Competition in Different Languages
Discover 'Competition' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Competition is a fundamental aspect of human society, driving innovation, progress, and personal growth. It is a concept that transcends cultural boundaries, playing a significant role in various aspects of our lives, from sports and business to art and science. Understanding the nuances of this concept in different languages can provide valuable insights into the cultures that use them.
For instance, the English word 'competition' comes from the Latin 'competere', meaning 'to strive together'. This reflects the positive aspect of competition, where individuals or groups challenge each other to achieve a common goal. However, in some languages, the concept of competition can have negative connotations, implying rivalry or even hostility.
Here are a few translations of the word 'competition' that showcase its cultural importance and diversity:
- French: 'concurrence'
- Spanish: 'competencia'
- German: 'Wettbewerb'
- Mandarin: '竞赛 (jìngsài)'
- Japanese: '競争 (kyōsō)'
- Russian: 'конкуренция (konkurentsiya)'
Competition
Competition in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kompetisie | ||
| The word 'kompetisie' is derived from the Latin word 'competere' meaning 'to strive together'. | |||
| Amharic | ውድድር | ||
| "ውድድር" also means "rivalry" and "emulation". | |||
| Hausa | gasa | ||
| Gasa can also mean 'hurry' or 'speed' in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | mpi | ||
| Igbo word for "competition," mpi, also means "to challenge, to strive, to emulate, to race, to contest, or to rival. | |||
| Malagasy | fifaninanana | ||
| The Malagasy word "fifaninanana" can also mean "a challenge" or "a contest". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mpikisano | ||
| In Nyanja, "mpikisano" also denotes a 'race' (running or motorsports), 'struggle', or 'contest' | |||
| Shona | makwikwi | ||
| The word "makwikwi" is also used to refer to a race or footrace, and originates from the Shona word "kukwikwidza," meaning "to run quickly." | |||
| Somali | tartan | ||
| The word "tartan" which means "competition" in Somali, can also mean "rivalry" or "match" in the same language. | |||
| Sesotho | tlhodisano | ||
| The word "tlhodisano" can also mean "emulation" or "striving for excellence." | |||
| Swahili | mashindano | ||
| Mashindano may also refer to a traditional Swahili board game. | |||
| Xhosa | ukhuphiswano | ||
| The word 'ukhuphiswano' in Xhosa literally means 'to push each other'. | |||
| Yoruba | idije | ||
| In the Yoruba language, "idije" carries the additional connotation of "a playful striving or contest," conveying a more nuanced meaning than just "competition." | |||
| Zulu | ukuncintisana | ||
| Ukuncintisana derives from the verb ukuncintisa, meaning “to compete” or “to chase”. | |||
| Bambara | ɲɔgɔndan | ||
| Ewe | hoʋiʋli | ||
| Kinyarwanda | amarushanwa | ||
| Lingala | komekana | ||
| Luganda | empaka | ||
| Sepedi | phadišano | ||
| Twi (Akan) | akansie | ||
Competition in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | منافسة | ||
| In Arabic, "منافسة" also has a secondary meaning: "argument, dispute" | |||
| Hebrew | תַחֲרוּת | ||
| The word תַחֲרוּת competition also means חֲתִירָה striving, which is the root of תַחְרֶה compete in the plural form. | |||
| Pashto | سيالي | ||
| The word "سيالي" in Pashto can also mean "race" or "contest" | |||
| Arabic | منافسة | ||
| In Arabic, "منافسة" also has a secondary meaning: "argument, dispute" | |||
Competition in Western European Languages
| Albanian | konkurs | ||
| The term "konkurs" is a loanword from Latin, where it originally meant "a clash". This is reflected in its alternate meaning in Albanian, namely "a dispute or disagreement". | |||
| Basque | lehiaketa | ||
| The word "lehiaketa" also means "bet" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | competició | ||
| In Catalan, the word "competició" also refers to a competition's physical location or grounds. | |||
