Can in Different Languages
Discover 'Can' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Can
Afrikaans kan | ||
Albanian mundet | ||
Amharic ይችላል | ||
Arabic يستطيع | ||
Armenian կարող է | ||
Assamese পাৰে | ||
Aymara ch'ama | ||
Azerbaijani bacarmaq | ||
Bambara ka se | ||
Basque daiteke | ||
Belarusian можа | ||
Bengali করতে পারা | ||
Bhojpuri सकिले | ||
Bosnian mogu | ||
Bulgarian мога | ||
Catalan llauna | ||
Cebuano mahimo | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 能够 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 能夠 | ||
Corsican pò | ||
Croatian limenka | ||
Czech umět | ||
Danish kan | ||
Dhivehi ވާނެ | ||
Dogri सकना | ||
Dutch kan | ||
English can | ||
Esperanto povas | ||
Estonian saab | ||
Ewe ate ŋu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pwede | ||
Finnish voi | ||
French pouvez | ||
Frisian kinne | ||
Galician pode | ||
Georgian შეიძლება | ||
German können | ||
Greek μπορώ | ||
Guarani ikatu | ||
Gujarati કરી શકો છો | ||
Haitian Creole kapab | ||
Hausa iya | ||
Hawaiian hiki | ||
Hebrew פחית | ||
Hindi कर सकते हैं | ||
Hmong tuaj yeem | ||
Hungarian tud | ||
Icelandic dós | ||
Igbo nwere ike | ||
Ilocano kabaelan | ||
Indonesian bisa | ||
Irish féidir | ||
Italian può | ||
Japanese できる | ||
Javanese bisa | ||
Kannada ಮಾಡಬಹುದು | ||
Kazakh мүмкін | ||
Khmer អាច | ||
Kinyarwanda irashobora | ||
Konkani शकता | ||
Korean 할 수있다 | ||
Krio kin | ||
Kurdish qûtîk | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) دەتوانێت | ||
Kyrgyz мүмкүн | ||
Lao ສາມາດ | ||
Latin potes | ||
Latvian var | ||
Lingala akoki | ||
Lithuanian gali | ||
Luganda -sobola | ||
Luxembourgish kann | ||
Macedonian може | ||
Maithili कय सकैत | ||
Malagasy afaka | ||
Malay boleh | ||
Malayalam കഴിയും | ||
Maltese jista ' | ||
Maori kēne | ||
Marathi करू शकता | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯉꯝꯕ | ||
Mizo thei | ||
Mongolian чадах | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) လုပ်နိုင် | ||
Nepali सक्छ | ||
Norwegian kan | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) angathe | ||
Odia (Oriya) କରିପାରିବେ | | ||
Oromo danda'a | ||
Pashto کولی شی | ||
Persian می توان | ||
Polish mogą | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) posso | ||
Punjabi ਕਰ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ | ||
Quechua atiy | ||
Romanian poate sa | ||
Russian может | ||
Samoan mafai | ||
Sanskrit शक्नोति | ||
Scots Gaelic urrainn | ||
Sepedi ka | ||
Serbian моћи | ||
Sesotho ka khona | ||
Shona unogona | ||
Sindhi ڪري سگهي ٿو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පුළුවන් | ||
Slovak môcť | ||
Slovenian lahko | ||
Somali awoodo | ||
Spanish pueden | ||
Sundanese tiasa | ||
Swahili unaweza | ||
Swedish burk | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) maaari | ||
Tajik метавонад | ||
Tamil முடியும் | ||
Tatar булдыра ала | ||
Telugu చెయ్యవచ్చు | ||
Thai สามารถ | ||
Tigrinya ይኽእል | ||
Tsonga nga | ||
Turkish yapabilmek | ||
Turkmen edip biler | ||
Twi (Akan) bɛtumi | ||
Ukrainian може | ||
Urdu کر سکتے ہیں | ||
Uyghur قىلالايدۇ | ||
Uzbek mumkin | ||
Vietnamese có thể | ||
Welsh can | ||
Xhosa unako | ||
Yiddish קענען | ||
Yoruba le | ||
Zulu can |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans "kan" also means "know" or "understand", coming from Dutch "kennen" and "kunnen". |
| Albanian | The word "mundet" is also used to refer to a jar or pot in Albanian. |
| Amharic | The word "ይችላል" can also mean "is able to" or "is possible to" in Amharic. |
| Arabic | The word "يستطيع" is derived from the root "ط-و-ع" which means "to be submissive or obedient". It can also mean "to be able to do something" or "to have the power or authority to do something". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word «կարող է» not only means "can," but can also mean "is able to," "has the ability to," or "is capable of." |
| Azerbaijani | The word "bacarmaq" also means "to be able" and derives from the Persian word "bāz-kardan" (to open). |
| Basque | The Basque word "daiteke" may also refer to a "vessel", "receptacle", or "reservoir" and is likely derived from the Latin "dolium" (a large jar). |
| Belarusian | Белорусское слово "можа" образовано от праславянского слова "мог", обозначавшего "сила", "мощность". |
| Bengali | ‘করতে পারা’ শব্দের আক্ষরিক অর্থে ‘করতে পারা’, কিন্তু কখনো মুক্তি তথা সামর্থ্য প্রকাশ করে |
| Bosnian | The word "mogu" can also refer to a type of mushroom in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | "Мога" comes from an Old Bulgarian word that also means "force" or "strength." |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "llauna" also refers to the metal sheet used to make cans or other containers. |
