Replace in Different Languages
Discover 'Replace' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'replace' holds a significant place in our daily lives, as it represents the action of substituting one thing for another. This concept is not only crucial in our personal lives but also plays a vital role in various cultural contexts, such as traditions, rituals, and technology. For instance, the passing down of heirlooms from one generation to another is a way of 'replacing' the old with the new, while preserving cultural significance.
Moreover, the importance of 'replace' in technology cannot be overstated. From replacing outdated software to upgrading hardware components, this term is an integral part of the tech industry's continuous evolution. Interestingly, the first electronic computer, ENIAC, was 'replaced' by UNIVAC, a more advanced model, in the 1950s, marking a significant milestone in computing history.
With that said, understanding the translation of 'replace' in different languages can be both enlightening and practical. Here are a few examples:
- French: remplacer
- Spanish: reemplazar
- German: ersetzen
- Mandarin: 取代 (qǔdài)
- Japanese: 取代 (toraeru)
Replace
Replace in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vervang | ||
| The Afrikaans word "vervang" ultimately derives from the Proto-West-Germanic verb "*frawangjan", related to the English verb "to wrong". | |||
| Amharic | መተካት | ||
| The Amharic word መተካት (metakat) originates from the Ge'ez root tkw, meaning 'to move' or 'to change'. | |||
| Hausa | maye gurbin | ||
| The Hausa word 'maye gurbin' is also used to mean 'substitute' or 'take the place of'. | |||
| Igbo | dochie | ||
| The Igbo term “dochie” can also refer to the process of replacing lost items, such as money. | |||
| Malagasy | hanoloana | ||
| 'Hanoloana' in Malagasy can also mean 'exchange' or 'substitute'. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | m'malo | ||
| The word "m'malo" can also mean "exchange" or "substitute". | |||
| Shona | kutsiva | ||
| "Kutsiva" is also a noun meaning "patch" or "cover". | |||
| Somali | beddel | ||
| The word "beddel" is also used in Somali to mean "exchange" | |||
| Sesotho | nka sebaka | ||
| The Sesotho word "nka sebaka" can also mean "to substitute" or "to take the place of" something or someone. | |||
| Swahili | badilisha | ||
| "Badilisha" shares a root with "badili" (change), "badilika" (change oneself, evolve), "ubadilishaji" (replacement), "kubadilikaji" (adaptability), "badiliko" (change). | |||
| Xhosa | buyisela | ||
| The word 'buyisela' can also mean 'to restore' or 'to return' something. | |||
| Yoruba | ropo | ||
| Ropo means 'to mend something broken' or 'to fix something torn' in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | buyisela | ||
| The Zulu word "buyisela" also means "to give back" or "to return something to its rightful owner." | |||
| Bambara | ka falen | ||
| Ewe | ɖo eteƒe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gusimbuza | ||
| Lingala | kozwa esika | ||
| Luganda | okuzzaawo | ||
| Sepedi | ema legato | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hyɛ anan mu | ||
Replace in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يحل محل | ||
| While it literally means "to loose, release," it also means "to replace," "to substitute". | |||
| Hebrew | החלף | ||
| החלף comes from the root 'חלף', which also means 'to pass by' or 'to change'. | |||
| Pashto | بدلول | ||
| The word "بدلول" also means "substitute" or "change". | |||
| Arabic | يحل محل | ||
| While it literally means "to loose, release," it also means "to replace," "to substitute". | |||
Replace in Western European Languages
| Albanian | zëvendësoj | ||
| Albanian "zëvendësoj" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wes-, meaning "to exchange". | |||
| Basque | ordezkatu | ||
| *Ordezkatu* 'to replace' has roots in the verb *orde* 'order'. | |||
| Catalan | substituir | ||
| "Substituir" in Catalan derives from the Latin word substituere which means "to substitute" or "put in place of." | |||
| Croatian | zamijeniti | ||
| The Croatian word 'zamijeniti' can also mean 'to substitute' or 'to interchange'. | |||
| Danish | erstatte | ||
| The word "erstatte" is derived from the Old Norse word "erstaðr," meaning "a place of compensation or restitution." | |||
| Dutch | vervangen | ||
| The Dutch word "vervangen," meaning "to replace," originally meant "to exchange" or "to substitute." | |||
| English | replace | ||
| "Replace" derives from the Latin "replacere," meaning "put back, restore, or renew." | |||
| French | remplacer | ||
| In French, "remplacer" can also mean "to fill in or substitute for someone," not only "to replace something." | |||
| Frisian | ferfange | ||
| In West Frisian, "ferfange" can also mean "to repair" or "to mend". | |||
| Galician | substituír | ||
| Galician "substituír" comes from Latin "sub-stituere" meaning "to make stand under". | |||
| German | ersetzen | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of 'replace,' 'ersetzen' can also mean 'compensate for,' 'reimburse,' or 'repay.' | |||
| Icelandic | skipta um | ||
| The Icelandic verb "skipta um" originally meant "to change something". | |||
| Irish | ionad | ||
