Characterize in Different Languages
Discover 'Characterize' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'characterize' holds a significant place in our vocabulary as it allows us to describe the essential features and traits of people, objects, and concepts. This word has been used throughout history to help us understand the world around us, from literature to scientific research. Understanding its translation in different languages can provide us with unique cultural perspectives and insights. For example, in Spanish, 'characterize' is 'caracterizar,' while in French, it is 'caractériser.' In German, the word is 'charakterisieren,' and in Japanese, it is '特徴を描く (tokuchou wo kaku).'
Moreover, the word 'characterize' has been used in various historical contexts. For instance, in Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species,' he used the word to describe the differences between species. Understanding the translations of this word can help us appreciate its significance in different cultures and languages.
Characterize
Characterize in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | karakteriseer | ||
| Afrikaans "karakteriseer" is derived from a Dutch word of the same spelling, which means "to characterize" or "to describe the nature of something" | |||
| Amharic | ባሕርይ | ||
| The word "ባሕርይ" can also mean "nature" or "disposition". | |||
| Hausa | siffanta | ||
| The word siffanta also means "to describe" or "to depict" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | mara agwa | ||
| The Igbo word "mara agwa" is also used to mean "to have a character". | |||
| Malagasy | mampiavaka | ||
| "Mampiavaka" also means "to identify" or "to recognize" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | khalani | ||
| The word "khalani" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root *-kala, meaning "to be like, to resemble." | |||
| Shona | hunhu | ||
| The word `hunhu` can be traced to the verb `-unha` (to behave or conduct oneself) and the prefix `hu` (for people) meaning "conduct or behavior of people." | |||
| Somali | tilmaam | ||
| In the Somali language, | |||
| Sesotho | khetholla | ||
| The word "khetholla" in Sesotho can also mean "to define" or "to describe" | |||
| Swahili | tabia | ||
| The word "tabia" also means "nature" or "disposition" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | uphawu | ||
| The word 'uphawu' in Xhosa also means 'to distinguish oneself' or 'to be unique'. | |||
| Yoruba | se apejuwe | ||
| The word 'se apejuwe' also means 'define' and 'classify' in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | uphawu | ||
| "Uphawu" can also refer to a distinctive feature. | |||
| Bambara | jogo jira | ||
| Ewe | dzesi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kuranga | ||
| Lingala | kopesa bizaleli ya bato | ||
| Luganda | okulaga obubonero | ||
| Sepedi | hlaola | ||
| Twi (Akan) | characterize | ||
Characterize in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تميز | ||
| The form | |||
| Hebrew | לאפיין | ||
| The word לאפיין derives from the Semitic root ל-פ-י meaning 'to distinguish or set apart'. | |||
| Pashto | ځانګړنه | ||
| In Pashto, the word "ځانګړنه" means "to characterize" but it also has alternate meanings such as "to distinguish" and "to specify." | |||
| Arabic | تميز | ||
| The form | |||
Characterize in Western European Languages
| Albanian | karakterizoj | ||
| "Karakterizoj" is derived from the Greek "charakterizein," meaning "to engrave" or "to mark," suggesting the act of giving distinctive features or qualities to something. | |||
| Basque | ezaugarritu | ||
| "Ezaugarritu" originally means "to have a characteristic" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | caracteritzar | ||
| The verb 'caracteritzar' derives from the Greek term 'kharakter', meaning 'a mark or characteristic'. | |||
| Croatian | karakterizirati | ||
| The Croatian word "karakterizirati" originally meant "to engrave" or "to imprint". | |||
| Danish | karakterisere | ||
