Sense in Different Languages
Discover 'Sense' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'sense' holds a significant and multifaceted place in our vocabulary. It can refer to our five physical senses, as well as a keen understanding or intuition about something. This versatile term has been woven into the fabric of our language, culture, and philosophy for centuries.
Throughout history, the concept of 'sense' has been explored in various cultural and intellectual contexts. In ancient Greek philosophy, 'aisthesis' (αίσθησις) represented the capacity to perceive or feel, which forms the basis of our modern understanding of the senses. Meanwhile, in English literature, Shakespeare often used the word 'sense' to convey a profound awareness or appreciation of one's surroundings.
Given the rich cultural significance and broad applicability of 'sense,' it's no wonder that individuals across the globe might be interested in learning its translation in different languages. By doing so, they can deepen their understanding of this essential term and appreciate its nuances in various cultural contexts.
Here are a few sample translations of 'sense' in various languages, with more to follow:
Sense
Sense in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sin | ||
| Sin is derived from the Old English word synn, meaning "crime" or "guilt". It can also refer to a feeling of regret or remorse. | |||
| Amharic | ስሜት | ||
| The word "ስሜት" can also mean "feeling" or "emotion" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | hankali | ||
| The word "hankali" is also used to refer to a person's intuition or sixth sense. | |||
| Igbo | uche | ||
| "Uche," meaning "sense" in Igbo, can also refer to a person's wit or intelligence, or to the knowledge acquired through experience. | |||
| Malagasy | hevitra | ||
| The concept of "hevitra" is related to the notions of thought, idea, and judgment. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mphamvu | ||
| Mphavu can also mean 'consciousness', 'understanding' or 'wisdom'. | |||
| Shona | pfungwa | ||
| The word "pfungwa" is also used to refer to the traditional Shona wooden pillow. | |||
| Somali | dareen | ||
| Somali word "dareen" can also mean "direction," "understanding," or "awareness." | |||
| Sesotho | kutloisiso | ||
| Swahili | akili | ||
| The Swahili word "akili" is cognate with the Arabic "'aql" and the Hebrew "śēkāl," all meaning "understanding" or "intellect." | |||
| Xhosa | ingqiqo | ||
| The term 'ingqiqo', meaning 'sense,' has a secondary meaning of 'instinct' or 'intuition' in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | ori | ||
| Òrì also means 'head' in Yoruba and is often used in the proverb 'Òrì burú, ọmọ dáa' (bad head, good child). | |||
| Zulu | umqondo | ||
| The word "umqondo" in Zulu also refers to a "track" or "path". | |||
| Bambara | kɔrɔ | ||
| Ewe | susu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ibisobanuro | ||
| Lingala | mayoki | ||
| Luganda | okuwulira | ||
| Sepedi | sekwi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nyansa | ||
Sense in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | إحساس | ||
| The word "إحساس" also means "feeling" or "emotion" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | לָחוּשׁ | ||
| The root "לחש" means "to whisper," likely referring to the subtlety of intuition or perception. | |||
| Pashto | حس | ||
| The word “حس” also means feeling or sensation in Pashto, just like its cognates in other Indo-European languages. | |||
| Arabic | إحساس | ||
| The word "إحساس" also means "feeling" or "emotion" in Arabic. | |||
Sense in Western European Languages
| Albanian | kuptim | ||
| "Kuptim" also means "knowledge" in Albanian, derived from the Proto-Indo-European "*gʷdʰ-ē-s" meaning "to know". | |||
| Basque | zentzua | ||
| Zentzua derives from the Latin 'sentire', 'to feel', and is a cognate of the French 'sens', the Spanish 'sentido', the Italian 'senso', and the Portuguese 'sentido'. | |||
| Catalan | sentit | ||
| The word "sentit" in Catalan can also mean direction, meaning or path. | |||
| Croatian | osjećaj | ||
| In Old Croatian "osjećaj" meant "perception", but later it also gained the meanings of "emotion" and "intention". | |||
| Danish | følelse | ||
| The Danish word "følelse" has multiple meanings, including "feeling," "emotion," "perception," and "sensation." | |||
| Dutch | zin | ||
| "Zin" can also mean "inclination" or "desire". | |||
| English | sense | ||
| *Sense* derives from Latin *sentire*, 'to feel, perceive', related to Sanskrit *samvid*, 'knowledge, understanding' and Avestan *hafta-, 'will, desire', from PIE root *sent-*, 'to perceive, think, feel' | |||
| French | sens | ||
| "Sens" can also mean "direction" or "meaning. | |||
| Frisian | sin | ||
| In Frisian the word 'sin' can also mean 'side' and is related to the English word 'sine'. | |||
| Galician | sentido | ||
| Galician "sentido" (sense) is derived from Late Latin "sentitus," meaning perception, but it can also mean "direction" or "direction"} | |||
| German | sinn | ||
| Despite its name, "Sinn" (sense) is derived from the Old High German "sinn" (path or way), hence its original meaning was "direction or course." | |||
