Lead in different languages

Lead in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'lead' holds significant importance in our daily lives, often associated with the concept of taking charge or being a guiding force. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, where leaders are often portrayed as heroes, and in real-world scenarios, where effective leadership can inspire and mobilize communities.

Moreover, the word 'lead' has an interesting historical context. In the past, lead was used in various applications, from plumbing to paint, before its toxicity was fully understood. This dual meaning of 'lead' as a metal and a verb adds depth to our understanding of the word.

Given the global nature of our world, understanding the translation of 'lead' in different languages can be beneficial. It not only helps in cross-cultural communication but also provides insight into how different cultures view and value leadership.

Here are some translations of 'lead' in various languages:

Lead


Lead in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanslei
The Afrikaans word "lei" can also refer to a guide, a leader, or a path or track.
Amharicመምራት
The Amharic term "መምራት" has alternate meanings including "to guide" and "to be the vanguard".
Hausajagoranci
The word "jagoranci" in Hausa is derived from the Arabic word "zaqirun", meaning "he who weighs". It also has the alternate meaning of "the one who controls".
Igbondu
"Ndụ" in Igbo derives from the root word "ndụrụ" meaning "to be heavy."
Malagasyfiraka
The word "firaka" can also refer to a type of Malagasy dance associated with the Betsimisaraka people living in the eastern part of the island.
Nyanja (Chichewa)kutsogolera
The verb 'kutsogolera' also means to conduct an orchestra.
Shonatungamira
Tungamira can also mean 'to guide' or 'to take charge of' in the Shona language.
Somalihorseed
In addition to its primary meaning of "lead," the Somali word "horseed" also carries the figurative meaning of "guidance" or "direction."
Sesothoetella pele
Etella pele may also refer to a type of fish in Sesotho.
Swahilikuongoza
"Kuongoza" can also mean "to mislead" or "to deceive" in Swahili.
Xhosakhokela
The word "khokela" comes from the verb "koka" (to cry) and refers to the action of leading or directing with tears or emotion.
Yorubayorisi
"Yorisi" also means "guide" or "escort" in some Yoruba dialects, reflecting its role in directing the path.
Zuluhola
The Zulu word 'hola' also means 'to lead' in the English language.
Bambaraka ɲɛminɛ
Ewenɔ ŋgɔ
Kinyarwandakuyobora
Lingalaplomb
Lugandaokukulembera
Sepedieta pele
Twi (Akan)di kan

Lead in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicقيادة
قيادة can also mean command or leadership, while "رصاص" means pencil lead.
Hebrewעוֹפֶרֶת
The spelling of ‘עופרת’ in Hebrew is similar to the word ‘ופרת,’ meaning ‘ferocious young bull’ or ‘strong youth.’
Pashtoرهبري
رهبري derives from the Persian word "رَه" meaning "path" and the suffix "-بري" meaning "possession," thus "path-possession" or "leading."
Arabicقيادة
قيادة can also mean command or leadership, while "رصاص" means pencil lead.

Lead in Western European Languages

Albanianplumbi
The Albanian word "plumbi" also means "weight" or "burden".
Basqueberuna
Beruna, a term for "lead" in Basque, shares etymological roots with words for "iron" and "heavy" in other Indo-European languages.
Catalandirigir
The Catalan word "dirigir" also means "to conduct" or "to guide".
Croatianvoditi
The Croatian word 'voditi' can also mean 'guide', 'conduct', or 'direct'.
Danishat føre
The Danish verb "at føre" originally meant "to go" or "to conduct."
Dutchlood
The Dutch word "lood" also refers to a small piece of metal attached to a line for measuring water depth or to a fishing net to keep it down.
Englishlead
"Lead" can also refer to the act of guiding or directing, or to a position of leadership.
Frenchconduire
The word "conduire" comes from the Latin word "ducere," which also means "to lead or guide."
Frisianfoarsprong
The word "foarsprong" in Frisian does not mean "lead" but "headlong". It is also used to mean "advantage" or "head start".
Galicianlevar
In the past Galician was used with the same meaning, but in Portuguese and some Galician dialects "levar" also means “carry".
Germanführen
Besides its core meaning of "lead," the German word "führen" can also mean "conduct," "direct," or "guide."
Icelandicleiða
In Old Norse, 'leiða' also meant 'to go' or 'to travel', as well as 'to carry' or 'to transport'.
Irishluaidhe
The term 'luaidhe' can also refer to a 'beam of light' or 'radiance' in Irish mythology.
Italianpiombo
The word "piombo" in Italian can also mean "a plummet" or "a weight used for sounding depths of water".
Luxembourgishféieren
Malteseċomb
The Maltese word "ċomb" has another meaning, which is "plummet". It comes from the Arabic "ṣumb", which means "lead". It is an example of a false friend, as the two words look similar but have different meanings.
Norwegianlede
In Norwegian, "lede" also means "annoy" or "irritate".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)conduzir
The verb "conduzir" also means "to drive" in Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil), deriving from the Latin "conducere", which encompasses both "to lead" and "to drive".
Scots Gaelicluaidhe
The word "luaidhe" in Scots Gaelic is thought to derive from the Old Irish word "luadhadh," meaning "melted metal" or "smelting."
Spanishdirigir
"Dirigir" in Spanish can also mean "to direct" a film or play, or "to head" an organization.
Swedishleda
The Swedish word "leda" also means "to guide" or "to lead".
Welsharwain
Arwain derives from the Proto-Celtic root *are-, meaning "fit" or "join".

