Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'of' is a small but mighty part of speech that plays a significant role in the English language. It is a preposition that indicates a relationship between two things, such as possession, origin, or separation. For example, 'the color of the dress' or 'the city of New York.'
But 'of' is more than just a functional word. It carries cultural importance, appearing in countless idioms, proverbs, and sayings that reflect English-speaking cultures. For instance, 'of one's own accord' means to do something voluntarily, while 'of no account' means unimportant or insignificant.
Knowing the translation of 'of' in different languages can be helpful for language learners and cultural enthusiasts alike. It can deepen your understanding of a language's grammar and syntax, as well as provide insight into a culture's unique expressions and ways of thinking.
Here are some translations of 'of' in various languages to get you started:
Afrikaans | van | ||
The Afrikaans word 'van' can also mean 'from', 'by', or 'with'. | |||
Amharic | የ | ||
The word "የ" in Amharic also denotes origin (like Latin "ex"), possession, material, price, and instrument or means. | |||
Hausa | na | ||
The Hausa word "na" can also mean "for," "by," or "with." | |||
Igbo | nke | ||
"Nke" is also used in Igbo to refer to something belonging to a person or group, similar to the English word "possession". | |||
Malagasy | ny | ||
The word "ny" in Malagasy can also mean "the" or "this". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | ya | ||
"Ya" can also mean 'mother' in Nyanja. | |||
Shona | of | ||
In Shona, the word 'of' can also be used to indicate possession, as in 'the book of him'. | |||
Somali | ee | ||
'Ee' can also mean 'to' or 'and' in Somali. | |||
Sesotho | ea | ||
Ea can also indicate source or origin and is used to describe the origin or source of something. | |||
Swahili | ya | ||
The word "ya" also means "his" or "hers" in possessive constructions. | |||
Xhosa | ye | ||
In Xhosa, the word "ye" can also signify possession, belonging, or identity. | |||
Yoruba | ti | ||
The Yoruba word 'ti', meaning 'of', can also be used to denote possession, ownership, or belonging. | |||
Zulu | ye | ||
"Ye" also means "at" in the context of location or time. | |||
Bambara | ka | ||
Ewe | ƒe | ||
Kinyarwanda | bya | ||
Lingala | ya | ||
Luganda | -a | ||
Sepedi | ya | ||
Twi (Akan) | firi | ||
Arabic | من | ||
In Semitic linguistics, the word "من" relates etymologically to the notion of separation. | |||
Hebrew | שֶׁל | ||
The Hebrew word "שֶׁל" can also mean "from" or "belonging to". | |||
Pashto | د | ||
The Pashto word "د" can also mean "by", "from", or "with", depending on the context | |||
Arabic | من | ||
In Semitic linguistics, the word "من" relates etymologically to the notion of separation. |
Albanian | e | ||
In Albanian, “e” can also mean “in” or “from” depending on the context. | |||
Basque | de | ||
The Basque word "de" can also refer to the third person singular possessive, as in "etxekoa", 'his/her/its home'. | |||
Catalan | de | ||
In Catalan "de" may also mean "from" or "out of". | |||
Croatian | od | ||
In Old Church Slavonic and Croatian literature, the preposition “od” corresponds to Latin “ab, de” (odabrati = “abire, deligere”). | |||
Danish | af | ||
The word 'af' in Danish can also mean 'by' or 'from' in most contexts, except when it's used in possessive form. | |||
Dutch | van | ||
The Dutch word "van" can also be used as a preposition meaning "from" or "by". | |||
English | of | ||
The word "of" can also indicate source, origin, or content. | |||
French | de | ||
In French, "de" also has other meanings, such as "from", "by", "to", and "about". | |||
Frisian | fan | ||
The word "fan" in Frisian can also mean "fin" or "flag". | |||
Galician | de | ||
In Galician, "de" often conveys a sense of belonging or origin, similar to the English preposition "from". | |||
German | von | ||
In German, "von" can also imply noble lineage or descent from a noble family. | |||
Icelandic | af | ||
"Af" also means "after, off, down, from, out, of" in Icelandic. | |||
Irish | de | ||
In Irish, 'de' can also mean 'from' or 'concerning'. | |||
