Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'expand' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting growth, development, and the unfurling of potential. It's a word that transcends cultural boundaries, resonating with the universal human experience of progress and betterment. From the blossoming of a flower to the expansion of a business, this term is woven into the fabric of our existence.
Historically, the concept of expansion has been a driving force behind many cultural shifts and societal advancements. From ancient civilizations expanding their territories to scientific discoveries expanding our understanding of the universe, this word has left an indelible mark on our collective consciousness.
Given its importance, it's no surprise that people often seek to understand its translation in different languages. Whether you're a global entrepreneur looking to expand your business, a student of languages, or a curious mind exploring the world's linguistic diversity, these translations can offer valuable insights.
Here are a few translations of the word 'expand' to pique your interest:
Afrikaans | uit te brei | ||
The Afrikaans verb "uit te brei" can also mean to "elaborate" or "develop". | |||
Amharic | አስፋ | ||
The word "asfa" can also mean "to unfold" or "to spread out". | |||
Hausa | fadada | ||
Hausa word "fadada" originated from "fadama", meaning floodplain or wetlands with abundant water in the rainy season that dries up completely in the dry season. | |||
Igbo | gbasaa | ||
"Gbasaa" also means to increase in size, volume, or quantity. | |||
Malagasy | hanitatra | ||
In Malagasy, the word "hanitatra" also means "to develop" or "to increase". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kukulitsa | ||
The verb "kukulitsa" also means "to grow" or "to increase" in size or number. | |||
Shona | wedzera | ||
The Shona word "wedzera" can also mean to increase, multiply, or enlarge. | |||
Somali | ballaadhin | ||
The Somali word 'ballaadhin' also has the alternate meaning 'to make or become wider, larger, broader' (when referring to physical objects). | |||
Sesotho | atolosa | ||
"Atolosa" also means "to inflate/swell" or "to be swollen/puffed up" in Sesotho. | |||
Swahili | panua | ||
The word "panua" can also refer to the act of stretching or enlarging something | |||
Xhosa | yandisa | ||
The verb "yandisa" in Xhosa can also mean "to grow, flourish, or thrive." | |||
Yoruba | faagun | ||
In the Ijebu dialect, "faagun" also means "to spread out or open the hands or legs". | |||
Zulu | nweba | ||
The Zulu word "nweba" also has the alternate meaning of "to spread out" or "to widen". | |||
Bambara | ka janya | ||
Ewe | keke | ||
Kinyarwanda | kwagura | ||
Lingala | kokomisa monene | ||
Luganda | okugaziwa | ||
Sepedi | katološa | ||
Twi (Akan) | trɛ mu | ||
Arabic | وسعت | ||
"وسعت" is the feminine singular form of "وسعت" in the active participle form and also a past form as it is related to an intransitive verb. | |||
Hebrew | לְהַרְחִיב | ||
In biblical Hebrew, לְהַרְחִיב can also mean "to live long," as in Psalms 91:16. | |||
Pashto | پراخول | ||
The Pashto word "پراخول" also means "to spread out" or "to scatter". | |||
Arabic | وسعت | ||
"وسعت" is the feminine singular form of "وسعت" in the active participle form and also a past form as it is related to an intransitive verb. |
Albanian | zgjerohet | ||
Etymology: zgjeroj < Slavic *šir- (“wide”) | |||
Basque | zabaldu | ||
"Zabaltxu" (from "zabaldu") means both "to open up" and "the hole through which the sea goes in and out of the coast". | |||
Catalan | ampliar | ||
Catalan "ampliar" derives from Latin "ampliare" and also means "to make wider" or "to broaden". | |||
Croatian | proširiti | ||
The word `proširiti` also means 'to spread' or 'to prolong'. | |||
Danish | udvide | ||
The word "udvide" can also refer to the enlargement of an area or territory. | |||
Dutch | uitbreiden | ||
The word "uitbreiden" is also used in Dutch to refer to the growth of a town or city, with new homes and businesses being built. | |||
English | expand | ||
Etymology: from Latin 'expando', meaning 'to spread out or unfold'. | |||
French | développer | ||
The French noun "développeur" (developer) originally meant "revealer or unwraper" and can still mean "processor or amplifier". | |||
Frisian | útwreidzje | ||
The word "útwreidzje" can also mean "to unfold", "to spread out", or "to develop". | |||
Galician | ampliar | ||
In Galician, "ampliar" can also mean "to extend" or "to prolong" in the temporal sense. | |||
German | erweitern | ||
The verb "erweitern" can also mean "to extend" or "to amplify" in German. | |||
Icelandic | stækka | ||
"Stækka" derives from the Old Norse word "stækkva," meaning "to jump", perhaps related to the notion of something increasing in size by "jumping" up. | |||
Irish | leathnú | ||
