Creation in Different Languages
Discover 'Creation' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The concept of 'creation' holds great significance across cultures and languages, as it represents the beginning of something new, whether it be the formation of the universe, the birth of life, or the crafting of a work of art. This idea has been explored and celebrated in various ways throughout history, making it a fascinating topic for global audiences with an interest in language and culture.
For instance, in Latin, 'creation' can be translated to 'creatio,' while in Greek, it is 'κτίσις' (ktisis). In Sanskrit, an ancient language of India, 'creation' is 'सृष्टिः' (sṛṣṭiḥ). These translations not only provide insight into the linguistic nuances of different cultures but also offer a glimpse into their unique perspectives on the nature and significance of creation.
In this list, you will find the translations of 'creation' in various languages, shedding light on the global fascination with this powerful concept and its cultural importance.
Creation
Creation in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | skepping | ||
| In Afrikaans, 'skepping' can also refer to the physical act of creation or the process of making something. | |||
| Amharic | ፍጥረት | ||
| The word ፍጥረት also means "birth" or "nature" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | halitta | ||
| Hausa word halitta means "creation" but also "being born" and "the act of giving birth". | |||
| Igbo | okike | ||
| The word 'okike' is also used to describe the universe, the natural world, and the environment. | |||
| Malagasy | zavaboary | ||
| The Malagasy word 'zavaboary' is derived from the root 'vory' ('to create') and the prefix 'za-' ('to do' or 'to cause'). It carries the sense of bringing something into existence or causing something to happen. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chilengedwe | ||
| In addition to 'creation,' 'chilengedwe' can also mean 'the universe' or 'the world.' | |||
| Shona | zvisikwa | ||
| Somali | abuurid | ||
| 'Abuurid' also means 'origin' or 'source' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | popo | ||
| In Sesotho, the word 'popo' not only refers to creation, but also to the concept of a seed or the first item in a sequence. | |||
| Swahili | uumbaji | ||
| The word "uumbaji" in Swahili is derived from the verb "umba" which means "to shape, to mold, to form" and "aji" which means "condition, state, quality, property, attribute" indicating that creation involves transforming something from an unformed state to a structured form. | |||
| Xhosa | indalo | ||
| The Xhosa word "indalo" also refers to the art of creation. | |||
| Yoruba | ẹda | ||
| Ẹda in Yoruba also means 'nature' and is an honorific for women, often in a name such as Ẹda-ọba. | |||
| Zulu | indalo | ||
| Indalo originates from the Zulu word "indawo", meaning "place" and is also associated with the notion of "home" or "village" in Zulu culture. | |||
| Bambara | danfɛnw dabɔli | ||
| Ewe | nuwɔwɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kurema | ||
| Lingala | bozalisi | ||
| Luganda | okutonda | ||
| Sepedi | tlholo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | adebɔ | ||
Creation in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | خلق | ||
| The Arabic word "خلق" (creation) also carries connotations of "inventing" or "composing" something new. | |||
| Hebrew | יצירה | ||
| "יצירה" (yetzirah) also means "formation" in the sense of "literary composition," like the Talmudic tractate by that name. | |||
| Pashto | جوړول | ||
| The word "جوړول" also means "making" or "producing" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | خلق | ||
| The Arabic word "خلق" (creation) also carries connotations of "inventing" or "composing" something new. | |||
Creation in Western European Languages
| Albanian | krijim | ||
| The word "krijim" also has connotations of "birth", "existence", and "origin". | |||
| Basque | sorkuntza | ||
| The Basque word 'sorkuntza' not only means 'creation', but also refers to the 'act of establishing something new'. | |||
| Catalan | creació | ||
| Creació can also refer to a type of poem that praises God or the Virgin Mary. | |||
