Gesture in Different Languages
Discover 'Gesture' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Gesture
Afrikaans gebaar | ||
Albanian gjest | ||
Amharic የእጅ ምልክት | ||
Arabic لفتة | ||
Armenian ժեստ | ||
Assamese ভংগীমা | ||
Aymara uñnaqa | ||
Azerbaijani jest | ||
Bambara taamasiyɛn | ||
Basque keinua | ||
Belarusian жэст | ||
Bengali অঙ্গভঙ্গি | ||
Bhojpuri हाव-भाव | ||
Bosnian gesta | ||
Bulgarian жест | ||
Catalan gest | ||
Cebuano lihok | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 手势 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 手勢 | ||
Corsican gestu | ||
Croatian gesta | ||
Czech gesto | ||
Danish håndbevægelse | ||
Dhivehi އިޝާރާތް | ||
Dogri शारा | ||
Dutch gebaar | ||
English gesture | ||
Esperanto gesto | ||
Estonian žest | ||
Ewe asidada | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kilos | ||
Finnish ele | ||
French geste | ||
Frisian gebeart | ||
Galician xesto | ||
Georgian ჟესტი | ||
German geste | ||
Greek χειρονομία | ||
Guarani teterechaukapy | ||
Gujarati હાવભાવ | ||
Haitian Creole jès | ||
Hausa ishara | ||
Hawaiian hōʻailona | ||
Hebrew מחווה | ||
Hindi इशारा | ||
Hmong yoj tes | ||
Hungarian gesztus | ||
Icelandic látbragð | ||
Igbo mmegharị ahụ | ||
Ilocano garaw | ||
Indonesian sikap | ||
Irish gotha | ||
Italian gesto | ||
Japanese ジェスチャー | ||
Javanese patrap | ||
Kannada ಗೆಸ್ಚರ್ | ||
Kazakh қимыл | ||
Khmer កាយវិការ | ||
Kinyarwanda ibimenyetso | ||
Konkani हावभाव | ||
Korean 몸짓 | ||
Krio aw yu mek yu an | ||
Kurdish bidestûlepnîşandanî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ئاماژە | ||
Kyrgyz жаңсоо | ||
Lao gesture | ||
Latin motus | ||
Latvian žests | ||
Lingala elembo | ||
Lithuanian gestas | ||
Luganda akabonero | ||
Luxembourgish geste | ||
Macedonian гест | ||
Maithili हाव-भाव | ||
Malagasy fihetsika | ||
Malay gerak isyarat | ||
Malayalam ആംഗ്യം | ||
Maltese ġest | ||
Maori tohu | ||
Marathi हावभाव | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯏꯪꯒꯤꯠ | ||
Mizo zaizir | ||
Mongolian дохио | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အမူအရာ | ||
Nepali इशारा | ||
Norwegian gest | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) manja | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଙ୍ଗଭଙ୍ଗୀ | | ||
Oromo milikkita qaamaan kennuu | ||
Pashto اشاره | ||
Persian ژست | ||
Polish gest | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) gesto | ||
Punjabi ਇਸ਼ਾਰੇ | ||
Quechua yachapay | ||
Romanian gest | ||
Russian жест | ||
Samoan taga | ||
Sanskrit व्यंजकाः | ||
Scots Gaelic gluasad-bodhaig | ||
Sepedi taetšo | ||
Serbian геста | ||
Sesotho boitšisinyo | ||
Shona chiratidzo | ||
Sindhi اشارو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) අභිනය | ||
Slovak gesto | ||
Slovenian gesta | ||
Somali tilmaam | ||
Spanish gesto | ||
Sundanese sikep | ||
Swahili ishara | ||
Swedish gest | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kilos | ||
Tajik имову ишора | ||
Tamil சைகை | ||
Tatar ишарә | ||
Telugu సంజ్ఞ | ||
Thai ท่าทาง | ||
Tigrinya ኣካላዊ ምንቅስቓስ | ||
Tsonga xeweta | ||
Turkish mimik | ||
Turkmen yşarat | ||
Twi (Akan) nneyɛeɛ | ||
Ukrainian жест | ||
Urdu اشارہ | ||
Uyghur قول ئىشارىسى | ||
Uzbek imo-ishora | ||
Vietnamese cử chỉ | ||
Welsh ystum | ||
Xhosa umqondiso | ||
Yiddish האַווייַע | ||
Yoruba idari | ||
Zulu isenzo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans gebaar derives from Dutch and means not only "gesture" but "deportment" and "conduct". |
| Albanian | The word "gjest" in Albanian can also mean "movement" or "sign". |
| Arabic | The word "لفتة" originally meant "a glance, a look" in Arabic, but now also refers to a "gesture". |
| Armenian | The word "ժեստ" (gesture) is derived from the French word "geste" and also refers to a musical instrument in Armenian, specifically a small drum commonly used in traditional folk ensembles. |
| Azerbaijani | "Jest" in Azerbaijani also means "joke" or "mockery". |
| Basque | In Basque, the word "keinua" can also refer to a type of traditional Basque dance. |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "жэст" comes from the French word "geste," which means "action, deed, or movement." |
| Bengali | "অঙ্গভঙ্গি" also means "makeup" in Sanskrit. |
| Bosnian | The word "gesta" in Bosnian also means "deed" or "action". |
| Bulgarian | The word 'жест' can also refer to 'sign language' or 'a motion made to convey a message'. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "gest" also denotes the legal right to manage another person's property during that person's incapacity. |
| Cebuano | The word 'lihok' also refers to the movement of a body part or a change in position. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "手势" also refers to the sign language used by deaf or hard-of-hearing people. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 手勢 (手式), an abbreviation of 手勢語 (手式語), is a noun used in Chinese that also refers to 'sign' or 'sign language'. |
