Encounter in Different Languages
Discover 'Encounter' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Encounter is a powerful word that signifies a meeting or coming together of things, often unexpectedly. It carries a sense of discovery, curiosity, and even adventure. Throughout history, encounters have shaped cultures, societies, and the course of human events. From the chance encounter between Christopher Columbus and the Americas to the accidental discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, encounters have the potential to change the world.
Understanding the word 'encounter' in different languages can help us appreciate the richness and diversity of human cultures. For example, in Spanish, 'encounter' is 'encontrar', while in French, it's 'rencontrer'. In Mandarin Chinese, the word for encounter is '遭遇', which is composed of two characters '遭' (to encounter) and '遇' (an opportunity or chance). In Japanese, 'encounter' is '遭遇', which is written as 'そうぐ' in hiragana.
In this article, we will explore the translations of the word 'encounter' in different languages, shedding light on the fascinating cultural and linguistic nuances that underpin this simple yet profound word.
Encounter
Encounter in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ontmoeting | ||
| The Afrikaans word "ontmoeting" is derived from the Dutch word "ontmoeting", which means "meeting", "encounter", or "appointment". | |||
| Amharic | ገጠመኝ | ||
| The Amharic verb 'ገጠመኝ' (encounter) can also mean 'to meet' or 'to find' in a general sense. | |||
| Hausa | gamuwa | ||
| Synonyms for “gamuwa” in Hausa include: “tare”, “salla”, “hadu”, and “sadu”, while “gamuwa” in Swahili means “to be together” or “to unite”. | |||
| Igbo | zutere | ||
| The word "zutere" can also mean "to meet with a purpose" or "to run into someone by chance". | |||
| Malagasy | fihaonana | ||
| "Fihaonana" is derived from the root "fiha", which also means "meet", and has the alternative meanings of "assembly" or "convention." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kukumana | ||
| The word "kukumana" can also mean "to meet" or "to come across". | |||
| Shona | kusangana | ||
| The word 'kusangana' is derived from the root word 'sangana' which means 'to meet or join together'. | |||
| Somali | la kulan | ||
| The term "la kulan" is derived from the Somali verb "kulanto", meaning "to meet each other." | |||
| Sesotho | kopana | ||
| Kopana may also refer to a meeting or a gathering. | |||
| Swahili | kukutana | ||
| The word 'kukutana' in Swahili can also mean to coincide, to meet up, or to come across something or someone unexpectedly. | |||
| Xhosa | ukudibana | ||
| The word ukudibana is an infinitive that can have various possible interpretations: to collide (in an unintentional and unexpected manner), to encounter (someone in a planned meeting), to run or come across someone, and to collide or bump into an object. | |||
| Yoruba | gbemigbemi | ||
| The word 'gbemigbemi' in Yoruba also means 'collision', 'clash', or 'confrontation'. | |||
| Zulu | ukuhlangana | ||
| The word "ukuhlangana" in Zulu can also mean "to meet up" or "to get together". | |||
| Bambara | ka kunbɛ | ||
| Ewe | gododo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | guhura | ||
| Lingala | bokutani | ||
| Luganda | ensisinkano | ||
| Sepedi | gahlana | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ahyia | ||
Encounter in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يواجه .. ينجز | ||
| As a verbal noun, يواجه .. ينجز can carry the literal meaning of "to achieve, accomplish" alongside with the more common "to encounter, run into" (somebody); hence, the idiom "تواجه مع الفشل" meaning "to encounter failure, to taste failure." | |||
| Hebrew | פְּגִישָׁה | ||
| The Hebrew word "פְּגִישָׁה" ("encounter"), can also refer to a meeting or a date. | |||
| Pashto | مخامخ کېدل | ||
| In Pashto, the word "مخامخ کېدل" (encounter) also means "to face each other" or "to come face to face". | |||
| Arabic | يواجه .. ينجز | ||
| As a verbal noun, يواجه .. ينجز can carry the literal meaning of "to achieve, accomplish" alongside with the more common "to encounter, run into" (somebody); hence, the idiom "تواجه مع الفشل" meaning "to encounter failure, to taste failure." | |||
