Hide in Different Languages
Discover 'Hide' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'hide' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, with meanings that range from concealing oneself or something, to the animal skin used for protection and warmth. Its cultural importance is evident in various traditions and literature, where hiding often symbolizes seeking refuge or playing hide-and-seek, a beloved childhood game worldwide.
Given the intrigue surrounding this word, one might wonder how it translates in different languages, providing a glimpse into cultural nuances. For instance, in Spanish, 'hide' translates to 'ocultar' or 'esconder,' while in German, it's 'verstecken.' In Japanese, 'to hide' is 'かくす' (kakusu), and in Russian, it's 'прятать' (pryatat'). These translations not only help us navigate linguistic boundaries but also offer insights into how different cultures perceive the concept of hiding.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the translations of 'hide' in various languages, uncovering fascinating insights along the way.
Hide
Hide in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | wegsteek | ||
| The word "wegsteek" can also mean "hideaway" or "refuge". | |||
| Amharic | ደብቅ | ||
| The word 'ደብቅ' in Amharic can also mean 'sticky' or 'thick'. | |||
| Hausa | ɓoye | ||
| The Hausa word "ɓoye" not only means "hide" but also refers to a type of leather bag traditionally used by men. | |||
| Igbo | zoo | ||
| In Igbo, 'zoo' can also mean 'to conceal' or 'to keep a secret'. | |||
| Malagasy | afeno ny | ||
| The Malagasy word "afeno ny" can also refer to something that is concealed or kept secret. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | bisa | ||
| The word "bisa" in Nyanja can also mean "to cover" or "to conceal". | |||
| Shona | hwanda | ||
| The word "hwanda" in Shona can also refer to a particular type of drum or a type of dance performed during a funeral. | |||
| Somali | qarin | ||
| The word "qarin" can also refer to a shelter, a roof, or a covering. | |||
| Sesotho | pata | ||
| "{Pata}" is of Tswana origin and also means "hide or skin". | |||
| Swahili | ficha | ||
| The word "ficha" is also used to refer to a leather thong worn around the waist as a belt or as a support for a scabbard. | |||
| Xhosa | fihla | ||
| In Xhosa, "fihla" can also refer to a place of concealment or shelter. | |||
| Yoruba | tọju | ||
| The word "tọju" in Yoruba also means "to care for", and has its roots in the verb "tọ" (to watch over). | |||
| Zulu | fihla | ||
| "Fihla" in Zulu can also mean "to conceal", | |||
| Bambara | ka dogo | ||
| Ewe | be | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kwihisha | ||
| Lingala | kobombana | ||
| Luganda | okweekweeka | ||
| Sepedi | fihla | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tɛ | ||
Hide in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | إخفاء | ||
| The word "إخفاء" in Arabic has an alternate meaning of "concealing the existence of something or someone," a nuance not captured by the English translation "hide." | |||
| Hebrew | להתחבא | ||
| The root of the word "להתחבא" (hide) is the same as the root of the word "חבורה" (group), indicating that hiding often involves joining a group for protection. | |||
| Pashto | پټول | ||
| پټول ultimately derives from the Iranian root *pād- meaning 'to protect' and appears in Old Persian as *pāθa-. | |||
| Arabic | إخفاء | ||
| The word "إخفاء" in Arabic has an alternate meaning of "concealing the existence of something or someone," a nuance not captured by the English translation "hide." | |||
Hide in Western European Languages
| Albanian | fshihem | ||
| "fshihem" is also used to refer to something that is hidden, such as a secret. | |||
| Basque | ezkutatu | ||
| The Basque word "ezkutatu" comes from the Proto-Basque *ezkutatu, meaning "to hide" or "to conceal." | |||
| Catalan | amagar-se | ||
