Encourage in Different Languages
Discover 'Encourage' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'encourage' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, as it represents the act of giving support, confidence, or hope to someone. Encouragement can inspire people to overcome challenges, pursue their dreams, and lead to positive changes in their lives. Its cultural importance is evident across the globe, as many languages have their own unique translations for the term. For instance, in Spanish, 'encourage' is 'animar', while in French, it's 'encourager'. In German, the word 'ermutigen' captures the essence of encouragement. These translations not only reflect linguistic diversity but also highlight the universal human need for support and motivation.
Understanding the translation of 'encourage' in different languages can enrich your communication skills and foster cultural appreciation. For example, knowing that 'encourage' in Japanese is '励ます' ('hagemasu') can help you connect with Japanese speakers on a deeper level. Similarly, 'encourage' in Arabic is 'تعزيز' ('ta'ziiz'), which can help you build stronger relationships with Arabic-speaking communities.
Join us as we explore the many translations of 'encourage', diving into the rich linguistic and cultural contexts they represent. By the end of this list, you'll not only have expanded your vocabulary but also gained a greater appreciation for the world's diverse languages and cultures.
Encourage
Encourage in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bemoedig | ||
| "Bemoedig" ultimately stems from the Dutch word "moed," meaning "courage," with the prefix "be" denoting an action. Its current English equivalent is the somewhat archaic "embolden." | |||
| Amharic | አበረታታ | ||
| The word 'አበረታታ' in Amharic is derived from the verb 'አበረ' (abare), meaning 'to become friendly' or 'to be sociable'. It can also refer to the act of giving moral support or encouragement. | |||
| Hausa | karfafa | ||
| Karfafa shares a root with karfi 'force,' indicating the forceful nature of persuasion and motivation. | |||
| Igbo | gbaa ume | ||
| The word "gbaa ume" is derived from the Igbo words "gbaa" (to beat or strike) and "ume" (a drum), as encouragement was traditionally conveyed through the sound of a drum. | |||
| Malagasy | mampirisika | ||
| The Malagasy word "mampirisika" originally meant "to incite, provoke, or excite". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kulimbikitsa | ||
| The etymology of kulimbikitsa (encourage) in Chichewa is uncertain, but it may be derived from the verb "kumba" (to follow) or the noun "limba" (strength). | |||
| Shona | kurudzira | ||
| In Shona, 'kurudzira' can also mean to lead or direct someone, showing the connection between encouragement and guidance. | |||
| Somali | dhiiri geli | ||
| Sesotho | khothaletsa | ||
| Swahili | kuhimiza | ||
| Etymology: derives from a root meaning "to cause to rise" or "to make stand up". | |||
| Xhosa | khuthaza | ||
| The etymology of "khuthaza" likely derives from the Xhosa verb "ku-khutha" (to dig), suggesting the sense of "stirring up" or "impelling" to action. | |||
| Yoruba | gba won niyanju | ||
| The Yoruba word "gba won niyanju" originally meant "to take someone by their hand and lead them somewhere". | |||
| Zulu | khuthaza | ||
| The word 'khuthaza' in Zulu also means 'to urge' or 'to persuade'. | |||
| Bambara | ka sinsin | ||
| Ewe | de dzi ƒo na | ||
| Kinyarwanda | shishikarizwa | ||
| Lingala | kolendisa | ||
| Luganda | okuzaamu amaanyi | ||
| Sepedi | hlohleletša | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hyɛ nkuran | ||
Encourage in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | التشجيع | ||
| The Arabic word "التشجيع" also means "encouragement" or "support" in the context of sports and competitions. | |||
| Hebrew | לְעוֹדֵד | ||
| The word "לְעוֹדֵד" also means "to testify" or "to give evidence". | |||
| Pashto | هڅول | ||
| The word “هڅول” also means to “incite” or “urge” someone to do something. | |||
| Arabic | التشجيع | ||