Lead in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianсвінец
The word “свінец” in Belarusian derives from the Proto-Slavic word “свѣнъдъ”, meaning “shining”.
Bosnianolovo
The word "olovo" can also refer to a type of fish in Bosnian.
Bulgarianводя
The Bulgarian word "водя" (vodya) does not only mean "lead", but also "water" in Slavic and other languages.
Czechvést
The word "Vést" also means "to conduct" or "to lead" in the sense of guiding or directing.
Estonianplii
“Plii” is not only the Estonian word for the element lead, but also means a bullet, a shot from a bullet, or a bullet wound.
Finnishjohtaa
The verb "johtaa" can also mean "to derive," and is a key component of the word "johdannainen" (derivative).
Hungarianvezet
The word "vezet" has its roots in the Old Hungarian word "vezeti", which meant "to conduct" or "to guide".
Latviansvins
The word "svins" is cognate with the Lithuanian word "svinas" and the Old Prussian word "swints", all meaning "lead".
Lithuanianvadovauti
The word "vadovauti" is derived from the Lithuanian word "vadas," which means "leader" or "commander."
Macedonianолово
The word "олово" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *olьvo or the Proto-Indo-European word *hlēudʰ- meaning "to smelt".
Polishprowadzić
The Polish word "prowadzić" also means "to guide" or "to conduct".
Romanianconduce
In Romanian, the word "conduce" shares its etymological roots with "conducere", meaning "driving" or "guidance", and "conducător", meaning "leader".
Russianвести
The word "вести" can also mean "news" or "rumor" in Russian.
Serbianолово
In alchemy, "олово" also refers to tin.
Slovakviesť
"Viesť" in Slovak also means "to drive" and comes from the Proto-Slavic word *vesti/*vьsti, which originally meant "to carry," "to take," or "to lead."
Sloveniansvinec
Svinec can also mean 'pig trough' or 'pigsty'
Ukrainianвести
The word “вести” (вести) also means “news” in Ukrainian

Lead in South Asian Languages

Bengaliসীসা
সীসা is derived from the Middle Indo-Aryan word
Gujaratiદોરી
Derived from Sanskrit 'dorikā', denoting 'string', hence 'cord, line'.
Hindiनेतृत्व
The Hindi word "नेतृत्व" (lead) derives from the Sanskrit word "neta," meaning "leader" or "guide."
Kannadaಸೀಸ
The word "ಸೀಸ" can also refer to a type of metallic alloy used in weights and measures.
Malayalamലീഡ്
The word "ലീഡ്" has two alternate meanings in Malayalam: 1) a measure of distance, and 2) a role in a play or movie.
Marathiआघाडी
The word 'आघाडी' ('lead') in Marathi can also refer to 'prevalence' or 'superiority'.
Nepaliनेतृत्व
The word "नेतृत्व" is derived from the Sanskrit root "नी" (to lead) and can also mean guidance, management, or direction.
Punjabiਅਗਵਾਈ
"ਅਗਵਾਈ" is derived from Sanskrit "agra" (front) and literally means "to go ahead or lead the way".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ඊයම්
The Sinhala word “ඊයම්” is derived from the Sanskrit word “ඊය” and has the alternate meaning of “a support”.
Tamilவழி நடத்து
The Tamil word "வழி நடத்து" ("lead") can also mean "to show the way" or "to guide".
Teluguసీసం
In Telugu, "సీసం" means "lead", but it can also mean "weight", "burden", or "oppression".
Urduلیڈ
The word "lead" in Urdu can also mean "to start" or "to take the lead".

