Past in Different Languages
Discover 'Past' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'past' carries significant meaning in English, referring to times, events, or experiences that have already happened. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, history, and personal narratives, shaping how we understand and communicate our experiences. Understanding the translation of 'past' in different languages can provide unique insights into various cultures and broaden our perspectives.
For instance, the Spanish translation of 'past' is 'pasado', which also means 'overtaken' or 'surpassed', reflecting the language's emphasis on movement and progression. Meanwhile, the German translation, 'Vergangenheit', highlights the concept of completion and finality. In Chinese, 'guoqu' (过去) emphasizes the idea of 'going over' or 'transcending' time.
Exploring the translations of 'past' in different languages can deepen our appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture. Keep reading to discover more fascinating translations of 'past' in various languages.
Past
Past in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | verby | ||
| The Afrikaans word "verby" derives from the Old Germanic language and has the dual meaning of "past" and "done or completed". | |||
| Amharic | ያለፈው | ||
| 'ያለፈው' can also refer to a deceased man. | |||
| Hausa | da suka wuce | ||
| The Hausa word "da suka wuce" has no other meanings or etymological connections. | |||
| Igbo | gara aga | ||
| Gara aga also means 'formerly' or 'previously' in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | lasa | ||
| The Malagasy word "lasa" can also refer to a "track" or a "road". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kale | ||
| Kale as a noun also means "a large shallow dish or bowl". | |||
| Shona | yapfuura | ||
| In Shona, "yapfuura" can both refer to "in the past" and "beyond". | |||
| Somali | soo dhaafay | ||
| Soo dhaafay in Somali can also mean a bygone era or time that has passed. | |||
| Sesotho | fetileng | ||
| Etymology: possibly < Nguni "phofula" (to become large). | |||
| Swahili | zamani | ||
| In Old Swahili, "zamani" primarily meant 'ancient times,' but later acquired the meaning 'past.' | |||
| Xhosa | edlulileyo | ||
| In addition to its temporal meaning, "edlulileyo" can also refer to a deceased person. | |||
| Yoruba | ti o ti kọja | ||
| The word 'ti o ti kọja' literally means 'what has gone past' in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | esidlule | ||
| The word 'esidlule' is not a Zulu word. It is a made-up word that does not have any meaning or etymology. | |||
| Bambara | tɛmɛnen | ||
| Ewe | tsã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kahise | ||
| Lingala | eleka | ||
| Luganda | edda | ||
| Sepedi | fetilego | ||
| Twi (Akan) | deɛ atwam | ||
Past in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الماضي | ||
| "الماضی" (past) derives from the verb "مضى" (to pass, to go by) and initially meant "the time that has passed". | |||
| Hebrew | עבר | ||
| The Hebrew word for past, "עבר", also means "other side" and can be used to refer to the "other side" of a river or the "other side" of a conflict. | |||
| Pashto | تېر | ||
| The Pashto word "تېر" (tēr) not only means "past," but also signifies a sense of "beyond" or "transgressed." | |||
| Arabic | الماضي | ||
| "الماضی" (past) derives from the verb "مضى" (to pass, to go by) and initially meant "the time that has passed". | |||
Past in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e kaluara | ||
| The Albanian word "e kaluara" (past) is of Romance origin (calare/calare) and its literal meaning is "the one who falls". | |||
| Basque | iragana | ||
| The word "iragana" also means "what has been given" or "what has been left behind". | |||
| Catalan | passat | ||
| The Catalan word "passat" derives from the Latin "passatus" and may also refer to a passage or a crossing over. | |||
| Croatian | prošlost | ||
| The Croatian word "prošlost" originally meant "what has passed before" or "what lies ahead". | |||
| Danish | forbi | ||
| Forbi is ultimately derived from the Old Norse word far, meaning 'to travel' or 'to go' | |||
| Dutch | verleden | ||
| Verleden may also mean 'crime' or 'criminal record' in Dutch law. | |||
| English | past | ||
| The word “past” comes from the Latin “passus”, meaning “step”, indicating an event that has already happened and is now behind us in time. | |||
| French | passé | ||
| The French word "passé" comes from the Latin word "passare", meaning "to cross over" and can also mean "outdated" or "out of fashion." | |||
| Frisian | ferline | ||
| The Frisian word "ferline" can be traced back to Proto-Germanic *farlinōn- meaning "to delay". It is cognate with the English "fardel", the Dutch "vorselen", and the German "Verlieren" meaning "to lose". | |||
| Galician | pasado | ||
| Galician "pasado" derives from Latin "passus" and means both "step" and "past time". | |||
| German | vergangenheit | ||
| The German word "Vergangenheit" originally meant "das vorher Geschehene" (literally, "the things that have already happened") and is related to the verb "vergehen" (to pass away). | |||
| Icelandic | fortíð | ||