| Croatian | stvaranje | ||
| "Stvaranje" in Croatian is etymologically related to "tvar", "tvor", and "tvorac", all of which relate to the concepts of existence and formation. | |||
| Danish | skabelse | ||
| In Danish, "skabelse" not only means "creation" but also "creature" or "being" | |||
| Dutch | creatie | ||
| The Dutch word ''creatie'' can also mean ''creature'' or ''piece of art''. | |||
| English | creation | ||
| The word 'creation' derives from the Latin 'creatio', meaning 'the act of creating', and is also associated with the concept of 'creating something from nothing' in theology. | |||
| French | création | ||
| « Création » vient du latin *creatio*, « action de créer », et recouvre aussi le sens de « chose créée ». | |||
| Frisian | kreaasje | ||
| The word "kreaasje" is derived from the Latin "creatio", meaning "a bringing into being". | |||
| Galician | creación | ||
| In Galician, "creación" can mean "breeding" (of animals) and "foundation" (of a company or institution). | |||
| German | schaffung | ||
| The word 'Schaffung' is derived from the verb 'schaffen' ('to create'), and also has the alternate meaning of 'provision' or 'procurement'. | |||
| Icelandic | sköpun | ||
| In Icelandic, the word "sköpun" also refers to the "form" in which something is present. | |||
| Irish | cruthú | ||
| The word 'cruthú' in Irish may also refer to 'form', 'shape', or 'appearance'. | |||
| Italian | creazione | ||
| In Italian, "creazione" originates from the Latin "creatio," encompassing a wider range of meanings including "reproduction" and "foundation." | |||
| Luxembourgish | kreatioun | ||
| The word "Kreatioun" in Luxembourgish can also refer to "a creative work" or "a product of creativity". | |||
| Maltese | ħolqien | ||
| Maltese "ħolqien" stems from Arabic "khalq" which also means "creature" or "birth". | |||
| Norwegian | opprettelse | ||
| "Opprettelse" also refers to an establishment as an institution, organization, or arrangement. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | criação | ||
| In the 15th century Brazil, 'criação' referred to the act of breeding cattle. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cruthachadh | ||
| Cruthachadh also carries the meaning "appearance" and is used in the context of a person's "look" or "expression" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | creación | ||
| The Spanish word "creación" also means "belief" or "dogma." | |||
| Swedish | skapande | ||
| The Swedish word "skapande" originally referred to the act of creating something, but has since come to mean "creation" itself. | |||
| Welsh | creu | ||
| The Welsh word "creu" (pronounced "cray") can also mean "growth" or "multiplication." | |||
Creation in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | стварэнне | ||
| The verb | |||
| Bosnian | kreacija | ||
| "Kreacija" in Bosnian also refers to a "fashion show". | |||
| Bulgarian | творение | ||
| Творение, a word for "creation" in Bulgarian, is also used in the context of a work of art or literature. | |||
| Czech | tvorba | ||
| The word "tvorba" is derived from the verb "tvořit" (to create), which is related to the Proto-Slavic root *tьvoriti and further to the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰwer- (to do). | |||
| Estonian | looming | ||
| The word "looming" can also refer to something that is large and imposing, such as a building or a mountain. | |||
| Finnish | luominen | ||
| The word 'luominen' also refers to a type of Finnish folk poem, similar to an epic. | |||
| Hungarian | teremtés | ||
| The Hungarian word `Teremtés` also means `realm, domain, universe` or `nature` in archaic or poetic usage. | |||
| Latvian | radīšana | ||
| The word "radīšana" in Latvian also refers to the act or process of making or doing something. | |||
| Lithuanian | kūryba | ||
| The word "kūryba" shares its root "kur-" with "kūrimas" ("formation"), "kūrinys" ("work"), "kurti" ("to build"), and "kur" ("where"). | |||
| Macedonian | создавање | ||
| The word "создавање" means "creation" in Macedonian and derives from the Proto-Slavic word "sъzьdati" meaning "to create" which is cognate with English "sound" and Sanskrit "śunáuti". | |||
