Meet in Different Languages
Discover 'Meet' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'meet' is a simple, two-syllable verb that carries with it a world of significance. At its core, 'meet' signifies the act of coming together, of two or more entities forming a connection or intersection. This basic definition, however, only scratches the surface of its cultural importance and the myriad ways it is woven into the fabric of our daily lives.
Throughout history, 'meet' has been used to describe everything from chance encounters to formal introductions, from athletic competitions to business negotiations. It's a word that transcends borders and cultures, and yet its translation can vary greatly depending on the language and the context in which it is used.
For example, in Spanish, 'meet' is translated as 'conocer' or 'encontrar,' while in French, it is 'rencontrer' or 'rencontrer quelqu'un'. In German, the word 'treffen' is used, and in Japanese, 'あう' (au) is the term of choice.
Understanding the translation of 'meet' in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural understanding. So, whether you're planning a trip abroad, studying a new language, or simply looking to expand your cultural horizons, learning the many translations of 'meet' is a great place to start.
Meet
Meet in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ontmoet | ||
| "Ontmoet" is both derived from and cognate with the Dutch word "ontmoeten" which has a secondary meaning of "to occur" as in "the incident occurred that day". | |||
| Amharic | መገናኘት | ||
| The word "መገናኘት" can also mean "to communicate" or "to connect" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | hadu | ||
| "Hadu" can also mean "bring", "deliver" or "come to a place deliberately" | |||
| Igbo | zute | ||
| Igbo word 'zute' also means 'to gather' | |||
| Malagasy | mivory | ||
| The Malagasy word for "meet" (mivory) can also mean "to gather" or "to assemble." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kukumana | ||
| The word 'kukumana' also refers to a specific type of dance and can be used to express a sense of anticipation. | |||
| Shona | sangana | ||
| The word "sangana" also means "to assemble". | |||
| Somali | kulmi | ||
| "Kulmi" also means "corner" or "angle" and is derived from the Proto-Somali word "*kulm" meaning "corner, point, tip" | |||
| Sesotho | kopana | ||
| The word "kopana" in Sesotho also means "to be connected" or "to be tied together". | |||
| Swahili | kutana | ||
| The word "kutana" in Swahili can also refer to the act of assembling or gathering something, a meaning it shares with its cognate "tana" in other Bantu languages. | |||
| Xhosa | dibana | ||
| In Xhosa, "dibana" is also a word for "confront" or "collide". | |||
| Yoruba | pade | ||
| The word "pade" also means "to encounter" or "to come across" in Yoruba, extending its meaning beyond simply "meeting" someone. | |||
| Zulu | hlangana | ||
| "Hlangana" in Zulu means "to meet," and also refers to a kind of knot made when tying two strings together. | |||
| Bambara | ɲɔgɔn dalajɛ | ||
| Ewe | do go | ||
| Kinyarwanda | guhura | ||
| Lingala | kokutana | ||
| Luganda | okusisinkana | ||
| Sepedi | kopana | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hyia | ||
Meet in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يجتمع | ||
| The Arabic word "يجتمع" can also refer to the process of assembling, gathering, or uniting | |||
| Hebrew | לִפְגוֹשׁ | ||
| In Hebrew, the word "לִפְגוֹשׁ" ("meet") also holds the meaning of "to stumble upon something," which is related to the concept of "meeting by chance." | |||
| Pashto | ملاقات کول | ||
| The Pashto word "ملاقات کول" can also refer to a formal or official meeting between two or more parties. | |||
| Arabic | يجتمع | ||
| The Arabic word "يجتمع" can also refer to the process of assembling, gathering, or uniting | |||
Meet in Western European Languages
| Albanian | takohen | ||
| The word "takohen" (meet) is thought to be derived from the proto-Albanian word "*koko" (bone), which also appears in other Albanian words such as "kokë" (head) and "kohë" (time). | |||