Encounter in Western European Languages
| Albanian | takohem | ||
| The word "takohem" in Albanian, also means "to hit by mistake". | |||
| Basque | topaketa | ||
| "Topaketa" derives from "topa" (to meet) and the "-(e)keta" suffix (action or effect), ultimately meaning "the act of meeting". | |||
| Catalan | trobada | ||
| The Catalan word “trobada” comes from the Old Provençal “trobar” (“to find, to invent, to compose”) and can also mean “composition, invention, poem”. | |||
| Croatian | susret | ||
| Susret is a Croatian word that can also refer to a | |||
| Danish | komme ud for | ||
| The word 'komme ud for' literally translates to 'come out for' and can also mean 'to experience' or 'to be exposed to'. | |||
| Dutch | stuiten op | ||
| In Dutch, 'stuiten op' has other uses besides 'encounter', such as 'stumbling on' and 'being surprised'. | |||
| English | encounter | ||
| The word 'encounter' derives from the Old French word 'encontrer', meaning 'to meet' or 'to come face to face with'. In modern usage, it can also refer to a meeting of opposing forces, often in a hostile or adversarial setting. | |||
| French | rencontre | ||
| The word "rencontre" is used in French to refer to a social event where people gather to meet, similar to the English word "soiree". | |||
| Frisian | treffen | ||
| In Saterland Frisian, "treffen" can also mean "to believe" or "to hope". | |||
| Galician | encontro | ||
| Galician "encontro" derives from Latin "incontrari" and may also mean "agreement, meeting place, assembly" | |||
| German | begegnung | ||
| The German word "Begegnung" literally translates to "going against" and can imply opposition, but is typically used to refer to a friendly encounter. | |||
| Icelandic | fundur | ||
| The word fundur (encounter) in Icelandic comes from the Old Norse word fundr which means a meeting or a gathering. | |||
| Irish | teagmháil | ||
| The word "teagmháil" derives from the Proto-Celtic word "*tagmos", meaning "meeting" or "contact". | |||
| Italian | incontrare | ||
| From Latin 'incontrare': 'to come in contact with' | |||
| Luxembourgish | begéinen | ||
| The word 'begéinen' is derived from the Latin word 'veniō', meaning 'to come'. | |||
| Maltese | laqgħa | ||
| The word "laqgħa" in Maltese can also mean "meeting or interview". | |||
| Norwegian | støte på | ||
| In Norwegian, "støte på" also means "to stumble upon" or "to hit against something". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | encontro | ||
| In Portuguese, "encontro" can also refer to a rendezvous or a convergence, and comes from the Latin word "incontrare", meaning "to meet". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | tachairt | ||
| The Gaelic word "tachairt" also means "meeting", "appointment", or "occurrence" and is related to the verb "tachair", "to meet." | |||
| Spanish | encuentro | ||
| In addition to 'encounter,' 'encuentro' can refer to 'interchange,' 'assembly,' 'interview,' 'conversation,' 'debate,' or 'collision.' | |||
| Swedish | råkar ut för | ||
| The word 'råkar ut för' literally translates to 'runs into' | |||
| Welsh | cyfarfyddiad | ||
| The Welsh word "cyfarfyddiad" is derived from the Latin "conventus," meaning a meeting or assembly. | |||
Encounter in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сустрэча | ||
| The word “сустрэча” derives from the Old Slavic verb “състрѣти,” meaning “to meet” and in Russian means not only “encounter” but also “date”. | |||
| Bosnian | susret | ||
| The word "susret" in Bosnian also means "meeting" or "assembly". | |||
| Bulgarian | сблъскване | ||
| The word "сблъскване" in Bulgarian is related to the verbs "сблсквам се" ("to encounter") and "сблъсквам" ("to clash") and also means "collision". | |||
| Czech | setkání | ||
| The Czech word "setkání" means "encounter," but it can also refer to a "meeting of minds." | |||
| Estonian | kohtumine | ||
| Estonian "kohtumine" is derived from "koht" meaning place or meeting place | |||
| Finnish | kohdata | ||
| The word "kohdata" derives from the Proto-Finnic word "kohtata", meaning "to meet" or "to encounter". | |||
| Hungarian | találkozás | ||
