Updated on March 6, 2024
Death is a universal experience that has been contemplated and explored throughout human history. The word 'die' holds great significance in many cultures, often symbolizing the end of life's journey or the beginning of a new one. Understanding the translation of 'die' in different languages can provide insight into how different cultures view and approach death.
For example, in Spanish, 'morir' is the word for 'die', while in French, 'mourir' is used. In German, the word for 'die' is 'sterben', and in Japanese, it is 'shinu'. Each of these translations not only conveys the same meaning but also carries with it the cultural nuances and connotations of the language.
Moreover, knowing the translation of 'die' in different languages can be practical in various situations, such as when traveling, studying a new language, or communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds. It can also deepen one's appreciation and understanding of the richness and diversity of human cultures and languages.
In the following list, you will find the translations of 'die' in 20 different languages, providing a small glimpse into the vast and fascinating world of language and culture.
Afrikaans | die | ||
In Afrikaans, "die" can also refer to a person who is deceased or to the process of dyeing fabric. | |||
Amharic | የ | ||
In Amharic, the word "የ" ("die") also denotes a type of plant. | |||
Hausa | da | ||
Hausa has two verbs for “to die”: `mutu` for animals and `da` for humans. | |||
Igbo | ihe | ||
Ihe is also used to refer to a corpse, a dead person, or the act of dying. | |||
Malagasy | ny | ||
The word "ny" in Malagasy can also mean "it is". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | a | ||
The Nyanja word 'a' or 'kufa' can also mean 'finish' or 'run out'. | |||
Shona | iyo | ||
The etymology of "iyo" suggests a connection to the concept of "emptiness" in Shona cosmology. | |||
Somali | ah | ||
In the context of the Maay language, 'ah' can hold various meanings such as perish, vanish, elapse, or conclude. | |||
Sesotho | the | ||
'The' ('le/na') is a definite article used to indicate a specific noun, person, place, or thing, or to refer to a general class of objects. | |||
Swahili | the | ||
In Swahili, the word "die" ("the") is also a prefix used to form passive verbs, and as a possessive determiner. | |||
Xhosa | i | ||
The word "i" in Xhosa can also refer to the "self" or "ego". | |||
Yoruba | awọn | ||
The word "awọn" can also be used to refer to a group of people or things. | |||
Zulu | i | ||
"I" can also mean "a place, a thing, or an idea". | |||
Bambara | e | ||
Ewe | the | ||
Kinyarwanda | i | ||
Lingala | ba | ||
Luganda | omu | ||
Sepedi | the | ||
Twi (Akan) | no | ||
Arabic | ال | ||
The Arabic word "ال" (al) has multiple meanings including the definite article, a form of the relative pronoun, and part of dual and plural noun forms | |||
Hebrew | ה | ||
The Hebrew word "ה" (die) is also used as a conjunction meaning "or" or "either". | |||
Pashto | د | ||
The word "د" ("die") in Pashto also means "fate" or "destiny." | |||
Arabic | ال | ||
The Arabic word "ال" (al) has multiple meanings including the definite article, a form of the relative pronoun, and part of dual and plural noun forms |
Albanian | të | ||
The word "të" in Albanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *mer-, meaning "to die" or "to vanish." | |||
Basque | du | ||
The Basque word "du" can also mean "to have" or "to be". | |||
Catalan | el | ||
The Catalan word "el" is derived from the Latin "ille", meaning "that" or "the one". | |||
Croatian | |||
The Croatian word 'umrijeti' can also mean 'to fade', 'to wither', or 'to die out'. | |||
Danish | det | ||
The word "det" can also be used as a pronoun meaning "it". | |||
Dutch | de | ||
The Dutch word "de" also means "the" in English. | |||
English | die | ||
The word “die” originated from the Middle English word “dye,” meaning “to color” or “to stain.” | |||
French | le | ||
The word "le" in French can also refer to the definite article "the" or the pronoun "it". | |||
Frisian | de | ||
Frisian's word "de" also means "the" in English, similar to how "der" does in German. | |||
Galician | o | ||
In Galician, "o" is also the definite article for masculine singular nouns | |||
