For in Different Languages
Discover 'For' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'for' is a small but mighty part of our daily vocabulary, with a significance that extends far beyond its two letters. It's a preposition that indicates purpose, reason, or benefit, and it's an essential component of many phrases and idioms in English. But did you know that the word 'for' has fascinating translations in different languages, shedding light on the cultural importance of this simple word?
For example, in Spanish, 'for' can be translated as 'para' or 'por', depending on the context. In German, 'for' becomes 'für', while in French, 'for' is translated as 'pour'. Each of these translations reflects the unique grammar and syntax of the language, and offers a glimpse into the cultural perspectives of the people who speak it.
Understanding the translations of 'for' in different languages can enrich your language learning experience, deepen your cultural knowledge, and enhance your communication skills in a globalized world. So, let's explore the many meanings and uses of 'for' and discover how this word is translated in various languages around the world.
For
For in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vir | ||
| The word 'vir' in Afrikaans originates from the Dutch word 'voor', meaning 'in front of' or 'for the benefit of', and has the same meaning in Afrikaans. | |||
| Amharic | ለ | ||
| "ለ" also means "to" and "of" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | domin | ||
| Hausa "domin" could mean "to" instead of "for" when followed by a pronoun that starts with a vowel like "ta" (to). | |||
| Igbo | maka | ||
| Maka, meaning "because of" in Igbo, can also indicate ownership, "maka m" translating to "mine". | |||
| Malagasy | ho an'ny | ||
| The Malagasy word HO AN'NY ("for") can also mean "because of" or "on behalf of". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chifukwa | ||
| Nyanja 'chifukwa' may have been borrowed from the Proto-Bantu root ŋa-, meaning 'because' | |||
| Shona | nokuti | ||
| In addition to meaning "for," "nokuti" can also mean "because". | |||
| Somali | loogu talagalay | ||
| The Somali word "loogu talagalay" can also mean "intended for" or "designed for" in English. | |||
| Sesotho | bakeng sa | ||
| The word "bakeng sa" can also mean "on behalf of" or "in place of". | |||
| Swahili | kwa | ||
| In addition to "for", "kwa" can also mean "with" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | ye | ||
| The word "ye" ('for') in Xhosa is an archaic form that is no longer widely used, having been replaced by the more modern "ngokuba." | |||
| Yoruba | fun | ||
| The word "fun" in Yoruba can also refer to a place or object that is used for a specific purpose. | |||
| Zulu | ngoba | ||
| The Zulu word "ngoba" also means "because" and can indicate purpose or reason. | |||
| Bambara | kosɔn | ||
| Ewe | elabena | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kuri | ||
| Lingala | mpo na | ||
| Luganda | -a | ||
| Sepedi | ya | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ma | ||
For in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | إلى عن على | ||
| إلى عن على means: (1) in the direction of; (2) until; (3) before; (4) after; (5) according to; (6) on the basis of; (7) for the sake of; (8) with regard to; (9) in order to; (10) in place of; (11) at the time of; (12) through the medium of; (13) on the occasion of; (14) as soon as. | |||
| Hebrew | ל | ||
| The letter ל is the prefix form of the Hebrew word "le" when adding motion to a word and means "to, toward." | |||
| Pashto | لپاره | ||
| In Pashto, "لپاره" can also carry the meaning of "for the purpose of" or "in order to" | |||
| Arabic | إلى عن على | ||
| إلى عن على means: (1) in the direction of; (2) until; (3) before; (4) after; (5) according to; (6) on the basis of; (7) for the sake of; (8) with regard to; (9) in order to; (10) in place of; (11) at the time of; (12) through the medium of; (13) on the occasion of; (14) as soon as. | |||
For in Western European Languages
| Albanian | për | ||
| The word "për" in Albanian is also used in Albanian to refer to the idea of "by" or "through." | |||
| Basque | for | ||
| In Basque, "for" can also mean "on behalf of" or "instead of" | |||
| Catalan | per | ||
| In Catalan, "per" not only means "for," but also "by" (meaning through), "due to," and "in exchange for." | |||
| Croatian | za | ||
| The word "za" also means "protection" or "safeguard" in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | til | ||
| The word "til" in Danish can also mean "to" or "until". | |||
| Dutch | voor | ||
| The Dutch word "voor" can also mean "before" or "in front of". | |||
| English | for | ||
| "For" can also mean the distance required to travel or be sent somewhere | |||
| French | pour | ||
| In French, the word "pour" can also mean "in order to". | |||
| Frisian | foar | ||
| The word "foar" in Frisian has a similar origin to the English word "for", dating back to Proto-Germanic and meaning "before" or "in front of". | |||
| Galician | para | ||
