Knock in different languages

Knock in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'knock' is simple, yet holds great significance in our daily lives. It's a common action, but have you ever thought about its cultural importance or how it's translated in different languages?

From a friendly 'knock, knock' joke to a concerned neighbor checking in, this action transcends language barriers and brings people together. Moreover, it's used metaphorically in phrases like 'knock it off' or 'knock on wood' that add color to our language.

Did you know that in Japanese, 'knock' is translated as 'kabuton'? Or that in Hebrew, it's 'tipul'? These translations not only help us communicate across cultures, but also offer insight into the unique sounds and rhythms of foreign languages.

Whether you're a traveler looking to navigate new places or a language enthusiast exploring the world through words, understanding the translations of 'knock' is a fun and fascinating journey.

Knock


Knock in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansklop
The word "klop" in Afrikaans can also refer to a type of bird.
Amharicአንኳኳ
The word "አንኳኳ" is also used to refer to a type of small, round bell used in traditional Ethiopian music.
Hausabuga
The word "buga" in Hausa can also mean "to break" or "to defeat".
Igbokụọ aka
The Igbo word "kụọ aka" can also mean "to beg" or "to greet someone by shaking their hand.
Malagasydondony
The word "dondony" also means "to knock" or "to hit" in Malagasy.
Nyanja (Chichewa)kugogoda
The word "kugogoda" in Nyanja can also mean "to strike" or "to hit".
Shonagogodza
The word "gogodza" also means "to push" or "to shove" in Shona.
Somaligaraacid
In certain variations of Somali, a verb form of "garaacid" can mean "to be hard or firm".
Sesothokokota
In Sesotho, the word "kokota" can also refer to a persistent pest or to a disturbance caused by someone continually making noise.
Swahilikubisha
In Tanzanian Swahili kubisha means to knock, but it can also mean to defecate.
Xhosaunkqonkqoze
The word "unkqonkqoze" in Xhosa can also mean "to beat" or "to pound".
Yorubakànkun
In addition to meaning "to knock", "kànkun" can also mean "to knock down, destroy, or kill".
Zuluungqongqoze
The word 'ungqongqoze' also means a 'very small child' in Zulu.
Bambaraka gosi
Eweƒo ʋɔa
Kinyarwandagukomanga
Lingalakobɛtabɛta
Lugandaokukonkona
Sepedikokota
Twi (Akan)bɔ pon mu

Knock in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicطرق
The verb 'طرق' ('taraka'), besides having meanings relating to knocking, can also denote 'knocking' on someone's heart in the metaphorical sense of 'seducing' or 'alluring' them, or knocking or pounding at one's mind.
Hebrewנְקִישָׁה
The Hebrew word for “knock,” נְקִישָׁה, also refers to a musical beat.
Pashtoټکول
The word "ټکول" in Pashto also refers to expressing gratitude or appreciation, or to an act of giving or receiving something.
Arabicطرق
The verb 'طرق' ('taraka'), besides having meanings relating to knocking, can also denote 'knocking' on someone's heart in the metaphorical sense of 'seducing' or 'alluring' them, or knocking or pounding at one's mind.

Knock in Western European Languages

Albaniantrokas
"Trokas" also means "to rap" in Albanian slang, possibly derived from the English word "track".
Basquekolpatu
The term “kolpatu” is also used to express “to give birth” in the sense of breaking the amniotic sac or “to release,” as the baby leaves the uterine cavity.
Catalancolpejar
In Catalan "colpejar" can also mean to hit, to strike or to beat as a punishment.
Croatiankucanje
The Croatian word "kucanje" can also refer to the act of playing a musical instrument with strings, like a guitar or violin.
Danishbanke
The word "banke" also means "to beat" or "to strike" in Danish.
Dutchklop
The word "klop" in Dutch also refers to lace or a type of beetle.
Englishknock
The word "knock" can also mean to criticize or to make a request.
Frenchfrappe
In French, "frappe" can also mean "iced coffee" or "iced tea".
Frisianklopje
The word "klopje" in Frisian also refers to a small wooden hammer used for knocking.
Galicianchamar
"Chamar" is also used in the sense of "to ask for" or "to invite"
Germanklopfen
The verb "klopfen" is also used figuratively in German, meaning "to beat" or "to defeat" someone.
Icelandicbanka
In Icelandic, "banka" can also refer to the first time a sheep knocks over a fence with its horns to escape from a pasture.
Irishcnag
The term 'cnag' or 'cnoc' also means 'hill' and is found in many Irish place names.
Italianbussare
"Bussare" comes from the Late Latin word "pulsare," which ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*plew-" meaning "to strike, to beat."
Luxembourgishklappen
In Luxembourgish, "klappen" can also mean "to talk excitedly" or "to chat", derived from the verb "klaffen" meaning "to chatter" or "to gossip".
Malteseħabbat
The Maltese word "ħabbat" is derived from the Arabic word "habata" which means "to beat or strike", as well as "to flutter".
Norwegianslå
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)batida
Portuguese word "batida" also means "milkshake" (Brazil) and "beat" (music).
Scots Gaeliccnag
Cnag is also an archaic form of the word cnoc, meaning 'hill'.
Spanishgolpe
Golpe is also used in Spanish to refer to a coup d'état or a sudden, violent action.
Swedishslå
In Swedish, "slå" can also mean "mow", "fight", or "type" depending on the context.
Welshcuro
The word "curo" can also refer to a "call" or "cry".

