ||
Sindhi ڪاروبار | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ව්යාපාරික | ||
Slovak podnikania | ||
Slovenian posel | ||
Somali ganacsi | ||
Spanish negocio | ||
Sundanese bisnis | ||
Swahili biashara | ||
Swedish företag | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) negosyo | ||
Tajik бизнес | ||
Tamil வணிக | ||
Tatar бизнес | ||
Telugu వ్యాపారం | ||
Thai ธุรกิจ | ||
Tigrinya ስራሕቲ ንግዲ | ||
Tsonga bindzu | ||
Turkish iş | ||
Turkmen biznes | ||
Twi (Akan) dwadie | ||
Ukrainian бізнес | ||
Urdu کاروبار | ||
Uyghur سودا | ||
Uzbek biznes | ||
Vietnamese kinh doanh | ||
Welsh busnes | ||
Xhosa ishishini | ||
Yiddish געשעפט | ||
Yoruba iṣowo | ||
Zulu ibhizinisi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans "besigheid" is cognate to Dutch "bezigheid" ('occupation'), a derivative of Dutch "bezig" ('busy'). |
| Albanian | The word "biznesi" derives from the Turkish word "iş" meaning "work", or "değil" meaning "affair". |
| Arabic | The word "اعمال" also means "deeds" in Arabic, emphasizing the active and result-oriented nature of business. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "բիզնես" (business) comes from the Persian word "بیزنس" and was likely introduced to Armenian through Russian or French. |
| Azerbaijani | "Biznes" also refers to an individual who is engaged in commercial activities, similar to the English term "businessman" or "businesswoman" |
| Basque | Negozioa (business) derives from an old term, "denegazoa", meaning "thing that can be used or sold." |
| Belarusian | The word "бізнес" in Belarusian is derived from the Polish word "biznes", which itself is derived from the Yiddish word "biznis", meaning "occupation" or "livelihood." |
| Bengali | "ব্যবসা" originally meant "residence" or "occupation". |
| Bosnian | "Posao" can also mean "occupation" or "employment" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | In Bulgarian, "бизнес" can also mean "problem" or "trouble". |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "negocis" can also mean "a bad deal" or "a tricky situation". |
| Cebuano | The word "negosyo" is derived from the Spanish word "negocio", which means "affair" or "deal". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "商業" also refers to commercial affairs; trade and commerce. It is a more formal and older form of the word "生意" (business); similar to the formal/informal difference between "commerce" and "business" in English. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word "商業" literally means "commercial things" but is also used to refer to commercial activities. |
| Corsican | The word affaricà can also mean 'to be a member of a political or trade union.' |
| Croatian | The Croatian word 'poslovanje' can also be used to refer to banking or financial transactions. |
| Czech | In Czech, the word "podnikání" has a literal meaning of "going under something" or "taking action". |
| Danish | The word "forretning" is derived from the Old Norse word "forræða", meaning "supplies" or "goods". |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "bedrijf" can also refer to a "work" or "occupation". |
| Esperanto | "Komerco" derives from the Latin word "commercium," which means "trade" or "exchange." |
| Estonian | Äri also means 'affair', 'dealings' or 'concern'. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "liiketoimintaa" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic word *likwo-," meaning "body" or "form". |
| French | The French word "affaires" is derived from the Latin word "afficere," meaning "to do something to or for someone," and can also refer to personal concerns or matters. |
| Frisian | The word "bedriuw" is related to the verb "bedriuwe" (to move, to do), and originally meant "activity, work, trade". |
| Galician | The word "negocio" in Galician can also mean "concern" or "worry". |
| Georgian | The word "business" in Georgian can also refer to a person who is engaged in commerce or trade. |
| German | In Old High German, "Geschäft" referred to an act or a task. |
| Greek | "Επιχείρηση" is the product of the combination of two Greek words: "επί" (epi), meaning "to, by, on, concerning, for, after, at, over, up" and "χείρ" (cheir), meaning "hand". Thus, the original sense of "επιχείρηση" is "to undertake something that requires effort" and hence the meanings it took in Byzantine Greek for "attack, attempt, project, endeavour" and modern Greek the meaning for "attempt", for a work in an experimental stage, for the project, for the attempt to achieve a difficult plan or work for someone, even to attack someone to do something. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "બિઝનેસ" is derived from the English word "business" and has the same meaning. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "biznis" is derived from the French word "besoin", meaning "need", and can also refer to a person's occupation or trade. |
