Curious in Different Languages
Discover 'Curious' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Curious
Afrikaans nuuskierig | ||
Albanian kurioz | ||
Amharic ጉጉት | ||
Arabic فضولي | ||
Armenian հետաքրքրասեր | ||
Assamese কৌতূহলী | ||
Aymara uñaqiri | ||
Azerbaijani maraqlıdır | ||
Bambara ko sɛgɛsɛgɛla | ||
Basque bitxia | ||
Belarusian цікаўны | ||
Bengali কৌতূহলী | ||
Bhojpuri उत्सुक | ||
Bosnian radoznao | ||
Bulgarian любопитен | ||
Catalan curiós | ||
Cebuano kahibaw | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 好奇 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 好奇 | ||
Corsican curiosu | ||
Croatian znatiželjan | ||
Czech zvědavý | ||
Danish nysgerrig | ||
Dhivehi ޝަޢުޤުވެރި | ||
Dogri उत्सुक | ||
Dutch nieuwsgierig | ||
English curious | ||
Esperanto scivolema | ||
Estonian uudishimulik | ||
Ewe lea ŋku ɖe nu me | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) mausisa | ||
Finnish utelias | ||
French curieuse | ||
Frisian nijsgjirrich | ||
Galician curioso | ||
Georgian ცნობისმოყვარე | ||
German neugierig | ||
Greek περίεργος | ||
Guarani kuaase | ||
Gujarati વિચિત્ર | ||
Haitian Creole kirye | ||
Hausa son sani | ||
Hawaiian hoihoi | ||
Hebrew סקרן | ||
Hindi जिज्ञासु | ||
Hmong xav paub | ||
Hungarian kíváncsi | ||
Icelandic forvitinn | ||
Igbo kemmasi | ||
Ilocano naaya a mangammo | ||
Indonesian ingin tahu | ||
Irish aisteach | ||
Italian curioso | ||
Japanese 奇妙な | ||
Javanese penasaran | ||
Kannada ಕುತೂಹಲ | ||
Kazakh қызық | ||
Khmer ចង់ដឹងចង់ឃើញ | ||
Kinyarwanda amatsiko | ||
Konkani उमळशीक आसपी | ||
Korean 궁금한 | ||
Krio want fɔ no | ||
Kurdish miraqker | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) پەرۆش | ||
Kyrgyz кызыктуу | ||
Lao ຢາກຮູ້ຢາກເຫັນ | ||
Latin curiosum | ||
Latvian ziņkārīgs | ||
Lingala koluka koyeba | ||
Lithuanian smalsu | ||
Luganda okwaagala okumanya | ||
Luxembourgish virwëtzeg | ||
Macedonian curубопитни | ||
Maithili जिज्ञासु | ||
Malagasy liana | ||
Malay ingin tahu | ||
Malayalam കൗതുകകരമായ | ||
Maltese kurjuż | ||
Maori pākiki | ||
Marathi उत्सुक | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯈꯪꯅꯤꯡꯕ ꯐꯥꯎꯕ | ||
Mizo dilchhut | ||
Mongolian сониуч | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) စပ်စု | ||
Nepali जिज्ञासु | ||
Norwegian nysgjerrig | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chidwi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଆଗ୍ରହୀ | ||
Oromo beekuuf hedduu barbaaduu | ||
Pashto مبهم | ||
Persian کنجکاو | ||
Polish ciekawy | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) curioso | ||
Punjabi ਉਤਸੁਕ | ||
Quechua curioso | ||
Romanian curios | ||
Russian любопытный | ||
Samoan fiailoa | ||
Sanskrit कौतुहलान्वितः | ||
Scots Gaelic fiosrach | ||
Sepedi na le kgahlego | ||
Serbian радознао | ||
Sesotho ho labalabela ho tseba | ||
Shona kuda kuziva | ||
Sindhi شوقین | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කුතුහලයෙන් | ||
Slovak zvedavý | ||
Slovenian radoveden | ||
Somali xiisaha leh | ||
Spanish curioso | ||
Sundanese panasaran | ||
Swahili mdadisi | ||
Swedish nyfiken | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) mausisa | ||
Tajik кунҷкоб | ||
Tamil ஆர்வமாக | ||
Tatar кызык | ||
Telugu ఆసక్తిగా | ||
Thai อยากรู้อยากเห็น | ||
Tigrinya ህንጥው | ||
Tsonga ntsakelo | ||
Turkish meraklı | ||
Turkmen bilesigeliji | ||
Twi (Akan) nsekuo | ||
Ukrainian допитливий | ||
Urdu متجسس | ||
Uyghur قىزىقىش | ||
Uzbek qiziquvchan | ||
Vietnamese tò mò | ||
Welsh chwilfrydig | ||
Xhosa ndinomdla | ||
Yiddish טשיקאַווע | ||
Yoruba iyanilenu | ||
Zulu banelukuluku lokwazi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "nuuskierig" is derived from the Middle Dutch "nuwtsgierich", meaning "eager for news". |
| Albanian | The word "kurioz" likely derives from the Latin noun "curiosus" (inquisitive, prying, careful), with its ultimate origin likely traceable to an Indo-European base "*kwrē-" meaning "look" or "inspect" |
