Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'employ' holds great significance in our daily lives, as it represents the act of utilizing one's skills, talents, or labor in exchange for compensation. This concept is not only crucial in the world of work but also in various cultural contexts where people's contributions are valued and remunerated. Understanding the translation of 'employ' in different languages can open doors to global connections and foster a deeper appreciation for the world's diverse linguistic and cultural landscape.
Did you know that the word 'employ' comes from the Old French 'employer,' which means 'to use up, to expend'? This historical context highlights the importance of making the most of one's resources and abilities. Moreover, the word shares roots with 'ploy,' meaning 'trick' or 'stratagem,' reflecting the idea of using one's cunning or skills in a strategic manner.
Explore the translations below to learn how to say 'employ' in various languages and expand your cultural knowledge:
Afrikaans | in diens neem | ||
The Afrikaans word "in diens neem", meaning "to employ", comes from the Dutch phrase "in dienst nemen", with similar meaning. | |||
Amharic | መቅጠር | ||
The word መቅጠር can also mean 'to appoint' or 'to assign' in Amharic. | |||
Hausa | yi aiki | ||
The word "yi aiki" can also mean "work" or "labour" in Hausa. | |||
Igbo | were n'ọrụ | ||
"Were n'ọrụ" in Igbo language, derived from "were" (to do) and "ọrụ" (work), also refers to "giving out a responsibility or assignment". | |||
Malagasy | mampiasa | ||
"Mampiasa" derives from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root *pakai, meaning "to use". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | gwiritsani ntchito | ||
Shona | shandisa | ||
In addition to the meaning "employ," "shandisa" can also mean "to use," "to utilize," or "to make use of." | |||
Somali | shaqaalaysiin | ||
The word 'shaqaalaysiin' in Somali is derived from the Arabic word 'shaqala', meaning 'to work or engage in employment'. | |||
Sesotho | hira | ||
Sesotho 'hira' may also mean 'to make use of' or 'to take advantage of'. | |||
Swahili | kuajiri | ||
The word "kuajiri" is derived from the verb "ajiri", which means "to give work to." | |||
Xhosa | qesha | ||
The word "qesha" can also mean "to hire" or "to engage" someone for work. | |||
Yoruba | oojọ | ||
The Yoruba word 'oojọ' can also mean 'to use' or 'to take advantage of'. | |||
Zulu | qasha | ||
The word "qasha" derives from the verb "ukukha" meaning to take or to fetch. | |||
Bambara | baara kɛ | ||
Ewe | dɔwɔwɔ ɖe dɔ me | ||
Kinyarwanda | gukoresha | ||
Lingala | kosala mosala | ||
Luganda | kozesa | ||
Sepedi | thwala | ||
Twi (Akan) | adwuma a wɔde yɛ adwuma | ||
Arabic | توظيف | ||
The word "توظيف" can also mean "assignment" or "use" in Arabic. | |||
Hebrew | לְהַעֲסִיק | ||
The word 'לְהַעֲסִיק' can also mean 'occupy' or 'to keep busy' | |||
Pashto | ګمارل | ||
The Pashto word “ګمارل” is etymologically related to Persian and Urdu word "گماشتن" and Hindi word "किराए पर लेना", which also means “to employ” and has origins in Sanskrit. | |||
Arabic | توظيف | ||
The word "توظيف" can also mean "assignment" or "use" in Arabic. |
Albanian | punësoj | ||
"Punësoj" is derived from the Proto-Albanian word "*punāsoj" and is related to the Albanian word "punë" (work). | |||
Basque | enplegatu | ||
The Basque word "enplegatu" is derived from the Latin "implicare", meaning "to involve, engage, or entangle". It can also mean "to hire, employ, or engage." | |||
Catalan | emprar | ||
The verb "emprar" in Catalan derives from the Latin "impraestare", meaning "to lend", and can also mean "to borrow" or "to use". | |||
Croatian | zaposliti | ||
