Left in different languages

Left in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'left' carries significant meaning and cultural importance across the globe. Derived from the Old English 'lyft' meaning weak or idle, 'left' has come to represent a sense of direction, choice, and even political affiliation. In many Western cultures, being 'left-handed' was once viewed as a sign of the devil, while in modern times, it's simply a unique aspect of one's identity.

Moreover, the word 'left' has fascinating historical contexts. In ancient Greece, the left side was associated with the goddess Athena and symbolized wisdom and skill. Meanwhile, in Hinduism, the left side is often associated with the divine feminine and creativity.

Understanding the translation of 'left' in different languages can provide insight into these cultural nuances and broaden your perspective on the world. Here are a few examples:

  • French: gauche
  • Spanish: izquierdo
  • German: links
  • Mandarin: 左 (zuǒ)
  • Japanese: 左 (hidari)

Left


Left in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanslinks
The word "links" in Afrikaans has different etymological and alternate meanings, including "sinister" and "awkward".
Amharicግራ
Alternate meanings of "ግራ" include "west" and "direction facing west."
Hausahagu
The Hausa word for "left" is also used in some dialects to mean "south."
Igboekpe
In addition, "Èkpè" also literally means "the thing that is left" or "the last thing" in Igbo.
Malagasyanka
"Anka" also means "to write" and "to be different".
Nyanja (Chichewa)kumanzere
The word "kumanzere" is a compound of the root "manzere" (south) and the prefix "ku-" (to), indicating the direction "to the south".
Shonaruboshwe
The word 'ruboshwe' can also refer to the west or the direction of the setting sun.
Somalibidix
The word "bidix" in Somali means "left", but can also refer to the north or the west.
Sesothoka ho le letšehali
The word "ka ho le letšehali" (left) can also mean "the opposite direction of right" or "the western direction".
Swahilikushoto
In Swahili, "kushoto" also means on the west side of something.
Xhosakhohlo
The Xhosa word "khohlo" may also refer to being "weak" or "foolish."
Yorubaosi
'Òsí' also means the 'foot' and it is from this usage that the word derived its figurative usage.
Zulukwesokunxele
The word "kwesokunxele" in Zulu also means "the side of the heart" and "the side of the body where the heart is".
Bambaranuman
Ewemia me
Kinyarwandaibumoso
Lingalaloboko ya mwasi
Lugandakkono
Sepedinngele
Twi (Akan)benkum

Left in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicاليسار
"اليسار" (the left) comes from the Quranic "yusra" (ease, good fortune), which could describe the ease left-handed people had in battles fought right-handedly.
Hebrewשמאלה
The word 'שמאלה' in Hebrew also means 'to the weak side'
Pashtoکی
The Pashto word "کی" (kai) can also refer to the cardinal direction west, or the location of something behind someone.
Arabicاليسار
"اليسار" (the left) comes from the Quranic "yusra" (ease, good fortune), which could describe the ease left-handed people had in battles fought right-handedly.

Left in Western European Languages

Albanianu largua
The word "u largua" originally meant "the outside" or "the open" in Proto-Albanian.
Basqueezkerretara
"Ezkerretara" (left) comes from "ezker" (left-hand side), and "-tara" (direction towards).
Catalana l'esquerra
"A l'esquerra" literally means "the left-hand side" but is also used to refer to the political left.
Croatianlijevo
The word "lijevo" also means "beautiful" or "pretty" in Croatian.
Danishvenstre
In Danish, "venstre" can also be used colloquially to refer to the left-wing political spectrum.
Dutchlinks
In Dutch, "links" means "left," but in some contexts it can also mean "connected" or "related."
Englishleft
The word 'left' originates from the Old English word 'lyft', meaning 'weak' or 'useless', as the left hand was traditionally considered to be less dominant in most cultures.
Frenchla gauche
The French word "la gauche" traces its origins to "gauche" meaning "clumsy" or "awkward" in Old French.
Frisianlinks
In Saterland Frisian, "links" can mean "left" in the sense of "unskillful, awkward, or not clever."
Galicianá esquerda
The Galician word "á esquerda" also means "wrong" or "incorrect".
Germanlinks
In the 18th century, the meaning of "links" was also "right", and only became "left" later.
Icelandicvinstri
"Vinstri" (left) comes from the Old Norse "vinstra," meaning "the direction toward which something is twisted." Similarly "hægri" (right) derives from "hægri," meaning "the proper or correct".
Irishar chlé
The Irish word "ar chlé" is cognate with the Latin word "clavis" (key), suggesting a shared root meaning "to close" or "to lock."
Italiansinistra
"Sinistra" (left) also means "bad" or "unlucky" in Italian, due to historical superstition.
Luxembourgishlénks
The Luxembourgish word "lénks" may be derived from the French "gauche," meaning "left," or the Old High German "lenken," meaning "to lead" or "to turn."
Maltesexellug
Xellug, besides meaning "left", is etymologically linked to the word "sheel", meaning "to withdraw".
Norwegianvenstre
In Norwegian, the word "venstre" can also refer to the left-wing political party, Venstre.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)esquerda
The word "esquerda" comes from the Latin word "sinistra," which means "left" and also "unfavorable" or "evil."
Scots Gaelicclì
The word "clì" can also mean "awkward" or "unlucky" in Scots Gaelic.
Spanishizquierda
"Izquierda" comes from the Arabic word "al-yasar" (left), while "derecha" (right) comes from the Latin word "directus" (straight).
Swedishvänster
In Swedish, "vänster" not only means "left", but also "clumsy" or "awkward."
Welshchwith
Curiously, both "chwith/chwithau" and "de" were used to denote left in medieval Welsh.