| The Icelandic word "fortíð" originally referred to "that which lies before," and only acquired a temporal meaning after contact with Latin. | |||
| Irish | caite | ||
| The Irish word "caite" is etymologically related to the Latin word "cedere", meaning "to give way" or "to fall away". | |||
| Italian | passato | ||
| The word "passato" (past) in Italian can also mean "over", "beyond" or "through". | |||
| Luxembourgish | vergaangenheet | ||
| Maltese | passat | ||
| The Maltese word "passat" can also mean "road" or "avenue". | |||
| Norwegian | forbi | ||
| The word "forbi" can also mean "over the other side of [something]", "by", "past", and "on the opposite side of". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | passado | ||
| The word 'passado' in Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) has the same origin as the English word 'pass' and can also mean 'to happen' or 'to occur'. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | seachad | ||
| Scots Gaelic "seachad" also means "separation" or "division". | |||
| Spanish | pasado | ||
| In some regions of Mexico and Central America, "pasado" can also mean "drunk". | |||
| Swedish | över | ||
| It shares the root of the english word 'over' as in 'to go over', and also like 'över' in Swedish, can mean 'excess'. | |||
| Welsh | heibio | ||
| The word "heibio" in Welsh can also mean "yesterday" or "the day before yesterday." | |||
Past in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | мінулае | ||
| In Old Russian, “минувшее,” (“past”), also meant "passed, bygone," as well as “proshloe.” (“past, gone, that which passed by” from pro + iti). | |||
| Bosnian | prošlost | ||
| The Bosnian word "prošlost" derives from the Slavic word "prosti", meaning "free" or "abandoned". | |||
| Bulgarian | минало | ||
| The Bulgarian word "минало" for past also means "gone" and is related to "mind" | |||
| Czech | minulý | ||
| The Czech word "minulý" also means "bygone" or "preceding". | |||
| Estonian | minevik | ||
| The word "minevik" has a secondary meaning in Estonian, referring to a type of mortar used in warfare. | |||
| Finnish | menneisyydessä | ||
| The word "menneisyydessä" can also refer to "history" or "the past" in a general sense. | |||
| Hungarian | múlt | ||
| The Hungarian word "múlt" is not only means "past" but also means "passed" and "defunct". | |||
| Latvian | pagātne | ||
| "Pagātne" can also mean "paganism, heathendom". | |||
| Lithuanian | praeitis | ||
| The word "praeitis" in Lithuanian is derived from the Latin "praeterire" (to pass by) and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*per-" (to cross over). | |||
| Macedonian | минато | ||
| "Минато" is the equivalent of "past" in Macedonian, but it can also mean "mine" or "shaft". | |||
| Polish | przeszłość | ||
| "Przeszłość" in Polish also means "the past year" or "the past time period". | |||
| Romanian | trecut | ||
| The Romanian word "trecut" is derived from the Latin word "transactus", meaning "passed by" or "gone beyond." | |||
| Russian | мимо | ||
| мимо (mimo) is an ambiguous Russian word, most commonly translated as 'past', but also meaning 'by' or 'along' and sometimes used to indicate avoidance. | |||
| Serbian | прошлост | ||
| The word "прошлост" (past) in Serbian derives from "*perd-tь" (to lose), likely due to its association with lost time. | |||
| Slovak | minulosť | ||
| The Slovak word "minulosť" also means "old age" or "antiquity". | |||
| Slovenian | preteklosti | ||
| The Slovenian word 'preteklosti' ('past') is derived from the verb 'prekatiti' meaning 'to roll over' or 'to pass by'. | |||
| Ukrainian | минуле | ||
| "Минуле" also means "bygone" in Ukrainian. | |||
Past in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অতীত | ||
| The word 'অতীত' can also mean 'transcended' in the sense of 'beyond comprehension' or 'inaccessible' in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | ભૂતકાળ | ||
| The Gujarati word "ભૂતકાળ" literally means "that which is become", and can also refer to "timeless" or "eternal". | |||
| Hindi | अतीत | ||
| The word 'अतीत' (atīt) also means 'exceeded' or 'surpassed' in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಹಿಂದಿನದು | ||
| The word 'hindinadu' can also refer to the region of India now known as Karnataka, or 'the land of yore'. | |||
| Malayalam | കഴിഞ്ഞ | ||
| The word "കഴിഞ്ഞ" also means "gone through" or "experienced" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | भूतकाळ | ||
| The Marathi word "भूतकाळ" shares its root "भूत" with the Sanskrit word "भूत" meaning "being" or "existence", suggesting that the past is not merely a chronological concept but also a realm of entities or experiences that continue to exist in some form. | |||
| Nepali | विगत | ||
| The word "विगत" is derived from the Sanskrit word "विगत" meaning "gone" or "finished". | |||
| Punjabi | ਅਤੀਤ | ||
| The word "ਅਤੀਤ" (past) also means "beyond" or "transcendent" in Punjabi, hinting at its metaphysical connotations. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අතීතයේ | ||
| The term 'අතීතයේ' in Sinhala also refers to 'previous' or 'earlier', indicating a temporal relation to the present. | |||
| Tamil | கடந்த காலம் | ||