| The Arabic word "التشجيع" also means "encouragement" or "support" in the context of sports and competitions. | |||
Encourage in Western European Languages
| Albanian | inkurajoj | ||
| "Inkurajoj" is derived from Italian "incorraggiare", which is from the French "encourager", meaning "to inspire courage". | |||
| Basque | animatu | ||
| "Animatu" is etymologically linked to "animo", with a probable Ibero-Romance substratum related to Basque "amineko" ("strong") | |||
| Catalan | encoratjar | ||
| From "coratge" (courage), the noun form of "coratjar" (encourage). | |||
| Croatian | poticati | ||
| From the Latin word “potestas” meaning 'power' | |||
| Danish | tilskynde | ||
| The Danish word "tilskynde" originated from the Dutch "aansporen", meaning "to urge". | |||
| Dutch | aanmoedigen | ||
| The word "aanmoedigen" comes from the word "moed" (courage) and the prefix "aan" (to, on). | |||
| English | encourage | ||
| The word "encourage" comes from the Old French word "encoragier," which means "to put heart into." | |||
| French | encourager | ||
| Encourager comes from the French word "encourager", meaning to give courage, support, or incentive. | |||
| Frisian | oanmoedigje | ||
| The word "oanmoedigje" can also mean "to cheer" or "to comfort". | |||
| Galician | animar | ||
| In Galician, "animar" also means "to give life to" and "to cheer someone up". | |||
| German | ermutigen | ||
| Er + mutigen = out + courage: to make courageous; to hearten. | |||
| Icelandic | hvetja | ||
| Hvetja is cognate with the English "wheat", both stemming from the Proto-Indo-European base "gwhen" (to strike or sharpen). | |||
| Irish | spreagadh | ||
| "Spreagadh" literally means spreading or scattering. | |||
| Italian | incoraggiare | ||
| 'Incoraggiare' derives from the Latin 'incorare', meaning 'to put heart into'. | |||
| Luxembourgish | encouragéieren | ||
| Maltese | inkuraġġixxi | ||
| The Maltese word "inkuraġġixxi" is derived, through 11th century Arabic, from the Latin "cor", meaning "mind" or, in later Latin, "heart" | |||
| Norwegian | oppmuntre | ||
| The word "Oppmuntring" (encouragement) has its roots from "muntre", a 14th century word for "be happy" and the prefix "op-" which in this case translates as a form "upward". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | encorajar | ||
| The Portuguese word "encorajar" originally meant "to give courage" and was formed from the combination of the word "en" (in) and "coragem" (courage). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | brosnachadh | ||
| “Brosnachadh” also means “to provoke”, “to incite” or “to rouse”. | |||
| Spanish | alentar | ||
| The word "alentar" in Spanish also means "to breathe" or "to give air", which is related to its original meaning of "to encourage" or "to give support". | |||
| Swedish | uppmuntra | ||
| The word "uppmuntra" derives from the Old Swedish "upp" (up) and "muntra" (to cheer up). | |||
| Welsh | annog | ||
| The word "annog" can also mean "to make up" or "to pretend" in Welsh. | |||
Encourage in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | заахвочваць | ||
| "Заахвочваць" is also used to express the idea of "to motivate". | |||
| Bosnian | ohrabriti | ||
| 'Ohrabriti' is related to the word 'hrabriti' ('bravery') and the archaic word 'hrabr' ('brave'). | |||
| Bulgarian | насърчавам | ||
| The Bulgarian word "насърчавам" is of Persian origin, and also carries the meaning of helping someone financially without expecting a return. | |||
| Czech | podporovat | ||
| The word "podporovat" comes from the Old Czech word "podpora," which means "support" or "help." | |||
| Estonian | julgustada | ||
| Julgustada comes from "julge", meaning brave, which suggests a sense of emboldening and inspiring courage in others. | |||
| Finnish | kannustaa | ||
| "Kannustaa" is derived from "kannus," meaning "spur", suggesting the use of external incentives to motivate. | |||
| Hungarian | ösztönözni | ||
| The Hungarian word "ösztönözni" originates from the noun "ösztön" meaning "instinct" or "drive". | |||