| Basque | ezagutu | ||
| "Ezagutu" shares the same root with "zagutu" ("to taste") and "ezagun" ("known"), suggesting a more literal meaning of "to get a taste of something" or "to make something known". | |||
| Catalan | trobar-se | ||
| The Catalan word "trobar-se" (to meet) derives from the Latin "tropare", meaning "to find". | |||
| Croatian | upoznati | ||
| The word "upoznati" is cognate with the words "poznati" (know), "poznavanje" (knowledge), and "poznavaoc" (expert), all of which share the same root "poz" meaning "know". In addition, "upoznati" can also mean to get to know someone better, or to form a closer relationship, and is often used to describe the first time two people meet. | |||
| Danish | møde | ||
| Møde is also the Danish word for 'room' and 'assembly'. | |||
| Dutch | ontmoeten | ||
| The verb `ontmoeten` is a contraction of `ont` (`against`) and `moeten` (`must`) in Middle Dutch." | |||
| English | meet | ||
| The word 'meet' comes from the Old English word 'metan', meaning 'to come together'. | |||
| French | rencontrer | ||
| Rencontrer derives from Old French "rencontrer," meaning "to meet" or "to oppose," based on Latin "incontrare," from "in- " + "contrare," meaning "to go against". This suggests that the original meaning may have been closer to "to come into conflict" than "to meet." | |||
| Frisian | moetsje | ||
| The Frisian word "moetsje" can also refer to a meeting or a place of assembly. | |||
| Galician | coñecer | ||
| The Galician word "coñecer" has the same linguistic root as the English word "cognate", referring to a shared origin or ancestor. | |||
| German | treffen | ||
| The German word "Treffen" can also mean "to get in trouble" or "to be responsible for something". | |||
| Icelandic | hittast | ||
| "Hittast" also refers to the moment when the sun reaches a point on the horizon after which it will either rise or set | |||
| Irish | le chéile | ||
| The word "le chéile" in Irish doesn't mean only "meet" but also "together" and "alongside". | |||
| Italian | incontrare | ||
| Etymologically, "incontrare" meant "to strike", like a flint and steel to light a fire. | |||
| Luxembourgish | treffen | ||
| "Treffen" also means "to hit" in Luxembourgish, which is the same as the original meaning of the German word "treffen". | |||
| Maltese | tiltaqa | ||
| The alternative meaning of "tiltaqa" in Maltese is to "come across" or "find something by chance," or to "come face to face." | |||
| Norwegian | møte | ||
| The word "møte" can also refer to a meeting, assembly, or gathering. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | conheça | ||
| The word "Conheça" can also mean "get to know" or "find out". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | coinneachadh | ||
| Coinneachadh is an alternate phrase to cùiteadh for a meeting of any kind, but specifically relates to a courting meeting. | |||
| Spanish | reunirse | ||
| The preposition 're' in 'reunirse' (meet) implies a gathering, as in 'reunir' (to gather), while 'unir' (to unite) lacks the gathering sense. | |||
| Swedish | träffa | ||
| Other meanings of "träffa" include "to hit" and "to strike". | |||
| Welsh | cwrdd | ||
| The Welsh word 'cwrdd' can also refer to a 'meeting place' or a 'gathering'. | |||
Meet in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сустрэцца | ||
| The word “сустрэцца” ultimately derives from Proto-Slavic “sъstrěti”, from the verb “strěti”, meaning 'to meet' or 'to collide'. | |||
| Bosnian | susret | ||
| It shares its root with the word "sretati" which means "to meet", "to find". | |||
| Bulgarian | среща | ||
| The word "Среща" also means "appointment" or "rendezvous" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | setkat | ||
| The words "sněm" and "snět" are derived from a word meaning "gathering" or "assembly". | |||
| Estonian | kokku saama | ||
| "Kokku saama" can also mean "to agree" or "to come to an understanding". | |||
| Finnish | tavata | ||
| In Hungarian, tavat means 'meeting', hence the Hungarian surname Távati. | |||
