Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'emphasize' holds great significance in communication, as it refers to the act of giving special importance or attention to something. This cultural importance is reflected in various languages around the world.
Did you know that the word 'emphasize' comes from the Greek word 'enphásis', which means 'to show openly'? Understanding the translation of 'emphasize' in different languages can provide insights into how different cultures prioritize and highlight information.
For instance, in Spanish, 'emphasize' is 'destacar', while in French, it's 'souligner'. In Mandarin Chinese, the word for 'emphasize' is '强调' (qiángdiào), and in Japanese, it's '強調' (kyoucho). These translations not only reflect linguistic differences but also cultural nuances in communication styles.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or a business professional working with international colleagues, understanding the translation of 'emphasize' in different languages can enrich your communication and cultural competence.
Afrikaans | beklemtoon | ||
"Beklemtoon" is an Afrikaans word that derives from the Dutch word "beklemtonen" and originally meant "highlight". | |||
Amharic | አፅንዖት ይስጡ | ||
Hausa | nanata | ||
The word "nanata" is derived from the verb "nana" meaning "to make clear". | |||
Igbo | mesie ike | ||
The term "mesie ike" is derived from the Igbo words "mesie," meaning "to do," and "ike," meaning "strength or power." | |||
Malagasy | manasongadina | ||
In addition to "emphasize", the word also means "to press down" or "to crush". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | tsindikani | ||
The verb 'tsindikani' can also mean 'to point out' or 'to show'. | |||
Shona | simbisa | ||
The word "simbisa" can also mean "to make clear" or "to explain". | |||
Somali | adkeyso | ||
The word "adkeyso" in Somali is derived from the word "dhaksad," which means "to cover" or "to conceal." | |||
Sesotho | totobatsa | ||
The word "totobatsa" originated from the phrase " ho toba-toba" , which means "to be strong" or "to be hard". It later took on the meaning of "to emphasize" because when you emphasize something, you make it stronger or more pronounced. | |||
Swahili | sisitiza | ||
"Sisitiza" can also mean "to make a thing clear and obvious" or "to make something known to someone who does not know it." | |||
Xhosa | gxininisa | ||
The Xhosa term "gxininisa" derives from the root -gxin- ("urge") and the suffix -isa ("cause to"), literally meaning "to cause to urge" or "to intensify." | |||
Yoruba | tẹnumọ | ||
"Tẹnumọ" is an emphatic verb, sharing the same root word as "tẹ" (to step on). | |||
Zulu | gcizelela | ||
Gcizelela in Zulu, from the root -gciz-, suggests 'marking' or 'highlighting,' and also carries the connotation of 'giving attention' or 'making noticeable'. | |||
Bambara | ka sinsin | ||
Ewe | te gbe ɖe edzi | ||
Kinyarwanda | shimangira | ||
Lingala | kobeta nsete | ||
Luganda | okuggumiza | ||
Sepedi | gatelela | ||
Twi (Akan) | si so dua | ||
Arabic | التأكيد على | ||
التأكيد على means "affirm, insist on" and derives from “kad” (certainty, affirmation) | |||
Hebrew | להדגיש | ||
Also used in the sense of 'highlighting'. | |||
Pashto | ټینګار | ||
The word "ټینګار" can also mean "stress" or "insistence" in Pashto. | |||
Arabic | التأكيد على | ||
التأكيد على means "affirm, insist on" and derives from “kad” (certainty, affirmation) |
Albanian | theksoj | ||
In Albanian, "theksoj" is the result of the contraction of "the" (put) and "ksoj" (keep), meaning "keep it out there". | |||
Basque | nabarmendu | ||
The word "nabarmendu" is derived from the Basque words "nabar" (noticeable) and "mendu" (hill), suggesting the idea of making something stand out or become more prominent. | |||
Catalan | emfatitzar | ||
