History in Different Languages
Discover 'History' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
History: it's more than just a subject you learned about in school. It's the story of humanity, a tapestry woven from the threads of countless lives and civilizations. History gives us a sense of identity, allowing us to understand where we came from and how we arrived at the present moment. It's a bridge that connects us to our past, and a guide that helps us navigate the future.
The significance and cultural importance of history cannot be overstated. From the pyramids of Egypt to the Great Wall of China, historical sites and artifacts are a testament to human ingenuity and perseverance. By studying history, we can learn from the mistakes of the past and build a better future for all.
Moreover, understanding the translation of history in different languages can provide valuable insights into how different cultures perceive and value the past. For example, in Spanish, history is 'historia,' while in French, it's 'l'histoire.' In German, it's 'Geschichte,' and in Japanese, it's '歴史' (rekishi).
So why not expand your cultural horizons and learn the translation of history in a variety of languages? You might just discover a new perspective on the story of humanity.
History
History in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | geskiedenis | ||
| The Afrikaans word "geskiedenis" derives from the Dutch word "geschiedenis" and ultimately from the Greek word "ἱστορία" (historia), meaning "inquiry" or "research." | |||
| Amharic | ታሪክ | ||
| The Amharic word "ታሪክ" comes from the Arabic word "tarikh" and originally referred to a "date" or "era". | |||
| Hausa | tarihi | ||
| The Hausa word "tarihi" can also mean "destiny" or "fate". | |||
| Igbo | akụkọ ihe mere eme | ||
| Malagasy | fiainany taloha | ||
| The term FIAINANY TALOHA comes from the words FIAINA (life) and TALOHA (to leave) and literally means "past lives". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mbiri | ||
| The word "mbiri" also means "news" in Swahili. | |||
| Shona | nhoroondo | ||
| "Nhoroondo" is also a term denoting the art of storytelling, which involves passing down oral traditions and cultural knowledge through generations. | |||
| Somali | taariikhda | ||
| The Somali word "taariikhda" is derived from the Arabic word "tarikh", meaning "date" or "chronology". | |||
| Sesotho | nalane | ||
| In Sesotho, the word “nalane” can also mean “old times” or “bygone days”. | |||
| Swahili | historia | ||
| In Swahili, 'historia' also means 'narration', 'story' or 'tale', capturing the oral tradition of storytelling in African history. | |||
| Xhosa | imbali | ||
| Alternate meanings of the Xhosa word "Imbali" include "news", "information","lore", and "knowledge". | |||
| Yoruba | itan | ||
| "Itan" in Yoruba also means "story" or "tale". | |||
| Zulu | umlando | ||
| The Zulu word 'umlando' not only means 'history' but also encompasses 'tradition', 'culture', and 'heritage'. | |||
| Bambara | tariku | ||
| Ewe | nyadzɔdzɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | amateka | ||
| Lingala | lisolo | ||
| Luganda | ebyafaayo | ||
| Sepedi | histori | ||
| Twi (Akan) | abakɔsɛm | ||
History in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | التاريخ | ||
| In pre-Islamic Arabic "التاريخ" referred to the act of recording dates, events and genealogies. | |||
| Hebrew | הִיסטוֹרִיָה | ||
| הִיסטוֹרִיָה can also mean 'investigation' or 'storytelling' | |||
| Pashto | مخینه | ||
| The Pashto word مخینه, also referring to ``story '', is derived from the Persian word ``تاریخ'', which itself is a loanword from the Arabic word for ``date' or ``time'''. | |||
| Arabic | التاريخ | ||
| In pre-Islamic Arabic "التاريخ" referred to the act of recording dates, events and genealogies. | |||
History in Western European Languages
| Albanian | historia | ||
| In Albanian, "historia" also means "story" or "tale" and is derived from the Greek "historie" which means "enquiry" or "investigation". | |||
| Basque | historia | ||
| "Historia" is derived from the Basque word "historioa", meaning "story" or "narrative". | |||
| Catalan | història | ||
| "Història" derives from the ancient Greek word "ἱστορία" (historia), which referred to "knowledge acquired through investigation". This sense is preserved in the Catalan "història", | |||
