Pray in Different Languages
Discover 'Pray' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Pray
Afrikaans bid | ||
Albanian lutuni | ||
Amharic ጸልዩ | ||
Arabic صلى | ||
Armenian աղոթել | ||
Assamese প্ৰাৰ্থনা কৰা | ||
Aymara mayiña | ||
Azerbaijani dua etmək | ||
Bambara ka seli | ||
Basque otoitz egin | ||
Belarusian маліцца | ||
Bengali প্রার্থনা | ||
Bhojpuri प्रार्थना | ||
Bosnian moli | ||
Bulgarian молете се | ||
Catalan pregueu | ||
Cebuano ampo | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 祈祷 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 祈禱 | ||
Corsican prega | ||
Croatian moliti | ||
Czech modlit se | ||
Danish bede | ||
Dhivehi ނަމާދުކުރުން | ||
Dogri भजना | ||
Dutch bidden | ||
English pray | ||
Esperanto preĝu | ||
Estonian palvetama | ||
Ewe do gbe ɖa | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) manalangin | ||
Finnish rukoilla | ||
French prier | ||
Frisian bidde | ||
Galician orar | ||
Georgian ილოცე | ||
German beten | ||
Greek προσεύχομαι | ||
Guarani ñembo'e | ||
Gujarati પ્રાર્થના | ||
Haitian Creole lapriyè | ||
Hausa yi addu'a | ||
Hawaiian pule | ||
Hebrew לְהִתְפַּלֵל | ||
Hindi प्रार्थना करना | ||
Hmong thov vajtswv | ||
Hungarian imádkozik | ||
Icelandic biðja | ||
Igbo kpee ekpere | ||
Ilocano agkararag | ||
Indonesian berdoa | ||
Irish guí | ||
Italian pregare | ||
Japanese 祈る | ||
Javanese ndedonga | ||
Kannada ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸು | ||
Kazakh дұға ету | ||
Khmer អធិស្ឋាន | ||
Kinyarwanda senga | ||
Konkani प्रार्थना | ||
Korean 빌다 | ||
Krio pre | ||
Kurdish dûakirin | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) نوێژ | ||
Kyrgyz тилен | ||
Lao ອະທິຖານ | ||
Latin tandem | ||
Latvian lūgties | ||
Lingala kobondela | ||
Lithuanian melstis | ||
Luganda okusaba | ||
Luxembourgish bieden | ||
Macedonian моли се | ||
Maithili प्रार्थना | ||
Malagasy mivavaha | ||
Malay berdoa | ||
Malayalam പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുക | ||
Maltese itlob | ||
Maori inoi | ||
Marathi प्रार्थना | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯂꯥꯏ ꯈꯨꯔꯨꯝꯕ | ||
Mizo tawngtai | ||
Mongolian залбир | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဆုတောင်းပါ | ||
Nepali प्रार्थना | ||
Norwegian be | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) pempherani | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପ୍ରାର୍ଥନା କର | ||
Oromo kadhachuu | ||
Pashto لمونځ | ||
Persian نماز خواندن | ||
Polish módl się | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) orar | ||
Punjabi ਪ੍ਰਾਰਥਨਾ ਕਰੋ | ||
Quechua rezakuy | ||
Romanian roaga-te | ||
Russian молиться | ||
Samoan tatalo | ||
Sanskrit प्रयाण | ||
Scots Gaelic ùrnaigh | ||
Sepedi rapela | ||
Serbian молите се | ||
Sesotho rapela | ||
Shona namata | ||
Sindhi دعا ڪريو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) යාච් .ා කරන්න | ||
Slovak modliť sa | ||
Slovenian moli | ||
Somali tukado | ||
Spanish orar | ||
Sundanese ngadoa | ||
Swahili omba | ||
Swedish be | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) magdasal ka | ||
Tajik дуо кунед | ||
Tamil பிரார்த்தனை | ||
Tatar дога кыл | ||
Telugu ప్రార్థన | ||
Thai อธิษฐาน | ||
Tigrinya ጸለየ | ||
Tsonga khongela | ||
Turkish dua etmek | ||
Turkmen doga et | ||
Twi (Akan) bɔ mpaeɛ | ||
Ukrainian молитися | ||
Urdu دعا کریں | ||
Uyghur دۇئا قىلىڭ | ||
Uzbek ibodat qiling | ||
Vietnamese cầu nguyện | ||
Welsh gweddïwch | ||
Xhosa thandaza | ||
Yiddish דאַוונען | ||
Yoruba gbadura | ||
Zulu thandaza |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "bid" in Afrikaans is derived from the Old English word "bidden", meaning "to ask" or "to request". |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "lutuni" also means "beg" or "plead". |
| Amharic | The word "ጸልዩ", meaning "pray", is related to the word "ጸሎት" (prayer or supplication). |
| Arabic | Arabic 'صلى' can mean 'to pray', 'to prostrate', and 'to bless'. |
