Philosophy in Different Languages
Discover 'Philosophy' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Philosophy, a term derived from the Greek words philos (lover) and sophia (wisdom), is a discipline that explores the fundamental questions of life, reality, and ethics. Its significance lies in its ability to shape our understanding of the world, guide our actions, and provide a foundation for various fields of study.
Throughout history, philosophy has been a cornerstone of cultural development, with influential figures like Socrates, Plato, and Confucius shaping civilizations. It has also been a catalyst for societal progress, inspiring movements for democracy, human rights, and scientific inquiry.
Understanding the translation of philosophy in different languages can offer unique insights into how diverse cultures approach wisdom and understanding. For instance, in Spanish, philosophy is filosofía, in French it is philosophie, and in Japanese, it is tetsugaku (哲学), which translates to 'the study of wisdom'.
Delving into the nuances of these translations can reveal fascinating historical contexts and cultural perspectives. So, let's embark on a linguistic and cultural journey to explore the world of philosophy!
Philosophy
Philosophy in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | filosofie | ||
| "Filosofie" in Afrikaans can refer to either "philosophy" or "philosophy of life". | |||
| Amharic | ፍልስፍና | ||
| The Amharic word "ፍልስፍና" is derived from the Greek word "φιλοσοφία," meaning "love of wisdom." | |||
| Hausa | falsafar | ||
| Derived from Arabic falsafah (philosophy), from Greek philosophia (love of wisdom). | |||
| Igbo | nkà ihe ọmụma | ||
| The Igbo word "nkà ihe ọmụma" translates to "the art of knowing" or "the science of knowledge." | |||
| Malagasy | filôzôfia | ||
| The word "filôzôfia" is derived from the Greek words "philos" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom). | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nzeru | ||
| "Nzeru" is derived from two words, "ku-ndziwa+umulo," meaning "knowledge to understand"} | |||
| Shona | uzivi | ||
| The word 'uzivi' also means 'the way of life' | |||
| Somali | falsafada | ||
| The word "falsafada" in Somali is also used to mean "wisdom" or "knowledge". | |||
| Sesotho | filosofi | ||
| The Sesotho word "filosofi" can also refer to a type of traditional medicine or witchcraft. | |||
| Swahili | falsafa | ||
| The word 'falsafa' in Swahili is derived from the Arabic word 'falsafah' meaning 'logic' | |||
| Xhosa | ifilosofi | ||
| The word 'ifilosofi' is derived from the Greek word 'philosophia', meaning 'love of wisdom' or 'pursuit of knowledge'. | |||
| Yoruba | imoye | ||
| In Yoruba, the word "imoye" also denotes "science" or "knowledge of the natural world." | |||
| Zulu | ifilosofi | ||
| The Zulu word for philosophy, "ifilosofi," is derived from the Greek word "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom." | |||
| Bambara | filo | ||
| Ewe | nunya | ||
| Kinyarwanda | filozofiya | ||
| Lingala | filozofi | ||
| Luganda | obufirosoofo | ||
| Sepedi | filosofi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | felɔsɔfi | ||
Philosophy in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | فلسفة | ||
| فلسفة can also refer to astrology, metaphysics, mathematics and alchemy | |||
| Hebrew | פִילוֹסוֹפִיָה | ||
| The word "pilosopiya" in Hebrew is derived from the Greek word "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom." | |||
| Pashto | فلسفه | ||
| The word "فلسفه" in Pashto originates from the Greek word "philosophia" meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Arabic | فلسفة | ||
| فلسفة can also refer to astrology, metaphysics, mathematics and alchemy | |||
Philosophy in Western European Languages
| Albanian | filozofi | ||
| The Albanian word "filozofi" derives from the Greek "philosophia" and can also refer to "love of knowledge" or "wisdom-loving." | |||
| Basque | filosofia | ||
| The Basque word "filosofia" can also mean "love of science". | |||
| Catalan | filosofia | ||
| The word "filosofia" is derived from Greek "φιλοσοφία" [philosophia], meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Croatian | filozofija | ||