| Icelandic | skyn | ||
| In Old Norse, the word 'skyn' also meant 'reason' or 'intelligence'. | |||
| Irish | ciall | ||
| The word "ciall" is cognate with the Welsh word "cell", meaning "reason", and the Latin word "intellectus", meaning "understanding". | |||
| Italian | senso | ||
| In Italian, "senso" can also mean "direction" or "meaning". | |||
| Luxembourgish | sënn | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Sënn" shares its etymology with the German word "Sinn", both meaning "direction" or "meaning". | |||
| Maltese | sens | ||
| Maltese 'sens' derives from Latin 'sensus', and also retains its meaning of 'census'. | |||
| Norwegian | føle | ||
| The word "føle" can also mean "to touch" or "to feel (physically)" in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | sentido | ||
| In Brazil, "sentido" can also refer to a highway's direction. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | mothachadh | ||
| Spanish | sentido | ||
| The Spanish word "sentido" can also refer to "direction" or "meaning". | |||
| Swedish | känsla | ||
| "Känsla" is also a Swedish slang term meaning "feeling" or "emotion." | |||
| Welsh | synnwyr | ||
| The word "synnwyr" in Welsh can also mean "mind" or "intelligence" | |||
Sense in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сэнс | ||
| The word "сэнс" in Belarusian can also mean "meaning" or "purpose". | |||
| Bosnian | smisla | ||
| The word "smisla" in Bosnian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "smysli" which also meant "thought" or "idea". | |||
| Bulgarian | смисъл | ||
| "Смисъл" comes from the Old Slavic word "*sъmysli", meaning "idea" or "thought". It's related to the Russian verb "мыслить" (myslyit'), meaning "to think". | |||
| Czech | smysl | ||
| The word "smysl" in Czech has a dual meaning, referring both to the faculty of perception and to the meaning or purpose of something. | |||
| Estonian | meel | ||
| Estonian word "meel" can also refer to the "mind" and "opinion". | |||
| Finnish | mielessä | ||
| In addition to "sense," "mielessä" can mean "mind" or "intention." | |||
| Hungarian | érzék | ||
| The word "érzék" also means "faculty" or "organ" (of perception), and is derived from the verb "érez" ("to feel"). | |||
| Latvian | jēga | ||
| Latvian word "jēga" (sense) has a secondary meaning of "strength", which reflects its Indo-European origin as a word for "force" or "power". | |||
| Lithuanian | prasme | ||
| The word "prasme" also denotes the meaning of "understanding" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | смисла | ||
| "Смисла" is a Macedonian word meaning both 'meaning' and 'intellect', with both stemming from the same Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to remember' or 'to think'. | |||
| Polish | sens | ||
| The word "sens" in Polish also has the alternate meaning of "cent", which is a unit of currency. | |||
| Romanian | sens | ||
| The Romanian word "sens" shares the same etymology as the French word "sens" and can also mean "direction" or "meaning." | |||
| Russian | смысл | ||
| The word "смысл" can also refer to "meaning" or "purpose" in a philosophical or existential context. | |||
| Serbian | смисао | ||
| The word ''смисао'' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word ''*smъslъ'', meaning ''smell, awareness, perception''. | |||
| Slovak | zmysel | ||
| The Slovak word "zmysel" not only means "sense," but also represents "meaning" and "purpose." | |||
| Slovenian | smisel | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "sense" or "meaning," "smisel" can also refer to "direction" or "purpose" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | сенс | ||
| The Ukrainian word "сенс" (sense) is cognate with the French "sens" and shares its root with the Latin "sentire" (to feel). | |||
Sense in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ইন্দ্রিয় | ||
| The word 'ইন্দ্রিয়' can also refer to physical strength in Bengali, likely due to its etymological connection to the concept of 'control' or 'dominion'. | |||
| Gujarati | અર્થમાં | ||
| The word "અર્થમાં" can also mean "in the sense of" or "in the context of". | |||
| Hindi | समझ | ||
| The Hindi word "समझ" (sense) also means "understanding", "comprehension", or "intelligence". | |||
| Kannada | ಅರ್ಥದಲ್ಲಿ | ||
| The word | |||
| Malayalam | അർത്ഥം | ||
| The Malayalam word 'അർത്ഥം' ('sense') originates from the Sanskrit word 'अर्थ' (meaning 'purpose', 'essence') and is also related to the word 'अर्थ' (meaning 'money'). | |||
| Marathi | अर्थ | ||
| "अर्थ" can mean both "sense" and "meaning" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | भाव | ||
| The word "भाव" also means "emotion" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਭਾਵਨਾ | ||
| The word 'bhaavnaa' can also mean 'emotion' or 'feeling' in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හැඟීම | ||
| Tamil | உணர்வு | ||
| "உணர்வு" in Tamil can refer to sensation, awareness, emotion, perception, or a sense organ. | |||
| Telugu | భావం | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning, "భావం" also refers to feeling or emotion, idea or opinion, or a poetic verse. | |||
| Urdu | احساس | ||
