Notion in Different Languages
Discover 'Notion' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Notion is a fascinating word, encapsulating the very essence of an idea or concept. Its significance spans across various disciplines, from philosophy to science, and holds great cultural importance as well. Have you ever pondered how the word 'notion' translates in different languages, and what insights it might offer into the way other cultures perceive and express ideas?
For instance, in Spanish, 'notion' becomes 'noción', while in French, it's 'notion'. These translations not only reflect linguistic differences but also cultural nuances in how ideas are understood and communicated. Moreover, tracing the historical context of 'notion' reveals its origins in Latin, providing a window into the evolution of language and thought.
Understanding the translation of 'notion' in various languages can enrich one's perspective and deepen cross-cultural communication. Here are some translations to get you started:
Notion
Notion in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | begrip | ||
| In Old Afrikaans 'begrip' meant 'conception', and also meant 'grasp', 'understanding'. | |||
| Amharic | አስተሳሰብ | ||
| The word አስተሳሰብ can also mean "idea" or "concept" and is derived from the root word ተሳሰበ ("to think"). | |||
| Hausa | ra'ayi | ||
| The word "ra'ayi" in Hausa derives from the Arabic word "ra'y", which means "opinion" or "viewpoint". | |||
| Igbo | echiche | ||
| In Igbo, the word "echiche" originates from the verb "chi" (to think) and refers to a vague concept or idea that is yet to be fully formed. | |||
| Malagasy | hevitra | ||
| The word "hevitra" in Malagasy is derived from the French word "idée", meaning "idea". It can also refer to a plan, a thought, or an opinion. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | lingaliro | ||
| The Nyanja word 'lingaliro' can also mean 'thought', 'idea' or 'concept'. | |||
| Shona | pfungwa | ||
| The word 'pfungwa' has an alternate meaning of 'idea' or 'thought'. | |||
| Somali | fikrad | ||
| The Somali word "fikrad" may also refer to an idea or concept. | |||
| Sesotho | mohopolo | ||
| No other meanings or etymologies are known for "mohopolo". | |||
| Swahili | dhana | ||
| The Swahili word "dhana" can also mean "idea". | |||
| Xhosa | umbono | ||
| "Um-Bono" is a Zulu word that means not a cent | |||
| Yoruba | imọran | ||
| The word "imọran" can also refer to a thought or an idea. | |||
| Zulu | umbono | ||
| "Umbono" also means "thought" or "idea" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | hakilina | ||
| Ewe | nukpɔsusu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | igitekerezo | ||
| Lingala | likanisi | ||
| Luganda | endowooza | ||
| Sepedi | kgopolo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | adwene a ɛwɔ hɔ | ||
Notion in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | خيالى | ||
| The word derives from a similar term, meaning "to sew" in Akkadian, hence the sense of "making a mental image." | |||
| Hebrew | רעיון | ||
| In Biblical Hebrew, the word רעיון (re'ayon) can also mean 'feeding', 'sustenance' or 'pasture'. | |||
| Pashto | نظر | ||
| The Pashto word "نظر" not only means "notion," but can also be used as a synonym for "belief" or "idea." | |||
| Arabic | خيالى | ||
| The word derives from a similar term, meaning "to sew" in Akkadian, hence the sense of "making a mental image." | |||
Notion in Western European Languages
| Albanian | nocion | ||
| The Albanian word "nocion" derives from the Latin "notio," meaning "idea" or "concept," and also has a connotation of "impression" or "vague understanding." | |||
| Basque | nozioa | ||
| The word "nozioa" can originally also mean "thought" or "idea". | |||
| Catalan | noció | ||
| The Catalan word "noció" derives from the Latin word "notitia" meaning "knowledge" and also refers to a "note" or "annotation". | |||
| Croatian | pojam | ||
| "Pojam" can also mean "a term" or "a concept". | |||
| Danish | begreb | ||
| The Danish word "begreb" can trace its etymology to the Old Norse word "greip" meaning "to grasp". | |||