| Latvian | iedrošināt | ||
| The word "iedrošināt" in Latvian ultimately derives from the Slavic word "drogu" meaning "companion" or "friend". | |||
| Lithuanian | skatinti | ||
| The word "skatinti" likely shares an origin with the word "skisti" (meaning "to hurry") which may be related to the Proto-Indo-European root "skei-" (meaning "to cut"). | |||
| Macedonian | охрабри | ||
| The word "охрабри" can also mean "to console" or "to inspire". | |||
| Polish | zachęcać | ||
| "Zachęcać" derives from the Old Polish word "ząć," meaning "to ignite," suggesting the idea of kindling enthusiasm or motivation. | |||
| Romanian | a incuraja | ||
| The Romanian word "a încuraja" is derived from the Latin word "incoragium," meaning "to give heart or courage to." | |||
| Russian | поощрять | ||
| The verb "поощрять" (encourage) originates from the word "поощрение" (encouragement), which has the same root as the word "почет" (honor). | |||
| Serbian | подстицати | ||
| The verb "подстицати" also means to incite or provoke. | |||
| Slovak | povzbudiť | ||
| "Povzbudit" means "encourage" in Slovak and derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*buditъ" meaning "to awaken". | |||
| Slovenian | spodbujati | ||
| "Spodbujati" comes from the Proto-Slavic verb *podъbъdati, meaning "move, stir", so it originally meant "to set someone in motion". | |||
| Ukrainian | заохочувати | ||
| Ukrainian “заохочувати” comes from an old Slavic word that also meant “to like” and is related to other Slavic words for “love”. | |||
Encourage in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | উত্সাহ | ||
| The word 'উত্সাহ' ('encourage') comes from the Sanskrit word 'utsaha', which means 'enthusiasm', 'energy', 'eagerness', or 'zeal'. | |||
| Gujarati | પ્રોત્સાહન | ||
| "પ્રોત્સાહન" is also a word meaning "incitement", like the "incitements" to rebel that Karl Marx wrote about. | |||
| Hindi | प्रोत्साहित करना | ||
| The word "प्रोत्साहित करना" is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रोत्साहन" which means "encouragement" or "incitement". | |||
| Kannada | ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಲು | ||
| The word 'ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಲು' translates to 'encourage' in English, but it also has the alternate meaning of 'supporting' or 'backing up.' | |||
| Malayalam | പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നു | ||
| Marathi | प्रोत्साहित करा | ||
| The term "प्रोत्साहित करा" is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रोत्साहन", meaning "exhortation or incentive". | |||
| Nepali | प्रोत्साहित गर्नुहोस् | ||
| The word | |||
| Punjabi | ਨੂੰ ਉਤਸ਼ਾਹ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දිරිමත් කරන්න | ||
| Tamil | ஊக்குவிக்கவும் | ||
| Telugu | ప్రోత్సహించండి | ||
| The root "prothsaha" means "impetus" or "incitement" indicating motivation or encouragement. | |||
| Urdu | حوصلہ افزائی | ||
Encourage in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 鼓励 | ||
| 鼓励 is an abbreviated form of the four-character phrase 鼓励振作。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 鼓勵 | ||
| 「鼓勵」本義為擊鼓，引申為激勵、振奮之意。 | |||
| Japanese | 奨励します | ||
| The word "奨励します" ("encourage") in Japanese literally translates to "to give wings". | |||
| Korean | 북돋우다 | ||
| The word "북돋우다" (encourage) is derived from the Sino-Korean word "北돋우다", meaning "to raise or lift up the north". | |||
| Mongolian | дэмжих | ||
| In Mongolian, the word "дэмжих" is also used to mean "support" or "to back up". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အားပေးတယ် | ||
Encourage in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mendorong | ||
| "Mend'orong" can also mean "to push" or "to drive". | |||
| Javanese | kasurung | ||
| "Kasurung" (encourage) can also mean "to be caught in a corner" or "being cornered." | |||
| Khmer | លើកទឹកចិត្ត | ||
| Lao | ຊຸກຍູ້ | ||
| The word "ຊຸກຍູ້" (encourage) in Lao is derived from the Pali word "sukhumala" meaning "ease" or "comfort". | |||
| Malay | galakkan | ||
| Galakkan can also mean 'to incite' or 'to stir up' in Malay. | |||