| The Urdu word "احساس" can also refer to "feeling" or "emotion". | |||
Sense in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 感 | ||
| In Chinese, the character '感' can also refer to feelings, emotions, or intuition. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 感 | ||
| The word "感" (sense) in Chinese (Traditional) can also mean "feeling" or "emotion". | |||
| Japanese | センス | ||
| "センス" can also mean "taste" or "talent". | |||
| Korean | 감각 | ||
| The word 감각 (sense) can also refer to a person's aesthetic sensibilities or their ability to appreciate art and beauty. | |||
| Mongolian | мэдрэмж | ||
| The Mongolian word "мэдрэмж" relates to the concept of "being aware" and derives from the verb "мэдрэх" (to feel, to perceive). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အသိ | ||
| The word "အသိ" in Myanmar (Burmese) can also mean "cognition," "awareness," or "consciousness". | |||
Sense in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | merasakan | ||
| The word 'merasakan' primarily means 'to sense', but can also mean 'to feel' or 'to experience'. | |||
| Javanese | pangertèn | ||
| The word “pangertèn” in Javanese also means “understanding” and “perception”. | |||
| Khmer | ន័យ | ||
| The Khmer word "ន័យ" (sense) also means "meaning" or "intention". | |||
| Lao | ຄວາມຮູ້ສຶກ | ||
| Malay | akal | ||
| Malay "akal" (sense) is also related to "akal budi" (wisdom, sense) found in many Indonesian phrases (e.g., "akal sehat": common sense). | |||
| Thai | ความรู้สึก | ||
| In Thai, “ความรู้สึก” means not only “sense”, but also “emotion” or “feeling”. | |||
| Vietnamese | giác quan | ||
| Giác quan is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese word giác quan, meaning 'sense organ'. It is also used to refer to the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch), and to intuition or common sense. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kahulugan | ||
Sense in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | məna | ||
| The word "məna" has a homonym in Azerbaijani which means "mine". | |||
| Kazakh | сезім | ||
| The Kazakh word "сезім" can also refer to "emotion" or "feeling" | |||
| Kyrgyz | сезим | ||
| Kyrgyz сезим ('sense') originally referred to smell, also found in Chagatai Turkic sezim, but in Modern Kyrgyz refers to any sense. | |||
| Tajik | маъно | ||
| The Persian word "مغز" meaning "brain" and the word " معنوی" meaning "spiritual" all share the same root as the Tajik word "маъно". | |||
| Turkmen | manysy | ||
| Uzbek | sezgi | ||
| In Uzbek, the word "sezgi" can also refer to a premonition or an intuition. | |||
| Uyghur | مەنىسى | ||
Sense in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | manaʻo | ||
| "Manaʻo" can also mean "thought, idea, intention." | |||
| Maori | tikanga | ||
| "Tikanga" also refers to the customary practices and beliefs of the Maori people, providing a framework for their social and cultural life. | |||
| Samoan | lagona | ||
| The Samoan word "lagona" can also mean "to hear" or "to listen". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | may katuturan | ||
| In Tagalog, "may katuturan" also means "to make sense", "to be reasonable", or "to be logical" | |||
Sense in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kunjama | ||
| Guarani | ñandukuaáva | ||
Sense in International Languages
| Esperanto | senco | ||
| The Esperanto word "senco" also means "direction". | |||
| Latin | sensum | ||
| In ancient Greek, the word sensum was used in reference to "what is perceived," particularly by physical sensation or perception of a physical thing. | |||
Sense in Others Languages
| Greek | έννοια | ||
| The word "έννοια" can also refer to "concern" or "worry" in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | kev txiav txim zoo | ||
| In Hmong, "kev txiav txim zoo" can also refer to the sense of direction or the sense of timing. | |||
| Kurdish | hîs | ||
| The Kurmanji Kurdish word "hîs" can also mean "thought" or "understanding" in addition to "sense". | |||
| Turkish | duyu | ||
| Duyu ('sense' in Turkish) originates from the Persian word 'di', meaning 'to see', and has cognates in other Uralic and Altaic languages. | |||
| Xhosa | ingqiqo | ||
| The term 'ingqiqo', meaning 'sense,' has a secondary meaning of 'instinct' or 'intuition' in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | זינען | ||
| In Yiddish, "זינען" (zinnen) can also refer to "mind" or "understanding". | |||
| Zulu | umqondo | ||
| The word "umqondo" in Zulu also refers to a "track" or "path". | |||
| Assamese | জ্ঞান | ||
| Aymara | kunjama | ||
| Bhojpuri | होस | ||
| Dhivehi | ހިއްސު | ||
| Dogri | समझ | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kahulugan | ||
| Guarani | ñandukuaáva | ||
| Ilocano | panunot | ||
| Krio | sɛns | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەست | ||
| Maithili | बोध | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯐꯥꯎꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hriatna | ||
| Oromo | miira | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅର୍ଥ | ||
| Quechua | musyay | ||
| Sanskrit | धारणा | ||
| Tatar | мәгънә | ||
| Tigrinya | ትርጉም | ||
| Tsonga | maimba yo twisisa | ||