Investigate in Different Languages
Discover 'Investigate' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Investigating is a crucial human activity that has been present throughout history, helping us uncover truths, solve mysteries, and make informed decisions. From Sherlock Holmes to modern-day detectives, the significance of investigation in various aspects of life cannot be overstated. Moreover, understanding the concept of investigation in different languages broadens our cultural horizons and fosters effective communication.
For instance, the French translation of 'investigate' is 'enquêter', which is derived from the Old French 'enquérir', meaning 'to seek out'. Meanwhile, in Spanish, 'investigar' stems from the Latin 'vestigare', meaning 'to track'. These translations not only provide linguistic insights but also highlight the historical context of investigation as a concept.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or someone who simply wants to expand their vocabulary, understanding the translation of 'investigate' in various languages can be a rewarding journey. Let's delve into the fascinating world of investigation and language!
Investigate
Investigate in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ondersoek | ||
| "Ondesoek" is cognate with the Dutch "onderzoek", and both go back to Proto-Germanic *and-sukjaną (“search for something lost”) | |||
| Amharic | መርምር | ||
| The word "መርምር" in Amharic also refers to examination, research, or inquiry. | |||
| Hausa | bincika | ||
| "Bincika" also means to reveal/show/demonstrate in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | ichoputa | ||
| Ichoputa is derived from the Igbo words 'icho' ('look') and 'puta' ('come out'), likely referring to the act of uncovering hidden information. | |||
| Malagasy | fanadihadiana | ||
| The word "fanadihadiana" can also mean "to study" or "to examine" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | fufuzani | ||
| The word 'fufuzani' originates from a verb that primarily refers to searching for food. | |||
| Shona | tsvaga | ||
| The word "tsvaga" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Bantu word "-sag-, -cag" meaning "to search" or "to look for". | |||
| Somali | baarid | ||
| "Baarid" also refers to a traditional Somali game involving poetry and riddles. | |||
| Sesotho | batlisisa | ||
| The word "batlisisa" is also used to refer to an "investigation" or "inquiry". | |||
| Swahili | chunguza | ||
| The verb "chunguza" in Swahili can also mean "to examine" or "to analyze" | |||
| Xhosa | phanda | ||
| "Phanda" also means "to be suspicious or doubtful." | |||
| Yoruba | se iwadi | ||
| The verb "se iwadi" in Yoruba also denotes the act of researching, studying, or examining something in depth. | |||
| Zulu | phenya | ||
| The Zulu word "phenya" also means "to expose", "to reveal", or "to make known". | |||
| Bambara | ka fɛsɛfɛsɛ | ||
| Ewe | ku nu me | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gukora iperereza | ||
| Lingala | kolandela | ||
| Luganda | okunoonyereza | ||
| Sepedi | nyakišiša | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hwehwɛ mu | ||
Investigate in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | التحقيق | ||
| In Arabic, "التحقيق" not only means "investigate," but also refers to "verification" or "examination." | |||
| Hebrew | לַחקוֹר | ||
| The Hebrew word 'לחקור' can also mean 'to search' or 'to inquire'. | |||
| Pashto | پلټنه | ||
| پلټنه in Pashto comes from the word 'پل' meaning 'to go', suggesting an active search. | |||
| Arabic | التحقيق | ||
| In Arabic, "التحقيق" not only means "investigate," but also refers to "verification" or "examination." | |||
Investigate in Western European Languages
| Albanian | hetoj | ||
| "Hetoj" is derived from Proto-Albanian "*hɛdʰ-to-" (to ask), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European root "*(s)kʰed-" (to ask, inquire), found also in Greek "ἱκνέομαι" (hiknéomai, to come, reach, arrive). | |||
| Basque | ikertu | ||