| Thai | ให้กำลังใจ | ||
| "ให้กำลังใจ" has another meaning of "to bless" and comes from the words "ให้" (to give) and "กำลังใจ" (morale, strength of mind). | |||
| Vietnamese | khuyến khích | ||
| The word khuyến khích (encourage) is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese term 勸激, which itself is composed of two characters: 勸 (khuyến), meaning to persuade or advise, and 激 (kích), meaning to stimulate or incite. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | hikayatin | ||
Encourage in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | həvəsləndirmək | ||
| The word "həvəsləndirmək" derives from the Persian word "havās", meaning "wish" or "desire". | |||
| Kazakh | мадақтау | ||
| The word "мадақтау" in Kazakh has the additional meaning of "praising". | |||
| Kyrgyz | кубаттоо | ||
| “Кубаттоо” is derived from the word “кубат” (strength) and expresses the meaning of “to increase strength.” | |||
| Tajik | рӯҳбаланд кунед | ||
| Turkmen | höweslendiriň | ||
| Uzbek | rag'batlantirish | ||
| The word "rag'batlantirish" can also mean "to inspire" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | رىغبەتلەندۈرۈش | ||
Encourage in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | e paipai | ||
| The Hawaiian word "e paipai" can also mean "to fan" or "to wave". | |||
| Maori | whakatenatena | ||
| The term 'whakatenatena' also refers to the process of 'setting or putting something in a proper or correct way'. | |||
| Samoan | faʻamalosiau | ||
| The word fa'amalosiau is also used to describe the act of giving someone strength or support. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pasiglahin | ||
| "Pasiglahin" is also used in a more aggressive sense, meaning "to provoke" or "to incite". | |||
Encourage in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | p'arxtayaña | ||
| Guarani | mokyre'ỹ | ||
Encourage in International Languages
| Esperanto | kuraĝigi | ||
| The Esperanto word "kuraĝigi" comes from the root "kuraĝo" (courage) and means "to make brave" or "to inspire courage." | |||
| Latin | robora | ||
| Possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰrebh- (“to seize, to grasp”), but also possibly from *h₁reǵʰ- (“to stretch, reach, extend”). | |||
Encourage in Others Languages
| Greek | ενθαρρύνω | ||
| The Greek verb 'ενθαρρύνω' can also mean 'to put courage into' or 'to give confidence to' someone. | |||
| Hmong | txhawb nqa | ||
| Txhawb nqa is related to the word txhaum (to speak) and probably comes from the Chinese word 'jiang' (to speak, discuss) | |||
| Kurdish | cisaretdan | ||
| Cisare means 'to put something on something else', thus cisardane literally means 'the put-on something'. | |||
| Turkish | teşvik etmek | ||
| Teşvik etmek derives from "şek" and can also mean "form, shape" and "induce, persuade". | |||
| Xhosa | khuthaza | ||
| The etymology of "khuthaza" likely derives from the Xhosa verb "ku-khutha" (to dig), suggesting the sense of "stirring up" or "impelling" to action. | |||
| Yiddish | מוטיקן | ||
| "מוטיקן" is a Yiddish word derived from the Polish verb "mówić," which means "to speak," suggesting a connection between encouragement and verbal support or persuasion. | |||
| Zulu | khuthaza | ||
| The word 'khuthaza' in Zulu also means 'to urge' or 'to persuade'. | |||
| Assamese | উত্সাহ দিয়া | ||
| Aymara | p'arxtayaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | हिम्मत दिहल | ||
| Dhivehi | ހިތްވަރުދިނުން | ||
| Dogri | हौसला | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | hikayatin | ||
| Guarani | mokyre'ỹ | ||
| Ilocano | allukoyen | ||
| Krio | ɛnkɔrej | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هاندان | ||
| Maithili | उत्साहित करु | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯨꯛꯅꯤꯡ ꯊꯧꯒꯠꯄ | ||
| Mizo | fuih | ||
| Oromo | jajjabeessuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଉତ୍ସାହିତ କର | | ||
| Quechua | kallpachay | ||
| Sanskrit | समुत्साहयतु | ||
| Tatar | дәртләндер | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣበረታትዕ | ||
| Tsonga | khutaza | ||