Cause in Different Languages
Discover 'Cause' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'cause' holds great significance in our daily lives, shaping our understanding of the world and the events that unfold around us. It is a concept that transcends cultural boundaries and resonates with people across the globe. To know the translation of 'cause' in different languages is to gain a deeper appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture.
Throughout history, the idea of cause and effect has been a subject of great interest and study. Philosophers, scientists, and scholars have all sought to understand the mechanisms behind this fundamental concept. From ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle to modern-day physicists, the study of causality has shaped our understanding of the world in countless ways.
For example, in English, we use the word 'cause' to describe the source or origin of an event or situation. But in other languages, the word may have different connotations and nuances. For instance, in Spanish, the word for 'cause' is 'causa,' which also means 'side' or 'argument.' In French, the word is 'cause,' which can also mean 'lawsuit' or 'case.' And in German, the word is 'Ursache,' which can also mean 'reason' or 'motive.'
Below, you will find a list of translations of the word 'cause' in a variety of languages. Whether you are a language enthusiast, a cultural scholar, or simply curious, we hope that this list will inspire you to explore the beauty and complexity of human language and culture.
Cause
Cause in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | oorsaak | ||
| The Afrikaans word “oorsaak” is etymologically linked to “cause”, both originating from the Latin term causa. | |||
| Amharic | መንስኤ | ||
| "መንስኤ" is a cognate of "መነስ" (spirit) and is often used to refer to the underlying cause of something, especially an event or phenomenon. | |||
| Hausa | dalilin | ||
| Hausa "dalilin" also means "reason" or "motivation". | |||
| Igbo | akpata | ||
| In Igbo, Akpata could also refer to the fruit tree Irvingia gabonensis or it's nut. | |||
| Malagasy | antony | ||
| Antony in Malagasy is also derived from the Greek word meaning "flower", which was used for "cause" in medieval literature. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chifukwa | ||
| There is no evidence that the Chichewa word "chifukwa" has an etymology rooted in another language and its alternate meanings are not documented. | |||
| Shona | kukonzera | ||
| The word 'kukonzera' also means 'to be patient'. | |||
| Somali | sababa | ||
| The word "sababa" in Somali has the alternate meaning of "reason" or "purpose" | |||
| Sesotho | baka | ||
| The word "baka" in Sesotho can also mean "because" or "so that". | |||
| Swahili | sababu | ||
| The word 'sababu' is derived from the Arabic word 'sabab', which also means 'cause'. | |||
| Xhosa | unobangela | ||
| The word "unobangela" is also used in the sense of "because" in the Nguni language. | |||
| Yoruba | fa | ||
| "Fa", an alternative spelling of "faà", also means "to be in possession of". | |||
| Zulu | imbangela | ||
| The Zulu word "imbangela" can also refer to a reason, motive, or justification. | |||
| Bambara | bila | ||
| Ewe | wᴐe be | ||
| Kinyarwanda | impamvu | ||
| Lingala | ntina | ||
| Luganda | okuleetera | ||
| Sepedi | hlola | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sɛnti | ||
Cause in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | سبب | ||
| The Arabic word "سبب" also carries the meaning of a connecting rod or piston in engines. | |||
| Hebrew | גורם | ||
| "גורם" can also refer to someone who is responsible for something or a reason, motive or factor. | |||
| Pashto | لامل | ||
| The word "لامل" (cause) in Pashto is derived from the Arabic word "سبب" (reason, cause) and has the alternate meaning of "excuse" or "reason for doing something". | |||
| Arabic | سبب | ||
| The Arabic word "سبب" also carries the meaning of a connecting rod or piston in engines. | |||
Cause in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shkaku | ||
| The word "shkaku" in Albanian originates from the Proto-Albanian word *skāko-, meaning "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Basque | kausa | ||
| The Basque word "kausa" also means "thing" or "object." | |||
| Catalan | causa | ||
| In Catalan, the word "causa" also refers to a legal proceeding or case. | |||
| Croatian | uzrok | ||
| The Croatian word 'uzrok' originates from the Slavic 'vzъ' (up), denoting an upward movement or action leading to a change or effect. | |||
| Danish | årsag | ||
| The word årsag is derived from the Old Norse word orsök, meaning "beginning" or "origin". | |||
| Dutch | oorzaak | ||
| In Old Dutch, "oorzaak" referred to "origin" or "reason for existence". | |||
| English | cause | ||
| The word 'cause' originates from the Old French term 'cause', derived from the Latin 'causa', meaning 'reason', 'origin', or 'source'. | |||
| French | cause | ||
| The French word "cause" can also mean a legal matter, as opposed to the English word "case" which refers to the factual elements, and it originates from a different Medieval Latin term, "causa". | |||
| Frisian | oarsaak | ||
| In Frisian, the word "oarsaak" also means "case" or "lawsuit." | |||
