Observation in Different Languages
Discover 'Observation' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Observation is a fundamental aspect of human cognition and communication. It involves the active process of perceiving and interpreting the world around us, allowing us to understand and engage with our environment in meaningful ways. The significance of observation extends beyond individual experience, playing a critical role in fields such as science, education, and psychology. Moreover, the act of observation carries cultural importance across societies, shaping social norms, customs, and traditions.
Given the universal nature of observation, it's no surprise that the word has been translated into countless languages around the world. For example, in Spanish, observation is translated as 'observación,' while in French, it becomes 'observation.' In Mandarin Chinese, the word is translated as '观测' (guān cè), and in Japanese, it is '観測' (kansoku).
Understanding the translation of observation in different languages not only broadens our linguistic repertoire but also deepens our appreciation for the cultural nuances that shape our perception of the world. Join us as we explore the many translations of observation and delve into the fascinating world of language and culture.
Observation
Observation in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | waarneming | ||
| "Waar" means "true" or "real" and "neming" means "taking", so the word literally means "taking the true" or "taking reality." | |||
| Amharic | ምልከታ | ||
| The word "ምልከታ" can also mean "consideration", "notice", or "examination" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | lura | ||
| The word 'lura' in Hausa can also mean 'reflection' or 'investigation'. | |||
| Igbo | nyocha | ||
| The Igbo word "nyocha" can also mean "to peep", "to investigate", or "to scrutinize something carefully." | |||
| Malagasy | fandinihana | ||
| The word "fandinihana" also means "study", "examination" and "research". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kupenyerera | ||
| The word "kupenyerera" can also be used to refer to the act of studying or paying attention to something. | |||
| Shona | kucherechedza | ||
| The word "kucherechedza" in Shona can also mean "to investigate" or "to research". | |||
| Somali | fiirsasho | ||
| The word "fiirsasho" can also mean "scrutiny" or "examination" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | ho shebella | ||
| In Sesotho, 'ho shebella' translates to 'to observe' or 'to look at,' implying both physical sight and thoughtful consideration. | |||
| Swahili | uchunguzi | ||
| The word "uchunguzi" in Swahili initially meant "exploration" or "investigation" before getting its current meaning of "observation". | |||
| Xhosa | ukuqaphela | ||
| The word ukuqaphela is sometimes used in the sense of 'to observe' or 'to scrutinize', but it also has the figurative meaning of 'to take care of' or 'to be mindful of'. | |||
| Yoruba | akiyesi | ||
| The word "akiyesi" can also mean "notice", "attention", or "warning" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | ukubonwa | ||
| Ukubonwa also refers to witnessing, seeing, experiencing, and being noticed by. | |||
| Bambara | jateminɛt | ||
| Ewe | nukpɔkpɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kwitegereza | ||
| Lingala | likanisi | ||
| Luganda | okwetegereza | ||
| Sepedi | temogo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ahwɛeɛ | ||
Observation in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الملاحظة | ||
| The word "الملاحظة" can also mean "warning" or "notice" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | תַצְפִּית | ||
| The word "תַצְפִּית" derives from the root "צָפָה" which means "to watch, to observe or to gaze upon". | |||
| Pashto | مشاهده | ||
| The Pashto word "مشاهده" (moshahida) is derived from the Arabic word "مشاهدة" (mushāhada), meaning 'act of witnessing' or 'observation'. | |||
| Arabic | الملاحظة | ||
| The word "الملاحظة" can also mean "warning" or "notice" in Arabic. | |||
Observation in Western European Languages
| Albanian | vrojtim | ||
| "Vrojtim" is a noun in Albanian meaning "observation" and is cognate with "vrojtoj" verb, which means "to observe". | |||
| Basque | behaketa | ||