| Croatian | povijesti | ||
| The Croatian word "povijesti" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pоvьstь, which also meant "news," "tale," or "story." | |||
| Danish | historie | ||
| The word historie can also mean 'story' or 'background' in Danish. | |||
| Dutch | geschiedenis | ||
| The word "geschiedenis" in Dutch also means "account of events" or "past events". | |||
| English | history | ||
| The word "history" derives from the Greek "ἱστορία," meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation." | |||
| French | l'histoire | ||
| The word "histoire" in French not only means "history" but also "story" and "tale." | |||
| Frisian | skiednis | ||
| The Frisian word "skiednis" is derived from *skieda* "to divide" with the -nis suffix which denotes a thing, event, state or concept. | |||
| Galician | historia | ||
| German | geschichte | ||
| The German word 'Geschichte' derives from the Old High German term 'geschiht' meaning 'event', and also bears the connotation of 'telling something'. | |||
| Icelandic | sögu | ||
| The word 'sögu' also means 'news' or 'rumor' in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | stair | ||
| Stair derives from Latin "scala" which means "flight of steps" or ladder. | |||
| Italian | storia | ||
| The Italian word "storia" comes from the Greek "historia," which originally meant "inquiry," or "investigation." | |||
| Luxembourgish | geschicht | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Geschicht" originates from the German word "Geschichte" and is closely related to the English word "gesture," reflecting its original meaning of "something that happened." | |||
| Maltese | l-istorja | ||
| The Maltese word "l-istorja" is derived from the Latin "historia", meaning both "history" and "story". | |||
| Norwegian | historie | ||
| The word "historie" in Norwegian also means "story" or "narrative." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | história | ||
| The word "história" in Portuguese relates to the concept of "story" and can also refer to a narrative of past events. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | eachdraidh | ||
| The word "eachdraidh" can also mean "narrative" or "story" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | historia | ||
| "Historia" in Spanish not only means "history" but also "story". | |||
| Swedish | historia | ||
| "Historia" is also a Swedish name for a magazine that publishes articles about the history of the Swedish royal house. | |||
| Welsh | hanes | ||
| Hanes derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root as the Greek "historia" and the English "history", meaning "a story, an inquiry, an account, an investigation." | |||
History in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | гісторыі | ||
| In Belarusian, “гісторыі” not only means “history” but also “stories” and “tales”. | |||
| Bosnian | istorija | ||
| The term "istorija" in Bosnian is derived from the Greek word "ἱστορία" (historiā), meaning "inquiry" or "knowledge acquired by investigation." | |||
| Bulgarian | история | ||
| The word "история" in Bulgarian comes from the Greek "ἱστορία" (istoria), which originally meant "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation", and later "a narrative of past events". | |||
| Czech | dějiny | ||
| The Czech word "Dějiny" originates from the Old Church Slavonic word "dĕjati," meaning "to do, to happen," and has connotations of both events and their interpretation. | |||
| Estonian | ajalugu | ||
| Estonian word "ajalugu" comes from the Old Russian word "istorija" which means "inquiry, research; news, story, history" and is related to "ajada" which means "to drive, to urge on, to carry along, to pursue, to hasten, to hunt, to follow, to chase", and figuratively "to investigate, to study, to learn, to inquire". | |||
| Finnish | historia | ||
| "Historian tutkima ja kuvaama menneisyys" eli historia tarkoittaa kreikaksi yksinkertaisesti "tutkimusta," "tiedustelua" tai "oppimista" | |||
| Hungarian | történelem | ||
| The Hungarian word "történelem" originates from the verb "történik" ("occurs") and literally means "what happens". | |||
| Latvian | vēsture | ||
| The Latvian word “vēsture” is related to the root “vest-” meaning “news,” “message,” “story” in Proto-Indo-European and many Germanic languages. | |||
| Lithuanian | istorija | ||
