Perceive in Different Languages
Discover 'Perceive' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'perceive' is a powerful tool in our linguistic arsenal, allowing us to express the way we understand and interpret the world around us. Its significance lies in its ability to convey subjective experiences and unique perspectives, making it a crucial component of communication and cultural exchange. Throughout history, perceiving the world in different ways has led to groundbreaking discoveries, innovative ideas, and diverse artistic expressions.
Moreover, the concept of perception is not limited to a single language or culture. In fact, it is a universal human experience, with each language offering its own unique way of expressing it. For example, in Spanish, 'percibir' means to perceive or become aware of something through the senses. Meanwhile, in German, 'wahrnehmen' means to perceive or apprehend something mentally. These translations not only reflect linguistic differences but also offer insight into how different cultures view and interact with the world.
Given the cultural importance of perception and the value of understanding different perspectives, it is no wonder that many people are interested in learning how to say 'perceive' in various languages. Below, you will find a list of translations of the word 'perceive' in 10 different languages, along with their corresponding meanings and cultural contexts.
Perceive
Perceive in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | waarneem | ||
| The word "waarneem" can also refer to the act of observing or taking notice of something. | |||
| Amharic | ማስተዋል | ||
| The verb ማስተዋል "perceive" also means "to understand". | |||
| Hausa | tsinkaye | ||
| "Tsinkaye" in Hausa might also mean "to be aware" or "to understand something". | |||
| Igbo | ghọta | ||
| "Ghọta" also means "understand" or "comprehend" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | tsy fantatrareo | ||
| In Malagasy, the word "Tsy fantatrareo" can also mean "to understand" or "to comprehend". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zindikira | ||
| The word "zindikira" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is also used to mean "think" or "understand". | |||
| Shona | kunzwisisa | ||
| "Kunzwisisa" can also mean "to understand" or "to know". | |||
| Somali | garasho | ||
| The verb "garasho" could also mean "to understand". | |||
| Sesotho | lemoha | ||
| The word "lemoha" in Sesotho also means "to see" or "to look at". | |||
| Swahili | tambua | ||
| The word "tambua" in Swahili also means "to understand" or "to acknowledge." | |||
| Xhosa | ukuqonda | ||
| The Xhosa word 'ukuqonda' also means 'to understand' or 'to know'. | |||
| Yoruba | ṣe akiyesi | ||
| The verb “ṣe akiyesi” in Yoruba is also used to mean “pay attention”. The verb “ṣe aka” can also take the same meaning of “pay attention”, while the noun “akiyesi” refers to “attention”. | |||
| Zulu | bona | ||
| The word "bona" in Zulu is also used to describe the act of "seeing" or "looking" at something. | |||
| Bambara | ka sɔrɔ | ||
| Ewe | kpɔ nu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gutahura | ||
| Lingala | komona | ||
| Luganda | okulaba | ||
| Sepedi | lemoga | ||
| Twi (Akan) | fa no sɛ | ||
Perceive in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تصور شعور | ||
| The Arabic word "تصور شعور" ("تصور شعور") not only means "perceive" but also "imagine" or "feel". | |||
| Hebrew | לִתְפּוֹס | ||
| The verb 'לתפוס' can be used colloquially to mean 'to catch,' 'to hold,' or 'to understand,' showing its broad semantic range. | |||
| Pashto | درک کول | ||
| The word "درک کول" in Pashto can also mean "to grasp" or "to understand". | |||
| Arabic | تصور شعور | ||
| The Arabic word "تصور شعور" ("تصور شعور") not only means "perceive" but also "imagine" or "feel". | |||
Perceive in Western European Languages
| Albanian | perceptoj | ||
| Perceptoj comes from the Latin word "percipere", meaning "to grasp" or "to understand". | |||
| Basque | hauteman | ||
