Remain in Different Languages
Discover 'Remain' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'remain' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting the idea of staying in the same state or place. It's a common word, yet its cultural importance is immense as it underpins concepts of persistence, continuity, and endurance. From literature to music, 'remain' has been used to evoke a myriad of emotions and ideas.
For instance, the famous line 'The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil' from 1 Timothy 6:10 in the Bible uses 'remain' to emphasize the continuing influence of money's love. Or consider the song 'The Times They Are a-Changin'' by Bob Dylan, where 'remain' is used to express the inevitability of change.
Given its wide usage and cultural impact, one might wonder how 'remain' translates into different languages, providing a unique perspective into how various cultures convey this concept. Here are a few examples:
- Spanish: permanecer
- French: rester
- German: bleiben
- Mandarin: 保持（bǎochí）
- Japanese: 残る（nokoru）
Remain
Remain in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bly | ||
| The Afrikaans word "bly" originated from Dutch and also means "to be happy". | |||
| Amharic | ይቀራል | ||
| The verb ይቀራል, commonly translated as 'remain' in English, also has the nuance of 'be left over', which is not always the case with 'remain'. | |||
| Hausa | zauna | ||
| The word 'zauna' also means 'reside' or 'dwell' in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | nọgide | ||
| In Igbo, "nọgide" also means "to be patient" or "to persevere". | |||
| Malagasy | foana | ||
| The word "foana" in Malagasy can also be used as a noun meaning "the rest," "the remainder," or "the residue" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | khalani | ||
| The word 'khalani' is derived from the Proto-Bantu root '-kal-' meaning 'to stay' or 'to remain'. | |||
| Shona | gara | ||
| 'Gara' comes from the Proto-Bantu word '*kala', meaning 'remain'. | |||
| Somali | baaqi | ||
| Somali ''baaqi'' is borrowed from Arabic with cognates in Persian, Urdu, Hebrew, and Swahili that have the additional meaning of ''rest''. | |||
| Sesotho | sala | ||
| The word "sala", meaning "remain" in Sesotho, is related to the word "salo", meaning "stay". The word "sala" can also mean "be left over" or "be remaining". | |||
| Swahili | kubaki | ||
| The word "kubaki" in Swahili can also mean "to be left behind" or "to be left over". | |||
| Xhosa | hlala | ||
| "Hlala" also signifies to "lie down or go to bed" and to "be calm, at peace or tranquil." | |||
| Yoruba | duro | ||
| "Duro" also denotes 'wait', 'endure', 'stand', and 'withstand' depending on the context. | |||
| Zulu | hlala | ||
| The etymology of 'hlala' is associated with 'ukulahlana' (to be at peace), implying the idea of stability, rest, or settlement. | |||
| Bambara | ka to | ||
| Ewe | tsi anyi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | guma | ||
| Lingala | kotikala | ||
| Luganda | okusigala | ||
| Sepedi | šala | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ka | ||
Remain in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يبقى | ||
| "يبقى" is derived from the root "ب-ق-ي" which also means "to last" or "to endure." | |||
| Hebrew | לְהִשָׁאֵר | ||
| The word לְהִשָׁאֵר also denotes "to delay" like לְהִתְמַהְמֵהּ while its biblical sense includes "to be leftover," similar to the English "residue". | |||
| Pashto | پاتې کیدل | ||
| The word "پاتې کیدل" in Pashto can also refer to the act of preserving, guarding, and protecting something. | |||
| Arabic | يبقى | ||
| "يبقى" is derived from the root "ب-ق-ي" which also means "to last" or "to endure." | |||
Remain in Western European Languages
| Albanian | mbeten | ||
| The word "mbeten" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*men-", meaning "to stay, remain". | |||
| Basque | geratu | ||
| "Geratu" is used in Basque to indicate rest or cessation, and also refers to a state of permanent or lasting existence. | |||
| Catalan | romandre | ||
| Romandre derives from the Latin word "remmanere", which means "to stay behind". | |||
| Croatian | ostati | ||
| The word "ostati" in Croatian can also mean "to be leftover", "to have a remainder", or "to stop". | |||
| Danish | forblive | ||
| The word "forblive" comes from the Norse "verfa-lif" and originally meant "preserve one's life". | |||
| Dutch | blijven | ||
| In Dutch, "blijven" can also refer to an object that stays in its state or place. | |||
| English | remain | ||
| The word 'remain' is ultimately of French origin and comes from 'remaining' (meaning to stay behind), which is based on the Latin word remanēre (meaning to stay back). | |||
| French | rester | ||
| Rester in French can also mean "to hang out" or "to linger". | |||
| Frisian | oerbliuwe | ||
| Oerbliuwe is the Frisian form of the Dutch word “overblijfsel” which means “remnant” | |||
| Galician | permanecer | ||
| "Permanecer" in Galician also means "to continue" or "to persevere". | |||
| German | bleiben übrig | ||
