Figure in Different Languages
Discover 'Figure' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'figure' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, encompassing a wide range of meanings from a person's physical form to a numerical representation. Its cultural importance is evident in art, mathematics, literature, and fashion. Have you ever wondered how this versatile word is translated in different languages? Understanding these translations can provide unique insights into various cultures and languages.
For instance, in Spanish, 'figure' translates to 'figura', while in French, it is 'figure'. In German, it is 'Figur', and in Japanese, it is '図形' (sugata), which also means shape or form. In Russian, 'figure' is translated as 'фигура' (figura), and in Chinese, it is '形状' (xíngzhuàng), which means shape or appearance.
Delving into the translations of 'figure' in different languages not only expands our linguistic knowledge but also offers a glimpse into how different cultures perceive and interpret this concept. Explore the list below to discover more about the world through the lens of this fascinating word.
Figure
Figure in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | figuur | ||
| The Afrikaans term "figuur" derives from the Dutch term "figuur", which in itself originates from the French term "figure" and ultimately from the Latin term "figura" (meaning "shape" and "appearance"). | |||
| Amharic | ምስል | ||
| The word "ምስል" can also mean "image" or "statue" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | adadi | ||
| The word "adadi" can also refer to a number, and is derived from the Arabic word "adad" meaning "number" or "quantity". | |||
| Igbo | ọgụgụ | ||
| In the Igbo language, "ọgụgụ" means not only "figure" but also "calculation," "arithmetic," or "mathematics." | |||
| Malagasy | endrika | ||
| The word 'endrika' can also refer to a shape or form, as in 'endrika boribory' (round shape). | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chithunzi | ||
| The word "chithunzi" can also mean "image" or "photograph" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | chimiro | ||
| The word "chimiro" in Shona also refers to a statue. | |||
| Somali | tiradaasi | ||
| The word "tiradaasi" in Somali is derived from Arabic, where it means "design, portrait, or picture". | |||
| Sesotho | palo | ||
| The Sotho word "palo" can also mean "fence post" or "a stake." | |||
| Swahili | takwimu | ||
| The word 'takwimu' in Swahili can also refer to statistics or data. | |||
| Xhosa | umzobo | ||
| The word "umzobo" can also refer to a statue or a pattern. | |||
| Yoruba | olusin | ||
| The word "olusin" in Yoruba can also refer to a statue or an image. | |||
| Zulu | isibalo | ||
| Derived from the verb "bala" meaning "count," "isibalo" also denotes an "amount" or "total." | |||
| Bambara | jateden | ||
| Ewe | nu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ishusho | ||
| Lingala | motango | ||
| Luganda | enkula | ||
| Sepedi | seswantšho | ||
| Twi (Akan) | yɛbea | ||
Figure in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الشكل | ||
| In Arabic, the word "الشكل" also has the alternate meaning of "form" or "shape" in the context of geometry. | |||
| Hebrew | דמות | ||
| In Hebrew, "דמות" is also used to refer to a character or a representation of something, such as a person or an animal. | |||
| Pashto | ارقام | ||
| The word "ارقام" can also refer to numbers, especially in a mathematical context. | |||
| Arabic | الشكل | ||
| In Arabic, the word "الشكل" also has the alternate meaning of "form" or "shape" in the context of geometry. | |||
Figure in Western European Languages
| Albanian | figurë | ||
| The word "figurë" can also mean "statue" or "figurine" in Albanian. | |||
| Basque | irudia | ||
| In Medieval Latin, “figura” was used to describe the shape of the human body (and, by extension, its appearance) in a broader sense. | |||
| Catalan | figura | ||
| "Figura" can mean "number" and is the origin of the term "cipher", which was used in medieval times to mean zero. | |||
| Croatian | lik | ||
| The word "lik" in Croatian can also mean "image" or "form". | |||
| Danish | figur | ||
| In Danish, the word "figur" can also mean "shape" or "form." | |||
| Dutch | figuur | ||
| The word "figuur" also means "shape" or "character" in Dutch and is cognate with the English word "figure". | |||
| English | figure | ||
| The word "figure" is derived from the Latin "figura", meaning "form" or "shape", and can also refer to a diagram, a representation of an object, or a number in mathematics. | |||
| French | figure | ||
| In addition, in French the substantive | |||
| Frisian | stal | ||
| In Frisian, "stal" can also refer to a "sample" or "model" in addition to its primary meaning of "figure". | |||
| Galician | figura | ||
| The word "figura" can also be used in Galician to refer to a doll, marionette, or puppet. | |||
| German | zahl | ||
| The German word 'Zahl' is derived from the Old High German term 'zal', which meant both 'number' and 'payment'. | |||
| Icelandic | mynd | ||
| "Mynd" can mean "figure", "image", "mind" or "appearance". | |||