| Galician "para" derives from the Greek "para" meaning "beside". | |||
| German | zum | ||
| “Zum” and “an dem” are two German prepositions that mean “at” when used with a noun referring to a place; the choice between the two is based on the definiteness of the noun. | |||
| Icelandic | fyrir | ||
| The word "fyrir" can also mean "in front of" or "because of". | |||
| Irish | le haghaidh | ||
| Le haghaidh, originally meaning 'to go on a journey for,' still carries that connotation in the word 'pilgrimage.' | |||
| Italian | per | ||
| The Italian word "per" can also mean "through" or "by". | |||
| Luxembourgish | fir | ||
| Luxembourgish 'fir' has the additional meanings of 'in order to', 'because' and 'in place of'. | |||
| Maltese | għal | ||
| "Għal" can also mean "with" or "as" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | til | ||
| "Til" (for) originated in Old Norse as "til", meaning "to" or "towards". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | para | ||
| In Portuguese, "para" also means "towards", "in order to" and "in front of". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | airson | ||
| The Gaelic word 'airson' can also mean 'on behalf of'. | |||
| Spanish | para | ||
| "Para" can also mean "towards" or "in order to". | |||
| Swedish | för | ||
| Besides being a preposition that means 'for', 'för' can also indicate something lost, or be a prefix meaning 'to do something before'. | |||
| Welsh | canys | ||
| The word "canys" can also mean "although" or "because" in Welsh. | |||
For in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | для | ||
| The word "для" in Belarusian can also mean "because" or "in order to". | |||
| Bosnian | for | ||
| The word "za" means "for" in Bosnian | |||
| Bulgarian | за | ||
| The word “за” is used to form the instrumental case in Bulgarian and means “with.” | |||
| Czech | pro | ||
| The Czech word "pro" can also mean "through" or "in exchange for". | |||
| Estonian | eest | ||
| The word “eest” also means “in front of” and “instead of” in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | varten | ||
| The word "varten" is related to the Proto-Uralic words "*warti" and "*warta", which mean "in the direction of". | |||
| Hungarian | mert | ||
| The Hungarian word "mert" (for) is historically identical to "miért" (why) and cognate to the Finnish word "mistä" (whence, why). | |||
| Latvian | priekš | ||
| Latvian word "priekš" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*preks", meaning "in front of, against" | |||
| Lithuanian | dėl | ||
| The word "dėl" can also mean "because of" or "due to" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | за | ||
| The word "за" in Macedonian can also mean "about" or "because of" | |||
| Polish | dla | ||
| While 'dla' mostly means 'for,' it also means 'thanks to,' 'in favor of,' 'in order to,' 'to achieve,' and 'to protect someone from something'. | |||
| Romanian | pentru | ||
| The word "pentru" in Romanian is derived from the Latin "propter" (near) and can also mean "because of" or "on behalf of". | |||
| Russian | за | ||
| In Old Russian, the word "за" meant "protection" or "barrier," and this meaning is still preserved in some expressions, such as "забор" (fence) or "замок" (lock). | |||
| Serbian | за | ||
| Serbian 'за' also means 'due to' or 'against' when used with an instrumental case. | |||
| Slovak | pre | ||
| "Pre" is thought to derive either from Proto-Slavic "prěti", meaning "to resist" or Proto-Indo-European "per" meaning "forward". | |||
| Slovenian | za | ||
| The word "za" can also mean "behind" or "after" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | для | ||
| The preposition "для" also means "to" and "about" in Ukrainian, depending on context. | |||
For in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | জন্য | ||
| The word "জন্য" in Bengali shares its etymology with the Sanskrit word "जन्य" meaning "born from" or "caused by". | |||
| Gujarati | માટે | ||
| The Gujarati word "માટે" (mate) can also mean "in order to", "for the purpose of", or "with a view to". | |||
| Hindi | के लिये | ||
| In Hindi, "के लिये" can refer to purpose, objective, benefit, direction, destination, time, reason, or cause. | |||
| Kannada | ಗಾಗಿ | ||
| The word "ಗಾಗಿ" in Kannada can also mean "in order to achieve something", "as a reason for something," or "with the intention of doing something". | |||
| Malayalam | വേണ്ടി | ||
| വേണ്ടി (vēṇṭi) can also mean "because" or "in order to" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | च्या साठी | ||
| The word "च्या साठी" can also mean "on behalf of" or "in the name of". | |||
| Nepali | को लागी | ||
| The word "को लागी" can also mean "benefit" or "use". | |||
| Punjabi | ਲਈ | ||
| "ਲਈ" can also mean 'reason' or 'cause' in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සදහා | ||
| සදහා (sadahā) can also mean 'in order to', 'on account of', or 'because of'. | |||
| Tamil | க்கு | ||
| Historically derived from the Proto-Dravidian *ku, 'க்கு' can also mean 'in order to'. | |||
| Telugu | కోసం | ||