In Catalan, 'emfatitzar' can also mean 'to highlight' or 'to accentuate'. | |||
Croatian | naglasiti | ||
The Croatian word "naglasiti" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *naglasiti, meaning "to put stress on" or "to make prominent". | |||
Danish | understrege | ||
In Danish, the word "understrege" can also mean to "sign" or "subscribe to" something | |||
Dutch | benadrukken | ||
The Dutch word "benadrukken" originates from the Latin expression "bene dictum" which means "spoken well." | |||
English | emphasize | ||
The word 'emphasize' comes from the Greek word 'emphasis', which means 'stress' or 'importance'. | |||
French | souligner | ||
The verb "souligner" in French can also mean "to highlight" or "to underline". | |||
Frisian | ûnderstreekje | ||
"Ûnderstreekje" is also used figuratively to mean "stress the importance of something, especially in speech" | |||
Galician | salientar | ||
The verb "salientar" also means "to make something stand out" or "to highlight" in Galician. | |||
German | betonen | ||
Betonen also means "to concrete over" in German. | |||
Icelandic | leggja áherslu á | ||
The word leggja áherslu á is a compound of the verb leggja ('to lay') and the noun áhersla ('emphasis'), and can also mean 'to lay emphasis on'. | |||
Irish | béim | ||
The Irish word "béim" originally meant a blow or strike, as well as a wound or bruise. | |||
Italian | enfatizzare | ||
The Italian word "enfatizzare" also means "to stress" or "to accentuate". | |||
Luxembourgish | ënnersträichen | ||
ënnersträichen is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *understrekjaną, meaning “to draw a line underneath”. | |||
Maltese | enfasizza | ||
The Maltese word "enfasi" (emphasis) is derived from Greek, where it means "appearance" or "manifestation". | |||
Norwegian | understreke | ||
"Understreke" is a contraction of the Norwegian words "under" (under) and "strek" (stroke, line). The word is primarily used figuratively to stress the importance or highlight the essence of something. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | enfatizar | ||
A forma "enfatizar" é usada somente no Brasil com esse significado, em Portugal usam-se os verbos realçar ou sublinhar. | |||
Scots Gaelic | cuir cuideam air | ||
Spanish | enfatizar | ||
"Enfatizar" comes from the Greek "emphánizo", meaning "to make visible" or "to give prominence to". | |||
Swedish | betona | ||
The word "betona" in Swedish shares a similar origin with "beton" in German, meaning "concrete", and "betoningen" in Dutch, meaning "emphasis". Thus, "betona" can also mean something that is solid and unyielding when used to describe an idea or argument. | |||
Welsh | pwysleisio | ||
The word "pwysleisio" also means "to stress" or "to accentuate" in Welsh. |
Belarusian | падкрэсліць | ||
The word "падкрэсліць" in Belarusian is derived from the Slavic root "*podъčrtъ", which also means "to line" or "to write". | |||
Bosnian | naglasiti | ||
"Naglasiti" in Bosnian comes from Proto-Slavic "naglostъ", meaning "inclination; promptness," also from Proto-Indo-European "nek-", meaning "bend". | |||
Bulgarian | подчертайте | ||
The word "подчертайте" in Bulgarian can also mean "underlined" or "indicated". | |||
Czech | zdůraznit | ||
The Czech word "zdůraznit" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "doraziti", meaning "to arrive at" or "to reach". | |||
Estonian | rõhuta | ||
Rõhutama is also used to emphasize something when speaking | |||
Finnish | korostaa | ||
The Proto-Finnic word "korostaa" originally meant "to make something sound good". | |||
Hungarian | hangsúlyt helyez | ||
In addition to its main meaning of "emphasize", "hangsúlyt helyez" can also refer to placing weight on something physically or figuratively. | |||
Latvian | uzsvērt | ||
