Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'find' is a simple, yet powerful term that carries great significance in our daily lives. It represents the act of discovering or locating something that was previously hidden, lost, or unknown. This action holds immense cultural importance across the globe, as it is a fundamental aspect of human curiosity and exploration.
Throughout history, the concept of 'finding' has been a driving force behind numerous discoveries and inventions. From the ancient explorers who set out to 'find' new lands, to modern day scientists who 'find' cures for diseases, the ability to locate and discover has shaped our world in countless ways.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'find' in different languages can be incredibly useful in both personal and professional settings. Whether you're traveling abroad and need to communicate in a foreign language, or conducting international business and want to ensure clear communication, knowing the various translations of 'find' can be of great benefit.
For instance, the word 'find' translates to 'trouver' in French, 'encontrar' in Spanish, 'finden' in German, and ' encontrare' in Italian. These translations not only help us navigate linguistic barriers, but also provide insight into the unique cultural perspectives of different languages and communities.
Afrikaans | vind | ||
In Afrikaans, "vind" can also mean "to think" or "to suppose", originating from the Germanic root "*wen-" meaning "to seek". | |||
Amharic | አግኝ | ||
"አግኝ" means not only "to find", but also "to reach" and "to have the means to" in Amharic. | |||
Hausa | sami | ||
Hausa sami can also mean to discover, to learn, to obtain, or to receive | |||
Igbo | chọta | ||
The Igbo word 'chọta' also means 'to encounter' or 'to meet unexpectedly'. | |||
Malagasy | hitady | ||
The word "hitady" in Malagasy can also refer to a search, a quest, or an investigation. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | pezani | ||
"Pezani" is an abstract noun meaning both "the act of searching" and "the thing that is found". | |||
Shona | tsvaga | ||
The word 'tsvaga' is also used to mean 'seek' or 'search'. | |||
Somali | hel | ||
The Somali word 'hel' can also mean 'to discover' or 'to obtain'. | |||
Sesotho | fumana | ||
The word "fumana" can also mean "to get" or "to obtain" in Sesotho, expanding its semantic range beyond the simple act of finding something. | |||
Swahili | pata | ||
The Swahili word 'pata' can also refer to the action of acquiring, obtaining, or getting something. | |||
Xhosa | fumana | ||
The word "fumana" also has the connotation of "gaining knowledge" or "understanding something." | |||
Yoruba | wa | ||
"Wa" can also mean "to look for" or "to come across" something. | |||
Zulu | thola | ||
In addition to meaning 'find', 'thola' means 'meet with', 'experience', and 'understand'. | |||
Bambara | ka sɔrɔ | ||
Ewe | di | ||
Kinyarwanda | shakisha | ||
Lingala | kozwa | ||
Luganda | okusanga | ||
Sepedi | hwetša | ||
Twi (Akan) | hwehwɛ | ||
Arabic | تجد | ||
Its other meanings include the verbs "to renew" and "to be new", the latter especially in the expression "tajdid al-wudhu" (to renew one's ablutions). | |||
Hebrew | למצוא | ||
The word "למצוא" also carries religious connotations, as in "מצאתי את ישוע" ("I found Jesus"). | |||
Pashto | ومومئ | ||
The word "ومومئ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "mūla" meaning "root" or "origin", and can also mean "base" or "cause" in Pashto. | |||
Arabic | تجد | ||
Its other meanings include the verbs "to renew" and "to be new", the latter especially in the expression "tajdid al-wudhu" (to renew one's ablutions). |
Albanian | gjej | ||
Although the root of the word "gjej" is Proto-Indo-European *gʰen- "to strike," Albanian "gjej" shares the meaning "find" with Slavic languages' "naiti" and English "gain" via an unknown prehistoric substrate. | |||
Basque | aurkitu | ||
"Aurkitze" means both to "find" and to "understand". To understand in Basque is "finding the meaning" | |||
Catalan | trobar | ||
In Occitan, "trobar" also means "compose" or "invent," which is the origin of the word "troubadour". | |||
Croatian | pronaći | ||
In Croatian, the verb "pronaći" is also used in the context of finding a lost object, which is different from the verb "naći", which is more general. | |||
Danish | finde | ||
In Danish the word "finde" also means "to think" or "to decide". | |||
Dutch | vind | ||
The Dutch word "vind" also means to agree with an argument or opinion and "to like or enjoy something." | |||
English | find | ||
The word "find" derives from the Old Norse "finna", meaning "to discover" or "to obtain." | |||
French | trouver | ||
"Trouver" can mean "to find", "to invent", or "to think of." | |||
Frisian | fine | ||
The Frisian word "fine" also means "beautiful" or "good". | |||
Galician | atopar | ||
The Galician word "atopar" comes from the Latin word "aptare", which means "to fit" or "to adapt". | |||
German | finden | ||