| The verb "amagar-se" (to hide) in Catalan is derived from the Latin verb "imagare", meaning "to cover or veil". | |||
| Croatian | sakriti | ||
| Sakriti, or "hide" in Croatian, is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "sъkriti", meaning "to hide". | |||
| Danish | skjule | ||
| "Skjule" in Danish can also mean preserving, protecting or putting away for future use. | |||
| Dutch | verbergen | ||
| The word "verbergen" could also be "bergen" in the sense of saving someone from danger. | |||
| English | hide | ||
| The Old English word "hyde" referred to the skin of an animal. | |||
| French | cacher | ||
| The word "cacher" also means "lock up" or "close up". | |||
| Frisian | ferstopje | ||
| In Old and Middle Low German the noun ferstopje, synonymous with ferstoppen "to hide, to plug, to obstruct" (Dutch, German verstopfen) is also used in the meaning "plug"} | |||
| Galician | agochar | ||
| The word "agochar" is also used in the Galician language to mean "hide oneself"} | |||
| German | ausblenden | ||
| "Ausblenden" can also mean to fade out (e.g. a scene in a movie). | |||
| Icelandic | fela | ||
| The word "fela" in Icelandic can also mean "to cover" or "to conceal". | |||
| Irish | cheilt | ||
| The word "cheilt" in Irish can also refer to a "cloak" or a "wrapper". | |||
| Italian | nascondere | ||
| The verb "nascondere" comes from the Latin word "abscondere", which means "to put away" or "to conceal". | |||
| Luxembourgish | verstoppen | ||
| Verstoppen is also used to refer to the act of hiding or concealing something. | |||
| Maltese | ħabi | ||
| The Maltese word "ħabi" is derived from the Arabic word "ḥabā'a" and also means "to hide something from sight" or "to conceal". | |||
| Norwegian | gjemme seg | ||
| The verb “gjemme seg” is cognate with the English verb “to jam,” and originally meant to make a place narrow or tight. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ocultar | ||
| The verb "ocultar" comes from the Latin word "occulere", which means "to cover" or "to conceal." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | seiche | ||
| Seiche' (pronounced "shay-ch") comes from the Scots Gaelic word for "concealment," referring to the way the skin forms a protective covering over the meat. | |||
| Spanish | esconder | ||
| Esconder also means "to put away" and is probably related to the German "verschollen" (vanished) or the English "scoon" (a type of bread often used as a hiding place). | |||
| Swedish | dölj | ||
| Dölj shares a common Germanic root with the English word "deal". | |||
| Welsh | cuddio | ||
| Cuddio, meaning "hide," can also be used figuratively to refer to a person's reputation or character. | |||
Hide in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | схаваць | ||
| The word "схаваць" can also mean "to put away" or "to conceal". | |||
| Bosnian | sakriti | ||
| The word 'sakriti' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'skriti', with its meaning of 'hide' being present in many other Slavic languages. | |||
| Bulgarian | крия | ||
| The word "Крия" not only means "hide" in Bulgarian, but it also holds the archaic meaning of "protect" or "cover." | |||
| Czech | skrýt | ||
| 'Skrýt' shares the same Slavic root with 'Krym' (the name of the Crimean Peninsula) and 'krypta' (crypt). | |||
| Estonian | peida | ||
| In Estonian, "peida" not only means "hide", but also refers to the act of concealing oneself or something. | |||
| Finnish | piilottaa | ||
| Piilottaa in Finnish has a similar etymological root to 'pilot,' and like the English word 'pilot' originally meant "to steer" a ship. | |||
| Hungarian | elrejt | ||
| Elrejt can also mean "conceal" or "hide away". | |||
| Latvian | paslēpties | ||
| "Paslēpties" comes from the Proto-Baltic word "*slepti", with cognates in Lithuanian and Old Prussian meaning "to hide" or "to conceal". | |||
| Lithuanian | paslėpti | ||