| Arabic | فضولي (Fuḍūlī) literally means "interfering in what is not your business" and is often associated with nosiness and intrusiveness. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "հետաքրքրասեր" (hetaqrqrasēr) has a literal translation of "following interests", but it also carries the sense of "being inquisitive or curious". |
| Azerbaijani | "maraqlıdır" can also mean "interesting" or "fascinating" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | "Bitxia" in Basque can also refer to a "marvelous thing" or a "trick". |
| Belarusian | The word "цікаўны" can also mean "interesting" or "inquisitive" in Belarusian. |
| Bosnian | The word 'radoznao' has the same Slavic root as 'radost' (joy), implying curiosity can also be a source of pleasure. |
| Bulgarian | "Любопитен" also means "interesting" and "intriguing". |
| Catalan | "Curiós" in Catalan has a secondary meaning deriving from Latin "curiosus," meaning "exquisite or elaborate," as in "una obra curiosíssima," meaning "a most exquisite work." |
| Cebuano | "Kahibaw" can be used in Cebuano to refer to anything from a physical feature to a piece of information. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The term '好奇' is also used to describe a strong desire for knowledge or an inquiring mind. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word 好奇 (hàoqí), meaning curious, is derived from the words 好 (hǎo) meaning good or like, and 奇 (qí) meaning strange or unusual. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "curiosu" can also mean "inquisitive" or "nosy". |
| Croatian | The word "znatiželjan" derives from the Slavic root "*znati" meaning "to know" and the suffix "-željan" meaning "desiring". Thus, its literal meaning is "desiring to know". |
| Czech | The word "zvědavý" also means "nosy" or "inquisitive" in Czech. |
| Danish | The word "nysgerrig" is a compound word derived from the Old Norse words "ny" (new) and "gjerrig" (greedy). |
| Dutch | In the 16th and 17th century, the word also had a meaning that is now obsolete, namely "having the desire to do something", which is still preserved in the word "gierig" ("greedy"). |
| Esperanto | "Scivolema" can also refer to a type of fabric made from cotton and silk, similar to damask. |
| Estonian | The word "uudishimulik" also means "strange" or "unusual" in Estonian. |
| Finnish | "Uteli" is a synonym for "curious" in Finnish, derived from the French word "utile" meaning "useful". |
| French | Curiosity in English can also refer to a rare or unusual thing rather than just a feeling. |
| Frisian | "Nijsgiriich" in the Frisian dialect of Saterland is cognate with "nieuwsgierig" in Dutch and means both "curious" and "nosy" |
| Galician | In Galician, "curioso" can also mean "worried" or "concerned". |
| German | The word "neugierig" derives from the Middle High German "niuwiere" meaning "new desire". |
| Greek | In Ancient Greek, "περίεργος" also denoted an "outsider, foreigner, alien," or a meddler. |
| Gujarati | વિચિત્ર shares an origin with the Sanskrit root cited in the word 'picture', and also shares the root of 'vicitra', meaning 'diverse'. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "kirye" in Haitian Creole comes from the French word "curieux" and means "inquisitive" or "interested." |
| Hausa | ''Son sani'' also denotes ''a very old or ancient thing'' in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | This word originates from the Hawaiian word hāʻawi which means 'giving' |
| Hebrew | סקרן can refer to a curious person or, in astronomy, the dwarf planet Eris |
| Hindi | The word 'जिज्ञासु' derives from the Sanskrit word 'ज्ञास', meaning 'to desire to know', and shares its root with words like 'ज्ञानी' ('knower') and 'ज्ञात' ('known'). |
| Hmong | The Hmong word “xav paub,” or “curious, |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "kíváncsi" is derived from the same root as "kíván", meaning "to desire" or "to long for." |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "forvitinn" shares a root with "viti", meaning "intelligence", and "forviti", meaning "to want to know". |