Lead in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
"铅" 除了表示化学元素以外,还有沉重、缓慢、首要、主要的含义。
Chinese (Traditional)
In Chinese, 鉛 can refer to both the metal and the element.
Japanese
The character 鉛 is also used to represent "dark", "dull", or "heavy" in compounds.
Korean리드
In Korean, the word "리드" can also mean "to guide" or "to direct."
Mongolianхар тугалга
Myanmar (Burmese)ခဲ
The word ခဲ can also mean hard, stiff, or difficult in Myanmar (Burmese).

Lead in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianmemimpin
"Memimpin" comes from ancient Javanese words "mampah" (to stop by) and "impin" (to be over), hence its modern meaning of leading from the front.
Javanesetimbal
The Javanese word 'timbal' also refers to a small round fruit similar to a lime.
Khmerដឹកនាំ
The word "ដឹកនាំ" can also be used to refer to a person who guides or directs others.
Laoນຳ
The Lao word ນຳ ('lead') is cognate with Thai "นำ", a homonym with several meanings such as 'to guide' and 'water'.
Malaymemimpin
Memimpin is also derived from the root word "impin" meaning "to dream" or "to hope", thus connoting the idea of leading towards a desired future.
Thaiตะกั่ว
In Thai, "ตะกั่ว" comes from the Sanskrit word "tagara", meaning "tin" or "quicksilver".
Vietnamesechì
"Chì" also means "pencil lead" and is a loanword from Chinese.
Filipino (Tagalog)nangunguna

Lead in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniqurğuşun
The word "qurğuşun" also means "fat, obese" in Azerbaijani, derived from the Persian word "gurushun."
Kazakhқорғасын
Қорғасын is also a term used in falconry to describe a bird's ability to hunt prey on the wing.
Kyrgyzкоргошун
The name of the chemical element "lead" in Kyrgyz - коргошун - comes from the word "to protect", with an implicit connotation of protection against "demons".
Tajikсурб
In Tajik, "сурб" also refers to a type of writing instrument
Turkmengurşun
Uzbekqo'rg'oshin
Qo'rg'oshin shares its root with 'qo'riq', an Uzbek word for 'protection', as lead was often used for protective barriers.
Uyghurقوغۇشۇن

Lead in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankēpau
"Kēpau" in Hawaiian can also refer to a
Maorimata
Maori mata also means 'blind', and is the base for place names like Whangamata - bay of blind whales.
Samoantaʻimua
In Samoan, the word "taʻimua" also means "chief" or "leader".
Tagalog (Filipino)tingga
"Tingga" in Tagalog originated from the Malay/Indonesian "timah", referring to the metal tin.

Lead in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarachiqachaña
Guaranimyakã

Lead in International Languages

Esperantoplumbo
The Esperanto word "plumbo" originates from the Latin "plumbum" (lead), but it can also refer to grey hair or a lead pencil in some contexts.
Latinplumbum
The Latin word "plumbum" originally meant "heavy" and was later applied specifically to lead.

Lead in Others Languages

Greekοδηγω
The Greek verb "οδηγω" has its roots in the Indo-European word "wedh", which means "to go" or "to follow."
Hmongtxhuas
The word "txhuas" can also refer to a type of tree or a type of insect
Kurdishgûlle
The word "gûlle" is etymologically related to the Persian word "gūl" meaning flower, and is also used to refer to gunpowder.
Turkishöncülük etmek
"Öncülük etmek" in Turkish can also mean "to pioneer" or "to initiate".
Xhosakhokela
The word "khokela" comes from the verb "koka" (to cry) and refers to the action of leading or directing with tears or emotion.
Yiddishפירן
The word "פירן" ("pirn") can also refer to a thread spinner or a bobbin that holds thread.
Zuluhola
The Zulu word 'hola' also means 'to lead' in the English language.
Assameseনেতৃত্ব দিয়া
Aymarachiqachaña
Bhojpuriआगे होखल
Dhivehiއިސްނެގުން
Dogriसेध
Filipino (Tagalog)nangunguna
Guaranimyakã
Ilocanoidaulo
Kriolid
Kurdish (Sorani)سەرکردایەتی
Maithiliअगुवाई
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯍꯦꯟꯗꯨꯅ ꯆꯠꯄ
Mizokaihruai
Oromogeggeessi
Odia (Oriya)ସୀସା |
Quechuakamachiy
Sanskritसीसम्‌
Tatarкургаш
Tigrinyaምራሕ
Tsongarhangela

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