Closer in Different Languages
Discover 'Closer' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'closer' holds a significant place in our daily conversations and has been a subject of interest in various cultural contexts. Its translation in different languages can offer us a unique perspective on how different cultures perceive the concept of proximity. For instance, in Spanish, 'closer' translates to 'más cerca' while in French, it is 'plus près'. In German, the word 'closer' can be translated to 'näher' and in Japanese, it is '近い' (kinai).
Moreover, the word 'closer' has been used in various art forms, including music and literature, to convey emotions and themes of intimacy and connection. For example, the song 'Closer' by The Chainsmokers has been a global hit, resonating with audiences across cultures.
Understanding the translation of 'closer' in different languages can also help us appreciate the nuances of each language and culture. It can provide us with a deeper understanding of how different cultures communicate and express themselves.
Closer
Closer in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | nader | ||
| The word "nader" in Afrikaans can also mean "comparative" or "in comparison". | |||
| Amharic | ተጠጋ | ||
| The Amharic word "ተጠጋ" can also mean "to be tight" or "to be narrow". | |||
| Hausa | kusa | ||
| In Hausa, the word "kusa" can also mean "to approach" or "to draw near". | |||
| Igbo | nso | ||
| The Igbo word "nso" can also mean "to be near" or "nearby". | |||
| Malagasy | akaiky | ||
| The word 'akaiky' also means 'narrow' or 'tight' in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | pafupi | ||
| Nyanja "pafupi" also means "shorter" in terms of length or duration. | |||
| Shona | pedyo | ||
| In some dialects of Shona, such as Manyika, "pedyo" specifically refers to being close in proximity, while in other dialects it can also indicate being close in time or relationship. | |||
| Somali | dhow | ||
| The word "dhow" in Somali can also refer to a type of traditional sailing vessel. | |||
| Sesotho | haufi | ||
| Swahili | karibu | ||
| The Swahili word "karibu" derives from the Arabic "qarib," meaning "nearby" or "close." | |||
| Xhosa | kufutshane | ||
| Kufutshane, meaning "closer" in Xhosa, can also loosely translate to "to go near" or "to come close". | |||
| Yoruba | jo | ||
| The word "jo" in Yoruba has alternative meanings such as "to join" or "to come together". | |||
| Zulu | eduze | ||
| In some instances, the word "eduze" may be used to mean "be closer" instead of "closer". | |||
| Bambara | ka surunya | ||
| Ewe | te ɖe eŋu wu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | hafi | ||
| Lingala | penepene | ||
| Luganda | okumpi | ||
| Sepedi | kgauswi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɛn hɔ | ||
Closer in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أقرب | ||
| "أقرب" (closer) is the comparative form of "قريب" (close) and is also used in a legal sense to mean "akin" or "related". | |||
| Hebrew | יותר קרוב | ||
| "יותר קרוב" (closer) is also short for "יותר קל מקרוב" (easier than close) referencing the fact that sometimes it is easier to understand or accomplish something with a little distance. | |||
| Pashto | نږدې | ||
| The word "نږدې" (nazdē) can also be translated as "closely" or "nearly" in English, indicating proximity or a tight connection. | |||
| Arabic | أقرب | ||
| "أقرب" (closer) is the comparative form of "قريب" (close) and is also used in a legal sense to mean "akin" or "related". | |||
Closer in Western European Languages
| Albanian | më afër | ||
| "Me afër" also conveys the meaning "more intimately/personally" or "at a closer emotional distance". | |||
| Basque | gertuago | ||
| In some areas of Navarre, “gertuago” means something like “the one who does the job” or “the one who brings it to an end”. | |||
| Catalan | més a prop | ||
| The literal translation of the Catalan phrase "més a prop" is "more at hand," implying the meaning of "near" or "accessible." | |||
| Croatian | bliže | ||
| The word 'bliže' is cognate with 'blisko', which means 'near', and 'blizanac', which means 'twin'. | |||
| Danish | tættere | ||
| "Tættere" (closer) is derived from the old Norse word "teitr" (tight). | |||
| Dutch | dichterbij | ||
| The Dutch word "dichterbij" can also be used to describe someone or something that is more detailed or elaborate. | |||
| English | closer | ||
| "Closer" also means a person or thing that closes something such as a door or a deal. | |||
| French | plus proche | ||
| "Plus proche" can also mean "next of kin" in French | |||
| Frisian | tichterby | ||
| The word "tichterby" derives from the Old Frisian word "tichtera," meaning "nearer" or "more nearby." | |||
| Galician | máis preto | ||
| Máis preto, in addition to meaning closer, can also mean more likely. | |||
| German | näher | ||
| "Näher" is cognate with "near" in English and "nahe" in German, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European "*ne-/*no-/*neh-", meaning "to approach". | |||
| Icelandic | nær | ||
| Nær and its antonym fjar can also mean 'dear' and 'unimportant' respectively, due to their historic sense of 'close' and 'far'. | |||
