Importance in Different Languages
Discover 'Importance' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'importance' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting the value or significance of something or someone. Its cultural importance is evident in how it transcends boundaries and is valued across different societies and languages. Understanding the translation of 'importance' in various languages can provide us with a unique perspective on how different cultures prioritize and value certain concepts.
For instance, in Spanish, 'importancia' translates to 'importance', reflecting the language's rich history and cultural ties to Latin America. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'importance' is translated as ' jail ' (impojansu), highlighting the influence of Western culture on the language. In Mandarin Chinese, 'importance' is translated as ' yì zhì ' (yee-jrr), emphasizing the significance of a matter or issue.
Exploring the translations of 'importance' in different languages can be a fascinating journey into the heart of various cultures and their values. Keep reading to discover more translations and insights into this fundamental concept.
Importance
Importance in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | belangrikheid | ||
| The Afrikaans word "belangrikheid" derives from the Dutch "belangrijk," meaning "significant, noteworthy, or crucial." | |||
| Amharic | አስፈላጊነት | ||
| Hausa | muhimmanci | ||
| The word "muhimmanci" can also refer to "something that is important" or "a matter of great significance". | |||
| Igbo | mkpa | ||
| The Igbo word "mkpa" also means "load" or "burden". | |||
| Malagasy | maha zava- dehibe | ||
| The Malagasy word "MAHA ZAVA- DEHIBE" can also refer to a "big thing", emphasizing the gravity of something | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kufunika | ||
| The word "kufunika" in Nyanja (Chichewa) also means "to cover", "to hide", or "to protect". | |||
| Shona | kukosha | ||
| The word kukosha may have Bantu or even pre-Bantu origins, as the word 'koka' is present in many related languages. | |||
| Somali | muhiimadda | ||
| "Muhiimadda" is a noun that means "importance," "significance," or "weight." | |||
| Sesotho | bohlokoa | ||
| "Bohlokoa" comes from the root word "bohloa," meaning "heavy" or "of great weight. | |||
| Swahili | umuhimu | ||
| The Swahili word "umuhimu" originates from the Arabic word "muhim", meaning "important matter or concern". | |||
| Xhosa | ukubaluleka | ||
| The word "ukubaluleka" in Xhosa also carries the connotation of "worthiness" or "value". | |||
| Yoruba | pataki | ||
| The Yoruba term "pataki" can also refer to "mystery" or "secret information passed down from ancestors." | |||
| Zulu | ukubaluleka | ||
| "Ukubaluleka" is derived from the verb "ukubaluleka," which means "to weigh or value something." | |||
| Bambara | nafa ka bon | ||
| Ewe | vevienyenye | ||
| Kinyarwanda | akamaro | ||
| Lingala | ntina na yango | ||
| Luganda | obukulu | ||
| Sepedi | bohlokwa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hia a ɛho hia | ||
Importance in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أهمية | ||
| The word "أهمية" (importance) is derived from the root word "هَمَّ" (to concern), indicating the weight and significance of something. | |||
| Hebrew | חֲשִׁיבוּת | ||
| The word "חֲשִׁיבוּת" ("importance") also means "accountability" or "responsibility" in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | ارزښت | ||
| "ارزښت" (importance) in Pashto derives from Arabic "قيمة," also meaning "value." | |||
| Arabic | أهمية | ||
| The word "أهمية" (importance) is derived from the root word "هَمَّ" (to concern), indicating the weight and significance of something. | |||
Importance in Western European Languages
| Albanian | rëndësia | ||
| The Albanian word 'rëndësia' comes from the Proto-Albanian root *r̥nd-, which also gives us the word 'rend' (order, rank). | |||
| Basque | garrantzia | ||
| Basque "garrantzia" derives from Vulgar Latin "guarantia" (protection, guarantee) and also means "guarantee" in modern Basque. | |||
| Catalan | importància | ||
| The Catalan word "importància" derives from the Latin word "importare," which initially meant "to bring in" or "to contribute". | |||