| Filozofija can also mean 'love of wisdom' in Croatian, a nod to its Greek origins (φιλοσοφία - philo and sophia). | |||
| Danish | filosofi | ||
| In Danish, the word "filosofi" has the additional connotation of "serene melancholy". | |||
| Dutch | filosofie | ||
| The Dutch word "filosofie" originally meant "love of wisdom", but now also refers to the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. | |||
| English | philosophy | ||
| The English word "philosophy" is derived from the Ancient Greek "philosophia", which literally means "love of wisdom" and originally denoted the pursuit of knowledge through reasoning and logic. | |||
| French | philosophie | ||
| "Philosophie" in French also refers to a stone used by alchemists to make the philosopher's stone. | |||
| Frisian | filosofy | ||
| The word "filosofy" in Frisian is derived from the Greek "philosophia", meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Galician | filosofía | ||
| In Galician, "filosofía" can also mean "wisdom" or "knowledge". | |||
| German | philosophie | ||
| In German, Philosophie can also refer to a doctorate in humanities or social sciences. | |||
| Icelandic | heimspeki | ||
| Heimr means 'world', speki means 'wisdom'. Thus philosophy is 'world wisdom'. | |||
| Irish | fealsúnacht | ||
| The word 'fealsúnacht' originates from the Old Irish term 'feallsa' meaning 'wisdom' or 'knowledge' | |||
| Italian | filosofia | ||
| The Italian word 'filosofia' derives from the Greek word 'philosophia', which literally means 'love of wisdom'. | |||
| Luxembourgish | philosophie | ||
| Philosophie also has the meaning 'wisdom' in Luxembourgish | |||
| Maltese | filosofija | ||
| The word "filosofija" is derived from the Greek word "philosophia", which means "love of wisdom." | |||
| Norwegian | filosofi | ||
| "Filosofi" can also mean "wisdom" or "knowledge" in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | filosofia | ||
| In Portuguese, "filosofia" also means "love of knowledge" or "science" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | feallsanachd | ||
| Feallsanachd derives from the Greek "philosophia" meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Spanish | filosofía | ||
| The Spanish word "filosofía" derives from the Greek word "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom" or "the pursuit of knowledge." | |||
| Swedish | filosofi | ||
| The Swedish word 'filosofi', derived from Greek, originally referred to the study of the seven liberal arts, not just philosophy. | |||
| Welsh | athroniaeth | ||
| The word "athroniaeth" derives from the Greek word "philosophia", which means "love of wisdom". | |||
Philosophy in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | філасофія | ||
| The Belarusian word "філасофія" (filosofiya) is derived from the Greek word "φιλοσοφία," which literally means "love of wisdom." | |||
| Bosnian | filozofija | ||
| The word "filozofija" is derived from the Greek word "philosophia", which means "love of wisdom". In Bosnian, it can also refer to the study of religion or religious philosophy. | |||
| Bulgarian | философия | ||
| The word "философия" comes from the Greek words "φιλο" (philo), meaning "love," and "σοφία" (sophia), meaning "wisdom," and can also mean "love of wisdom" or "pursuit of wisdom." | |||
| Czech | filozofie | ||
| The term "filozofie" originates from the Greek "philosophia" meaning "love of wisdom" or "pursuit of knowledge". | |||
| Estonian | filosoofia | ||
| Filosoofia also means 'wisdom' in Greek. | |||
| Finnish | filosofia | ||
| The word "filosofia" comes from the Late Latin "philosophia" and the Greek "philosophia", meaning "love of wisdom," and is a combination of the words "philo" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom). | |||
| Hungarian | filozófia | ||
| The word "filozófia" originally meant "love of wisdom" in ancient Greek, and can also refer to a system of beliefs or a way of life. | |||
| Latvian | filozofija | ||
| In Latvian, "filozofija" not only means "philosophy" but can also refer to "wisdom" or "love of knowledge." | |||
| Lithuanian | filosofija | ||
| The word "filosofija" comes from the Greek "philosophia", which means "love of wisdom." | |||