| "Ikertu" is the Basque translation of the Spanish word "investigar". It originates from the Latin word "inquirere", meaning "to search" or "to inquire". | |||
| Catalan | investigar | ||
| "Investigar" en catalán significa "ir a una isla" o "visitar". | |||
| Croatian | istraga | ||
| The Croatian word "istraga" comes from the verb "istragati," meaning "inquire or scrutinize." | |||
| Danish | undersøge | ||
| The noun "undersøgelse" can refer to an "investigation", "inquiry" or "examination". | |||
| Dutch | onderzoeken | ||
| In Dutch, 'onderzoeken' initially meant 'to search under' but evolved to mean 'investigate' or 'examine'. | |||
| English | investigate | ||
| The word "investigate" comes from the Latin word "vestigare," meaning "to track or trace," and is related to the word "vestigium," meaning "footprint." | |||
| French | enquêter | ||
| From the Latin "inquirere", meaning "to seek into". | |||
| Frisian | ûndersykje | ||
| The Frisian word "ûndersykje" is derived from the Old Frisian word "undersakje", meaning "to seek out" or "to inquire into". The word can also be used with the meaning of "to search" or "to examine". | |||
| Galician | investigar | ||
| Galician word "investigar" derives from Latin "investigare" (track down, search out) and also means "to find out, to inquire." | |||
| German | untersuchen | ||
| "Untersuchen" comes from Middle High German "untersuochen," meaning "to search under". | |||
| Icelandic | rannsaka | ||
| "Rann" in "rannsaka" means "robbery", "search" and "to take away" which might reflect that investigations historically had the aspect of searching and robbing. | |||
| Irish | imscrúdú | ||
| "Imscrúdú" is a verb in Irish which can also mean "to examine" or "to explore." | |||
| Italian | indagare | ||
| The word "indagare" derives from the Latin "indagare," meaning "to trace or search out." | |||
| Luxembourgish | ermëttelen | ||
| The word "ermëttelen" comes from the Old High German word "ermitteln", which means "to discover" or "to determine". | |||
| Maltese | tinvestiga | ||
| The Maltese word "tinvestiga" is derived from the Italian word "investigare", meaning "to investigate", and has a similar meaning in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | undersøke | ||
| Undersøke is a Norwegian word meaning 'to investigate' and comes from two words: under, meaning 'under' or 'below', and søke, meaning 'to seek'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | investigar | ||
| The Portuguese word 'investigar' originally meant 'to follow a trail' or 'to search for' something. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | sgrùdadh | ||
| The word "sgrùdadh" can also mean "to scrutinize" or "to examine". | |||
| Spanish | investigar | ||
| The Spanish word "investigar" originally meant to "follow tracks" in Latin. | |||
| Swedish | undersöka | ||
| The word "undersöka" in Swedish literally means "to look under". | |||
| Welsh | ymchwilio | ||
| 'Ymachwilio' is the Welsh verb for 'investigate' but also has archaic meanings of 'to inquire' and 'to ask'. | |||
Investigate in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | расследаваць | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "investigate," "расследаваць" can also mean "to study" or "to examine." | |||
| Bosnian | istražiti | ||
| "Istražiti" is related to "istraga," which is a noun meaning "research," or "exploration." | |||
| Bulgarian | разследва | ||
| "Разследвам" (investigate) derives from a word meaning "trail" and "inquiry"" | |||
| Czech | vyšetřovat | ||
| "Vyšetřovat" also means "clean up a crime scene." | |||
| Estonian | uurima | ||
| The verb "uurima" also has the alternative meaning of "to inquire" or "to ask." | |||
| Finnish | tutkia | ||
| "Tutkia" is derived from the Proto-Finnic verb *tutk-, meaning "to grope" or "to examine". | |||
| Hungarian | kivizsgálni | ||
| "Kivizsgálni" is a verb that is derived from the noun "kivizsgálás", which in turn is derived from the verb "vizsgál" (to examine). It can also be used to mean "to examine thoroughly" or "to investigate formally (e.g. in medical practice)". | |||
