Instead in different languages

Instead in Different Languages

Discover 'Instead' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'instead' is a small but powerful part of the English language. It's a conjunction that signifies a replacement or substitution, and it's used in everyday speech and writing around the world. But have you ever wondered how 'instead' is translated in different languages? Understanding the nuances of this word in various cultures can give you a new perspective on how people communicate and express ideas.

For example, in Spanish, 'instead' is translated as 'en lugar de'. In French, it's 'à la place de'. And in German, it's 'stattdessen'. Each of these translations captures the essence of 'instead', but with subtle differences that reflect the unique characteristics of each language and culture.

Moreover, learning the translation of 'instead' in different languages can be a fun and rewarding experience for language enthusiasts and travelers alike. It's a small but meaningful way to connect with people from different backgrounds and expand your cultural horizons.

So, whether you're a student of language, a globetrotter, or just someone who's curious about the world, join us as we explore the many translations of 'instead' in different languages.

Instead


Instead in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansin plaas daarvan
This Afrikaans word derives from the Dutch phrase “in plaats daarvan.”
Amharicበምትኩ
The root word of "በምትኩ" is "መቶኩ" which means "a bit" or "a little"
Hausamaimakon haka
This word can also mean “rather” or “on the contrary,” as in “Maimakon haka, na yi shi differently,” for “Rather than that, I did it differently.”
Igbokama
"Kama" can also mean "to exchange" or "to trade" in the Igbo language.
Malagasyfa tsy
The Malagasy word "fa tsy" derives from the Proto-Austronesian word "pa-ta-si", and can also mean "in order not to" or "for fear of".
Nyanja (Chichewa)m'malo mwake
The word 'm'malo mwake' in Nyanja (Chichewa) can also mean 'at the same time' or 'meanwhile'.
Shonapachinzvimbo
The word "pachinzvimbo" in Shona can also refer to a replacement or substitute.
Somalihalkii
In the Somali language, the word "halkii" can also refer to a place or a time in the past.
Sesothoho ena le hoo
The word "ho ena le hoo" can also mean "to take the place of" in Sesotho.
Swahilibadala yake
"Badala yake" can also mean "a replacement" or "in place of".
Xhosaendaweni yoko
The term 'endaweni yoko' in Xhosa can be broken down into 'endaweni' meaning 'in place of' and 'yoko' meaning 'there,' together conveying the concept of substitution.
Yorubadipo
The word "dipo" in Yoruba can also mean "in place of" or "on behalf of" someone.
Zuluesikhundleni salokho
The word 'esikhundleni' can also mean 'in the place of', and 'salokho' can mean 'in place of' or 'in lieu of'.
Bambarano na
Eweɖe eteƒe
Kinyarwandaahubwo
Lingalaolie
Lugandamu kifo kya
Sepedile ge go le bjalo
Twi (Akan)sɛ anka

Instead in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicفي حين أن
The phrase 'في حين أن' also conveys the idea of ‘although’ or ‘while,’ emphasizing the presence of contrary circumstances.
Hebrewבמקום זאת
The word "במקום זאת" is a compound word composed of the noun "מקום" (place) and the preposition "ב" (in), and means "in place of this".
Pashtoپرځای
In addition to its primary meaning of "instead," "پرځای" can also mean "replacement," "substitute," or "proxy."
Arabicفي حين أن
The phrase 'في حين أن' also conveys the idea of ‘although’ or ‘while,’ emphasizing the presence of contrary circumstances.