| Karakterisere stammer fra græsk 'kharakter', som betyder 'indgravering' eller 'indridsen'. | |||
| Dutch | karakteriseren | ||
| Dutch "karakteriseren" is related to "character" but can also mean "typify". | |||
| English | characterize | ||
| The word "characterize" derives from the Greek "kharekter," meaning an engraved mark or a distinctive attribute. | |||
| French | caractériser | ||
| "Caractériser" originally meant "to engrave a letter or a sign" in Latin. | |||
| Frisian | karakterisearje | ||
| It may also mean to write the traits of something or a letter to characterize something | |||
| Galician | caracterizar | ||
| Characterize's alternate meaning in Galician is to "define". | |||
| German | charakterisieren | ||
| "Charakterisieren" is cognate with "character" in English, deriving from the Greek "kharaktēr" meaning "mark" or "distinctive feature." | |||
| Icelandic | einkenna | ||
| Einkenna can also mean to recognize or identify something or someone. | |||
| Irish | tréithriú | ||
| Irish "tréithriú" ultimately derives from "treith", "trait", "characteristic" and means "define a person's characteristics", "characterize", "give an account of the personality of". | |||
| Italian | caratterizzare | ||
| The original meaning of the word "caratterizzare" in Italian was "to carve", as in engraving characters onto an object. | |||
| Luxembourgish | charakteriséieren | ||
| The verb "charakteriséieren" comes from the French word "caractériser" and means both "to characterize" and "to draw a portrait of someone." | |||
| Maltese | ikkaratterizza | ||
| The word "ikkaratterizza" is related to the Greek word "charakter" meaning "distinctive mark" and the Latin word "character" meaning "letter". | |||
| Norwegian | karakterisere | ||
| "Karakterisere" also means "typify", "distinguish" or "mark". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | caracterizar | ||
| "Caracterizar" can also mean to "portray" an individual, or to assign a particular feature to something. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | caractar | ||
| In Scots Gaelic, 'caractar' can also mean 'stamp', 'impression', or 'mark' on an object. | |||
| Spanish | caracterizar | ||
| In Spanish, "caracterizar" also means to describe, differentiate, typify, or portray something or someone | |||
| Swedish | karakterisera | ||
| "Karakterisera" derives from the Greek "character" (engraved mark) and originally meant "to engrave" in Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | nodweddu | ||
| The word "nodweddu" can also mean "distinguish" or "mark off". | |||
Characterize in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | характарызаваць | ||
| The verb "характарызаваць" not only means "characterize" but can also mean "describe","feature" and "distinguish". | |||
| Bosnian | karakterizirati | ||
| The word "karakterizirati" is derived from the Greek word "charakter," meaning "distinctive mark" or "impression." | |||
| Bulgarian | характеризирам | ||
| The word "характеризирам" (characterize) in Bulgarian comes from the Greek word "χαρακτήρ" (charakter), meaning a distinctive mark or feature. | |||
| Czech | charakterizovat | ||
| Slovo 'charakterizovat' pochází z řeckého 'charakter', což znamená 'rytí' nebo 'vpisovat'. | |||
| Estonian | iseloomustama | ||
| The word also means "to be a characteristic feature" and is related to the word "loomus" (meaning "character") and "iseloomulik" (meaning "characteristic"). | |||
| Finnish | luonnehtia | ||
| The word "luonnehtia" is derived from the noun "luonne" (character) and the suffix "-htia" (to make). | |||
| Hungarian | jellemez | ||
| It can also mean to 'paint', 'portray', or 'describe'. | |||
| Latvian | raksturot | ||
| "Raksturot" derives from the Latvian word "raksts," a written character, itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "kwer-," meaning "to carve, cut, scratch." | |||
| Lithuanian | apibūdinti | ||
| The stem of "apibūdinti" is "būdas", meaning "nature, character" in Lithuanian and "way, manner" in Old Prussian. | |||
| Macedonian | карактеризираат | ||