| Hausa | The word 'kasuwanci' originates from the Arabic word 'kasb', meaning 'to acquire' or 'to earn', and is used in Hausa to refer to any type of commercial activity. |
| Hawaiian | 'Oihana' comes from the Polynesian root word 'fanga' meaning 'branch' and was originally used to describe a 'profession' or 'occupation'. |
| Hebrew | "עֵסֶק" is derived from the verb *עסֵק* meaning "to be busy or occupied," referring not only to commerce, but to any type of occupation. |
| Hindi | The word व्यापार derives from व्या+पर+आ, meaning 'exchange of goods or services'. |
| Hmong | The word "kev lag luam" is derived from the Hmong root word "kev" (work) and "lag luam" (activity, trade), so it literally translates to work-activity, or work-related activity. |
| Hungarian | "Üzleti" also refers to transactions in general in Turkish, where it comes from. |
| Icelandic | The word "viðskipti" is derived from the Old Norse word "viðskipti," meaning "intercourse, exchange." |
| Igbo | The word "azụmahịa" has its roots in the Igbo words "azụ" (buy) and "mahịa" (sell), reflecting the commercial nature of business. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "bisnis" originally referred to an undertaking, but its meaning has since expanded to include commerce and other commercial activities. |
| Irish | "Gnó" also means "knowledge, skill, work, business, or concern." |
| Italian | "Attività commerciale" literally means "commercial activity" in Italian, and can also refer to a "store" or "shop". |
| Japanese | The term "ビジネス" (business) in Japanese originally meant "occupation." Although this meaning is rarely used today, the concept remains in the word. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "bisnis" can also mean "conversation" or "discussion". |
| Kannada | The word "ವ್ಯವಹಾರ" can also refer to "trade" or "commerce". |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "бизнес" is derived from the English word "business" and also means "affair" or "concern". |
| Korean | The word "사업" (business) in Korean originally meant "occupation" or "calling" and was used to describe activities such as farming, fishing, and trade. |
| Kurdish | The word 'dikan' in Kurdish originates from Persian and has the alternate meaning of 'shop' or 'store'. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "бизнес" comes from English, but it is also used in Kyrgyz to refer to a person's occupation or trade. |
| Latin | In Latin, "negotium" also means "troublesome affair" or "difficulty," capturing the potential challenges associated with commerce. |
| Latvian | The word “Bizness” also means a small, privately-owned company in slang. |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "verslo" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *werg- meaning "to turn" or "to twist." |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "бизнис" is derived from the Greek word "βιομηχανία" (biomēchania), meaning "industry". It can also refer to "trade" or "commerce". |
| Malagasy | The word |
| Malay | The Malay word "perniagaan" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vânijjya", meaning "trade" or "commerce." |
| Malayalam | The word "ബിസിനസ്സ്" originally meant "being busy" or "activity" in Malayalam, but now exclusively refers to business or occupation. |
| Maltese | "Negozju" derives from the Sicilian "nicòziu" and ultimately from the Greek "νέος, νέα, νέον" (neos) "young, new," referring to business enterprises. |
| Maori | In the Eastern Polynesian languages, the word pakihi is also a plant, a type of lichen used in dyeing. |
| Marathi | व्यवसाय (business) is also a term used in Vedic astrology to refer to one's occupation or profession based on their birth chart. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "бизнес" also incorporates the meaning of "affairs". |
| Nepali | The Nepali word व्यापार ( व्यापार ) comes from the Sanskrit word 'Vyapara' (व्यापार), which means 'occupation', 'profession', or 'trade'. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "virksomhet" is related to the German "wirken", "to work", and originally referred to any kind of activity or employment. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'bizinesi' in Nyanja is also related to the concept of 'occupation' or 'trade'. |
| Pashto | The word "سوداګري" comes from the Persian word "سودا" meaning "trade" or "commerce". |
| Persian | کسب و کار originates from the Arabic 'kasb' (acquisition) and 'kar' (work), but in Farsi has acquired the sense of trade or enterprise. |