| The Lithuanian word "paslėpti" also has the archaic meaning of "to bury" and is cognate with the Russian word "похоронить" (pokhoronit), which means "to bury" or "to inter". | |||
| Macedonian | крие | ||
| The word "крие" in Macedonian can also refer to a secret or something hidden from view. | |||
| Polish | ukryć | ||
| Etymology: from the Proto-Slavic word *kryti, meaning "to cover" or "to hide". | |||
| Romanian | ascunde | ||
| The word "ascunde" is derived from the Latin word "abscondere", meaning "to hide" or "to conceal". | |||
| Russian | скрывать | ||
| Скрывать derives from the Proto-Slavic word *skryti, meaning "to cover" or "to conceal." | |||
| Serbian | сакрити | ||
| The word "сакрити" likely refers to the Old Church Slavonic root "cъкрыти", meaning "to hide". | |||
| Slovak | skryť | ||
| The word "skryť" in Slovak comes from the Proto-Slavic "*kryti", meaning "to cover" or "to conceal". | |||
| Slovenian | skrij | ||
| The word "skrij" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "skriti", which also means "to cover" or "to conceal". | |||
| Ukrainian | сховати | ||
| The verb "сховати" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *kovъ, meaning "to hide, conceal". | |||
Hide in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আড়াল | ||
| "আড়াল" can also mean "away" or "in the distance" | |||
| Gujarati | છુપાવો | ||
| The word "છુપાવો" is derived from the Sanskrit word "chupa", which means "to disappear" or "to make disappear". | |||
| Hindi | छिपाना | ||
| The word छिपाना (chipana) is derived from the Sanskrit word छिप् (chip), meaning 'to cover' or 'to conceal'. | |||
| Kannada | ಮರೆಮಾಡಿ | ||
| The Kannada word "ಮರೆಮಾಡಿ" also refers to the act of secretly keeping or concealing something. | |||
| Malayalam | മറയ്ക്കുക | ||
| It can also mean conceal or cover | |||
| Marathi | लपवा | ||
| The word लपवा, derived from the Sanskrit लुप (lup), has a dual meaning: to hide or conceal, and to cover or wrap. | |||
| Nepali | लुकाउनुहोस् | ||
| The Nepali word "लुकाउनुहोस्" (hide) comes from the Sanskrit word "लुक" (conceal) and has a related word in Hindi, "लुकना" (conceal). | |||
| Punjabi | ਓਹਲੇ | ||
| The word "ਓਹਲੇ" can also mean "in the shelter of" or "under the protection of". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සඟවන්න | ||
| සඟවන්න also shares the meaning of 'to put off, delay, or postpone something' | |||
| Tamil | மறை | ||
| The Tamil word 'மறை' can also mean a boundary, veil, curtain, or secret. | |||
| Telugu | దాచు | ||
| "దాచు" in Telugu can refer to hiding or concealing something, as well as saving or preserving it. | |||
| Urdu | چھپائیں | ||
| "چھپائیں" also means "to conceal" or "to keep something or someone's identity secret". | |||
Hide in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 隐藏 | ||
| The word “隐藏” can describe hiding oneself, hiding an object, or keeping something secret. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 隱藏 | ||
| The character "隱" (yin) in Traditional Chinese also means "secluded" or "retired". | |||
| Japanese | 隠す | ||
| "隠す" (kakusu) can also mean "to secrete" or "to conceal". | |||
| Korean | 숨는 장소 | ||
| 숨는 장소's root word is '숨', meaning 'breath, hole, space, or gap'. | |||
| Mongolian | нуух | ||
| "Нуух" is also used to refer to the act of hiding or concealing something. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဝှက် | ||
| The word "ဝှက်" (hide) in Burmese is derived from the Mon word "ဝှက်" (to conceal), which in turn is derived from the Proto-Austroasiatic word "*wək" (to cover). | |||
Hide in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menyembunyikan | ||
| The word `menyembunyikan` can also mean `to conceal` or `to suppress` in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | ndhelikake | ||
| The word "ndhelikake" can also mean "to put away" or "to set aside". | |||
| Khmer | លាក់ | ||
| លាក់ is derived from the Sanskrit word 'लक्ष', meaning 'mark' or 'spot', and can also refer to 'concealing' or 'evading' in Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ຊ່ອນ | ||
