Ought in different languages

Ought in Different Languages

Discover 'Ought' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'ought' is a small but powerful part of the English language, denoting a sense of moral obligation or duty. It's a word that has been used in countless literary works, political debates, and philosophical discussions, making it a crucial component of cultural importance. Understanding its translation in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural exchange.

For instance, in Spanish, 'ought' is translated as 'debería,' while in French, it's 'devrait.' In German, the word 'sollte' is used, and in Japanese, 'ought' is translated as 'ought to' - ought to 〜である / ought to 〜です. These translations not only help in cross-cultural communication but also provide insight into how different cultures view moral obligations and societal norms.

So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or a student of cultural studies, understanding the translation of 'ought' in different languages can be a fascinating journey. Here are some of the translations of 'ought' in various languages:

Ought

Ought in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansbehoort te wees
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.
Amharicይገባል
Hausaya kamata
The Hausa word "ya kamata" can also mean "it is necessary" or "it is appropriate".
Igbokwesiri
The word "kwesiri" in Igbo derives from the verb "kwesi" (to be fit or proper) and also means "duty" or "obligation."
Malagasytokony
The word "tokony" in Malagasy also means "must" or "should".
Nyanja (Chichewa)muyenera
The word "muyenera" literally means "it is proper" or "it is righteous".
Shonazvakafanira
The word "zvakafanira" can also mean appropriate, proper, or correct.
Somaliwaajibka
Waajibka originates from the Arabic word 'waajib' meaning 'duty' or 'obligation'.
Sesothotšoanela
Sesotho 'tšoanela' means both 'ought' and 'deserve', a semantic link shared with its cognate 'tokwanela' in Nguni languages.
Swahiliinastahili
The Swahili word "inastahili" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "*-stahili", meaning "to be firm, steady, or deserving"
Xhosakufanelekile
The Xhosa word "kufanelekile" can also mean "suitable" or "appropriate".
Yorubayẹ
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."
Zulukufanele
"Kufanele" in Zulu also means "must" and is related to the verb "funa," meaning "to want" or "to desire."
Bambarakan ka
Ewedze be
Kinyarwandabikwiye
Lingalaesengeli
Lugandaokuteekwa
Sepediswanetše
Twi (Akan)ɛwɔ sɛ

Ought in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicيجب
The word 'يجب' (ought) in Arabic derives from the root 'وجب' (obligated), and also carries the meaning of 'must'.
Hebrewצריך
The word צריכ derives from the Talmudic Aramaic verb שתסר that means “to need.”
Pashtoباید
The word "باید" in Pashto can also mean "necessary" or "must".
Arabicيجب
The word 'يجب' (ought) in Arabic derives from the root 'وجب' (obligated), and also carries the meaning of 'must'.

Ought in Western European Languages

Albanianduhet të
The Albanian word "duhet" is related to the Latin "debeo," meaning "to owe".
Basquebehar luke
The Basque word "behar luke" (ought) literally means "must be"}
Catalanhauria de
The Catalan word “hauria” derives from Latin “habere”, meaning “to have” or “to possess”.
Croatiantrebao
The Croatian word "trebao" derives from the Slavic root "treb", meaning "need" or "necessity".
Danishburde
The word "burde" in Danish comes from the Old Norse word "byrðr", meaning "burden" or "responsibility."
Dutchzou moeten
The verb "zou moeten" in Dutch can also mean "I/you/he/she should/ought to do something" or "it should be done."
Englishought
The word "ought" is derived from the Old English word "āhte," meaning "possession" or "property."
Frenchdevrait
Devoir, from which 'devrait' originates, also means 'to owe' and 'to have to do'
Frisianought
Frisian "ought" also means "at once, immediately."
Galiciandebería
The Galician word "debería" also means "debt" and "obligation"
Germansollen
"Sollen" is the German equivalent of "ought" or "should," but it also has the additional meaning of "to be expected" or "to be necessary."
Icelandicætti
The word "ætti" also means "should" and is related to the Old Norse word "átta," meaning "to intend" or "to have to do."
Irishchóir
The verb chóir appears only in the present tense, with a number of different meanings.
Italiandovrebbe
The verb "dovrebbe" originates from "dovere" and "ebbe" ("had" in past tense), indicating that something was owed and its obligation still stands.
Luxembourgishsoll
"Soll" can also have the meaning of a floor or an attic space used for storage.
Maltesekellha
'Kellha' may also be used in other contexts to denote 'must' or to emphasize an obligation.
Norwegianburde
Norwegian "burde" is a homonym of "burde" in Norwegian referring to birds.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)deveria
In Portuguese, "deveria" can also mean "should have" in a past context.
Scots Gaelicbu chòir
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.
Spanishdebería
"Debería" puede implicar "debería," "debe" o "tiene que," según el contexto.
Swedishborde
"Borde" originates from the Proto-Germanic root for "flank", which referred to a sense of "moral obligation to uphold social harmony" in Old Norse.
Welshdylai
In some dialects of Welsh, 'dylai' ('ought') can also indicate permission or the future tense of a verb.