Left in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianзлева
In the Mozyr dialect, "злева" is used both for "left" in space and for "sinister" in morality.
Bosnianlijevo
In Croatian, the word "lijevo" means both "left" and "beautiful".
Bulgarianналяво
The Bulgarian word "наляво" (left) also means "to the wrong side," "to the bad side," and "to the wrong way."
Czechvlevo, odjet
The word `vlevo` also means `from the left`
Estonianvasakule
In Estonian, "vasakule" has additional meanings: "incorrectly" and "wrongly".
Finnishvasemmalle
The Finnish word "vasemmalle" originates from the Proto-Uralic root *vośem, meaning "morning" or "east", and still has the archaic meaning of "eastward" or "northward" in Karelian.
Hungarianbal
"Bal" can also refer to the Hungarian word for "ball", derived from the Latin "ballare" (to dance).
Latvianpa kreisi
The Latvian word “pa kreisi” has a literal equivalent of “along the circle”, which refers to movement counterclockwise.
Lithuanianpaliko
The word "paliko" in Lithuanian also means "stayed" or "remained".
Macedonianлево
"Лево" in Macedonian also means "lion" and "easy" and comes from the Proto-Slavic word "lěvъ", meaning "lion".
Polishlewo
The Polish word "lewo" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*leywo-" meaning "curve".
Romanianstânga
The Romanian word "stânga" not only means "left" but also "wrong side" or "unfair".
Russianосталось
The Russian verb "остаться" ("to remain") can also have the meaning of "to be left behind" or "to survive".
Serbianлево
The word "лево" also comes from the Proto-Slavic word "lěvъ", meaning "lion," as lions were historically associated with the left side due to their heart being located on that side.
Slovakvľavo
Vľavo is a cognate word of several Slavic languages meaning "left," it also appears in "vľavo" which means "on the left."
Slovenianlevo
In Slovenian, “levo” means “left” in space or “left-leaning” in politics, whereas in Latin, it means “to lift up”.
Ukrainianліворуч
The word "ліворуч" in Ukrainian derives from an Old Slavic stem "levъ", from the Proto-Indo-European "ley-" (to lie down).

Left in South Asian Languages

Bengaliবাম
The word "বাম" can also mean "red" or "Marxist" in Bengali.
Gujaratiડાબી
Gujarati word "ડાબી" derives from Sanskrit "dakṣina" meaning "south", as left is the direction towards the south in Sanskrit
Hindiबाएं
The word "बाएं" can also refer to the left-hand side, the side of the body that is opposite the right-hand side.
Kannadaಎಡ
ಎಡ is also a name of a Kannada writer.
Malayalamഇടത്തെ
The Malayalam word "ഇടത്തെ" can also be used to refer to something that is inferior or defective.
Marathiडावीकडे
"डावीकडे" (left) derives from the Sanskrit word "davi," meaning "right side of the body," and thus originally meant "right hand side."
Nepaliबाँया
The Nepali word 'बाँया' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'वाम' meaning 'bad' or 'inferior' and is also related to the Latin word 'sinister', which means 'left-handed' or 'unlucky'.
Punjabiਖੱਬੇ
The word "ਖੱਬੇ" in Punjabi can also refer to the direction of the sun's setting.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)වමට
වමට is the Sinhalese equivalent of the Sanskrit word वाम (vāma), which means 'not right' or 'perverse'.
Tamilஇடது
The word 'இடது' ('left') in Tamil has multiple meanings, including 'direction to the left', 'opposite of right', and 'something that is not straight or regular'.
Teluguఎడమ
In classical Telugu literature, "ఎడమ" also means "opposite direction" or "opposite side".
Urduبائیں
Urdu word "بائیں" (left) likely derives from the Sanskrit word "वाम" (vāma), with similar meanings.