| The Basque word "behaketa" can also refer to the act of watching over or keeping an eye on someone or something. | |||
| Catalan | observació | ||
| In astronomy, "observació" refers to the recording of observational data, usually the position or movement of celestial bodies. | |||
| Croatian | promatranje | ||
| The term 'promatranje' in Croatian can also refer to a type of traditional folk dance. | |||
| Danish | observation | ||
| The Danish word for "observation" can also mean "respect" or "consideration for others". | |||
| Dutch | observatie | ||
| The Dutch word "observatie" can also refer to a military reconnaissance plane. | |||
| English | observation | ||
| The word "observation" derives from Latin "observatus," meaning "to comply with" or "to pay attention to." | |||
| French | observation | ||
| The word "observation" derives from the Latin "observatio", meaning "attention" or "act of observing". | |||
| Frisian | observaasje | ||
| The Frisian word "observaasje" comes from the Latin word "observatio", which also means "compliance" and "ceremony". | |||
| Galician | observación | ||
| In Galician, the word "observación" can also refer to a "preliminary remark" or a "commentary". | |||
| German | überwachung | ||
| The German word "Überwachung" also has the connotation of "control" or "supervision". | |||
| Icelandic | athugun | ||
| The word "athugun" is also used in Icelandic to refer to an idea or opinion. | |||
| Irish | breathnóireacht | ||
| The word "breathnóireacht" can also refer to the act of spying or eavesdropping. | |||
| Italian | osservazione | ||
| The Italian word "osservazione" originates from the Latin word "observatio", which also means "compliance" or "respect". | |||
| Luxembourgish | observatioun | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "Observatioun" can also refer to a legal or scientific document that records observations, measurements, or findings. | |||
| Maltese | osservazzjoni | ||
| The Maltese word "osservazzjoni" derives from the Italian "osservazione", ultimately from the Latin "observatio" (observation, contemplation, attendance, etc.). | |||
| Norwegian | observasjon | ||
| The Norwegian word "observasjon" originally meant "obedience" in Latin. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | observação | ||
| In Portuguese, "observação" also means "compliance" or "remark". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | amharc | ||
| "Amharc" comes from the Gaelic for "look at" and is related to the Irish word "amharclann" meaning "theatre." | |||
| Spanish | observación | ||
| The Spanish word "observación" derives from the Latin "observare", meaning "to watch, attend to, or regard." | |||
| Swedish | observation | ||
| In Swedish, "observation" can also mean "a remark" or "a note." | |||
| Welsh | arsylwi | ||
| The word "arsylwi" may be related to the Latin word "observatio" (watching), which comes from "observare" (to watch, notice, or pay attention to). | |||
Observation in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | назіранне | ||
| Belarusian "назіранне" is cognate with Ukrainian "назірання", the original meaning being "watching", a term for a form of divination. | |||
| Bosnian | posmatranje | ||
| The word "posmatranje" in Bosnian comes from the Slavic root "*zor-/*zer-" meaning "to see", also found in other Slavic languages, such as Russian and Czech. | |||
| Bulgarian | наблюдение | ||
| In Bulgarian, the word "наблюдение" can also mean "surveillance" or "monitoring." | |||
| Czech | pozorování | ||
| In Czech, "pozorování" has a related meaning to "attention" or "notice". | |||
| Estonian | vaatlus | ||
| "Vaatlus" (observation) in Estonian can also mean 'care', 'heed', or 'guard' in a figurative sense. | |||
| Finnish | havainto | ||
| Havainto originates from the verb "havaita", ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *sew- "to see". | |||
| Hungarian | megfigyelés | ||
| Megfigyelés in Hungarian is also used to refer to the surveillance of individuals or groups, often with negative connotations. | |||
| Latvian | novērošana | ||
| The word "novērošana" also means "monitoring" and "supervision" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | stebėjimas | ||