| The verb “bleiben übrig” can have the additional meaning of “to be left over” in German. | |||
| Icelandic | vera áfram | ||
| The Icelandic word "vera áfram" can also mean "to continue" or "to proceed." | |||
| Irish | fanacht | ||
| The Irish word 'fanacht' also means 'to be left in a place, to dwell, stay, continue'. | |||
| Italian | rimanere | ||
| "Rimanere" can also mean "to stay" or "to be left" | |||
| Luxembourgish | bleiwen | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "bleiwen" is derived from the Old High German word "bileiba", meaning "to reside" or "to stay". It can also mean "to survive" or "to endure". | |||
| Maltese | jibqa ' | ||
| The word 'jibqa' is also used in Maltese to refer to the remains of a meal or to something that is left over. | |||
| Norwegian | forbli | ||
| In Old Norse, "forbli" had a secondary meaning of "to recover" or "to heal", related to the idea of "coming back to life." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | permanecer | ||
| The verb "permanecer" in Portuguese originates from the Latin word "permanere", meaning "to stay" or "to continue." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | fuireach | ||
| "Fuireach" originates from the Gaelic verb "fuireach" meaning "remain" in the sense of waiting, and also "shelter, house, lodge". | |||
| Spanish | permanecer | ||
| The verb "permanecer" derives from the Latin "permanere," meaning both "to remain" and "to persevere" | |||
| Swedish | förbli | ||
| Föbli is the definite singular form of the verb 'att förbliva', meaning 'to continue to be' in Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | aros | ||
| The word "aros" can also mean "rest", "quiet", or "peace." | |||
Remain in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | застацца | ||
| Its other uses include: “to be detained,””to be left,”“to end up,”“to stay the night” and even “to die”. | |||
| Bosnian | ostati | ||
| The word "ostati" in Bosnian can also mean "to stop" or "to cease". | |||
| Bulgarian | остават | ||
| The word "остават" also means "to leave" or "to depart" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | zůstat | ||
| The word "zůstat" originated from the Proto-Slavic word "*ostati" meaning "to stay" or "to stand". | |||
| Estonian | jäävad | ||
| The word "jäävad" also means "stay" or "continue" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | jäädä jäljelle | ||
| "Jälki" means trace, mark or track left by someone or something, so in "jäädä jäljelle" (remain) the idea is leaving one or more traces behind when disappearing. | |||
| Hungarian | marad | ||
| The word "marad" in Hungarian can also mean "stay" or "left over". | |||
| Latvian | paliek | ||
| "Paliek" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *peleik-, meaning "to stay, remain". | |||
| Lithuanian | likti | ||
| "Likti" also means "to stick together", coming from the root *leik- meaning "sticky". | |||
| Macedonian | остануваат | ||
| The verb "остануваат" can also take the meaning of "continue" or "leave behind" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | pozostawać | ||
| In Polish, "pozostawać" has the additional meaning of "to owe". | |||
| Romanian | rămâne | ||
| Rămâne comes from the Latin 'remaneo', meaning 'to stay behind' or 'to last'. | |||
| Russian | оставаться | ||
| The word "оставаться" can also mean to "leave something" or "to be left alone" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | остати | ||
| The verb "остати" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb *ostati, meaning "to leave behind" or "to abandon." | |||
| Slovak | zostať | ||
| The verb "zostať" can also mean "to rest" or "to be left" depending on context. | |||
| Slovenian | ostanejo | ||
| The word 'ostanejo' comes from the Proto-Slavic word *ostati, meaning 'to stand' or 'to remain'. It is related to the English words 'stand' and 'stay'. | |||
| Ukrainian | залишаються | ||
| The word "залишаються" can also mean "are left" or "stay". | |||
Remain in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | থাকা | ||
| The word "থাকা" can also mean "to live", "to exist", or "to be present". | |||
| Gujarati | રહે | ||
| Despite having several meanings in Gujarati such as "to stay", "to reside", and "to be", "રહે" primarily signifies "to remain". | |||
| Hindi | रहना | ||
| The word "रहना" can also mean "to live" or "to reside" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಉಳಿಯಿರಿ | ||
| The word "ಉಳಿಯಿರಿ" can also mean "stop" or "exist" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | നിലനിൽക്കുക | ||
| The word “നിർത്തുക” is used in Malayalam to describe the idea of staying or continuing, whereas the word “നിൽക്കുക” is used to refer to a state of existence or being. | |||
| Marathi | रहा | ||
| "रहा" in Marathi can also mean "to be present" similar to "होना" or "असणे" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | रहनु | ||
| The word "रहनु" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *leikw-, meaning "to leave" or "to remain". | |||
| Punjabi | ਰਹਿਣ | ||