| In Medieval Latin, 'hauteman' referred to a 'noble' or 'lord'; in Old French, its meaning narrowed to 'a high-ranking soldier'. | |||
| Catalan | percebre | ||
| Catalan 'percebre' comes from Latin 'percipere' meaning 'to seize' or 'take possession of', hence the related Catalan words 'percepció' ('receipt') and 'perceptoria' ('tollhouse'). | |||
| Croatian | opažati | ||
| The verb "opažati" in Croatian is derived from the noun "opaža", meaning "observation" or "remark". | |||
| Danish | erkende | ||
| Erkende is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *kʰerkwjaną, meaning 'to turn, twist' or 'to see, observe'. | |||
| Dutch | waarnemen | ||
| The word "waarnemen" is derived from the Old Dutch word "warnemen," which means "to take care of" or "to guard over." | |||
| English | perceive | ||
| Perceive derives from Latin "percipere" meaning "to take fully into the mind". Alternate meanings include "to notice" and "to appreciate". | |||
| French | apercevoir | ||
| "Apercevoir" comes from the Latin "aperire" (to open), suggesting the idea of uncovering or revealing something. | |||
| Frisian | waarnimme | ||
| The word 'waarnimme' in Frisian also means 'to notice' or 'to take note of'. | |||
| Galician | percibir | ||
| In Galician, "percibir" also means "to receive a salary or wage". | |||
| German | wahrnehmen | ||
| "Wahrnehmen" in German, from Old High German "wārnemēn", is related to "warn" and "awareness" in English. | |||
| Icelandic | skynja | ||
| The word "skynja" is related to the word "skyn" (meaning "sense"), and is also used in the sense of "to understand" or "to comprehend." | |||
| Irish | bhrath | ||
| The Old Irish word "bhrath" is related to the Latin "frater" and Sanskrit "bhratar", all meaning "brother". | |||
| Italian | percepire | ||
| The Italian verb "percepire" comes from Latin "percipere" meaning "take in" or "lay hold on". | |||
| Luxembourgish | opfänken | ||
| opfänken might be related to | |||
| Maltese | jipperċepixxi | ||
| The word 'jipperċepixxi' is derived from the Arabic word 'jarrasa' meaning 'to inspect thoroughly' and the Latin word 'capio' meaning 'to take'. | |||
| Norwegian | oppfatte | ||
| The verb "oppfatte" is derived from the Old Norse word "uppfatta", which means "to grasp" or "to understand". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | perceber | ||
| In Portuguese, "perceber" can also mean "to realize" or "to notice." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bhrath | ||
| Bhrath is thought to be derived from Old Irish brath meaning "judgement, opinion" and can also mean "smell" in Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | percibir | ||
| The verb "percibir" in Spanish can also mean "to collect" (e.g. a tax). | |||
| Swedish | uppfatta | ||
| The Swedish verb "uppfatta" is cognate with German "auffassen" (to grasp), Dutch "opvatten" (to conceive), and English "opine" (to express an opinion). | |||
| Welsh | canfod | ||
| The Welsh noun “canfod” also means "face". | |||
Perceive in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | успрымаць | ||
| The word "успрымаць" in Belarusian is cognate with the Russian word "воспринимать" and the English word "perceive", all deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- "to pass through, beyond". | |||
| Bosnian | opažati | ||
| "Opažati" can also mean "to notice" or "to observe" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | възприемат | ||
| The verb "възприемат" is also used to express the act of assuming or taking on a role or responsibility. | |||
| Czech | vnímat | ||
| The word "vnímat" in Czech is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *vьn-imati, meaning "to take in," and is related to the English word "win". | |||
| Estonian | tajuma | ||
| Although tajuma (perceive) has the same root as tajuda (to seem), it has a wider scope. | |||
| Finnish | havaita | ||
| The word 'havaita' likely derives from the Proto-Finnic root *hawaa, meaning 'to become aware' or 'to notice'. | |||
| Hungarian | érzékelni | ||