| Macedonian | филозофија | ||
| "Филозофија" derives from the Greek words "philein" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom), but it also has the colloquial meaning of "pretentious, unnecessary talk" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | filozofia | ||
| The word "filozofia" comes from the Greek word "philosophia" and its literal meaning is "love of wisdom." | |||
| Romanian | filozofie | ||
| The word "filozofie" is derived from the Greek word "philosophia", meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Russian | философия | ||
| In Russian, “философия” also means 'love of wisdom' and 'science'. | |||
| Serbian | филозофија | ||
| Фιλοσοφία is a Greek word meaning love of wisdom. | |||
| Slovak | filozofia | ||
| "Filozofia" (philosophy) comes from the Greek "philosophia", meaning "love of knowledge" or "love of wisdom". | |||
| Slovenian | filozofijo | ||
| The Slovenian word "filozofijo" is ultimately derived from the Greek "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom," but in modern Slovenian, it also refers to "academic disciplines." | |||
| Ukrainian | філософія | ||
| The word "філософія" is derived from the Greek words "φιλο- " (philo-), meaning "love of" or "interest in", and "σοφία" (sophia), meaning "wisdom" or "knowledge". | |||
Philosophy in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দর্শন | ||
| The word "দর্শন" in Bengali can also refer to the act of seeing, a vision, or a view. | |||
| Gujarati | ફિલસૂફી | ||
| ફિલસૂફી' (philosophy) originates from the Greek word 'philosophia', which is derived from the Greek words 'philos' (love) and 'sophia' (wisdom). | |||
| Hindi | दर्शन | ||
| "दर्शन" can also mean 'seeing', 'sight' or 'visiting' in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ತತ್ವಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ | ||
| Malayalam | തത്ത്വചിന്ത | ||
| The word 'തത്ത്വചിന്ത' ('philosophy' in Malayalam) comes from the Sanskrit root 'tattva', meaning 'principle' or 'reality', and 'chinta', meaning 'thought'. | |||
| Marathi | तत्वज्ञान | ||
| "तत्वज्ञान" also means 'knowledge of elements' and 'knowledge of truth'. | |||
| Nepali | दर्शन | ||
| दर्शन also means 'sight', 'view', 'vision', 'audience', and the 'act of seeing' in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਦਰਸ਼ਨ | ||
| Derived from the Sanskrit word “दर्शन” (darśana), which means “to see” or “to behold,” the word “ਦਰਸ਼ਨ” (darśan) in Punjabi denotes a philosophical system or a way of perceiving the world. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දර්ශනය | ||
| The word "දර්ශනය" can also mean "a vision" or "a point of view" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | தத்துவம் | ||
| Telugu | తత్వశాస్త్రం | ||
| The word "తత్వశాస్త్రం" (tatvashasthram) in Telugu means "the science of principles", and is also used to refer to "a system of thought" or "a world-view". | |||
| Urdu | فلسفہ | ||
| The Urdu word "فلسفہ" has roots in Greek and is related to the concept of "love of wisdom". | |||
Philosophy in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 哲学 | ||
| 『哲学』一词源于古希腊语，最初指的是对智慧和真理的追求。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 哲學 | ||
| "哲學" is derived from the Greek word "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Japanese | 哲学 | ||
| The term '哲学' (tetsugaku) can also refer to 'love of learning' or 'love of wisdom'. | |||
| Korean | 철학 | ||
| 철학 initially meant 'to study the laws of governing people' in Hanja, but its current meaning evolved under the influence of Western philosophy. | |||
| Mongolian | гүн ухаан | ||
| In Mongolian, "гүн ухаан" is cognate to the Evenki "gun uxaŋa" and means "a profound, wise word, advice, philosophy." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဒphilosophန | ||
Philosophy in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | filsafat | ||
| In Indonesian, the word "filsafat" comes from the Arabic word "falsafah", which originally meant "the love of wisdom" in Ancient Greek. | |||
| Javanese | filsafat | ||
| The Javanese word "filsafat" is derived from the Arabic word "falsafah" and also means "logic" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ទស្សនវិជ្ជា | ||
