Creative in Different Languages
Discover 'Creative' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Creativity is a fundamental aspect of human culture and expression. It's the ability to think outside the box, to come up with new ideas and solutions, and to make the world a more interesting and beautiful place. From art and literature to science and technology, creativity is what drives progress and innovation.
Throughout history, creative individuals have made significant contributions to society. From Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein, creative thinkers have challenged the status quo and pushed the boundaries of what is possible. And in today's fast-paced, globalized world, creativity is more important than ever.
But what does creativity mean in different languages and cultures? Understanding the nuances of this concept in other languages can provide valuable insights into how people around the world think and express themselves. For example, in Spanish, 'creativo' not only refers to someone with artistic talent but also to someone who is inventive and resourceful. Meanwhile, in Mandarin Chinese, '创造性' (chuàngzàoxìng) emphasizes the process of creating something new and original.
Below, you'll find a list of translations of the word 'creative' in various languages, along with some interesting cultural contexts and historical facts associated with each translation.
Creative
Creative in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kreatief | ||
| The Afrikaans word "kreatief" is derived from the Dutch word "creatief" and shares its meaning of "creative" but can also refer to a person who is imaginative and resourceful. | |||
| Amharic | ፈጠራ | ||
| The word 'ፈጠራ' originates from the Semitic root 'FTR', meaning 'to create, bring forth, or invent'. | |||
| Hausa | m | ||
| The Hausa word 'm' can also refer to the 'act of creation' or 'the thing created'. | |||
| Igbo | kee ihe | ||
| In addition to creative, "kee ihe" can also mean "to make something new or different." | |||
| Malagasy | famoronana | ||
| The word famoronana comes from the prefix famo- meaning "act of" and the root -oronana meaning "making" or "producing." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kulenga | ||
| The word "kulenga" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is derived from the verb "lenga," meaning "to draw" or "to carve," and has the connotation of originality and uniqueness. | |||
| Shona | kugadzira | ||
| The term 'kugadzira' in Shona is also associated with 'creation', 'making', and 'formation', reflecting the broader concept of creativity in the language and culture. | |||
| Somali | hal abuur leh | ||
| The word "hal abuur leh" also means "original," or "native," in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | boqapi | ||
| The word 'boqapi' in Sesotho also relates to the concept of 'imagination' and 'thinking outside the box'. | |||
| Swahili | ubunifu | ||
| The noun 'ubunifu' in Swahili can also refer to the concept of invention, ingenuity, or innovation. | |||
| Xhosa | uyilo | ||
| "Uyilo" is a Xhosa word that means "to create," from the root "yi," meaning "come into being". | |||
| Yoruba | ẹda | ||
| Ẹda is also a noun, referring to a creation, an artwork, or a product of one's imagination in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | okudala | ||
| The word 'okudala' in Zulu, also means 'to start' or 'to originate'. | |||
| Bambara | kekuman | ||
| Ewe | wɔa aɖaŋu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | guhanga | ||
| Lingala | makanisi ya kosala | ||
| Luganda | okuyiiya | ||
| Sepedi | bokgoni bja go itlhamela | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɔsrɛmuka | ||
Creative in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | خلاق | ||
| The word "خلاق" (creative) in Arabic originates from the root verb "خلق" (to create) and shares its etymology with the word "مخلوق" (creature). | |||
| Hebrew | יְצִירָתִי | ||
| The word "יְצִירָתִי" is derived from the Hebrew word "יָצִיר" (yetzir), which means "creation" or "creature." | |||
| Pashto | نوښتګر | ||
| The word "نوښتګر" also means "inventor" or "innovator" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | خلاق | ||
| The word "خلاق" (creative) in Arabic originates from the root verb "خلق" (to create) and shares its etymology with the word "مخلوق" (creature). | |||
Creative in Western European Languages
| Albanian | krijues | ||