| Igbo | Kemmasi in Igbo is often confused with 'kammasi', which refers to a person with an excessively inquisitive nature. |
| Indonesian | Ingin tahu can also be used to mean 'desire', 'want' or 'need' and is often used in place of the standard word 'mau'. |
| Irish | The word "aisteach" may also refer to a supernatural being or an omen. |
| Italian | The Italian word "curioso" also means "nosy" or "inquisitive", reflecting its Latin root "curiosus" meaning "careful" or "diligent." |
| Japanese | "奇妙な" (kimyōna) is a combination of "気" (ki, energy, spirit) and "妙" (myō, wonderful, mysterious), suggesting something that is both unusual and fascinating. |
| Javanese | "Penampilan berasal dari kata 'penasar' yang berarti senang menyelidiki." |
| Kannada | ಕುತೂಹಲ can also mean 'eagerness' or 'interest' in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "қызық" has a double meaning, which is "interesting" and "riddle". |
| Korean | 궁금한 means both 'curious' and 'annoying' in Korean, both derived from the same root word meaning 'itching' |
| Kurdish | The word "miraqker" also means "detective" in Turkish and "curious person" in Arabic. |
| Latin | The Latin word curiosum, meaning "curious," also means "full of care" or "elaborate," akin to the word cura, "care". |
| Latvian | "Ziņkārīgs" likely originates from the word "zināt" ("to know") and the suffix "-īgs," which denotes a "tendency" or "propensity", hence "curious" or "inquisitive." |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "smalsu" is derived from the word "smala", which means "tar", and originally referred to the curiosity of birds attracted to the sticky substance. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "virwëtzeg" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*werzaną", meaning "to perceive" or "to notice". |
| Macedonian | In Macedonian "курјопитни" ("curious") also means "inquiring" and "eager to learn." |
| Malagasy | "Liana" also means "curious" in Malagasy, and relates to the "liana" in English, meaning vines, as they are often the object of a curious person's gaze. |
| Malay | The Malay word "ingin tahu" literally translates to "wanting to know" and is related to the word "ingin" which means "to desire". |
| Malayalam | The word 'കൗതുകകരമായ' in Malayalam has its roots in the Sanskrit word 'कौतुक' (kautuka), meaning 'something new or unusual', and 'कर' (kara), meaning 'doing' or 'making', implying that something is 'causing curiosity'. |
| Maltese | The word "kurjuż" is derived from the Italian word "curioso" which means "inquiring" or "prying." |
| Maori | In Maori, "pākiki" also means "hard; rigid; unyielding; unbending; unimpressible; obstinate; stubborn; firm; immovable; not easily moved or altered." |
| Marathi | उत्सुक (English: curious) comes from the Sanskrit word उत्सुक, which means 'eager to hear or see'. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "сониуч" derives from the verb "сониулах" which means "to observe". |
| Nepali | "जिज्ञासु" is often used to describe someone who is inquisitive or wants to learn more, but as a name also connotes a sense of discovery and a strong passion for knowledge and a desire to understand. |
| Norwegian | The word "nysgjerrig" is derived from the Old Norse word "nysgjarn", which means "greedy for news". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "chidwi" in Nyanja can also refer to a small, mischievous spirit or goblin. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "مبهم" also means "hesitant" or "uncertain" in other contexts. |
| Persian | The word "کنجکاو" also has the alternate meaning of "inquisitive". |
| Polish | In 16th century Polish, "ciekawy" meant "interesting" or "beautiful" and was used to describe both women and works of art. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "curioso" in Portuguese can also mean "unusual" or "intriguing." |