| Galician | causa | ||
| Galician causa's alternate meaning includes "cause for celebration", and the saying "ter causa para falar" literally means "have reason to talk". | |||
| German | ursache | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning, "Ursache" also derives from the Latin "origo", signifying "origin" or "source". | |||
| Icelandic | orsök | ||
| "Orsök" (cause) derives from the verb "orsa" (to provoke), hence its original meaning is "stimulus". | |||
| Irish | cúis | ||
| "Cúis" derives from Old Irish "cúissed" meaning "a matter or debate" or "a point at issue" | |||
| Italian | causa | ||
| The Italian word "causa" can also refer to a legal case or lawsuit. | |||
| Luxembourgish | ursaach | ||
| The word "Ursaach" is derived from the Old High German word "ursāhi" which means "origin" or "source." | |||
| Maltese | kawża | ||
| The word 'kawża' has a double meaning, it can also translate to 'lawsuit'. | |||
| Norwegian | årsaken | ||
| Årsaken is a cognate of the German word 'Ursache' which shares its root with words such as 'origin' and 'source'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | causa | ||
| The word "causa" is similar to its Latin counterpart "causa", which means "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | adhbhar | ||
| "Adhbhar" is etymologically a compound of the words for "cause" (`ad`) and "fate" or "luck" (`far`)." | |||
| Spanish | porque | ||
| In Spanish, the word "porque" can also be used to introduce a purpose or a reason, as in "vine porque te amo" (I came because I love you). | |||
| Swedish | orsak | ||
| Orsak in Swedish also refers to the name of a bear in the Dalarna province, who was killed by a hunter in the 17th century. | |||
| Welsh | achos | ||
| The word "achos" also means "pain" in Welsh, and shares a proto-Celtic root with the word "ache" in English. | |||
Cause in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | прычына | ||
| The word "прычына" derives from the Old Church Slavonic "прѣчина" and originally meant "an obstacle", "a reason to stop". | |||
| Bosnian | uzrok | ||
| Cognate with the Russian word "узор" (uzor) meaning "pattern" | |||
| Bulgarian | кауза | ||
| The Bulgarian word "кауза" can also mean "lawsuit" or "trial". | |||
| Czech | způsobit | ||
| The word "způsobit" is derived from the Old Czech word "spůsobiti", meaning "to give rise to" or "to bring about". | |||
| Estonian | põhjust | ||
| The word "põhjust" originates from the Proto-Finnic word "*pohja", meaning "bottom", and thus originally referred to the underlying reason or cause of something. | |||
| Finnish | syy | ||
| The Finnish word "syy" (cause) derives from Proto-Finnic *sywi and means "reason, basis, motive, guilt, blame, fault, crime, sin, ground, floor, place, direction, side, area, field, region, origin, source, or birth." | |||
| Hungarian | ok | ||
| In Hungarian, "ok" (pronounced "okei") can also mean "alright" or "okay." | |||
| Latvian | cēlonis | ||
| The Latvian word "cēlonis" also means "knee" in some contexts. | |||
| Lithuanian | priežastis | ||
| The Lithuanian word "priežastis" is etymologically related to the Sanskrit "pratyaya" meaning "consequence, effect, result." | |||
| Macedonian | кауза | ||
| The word "кауза" in Macedonian can also mean an excuse or a pretext. | |||
| Polish | przyczyna | ||
| The word "przyczyna" in Polish can also refer to a legal or logical reason for an action or event. | |||
| Romanian | cauză | ||
| In Romanian, the word "cauză" also refers to a reason for an action or a judicial proceeding. | |||
| Russian | причина | ||
| "Причина" can also mean "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Serbian | узрок | ||
| The word "узрок" can also refer to a "reason" or a "motive" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | príčina | ||
| "Príčina" also means "the natural beginning of something" or "the female breast". | |||
| Slovenian | vzrok | ||
| The word "vzrok" can also mean "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Ukrainian | причина | ||
| The Ukrainian noun "причина" (cause) comes from the Proto-Slavic word "pričina", meaning "dispute" or "controversy". | |||
Cause in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কারণ | ||
| The Bengali word 'কারণ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'कारण', which also means 'reason' or 'factor'. | |||
| Gujarati | કારણ | ||
| The Gujarati word "કારણ" can also mean "reason" or "purpose". | |||
| Hindi | वजह | ||
| The word 'वजह' shares the same root 'vaz' as the English word 'wage' and originally meant 'weight' before taking on its current meaning. | |||
| Kannada | ಕಾರಣ | ||
| "ಕಾರಣ" can also mean reason, motive, or purpose | |||
| Malayalam | കാരണം | ||
| The word "കാരണം" (kāraṇam) in Malayalam is derived from Sanskrit and originally refers to the root or cause of something. | |||
| Marathi | कारण | ||
| कारण (kāraṇa) is derived from the Sanskrit root 'kṛ' meaning 'to do' or 'to make', and also means 'reason' or 'purpose'. | |||
| Nepali | कारण | ||
| The word "कारण" in Nepali can also mean "reason" or "motive." | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਾਰਨ | ||
| The word "ਕਾਰਨ" in Punjabi can also mean "because" or "reason". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හේතුව | ||
