Possess in different languages

Possess in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'possess' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, indicating ownership or control over something. It's a concept deeply ingrained in various cultures, often represented through customs, laws, and social norms. Understanding its translation in different languages can provide valuable insights into these cultural nuances. For instance, in Spanish, 'possess' translates to 'poseer', while in German, it's 'besitzen'. In French, the verb 'posséder' captures the same meaning.

Moreover, the word 'possess' has a rich historical context. In ancient civilizations, possession was often associated with power and status. Today, it's a fundamental aspect of property rights, commercial transactions, and personal identity.

Given this significance, you might want to learn how to say 'possess' in various languages. This knowledge not only enhances your cross-cultural communication skills but also deepens your appreciation for the diverse ways in which different cultures interpret and express the concept of possession.

Possess


Possess in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansbesit
The word "besit" in Afrikaans originally meant "sitting", and the concept of possession developed from the idea of sitting on or occupying something.
Amharicይወርሳሉ
"ይወርሳሉ" is also used to refer to the transmission of diseases or traits from one generation to another.
Hausamallaka
The word "mallaka" in Hausa can also mean "to inherit" or "to acquire."
Igbonweta
The word "nweta" in Igbo can also mean "to have authority over" or "to control something or someone."
Malagasymanana
While "manana" means "possess," it can also mean "to receive" or "to have."
Nyanja (Chichewa)kukhala nazo
The word 'kukhala nazo' can also mean 'to have' or 'to hold' something.
Shonatora
The word "tora" in Shona also means "to inherit" or "to be given as a gift".
Somalihantiyi
"Hantiyi" also means "to be present" or "to exist" in Somali.
Sesothorua
The word "rua" can also mean "to take possession of" or "to seize" in Sesotho.
Swahilikumiliki
"Kumiliki" is also used in a more abstract sense to refer to having control or influence over something.
Xhosailifa
The verb 'ilifa' also has the additional meanings of 'to inherit' or 'to receive' in Xhosa.
Yorubagbà
In some contexts, "gbà" can also mean "to bewitch"}
Zuluifa
The word "ifa" can also mean "take control of" or "occupy" in Zulu.
Bambarabɛ ... bolo
Ewe
Kinyarwandagutunga
Lingalakozala na
Lugandaokukubwa ekitambo
Sepedinago le
Twi (Akan)ɔwɔ ne hɔ

Possess in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicتملك
The Arabic word "تملك" can also mean "to take over ownership" or "to acquire property".
Hebrewלְהַחזִיק
'לְהַחזִיק' can also mean 'to hold' or 'to grasp'.
Pashtoملکیت
In Pashto, the word "ملکیت" shares the same root "ملك" with Arabic, meaning "kingdom" or "property".
Arabicتملك
The Arabic word "تملك" can also mean "to take over ownership" or "to acquire property".

Possess in Western European Languages

Albanianposedojnë
The word "posedojnë" in Albanian comes from the Latin word "possidere", meaning "to own" or "to have".
Basqueeduki
" edukitzea" in Basque also means "to be born" or "to have" in a non-material sense (e.g. feelings).
Catalanposseir
The Catalan word "posseir" derives from the Latin "posse," meaning "to be able," and also has the meaning of "to own" or "to have the power to do something."
Croatianposjedovati
The Croatian word "posjedovati" can also mean "to occupy" or "to own".
Danishhave
The Danish word "have" derives from the Old Norse word "hafa". The word can also mean "to obtain".
Dutchbezitten
Englishpossess
The word "possess" comes from the Latin word "possedere", which means "to be master of" or "to have control over".
Frenchposséder
"Posséder" can mean "to own" or "to have a lot of knowledge about something."
Frisianbesitte
"Besitte" is a synonym of "ha witte" in Frisian, with the same meaning of "know".
Galicianposuír
The Galician word 'posuír' comes from the Latin 'possidere' and is related to the words 'posible' (possible) and 'propiedade' (property).
Germanbesitzen
The verb "besitzen" derives from Late Latin "possidere," from "sedere (to sit)" and "ob (around),"
Icelandiceiga
The word "eiga" can also refer to the act of mastering or gaining control over something.
Irishseilbh
The Irish word "seilbh" not only means "possess" but can also refer to the "seizure of lands or goods".
Italianpossedere
In Italian, 'possedere' also means 'to have the ability or knowledge'
Luxembourgishbesëtzen
"Besëtzen" translates to "possess" in English and comes from the French verb "saisir," meaning "to seize or take hold of."
Maltesejippossjedu
The Maltese word "jippossjedu" comes from the Latin "possessio," meaning "ownership" or "control."
Norwegianeie
In Norwegian, "eie" is also the imperative form of "å eie," used to order someone to possess something.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)possuir
Em português, o verbo 「possuir」 também pode significar "ter, deter, ficar com" ou "gozar de, fruir".
Scots Gaelicsealbhaich
"Sealbhach" is also used as another word for "farm" in Scots Gaelic.
Spanishposeer
The word "poseer" in Spanish also means "to know how to do something", "to master a skill", or "to be skilled at something"
Swedishbesitter
"Besitter" also means "to conquer, subdue, gain control of, master, own, have, dominate, occupy, capture, control, subdue, win, obtain, rule."
Welshmeddu
Welsh "meddu" may derive from the Proto-Celtic root "*medd-," meaning "to measure, to count," or from the Proto-Indo-European root "*met-," meaning "to grasp, to hold."

