Come in Different Languages
Discover 'Come' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'come' is a simple, yet powerful verb that signifies the act of moving towards a person, place, or thing. It is a word that is used in daily conversations across the globe, making it a cultural universal. Understanding the translation of 'come' in different languages can help break down language barriers and foster better communication.
Throughout history, 'come' has been used in various contexts, from religious texts to popular songs. For instance, in the Christian Bible, the word 'come' is used over 700 times, emphasizing the importance of approaching or accepting something, such as salvation. In the realm of music, the Beatles' hit song 'Come Together' uses the word to encourage unity and cooperation.
Here are some translations of 'come' in different languages: Spanish - 'venir', French - 'venir', German - 'kommen', Mandarin - '来' (lái), Japanese - '来る' (kuru), and Arabic - 'أتي' (ati).
Come
Come in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kom | ||
| In Afrikaans, "kom" can also mean "to arrive" or "to become" and is derived from Dutch "komen" (to come). | |||
| Amharic | ና | ||
| The word "ና" can also mean "go" or "take" when used in certain contexts. | |||
| Hausa | zo | ||
| The Hausa word zo also means "to bring" as in "zo mini ruwa" (bring me water). | |||
| Igbo | bia | ||
| The Igbo term "bia" not only means "come," but also denotes welcome, hospitality, and an invitation to join in a shared experience. | |||
| Malagasy | ho avy | ||
| In Malagasy, "ho avy" is the verb "to come", but also means "to arrive" and "to go". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | bwera | ||
| Bwera is also used figuratively to mean 'to appear', 'to happen', or 'to exist'. | |||
| Shona | uyai | ||
| "Uyai" (come) is derived from the Proto-Bantu *zaa "go, come, return". | |||
| Somali | kaalay | ||
| The word 'kaalay' can also mean 'to get' or 'to receive' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | tloho | ||
| The Sesotho word "tloho" also means "to go", "to arrive", or "to reach". | |||
| Swahili | njoo | ||
| The word 'njoo' is derived from the Proto-Bantu root *-ija, meaning 'to come, go'. | |||
| Xhosa | yiza | ||
| The word "yiza" can also mean "to take place" or "to occur" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | wá | ||
| The Yoruba term 'wá' may also refer to a direction or location, as in 'wá sáré' meaning 'come towards me'. | |||
| Zulu | woza | ||
| The Nguni word 'woza' and the Zulu term 'wosana' are both derived from the Proto-Bantu verb *-za, meaning to 'come' or 'to arrive. | |||
| Bambara | ka na | ||
| Ewe | va | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ngwino | ||
| Lingala | yaka | ||
| Luganda | jangu | ||
| Sepedi | tla | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bra | ||
Come in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تأتي | ||
| تأتّي (تأتي) تعني أيضًا "التيسير" و"النجاح"، مثل: "تأتّى له النجاح" أي نجح. | |||
| Hebrew | תבואו | ||
| תבואו may also be used in the sense of arriving or reaching a place. | |||
| Pashto | راځه | ||
| The word "راځه" in Pashto is thought by some to be derived from the Old Persian word "rača" and the Sanskrit word "raçna", both meaning "rope". | |||
| Arabic | تأتي | ||
| تأتّي (تأتي) تعني أيضًا "التيسير" و"النجاح"، مثل: "تأتّى له النجاح" أي نجح. | |||
Come in Western European Languages
| Albanian | eja | ||
| The Albanian word "eja" also means "look!" and "oh!", which are interjections expressing attention or surprise, and is derived from Proto-Albanian *eje. | |||
| Basque | etorri | ||
| Some linguists speculate that "etorri" may be derived from the Proto-Basque root "*-tori" meaning "to arrive" or "to approach." | |||
| Catalan | vine | ||
| The verb 'vine', meaning 'to come', is derived from the Latin verb 'venire' which meant 'to go, come, return, arrive, approach, draw near'. | |||
| Croatian | dođi | ||
| The word "dođi" in Croatian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *doditi, meaning "to arrive" or "to reach a place." | |||
| Danish | komme | ||
| The word "komme" in Danish also means "to approach" or "to happen". | |||
| Dutch | komen | ||
| "Komen" is derived from "komen" in Old High German, which originates from a Proto-Germanic form meaning "go, approach." | |||
| English | come | ||
| French | viens | ||
| The word "viens" can also be used as a term of endearment, similar to "my love" or "darling." | |||
| Frisian | komme | ||
| In Frisian, "komme" can also mean "suit" or "fit" as in "It kommet my net" (It does not suit me). | |||
| Galician | veña | ||
| "Veña" is the first person singular of the present tense of the verb "vir," meaning "to come" in Galician. | |||
| German | kommen sie | ||
| Kommen Sie in German also means "be successful" or "be appropriate" in a more formal context. | |||
| Icelandic | koma | ||
| In Icelandic, "koma" also means "bowl" or "cup" when referring to a drinking vessel. | |||
| Irish | teacht | ||