| The Lithuanian word "stebėjimas" not only means "observation" but also "monitoring", "surveillance", "tracking", and "scrutiny." | |||
| Macedonian | набудување | ||
| "Набудување" can also mean "perception", "realization" or "notice". | |||
| Polish | obserwacja | ||
| The Polish word "obserwacja" can also refer to a type of military reconnaissance. | |||
| Romanian | observare | ||
| The Romanian word "observare" derives from the Latin "observare" (to observe), but also means "to comply with" or "to respect". | |||
| Russian | наблюдение | ||
| The word "наблюдение" can also mean "supervision" or "monitoring". | |||
| Serbian | посматрање | ||
| **Посматрање** (posmatranje) is a Serbian word that has alternate meanings, such as "watching" or "viewing". | |||
| Slovak | pozorovanie | ||
| The word "pozorovanie" comes from the Old Slavonic word "zorati", meaning "to see". | |||
| Slovenian | opazovanje | ||
| The Slovenian word "opazovanje" can also mean "vigilance" or "monitoring". | |||
| Ukrainian | спостереження | ||
| The word "спостереження" can also mean "consideration" or "examination". | |||
Observation in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পর্যবেক্ষণ | ||
| পর্যবেক্ষণ (Paryobekkhôn) originates from Sanskrit and means both observation and consideration | |||
| Gujarati | અવલોકન | ||
| The word 'અવલોકન' comes from the Sanskrit word 'अवलोकन' ('avalokana'), which means 'looking down' or 'gazing at'. It can also refer to an inspection or examination. | |||
| Hindi | अवलोकन | ||
| The word "अवलोकन" can also mean "review" or "analysis" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ವೀಕ್ಷಣೆ | ||
| The original meaning of "ವೀಕ್ಷಣೆ" is "watching" from its Sanskrit root "vikshya". In modern Kannada, its primary meaning is observation with the sense of "paying attention to". | |||
| Malayalam | നിരീക്ഷണം | ||
| The word നിരീക്ഷണം ('observation') in Malayalam originates from the Sanskrit word 'nirīksh', which also means 'investigation'. The term is also used to refer to 'examination', 'inspection', 'scrutiny', and 'vigilance'. | |||
| Marathi | निरीक्षण | ||
| The Marathi word 'निरीक्षण' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'निरीक्ष,' meaning 'to look carefully or closely' | |||
| Nepali | अवलोकन | ||
| The word 'अवलोकन' comes from the Sanskrit word 'लोक' (world) and means 'looking around' or 'seeing the world'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਨਿਰੀਖਣ | ||
| ਨਿਰੀਖਣ" is a derivative of the Sanskrit word निरीक्षण (nīr-īkṣ-aṇa), which means 'looking out' or 'close examination'. Its other meanings include 'inspection', 'observation', 'supervision', 'examination', and 'consideration'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නිරීක්ෂණය | ||
| The word "නිරීක්ෂණය" in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "nirīkṣaṇa", which means "looking at" or "observing". | |||
| Tamil | கவனிப்பு | ||
| "கவனிப்பு" originally meant "care", "attention", "heed" in Tamil, and only later came to be used with the meaning of "observation". | |||
| Telugu | పరిశీలన | ||
| The Telugu word "పరిశీలన" ("observation") is derived from the Sanskrit root "pariksha", meaning "to examine" or "to test". | |||
| Urdu | مشاہدہ | ||
| The word "مشاہدہ" (observation) originates from the Arabic root "شاهد" meaning "to see", and also means "witness" in Urdu. | |||
Observation in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 观察 | ||
| The word “观察” was originally used to denote the way in which the celestial bodies could be monitored and recorded. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 觀察 | ||
| "觀察" comes from "觀望察覺", with "觀" meaning to look or see and "察" meaning to discern or detect. | |||
| Japanese | 観察 | ||
| 観察 kanji observation consists of 観 means see 察 means inspect | |||
| Korean | 관측 | ||
| The word "관측" (observation) derives from the root "관" (to see) and is cognate with the Chinese word "观察" (to observe). | |||
| Mongolian | ажиглалт | ||
| The Mongolian word "ажиглалт" ("observation") also refers to the act of supervision or monitoring. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လေ့လာခြင်း | ||
Observation in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pengamatan | ||
| "Pengamatan" comes from the root "amat", which can also mean "to observe" and "to see". | |||
| Javanese | pengamatan | ||