| "Érzékelni" is related to the Hungarian word "érzés" (feeling) and also to the word "érzék" (senses) which is cognate with "Herz" (heart) in German and "heart" in English, which originally also had the meaning of "mind". | |||
| Latvian | uztvert | ||
| The word "uztvert" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *wert-, meaning "to turn" or "to perceive", and is related to the English word "advert". | |||
| Lithuanian | suvokti | ||
| The word "suvokti" evolved from the Proto-Indo-European root "*su-," meaning "good," and "vokti," meaning "to speak." | |||
| Macedonian | согледува | ||
| The verb "согледува" is derived from the Slavic root "gled-," which also gave rise to the words "гледа" ("to look") and "огледало" ("a mirror"). | |||
| Polish | dostrzec | ||
| "Dostrzec" contains the word "strzeż" which means "watch", suggesting that perceiving involves attention and vigilance. | |||
| Romanian | percepe | ||
| In Romanian, "percepe" has an additional meaning of "collect" or "receive", derived from the Latin "percipere" meaning "to take or receive." | |||
| Russian | воспринимать | ||
| "Воспринимать" also has a meaning "consider", for example, "воспринимать что-то всерьёз". In English it corresponds to the phrase "to take something seriously". | |||
| Serbian | перцеиве | ||
| The word "Перцеиве" in Serbian can also mean "to anticipate" or "to foresee". | |||
| Slovak | vnímať | ||
| Etymology: From Old Church Slavonic вънимати (vŭnimati), meaning "to understand". Alternate meaning: to listen. | |||
| Slovenian | zaznati | ||
| The word 'zaznati' (Slovenian for 'perceive') is derived from the proto-Slavic verb *zъnati, which also meant 'to know' or 'to understand'. | |||
| Ukrainian | сприймати | ||
| "Сприймати" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*priimati", which shares a root with "приймати" ("accept"). | |||
Perceive in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | উপলব্ধি | ||
| উপলব্ধি refers not only to cognition but also to the acquisition of power or wealth. | |||
| Gujarati | સમજવું | ||
| "સમજવું" can also refer to "understand" and "comprehend" in English, which are similar to its primary meaning of "perceive." | |||
| Hindi | समझना | ||
| "समझना" originated from the Sanskrit root "budh" meaning "to know" or "to perceive," and is related to the English word "understand." | |||
| Kannada | ಗ್ರಹಿಸು | ||
| The root of the word 'ಗ್ರಹಿಸು' is 'ग्रह', meaning 'to seize' or 'to grasp'. | |||
| Malayalam | മനസ്സിലാക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | समजणे | ||
| In the context of a court case, the word "समजणे" means "to hear and consider evidence". | |||
| Nepali | बुझ्नुहोस् | ||
| The Nepali word 'Bujhnuhos' originates from the Sanskrit root 'budh', meaning to understand, comprehend, or recognize. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਮਝ | ||
| The word "ਸਮਝ" can also mean "to understand". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තේරුම් ගන්න | ||
| Tamil | உணர | ||
| The word "உணர" (perceive) in Tamil also has the alternate meaning of "know" or "experience". | |||
| Telugu | గ్రహించండి | ||
| The word గ్రహించండి (grahaninchadi) is derived from the Sanskrit word ग्रहण (grahaṇa) which means 'to take hold of' or 'to seize'. | |||
| Urdu | احساس | ||
| The word "احساس" in Urdu can also mean "feeling" or "emotion". | |||
Perceive in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 感知 | ||
| 感知 (zhǐgǎn) literally means "to receive (zhǐ) feeling/knowledge (gǎn)" | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 感知 | ||
| 感知 can also mean 'to be aware of' or 'to feel'. | |||
| Japanese | 知覚する | ||
| Originally written as 知覚る, the verb 知覚する (chikaku-suru) was used to mean "to acknowledge intellectually" until the 18th century, when it took its current meaning. | |||
| Korean | 인식하다 | ||
| The word 인식하다 is derived from 인 ('human') and 식 ('knowledge'), and can also mean 'cognize' or 'recognize'. | |||
| Mongolian | мэдрэх | ||
| "Мэдрэх" is derived from the Proto-Mongolic word "*mede-/*medri-/*mederi-" meaning "to know, to understand". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရိပ်မိ | ||
| 'ရိပ်မိ' (perceive) is also used in the sense of 'know', especially when it refers to sensory perceptions. | |||
