Quarter in Different Languages
Discover 'Quarter' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'quarter' holds great significance in various contexts, such as measurement, time, and military terminology. It is a cultural cornerstone, especially in music, where a 'quarter note' is a fundamental rhythmic value. Moreover, the term is used in expressions like 'a quarter to five,' demonstrating its importance in understanding time. But why should you know the translation of 'quarter' in different languages?
Understanding the word in various languages can enrich your cultural experiences, facilitate communication, and foster global connections. For instance, in Spanish, 'quarter' translates to 'cuarto,' which also means 'room,' reflecting the term's historical usage in lodgings. In French, 'quarter' is 'quart,' which shares roots with the word 'quartet' in English, emphasizing the musical connection.
Explore the many faces of 'quarter' in different languages and broaden your linguistic and cultural horizons.
Quarter
Quarter in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kwartaal | ||
| Afrikaans 'kwartaal' derives from Middle Dutch 'quartael', a loanword from Latin 'quartālis'. | |||
| Amharic | ሩብ | ||
| The word "ሩብ" in Amharic can also refer to a coin worth one-fourth of a dollar or to a quarter of an hour. | |||
| Hausa | kwata | ||
| The word 'kwata' in Hausa can also refer to a type of traditional African fabric with a distinctive striped pattern. | |||
| Igbo | nkeji iri na ise | ||
| The term "nkeji iri na ise" literally means "a piece from a whole" in the Igbo language. | |||
| Malagasy | tao an-tanàna | ||
| The word «tao an-tanàna» can also be used metaphorically to mean the «center» of something, like a city or group. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kotala | ||
| The word “kotala” also means a small homestead or village in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | kota | ||
| The word "kota" is also used to refer to a small hut or granary. | |||
| Somali | rubuc | ||
| "Rubuc" is also used in Somali to mean a "quarter" or "fourth part" of something, such as a monetary sum or a unit of measurement. | |||
| Sesotho | kotara | ||
| Kotara also means 'village' or 'homestead' in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | robo | ||
| The Swahili word "robo," meaning "quarter," is also used in the phrase "robo tatu," meaning "75 cents," and the slang term "roboka," meaning "to be broke." | |||
| Xhosa | kwikota | ||
| Derived from Dutch word 'kwartet', meaning 'fourth part', indicating a quarter or 25 cents. Sometimes confused with 'kwata', meaning 'to seize'. | |||
| Yoruba | mẹẹdogun | ||
| The word 'mẹẹdogun' in Yoruba is derived from the words 'mẹẹwàá' (16) and 'ogún' (20), and its alternate meaning is 'two scores'. | |||
| Zulu | ikota | ||
| The word "ikota" also refers to a part or share of something or a section or unit. | |||
| Bambara | kin | ||
| Ewe | kuata | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kimwe cya kane | ||
| Lingala | trimestre | ||
| Luganda | kwoota | ||
| Sepedi | kotara | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nkyɛmu nnan mu baako | ||
Quarter in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ربع | ||
| The word "ربع" (pronounced "rub3") in Arabic also means "friend" or "companion" and is derived from the verb "ربا" (pronounced "raba"), meaning "to grow" or "to increase". | |||
| Hebrew | רובע | ||
| רובע (quarter) comes from the Arabic root 'ar-rub' (four), and was originally used to describe any of the four quarters of Jerusalem in the 13th century. | |||
| Pashto | پاو | ||
| The word "پاو" (quarter) in Pashto also refers to a type of traditional fabric woven in checkered patterns. | |||
| Arabic | ربع | ||
| The word "ربع" (pronounced "rub3") in Arabic also means "friend" or "companion" and is derived from the verb "ربا" (pronounced "raba"), meaning "to grow" or "to increase". | |||
Quarter in Western European Languages
| Albanian | çerek | ||
| The word "çerek" in Albanian also means "piece" or "fragment". | |||
| Basque | hiruhilekoa | ||
| It is also used to refer to a piece of land used to grow potatoes. | |||
