Celebrate in Different Languages
Discover 'Celebrate' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'celebrate' holds a special place in our hearts as it represents joy, pride, and togetherness. It is a universal term that transcends languages and cultures, bringing people together to honor and appreciate various milestones, achievements, and events. From birthdays and weddings to national holidays and cultural festivals, celebrations are an integral part of our lives.
Did you know that the ancient Romans held 'celebrations' to honor their gods and goddesses? These multi-day feasts, known as 'Saturnalia' and 'Lupercalia,' were filled with merriment, gift-giving, and role-reversals. Today, we continue this rich tradition of celebration by honoring our own beliefs, customs, and traditions.
Understanding the translation of 'celebrate' in different languages can enrich our cultural experiences and strengthen our connections with others. Here are a few examples:
- Spanish: celebrar
- French: célébrer
- German: feiern
- Mandarin: 庆祝 (qìng zhù)
- Japanese: 祝う (iwau)
Celebrate
Celebrate in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vier | ||
| In German, the word "vier" refers to the number four. | |||
| Amharic | አክብሩ | ||
| The word comes from the word 'አክባር', meaning 'glorify' in Arabic. | |||
| Hausa | yi biki | ||
| The Hausa word "yi biki" also means "to hold a feast" and is related to the word "biki" which means "festival". | |||
| Igbo | eme ememe | ||
| "Eme ememe" is a Nigerian Igbo word that means "ceremony" or "celebration" and is derived from the Igbo word "eme" meaning "to do". | |||
| Malagasy | mankalaza | ||
| The Malagasy word "mankalaza" is derived from the Arabic word "manqala" and originally referred to a type of board game. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kondwerera | ||
| "Kondwerera" can also mean "to amuse oneself" or "to be happy" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | fara | ||
| "Fara" can also mean "to enjoy" or "to have fun". | |||
| Somali | dabbaaldeg | ||
| Dabbaaldeg derives from the Arabic word "dabbal" meaning "to beat the skin of a drum". | |||
| Sesotho | keteka | ||
| Keteka can also refer to the act of shouting or making loud noises. | |||
| Swahili | kusherehekea | ||
| The word "kusherehekea" in Swahili also means "to rejoice," or "to be glad." | |||
| Xhosa | bhiyozela | ||
| The word "bhiyozela" is derived from the root word "bhiyoza", meaning "to dance". | |||
| Yoruba | ayeye | ||
| 'Ayeye' originates from 'a yeye' meaning 'mother is great' and has been used since the days of the Oyo empire. | |||
| Zulu | gubha | ||
| "Gubha" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-*gub(h)-a," meaning "to hide" or "to conceal." | |||
| Bambara | ɲɛnajɛ | ||
| Ewe | ɖu azã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kwizihiza | ||
| Lingala | kosala feti | ||
| Luganda | okujagaana | ||
| Sepedi | keteka | ||
| Twi (Akan) | di | ||
Celebrate in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | احتفل | ||
| "احتفل" is the Arabic word for "to celebrate", but also has the alternate meaning "to make oneself happy". | |||
| Hebrew | לַחֲגוֹג | ||
| The word "לחגוג" is derived from the root "חג" meaning "holiday". | |||
| Pashto | لمانځل | ||
| The Pashto word "لمانځل" (celebrate) is derived from the Persian "جشن" (festival), which is ultimately of Arabic origin. | |||
| Arabic | احتفل | ||
| "احتفل" is the Arabic word for "to celebrate", but also has the alternate meaning "to make oneself happy". | |||
Celebrate in Western European Languages
| Albanian | festoj | ||
| The word "festoj" is derived from the Latin word "festus", meaning "holiday" or "festival". | |||
| Basque | ospatu | ||
| The Basque word "ospatu" also means "wait". | |||
| Catalan | celebrar | ||
| In Catalan, "celebrar" also means to "officiate" or to "hold a religious ceremony". | |||
| Croatian | slaviti | ||
| The verb 'slaviti' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'slava', meaning 'glory' or 'praise' | |||
| Danish | fejre | ||
| In Danish, "fejre" also means to "sweep" or "clean". | |||
| Dutch | vieren | ||
| The Dutch word "vieren" originates from the Latin word "feriae", meaning "feast" or "holiday". | |||
| English | celebrate | ||