| The word "krijues" (meaning "creative" in Albanian) is derived from the Latin word "creatio," which means "creation" or "making." | |||
| Basque | sortzailea | ||
| The Basque word “sortzailea” also means "origin","principle", "source", "cause" and "generator" | |||
| Catalan | creatiu | ||
| The word "creatiu" in Catalan also means "creditor" referring to a person to whom money is owed. | |||
| Croatian | kreativan | ||
| The Croatian word "kreativan" is derived from the Latin word "creare," meaning "to create" or "to bring into existence." | |||
| Danish | kreativ | ||
| The Danish word "kreativ" derives from the Latin "creare," meaning "to create," and its ultimate origin is the Proto-Indo-European root "*krei-," which means "to separate" or "to cut." | |||
| Dutch | creatief | ||
| The word 'creatief' is derived from the Latin word 'creare', which means 'to create'. In Dutch, it is used to describe someone who is creative, innovative, or original. | |||
| English | creative | ||
| From the Latin word 'creare', meaning 'to produce'. Used to describe something new or original. | |||
| French | créatif | ||
| The French word "Créatif" has its roots in Latin "creare", from which English "create" is also derived. | |||
| Frisian | kreatyf | ||
| The Frisian word "kreatyf" comes from the Greek word "κρεατίνη", meaning "flesh" or "meat". | |||
| Galician | creativo | ||
| In Galician, "creativo" shares the meaning of "creative" with Spanish but also means "believable" or "likely." | |||
| German | kreativ | ||
| "Kreativ" is connected to the Latin word "creare," meaning "to create," and has the alternate meanings of "producing" and "originating." | |||
| Icelandic | skapandi | ||
| The word "skapandi" can also mean "the creator". In Norse mythology, "skap" was the name of one of the two gods who created the world. | |||
| Irish | cruthaitheach | ||
| The word "cruthaitheach" is derived from the Old Irish word "cruth" meaning "shape" or "form". | |||
| Italian | creativo | ||
| In Italian, “creativo” retains its Latin root, meaning “to grow” or “to make.” | |||
| Luxembourgish | kreativ | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "kreativ" originally derived from the Latin "creare" (to create). | |||
| Maltese | kreattiv | ||
| The Maltese word "kreattiv" ultimately derives from the Latin word "creare" (to create), but its meaning has evolved to include a wider range of concepts than its English counterpart, encompassing the idea of "being resourceful" and "finding solutions". | |||
| Norwegian | kreativ | ||
| "Kreativ" in Bokmal is the Norwegian cognate of the English "creatively" and shares its etymological origins in Latin "croatio" (to create). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | criativo | ||
| In both Portuguese dialects the word "criativo" also means breeder (of plants or animals). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cruthachail | ||
| The Gaelic word 'cruthachail' is derived from the word 'cruth', meaning 'form' or 'shape', and implies a sense of 'bringing form to something' or 'creating something that did not exist before'. | |||
| Spanish | creativo | ||
| In Spanish the adjective "creativo" can also mean fertile, productive, and favorable, as well as being creative. | |||
| Swedish | kreativ | ||
| In Swedish, "kreativ" also means "inventive", "imaginative", "resourceful", "original", "novel", and "ingenious." | |||
| Welsh | creadigol | ||
| The Welsh word “creadigol” shares an etymology with “creadur,” referring to creatures who emerge from something. | |||
Creative in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | творчы | ||
| The Belarusian word "творчы" (creative) also means "fictitious" or "feigned", highlighting the idea that creativity often involves imagination and invention. | |||
| Bosnian | kreativan | ||
| The word "kreativan" also means "imaginary" or "fictional" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | творчески | ||
| Bulgarian "творчески" (creative) derives from "твор" (creation) from the Proto-Slavic root *tvor-, also seen in "создать" (create) in Russian, and "творити" (create) in Ukrainian. | |||
| Czech | tvůrčí | ||
| The word "tvůrčí" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "tvoriti", meaning "to create". | |||
| Estonian | loominguline | ||
| The word "loominguline" can also refer to something that is "looming", or threatening. | |||
| Finnish | luova | ||
| "Luova" is related to the Finnish verb "luoda," meaning "to create". | |||
| Hungarian | kreatív | ||
