Future in Different Languages
Discover 'Future' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'future' holds a special significance in our lives as it represents the time yet to come. It's a concept that has been explored and celebrated across cultures, often symbolizing hope, progress, and change. From the ancient Mayan calendar to the modern Gregorian one, civilizations have tried to predict and understand the future.
Moreover, the word 'future' carries various connotations in different languages, reflecting unique cultural perspectives. For instance, the Spanish 'futuro' stems from the Latin 'futurus', while the German 'Zukunft' has its roots in the verb 'kommen' (to come). The Finnish 'tulevaisuus' and the Russian 'budushchee' also offer intriguing insights into how different languages perceive the concept of time and the future.
Understanding the translation of 'future' in various languages can provide a window into different cultures and their views on time, progress, and change. It can also foster a sense of global community, as we realize that despite linguistic and cultural differences, we all share the same curiosity and apprehension about what lies ahead.
Future
Future in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | toekoms | ||
| The word "toekoms" is derived from the Middle Dutch word "toekomst", which means "the time to come". | |||
| Amharic | ወደፊት | ||
| The word "ወደፊት" also refers to "forward" or "in front of" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | nan gaba | ||
| 'Nan gaba' is the Hausa word that means 'tomorrow,' and is also used to express the concept of 'later' or 'in a while' | |||
| Igbo | ọdịnihu | ||
| The Igbo word “ọdịnihu” means “tomorrow”, and can also refer to future, or time to come in general. | |||
| Malagasy | hoavy | ||
| The word "hoavy" can also refer to eternity, meaning it encompasses both past, present, and future. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | tsogolo | ||
| The word "tsogolo" also means "tomorrow" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | ramangwana | ||
| The Shona word "ramangwana" is derived from the verb "mangwana," meaning "to wait" or "to expect," and carries the connotation of something that is yet to come or is anticipated. | |||
| Somali | mustaqbalka | ||
| The word "mustaqbalka" is derived from the Arabic word for "front" or "ahead," suggesting the concept of looking toward a future or forward-facing perspective. | |||
| Sesotho | bokamoso | ||
| It is derived from the root word "boka" which means "to come" and "moso" which means "time or season" | |||
| Swahili | baadaye | ||
| The word 'baadaye' in Swahili is derived from the Arabic word 'baqiya', meaning 'remaining' or 'rest' | |||
| Xhosa | ikamva | ||
| In Xhosa, "ikamva" also implies "progress" and connects to "ukuhamba phambili," which means "to move forward". | |||
| Yoruba | ojo iwaju | ||
| In Yoruba, "ojo iwaju" literally translates as "eyes in front," suggesting a foresight or anticipation of the future. | |||
| Zulu | ikusasa | ||
| In Zulu, 'ikusasa' signifies the future, but it also holds a metaphorical meaning of 'what lies ahead' or 'the journey forward'. | |||
| Bambara | sini | ||
| Ewe | tsᴐ si gbᴐna | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ejo hazaza | ||
| Lingala | mikolo ezali koya | ||
| Luganda | ebiseera by'omumaaso | ||
| Sepedi | bokamoso | ||
| Twi (Akan) | daakye | ||
Future in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | مستقبل | ||
| The word "مستقبل" also implies "front" or "opposite" in Arabic, suggesting a spatial and temporal connection between the concepts of direction and time. | |||
| Hebrew | עתיד | ||
| The Hebrew word "עתיד" also signifies "will occur" or "is about to happen". | |||
| Pashto | راتلونکی | ||
| The word "راتلونکی" in Pashto has the alternate meaning of "one who comes tomorrow". | |||
| Arabic | مستقبل | ||
| The word "مستقبل" also implies "front" or "opposite" in Arabic, suggesting a spatial and temporal connection between the concepts of direction and time. | |||
Future in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e ardhmja | ||
| The Albanian word "e ardhmja" is derived from the Proto-Albanian root "*ardh-m-ja", meaning "that which will come". This root is also found in the words "ardhja" (coming) and "ardhëm" (coming). | |||