Ought in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianтрэба
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.
Bosniantrebalo bi
The word 'trebalo bi' is likely derived from the verb 'tresti', meaning 'to need' or 'to necessitate'.
Bulgarianтрябва
"Трябва" (тряب-ва) на старобългарски означава "жертва."
Czechměl by
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).
Estonianpeaks
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".
Finnishpitäisi
"Pitää" is related to pitko, meaning "longish" and "pitko" meaning "extended". Hence, "pitää" originally meant "to hold something for long".
Hungariankellene
Kellene, like the English 'ought', can also mean 'to be necessary' or 'required'.
Latvianvajadzētu
The word vajadzētu derives from the noun vajadzība, meaning "need" or "requirement."
Lithuanianturėtų
The Lithuanian word "turėtų" is derived from the verb "turėti", meaning "to have", and can also mean "should" or "must".
Macedonianтреба
"Треба" means "sacrifice" in Proto-Slavic and other Slavic languages.
Polishpowinien
The word "powinien" in Polish also has the meaning of "due" or "payable".
Romanianar trebui
The Romanian word "ar trebui" also means "should" or "must".
Russianдолжен
In addition to its primary meaning of "ought", "должен" can also mean "must", "have to", or "required to".
Serbianтребало би
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".
Slovakmal by
The word "mal by" in Slovak comes from the word "mal," meaning "property," and the word "by" meaning "to be."
Slovenianmoral bi
Moral bi could also mean "would have to" when used in the conditional mood.
Ukrainianтреба
"Треба" is also sometimes used to refer to what one should do according to religious law or tradition.

Ought in South Asian Languages

Bengaliউচিত
The word "উচিত" is derived from the Sanskrit word "उचित" (ucita), meaning "suitable" or "appropriate".
Gujaratiજોઈએ
"જોઈએ" can also refer to necessities, meaning "things one must have or do."
Hindiचाहिए
The Hindi word 'चाहिए' is related to the word 'चाहना' meaning 'to desire', thus indicating a necessity derived from a desire.
Kannadaought
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."
Malayalamought
The Malayalam word 'ought' is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word '*awutu', meaning 'ability' or 'capacity'.
Marathiपाहिजे
The word 'पाहिजे' in Marathi comes from the Sanskrit word 'पश्यति' which means 'to see' or 'to look at'.
Nepaliहुनु पर्छ
हुनु पर्छ is the only Nepali word that is always used in the passive voice.
Punjabiਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ
It also means "it is necessary" in addition to "ought to".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ought
In Sinhala, the word "ought" can also refer to "need" or "deserve".
Tamilகட்டாயம்
"கட்டாயம்" can also refer to a type of traditional Tamil musical instrument.
Teluguతప్పక
The word "తప్పక" can also mean "certainly" or "without fail".
Urduچاہئے
"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.