Knock in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianстукаць
The word "стукаць" can also mean "to tap" or "to rap" in Belarusian.
Bosniankucati
The verb 'kucati' can also mean 'to cry' in slang, deriving from the sound of sobbing.
Bulgarianчукам
The verb "чукам" comes from the Old Slavic word "čukъti", meaning 'to strike'.
Czechklepání
The word "klepání" can also refer to the process of hammering or tapping, or to the sound produced by these actions.
Estoniankoputama
Koputama is a loanword from German "klopfen" meaning "to knock" and "to pound".
Finnishkoputtaa
"Koputtaa" in the imperative can also mean "check out", e.g. "koputa se kirja" = "check out the book"
Hungariankopogás
The word "kopogás" also means "pounding" or "knocking on a door".
Latvianklauvēt
Latvian "klauvēt" derives from the Proto-Indo-European *kleu-, meaning "to strike" or "to tap".
Lithuanianbelsti
The word "belsti" is also used to describe the action of hitting a door or window with a fist or other object.
Macedonianтропа
Macedonian "тропа" is a cognate of English “thump" and Russian "топать" (to stamp), and also shares a root with "trope" (a literary device)
Polishpukanie
In Polish, "pukanie" can also refer to the sound of a heartbeat or the act of defecating.
Romanianbate
The Romanian word "bate" has a similar meaning to the English verb "to beat", referring to the act of striking or pounding something.
Russianстучать
"Стучать" in Russian can also refer to informing on someone to the authorities.
Serbianкуцати
In Ukrainian, "куцати" also means "to limp"
Slovakzaklopať
"Zaklopať" comes from the Proto-Slavic verb "*klopati", meaning "to beat" or "to strike", and is related to the Czech word "klepat", the Polish word "klepać", and the Russian word "klapat'".
Slovenianpotrkajte
The word "potrkajte" can also mean "to tap" or "to knock on" something.
Ukrainianстукати
Ukrainian "стукати" can also mean "to inform on someone secretly".

Knock in South Asian Languages

Bengaliঠক্ঠক্
"ঠক্ঠক্" is also the onomatopoeia for the sound a clock makes.
Gujaratiકઠણ
"કઠણ" (knock) also means "hard" or "difficult" in Gujarati, implying a forceful impact.
Hindiदस्तक
The word "दस्तक" (knock) in Hindi also means "a summons" or "an official order".
Kannadaನಾಕ್
The word "knock" can also mean "to rap" or "to hit" in Kannada.
Malayalamമുട്ടുക
"മുട്ടുക" is the Malayalam equivalent of the English word "knee" and shares the same root with the Indo-European word denoting "joint" or "bend".
Marathiठोका
The word "ठोका" also means "contract" or "bid" in Marathi.
Nepaliदस्तक
"दस्तक" can also be translated into English as "signature", "document" and "order". In the context of music, it refers to a "tabla composition."
Punjabiਦਸਤਕ
The word “ਦਸਤਕ” in Punjabi, apart from denoting “a knock on the door”, also refers to a “permission to visit”.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)තට්ටු කරන්න
In Tamil, the word 'tadu' also carries the meaning 'knock'.
Tamilதட்டுங்கள்
The Tamil word "தட்டுங்கள்" also means "call". This is because in the olden days, people used to knock on doors to call someone.
Teluguకొట్టు
The Telugu word “కొట్టు” can also refer to a traditional Indian shop or a type of musical instrument.
Urduدستک
The word دستک "knock" in Urdu also means a "tip" (of a walking stick), a "handle" (of a sword), or a "crank" (of a machine)