Perceive in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | melihat | ||
| The Indonesian word "melihat" (to see) also means "to understand" or "to realize." | |||
| Javanese | ndelok | ||
| "Ndelok" shares the same root as "ndulu" (before), suggesting a connection between perception and the past. | |||
| Khmer | យល់ឃើញ | ||
| The word "យល់ឃើញ" can also mean "to understand" or "to comprehend". | |||
| Lao | ຮັບຮູ້ເຂົ້າໃຈ | ||
| Malay | melihat | ||
| The word "melihat" in Malay is derived from the Sanskrit word "mri", meaning "see, look, or observe". | |||
| Thai | รับรู้ | ||
| The word 'รับรู้' can also mean 'to be aware of' or 'to be conscious of' something. | |||
| Vietnamese | nhận thức | ||
| "Nhận thức" (perceive) is also translated as "recognize" or "understand." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | maramdaman | ||
Perceive in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qavramaq | ||
| The word "qavramaq" also means "to wrap something around oneself" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | сезіну | ||
| The word "сезіну" in Kazakh also means "to notice" and "to comprehend". | |||
| Kyrgyz | кабылдоо | ||
| Tajik | дарк мекунанд | ||
| The word "дарк мекунанд" in Tajik is derived from the Persian verb "درک کردن" (dark kardan), which means "to understand" or "to comprehend". | |||
| Turkmen | duýmak | ||
| Uzbek | sezmoq | ||
| "Sezmoq" is a common Uzbek word meaning to perceive, apprehend, or notice, and is closely related to the Turkish "sezmek" and Azerbaijani "sezmək", all meaning the same. | |||
| Uyghur | perceive | ||
Perceive in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻike | ||
| 'Ike', meaning 'to perceive', also refers to wisdom, knowledge, or understanding. | |||
| Maori | kite | ||
| "Kite" also means "to gaze intently," "to look upwards," or "to fix one's eyes." | |||
| Samoan | iloa | ||
| The word 'iloa' is a cognate to the Hawaiian word 'ʻike' (to know, to see), and the Tongan word 'iloa' (to know, to understand). | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | maramdaman | ||
| The word "maramdaman" could also mean "understand", "sense", or "feel". | |||
Perceive in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | katuqaña | ||
| Guarani | ñandupyre | ||
Perceive in International Languages
| Esperanto | percepti | ||
| Percepti also means 'to notice' or 'to understand', and comes from the Latin perceptio, meaning 'understanding' or 'perception'. | |||
| Latin | conspicio | ||
| "Conspicio" also means "to look at attentively" in Latin. | |||
Perceive in Others Languages
| Greek | αντιλαμβάνομαι | ||
| "Αντιλαμβάνομαι" (perceive) comes from "αντι- (anti-)" against and "λαμβάνω (lambanó)" take. | |||
| Hmong | pom | ||
| The word "pom" in Hmong also means "watch" or "guard". | |||
| Kurdish | lê haybûn | ||
| The word "lê haybûn" in Kurdish also means "to realize" or "to understand". | |||
| Turkish | algılamak | ||
| "Algılamak" (perceive) means "to notice or become aware of" in Turkish, and its root can also mean "understanding" | |||
| Xhosa | ukuqonda | ||
| The Xhosa word 'ukuqonda' also means 'to understand' or 'to know'. | |||
| Yiddish | זע | ||
| In Yiddish, "זע" can also refer to the sense of sight. | |||
| Zulu | bona | ||
| The word "bona" in Zulu is also used to describe the act of "seeing" or "looking" at something. | |||
| Assamese | বুজা | ||
| Aymara | katuqaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | महसूस कईल | ||
| Dhivehi | ނަގައިގަންނަ | ||
| Dogri | समझना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | maramdaman | ||
| Guarani | ñandupyre | ||
| Ilocano | siraratan | ||
| Krio | si | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | وەرگرتن | ||
| Maithili | बुझनाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯚꯥꯕ ꯇꯥꯔꯛꯄ | ||
| Mizo | hmu | ||
| Oromo | hubachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବୁ perceive ିବା | ||
| Quechua | musyay | ||
| Sanskrit | जिघ्रति | ||
| Tatar | сизү | ||
| Tigrinya | ምስትውዓል | ||
| Tsonga | vonelo | ||