| Irish | níos gaire | ||
| The term 'níos gaire' is derived from the Irish words 'níos,' meaning 'lower,' and 'gaire,' meaning 'short,' indicating its position as a step closer. | |||
| Italian | più vicino | ||
| The Italian word 'più vicino' is derived from the Latin phrase 'plus vicina', meaning 'nearer'. | |||
| Luxembourgish | méi no | ||
| Maltese | aktar qrib | ||
| The word "aktar qrib" in Maltese is derived from the Arabic word "aktar" and the Maltese word "qrib", meaning "more" and "near" respectively. | |||
| Norwegian | nærmere | ||
| Nærmere shares an etymology with «near» in English or «nahe» in German, and thus relates to «nearby» and the closeness of space. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | mais perto | ||
| "Mais perto" literally means "more close", a remnant of the archaic "mais" meaning "very", which in modern language became "muito". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | nas fhaisge | ||
| "Nas fhaisge" derives from Old Irish "nessa" and means "near" or "at hand." | |||
| Spanish | más cerca | ||
| "Más cerca" in Spanish is also used to mean "more surely." | |||
| Swedish | närmare | ||
| The Swedish word "närmare" derives from the Old Norse "nar", meaning "near", with added "mare" as a comparative suffix | |||
| Welsh | agosach | ||
| In some dialects 'agosach' can also mean 'attentive' or 'thoughtful'. | |||
Closer in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | бліжэй | ||
| The Belarusian word “бліжэй” is etymologically related to the Lithuanian word “bležesnis” (brighter), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel- (to shine). | |||
| Bosnian | bliže | ||
| The word "bliže" in Bosnian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *blьžь, which also means "near" or "close". | |||
| Bulgarian | по близо | ||
| The Bulgarian word "по-близо" has cognates with the words for "near" or "close" in other Slavic languages. | |||
| Czech | blíže | ||
| {"text": "Blíže is a comparative form of "blízko" (near), which comes from Proto-Indo-European root *bʰelgh- meaning "to swell, bulge, overflow.""} | |||
| Estonian | lähemale | ||
| The word "lähemale" can also mean "more closely" or "more intimately" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | lähempänä | ||
| The noun "lähempi" means "a closer one," while the comparative "lähempänä" means "closer." | |||
| Hungarian | közelebb | ||
| The word "közelebb" also means "dearer" or "more beloved" in Hungarian. | |||
| Latvian | tuvāk | ||
| The verb "tuvāk" not only means "to draw near", but also "to get dressed." | |||
| Lithuanian | arčiau | ||
| The word "arčiau" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂er-, meaning "to fit" or "to join." | |||
| Macedonian | поблиску | ||
| The word "поблиску" comes from the root "блиску", which means "near" or "close". It can also be used to mean "approximately" or "almost". | |||
| Polish | bliższy | ||
| The word "bliższy" also means "more dear" or "more beloved" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | mai aproape | ||
| The word "mai aproape" can also mean "nearer" or "more closely". | |||
| Russian | ближе | ||
| "Ближе" can also mean "more" (e.g. "bliже к делу" means "closer to the business") or "closer in time" (e.g. "ближе к вечеру" means "closer to the evening"). | |||
| Serbian | ближе | ||
| The word "ближе" can also mean "more closely", "nearer", or "more intimately." | |||
| Slovak | bližšie | ||
| The word "bližšie" also means "more closely" or "more dearly" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | bližje | ||
| Slovene 'bližje' (closer) derives from 'bliz' (close) which derives from the Proto-Slavic '*bliskъ', meaning both 'close' and 'bright'. | |||
| Ukrainian | ближче | ||
| The Ukrainian word "ближче" shares its root with "близький" (close), originating from the Proto-Slavic word "близъ". | |||
Closer in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কাছাকাছি | ||
| কাছাকাছি (closer) is a derivative of the Bengali word কাছে (near), which is cognate with Sanskrit कच (kac), meaning 'near' or 'by'. | |||
| Gujarati | નજીક | ||
| The Gujarati word "નજીક" ("closer") also means "near" or "close" in a general sense and can be used figuratively to refer to a person or thing that is close or dear to you. | |||
| Hindi | करीब | ||
| "करीब" is derived from the Arabic "qareeba" meaning "to draw near," and is also an idiom meaning "almost" or "about". | |||
| Kannada | ಹತ್ತಿರ | ||
| Malayalam | അടുത്ത് | ||
| 'അടുത്ത്' can also mean 'nearby', 'close', or 'next' in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | जवळ | ||
| The root of "जवळ" is not entirely clear; the closest cognate is the Persian word "جُل" (jul) "fast, nimble." | |||
| Nepali | नजिक | ||
| The word "नजिक" is derived from the Sanskrit word "नज्", meaning "to approach" or "to be near". | |||
| Punjabi | ਨੇੜੇ | ||
| The word "ਨੇੜੇ" can also mean "near" or "close by". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සමීප | ||
| The word "සමීප" (samīpa) is derived from the Sanskrit word "समीप" (samīpa), which means "near" or "close at hand." | |||
| Tamil | நெருக்கமாக | ||
| Telugu | దగ్గరగా | ||
| The word "దగ్గరగా" can also mean "nearby" or "close at hand" in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | قریب | ||
