Compete in Different Languages
Discover 'Compete' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'compete' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, symbolizing the spirit of rivalry and the pursuit of excellence. It's a word that transcends cultural boundaries, found in various forms in languages worldwide. From the Latin 'competere' meaning 'strive together', to the Chinese '竞争 (jìngzhēng)', which carries a similar connotation, the essence of competition remains universal.
Competition has been a driving force in human civilization, shaping our societies, economies, and even our entertainment. From ancient Olympic Games to modern-day eSports, the thrill of competition brings people together, fostering innovation, progress, and mutual understanding.
Understanding the translation of 'compete' in different languages can open up a world of cultural insights. For instance, in Japanese, '競争 (kyōsō)' not only means competition but also implies a harmonious struggle, reflecting the country's emphasis on harmony and respect.
Join us as we explore the translations of 'compete' in various languages, from English to Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, and more. Discover the rich cultural contexts behind these translations and enhance your understanding of the world's diverse linguistic landscape.
Compete
Compete in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | meeding | ||
| The etymology of the Afrikaans word "meeding" is uncertain, with possible roots in Old Saxon or Dutch. | |||
| Amharic | መወዳደር | ||
| The word "መወዳደር" can also mean "to compete" in the sense of "to strive to outdo others" or "to engage in a contest or competition". | |||
| Hausa | gasa | ||
| Gasa also means "to boast" or "to brag" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | zọọ mpi | ||
| In Igbo, "zọọ mpi" can also refer to "to measure oneself against another" or "to try to surpass another." | |||
| Malagasy | hifaninana | ||
| The words hifaninana (“compete”) and fifaninanana (“competition”) come from the Malagasy word finana (“money”), likely referencing how competition often involves money or financial benefits. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kupikisana | ||
| Kupikisana, a Nyanja word meaning 'compete', is also used to describe intense rivalries or struggles. | |||
| Shona | kukwikwidza | ||
| "Kukwikwidza" is also used to mean "to strive for something" or "to desire strongly". | |||
| Somali | tartamid | ||
| The word "tartamid" is also used in reference to the running of horses, camels or cars. | |||
| Sesotho | qothisana lehlokoa | ||
| The Sesotho verb 'qothisana lehlokoa' refers to a competition or contest where individuals strive to surpass one another. | |||
| Swahili | shindana | ||
| The word "shindana" can also refer to the act of surpassing or outdoing another person. | |||
| Xhosa | khuphisana | ||
| The word "khuphisana" in Xhosa can also mean "to be jealous" or "to be envious". | |||
| Yoruba | dije | ||
| The word "dije" also means "to try" or "to attempt" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | ancintisane | ||
| The word "ancintisane" is also used in a figurative sense, meaning 'to compare' or 'to rival'. | |||
| Bambara | ka ɲɔgɔndan | ||
| Ewe | ʋliho | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kurushanwa | ||
| Lingala | kobunda | ||
| Luganda | okuvugana | ||
| Sepedi | phadišana | ||
| Twi (Akan) | si akan | ||
Compete in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تنافس | ||
| The word "تنافس" is derived from the root word "نفس" meaning "soul, self", implying a rivalry or struggle with oneself. | |||
| Hebrew | להתחרות | ||
| The Hebrew word for "compete" ('להתחרות') is derived from the root ('חרר'), meaning "to be hot or eager". | |||
| Pashto | سیالي | ||
| Arabic | تنافس | ||
| The word "تنافس" is derived from the root word "نفس" meaning "soul, self", implying a rivalry or struggle with oneself. | |||
Compete in Western European Languages
| Albanian | garojnë | ||
