Reason in Different Languages
Discover 'Reason' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'reason' holds a special significance in our lives, as it represents the power of logic and intellect that sets us apart from other creatures. Reason is the foundation of our ability to understand the world, communicate complex ideas, and make informed decisions. It is a concept that transcends cultures and languages, yet is interpreted and expressed in unique ways across the globe.
Throughout history, reason has played a crucial role in shaping human civilization. From the ancient Greek philosophers to the Enlightenment thinkers, reason has been celebrated as a tool for discovering truth and promoting progress. It has also been a subject of debate and exploration in various fields, from philosophy and psychology to artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
Understanding the translation of 'reason' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how different cultures view and value this concept. For example, in Spanish, 'reason' is 'razón', while in French, it is 'raison'. In German, it is 'Grund', and in Japanese, it is '理由' (riyuu).
Exploring the many translations of 'reason' can open up a world of cultural discovery and appreciation. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of language and the many ways we express this fundamental human trait.
Reason
Reason in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | rede | ||
| The Afrikaans word "rede" derives from the Dutch word "reden", meaning "speech, reason, or cause". | |||
| Amharic | ምክንያት | ||
| The word ምክንያት can also mean 'explanation' or 'motive'. | |||
| Hausa | dalili | ||
| Dalili is similar to the Arabic word 'dalil', which is a proof, sign, or indication, hinting to a shared etymological root. | |||
| Igbo | ihe kpatara | ||
| "Ihe kpatara" can also mean "the reason why" or "the reason behind." | |||
| Malagasy | antony | ||
| "Antony" also exists in a feminine form as a surname or first name. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kulingalira | ||
| The term "kulingalira" is also used to denote a method of traditional herbal medicine in Malawi. | |||
| Shona | chikonzero | ||
| The word "chikonzero" can also refer to a logic or a way of thinking about something. | |||
| Somali | sabab | ||
| "Sabab" also means "cause" or "origin" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | lebaka | ||
| In Sesotho, the word 'lebaka' can also refer to a 'cause' or a 'motive'. | |||
| Swahili | sababu | ||
| The Swahili word "sababu" also refers to a cause, motive, or circumstance. | |||
| Xhosa | isizathu | ||
| The Xhosa word "isizathu" can also refer to a cause or an explanation. | |||
| Yoruba | idi | ||
| The word "idi" in Yoruba also means "eye" or "vision". | |||
| Zulu | isizathu | ||
| The Zulu word "isizathu" has multiple meanings, including "cause," "origin," "motive," "purpose," and "principle." | |||
| Bambara | kun | ||
| Ewe | susu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | impamvu | ||
| Lingala | ntina | ||
| Luganda | ensonga | ||
| Sepedi | lebaka | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sɛnti | ||
Reason in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | السبب | ||
| The word "السبب" (reason) in Arabic also refers to a cause, motive, or purpose. | |||
| Hebrew | סיבה | ||
| The word 'סיבה' in Hebrew also has the meaning of 'cause' or 'factor'. | |||
| Pashto | دلیل | ||
| دلیل in Pashto could also mean 'explanation', 'argument', or 'proof'. | |||
| Arabic | السبب | ||
| The word "السبب" (reason) in Arabic also refers to a cause, motive, or purpose. | |||
Reason in Western European Languages
| Albanian | arsyen | ||
| The word "arsyen" may also mean "judgment", "understanding", or "sense". | |||
| Basque | arrazoia | ||
| The word "arrazoia" in Basque can also refer to a "cause" or a "motive". | |||
| Catalan | raó | ||
| Catalan "raó" comes from Latin "ratio" (calculation, reason) and has evolved to mean "right" in addition to "reason". | |||
| Croatian | razlog | ||