| Corsican | Corsican "gestu" also means a body movement that is not purposeful, like a person fidgeting with their hair or cracking their knuckles. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "gesta" originates from the Latin word "gestus", meaning "bodily movement" or "attitude". |
| Czech | In Czech, "gesto" also means "attitude" or "demeanor". |
| Danish | Håndbevægelse, meaning gesture in Danish, originates from the Old Norse "hendfang" (hand grasp). |
| Dutch | In the sense of a facial expression it can be derived from "gebeer" ("behavior") or "gebaren" (to behave). |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "gesto" is derived from the Italian word "gesto", meaning "action". |
| Estonian | "Žest" is derived from the French word "geste", meaning "deed" or "action". |
| Finnish | In Finnish "ele" can also mean a hand or a paw, deriving from Proto-Uralic *el- |
| French | The French word "geste" can also refer to a medieval epic poem or a series of heroic deeds, both derived from the Latin "gestum," meaning "deed" or "accomplishment." |
| Frisian | Frisian "gebeart" originated as a cognate of the English word "behavior" and the German "Gebaren". |
| Galician | The Galician word "xesto" is sometimes used to refer to an angry or impulsive outburst. |
| Georgian | In Georgian, the word "ჟესტი" has multiple meanings, including "gesture", "sign" and "action". |
| German | The etymology of "Geste" in German is the Latin word "gestus", which means "bearing, demeanor, conduct". |
| Greek | The word "χειρονομία" also refers to an ancient type of shorthand in which words or syllables were expressed with hand gestures. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "jès" originates from both the Latin "gestus" and the French "geste" words, which both mean "movement of the body to express an idea." |
| Hausa | The word 'ishara' in Hausa is derived from Arabic and can also refer to a sign, symbol, or clue. |
| Hawaiian | The word "hōʻailona" can refer to either giving or receiving a sign or gesture. |
| Hebrew | The word "מחווה" in Hebrew has the same root as "חווה", meaning "to experience" or "to live through", suggesting that a gesture is an expression of one's experience. |
| Hindi | 'इशारा' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'संकेत', meaning 'sign', 'indication', or 'gesture'. |
| Hmong | The word "yoj tes" can also mean "motion" or "movement" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | In Hungarian "gesztus" also means "gesture" in the sense of body movement or action that conveys a feeling, emotion, or thought. |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "látbragð" can also refer to a person's temperament, character or disposition. |
| Indonesian | Sikap's root in Javanese/Sundanese refers to a person's spiritual essence or composure, distinct from its modern-day meaning. |
| Irish | Gotha is also the Irish word for "act" or "play" (as a drama), and the name of a goddess in Celtic mythology. |
| Italian | The Italian word "gesto" originally meant "action" or "deed" and is still used in that sense in legal contexts. |
| Japanese | Originally written in kanji as ジェスチュア, the word now appears in katakana due to influence from English pronunciation. |
| Javanese | The word "patrap" in Javanese can also mean "behaviour". |
| Kannada | It is derived from the Sanskrit word "geshtura," meaning "action" or "deed". |
| Kazakh | “Қимыл” (qi’myl) in Kazakh can also mean “movement” or “action.” |
| Khmer | The word "កាយវិការ" in Khmer can also refer to a person's physical appearance or physique. |
| Korean | The term "몸짓" is derived from the Chinese character "身", meaning "body", and "짓", meaning "action" or "movement". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "жаңсоо" may also mean "movement" or "action" in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | The word "gesture" (ທ່າທາງ) in Lao is used both to describe a movement or posture, and also to refer to a theatrical or dance routine. |
| Latin | "Motus" may refer to a physical movement, a mental or emotional stirring, or a signal. |
| Latvian | The word "Žests" derives from the Latin word "gestus" and also means "action" or "movement" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | In Lithuanian, the word "gestas" can also mean "feat" or "deed". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "Geste" can also mean "behavior" or "attitude". |
| Macedonian | The word "гест" in Macedonian comes from the Latin word "gestus" meaning "motion of the body". |
| Malagasy | The word "fihetsika" can also refer to a movement of the body, or a particular way of carrying oneself. |
| Malay | The Malay word "gerak isyarat" derives from Old Javanese "grak", which also means "to dance" and "to act". |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "ആംഗ്യം" comes from the Sanskrit word "आंग" meaning "part of the body" and is related to the English word "anatomy". |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "ġest" is derived from the French word "geste" and can also refer to a movement of the hand or a sign. |