| Basque | etorkizuna | ||
| The Basque word comes from the Basque term "etor", meaning "to come", and "kizun", meaning "condition", so it literally means "the condition of coming." | |||
| Catalan | futur | ||
| "Futur" also means "bridegroom", "husband-to-be", or "prospective husband" in Catalan. | |||
| Croatian | budućnost | ||
| The Croatian word "budućnost" is derived from the Slavic root "*bъd-ъ", meaning "to be" or "to become". | |||
| Danish | fremtid | ||
| Fremtid originally meant "that which is to come" as well as "pregnancy" or "offspring". | |||
| Dutch | toekomst | ||
| The Dutch word "toekomst" is derived from the Middle Dutch "toe-comenst," meaning "that which is to come." | |||
| English | future | ||
| The Latin word "futurus" means "about to be" and refers to events yet to occur, but can also mean "next" or "later in order". | |||
| French | avenir | ||
| The word "avenir" comes from the Old French word "avenir," derived from the Latin "advenire," meaning "to come to" or "to arrive at a future time." | |||
| Frisian | takomst | ||
| "Takomst" is a Frisian word borrowed from Dutch and closely related to the German word "Zukunft". It shares the same root as the English word "token". | |||
| Galician | futuro | ||
| In Galician, "futuro" also refers to the tense used to describe future actions or events, equivalent to the English "future perfect" tense. | |||
| German | zukunft | ||
| The word "Zukunft" also translates to "adventus" in Latin, which means "coming" or "arrival" | |||
| Icelandic | framtíð | ||
| The Icelandic word "framtíð" (future) is derived from the Old Norse words "fram" (before, forward) and "tíð" (time). | |||
| Irish | todhchaí | ||
| The word "todhchaí" originates from the Old Irish word "to-da-saig", meaning "to come" or "to arrive". | |||
| Italian | futuro | ||
| Futuro's etymology in Italian derives from the Latin word 'futurum', which means both 'future' and 'that which will be' | |||
| Luxembourgish | zukunft | ||
| Though spelled identically, "Zukunft" in Luxembourgish means "luck" rather than "future." | |||
| Maltese | futur | ||
| The Maltese word "futur" ultimately derives from the Latin "futurus", meaning "about to be". | |||
| Norwegian | framtid | ||
| Framtid's root 'fram' means 'forward' and its suffix 'tid' means 'time' | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | futuro | ||
| The word "futuro" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin word "futurus", meaning "about to be" or "that will be". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ri teachd | ||
| The word “ri teachd” also translates as “beforehand” in Gaelic, suggesting that the future is seen as coming towards the speaker. | |||
| Spanish | futuro | ||
| The Spanish word "futuro" shares the same root as "fate" and "fiction", implying a sense of destiny or possibility. | |||
| Swedish | framtida | ||
| Framtida ultimately derives from the Proto-Germanic word *fram, meaning "forward, in front of", and thus carries the sense of "that which is to come." | |||
| Welsh | dyfodol | ||
| "Dyfodol" is derived from "dyfodi," meaning "to come," and can also refer to "destiny" or "prospect." | |||
Future in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | будучыню | ||
| Bosnian | budućnost | ||
| Bosnian word for 'future', budućnost, derives from Old Church Slavonic 'bǫdǫšti' and Proto-Slavic 'bǫdǫšti', both meaning 'what will be' | |||
| Bulgarian | бъдеще | ||
| Бъдеще in Bulgarian comes from the verb 'бъда', meaning 'to be', and thus the word originally meant 'being' or 'existence'. | |||
| Czech | budoucnost | ||
| Budoucnost is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *bǫdǫcьnostь, which also meant "the will to be" and "vigilance." | |||
| Estonian | tulevik | ||
| The Estonian word "tulevik" is related to the Finnish word "tulevaisuus," both meaning "future," and derives from the Proto-Finnic word "*tuleva," meaning "to come." | |||
| Finnish | tulevaisuudessa | ||
| The Finnish word "tulevaisuudessa" ("future") is an abstract concept used to describe the time that is yet to come. | |||
| Hungarian | jövő | ||