| Catalan | quart | ||
| The Catalan word 'quart' originally referred to a Roman coin worth a quarter of an as, and later to a quarter of a pound of meat. | |||
| Croatian | četvrtina | ||
| The Croatian word "četvrtina" comes from the Latin "quattuor" and refers to a 4th part, but is used in Croatia also for a 5th part of something | |||
| Danish | kvarter | ||
| The Danish word 'kvarter' also means 'neighborhood'. | |||
| Dutch | kwartaal | ||
| The Dutch word "kwartaal" is cognate with the English word "quarantine", both originating from medieval Italian "quarantena" meaning forty. | |||
| English | quarter | ||
| The word "quarter" derives from the Latin "quartus", meaning "fourth", and refers to the fourth part of a whole. | |||
| French | trimestre | ||
| Trimestre is cognate with the English word "trim" (as in "trim a hedge"), from the Latin root "tremere" meaning "to tremble" or "to divide into three parts". | |||
| Frisian | kertier | ||
| The word "kertier" in Frisian also refers to a district or neighborhood within a city or village. | |||
| Galician | trimestre | ||
| In Galician the word "trimestre" has also the meaning of "last three months of the year". | |||
| German | quartal | ||
| The word "Quartal" in German can also mean the period from Easter to Pentecost or a university semester. | |||
| Icelandic | fjórðungur | ||
| The Icelandic word "fjórðungur" derives from the Old Norse term "fjórðungr," meaning a fourth part or region, and is related to the Latin word "quadrans," meaning a quarter. | |||
| Irish | ráithe | ||
| In Irish, "ráithe" also refers to the four traditional seasons of the year. | |||
| Italian | trimestre | ||
| "Trimestre" also means "haircut" in Italian, sharing its Latin etymology with "trim" in English. | |||
| Luxembourgish | véierel | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "Véierel" is a cognate of the French word "quartier", meaning "district", and also derives from the Latin "quadra" (a square) via the Old High German "fiertel", meaning "a fourth". | |||
| Maltese | kwart | ||
| The word "kwart" in Maltese can also mean "coin" and is derived from the Italian word "quattrino". | |||
| Norwegian | fjerdedel | ||
| The word “fjerdedel” is derived from the Old Norse word “fjórðungr,” meaning “fourth part”. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | trimestre | ||
| In Portuguese, the word "trimestre" has a secondary meaning of "three-month period" or "quarter of a year." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cairteal | ||
| "Cairteal" can refer to both a fourth part and a region. | |||
| Spanish | trimestre | ||
| The Spanish word "trimestre" derives from the Latin "trimestris," meaning "period of three months." | |||
| Swedish | fjärdedel | ||
| "Fjärdedel" (quarter) likely derives from Proto-Germanic *feðurðēdiz ("fourth part"), itself a derivation of the Proto-Indo-European root *ketwer- ("four"). | |||
| Welsh | chwarter | ||
| The Welsh word "chwarter" is derived from the Latin word "quartarius", meaning "the fourth part of something". | |||
Quarter in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | чвэрць | ||
| The word "чвэрць" also means "a quarter of an hour" or "15 minutes" in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | četvrtina | ||
| The word 'četvrtina' can also refer to a quarter of an hour or a quarter of a dinar. | |||
| Bulgarian | четвърт | ||
| The word 'четвърт' can also refer to 'the fourth part of a year' or 'one of the four major Orthodox Christian fasts'. | |||
| Czech | čtvrťák | ||
| "Čtvrťák" can also refer to a student or teacher at a quarter school. | |||
| Estonian | veerand | ||
| "Veerand" comes from Old Estonian "verand" (edge), which is why the term also means "side of something" (e.g. road) or "part of something" (e.g. hour). | |||
| Finnish | neljänneksellä | ||
| In Finnish, the word "neljänneksellä" can also refer to a quarter of an hour or a quarter of a circle. | |||
| Hungarian | negyed | ||
| "Negyed" (meaning "a fourth, quarter") comes from the Hungarian verb "nyergelni" (which means "to saddle up"), as in the old days one fourth was as much grain as a single packhorse could carry. | |||