Ought in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)应该
除了表示“应该”，“应该”还可以表示“或许”。
Chinese (Traditional)應該
In Mandarin Chinese, "應該" also carries meanings of "probability," "expectation," and "reason to."
Japaneseすべきです
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.).
Korean영
영 (ought) derives from the Middle Korean word ᄋᆞᆯ (ǒl), meaning "to be fit, proper, or necessary."
Mongolianёстой
The word "ёстой" can also mean "necessary" or "essential".
Myanmar (Burmese)ပေးသင့်တယ်

Ought in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianseharusnya
The word "seharusnya" is derived from the Javanese word "harus" meaning "necessary" and the Indonesian suffix "-nya" indicating a subject or object.
Javanesekudune
In Javanese, the word "kudune" also means "should" or "must".
Khmerគួរតែ
គួរតែ (kŭor-tae) can also be used to mean "suitable", "proper", or "appropriate."
Laoຄວນ
"ຄວນ" can also mean "suitable" in some contexts.
Malaysemestinya
In Malay, "semestinya" can also mean "certainly" or "of course".
Thaiควร
"ควร" originally meant "to suit" or "to be appropriate".
Vietnamesephải
"Phải" also means "must" or "have to" in Vietnamese.
Filipino (Tagalog)dapat

Ought in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanigərək
"Gərək" is an Azerbaijani word derived from the Persian word "garak" meaning "necessary".
Kazakhкерек
"Керек" can also be used as a noun, meaning "necessity" or "need"
Kyrgyzкерек
The word "керек" comes from the Persian word "گرگ" (gorg), which means "wolf".
Tajikбояд
The Tajik word "бояд" is a cognate of the Persian word "باید" and has a similar meaning.
Turkmenetmeli
Uzbekkerak
The Uzbek word "kerak" originates from the Persian word "kār" (work, need)
Uyghurتېگىشلىك

Ought in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianpono
In Hawaiian, "pono" also connotes balance, harmony, health, and well-being.
Maoritika
In Maori, "tika" can mean "right" or "correct" beyond the realm of morality, extending to physical objects and actions.
Samoantatau
The word "tatau" in Samoan can also mean "to mark" or "to tattoo".
Tagalog (Filipino)dapat
"Dapat" can also mean "must," "should," or "need."

Ought in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaraukhamaspa
Guaranitekotevẽva

Ought in International Languages

Esperantodevus
Esperanto "devus" is a Latin loanword related to "devotion" and "duty."
Latinoportet,
'Oportet' derives from 'opus,' ('work') and denotes that something is necessary and must be worked towards.

Ought in Others Languages

Greekπρέπει
The verb 'πρέπει' derives from the Indo-European root *prepe-, meaning 'to lead,' 'to send,' or 'to direct ahead.'
Hmongyuav
"Yuav" can also be translated as "must" or "should" in English, but there are some subtle differences in usage.
Kurdishdivê
The word "divê" in Kurdish is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dhew- "to move, shake, swing, drive".
Turkishlazım
"Lazım" derives from Arabic and carries the connotation of necessity or requirement in a wider sense.
Xhosakufanelekile
The Xhosa word "kufanelekile" can also mean "suitable" or "appropriate".
Yiddishדארף
The Yiddish word 'darf' is derived from the German 'darben,' meaning 'to be deprived' or 'to need'
Zulukufanele
"Kufanele" in Zulu also means "must" and is related to the verb "funa," meaning "to want" or "to desire."
Assameseলাগে
Aymaraukhamaspa
Bhojpuriकुछुओ
Dhivehiވާންޖެހޭނެއެވެ
Dogriचाहिदा
Filipino (Tagalog)dapat
Guaranitekotevẽva
Ilocanorumbeng
Kriofɔ
Kurdish (Sorani)پێویستە
Maithiliचाही
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ought
Mizotur
Oromoqaba
Odia (Oriya)ଉଚିତ
Quechuadebe
Sanskritभाविन्
Tatarтиеш
Tigrinyaይግባእ
Tsongafanele

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