Investigator in Different Languages
Discover 'Investigator' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
An investigator is a person who conducts investigations, inquiring into various matters to uncover the truth. The significance of investigators extends beyond law enforcement, as they play crucial roles in fields such as journalism, healthcare, and science. The cultural importance of investigators is evident in the popularity of detective stories and crime dramas, which reflect society's fascination with unraveling mysteries and seeking justice.
Delving into the word's historical context, the concept of an 'investigator' can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where officials were tasked with examining crimes and legal matters. Today, the term is used in various languages to describe professionals who dig deep to find answers.
For those interested in language and culture, understanding the translation of 'investigator' in different languages can provide valuable insights. Here are a few examples:
- Spanish: investigador
- French: enquêteur
- German: Ermittler
- Italian: investigatore
- Russian: расследователь (rasledovatel')
Investigator
Investigator in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ondersoeker | ||
| The Afrikaans word "ondersoeker" can also mean "researcher" or "examiner". | |||
| Amharic | መርማሪ | ||
| The word "መርማሪ" in Amharic can also refer to a spy or a detective. | |||
| Hausa | mai bincike | ||
| 'Mai bincike' also means 'researcher'. | |||
| Igbo | onye nchoputa | ||
| The Igbo word "onye nchoputa" is derived from "choputa," meaning "to seek diligently" or "to investigate"} | |||
| Malagasy | naman'ny fiangonana | ||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | wofufuza | ||
| "Wofufuza" also means "one who is always prying" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | muongorori | ||
| The word "muongorori" can also refer to a detective or secret agent. | |||
| Somali | baaraha | ||
| The word "baaraha" in Somali is derived from the Arabic word "baaraha", meaning "to search" or "to investigate". | |||
| Sesotho | mofuputsi | ||
| "Mofuputsi" also refers to a detective or someone who gathers information. | |||
| Swahili | mchunguzi | ||
| "Mchunguzi" also means "researcher" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | umphandi | ||
| The Xhosa word "umphandi" is also used in the sense of "discoverer" or "explorer". | |||
| Yoruba | oluwadi | ||
| The Yoruba word "oluwadi" is a compound of the words "olu" (chief, head) and "iwa" (character), implying that an investigator possesses strong personal qualities. | |||
| Zulu | umphenyi | ||
| In Nguni languages, 'umphenyi' can also refer to someone who gathers or seeks information, not necessarily as part of an official investigation. | |||
| Bambara | sɛgɛsɛgɛlikɛla | ||
| Ewe | numekula | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ushinzwe iperereza | ||
| Lingala | molukiluki | ||
| Luganda | omunoonyereza | ||
| Sepedi | monyakišiši | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nhwehwɛmufo | ||
Investigator in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | محقق | ||
| The word "محقق" can also mean "verifier" or "researcher" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | חוֹקֵר | ||
| The Hebrew term "חוקר," meaning "investigator," originates in the root word חקר (chakar) that signifies probing into something deeply. | |||
| Pashto | پلټونکی | ||
| "پلټونکی" (investigator) is derived from the Pashto verb "پلټول" (to search or investigate) and the suffix "-ونکی" (agent noun suffix). It can also refer to someone who conducts research or an inquiry. | |||
| Arabic | محقق | ||
| The word "محقق" can also mean "verifier" or "researcher" in Arabic. | |||
Investigator in Western European Languages
| Albanian | hetuesi | ||
| "Hetuesi" is derived from Latin "investigatus" (to pursue), and also denotes a researcher or scholar. | |||
| Basque | ikertzailea | ||
| The Basque word "ikertzailea" (investigator) also means "thinker" or "researcher". | |||
| Catalan | investigador | ||
| The Catalan word "investigador" comes from the Latin word "investigare", meaning "to track or search out". | |||
| Croatian | istraživač | ||
| The Croatian word 'istraživač' derives from the Old Church Slavonic word 'istražiti', meaning 'to search out' or 'to examine'. | |||
| Danish | efterforsker | ||