The Irish word "leathnú" can also refer to the broadening of horizons or the widening of understanding. | |||
Italian | espandere | ||
"Espandere" derives from the Old Provençal word "espandre," meaning "to scatter" or "to sow". | |||
Luxembourgish | erweideren | ||
The verb "erweideren" is related to the French word "élargir" and the German word "erweitern", which also mean "expand". | |||
Maltese | jespandu | ||
The Maltese word "jespandu" is derived from the Italian word "espandere", which means "to spread" or "to extend". | |||
Norwegian | utvide | ||
It also appears in the word 'vidde', meaning 'plateau', as well as 'vide', meaning 'wide' and 'extensive'. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | expandir | ||
In Portuguese, the word "expandir" derives from the Latin word "expendere," which means to spread or unfold, and can also refer to stretching or extending something. | |||
Scots Gaelic | leudachadh | ||
The word "leudachadh" can also refer to the act of spreading or scattering something, or to the creation of space for something. | |||
Spanish | expandir | ||
'Expandir' in Spanish shares the same Latin root ('expendere') as 'spend', and it can also mean 'to spend' in some contexts | |||
Swedish | bygga ut | ||
The word "bygga ut" is derived from the Old Norse word "byggja", meaning "to build" or "to settle." | |||
Welsh | ehangu | ||
The Welsh word 'ehangu' can also refer to the act of 'stretching' or 'extending' something. |
Belarusian | пашырыць | ||
Belarusian "пашырыць" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "ширити", meaning "to spread", and also shares a root with the words "пышны" ("lush") and "пух" ("down feathers"). | |||
Bosnian | proširiti | ||
"Proširiti" can also mean "to extend" or "to spread out". | |||
Bulgarian | разширяване | ||
The Bulgarian word "разширяване" also means "to broaden," "to enlarge," or "to extend." | |||
Czech | rozšířit | ||
The word "rozšířit" can also mean "to spread out" or "to extend" in Czech. | |||
Estonian | laienema | ||
The Estonian word "laienema" can also refer to a type of fabric or a method of making fabric. | |||
Finnish | laajentaa | ||
The word "laajentaa" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *laajen- meaning "to expand, to grow". | |||
Hungarian | kiterjed | ||
The verb "kiterjed" also means "to spread out" or "to stretch out". | |||
Latvian | paplašināties | ||
The word "paplašināties" also has the alternate meanings of "broadening, widening, enlarging". | |||
Lithuanian | plėstis | ||
The Lithuanian word "plėstis" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*pleth-", meaning "to spread out" or "to widen". | |||
Macedonian | прошири | ||
Proširi can also mean to increase or extend something. | |||
Polish | rozszerzać | ||
**Rozszerzać** can also mean to dilute or extend, referring to the action of making something less concentrated or longer. | |||
Romanian | extinde | ||
In Romanian, the word "extinde" can also mean to "lengthen" or "prolong". | |||
Russian | расширять | ||
The Russian word "расширять" can also mean "to spread", "to enlarge", or "to amplify". | |||
Serbian | проширити | ||
The verb "проширити" (expand) is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "прострѣти" (to spread out), which is related to the Latin word "porrigere" (to stretch out). | |||
Slovak | rozširovať | ||
"Rozširovať" (to expand) comes from Proto-Slavic *širь "to scatter, spread" (also in "share" and German "scheren" "to cut (sheep)"). | |||
Slovenian | razširiti | ||
The word "razširiti" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *širъ, meaning "wide". | |||
Ukrainian | розширювати | ||
The Ukrainian word "розширювати" derives from the Proto-Slavic root різ-, meaning "to cut or split", suggesting an original meaning of "to make wider". |
Bengali | বিস্তৃত করা | ||
The Bengali word "বিস্তৃত করা" can also mean "to spread out" or "to extend". | |||
Gujarati | વિસ્તૃત કરો | ||
Hindi | विस्तार | ||
The Hindi word "विस्तार" also means an "explanation", "description" or "exposition." | |||
Kannada | ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಲು | ||
The Sanskrit word "vistŗ" (to spread) is the origin for "vistharisalu" in Kannada. | |||
Malayalam | വികസിപ്പിക്കുക | ||
Marathi | विस्तृत करा | ||
विस्तृत करा means to expand in Marathi. | |||
Nepali | विस्तार गर्नुहोस् | ||
Expand comes from the Latin word 'expandere', which means to spread out or enlarge. | |||
Punjabi | ਫੈਲਾਓ | ||
The word "फैलाਓ" in Punjabi can also refer to the act of spreading or distributing something. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පුළුල් කරන්න | ||
Tamil | விரிவாக்கு | ||
The word "விரிவாக்கு" is derived from the Sanskrit word "वृद्धि" (vr̥ddhi), which means "growth" or "increase". | |||
Telugu | విస్తరించండి | ||
Urdu | پھیلائیں | ||