| The word "celebrate" derives from Latin "celebrare," meaning "to frequent or resort to," from "celeber," meaning "much frequented," from "cellere," meaning "to urge on," from "celare," meaning "to drive, put into motion." | |||
| French | célébrer | ||
| In French, the term "célébrer" also refers to holding a religious ceremony or solemnizing a marriage. | |||
| Frisian | fiere | ||
| The word "fiere" is cognate to the Dutch word "vieren" and the German word "feiern", all ultimately derived from the Proto-West Germanic verb *fijōn ('to rejoice'). | |||
| Galician | celebrar | ||
| In Galician, "celebrar" can also mean "to officiate" or "to confer a sacrament". | |||
| German | feiern | ||
| The verb 'feiern' in German also means to honor, commemorate, or keep a holiday. | |||
| Icelandic | fagna | ||
| In Icelandic, "fagna" can also mean to "rejoice" or "exult". | |||
| Irish | ceiliúradh | ||
| Italian | celebrare | ||
| "Celebrare" in Italian comes from the Latin "celebrare," meaning "to perform a religious rite," and retains this meaning in the modern language. | |||
| Luxembourgish | feieren | ||
| Feieren in Luxembourgish can also mean 'to slack off' in addition to 'to celebrate'. | |||
| Maltese | tiċċelebra | ||
| The Maltese word "tiċċelebra" comes from Latin via Italian "celebrare" and shares its root with "celebrity". | |||
| Norwegian | feire | ||
| In Norwegian, 'feire' can also mean 'to wander about aimlessly' | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | comemoro | ||
| The Portuguese verb "comemoro" originally meant "to warn" or "to remind" in Latin. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | comharrachadh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "comharrachadh" also means "communing" or "taking part in holy communion." | |||
| Spanish | celebrar | ||
| In its original Latin form ('celebrare'), 'celebrar' meant 'to frequent' and could apply to any activity or place, especially religious rites and public assemblies. | |||
| Swedish | fira | ||
| The Swedish word for "celebrate", "fira", has Germanic roots and is related to the words "feier" and "feest" in German and Dutch respectively, with connotations of "joy", "feasting" and "commemoration". | |||
| Welsh | dathlu | ||
| The Welsh word 'dathlu' is derived from the Proto-Celtic root *dal-, meaning 'to distribute'. | |||
Celebrate in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | святкаваць | ||
| "Святкаваць" originally meant "to sanctify" due to its connection with "свят" ("saint") but took on the meaning of "to celebrate" from Polish "swiętować" | |||
| Bosnian | slaviti | ||
| Slavljenje u srpskohrvatskom ima značenje koje je slično originalnom slavljenju, ali i u značenju koje se odnosi na proslavljanje svetkovine, tj. crkvenih praznika. | |||
| Bulgarian | празнувам | ||
| The Bulgarian verb "празнувам" derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "праздн" meaning "free from work"} | |||
| Czech | slavit | ||
| "Slavit" originates from "sláva", meaning "glory" or "fame". | |||
| Estonian | tähistama | ||
| The verb _tähistama_ is not only used for _celebrations_, but also for marking something with a sign. | |||
| Finnish | juhlia | ||
| 'juhlia' is a Finnish word that shares the same etymology as 'Christmas' and 'Easter' and used to be used to refer to religious feasts. | |||
| Hungarian | ünnepel | ||
| "ünnep" (holiday) is related to the Proto-Indo-European root *swen-, meaning "to sound, to make merry". | |||
| Latvian | svinēt | ||
| The Latvian word "svinēt" is derived from the Old Prussian word "swintin", meaning "to be holy". | |||
| Lithuanian | švesti | ||
| The Lithuanian word "švesti" can also mean “to light” and "to glow". | |||
| Macedonian | слави | ||
| The word "слави" derives from the Proto-Slavic "*slaviti", meaning "to glorify" or "to praise", and is cognate with the English word "slaves." | |||
| Polish | świętować | ||
| In Polish, "świętować" comes from "święto" meaning "holiday" and denotes commemorating a notable event. | |||
| Romanian | sărbători | ||
| The Romanian word "sărbători" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *svętъ, meaning both "holiday" and "sacred". | |||
| Russian | праздновать | ||
| "праздновать" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "празднъ", meaning "empty" or "idle", and originally referred to the cessation of work on religious holidays. | |||