| "Jövő" derives from the verb "jön" (to come), akin to the English "future" (from the Latin "futurus"). | |||
| Latvian | nākotnē | ||
| Latvian "nākotnē" comes from an archaic verb "nākt" meaning "to see", suggesting the future is something we look forward to. | |||
| Lithuanian | ateityje | ||
| "Ateityje" is an archaic Lithuanian word meaning both "future" and "eternity". | |||
| Macedonian | иднина | ||
| “Иднина” means “future” in Macedonian, and also denotes “future” in other Slavic languages. | |||
| Polish | przyszłość | ||
| The word "przyszłość" is derived from the verb "przyjść" (to come), and literally means "that which is about to come". | |||
| Romanian | viitor | ||
| Romanian "viitor" is derived from Latin "vixti" (life) and also means "present," "past," and "life." | |||
| Russian | будущее | ||
| The word "будущее" (future) in Russian comes from the verb "быть" (to be), specifically its future tense form "буду" (I will be). | |||
| Serbian | будућност | ||
| The word "будућност" derives from the Serbian verb "biti" (to be) and means the state or condition of something to come. | |||
| Slovak | budúcnosť | ||
| Slovak "budúcnosť" is related to the word "byť" meaning "to be" and to the Old Slavic "bǫdǫ" meaning "I will be". | |||
| Slovenian | prihodnosti | ||
| The Slovenian word "prihodnosti" is derived from the Slavic root "*pridъ", meaning "to arrive" or "to come". | |||
| Ukrainian | майбутнє | ||
| "Майбутнє" has cognates with the word meaning "to dream" | |||
Future in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ভবিষ্যত | ||
| 'ভবিষ্যত' is etymologically linked to 'বিদ' ('to understand'), implying 'that is yet to be understood'. | |||
| Gujarati | ભવિષ્ય | ||
| The Sanskrit word "bhaviṣya" has various meanings in Gujarati including "future", "destiny", and "luck". | |||
| Hindi | भविष्य | ||
| The Hindi word "भविष्य" also means "manifestation" in Sanskrit. | |||
| Kannada | ಭವಿಷ್ಯ | ||
| The word 'ಭವಿಷ್ಯ' (bhavishya) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'भवितव्य' (bhavitavya), meaning 'that which is to be' or 'destiny'. | |||
| Malayalam | ഭാവി | ||
| In Malayalam, "ഭാവി" doesn't just mean "future", it can also mean "fate" or "destiny." | |||
| Marathi | भविष्य | ||
| The word "भविष्य" (bhaviṣya) in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "भव" (bhava), meaning "to be" or "to become". It also has the alternate meaning of "destiny" or "fate". | |||
| Nepali | भविष्य | ||
| The word 'भविष्य' can also mean 'fate' or 'destiny'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਭਵਿੱਖ | ||
| While it directly translates to "future" in English, "ਭਵਿੱਖ" (bhavvikh) can also refer to "fate" or "destiny" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අනාගතය | ||
| The term "අනාගතය" derives from Sanskrit and translates to "not gone", referring to time yet to occur. | |||
| Tamil | எதிர்கால | ||
| Telugu | భవిష్యత్తు | ||
| The word "భవిష్యత్తు" is also related to the concept of "fate" or "destiny" in Telugu culture, suggesting that the future is predetermined and beyond one's control. | |||
| Urdu | مستقبل | ||
| Derived from the Arabic word 'mustaqbala' meaning 'direction faced by the face', 'mustaqbal' has been used to mean 'future' or 'front' in Urdu | |||
Future in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 未来 | ||
| The first character of "未来" (future) in Chinese means "to come", and the second character means "not yet", implying that the future is something that has yet to arrive. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 未來 | ||
| "未來" is a combination of "未" (not yet) and "來" (to come), meaning "what is yet to come". | |||
| Japanese | 未来 | ||
| 未来 is also used to refer to the past, with the nuance of 'that which is yet to come'. | |||
| Korean | 미래 | ||
| "미래" means both "future" and "unfulfilled" in Korean, which reflects the Korean cultural emphasis on respecting the past while also striving for progress. | |||
| Mongolian | ирээдүй | ||
| In Mongolian, the word "ирээдүй" means "future," but it can also refer to "the state of something that is to come." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အနာဂတ် | ||
Future in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | masa depan | ||
| The word "masa depan" in Indonesian means "future", but it literally translates to "time coming". | |||
