Ought in Different Languages
Discover 'Ought' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Ought
Afrikaans behoort te wees | ||
Albanian duhet të | ||
Amharic ይገባል | ||
Arabic يجب | ||
Armenian պետք է | ||
Assamese লাগে | ||
Aymara ukhamaspa | ||
Azerbaijani gərək | ||
Bambara kan ka | ||
Basque behar luke | ||
Belarusian трэба | ||
Bengali উচিত | ||
Bhojpuri कुछुओ | ||
Bosnian trebalo bi | ||
Bulgarian трябва | ||
Catalan hauria de | ||
Cebuano kinahanglan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 应该 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 應該 | ||
Corsican duverebbe | ||
Croatian trebao | ||
Czech měl by | ||
Danish burde | ||
Dhivehi ވާންޖެހޭނެއެވެ | ||
Dogri चाहिदा | ||
Dutch zou moeten | ||
English ought | ||
Esperanto devus | ||
Estonian peaks | ||
Ewe dze be | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) dapat | ||
Finnish pitäisi | ||
French devrait | ||
Frisian ought | ||
Galician debería | ||
Georgian უნდა | ||
German sollen | ||
Greek πρέπει | ||
Guarani tekotevẽva | ||
Gujarati જોઈએ | ||
Haitian Creole ta dwe | ||
Hausa ya kamata | ||
Hawaiian pono | ||
Hebrew צריך | ||
Hindi चाहिए | ||
Hmong yuav | ||
Hungarian kellene | ||
Icelandic ætti | ||
Igbo kwesiri | ||
Ilocano rumbeng | ||
Indonesian seharusnya | ||
Irish chóir | ||
Italian dovrebbe | ||
Japanese すべきです | ||
Javanese kudune | ||
Kannada ought | ||
Kazakh керек | ||
Khmer គួរតែ | ||
Kinyarwanda bikwiye | ||
Konkani गरज आसा | ||
Korean 영 | ||
Krio fɔ | ||
Kurdish divê | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) پێویستە | ||
Kyrgyz керек | ||
Lao ຄວນ | ||
Latin oportet, | ||
Latvian vajadzētu | ||
Lingala esengeli | ||
Lithuanian turėtų | ||
Luganda okuteekwa | ||
Luxembourgish soll | ||
Macedonian треба | ||
Maithili चाही | ||
Malagasy tokony | ||
Malay semestinya | ||
Malayalam ought | ||
Maltese kellha | ||
Maori tika | ||
Marathi पाहिजे | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ought | ||
Mizo tur | ||
Mongolian ёстой | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ပေးသင့်တယ် | ||
Nepali हुनु पर्छ | ||
Norwegian burde | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) muyenera | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଉଚିତ | ||
Oromo qaba | ||
Pashto باید | ||
Persian باید | ||
Polish powinien | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) deveria | ||
Punjabi ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ | ||
Quechua debe | ||
Romanian ar trebui | ||
Russian должен | ||
Samoan tatau | ||
Sanskrit भाविन् | ||
Scots Gaelic bu chòir | ||
Sepedi swanetše | ||
Serbian требало би | ||
Sesotho tšoanela | ||
Shona zvakafanira | ||
Sindhi گهرجي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ought | ||
Slovak mal by | ||
Slovenian moral bi | ||
Somali waajibka | ||
Spanish debería | ||
Sundanese halah | ||
Swahili inastahili | ||
Swedish borde | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) dapat | ||
Tajik бояд | ||
Tamil கட்டாயம் | ||
Tatar тиеш | ||
Telugu తప్పక | ||
Thai ควร | ||
Tigrinya ይግባእ | ||
Tsonga fanele | ||
Turkish lazım | ||
Turkmen etmeli | ||
Twi (Akan) ɛwɔ sɛ | ||
Ukrainian треба | ||
Urdu چاہئے | ||
Uyghur تېگىشلىك | ||
Uzbek kerak | ||
Vietnamese phải | ||
Welsh dylai | ||
Xhosa kufanelekile | ||
Yiddish דארף | ||
Yoruba yẹ | ||
Zulu kufanele |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, the word "behoort te wees" has the same etymology as its English translation "to be ought", suggesting a relationship between obligation and existence. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "duhet" is related to the Latin "debeo," meaning "to owe". |
| Arabic | The word 'يجب' (ought) in Arabic derives from the root 'وجب' (obligated), and also carries the meaning of 'must'. |
| Armenian | The word "պետք է" is derived from the Indo-European root *pek̂-, meaning "to shear" or "to comb". |
| Azerbaijani | "Gərək" is an Azerbaijani word derived from the Persian word "garak" meaning "necessary". |
| Basque | The Basque word "behar luke" (ought) literally means "must be"} |
| Belarusian | The word “трэба” also means “there is a need,” but is more commonly used in the context of a need to fulfill a moral or social obligation. |
| Bengali | The word "উচিত" is derived from the Sanskrit word "उचित" (ucita), meaning "suitable" or "appropriate". |
| Bosnian | The word 'trebalo bi' is likely derived from the verb 'tresti', meaning 'to need' or 'to necessitate'. |
| Bulgarian | "Трябва" (тряب-ва) на старобългарски означава "жертва." |
| Catalan | The Catalan word “hauria” derives from Latin “habere”, meaning “to have” or “to possess”. |
| Cebuano | "Kinahanglan" is derived from the root word "kinahan," meaning "to require" or "to need." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 除了表示“应该”，“应该”还可以表示“或许”。 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Mandarin Chinese, "應該" also carries meanings of "probability," "expectation," and "reason to." |