| Serbian | прославити | ||
| The word "прославити" (celebrate) in Serbian can also mean "to glorify" or "to make famous". | |||
| Slovak | oslavovať | ||
| The word "oslavovať" also means "to glorify" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | praznovati | ||
| The word "praznovati" in Slovenian is derived from the Old Slavic word "prazdnъ", which means "empty" or "idle". The word originally referred to the period of time after a major holiday when people would take a break from work and other activities to rest and relax. | |||
| Ukrainian | святкувати | ||
| The word "святкувати" originates from the Proto-Slavic *svętъ, meaning "holy", and is related to the words "святой" ("saint") and "праздник" ("holiday"). | |||
Celebrate in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | উদযাপন | ||
| The word "udyaapan" derives from the Sanskrit word "udyaapaka" meaning "a completion" or "a conclusion". | |||
| Gujarati | ઉજવણી | ||
| ઉજવણી (celebrate) comes from the Sanskrit word "ujjval" meaning "to shine" or "to brighten up." | |||
| Hindi | जश्न | ||
| In Hindi, 'जश्न' (celebrate) derives from the Arabic 'jašš' (banquet) and also means 'decoration' or 'illumination'. | |||
| Kannada | ಆಚರಿಸಿ | ||
| "ಆಚರಿಸಿ" comes from the root word "ಆಚಾರ" which means "custom", suggesting that celebrations are rooted in cultural practices. | |||
| Malayalam | ആഘോഷിക്കാൻ | ||
| The word "ആഘോഷിക്കാൻ" "(celebrate)" in Malayalam is also used to express "commemorate", "remember", and "mark" an event or anniversary. | |||
| Marathi | साजरा करणे | ||
| The word 'साजरा करणे' ('celebrate') in Marathi originates from the Sanskrit word 'सज्ज' ('to adorn'), indicating the act of beautifying or enhancing an occasion. | |||
| Nepali | मनाउनु | ||
| "मनाउनु" is related to the Sanskrit word "man" meaning "to think, remember". | |||
| Punjabi | ਮਨਾਓ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਮਨਾਓ" ("celebrate") originates from the Sanskrit word "मनन" which means "to think or reflect". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සමරන්න | ||
| Meaning "to observe", "to keep" or "to perform", සමරන්න may be related to the Sanskrit word "smar" meaning "to remember" or "to memorize". | |||
| Tamil | கொண்டாடு | ||
| The word “கொண்டாடு” (“celebrate”) in Tamil is derived from the Sanskrit word “कुण्डली” (“kundali”), meaning “coiled up” or “spiral”. | |||
| Telugu | జరుపుకోండి | ||
| "జరుపుకోండి" is derived from the Sanskrit word "jar", meaning "to grow old", and "pu", meaning "to purify". It can also mean "to observe" or "to perform". | |||
| Urdu | منانا | ||
| The Urdu word "منانا" (celebrate) originates from the Sanskrit word "मनन" (to think, meditate), implying both remembrance and rejoicing. | |||
Celebrate in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 庆祝 | ||
| “庆祝”本义是“杀牲祭神”，后引申指人们为喜庆的日子举行活动。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 慶祝 | ||
| The word "慶祝" is derived from the Chinese characters "慶," meaning "auspicious" and "祝," meaning "to pray", indicating a combination of reverence and celebration. | |||
| Japanese | 祝う | ||
| 祝う (iwau), meaning "to celebrate" or "to congratulate" in Japanese, also contains the "saku" (裂く) element found in 裂帛 (sakuhaku, "to tear cloth"), suggesting the association between celebration and the act of "tearing apart" something valuable to share. | |||
| Korean | 세상에 알리다 | ||
| The Korean word "세상에 알리다" (celebrate) literally means "to inform the world" or "to make known to the world." | |||
| Mongolian | тэмдэглэх | ||
| The word "тэмдэглэх" in Mongolian can also refer to "marking" or "observing" an event. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဆင်နွှဲ | ||
| The word "ဆင်နွှဲ" is used in Myanmar (Burmese) specifically to refer to the celebration of festivals, ceremonies, and special occasions, while its literal translation 'elephant festival' implies grandiosity and splendor. | |||
Celebrate in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | merayakan | ||
| "Merayakan" can also mean "to have a birthday" or "to hold a ceremony or ritual." | |||
| Javanese | ngrameke | ||
| "Ngrameke" is also used to describe a form of art that involves dancing and singing. | |||
| Khmer | អបអរ | ||
| អបអរ derives from the Sanskrit word 'uparma', meaning 'to go away' or 'to leave off'. | |||