The verb 'finden' in German is cognate with the English verb 'to find', both ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *peus- ('to seize, find'). | |||
Icelandic | finna | ||
The Icelandic word "finna" is related to the Old Norse word "finna", meaning "to perceive". It can also mean "to get" or "to obtain". | |||
Irish | aimsigh | ||
The word "aimsigh" also means "evidence" in Old Irish. | |||
Italian | trova | ||
The Italian word "trova" comes from the Latin word "tropare", meaning "to turn" or "to change". | |||
Luxembourgish | fannen | ||
"Fanne" is an alternate spelling of "finnen", a verb which means "to invent" and likely comes from French." | |||
Maltese | sib | ||
Sib (Maltese) derives from Old Arabic, ultimately from the Akkadian word for "to take" | |||
Norwegian | finne | ||
The Norwegian word "finne" also refers to the indigenous Sami people of northern Scandinavia and parts of Russia. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | encontrar | ||
"Encontrar" is also used in the sense of "date" or "meet" someone. | |||
Scots Gaelic | lorg | ||
The word "lorg" can also mean "to seek" or "to look for" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
Spanish | encontrar | ||
Spanish "encontrar" likely derives from Late Latin "incontrare" ("encounter") via Catalan "encontar."} | |||
Swedish | hitta | ||
The Swedish word "hitta" is thought to have originated in Proto-Germanic, meaning "to get, to take, to find, to obtain" and "to befall"} | |||
Welsh | dod o hyd | ||
Dod o hyd was also used to denote the act of finding after searching, or discovering. |
Belarusian | знайсці | ||
The word “знайсці” can also mean “to get” or “to obtain”. | |||
Bosnian | pronađi | ||
The word 'pronađi' is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *ob-ret-, meaning 'to meet or encounter'. | |||
Bulgarian | намирам | ||
The verb “намирам” can also mean “to deem, to reckon, to judge”. | |||
Czech | nalézt | ||
"Nalézt" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*najti" and is related to the Russian word "найти" (find). | |||
Estonian | leidma | ||
The word "leidma" can also refer to the action of retrieving or obtaining something, rather than simply discovering its location. | |||
Finnish | löytö | ||
Löytö's older meaning is 'something lost and found'. As a verb and noun it also means a bargain, or to buy something as a bargain. | |||
Hungarian | megtalálja | ||
The verb "megtalálja" (find) is derived from the Proto-Uralic root *talə- (*come across, find). | |||
Latvian | atrast | ||
The Latvian word "atrast" is cognate with the English word "treasure" and shares its root with the Latin word "thesaurus". | |||
Lithuanian | rasti | ||
"Rasti" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *hreud-, meaning "to find" or "to perceive". | |||
Macedonian | најдете | ||
The Macedonian word "најдете" originates from the Proto-Slavic root *naiti, meaning "to meet". | |||
Polish | odnaleźć | ||
The verb "odnaleźć" can also mean "to find oneself" or "to regain one's senses." | |||
Romanian | găsi | ||
The Romanian word "găsi" has a Latin origin, "gasire", and is cognate to the English word "case", meaning a container or sheath. | |||
Russian | найти | ||
The verb "найти" is derived from Proto-Slavic *naiti, meaning "to encounter" or "to come across". In this sense, it is cognate with German "finden" and Old English "findan". Additionally, "найти" can be used figuratively to mean "to understand" or "to figure out". | |||
Serbian | наћи | ||
The word "наћи" has cognates in other Slavic languages, such as the Russian "найти" and the Czech "najít", all sharing the same Proto-Slavic root "*naiti" meaning "to find". | |||
Slovak | nájsť | ||
Nájsť, a related Slovak word for 'find', also refers to a particular type of 'cheese' | |||
Slovenian | najti | ||
The Russian word "найти" means "to find", and the Latin "invenire" has a similar meaning. | |||
Ukrainian | знайти | ||
Alternate verb form "знаходити" is rarely used, although you can still hear it in the song "Многая літа" (May You Live Many Years) |
Bengali | অনুসন্ধান | ||
The word "অনুসন্ধান" also means "to search" or "to investigate" in Bengali. | |||
Gujarati | શોધો | ||
"શોધો" can also mean "to search" or "to look for" in Gujarati. | |||
Hindi | खोज | ||
Hindi "खोज" can also mean "discovery", "research", "investigation" or "quest". | |||
Kannada | ಹುಡುಕಿ | ||
The word "ಹುಡುಕಿ" is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *kōṭ- meaning "to seek". | |||
Malayalam | കണ്ടെത്തുക | ||
The term "കണ്ടെത്തുക" originates from the Sanskrit word "khand", signifying "to break" or "to discover;" alternatively, it can hold the connotation of "to gain knowledge by experience." | |||
Marathi | शोधणे | ||
The word "शोधणे" can also mean "to investigate" or "to research" in Marathi. | |||
Nepali | खोज्नुहोस् | ||
The verb "खोज्नुहोस्" derives from the Sanskrit word "kṣip", which also means "to search". | |||
Punjabi | ਲੱਭੋ | ||