| Polish | "Biznes" (business) comes from German "Geschäft" (affair, business), from "schaffen" (to act, work). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "o negócio" can alternately mean a deal, matter, or interest, beyond its meaning of business. |
| Punjabi | Originally, 'ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰ' meant a caravan of traders, later evolving to mean the transactions and commercial activities they carried out. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "afaceri" derives from the Turkish "afer," meaning "act" or "case," and entered Romanian lexicon in the 18th century. |
| Russian | The word "бизнес" can also mean "occupation" or "profession" in Russian. |
| Samoan | The word 'pisinisi' may have originated from the English word 'business', which was likely introduced to Samoa during colonial times. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, the word "gnìomhachas" can also mean "conduct" or "behaviour". |
| Serbian | The term "posao" can also refer to a task, duty, or job, and is derived from the Slavic word "posъl" meaning "sending" or "mission." |
| Sesotho | The word 'khoebo' also refers to the concept of 'profit' or 'capital' in Sesotho. |
| Shona | The Shona word 'bhizinesi' is an adaptation of the English word 'business', but it can also refer to a type of association or society. |
| Sindhi | The word "ڪاروبار" in Sindhi comes from the Persian word "کراو بار" (karvabār) and refers to a specific trade, business or occupation |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In Sinhala, the word "ව්යාපාරික" not only means "business" but also refers to someone who is engaged in commercial activities. |
| Slovak | The word "podnikania" also refers to an undertaking or an attempt, reflecting its original meaning as a venture or enterprise. |
| Slovenian | The word "posel" comes from the medieval German word "posen", meaning "to send", and refers to the sending of goods or services in exchange for money. |
| Somali | "Ganacsi" comes from the Arabic word "kanz" meaning "treasure" and was adopted by Somali merchants doing business in the Middle East. |
| Spanish | The word "negocio" comes from the Latin word "negotium," which means "not leisure" indicating that business is not a form of leisure. |
| Sundanese | The word "bisnis" in Sundanese is derived from the Sanskrit word "vyavasaya", which means "effort" or "activity". |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "biashara" originates from the Arabic word "tijarah" meaning "commerce" or "trade". |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "företag" is derived from the Old Norse word "fyrirtaekja" meaning "to undertake something." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "negosyo" (business) is derived from the Spanish word "negocio", which also means "affair" or "transaction". |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "бизнес" originates from Persian and also means "industry" or "work". |
| Tamil | The Tamil word "வணிக" (vaņika) can also refer to trade, commerce, or transaction, and is cognate with the Sanskrit term "vanik" which has similar meanings. |
| Thai | The Thai word "ธุรกิจ" is derived from Sanskrit and has connotations of "religious merit-making" and "obligation". |
| Turkish | The word "iş" (business) in Turkish is derived from the word "işlemek" (to work), which can also mean "to do", "to perform", or "to engage in an activity". |
| Ukrainian | The word "бізнес" is derived from the Old East Slavic word "бысь" (bys), meaning "occupation", and cognate with the English word "busy". |
| Urdu | The word 'کاروبار' originally meant 'to turn' or 'to move', and is related to the Persian word 'کاروانسرا', meaning 'caravan stop'. |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "biznes" is also used colloquially to describe a small-scale, informal business or occupation. |
| Vietnamese | "Kinh doanh" derives from the Chinese word "經營" (jīngyíng), which originally meant "to manage a household or estate". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'busnes' (meaning 'business') can also refer to a 'situation' or a 'matter'. |
| Xhosa | The word 'ishishini' in Xhosa shares the same root with the verb 'shiya', meaning 'to leave', possibly referring to the act of leaving one's home to conduct business elsewhere. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word 'געשעפט' ('business') can also refer to a store or shop and is cognate with the German word 'Geschäft' with the same meanings. |
| Yoruba | Ìṣowo in Yoruba can also refer to trade, commerce, or a commercial transaction. |
| English | The word "business" originates from the Old French word "businesse," meaning diligence, care, or occupation. |