| Croatian | važnost | ||
| The word 'važnost' can mean both 'importance' and 'weight', due to the shared root with the verb 'v(a)žiti', 'to weigh' | |||
| Danish | betydning | ||
| "Betydning" is derived from "bede" (to mean, signify) and "tyding" (sense, meaning). | |||
| Dutch | belang | ||
| The word "belang" in Dutch also means "interest" or "stake", and is related to the German word "Belang" meaning "concern". | |||
| English | importance | ||
| The word "importance" derives from the Latin "importare," meaning "to bring in" or "to carry into. | |||
| French | importance | ||
| The word "importance" comes from the Latin word "importare", which means "to carry in" or "to bring in". | |||
| Frisian | belang | ||
| In Frisian, 'belang' also means 'area of land' or 'concern'. | |||
| Galician | importancia | ||
| In Galician, "importancia" also refers to the quantity of a substance found in a particular environment. | |||
| German | bedeutung | ||
| In German, 'Bedeutung' also refers to the signification of a word or sign. | |||
| Icelandic | mikilvægi | ||
| Mikilvægi, from Mikil (large, great) + vægi (weight, value), is literally 'great weight' and refers to something that is deemed extremely valuable or important. | |||
| Irish | tábhacht | ||
| "Tábhacht" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*tebʰ-", meaning to hold, to seize. | |||
| Italian | importanza | ||
| The Italian word "importanza" derives from the Latin "importare," meaning "to have consequence." | |||
| Luxembourgish | wichtegkeet | ||
| Maltese | importanza | ||
| The Maltese word 'importanza' is derived from the Italian 'importanza', which in turn comes from the Latin 'importare', meaning 'to bring in' or 'to import'. | |||
| Norwegian | betydning | ||
| The word "betydning" in Norwegian comes from the Old Norse word "bera," meaning "to carry" or "to support." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | importância | ||
| Portuguese "importância" comes from Latin "importare" (import) and has acquired a wider meaning, also referring to significance or value. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cudromachd | ||
| "Cudromachd" is ultimately derived from the French "condromachia," meaning "a boxing match" or "a fist fight." | |||
| Spanish | importancia | ||
| The Spanish word "importancia" derives from the Latin word "importāre," meaning "to bring in" or "to introduce." | |||
| Swedish | betydelse | ||
| "Betydelse" means "importance" in Swedish, but can also mean "meaning" or "significance." | |||
| Welsh | pwysigrwydd | ||
| The first element of the word, "pwysig," means "weighty" or "significant," and can be seen in many other words, such as "pwys" (weight), "pwysau" (to weigh), and "pwysiant" (weightiness). | |||
Importance in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | важнасць | ||
| The word "важнасць" also has the archaic meaning of "pregnancy" or "importance attached to something". | |||
| Bosnian | važnost | ||
| The Bosnian word "važnost" also means "weighing" or "measurement". | |||
| Bulgarian | значение | ||
| "Значение" also refers to a digit in Russian numeral system. | |||
| Czech | důležitost | ||
| The word "důležitost" is derived from the Old Czech word "dlúhý", meaning "long", and refers to the significance or weight of something. | |||
| Estonian | tähtsust | ||
| In the Finnish language, tähtis means "important"; in Estonian tähtis means "star". The Estonian word tähtsust ("importance") is derived from the latter meaning. | |||
| Finnish | merkitys | ||
| The word "merkitys" in Finnish also shares the same root as the word "merkki" (sign), as both are derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*merki". | |||
| Hungarian | fontosságát | ||
| "Fontos" can mean "important" or "important person" ("dignitary"). | |||
| Latvian | nozīme | ||
| The word "nozīme" also has the meaning of "sign" or "symbol". | |||
| Lithuanian | svarba | ||
| In Sanskrit, “svar” means “sound,” and “bha” means “giving birth,” thus implying that “svarba” means the capacity to manifest sound. | |||
| Macedonian | важноста | ||
| The word "важноста" ("importance") in Macedonian, originates from "вага" ("weight"). | |||
| Polish | znaczenie | ||