| Polish | kreacja | ||
| The word "kreacja" also means "fashion" in Polish, possibly as this field includes the artistic creation of new looks and designs. | |||
| Romanian | creare | ||
| The Romanian word "creare" ultimately derives from the Latin "creare", meaning "to produce" or "to bring into existence". | |||
| Russian | создание | ||
| The Russian word "создание" can also be used to refer to the act of creation or the result of creation. | |||
| Serbian | стварање | ||
| The Serbian word 'стварање' is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word 'сътворити' meaning 'to create', and also has the alternate meaning of 'creature' or 'being'. | |||
| Slovak | stvorenie | ||
| The Slovak word "stvorenie" also means "creature". | |||
| Slovenian | ustvarjanje | ||
| "Ustvarjanje" can also mean "establishing" or "founding" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | створення | ||
| The Ukrainian word "створення" (creation) is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "сътворити" (to create), which is related to the Sanskrit word "srj" (to create). | |||
Creation in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সৃষ্টি | ||
| The Bengali word "সৃষ্টি" can also refer to a "literary composition" or "work of art". | |||
| Gujarati | બનાવટ | ||
| The Gujarati word "બનાવટ" (banaavat) has additional meanings such as "art" or "artificiality" in English. | |||
| Hindi | सृष्टि | ||
| The Hindi word 'सृष्टि' (creation) is derived from the Sanskrit root 'srij', meaning 'to let go' or 'to send forth'. | |||
| Kannada | ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ | ||
| "ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ" in Kannada originates from Sanskrit "सृष्टि" meaning "creation," "composition," or "production" | |||
| Malayalam | സൃഷ്ടി | ||
| In Sanskrit, "സൃഷ്ടി" means both "creation" and "the world" as well as "progeny." | |||
| Marathi | निर्मिती | ||
| The word "निर्मिती" means "creation" or "production" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "निर्मिति" (creation). | |||
| Nepali | सृष्टि | ||
| The Sanskrit word 'सृष्टि' ('srishti') also means 'composition,' as in literary composition. | |||
| Punjabi | ਰਚਨਾ | ||
| "ਰਚਨਾ" comes from "rachna" in Sanskrit, meaning "to make" or "to create," but can also refer to a "composition" or "literary work." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නිර්මාණය | ||
| Tamil | படைப்பு | ||
| படைப்பு is a Tamil word that means 'creation' and shares a root with padaippu, which means 'army' and 'force'. | |||
| Telugu | సృష్టి | ||
| The word "సృష్టి" (creation) in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word "srsti," which also means "production" or "projection." | |||
| Urdu | تخلیق | ||
| تخلیق in Urdu can also refer to 'liberation' or 'emptying out'. | |||
Creation in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 创建 | ||
| The original meaning of "创建" was "make something new" rather than "the act of making something new". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 創建 | ||
| 「創」 can mean "wound" or "cut", and 「建」 means "to establish" or "to build", so 「創建」 literally means "to establish a wound" or "to build a cut". | |||
| Japanese | 創造 | ||
| In Japanese, "創造" also implies "re-creation" or "innovation," and is closely entwined with the act of "playing" or "amusement." | |||
| Korean | 창조 | ||
| "창조" is also used to refer to the act of making something new, such as a work of art or a business. | |||
| Mongolian | бүтээл | ||
| The original word ‘бүтээх’ means ‘to form out of nothing’. In a narrower sense, it means ‘to make’, ‘to create something in general’.”} | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဖန်တီးမှု | ||
Creation in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | penciptaan | ||
| The Indonesian word penciptaan is derived from the Sanskrit word srishti (creation) and also has the secondary meaning of a work of art. | |||
| Javanese | titah | ||
| **Tatah** is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word ‘taq’, and also has the meaning ‘carved’ or ‘written’. | |||
| Khmer | ការបង្កើត | ||
| The word "ការបង្កើត" in Khmer can also refer to the process of making or producing something, or the result of that process. | |||
