Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'limit' holds great significance in our daily lives, often defining the boundaries of our abilities and experiences. It carries cultural importance across the globe, as every language has its own unique way of expressing this concept. For instance, in Spanish, 'limit' is 'límite', while in German, it's 'Grenze'. Understanding the translation of 'limit' in different languages not only broadens your vocabulary but also offers insights into the cultural perspectives of other nations.
Did you know that the English word 'limit' originates from the Latin 'limes', meaning 'a boundary or territory'? This historical context highlights the deep roots of this term in Western civilization. Moreover, in many Eastern cultures, the concept of 'limit' is closely tied to the idea of harmony and balance, reflecting their holistic worldview.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or a global citizen, understanding the word 'limit' in various languages can be a rewarding journey. Here's a list of translations to get you started:
Afrikaans | limiet | ||
In Afrikaans, "limiet" also means "boundary" or "frontier". | |||
Amharic | ወሰን | ||
The Amharic word "ወሰን" can also be used to mean "boundary" or "edge". | |||
Hausa | iyaka | ||
"Iyaka" is a Hausa word meaning "limit" with alternate meanings including "border", "edge", and "boundary". | |||
Igbo | ịgba | ||
The Igbo word "ịgba" can also refer to a type of traditional dance performed by women. | |||
Malagasy | fetra | ||
"Fetr' andina" (set limits) and "fetrany" (boundaries) are cognates of "fehy" (to forbid). | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | malire | ||
In addition to "limit", "malire" can also be used as a noun to refer to "obstacle" or "difficulty" in Nyanja. | |||
Shona | muganho | ||
The word muganho also means 'boundary' or 'frontier' | |||
Somali | xaddid | ||
Xaddid also means 'prohibited, forbidden, or unlawful' | |||
Sesotho | moeli | ||
The word 'moeli' is derived from the Proto-Bantu root '-el', which means 'to end' or 'to stop'. | |||
Swahili | kikomo | ||
The Swahili word "kikomo" also translates to "boundary", "extent", or "edge" in English. | |||
Xhosa | umda | ||
The word "umda" also means "wall" or "fence" and originates from a Bantu root meaning 'to close' or "to shut out." | |||
Yoruba | opin | ||
The Yoruba word "opin" is derived from the verb "o pin", meaning "to shut" or "to close". It can also refer to the boundary or edge of something. | |||
Zulu | umkhawulo | ||
Zulu word for "limit" derives from the root "kha" meaning "fence" or "enclosure" | |||
Bambara | dan ye | ||
Ewe | seɖoƒe li na | ||
Kinyarwanda | imipaka | ||
Lingala | ndelo na yango | ||
Luganda | ekkomo ku kkomo | ||
Sepedi | moedi | ||
Twi (Akan) | anohyeto | ||
Arabic | حد | ||
The word "حد" in Arabic can also refer to a boundary, a threshold, or a measure. | |||
Hebrew | לְהַגבִּיל | ||
"לְהַגבִּיל" can also mean "define" or "determine" in Hebrew. | |||
Pashto | حد | ||
The word "حد" can also mean "the border between two countries" in Pashto. | |||
Arabic | حد | ||
The word "حد" in Arabic can also refer to a boundary, a threshold, or a measure. |
Albanian | kufiri | ||
The word "kufiri" can also mean "frontier" or "border" in Albanian. | |||
Basque | muga | ||
The word "muga" in Basque also refers to a boundary line between territories and even to a fence or hedge | |||
Catalan | límit | ||
Límit, a Catalan word meaning "limit," derives from the Latin word limes meaning a boundary, road or path | |||
Croatian | ograničiti | ||
The word "ograničiti" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *ograniti, meaning "to surround" or "to enclose". | |||
Danish | begrænse | ||
"Begrænse" stems from "grænse" ("border"), from Low German, from Middle Low German grense, from Old Saxon gransia ("border"), perhaps ultimately related to Latin crātis ("hurdle, lattice"). | |||
Dutch | begrenzing | ||
Begrenzing, meaning 'limit', is also related to 'begin' and 'end'. | |||
English | limit | ||
The word "limit" originally meant "boundary" or "frontier" in Latin. | |||
French | limite | ||
The word 'limite' in French derives from the Latin verb 'limitare', meaning 'to set or mark a boundary'. | |||
Frisian | beheine | ||
The word 'beheine' also means 'enclosure', 'fence' or 'border' | |||
Galician | límite | ||
The Galician word "límite" also has the alternate, metaphorical meanings of boundary, frontier, threshold, and end. | |||
German | grenze | ||
In the 13th century, the word "Grenze" initially meant "edge" or "borderline" and was used in the context of property demarcation. | |||