| The Hungarian word "találkozás" is derived from the root "talál", meaning "to meet" or "to find". | |||
| Latvian | sastapties | ||
| Sastapties (encounter) comes from the verb "sastapt" (to meet) which is a cognate with Ancient Greek "ἀπαντάω" (I meet). | |||
| Lithuanian | susidurti | ||
| The word "susidurti" has a second meaning that refers to coming into contact with something unexpected or dangerous. | |||
| Macedonian | средба | ||
| The Macedonian word "средба" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъborъ, meaning "assembly" or "gathering". | |||
| Polish | spotkanie | ||
| In Czech, the word 'setkání' has the same root as 'spotkanie', but means 'meeting', while in Slovak 'stretnutie' means 'encounter'. | |||
| Romanian | întâlni | ||
| The Romanian word "întâlni" also means "to meet" or "to find". | |||
| Russian | встреча | ||
| The verb "встречаться" also means "to date" or "to go on dates", especially when used about young people. | |||
| Serbian | сусрет | ||
| The word 'сусрет' is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word 'съсрѣтати', meaning 'to meet' or 'to approach'. | |||
| Slovak | stretnutie | ||
| The word "stretnutie" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *sъtrьnǫti, meaning "to meet, join, or come together." | |||
| Slovenian | srečanje | ||
| The word "srečanje" comes from the Slovenian verb "srečati", meaning "to meet" or "to encounter". | |||
| Ukrainian | зустріч | ||
| The word "зустріч" can also refer to a meeting or an interview. | |||
Encounter in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | মুখোমুখি | ||
| মুখোমুখি in Bengali is a Sanskrit term meaning "to face" as well as "a person or thing faced." | |||
| Gujarati | એન્કાઉન્ટર | ||
| Hindi | मुठभेड़ | ||
| The word "मुठभेड़" can also mean "collision" or "confrontation". | |||
| Kannada | ಎನ್ಕೌಂಟರ್ | ||
| In Kannada, "encounter" not only means meeting someone, but also has the additional meaning of a police shootout with a criminal. | |||
| Malayalam | ഏറ്റുമുട്ടൽ | ||
| Marathi | सामना | ||
| The word "सामना" (samana) in Marathi has multiple meanings, including "a meeting or interview", "a confrontation or dispute", and "the act of facing or confronting". | |||
| Nepali | भेट | ||
| The term 'भेट' in Nepali, when used with someone in a position of authority, translates roughly to 'audience' in English. | |||
| Punjabi | ਮੁਕਾਬਲਾ | ||
| ਮੁਕਾਬਲਾ in Punjabi originally meant | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හමුවීම | ||
| Tamil | என்கவுண்டர் | ||
| "என்கவுண்டர்" (encounter) is a Tamil word that can have the alternate meaning of "a police confrontation or operation resulting in the killing of a suspect". | |||
| Telugu | ఎన్కౌంటర్ | ||
| In Telugu, "ఎన్కౌంటర్" (encounter) also means "an unexpected meeting or event" or "a confrontation or fight." | |||
| Urdu | تصادم | ||
| The word "تصادم" can also mean "collision" or "clash" in Urdu. | |||
Encounter in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 遭遇 | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "encounter," the Chinese character "遭遇" can also refer to "fate" or "misfortune." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 遭遇 | ||
| 遭遇 (zào jù) literally means "to meet with," and also refers to an "unexpected event." | |||
| Japanese | 出会い | ||
| The word "出会い" can also mean "coincidence" or "fate" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 교전 | ||
| The compound word "교전" is derived from Chinese "交戰", meaning "to fight in war" or "to battle", and is used in Korean to describe a confrontation or engagement, typically in a military context. | |||
| Mongolian | учрал | ||
| The word 'учрал' also denotes 'coincidence', 'collision', 'meeting', and 'chance happening'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကြုံတွေ့ရသည် | ||
Encounter in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pertemuan | ||
| In Indonesian, "pertemuan" comes from the word "temu" meaning "to meet". | |||
| Javanese | nemoni | ||
| The word "nemoni" can also mean "to meet up" or "to have a discussion". | |||
| Khmer | ជួប | ||
| The word ជួប derives from Sanskrit and cognate with | |||
| Lao | ປະເຊີນຫນ້າ | ||
| Malay | berjumpa | ||
| In Indonesian, the word "berjumpa" retains its original meaning of "to meet", whereas in Malay it now primarily means "to encounter". | |||
