Certain in different languages

Certain in Different Languages

Discover 'Certain' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'certain' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting a level of confidence and clarity that is universally understood. Its cultural importance is evident in its use across various languages and contexts. For those with a passion for language and culture, understanding the translation of 'certain' in different languages can offer fascinating insights into how different cultures express this concept.

Did you know that in Latin, 'certain' is translated as 'certus'? Or that in ancient Egyptian, the concept of 'certainty' was expressed through the hieroglyphs 'nfr' and 'wnn', which together conveyed the idea of 'what is made' and 'to find'? These translations offer a glimpse into the historical and cultural contexts that have shaped the way we understand and express 'certainty'.

By exploring the translations of 'certain' in different languages, we can deepen our appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture. Here are just a few examples of how 'certain' is translated in some of the world's most widely spoken languages:

Certain


Certain in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansseker
The word "seker" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "zeker", meaning "sure" or "safe", and also has the alternate meaning of "perhaps" or "maybe".
Amharicበእርግጠኝነት
The word በእርግጠኝነት can also mean "without a doubt" or "in a definite manner."
Hausatabbata
The word 'tabbata' in Hausa can also mean 'firmly' or 'strongly'.
Igbodoro anya
"Doro anya" is an Igbo phrase also meaning "to look clearly, to understand clearly or to have clarity of knowledge or understanding or to be wise."
Malagasysasany
"Sasany" can also mean "sure" or "true". In formal contexts, it is often used as an adverb meaning "certainly" or "surely."
Nyanja (Chichewa)zowona
The word "zowona" in Nyanja can also mean "truth" or "reality."
Shonachokwadi
Shona 'chokwadi' derives from 'chokwadi', meaning 'a truth'. It also means 'a truth' or 'truth'. Thus 'chokwadi' can mean 'true' or 'indeed'.
Somalihubaal
Derived from the Arabic word 'hubl', meaning 'fetter' or 'tether'.
Sesothoitseng
'Itseng' is also the name of a popular Sesotho dish made from pounded maize or sorghum.
Swahilihakika
The term 'hakika' derives from the Arabic word 'haqiqa' meaning 'truth'.
Xhosangokuqinisekileyo
The word "ngokuqinisekileyo" can also mean "definitely" or "positively".
Yorubadaju
"Daju" also means "very" or "exceedingly" in Yoruba.
Zuluezithile
The word 'ezithile' may also refer to a person who is reliable and dependable.
Bambaradɔw
Eweka ɖe edzi
Kinyarwandarunaka
Lingalalolenge
Lugandaokuba n'obukakafu
Sepedidingwe
Twi (Akan)pampee

Certain in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicالمؤكد
The word "المؤكد" is derived from the root "ك-د" which also means "to verify" or "to confirm".
Hebrewמסוים
'מסוים' also means 'specified' or 'definite' in Hebrew
Pashtoد
The word "د" in Pashto can also mean "the" or "of".
Arabicالمؤكد
The word "المؤكد" is derived from the root "ك-د" which also means "to verify" or "to confirm".

Certain in Western European Languages

Albaniane sigurt
E sigurt is a compound word consisting of "i" (definite article), "sigur" (certain), and "t" (suffix).
Basquezenbait
The word "zenbait" in Basque comes from the phrase "zenbat bait," meaning "how many indeed."
Catalancert
"Cert” can also be translated as "certificate," "certificate of deposit" (CD), or as "bond."
Croatianizvjesna
Izvjesna is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *izvь̌ьnъ meaning "outside".
Danishbestemte
The Danish word "bestemte" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "bistimon-, meaning "to point".
Dutchzeker
"Zeker" is derived from the Old Dutch "seker" meaning "secure" or "firm", and is related to the German "sicher" and English "secure"
Englishcertain
The word 'certain' comes from the Latin word 'certus', meaning 'fixed' or 'determined'.
Frenchcertain
In French, the word "certain" can also refer to a type of promissory note issued by the French Treasury.
Frisianbeskaat
The Frisian word "beskaat" also means "determined", "decided" or "certain".
Galiciancerto
In Galician, "certo" has the same Latin root as "certain" in English, but it can also mean "of course" or "to be sure".
Germansicher
"Sicher" can also refer to a "safe" from which something valuable, e.g. a sum of money, is taken in a controlled distribution.
Icelandicviss
The word "viss" in Icelandic can also refer to a "definite" or "known" person or thing.
Irisháirithe
Áirithe is cognate with the Latin certus, and the Sanskrit śruta 'heard' indicating something that has been heard or ascertained.
Italiancerto
In Italian, 'certo' can also mean 'of course', 'surely', or 'indeed'.
Luxembourgishgewëssen
Luxembourgish "gewëssen" is derived from Old High German "giwis" and also relates to English "wise" and German "wissen" (to know).
Malteseċerti
The origin of the Maltese word 'ċerti' is uncertain, and its alternate meanings include 'some' and 'a few'.
Norwegiansikker
The word 'sikker' is derived from the Old Norse word 'sikr,' meaning 'sure' or 'safe'.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)certo
The word "certo" in Portuguese can mean "right", "correct", or "true".
Scots Gaeliccinnteach
The term 'cinnteach' has alternate meanings of 'sure', 'trustworthy', and 'reliable'.
Spanishcierto
The Spanish word "cierto" also means "true," "real," "right," or "correct".
Swedishvissa
"Vissa" is thought to be a contraction of "visst den" or "visst det", where "visst" is an adverb meaning "certainly" and "den" or "det" are demonstrative pronouns meaning "that" or "it."
Welshsicr
The Welsh word "sicr" has another meaning of "sure" or "positive".