| The Lao word "ຊ່ອນ" also means "to avoid" or "to dodge". | |||
| Malay | bersembunyi | ||
| The word "bersembunyi" in Malay comes from the Old Malay root "sembunyi," which also means "secret" or "concealed. | |||
| Thai | ซ่อน | ||
| The word "ซ่อน" derives from the Proto-Tai word *sɔːŋ, which also means "to store". | |||
| Vietnamese | ẩn giấu | ||
| "Ẩn giấu" is derived from the Proto-Vietnamese word *ʔaːn, meaning "to cover" or "to conceal". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tago | ||
Hide in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | gizlət | ||
| The word "gizlət" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to conceal" or "to keep secret." | |||
| Kazakh | жасыру | ||
| In Turkic languages, the word "жасыру" is related to the word "жас" ("young"), suggesting a possible connection between hiding and the secrecy or protection of youth. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жашыруу | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "жашыруу" can also refer to the act of concealing oneself from the view of the enemy in the battlefield | |||
| Tajik | пинҳон кардан | ||
| The word "pinhon kardan" in Tajik comes from the Persian word "penhân kardan," which has the literal meaning of "doing something hiddenly," and it can mean different things depending on the context. | |||
| Turkmen | gizle | ||
| Uzbek | yashirish | ||
| "Yashirish" can also mean "to turn off" or "to cover something up" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | يوشۇر | ||
Hide in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | peʻe | ||
| The word "peʻe" also means "to spread out," as in to spread out a mat or a blanket. | |||
| Maori | huna | ||
| The word "huna" in Maori can also mean "to conceal" or "to keep secret". | |||
| Samoan | lafi | ||
| Samoan 'lafi' also means to 'confine', 'keep', 'protect', 'cover', and 'store'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tago | ||
| "Tago" also means "to cover or shelter", "to hide or conceal", and "to keep or store" in Tagalog. | |||
Hide in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | imantaña | ||
| Guarani | mongañy | ||
Hide in International Languages
| Esperanto | kaŝi | ||
| "Kaŝi" is an Esperanto word, which also means "cover" | |||
| Latin | corium | ||
| Corium in Latin also refers to the layer of skin in the body, directly below the epidermis. | |||
Hide in Others Languages
| Greek | κρύβω | ||
| The word comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kreubh-, to cover. | |||
| Hmong | nkaum | ||
| The word "nkaum" can also refer to a shelter or home in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | veşartin | ||
| The Kurdish word 'veşartin' also means 'to conceal or cover something up'. | |||
| Turkish | saklamak | ||
| Saklamak also means "to keep" in Turkish, derived from the Old Turkic verb "sak-", meaning "to guard" or "to cover". | |||
| Xhosa | fihla | ||
| In Xhosa, "fihla" can also refer to a place of concealment or shelter. | |||
| Yiddish | באַהאַלטן | ||
| The Yiddish word "באַהאַלטן" (bahaltn) is derived from the German word "behalten," which means "to keep" or "to retain." | |||
| Zulu | fihla | ||
| "Fihla" in Zulu can also mean "to conceal", | |||
| Assamese | লুকাই থকা | ||
| Aymara | imantaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | लुकाइल | ||
| Dhivehi | ފޮރުވުން | ||
| Dogri | छिप्पो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tago | ||
| Guarani | mongañy | ||
| Ilocano | aglemmeng | ||
| Krio | ayd | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | شاردنەوە | ||
| Maithili | नुकाउ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯣꯠꯄ | ||
| Mizo | biru | ||
| Oromo | dhoksuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଲୁଚାନ୍ତୁ | | ||
| Quechua | pakay | ||
| Sanskrit | गोपयतु | ||
| Tatar | яшер | ||
| Tigrinya | ተሓባእ | ||
| Tsonga | tumbela | ||