| Latvian | izmeklēt | ||
| "Izmeklēt" literally means "to search out", coming from the Latvian word "meklēt" which means "to search". | |||
| Lithuanian | ištirti | ||
| The Lithuanian word "ištirti" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ster-**, meaning "to spread out" or "to scatter". | |||
| Macedonian | истражи | ||
| The word "истражи" is derived from the Slavic root "strag", meaning "fear", and originally meant "to be afraid of something." | |||
| Polish | zbadać | ||
| The word "zbadać" can also mean "to examine" or "to check" | |||
| Romanian | investiga | ||
| "Investiga" means "to investigate" in Romanian, but is etymologically unrelated to the English word "investigate." | |||
| Russian | исследовать | ||
| "Исследовать" means not only "investigate", but also "explore" and "study". | |||
| Serbian | истражити | ||
| The verb 'истражити' can also mean 'to search' or 'to explore' in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | vyšetrovať | ||
| "Vyšetrovať" is derived from the verb "šetrovať", meaning "to save" or "to protect". | |||
| Slovenian | preiskati | ||
| Preiskati has a second meaning, 'to transplant', which comes from the German word 'verpflanzen' | |||
| Ukrainian | дослідити | ||
| The Ukrainian word “дослідити” (“investigate”) derives from the Proto-Slavic word *dosьlěditi, meaning “to follow after”. | |||
Investigate in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | তদন্ত | ||
| The word "তদন্ত" (investigate) in Bengali also means "to ascertain" or "to find out". | |||
| Gujarati | તપાસ | ||
| The term 'તપાસ' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'tāp' meaning 'to burn or purify' and can also refer to a test or examination. | |||
| Hindi | छान - बीन करना | ||
| The term "छान - बीन करना" is derived from the terms छान (to sieve or filter) and बीन (to pick out or select) meaning to examine carefully or investigate. | |||
| Kannada | ತನಿಖೆ | ||
| The word "ತನಿಖೆ" can also refer to the act of inquiring or examining something. | |||
| Malayalam | അന്വേഷിക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | चौकशी | ||
| "चौकशी" is derived from the word "चौक", meaning "square" or "court", and refers to the process of examining or questioning someone in a formal setting. | |||
| Nepali | अनुसन्धान | ||
| अनुसंधान is derived from the Sanskrit words 'anu' (after) and 'sandhana' (search), and also means 'research' or 'exploration'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਪੜਤਾਲ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විමර්ශනය | ||
| විමර්ශනය comes from the Sanskrit root 'mriś', meaning 'to search, examine, or investigate' and is also related to the English word 'mystery'. | |||
| Tamil | விசாரணை | ||
| Telugu | దర్యాప్తు | ||
| దర్యాప్తు is derived from the Persian word 'daryaft' which means 'to find out' or 'to understand'. | |||
| Urdu | چھان بین | ||
| "چھان بین" can also mean "scrutiny," "inquiry," or "examination" in Urdu. | |||
Investigate in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 调查 | ||
| The word “调查” initially referred to the measurement of land area. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 調查 | ||
| 在早期，“调查”的本义是“勘验尸体，追究死因”，借指审问罪犯，引申为一般意义上的“查访研究，探求真相。” | |||
| Japanese | 調査する | ||
| 調査する can also be read as "chousasuru" or "tousasuru". | |||
| Korean | 조사하다 | ||
| "조사하다" could also refer to research conducted on a particular subject to find out information, and can be synonymous with "연구하다". | |||
| Mongolian | шалгах | ||
| The word "шалгах" also means "to inquire, to ask, to question" in Mongolian. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စုံစမ်းစစ်ဆေး | ||
Investigate in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menyelidiki | ||
| "Menyelidiki" has several meanings such as "to trace" and "to find out" in addition to "to investigate." | |||
| Javanese | nyelidiki | ||
| The word "nyelidiki" also means "to search for information" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ស៊ើបអង្កេត | ||