The Urdu word "پھیلائیں" derives from the Sanskrit root "prasara" meaning "to spread" and also has the alternate meaning of "to make known". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 扩大 | ||
The word "扩大" not only means "expand" but also implies "to spread out" or "to enlarge". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 擴大 | ||
擴大 means 'expand', 'enlarge', 'broaden', 'amplify', 'extend'. | |||
Japanese | 展開 | ||
"展開" literally means "to spread out," and it can refer to both physical and metaphorical expansion. | |||
Korean | 넓히다 | ||
"넓히다" has the Sino-Korean root "屢", which also appears in "넓(broad)" and refers to horizontal width. | |||
Mongolian | өргөжүүлэх | ||
The word "өргөжүүлэх" also means "to enlarge", "to extend", "to develop", and "to increase". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ချဲ့ထွင် | ||
Indonesian | memperluas | ||
The term “memperluas” is a blend of prefix "men-," root word "per-," and verb stem "-luar." In Old Malay the prefix "me-," which refers to active voice in verb conjugations in Modern Indonesian, was “Meng-". | |||
Javanese | nggedhekake | ||
The word 'nggedhekake' is also used in Javanese to refer to 'making something bigger' or 'enlarging something'. | |||
Khmer | ពង្រីក | ||
The word "ពង្រីក" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vyakra" meaning "to extend" or "to enlarge". | |||
Lao | ຂະຫຍາຍ | ||
The word ຂະຫຍາຍ can also refer to the concept of "extending" or "broadening" something. | |||
Malay | mengembang | ||
"Mengembang" also means "to have pimples" in Malay. | |||
Thai | ขยาย | ||
"ขยาย" (expand) also means "enlarge" or "increase". | |||
Vietnamese | mở rộng | ||
"Mở rộng" is a Vietnamese word that can also mean "to elaborate" or "to develop". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | palawakin | ||
Azerbaijani | genişləndirmək | ||
The word "genişləndirmək" comes from the Persian word "gashidan", meaning "to spread" or "to extend". It can also refer to the act of expanding one's knowledge or understanding. | |||
Kazakh | кеңейту | ||
The word "кеңейту" in Kazakh originates from the Proto-Turkic word "keŋ" meaning "wide" or "spacious". | |||
Kyrgyz | кеңейтүү | ||
The word "кеңейтүү" can also mean "to widen" or "to broaden" in Kyrgyz. | |||
Tajik | васеъ кардан | ||
It is based on the Persian word "گشادن" with the same meaning | |||
Turkmen | giňeltmek | ||
Uzbek | kengaytirish | ||
The word "kengaytirish" is derived from the Turkic root word "keng", which means "wide" or "broad." | |||
Uyghur | كېڭەيتىش | ||
Hawaiian | hoʻonui | ||
"Hoʻonui" also means "to make big, to enlarge, to increase, to augment, to multiply, to exaggerate, to amplify, to extend, to magnify, to prolong, to add to." | |||
Maori | whakarake | ||
'Whakarake' in Maori can also refer to opening something like a door or gate. | |||
Samoan | faʻalautele | ||
The word "faʻalautele" can also mean "to stretch" or "to pull" in Samoan. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | palawakin | ||
The word 'palawakin' can also mean to grow, widen, or increase in size or scope. |
Aymara | jach'aptayaña | ||
Guarani | myasãi | ||
Esperanto | ekspansiiĝi | ||
The word "ekspansiiĝi" derives from the Latin word "expansus" which means "spread out". | |||
Latin | capitulum quintum | ||
The capitulum quintum, a term used in ancient Roman law, was a clause added to a will in which a testator could change the terms of the will or appoint a new heir. |
Greek | επεκτείνουν | ||
"επεκτείνουν" originates from the Greek word "έκτασις" (éktasis), meaning "extension" or "stretching". | |||
Hmong | nthuav | ||
The word "nthuav" has an alternate meaning of "to grow". | |||
Kurdish | firehkirin | ||
The word 'firehkirin' in Kurdish can also mean 'to spread out' or 'to scatter'. | |||
Turkish | genişletmek | ||
"Genişletmek" (to expand) stems from the Persian word "geniş" (wide) and the Turkish suffix "-letmek" (to cause to). | |||
Xhosa | yandisa | ||
The verb "yandisa" in Xhosa can also mean "to grow, flourish, or thrive." | |||
Yiddish | יקספּאַנד | ||
"יקספּאַנד" is a Yiddish word of Latin origin, meaning to enlarge, unfold, or extend. | |||
Zulu | nweba | ||
The Zulu word "nweba" also has the alternate meaning of "to spread out" or "to widen". | |||
Assamese | সম্প্ৰসাৰণ কৰা | ||
Aymara | jach'aptayaña | ||
Bhojpuri | बढ़ावऽ | ||
Dhivehi | އިތުރުކުރުން | ||
Dogri | बस्तार करना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | palawakin | ||
Guarani | myasãi | ||
Ilocano | palawaen | ||
Krio | gro | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | فراوانکردن | ||
Maithili | फैलेनाइ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯥꯎꯊꯣꯛꯄ | ||
Mizo | tilian | ||
Oromo | bal'isuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ବିସ୍ତାର କର | | ||
Quechua | mastariy | ||
Sanskrit | आतन् | ||
Tatar | киңәйтү | ||
Tigrinya | ምስፍሕፋሕ | ||
Tsonga | ndlandlamuxa | ||