| Irish | figiúr | ||
| In Irish, "figiúr" can also refer to a "shape", "form", "image", or even a "statue". | |||
| Italian | figura | ||
| "Figura" in Italian can also mean "form" or "shape". | |||
| Luxembourgish | figur | ||
| Figur derives from the Old French word "figure", originally from the Latin word "figura", meaning "shape". | |||
| Maltese | figura | ||
| The word "figura" in Maltese can also mean "shape" or "pattern". | |||
| Norwegian | figur | ||
| "Figur" can also refer to a bird, the figure of a dance or a piece of music with multiple parts. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | figura | ||
| "Figura" in Portuguese can also refer to a metaphorical representation, such as a character in a story, a symbol, or a literary device. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | figear | ||
| The Gaelic word "figear" can also mean "to shape" or "to form". | |||
| Spanish | figura | ||
| "Figura" (figure) derives from the Latin "figurare" (to form, shape), related to "fingere" (to mold, fashion). | |||
| Swedish | figur | ||
| In Swedish, "figur" can also mean "shape" or "character" in a play or film. | |||
| Welsh | ffigur | ||
| The word "ffigur" in Welsh also has the meaning of "shape" or "form". | |||
Figure in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | фігура | ||
| "Фігура" may also mean "face" or "physiognomy". | |||
| Bosnian | figura | ||
| The Bosnian word 'figura' can also refer to a character or a person of importance. | |||
| Bulgarian | фигура | ||
| The Bulgarian word "фигура" (figure) can also refer to a person's appearance, shape, or stature. | |||
| Czech | postava | ||
| The word "postava" in Czech can also refer to a posture or attitude, or a character in a play. | |||
| Estonian | joonis | ||
| Estonian word "joonis" also means "drawing" or the act of "drawing" and cognate with Finnish "juoni" (scheme, plan) and "juonia" (to devise a scheme) | |||
| Finnish | kuva | ||
| Despite sharing the same origin as its English cognate, 'kuva' can also mean 'statue' or 'picture'. | |||
| Hungarian | ábra | ||
| Ábra is also used to refer to a diagram or a drawing. | |||
| Latvian | skaitlis | ||
| In 18th century Latvian, skaitlis meant 'number'. | |||
| Lithuanian | figūra | ||
| In Lithuanian, "figūra" can refer to a shape, drawing, image, or even a metaphor, reflecting its Latin roots meaning "to form" or "to shape". | |||
| Macedonian | фигура | ||
| The word "фигура" is derived from the Greek word "figura", meaning "form" or "shape". | |||
| Polish | postać | ||
| In Old Polish, 'postać' referred to a ghostly apparition or an omen of something to come, but from the 16th century the word gained its current meaning. | |||
| Romanian | figura | ||
| "Figura" comes from the Latin "figura" meaning “shape”, “form” or “pattern” | |||
| Russian | фигура | ||
| The word "фигура" also means "shape" or "silhouette" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | фигура | ||
| The word "фигура" can also refer to a geometrical shape, a person's appearance, or a rhetorical device in the Serbian language. | |||
| Slovak | obrázok | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "figure," "obrázok" can also refer to a "picture" or "image." | |||
| Slovenian | slika | ||
| In Slovene, "slika" can also refer to "likeness", "image", "painting", "photograph", or "drawing". | |||
| Ukrainian | малюнок | ||
| The word “малюнок” is a diminutive form of the word “малянок”, which in turn comes from the root “малевати”, meaning “to paint”. | |||
Figure in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | চিত্র | ||
| "চিত্র" is derived from the Sanskrit word "chitra", which also means "picture" and "beautiful". | |||
| Gujarati | આકૃતિ | ||
| The Gujarati word "આકૃતિ" (ākṛti) also means "shape", "form", "body", or "appearance". | |||
| Hindi | आकृति | ||
| The Hindi word "आकृति" (ākṛti) originates from the Sanskrit word and literally means "that which is made," and can refer to a physical form (figure/image), a mental image/impression or a shape/pattern. | |||
| Kannada | ಫಿಗರ್ | ||
| The word "ಫಿಗರ್" also means "a person's body or shape" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | കണക്ക് | ||
| Marathi | आकृती | ||
| The word "आकृती" (figure) in Marathi can also refer to a statue or an idol. | |||
| Nepali | फिगर | ||
| The word "फिगर" can also mean "a person's physique" or "a drawing or diagram" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਚਿੱਤਰ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | රූපය | ||
| The word "රූපය" also means "form", "shape", "beauty", "image", or "likeness" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | எண்ணிக்கை | ||
| எண்ணிக்கை can also refer to the numerical value represented by a figure, or the act of counting or calculating. | |||
| Telugu | ఫిగర్ | ||
| The Telugu word "ఫిగర్" ("figure") originates from the English word "figure" meaning "a number representing a quantity". | |||
| Urdu | اعداد و شمار | ||
| In Urdu, "اعداد و شمار" (ʿAdād-o-shumār) is a compound word derived from "اعداد" (ʿAdād, "numbers") and "شمار" (Shumār, "counting"), denoting primarily the concept of "counting". It can also refer to "statistics", "enumeration", and "numbering". | |||