Instead in Western European Languages

Albaniannë vend të kësaj
The Albanian word "në vend të kësaj" literally means "in place of this" and is used to express the idea of substitution or replacement.
Basquehorren ordez
Its first component "ordez" comes from "ordu" ("host") and the second, "horren," is the genitive singular suffix.
Catalanen canvi
The catalan phrase "en canvi" is used in the sense "but" when "però" is too abrupt.
Croatianumjesto toga
"Umjesto toga" is a compound word consisting of "mjesto" (place) and "to" (it), indicating a change in place or situation.
Danishi stedet
In Danish, "i stedet" literally means "in the spot" which is similar to the English "instead".
Dutchin plaats daarvan
The word "in plaats daarvan" is a contraction of "in de plaats daarvan," which literally means "in the place thereof."
Englishinstead
The word "instead" in English ultimately derives from Old English, meaning "to stay"}
Frenchau lieu
The French phrase "au lieu de" originally meant "in place of" and is derived from the Latin phrase "in loco".
Frisianynstee
The Frisian word "ynstee" is derived from Old Frisian "anstede", which originally meant "place" or "stead".
Galicianno seu lugar
In Galician, "no seu lugar" can also mean "in its own place" or "properly placed".
Germanstattdessen
“Stattdessen” consists of the stem “statt” (place) and the adverb “des” (thereof), and means “in this place” or “on that account”.
Icelandicí staðinn
"Í staðinn" literally means "in the place" and can also refer to a replacement or substitute.
Irishina ionad
"Ina ionad" is also an idiomatic expression meaning "in place of".
Italiananziché
The word "anziché" derives from the Latin phrase "ante quam", meaning "before what".
Luxembourgishamplaz
The word "amplaz" is derived from the Latin word "in place" and is used in Luxembourgish to express the idea of a substitute or replacement.
Malteseminflok
The word "minflok" is derived from the Italian word "invece".
Norwegiani stedet
The Norwegian word "i stedet" literally means "in the place" and can also mean "instead of" or "in lieu of".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)em vez de
"Em vez de" is the Portuguese equivalent of the prepositional phrase "in place of". In addition to its primary meaning of "instead", it can also be used to describe a substitute or replacement.
Scots Gaelican àite sin
Historically, "an àite sin" meant "in place of that" or "rather" and was used to avoid saying something negative about the subject of a sentence.
Spanishen lugar
The phrase "en lugar" can also mean "in place of" or "instead of" in Spanish.
Swedishistället
Istället is originally a prepositional phrase and still means literally 'in the stead' of something else.
Welshyn lle
The word 'yn lle' is also used in Welsh to express 'in place of' or 'on behalf of'.

Instead in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianзамест гэтага
The phrase "замест гэтага" can also mean "by means of this" or "to replace something" in more formal contexts.
Bosnianumjesto toga
"Umjesto toga" derives from "mjesto" (place) and literally means "in place of "}
Bulgarianвместо
The word "вместо" in Bulgarian can also mean "in place of" or "as a substitute for".
Czechnamísto
"Namísto" (instead) comes from the Proto-Slavic root "naměstъ", meaning "substitute".
Estonianselle asemel
Selle asemel shares its stem with many other words in Estonian, such as asetus (condition), asetada (to place), and asend (exchange, substitution, replacement, position).
Finnishsen sijaan
Sen sijaan literally means 'in its place', as sijaan means 'in stead' but can also mean 'in spite of'.
Hungarianhelyette
The word "helyette" in Hungarian comes from the words "hely" (place) and "ett" (this).
Latviantā vietā
The word "tā vietā" can also mean "in that place" or "in his/her place".
Lithuanianvietoj to
The word "vietoj to" is a contraction of the words "vietoj togo" which means "instead of that" in Lithuanian.
Macedonianнаместо тоа
The etymology of the Macedonian word "наместо тоа" is likely related to the Proto-Indo-European root "*kʰem-", which also gave rise to the English word "home".
Polishzamiast
The word "zamiast" derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "zamĕstiti", meaning "to replace" or "to substitute".
Romanianin schimb
The word "in schimb" in Romanian shares the same root with "change" in English, and it can also mean "exchange" or "in return".
Russianвместо
"Вместо" also has the meaning of "in place of" or "in the absence of".
Serbianуместо тога
Уместо тога is derived from the Serbian words 'умјесто' (instead of) and 'тако' (so), and can also mean 'however' or 'in that case'.
Slovaknamiesto toho
The Slovak word "namiesto" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "naměsto", meaning "in place of" or "on behalf of."
Sloveniannamesto tega
The word 'namesto tega' literally means 'in the place of this'.
Ukrainianнатомість
The Ukrainian word for "instead," натомість, is derived from the preposition на, which means "on," and the noun місце, meaning "place." Thus, the full meaning of натомість is "in place of".

Instead in South Asian Languages

Bengaliপরিবর্তে
The Bengali word "পরিবর্তে" ("instead") can also mean "in exchange for" or "as a replacement for".
Gujaratiતેના બદલે
The word "instead" derives from the Old English "in stede," meaning "in place (of)" or "in position (of)"
Hindiबजाय
बजाय (instead) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'vikalpa' meaning 'alternative' or 'option'.
Kannadaಬದಲಾಗಿ
In English, "badalaagi" is an adverb which means to perform an act instead of something else, swap, change one for another, or exchange.
Malayalamപകരം
"പകരം" is related to "പക്വ" (cooked), as the substitute for an object is also considered 'ripe' in its own way, hence deserving the title 'instead'"
Marathiत्याऐवजी
The word "त्याऐवजी" can also be used to mean "in place of" or "as a substitute for".
Nepaliसट्टा
The word 'सट्टा' can also mean 'guess' or 'wager' in Nepali, indicating its association with uncertainty and chance.
Punjabiਇਸ ਦੀ ਬਜਾਏ
The word "ਇਸ ਦੀ ਬਜਾਏ" comes from the word "इसके" in Hindi which means "this", and the word "बजाय" which means "instead".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)වෙනුවට
"වෙනුවට" is used in the context of 'on behalf of' and 'in place of'
Tamilஅதற்கு பதிலாக
Teluguబదులుగా
"బదులుగా" can also mean 'instead of' or 'in place of' in English.
Urduاس کے بجائے

