Read in Different Languages
Discover 'Read' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'read' holds a significant and cultural importance in our daily lives. It is the gateway to knowledge, imagination, and personal growth. From ancient manuscripts to modern e-books, the act of reading has connected people across time and space. But have you ever wondered how to say 'read' in different languages?
Understanding the translation of 'read' in various languages can provide unique insights into different cultures and their approaches to literature and education. For example, in Spanish, 'read' is 'leer', while in French, it's 'lire'. In Mandarin Chinese, 'read' is '读', pronounced as 'dú'. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'read' is '読む', pronounced as 'yomu'. These translations not only reflect linguistic differences but also highlight the diverse ways in which people around the world engage with the written word.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or simply curious, exploring the translations of 'read' in different languages can be a fun and enlightening experience. Keep reading to discover more!
Read
Read in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | lees | ||
| The word "lees" in Afrikaans can also refer to a yeast precipitate in wine or beer. | |||
| Amharic | አንብብ | ||
| The word 'አንብብ' in Amharic also means 'to study' or 'to recite'. | |||
| Hausa | karanta | ||
| In ancient times, “karanta” could also mean “to be pregnant”. | |||
| Igbo | gụọ | ||
| Igbo speakers sometimes use "gụọ" in the context of "to search or investigate," as well as in its literal sense of "to read." | |||
| Malagasy | vakio ny | ||
| The word "vakio ny" in Malagasy also means "to study" or "to learn." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | werengani | ||
| The word werengani also means 'to count' or 'to consider' in Nyanja (Chichewa). | |||
| Shona | verenga | ||
| In some contexts, the Shona word "verenga" can refer to the act of gathering information beyond reading, such as by observation or rumor. | |||
| Somali | aqri | ||
| The word "aqri" in Somali can also mean "to learn" or "to study" | |||
| Sesotho | bala | ||
| The word 'bala' also means 'to perceive' | |||
| Swahili | soma | ||
| "Soma" also means "to study" and originates from the Arabic word "sahama" meaning "to share". | |||
| Xhosa | funda | ||
| In Xhosa, 'funda' can also mean 'to be on the brink of giving birth' or 'to be on the point of doing something'. | |||
| Yoruba | ka | ||
| The word "ka" in Yoruba can also mean "to examine" or "to study". | |||
| Zulu | funda | ||
| Funda's alternate meaning in Zulu is "to study or to learn". | |||
| Bambara | ka kalan | ||
| Ewe | xlẽ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | soma | ||
| Lingala | kotanga | ||
| Luganda | okusoma | ||
| Sepedi | bala | ||
| Twi (Akan) | kan | ||
Read in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | اقرأ | ||
| The word "اقرأ" ("read") in Arabic is also used to mean "recite" or "chant", especially in a religious context. | |||
| Hebrew | לקרוא | ||
| The Hebrew verb "קרא" (read) also means "to call" or "to invite", reflecting its original meaning of "to proclaim" or "to announce" | |||
| Pashto | ولولئ | ||
| The Pashto word “ولولئ” also means “to spin”. | |||
| Arabic | اقرأ | ||
| The word "اقرأ" ("read") in Arabic is also used to mean "recite" or "chant", especially in a religious context. | |||
Read in Western European Languages
| Albanian | lexoj | ||
| The word "lexoj" (read) in Albanian derives from the Latin "lego, legere," and also means "to gather" or "to collect" in Old Albanian. | |||
| Basque | irakurri | ||
| The noun "irakurri" is a substantivized past participle of the verb "irakurri" "to read" and is rarely used in any context other than "irakurketa" "reading". | |||
| Catalan | llegir | ||
| In Aranese Catalan, lle(g)ir also means to ‘suckle’ | |||
| Croatian | čitati | ||
| The verb "čitati" also means to "spell" or "recite" in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | læs | ||
| In Norwegian, 'les' also means to 'gather'. | |||
| Dutch | lezen | ||
| The Dutch "lezen" (read) derives from Proto-Germanic "lisanōn", meaning "gather" or "collect". | |||
| English | read | ||
| The word "read" comes from the Old English word "rædan," which means "to interpret" or "to give advice." | |||
| French | lis | ||
| "Lis" can also mean "lily" in French, which comes from the Latin word "lilium". | |||
| Frisian | lêze | ||
| The word "lêze" in Frisian can also mean "study" or "learn". | |||
| Galician | ler | ||
| In Galician, the word "ler" not only means "to read" but also "to plough" or "to till" the land. | |||
| German | lesen | ||
| From Middle High German 'lesen', 'to gather', probably related to 'lese' 'stack of hay'. | |||
| Icelandic | lesa | ||
| The word "lesa" can have several meanings apart from "read", such as "gather","collect" and "grasp". | |||
| Irish | léigh | ||
| The Irish word | |||
| Italian | leggere | ||
| The word 'leggere' in Italian ultimately derives from the Latin verb 'legere', meaning both 'to read' and 'to gather', suggesting its historical connection to reading as a collective activity. | |||