| Lao | ສືບສວນ | ||
| The word "ສືບສວນ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "svīkṣaṇa", which means "to examine, inspect, or investigate." | |||
| Malay | siasat | ||
| "Siasat" can also mean "politics" or "a plan" in Malay. | |||
| Thai | สอบสวน | ||
| สอบสวน comes from the word สอบสวน which means "to ask". The word has been used in the sense of "to question" since the 13th century. | |||
| Vietnamese | điều tra | ||
| The word "điều tra" can also mean "inquiry" or "survey". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | imbestigahan | ||
Investigate in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | araşdırmaq | ||
| The word "araşdırmaq" is derived from the Persian word "araştan", which means "to search" or "to inquire." | |||
| Kazakh | тергеу | ||
| The Kazakh word "тергеу" is derived from the Turkic root "terg-", meaning "to search". | |||
| Kyrgyz | тергөө | ||
| The word "тергөө" is also used in the sense of "to explore" or "to study". | |||
| Tajik | тафтиш кунед | ||
| The word “тафтиш кунед” comes from the Persian word “taftan”, meaning “to examine” or “to search”. | |||
| Turkmen | derňe | ||
| Uzbek | tergov qilish | ||
| The word 'tergov qilish' in the Uzbek language may also refer to 'inquire' or 'look into' beyond its primary meaning of 'investigate'. | |||
| Uyghur | تەكشۈرۈش | ||
Investigate in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | e hoʻokolokolo | ||
| The word "e hoʻokolokolo" can also mean "to study" or "to inquire into". | |||
| Maori | tirotiro | ||
| "Tirotiro" can also mean 'spy' or 'watch', while its plural form, 'tirotirotiro', refers to 'peeping' or 'spying'. | |||
| Samoan | suesue | ||
| Sue sue can also mean 'to sniffle' or 'to search for fleas' in Samoan | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | imbestigahan | ||
| From Spanish "investigar" which is from Latin "vestigare" meaning "to trace out". | |||
Investigate in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | yatxataña | ||
| Guarani | hapykuerereka | ||
Investigate in International Languages
| Esperanto | esplori | ||
| The Esperanto word "esplori" derives from the French word "explorer" which means to scout or search. | |||
| Latin | investigate | ||
| In Latin, 'investigare' originally meant 'to track or trace', from 'in' (in, into) + 'vestigare' (to track). | |||
Investigate in Others Languages
| Greek | ερευνώ | ||
| The word "ερευνώ" (erevnow) has the same root as "έρως" (eros), suggesting a connection between investigation and passionate pursuit. | |||
| Hmong | tshawb nrhiav | ||
| The Hmong word "tshawb nrhiav" can also mean "to search" or "to inquire." | |||
| Kurdish | lêkolîn | ||
| The word lêkolîn is derived from a Persian word that means 'to seek' or 'to find' | |||
| Turkish | incelemek | ||
| Ince (fine, thin) + le (verb making suffix) > ince-le (to make something fine or thin, to examine) | |||
| Xhosa | phanda | ||
| "Phanda" also means "to be suspicious or doubtful." | |||
| Yiddish | פאָרשן | ||
| The Yiddish word "פאָרשן" is derived from the Proto-Germanic verb *furhjan-, meaning "to investigate" or "to explore." | |||
| Zulu | phenya | ||
| The Zulu word "phenya" also means "to expose", "to reveal", or "to make known". | |||
| Assamese | অনুসন্ধান কৰা | ||
| Aymara | yatxataña | ||
| Bhojpuri | छीन-बीन कईल | ||
| Dhivehi | ތަޙުޤީޤުކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | तफ्तीश करना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | imbestigahan | ||
| Guarani | hapykuerereka | ||
| Ilocano | imbestigaran | ||
| Krio | tray fɔ no | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لێکۆڵینەوە | ||
| Maithili | जाँच-पड़ताल करनाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯤꯖꯤꯟ ꯍꯨꯝꯖꯤꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | chhuichiang | ||
| Oromo | qorachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅନୁସନ୍ଧାନ କର | | ||
| Quechua | qawaykachay | ||
| Sanskrit | परिनयति | ||
| Tatar | тикшерү | ||
| Tigrinya | መርምር | ||
| Tsonga | lavisisa | ||