The word "uzsvērt" in Latvian contains "svērt", meaning "to weigh" or "to measure". | |||
Lithuanian | pabrėžti | ||
The word "pabrėžti" also means "to mark something with a line" in Lithuanian. | |||
Macedonian | нагласи | ||
The verb нагласи comes from Old Church Slavonic, a language used since the 9th century and it's a cognate of the Bulgarian нагласно, as of Russian наголос. | |||
Polish | położyć nacisk | ||
The verb "położyć nacisk" literally translates to "to put pressure", referencing the physical act of highlighting or underlining to emphasize something in writing. | |||
Romanian | scoate in evidenta | ||
“Scoate în evidență” is derived from the Latin “exsupero”, meaning “to surpass” or “to excel”, and shares a similar etymology with the French “surpasser” and the English “supersede”. | |||
Russian | подчеркнуть | ||
The word "подчеркнуть" also means "to underline" in Russian. | |||
Serbian | нагласити | ||
The word 'нагласити' in Serbian derives from the Old Slavic word 'glagol', meaning 'word' or 'speech'. | |||
Slovak | zdôrazniť | ||
The word "zdôrazniť" is derived from the Latin word "demonstrare", meaning "to show" or "to point out". | |||
Slovenian | poudariti | ||
The Proto-Slavic root of "poudariti" is also related to "udarit" and "udarati", which refer to hitting and being angry, respectively. | |||
Ukrainian | підкреслити | ||
The Ukrainian word "підкреслити" is derived from the Slavic root "kres", meaning "line", and originally meant "to draw a line under something to make it stand out". |
Bengali | জোর দেওয়া | ||
জোর দেওয়া originates from the word জোর, and means to speak or write with emphasis. | |||
Gujarati | ભાર મૂકે છે | ||
The word "ભાર મૂકે છે" literally means "to put weight on something", and is also used to describe the act of emphasizing or highlighting something. | |||
Hindi | ज़ोर देना | ||
The Hindi word 'zor dena' also means 'to insist', 'to press', or 'to coerce'. | |||
Kannada | ಒತ್ತು | ||
The Kannada word "ಒತ್ತು" can also refer to pressure, force, or weight. | |||
Malayalam | പ്രാധാന്യം നൽകി | ||
In Malayalam, "പ്രാധാന്യം നൽകി" can also mean "to treat with importance or respect" or "to give special attention to something." | |||
Marathi | महत्व देणे | ||
In Marathi, the verb "महत्व देणे" can also mean "to give importance to" or "to focus on." | |||
Nepali | जोड दिनुहोस् | ||
The word "जोड दिनुहोस्" comes from the Sanskrit word "योजयति" which means to "join" or "unite". | |||
Punjabi | ਜ਼ੋਰ | ||
The Punjabi 'ਜ਼ੋਰ' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷʰérǵʰ- 'to seize', also seen in the Latin word 'urgere' ('to press') and the English word 'urge'. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අවධාරණය කරන්න | ||
Tamil | வலியுறுத்துங்கள் | ||
Telugu | నొక్కి చెప్పండి | ||
Urdu | زور دینا | ||
The word "زور دینا" is derived from the verb "زور" (to force, to compel), and denotes the act of putting emphasis or force on something. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 注重 | ||
注重 can also refer to paying special attention or giving importance to something, as in the phrase '注重细节' (pay attention to details). | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 注重 | ||
The term 注重 may also refer to "pay attention to" or "attach importance to". | |||
Japanese | 強調する | ||
"強調" (kyochou) is also the name of a type of Japanese pickle made with cucumber. | |||
Korean | 강조하다 | ||
강조하다 derives from the Hanja 強調 and literally means "make strong". | |||
Mongolian | онцлох | ||
The word "онцлох" is possibly derived from the Proto-Mongolian root "*ong" meaning "to stretch, extend". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | အလေးပေး | ||
The literal translation of "အလေးပေး" is to "give weight." It also means to make something important or prominent |
Indonesian | menekankan | ||