| The word "istorija" in Lithuanian is derived from the Greek word "historia," which means "inquiry" or "investigation." | |||
| Macedonian | историја | ||
| The word "историја" comes from the Greek word "ἱστορία" (historia), which originally meant "inquiry, investigation". | |||
| Polish | historia | ||
| "Historia" in its original Greek usage also means "inquiry," which is mirrored in the Polish language. | |||
| Romanian | istorie | ||
| In Romanian, 'istorie' is also used as a plural word in the sense of 'old-fashioned tales'. | |||
| Russian | история | ||
| In Russian, the word "история" also means "a story" or "a narrative", reflecting its origin from the Greek word "ἱστορία" (historia), meaning "inquiry" or "knowledge acquired through investigation". | |||
| Serbian | историја | ||
| "Историја" can also mean "story" or "tale". | |||
| Slovak | história | ||
| In the Slovak language, "história" originally meant "the story of Christ". | |||
| Slovenian | zgodovino | ||
| The Slovenian word "zgodovino" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vědъ, which also means "knowledge" or "science". | |||
| Ukrainian | історії | ||
| The word "історії" is a plural form of the word "історія", which means "a story" or "a narrative" | |||
History in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ইতিহাস | ||
| ইতিহাস shares its root word with "iti" (thus) and "has" (is), denoting the idea that past events shape the present. | |||
| Gujarati | ઇતિહાસ | ||
| The word 'ઇતિહાસ' in Gujarati is derived from the Sanskrit words 'iti' and 'haas', meaning 'thus' and 'to laugh or smile', respectively. | |||
| Hindi | इतिहास | ||
| The word "इतिहास" is derived from the Sanskrit words "iti" (thus) and "haasa" (past), and also means "a discourse on past events". | |||
| Kannada | ಇತಿಹಾಸ | ||
| The word 'ಇತಿಹಾಸ' is derived from Sanskrit and means 'thus it was' or 'that which happened' | |||
| Malayalam | ചരിത്രം | ||
| ചരിത്രം means "tradition, lore" in Sanskrit; in Malayalam it specifically signifies "history of Kerala". | |||
| Marathi | इतिहास | ||
| The word इतिहास literally means "that which is established" or "the essence of events". | |||
| Nepali | ईतिहास | ||
| "इतिहास" (history) can also refer to a "mythical story" or an "epic narrative" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਇਤਿਹਾਸ | ||
| "ਇਤਿਹਾਸ" (history) in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "itihaasa", meaning "thus it was" or "that which happened in the past." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉතිහාසය | ||
| The Sinhala word "ඉතිහාසය" is derived from the Sanskrit words "इति" and " हास्य" which mean “thus indeed” and “laugh, jest” and refers to the original meaning of chronicles as entertaining accounts of past events. | |||
| Tamil | வரலாறு | ||
| The word 'வரலாறு' ('history') in Tamil means 'story of the past', and also refers to a chronicle or account of events. | |||
| Telugu | చరిత్ర | ||
| "చరిత్ర" is derived from "char" (move, go) + "tra" (through, across), thus meaning to traverse across the past or to travel through time. | |||
| Urdu | تاریخ | ||
| In Urdu, the word "تاریخ" also has the alternate meanings of "fate" or "destiny." | |||
History in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 历史 | ||
| "历史" originally means "clerk" (吏) who records things (事). | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 歷史 | ||
| The word "歷史" (history) originally meant "the past" or "the past events" in Chinese. | |||
| Japanese | 歴史 | ||
| The Japanese word "歴史" (rekishi) originally referred to the calendar and was later used to denote the passage of time and events. | |||
| Korean | 역사 | ||
| The word "역사" in Korean originally meant "to know" or "to be aware, | |||
| Mongolian | түүх | ||
| The Mongolian word "түүх" (history) is derived from the verb "түүхэх" (to tell, to narrate) | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သမိုင်း | ||
History in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sejarah | ||
| The word "sejarah" is derived from the Sanskrit word "itih?sa" and originally meant "thus it happened" | |||
| Javanese | sejarah | ||
| "Sejarah" means "history" in Javanese, but it also means "a record of time" and "something that serves as a reminder of the past". | |||
| Khmer | ប្រវត្តិសាស្រ្ត | ||
| Lao | ປະຫວັດສາດ | ||
| Malay | sejarah | ||