| Latvian | ceturksnī | ||
| Another meaning of the word “ceturksnis” is a quarter-circular curve with a radius of 2r – a square with sides of length r. | |||
| Lithuanian | ketvirtį | ||
| The word "ketvirtį" in Lithuanian, besides its primary meaning of "quarter", can also refer to a "district" or a "neighbourhood". | |||
| Macedonian | четвртина | ||
| The word "четвртина" (quarter) comes from the Proto-Slavic word *četvьrtъ, meaning "a quarter" or "one-fourth of something." | |||
| Polish | jedna czwarta | ||
| In Polish language the word 'jedna czwarta' can also mean a musical quarter note. | |||
| Romanian | sfert | ||
| The Romanian word "sfert" shares the same Indo-European origin as the English "quarter" word | |||
| Russian | четверть | ||
| The word "четверть" can also refer to a quarter of an hour or a quarter of a ruble. | |||
| Serbian | четвртина | ||
| The word "четвртина" also has the meaning of "neighborhood" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | štvrťrok | ||
| In the past it also had the meaning of 'money tax', 'four days', 'three months'. | |||
| Slovenian | četrtletje | ||
| The word 'četrtletje' also means 'quarter as a three-month period of the year'. | |||
| Ukrainian | квартал | ||
| The word “квартал” is also used to refer to a residential area, similar to an American “neighborhood” or “block.” | |||
Quarter in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | চতুর্থাংশ | ||
| "চতুর্থাংশ" is also used to denote the fourth part of a musical composition or the four cardinal directions. | |||
| Gujarati | ક્વાર્ટર | ||
| "Quarter" derives from the Latin "quartarius", meaning "a fourth part", akin to "quadra", "four". In some contexts, it may also refer to a 25-cent piece, a three-month period, a portion of a city, a particular area in sports fields or a phase of the moon. | |||
| Hindi | त्रिमास | ||
| The word 'त्रिमास' is derived from Sanskrit and literally means 'three months'. | |||
| Kannada | ಕಾಲು | ||
| The word "ಕಾಲು" (quarter) comes from the Sanskrit word "kalā", meaning ‘part’. | |||
| Malayalam | പാദം | ||
| In its alternate sense, the word 'പാദം' refers to a section or division, such as a chapter in a book or a part of a play. | |||
| Marathi | तिमाहीत | ||
| The word 'तिमाहीत' originates from the Sanskrit word 'त्रिमासिक', meaning 'three months', and refers to something that occurs or is done once every three months. | |||
| Nepali | क्वाटर | ||
| The Nepali word क्वाटर comes from the English word 'quarter', and can also mean a place where people live, or a period of three months. | |||
| Punjabi | ਤਿਮਾਹੀ | ||
| "ਤਿਮਾਹੀ" comes from the Persian word "charmak", meaning "four parts", and can also refer to a type of measurement used to determine the purity of gold. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කාර්තුවේ | ||
| Tamil | காலாண்டு | ||
| The Tamil word "காலாண்டு" also means "a period of three months". | |||
| Telugu | త్రైమాసికం | ||
| The word "త్రైమాసికం" can also refer to a period of three months or a quarterly publication. | |||
| Urdu | چوتھائی | ||
| In 16th century India, the 'chauth' was a tax on the gross produce or revenue of a province, imposed by the Maratha king Shivaji. | |||
Quarter in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 25美分硬币 | ||
| “25美分硬币”在中文里的原意是“四分之一”，“quarter”的本意即为“四分之一” | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 25美分硬幣 | ||
| 「25美分硬幣」又稱為「角子」或「一毛」 | |||
| Japanese | 四半期 | ||
| The term 四半期 (shihan-ki) used in Japanese business circles has a different meaning from its Chinese origin as it refers to a three-month period, not a quarter of a year. | |||
| Korean | 쿼터 | ||
| "쿼터"는 네 부분으로 나눈 것 외에도 4분의 1을 의미할 때 "분기"로도 쓰입니다. | |||
| Mongolian | улирал | ||
| The root of "улирал" is the noun "ул", meaning "knee" or "joint", so it can also refer to a part of a larger object (e.g. a city district). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လေးပုံတပုံ | ||
Quarter in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | perempat | ||
| "Perempat" can refer to a quarter of an hour, a quarter of a century, or a quarter of a year. | |||