| In Hungarian, "kreatív" derives from "kreálni" or "teremteni" and initially meant "to produce" or "to generate" ideas or objects. | |||
| Latvian | radošs | ||
| The Latvian word "radošs" is etymologically related to the term "to wheel" ( "ritināt"}, suggesting the cyclical or transformative nature of creativity. | |||
| Lithuanian | kūrybingi | ||
| The word "kūrybingi" in Lithuanian is derived from the word "kūryba", meaning "creation", and is related to the concept of "creating something new". | |||
| Macedonian | креативни | ||
| The Macedonian word "креативни" is derived from the Latin word "creare", meaning "to create". | |||
| Polish | twórczy | ||
| The Polish word "twórczy" originates from the word "tworzyć" meaning "to create" and also has the alternate meaning of "fertile" when referring to soil. | |||
| Romanian | creativ | ||
| In Romanian, "creativ" also means "brainy" or someone who "thinks outside the box." | |||
| Russian | творческий | ||
| The word "творческий" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "творити", which means "to create" or "to make." | |||
| Serbian | креативан | ||
| The word 'креативан' is derived from the French word 'créatif', meaning 'to create'. | |||
| Slovak | kreatívny | ||
| The Slovak word "kreatívny" comes from the Latin word "creativus", which means "creating" or "producing". | |||
| Slovenian | ustvarjalno | ||
| The word 'ustvarjalno' in Slovenian, though meaning 'creative', also has connotations of 'inventive' and 'original'. | |||
| Ukrainian | творчий | ||
| The word 'творчий' is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word 'творити,' meaning 'to create.' | |||
Creative in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সৃজনশীল | ||
| The Sanskrit origin of ‘সৃজনশীল’ (‘creative’ in Bengali) means ‘producing, bringing forth, causing to exist’. | |||
| Gujarati | સર્જનાત્મક | ||
| "સર્જનાત્મક" is the equivalent of 'creative' in English, meaning 'producing new and original ideas' in Gujarati. | |||
| Hindi | रचनात्मक | ||
| 'रचनात्मक' का मूल संस्कृत शब्द 'रचना' है, जिसका अर्थ 'रचना' या 'निर्माण' है। यह शब्द किसी भी मूल विचार, वस्तु या कला के निर्माण की प्रक्रिया से संबंधित है। | |||
| Kannada | ಸೃಜನಶೀಲ | ||
| The word | |||
| Malayalam | സൃഷ്ടിപരമായ | ||
| The Malayalam word 'സൃഷ്ടിപരമായ' derives from Sanskrit and originally meant 'related to creation' or 'belonging to the creator'. | |||
| Marathi | सर्जनशील | ||
| The Marathi word "सर्जनशील" originates from Sanskrit, where it means "to create," "to produce," or "to bring into existence." | |||
| Nepali | रचनात्मक | ||
| The term "रचनात्मक" is derived from the Nepali word "रचना" (creation). | |||
| Punjabi | ਰਚਨਾਤਮਕ | ||
| ਰਚਨਾਤਮਕ is the Punjabi word for 'creative', but it has an additional connotation of 'imaginative'. As an adjective, it describes someone or something that has the ability to produce new and original ideas. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නිර්මාණාත්මක | ||
| Tamil | படைப்பு | ||
| The term படைப்பு, often translated as "creative" in English, has a broader meaning encompassing the concepts of creation, innovation, and composition, reflecting the richness of Tamil language and culture. | |||
| Telugu | సృజనాత్మక | ||
| The Telugu word "సృజనాత్మక" ("creative") shares the same etymology with "to create" and means "capable of creating" | |||
| Urdu | تخلیقی | ||
| تخلیقی means 'creative' in Urdu, and stems from the root word 'خلق' (khalaq), which is an infinitive of the Arabic word Khalaqah (خلقة), meaning 'creation' or 'nature'. | |||
Creative in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 创意的 | ||
| 创意的 (chuàngyì de) is derived from the verb 创造 (chuàngzào), which means to create something new. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 創意的 | ||
| The term "創意的" also means 'to create new' and 'to make new'. | |||
| Japanese | クリエイティブ | ||
| クリエイティブ (creative) derives from the Latin word “creare,” meaning “to make” or “to bring forth.” | |||
| Korean | 창의적인 | ||
| '창의적인' is made up of the Korean words '창' (spear, lance) and '의' (clothes), referring to something created that is new and different. | |||
| Mongolian | бүтээлч | ||
| The word "бүтээлч" can also refer to a person who creates something new or original, such as an artist or writer. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဖန်တီးမှု | ||
| "ဖန်တီးမှု" is derived from the Pali word "paticcupa", meaning "cause" or "factor", and thus can also refer to the creative process or causal factors behind something. | |||