Figure in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 数字 | ||
| '数字' (figure) originally meant 'footprint' and then 'count' and 'number' came later. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 數字 | ||
| 數字 in traditional Chinese can also mean "digital". | |||
| Japanese | 図 | ||
| Chinese character '図' also reads as 'zù' (plan), 'tǔ' (drawing), 'dú' (graph), etc., indicating different meanings. | |||
| Korean | 그림 | ||
| In addition to "figure", 그림 means "painting" in Korean, which originates from Chinese character 画 (화 in Korean), making it a cognate of "picture" in English. | |||
| Mongolian | зураг | ||
| зураг was borrowed from the Russian word 'figura', which derives from the Latin 'figura', meaning 'shape', 'pattern'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပုံ | ||
| The word ပုံ may also mean "manner" or "form". | |||
Figure in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | angka | ||
| In Old Javanese, "angka" referred to a number, whereas in Malay it meant a digit. | |||
| Javanese | tokoh | ||
| In Javanese, "tokoh" can also refer to a mythical creature that protects villages from evil spirits. | |||
| Khmer | តួលេខ | ||
| The word "តួលេខ" can also refer to a person's appearance or a statue or image. | |||
| Lao | ຮູບ | ||
| The word "ຮູບ" is also used in religious contexts to refer to the images of deities. | |||
| Malay | angka | ||
| "Angka" in Malay can also mean "number" or "digit", and is derived from the Sanskrit word "angka" meaning "mark" or "number." | |||
| Thai | รูป | ||
| The word "รูป" also means "form, shape, or image" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | nhân vật | ||
| 'Nhân vật' is also used to refer to a character in a story, play, or film. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pigura | ||
Figure in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | rəqəm | ||
| Kazakh | сурет | ||
| The Kazakh word "сурет" can also mean "picture", "image", or "painting", and is related to the Persian word "surat", meaning "face" or "form". | |||
| Kyrgyz | сан | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "сан" can also mean "number" or "quantity". | |||
| Tajik | рақам | ||
| The word рақам can also mean "digits", "number", and "code" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | şekil | ||
| Uzbek | shakl | ||
| The word "shakl" in Uzbek can also refer to a person's mood, condition, or appearance. | |||
| Uyghur | fig | ||
Figure in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kiʻi | ||
| Despite commonly referring to "image" or "statue," "kiʻi" can also mean "likeness," "shadow," "ghost" & in poetic use even mean someone beautiful & beloved. | |||
| Maori | whika | ||
| The Maori word "whika" also means "to carve" or "to cut", reflecting its connection to the creation of physical forms. | |||
| Samoan | faʻatusa | ||
| The word "faʻatusa" in Samoan can also mean "symbol" or "representation", similar to its English counterpart. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pigura | ||
| Pigura can also refer to the frame or border around a picture, similar to the English word "frame." | |||
Figure in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | qawqhasa | ||
| Guarani | ha'ãnga | ||
Figure in International Languages
| Esperanto | figuro | ||
| In Esperanto, "figuro" also means "person" or "character". | |||
| Latin | figure | ||
| The Latin word "figura" also means "shape, form, outline, appearance, or character." | |||
Figure in Others Languages
| Greek | φιγούρα | ||
| φιγούρα also refers to the concept of "style", or "flair", especially when referring to a particular dance or movement. | |||
| Hmong | daim duab | ||
| The word "daim duab" in Hmong also means "to paint" or "to draw." | |||
| Kurdish | jimar | ||
| The word "jimar" in Kurdish also refers to the numerical value of a letter in the Kurdish alphabet. | |||
| Turkish | şekil | ||
| The Turkish word "şekil" also means "shape, form, appearance, manner" and comes from the Arabic word "shakl" with the same meanings. | |||
| Xhosa | umzobo | ||
| The word "umzobo" can also refer to a statue or a pattern. | |||
| Yiddish | פיגור | ||
| In Yiddish, "פיגור" (figure) is derived from the Germanic word figûra, and also means "shape" or "form". | |||
| Zulu | isibalo | ||
| Derived from the verb "bala" meaning "count," "isibalo" also denotes an "amount" or "total." | |||
| Assamese | শৰীৰ | ||
| Aymara | qawqhasa | ||
| Bhojpuri | डौल | ||
| Dhivehi | އަދަދެއް | ||
| Dogri | मूरत | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pigura | ||
| Guarani | ha'ãnga | ||
| Ilocano | pigura | ||
| Krio | nɔmba | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | شێوە | ||
| Maithili | आकार | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯁꯤꯡ | ||
| Mizo | milem | ||
| Oromo | lakkoofsa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଚିତ୍ର | ||
| Quechua | yupay | ||
| Sanskrit | रूप | ||
| Tatar | фигура | ||
| Tigrinya | ስእሊ | ||
| Tsonga | xivumbeko | ||