| Croatian | konkurencija | ||
| The word "konkurencija" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere," meaning "to run together, meet, or agree." | |||
| Danish | konkurrence | ||
| "Konkurrence" (competition) also means "bankruptcy" (Konkurs) and "examination" (Eksamen) in Danish, which highlights the competitive nature of these situations. | |||
| Dutch | wedstrijd | ||
| The word "wedstrijd" in Dutch also means "marriage", suggesting a connection between marriage and competition in Dutch culture. | |||
| English | competition | ||
| The word "competition" derives from the Latin word "competere," which means "to seek together," and can also imply rivalry or striving to achieve a goal. | |||
| French | concurrence | ||
| In French, “concurrence” means “competition,” but its Latin root “concurrere” means “to run together.” | |||
| Frisian | kompetysje | ||
| In addition to competition, the Frisian noun "kompetysje" can also mean the examination for driving license. | |||
| Galician | competencia | ||
| Galician "competencia" also means "jurisdiction" as in "the Court has no jurisdiction in this matter" (o tribunal non ten competencia nesta materia). | |||
| German | wettbewerb | ||
| Wettbewerb derives from the Middle High German word "werven" meaning "to strive"} | |||
| Icelandic | samkeppni | ||
| The Icelandic word "samkeppni" originates from "samkeppna," meaning "to struggle" and "sækja," meaning "to seek". | |||
| Irish | comórtas | ||
| Italian | concorrenza | ||
| In Italian, "concorrenza" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere", meaning "to run together" or "to come together", emphasizing the idea of rivalry or competition among multiple entities. | |||
| Luxembourgish | konkurrenz | ||
| In Luxemburgish, the word "Konkurrenz" can also mean "rivalry" or "antagonism". | |||
| Maltese | kompetizzjoni | ||
| The word "kompetizzjoni" is derived from the Italian word "competizione", which in turn comes from the Latin word "competitio", meaning "rivalry" or "strife". | |||
| Norwegian | konkurranse | ||
| Konkurranse ultimately derives from the Latin word "concurrere," meaning "to run together." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | concorrência | ||
| "Concorrência" in Portuguese can also mean "bankruptcy" (insolvency) | |||
| Scots Gaelic | farpais | ||
| The term derives from the Gaelic 'farpaise' meaning 'to hinder' and refers to a battle of wits rather than a physical contest. | |||
| Spanish | competencia | ||
| The Spanish word "competencia" also means "competence" or "jurisdiction" | |||
| Swedish | konkurrens | ||
| Konkurrens derives from the Latin word "concurrere" meaning "to run together". | |||
| Welsh | cystadleuaeth | ||
| The word 'cystadleuaeth' comes from the Welsh words 'cysyllt' (connection) and 'aelodau' (members), meaning 'a connection of members'. | |||
Competition in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | канкурэнцыя | ||
| Bosnian | konkurencija | ||
| "Konkurencija" in Bosnian can also refer to the action of competing or the state of being in competition. | |||
| Bulgarian | конкуренция | ||
| конкуренция is borrowed from the French word "concurrence" (meaning "running together") and can also refer to "coincidence" in certain contexts. | |||
| Czech | soutěž | ||
| The word "soutěž" is derived from the verb "soutěžit", which means "to compete" or "to vie". | |||
| Estonian | konkurentsi | ||
| The word "konkurentsi" is derived from the Latin word "concursus", meaning "running together". It can also refer to a coincidence or a conflict of interests. | |||
| Finnish | kilpailu | ||
| Kilpailu is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *kilpa, meaning "rivalry". It is related to the Estonian word kihla "bet, rivalry" and the Karelian word kilpa "struggle". | |||
| Hungarian | verseny | ||
| Verseny in Hungarian can also refer to a race, a contest, a tournament, or a match. | |||
| Latvian | konkurence | ||
| The Latvian word "konkurence" ultimately derives from the Latin "concurrere," meaning "to run together." | |||