| Hungarian | találkozik | ||
| In Hungarian, the verb "találkozik" also means "to find" or "to come across". | |||
| Latvian | satikties | ||
| The word "satikties" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *met-, meaning "to come together" or "to join." | |||
| Lithuanian | susitikti | ||
| The verb 'susitikti' derives from the reflexive prefix 'susi-' and the verb 'tikti' ('to fit', 'to suit') and thus initially meant 'to be suitable for one another'. | |||
| Macedonian | се среќаваат | ||
| The verb “се среќаваат” in Macedonian stems from the Proto-Slavic “*sъnikati sę”, meaning “to descend, move towards one another, become related | |||
| Polish | spotykać się | ||
| The Polish word "spotykać się" originally meant "to collide" or "to encounter something unexpectedly". | |||
| Romanian | întâlni | ||
| "Întâlni" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel-, meaning "to turn, roll, or wind", and is related to the English word "will". | |||
| Russian | встретиться | ||
| The Russian verb "встретиться" can also mean "to come across" or "to encounter" someone or something. | |||
| Serbian | сусрет | ||
| The word "сусрет" also means "a gathering of people" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | stretnúť | ||
| The verb "stretnúť" also means "to encounter" or "to face" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | srečati | ||
| "Srečati" also means "to arrange or fix" when it is in present tense | |||
| Ukrainian | зустрітися | ||
| "Зустрітися" can also mean "to collide" or "to occur" in Ukrainian. | |||
Meet in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সম্মেলন | ||
| The word "সম্মেলন" (meet) in Bengali also means a conference or a convention. | |||
| Gujarati | મળવું | ||
| * મળવું* can also mean "to attain", "to obtain", "to acquire", "to get", or "to receive." | |||
| Hindi | मिलना | ||
| The word "मिलना" can also mean "to join," "to combine," or "to fit together." | |||
| Kannada | ಭೇಟಿ | ||
| The word "ಭೇಟಿ" can also mean an encounter, visit, or interview in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | കണ്ടുമുട്ടുക | ||
| In the past, the word 'കണ്ടുമുട്ടുക' in Malayalam specifically referred to the meeting of two opposing armies on the battlefield | |||
| Marathi | भेटणे | ||
| The word भेटणे in Marathi also means 'encounter', 'contact', 'appointment', or 'interview'. | |||
| Nepali | भेट्नु | ||
| The word "भेट्नु" also means "to receive" or "to find". | |||
| Punjabi | ਮਿਲਣਾ | ||
| The Punjabi word “ਮਿਲਣਾ” can also mean to join or to merge as well as meet. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හමුවෙමු | ||
| "හමුවෙමු" in Sinhala is also a word for "face" and is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "*sm̥-," meaning "to smile, to laugh." | |||
| Tamil | சந்திக்க | ||
| The word "சந்திக்க" also has the meaning "to happen or occur" or "to experience". | |||
| Telugu | కలుసుకోవడం | ||
| The word "కలుసుకోవడం" can also refer to the act of joining together or coming into contact. | |||
| Urdu | ملنا | ||
| The root of the word 'ملنا' is similar to the English root of 'assembly', 'join', and 'union'. | |||
Meet in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 遇到 | ||
| The word "遇到" also means "to encounter, to come across, to stumble upon". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 遇到 | ||
| The word "遇到" can also mean "to run into" or "to come across". | |||
| Japanese | 会う | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "meet", "会う" (au) can also mean "to encounter" or "to find". | |||
| Korean | 만나다 | ||
| 만나다 can also mean "to come across" or "to encounter". | |||
| Mongolian | уулзах | ||
| The word "уулзах" can also mean "to encounter" or "to come across". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တွေ့တယ် | ||
Meet in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | memenuhi | ||
| In some contexts, "memenuhi" can also mean "to answer" or "to satisfy". | |||
| Javanese | ketemu | ||
| The word "ketemu" in Javanese also has the alternate meaning of "to find" or "to discover". | |||
