Drive in different languages

Drive in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'drive' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, encompassing a wide range of meanings from a basic action to a powerful force. It represents the act of controlling a vehicle, the inner motivation that pushes us forward, and even the physical force that moves objects. This versatile term has made its way into various aspects of our culture, from literature and music to film and technology.

For instance, the popular phrase 'drive-thru' is a testament to our fast-paced society, while songs like 'Drive My Car' by The Beatles and 'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen use 'drive' to symbolize ambition and freedom. Moreover, the idiom 'to drive someone up the wall' highlights its use in expressing frustration.

Understanding the translation of 'drive' in different languages can be beneficial for global communication, especially in business and travel contexts. Here are some sample translations: Spanish - 'conducir', French - 'conduire', German - 'fahren', Italian - 'guidare', Chinese - '驾驶 (jià shǐ)', Japanese - '運転 (untentsu)', and Russian - 'вести (vesti)'.

Drive


Drive in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansry
"Ry" in Afrikaans is not an alternate spelling of "drive", but rather means "ride" or "travel on horseback."
Amharicመንዳት
The word "መንዳት" can also refer to "leading" or "directing" someone or something.
Hausatuƙi
The Hausa word "tuƙi" can also mean "to ride" or "to carry something on the back of an animal."
Igboụgbọala
The Igbo word "ụgbọala" can also refer to a car or vehicle, highlighting its close association with the act of driving.
Malagasyfiara
The word 'fiara' is derived from the French term 'voiture', referring to an automobile.
Nyanja (Chichewa)kuyendetsa
The word "kuyendetsa" can also mean "to go" or "to lead".
Shonakutyaira
The word "kutyaira" in Shona can also refer to the act of guiding or leading someone.
Somaliwadid
The Somali word "wadid" can also mean "to be stubborn" or "to insist on something."
Sesothokganna
A cognate of "kganna" - "ganna" - appears similarly in other Bantu languages, like Luganda, and refers to a "drive, way, passage, means, or habit (of doing)"
Swahilikuendesha
The Swahili word "kuendesha" also means "to guide" or "to lead".
Xhosaukuqhuba
The Xhosa word "ukuqhuba" can also mean "to lead" or "to manage".
Yorubawakọ
The Yoruba word "wakọ" also means "to lead" or "to guide".
Zuluukushayela
'Ukushayela' can also mean 'to take someone for a ride' in a figurative sense.
Bambaraka boli
Eweku ʋu
Kinyarwandagutwara
Lingalakokumba
Lugandaokuvuga
Sepediotlela
Twi (Akan)twi

Drive in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicقيادة
The word "قيادة" (drive) in Arabic derives from the root meaning "to push," and also denotes "leadership, guidance, or management."
Hebrewנהיגה
The word נהיגה (driving) also has the alternate meanings of "leadership", "guidance" and "conducting (a choir)."
Pashtoچلول
In Pashto, the word "چلول" also refers to a "horse-rider" and "a person who drives a horse or a camel".
Arabicقيادة
The word "قيادة" (drive) in Arabic derives from the root meaning "to push," and also denotes "leadership, guidance, or management."

Drive in Western European Languages

Albanianngas
"Ngac" has also the meaning of "run" in a sentence like "Ngac në krahun e tij" which means "Run to his arm" (while swimming).
Basquegidatu
The alternate meaning of “gidatu” is a guide that accompanies travellers in the mountains in exchange for payment.
Catalanconduir
The verb "conduir" in Catalan originates from the Latin "conducere," meaning "to lead" or "to accompany."
Croatianvoziti
Voziti' also has alternate meanings like to "take" and "to transport" in Croatian.
Danishkøre
"Køre" has various meanings beyond driving, including "run" and "sail."
Dutchrit
In some dialects, "rit" also means "rides".
Englishdrive
The word "drive" can also refer to an area of flat land where people can practice golf or other sports.
Frenchconduire
"Conduire" also means "to lead" in French.
Frisianride
"Ride" can also be used to describe riding an animal or a bicycle in Frisian.
Galicianconducir
In Galician, "conducir" also means "to conduct" or "to guide."
Germanfahrt
The German word "Fahrt" also means "trip" or "journey", not just the act of driving.
Icelandickeyra
In Icelandic, "keyra" derives from the Old Norse verb "keyra" meaning "to drive animals" or "to go by ship."
Irishtiomáint
"Tiomáint" comes from the Old Irish "teim", meaning "course" or "direction", and is also used to refer to "steering", "guidance", or "control" in various contexts.
Italianguidare
The word "guidare" is cognate with the French word "guider" and the English word "guide", all deriving from the Latin word "ducere", meaning "to lead".
Luxembourgishfueren
Although etymologically related to the German word "fahren," the Luxembourgish "fueren" does not mean "to go" but rather "to drive".
Malteseissuq
The word "issuq" in Maltese comes from the Arabic word "sa'a" which means "hour," possibly due to the notion that a "drive" is measured in terms of the time spent behind the wheel.
Norwegiankjøre
The Norwegian word "kjøre" can also mean "to ride" an animal or a bicycle.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)dirigir
The Portuguese word "dirigir" comes from the Latin "dirigere," meaning "to direct" or "to guide," and retains these meanings in modern Portuguese.
Scots Gaelicdraibhidh
"Draibhidh" shares its root with "drift" and "dreabh," implying a sense of being carried or impelled forward.
Spanishmanejar
In Spain, "manejar" can also mean "to handle" in a general sense, while in Mexico it means "to manage".
Swedishkör
The word "kör" can also mean "choir" in Swedish.
Welshgyrru
The Welsh word "gyrru" can also mean "to lead" or "to direct".