| The Polish word "znaczenie" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *(s)ъ-znati*, meaning "to know", and is cognate with the English word "significance". | |||
| Romanian | importanţă | ||
| The Romanian word "importanţă" comes from the Latin word "importantia", which means "the act of bringing in" or "the state of being brought in". | |||
| Russian | важность | ||
| The Russian word "важность" (importance) also means "heaviness" or "weight". | |||
| Serbian | значај | ||
| The word "значај" derives from the verb "значити", which means "to mean" or "to signify". | |||
| Slovak | dôležitosť | ||
| "...dôležitosť [comes] from the Slavic base *del-, meaning “to divide,” thus indicating something that is divided from the rest and therefore important." | |||
| Slovenian | pomembnost | ||
| "Pomembnost" is derived from the Slovene noun "pomen" (meaning) and the suffix "-ost" (state or quality) and it can also mean "significance" or "consequence". | |||
| Ukrainian | значення | ||
| The word "значення" in Ukrainian can also mean "value" or "significance". | |||
Importance in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | গুরুত্ব | ||
| The word "গুরুত্ব" also means "weight" in Bengali, which reflects the idea that things that are important have weight or significance. | |||
| Gujarati | મહત્વ | ||
| The word "મહત્વ" derives from the Sanskrit root "मह" (great) and has cognate words in other Indo-Aryan languages with the same meaning. | |||
| Hindi | महत्त्व | ||
| The word "महत्त्व" is also rooted in Sanskrit, deriving from the word "महत्", which means "great" or "magnificent" | |||
| Kannada | ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ | ||
| Malayalam | പ്രാധാന്യം | ||
| {"text": "പ്രാധാന്യം is a Malayalam word derived from the Sanskrit शब्द "प्रधान्य" (pradhānya) meaning "pre-eminent, chief" or "first, foremost". It also shares a root with the English words "preferable" and "priority" through Proto-Indo-European *per- ("forward, before")."} | |||
| Marathi | महत्त्व | ||
| The word "महत्त्व" comes from the Sanskrit word "महत्त्व", which also means "greatness" or "magnitude." | |||
| Nepali | महत्व | ||
| "महत्व" is derived from the Sanskrit word "मह", meaning great or important, and the suffix "-त्व", meaning quality or state. | |||
| Punjabi | ਮਹੱਤਤਾ | ||
| The word "ਮਹੱਤਤਾ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "महत्त्व" (mahattva), which means "greatness, importance, or significance." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වැදගත්කම | ||
| Tamil | முக்கியத்துவம் | ||
| Telugu | ప్రాముఖ్యత | ||
| The word "ప్రాముఖ్యత" can also be used in the context of significance or prominence, denoting something's notable or influential nature. | |||
| Urdu | اہمیت | ||
| The word "اہمیت" is derived from the Persian word "اهم", meaning "weight" and is also used to describe a matter of great consequence. | |||
Importance in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 重要性 | ||
| The word "重要" is composed of two characters: "重" (heavy) and "要" (essential), both of which contribute to its meaning of "importance". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 重要性 | ||
| "重要" comes from "重" (heavy) and "要" (need), referring to something crucial for a system to work properly. | |||
| Japanese | 重要性 | ||
| The kanji can also mean "to hold in the heart" or "to attach importance to". | |||
| Korean | 중요성 | ||
| '중요성' is a sino-korean word composed of '중' ('heavy'), '요' ('necessity'), and '성' ('characteristic'). It can also mean 'gravity' or 'weight'. | |||
| Mongolian | ач холбогдол | ||
| The word "ач холбогдол" (importance) is a calque of the Russian word "важность" (importance). In other contexts, it can also mean "urgency". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အရေးကြီးပုံ | ||
Importance in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pentingnya | ||
| "Pentingnya" is cognate with the Malay word "penting", which means "tightly bound". In Indonesian, "penting" has retained this meaning but has also taken on the figurative meaning of "important". | |||
| Javanese | pentinge | ||
| The Javanese word "pentinge" also means "to be careful" or "to be attentive". | |||
| Khmer | សារៈសំខាន់ | ||