Possess in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianвалодаць
"Валодаць" не только значит "обладать", но и "владеть", "управлять", "иметь в своем распоряжении".
Bosnianposjedovati
The verb 'posjedovati' is of Slavic origin and is related to the word 'sjediti' ('to sit'), implying control or occupation of a space or property.
Bulgarianпритежават
The Bulgarian word "притежават" can also mean "to own" or "to have".
Czechmít
"Mít" can also mean "to have" and "to like".
Estonianomama
In some dialects, "omama" can also mean to "own" or "belong".
Finnishhallussaan
The verb "hallussaan" comes from the word "haltu" meaning "care" or "protection."
Hungarianbirtokolni
The Hungarian word "birtokolni" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb "*birti", meaning "to take, hold, seize, possess".
Latvianpiemīt
Latvian "piemīt" and Russian "primetita" are likely related and come from an earlier Proto-Balto-Slavic word that had to do with keeping something or taking care of something.
Lithuanianturėti
Derived from Latin 'torrēre', meaning 'to dry' or 'to burn'.
Macedonianпоседуваат
The verb "поседуваат" derives from the Latin word "possessor", meaning "owner".
Polishposiadać
Posiadać in Polish also means to acquire, own, or hold something.
Romanianposeda
The Romanian word "poseda" means "session" in addition to "possession".
Russianобладать
The verb обладать (“to possess”) can also mean “to master” or “to acquire mastery over”.
Serbianпоседовати
The word "поседовати" is derived from the Old Slavonic word "посьдъ", meaning "property" or "possession".
Slovakvlastniť
'Vlastniť' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'vlastь', meaning 'power' or 'dominion'.
Slovenianposedovati
In Slovene, the word 'posedovati' can also mean 'to seize' or 'to occupy'.
Ukrainianволодіти
The Ukrainian word "володіти" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *volděti, meaning "to rule" or "to command."

Possess in South Asian Languages

Bengaliঅধিকারী
The word "অধিকারী" can also mean "entitled" or "having the right to possess".
Gujaratiધરાવે છે
Hindiअधिकारी
The word "अधिकारी" also means "competent" or "qualified" in Hindi.
Kannadaಹೊಂದಿರಿ
"ಹೊಂದಿರಿ" is also used in the sense of "to be able to do something" or "to be skilled at something".
Malayalamകൈവശമാക്കുക
Marathiताब्यात घ्या
The Marathi word "ताब्यात घ्या" (possess) is derived from the Persian word "तबीयत" (state, condition), indicating its original meaning of "taking a state, condition or possession."
Nepaliअधिकार
"अधिकार" in Nepali derives from Sanskrit "adhikara," meaning "right, authority, or possession."
Punjabiਕੋਲ ਹੈ
The word "ਕੋਲ ਹੈ" can also mean "to have at one's disposal" or "to have in custody".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)සන්තක කරන්න
Tamilவைத்திருங்கள்
Teluguకలిగి
The word 'కలిగి' is also used in Telugu to mean 'obtain' or 'acquire'.
Urduکے پاس