| The word "razlog" originally meant "distinction" or "difference" in Old Slavic, and it still retains this meaning in some Slavic languages like Russian. | |||
| Danish | grund | ||
| Grund, a Scandinavian term meaning 'rock', has been used in Danish since the 14th century. | |||
| Dutch | reden | ||
| Dutch "reden" also means "to speak" and originates from Proto-Germanic "*rethaną", meaning "to advise, to explain". | |||
| English | reason | ||
| The word "reason" derives from the Old French word "raisun," meaning "cause" or "motive." | |||
| French | raison | ||
| In French, "raison" can also mean "grape" and is the origin of the word "raisin" in English. | |||
| Frisian | reden | ||
| In medieval Frisian, 'reden' also meant 'to speak' or 'to counsel'. | |||
| Galician | razón | ||
| "Razón" also means "proportion" or "measure" in Galician. | |||
| German | grund | ||
| Cognate with English "ground," the word "Grund" can also refer to a piece of land, the bottom of a body of water, or the sediment that accumulates there. | |||
| Icelandic | ástæða | ||
| Ástæða is cognate with the Old Norse word "ást" meaning "love" and the Old English word "æst" meaning "esteem". It can also mean "cause" or "basis". | |||
| Irish | chúis | ||
| Originally meant 'cause', 'reason' or 'sake', but later came to mean 'reason' in general. | |||
| Italian | motivo | ||
| The word "Motivo" can also refer to a musical theme or a pattern in decorative arts. | |||
| Luxembourgish | grond | ||
| The word "Grond" in Luxembourgish can also refer to a legal document, a reason given in court, or a cause. | |||
| Maltese | raġuni | ||
| "Raġuni" can be used to mean "right" as well as "reason" or "cause." | |||
| Norwegian | grunnen til | ||
| The word "grunnen" can also refer to the "ground" or "earth" in Norwegian, and the word "til" can mean "to" or "towards", leading to the literal translation of "the ground to" or "the earth to." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | razão | ||
| In Portuguese, the word "razão" can also mean "proportion" or "relationship between two quantities". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | adhbhar | ||
| The word 'adhbhar' also means 'cause' and is derived from the Irish word 'adhbar', meaning 'material'. | |||
| Spanish | razón | ||
| "Razón" is rooted in the Latin "ratio," implying both "calculation" and "proportion," and retains these meanings in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | anledning | ||
| The Swedish word "anledning" originates from the Middle Low German word "anledinge", which means "opportunity" or "circumstance". | |||
| Welsh | rheswm | ||
| The word 'rheswm' is derived from the Old Welsh 'rheswm', meaning 'cause', 'motive' or 'ground'. | |||
Reason in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | прычына | ||
| The word "прычына" derives from Old Belarusian "причина" and could also mean the legal grounds for something. | |||
| Bosnian | razlog | ||
| The word "razlog" is also occasionally used to refer to a small valley, especially a fertile, flat one. | |||
| Bulgarian | причина | ||
| The word "причина" can also mean "cause" or "origin" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | důvod | ||
| "Důvod" in Czech comes from proto-Slavic and also means „proof" or "evidence". | |||
| Estonian | põhjust | ||
| The Estonian word "põhjust" also means "to cause" or "to bring about". | |||
| Finnish | syy | ||
| "Syy" is a native Finnish word derived from Proto-Uralic "*šüke", meaning "cause, fault, blame, guilt". | |||
| Hungarian | ok | ||
| In modern Hungarian, "ok" can also mean "cause" or "motive". | |||
| Latvian | iemesls | ||
| The Latvian word "iemesls" ultimately derives from the Proto-Baltic root *aismās, meaning "thought" or "reasoning". It is cognate with the Lithuanian word "eismas" and the Old Prussian word "aismans", both meaning "reason" or "understanding". | |||
| Lithuanian | priežastis | ||
| The Lithuanian word "priežastis" ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*preik̂-ti" ("to ask, question") and is cognate with the English word "pray". | |||
| Macedonian | разум | ||
