Distance in different languages

Distance in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

Distance is a fundamental concept that describes the space between two points or objects. It holds great significance in various fields such as mathematics, physics, geometry, and even in our daily lives. The cultural importance of distance is evident in phrases like 'social distancing' that have become a part of our global lexicon due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding the translation of distance in different languages can provide valuable insights into how different cultures perceive and interact with the concept of space. For instance, in English, distance is often associated with isolation or separation, while in some African languages, distance can convey a sense of respect or formality.

Moreover, knowing the translation of distance in various languages can be practical for travel, international business, or simply for expanding one's linguistic and cultural knowledge.

Here are some translations of distance in different languages to get you started on your journey of linguistic and cultural discovery:

Distance


Distance in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansafstand
In Dutch, "afstand" can also mean "renunciation" or "abandonment".
Amharicርቀት
Hausanesa
Nesa is derived from the Arabic word 'nasa' which originally meant 'travelled distance', also denoting a 'journey'. In Hausa, it has evolved to exclusively refer to 'distance'.
Igboebe dị anya
The Igbo word "ebe dị anya" can also refer to a remote location or a long time period.
Malagasyelanelana
The Malagasy word "elanelana" also means "separateness" or "lack of intimacy."
Nyanja (Chichewa)mtunda
"Mtunda", or "distance" in Nyanja, also means "space" or "time duration."
Shonachinhambwe
The word "chinhambwe" can also refer to a person who is very tall or who travels long distances.
Somalimasaafada
The word "masaafada" in Somali can also refer to the distance between two things in time or space.
Sesothohole
In Sesotho, "hole" also means a gap, an opening in a surface, a pit, a burrow, a hollow, a cavity, or a perforation.
Swahiliumbali
In some cases, "umbali" can imply temporal and metaphorical distance, or distance between two ideas.
Xhosaumgama
The word "umgama" also refers to an unknown destination, suggesting the uncertainty and mystery associated with long distances.
Yorubaijinna
In some Yoruba dialects, "ijinna" also refers to a measurement of spatial difference.
Zuluibanga
The Zulu word "ibanga" can also refer to a place that is far away.
Bambarajanya
Ewedidiƒe
Kinyarwandaintera
Lingalantaka
Lugandaolugendo
Sepedimonabo
Twi (Akan)ntwemu tenten

Distance in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicمسافة
In Classical Arabic, the word "مسافة" could refer to the "area" surrounding something (not necessarily a physical distance)
Hebrewמֶרְחָק
The Hebrew word "מֶרְחָק" (merḥaq) also means "interval" or "space".
Pashtoواټن
The Pashto word "واټن" can also refer to a "stretch of land or territory" or "the area between two places".
Arabicمسافة
In Classical Arabic, the word "مسافة" could refer to the "area" surrounding something (not necessarily a physical distance)

Distance in Western European Languages

Albanianlargësia
The word "largësia" comes from the Proto-Albanian word *larg-, meaning "separation". It is also associated with the Latin word "largior", meaning "to bestow or give".
Basquedistantzia
The word 'distantzia' in Basque shares its root with the Latin 'dis', meaning 'apart'.
Catalandistància
The word "distància" in Catalan comes from the Latin word "distantia", which also means "difference" or "separation".
Croatianudaljenost
Udaljenost has the alternate meaning of 'remoteness' in Croatian.
Danishafstand
In Danish, "afstand" can also mean a "standoff" or "separation," especially in a disagreement or conflict.
Dutchafstand
The Dutch word "afstand" has an etymological link to "afstand doen van", which means "to renounce or give up something".
Englishdistance
The word "distance" derives from the Latin word "distantia," meaning "separation, difference," and is related to the verb "distare," meaning "to stand apart."
Frenchdistance
The French word
Frisianôfstân
The Frisian word "ôfstân" is derived from the Proto-West-Germanic word "*afstand" which could mean both "distance" and "separation" and the Proto-Germanic verb "*standjan" meaning "to stand".
Galiciandistancia
The Galician word "distancia" also means "disagreement" or "difference".
Germanentfernung
In German, "Entfernung" also means seclusion or separation.
Icelandicfjarlægð
The Icelandic word "fjarlægð" shares a root with "fjall" ("mountain"), reflecting the challenges of travel through mountainous landscapes.
Irishachar
The Irish word "achar" can also refer to a unit of measurement approximately equal to 22 English feet.
Italiandistanza
In Italian, the word 'distanza' also means 'remoteness', 'separation', or 'difference', and derives from the Latin 'distantia', meaning 'interval', 'difference', or 'divergence'.
Luxembourgishdistanz
The Luxembourgish language has several words for “distance”, depending on what type of separation is being described.
Maltesedistanza
The word "distanza" in Maltese derives from the Latin "distantia", meaning "separation" or "difference".
Norwegianavstand
The word "avstand" in Norwegian can also refer to the amount of interest one has in something.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)distância
The word "distância" in Portuguese derives from the Latin "distantia", meaning "separation" or "interval".
Scots Gaelicastar
The Gaelic word "astar" can also mean "measure" or "space".
Spanishdistancia
The Spanish word "distancia" comes from the Latin word "distantia," which means "separation" or "difference."
Swedishdistans
Swedish "distans" also means 'remoteness' and is cognate with English "distant" (same root).
Welshpellter
The word "pellter" is thought to be rooted in the Celtic word "pell," meaning "far" or "distant".