| Armenian | The word "աղոթել" ("pray") in Armenian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wal-, meaning both "to desire" and "to speak". Originally, it referred both to making a wish or request, and to engaging in conversation with a deity. |
| Azerbaijani | The word “dua” originates from the Arabic word “du’ā”, meaning “supplication” or “invocation,” and is commonly used in the context of religious practices such as praying to God or expressing gratitude. |
| Basque | Otoitz egin also means "make the sign of the cross" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "маліцца" also means "to beseech" or "to ask for something earnestly". |
| Bengali | "প্রার্থনা" can also mean "to ask for" or "to request" in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | In addition to its religious meaning, "moli" can also mean "to request" or "to address respectfully" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "молете се" also means "to beg" or "to plead". |
| Catalan | The word "pregueu" in Catalan originates from the Latin "precari", meaning "to entreat or beg". |
| Cebuano | In Philippine mythology, "ampo" can also refer to the souls of the dead living in a world below the earth or under the sea. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In ancient times, "祈祷" referred to a type of sacrifice with a request. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 「祈禱」一詞由「祈」表示祈求、祝願，和「禱」表達訴說、懇求組合而成，原有「祝願並懇求」之意。 |
| Corsican | "Prega" can come from a Latin verb meaning "to press," referring to pushing something in order to squeeze out its contents. In Corsican, "prega" can also mean "to crush" or "to tighten something, like a screw." |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "moliti" can also mean "to beg" or "to ask for something earnestly". |
| Czech | The word "modlit se" likely derives from "mluviti" ("to speak") and "dle" ("towards"), hence meaning "to speak towards". |
| Danish | The Danish word "bede" shares the same etymological root as the English word "bid," both meaning to request or ask. |
| Dutch | 'Bidden' means 'to pray' in Dutch, but it also means 'to order' or 'to command'. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "preĝu" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*preg-," meaning "to ask, beg, or entreat." |
| Estonian | In Estonian, "palvetama" derives from Proto-Finnic "*palve" meaning "to ask, beg, pray". |
| Finnish | The word "rukoilla" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "rukko", meaning "to speak". |
| French | In French, the word "prier" can also mean "to ask for something courteously or earnestly", similar to the English word "beg". |
| Frisian | In Old English the word bidde also had the meaning "offer, command" |
| Galician | The word "orar" derives from the Latin word "orare," meaning "to speak," and has the alternate meaning of "to recite" in Galician. |
| Georgian | The Georgian verb ილოცე derives from the Old Georgian root *loc-, meaning "to ask, beg," and is cognate with Armenian աղաչել (ałačʿel) "to beseech, petition" and the Greek verb ἐρωτάω (erōtaō) "to ask, question." |
| German | The verb 'beten' is related to the noun 'Bitte' ('request') and the Old High German word 'betôn' ('to ask, request') and ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰéh₂- ('to speak') and the Proto-Germanic root *bēđôjan ('to pray'). |
| Greek | The Greek word προσεύχομαι (proseuchomai) originally meant 'to beseech', 'to ask', and was also used to refer to 'making a vow'. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "પ્રાર્થના" primarily means "petition" or "supplication" and can also refer to a "votive offering" made to a deity. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "lapriyè" is derived from the French word "prière", meaning petition. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word for 'pray', “yi addu'a”, originally implied 'calling' from Arabic; the word also means 'to plead'. |
