Cost in different languages

Cost in Different Languages

Discover 'Cost' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'cost' carries great significance in our daily lives, representing the time, effort, and resources expended in acquiring something we value. Its cultural importance is evident in various aspects of society, from business transactions to personal sacrifices. Understanding the translation of 'cost' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the cultural nuances and economic systems of various countries.

For instance, the German word for cost, 'Kosten,' is a plural noun, reflecting the language's emphasis on precision and detail. Meanwhile, the French translation, 'coût,' is derived from the Latin 'costus,' which means 'value' or 'esteem.' This historical context highlights the value-driven nature of the French language and culture.

As you explore the world of language and culture, discovering the translation of 'cost' can be a fascinating journey. Here are some translations to get you started:

Cost


Cost in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanskoste
The Afrikaans word "koste" is related to the English verb "cast" and the Middle Dutch word "costen" that meant "to sample" (in a business or professional context).
Amharicዋጋ
Hausakudin
Kudin is derived from the root kud which means measure, size or weight.
Igboego
The Igbo word "ego" also means "a desire for material possessions or money".
Malagasyvidin'ny
"Vidin'ny" is also used to describe the price of something or the value of an object.
Nyanja (Chichewa)mtengo
"Mtengo" is derived from the Bantu root "-tenga" meaning "to buy, sell, or exchange."
Shonamutengo
Shona 'mutengo' also means 'value' or 'worth' reflecting the importance of trade and exchange in Shona culture.
Somalikharashka
The word "kharashka" can also refer to "expenses" or "damages" in Somali.
Sesothotheko
Sesotho 'theko' also means 'to become heavy' or 'to be burdensome'.
Swahiligharama
The Swahili word "gharama" also has the alternate meaning of "expense".
Xhosaiindleko
The word "iindleko" literally means "payment for the cost of something" in Xhosa.
Yorubaiye owo
In Nigeria, 'iye owo' can also mean 'principal' (of a loan).
Zuluizindleko
Izindleko is used in Zulu to refer to the total cost of lobola (bride price).
Bambarasɔngɔ
Eweasixᴐxᴐ
Kinyarwandaigiciro
Lingalantalo
Lugandaomuwendo
Sepeditshenyegelo
Twi (Akan)ɛka

Cost in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicكلفة
"كلفة" means "cost" in Arabic and has the same root as "كلف" which means "burden" or "hardship" in the same language and "كلفة" meaning "burden" in Persian.
Hebrewעֲלוּת
עֲלוּת is a homograph, meaning it can refer to either "cost" or "elevation".
Pashtoلګښت
In Pashto, "لګښت" may also refer to "expense" or "expenditure".
Arabicكلفة
"كلفة" means "cost" in Arabic and has the same root as "كلف" which means "burden" or "hardship" in the same language and "كلفة" meaning "burden" in Persian.

Cost in Western European Languages

Albaniankosto
Kosto is derived from the Latin word "constare", meaning "to stand firm or be established."
Basquekostua
In Basque, "kostua" also refers to the expense incurred to cover basic living costs, such as food, housing, and clothing.
Catalancost
In Catalan, the word "cost" can also refer to a person's side or rib.
Croatiantrošak
The word "trošak" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*strugъ", meaning "loss" or "damage".
Danishkoste
In older Danish, "koste" also meant "to pay for something with food or goods, rather than money; to feed someone as a service".
Dutchkosten
The Dutch word "kosten" can also mean "to taste" or "to try".
Englishcost
The word 'cost' derives from the Old French 'coster', meaning 'to reckon'.
Frenchcoût
In economics, 'coût' can also refer to the 'opportunity cost', i.e. the benefit that must be given up when choosing one option over another.
Frisiankosten
The word "kosten" in Frisian can also mean "to try", in a tasting sense.
Galiciancusto
The Galician word 'custo' also means 'protection' or 'custody'.
Germankosten
In Middle High German, "kosten" initially meant "to taste" or "to try", a meaning still retained in the idioms "etwas kosten" (to taste something) and "jemanden etwas kosten lassen" (to let someone try something).
Icelandickostnaður
'Kostnaður' is the Icelandic word not only for 'cost' but also for 'expense'.
Irishcostas
The word "costas" can also refer to an Irish surname of Gaelic origin, meaning "son of Constantine."
Italiancosto
"Costo" derives from the Latin "constare", meaning "to stand" or "to be fixed", referring to the idea that the price of something is established or fixed.
Luxembourgishkascht
"Kascht" is derived from Old French "coste" meaning "expenditure, expense" but can also mean "price, side, direction, border, coast".
Maltesel-ispiża
The word "l-ispiża" comes from the Italian word "spesa", which also means "cost" or "expense".
Norwegiankoste
The word 'koste' in Norwegian is derived from the Old Norse word 'kostr', which means 'means of livelihood' or 'food'.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)custo
In Portuguese, the word "custo" comes from the Latin "constare" meaning "to stand" or "to be fixed".
Scots Gaeliccosgais
The word 'cosgais' literally means 'carrying off', and is related to the Irish word 'cosc', meaning 'foot'.
Spanishcosto
The word "costo" derives from the Latin word "constare", which means "to stand" or "to be worth"
Swedishkosta
The word "kosta" can also refer to a Swedish coin worth 1/24 of a Riksdaler.
Welshcost
The word 'cost' in Welsh can also mean 'price', 'charge', or 'expense'.