| Sinhala "හේතුව" derives from Sanskrit "हेतु" (hetu) and may also refer to a "reason", "motive", "occasion", or "antecedent" | |||
| Tamil | காரணம் | ||
| "காரணம்" also means "reason", "motive", or "source" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | కారణం | ||
| కారణం is related to the concepts of causality and reason and can also mean 'because' or 'for'. | |||
| Urdu | وجہ | ||
| The word “وجہ” is derived from the same root as the word “view” or “face,” suggesting that the cause of something is what we see or perceive as its source. | |||
Cause in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 原因 | ||
| The word 因果 (yīnguǒ) means "law of karma" or "cause and effect" in Chinese. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 原因 | ||
| The word "原因" (yuányīn) can also mean "reason" or "origin". | |||
| Japanese | 原因 | ||
| The word "原因" (cause) in Japanese can also mean "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Korean | 원인 | ||
| The Korean word "원인" can also refer to a "reason" or a "motive" | |||
| Mongolian | шалтгаан | ||
| The word “шалтгаан” also has an additional meaning, referring to “the reason for an event or state of affairs”. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အကြောင်းမရှိ | ||
Cause in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sebab | ||
| In Javanese, "sebab" also means "because" and "so that". | |||
| Javanese | sabab | ||
| The Javanese word "sabab" can also mean "way" or "means" in other contexts. | |||
| Khmer | មូលហេតុ | ||
| The word "មូលហេតុ" can also mean "the motive" or "the reason for something happening". | |||
| Lao | ສາເຫດ | ||
| The Lao word "ສາເຫດ" (cause) is derived from the Sanskrit word "हेतु" (hetu), meaning "reason" or "cause". | |||
| Malay | sebab | ||
| "Sebab" can also mean "motive" or "reason" in Malay. | |||
| Thai | สาเหตุ | ||
| สาเหตุ can also mean "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Vietnamese | nguyên nhân | ||
| The Vietnamese word "nguyên nhân" also has the alternate meaning of "root". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dahilan | ||
Cause in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | səbəb | ||
| The word | |||
| Kazakh | себеп | ||
| It is derived from the Old Turkic word * sebep * meaning "reason", and related to the Mongolian word * seb * meaning "beginning"} | |||
| Kyrgyz | себеп | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "себеп" also means "reason" and "motive". | |||
| Tajik | сабаб | ||
| The word "сабаб" can also mean "reason" or "motive" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | sebäp | ||
| Uzbek | sabab | ||
| The word 'sabab' is also rooted in Arabic, where it means 'connection,' 'means,' or 'motive'. | |||
| Uyghur | سەۋەبى | ||
Cause in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kumu | ||
| The Hawaiian word "kumu" derives from the Proto-Polynesian word "tumu", which also meant "post" and "root" and was later adopted by other Polynesian languages. | |||
| Maori | take | ||
| The Maori word “take” is derived from the Proto-Polynesian verb *take, which also means "to carry" or "to hold". | |||
| Samoan | mafuaʻaga | ||
| In Samoan, "mafuaʻaga" not only means "cause" but also refers to a "place of origin" or a "source of something." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sanhi | ||
| The word “sanhi” is also used in Tagalog to refer to a motive or a reason. | |||
Cause in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukxata | ||
| Guarani | gui | ||
Cause in International Languages
| Esperanto | kaŭzo | ||
| Kaŭzo is a loanword from Romance languages that has a variety of cognates in Slavic languages with similar meanings such as result. | |||
| Latin | causam | ||
| In Latin, the word "causam" can also refer to a legal case or lawsuit. | |||
Cause in Others Languages
| Greek | αιτία | ||
| The Ancient Greek word "αιτία" (aitia) originally meant "accusation, blame" and later came to mean "cause". | |||
| Hmong | ua | ||
| In Hmong, the word "ua" can also mean "reason" or "purpose." | |||
| Kurdish | semed | ||
| The word "semed" also means "reason" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | sebep olmak | ||
| The word "sebep olmak" is derived from the Arabic word "sabab", which also means "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Xhosa | unobangela | ||
| The word "unobangela" is also used in the sense of "because" in the Nguni language. | |||
| Yiddish | גרונט | ||
| "גרונט" (cause) is also used to mean "reason" or "grounds" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | imbangela | ||
| The Zulu word "imbangela" can also refer to a reason, motive, or justification. | |||
| Assamese | কাৰণ | ||
| Aymara | ukxata | ||
| Bhojpuri | कारन | ||
| Dhivehi | ސަބަބު | ||
| Dogri | कारण | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dahilan | ||
| Guarani | gui | ||
| Ilocano | gapu | ||
| Krio | mek | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هۆکار | ||
| Maithili | कारण | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯝ | ||
| Mizo | chhan | ||
| Oromo | sababa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କାରଣ | ||
| Quechua | causa | ||
| Sanskrit | निमित्तम् | ||
| Tatar | сәбәп | ||
| Tigrinya | ጠንቂ | ||
| Tsonga | xivangelo | ||