Distance in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianадлегласць
Bosnianrazdaljina
The word "razdaljina" in Bosnian can also refer to the distance between two points in time.
Bulgarianразстояние
The word "разстояние" in Bulgarian has etymological links to the Slavic root "стан" ("to stand"), implying a sense of "interval" or "separation."
Czechvzdálenost
'Vzdálenost' derives from 'vzdálit se' ('move away'), etymologically related to 'dálit' ('step'), hence it originally meant 'a step away', 'a space between steps'.
Estoniankaugus
"Kaugus" derives from the Proto-Finnic *kauko-, meaning "faraway" and cognate with Finnish "kauko" and "kaug" in Võro and Seto." }
Finnishetäisyys
The word 'etäisyys' comes from the Proto-Uralic word '*e̮t̮e̮', which meant 'far' or 'away'.
Hungariantávolság
The word "távolság" is also used to mean "remoteness" or "interval" in Hungarian.
Latvianattālums
The Latvian word "attālums" comes from an older Baltic root, which also gave rise to "tol" in Russian, "tälla" in Finnish, "tal" in Estonian, "toli" in Lithuanian, "далёко" in Russian and "далёко" in Bulgarian, all of which mean "distance".
Lithuanianatstumas
The word "atstumas" is cognate with the Latvian word "attālums" and the Sanskrit word "atisama," both meaning "distance."
Macedonianрастојание
The word "растојание" can also refer to a "span", "interval", or "difference", and is derived from the verb "растојати", meaning "to separate" or "to keep apart".
Polishdystans
The Polish word "dystans" comes from the Latin word "distantia", which means "separation".
Romaniandistanţă
"Distanţă" is also used in Romanian to refer to the estrangement between two people.
Russianрасстояние
The noun «расстояние» originates from the verb «разойтись» meaning «to move apart».
Serbianудаљеност
"Удаљеност" can also refer to "remoteness" or "alienation" in a metaphorical sense.
Slovakvzdialenosť
"Vzdialenosť" originates from "vzdiaľ", meaning "away". Its Slavic root means "to divide" or "separate".
Slovenianrazdalja
The word "razdalja" (distance) derives from the Proto-Slavic word *razdalьje, meaning "to separate or move away."
Ukrainianвідстань
Відстань (distance) can also mean 'alienation', 'estrangement', or 'separation' in Ukrainian.

Distance in South Asian Languages

Bengaliদূরত্ব
The word দূরত্ব ('distance') in Bengali can also refer to the space or time between two events.
Gujaratiઅંતર
The Gujarati word "અંતર" (distance) also means "difference" or "distinction".
Hindiदूरी
दूरी comes from the Sanskrit word 'दृ' (drish), meaning 'to see', and originally meant 'separation of vision'
Kannadaದೂರ
The word 'ದೂರ' in Kannada can also mean 'far away' or 'distant'
Malayalamദൂരം
The word "ദൂരം" (dūram) may originally have meant "a long time" or "a long time ago" rather than "a long way".
Marathiअंतर
The word 'अंतर' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अंतरम्', which means 'within' or 'interval'.
Nepaliदूरी
The Nepali word "दूरी" also means "far" or "remote".
Punjabiਦੂਰੀ
The word "ਦੂਰੀ" ("distance") can also refer to a "gap" or a "separation".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)දුර
The Sinhala word 'දුර' ('distance') is etymologically related to the Sanskrit word 'दूर' ('far').
Tamilதூரம்
The Tamil word "தூரம்" (distance) comes from the Proto-Dravidian root *tū-ri which means "separation" or "disconnection".
Teluguదూరం
The noun "దూరం" can also mean "separation" in Telugu.
Urduفاصلے
The word 'فاصلے' is thought to originate from the Sanskrit word 'विषम' ('vishama'), meaning 'uneven' or 'irregular'.