Icelandic | takmarka | ||
The name stems from the word takmark (boundary), which is used in Icelandic to designate the borders between the common farming grounds. | |||
Irish | teorainn | ||
The word "teorainn" may also refer to a "threshold" or an "extent". | |||
Italian | limite | ||
The word "limite" can also mean "finish line", as in a race. | |||
Luxembourgish | limitéieren | ||
The verb "limitéieren" (limit) also means "to define" and the noun "limit" is also used to refer to "a border". | |||
Maltese | limitu | ||
The Maltese word "limitu" can also mean "border" or "boundary". | |||
Norwegian | grense | ||
Grense also refers to the boundary of the sea or a river. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | limite | ||
In Portuguese, "limite" can also refer to a boundary between administrative divisions or to a tax threshold. | |||
Scots Gaelic | crìoch | ||
"Crìoch" also means "end", "border", "district" or "territory" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
Spanish | límite | ||
"Límite" in Spanish can refer to both a physical boundary and a metaphorical restriction or obstacle. | |||
Swedish | begränsa | ||
Begränsa's root, 'gräns', originally referred to a 'boundary' or 'limit', particularly that of a fence or enclosure. | |||
Welsh | terfyn | ||
The word "terfyn" is derived from the Proto-Celtic *termi-n-, meaning "boundary" or "end".} |
Belarusian | мяжа | ||
"Мяжа" is a word of Slavic origin, but its ultimate etymology is unknown. | |||
Bosnian | limit | ||
"Granica" in Bosnian also means "border", "boundary". | |||
Bulgarian | граница | ||
The Old Church Slavonic origin of the word "граница" suggests it also means "boundary" or "line". | |||
Czech | omezit | ||
The verb "omezit" shares its root "mez" with the noun "mezera" (gap), suggesting its meaning of something being put in a gap or space. | |||
Estonian | piir | ||
Related to "piir" are "peer" and "pare," "pair," "par," "peer," "peer," "pire," "pare," "pare," "peer," "peer," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare," "pare" | |||
Finnish | raja | ||
In addition to its usual meaning of "limit", the word "raja" can also mean "boundary", "frontier", or "border". | |||
Hungarian | határ | ||
The word "határ" in Hungarian also means "border", "boundary", or "frontier". | |||
Latvian | ierobežojums | ||
"Ierobežojums" can also mean "limitation" or "restriction". | |||
Lithuanian | riba | ||
The word "riba" can also refer to a boundary line, a border, or a shore | |||
Macedonian | граница | ||
The word "граница" can also mean "border" or "frontier" in Macedonian. | |||
Polish | limit | ||
It is derived from Latin limes and can also refer to a boundary or frontier. | |||
Romanian | limită | ||
Romanian "limită" derives from Latin "limes", originally referring to a military border. | |||
Russian | предел | ||
Russian "предел" ('limit') is derived from "пред ("in front of") and "дел ("do") which refers to land plot in the front of a property. | |||
Serbian | граница | ||
"Граница" also refers to a border between two countries. | |||
Slovak | limit | ||
In addition to its literal meaning of "limit," the Slovak word "limit" can also figuratively refer to a boundary or threshold | |||
Slovenian | meja | ||
The word "meja" in Slovenian is also used to refer to a boundary or a border between two areas. | |||
Ukrainian | межа | ||
The word "межа" also means "border" or "boundary" in Ukrainian. |
Bengali | সীমা | ||
The word "সীমা" can also mean "boundary", "frontier", or "line of demarcation". | |||
Gujarati | મર્યાદા | ||
In Sanskrit, “maryaada” also means propriety or code of conduct. | |||
Hindi | सीमा | ||
The word "सीमा" (limit) in Hindi has the alternate meaning of "boundary" and comes from the Sanskrit word "सीमन्" (boundary). | |||
Kannada | ಮಿತಿ | ||
The word "ಮಿತಿ" in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "मीति" meaning "measure" or "boundary". | |||
Malayalam | പരിധി | ||
The word "പരിധി" is derived from the Sanskrit word "परिधि" which means "boundary" | |||
Marathi | मर्यादा | ||
The word "मर्यादा" is derived from the Sanskrit word "मर्याद" which means "measurement" or "limitation". | |||
Nepali | सीमा | ||
"Seema" can also mean a boundary, edge, or frontier in Nepali. | |||
Punjabi | ਸੀਮਾ | ||
The word "ਸੀਮਾ" not only means "limit" but also has meanings of shore, coast, sea beach, or water body in Punjabi. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සීමාව | ||
සීමාව (simāva) is also the Pāḷi word for 'boundary' and 'frontier' and is used in Sinhala to refer to the demarcation of temple grounds. | |||
Tamil | அளவு | ||