| Luxembourgish | liesen | ||
| The word "liesen" can also mean "to pick up" or "to gather" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | aqra | ||
| The word "aqra" can also mean "to search" or "to examine" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | lese | ||
| "Lese" is connected to "lyd", which means sound, hence, "lese" in Norwegian means "to read aloud" or "to listen. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ler | ||
| The verb "ler" in Portuguese derives from the Latin "legere", meaning "to gather, to collect". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | leugh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word 'leugh' can also mean 'lecture' or 'lesson'. | |||
| Spanish | leer | ||
| In Spanish, the word "leer" also means to "skim" or "scan" a text. | |||
| Swedish | läsa | ||
| "Läsa", meaning "read" in Swedish, can also mean to "study" or to "understand". | |||
| Welsh | darllen | ||
| 'Darllen' also means 'to perceive' or 'to understand' in older Welsh. | |||
Read in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | чытаць | ||
| "Чытаць" derives from an Old East Slavic word meaning "to speak" or "to recite". | |||
| Bosnian | čitaj | ||
| The verb "čitaj" in Bosnian is ultimately derived from the Proto-Slavic verb "*čitati", meaning "to understand, to interpret". | |||
| Bulgarian | прочети | ||
| The Bulgarian word "Прочети" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*čьtъ", which originally meant "to understand" or "to count". | |||
| Czech | číst | ||
| The verb "číst" is also used in the meaning "to clean". In old Czech, it also meant "to collect". | |||
| Estonian | lugeda | ||
| The word "lugeda" in Estonian is also used to refer to counting or examining something carefully. | |||
| Finnish | lukea | ||
| The word "lukea" also means "to count" or "to guess", perhaps due to its origin in the Old East Finnish "lukku" (notch). | |||
| Hungarian | olvas | ||
| The etymology of the Hungarian word "olvas" is uncertain, with possible connections to the Ugrian languages or the Turkic languages. | |||
| Latvian | lasīt | ||
| The verb "lasīt" also means "to collect" or "to gather", similar to its cognates in the other Baltic languages like Lithuanian "lesti". | |||
| Lithuanian | skaityti | ||
| "Skaityti" literally means "to count" in Lithuanian, reflecting the historical importance of reading as a means of acquiring knowledge. | |||
| Macedonian | прочитај | ||
| The verb "прочитај" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb *čitati, which also means "to count" or "to gather". | |||
| Polish | czytać | ||
| "Czytać" means both "to read" and "to recite" in Polish, due to the historical use of reading aloud and recitation.} | |||
| Romanian | citit | ||
| The verb 'citi' also has a second, more formal use, which is 'to inform' and is used mostly by the Church. | |||
| Russian | читать | ||
| The Russian verb "читать" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "čьtati", originally meaning "to calculate" or "to count." | |||
| Serbian | читати | ||
| "Читати" also means to "count" in Serbo-Croatian. | |||
| Slovak | čítať | ||
| The word "čítať" also means "spell" or "cast a spell" in Old Church Slavonic. | |||
| Slovenian | preberite | ||
| The word 'prebrati' also means 'to read aloud' or 'to recite' in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | читати | ||
| "Читання" - це процес сприйняття й розуміння тексту; "читати" - "говорити про себе", "розмовляти" (інші значення слова) | |||
Read in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পড়া | ||
| The word "পড়া" (read) also means "to fall down" in Bengali, which is why the word "পড়াশোনা" (studies) literally means "falling down of knowledge." | |||
| Gujarati | વાંચવું | ||
| Hindi | पढ़ना | ||
| पढ़ना (read), derives from the Sanskrit √पृच्छ् 'to ask', thus implying 'questioning the text'. Also the verb to 'study'. | |||
| Kannada | ಓದಿ | ||
| "ಓದಿ" in Kannada can also refer to a ceremony or ritual. | |||
| Malayalam | വായിക്കുക | ||
| വായിക്കുക originally meant 'to utter' or 'to speak out loud', and still has this meaning in certain contexts. | |||
| Marathi | वाचा | ||
| The word "वाचा" also means "speech" or "voice" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | पढ्नुहोस् | ||
| The Nepali word "पढ्नुहोस्" is derived from the Sanskrit root "पठ्" (p̣ath), which means "to go, to move". This suggests that reading was originally conceived as a journey of the mind through text. | |||
| Punjabi | ਪੜ੍ਹੋ | ||
| The word 'ਪੜ੍ਹੋ' ('read') in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'पठ्' ('path'), meaning 'to read, to recite, or to study' | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කියවන්න | ||
| The Sinhalese word "කියවන්න" comes from the Proto-Dravidian root *kīl- "to say" and is also used to mean "to speak". | |||
| Tamil | படி | ||
| The Tamil word "படி" (padi) also means "step" or "ladder," reflecting the concept of reading as a gradual process of ascent. | |||
| Telugu | చదవండి | ||
| చదవండి also refers to a Telugu word game commonly played with playing cards; it is similar to the card game 'Crazy Eights'. | |||