Certain in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпэўны
In Belarusian, "пэўны" can also mean "particular" or "specific".
Bosniansigurno
"Sigurno" is derived from the Proto-Slavic *sъgъrnъ, which also means "sure" or "safe".
Bulgarianсигурен
"Сигурен" in Bulgarian can also mean "safe" or "reliable".
Czechurčitý
The word "určitý" originates from the Old Czech word "urчити", meaning "to determine" or "to define".
Estonianteatud
In Estonian, "teatud" also means "notice" or "advice", akin to the German "teilen" (to tell).
Finnishvarma
Varma is derived from the Proto-Samic *warma, meaning 'true' or 'reliable'.
Hungarianbizonyos
"Bizonyos" is likely derived from the Arabic "yqz" (trust, security), but can also mean "safe" or "reliable".
Latviannoteikti
"Noteikti" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word for "to establish" and originally referred to making a decision or establishing something.
Lithuaniantam tikras
The phrase 'tam tikras' has a secondary meaning relating to its etymological roots, expressing not certainty but rather 'precise' or 'specific'.
Macedonianизвесен
"Извесен" also derives from the Indo-European root *weid-, which translates to see or know.
Polishpewny
In Polish, "pewny" can also mean "reliable" or "trustworthy".
Romaniananumit
The word "anumit" is derived from the Latin "certus", meaning "decided" or "sure".
Russianопределенный
The word "определенный" can also mean "defined" or "specific".
Serbianизвестан
The word "известан" also means "known" in Serbian.
Slovakistý
The Slovak word "istý" (certain) comes from the Proto-Slavic "jьstъ", meaning "real" or "existent".
Sloveniangotovo
The word "gotovo" can also mean "finished" or "done" in Slovenian.
Ukrainianпевна
The word "певна" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *pьvnъ, which also means "first" or "chief".

Certain in South Asian Languages

Bengaliনির্দিষ্ট
নির্দিষ্ট অর্থ নির্দেশ করা, निश्चित करना
Gujaratiચોક્કસ
The Gujarati word "ચોક્કસ" (cokkaS) is related to the Persian word "چقجاق" (čuqčāq) meaning "to hit the target accurately".
Hindiकुछ
The word "कुछ" in Hindi can also mean "some" or "a little bit".
Kannadaನಿಶ್ಚಿತ
ನಿಶ್ಚಿತ (nishchita) derives from the Sanskrit word 'nishchita' meaning 'fixed, determined, or settled.
Malayalamഉറപ്പാണ്
The word "ഉറപ്പാണ്" is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *urap- meaning "to fix, establish, or confirm."
Marathiनिश्चित
The word 'निश्चित' can mean either 'certain' or 'fixed' depending on the context.
Nepaliनिश्चित
The word "निश्चित" is also sometimes used to indicate "destination".
Punjabiਕੁਝ
The word "ਕੁਝ" can also mean "some" or "a little bit".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)සමහර
"සමහර" (sa-ma-ha-ra) also means "some" and "a part of".
Tamilசில
சில (Sila) is an archaic Tamil word which also means "a few", "some" or "several".
Teluguకొన్ని
The word "కొన్ని" can also be used to refer to a group of people or animals that share a common characteristic.
Urduکچھ
Etymology of Urdu word "کچھ": "kuch" in Sanskrit means "something"; "kich" in Prakrit means "a little"}