| Telugu | గత | ||
| The word "గత" can also mean "gone", "lost", or "dead" in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | ماضی | ||
| "ماضی" means 'past' in Urdu. In Arabic it can also mean 'money' or 'possessions' | |||
Past in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 过去 | ||
| The word "过去" can also mean "to pass by" or "to go beyond". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 過去 | ||
| The word “過去” is also used in Chinese to refer to “the afterlife”. | |||
| Japanese | 過去 | ||
| "過去" also can be interpreted as "the past" from the Buddhist belief of rebirth. | |||
| Korean | 과거 | ||
| "과거" can also mean "subject" or "course". | |||
| Mongolian | өнгөрсөн | ||
| Өнгөрсөн can also mean 'left' or 'last' when used as an adjective. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အတိတ် | ||
| In Burmese, "အတိတ်" is not only means the past, but also something left in the present. | |||
Past in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | lalu | ||
| The Indonesian word "lalu" is derived from Proto-Austronesian *laju, which also means "to go", "to walk", or "to run". | |||
| Javanese | kepungkur | ||
| The word "kepungkur" in Javanese has an alternate meaning of "to leave someone behind". | |||
| Khmer | អតីតកាល | ||
| Khmer "អតីតកាល" derives from Sanskrit "atīta" and may also mean "history" or "the time before death". | |||
| Lao | ທີ່ຜ່ານມາ | ||
| Malay | masa lalu | ||
| The Malay word "masa lalu" literally means "time that has passed" or "time that has gone by". | |||
| Thai | ที่ผ่านมา | ||
| Though literally translating as “the time having passed,” "ทีผ่านมา" also carries the connotations of "recently," or "during the period." | |||
| Vietnamese | quá khứ | ||
| The word "quá khứ" also means "the thing that has happened" or "the thing that has been done". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nakaraan | ||
Past in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | keçmiş | ||
| The word "keçmiş" (past) in Azerbaijani also means "old" or "former". | |||
| Kazakh | өткен | ||
| The Kazakh word "өткен" ("past") also means "finished", "completed", or "gone by". | |||
| Kyrgyz | өткөн | ||
| The word "өткөн" can also mean "passed away" or "deceased" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | гузашта | ||
| The word "гузашта" also means "the past, yesterday" in Persian. | |||
| Turkmen | geçmiş | ||
| Uzbek | o'tmish | ||
| The word "o'tmish" (past) in Uzbek is also used to refer to something that has been lost or forgotten. | |||
| Uyghur | ئۆتمۈش | ||
Past in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i hala | ||
| In Hawaiian, “i hala” literally means “gone beyond the pandanus tree,” referring to the tree’s significance as a boundary marker. | |||
| Maori | tuhinga o mua | ||
| Can also mean 'history' or 'tradition'. | |||
| Samoan | ua tuanaʻi | ||
| The word "ua tuanaʻi" can also mean "before" or "previously". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | nakaraan | ||
| "nakaraan" (past) in Tagalog is derived from the root word "karaan" (done) and refers to something that has already been accomplished. | |||
Past in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | makipata | ||
| Guarani | hasapyréva | ||
Past in International Languages
| Esperanto | pasinta | ||
| Esperanto's word "pasinta" is a calque on the French "passé" (which also has a present participle, "passant") and shares a root with "pas" ("step") and "passage" (and, by extension, the English "pace" and "pasture"). | |||
| Latin | praeteritum | ||
| The word "praeteritum" can also refer to crimes that are beyond the statute of limitations and can no longer be punished. | |||
Past in Others Languages
| Greek | το παρελθόν | ||
| In ancient Greek, 'το παρελθόν' also referred to the 'wrongdoings' of someone, meaning 'sins' or 'transgressions'. | |||
| Hmong | yav tag los | ||
| The Hmong word "yav tag los" can also mean "already past" or "time has passed by." | |||
| Kurdish | borî | ||
| In the Gorani dialect of Kurdish, "borî" can also mean "to gather" or "to collect". | |||
| Turkish | geçmiş | ||
| The word "geçmiş" in Turkish also means "passed away" or "deceased". | |||
| Xhosa | edlulileyo | ||
| In addition to its temporal meaning, "edlulileyo" can also refer to a deceased person. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרגאַנגענהייט | ||
| Zulu | esidlule | ||
| The word 'esidlule' is not a Zulu word. It is a made-up word that does not have any meaning or etymology. | |||
| Assamese | অতীত | ||
| Aymara | makipata | ||
| Bhojpuri | अतीत | ||
| Dhivehi | މާޒީ | ||
| Dogri | अतीत | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nakaraan | ||
| Guarani | hasapyréva | ||
| Ilocano | napalabas | ||
| Krio | trade | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕابردوو | ||
| Maithili | भूतकाल | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯧꯈ꯭ꯔꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hunkaltawh | ||
| Oromo | kan darbe | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅତୀତ | ||
| Quechua | ñawpaq | ||
| Sanskrit | भूत | ||
| Tatar | үткән | ||
| Tigrinya | ሕሉፍ | ||
| Tsonga | hundzeke | ||
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