| Lao | ການສ້າງ | ||
| Malay | ciptaan | ||
| "Ciptaan" in Malay also means "invention" or "something that is created through human effort or imagination." | |||
| Thai | การสร้าง | ||
| คำว่า "การสร้าง" ยังหมายถึงการแต่งเพลงร้องเพลง การแต่งหนังสือ การออกแบบวาดภาพ และการประดิษฐ์สิ่งของบางอย่าง | |||
| Vietnamese | sự sáng tạo | ||
| "Sáng tạo" means both "creation" and "creativity" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paglikha | ||
Creation in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yaradılış | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "yaradılış" also refers to the origin or nature of something. | |||
| Kazakh | құру | ||
| "Құру" also means "to build" or "to construct" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жаратуу | ||
| The word 'жаратуу' also means 'the act of giving birth' in Kyrgyz, demonstrating the deep connection between creation and procreation in the Kyrgyz worldview. | |||
| Tajik | офариниш | ||
| The word "офариниш" in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "آفرینش" (āfarinesh), which means "creation" or "act of creating". | |||
| Turkmen | döretmek | ||
| Uzbek | yaratish | ||
| In Uzbek, "yaratish" also means "to arrange" or "to prepare." | |||
| Uyghur | يارىتىش | ||
Creation in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hanaia ana | ||
| Hanaia ana can also refer to a type of spiritual ceremony used to connect with the spirit world. | |||
| Maori | hanga | ||
| In Maori, “hanga” can refer to creations of both physical and spiritual nature and also means “to bear a child”. | |||
| Samoan | foafoaga | ||
| While 'foafoaga' means 'creation' in Samoan, it also means 'the act of causing something to happen'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | likha | ||
| In the Philippines, the word "likha" also refers to an act of making something out of available materials. | |||
Creation in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | luraña | ||
| Guarani | creación rehegua | ||
Creation in International Languages
| Esperanto | kreado | ||
| Esperanto 'kreado' is derived from 'krei', meaning to create, and 'ado', meaning the act.} | |||
| Latin | creaturae | ||
| The Latin word "creaturae" can refer to both created beings and the act of creating itself. | |||
Creation in Others Languages
| Greek | δημιουργία | ||
| The word "δημιουργία" in Greek has alternate meanings such as "order" or "formation", and etymologically relates to the "demiurge" in Plato's philosophy. | |||
| Hmong | kev tsim | ||
| The Hmong word 'kev tsim' literally translates to 'making' or 'production', a broader concept than 'creation', which typically refers to something brought into existence from nothing. | |||
| Kurdish | xuliqî | ||
| The word "xuliqî" can also refer to the act of designing or forming something. | |||
| Turkish | oluşturma | ||
| "Oluşturma" also means "occurrence" or "taking place" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | indalo | ||
| The Xhosa word "indalo" also refers to the art of creation. | |||
| Yiddish | שאַפונג | ||
| The word 'שאַפונג' in Yiddish can also refer to a 'figure' or 'shape', alluding to its creation from something formless. | |||
| Zulu | indalo | ||
| Indalo originates from the Zulu word "indawo", meaning "place" and is also associated with the notion of "home" or "village" in Zulu culture. | |||
| Assamese | সৃষ্টি | ||
| Aymara | luraña | ||
| Bhojpuri | सृष्टि के बारे में बतावल गइल बा | ||
| Dhivehi | އުފެއްދުމެވެ | ||
| Dogri | सृष्टि | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paglikha | ||
| Guarani | creación rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | panamarsua | ||
| Krio | krieshɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دروستکردن | ||
| Maithili | सृष्टि | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯁꯦꯃꯒꯠꯄꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | thil siam a ni | ||
| Oromo | uumama | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସୃଷ୍ଟି | ||
| Quechua | kamasqa | ||
| Sanskrit | सृष्टिः | ||
| Tatar | барлыкка китерү | ||
| Tigrinya | ፍጥረት እዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | ku tumbuluxiwa | ||