| Dutch | begrip | ||
| "Begrip" (notion) derives from "begrijpen" (understand), meaning grasping with the brain. | |||
| English | notion | ||
| The word "notion" derives from the Latin word "notiō," meaning "knowledge," and can also refer to a vague idea or concept. | |||
| French | notion | ||
| The French word "notion" can also mean "idea" or "concept". | |||
| Frisian | noasje | ||
| Noasje originates from the 16th century French word "notion," meaning "understanding" or "thought." | |||
| Galician | noción | ||
| In Galician, the word "noción" also means "notion", "idea" or "concept". | |||
| German | begriff | ||
| The word "Begriff" comes from the Old High German "bigriffan," meaning "to understand". | |||
| Icelandic | hugmynd | ||
| 'Hugmynd' also means 'mind' or 'thought' in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | nóisean | ||
| The Irish word "nóisean" ("notion") is also used to refer to the concept of "common knowledge" or "consensus". | |||
| Italian | nozione | ||
| The word "nozione" also means "basic concept" in philosophy and science. | |||
| Luxembourgish | begrëff | ||
| The word "Begrëff" comes from the German word "Begriff", which means "concept" or "idea". | |||
| Maltese | kunċett | ||
| The word "kunċett" in Maltese may be influenced by Greek or Italian due to shared roots like "koinos" and "concetto" respectively. | |||
| Norwegian | forestilling | ||
| The noun "forestilling" can also mean "performance" (as in "forestilling i operaen" - "performance in the opera"), as well as "idea" or "representation." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | noção | ||
| The word "noção" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin word "notio," which means "knowledge" or "idea" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | beachd | ||
| The word "beachd" in Scots Gaelic is derived from the Old Irish word "beach", meaning "sense" or "understanding". | |||
| Spanish | noción | ||
| In Spanish, "noción" can come from the Latin "notitia" (knowledge, idea, information), or from the French "notion" (concept, idea), which derives from the Latin "notio" (idea, knowledge). | |||
| Swedish | begrepp | ||
| The Swedish word "begrepp" comes from the Old Swedish "begripa" meaning "to understand". | |||
| Welsh | syniad | ||
| "Syniad" can also mean "thought" or "idea" in Welsh. | |||
Notion in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | паняцце | ||
| The Belarusian 'паняцце' ('notion') originates in Polish, where it has the additional meanings of 'understanding', 'agreement' or 'concept' | |||
| Bosnian | pojam | ||
| The word 'pojam' in Bosnian is a cognate of the Polish word 'pojęcie' and the Russian word 'понятие', all of which derive from the Proto-Slavic word *pojętьje, meaning 'understanding' or 'grasping'. | |||
| Bulgarian | понятие | ||
| The word ‘понятие’ (ponyatie) is also used to denote a ‘concept’, ‘idea’ or ‘understanding’ | |||
| Czech | představa | ||
| Czech noun "představa" comes from the verb "představit si" which derives from "stav" "condition", "situation", and the prefix "před" meaning "pre-", hence "to imagine". | |||
| Estonian | mõiste | ||
| The Estonian word "mõiste" not only means "notion", but also a "concept" or an "idea". | |||
| Finnish | käsite | ||
| Some believe the word "käsite" comes from the old Finnic word "kässi" (hand), while others say it derives from the Proto-Germanic word "gait/kaitjo (property) or from the Gothic word "gaiteins" (understanding). | |||
| Hungarian | fogalom | ||
| In Hungarian, the word "fogalom" also means "concept" and "category" | |||
| Latvian | jēdziens | ||
| The Latvian word "jēdziens" may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵen- "to know, understand." | |||
| Lithuanian | samprata | ||
| Lithuanian "samprata" comes from Russian "samopriyatiye" which literally means "self-acceptance" or "self-concept" | |||
| Macedonian | поим | ||
| The word "поим" also means "understanding" or "comprehension" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | pojęcie | ||