The verb "zaposliti" is derived from the noun "posao" meaning "job" and the prefix "za-" indicating completion of an action or change of state. | |||
Danish | beskæftige | ||
In Old Norse, "beskæftige" meant both "to occupy" and "to be busy," but in modern Danish it means only the former. | |||
Dutch | dienst | ||
In German, "Dienst" means "service", and is also used in Dutch with that meaning. | |||
English | employ | ||
The word "employ" comes from the Latin word "implicare," meaning "to entangle" or "to involve." | |||
French | employer | ||
"Employer" comes from the French "employer," which was a 12th-century term for "someone who commands" and which later came to have the sense of "employer of labor." | |||
Frisian | yn tsjinst | ||
The word "yn tsjinst" can also mean "in service" or "in use". | |||
Galician | empregar | ||
Empregar can also mean 'to task' or 'to occupy' in Galician. | |||
German | beschäftigen | ||
In German, the word "beschäftigen" can also refer to a preoccupation, hobby, or pastime. | |||
Icelandic | raða | ||
Raða's original meaning was 'to arrange or direct something', and it still retains this meaning in certain contexts. | |||
Irish | fhostú | ||
"Fhostú" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "bheus-", meaning "to watch, guard, or protect." | |||
Italian | impiegare | ||
In Italian, the verb "impiegare" means to use or utilize something, as well as to employ or hire someone. | |||
Luxembourgish | beschäftegen | ||
The verb "beschäftegen" in Luxembourgish not only means "to employ" but also "to occupy (oneself)" or "to keep (someone) busy." | |||
Maltese | jimpjegaw | ||
The word "jimpjegaw" is derived from the Italian word "impiegare", meaning "to employ" or "to use". | |||
Norwegian | anvende | ||
The Norwegian word "anvende" has etymological links to the Old Norse verbs "ávinna" and "vinna" referring to work and effort. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | empregar | ||
The word **empregar** originated from the Latin words **impregare** and **implicare**, meaning "to involve" or "to entangle", acquiring the current meaning of "to employ" in Brazilian Portuguese. | |||
Scots Gaelic | fastadh | ||
The word "fastadh" can also refer to the period of time that someone hires a worker, known as their "hiring period". | |||
Spanish | emplear | ||
"Emplear" ultimately comes from Latin "implicare", which means "to involve, to imply". | |||
Swedish | använda | ||
The word "använda" also means "to use", and derives from the Old Norse word "anda" meaning "to breathe". | |||
Welsh | cyflogi | ||
The Middle Welsh etymology of 'cyflogi' suggests an alternate, 'to be a lord' (cyflog - 'chief' or 'lord'). |
Belarusian | працаўладкаваць | ||
Bosnian | zaposliti | ||
The word "zaposliti" comes from the Old Slavic word "posol", meaning "messenger" or "envoy". | |||
Bulgarian | наемат | ||
The verb "наемат" also has the meaning of "rent" in Bulgarian. | |||
Czech | zaměstnat | ||
Czech "zaměstnat" can refer to both "employ" and "occupy," deriving from "místo" ("place"). | |||
Estonian | tööle | ||
The Estonian word "tööle" also has the meaning of "to operate," as in the phrase "masin töötab hästi," meaning "the machine operates (or works) properly." | |||
Finnish | käyttää | ||
In addition to meaning "employ," "käyttää" can also mean "use" or "spend." | |||
Hungarian | foglalkoztat | ||
The Hungarian word "foglalkoztat" also means "to occupy (one's time)", and derives from the word "foglalt", "engaged". | |||
Latvian | nodarbināt | ||
In older Latvian texts, the verb nodarbināt could also mean "to support, maintain", while the modern word for "support" is uzturēt | |||
Lithuanian | įdarbinti | ||