| Corsican | Corsican "duverebbe" derives from Latin "debēre" via Italian "dovere" and means both "ought" and "have to" in a sense similar to its French counterpart "devoir". |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "trebao" derives from the Slavic root "treb", meaning "need" or "necessity". |
| Czech | In Old and colloquial Czech, "měl by" could be a conditional, a subjunctive, imperative or optative form of the future of the verb "míti" (to have). |
| Danish | The word "burde" in Danish comes from the Old Norse word "byrðr", meaning "burden" or "responsibility." |
| Dutch | The verb "zou moeten" in Dutch can also mean "I/you/he/she should/ought to do something" or "it should be done." |
| Esperanto | Esperanto "devus" is a Latin loanword related to "devotion" and "duty." |
| Estonian | The word "peaks" comes from the Proto-Finnic "*pekše-" meaning "to bake, roast", which is also the source of the Estonian word "pekkima" meaning "to bake". |
| Finnish | "Pitää" is related to pitko, meaning "longish" and "pitko" meaning "extended". Hence, "pitää" originally meant "to hold something for long". |
| French | Devoir, from which 'devrait' originates, also means 'to owe' and 'to have to do' |
| Frisian | Frisian "ought" also means "at once, immediately." |
| Galician | The Galician word "debería" also means "debt" and "obligation" |
| Georgian | The Georgian word "უნდა" has roots in the Old Georgian verb "უნდავ", which denotes "to have to", "to need" or "to must" |
| German | "Sollen" is the German equivalent of "ought" or "should," but it also has the additional meaning of "to be expected" or "to be necessary." |
| Greek | The verb 'πρέπει' derives from the Indo-European root *prepe-, meaning 'to lead,' 'to send,' or 'to direct ahead.' |
| Gujarati | "જોઈએ" can also refer to necessities, meaning "things one must have or do." |
| Haitian Creole | The word "ta dwe" can also mean "should" or "must" in Haitian Creole. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "ya kamata" can also mean "it is necessary" or "it is appropriate". |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "pono" also connotes balance, harmony, health, and well-being. |
| Hebrew | The word צריכ derives from the Talmudic Aramaic verb שתסר that means “to need.” |
| Hindi | The Hindi word 'चाहिए' is related to the word 'चाहना' meaning 'to desire', thus indicating a necessity derived from a desire. |
| Hmong | "Yuav" can also be translated as "must" or "should" in English, but there are some subtle differences in usage. |
| Hungarian | Kellene, like the English 'ought', can also mean 'to be necessary' or 'required'. |
| Icelandic | The word "ætti" also means "should" and is related to the Old Norse word "átta," meaning "to intend" or "to have to do." |
| Igbo | The word "kwesiri" in Igbo derives from the verb "kwesi" (to be fit or proper) and also means "duty" or "obligation." |
| Indonesian | The word "seharusnya" is derived from the Javanese word "harus" meaning "necessary" and the Indonesian suffix "-nya" indicating a subject or object. |
| Irish | The verb chóir appears only in the present tense, with a number of different meanings. |
| Italian | The verb "dovrebbe" originates from "dovere" and "ebbe" ("had" in past tense), indicating that something was owed and its obligation still stands. |
| Japanese | すべきです can also be used to express obligation or necessity, as in the sentence 「この薬を飲むべきです。」 (You ought to take this medicine.). |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word "kudune" also means "should" or "must". |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ought" is derived from the Old English word "āhte," meaning "possess" or "owe," and its alternate meaning in Kannada is "need" or "necessity." |
| Kazakh | "Керек" can also be used as a noun, meaning "necessity" or "need" |
| Khmer | គួរតែ (kŭor-tae) can also be used to mean "suitable", "proper", or "appropriate." |
| Korean | 영 (ought) derives from the Middle Korean word ᄋᆞᆯ (ǒl), meaning "to be fit, proper, or necessary." |
| Kurdish | The word "divê" in Kurdish is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dhew- "to move, shake, swing, drive". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "керек" comes from the Persian word "گرگ" (gorg), which means "wolf". |
| Lao | "ຄວນ" can also mean "suitable" in some contexts. |
| Latin | 'Oportet' derives from 'opus,' ('work') and denotes that something is necessary and must be worked towards. |
| Latvian | The word vajadzētu derives from the noun vajadzība, meaning "need" or "requirement." |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "turėtų" is derived from the verb "turėti", meaning "to have", and can also mean "should" or "must". |
| Luxembourgish | "Soll" can also have the meaning of a floor or an attic space used for storage. |
| Macedonian | "Треба" means "sacrifice" in Proto-Slavic and other Slavic languages. |
| Malagasy | The word "tokony" in Malagasy also means "must" or "should". |
| Malay | In Malay, "semestinya" can also mean "certainly" or "of course". |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word 'ought' is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word '*awutu', meaning 'ability' or 'capacity'. |