| "Efterforsker" is the Danish word for "investigator", derived from the German word "erforschen", meaning "to explore" or "to investigate." | |||
| Dutch | onderzoeker | ||
| The Dutch word "onderzoeker" can also mean "researcher". | |||
| English | investigator | ||
| The word "investigator" is derived from the Latin word "investigare", meaning "to track or search out". | |||
| French | enquêteur | ||
| The French word "enquêteur" is derived from the Latin word "inquirere," meaning "to inquire" or "to seek information." | |||
| Frisian | ûndersiker | ||
| The term 'ûndersiker' is thought to be a loan word or an archaism of 'onderzoeker' in Dutch. | |||
| Galician | investigador | ||
| O termo "investigador" deriva do latín "investigare", que significa "procurar" ou "descubrir". | |||
| German | ermittler | ||
| "Ermittler" comes from the verb "ermitteln" meaning "to find out" or "to determine". | |||
| Icelandic | rannsakanda | ||
| "Rannsakanda" is derived from "rannsaka," meaning "to search or investigate thoroughly." | |||
| Irish | imscrúdaitheoir | ||
| The Irish word 'imscrúdaitheoir' is derived from the Latin 'investigáre' meaning 'to track down' or 'to pursue'. | |||
| Italian | investigatore | ||
| As an Italian surname, _Investigatore_ literally means “investigator,” but is derived not from the verb _investigare_ but from _investigatore_, a derivative of _investigia_, which in Latin denoted the footprints or tracks left by animals. | |||
| Luxembourgish | enquêteur | ||
| The word "Enquêteur" derives from the Old French word "enquesteur", meaning "one who inquires or investigates". | |||
| Maltese | investigatur | ||
| The word "investigatur" is also used to denote a judicial or police investigator in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | etterforsker | ||
| "Etterforsker" is an Old Norse word that is used to describe a person who investigates something. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | investigador | ||
| The Portuguese word "investigador" also means "researcher" or "inquirer" and is derived from the Latin word "investigare" (to track or search out). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | rannsaiche | ||
| The word "rannsaiche" in Scots Gaelic is also used to refer to a "search" or "inquisition". | |||
| Spanish | investigador | ||
| The word "investigador" in Spanish can also mean "researcher" or "inquirer". | |||
| Swedish | forskare | ||
| The word "forskare" is derived from the Old Norse word "forskoðari", meaning "one who goes before" or "a pioneer". | |||
| Welsh | ymchwilydd | ||
| "Ymchwilydd" can be used humorously to refer to a curious child, with the connotation that they are poking around looking for something interesting. | |||
Investigator in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | следчы | ||
| The word | |||
| Bosnian | istražitelj | ||
| "Istraga" means investigation, while "straga" refers to fear, hence "istraga" is fear-based investigation." | |||
| Bulgarian | следовател | ||
| In Russian, the word "следователь" also means "researcher". | |||
| Czech | vyšetřovatel | ||
| The word "vyšetřovatel" derives from the verb "vyšetřovat", meaning "to investigate" or "to research". | |||
| Estonian | uurija | ||
| The word "uurija" can also be used to refer to a "researcher" or someone engaged in "scientific inquiry" in the Estonian context. | |||
| Finnish | tutkija | ||
| The word "tutkija" is derived from the verb "tutkia", meaning "to investigate" or "to research". | |||
| Hungarian | nyomozó | ||
| The word "nyomozó" also means "detective" and its etymology may derive from the Old Hungarian word "nyom" meaning "track" or "trace". | |||
| Latvian | izmeklētājs | ||
| The Latvian word "izmeklētājs" literally translates to "one who searches through", referring to an investigator's role in examining and searching for evidence. | |||
| Lithuanian | tyrėjas | ||
| The archaic form "tyras" means "clear", and "tyrinėti" means "to make clear, purify, investigate". The root *tir- is also found in "tyras" ("clean, bright, pure"), "tyrumas" ("purity"), "tiryba" ("examination, investigation"), "tyrėjas" ("investigator, researcher"), "tyrinėti" ("to investigate"), and "tyrinėjimas" ("research work, investigation"). In Indo-European languages, this root meant "to cross through" and "to run". It exists today in Lithuanian in "tirpdyti" ("to melt"), and in English "through, thorough", and "torrent". | |||
