Remain in different languages

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

Afrikaansbly
The Afrikaans word "bly" originated from Dutch and also means "to be happy".
Amharicይቀራል
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'.
Hausazauna
The word 'zauna' also means 'reside' or 'dwell' in Hausa.
Igbonọgide
In Igbo, "nọgide" also means "to be patient" or "to persevere".
Malagasyfoana
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'.
Shonagara
'Gara' comes from the Proto-Bantu word '*kala', meaning 'remain'.
Somalibaaqi
Somali ''baaqi'' is borrowed from Arabic with cognates in Persian, Urdu, Hebrew, and Swahili that have the additional meaning of ''rest''.
Sesothosala
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".
Swahilikubaki
The word "kubaki" in Swahili can also mean "to be left behind" or "to be left over".
Xhosahlala
"Hlala" also signifies to "lie down or go to bed" and to "be calm, at peace or tranquil."
Yorubaduro
"Duro" also denotes 'wait', 'endure', 'stand', and 'withstand' depending on the context.
Zuluhlala
The etymology of 'hlala' is associated with 'ukulahlana' (to be at peace), implying the idea of stability, rest, or settlement.
Bambaraka to
Ewetsi anyi
Kinyarwandaguma
Lingalakotikala
Lugandaokusigala
Sepedišala
Twi (Akan)ka

Remain in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicيبقى
"يبقى" is derived from the root "ب-ق-ي" which also means "to last" or "to endure."
Hebrewלְהִשָׁאֵר
The word לְהִשָׁאֵר also denotes "to delay" like לְהִתְמַהְמֵהּ while its biblical sense includes "to be leftover," similar to the English "residue".
Pashtoپاتې کیدل
The word "پاتې کیدل" in Pashto can also refer to the act of preserving, guarding, and protecting something.
Arabicيبقى
"يبقى" is derived from the root "ب-ق-ي" which also means "to last" or "to endure."

Remain in Western European Languages

Albanianmbeten
The word "mbeten" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*men-", meaning "to stay, remain".
Basquegeratu
"Geratu" is used in Basque to indicate rest or cessation, and also refers to a state of permanent or lasting existence.
Catalanromandre
Romandre derives from the Latin word "remmanere", which means "to stay behind".
Croatianostati
The word "ostati" in Croatian can also mean "to be leftover", "to have a remainder", or "to stop".
Danishforblive
The word "forblive" comes from the Norse "verfa-lif" and originally meant "preserve one's life".
Dutchblijven
In Dutch, "blijven" can also refer to an object that stays in its state or place.
Englishremain
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).
Frenchrester
Rester in French can also mean "to hang out" or "to linger".
Frisianoerbliuwe
Oerbliuwe is the Frisian form of the Dutch word “overblijfsel” which means “remnant”
Galicianpermanecer
"Permanecer" in Galician also means "to continue" or "to persevere".
Germanbleiben übrig
The verb “bleiben übrig” can have the additional meaning of “to be left over” in German.
Icelandicvera áfram
The Icelandic word "vera áfram" can also mean "to continue" or "to proceed."
Irishfanacht
The Irish word 'fanacht' also means 'to be left in a place, to dwell, stay, continue'.
Italianrimanere
"Rimanere" can also mean "to stay" or "to be left"
Luxembourgishbleiwen
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".
Maltesejibqa '
The word 'jibqa' is also used in Maltese to refer to the remains of a meal or to something that is left over.
Norwegianforbli
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 Gaelicfuireach
"Fuireach" originates from the Gaelic verb "fuireach" meaning "remain" in the sense of waiting, and also "shelter, house, lodge".
Spanishpermanecer
The verb "permanecer" derives from the Latin "permanere," meaning both "to remain" and "to persevere"
Swedishförbli
Föbli is the definite singular form of the verb 'att förbliva', meaning 'to continue to be' in Swedish.
Welsharos
The word "aros" can also mean "rest", "quiet", or "peace."

Remain in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianзастацца
Its other uses include: “to be detained,””to be left,”“to end up,”“to stay the night” and even “to die”.
Bosnianostati
The word "ostati" in Bosnian can also mean "to stop" or "to cease".
Bulgarianостават
The word "остават" also means "to leave" or "to depart" in Bulgarian.
Czechzůstat
The word "zůstat" originated from the Proto-Slavic word "*ostati" meaning "to stay" or "to stand".
Estonianjäävad
The word "jäävad" also means "stay" or "continue" in Estonian.
Finnishjäädä 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.
Hungarianmarad
The word "marad" in Hungarian can also mean "stay" or "left over".
Latvianpaliek
"Paliek" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *peleik-, meaning "to stay, remain".
Lithuanianlikti
"Likti" also means "to stick together", coming from the root *leik- meaning "sticky".
Macedonianостануваат
The verb "остануваат" can also take the meaning of "continue" or "leave behind" in Macedonian.
Polishpozostawać
In Polish, "pozostawać" has the additional meaning of "to owe".
Romanianrămâne
Rămâne comes from the Latin 'remaneo', meaning 'to stay behind' or 'to last'.
Russianоставаться
The word "оставаться" can also mean to "leave something" or "to be left alone" in Russian.
Serbianостати
The verb "остати" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb *ostati, meaning "to leave behind" or "to abandon."
Slovakzostať
The verb "zostať" can also mean "to rest" or "to be left" depending on context.
Slovenianostanejo
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'.
Ukrainianзалишаються
The word "залишаються" can also mean "are left" or "stay".