| Maori | The word "tohu" in Māori has multiple meanings, including "sign", "omen", and "evidence", and can also refer to a physical gesture or a non-verbal communication. |
| Marathi | The word "हावभाव" also refers to the movements of various organs of the body like the eyes, brows, lips, and neck to express a particular state of mind. |
| Mongolian | The word 'дохио' can also mean 'sign' or 'signal'. |
| Nepali | The word "इशारा" also has alternate meanings like "hint" or "sign". |
| Norwegian | The word "gest" in Norwegian can also refer to a "deed" or "action". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Nyanja (Chichewa) 'manja' comes from the Bantu root '-anji' with the same meaning. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word 'اشاره' can also mean 'sign' or 'hint'. |
| Persian | The word ژست is also used in Persian to express a pose in photography or the demeanor of an artist onstage. |
| Polish | The Polish word "gest" also refers to facial expressions or body language. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "gesto" can also mean "action", "deed", "achievement", or "attitude". |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਇਸ਼ਾਰੇ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अञ्जलि' (añjali) which means 'to join the hands or to fold the hands in greeting' |
| Romanian | "Gest" in Romanian means "gesture", but it also derives from the Latin "gestus", meaning "bearing" or "carriage" |
| Russian | The word "жест" (gesture) in Russian is derived from the Latin word "gestus", meaning "carriage of the body, posture, attitude". |
| Samoan | Taga can also mean 'to direct', 'to point', or 'to show' in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "gluasad-bodhaig" in Scots Gaelic may also refer to a person's "conduct" or "behavior". |
| Serbian | The word 'геста' (gesture) in Serbian originally meant 'deed' or 'action'. |
| Sesotho | In Sesotho, the word "boitšisinyo" not only means "gesture", but also refers to "a way of doing something" or "a habit" |
| Shona | The word "chiratidzo" (gesture) in Shona is also used to refer to a sign or signal. |
| Sindhi | The word "اشارو" (gesture) can also mean "sign or indication" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The term 'abhinaya' is also used in Sanskrit theatre and classical Indian dance forms, where it refers to the art of expressing emotions and conveying a narrative through body language, facial expressions, and gestures. |
| Slovak | V slovenčine slovo gesto (gesto) tiež znamená výraz tváre, mimiku, škleb. |
| Slovenian | In Slovenian, the word "gesta" can also mean "face" or "mimicry". |
| Somali | The noun 'tilmaam' comes from the verb 'tali' meaning to tell or to say. |
| Spanish | "Gesto" comes from the Latin "gestum," which could also mean deed or act. |
| Sundanese | "Sikep": berasal dari kata kerja "sikapo" yang berarti ''meluruskan'', ''membuat teratur'', lalu bergeser menjadi ''tindakan'", dan kini bermakna ''isyarat'", atau ''gerak-gerik anggota badan untuk menyatakan sesuatu'"} |
| Swahili | Ishara can also mean 'signal', and in some contexts can refer to a 'secret' or 'code'. |
| Swedish | The word gest, which means "guest" in Modern Swedish, is derived from Old Norse and could also mean an invited ally fighting alongside the main forces. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "kilos" can also refer to a person's mannerisms or behavior. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word "சைகை" can also mean "signal" or "sign". |
| Telugu | In Telugu, "సంజ్ఞ" (gesture) also signifies a bodily position or attitude that conveys a meaning. |
| Thai | The word 'ท่าทาง' can also mean 'manner' or 'appearance'. |
| Turkish | In French, the word "mimique" also means "facial expression". |
| Ukrainian | The word "жест" can also mean "a gesture made to show contempt or mockery". |
| Urdu | The word "اشارہ" (ishara) in Urdu is derived from the Arabic word "أشار" (ashara), meaning "to point out". However, it can also refer to a sign, a gesture, an indication, or a hint. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "imo-ishora" is also used to refer to sign language, and has the alternate meaning of "sign". |
| Vietnamese | "Cử chỉ" originated from Sino-Vietnamese, meaning "to move" or "to point a finger". |
| Welsh | ‘Ystum’ derives from the Old Irish ‘gesta’ or ‘gesstum’, both of which stem from the Latin ‘gestus’, ‘carriage’. |
| Xhosa | Umqondiso is also used in Xhosa for a ritualistic dance performed in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, the word "haveye" (האווייַע) is similar to the Yiddish word "have" (האבען) meaning "to have"} |
| Yoruba | "Idari" also means "sign" or "movement" in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | Isenzo is a Zulu word meaning "gesture," but its etymology can also be traced to "an action taken," "a signal," and "a motion passed." |
| English | The word 'gesture' can also refer to a symbolic action used to communicate a particular emotion or intention. |