German | die | ||
The German word 'die' can also mean 'the' or 'dice' depending on its usage. | |||
Icelandic | í | ||
The Icelandic word "í" originally meant "in". Its use to mean "die" is derived from the common Germanic phrase meaning "to go in" coming to only mean "to die" in Icelandic. | |||
Irish | an | ||
In Irish, "an" can refer to both the feminine definite article and the verb "that is". | |||
Italian | il | ||
The word “il” can also mean “it” in contexts without an antecedent, similar to “il” in Spanish or “le” in French. | |||
Luxembourgish | den | ||
In Luxembourgish, "den" also means "than" in English. | |||
Maltese | il | ||
"Il" may derive from Proto-Semitic *ʔilm, also found in Semitic languages like Hebrew ('el) and Arabic (ʔilm). The word may also refer to a male relative of a spouse, depending on context. | |||
Norwegian | de | ||
"De" in Norwegian can also refer to a lake or a body of water. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | a | ||
The Portuguese word "a" (die) originates from the Latin word "alea", meaning "game of dice" or "chance". | |||
Scots Gaelic | an | ||
The Scots Gaelic word "an" can also mean "end" or "finish". | |||
Spanish | la | ||
In Latin, "la" can refer to notes, syllables, or even dice. | |||
Swedish | de | ||
Swedish 'de' derives from Old West Norse 'deyja', meaning 'to put or set down'. | |||
Welsh | y | ||
Welsh "y" can also mean "his" or "her", and is related to the Irish "a" and the Breton "e". |
Belarusian | |||
This Belarusian word can also refer to the action or process of making something, or to a tool or device used for this purpose. | |||
Bosnian | the | ||
In Bosnian "die" can also mean "they". | |||
Bulgarian | на | ||
In some Bulgarian dialects and in Old Church Slavonic, "на" can also mean "to fall" or "to lie down." | |||
Czech | the | ||
'The' (die) in Czech is also used to form nouns, e.g. 'die Frau' (the woman). | |||
Estonian | |||
" originates from the Proto-Finnic word *kuoleH, meaning death. | |||
Finnish | |||
The word "kuolla" in Finnish also means "to expire" or "to run out". | |||
Hungarian | a | ||
The Hungarian word "a" shares its etymology with the Finnish word "ahjo" meaning "forge" | |||
Latvian | |||
" can also refer to a type of reed in Latvian. | |||
Lithuanian | |||
In Lithuanian, the word "die" comes from the word "das", which means "to give". | |||
Macedonian | на | ||
Macedonian "на" also refers to the concept and place of a "nation" | |||
Polish | the | ||
In Polish, "the" ("die") can also refer to "that" or "which." | |||
Romanian | |||
Romanian | |||
Russian | то | ||
"То" can also be a conjunction meaning "if" | |||
Serbian | тхе | ||
The word "тхе" in Serbian also means "board", "plank", or "panel". | |||
Slovak | the | ||
In German, "die" is the feminine definite article as well as the feminine nominative singular of the word for "the". | |||
Slovenian | |||
In Slovenian, the word "die" can also mean "board" or "plank". | |||
Ukrainian | |||
In Ukrainian, the word "смерть" also means "death". |
Bengali | দ্য | ||
In Bengali, 'দ্য' or 'die' is a homophone with the word 'দী' (dee), meaning 'lamp' or 'light'. | |||
Gujarati | આ | ||
The Gujarati word "આ" can also refer to a type of tree or a musical instrument. | |||
Hindi | |||
मरने की क्रिया के अर्थ के अतिरिक्त, हिंदी शब्द "मर" का उपयोग "मरना" या "अस्त होना" जैसी कई अन्य अवधारणाओं को व्यक्त करने के लिए किया जा सकता है। | |||
Kannada | ದಿ | ||
The Kannada word "ದಿ" also refers to a lamp used in traditional ceremonies. | |||
Malayalam | ദി | ||
The Malayalam word 'ദി' ('die') can also be an exclamation or an imperative meaning 'stop'. | |||
Marathi | अगोदर निर्देश केलेल्या बाबीसंबंधी बोलताना | ||
Nepali | को | ||
The word "को" can also mean "of" or "to" in Nepali, depending on the context. | |||
Punjabi | ਇਹ | ||
The word "ਇਹ" (die) in Punjabi can also refer to a gambling die or the seed of the Butea monosperma tree. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එම | ||
The word "එම" can also mean "a little while" or "a short time". | |||
Tamil | தி | ||
தி can also refer to a direction or a time period in Tamil. | |||
Telugu | ది | ||
The Telugu word "ది" (die) derives from the Sanskrit word "दा" (da), meaning "to give" or "to bestow". | |||
Urdu | |||