| The Javanese word "pengamatan" also means "research" or "study". | |||
| Khmer | ការសង្កេត | ||
| It derives from Pali, where it means 'to look around, search for, seek' and 'to expect, wait for'. | |||
| Lao | ການສັງເກດ | ||
| Malay | pemerhatian | ||
| Pem-erhatian is derived from the root word 'erhat' which means to know. | |||
| Thai | การสังเกต | ||
| In Thai, "การสังเกต" not only means "observation" but also "a survey" or "an interview." | |||
| Vietnamese | quan sát | ||
| "Quan sát" relates to the verb "can" (to see), and also means "to look at" and "to examine." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagmamasid | ||
Observation in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | müşahidə | ||
| "müşahidə" means "observation" in Azerbaijani. It also means "oversight" and "supervision". | |||
| Kazakh | бақылау | ||
| The Kazakh word "бақылау" is thought to be a loanword from the Russian word "наблюдение". | |||
| Kyrgyz | байкоо | ||
| The same word means "observation" in Tajik and Persian, "look" in Mongolian, "watch" in Turkish. | |||
| Tajik | мушоҳида | ||
| The word "мушоҳида" (observation) in Tajik is derived from Persian "مشاهده", which can also mean "sight" or "vision." | |||
| Turkmen | syn etmek | ||
| Uzbek | kuzatuv | ||
| "Kuzatuv" also means "to watch, to spy, to follow" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | كۆزىتىش | ||
Observation in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ka nānā ʻana | ||
| The Hawaiian word "ka nānā ʻana" can also mean "the act of looking" or "the act of paying attention to something". | |||
| Maori | tirohanga | ||
| The Maori word "tirohanga" also signifies "a place, or way of looking out for, or hiding from an enemy." | |||
| Samoan | maitauina | ||
| The word 'maitauina' originally meant 'to notice' before also coming to mean 'observation' | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pagmamasid | ||
| The term 'pagmamasid' also has secondary meanings of 'investigation', 'monitoring', or 'inspection'. | |||
Observation in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uñjawi | ||
| Guarani | jesareko | ||
Observation in International Languages
| Esperanto | observado | ||
| The Esperanto word 'observado' is derived from the Latin word 'observare', meaning 'to watch' or 'to pay attention to'. | |||
| Latin | observationis | ||
| In medieval Latin, "observationis" also referred to a form of religious practice involving self-examination and contemplation. | |||
Observation in Others Languages
| Greek | παρατήρηση | ||
| In Ancient Greek, the word "παρατήρηση" referred to an official's inspection of the army prior to battle. | |||
| Hmong | kev saib | ||
| The word "kev saib" can also mean "to look" or "to watch" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | çavkirinî | ||
| The Kurdish word 'çavkirinî' originates from Old Iranian 'čāukar-' meaning 'to watch, spy' and is related to Sanskrit 'cākara-' ('attendant, servant'). | |||
| Turkish | gözlem | ||
| The word "gözlem" comes from the Persian word "guzal", meaning "beautiful" or "pleasing to the eye." | |||
| Xhosa | ukuqaphela | ||
| The word ukuqaphela is sometimes used in the sense of 'to observe' or 'to scrutinize', but it also has the figurative meaning of 'to take care of' or 'to be mindful of'. | |||
| Yiddish | אָבסערוואַציע | ||
| The Yiddish word 'אָבסערוואַציע' ('observation') also has the alternate meaning of 'supervision' or 'scrutiny'. | |||
| Zulu | ukubonwa | ||
| Ukubonwa also refers to witnessing, seeing, experiencing, and being noticed by. | |||
| Assamese | পৰ্যবেক্ষণ | ||
| Aymara | uñjawi | ||
| Bhojpuri | अवलोकन | ||
| Dhivehi | އޮބްޒަރވްކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | टिप्पनी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagmamasid | ||
| Guarani | jesareko | ||
| Ilocano | panangkita a nalaing | ||
| Krio | fɔ wach | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | چاودێریکردن | ||
| Maithili | निरिक्षण | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯦꯡꯁꯤꯟꯕꯒꯤ ꯊꯧꯑꯣꯡ | ||
| Mizo | hmuhdan | ||
| Oromo | hubannoo | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପର୍ଯ୍ୟବେକ୍ଷଣ | ||
| Quechua | qawariy | ||
| Sanskrit | दर्शनं | ||
| Tatar | күзәтү | ||
| Tigrinya | ትዕዝብቲ | ||
| Tsonga | mbalango | ||