| Punjabi | The word "ਉਤਸੁਕ" (curious) in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "utsuk" meaning "full of eagerness or desire". |
| Romanian | Romanian "curios" also denotes something unexpected and unusual |
| Russian | "Любопытный" is derived from the Old Slavic word "любити", meaning "to love" or "to desire". |
| Samoan | The word 'fiailoa', meaning curious or inquisitive, is also used in the context of showing interest in someone or something. |
| Scots Gaelic | Fiosrach can derive from the Old Irish "fis" referring to knowledge that is hidden, as opposed to fis meaning knowledge. |
| Serbian | The word "радознао" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "радо" (joy) and "знати" (to know). |
| Sesotho | The word "ho labalabela ho tseba" is also used to describe a person who is always asking questions. |
| Shona | The Shona word "kuda kuziva" can also mean "to inquire" or "to be inquisitive." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "කුතුහලයෙන්" can also be used to express curiosity about information, but is often used to express curiosity that drives a desire to know the source of something, like a mystery. |
| Slovak | The word "zvedavý" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*zvěditi", meaning "to find out" or "to learn". |
| Slovenian | "Radoveden" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*rado-vědъ", meaning "to know about something". |
| Somali | The word 'xiisaha leh' can also be translated as 'interesting'. |
| Spanish | "Curioso" also means "nosey" or "meddling" in Spanish, and derives from the Latin "cura" meaning "care" or "heed." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "panasaran" is derived from the Old Javanese word "panasaran" which means "to be astonished". |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "mdadisi" can also mean "enquirer", "inquirer" or "questioner." |
| Swedish | Nyfiken stems from the Old Norse 'nýfikinn' meaning 'eager to know' and has cognates in most Germanic languages |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "mausisa" (curious) comes from the Spanish word "curiosidad" (curiosity). |
| Tajik | "Кунҷкоб" is also the name of an ancient city near Panjakent. |
| Tamil | 'ஆர்வமாக' (curious) in Tamil also means 'with zeal or eagerness'. |
| Thai | The word "อยากรู้อยากเห็น" can be literally translated as "wanting to know, wanting to see". |
| Turkish | The word "Meraklı" in Turkish is also used to mean "interested" or "enthusiastic" about something. |
| Ukrainian | The word "допитливий" in Ukrainian originally meant "inquisitive" or "searching for knowledge." |
| Urdu | متجسس is a word used to describe a person who is overly inquisitive, or one who engages in secret investigations. |
| Uzbek | Qiziquvchan derives from the root 'qiziq' which means 'interest', 'something that sparks attention' |
| Vietnamese | "Tò mò" shares the same root with "tà mò" which means "groping in the dark" or "trying to figure something out by touch or indirect means". |
| Welsh | Derived from 14th century 'chwifwl' meaning 'swift' and 'rhydig' meaning 'freedom', 'ease' or 'grace' |
| Xhosa | "Ndindomdla" is derived from the Xhosa phrase "kudi bandela" which means "having no direction". |
| Yiddish | Despite being spelled 'tshikăve' it shares an etymology with the German word 'zucken' meaning 'to twitch'. |
| Yoruba | "Iyanilenu" is a Yoruba word which translates as "curious," but can also be used as a noun to describe a curious or inquisitive person. |
| Zulu | Its root word, 'ukukuleka,' means 'to look,' while 'lokwazi' refers to knowledge, thus suggesting a desire to acquire knowledge through observation. |
| English | The word "curious" comes from the Latin word "cura," meaning "care" or "concern. It can also mean "inquisitive" or "eager to learn" |