| Cebuano | "Mahimo" in Cebuano shares the same root with the Sanskrit word "mahiman" which means "strong." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 能够 literally means "have ability" and is used like "be able to" in English. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "能夠" also refers to "able to" or "competent in doing something". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "pò" derives from the Italian "po" (plural "poi") and can also refer to a "jar" or "vessel". |
| Croatian | The word "limenka" comes from the German "limone", meaning "lime", referring to the fruit with a thick green skin and tart juicy pulp |
| Czech | "Umět" also means "to know" or "to be able to". |
| Danish | In Danish, "kan" can also mean "know" or "be able to." |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "kan" can also refer to a jug, pitcher, or jar. |
| Esperanto | The word "povas" can also refer to a type of fabric, a plant, or a musical instrument. |
| Estonian | In Estonian, "saab" can also refer to the lid of a box or the ability to do something. |
| Finnish | The word "voi" in Finnish can also be used to express permission, sorrow, or regret. |
| French | "Pouvez" comes from the Latin "possum," so it can also mean "be able". |
| Frisian | The word "kinne" in Frisian can also refer to a milk churn or a drinking vessel. |
| Galician | pode' comes from the Latin 'possum,' meaning 'I am able,' also related to the Portuguese word 'poder' (to be able), Catalan 'poder' (to be able), and Spanish 'poder' (to be able). |
| German | The German word “können” also means “to know how to” which explains the related English word “cunning” meaning “skill” rather than “deceit”. |
| Greek | In Ancient Greek, "μπορώ" meant "I am able to" while in Modern Greek it means "I can". |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati "કરી શકો છો" can also denote ability in addition to permission, like the English "are/were capable of". |
| Haitian Creole | Kapab derives from the Proto-Niger-Congo root word *gbɔŋ́, meaning "to be able" or "to have power or authority". |
| Hausa | Hausa has two terms for 'can' - `iya` which also means 'will', and `za ta iya` which means 'will be in a position to'. |
| Hawaiian | The word "hiki" in Hawaiian can also mean "to be able to do something" or "to be possible". |
| Hebrew | "פחית" (can) comes from the word "פח" (tin), which was used to make cans in the past. |
| Hindi | In Hindi, 'कर सकते हैं' can also mean 'are able to' or 'can do' in English. |
| Hmong | "Tuaj yeem" also means "able to" or "may." |
| Hungarian | The archaic and rare Hungarian word 'tud' derives from the Proto-Uralic word 'tūta' meaning 'to be capable'. |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "dós" is also a measure of volume for fish, usually equal to 18 gallons or 80 liters. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "nwere ike" means "can" but also carries the meanings of ability, power, and force. |
| Indonesian | The term "bisa" also refers to the ability or potential to do something, similar to the English word "can". |
| Irish | The Irish word "féidir" can also be used to mean "ability" or "possibility". |
| Italian | In Italian, "può" also means "stinks" or "smells bad". |
| Japanese | In addition to "can," "できる" can also mean "to become able to," "to be able to do," "to be capable of," "to be possible," "to succeed," or "to win." |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "bisa" can also mean "poison". |
| Kannada | The word "ಮಾಡಬಹುದು" can also mean "can (a food item)" or "can (a container)" in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "мүмкін" can also mean "maybe" or "possibly". |
| Khmer | "អាច" is derived from Sanskrit "śak" and also means "able" or "possible". |
| Korean | The word "할 수 있다" can also be used to express permission or ability, similar to the English word "may". |
| Kyrgyz | Мүмкүн is derived from the Mongolian word "mükin", meaning "possible" or "able to be done". |
| Latin | Potes can also mean "are powerful" or "have authority" in Latin, derived from the verb "posse" which means "to be able". |
| Latvian | The word "var" can also mean "may" or "might" and comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*wer-" meaning "to cover". |
| Lithuanian | The word "gali" has several meanings depending on the context, but it can generally be translated as "can" or "may". It is cognate with the English word "can", but also has different meanings such as "might" or "ability". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "kann" can also mean "does" or "can do". |
| Macedonian | The word "може" in Macedonian can also mean “perhaps” or “maybe”. |
| Malagasy | "Afaka" in Malagasy can also mean "to be able" or "to have the ability". |
| Malay | "Boleh" in Malay also means "to be allowed" or "to be possible." |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "കഴിയും" is an irregular verb which can also mean "to finish", "to be enough", or "to be possible". |