| The word "garojnë" comes from the Proto-Albanian root *gar- "to take", which is also found in other Albanian words such as "marr" ("take") and "dhë" ("give"). | |||
| Basque | lehiatu | ||
| The verb "lehiatu" can also mean "to strive" or "to endeavour". | |||
| Catalan | competir | ||
| En catalán la palabra "competir" proviene del latín "competere" que significa "pedir a una persona que comparezca". | |||
| Croatian | natjecati se | ||
| Natjecati se, meaning 'to compete', derives from 'natjecati', 'to chase, hunt, strive after', and shares a root with 'natiskati', 'to press, urge', and 'natezati', 'to stretch, strain'. | |||
| Danish | konkurrere | ||
| The word "konkurrere" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere", meaning "to run together". | |||
| Dutch | concurreren | ||
| Dutch 'concurreren' is derived from Latin verb concurrere, meaning 'to run together', 'to meet', and 'to coincide'. | |||
| English | compete | ||
| The word "compete" derives from the Latin "competere," meaning "to seek with others," or "to strive for." | |||
| French | rivaliser | ||
| The French word rivaliser, in addition to meaning "compete," can also mean to "equal" or "rival" someone. | |||
| Frisian | konkurrearje | ||
| The word "konkurrearje" can also refer to a competition or a dispute. | |||
| Galician | competir | ||
| German | konkurrieren | ||
| "Konkurrieren" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere", meaning "to run together". | |||
| Icelandic | keppa | ||
| The word "keppa" is derived from the Old Norse word "kappaz," meaning 'to strive' or 'to vie,' and is related to the English word "cope." | |||
| Irish | dul san iomaíocht | ||
| Italian | competere | ||
| The word "competere" in Italian can also mean "to be appropriate", "to be fitting", or "to be compatible". | |||
| Luxembourgish | konkurréiere | ||
| The verb "konkurréiere" is derived from the Latin verb "concurrere", meaning "to run together", and is used to describe a situation where multiple parties strive to achieve the same goal. | |||
| Maltese | jikkompetu | ||
| Jikkompetu's root 'kompos' comes from Greek and Latin, signifying 'putting together', 'order', 'arrangement' and 'beauty'. | |||
| Norwegian | konkurrere | ||
| The Norwegian word "konkurrere" derives from the Late Latin word "concurrere", meaning "to run together" or "to encounter", | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | competir | ||
| "Competir" derives from Latin "competere", meaning "seek together", "agree", "correspond to", and "strive for"} | |||
| Scots Gaelic | farpais | ||
| The Gaelic word "farpais" comes from the Old Irish verb "farpaigim," which means "to challenge" or "to contest." | |||
| Spanish | competir | ||
| 'Competir' derives from the Latin 'competere,' meaning 'to strive together.' | |||
| Swedish | konkurrera | ||
| The Swedish word "konkurrera" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere", meaning "to run together" or "to meet in combat." | |||
| Welsh | cystadlu | ||
| "Cystadlu" is cognate with Old Irish *com-aistlid, meaning "disputes with". | |||
Compete in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | спаборнічаць | ||
| The word "спаборнічаць" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *борь*, meaning "struggle" or "fight". | |||
| Bosnian | takmičiti se | ||
| The word "takmičiti se" originates from the Old Slavic word "tъčiti" meaning "to run". | |||
| Bulgarian | състезавам се | ||
| The word "състезавам се" in Bulgarian also includes the alternate meaning of "participate in a contest or competition". | |||
| Czech | soutěžit | ||
| The Czech word "soutěžit" originally meant "to argue" or "to quarrel". | |||
| Estonian | võistlema | ||
| The verb "võistlema" is derived from the noun "võistlus", which means "competition". | |||
| Finnish | kilpailla | ||
| The word 'kilpailla' derives from the word 'kilpa', meaning 'contest' or 'race'. | |||
| Hungarian | versenyez | ||
| The word "versenyez" also means "to compete in a competition" in Hungarian. | |||
| Latvian | sacensties | ||