| Javanese | mbesuk | ||
| The word "mbesuk" derives from the Proto-Austronesian root "*besuʔ", meaning "next". It is related to the Indonesian word "besok" (tomorrow). | |||
| Khmer | អនាគត | ||
| The word "អនាគត" can also mean "what is yet to come" or "the time that is to come" in Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ອະນາຄົດ | ||
| Malay | masa depan | ||
| The word "masa depan" in Malay can also refer to "the time in front" or "the time ahead." | |||
| Thai | อนาคต | ||
| The Thai word "อนาคต" (anakhot) derives from the Sanskrit word "anagata", meaning "not yet come" or "that which is not yet present". | |||
| Vietnamese | tương lai | ||
| In Vietnamese, "Tương lai" can also refer to hope or promise for the future. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kinabukasan | ||
Future in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | gələcək | ||
| The Azerbaijani word | |||
| Kazakh | келешек | ||
| The word "келешек" also has the alternate meaning of "successor" or "heir". | |||
| Kyrgyz | келечек | ||
| The word "келечек" is derived from the Proto-Turkic root "*kele-chek", meaning "to come" or "to arrive". | |||
| Tajik | оянда | ||
| The word "оянда" in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "āyande" which also means "future". | |||
| Turkmen | gelejek | ||
| Uzbek | kelajak | ||
| The word "kelajak" can also refer to "destiny" or "fate" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | كەلگۈسى | ||
Future in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | wā e hiki mai ana | ||
| "Wā e hiki mai ana" is also used to refer to the "time yet to come" or the "time ahead." | |||
| Maori | ā tōna wā | ||
| The word "ā tōna wā" also refers to the time or place where a prophecy will be fulfilled. | |||
| Samoan | lumanaʻi | ||
| The word "lumanaʻi" also encompasses the concepts of "expectation" and "hope" in Samoan culture. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | hinaharap | ||
| "Hinaharap" also means "face" or "direction". | |||
Future in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jutiripacha | ||
| Guarani | tenondegua | ||
Future in International Languages
| Esperanto | estonteco | ||
| The name of the 8th month in the Esperanto calendar, "Fontemfo", also corresponds to the future tense due to its connotation with springtime and new beginnings | |||
| Latin | futurae | ||
| The feminine form of "futurae" in Latin can refer to the three Fates who control destiny. | |||
Future in Others Languages
| Greek | μελλοντικός | ||
| The term "μελλοντικός" comes from the Greek word "μέλλω", which means "to intend" or "to be about to". | |||
| Hmong | lawm yav tom ntej | ||
| The Hmong word "lawm yav tom ntej" is also used to describe time periods beyond the immediate future, such as next week or next year. | |||
| Kurdish | dahatû | ||
| The Kurdish word "dahatû" also has the connotation of "expectation" and "hope". | |||
| Turkish | gelecek | ||
| Gelecek also means "incoming" in Turkish, referring to something that is coming toward the present moment. | |||
| Xhosa | ikamva | ||
| In Xhosa, "ikamva" also implies "progress" and connects to "ukuhamba phambili," which means "to move forward". | |||
| Yiddish | צוקונפֿט | ||
| The word 'Tzukunft' is derived from the German word 'Zukunft', which in turn originates from the Middle High German word 'zukunft', meaning 'arrival' or 'coming'. | |||
| Zulu | ikusasa | ||
| In Zulu, 'ikusasa' signifies the future, but it also holds a metaphorical meaning of 'what lies ahead' or 'the journey forward'. | |||
| Assamese | ভৱিষ্যত | ||
| Aymara | jutiripacha | ||
| Bhojpuri | भविष्य | ||
| Dhivehi | މުސްތަޤުބަލު | ||
| Dogri | भविक्ख | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kinabukasan | ||
| Guarani | tenondegua | ||
| Ilocano | masakbayan | ||
| Krio | tumara bambay | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئایندە | ||
| Maithili | भविष्य | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯨꯡꯂꯝꯆꯠ | ||
| Mizo | hma hun | ||
| Oromo | egeree | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଭବିଷ୍ୟତ | ||
| Quechua | hamuq | ||
| Sanskrit | भविष्य | ||
| Tatar | киләчәк | ||
| Tigrinya | መፃእ | ||
| Tsonga | vumundzuku | ||