Left in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)剩下
剩下 is an abbreviation of the verb "留下来" which means "to remain". 剩下 now usually means "to be left".
Chinese (Traditional)剩下
The word "剩下" can also mean "remaining" or "leftovers" when referring to food or objects.
Japanese
The character 左 (sa) is also used as a verb meaning "to leave" or "to depart". However, it is more commonly used to mean "to be left-handed" or "to be on the left side of the body."
Korean왼쪽
"왼쪽" originally meant "west," and in some dialects, also means "north."
Mongolianзүүн
The word "зүүн" ("left") is also used in Mongolian to describe the east or northeast direction, as opposed to "баруун" ("right"), which refers to the west and southwest.
Myanmar (Burmese)ကျန်ခဲ့တယ်

Left in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiankiri
Kiri may also refer to a type of wood often used for musical instruments in Indonesia.
Javanesekiwa
It was a borrowing from Proto-Austronesian *kiwa(ŋ), perhaps via Old Malaccan Malay as it differs considerably from the Proto-Malayic equivalent *kʰawaŋ which is preserved by Malay kiri. It is not to be confused with Indonesian kiri, which may have been a reborrowing from Javanese.
Khmerឆ្វេង
In Khmer, "ឆ្វេង" also means "east" and "to the left side of someone who is facing the south."
Laoຊ້າຍ
ຊ້າຍ (left) is also used to refer to the west or the direction of the setting sun.
Malaydibiarkan
The Malay word "dibiarkan" also means "allowed" and derives from the Old Javanese term "biar" which means "to let".
Thaiซ้าย
"ซ้าย" also refers to a person's underprivileged side (e.g. the weaker of one's two arms).
Vietnamesetrái
The word 'trái' can also refer to a situation in which someone opposes or contradicts another and is often used to describe a relationship that is not reciprocal.
Filipino (Tagalog)umalis

Left in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanisol
Sol is also used as a name for the left-hand side of something, such as a road or a river.
Kazakhсол
"Сол" also means "side" or "direction" in Kazakh and is of Turkic origin.
Kyrgyzсол
The Kyrgyz word "сол" also means "northern" as the left side of a yurt is considered to face north.
Tajikчап
The word "чап" in Tajik can also refer to the western or northern direction.
Turkmençep
Uzbekchap
In Uzbek, the word "chap" can also refer to the side of a mountain or river.
Uyghurleft

Left in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianhema
In the Hawaiian language, "hema" is also used as a verb meaning "to turn left" or as a noun meaning "the left side of the body"}
Maorimaui
In Maori, "maui" can also refer to a type of shark, or the name of a mythical demigod who fished up the North Island of New Zealand.
Samoantaumatau
Taumatau also means 'to go to the left' and 'left as in the direction' in Samoan.
Tagalog (Filipino)umalis na
"Alis" means "go" or "remove" in many Southeast Asian languages, including Tagalog and Indonesian.

Left in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarach'iqa
Guaraniasu

Left in International Languages

Esperantomaldekstre
The word "maldekstre" (left) in Esperanto derives from the Latin word "malus" (bad) and "dexter" (right), signifying the opposite of "right".
Latinsinistram
In ecclesiastical Latin, 'sinistram' retains its Roman meaning of 'left' in the liturgical expression 'ad sinistram' (on the left), but in popular usage, it takes on pejorative connotations of 'unlucky' or 'unfavorable'.

Left in Others Languages

Greekαριστερά
The word 'αριστερά' ('left') in Greek is derived from the Greek word 'άριστος' ('best') and originally meant 'the side of honor'.
Hmongsab laug
The Hmong word "sab laug" also means "a hand used for eating."
Kurdishçep
The word "çep" in Kurdish also means "bad" or "evil."
Turkishayrıldı
The word "ayrıldı" can also mean "separated" or "parted ways" in Turkish.
Xhosakhohlo
The Xhosa word "khohlo" may also refer to being "weak" or "foolish."
Yiddishלינקס
The Yiddish word "לינקס" also means "lynx" in reference to the animal.
Zulukwesokunxele
The word "kwesokunxele" in Zulu also means "the side of the heart" and "the side of the body where the heart is".
Assameseবাওঁ
Aymarach'iqa
Bhojpuriछोड़ देलन
Dhivehiވާތް
Dogriछड्डो
Filipino (Tagalog)umalis
Guaraniasu
Ilocanokannigid
Kriodɔn go
Kurdish (Sorani)چەپ
Maithiliबामा
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯂꯦꯝꯍꯧꯕ
Mizokalsan
Oromobitaa
Odia (Oriya)ବାମ
Quechualluqi
Sanskritवामः
Tatarсулда
Tigrinyaፀጋም
Tsongaximatsi

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