| The word "разум" also means "intelligence" and "intellect" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | powód | ||
| The word 'powód' in Polish can also refer to a 'plaintiff' in a legal context. | |||
| Romanian | motiv | ||
| The Romanian word "motiv" is derived from the French "motif," meaning "reason," but it can also refer to artistic or decorative patterns. | |||
| Russian | причина | ||
| The etymology of the Russian word "причина" ("reason") has been linked to the verb "причитать", which means "to lament" or "to cry". | |||
| Serbian | разлог | ||
| The word "разлог" in Serbian, meaning "reason", also shares the root of the word "разлагати", which means "to decompose" or "to analyze", suggesting a connection between understanding a reason and breaking it down into its component parts. | |||
| Slovak | dôvod | ||
| The archaic meaning of the word "dôvod" is "evidence" but now that usage is considered uncommon. | |||
| Slovenian | razlog | ||
| The word "razlog" in Slovenian also means "explanation" or "excuse". | |||
| Ukrainian | причина | ||
| The Ukrainian word "причина" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "pričina", meaning "cause, origin, reason". | |||
Reason in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কারণ | ||
| The word "কারণ" also signifies "cause" or "purpose" in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | કારણ | ||
| The word "કારણ" in Gujarati can also mean "cause", "origin", "purpose", or "motive". | |||
| Hindi | कारण | ||
| "कारण" can also mean "seed of a tree" in the context of astrology, as well as "a reason or motive for an action". | |||
| Kannada | ಕಾರಣ | ||
| The word "ಕಾರಣ" means "reason" but can also mean "cause" or "purpose" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | കാരണം | ||
| The word "കാരണം" (kāraṇam) in Malayalam shares its origin with "কারণ" (kāraṇ) in Bengali and "कारण" (kāraṇ) in Hindi, all derived from the Sanskrit word "कारण" (kāraṇa), meaning "cause" or "reason". | |||
| Marathi | कारण | ||
| "कारण" also has the meaning "because" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | कारण | ||
| The Sanskrit word "karana" is the source of the Nepali word "कारण," and both terms relate to not only "reason" but also "cause" or "instrumentality." | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਾਰਨ | ||
| "ਕਾਰਨ" (kāraṇ) derives from the Sanskrit term "कारण" (kāraṇa), meaning "means, instrument, motive, or cause," and it corresponds to various reasons or motivations that drive a person's decisions or actions. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හේතුව | ||
| The word "හේතුව" (reason) is derived from the Sanskrit word "hetu," which has a wider range of meanings including "cause," "origin," and "motive." | |||
| Tamil | காரணம் | ||
| In Tamil, "காரணம்" also means "cause" or "origin" | |||
| Telugu | కారణం | ||
| The word "కారణం" can also refer to a "cause" or a "purpose". | |||
| Urdu | وجہ | ||
| The word "وجہ" also means "face" in Urdu, reflecting the idea that the "reason" is the "face" or "front" of a situation or argument. | |||
Reason in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 原因 | ||
| The character “因” in “原因” also appears in other common words like “姻缘” (marriage or fate), suggesting a connection between reason and relationships. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 原因 | ||
| The character "因" in "原因" means "to give birth to," and the character "果" means "consequence." | |||
| Japanese | 理由 | ||
| The word "理由" (riyuu) in Japanese can also mean "pretext" or "excuse". | |||
| Korean | 이유 | ||
| "이유" (reason) also means "breast milk" in Korean, reflecting the strong bond between infants and their mothers. | |||
| Mongolian | шалтгаан | ||
| The Mongolian word "шалтгаан" has an alternate meaning which is "reason for a being to exist". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အကြောင်းပြချက် | ||
| The word ဈွဌဦး refers to various types of factors affecting a phenomenon, including causes, conditions, motivations, and arguments." | |||
Reason in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | alasan | ||