Instead in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)代替
代替 (dàitì) also means "to take the place of"
Chinese (Traditional)代替
代替 is a combination of the characters 代 (dài, "to act on behalf of") and 替 (tì, "to replace").
Japanese代わりに
"代わりに" can be used with a verb in the negative form to convey "to refrain from doing something" (doing something no longer).
Korean대신
The word "대신" originated from the Chinese word "代身", meaning "to take the place of someone or something".
Mongolianоронд нь
The Mongolian word "оронд нь" can also mean "in place of" or "in lieu of".
Myanmar (Burmese)အစား
အစား can also mean

Instead in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiansebagai gantinya
Sebagai gantinya contains ganti, root of several words about changes: ganteng (handsome), ganti (change), menggunting (cut), menukar (exchange).
Javanesetinimbang
The word "tinimbang" also means "balance" or "measure" in Javanese.
Khmerជំនួស
The word ជំនួស (instead) can also mean "substitute" or "alternative."
Laoແທນທີ່ຈະ
Malaysebaliknya
In Indonesian, "sebaliknya" can also mean "on the contrary" or "conversely."
Thaiแทน
The word "แทน" can also mean "to represent" or "on behalf of".
Vietnamesethay thế
Thay thế can also mean "to replace" or "to substitute", and is derived from the Chinese word "tàidì" (替代).
Filipino (Tagalog)sa halip

Instead in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniəvəzinə
The word "əvəzinə" can also mean "in return" or "in exchange for".
Kazakhорнына
The word "орнына" (instead) in Kazakh comes from the verb "орнату" (to replace), and can also mean "in place of" or "as a substitute".
Kyrgyzордуна
The word "ордуна" in Kyrgyz also refers to something being done simultaneously with another action.
Tajikба ҷои
The word "ба ҷои" is derived from Persian and literally means "in the place of".
Turkmenýerine
Uzbeko'rniga
The word "o'rniga" can also mean "in place of" or "as a substitute for" in Uzbek.
Uyghurئۇنىڭ ئورنىغا

Instead in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianma kahi
The word "ma kahi" can also mean "in place of" or "in lieu of".
Maorihei utu mo
"Hei utu mo" can also mean "in return for" or "to compensate for".
Samoannai lo lena
The word "nai lo lena" in Samoan is a contraction of the phrase "nai lo le mea lea," which literally means "in the place of the thing there."
Tagalog (Filipino)sa halip
"Sa halip" is also an idiom meaning "to take the place of" or "to substitute".

Instead in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaramaysatxa
Guaranirãngue

Instead in International Languages

Esperantoanstataŭe
"Anstataŭe" is Esperanto for "instead", but it literally means "in place of (ansto)" (or to stand for something).
Latinpro
The Latin "pro" can also mean "in front of" or "in behalf of".

Instead in Others Languages

Greekαντι αυτου
The word "αντι αυτου" in Greek can literally mean "in exchange for him" and it can be used not only in the sense of replacement but also as a price.
Hmonghloov
Hmong word "hloov" can also mean "exchange"
Kurdishdi ber
The origin of the Kurdish word "di ber" can be traced back to the Old Persian preposition "upari-bar," meaning "on top," or "above."
Turkishyerine
The word 'yerine' is also used in Turkish to mean 'your place' or 'your position'.
Xhosaendaweni yoko
The term 'endaweni yoko' in Xhosa can be broken down into 'endaweni' meaning 'in place of' and 'yoko' meaning 'there,' together conveying the concept of substitution.
Yiddishאַנשטאָט
אַנשטאָט derives from Middle High German "an stete", which means "in the place of".
Zuluesikhundleni salokho
The word 'esikhundleni' can also mean 'in the place of', and 'salokho' can mean 'in place of' or 'in lieu of'.
Assameseইয়াৰ পৰিৱৰ্তে
Aymaramaysatxa
Bhojpuriबदला में
Dhivehiބަދަލުގައި
Dogriबजाए
Filipino (Tagalog)sa halip
Guaranirãngue
Ilocanosaan ketdi a
Kriobifo dat
Kurdish (Sorani)لەجیاتی
Maithiliक' बदला मे
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯍꯨꯠ
Mizoaiah
Oromobakka isaa
Odia (Oriya)ଏହା ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତେ
Quechuaaswanpas
Sanskritतत्स्थाने
Tatarурынына
Tigrinyaከክንዲ
Tsongaematshan'wini

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