Drive in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianдыск
The word "дыск" derives from the Old East Slavic "дискъ" meaning "plate" and has alternate meanings such as "disk" or "disc" in English.
Bosnianvoziti
In other Slavic languages like Russian, "voziti" implies "transporting", while in Bosnian it exclusively means driving a vehicle.
Bulgarianкарам
Карам (karam) also means to punish or scold someone in Bulgarian.
Czechřídit
In Czech, "řídit" can also mean "direct" or "manage" a vehicle or organization.
Estoniansõitma
In nautical usage, "sõitma" in Estonian means "to sail or row a boat or ship".
Finnishajaa
"Ajaa" can also mean "to chase", as in "to chase away an animal" or "to pursue a goal."
Hungarianhajtás
In Hungarian, the word "hajtás" can also refer to a sprout, growth, branch, lineage, impulse, motivation or an assembly, mechanism or machine component that transmits power.
Latvianbraukt
The Latvian word "braukt" not only means "drive", but also "to go", "to travel" and "to ride".
Lithuanianvairuoti
The cognate of the word “vairuoti” in many Slavic languages means “to turn”.
Macedonianвозење
"Возење" derives from the Slavonic "voziti" meaning "to carry".
Polishnapęd
The word "napęd" in Polish can also refer to a drive as a mechanism that transmits power to a machine.
Romanianconduce
In Romanian, the word "conduce" also means "lead" or "guide."
Russianводить машину
The verb "водить машину" literally means "to lead a car" and is related to the verb "водить" meaning "to lead".
Serbianпогон
The word "погон" in Serbian means "drive" and it is also used in the context of livestock and animal husbandry.
Slovakriadiť
The word “riadiť” in Slovak does not only mean “drive” in English, but also “to lead” or “to guide”.
Slovenianpogon
Pogon means 'beard' in Greek, and it also means 'a team of draft animals, especially oxen' in Slovene.
Ukrainianпривід
The Ukrainian word "привід" can also mean "cause" or "reason".

Drive in South Asian Languages

Bengaliড্রাইভ
In Bengali, "ড্রাইভ" can also refer to a campaign or a movement.
Gujaratiડ્રાઇવ
The Gujarati word "ડ્રાઇવ" also refers to a water mill or a machine that grinds grains.
Hindiचलाना
In Hindi, the word "चलाना" (drive) can also mean to operate any vehicle or mechanical device, or even to manage or control something.
Kannadaಡ್ರೈವ್
The Kannada word 'ಡ್ರೈವ್' (drive) can also refer to an agricultural field or a military campaign.
Malayalamഡ്രൈവ് ചെയ്യുക
The Malayalam term ദ്രിവ് ("drive") can also refer to pushing, moving forward or forcing something to move in a specific direction.
Marathiड्राइव्ह
The Marathi word ड्राइव्ह is the same as the English "drive" and also means "drive a vehicle".
Nepaliड्राइभ
The word 'ड्राइभ' is derived from the Old English word 'drīfan', which means 'to urge or impel'
Punjabiਚਲਾਉਣਾ
ਚਲਾਉਣਾ also means to operate, work, or run something, such as a machine or a business.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ධාවකය
The word "ධාවකය" also means "runner" or "person who runs quickly" in Sinhala.
Tamilஇயக்கி
The word 'இயக்கி' ('drive') in Tamil can also mean 'to set in motion' or 'to operate'.
Teluguడ్రైవ్
The Telugu word 'డ్రైవ్' ('drive') also means a bullock-cart road
Urduڈرائیو
The word "ڈرائیو" (drive) in Urdu can also refer to a road or path, highlighting its dual meaning in transportation.