Cost in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianкошт
"Кошт" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "kosti" meaning "bone", and originally meant a living creature, a valuable object, or "meat on one's bones".
Bosniantrošak
In Bosnian, "trošak" can also mean "expense" or "expenditure".
Bulgarianцена
The word "цена" is cognate with the Proto-Slavic word *kaina, which meant "penalty" or "vengeance".
Czechnáklady
"Náklady" is derived from the word "nakládati", meaning "to lay upon" or "to charge".
Estonianmaksumus
The word "maksumus" derives from the verb "maksma" ("to pay") and the suffix "-mus" ("result of an action"). It can also refer to the amount of money or resources required to acquire something.
Finnishkustannus
The word "kustannus" is derived from the Middle Low German word "kosten", meaning "to cost" or "to spend".
Hungarianköltség
"Költség" word derives from the Old High German "kost", meaning "sustenance" or "living expenses".
Latvianizmaksas
The word "izmaksas" can also refer to the cost of something, such as the cost of a product or service.
Lithuanianišlaidos
Išlaidos also means "expenditure" in Lithuanian.
Macedonianцена
In Slavic languages, the word "цена" originates from the Proto-Slavic word "cěna", meaning "value" or "worth".
Polishkoszt
The word "koszt" in Polish can also refer to food or nourishment, particularly in a household or institutional setting.
Romaniancost
In Romanian, "cost" can also refer to a side or flank of an animal, or to a part of a fruit or vegetable that is removed before consumption.
Russianстоимость
The word "Стоимость" derives from the Old Slavonic word "стоимость", meaning "worth" or "value".
Serbianтрошак
The word "трошак" (cost) derives from the verb "трашити" (to waste), thus implying a sense of expenditure that depletes resources or wealth.
Slovaknáklady
"Náklady" also refers to the amount of work or resources required.
Slovenianstroškov
In colloquial speech, strošek can also refer to expenses associated with travel.
Ukrainianвартість
The Ukrainian word "вартість" (cost) is derived from the Proto-Slavic root "*vart-", meaning "to turn, to twist", and is related to words like "вертеть" (to turn) and "воротить" (to return).

Cost in South Asian Languages

Bengaliখরচ
The word "খরচ" can also mean "expenditure" or "expense" in Bengali.
Gujaratiકિંમત
The word 'કિંમત' ('cost') in Gujarati is derived from the Sanskrit word 'किंमथ' ('price'), which itself comes from the root 'किम्' ('what') and the suffix '-थ' ('that which is').
Hindiलागत
The word 'लागत' (cost) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'लग्न', meaning 'to attach' or 'to join'.
Kannadaವೆಚ್ಚ
The word 'ವೆಚ್ಚ' (vechcha) in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word 'व्यय' (vyaya), which means 'expenditure' or 'disbursement'.
Malayalamചെലവ്
Marathiकिंमत
"किंमत" also means "value". Similarly, "मूल्य" means both "cost" and "value".
Nepaliलागत
The word "लागत" originates from Sanskrit, where it meant a deduction or expenditure.
Punjabiਲਾਗਤ
"ਲਾਗਤ" also means 'the amount or degree to which the price of a product has increased due to taxation or some other reason' in Punjabi.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)පිරිවැය
The Sinhalese term "පිරිවැය" (cost) originates from the prefix "පිරි" (around) and the root "වැය" (spending), connoting the expenditure incurred in all aspects of a project or activity.
Tamilசெலவு
"செலவு" can also refer to "expenditure" or "amount spent".
Teluguధర
"ధర" can also mean 'price, rate, value, rent, wage, salary'
Urduلاگت
The word "لاگت" is derived from the Sanskrit word "lagati", meaning "attachment" or "expense".