| The word "teacht" in Irish can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root "*teks-", meaning "to weave" or "to construct", suggesting a connection between the act of coming and the idea of joining or building something. | |||
| Italian | venire | ||
| The Latin verb venire, "to come," survives in Italian venire "to come" as well as the nouns "income" and "avenue." | |||
| Luxembourgish | komm | ||
| In Luxembourgish, “komm” can also mean “commute” and is a noun derived from the verb “kommen” (“to come”) | |||
| Maltese | ejja | ||
| "Ejja" ('come') can mean 'now', as in "Ejja nieklu," ('Let's eat now'). | |||
| Norwegian | komme | ||
| The name of the Norwegian city | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | venha | ||
| In Portuguese, "venha" (come) derives from the Latin "veniat" (may he/she come) and also means "income" in Brazil. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | thig | ||
| In Lowland Scots, "thig" is also used with the meaning of "to steal," as in "The boys thigged the apples frae the orchard," meaning "The boys stole the apples from the orchard. | |||
| Spanish | ven | ||
| "Ven" is an irregular Spanish verb with origins in Latin. It has alternate meanings like "arrive, go". | |||
| Swedish | komma | ||
| The word "komma" in Swedish is derived from the Old Norse word "koma," meaning "to come" or "to approach." | |||
| Welsh | dewch | ||
| "Dewch" also means "to go or travel" in Middle Welsh. | |||
Come in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | прыходзьце | ||
| "Прыходзьце" (come) shares an etymology with the Russian verb "прийти" (priiti) (arrive, come), both deriving from the Proto-Slavic *priti, which is related to Sanskrit prāpt, meaning "attained, reached." | |||
| Bosnian | dođi | ||
| Bosnian 'dođi' is also an imperative form of 'doći', an alternate spelling of the verb 'dojiti' ('to breastfeed'), and a colloquial imperative form of 'doći' or 'dojiti'. | |||
| Bulgarian | идвам | ||
| In some Slavic languages, "идвам" is used to refer to the arrival of a baby or the act of giving birth. | |||
| Czech | přijít | ||
| Czech "přijít" comes from Proto-Slavic "*pri-jьti", meaning "to approach" or "to come near". | |||
| Estonian | tulge | ||
| The word "tulge" is derived from the Proto-Finnic "*tulee", meaning "to come, arrive". | |||
| Finnish | tule | ||
| The word "tule" can also mean "to arrive" or "to happen". | |||
| Hungarian | jön | ||
| The Hungarian word "jön" originally meant "to be here" and can also mean "to appear" or "to emerge." | |||
| Latvian | nāc | ||
| The Latvian word "nāc" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂nek- and is cognate with the Lithuanian word "ateiti" and the English word "nigh". | |||
| Lithuanian | ateiti | ||
| The word "ateiti" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*eti-/*aiti-", meaning "to go" or "to move". | |||
| Macedonian | дојди | ||
| The verb "дојди" in Macedonian is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *doiti, meaning "to go, come". | |||
| Polish | chodź | ||
| The origin of the word 'chodź' is uncertain, with possible derivations from Proto-Slavic 'xodьti', Latin 'caduere', or Germanic 'gehen'. | |||
| Romanian | vino | ||
| The word "vino" also means "fault", "guilt", "sin" in Romanian. | |||
| Russian | приходить | ||
| The word "приходить" can also mean "to arrive" or "to occur". | |||
| Serbian | доћи | ||
| The Serbian word for "come" can also be used to mean "arrive" or "reach". | |||
| Slovak | poď | ||
| "Poď" can also mean "to give" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | pridi | ||
| The word "pridi" can also mean "to arrive" or "to approach" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | приходь | ||
| Ukrainian "приходь" is derived from Old Church Slavonic "приходъ" ( | |||
Come in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | এসো | ||
| The word "এসো" in Bengali, which means "come," is derived from the Sanskrit word "आगच्छ" (āgaccha), which also means "come". | |||
| Gujarati | આવો | ||
| The Gujarati word "આવો" can also mean "welcome", "please come in" or "please enter". | |||
| Hindi | आइए | ||
| आइए (aaiye) derives from the Sanskrit word aagachchha, which means "to go toward" or "to approach." | |||
| Kannada | ಬನ್ನಿ | ||
| The word "ಬನ್ನಿ" originates from the Sanskrit word "आगमन" (āgamana), meaning "arrival" or "coming". | |||
| Malayalam | വരൂ | ||
| The word "വരൂ" also means "will come" or "should come" in Malayalam, indicating a future action. | |||
| Marathi | या | ||
| The word "या" in Marathi can also mean "to go" or "to be like". | |||
| Nepali | आउनुहोस् | ||
| "आउनुहोस्" (come in Nepali) is derived from the root "aav" (to come), which also has the alternate meaning of "arrive". | |||
| Punjabi | ਆਉਣਾ | ||
| The word "ਆਉਣਾ" can also mean "to happen" or "to occur". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එන්න | ||
| "එන්න" in Sinhala can also mean "to bring" or "to fetch". | |||
| Tamil | வாருங்கள் | ||
| Telugu | రండి | ||
| "రండి" is derived from the Sanskrit word "raṇḍati" which means movement towards something or someone. | |||
| Urdu | آو | ||