Drive in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)驾驶
驾驶 can also mean "to control" or "to master".
Chinese (Traditional)駕駛
"駕駛" can also refer to the act of riding or controlling a horse.
Japaneseドライブ
ドライブ also means "movie theater", a fact reflected by the use of the same character for "film" (フィルム).
Korean드라이브
"드라이브" is a loanword from English, and it can also mean 'a strong impulse' or 'a force that pushes someone to do something'.
Mongolianжолоодох
The Mongolian word "жолоодох" can be literally translated as "to cause to go," and is cognate with "жорлон," meaning "to send on an errand."
Myanmar (Burmese)မောင်း
In Burmese, "မောင်း" not only denotes "driving" a vehicle or animal but also implies "leading" or "guiding" a group or organization.

Drive in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianmendorong
The word "mendorong" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *duŋuŋ, which also means "to push" or "to thrust".
Javanesedrive
In Javanese, the word "drive" also means "to control" or "to lead".
Khmerដ្រាយ
The Khmer word "ដ្រាយ" can also mean "take one's leave".
Laoຂັບ
The Lao word “ຂັບ” derives from Sanskrit, a parent language to Lao, from its root word “KRAM,” a general verb meaning either to “walk” or “to go.”
Malaymemandu
"Memandu" in Malay can mean both "drive (a vehicle)" and "lead (a group)", reflecting the shared concept of direction and control.
Thaiไดรฟ์
The word ไดรฟ์, which means "drive", comes from the verb "DRIVE" and its various forms.
Vietnameselái xe
A rare alternate meaning of 'lái xe' translates to 'steer a ship' in English.
Filipino (Tagalog)magmaneho

Drive in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanisürmək
In Azerbaijani, "sürmək" also means "to wear" or "to put on" an item of clothing, derived from the Persian word "sormak" with the same meaning.
Kazakhжүргізу
The word "жүргізу" also means "to carry out" or "to implement" in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzайдоо
The Kyrgyz word "айдоо" also means "to chase" or "to pursue".
Tajikрондан
The Tajik word "рондан" ultimately derives from the Old Persian word "*rad-", meaning "to ride".
Turkmensürmek
Uzbekhaydash
The word "haydash" in Uzbek also means "to go out" or "to leave".
Uyghurdrive

Drive in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankalaiwa
Kalaiwa also means 'to urge or force' and was likely used to refer to driving cattle before there were automobiles in Hawaii.
Maoritaraiwa
"Taraiwa" also means "to guide" and "to direct" in Maori.
Samoantietiega
The Samoan word "tietiega" can also refer to a traditional Samoan song that tells stories of ancestors or events.
Tagalog (Filipino)magmaneho
The word "magmaneho" is derived from the root word "maneho," which means "act of driving."

Drive in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaraapnaqaña
Guaranimboguataha

Drive in International Languages

Esperantostiri
Although "stiri" means "drive" in Esperanto, it can also mean "to be at the helm" or "to lead by example".
Latincoegi
Coegi may also mean `congeal', and is related to the word `coagulate'.

Drive in Others Languages

Greekοδηγώ
The verb "οδηγώ" originally meant "to lead the way, to guide", deriving from the noun "οδηγός" ("guide").
Hmongtsav
The word "tsav" also means "push" in Hmong.
Kurdishajotin
"Ajotin" also refers to the motion of water, wind, or other fluids, conveying the sense of "flowing" or "moving rapidly".
Turkishsürücü
The Turkish word "sürücü" can also refer to a motor vehicle driver.
Xhosaukuqhuba
The Xhosa word "ukuqhuba" can also mean "to lead" or "to manage".
Yiddishפאָר
The word "פאָר" is derived from the German "fahren". The word also means "to carry" in Yiddish.
Zuluukushayela
'Ukushayela' can also mean 'to take someone for a ride' in a figurative sense.
Assameseচলোৱা
Aymaraapnaqaña
Bhojpuriगाड़ी चलावऽ
Dhivehiދުއްވުން
Dogriड्राइव
Filipino (Tagalog)magmaneho
Guaranimboguataha
Ilocanoagmaneho
Kriodrayv
Kurdish (Sorani)لێخوڕین
Maithiliचलेनाइ
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯊꯣꯕ
Mizokhalh
Oromooofuu
Odia (Oriya)ଡ୍ରାଇଭ୍
Quechuapusay
Sanskritवह्
Tatarдиск
Tigrinyaምግናሕ
Tsongachayela

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