| The word "قریب" in Urdu can also refer to "relative," "beloved," or "intimacy." | |||
Closer in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 更接近 | ||
| The Chinese characters forming 更接近 literally mean "to follow someone's path", which could be an alternate interpretation of the word "closer" in some contexts. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 更接近 | ||
| The character '更' in '更接近' also means 'again', hence its use in '更正' ('to correct') or '更新' ('to update'). | |||
| Japanese | クローザー | ||
| The word "クローザー" can also refer to the final relief pitcher in baseball or a person who closes a deal. | |||
| Korean | 가까이 | ||
| The word '가까이' derives from the old Korean root '가깝-' which is also the origin of the noun '가까움' ('closeness'). | |||
| Mongolian | ойрхон | ||
| "Ойрхон" also means near, not very far, and can refer to a close friend. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပိုမိုနီးကပ်စွာ | ||
Closer in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | lebih dekat | ||
| The word "lebih dekat" literally means "more close/near" in Indonesian, which conveys the nuance of approaching/coming closer gradually or further. | |||
| Javanese | nyedhaki | ||
| The word | |||
| Khmer | កាន់តែជិត | ||
| The word "កាន់តែជិត" is used in Khmer to express the concept of not only getting closer, but also growing or increasing. | |||
| Lao | ໃກ້ຊິດ | ||
| Malay | lebih dekat | ||
| The word "lebih dekat" literally means "more near" in Malay, emphasizing the comparative degree of proximity. | |||
| Thai | ใกล้ชิด | ||
| ใกล้ชิด also means 'close' to indicate proximity in terms of space, time, or relationship. | |||
| Vietnamese | gần hơn | ||
| The word "gần hơn" can also mean "to be close to each other" | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mas malapit | ||
Closer in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | daha yaxın | ||
| The word "daha yaxın" in Azerbaijani can also mean "more dear" or "more precious". | |||
| Kazakh | жақынырақ | ||
| The word "жақынырақ" can also mean "more frequent" or "more often" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жакыныраак | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "жакыныраак" also means "more friendly" or "more supportive". | |||
| Tajik | наздиктар | ||
| The word "наздиктар" in Tajik also means "relatives" or "kinsmen". | |||
| Turkmen | has ýakyn | ||
| Uzbek | yaqinroq | ||
| The word "yaqinroq" can also mean "more certain" or "more likely". | |||
| Uyghur | يېقىنراق | ||
Closer in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kokoke loa | ||
| The word "kokoke loa" can also mean "to reach out" or "to extend" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | tata atu | ||
| The word 'tata atu' is related to 'tata', meaning to join or stick together. | |||
| Samoan | latalata | ||
| Latata in Samoan also means 'to come near' or 'to approach'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | mas malapit | ||
| In Philippine mythology, "Malapit" refers to a giant crab that causes earthquakes by stirring the sea while sleeping. | |||
Closer in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jak’achasiña | ||
| Guarani | hi’aguĩve | ||
Closer in International Languages
| Esperanto | pli proksime | ||
| The root "pli" in "pli proksime" can also mean "more" or "to increase". | |||
| Latin | propius | ||
| The word "propius" in Latin also means "more fitting" or "more appropriate". | |||
Closer in Others Languages
| Greek | πιο κοντά | ||
| The word "πιο κοντά" can also mean "nearer" or "closer to" in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | los ze zog | ||
| Los ze zog is an idiomatic phrase derived from los meaning to close, and ze zog meaning to follow. | |||
| Kurdish | nêztir | ||
| The Kurdish word "nêztir" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *neǵʰ-, meaning "near". | |||
| Turkish | daha yakın | ||
| "Daha" can also mean "more" or "again". | |||
| Xhosa | kufutshane | ||
| Kufutshane, meaning "closer" in Xhosa, can also loosely translate to "to go near" or "to come close". | |||
| Yiddish | נענטער | ||
| "נענטער" (closer) also means "more personal" or "more intimate" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | eduze | ||
| In some instances, the word "eduze" may be used to mean "be closer" instead of "closer". | |||
| Assamese | ওচৰত | ||
| Aymara | jak’achasiña | ||
| Bhojpuri | नजदीक आ गइल बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ކައިރިންނެވެ | ||
| Dogri | नेड़े | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mas malapit | ||
| Guarani | hi’aguĩve | ||
| Ilocano | as-asideg | ||
| Krio | klos wan | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نزیکتر | ||
| Maithili | नजदीक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯦꯟꯅꯥ ꯅꯀꯁꯤꯜꯂꯀꯄꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | hnaih zawkah | ||
| Oromo | walitti dhiyeenya | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ନିକଟତର | ||
| Quechua | aswan qayllapi | ||
| Sanskrit | समीपस्थः | ||
| Tatar | якынрак | ||
| Tigrinya | ዝቐረበ ምዃኑ’ዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | ekusuhi swinene | ||