Italian | di | ||
The particle 'di' can be the equivalent of 'from' or 'by' in some contexts. | |||
Luxembourgish | vun | ||
Maltese | ta ' | ||
In Maltese, "ta " can also mean "daughter of" or "mother of" when preceding a woman's name. | |||
Norwegian | av | ||
In Norwegian, “av” can also mean “from” or “by”. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | do | ||
In Portuguese, "do" can also mean "from" or "concerning". | |||
Scots Gaelic | de | ||
The word "de" can also mean "from" or "out of" in Scots Gaelic | |||
Spanish | de | ||
De is also used in Spanish to indicate possession, location, or origin. | |||
Swedish | av | ||
Av can also mean "from" or "out of". | |||
Welsh | o | ||
The Welsh word "o" can also mean "to" or "on," and can be used to indicate possession or belonging. |
Belarusian | з | ||
The preposition "з" in Belarusian can also mean "from". | |||
Bosnian | od | ||
The Slavic genitive case particle "од" has also been preserved in some Bosnian expressions, meaning "without" (e.g., "од дашка" means "without a breath"). | |||
Bulgarian | на | ||
"На" in Bulgarian can also mean "on" or "at" depending on the context, and when preceding a name with the letter "й" as in "на Йордан" it translates to "on Jordan's day". | |||
Czech | z | ||
The | |||
Estonian | kohta | ||
Kohta can have other meanings such as "soon" or "place" | |||
Finnish | / | ||
The word '/' ('of') has several other meanings, including 'or', 'out of', 'from', and 'until'. | |||
Hungarian | nak,-nek | ||
The genitive suffix **-nak, -nek** developed from the postposition **né**, which in earlier language meant **inside**. In older texts it is frequently written together with the nouns, as it is now with personal nouns. | |||
Latvian | gada | ||
The word "gada" in Latvian can also mean "about" or "concerning". | |||
Lithuanian | apie | ||
Lithuanian "apie" comes from Indo-European root *upo, meaning "over," "near," "around," or "upon," also found in Ancient Greek "ὑπέ" and Latin "sub". | |||
Macedonian | на | ||
The word "на" in Macedonian can also mean "on" or "at". | |||
Polish | z | ||
The Polish word 'z' meaning 'of' comes from the Proto-Slavic root *izъ, which also meant 'of' or 'out'. | |||
Romanian | de | ||
The Romanian word "de" can also mean "from", "by", or "about". | |||
Russian | из | ||
The word "из" in Russian can also mean "from", "out of", or "away from". | |||
Serbian | од | ||
In Old Serbian the word "од" could mean "from" as well as "of". | |||
Slovak | z | ||
The Slovak word "z" can also mean "from" or "in". | |||
Slovenian | od | ||
The word "od" in Slovenian can also mean "from" or "since" | |||
Ukrainian | з | ||
In Ukrainian, the word “з” (“of”) can also convey the meaning of possession, origin, or a starting point. |
Bengali | এর | ||
In some contexts, the word "এর" can also denote possession, like "এর বই" (his/her book). | |||
Gujarati | ની | ||
The Gujarati word "ની" can also be used informally to mean "that" or "those". | |||
Hindi | का | ||
Hindi "का" is derived from Prakrit "ओ" (o) which meant "belonging to". | |||
Kannada | ನ | ||
The Kannada word ನ (na) can also mean 'to' or 'for'. | |||
Malayalam | ന്റെ | ||
The Malayalam word 'ന്റെ' also means 'belonging to' or 'pertaining to'. | |||
Marathi | च्या | ||
'च्या' is originally a short form of 'चे' ('the') and 'या' ('this'), meaning 'of this' and used to indicate possession. | |||
Nepali | को | ||
The word "को" can also be used to indicate the accusative case, marking the direct object of a verb. | |||
Punjabi | ਦੇ | ||
The word "ਦੇ" can also be used to indicate possession, origin, or source. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වල | ||
The word "වල" can also mean "in" or "inside". | |||
Tamil | of | ||
In Tamil, the word "of" has additional meanings such as "because" and "due to". | |||
Telugu | యొక్క | ||
Telugu word 'యొక్క' ('of') is used for both genitive and possessive meanings and is a contraction of 'యొక్కట' ('yokatam'), a word which meant 'part' in Proto-Dravidian. | |||
Urdu | کے | ||
The Urdu word "کے" can also refer to the concept of possession or belonging to something. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 的 | ||