| In Polish the word "pojęcie" can also mean "understanding" or "concept". | |||
| Romanian | noţiune | ||
| The Romanian word "noţiune" can also refer to a concept, an idea, a belief, or an opinion. | |||
| Russian | понятие | ||
| "Понятие" (notion) is derived from the Latin word "notitia", which means "knowledge" or "understanding". | |||
| Serbian | појам | ||
| "Појам" (notion) is a Serbo-Croatian word with Indo-European roots. | |||
| Slovak | predstava | ||
| The Slovak word "predstava" has Slavic roots and is cognate with the Russian word "представление" (predstavleniye), which can also mean "performance" or "representation". | |||
| Slovenian | pojma | ||
| The Slovenian word "pojma" also means "concept", "idea", or "conception" | |||
| Ukrainian | поняття | ||
| The word "поняття" (notion) in Ukrainian also means "concept" or "understanding." | |||
Notion in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ধারণা | ||
| The term "ধারণা" is a borrowing from the Sanskrit word "धारणा", which literally means "carrying" or "holding". | |||
| Gujarati | કલ્પના | ||
| The Sanskrit word 'kalpana' means 'to imagine', and 'kalpna' is also a term for 'fiction' or 'imaginary creation' in Gujarati and Hindi. | |||
| Hindi | धारणा | ||
| The term धारणा (dhāranā) is derived from the Sanskrit verb 'dhṛ' (to hold), suggesting the idea of grasping or holding onto a concept. | |||
| Kannada | ಕಲ್ಪನೆ | ||
| The word ಕಲ್ಪನೆ also means 'imagination', 'concept' or 'idea' in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | സങ്കൽപം | ||
| സങ്കൽപം (Samkalpam) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kalp' meaning 'to imagine', 'to invent', 'to create'. | |||
| Marathi | कल्पना | ||
| In Marathi, कल्पना is also used to describe the first part of a story or play. | |||
| Nepali | धारणा | ||
| The word धारणा (notion) in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit root धृ, meaning 'to hold' or 'to grasp', and refers to the idea of holding or grasping a concept in the mind. | |||
| Punjabi | ਧਾਰਣਾ | ||
| The word 'ਧਾਰਣਾ' (notion) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'धरण' (dharan), which means 'to hold or to carry'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සංකල්පය | ||
| The word "සංකල්පය" can also mean "concept", "idea", "belief", or "principle" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | கருத்து | ||
| "கருத்து" is derived from the Tamil root "கர்" meaning "embryo" and can also refer to an "opinion" or "idea". | |||
| Telugu | భావన | ||
| The Sanskrit origin of "భావన" relates it to the verb meaning "to appear or become," and one meaning of this Telugu word is "idea or conception within one's mind." | |||
| Urdu | خیال | ||
| The word "خیال" (khayaal) in Urdu can also refer to a type of classical Indian music known for its complex improvisations and meditative qualities. | |||
Notion in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 概念 | ||
| 概念 (gàiniàn) can also mean "conception", "idea", "thought" or "concept". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 概念 | ||
| 概念 can also refer to the 'conception' stage of the Buddhist path to enlightenment. | |||
| Japanese | 概念 | ||
| Kanji: 概念 (kannen, concept). Notion in English comes from notionem (nominative notio), Latin noun meaning "a becoming acquainted with, knowledge". Notion is derived from the Latin verb nosco (novi, notum) "I get to know, I perceive". | |||
| Korean | 개념 | ||
| The word "개념" is derived from the Chinese word "概念", meaning "concept" or "idea". | |||
| Mongolian | ойлголт | ||
| The Mongolian word "ойлголт" not only means "notion" but also "idea", "concept", "understanding", and "meaning". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အယူအဆ | ||
| "အယူအဆ" relates to a philosophical term for perception in general rather than the limited meaning of "notion". | |||
Notion in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | gagasan | ||
| The word "gagasan" is derived from the Sanskrit word "gahana," meaning "deep" or "profound. | |||
| Javanese | pemanggih | ||