"Įdarbinti" is derived from the Lithuanian word "darbas" (work). It can also be used to refer to the act of recruiting or hiring someone for a job. | |||
Macedonian | вработуваат | ||
The verb 'вработуваат' is derived from the Slavic root 'работа' ('work'), and is also used in other Slavic languages such as Serbian, Croatian, and Russian. | |||
Polish | zatrudniać | ||
The word zatrudniać also means 'to make (someone) difficult' or 'to put (someone) in a difficult situation'. | |||
Romanian | angaja | ||
The word "angaja" derives from Turkish "angarya" (forced labor), but in Romanian it no longer retains its coercive connotation. | |||
Russian | нанять | ||
The word "нанять" (employ) derives from the Old Slavic "няти" (to take), from which the word "наем" (hiring) also descends. | |||
Serbian | запослити | ||
Serbian "запослити" comes from the South Slavic term "poslu", which means "work". | |||
Slovak | zamestnať | ||
The verb "zamestnať" in Slovak also has the archaic meaning of "to take over someone's duties" | |||
Slovenian | zaposliti | ||
The word "zaposliti" in Slovenian is derived from the Slavic word "posъlъ" meaning "work" or "job". | |||
Ukrainian | працевлаштувати | ||
The verb "працевлаштувати" in Ukrainian is derived from the nouns "праця" (work) and "влаштувати" (to arrange, to settle), and literally means "to arrange for work". |
Bengali | নিয়োগ | ||
"নিয়োগ" (employ) comes from the Sanskrit word "niyoga" meaning "engagement" or "duty" and also means "assignment" or "appointment" in some contexts. | |||
Gujarati | રોજગાર | ||
The word 'રોજગાર' comes from the Sanskrit word 'रोजगार' (rojagāra), which means 'daily work', 'livelihood' or 'occupation'. | |||
Hindi | काम | ||
The Hindi word "काम" also means "work" or "task". In its extended sense, it can even refer to a "mission" or a "duty." | |||
Kannada | ಉದ್ಯೋಗ | ||
The word comes from the Sanskrit root 'yog', meaning 'to unite' or 'to apply'. It has the connotation of 'putting into action', 'applying oneself', or 'engaging in an occupation'. | |||
Malayalam | ജോലി ചെയ്യുക | ||
The word ജോളി ചെയ്യുക ("employ") in Malayalam also means "to use" or "to apply." | |||
Marathi | कामावर | ||
The word "कामावर" is also used to refer to a specific place of work or employment. | |||
Nepali | रोजगार | ||
The word 'रोजगार' is derived from the Sanskrit words 'रोज' (day) and 'गार' (work), and originally meant 'daily work' or 'daily bread'. | |||
Punjabi | ਨੌਕਰੀ | ||
The word "ਨੌਕਰੀ" (employ) is derived from the Persian word "naukari", which means "service" or "job". | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සේවයේ යොදවන්න | ||
Tamil | வேலை | ||
The Tamil word "வேலை" also means "work" or "occupation". | |||
Telugu | ఉద్యోగం | ||
ఉద్యోగం (employ) has roots in Sanskrit and its primary meaning is "to be close to". | |||
Urdu | ملازمت کرنا | ||
The word ملازمت (mulazamat) comes from the Arabic word ملازم (mulazim), which means "attached" or "adherent". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 采用 | ||
The term 采用 can also refer to the act of taking up or using something. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 採用 | ||
採用 may also mean "to adopt" or an "adoption". | |||
Japanese | 雇用する | ||
The verb "雇用する" can also mean "to hire" or "to engage". | |||
Korean | 고용 | ||
The root of "고용" is a Chinese character "用" which also means "use" or "utilize". | |||
Mongolian | ажиллуулах | ||
The word 'ажиллуулах' can also mean 'to operate' or 'to function'. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | အလုပ် | ||
The term “အလုပ်” is often mistranslated to mean “work,” but its more profound translation is that of “livelihood.” |
Indonesian | mempekerjakan | ||
Mempekerjakan is derived from 'peker(ja)', which refers to 'work' or 'labor', and is often used to refer to hiring someone for work or a job. | |||