Remain in South Asian Languages

Bengaliথাকা
The word "থাকা" can also mean "to live", "to exist", or "to be present".
Gujaratiરહે
Despite having several meanings in Gujarati such as "to stay", "to reside", and "to be", "રહે" primarily signifies "to remain".
Hindiरहना
The word "रहना" can also mean "to live" or "to reside" in Hindi.
Kannadaಉಳಿಯಿರಿ
The word "ಉಳಿಯಿರಿ" can also mean "stop" or "exist" in Kannada.
Malayalamനിലനിൽക്കുക
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.
Marathiरहा
"रहा" in Marathi can also mean "to be present" similar to "होना" or "असणे" in Marathi.
Nepaliरहनु
The word "रहनु" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *leikw-, meaning "to leave" or "to remain".
Punjabiਰਹਿਣ
ਰਹਿਣ can also mean “to stay, live” depending on the context.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)රැඳී සිටින්න
Tamilஇருக்கும்
Teluguమిగిలి ఉన్నాయి
Urduرہیں
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".
Korean남아있다
남아있다 literally means 'to be left', which also refers to the meaning of 'remain' in English.
Mongolianүлдэх
"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

Indonesiantetap
Tetap in Indonesian also means 'permanent' or 'continue'
Javanesetetep
Also used colloquially to mean 'still' or 'continue'
Khmerនៅសល់
The word "នៅសល់" can also mean "to be left behind" or "to be leftover".
Laoຍັງຄົງຢູ່
Malaykekal
Although "kekal" primarily means "remain," it also alludes to the notion of something being "constant," "immortal," or "eternal."
Thaiยังคงอยู่
The initial meaning of the Thai word "ยังคงอยู่" was "remain on water".
Vietnamesecòn lại
In Vietnamese, "còn lại" can also mean "to survive" or "to be left over."
Filipino (Tagalog)manatili

Remain in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniqalmaq
The word "qalmaq" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to be left behind" or "to be abandoned".
Kazakhқалу
"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).
Kyrgyzкалуу
The word "калуу" can also refer to "survive" or "stay alive" in Kyrgyz.
Tajikмондан
The word "мондан" can also refer to "staying" or "lodging."
Turkmengal
Uzbekqolmoq
"Qolmoq" is a derivative of the Mongolian word "
Uyghurتۇر

Remain in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiannoho
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.
Maorinoho
The word "noho" in Maori can also mean "sit" or "live".
Samoantumau
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

Aymarapachpankaña
Guaraniñeime

Remain in International Languages

Esperantoresti
Esperanto's "resti" comes from Latin "restare", also found in French "rester" and Spanish "restar".
Latinmanent
The word 'manent' comes from the Latin verb 'maneo', meaning 'to stay' or 'to continue'.

Remain in Others Languages

Greekπαραμένει
The word "παραμένει" shares its root "μεν" with the English word "remain" and has alternate meanings like "abide, reside" and "hold on, persist".
Hmongnyob
The word "nyob" in Hmong also means "to be present" and "to reside".
Kurdishmayin
"Mayin" also means "inability" or "helplessness" in Kurdish.
Turkishkalmak
'Kalmak' also means 'to leave' in old Turkish and 'to stay' in Azeri and Kazakh.
Xhosahlala
"Hlala" also signifies to "lie down or go to bed" and to "be calm, at peace or tranquil."
Yiddishבלייבן
בלייבן originates from the German word 'bleiben', meaning to stay or endure.
Zuluhlala
The etymology of 'hlala' is associated with 'ukulahlana' (to be at peace), implying the idea of stability, rest, or settlement.
Assameseবাকী আছে
Aymarapachpankaña
Bhojpuriलाश
Dhivehiދެމިހުރުން
Dogriबकाया
Filipino (Tagalog)manatili
Guaraniñeime
Ilocanoagtalinaed
Kriofɔ kɔntinyu
Kurdish (Sorani)مانەوە
Maithiliटिकल
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯂꯦꯝꯍꯧꯕ
Mizoawm reng
Oromohafuu
Odia (Oriya)ରୁହ |
Quechuahina kay
Sanskritसमभिवर्तते
Tatarкалыгыз
Tigrinyaምፅናሕ
Tsongatshamisa tano

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