| The term "ទស្សនវិជ្ជា" is derived from Sanskrit and Pali, with its root in "दर्शन," meaning "to see" or "to perceive." | |||
| Lao | ປັດຊະຍາ | ||
| Malay | falsafah | ||
| The word 'falsafah' is derived from the Arabic word 'falāsifah', which means 'philosophers'. | |||
| Thai | ปรัชญา | ||
| " ปรัชญา " is an abstract noun derived from Sanskrit, meaning "love of wisdom" or "search for knowledge." | |||
| Vietnamese | triết học | ||
| The word "triết học" is derived from the Greek words "philo" and "sophia", meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pilosopiya | ||
Philosophy in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | fəlsəfə | ||
| Kazakh | философия | ||
| "Философия" (philosophy) comes from the Greek word "φιλοσοφία" (philosophia), which means "love of wisdom." | |||
| Kyrgyz | философия | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "философия" (philosophy) is derived from the Greek word "φιλοσοφία" (philosophia), which means "love of wisdom". | |||
| Tajik | фалсафа | ||
| The word "фалсафа" in Tajik originates from the Greek word "φιλοσοφία" (philosophia), meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Turkmen | pelsepe | ||
| Uzbek | falsafa | ||
| In Uzbek, 'falsafa' ultimately comes from the Greek word 'philosophia', meaning 'love of wisdom'. | |||
| Uyghur | پەلسەپە | ||
Philosophy in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | akeakamai | ||
| 'Aka' also means 'eyesight, sight, look,' from which it may be derived; hence wisdom and understanding; and in some cases, it means an incantation. | |||
| Maori | rapunga whakaaro | ||
| The term 'rapunga whakaaro' in Maori can also refer to the concept of 'deep thinking' or 'profound contemplation'. | |||
| Samoan | filosofia | ||
| The Samoan word "filosofia" can also mean "theology" or "wisdom." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pilosopiya | ||
| The Tagalog word 'pilosopiya' originated from the Greek word 'philosophia', which means 'love of wisdom'. In the Philippines, it is also commonly used to refer to traditional beliefs and practices. | |||
Philosophy in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | philusuphiya | ||
| Guarani | arandupukuaaty | ||
Philosophy in International Languages
| Esperanto | filozofio | ||
| Filozofio comes from the Greek word "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom" | |||
| Latin | philosophy | ||
| The Latin word "philosophia" derives from the Greek "philosophia," meaning "the love of wisdom or knowledge." | |||
Philosophy in Others Languages
| Greek | φιλοσοφία | ||
| "Φιλοσοφία" (philosophy) derives from the Greek word "φιλεῖν" (philein) meaning "to love" and "σοφία" (sophia) meaning "wisdom." | |||
| Hmong | kev xav | ||
| The term "kev xav" can also refer to a system of knowledge or a body of principles guiding human conduct. | |||
| Kurdish | feylesofî | ||
| The word "feylesofî" ultimately derives from the Greek "philosophia", meaning "love of wisdom". | |||
| Turkish | felsefe | ||
| The word "felsefe" is derived from the Greek word "philosophia", which means "love of wisdom". | |||
| Xhosa | ifilosofi | ||
| The word 'ifilosofi' is derived from the Greek word 'philosophia', meaning 'love of wisdom' or 'pursuit of knowledge'. | |||
| Yiddish | פילאזאפיע | ||
| The Yiddish word 'פילאזאפיע' ultimately derives from the ancient Greek word 'philosophia', meaning 'love of wisdom'. | |||
| Zulu | ifilosofi | ||
| The Zulu word for philosophy, "ifilosofi," is derived from the Greek word "philosophia," meaning "love of wisdom." | |||
| Assamese | দৰ্শন | ||
| Aymara | philusuphiya | ||
| Bhojpuri | दरसन | ||
| Dhivehi | ފިލޯސޮފީ | ||
| Dogri | दर्शनशास्तर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pilosopiya | ||
| Guarani | arandupukuaaty | ||
| Ilocano | pilosopiya | ||
| Krio | mɔtalman sɛns | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | فەلسەفە | ||
| Maithili | दर्शन | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯋꯥꯉꯨꯂꯣꯜ | ||
| Mizo | thil bul chhuina | ||
| Oromo | falaasama | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଦର୍ଶନ | ||
| Quechua | filosofía | ||
| Sanskrit | दर्शनशास्त्र | ||
| Tatar | фәлсәфә | ||
| Tigrinya | ፍልስፍና | ||
| Tsonga | filosofi | ||