| ਰਹਿਣ can also mean “to stay, live” depending on the context. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | රැඳී සිටින්න | ||
| Tamil | இருக்கும் | ||
| Telugu | మిగిలి ఉన్నాయి | ||
| Urdu | رہیں | ||
| The Urdu word "رہیں" also has the alternate meaning of "live". | |||
Remain in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 保持 | ||
| 保持 is also used in Chinese to refer to 'maintain', 'preserve', and 'remain in a state or condition'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 保持 | ||
| 保持 means 'hold-stay' in Chinese | |||
| Japanese | 残る | ||
| The word "残る" (nokoru) in Japanese also means "to survive" or "to be left over". | |||
| Korean | 남아있다 | ||
| 남아있다 literally means 'to be left', which also refers to the meaning of 'remain' in English. | |||
| Mongolian | үлдэх | ||
| "Үлдэх" is a Mongolian verb meaning "to remain, to be left", and is derived from the Proto-Mongolic "*üldekü" (to stay). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကျန်နေပါစေ | ||
Remain in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tetap | ||
| Tetap in Indonesian also means 'permanent' or 'continue' | |||
| Javanese | tetep | ||
| Also used colloquially to mean 'still' or 'continue' | |||
| Khmer | នៅសល់ | ||
| The word "នៅសល់" can also mean "to be left behind" or "to be leftover". | |||
| Lao | ຍັງຄົງຢູ່ | ||
| Malay | kekal | ||
| Although "kekal" primarily means "remain," it also alludes to the notion of something being "constant," "immortal," or "eternal." | |||
| Thai | ยังคงอยู่ | ||
| The initial meaning of the Thai word "ยังคงอยู่" was "remain on water". | |||
| Vietnamese | còn lại | ||
| In Vietnamese, "còn lại" can also mean "to survive" or "to be left over." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | manatili | ||
Remain in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qalmaq | ||
| The word "qalmaq" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to be left behind" or "to be abandoned". | |||
| Kazakh | қалу | ||
| "Қалу" (to remain) originated from the Mongolian word "халах" (to remain), which in turn came from the Proto-Turkic word *"qaγu-/* (to remain, be left). | |||
| Kyrgyz | калуу | ||
| The word "калуу" can also refer to "survive" or "stay alive" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | мондан | ||
| The word "мондан" can also refer to "staying" or "lodging." | |||
| Turkmen | gal | ||
| Uzbek | qolmoq | ||
| "Qolmoq" is a derivative of the Mongolian word " | |||
| Uyghur | تۇر | ||
Remain in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | noho | ||
| In early Hawaiian, "noho" also meant "to sit" similar to its cognate "noho" in Tahitian; however, the meaning "to sit" later diverged to "noho iho" in modern Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | noho | ||
| The word "noho" in Maori can also mean "sit" or "live". | |||
| Samoan | tumau | ||
| In certain contexts, "tumau" can also mean "reside" or "dwell". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | manatili | ||
| "Manatili" can also refer to a place where one stays or resides. | |||
Remain in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | pachpankaña | ||
| Guarani | ñeime | ||
Remain in International Languages
| Esperanto | resti | ||
| Esperanto's "resti" comes from Latin "restare", also found in French "rester" and Spanish "restar". | |||
| Latin | manent | ||
| The word 'manent' comes from the Latin verb 'maneo', meaning 'to stay' or 'to continue'. | |||
Remain in Others Languages
| Greek | παραμένει | ||
| The word "παραμένει" shares its root "μεν" with the English word "remain" and has alternate meanings like "abide, reside" and "hold on, persist". | |||
| Hmong | nyob | ||
| The word "nyob" in Hmong also means "to be present" and "to reside". | |||
| Kurdish | mayin | ||
| "Mayin" also means "inability" or "helplessness" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | kalmak | ||
| 'Kalmak' also means 'to leave' in old Turkish and 'to stay' in Azeri and Kazakh. | |||
| Xhosa | hlala | ||
| "Hlala" also signifies to "lie down or go to bed" and to "be calm, at peace or tranquil." | |||
| Yiddish | בלייבן | ||
| בלייבן originates from the German word 'bleiben', meaning to stay or endure. | |||
| Zulu | hlala | ||
| The etymology of 'hlala' is associated with 'ukulahlana' (to be at peace), implying the idea of stability, rest, or settlement. | |||
| Assamese | বাকী আছে | ||
| Aymara | pachpankaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | लाश | ||
| Dhivehi | ދެމިހުރުން | ||
| Dogri | बकाया | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | manatili | ||
| Guarani | ñeime | ||
| Ilocano | agtalinaed | ||
| Krio | fɔ kɔntinyu | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | مانەوە | ||
| Maithili | टिकल | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯦꯝꯍꯧꯕ | ||
| Mizo | awm reng | ||
| Oromo | hafuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ରୁହ | | ||
| Quechua | hina kay | ||
| Sanskrit | समभिवर्तते | ||
| Tatar | калыгыз | ||
| Tigrinya | ምፅናሕ | ||
| Tsonga | tshamisa tano | ||