Possess in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)具有
具有 may also mean: to present, to have, to offer; to give, to bestow.
Chinese (Traditional)具有
The full form of "具有" is "具備有", which emphasizes having something with completeness.
Japanese所有する
The Japanese word "所有する" (shoyūsuru) derives from the verb "有す" (aru) meaning "to be, to exist," and the noun "所" (tokoro) meaning "place" or "location."
Korean붙잡다
'붙잡다' can also mean to grab, hold, or seize something physically.
Mongolianэзэмших
Mongolian "эзэмших" also means to "own"}
Myanmar (Burmese)ပိုင်ဆိုင်သည်

Possess in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianmemiliki
"Memiliki" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *m-aki, meaning "to eat" or "to devour". This reflects the concept of possession as "having something to eat".
Javaneseduwe
The word "duwe" also means "rich" or "wealthy" in Javanese.
Khmerមាន
"មាន" can also mean "sufficient" or "enough".
Laoຄອບຄອງ
The word "ຄອບຄອງ" in Lao can also mean "to control" or "to have authority over" something.
Malaymemiliki
The word "memiliki" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word *miliki, meaning "to have or own something"
Thaiมี
In ancient Thai, "มี" also meant "to take care of".
Vietnamesesở hữu
The word "sở hữu" can also mean "ownership" or "property" in Vietnamese.
Filipino (Tagalog)angkinin

Possess in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanisahib olmaq
The word "sahib olmaq" is derived from the Arabic word "sahib" meaning "master" or "owner".
Kazakhиелік ету
The word "иелік ету" can also mean "to own" or "to have ownership of" in Kazakh.
Kyrgyzээ болуу
The word "ээ болуу" in Kyrgyz also means "to become something else" or "to transform into something else".
Tajikдоштан
**Доштан** is also used for "to have" or "to own" in the sense of "be the cause of" or "be responsible for".
Turkmeneýe bolmak
Uzbekegalik qilmoq
The word "egalik qilmoq" in Uzbek originally meant "to stand" or "to take a position".
Uyghurئىگە بولۇش

Possess in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianloaʻa
In Hawaiian, the word "loaʻa" can also mean "obtain" or "acquire".
Maoririro
The word "riro" also means "to take away" or "to steal" in Maori.
Samoanumiaina
The Samoan word "umiaina" is also used to describe a person who has a lot of wealth or property.
Tagalog (Filipino)taglay
The root word of 'taglay' is 'taglì' (to cut), implying that possession may be linked to the act of separating something.

Possess in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarautjirini
Guaraniguereko

Possess in International Languages

Esperantoposedi
The word "posedi" in Esperanto is derived from the Latin "possideo" and also means "to own" or "to have".
Latinpossidebit
The present subjunctive of the future-perfect tense of Latin "possum" (meaning "to be able") is "possidebit".

Possess in Others Languages

Greekκατέχω
The Greek verb "κατέχω" (katéchō) originally meant "to hold back, to restrain," but later acquired the meaning of "to possess, to own."
Hmongmuaj
The word 'muaj' in Hmong can also mean 'to own' or 'to have'. In some contexts, it can also mean 'to be wealthy' or 'to have a lot of possessions'.
Kurdishxwedîbûn
The Kurdish word "xwedîbûn" has alternate meanings of "ownership", "control", and "power" in addition to its primary meaning of "possession".
Turkishsahip olmak
The word "sahip olmak" also means "to patronize" or "to protect" in Turkish.
Xhosailifa
The verb 'ilifa' also has the additional meanings of 'to inherit' or 'to receive' in Xhosa.
Yiddishפאַרמאָגן
The Yiddish word "פאַרמאָגן" is derived from the German word "vermögen", which can also mean "ability" or "power".
Zuluifa
The word "ifa" can also mean "take control of" or "occupy" in Zulu.
Assameseঅধিকাৰ কৰা
Aymarautjirini
Bhojpuriकाबू कईल
Dhivehiމިލްކިއްޔާތުގައި ވުން
Dogriकाबू करना
Filipino (Tagalog)angkinin
Guaraniguereko
Ilocanoagikut
Kriogɛt
Kurdish (Sorani)هەبوون
Maithiliक स्वामी वा मालिक भेनाइ
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯂꯧꯁꯤꯟꯕ
Mizonei
Oromoqabaachuu
Odia (Oriya)ଅଧିକାର
Quechuakapuy
Sanskritभज्
Tatarия булу
Tigrinyaጥሪት
Tsongavun'winyi

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