| Hawaiian | Pule can also mean a hole drilled in a stone as a snare trap for birds. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "לְהִתְפַּלֵל" (pray) derives from the root "פּלל," meaning "to judge" or "to intercede." |
| Hindi | This Sanskrit-derived word refers to a 'request' or 'desire', and is cognate with the English word 'prayer'. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "thov Vajtswv" also means "to ask God for help or protection." |
| Hungarian | 'imádkozik' shares the same etymological origin with 'ima' ('prayer'), which itself shares an origin with 'idő' ('time'). Thus 'imádkozni' means to 'offer reverence to a deity for a certain time period'. |
| Icelandic | "Biðja" is the archaic strong verb from which "beiða" ("wait") was derived. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "kpee ekpere" literally translates to "make a request" or "beg for something". |
| Indonesian | "Berdoa" also refers to incantations and spells in Javanese folklore and Hindu-Javanese rituals. |
| Italian | 'Pregare' is a loanword from late Latin 'precare', which is derived from the proto-Indo-European root '*prek-', meaning 'to ask' or 'to beg'. |
| Japanese | The word "祈る" (inoru) in Japanese also means "to wish for", "to hope for", or "to desire". |
| Javanese | "Ndedonga" is a Javanese word that is also similar to "nedungak" (to pray) in Osing language. |
| Kazakh | The word «дұға ету» can also mean «to beseech» or «to implore». |
| Khmer | "អធិស្ឋាន" is thought to be a borrowing of the Pali word "adhittāna" which means "aspiration" or "vow". |
| Korean | The word "빌다" is also used figuratively to mean "to beg". |
| Kurdish | The word "dûakirin" in Kurdish also means "to call upon or invoke." |
| Kyrgyz | In Turkic, "тиле" can also mean "wish". |
| Lao | The term "ອະທິຖານ" (pray) derives from Pali and Sanskrit and also bears connotations of wishing, requesting, or asking. |
| Latin | In Latin, “tandem” can also mean “at length” or “finally”. |
| Latvian | The word "lūgties" also literally means "to bend" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | "Melstis" likely derives from the Proto-Baltic root *meld-, which also meant "to ask" and "to sacrifice". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "bieden" can also mean "to offer", or "to make an attempt". |
| Macedonian | The word "моли се" also means "to plead", "to beg", and "to implore". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "MIVAVAHA" means "to pray", but it also has a secondary meaning of "to be engaged." |
| Malay | "Berdoa" can also mean "to wish" or "to desire". |
| Malayalam | The word "പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുക" is derived from the Sanskrit root "pra-arth" meaning "to ask" or "to beg". It also has the alternate meaning of "to entreat" or "to implore". |
| Maltese | "Itlob" is also an archaic form of "ask" or "request". |
| Maori | Inoi in Māori can also mean "a desire" or "a request". |
| Marathi | "प्रार्थना" is a Sanskrit word that literally means "asking for" or "requesting", and can also mean "supplication" or "entreaty" in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "залбир" also means "to make a wish." |
| Nepali | "प्रार्थना" can also mean "an act of worshipping God or a god" in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | The word "be" in Norwegian can also mean "to ask" or "to beg". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The verb 'pempherani' is also used to mean 'to send' or 'to delegate'. |
| Pashto | The word "لمونځ" in Pashto is also used to refer to a particular type of prayer performed by Muslims, known as salat. |
| Persian | The term "نماز خواندن" has its roots in the Arabic word "صلاة," meaning "connection," and is used to describe the act of connecting with the divine through ritual prayers. |
| Polish | The word "módl się" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *moliti sę, meaning "to ask, to beg". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "orar" can also mean "to give a speech" or "to address an audience". |