The word "मरना" also means "wilt" or "to fade" in Urdu. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 的 | ||
的 (de) can also refer to a possessive form or a way to express the subject of a sentence. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 的 | ||
"的" (pronounced 'de'), a common Chinese particle, can also mean 'belong to' or express emphasis. | |||
Japanese | インクルード | ||
The word "インクルード" can also refer to "including" or "involving" in English. | |||
Korean | 그만큼 | ||
The word "그만큼" in Korean can also refer to the amount or quantity of something. | |||
Mongolian | the | ||
"The" in Mongolian can also refer to a place or a time. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | က | ||
In Myanmar, က is not only used as a verb for "to die" but also as a noun meaning "fate" or "destiny". |
Indonesian | itu | ||
The Proto-Austronesian word `*atu' referred to someone's soul leaving the body. | |||
Javanese | ing | ||
The word "ing" in Javanese also translates to "that" and is used in the context of pointing at something or someone. | |||
Khmer | នេះ | ||
"នេះ" in Khmer is also used to refer to the 3rd lunar day of the waxing moon cycle. | |||
Lao | ໄດ້ | ||
In addition to meaning "die," the Lao word "ໄດ້" can also mean "to receive" or "to get." | |||
Malay | yang | ||
"Yang" can also mean "which" or "that" and is often used in formal or literary contexts. | |||
Thai | ที่ | ||
The word "ที่" also means "place", and when combined with the word "ไหน", forms the question word "where". | |||
Vietnamese | các | ||
Besides meaning "die", "các" can also mean "all" or "various" when used as a classifier in Vietnamese. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ang | ||
Azerbaijani | the | ||
In some dialects of Azerbaijani, the word "the" also means "this" or "that". | |||
Kazakh | the | ||
"The" ("die") also means "not" or "non-" when used as a prefix in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | жана | ||
The word "жана" in Kyrgyz can also mean "revive" or "come back to life" in a figurative sense. | |||
Tajik | ба | ||
The word "ба" ("die") in Tajik has Persian and Arabic origins and can also mean "to pass away" or "to perish." | |||
Turkmen | the | ||
Uzbek | the | ||
The word "The" in Uzbek is also used as a definite article, and is often translated as "the" in English. | |||
Uyghur | the | ||
Hawaiian | ka | ||
In Hawaiian, "ka" also denotes the process or state of decomposition, as well as the absence or loss of something. | |||
Maori | te | ||
The Maori word "te" comes from the Proto-Polynesian word "*te", which also means "the" in many Polynesian languages. | |||
Samoan | le | ||
Le can also mean 'to vanish' or 'to go missing' in Samoan. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | ang | ||
Ang can also mean 'the' as part of an article in the language, like in 'ang bata,' which would mean 'the child'. |
Aymara | jupa | ||
Guarani | ha'e | ||
Esperanto | la | ||
In Esperanto, "la" also means "the" (definite article) and "it" (3rd person singular pronoun). | |||
Latin | quod | ||
Quod is an archaic Latin word meaning "that" or "because", and is still used in legal phrases such as "in quod". |
Greek | ο | ||
The word "ο" in Greek can also mean "who" as in the question "Ο ειναι εκει;" (Who is there?) | |||
Hmong | tus | ||
The Hmong word "tus" also means "a deceased person". | |||
Kurdish | ew | ||
In Kurdish, "ew" means "to fall" or "to die" depending on the context. | |||
Turkish | |||
The Turkish word "ölür" meaning "to die" derives from the Proto-Turkic verb *öl-, meaning "to perish" or "to be extinguished." | |||
Xhosa | i | ||
The word "i" in Xhosa can also refer to the "self" or "ego". | |||
Yiddish | די | ||
The word "די" ("die") also means "here" in Yiddish. | |||
Zulu | i | ||
"I" can also mean "a place, a thing, or an idea". | |||
Assamese | the | ||
Aymara | jupa | ||
Bhojpuri | के... | ||
Dhivehi | އެ... | ||
Dogri | ओह् | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ang | ||
Guarani | ha'e | ||
Ilocano | ti | ||
Krio | di | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | ەکە | ||
Maithili | के | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯗꯤ | ||
Mizo | chumi | ||
Oromo | -icha | ||
Odia (Oriya) | the | ||
Quechua | chay | ||
Sanskrit | the | ||
Tatar | .әр сүзнең | ||
Tigrinya | እቲ | ||
Tsonga | ku | ||