The Punjabi word 'ਲੱਭੋ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'लब्ध' which means 'acquired' or 'gained'. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සොයා ගන්න | ||
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Tamil | கண்டுபிடி | ||
The Tamil word "கண்டுபிடி" is also used colloquially to refer to someone who is intelligent and perceptive. | |||
Telugu | కనుగొనండి | ||
The verb 'కనుగొనండి' is derived from the noun 'కన్ను' meaning 'eye', indicating an action of perceiving or discovering something through observation. | |||
Urdu | مل | ||
The word "مل" ("find") in Urdu is derived from the Arabic word "وجل" meaning "be afraid". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 找 | ||
The character "找" also means "to seek" or "to look for". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 找 | ||
找 means "to look for" but can also mean "to ask for" and "to trouble". | |||
Japanese | 見つける | ||
The kanji "見", "to see" or "to find," can be used as a noun, like in the expression "見晴らしが良い," where "見晴らし" refers to "a view." | |||
Korean | 찾기 | ||
While '찾다' means 'to find,' its literal interpretation in English is closer to 'to look up' and is even used to refer to looking up someone's name on a registry, which is '인적사항 조사' in Korean. | |||
Mongolian | олох | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ရှာ | ||
The word "ရှာ" has a homophone meaning "to buy" in the Shan language |
Indonesian | temukan | ||
Temukan shares the same root withtemu, meaning "to meet" or "to face." | |||
Javanese | golek | ||
The Javanese word "golek" can also refer to a form of Javanese puppet theater. | |||
Khmer | រក | ||
The word 'រក' ('find') in Khmer is derived from the Proto-Mon-Khmer word '*rɔːk', which meant 'to look for' or 'to hunt' | |||
Lao | ຊອກຫາ | ||
Malay | cari | ||
In classical Malay, cari (cognate of 'cari' in Indonesian) meant 'to get' as opposed to 'temukan' which meant 'to find' | |||
Thai | หา | ||
นอกเหนือจากคำจำกัดความทั่วไปอย่าง “พบ” “หา” ยังมีความหมายอื่นที่น่าสนใจคือ "ข้องใจ" "สงสัย" เช่น “หา” ว่าทําไมเราต้องทนร้อนแบบนี้ | |||
Vietnamese | tìm thấy | ||
The word "tìm thấy" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "*tamuq", meaning "to see". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | hanapin | ||
Azerbaijani | tapmaq | ||
The word "tapmaq" in Azerbaijani also means "to meet" or "to catch". | |||
Kazakh | табу | ||
The Kazakh word "табу" also means "a herd of horses". | |||
Kyrgyz | табуу | ||
The word "табуу" also means "to guess" or "to suppose" in Kyrgyz. | |||
Tajik | ёфтан | ||
The word "ёфтан" is of Persian origin and has various other meanings, including "to reach" or "to obtain". | |||
Turkmen | tap | ||
Uzbek | topmoq | ||
The word "topmoq" also means "to guess" or "to meet" in Uzbek. | |||
Uyghur | تېپىش | ||
Hawaiian | loaʻa | ||
The word "loaʻa" in Hawaiian also means "to acquire, to obtain, to receive, to enjoy, to possess". | |||
Maori | kitea | ||
The Maori word "kitea" also means "to discover" or "to come across". | |||
Samoan | maua | ||
The Samoan word "maua" can also mean "discover" or "meet". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | hanapin | ||
The word "hanapin" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian root "-pən", meaning "to look for" or "to search for". |
Aymara | jikxataña | ||
Guarani | juhu | ||
Esperanto | trovi | ||
The word "trovi" in Esperanto is derived from the Latin verb "trovare" and also has the meaning "to discover". | |||
Latin | inveniet | ||
The word "inveniet" can also mean "to come across" or "to obtain" in Latin. |
Greek | εύρημα | ||
The word "εύρημα" comes from the Greek verb "εὑρίσκω" meaning "to find or discover" and is related to the English word "heuristic". | |||
Hmong | nrhiav tau | ||
The Hmong word "nrhiav tau" also means "to search" or "to look for". | |||
Kurdish | dîtin | ||
The word "dîtin" in Kurdish has its origins in the Old Persian word "dīdan," which means "to see" or "to perceive." | |||
Turkish | bulmak | ||
Bulmak also has the meaning "to detect" in Turkish. | |||
Xhosa | fumana | ||
The word "fumana" also has the connotation of "gaining knowledge" or "understanding something." | |||
Yiddish | געפינען | ||
The Yiddish word 'געפינען' is cognate with the German word 'finden', meaning 'to find', but it can also have the additional meaning of 'to acquire' or 'to obtain'. | |||
Zulu | thola | ||
In addition to meaning 'find', 'thola' means 'meet with', 'experience', and 'understand'. | |||
Assamese | সন্ধান কৰা | ||
Aymara | jikxataña | ||
Bhojpuri | पावल | ||
Dhivehi | ހޯދުން | ||
Dogri | तुप्पो | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | hanapin | ||
Guarani | juhu | ||
Ilocano | biruken | ||
Krio | fɛn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | دۆزینەوە | ||
Maithili | ताकू | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯤꯕ | ||
Mizo | zawnghmu | ||
Oromo | argachuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଖୋଜ | | ||
Quechua | tariy | ||
Sanskrit | अन्वेषय | ||
Tatar | табу | ||
Tigrinya | ርኸብ | ||
Tsonga | kuma | ||