| Lao | ສະເຫຼີມສະຫຼອງ | ||
| Malay | raikan | ||
| The word "raikan" in Malay also means "to commemorate", "to honor", or "to mark an occasion". | |||
| Thai | ฉลอง | ||
| "ฉลอง" (celebrate) also means "to decorate a building or a place with flags, streamers, etc." | |||
| Vietnamese | ăn mừng | ||
| Ăn mừng literally means "eat joyful food" in Vietnamese, a custom that originated from ancient rice crop festivals. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magdiwang | ||
Celebrate in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qeyd etmək | ||
| "Qeyd etmək" in Azerbaijani shares its etymology with the Persian word "qayd", meaning "rule" or "regulation. | |||
| Kazakh | мерекелеу | ||
| The word "мерекелеу" in Kazakh means to celebrate, but it can also mean to have fun or to be happy. | |||
| Kyrgyz | майрамдоо | ||
| "Mayramdoo" in Kyrgyz has an alternate meaning of "to make merry". | |||
| Tajik | ҷашн гиред | ||
| The word "ҷашн гиред" (celebrate) in Tajik derives from the Persian word "jashn" (festival) and the Tajik verb "гиред" (to take, to hold). | |||
| Turkmen | bellemek | ||
| Uzbek | nishonlamoq | ||
| The word "nishonlamoq" is based on the verb "belgilamoq" which means to make something become a sign, to indicate or to mark something. | |||
| Uyghur | تەبرىكلەڭ | ||
Celebrate in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻolauleʻa | ||
| The Hawaiian word “hoʻolauleʻa,” meaning “to celebrate,” can also refer to a lively gathering with food, music, and hula. | |||
| Maori | whakanui | ||
| The word “whakanui” is derived from the Maori words “whaka” (to make) and “nui” (big). It can also mean “to magnify” or “to honor”. | |||
| Samoan | faʻamanatu | ||
| "Faʻamanatu" shares its origin with "manatu," meaning "remember" or "keep in mind." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ipagdiwang | ||
| The word "ipagdiwang" originally comes from the Tagalog word "pagdiriwang", which means "feast" or "celebration", and the prefix "i-", which indicates the causative form, making the full meaning "to cause to feast" or "to celebrate". | |||
Celebrate in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | amtaña | ||
| Guarani | guerovy'a | ||
Celebrate in International Languages
| Esperanto | festi | ||
| The Esperanto word "festi" comes from the Latin word "festus", meaning "festive" or "joyful." | |||
| Latin | celebramus | ||
| The Latin word "celebramus" means "to frequent" and is related to an Indo-European root that also produced "celebrate" in English. | |||
Celebrate in Others Languages
| Greek | γιορτάζω | ||
| Γιορτάζω derives from the Ancient Greek word | |||
| Hmong | noj peb caug | ||
| The term "noj peb caug" translates literally to "to gather together" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | kêfkirin | ||
| Kêfkirin in Kurdish is also used for having fun and enjoying company, similarly to the English word 'revel'. | |||
| Turkish | kutlamak | ||
| The word "kutlamak" in Turkish can also mean "to bring good luck" or "to wish someone well on a special occasion". | |||
| Xhosa | bhiyozela | ||
| The word "bhiyozela" is derived from the root word "bhiyoza", meaning "to dance". | |||
| Yiddish | פייַערן | ||
| The word "פייַערן" in Yiddish, meaning "to celebrate", comes from the German word "feiern", which also means "to celebrate". It can also mean "to give a holiday or vacation". | |||
| Zulu | gubha | ||
| "Gubha" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-*gub(h)-a," meaning "to hide" or "to conceal." | |||
| Assamese | উদযাপন | ||
| Aymara | amtaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | जश्न मनावल | ||
| Dhivehi | ފާހަގަކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | समारोह् मनाना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magdiwang | ||
| Guarani | guerovy'a | ||
| Ilocano | rambakan | ||
| Krio | sɛlibret | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئاهەنگ گێڕان | ||
| Maithili | उत्सव माननाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯨꯡꯉꯥꯏꯕ ꯐꯣꯡꯗꯣꯛꯄ | ||
| Mizo | lawm | ||
| Oromo | ayyaaneffachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଉତ୍ସବ ପାଳନ କର | | ||
| Quechua | raymiy | ||
| Sanskrit | कीर्तयति | ||
| Tatar | бәйрәм итегез | ||
| Tigrinya | ምኽባር | ||
| Tsonga | tlangela | ||