| Maltese | 'Kellha' may also be used in other contexts to denote 'must' or to emphasize an obligation. |
| Maori | In Maori, "tika" can mean "right" or "correct" beyond the realm of morality, extending to physical objects and actions. |
| Marathi | The word 'पाहिजे' in Marathi comes from the Sanskrit word 'पश्यति' which means 'to see' or 'to look at'. |
| Mongolian | The word "ёстой" can also mean "necessary" or "essential". |
| Nepali | हुनु पर्छ is the only Nepali word that is always used in the passive voice. |
| Norwegian | Norwegian "burde" is a homonym of "burde" in Norwegian referring to birds. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "muyenera" literally means "it is proper" or "it is righteous". |
| Pashto | The word "باید" in Pashto can also mean "necessary" or "must". |
| Persian | "باید" in Persian can also mean "necessary" or "it is required to" |
| Polish | The word "powinien" in Polish also has the meaning of "due" or "payable". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "deveria" can also mean "should have" in a past context. |
| Punjabi | It also means "it is necessary" in addition to "ought to". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "ar trebui" also means "should" or "must". |
| Russian | In addition to its primary meaning of "ought", "должен" can also mean "must", "have to", or "required to". |
| Samoan | The word "tatau" in Samoan can also mean "to mark" or "to tattoo". |
| Scots Gaelic | The verb "bu chòir" is often used in the sense of "should" or "it is right to" rather than the sense of "it is necessary," which is more common in English. |
| Serbian | In Serbian, "trebalo bi" can be used impersonally to express duty or necessity without specifying an actor, similar to the French impersonal form "il faut". |
| Sesotho | Sesotho 'tšoanela' means both 'ought' and 'deserve', a semantic link shared with its cognate 'tokwanela' in Nguni languages. |
| Shona | The word "zvakafanira" can also mean appropriate, proper, or correct. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "گهرجي" (pronounced guharji) can also refer to a "petitioner". It's derived from the Sanskrit word "gṛhati" meaning "one who approaches or petitions". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In Sinhala, the word "ought" can also refer to "need" or "deserve". |
| Slovak | The word "mal by" in Slovak comes from the word "mal," meaning "property," and the word "by" meaning "to be." |
| Slovenian | Moral bi could also mean "would have to" when used in the conditional mood. |
| Somali | Waajibka originates from the Arabic word 'waajib' meaning 'duty' or 'obligation'. |
| Spanish | "Debería" puede implicar "debería," "debe" o "tiene que," según el contexto. |
| Sundanese | The word "Halah" in Sundanese can also mean "appropriate" or "befitting." |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "inastahili" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "*-stahili", meaning "to be firm, steady, or deserving" |
| Swedish | "Borde" originates from the Proto-Germanic root for "flank", which referred to a sense of "moral obligation to uphold social harmony" in Old Norse. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Dapat" can also mean "must," "should," or "need." |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "бояд" is a cognate of the Persian word "باید" and has a similar meaning. |
| Tamil | "கட்டாயம்" can also refer to a type of traditional Tamil musical instrument. |
| Telugu | The word "తప్పక" can also mean "certainly" or "without fail". |
| Thai | "ควร" originally meant "to suit" or "to be appropriate". |
| Turkish | "Lazım" derives from Arabic and carries the connotation of necessity or requirement in a wider sense. |
| Ukrainian | "Треба" is also sometimes used to refer to what one should do according to religious law or tradition. |
| Urdu | "چاہئے" is related to the word "چاہ" which means desire and the Arabic word "حاجة" which means need or wish, implying a sense of want or necessity. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "kerak" originates from the Persian word "kār" (work, need) |
| Vietnamese | "Phải" also means "must" or "have to" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | In some dialects of Welsh, 'dylai' ('ought') can also indicate permission or the future tense of a verb. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "kufanelekile" can also mean "suitable" or "appropriate". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word 'darf' is derived from the German 'darben,' meaning 'to be deprived' or 'to need' |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "yẹ" also has the meaning "to be allowed to" and the phrase "a yẹ mi" means "it is permissible for me" or "it is allowed to me." |
| Zulu | "Kufanele" in Zulu also means "must" and is related to the verb "funa," meaning "to want" or "to desire." |
| English | The word "ought" is derived from the Old English word "āhte," meaning "possession" or "property." |