| Javanese | seprapat | ||
| The Javanese word "seprapat" also refers to a fraction or a small portion of something. | |||
| Khmer | ត្រីមាស | ||
| The word "ត្រីមាស" can also refer to a period of three months, a trimester, or a quarter of a year. | |||
| Lao | ໄຕມາດ | ||
| The Lao word ໄຕມາດ "quarter" also refers to a unit of time equal to three months. | |||
| Malay | suku | ||
| The word "suku" in Malay can also refer to a group of people related by blood or marriage, or a unit of measurement for distance or volume. | |||
| Thai | ไตรมาส | ||
| ไตรมาส can also refer to "trimester" (a division of pregnancy), and "tripartite", (i.e. three parties involved in an event) | |||
| Vietnamese | phần tư | ||
| The word "phần tư" also means "one of the four equal parts of a whole". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | quarter | ||
Quarter in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | dörddəbir | ||
| In Azerbaijani, the word "dörddəbir" means "quarter" and is also used to refer to "one-fourth of a unit" | |||
| Kazakh | тоқсан | ||
| "Тоқсан" также означает "девяносто" на казахском языке. | |||
| Kyrgyz | чейрек | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "чейрек" can also refer to a small bowl or cup used for drinking tea. | |||
| Tajik | семоҳа | ||
| The Tajik word "семоҳа" is derived from the Persian "سیمه" and can also refer to "direction, region, or district." | |||
| Turkmen | çärýek | ||
| Uzbek | chorak | ||
| In Uzbek, "chorak" also means "part". | |||
| Uyghur | چارەك | ||
Quarter in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hapaha | ||
| The word "hapaha" in Hawaiian also means "a small piece" or "a remnant". | |||
| Maori | hauwhā | ||
| Hauwhā as a verb means to turn, bend, or turn aside; as a noun it refers to a section or portion | |||
| Samoan | kuata | ||
| The word 'kuata' is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word '*kota' meaning 'a part, a section'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kwarter | ||
| In Philippine Tagalog slang, "kwarter" can also mean a twenty-five centavo Republic of the Philippines coin. | |||
Quarter in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | tirsu | ||
| Guarani | jasyapy'aty | ||
Quarter in International Languages
| Esperanto | kvarono | ||
| "Kvarono" in Esperanto also refers to a "booklet of four leaves". | |||
| Latin | quartam | ||
| Quarta is also attested in the meaning of | |||
Quarter in Others Languages
| Greek | τέταρτο | ||
| "Τέταρτο" comes from the word "τέταρτος" ("fourth"), which in turn evolved from "τέσσερα" ("four"). | |||
| Hmong | peb lub hlis twg | ||
| The word "peb lub hlis twg" can also mean "twenty-five" or "the twenty-fifth part of something." | |||
| Kurdish | çarîk | ||
| The Kurdish word "çarîk" can also refer to the area around a city or village. | |||
| Turkish | çeyrek | ||
| Çeyrek means "quarter", "coin" (especially 25 kuruş), "one-fourth", or "15 minutes" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | kwikota | ||
| Derived from Dutch word 'kwartet', meaning 'fourth part', indicating a quarter or 25 cents. Sometimes confused with 'kwata', meaning 'to seize'. | |||
| Yiddish | פערטל | ||
| The Yiddish word "פערטל" (fertl) can also refer to a small amount or a slice of something. | |||
| Zulu | ikota | ||
| The word "ikota" also refers to a part or share of something or a section or unit. | |||
| Assamese | কিহবাৰ এক চতুৰ্থাংশ | ||
| Aymara | tirsu | ||
| Bhojpuri | तिमाही | ||
| Dhivehi | ހަތަރުބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި | ||
| Dogri | म्हल्ला | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | quarter | ||
| Guarani | jasyapy'aty | ||
| Ilocano | maipakat a paset | ||
| Krio | fɔ ɛvri fɔ tin dɛn we yu kɔnt na wan lɛf | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | چارەک | ||
| Maithili | चौथाई | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯤ ꯊꯣꯛꯄꯒꯤ ꯑꯃ | ||
| Mizo | hmun lia thena hmun khat | ||
| Oromo | kurmaana | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଚତୁର୍ଥାଂଶ | ||
| Quechua | tawa ñiqi | ||
| Sanskrit | चतुर्थांश | ||
| Tatar | чирек | ||
| Tigrinya | ርብዒ | ||
| Tsonga | kotara | ||