| Lithuanian | varzybos | ||
| The word "varzybos" (competition) in Lithuanian is derived from the verb "varžytis" (to compete), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *werg- (to fight, to struggle). | |||
| Macedonian | конкуренција | ||
| The Macedonian word "конкуренција" derives from the French word "concurrence" and also means "rivalry". | |||
| Polish | konkurencja | ||
| The word "konkurencja" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere," meaning "to run together." | |||
| Romanian | concurență | ||
| "Concurență" derives semantically from the idea of "running together" | |||
| Russian | конкуренция | ||
| The word "конкуренция" also means "concurrence" and is derived from the French word "concurrence," which itself comes from the Latin word "concurrere," meaning "to run together." | |||
| Serbian | конкуренција | ||
| The word "конкуренција" literally means "running together" or "running with" in Serbian, implying a sense of competition and rivalry. | |||
| Slovak | konkurencia | ||
| "Konkurencia" derives from the Latin "concurrere," meaning "to run or strive together," and also relates to the Slovak term "konkurs" (contest) and "kandidovať" (to run for office). | |||
| Slovenian | tekmovanje | ||
| Tekmovati (the root of the word tekmovanje) in Old Church Slavonic meant 'to argue', and in Serbo-Croat it additionally means 'to court'. | |||
| Ukrainian | конкуренція | ||
| The Ukrainian word "конкуренція" comes from Latin "concurrėre", meaning "to run together, crowd together," and also "to collide, encounter". | |||
Competition in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রতিযোগিতা | ||
| The word "প্রতিযোগিতা" is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रति" (prati), meaning "against"} | |||
| Gujarati | સ્પર્ધા | ||
| The Gujarati word "સ્પર્ધા" comes from the Sanskrit word "spardhā," which can also mean "eagerness, striving," or "contest." | |||
| Hindi | प्रतियोगिता | ||
| प्रतियोगिता can also mean a race or contest in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆ | ||
| The word "ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆ" is derived from the Sanskrit root "स्पृध्" ("spṛdh"), meaning "to contend" or "to strive against". | |||
| Malayalam | മത്സരം | ||
| As an alternate meaning, 'മത്സരം' also refers to 'a rivalry or struggle for superiority'. | |||
| Marathi | स्पर्धा | ||
| The Marathi word "स्पर्धा" also refers to a competitive debate or contest, as well as the desire to excel. | |||
| Nepali | प्रतिस्पर्धा | ||
| The word "प्रतिस्पर्धा" comes from the Sanskrit root "spardh," which means "to strive or struggle against." | |||
| Punjabi | ਮੁਕਾਬਲਾ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තරඟ | ||
| The word 'තරඟ' ('competition') in Sinhala derives from the Sanskrit word 'तरण' ('to cross over, to surpass') which also means 'flood' or 'wave'. | |||
| Tamil | போட்டி | ||
| The Tamil word போட்டி can also refer to "an auction" or "an argument or dispute." | |||
| Telugu | పోటీ | ||
| The word "పోటీ" in Telugu can also refer to a "rivalry" or "contest". | |||
| Urdu | مقابلہ | ||
| مقابلہ can also mean a 'comparison' or a 'duel' | |||
Competition in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 竞争 | ||
| "争"(to fight) and "竞"(to run) can both be used to describe the act of striving for something. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 競爭 | ||
| The word 競爭 can also mean "to vie for" or "to strive for" in Chinese. | |||
| Japanese | コンペ | ||
| "コンペ" derives from "コンピティション（competition）" in English. | |||
| Korean | 경쟁 | ||
| The word 경쟁 can also mean 'struggle', 'contest', 'race', 'rivalry', 'emulation', or 'competition'. | |||
| Mongolian | өрсөлдөөн | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ယှဉ်ပြိုင်မှု | ||
Competition in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kompetisi | ||
| "Kompetisi" is derived from the Dutch word "competitie", which itself comes from the Latin "competere" meaning "to strive together" or "to come together". | |||