| The word "sacensties" is derived from the Latin word "sacristans", meaning "sacristan" or "church official". | |||
| Lithuanian | varžytis | ||
| "Varžytis" comes from the Proto-Indo-European word "werg-," meaning "to fight" or "to quarrel." | |||
| Macedonian | се натпреваруваат | ||
| Polish | rywalizować | ||
| The word 'rywalizować' is derived from the Polish noun 'rywal', which means 'rival' or 'competitor'. | |||
| Romanian | concura | ||
| In Romanian, "concura" derives from the Latin "concurrere" meaning "to run together" or "to meet up". | |||
| Russian | конкурировать | ||
| 'Конкурировать' means 'to compete' but it literally means 'to cluck like a hen' and it was applied to competition in trade between merchants that called each other 'chicken'. | |||
| Serbian | такмичити се | ||
| The verb "такмичити се" can also mean "to rival" or "to vie". | |||
| Slovak | súťažiť | ||
| "Súťažiť" in Slovak originates from the Proto-Slavic word "*sǫtъ", meaning "lawsuit" or "strife". | |||
| Slovenian | tekmovati | ||
| The word 'tekmovati' comes from the Proto-Slavic root *tekъ, meaning 'to run'. It also means 'to participate in a competition' or 'to strive for something'. | |||
| Ukrainian | змагатися | ||
| The Ukrainian word "змагатися" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb "*mgati", meaning "to beat, to strike, to struggle". | |||
Compete in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রতিযোগিতা করা | ||
| প্রতিযোগিতা করা can also mean to oppose or defy. | |||
| Gujarati | સ્પર્ધા | ||
| The Gujarati word for compete is "સ્પર્ધા", which is derived from the Sanskrit root "spr" meaning "to run". | |||
| Hindi | प्रतिस्पर्धा | ||
| The word "प्रतिस्पर्धा" is derived from the Sanskrit root "स्पृध्" (sprdh), which means "to desire" or "to strive for". | |||
| Kannada | ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಿ | ||
| The word ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಿ is derived from the Sanskrit word "स्पृध्" (sprdh) meaning "to desire" or "to strive after". | |||
| Malayalam | മത്സരിക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | स्पर्धा | ||
| The word "स्पर्धा" also means "competition" or "contest". | |||
| Nepali | प्रतिस्पर्धा | ||
| प्रतिस्पर्धा is derived from Sanskrit and means a 'rival contest' or 'to strive against' | |||
| Punjabi | ਮੁਕਾਬਲਾ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තරඟ කරන්න | ||
| The word "තරඟ කරන්න" also implies vying, contending or struggling to achieve something (not necessarily against an opponent). | |||
| Tamil | போட்டியிடுங்கள் | ||
| Telugu | పోటీ | ||
| The word "పోటీ" shares a root with the word "పో", meaning "go" or "move" | |||
| Urdu | مقابلہ | ||
| مقابلہ is an Arabic word that entered Urdu and can also mean 'face', 'front', 'opposite', or 'before' in Persian and Urdu. | |||
Compete in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 竞争 | ||
| 竞争, 意为'争夺', 后引申为'竞赛' | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 競爭 | ||
| 競爭 literally translates to "running together" in Chinese, emphasizing the idea of striving side-by-side for superiority. | |||
| Japanese | 競争する | ||
| The word 競争する can also mean "to vie" or "to strive for something." | |||
| Korean | 경쟁하다 | ||
| "경쟁하다" comes from the Chinese word "競爭", which means "to strive for victory or an advantage." | |||
| Mongolian | өрсөлдөх | ||
| Öрсөлдөх comes from the Mongolian word "өрсөлд" meaning "to try hard" or "to endeavor". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ယှဉ်ပြိုင် | ||
Compete in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | bersaing | ||
| The word "bersaing" has an alternate meaning of "emulating" in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | tandhing | ||
| Its synonyms include 'pasu' and 'patapan', but only 'tandhing' has a sense of rivalry with a winner and a loser. | |||
| Khmer | ប្រកួតប្រជែង | ||
| "ប្រកួតប្រជែង" is often used in the context of sporting events, but it can also be used to refer to academic or professional competition. | |||
| Lao | ແຂ່ງຂັນ | ||
| Malay | bertanding | ||