The word "menekankan" in Indonesian is derived from the word "tekan", which means "to press" or "to exert pressure on". | |||
Javanese | negesake | ||
The word "negesake" in Javanese also means "to make heavier". | |||
Khmer | បញ្ជាក់ | ||
The word "បញ្ជាក់" can also be used to refer to the act of pointing out or indicating something. | |||
Lao | ເນັ້ນ ໜັກ | ||
Malay | tekankan | ||
The word "tekankan" is derived from the Proto-Malayic word "*tĕkan", meaning "to press or push". | |||
Thai | เน้น | ||
"เน้น" is a Thai word that also has the meaning of "focus on". | |||
Vietnamese | nhấn mạnh | ||
The word 'nhấn mạnh' also means 'to stress'. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | bigyang-diin | ||
Azerbaijani | vurğulamaq | ||
The verb "vurğulamaq" can also mean "to accentuate" (e.g. a letter), "to underline" (e.g. a phrase), and "to stress" (e.g. an argument). | |||
Kazakh | баса назар аудару | ||
The phrase "баса назар аудару" can also mean "to pay attention to" or "to focus on". | |||
Kyrgyz | баса белгилөө | ||
Tajik | таъкид мекунанд | ||
The verb “таъкид кардан” (ta'kid kardan) is a compound word consisting of the noun “таъкид” (ta'kid), meaning “stress, emphasis, accent”, and the verb “кардан” (kardan), meaning “to do, to make”. | |||
Turkmen | nygtamak | ||
Uzbek | ta'kidlash | ||
The word "ta'kidlash" comes from the Arabic word "ta'kid", which means "to strengthen" or "to confirm". | |||
Uyghur | تەكىتلەڭ | ||
Hawaiian | hoʻokūkū | ||
The word "hoʻokūkū" also means "to make a sound" or "to speak loudly". | |||
Maori | haapapu | ||
"Hapapu" also means "to make something sacred" in Maori. | |||
Samoan | faʻamamafa | ||
"Faʻamamafa" can also be used to mean "to make heavy" or "to weigh down". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | bigyang-diin | ||
The Tagalog word "bigyang-diin" also means "to put weight on something" or "to make it more important." |
Aymara | aytaña | ||
Guarani | hechaukave | ||
Esperanto | emfazi | ||
The word "emfazi" comes from the Greek word "emphasis" which means "stress". | |||
Latin | commendandam | ||
The Latin verb "commendare" can mean either "to emphasize" or "to entrust". |
Greek | τονίζω | ||
Τονίζω derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *ten- meaning "to stretch" or "to draw out". | |||
Hmong | sab laj | ||
Sab Laj can also mean "to clarify" or "to make clear". | |||
Kurdish | bidengkirin | ||
Bidengkirin, also spelled as bidengêrin, comes from the word "deng" meaning "voice". | |||
Turkish | vurgulamak | ||
"Vurgulamak" can also mean "to strike" or "to underline". | |||
Xhosa | gxininisa | ||
The Xhosa term "gxininisa" derives from the root -gxin- ("urge") and the suffix -isa ("cause to"), literally meaning "to cause to urge" or "to intensify." | |||
Yiddish | אונטערשטרייכן | ||
"אונטערשטרייכן" is derived from the German "unterstreichen" (to underline), which in turn comes from "unter" (under) and "streichen" (to draw a line). | |||
Zulu | gcizelela | ||
Gcizelela in Zulu, from the root -gciz-, suggests 'marking' or 'highlighting,' and also carries the connotation of 'giving attention' or 'making noticeable'. | |||
Assamese | ‘ জোৰ দিয়া | ||
Aymara | aytaña | ||
Bhojpuri | जोर डालऽ | ||
Dhivehi | ފާހަގަކުރުން | ||
Dogri | जोर देना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | bigyang-diin | ||
Guarani | hechaukave | ||
Ilocano | italmeg | ||
Krio | put atɛnshɔn pan | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | جەختکردن | ||
Maithili | जोर देनाइ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯍꯦꯟꯕ ꯃꯤꯠꯌꯦꯡ ꯆꯪꯕ | ||
Mizo | uar | ||
Oromo | irratti xiyyeeffachuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଜୋର ଦିଅନ୍ତୁ | | ||
Quechua | enfatizay | ||
Sanskrit | अभिद्योतन | ||
Tatar | ассызыклагыз | ||
Tigrinya | ኣድህቦ ምሃብ | ||
Tsonga | tiyisisa | ||