Cost in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)成本
The Chinese character '本' means 'original' or 'substance' and the character '成' means 'success' or 'accomplishment'.
Chinese (Traditional)成本
In business management, it is short for 成本核算, meaning 'cost accounting'. It can also refer to the cost of an object, material, or idea, but is more often used in the business sense.
Japanese費用
"費用" is also a term used in accounting to refer to expenses.
Korean비용
"비용" in Korean also refers to the
Mongolianзардал
The Mongolian word for "cost," "зардал," also refers to "expenses".
Myanmar (Burmese)ကုန်ကျစရိတ်
It is derived from Pali and Sanskrit 'koti', which means 'corner, edge' or 'end'. In Myanmar, the term commonly denotes expenditure on something essential.

Cost in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianbiaya
"Biaya" comes from Sanskrit word "vyaya" which means "expense". "Vyaya" also has a second meaning, which is "expenditure or payment", that has been borrowed into Indonesian as "bayar"
Javanesebiaya
In Javanese, "biaya" also refers to a type of traditional Javanese dance accompanied by gamelan music.
Khmerថ្លៃដើម
The word "ថ្លៃដើម" (thley derm) in Khmer can also mean "principal", "capital", "basic", or "main".
Laoຄ່າໃຊ້ຈ່າຍ
Malaykos
In addition to its primary meaning of "cost", "kos" can also mean "expense" or "expenditure" in Malay.
Thaiค่าใช้จ่าย
The Thai word "ค่าใช้จ่าย" can also refer to "expenses" or "charges."
Vietnamesegiá cả
The word "Giá cả" in Vietnamese also means "value", "worth", or "price".
Filipino (Tagalog)gastos

Cost in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanidəyəri
The Azerbaijani word "dəyəri" can also be used to refer to the value or worth of something.
Kazakhқұны
The word "құны" can also refer to the "value or worth" of something.
Kyrgyzнаркы
It derives from the Mongolian word
Tajikарзиш
"Арзиш" additionally means "value" or "importance" in Tajik.
Turkmenbahasy
Uzbekxarajat
The word "xarajat" is derived from the Arabic word "kharch", meaning "expenditure" or "money spent".
Uyghurتەننەرخ

Cost in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankumu kūʻai
The word kumu kūʻai is derived from kumu ('source') and kūʻai ('to buy'), indicating the root of expenditure as the source of something purchased.
Maoriutu
The Maori word "utu" also holds meanings related to vengeance and retaliation.
Samoantau
Tau is also the name of a Samoan food and the Samoan word for the English word "town"
Tagalog (Filipino)gastos
The Tagalog word "gastos" derives from the Spanish word "gastos", meaning "expenses" or "costs".

Cost in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarachani
Guaranirepykue

Cost in International Languages

Esperantokosto
Latinpretium
"Pretium" can also refer to value or worth, not just the price.

Cost in Others Languages

Greekκόστος
The ancient Greek word 'κόστος' also referred to a type of aromatic plant and the fragrant oil obtained from it.
Hmongnqi
The word 'nqi' can also mean 'price' or 'worth' in Hmong.
Kurdishnirx
The word "nirx" also means "rate" in Kurdish.
Turkishmaliyet
In Turkish, maliyet shares its root with mal, which means wealth or property.
Xhosaiindleko
The word "iindleko" literally means "payment for the cost of something" in Xhosa.
Yiddishפּרייַז
In Yiddish, "פּרייַז" (cost) comes from the Old High German "pris," meaning "value" or "worth," and is related to the English word "price."
Zuluizindleko
Izindleko is used in Zulu to refer to the total cost of lobola (bride price).
Assameseখৰচ
Aymarachani
Bhojpuriदाम
Dhivehiހަރަދު
Dogriकीमत
Filipino (Tagalog)gastos
Guaranirepykue
Ilocanogatad
Kriope
Kurdish (Sorani)تێچوو
Maithiliलागत
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯄꯤꯕꯥ ꯃꯃꯜ
Mizoman
Oromobaasii
Odia (Oriya)ମୂଲ୍ୟ
Quechuachanin
Sanskritमूल्यम्‌
Tatarбәясе
Tigrinyaዋጋ
Tsongahakelo

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