Javanese | makarya | ||
"Makarya" also means to work for someone else or to do a job. | |||
Khmer | ជួល | ||
The word "ជួល" can also mean "to use" or "to apply". | |||
Lao | ຈ້າງ | ||
The word ຈ້າງ "jaang" (employ) comes from the Pali word "cāleti" meaning "to cause to move". | |||
Malay | menggaji | ||
The word "menggaji" is derived from the Javanese word "gaji", meaning "salary" or "payment". | |||
Thai | จ้าง | ||
จ้าง is also used to refer to the fee for hiring a service and was historically used to describe a type of tax. | |||
Vietnamese | thuê | ||
The Vietnamese word "thuê" can also mean "to rent" or "to hire" something. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | nagpapatrabaho | ||
Azerbaijani | işə götürmək | ||
The word "işə götürmək" can also refer to "carrying something to work" in Azerbaijani. | |||
Kazakh | жұмысқа орналастыру | ||
The Kazakh word "жұмысқа орналастыру" can also refer to the process of hiring employees or providing them with new positions. | |||
Kyrgyz | жумушка орношуу | ||
Tajik | кор кардан | ||
The word кор кардан can also mean "to make use of" or "to benefit from" in Tajik. | |||
Turkmen | işe al | ||
Uzbek | ishga joylashtirmoq | ||
Ishga joylashtirmoq could also mean "assign work" or "set up a job". | |||
Uyghur | ياللاڭ | ||
Hawaiian | hoʻolimalima | ||
In Native Hawaiian, hoʻolimalima can also mean “to work” or “to cultivate”. | |||
Maori | mahi | ||
The word "mahi" in Maori also refers to "work" or "labour". | |||
Samoan | faʻafaigaluega | ||
The word ''faʻafaigaluega'' in Samoan also means ''to utilize'' or ''to put to use''. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | magtrabaho | ||
Magtrabaho is derived from the Spanish word 'trabajo', which means 'work' or 'labor', and is cognate with the English word 'travail'. |
Aymara | irnaqaña | ||
Guarani | omomba’apo | ||
Esperanto | dungi | ||
"Dung | |||
Latin | adhibent | ||
"Adhibent" comes from Latin and means "to apply, employ, devote oneself". |
Greek | χρησιμοποιώ | ||
The Greek verb “χρησιμοπογώ”, meaning “to employ”, derives from a Proto-Indo-European root that referred both to “using” and “trusting”, highlighting the importance of trust in the employer-employee relationship. | |||
Hmong | ntiav | ||
The Hmong word "ntiav" also carries the meaning of "to take turns" in addition to its primary meaning of "to employ or work for someone". | |||
Kurdish | kardayin | ||
The word "kardayin" in Kurdish has alternative meanings such as "to work" and "to operate". | |||
Turkish | kullanmak | ||
The word "kullanmak" derives from the Turkic root word "kul," meaning "slave" or "servant"} | |||
Xhosa | qesha | ||
The word "qesha" can also mean "to hire" or "to engage" someone for work. | |||
Yiddish | אָנשטעלן | ||
In Yiddish, אָנשטעלן also means 'to pretend' or 'to pose' and is used in a similar way to the English expression 'to put on airs'. | |||
Zulu | qasha | ||
The word "qasha" derives from the verb "ukukha" meaning to take or to fetch. | |||
Assamese | নিয়োগ কৰক | ||
Aymara | irnaqaña | ||
Bhojpuri | रोजगार देवे के बा | ||
Dhivehi | ވަޒީފާ އަދާކުރެއެވެ | ||
Dogri | रोजगार देना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | nagpapatrabaho | ||
Guarani | omomba’apo | ||
Ilocano | mangmangged | ||
Krio | employ | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | دامەزراندن | ||
Maithili | रोजगार | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯕꯛ ꯄꯤꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo | hnathawh tir | ||
Oromo | qacaruuf | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ନିଯୁକ୍ତି | ||
Quechua | llamk’achiy | ||
Sanskrit | नियोजयति | ||
Tatar | эшкә урнаштырыгыз | ||
Tigrinya | ይቖጽር | ||
Tsonga | thola | ||