| "Pemanggih" also means 'opinion', 'thought', or 'idea' | |||
| Khmer | សញ្ញាណ | ||
| Originally meaning a 'sign' or 'mark', the word សញ្ញាណ has come to mean 'notion' or 'idea' in modern Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ແນວຄິດ | ||
| Malay | tanggapan | ||
| 'Tanggapan' is also commonly used to mean 'reception/answer/response' in Indonesian and 'perception/understanding' in Malay. | |||
| Thai | ความคิด | ||
| "ความคิด" can also mean "idea" or "thought". | |||
| Vietnamese | khái niệm | ||
| The root 'khái' in 'khái niệm' originates from the Chinese character '概念', referring to 'understanding' or 'concept'. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paniwala | ||
Notion in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | anlayışı | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "anlayışı" originates from the Persian word "anlaşış" which refers to "meaningful", "reasonable" or "understanding". | |||
| Kazakh | ұғым | ||
| The Kazakh word "ұғым" comes from the Proto-Altaic root *ŋoŋ-, meaning "to understand, to know." | |||
| Kyrgyz | түшүнүк | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "түшүнүк" can also refer to an unwritten set of rules and values embraced by criminals in Central Asia. | |||
| Tajik | мафҳум | ||
| The Tajik word "мафҳум" can also refer to a concept, understanding, or meaning. | |||
| Turkmen | düşünje | ||
| Uzbek | tushunchasi | ||
| 'Tushunchasi' is an Uzbek word that can also mean 'definition'. | |||
| Uyghur | ئۇقۇم | ||
Notion in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | manaʻo | ||
| The Hawaiian word "manaʻo" can also refer to "wish" or "desire". | |||
| Maori | ariā | ||
| The word "ariā" can also mean "thought" or "idea" in Māori. | |||
| Samoan | manatu | ||
| Manatu is also a term used to define the boundaries or the edges of something. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kuru-kuro | ||
| The word "kuru-kuro" is derived from the Spanish word "curioso," meaning "curious" or "inquisitive." | |||
Notion in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | amuyunaka | ||
| Guarani | noción rehegua | ||
Notion in International Languages
| Esperanto | nocio | ||
| Esperanto's "nocio" comes from French "notion" and shares roots with English cognates like "notice" and "know". | |||
| Latin | ratio | ||
| The Latin word "ratio" can also refer to a plan, a system, a way of life, or an account. | |||
Notion in Others Languages
| Greek | έννοια | ||
| The Greek word έννοια has connotations of understanding, meaning, or significance. | |||
| Hmong | kev xav | ||
| "Kev xav" may also refer to a concept, an idea, or a belief. | |||
| Kurdish | fikr | ||
| In Kurdish, 'fikr' also means 'thought' or 'opinion'. | |||
| Turkish | fikir | ||
| Fikir, a Turkish word meaning 'thought' or 'idea', ultimately derives from the Arabic word 'fikr', and also shares a common root with the English word 'fiction'. | |||
| Xhosa | umbono | ||
| "Um-Bono" is a Zulu word that means not a cent | |||
| Yiddish | געדאנק | ||
| "געדאנק" (gedank) is likely derived from the Middle High German word "gedanc", meaning "thought" or "idea." | |||
| Zulu | umbono | ||
| "Umbono" also means "thought" or "idea" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | ধাৰণা | ||
| Aymara | amuyunaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | धारणा के बारे में बतावल गइल बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ނަޒަރިއްޔާތެވެ | ||
| Dogri | धारणा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paniwala | ||
| Guarani | noción rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | nosion | ||
| Krio | noshɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | چەمک | ||
| Maithili | धारणा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯣꯇꯤꯁ ꯑꯁꯤꯅꯤ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | ngaihdan (notion) a ni | ||
| Oromo | yaada jedhu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଧାରଣା | ||
| Quechua | yuyay | ||
| Sanskrit | संज्ञा | ||
| Tatar | төшенчә | ||
| Tigrinya | ዝብል ኣተሓሳስባ | ||
| Tsonga | mianakanyo | ||