Certain in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)某些
In literary Chinese, "某些" can also mean "a few, some".
Chinese (Traditional)某些
In ancient Chinese, 某些 originally meant 'this thing', but later became an adverb meaning 'certainly' or 'probably'.
Japanese特定の
特定の also means “designated” or “specified”.
Korean어떤
In Korean, the word "어떤" can also mean "any" or "some", depending on the context.
Mongolianтодорхой
Тодорхой can also mean 'determined', 'fixed', or 'defined'.
Myanmar (Burmese)သေချာတယ်

Certain in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiantertentu
The word "tertentu" in Indonesian can also mean "specific" or "particular".
Javanesetartamtu
The Javanese word "tartamtu" can also be translated as "surely" or "undoubtedly" and is often used in formal settings.
Khmerជាក់លាក់
Laoແນ່ນອນ
This word derives from the Lao verb ແນ່ (แน่) meaning 'to be real, true'.
Malaypasti
The word "pasti" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "*pasti" which also means "firm", "tight", or "fixed".
Thaiแน่นอน
แน่นอน also means 'of course' in Thai, with a slight sense of agreement.
Vietnamesechắc chắn
The Vietnamese word "chắc chắn" can also mean "tight" or "firm", reflecting its root meaning of "fastened securely".
Filipino (Tagalog)tiyak

Certain in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanimüəyyəndir
"Müəyyən" in Azerbaijani can mean 'certain', 'particular', 'fixed', 'definite', 'precise', 'exact', or 'specific'.
Kazakhнақты
The Arabic root of "нақты" is "nqd", which means cash or ready money, and the word later came to mean "certainty" or "precise" in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzбелгилүү
The word "белгилүү" in Kyrgyz can also mean "famous" or "well-known".
Tajikяқин
The word "яқин" may also mean "near" or "close" in Tajik.
Turkmenbelli
Uzbekaniq
In Uzbek, "aniq" can also mean "definite" or "exact".
Uyghurمەلۇم

Certain in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankekahi
The word "kekahi" can also mean "some" or "another" in Hawaiian, making it a versatile term with multiple meanings.
Maoritino
"Tino" can also refer to something genuine or authentic.
Samoanmautinoa
The Samoan word "mautinoa" is also used to mean "definite" or "assured."
Tagalog (Filipino)tiyak
'Tiyak' originally referred to the action of 'to point to something' and later expanded its meaning to include 'sure' and 'certain'.

Certain in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaraamtata
Guaraniañete

Certain in International Languages

Esperantocerta
The Esperanto word "certa" is derived from the Latin word "certus," meaning "determined" or "fixed."
Latinquaedam
The word "quaedam" is also used in Latin to indicate the plural form of an indefinite pronoun, meaning "some" or "any."

Certain in Others Languages

Greekβέβαιος
The word "βέβαιος" in Greek also means "firm," "stable," or "reliable."
Hmongtej yam
The word "tej yam" can also mean "to be sure" or "to have no doubt".
Kurdishqetî
The word "qetî" is also used to express "fixed, stable, firm" or "assured, confident, secure" in Kurdish, reflecting its nuanced meanings.
Turkishbelirli
The word "belirli" can also mean "definite" or "specific" in Turkish.
Xhosangokuqinisekileyo
The word "ngokuqinisekileyo" can also mean "definitely" or "positively".
Yiddishזיכער
In Yiddish, "זיכער" can also mean "surely" or "of course".
Zuluezithile
The word 'ezithile' may also refer to a person who is reliable and dependable.
Assameseনিৰ্দিষ্ট
Aymaraamtata
Bhojpuriकुछु
Dhivehiޔަޤީން
Dogriजकीनी
Filipino (Tagalog)tiyak
Guaraniañete
Ilocanonaisalumina
Krioshɔ
Kurdish (Sorani)دڵنیا
Maithiliनिश्चित
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯀꯛꯅꯕ
Mizochiang
Oromoshakkii malee
Odia (Oriya)ନିଶ୍ଚିତ
Quechuawakin
Sanskritकश्चित्‌
Tatarбилгеле
Tigrinyaውሱን
Tsongatiyisisa

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