| آو is also used as an expression of love and affection in Urdu poetry, similar to the English “my love”. | |||
Come in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 来 | ||
| The character '来' originally depicted a stalk of grain falling, hence its meanings 'to come' and 'grain'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 來 | ||
| 來 can also mean "future" or "subsequent" (e.g. 來世 "next life"), and is a common way to express the future tense. | |||
| Japanese | 来る | ||
| 来る originally meant 'to go,' but later took on the meaning of 'to come' as well. | |||
| Korean | 왔다 | ||
| The word "와(wa)" in "왔다(watda)" is a contraction of the word "와서(waseo)", meaning "having come" or "having arrived; "왔지(watji)" is a contraction of "왔지마(watjima)", meaning "don't come". | |||
| Mongolian | ирээрэй | ||
| The word | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လာ | ||
| The word လာ can also mean "to fetch/bring" and to "go" | |||
Come in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | datang | ||
| In Indonesian, the word "datang" is a homonym, meaning it can refer to the act of arrival or the act of submitting something. | |||
| Javanese | teka | ||
| In Javanese, the word “teka” derives from Old Javanese “těka” or “datang”, meaning “arrive”, also “come to meet a woman”. While in Modern Javanese, “teka” retains its main meaning “come”, it may also imply “meet”, or “visit”. | |||
| Khmer | មក | ||
| The Khmer word "មក" also means "to arrive" or "to reach". | |||
| Lao | ມາ | ||
| The word "ມາ" can also mean "from" or "to" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | datang | ||
| In some rural areas, "datang" may refer to a person or group arriving or being present, like in the idiom "datang-datang hujan," meaning "it rains the moment one arrives." | |||
| Thai | มา | ||
| มา may also signify the past tense of an action, an invitation, or an expression of permission. | |||
| Vietnamese | đến | ||
| Ngoài ý nghĩa chính là 'đi tới một nơi nào đó', "đến" còn mang nghĩa 'chạm tới', 'đạt được' hoặc 'phát triển tới một trạng thái nào đó' | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | halika | ||
Come in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | gəl | ||
| "Gəl" (come) can also be used as a particle to emphasize a request or a wish. | |||
| Kazakh | кел | ||
| In Kazakh, the word "кел" not only means "come" but also refers to a particular way of herding cattle. | |||
| Kyrgyz | кел | ||
| Kyrgyz "кел" (come) derives from Proto-Turkic "*kel-, *kil-" (to approach), and Proto-Altaic "*kele-" (to come). | |||
| Tajik | биё | ||
| The word "биё" can also mean "approach" or "to arrive". | |||
| Turkmen | gel | ||
| Uzbek | kel | ||
| The word "kel" in Uzbek is also used to mean "arrive" or "get to". | |||
| Uyghur | كەل | ||
Come in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hele mai | ||
| The greeting “hele mai,” which also means “come hither,” was used as a call to eat before dinner prayers. | |||
| Maori | haere mai | ||
| Haere mai can also mean 'welcome', 'enter', or 'approach'. | |||
| Samoan | sau | ||
| The Samoan word 'sau' can also refer to following or pursuing a person or thing, or to approaching a destination. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | halika | ||
| The word "halika" can also mean "come along" or "let's go". | |||
Come in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jutaña | ||
| Guarani | ju | ||
Come in International Languages
| Esperanto | venu | ||
| In Esperanto, "venu" not only means "come", but can also mean "to happen", "take place" or "appear." | |||
| Latin | veni | ||
| Veni can also mean 'I have come' or 'I arrive' in Latin, and is related to the root word venio. | |||
Come in Others Languages
| Greek | έλα | ||
| In Cyprus, "Έλα" can also mean "hello". | |||
| Hmong | los | ||
| The word "los" in Hmong can also mean "to follow" or "to obey." | |||
| Kurdish | hatin | ||
| The word "hatin" has an alternate meaning of "to arrive" in Kurdish, and is cognate to the Persian word "amadan" and the Armenian word "gal | |||
| Turkish | gel | ||
| 'Gel' is also used as a short form of 'gelelim', which means 'let's come'. | |||
| Xhosa | yiza | ||
| The word "yiza" can also mean "to take place" or "to occur" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | קומען | ||
| In Yiddish, "קומען" can also mean "to grow" or "to sprout". | |||
| Zulu | woza | ||
| The Nguni word 'woza' and the Zulu term 'wosana' are both derived from the Proto-Bantu verb *-za, meaning to 'come' or 'to arrive. | |||
| Assamese | আহক | ||
| Aymara | jutaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | आईं | ||
| Dhivehi | އާދޭ | ||
| Dogri | आओ | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | halika | ||
| Guarani | ju | ||
| Ilocano | umay | ||
| Krio | kam | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هاتن | ||
| Maithili | आउ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯥꯛꯎ | ||
| Mizo | lokal | ||
| Oromo | kottu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆସ | ||
| Quechua | hamuy | ||
| Sanskrit | आगच्छ | ||
| Tatar | кил | ||
| Tigrinya | ንዓ | ||
| Tsonga | tana | ||