| The word "ionad" can also refer to a place, location, or position. | |||
| Italian | sostituire | ||
| "Sostituire" derives from Latin "substituere" meaning "to appoint someone in the place of another." | |||
| Luxembourgish | ersetzen | ||
| In Luxembourgish, the word “ersetzen” can also mean “to make amends” or “to compensate”. | |||
| Maltese | ibdel | ||
| "Ibdel" also means "transform" or "modify" in Maltese, originating from Semitic languages, specifically from the Arabic "badala" with the same meanings. | |||
| Norwegian | erstatte | ||
| The Norwegian word for "erstatte" derives from the Germanic root "*erstat-", meaning "to stand in place, substitute". Its alternate meanings include "to compensate" and "to replenish". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | substituir | ||
| "Substituir" can also mean "supplant" or "take the place of" in Portuguese. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cuir an àite | ||
| The verb "cuir an àite" does not literally translate to "return" in English, it more accurately means "replace," "put in place," or "put back," and can imply that something is being restored or put where it belongs. | |||
| Spanish | reemplazar | ||
| "Reemplazar" comes from the Latin "reimplaciare", meaning "to put back in place". | |||
| Swedish | byta ut | ||
| In the 1800s, the term "byta om" was used in Swedish for exchanging a sick animal with a healthy one on a farm. | |||
| Welsh | disodli | ||
| The Welsh word "disodli" can also mean "to remove" or "to take away". | |||
Replace in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | замяніць | ||
| The Belarusian verb "замяніць" also means "to substitute" or "to interchange" in English. | |||
| Bosnian | zamijeniti | ||
| The word "zamijeniti" in Bosnian also has the alternate meaning of "to switch places" or "to substitute". | |||
| Bulgarian | замени | ||
| "Replace" can also mean "to appoint as a replacement," or to "replace" can mean "to be substituted or appointed in place of (another)." | |||
| Czech | nahradit | ||
| The word "nahradit" can also mean "to compensate". | |||
| Estonian | asendama | ||
| "Asendama" also means "to substitute" or "to take the place of something or someone." | |||
| Finnish | korvata | ||
| Korvata is also a cognate of the word "correlate," preserving the sense of parallelism seen in Finnish and the Latin "co-." | |||
| Hungarian | cserélje ki | ||
| There is also a word – ‘csere’ – that means ‘exchange’ | |||
| Latvian | aizvietot | ||
| The Latvian word "aizvietot" has a second meaning of "to supplant". | |||
| Lithuanian | pakeisti | ||
| The Proto-Indo-European root of "pakeisti" is "pek-," meaning "to spin, weave," akin to the English word "patch." | |||
| Macedonian | замени | ||
| The word "замени" can also mean "substitute", "exchange", or "change". | |||
| Polish | zastąpić | ||
| The Polish word "zastąpić" is derived from the Old Slavic word "*stъpati", meaning "to stand" or "to step", and originally meant "to stand in place of". | |||
| Romanian | a inlocui | ||
| The Romanian word "a inlocui" also means "to substitute" or "to take the place of something or someone". | |||
| Russian | заменить | ||
| The Russian verb "заменить" not only means "replace", but also "make something better or more modern". | |||
| Serbian | заменити | ||
| The word "заменити" in Serbian can also mean "to change" or "to substitute". | |||
| Slovak | vymeniť | ||
| "Vymeniť" can also mean to swap, exchange or take turns in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | zamenjati | ||
| The word "zamenjati" also means "to exchange" or "to substitute". | |||
| Ukrainian | замінити | ||
| The word "замінити" also means "to substitute" in Ukrainian. | |||
Replace in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রতিস্থাপন | ||
| প্রতিস্থাপন, a Bengali word with Sanskrit origin, refers to putting something instead of another or the act of installing anew. | |||
| Gujarati | બદલો | ||
| The Gujarati word "બદલો" can also mean "exchange", "substitute", or "in return for". | |||
| Hindi | बदलने के | ||
| The word "बदलने के" can also mean "to turn over" or "to exchange" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಬದಲಿ | ||
| ಬದಲಿ can also mean 'exchange' or 'substitution'. | |||
| Malayalam | മാറ്റിസ്ഥാപിക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | पुनर्स्थित करा | ||
| The word "पुनर्स्थित करा" (replace) in Marathi derives from the Sanskrit words "पुनः" (again) and "स्था" (to stand or be situated), hence "to stand again". | |||
| Nepali | बदल्नुहोस् | ||
| बदल्नुहोस् translates as "replace," but also "change" in the sense of a replacement, like from "he changed the tire." | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਦਲੋ | ||
| The word "ਬਦਲੋ" can also mean "to change" or "to transform". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්රතිස්ථාපනය කරන්න | ||
| Tamil | மாற்றவும் | ||
| The Tamil word மாற்றவும் ("replace") also means "to change" or "to transform". | |||
| Telugu | భర్తీ చేయండి | ||
| Urdu | تبدیل کریں | ||
| The Urdu word 'بدل کریں' comes from the Persian word 'badal' meaning 'change' or 'exchange'. | |||
Replace in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 更换 | ||
| 更换 originally meant “change” but later took on the meaning of “replace”. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 更換 | ||