的 in Mandarin can also mean "certain" or "in a manner," serving as a determiner or adverb respectively. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 的 | ||
The character "的" can also indicate a subject's attribute, possession, or the result of an action. | |||
Japanese | の | ||
The particle の (no) can also indicate possession, meaning, or material. | |||
Korean | 의 | ||
The Korean word 의 can also mean "by" or "for" in English. | |||
Mongolian | -ийн | ||
The word "-ийн" in Mongolian can also be used to express belonging, possession, or origin, similar to the genitive case in other Indo-European languages. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ၏ | ||
The Burmese language has a complex system of classifiers that are used to indicate the type of noun being referred to. The classifier ၏ is used for animate nouns. |
Indonesian | dari | ||
The word "dari" can also mean "from" or "since" depending on the context. | |||
Javanese | saka | ||
The word "saka" in Javanese also means "year" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "saka" meaning "era". | |||
Khmer | នៃ | ||
The word "នៃ" in Khmer can also refer to "because of" or "in terms of". | |||
Lao | ຂອງ | ||
The word "ຂອງ" in Lao is derived from the Pali "ku°ha" and has a secondary meaning of "to be able". | |||
Malay | daripada | ||
Daripada can also mean 'than' or 'from' in Malay, and is cognate with the preposition 'dari' in Indonesian and 'daripada' in Javanese. | |||
Thai | ของ | ||
The Thai word "ของ" ("of") can also mean "thing" or "object" and derives from the Mon language. | |||
Vietnamese | của | ||
The word "của" can also mean "belonging to" or "belonging to someone or something" | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ng | ||
Azerbaijani | of | ||
In Azerbaijani, "of" ("nin") can also mean "belonging to" or "related to". | |||
Kazakh | туралы | ||
Also means “concerning something and its features” or “in the direction of”. | |||
Kyrgyz | боюнча | ||
The word "боюнча" in Kyrgyz is derived from the Old Turkic word "boγun" meaning "neck" or "yoke". | |||
Tajik | аз | ||
The word "аз" (of) also means "from" in Tajik. | |||
Turkmen | of | ||
Uzbek | ning | ||
The word "ning" in Uzbek can also mean "belonging to" or "related to". | |||
Uyghur | of | ||
Hawaiian | o ka | ||
'O ka' can also be a contraction of 'o ke', which means 'of the' | |||
Maori | tuhinga o mua | ||
The word "Tuhinga o mua" in Maori can also refer to ancient writings, history, or ancestry. | |||
Samoan | o | ||
The word "o" can also be used to indicate possession, such as "o le fale" (of the house). | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | ng | ||
'Ng' is also known as the word to shorten 'nang' |
Aymara | ta | ||
Guarani | gua | ||
Esperanto | de | ||
The preposition “de” can also carry several different meanings within a given sentence. | |||
Latin | autem | ||
The Latin word "autem" also means "but" or "however" and is often used to introduce a contrast or adversative clause. |
Greek | του | ||
The word 'του' in Greek could originally refer to motion toward a place. | |||
Hmong | ntawm | ||
The word "ntawm" can also be used to mean "at" or "in" in Hmong. | |||
Kurdish | ji | ||
In addition, the word "ji" is used in Kurdish to mean "from" or "than". | |||
Turkish | nın-nin | ||
Etymology: The word "nın-nin" originates from the Old Turkic suffix "-nıŋ" signifying possession or belonging. | |||
Xhosa | ye | ||
In Xhosa, the word "ye" can also signify possession, belonging, or identity. | |||
Yiddish | פון | ||
As a Yiddish conjunction, 'פון' can also be translated as 'from' when indicating a point of origin. | |||
Zulu | ye | ||
"Ye" also means "at" in the context of location or time. | |||
Assamese | ৰ | ||
Aymara | ta | ||
Bhojpuri | का | ||
Dhivehi | ގެ... | ||
Dogri | आहला | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ng | ||
Guarani | gua | ||
Ilocano | iti | ||
Krio | ɔf | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | لە | ||
Maithili | क | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯣꯐ | ||
Mizo | tan | ||
Oromo | kan | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ର | ||
Quechua | de | ||
Sanskrit | इत्यस्य | ||
Tatar | of | ||
Tigrinya | ካብ | ||
Tsonga | ya | ||