| The word "карактеризираат" in Macedonian derives from Greek "χαρακτηρίζω" which means "to engrave" and "γράφω" which means "to write". In addition to "characterizing", the word has an alternative meaning of "determining" or "defining" something based on traits or qualities. | |||
| Polish | charakteryzować | ||
| In Polish, "charakteryzować" also has archaic theatrical meaning of "to put on makeup" | |||
| Romanian | caracteriza | ||
| In Romanian, "caracteriza" comes from the Greek "kharakter" meaning "mark" or "engraving" and has an alternate meaning of "to define" or "to determine." | |||
| Russian | охарактеризовать | ||
| "Охарактеризовать" means "to characterize" in Russian. It comes from the Greek word "character," meaning "mark" or "distinctive trait." | |||
| Serbian | окарактерисати | ||
| The verb 'окарактерисати' can imply describing as well as defining | |||
| Slovak | charakterizovať | ||
| In Slovak, "charakterizovať" can also mean "to symbolize" or "to represent." | |||
| Slovenian | označiti | ||
| The word "označiti" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb *obkytiti, meaning "to designate" or "to mark." | |||
| Ukrainian | характеризувати | ||
| The Ukrainian word “характеризувати” (“to characterize”) shares the same Indo-European root with “character” and “characteristic.” | |||
Characterize in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বৈশিষ্ট্যযুক্ত | ||
| বৈশিষ্ট্যযুক্ত শব্দটি "বৈশেষ্য" শব্দ হতে উদ্ভূত হয়েছে যার অর্থ "বিশেষ গুণাবলী"। | |||
| Gujarati | લાક્ષણિકતા | ||
| Hindi | विशेषताएँ | ||
| विशेषताएँ can mean both “characteristics,” and “privileges.” | |||
| Kannada | ನಿರೂಪಿಸಿ | ||
| ನಿರೂಪಿಸಿ is also used to mean 'to describe', 'to depict', 'to represent', or 'to portray'. | |||
| Malayalam | സ്വഭാവ സവിശേഷത | ||
| Marathi | वैशिष्ट्यीकृत करणे | ||
| Nepali | विशेषता | ||
| The word "विशेषता" can also mean "peculiarity," "distinctiveness," or "uniqueness." | |||
| Punjabi | ਗੁਣ | ||
| The word "ਗੁਣ" can also refer to a person's qualities, attributes or virtues. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ගුනාංගීකරනය | ||
| The term is also used to refer to the process of assigning attributes to something, often used in software engineering and data science. | |||
| Tamil | வகைப்படுத்தவும் | ||
| In Tamil, 'வகைப்படுத்தவும்' means to categorize or describe something, but it can also mean to specify the type or variety of something. | |||
| Telugu | వర్గీకరించండి | ||
| Urdu | خصوصیات | ||
| The Urdu word خصوصیات can also refer to "features", or "the main qualities of a personality." | |||
Characterize in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 表征 | ||
| *表征* may also mean representation in a mathematical or scientific sense. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 表徵 | ||
| 表記（ヒョウジ）は中国語（繁体字）の「表徵」の日本語読みであり、記号や符号などで表すという意味がある。 | |||
| Japanese | 特徴づける | ||
| 特徴づける also means "to particularize" or "to specify". | |||
| Korean | 특성화하다 | ||
| Despite looking very similar, 특성화하다 does not come from 특성 and 화 but actually originated from a Chinese translation of a Japanese word. | |||
| Mongolian | шинж чанар | ||
| The word is of Mongolian origin and can also refer to something "typical" or a distinguishing trait. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စရိုက်လက္ခဏာတွေ | ||
Characterize in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mencirikan | ||
| The word "mencirikan" in Indonesian can also mean to describe or depict something. | |||
| Javanese | watake | ||
| The word "watake" in Javanese also means "to make a sketch or outline of something." | |||
| Khmer | លក្ខណៈ | ||
| The word "លក្ខណៈ" can also refer to "nature" or "characteristic" in Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ລັກສະນະ | ||
| ລັກສະນະ means both "characterize" and "characteristic" in Lao, where the latter is the more common usage. | |||
| Malay | mencirikan | ||
| The root 'ciri' (characteristic, feature) in 'mencirikan' (to characterize) also exists as a noun meaning a distinctive trait or attribute. | |||
| Thai | ลักษณะ | ||