Distance in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)距离
The word "距离" (jùlí) can also mean "interval", "gap", or "separation".
Chinese (Traditional)距離
In addition to "distance," the term 距離 (jùlí) can also refer to the "difference" between things or places.}
Japanese距離
距離 can also refer to a relationship between two things, expressing intimacy or estrangement.
Korean거리
The word "거리" originally meant "a place between people" and can still be used to refer to social distance.
Mongolianзай
The word "зай" can also mean "to go", "to travel", or "to send" in Mongolian.
Myanmar (Burmese)အကွာအဝေး

Distance in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianjarak
The word "jarak" in Indonesian is thought to derive from the Sanskrit word "durah", which means "distant".
Javanesekadohan
Kadohan also means "separation" from the Old Javanese word "dohan".
Khmerចម្ងាយ
The term ចម្ងាយ also refers to the time taken to travel a certain distance.
Laoໄລຍະທາງ
The word ໄລຍະທາງ (distance) is derived from Sanskrit "raya" (way) and "tana" (stretch), meaning "the stretch of the way."
Malayjarak
The word "jarak" in Malay also means "distance between the axles of a vehicle" or the "length of a horse's legs measured from the chest to the bottom of the hoof".
Thaiระยะทาง
The term ระยะทาง can also refer to the range or extent of something.
Vietnamesekhoảng cách
Khoảng cách is a Vietnamese word that can also mean "gap" or "interval".
Filipino (Tagalog)distansya

Distance in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniməsafə
The word "məsafə" originates from the Arabic word "masafa", meaning "space" or "interval between two points".
Kazakhқашықтық
The Kazakh word "қашықтық" also refers to the interval between two events.
Kyrgyzаралык
The Kyrgyz word "аралык" also means "space", "interval", or "gap".
Tajikмасофа
The word "масофа" in Tajik ultimately comes from the Arabic word "مسافة", meaning "distance or space".
Turkmenaralyk
Uzbekmasofa
The word "masofa" in Uzbek is derived from the Persian word "masafat", which means "distance" or "space".
Uyghurئارىلىق

Distance in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianmamao
'Mamao' can also mean 'distant' as in 'distant relative' or 'distant land'.
Maoritawhiti
Tawhiti also means 'the spirit of a departed chief' or 'a supernatural being'.
Samoanmamao
The Samoan word "mamao" can also refer to a feeling of separation or loneliness.
Tagalog (Filipino)distansya
The Tagalog word "distansya" (distance) originally meant "interval between places," as it shared the root "distan" with the Latin "distare" (to stand apart).

Distance in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajaya
Guaranipukukue

Distance in International Languages

Esperantodistanco
The Esperanto word "distanco" is derived from the Latin word "distantia"}
Latinspatium
The original meaning of "spatium" was a racetrack or the distance covered in one stride of a horse.

Distance in Others Languages

Greekαπόσταση
The etymology of the word "απόσταση" is uncertain, but it may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eps- "to reach" or *h₂peh₂- "to guard, protect".
Hmongdeb
"Deb" is derived from the Proto-Hmong-Mien word *dʑaːp, and is cognate with the Proto-Tai word *dap
Kurdishdûrî
The word "dûrî" in Kurdish can also refer to a "separation" or "period of time".
Turkishmesafe
"Mesafe" sözcüğünün eski Türkçede "uzaklık, ayrılık" anlamlarına geldiği tahmin ediliyor.
Xhosaumgama
The word "umgama" also refers to an unknown destination, suggesting the uncertainty and mystery associated with long distances.
Yiddishווייטקייט
'ווייטקייט' is the Yiddish word for 'distance', but it can also refer to a person's stature or importance.
Zuluibanga
The Zulu word "ibanga" can also refer to a place that is far away.
Assameseদূৰত্ব
Aymarajaya
Bhojpuriदूरी
Dhivehiދުރުމިން
Dogriबक्फा
Filipino (Tagalog)distansya
Guaranipukukue
Ilocanodistansia
Kriofa
Kurdish (Sorani)دووری
Maithiliदूरी
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯔꯥꯞꯄ
Mizohlatzawng
Oromofageenya
Odia (Oriya)ଦୂରତା
Quechuakaru kaynin
Sanskritदूरी
Tatarара
Tigrinyaርሕቐት
Tsongampfhuka

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