| Macedonian | истражител | ||
| "Истражител" is also used in the context of mining, where it refers to a person who explores and extracts minerals. | |||
| Polish | badacz | ||
| The word "badacz" in Polish is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "badati", meaning "to look at" or "to observe." | |||
| Romanian | anchetator | ||
| The Romanian word "anchetator" is derived from the French word "enquêteur", which in turn comes from the Latin word "inquisitor". | |||
| Russian | следователь | ||
| The word "следователь" derives from the Russian verb "следовать" (to follow) and initially referred to an official who tracked down fugitives. | |||
| Serbian | истражитељ | ||
| The Serbian word "истражитељ" can also mean "explorer" or "researcher". | |||
| Slovak | vyšetrovateľ | ||
| The Slovak word "vyšetrovateľ" can be traced back to the verb "vyšetriť", meaning "to inquire" or "to investigate", as well as the suffix "-vateľ", denoting an agent or performer of an action, making its literal meaning "one who investigates". | |||
| Slovenian | preiskovalec | ||
| "Preiskovalec" is a derivative of "preiskati" ("to investigate") which is in turn a compound of the prefix "pre-" ("before") and "iskati" ("to search"). | |||
| Ukrainian | слідчий | ||
| The word "слідчий" is derived from the verb "слідити", which means "to follow" or "to track". | |||
Investigator in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | তদন্তকারী | ||
| The word "তদন্তকারী" (investigator) is derived from the Sanskrit root "तपस्" (tapas), meaning "heat, fervor, or asceticism". It can also mean "one who investigates" or "one who inquires". | |||
| Gujarati | તપાસકર્તા | ||
| The Gujarati word "તપાસકર્તા" (investigator) is derived from Persian, where it means, primarily, "police officer". | |||
| Hindi | अन्वेषक | ||
| The word 'अन्वेषक' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'अनु' (anu), meaning 'after' or 'along with', and 'विष' (visha), meaning 'to enter' or 'to investigate'. | |||
| Kannada | ತನಿಖಾಧಿಕಾರಿ | ||
| ತನಿಖಾಧಿಕಾರಿ can also refer to a detective or a police officer in charge of an investigation. | |||
| Malayalam | അന്വേഷകൻ | ||
| The word "അന്വേഷകൻ" derives from Sanskrit "anveṣaka", meaning "a seeker, a searcher, a hunter, an investigator". | |||
| Marathi | अन्वेषक | ||
| The Marathi word 'अन्वेषक' (anvešak) also means 'researcher' or 'explorer'. | |||
| Nepali | अन्वेषक | ||
| The word "अन्वेषक" also means "explorer" or "researcher" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਜਾਂਚਕਰਤਾ | ||
| The term also refers to a person who examines or tests the quality of something. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විමර්ශකයා | ||
| In Sanskrit, the word 'vimarsakaya' literally means 'one who thinks' or 'one who deliberates'. | |||
| Tamil | புலனாய்வாளர் | ||
| Telugu | పరిశోధకుడు | ||
| Urdu | تفتیش کار | ||
| In Urdu, تفتیش کار is also an official who manages the revenue of his division, or a military officer of the old army. | |||
Investigator in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 研究者 | ||
| 研究者 (yanjiuzhe) means researcher and used to describe someone engaged in scientific research. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 研究者 | ||
| 研究者 (yánjiūzhě) is composed of two Chinese characters: 研究 (yánjiū), meaning 'research', and 者 (zhě), indicating a person who does something. | |||
| Japanese | 捜査官 | ||
| 捜査官 originally meant a samurai who acted as an assistant to a feudal lord in Japan. | |||
| Korean | 조사자 | ||
| 조사자 can also mean "examining magistrate" or "inquest officer" | |||
| Mongolian | мөрдөн байцаагч | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စုံစမ်းစစ်ဆေးရေးမှူး | ||
Investigator in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | peneliti | ||
| The Indonesian word "peneliti" has the alternate meaning of "researcher". | |||
| Javanese | penyidik | ||
| "Penyadapan" in Javanese can also mean "listening in on"} | |||
| Khmer | អ្នកស៊ើបអង្កេត | ||
| Lao | ນັກສືບສວນ | ||
| The Lao word "ນັກສືບສວນ" (nak suep sa wan) literally means "person who follows after" or "stalker", and it can also be used to refer to a detective or private investigator. | |||
| Malay | penyiasat | ||
| The word "penyiasat" in Malay literally means "someone who unravels a mystery". | |||
| Thai | ผู้ตรวจสอบ | ||