| Javanese | sayembara | ||
| The word "sayembara" originally meant "contest of arms" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ការប្រកួតប្រជែង | ||
| Lao | ການແຂ່ງຂັນ | ||
| Malay | persaingan | ||
| The word "persaingan" in Malay can also mean "rivalry" or "contest" | |||
| Thai | การแข่งขัน | ||
| The Thai word "การแข่งขัน" is related to the word "แข่งขัน" meaning "to race" or "to compete". | |||
| Vietnamese | cuộc thi | ||
| The Vietnamese word "cuộc thi" also means "contest" or "game." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kompetisyon | ||
Competition in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | rəqabət | ||
| "Rəqabət" (competition) comes from the Arabic word "rəqaba" meaning "neck" or "collar", referring to the idea of a race or competition where participants strive to be ahead of each other. | |||
| Kazakh | бәсекелестік | ||
| Kyrgyz | атаандаштык | ||
| Tajik | рақобат | ||
| The word "рақобат" in Tajik ultimately comes from the Arabic word "رقابة" (raqābah), which means "observation" or "supervision". | |||
| Turkmen | bäsdeşlik | ||
| Uzbek | musobaqa | ||
| Uyghur | رىقابەت | ||
Competition in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻokūkū | ||
| The word "hoʻokūkū" also means "to fight" or "to struggle" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | whakataetae | ||
| The word 'whakataetae' can also mean 'to oppose' or 'to strive' in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | tauvaga | ||
| The word 'tauvaga' can also refer to a match or a tournament. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kompetisyon | ||
| "Kompetisyon" (competition) is derived from the Spanish "competencia" (competition) and the English word "competition". | |||
Competition in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | atipt'asiwi | ||
| Guarani | ñeha'ã | ||
Competition in International Languages
| Esperanto | konkurenco | ||
| The Esperanto word "konkurenco" is derived from the Latin word "concurrere", meaning "to run together" or "to meet". | |||
| Latin | competition | ||
| In Latin, "competitio" means "seeking together," and "competere" means "to come together." | |||
Competition in Others Languages
| Greek | ανταγωνισμός | ||
| Ανταγωνισμός (antagonismos), literally meaning a contest between opponents, is a derivative of the Greek words "anti-" (against) and agon (gathering, contest). | |||
| Hmong | kev sib tw | ||
| The Hmong word for competition, "kev sib tw," can in some contexts be translated as "a dispute or argument." | |||
| Kurdish | şertgirî | ||
| The word "şertgirî" also means "agreement" or "contract" in Kurdish, emphasizing the competitive nature of negotiations and agreements. | |||
| Turkish | rekabet | ||
| The word 'rekabet' is derived from the Arabic word رِقَاب (riqab) meaning 'neck' or 'collar', indicating that competition is a struggle for superiority. | |||
| Xhosa | ukhuphiswano | ||
| The word 'ukhuphiswano' in Xhosa literally means 'to push each other'. | |||
| Yiddish | קאָנקורענץ | ||
| The Yiddish word "קאָנקורענץ" derives from the Latin "concurrere", meaning "to run together". | |||
| Zulu | ukuncintisana | ||
| Ukuncintisana derives from the verb ukuncintisa, meaning “to compete” or “to chase”. | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰতিযোগিতা | ||
| Aymara | atipt'asiwi | ||
| Bhojpuri | होड़ | ||
| Dhivehi | މުބާރާތް | ||
| Dogri | मकाबला | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kompetisyon | ||
| Guarani | ñeha'ã | ||
| Ilocano | kompetision | ||
| Krio | kɔmpitishɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پێشبڕکێ | ||
| Maithili | प्रतियोगिता | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯥꯡꯌꯦꯡꯅꯕ | ||
| Mizo | inelna | ||
| Oromo | dorgommii | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରତିଯୋଗିତା | ||
| Quechua | llallinakuy | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रतियोगिता | ||
| Tatar | конкуренция | ||
| Tigrinya | ውድድር | ||
| Tsonga | mphikizano | ||