| Thai | พบ | ||
| พบ also means "to find" and is commonly used in the past tense form "ได้พบ" (literally "to obtain an encounter") in the meaning of "to meet". | |||
| Vietnamese | gặp gỡ | ||
| "Gặp gỡ" can also mean "to meet with" or "to come across someone or something". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magkasalubong | ||
Encounter in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qarşılaşma | ||
| Qarşılaşma also means "match" (as in a sports competition) or "meeting" (as in a social gathering). | |||
| Kazakh | кездесу | ||
| The word "кездесу" is derived from the Kazakh word "кезде", meaning "to meet" or "to encounter". | |||
| Kyrgyz | кездешүү | ||
| The word "кездешүү" in Kyrgyz also means 'gathering' and 'appointment'. | |||
| Tajik | дучор шудан | ||
| “Дучор шудан” comes from the Persian phrase “du char shudan” which literally means “to become two parts”. | |||
| Turkmen | duşmak | ||
| Uzbek | uchrashmoq | ||
| The word 'uchrashmoq' in Uzbek originates from the Old Turkic word 'ugrash', meaning 'to meet'. In modern Uzbek, the word can also mean 'to collide', 'to bump into', and 'to face off' in a confrontational sense. | |||
| Uyghur | ئۇچرىشىش | ||
Encounter in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | halawai | ||
| The word "halawai" in Hawaiian can also refer to a meeting place or a traditional hula dance that celebrates an encounter. | |||
| Maori | tūtakitanga | ||
| Tūtakitanga's alternative meaning is 'the act of touching two stones together to make fire', with the word 'tū' meaning 'to stand', and 'taki' meaning 'to reach out'. | |||
| Samoan | fetaiaʻiga | ||
| The word "fetaiaʻiga" also has the meaning "to meet someone or something" or "to come across someone or something" | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | engkwentro | ||
| The Tagalog word "engkwentro" is a Spanish loanword that originally meant "meeting of opposing forces in combat" but now also refers to any type of meeting or interaction. | |||
Encounter in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jikiña | ||
| Guarani | jejuhu | ||
Encounter in International Languages
| Esperanto | renkonti | ||
| The word "renkonti" in Esperanto derives from the French "rencontrer" and originally meant "to meet". | |||
| Latin | congressus | ||
| Congressus in Latin refers not only to an encounter but also to a meeting of scholars, a dance, or a collision. | |||
Encounter in Others Languages
| Greek | συνάντηση | ||
| The word 'συνάντηση' comes from the verb 'συναντώ', which means to meet or come together. | |||
| Hmong | ntsib | ||
| "Ntshib" also means "destiny" or "fate" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | lihevrasthatinî | ||
| The word "lihevrasthatinî" has two possible etymologies: one from the Persian word "lihavr" and the other from the Kurdish word "hevras". | |||
| Turkish | karşılaşma | ||
| "Karşılaşma" (encounter) can also mean "competition", "duel", or "match" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | ukudibana | ||
| The word ukudibana is an infinitive that can have various possible interpretations: to collide (in an unintentional and unexpected manner), to encounter (someone in a planned meeting), to run or come across someone, and to collide or bump into an object. | |||
| Yiddish | טרעפן | ||
| The Yiddish word "טרעפן" ("encounter") can also refer to a "misfortune". | |||
| Zulu | ukuhlangana | ||
| The word "ukuhlangana" in Zulu can also mean "to meet up" or "to get together". | |||
| Assamese | বিৰোধিতা কৰা | ||
| Aymara | jikiña | ||
| Bhojpuri | मुठभेड़ | ||
| Dhivehi | އެންކައުންޓަރ | ||
| Dogri | टाकरा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magkasalubong | ||
| Guarani | jejuhu | ||
| Ilocano | mapadasan | ||
| Krio | mit | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕووبەڕوو بوونەوە | ||
| Maithili | मुठभेड़ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯦꯡꯅꯕ | ||
| Mizo | intawnna | ||
| Oromo | nama mudachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସାକ୍ଷାତ | ||
| Quechua | tupanakuy | ||
| Sanskrit | संघर्ष | ||
| Tatar | очрашу | ||
| Tigrinya | ምርኻብ | ||
| Tsonga | hlangana | ||