The Tamil word "அளவு" (aḷavu) is derived from the root "அள" (aḷ) meaning "to measure" and can also refer to "size", "quantity", or "extent". | |||
Telugu | పరిమితి | ||
"పరిమితి" also refers to the perimeter or edge of something in Telugu. | |||
Urdu | حد | ||
In Persian and Kurdish, 'had' means 'limit', whereas in Arabic it means 'iron' |
Chinese (Simplified) | 限制 | ||
In modern Chinese, 限制 (xiànzhì) can also mean "to restrict, confine, or restrain". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 限制 | ||
限制 (xiànzhì) also means "to be restrained" and "to prohibit". | |||
Japanese | 制限 | ||
制限 means to restrict or bound something, but can also be translated as limitation or restriction as a noun. | |||
Korean | 한도 | ||
A secondary meaning of "한도" is a "boundary line" or "borderline" between two things; its origin is "한 (han)" ( boundary ) + "두 (du)" ( two ) | |||
Mongolian | хязгаар | ||
The word "хязгаар" originally referred to a boundary or frontier, particularly in the context of herding and land ownership. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ကန့်သတ် | ||
Indonesian | membatasi | ||
The Indonesian word "membatasi" can also mean "to restrict" or "to confine". | |||
Javanese | watesan | ||
The etymology of "watesan" is the same as "wates", which means "boundary" or "border" in Javanese. | |||
Khmer | ដែនកំណត់ | ||
Lao | ຂີດ ຈຳ ກັດ | ||
Malay | had | ||
Had can also mean the boundaries of a country or a region and is used in the names of many places in Malaysia. | |||
Thai | ขีด จำกัด | ||
The word "ขีด จำกัด" (limit) in Thai can also refer to a boundary line or a demarcation. | |||
Vietnamese | giới hạn | ||
The word "giới hạn" is derived from the Chinese word "限界", meaning "boundary" or "limitation". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | limitasyon | ||
Azerbaijani | limit | ||
The word limit comes from the Latin word limes, which originally referred to a boundary or frontier. | |||
Kazakh | шектеу | ||
The word "шектеу" shares a common root with the verb "шегу", meaning "to get lost" or "to wander without a destination" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | чек | ||
The Kyrgyz word "чек" also means "edge" or "border". | |||
Tajik | маҳдуд | ||
The word "маҳдуд" can also mean "finite" or "limited" in Tajik. | |||
Turkmen | çäk | ||
Uzbek | chegara | ||
"Chegara" also means "bank" (of a river) in Uzbek. | |||
Uyghur | چەك | ||
Hawaiian | palena | ||
Palena can also refer to a fence, enclosure or boundary line, or to the end or edge of something | |||
Maori | rohe | ||
In Maori, the word "rohe" can also refer to a boundary, territory, or tribal area. | |||
Samoan | tapulaʻa | ||
The word "tapulaʻa" can also refer to a taboo or boundary | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | hangganan | ||
The word "hangganan" comes from the root word "hangga" meaning "until" or "up to," indicating a boundary or endpoint. |
Aymara | límite | ||
Guarani | límite | ||
Esperanto | limo | ||
"Limo" (limit) can be short for "limigilo" (limitation) or "limografo" (limitograph). | |||
Latin | terminus | ||
In Latin, "terminus" also referred to the boundary markers of property lines and the god who protected them, often depicted as a head on a column. |
Greek | όριο | ||
The word "όριο" derives from the ancient Greek word "ορίζω," meaning "to define, set a boundary, or determine". | |||
Hmong | txwv | ||
The Hmong word "txwv" can also refer to a boundary, restriction, or boundary. | |||
Kurdish | sînorkirin | ||
The word "sînorkirin" is derived from the Persian word "senorkerin" or "senorkerden," meaning "to establish a boundary" or "to define a limit." | |||
Turkish | limit | ||
In Turkish, the word 'limit' also means 'border' and 'boundary'. | |||
Xhosa | umda | ||
The word "umda" also means "wall" or "fence" and originates from a Bantu root meaning 'to close' or "to shut out." | |||
Yiddish | באַגרענעצן | ||
The Yiddish word "באַגרענעצן" (bagrentsn) ultimately derives from Proto-Germanic *markōn "to mark" | |||
Zulu | umkhawulo | ||
Zulu word for "limit" derives from the root "kha" meaning "fence" or "enclosure" | |||
Assamese | সীমা | ||
Aymara | límite | ||
Bhojpuri | सीमा के सीमा बा | ||
Dhivehi | ލިމިޓް | ||
Dogri | सीमा | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | limitasyon | ||
Guarani | límite | ||
Ilocano | limitasion | ||
Krio | limit | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | سنوور | ||
Maithili | सीमा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯤꯃꯤꯠ ꯂꯩ꯫ | ||
Mizo | limit | ||
Oromo | daangaa | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ସୀମା | ||
Quechua | limite nisqa | ||
Sanskrit | सीमा | ||
Tatar | чик | ||
Tigrinya | ገደብ | ||
Tsonga | ndzingano | ||