| Urdu | پڑھیں | ||
| The Urdu word "پڑھیں" originated from the Prakrit and Sanskrit verb "पढ़िति" (paḍhiti), meaning "to learn" or "to study". | |||
Read in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 读 | ||
| 读 can mean to study, to recite aloud, or to comprehend, and is most often used in reference to literature. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 讀 | ||
| The Han character 讀 is a semantic-phonetic compound, consisting of a phonetic component 音 and a semantic component 首 meaning 'head' | |||
| Japanese | 読んだ | ||
| 読んだ means "to read" in Japanese, but it can also mean "to learn" or "to understand." | |||
| Korean | 읽다 | ||
| In the Jeju dialect, the word "읽다" can also mean "write." | |||
| Mongolian | унших | ||
| The word "унших" can also mean "to study" or "to learn" in Mongolian. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဖတ်ပါ | ||
Read in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | baca | ||
| Baca, also means 'to sow or plant' in archaic Javanese Malay and is likely an Austroasiatic loanword. | |||
| Javanese | maca | ||
| In modern Javanese, "maca" also means "to see", especially on a screen. | |||
| Khmer | អាន | ||
| The verb អាន has several meanings, such as to "understand," "interpret" or "see". | |||
| Lao | ອ່ານ | ||
| The word "ອ່ານ" in Lao has multiple meanings, including "to look at", "to study", and "to examine". | |||
| Malay | membaca | ||
| The term "membaca" is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root "*baca" meaning "to recite, spell". This root is shared by numerous other languages in the Malayo-Polynesian family. | |||
| Thai | อ่าน | ||
| The Thai word "อ่าน" (read) derives from the Khmer word "អាន" (aan) and the Sanskrit word "अधीत" (adhīta). | |||
| Vietnamese | đọc | ||
| "Đọc" also means "to measure", likely from the Mon-Khmer word "dok". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | basahin | ||
Read in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | oxuyun | ||
| The word "oxuyun" may also refer to "studying" or "learning" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | оқыңыз | ||
| The Kazakh word "оқыңыз" can also mean "to study" or "to learn". | |||
| Kyrgyz | окуу | ||
| The word "окуу" derives from the root "- оку" which also means "to comprehend". | |||
| Tajik | хонед | ||
| The word "хонед" in Tajik can also mean "to learn" or "to study". | |||
| Turkmen | oka | ||
| Uzbek | o'qing | ||
| The word "o'qing" in Uzbek is related to the Mongolian word for "to read", "өгүүлэх." | |||
| Uyghur | ئوقۇش | ||
Read in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | heluhelu | ||
| In Hawaiian, the word 'heluhelu' not only means 'read,' but also signifies the act of surfing or paddling. | |||
| Maori | panuihia | ||
| Panuihia can also mean to "make known" or "announce". | |||
| Samoan | faitau | ||
| The Samoan word "faitau" also means "to compose" or "to write". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | basahin | ||
| The word ``basahin`` is also used to describe the process of wetting or soaking something as in ``basain mo ang pinggan`` (``wet the plate``). | |||
Read in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ullaña | ||
| Guarani | lee | ||
Read in International Languages
| Esperanto | legi | ||
| "Legi" is a word used to describe a type of dance that is popular in Romania. | |||
| Latin | legere | ||
| The Latin verb legere also means to 'pick up,' 'collect,' and 'gather.' | |||
Read in Others Languages
| Greek | ανάγνωση | ||
| The Greek word "ανάγνωση" can also refer to interpretation, particularly in regards to religious texts and visions. | |||
| Hmong | nyeem | ||
| In the Hmong language, "nyeem" means both "to read" and refers to a specific "book", depending on its tonal contour. | |||
| Kurdish | xwendin | ||
| The Kurdish word 'xwendin' has alternative meanings such as 'to understand' and 'to interpret'. | |||
| Turkish | okumak | ||
| The Turkish word "okumak" also refers to "studying" in the sense of learning a topic in-depth. | |||
| Xhosa | funda | ||
| In Xhosa, 'funda' can also mean 'to be on the brink of giving birth' or 'to be on the point of doing something'. | |||
| Yiddish | לייענען | ||
| לייענען's Yiddish meaning of "support" likely comes from medieval "lehnen" and Latin "clinare" and has a connection to the German "lehnen" meaning "borrow." | |||
| Zulu | funda | ||
| Funda's alternate meaning in Zulu is "to study or to learn". | |||
| Assamese | পঢ়া | ||
| Aymara | ullaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | पढ़ल | ||
| Dhivehi | ކިޔުން | ||
| Dogri | पढ़ो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | basahin | ||
| Guarani | lee | ||
| Ilocano | basaen | ||
| Krio | rid | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | خوێندنەوە | ||
| Maithili | पढ़ू | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯥꯕ | ||
| Mizo | chhiar | ||
| Oromo | dubbisuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ read ଼ନ୍ତୁ | | ||
| Quechua | ñawinchay | ||
| Sanskrit | पठतु | ||
| Tatar | укыгыз | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣንብብ | ||
| Tsonga | hlaya | ||