| The word 'alasan' derives from the Sanskrit word 'alasyah' meaning 'idleness', and can also refer to a 'pretext' or 'excuse' in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | alesan | ||
| The Javanese word "alesan" is also used to refer to the basis for an argument or excuse. | |||
| Khmer | ហេតុផល | ||
| "ហេតុផល" is also used in Khmer to describe the grounds for an action or the cause of an event. | |||
| Lao | ເຫດຜົນ | ||
| In Thai, "เหตุผล" can also mean "cause" or "justification." | |||
| Malay | akal | ||
| Akal can also mean intellect, wisdom, or knowledge that is gained through experience or study. | |||
| Thai | เหตุผล | ||
| คำว่า "เหตุผล" มีรากศัพท์มาจากคำว่า "เหตุ" หมายถึงสาเหตุ และคำว่า "ผล" หมายถึงผลลัพธ์ | |||
| Vietnamese | lý do | ||
| "Lý do" also means "theory", stemming from ancient Chinese where it referred to the Neo-Confucian school of thought. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dahilan | ||
Reason in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | səbəb | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "səbəb" is derived from the Arabic "sabab", which also means "cause, motive, or origin." | |||
| Kazakh | себебі | ||
| The Kazakh word "себебі" (reason) also means "cause" or "origin". | |||
| Kyrgyz | себеп | ||
| In Old Turkic, the word "себеп" meant "head," and is related to the word "баш" in modern Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | сабаб | ||
| The word "сабаб" is also used in Tajik with the extended meaning of "cause; motive; event that causes something to happen." | |||
| Turkmen | sebäp | ||
| Uzbek | sabab | ||
| The word "sabab" in Uzbek can also refer to "cause" or "origin". | |||
| Uyghur | سەۋەب | ||
Reason in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kumu | ||
| The Hawaiian word "kumu" has the additional meanings of "source, root, core". | |||
| Maori | take | ||
| In Maori, the word "take" also means "to hold" or "to possess" in a physical sense. | |||
| Samoan | mafuaaga | ||
| The word comes from the root "fa'a", meaning "to do" or "to make", and "mafua", meaning "cause" or "origin". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | dahilan | ||
| The word "dahilan" also means "cause" or "motive" in Tagalog. | |||
Reason in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | rasunanitawa. | ||
| Guarani | temiandu | ||
Reason in International Languages
| Esperanto | kialo | ||
| The word “kialo” originally referred to a part of a flower. | |||
| Latin | ratio | ||
| The Latin word "ratio", in addition to meaning "reason", also conveys the idea of "proportion" and "relationship". | |||
Reason in Others Languages
| Greek | λόγος | ||
| "Logos" in Greek has also been translated as "word", "speech", or "utterance". | |||
| Hmong | vim li cas | ||
| Linguistically, it is a compound noun comprising two synonyms, 'vim' and 'li cas', indicating reinforcement of the abstract idea 'reason'. | |||
| Kurdish | semed | ||
| "Semed" is the Kurdish equivalent of "reason", but can also refer to an "opinion". | |||
| Turkish | sebep | ||
| "Sebep" is a word of Arabic origin that means "cause" or "origin". | |||
| Xhosa | isizathu | ||
| The Xhosa word "isizathu" can also refer to a cause or an explanation. | |||
| Yiddish | סיבה | ||
| The Yiddish word "סיבה" ("sibe") derives from the Hebrew word "סִבָּה" ("sibah") and originally meant "connection" or "cause". | |||
| Zulu | isizathu | ||
| The Zulu word "isizathu" has multiple meanings, including "cause," "origin," "motive," "purpose," and "principle." | |||
| Assamese | কাৰণ | ||
| Aymara | rasunanitawa. | ||
| Bhojpuri | कारन | ||
| Dhivehi | ސަބަބު | ||
| Dogri | कारण | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dahilan | ||
| Guarani | temiandu | ||
| Ilocano | rason | ||
| Krio | rizin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هۆکار | ||
| Maithili | कारण | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯝ | ||
| Mizo | chhan | ||
| Oromo | sababa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କାରଣ | ||
| Quechua | imarayku | ||
| Sanskrit | कारणम् | ||
| Tatar | сәбәп | ||
| Tigrinya | ምኽንያት | ||
| Tsonga | xivangelo | ||