| 'Sejarah' shares the same root word as 'syajarah' (family tree), emphasizing the importance of tracing roots and understanding the interconnectedness of events. | |||
| Thai | ประวัติศาสตร์ | ||
| "ประวัติศาสตร์" is derived from Sanskrit, and its root words "pra-vrutti", meaning "going forth," and "shastra", meaning "science". | |||
| Vietnamese | lịch sử | ||
| Lị in Sino-Vietnamese can also mean "customary practices" | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kasaysayan | ||
History in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | tarix | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "tarix" derives etymologically from the Arabic "ta'rīkh" (calendar, annals, history). | |||
| Kazakh | тарих | ||
| 'Тарих' also means 'fate' or 'destiny' in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | тарых | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "тарых" (history) also refers to "age" and "a trace" in Mongolian, from a root meaning "to pull out, to draw out, to extend". | |||
| Tajik | таърих | ||
| The word "таърих" also means "era" and "date" in Tajik, reflecting its broad historical usage. | |||
| Turkmen | taryh | ||
| Uzbek | tarix | ||
| The word "tarix" comes from the Persian word "tārīkh" which originally meant "date" or "era". | |||
| Uyghur | تارىخ | ||
History in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mōʻaukala | ||
| The word "mōʻaukala" in Hawaiian originally referred to genealogies or traditions passed down through generations. | |||
| Maori | hītori | ||
| In Māori, the word “hītori” also means “mythology” or “lore”, showcasing the close relationship between history and narrative in Māori culture. | |||
| Samoan | talafaasolopito | ||
| The word 'talafaasolopito' is a compound consisting of 'tala' meaning 'to speak, tell', 'faa' meaning 'to make, do' and 'solo' meaning 'long'. It therefore translates loosely as 'long speech or telling'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kasaysayan | ||
| The word "kasaysayan" is cognate with the Malay word "sejarah" and is derived from the Arabic word "qasas", meaning "stories or narratives". It has also been used to refer to "fate" or "destiny". | |||
History in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | isturya | ||
| Guarani | tembiasakue | ||
History in International Languages
| Esperanto | historio | ||
| The Esperanto word "historio" can also refer to a "historical event" or a "historical record". | |||
| Latin | historia | ||
| Historia derives from the Greek word "ἱστορία" (historia), which originally meant "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation." | |||
History in Others Languages
| Greek | ιστορία | ||
| "Ιστορία" (history) comes from the verb "ἵστημι" (to make stand, establish), hence also meaning "inquiry, learning, knowledge acquired by investigation." | |||
| Hmong | keeb kwm | ||
| The Hmong word for history, "keeb kwm," literally translates as "the old person's words." | |||
| Kurdish | dîrok | ||
| The Kurdish word "dîrok" also has the meanings of "investigation" or "origin", related to its Persian root word "dīgar" meaning "other". | |||
| Turkish | tarih | ||
| 'Tarih' also means 'date' in Turkish because historically the events were recorded on the date they happened. | |||
| Xhosa | imbali | ||
| Alternate meanings of the Xhosa word "Imbali" include "news", "information","lore", and "knowledge". | |||
| Yiddish | געשיכטע | ||
| In Yiddish, "געשיכטע" derives from the German "Geschichte" and refers not only to past events but also to a narrated account of those events, encapsulating both historical narrative and storytelling. | |||
| Zulu | umlando | ||
| The Zulu word 'umlando' not only means 'history' but also encompasses 'tradition', 'culture', and 'heritage'. | |||
| Assamese | ইতিহাস | ||
| Aymara | isturya | ||
| Bhojpuri | इतिहास | ||
| Dhivehi | ތާރީޚް | ||
| Dogri | इतेहास | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kasaysayan | ||
| Guarani | tembiasakue | ||
| Ilocano | pakasaritaan | ||
| Krio | istri | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | مێژوو | ||
| Maithili | इतिहास | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯨꯋꯥꯔꯤ | ||
| Mizo | hmanlai hun zirna | ||
| Oromo | seenaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଇତିହାସ | ||
| Quechua | willarina | ||
| Sanskrit | इतिहास | ||
| Tatar | тарих | ||
| Tigrinya | ታሪኽ | ||
| Tsonga | matimu | ||