| The word "សារៈសំខាន់" also means "essence" or "substance" in Khmer, highlighting the idea that importance lies in the core nature of something. | |||
| Lao | ຄວາມ ສຳ ຄັນ | ||
| Malay | kepentingan | ||
| In Sanskrit, 'kepenting' carries religious or spiritual implications, suggesting a sacred aspect of value or weight. | |||
| Thai | ความสำคัญ | ||
| The Thai word "ความสำคัญ" derives from the Sanskrit word "mahattva", which also means "greatness" or "significance". | |||
| Vietnamese | tầm quan trọng | ||
| The term "tầm quan trọng" comes from the Chinese words "重" (tầm) meaning "heavy" and "要" (quan) meaning "essential". These characters were used in the context of a balance scale, where the heavier side would have more importance. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kahalagahan | ||
Importance in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | əhəmiyyət | ||
| "Əhəmiyyət" derives from Arabic "'ahimmat" which connotes "meaningless, nonentity" with the addition of a privative particle " | |||
| Kazakh | маңыздылығы | ||
| Kyrgyz | маанилүүлүгү | ||
| The word "маанилүүлүгү" in Kyrgyz also refers to the "significance" or "centrality" of something. | |||
| Tajik | аҳамият | ||
| The word "аҳамият" in Tajik means "importance", "significance" and is related to the Arabic word "أهمية" and the Persian word "اهمیت" with the same meaning. | |||
| Turkmen | ähmiýeti | ||
| Uzbek | ahamiyati | ||
| The Uzbek word "ahamiyati" is derived from the Arabic word "aham", meaning "more important". | |||
| Uyghur | مۇھىم | ||
Importance in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mea nui | ||
| "Mea nui" literally translates to "big thing" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | hiranga | ||
| Hiranga, derived from the root word 'hiringo', also signifies 'to seek', 'to desire', and 'to think'. | |||
| Samoan | taua | ||
| The Samoan word taua can also refer to war or battle. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kahalagahan | ||
| "Kahalagahan" is derived from the root word "halaga," which means "value" or "worth." | |||
Importance in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | wakiskirïtapa | ||
| Guarani | importancia rehegua | ||
Importance in International Languages
| Esperanto | graveco | ||
| The word "graveco" has its origin in the Latin word "gravis," meaning "heavy" or "serious." | |||
| Latin | momenti | ||
| Momenti can also mean "part of a time" or "moment". | |||
Importance in Others Languages
| Greek | σημασια | ||
| Σημασία originates from the word "σημα", meaning "mark or sign", indicating its role in conveying meaning or value. | |||
| Hmong | qhov tseem ceeb | ||
| The Hmong word “qhov tseem ceeb” literally means “the thing that is tied to the heart.” | |||
| Kurdish | giringî | ||
| The Kurdish term "giringî" can also be used to refer to the significance of a subject, an event, or a person. | |||
| Turkish | önem | ||
| The word "önem" also has the meaning of "care" or "attention" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | ukubaluleka | ||
| The word "ukubaluleka" in Xhosa also carries the connotation of "worthiness" or "value". | |||
| Yiddish | וויכטיקייט | ||
| The Yiddish word "וויכטיקייט" (viktikayt) literally means "weightiness" and is related to the German word "wichtig" (important). | |||
| Zulu | ukubaluleka | ||
| "Ukubaluleka" is derived from the verb "ukubaluleka," which means "to weigh or value something." | |||
| Assamese | গুৰুত্ব | ||
| Aymara | wakiskirïtapa | ||
| Bhojpuri | महत्व के बा | ||
| Dhivehi | މުހިންމުކަން | ||
| Dogri | महत्व देना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kahalagahan | ||
| Guarani | importancia rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | kinapateg | ||
| Krio | impɔtant tin fɔ du | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گرنگی | ||
| Maithili | महत्व | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯨꯑꯣꯏꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | pawimawhna a ni | ||
| Oromo | barbaachisummaa isaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗୁରୁତ୍ୱ | ||
| Quechua | importancia nisqa | ||
| Sanskrit | महत्त्वम् | ||
| Tatar | мөһимлеге | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣገዳስነት ኣለዎ። | ||
| Tsonga | nkoka | ||