| Khmer | ជួប | ||
| The Khmer word "ជួប" (meet) has an extended meaning of "to run into" or "to encounter unexpectedly."} | |||
| Lao | ຕອບສະຫນອງ | ||
| Malay | berjumpa | ||
| Berjumpa' derives from the Sanskrit word 'brs' (to touch or come into contact), but can also mean 'to chance upon' or 'to gather' in some contexts. | |||
| Thai | พบกัน | ||
| Despite having the same meaning, "พบกัน" is often used differently from "เจอกัน" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | gặp | ||
| In some contexts "gặp" can mean "face" as in a "trial" which derives from Chinese but still carries this connotation in Sino-Vietnamese compounds. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magkita | ||
Meet in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | görüşmək | ||
| "Görüşmək" can also mean "to have an opinion" or "to look at" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | кездесу | ||
| Кездесу means 'come across, run into, and encounter' in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жолугушуу | ||
| The word "жолугушуу" also means "coming together" and "gathering" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | мулоқот кардан | ||
| The word "мулоқот кардан" (meet) has Turkic origins, specifically from the word "uğraşmaq" (to deal with). | |||
| Turkmen | duşuşmak | ||
| Uzbek | uchrashmoq | ||
| In Uzbek, the word "uchrashmoq" not only means "meet" but also "to agree", "to match", or "to unite". | |||
| Uyghur | كۆرۈش | ||
Meet in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hālāwai | ||
| The Hawaiian word hālāwai can also mean 'place of assembly' or 'gathering place'. | |||
| Maori | tutaki | ||
| The word "tutaki" in Māori has multiple meanings, including "to arrive at a place" and "to assemble together". | |||
| Samoan | feiloaʻi | ||
| In Samoan, feiloaʻi can also mean to encounter or confront someone. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | magkita | ||
| The word "magkita" in Tagalog likely originates from the Old Malay word "matkita", which also means "to meet" or "to see". | |||
Meet in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | tantachaña | ||
| Guarani | ñombyaty | ||
Meet in International Languages
| Esperanto | renkonti | ||
| The word "renkonti" is a calque of the French word "rencontrer". | |||
| Latin | occursum | ||
| The word "occursum" in Latin can also mean "to prevent" or "to obstruct." | |||
Meet in Others Languages
| Greek | συναντώ | ||
| The word συναντώ originally meant 'to come together' or 'to encounter' in Ancient Greek, and only later acquired the meaning 'to meet'. | |||
| Hmong | sib ntsib | ||
| "Sib ntsib" also means "be confronted with" or "be matched against". | |||
| Kurdish | lihevrasthatin | ||
| The word "lihevrasthatin" is derived from the Kurdish word "hevras" meaning "together" and the suffix "tin" indicating an action or process. | |||
| Turkish | buluşmak | ||
| "Buluşmak" can also mean "to reconcile". | |||
| Xhosa | dibana | ||
| In Xhosa, "dibana" is also a word for "confront" or "collide". | |||
| Yiddish | טרעפן | ||
| The Yiddish word "טרעפן" can ironically mean the opposite of a meeting, referring to a separation or divorce. | |||
| Zulu | hlangana | ||
| "Hlangana" in Zulu means "to meet," and also refers to a kind of knot made when tying two strings together. | |||
| Assamese | লগ পোৱা | ||
| Aymara | tantachaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | मिलल | ||
| Dhivehi | ބައްދަލުކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | मिलो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magkita | ||
| Guarani | ñombyaty | ||
| Ilocano | saraken | ||
| Krio | mit | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | چاوپێکەوتن | ||
| Maithili | भेंट करू | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯎꯅꯅꯕ | ||
| Mizo | intawk | ||
| Oromo | wal arguu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସାକ୍ଷାତ | ||
| Quechua | riqsiy | ||
| Sanskrit | मेलनम् | ||
| Tatar | очрашу | ||
| Tigrinya | ርኸብ | ||
| Tsonga | hlangana | ||