| The word "కోసం" ("kosam") in Telugu has multiple meanings, including "for the sake of", "in order to", "to" and "on behalf of". It also has historical roots in the Sanskrit word "kṛte". | |||
| Urdu | کے لئے | ||
| The Urdu word "کے لئے" is derived from the Arabic word "ل", which has a wide range of meanings including "for", "to", and "by". | |||
For in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 对于 | ||
| 对于 (dùi yú) can also mean "in reference to" or "with regard to." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 對於 | ||
| The term '對於' can mean 'pertaining to' or 'in relation to'. | |||
| Japanese | にとって | ||
| 'にとって' (for) is also a form of the verb '取る' (to take), suggesting a sense of 'taking' something for someone. | |||
| Korean | ...에 대한 | ||
| The word "...에 대한" can also mean "about" or "concerning". | |||
| Mongolian | нь | ||
| The word "нь" can also mean "in order to" or "in place of" | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အဘို့ | ||
| The word "အဘို့" can also mean "on behalf of" or "in order to," indicating the purpose or reason for an action or event. | |||
For in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | untuk | ||
| The word 'untuk' can also mean 'in order to' or 'so that' in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | kanggo | ||
| The Javanese word "kanggo" (for) is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*kaŋgo", which also means "with" or "as". | |||
| Khmer | សម្រាប់ | ||
| Besides its usage as 'for', “៕ៃធ្ងៅ” (sbap) can also mean 'with' or 'in exchange for'. | |||
| Lao | ສຳ ລັບ | ||
| The Lao word ສຳ ລັບ can also mean 'in order to' or 'so as to', and is cognate with the Thai word 'เพื่อ' (pronounced peu). | |||
| Malay | untuk | ||
| The word "untuk" derives from the Proto-Austronesian word "*tuŋkul". It cognate with the Javanese word "ingkang". | |||
| Thai | สำหรับ | ||
| "สำหรับ" also means "suitable for" or "with regard to" | |||
| Vietnamese | cho | ||
| In Vietnamese, "cho" also means "to wait". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | para sa | ||
For in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | üçün | ||
| "Üçün" also means "towards" or "in place of" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | үшін | ||
| In Kazakh, "үшін" can also mean "on behalf of" as seen in the phrase "отбасым үшін" or "on behalf of my family." | |||
| Kyrgyz | үчүн | ||
| The word "үчүн" can also mean "for the sake of" or "on behalf of". | |||
| Tajik | барои | ||
| The word "барои" can also mean "to" or "because of" depending on the context. | |||
| Turkmen | üçin | ||
| Uzbek | uchun | ||
| In Uzbek, "uchun" can also mean "in order to" or "with the purpose of". | |||
| Uyghur | for | ||
For in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | no ka mea | ||
| No ka mea is derived from the Polynesian root *mea*, meaning "thing", and was originally used to indicate possession or ownership. | |||
| Maori | hoki | ||
| Hoki is a Polynesian word that is also used in Hawaiian and Tahitian, where it means "to return" or "to bring back". | |||
| Samoan | aua | ||
| The word "aua" can also mean "to fetch" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | para sa | ||
| Para sa' derives from the Spanish 'para' and can also mean 'for the purpose of' or 'in order to'. | |||
For in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | taki | ||
| Guarani | g̃uarã | ||
For in International Languages
| Esperanto | por | ||
| "Por" can also mean "by" as in "pro" in Latin, but it is not used as much as "por" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | quia | ||
| "Quia" is the ablative form of "quis" (who, what) and means "on account of what". | |||
For in Others Languages
| Greek | για | ||
| In ancient Greek, "Για" was also used to denote possession or origin, like the Latin "pro" | |||
| Hmong | rau | ||
| The word "rau" in Hmong can also mean "because" or "instead of." | |||
| Kurdish | bo | ||
| The word "bo" in Kurdish has roots in the Indo-European language family and shares common origins with the English word "for," meaning "on behalf of" or "in place of." | |||
| Turkish | için | ||
| The word "için" in Turkish can also mean "inside" or "within". | |||
| Xhosa | ye | ||
| The word "ye" ('for') in Xhosa is an archaic form that is no longer widely used, having been replaced by the more modern "ngokuba." | |||
| Yiddish | פֿאַר | ||
| Yiddish "פֿאַר" can mean "in front of," "for (a period of time),"" "in favor of," or "in order to." | |||
| Zulu | ngoba | ||
| The Zulu word "ngoba" also means "because" and can indicate purpose or reason. | |||
| Assamese | বাবে | ||
| Aymara | taki | ||
| Bhojpuri | खातिर | ||
| Dhivehi | އަށް | ||
| Dogri | लेई | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | para sa | ||
| Guarani | g̃uarã | ||
| Ilocano | para | ||
| Krio | fɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بۆ | ||
| Maithili | क लेल | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯐꯣꯔ | ||
| Mizo | tan | ||
| Oromo | -f | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପାଇଁ | ||
| Quechua | para | ||
| Sanskrit | कृते | ||
| Tatar | өчен | ||
| Tigrinya | ን | ||
| Tsonga | swa | ||