Knock in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
敲 (qiaō) also means to strike, tap, or beat.
Chinese (Traditional)
In traditional Chinese medicine, "敲" can also refer to the practice of tapping or percussing certain body parts for diagnostic purposes.
Japaneseノック
In Japanese, the word "ノック" can also mean "a wooden clapper used to keep time or make announcements".
Korean노크
The word "knock" in Korean (노크) is a loanword from the English.}
Mongolianтогших
The word "тогших" can also refer to the physical act of knocking on a door.
Myanmar (Burmese)ခေါက်တယ်

Knock in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianketukan
The word 'ketukan' can also refer to a musical beat or rhythm in Indonesian.
Javanesesambel
The word "sambel" in Javanese originally meant "to touch" or "to rub", before evolving to mean "to knock".
Khmerគោះ
It is also homophonous with គោះ meaning a type of fish.
Laoເຄາະ
The Lao word "ເຄາะ" can also mean to "tap" or "hit" something lightly.
Malayketukan
The word "ketukan" in Malay can also refer to a type of traditional dance or a musical genre.
Thaiเคาะ
Thai word "เคาะ" has additional meaning of "to tap" or "to hammer"
Vietnamesegõ cửa
"Gõ cửa" (knock) in Vietnamese literally means "to hit the door," and is cognate with the Chinese word "gōumén" (叩门).
Filipino (Tagalog)kumatok

Knock in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanidöymək
The word "döymək" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to beat" or "to strike".
Kazakhқағу
The word "қағу" can also mean "to hammer" or "to pound" in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzкагуу
"Кагуу" (knock) is related to the word "кагу", which means "to beat" or "to strike."
Tajikкӯфтан
The word "куфтан" also means "to forge" in some contexts.
Turkmenkakmak
Uzbektaqillatish
The word "taqillatish" in Uzbek also means "to make a noise" or "to cause to vibrate".
Uyghurknock

Knock in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankikeke
The Hawaiian word "kikeke" is also used to refer to the sound of a heartbeat.
Maoripatoto
In Māori, 'patoto' can also refer to the sound of a bell or a drum, or the act of striking something rhythmically.
Samoantuʻituʻi atu
The term "tuʻituʻi atu" can also refer to the act of pounding or striking something repeatedly.
Tagalog (Filipino)kumatok
The word "kumatok" is also used figuratively to mean "to visit" or "to call on someone".

Knock in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarathuqhuña
Guaraniombota

Knock in International Languages

Esperantofrapi
The Esperanto word “frapi” comes from French, where it also means “to knock” among several other related meanings.
Latinpulsate
Pulsate comes from a Latin word which literally means "to pound or beat", as does the word "pulse"

Knock in Others Languages

Greekχτύπημα
Χτύπημα (knock) and κτύπος (thump) in Greek have the same common root that originates from the word τύπτω (strike).
Hmongkhob
In Hmong, "khob" can also mean "to hit," "to pound," or "to chop."
Kurdishlêdan
It is also figuratively used as "to enter" in Kurdish.
Turkishvurmak
The word "vurmak" also means "to hit" or "to strike" in Turkish.
Xhosaunkqonkqoze
The word "unkqonkqoze" in Xhosa can also mean "to beat" or "to pound".
Yiddishקלאַפּן
Yiddish "קלאַפּן" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *klepati, meaning "to strike."
Zuluungqongqoze
The word 'ungqongqoze' also means a 'very small child' in Zulu.
Assameseটোকৰ মাৰিব
Aymarathuqhuña
Bhojpuriखटखटावे के बा
Dhivehiޓަކި ޖަހާށެވެ
Dogriखटखटाओ
Filipino (Tagalog)kumatok
Guaraniombota
Ilocanoagtuktok
Krionak nak
Kurdish (Sorani)لە لێدان
Maithiliखटखटाउ
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯅꯣꯀꯄꯥ꯫
Mizoknock a ni
Oromorukutaa
Odia (Oriya)ନକ୍
Quechuatakay
Sanskritठोकति
Tatarшакыгыз
Tigrinyaኳሕኳሕ
Tsongaku gongondza

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