| ลักษณะ is derived from the Sanskrit word "laksana", meaning "mark", "sign", or "characteristic". | |||
| Vietnamese | đặc điểm | ||
| "Đặc điểm" also means "traits" or "physical characteristics" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | katangian | ||
Characterize in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | xarakterizə etmək | ||
| "Xarakterizə etmək" derives from the Greek word "kharakter", which originally meant "tool for branding or engraving" and later came to mean "distinctive mark, characteristic". | |||
| Kazakh | сипаттау | ||
| The Kazakh word "сипаттау" can also mean "to describe" or "to characterize" in English. | |||
| Kyrgyz | мүнөздөө | ||
| The word "мүнөздөө" can also mean "to define" or "to describe" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | тавсиф мекунанд | ||
| "characterize" shares the meaning of "describe", which means specifying qualities and distinguishing features; it's related to the Greek "kharacter" which means "an identifying mark", like in "character"} | |||
| Turkmen | häsiýetlendirmek | ||
| Uzbek | xarakterlash | ||
| The Uzbek word “xarakterlash” also means “to define” or “to depict”. | |||
| Uyghur | خاراكتېر | ||
Characterize in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻomākeʻaka | ||
| The Hawaiian word "hoʻomākeʻaka" has a deeper meaning of "to make a face" or "to grimace". | |||
| Maori | tohu | ||
| In Māori, "tohu" means a mark or sign, as well as a sign or indication, and can also mean a characteristic or quality. | |||
| Samoan | faʻailoga | ||
| In Samoan, the word "faʻailoga" can also mean "to sign" or "to give a sign." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | magpakilala | ||
Characterize in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uñt’ayaña | ||
| Guarani | okarakterisa | ||
Characterize in International Languages
| Esperanto | karakterizi | ||
| Esperanto 'karakterizi' derives from Greek 'charaktēr' (mark, tool for engraving), with 'charaktērizein' (to impress a mark), via French 'caractériser'. | |||
| Latin | characterize | ||
| In Latin, "characterize" can refer to marking with a special quality, distinguishing, or carving or engraving. | |||
Characterize in Others Languages
| Greek | χαρακτηρίζω | ||
| The word "χαρακτηρίζω" is also used to describe a person's personality or behavior. | |||
| Hmong | yam ntxwv | ||
| In Hmong, "yam ntxwv" can also mean to describe or explain something in detail. | |||
| Kurdish | karakterîze kirin | ||
| The word "karakterîze kirin" is derived from the Greek word "kharakterizo", meaning "to give a distinctive mark or quality to". | |||
| Turkish | karakterize etmek | ||
| In Turkish, "karakterize etmek" can also mean "to give a specific character to," "to portray," or "to depict." | |||
| Xhosa | uphawu | ||
| The word 'uphawu' in Xhosa also means 'to distinguish oneself' or 'to be unique'. | |||
| Yiddish | קעראַקטערייז | ||
| The Yiddish verb "קעראַקטערייז" can also refer to "characterizing", "typifying", or "distinguishing" something, and is often used to indicate that someone or something has typical features of their type. | |||
| Zulu | uphawu | ||
| "Uphawu" can also refer to a distinctive feature. | |||
| Assamese | বৈশিষ্ট্য নিৰ্ণয় কৰা | ||
| Aymara | uñt’ayaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | विशेषता के बारे में बतावल गइल बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ސިފަކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | विशेषता देना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | katangian | ||
| Guarani | okarakterisa | ||
| Ilocano | characterize | ||
| Krio | karaktaiz | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تایبەتمەندی | ||
| Maithili | विशेषता बताइए | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯁꯛ ꯇꯥꯀꯄꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | characterize | ||
| Oromo | amala ibsuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବର୍ଣ୍ଣିତ କର | ||
| Quechua | caracterizay | ||
| Sanskrit | लक्षणम् | ||
| Tatar | характеристика | ||
| Tigrinya | መለለዪ ምግባር | ||
| Tsonga | swihlawulekisi | ||