| It is derived from the word 'tanding' which denotes opposing or facing adversaries. | |||
| Thai | แข่งขัน | ||
| แข่งขัน shares its root with the word "แข้ง" which means "leg" in Thai, suggesting that "แข่งขัน" may have originally meant "to kick" or "to race." | |||
| Vietnamese | tranh đua | ||
| The term "tranh đua" is also used to refer to a race or a competition, as in the phrase "cuộc tranh đua marathon" (marathon race). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | makipagkumpetensya | ||
Compete in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yarışmaq | ||
| "Yarışmaq" also means "race" and is related to the words "yar" and "at" | |||
| Kazakh | жарысу | ||
| The word also means "race" or "contest" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | атаандашуу | ||
| The word "атаандашуу" can also mean "to compare" or "to vie with" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | рақобат кардан | ||
| Competition is also used in the Tajik word "рақобат кардан" and means "competition between two or more groups or individuals for the same goal". | |||
| Turkmen | bäsleşiň | ||
| Uzbek | raqobatlashmoq | ||
| The word "raqobatlashmoq" comes from the Arabic word "raqaba", which means "to keep watch" or "to compete." | |||
| Uyghur | رىقابەت | ||
Compete in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻokūkū | ||
| "Hoʻokūkū" is also the name of a traditional Hawaiian boxing game. | |||
| Maori | whakataetae | ||
| "Whakataetae" comes from the root word "taetae," which means "to race" or "to strive for excellence." | |||
| Samoan | tauva | ||
| The Samoan word "tauva" also means "to rival" or "to oppose". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | makipagkumpitensya | ||
| Literally “engage in competition”, from “kipag-” (do with another) and “kumpitensya” (competition). | |||
Compete in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | atipasiña | ||
| Guarani | oñemoañotenondeséva | ||
Compete in International Languages
| Esperanto | konkurenci | ||
| The word "konkurenci" in Esperanto originates from the Latin "concurrere", meaning "to run together" or "to meet". It also has the alternate meaning of "to oppose" or "to be in conflict with". | |||
| Latin | compete | ||
| In Latin, "compete" means "to meet" or "to come together," implying a sense of striving or rivalry. | |||
Compete in Others Languages
| Greek | ανταγωνίζομαι | ||
| ανταγωνίζομαι also means 'struggle', 'fight' and derives from the ancient Greek verb 'αντάγω', which refers to a violent battle. | |||
| Hmong | sib tw | ||
| The term "sib tw" can also refer to a contest between two sides. | |||
| Kurdish | şertgirtin | ||
| The word 'şertgirtin' also means 'to make an effort'. | |||
| Turkish | rekabet etmek | ||
| The word "rekabet etmek" derives from the Arabic word "rekaba," meaning "to run abreast," and also refers to the act of racing to the water source by Arabian horses. | |||
| Xhosa | khuphisana | ||
| The word "khuphisana" in Xhosa can also mean "to be jealous" or "to be envious". | |||
| Yiddish | קאָנקורירן | ||
| The Yiddish word "קאָנקורירן" ("compete") comes from the German "konkurrieren," meaning "to compete". | |||
| Zulu | ancintisane | ||
| The word "ancintisane" is also used in a figurative sense, meaning 'to compare' or 'to rival'. | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰতিযোগিতা | ||
| Aymara | atipasiña | ||
| Bhojpuri | मुकाबला कईल | ||
| Dhivehi | ވާދަކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | मकाबला करना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | makipagkumpetensya | ||
| Guarani | oñemoañotenondeséva | ||
| Ilocano | makikompitensia | ||
| Krio | kɔmpitishɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تەواو | ||
| Maithili | प्रतिस्पर्धा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯥꯡꯌꯦꯡꯅꯕ | ||
| Mizo | inel | ||
| Oromo | dorgomuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରତିଯୋଗିତା କରନ୍ତୁ | | ||
| Quechua | atipanakuy | ||
| Sanskrit | स्पर्धध्वे | ||
| Tatar | ярыш | ||
| Tigrinya | ሙሉእ | ||
| Tsonga | hetisa | ||