| "ผู้ตรวจสอบ" is derived from the verb "ตรวจสอบ" (to verify), which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word "परीक्ष" (parīkṣā), meaning "examination" or "test." | |||
| Vietnamese | người điều tra | ||
| The word "người điều tra" comes from the Chinese "调查", which means "to investigate". In Vietnamese, it is often used to refer to a person who investigates crimes or other incidents. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | imbestigador | ||
Investigator in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | müstəntiq | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "müstəntiq" is derived from the Arabic word "mustanṭiqq", which means "one who asks questions". | |||
| Kazakh | тергеуші | ||
| The word "тергеуші" in Kazakh also means "researcher" or "examiner." | |||
| Kyrgyz | тергөөчү | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "тергөөчү" can also mean "auditor" or "inspector". | |||
| Tajik | муфаттиш | ||
| The Tajik word "муфаттиш" ("investigator") is derived from the Persian word "مفتی" ("mufti"), which refers to an Islamic scholar who issues legal opinions. | |||
| Turkmen | sülçi | ||
| Uzbek | tergovchi | ||
| The word "tergovchi" also means "researcher" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | تەھقىقلىگۈچى | ||
Investigator in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mea ʻimi noiʻi | ||
| The Hawaiian word "mea ʻimi noiʻi" can also refer to a researcher or scientist. | |||
| Maori | he kaiwhakataki | ||
| The Maori term 'he kaiwhakataki' also refers to a person who brings about a transformation or change, reflecting the investigative and transformational aspects of this role. | |||
| Samoan | tagata sailiili | ||
| The word "tagata sailiili" in Samoan comes from the words "saili" (to seek) and "ili" (to pursue), signifying the pursuit of knowledge and truth. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | investigator | ||
| The word 'imbestiga' means investigate in Filipino, but can also refer to the act of investigating, and can be used as a noun. | |||
Investigator in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | yatxatiri | ||
| Guarani | investigador rehegua | ||
Investigator in International Languages
| Esperanto | enketisto | ||
| The word 'enketisto' derives from the Greek word 'egkyklistes', meaning 'inquiring person'. | |||
| Latin | hunc quaesitorem | ||
| The term, which means "investigator" in Latin, is derived from the word "huncus," meaning "criminal". Its meaning expanded to include both prosecutor and investigator over time. | |||
Investigator in Others Languages
| Greek | ανακριτής | ||
| The word "ανακριτής" in Greek is derived from the verb "ανακρίνω", which means "to examine" or "to interrogate". | |||
| Hmong | neeg tshawb nrhiav | ||
| Kurdish | lêkolîner | ||
| The word 'lêkolîner' is derived from the Persian word 'lêkolîn' which means 'to investigate' and the Kurdish suffix '-êr' which means 'one who does'. | |||
| Turkish | araştırmacı | ||
| The word araştırmacı is derived from the Arabic word 'araştırma' meaning 'study' or 'research'. | |||
| Xhosa | umphandi | ||
| The Xhosa word "umphandi" is also used in the sense of "discoverer" or "explorer". | |||
| Yiddish | אויספארשער | ||
| In Yiddish, "אויספארשער" can also mean "researcher" or "scholar." | |||
| Zulu | umphenyi | ||
| In Nguni languages, 'umphenyi' can also refer to someone who gathers or seeks information, not necessarily as part of an official investigation. | |||
| Assamese | তদন্তকাৰী | ||
| Aymara | yatxatiri | ||
| Bhojpuri | जांचकर्ता के ह | ||
| Dhivehi | އިންވެސްޓިގޭޓަރެވެ | ||
| Dogri | जांचकर्ता | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | imbestigador | ||
| Guarani | investigador rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | imbestigador | ||
| Krio | invɛstigatɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لێکۆڵەر | ||
| Maithili | अन्वेषक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯏꯅꯚꯦꯁ꯭ꯇꯤꯒꯦꯇꯔ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯕꯛ ꯇꯧꯔꯤ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | chhuitu a ni | ||
| Oromo | qorataa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅନୁସନ୍ଧାନକାରୀ | ||
| Quechua | investigador nisqa | ||
| Sanskrit | अन्वेषकः | ||
| Tatar | тикшерүче | ||
| Tigrinya | መርማሪ ምዃኑ’ዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | mulavisisi | ||