| Maltese | The Maltese word 'jista' can also be used to mean 'possible' or 'likely'. |
| Maori | The word "kēne" in Māori can also mean "to be able to do something" or "to be capable of doing something." |
| Marathi | करू शकता is a compound of the Marathi words करू (do) and शकता (be possible), similar to the English word "can". |
| Mongolian | The word "чадах" has Proto-Mongolic roots and can also mean "to put" or "to pour in". |
| Nepali | The word 'सक्छ' originates from the Sanskrit word 'शक्नोति', meaning 'to be able to' or 'to have the power to'. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "kan" can mean "to be able to" or "to know how to". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word 'angathe' can also refer to a type of large cooking pot. |
| Pashto | The word "کولی شی" in Pashto can also refer to a type of traditional woolen blanket or a water container made of animal skin. |
| Persian | The Persian word "می توان" can also mean "is possible" or "is able to". |
| Polish | The word 'mogą' can also refer to the ability or permission to do something. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "posso" can mean "can" but also "may," "am able to," or "have the ability to." |
| Romanian | The term "poate sa" can in certain contexts mean "is possible to" |
| Russian | The word "может" can also mean "maybe" or "possibly" in Russian, depending on the context and intonation. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "mafai" can also mean "able" or "possible". |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "urrainn" derives from the Scots "orane" or "ourane" meaning "an earthen vessel made to hold water." |
| Serbian | The Serbian word 'моћи' ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh-, meaning 'to be able' or 'power'. |
| Sesotho | The etymology of the word "ka khona" is uncertain, but it may be related to the verb "kha" (to eat), suggesting that the concept of "can" originated from the idea of being able to consume something. |
| Shona | The word "Unogona" can also mean "you are able" or "you have the ability". |
| Sindhi | The word "ڪري سگهي ٿو" in Sindhi literally translates to "is able or capable", and is commonly used to express potential or possibility. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පුළුවන් derives from Tamil, where it originally meant "to be able." |
| Slovak | The word "môcť" can also mean "ability" or "permission." |
| Slovenian | Lahko can also mean possible, likely, or probable. |
| Somali | The word "awoodo" can also mean "ability" or "power" in Somali. |
| Spanish | The verb "pueden" in Spanish can also mean "they may" or "they are able to". |
| Sundanese | The word "tiasa" in Sundanese can also refer to "a way" or "ability". |
| Swahili | The word "unaweza" in Swahili is derived from the root word "weza" meaning "to be able", and can also mean "to be possible" or "to be capable". |
| Swedish | In Swedish, the word "burk" can also refer to a tin can or a jar. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word 'maaari' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'maryada', which means 'boundary' or 'limit'. |
| Tajik | The word «метавонад» may also refer to ability in general rather than the physical object. |
| Tamil | Tamil "முடியும்" also means "to be completed," as in the sense of being able to finish a task. |
| Telugu | చెయ్యవచ్చు can mean 'permission' or 'ability', and is not always related to possibility or prediction as in English. |
| Thai | "สามารถ" also means "to be able to, to have the ability". |
| Turkish | The verb 'yapabilmek' is also used in Turkish to express a desire, a suggestion, or a polite request. |
| Ukrainian | The word "може" can also mean "possibly" or "maybe" in Ukrainian. |
| Urdu | Urdu "کر سکتے ہیں" and English "can" are cognate words originating from a shared Indo-European root, indicating an ability or permission. |
| Uzbek | In Kazakh, the word "mumkin" means "possible" or "can be done". |
| Vietnamese | In Vietnamese, "có thể" can also mean "perhaps" or "maybe", expressing a possibility or uncertainty. |
| Welsh | The word "can" in Welsh is also used to refer to a person's ability or permission to do something. |
| Xhosa | The word "unako" in Xhosa also means "to be able to" and is used to express ability, permission, or possibility. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "קענען" derives from the Middle High German "kunnen" meaning "to know" or "to be able" and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ǵen-" meaning "to know". |
| Yoruba | The verb "le" in Yoruba also signifies "to have" or "to own". |
| Zulu | The word "can" in Zulu can mean either a metal container or the ability to be able to do something. |
| English | The word "can" can also refer to a container, such as a tin can or a watering can. |