| Romanian | Romanian "roaga-te" ("pray") derives from Latin "rogare" ("ask") and cognates with English "rogue" and Spanish "rogar". |
| Russian | In the past, the word "молиться" also meant "to ask for, to beseech". |
| Samoan | The word 'tatalo' may derive from Proto-Austronesian or Proto-Malayo-Polynesian '*taRatV', meaning 'to implore'. Alternatively, it is possible that 'tatalo' shares roots with the Tongan noun 'talanoa', referring to 'conversation'. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "ùrnaigh" derives from the same Indo-European root as the Latin word "orare" (to speak), and thus its original meaning was "to beseech" or "to plead". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "молите се" can also refer to the act of begging or asking for something earnestly. |
| Sesotho | The word "rapela" can also mean "to ask for something politely" or "to persuade someone to do something." |
| Shona | In some Shona dialects, "namata" also means "to call upon" or "to summon". |
| Sindhi | "دعا ڪريو" can also mean "call out" or "invite" in Sindhi. |
| Slovak | The verb "modliť sa" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *molitī, which meant "to speak, plead, or ask". |
| Slovenian | Moli's root is likely related to 'melt' and 'mill', hinting at the transformation of the mind or the grinding away of impurities. |
| Somali | Tukado in Somali could possibly be connected to the Amharic word t'ekada 'plead, implore'. |
| Spanish | "Orar" derives from the Latin "orare," meaning "to speak," and also has the alternate meaning of "to give a speech." |
| Sundanese | "Ngadoa" is possibly connected to the Old Javanese verb "nawi", meaning "to seek for desire and hope" as opposed to "nohon", which relates more to a form of "requesting" |
| Swahili | "Omba" comes from the Bantu Proto- root "-omba," meaning "to ask". |
| Swedish | The word "be" in Swedish can also mean "to ask" or "to request". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "magdasal ka" can also mean "give thanks". |
| Tajik | The word "дуо кунед" derives from the Persian "dua kunad" which means "to invoke" or "to call upon [a deity]" |
| Tamil | பிரார்த்தனை derives from Sanskrit ଭ୍ରାର୍ତାନା (prārthanā), meaning "request, entreaty," and is cognate with the English "prayer." |
| Telugu | The word "pray" originates from the Latin word "precari" which means "to ask" or "to entreat". |
| Thai | The word 'อธิษฐาน' comes from the Sanskrit word 'अधिष्ठान' (adhiṣṭhāna), meaning 'support' or 'foundation. |
| Turkish | "Dua etmek" in Turkish ultimately comes from an Arabic word meaning both "blessing" and "curse". |
| Ukrainian | "Молитися" derives from the Proto-Slavic "*molitva", meaning "request, prayer, pleading", and can also mean "to beg, beseech, invoke, entreat, supplicate." |
| Urdu | The Urdu word دعا کریں, "pray," can also carry a more informal meaning of "to hope". |
| Uzbek | The Arabic word 'ibodat' refers to any form of worship, while in Uzbek its use is mainly confined to the context of Muslim prayer. |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "cầu nguyện" has an alternate meaning relating to the process of making dishes out of pork, shrimp, and crab meat. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "gweddïwch" also means "to speak" or "to discourse". |
| Xhosa | Thandaza can also mean 'a request to a chief or other person in authority', or 'an offering to an ancestor' |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "דאַוונען" comes from the Hebrew word "דבֵר" (davar), meaning "to speak", and originally referred to the recitation of prayers in a synagogue. |
| Yoruba | The word 'gbadura' (to pray) in Yoruba is derived from the phrase 'gba adura' (to receive prayers), indicating the reciprocal nature of prayer. |
| Zulu | The word "thandaza" in Zulu originally meant "to ask politely" or "to request". |
| English | In the 13th century, 'pray' meant 'to beg' or 'to ask', and still retains this meaning in some dialects. |