Creative in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kreatif | ||
| The word "kreatif" in Indonesian is derived from the Dutch word "creatief", both meaning "creative". | |||
| Javanese | kreatif | ||
| The word "kreatif" in Javanese also means "skillful" or "talented". | |||
| Khmer | ច្នៃប្រឌិត | ||
| The word "ច្នៃប្រឌិត" is derived from the Sanskrit words "jñāna" (knowledge) and "pradipa" (lamp), together meaning "to light up with knowledge". | |||
| Lao | ສ້າງສັນ | ||
| Malay | kreatif | ||
| "Kreatif" also means "to work" or "to make use of one's energy, ability, or talent." | |||
| Thai | สร้างสรรค์ | ||
| The word "สร้างสรรค์" (creative) in Thai stems from the Sanskrit word "srj", meaning "to release" or "to produce." | |||
| Vietnamese | sáng tạo | ||
| Sáng tạo (creative) also has another meaning: to give birth. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | malikhain | ||
Creative in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yaradıcı | ||
| "Yaratıcı" in Azeri ultimately comes from the Persian word "yaratmaq" meaning "to create" or "to make" | |||
| Kazakh | шығармашылық | ||
| The Kazakh word "шығармашылық" is derived from the verb "шығару" ("to create") and the suffix "-шылық" ("state, quality, or condition"), denoting the quality or state of being creative. | |||
| Kyrgyz | чыгармачыл | ||
| The word “чыгармачыл” can also refer to a person who creates something, such as an artist or a writer. | |||
| Tajik | эҷодӣ | ||
| The Tajik word "эҷодӣ" can also be used to describe someone who is innovative or who has the ability to come up with new ideas. | |||
| Turkmen | döredijilikli | ||
| Uzbek | ijodiy | ||
| The word 'ijodiy' in Uzbek originally referred to a special kind of song performed during weddings. | |||
| Uyghur | ئىجادىي | ||
Creative in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | makakū | ||
| The word “makakū” can also mean “clever,” “thoughtful,” “intelligent,” and “talented.” | |||
| Maori | auaha | ||
| The word "auaha" can also refer to the process of creation or the result of creative work. | |||
| Samoan | foafoaga | ||
| The word "foafoaga" comes from the Proto-Polynesian root *foa*, meaning "to swell" or "to grow." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | malikhain | ||
| "Malikhain" also means "imaginative" or "inventive" in Tagalog. | |||
Creative in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uñstayiri | ||
| Guarani | iñapytu'ũrokypavẽ | ||
Creative in International Languages
| Esperanto | kreema | ||
| The Esperanto word “kreema” comes from the Greek word “krino,” meaning “to separate, to sift, to choose.” | |||
| Latin | partum | ||
| In Latin, "partum" means "birth" or "offspring," and it is related to the verb "parere" meaning "to bring forth," "to produce," or "to bear." | |||
Creative in Others Languages
| Greek | δημιουργικός | ||
| The ancient Greek word 'δημιουργικός' originally meant 'pertaining to the people', with 'δήμος' ('demos') being 'the people' and 'εργάζομαι' ('ergazomai') meaning 'to work'. | |||
| Hmong | muaj tswv yim | ||
| "Muaj tswv yim" can also mean "having ideas" or "being innovative". | |||
| Kurdish | avahî | ||
| The Kurdish word "avahî" can also refer to the creative act itself or an act of creation. | |||
| Turkish | yaratıcı | ||
| Besides its primary meaning "creative", "yaratıcı" also means "creator" in Turkish, like "yaradan". | |||
| Xhosa | uyilo | ||
| "Uyilo" is a Xhosa word that means "to create," from the root "yi," meaning "come into being". | |||
| Yiddish | שעפעריש | ||
| The Yiddish word "שעפעריש" (creative) derives from the German word "schöpferisch" (creative) and may also refer to "inventive" or "imaginative". | |||
| Zulu | okudala | ||
| The word 'okudala' in Zulu, also means 'to start' or 'to originate'. | |||
| Assamese | সৃষ্টিশীল | ||
| Aymara | uñstayiri | ||
| Bhojpuri | रचनात्मक | ||
| Dhivehi | އުފެއްދުންތެރި | ||
| Dogri | तमीरी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | malikhain | ||
| Guarani | iñapytu'ũrokypavẽ | ||
| Ilocano | talentado | ||
| Krio | du nyu tin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | داهێنانکار | ||
| Maithili | रचनात्कम | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯨꯠꯁꯥ ꯍꯩꯕ | ||
| Mizo | themthiam | ||
| Oromo | uumuu kan danda'u | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସୃଜନଶୀଳ | | ||
| Quechua | ruwaq | ||
| Sanskrit | रचनात्मक | ||
| Tatar | иҗади | ||
| Tigrinya | ናይ ፈጠራ ክእለት ዘለዎ | ||
| Tsonga | vutshuri | ||