| The term "更換" also means to change over, swap over, or switch. | |||
| Japanese | 交換 | ||
| 交換, meaning “exchange,” also suggests “substitution” or “change.” | |||
| Korean | 바꾸다 | ||
| "바꾸다" is borrowed from Middle Chinese "*hwag" meaning "exchange". It also means "to make something different from what it was by exchanging" and "to transform something completely into something else". | |||
| Mongolian | солих | ||
| The Mongolian word "солих" can also mean "to change something for the better" or "to replace something with something better". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အစားထိုး | ||
Replace in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menggantikan | ||
| The word "menggantikan" can also mean to "substitute" or "to take the place of". | |||
| Javanese | ganti | ||
| Ganti can also mean 'exchange', 'substitute', or 'instead' in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ជំនួស | ||
| The word "ជំនួស" also means "instead" or "in place of". | |||
| Lao | ທົດແທນ | ||
| Malay | ganti | ||
| Ganti derives from Old Javanese 'ganti': change, shift, or 'ganti-ganti': alternate, interchange. | |||
| Thai | แทนที่ | ||
| The word "แทนที่" in Thai can also mean "to represent" or "to act as a substitute for". | |||
| Vietnamese | thay thế | ||
| "Thay thế" also means "to perform a surgical operation to remove and replace (a body part)". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | palitan | ||
Replace in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | dəyişdirin | ||
| The word "dəyişdirin" in Azerbaijani shares an etymology with the word for "change" in Turkish and the word for "exchange" in Arabic. | |||
| Kazakh | ауыстыру | ||
| The word "ауыстыру" also means "to change" or "to substitute". | |||
| Kyrgyz | алмаштыруу | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "алмаштыруу" can be used in the context of political replacement, or of replacement of a body part due to injury or disability. | |||
| Tajik | иваз кардан | ||
| The word "иваз кардан" in Tajik can also mean "to exchange" or "to barter". | |||
| Turkmen | çalyş | ||
| Uzbek | almashtirish | ||
| Almashtirish is derived from the word "almash", which means "to exchange" or "to barter" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ئالماشتۇرۇش | ||
Replace in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | e panai | ||
| In Hawaiian, the word “e panai” can also refer to the act of covering or concealing something, as well as the replacement of a person or thing with something else. | |||
| Maori | whakakapi | ||
| Whakakapi can also mean to fill a chief's position with a person who is not an immediate relative. | |||
| Samoan | sui | ||
| The Samoan word "sui" can also mean "next" or "in place of". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | palitan | ||
| "Palitan" also means "exchange" or "swap". | |||
Replace in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | lantichaña | ||
| Guarani | myengovia | ||
Replace in International Languages
| Esperanto | anstataŭigi | ||
| "Anstataŭigi" is derived from Latin "statuo" (to establish) and Esperanto "an" (instead), meaning "to establish instead of." | |||
| Latin | reponere | ||
| The Latin word "reponere" also means "to answer" or "to store up". | |||
Replace in Others Languages
| Greek | αντικαθιστώ | ||
| The word "αντικαθιστώ" is derived from the Greek words "αντί" (anti), meaning "against" or "instead of," and "καθίσταμαι" (kathístamai), meaning "to sit" or "to be seated." | |||
| Hmong | hloov | ||
| In Hmong, "hloov" can also mean "transform" or "alter". | |||
| Kurdish | diberdaxistin | ||
| The word "diberdaxistin" is derived from the Middle Persian word "dipīrtagīstan". It can also mean "to interchange, to change places, to alternate". | |||
| Turkish | yerine koymak | ||
| The word "yerine koymak" also has the meaning of "to put something in its place" or "to substitute something for something else". | |||
| Xhosa | buyisela | ||
| The word 'buyisela' can also mean 'to restore' or 'to return' something. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרבייַטן | ||
| The Yiddish word "פאַרבייַטן" is derived from the German word "verbieten," which means "to forbid" or "to prohibit." | |||
| Zulu | buyisela | ||
| The Zulu word "buyisela" also means "to give back" or "to return something to its rightful owner." | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰৰ্তিস্থাপন কৰা | ||
| Aymara | lantichaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | बदलीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ރިޕްލޭސް | ||
| Dogri | बदल | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | palitan | ||
| Guarani | myengovia | ||
| Ilocano | sukatan | ||
| Krio | pul | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | شوێن گرتنەوە | ||
| Maithili | प्रतिस्थापना | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯍꯨꯠ ꯁꯤꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | thlakthleng | ||
| Oromo | bakka buusuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବଦଳାନ୍ତୁ | ||
| Quechua | msuqyachiy | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रत्याहृ | ||
| Tatar | алыштыру | ||
| Tigrinya | ምትካእ | ||
| Tsonga | siva | ||