Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'sale' holds immense significance in the world of commerce and consumerism. It's a powerful trigger that entices customers with the promise of discounts and bargains. But did you know that the concept of sales dates back to ancient civilizations? The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, were known to hold market days where goods were sold at reduced prices. This age-old practice has evolved over centuries, shaping modern retail practices and consumer behavior.
Understanding the translation of 'sale' in different languages can open up a world of cultural insights. For instance, in Spanish, 'sale' is 'venta', while in French, it's 'vente'. In German, it's 'Verkauf', and in Japanese, it's '売り上げ (urimasu)'. These translations not only reflect linguistic diversity but also the global reach of commerce and trade.
So, whether you're a global entrepreneur looking to expand your business, a language enthusiast exploring cultural nuances, or a savvy shopper on the hunt for bargains, understanding the word 'sale' in different languages can be a fascinating journey. Keep reading to discover more about this common yet intriguing word.
Afrikaans | uitverkoping | ||
The word "uitverkoping" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "uitverkoop", which means "completely sold out" or "clearance sale." | |||
Amharic | ሽያጭ | ||
The word "ሽያጭ" (sale) in Amharic also means "to trade" or "to barter". | |||
Hausa | sayarwa | ||
"Sayarwa" is a Hausa word which also means "a sale of something". It derives from the Arabic word "sāyār", meaning "to walk". | |||
Igbo | ire ere | ||
The Igbo word "ire ere" also means "to be in a state of anger or fury." | |||
Malagasy | fivarotana | ||
The word 'fivarotana' in Malagasy can also refer to the act of selling something, or the place where something is sold. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kugulitsa | ||
The word "kugulitsa" in Nyanja can also refer to the act of selling or trading. | |||
Shona | kutengesa | ||
The verb “kutengesa” has the same roots as “tengesera” and is etymologically associated with the idea of “mixing ingredients” in Shona culture. | |||
Somali | iibin | ||
The word "iibin" can also refer to "discount" or "clearance." | |||
Sesotho | thekiso | ||
Swahili | kuuza | ||
In Swahili, the word 'kuuza' also means 'to sell' or 'to market' | |||
Xhosa | intengiso | ||
The word "intengiso" may also refer to an auction or a clearance sale. | |||
Yoruba | tita | ||
"Tita" is not only used for sale, but can also be used for something that is sold out. | |||
Zulu | ukuthengisa | ||
The Zulu word "ukuthengisa" can also refer to the act of persuading someone to accept a deal or proposition. | |||
Bambara | feere | ||
Ewe | nudzadzra | ||
Kinyarwanda | kugurisha | ||
Lingala | koteka | ||
Luganda | okutunda | ||
Sepedi | thekišo | ||
Twi (Akan) | adetɔn | ||
Arabic | تخفيض السعر | ||
The Arabic word "تخفيض السعر" literally translates to "reduction of price" or "discount" in English. | |||
Hebrew | מְכִירָה | ||
The Hebrew word for "sale," "מְכִירָה," derives from the verb "לִמְכּוֹר," meaning "to sell," which, in turn, may be cognate with the Arabic word "بَاعَ," meaning "to sell." | |||
Pashto | پلور | ||
The word "پلور" ("sale") in Pashto also means "discount". | |||
Arabic | تخفيض السعر | ||
The Arabic word "تخفيض السعر" literally translates to "reduction of price" or "discount" in English. |
Albanian | shitje | ||
The Albanian word "shitje" is derived from the Latin word "venditio," meaning "sale or transaction," and is related to the Albanian verb "shej," meaning "to sell." | |||
Basque | salmenta | ||
Salmenta is cognate with the Iberian word for “salt” and with the Basque word for “salted”. | |||
Catalan | venda | ||
"Venda" can also refer to a bandage, a cloth strip, or a window shutter. | |||
Croatian | prodaja | ||
In Serbian, 'prodaja' means 'treason' while in Russian it means 'sale' | |||
Danish | salg | ||
In Danish, "salg" also means "singing" and could historically refer to the calling out of one's wares in a marketplace. | |||
Dutch | uitverkoop | ||
"Uitverkoop" literally translates to "out sale", which could also refer to a bankruptcy sale. | |||
English | sale | ||
The word "sale" originated from "sella", the Latin word for "chair" as sales used to take place in markets and sellers would display their goods on chairs. | |||
French | vente | ||
"Vente" is an Old French word meaning "arrival" or "coming", and is related to the Latin verb "venire," meaning "to come." | |||
Frisian | ferkeap | ||
Ferkeap is derived from the Old Frisian word "ferkapa" meaning "to buy" or "to negotiate the price of something" | |||
Galician | venda | ||
The word "venda" also means "bandage" or "band" in Galician, coming from the Latin "vinta". | |||
German | verkauf | ||
In older German, Verkauf meant the act of selling, while the word Kauf referred to the object sold. | |||
Icelandic | sala | ||
The Icelandic word "sala" is cognate with the English "sell" and can also refer to a hall or living room. | |||
Irish | díol | ||
The word "díol" evolved from the Proto-Celtic *dēlo- meaning "payment" and is related to "deal" in English and "dealbh" in Irish (meaning "image"). | |||
Italian | vendita | ||
The Latin root of 'vendita' means 'to hunt', suggesting an origin in selling hunted animals. | |||
Luxembourgish | verkaf | ||
The word "Verkaf" (sale) in Luxembourgish is derived from the Old High German word "varkōf," meaning "sale" or "exchange" | |||
Maltese | bejgħ | ||
The word "bejgħ" also refers to the reduction in value of an asset. | |||
Norwegian | salg | ||
The Norwegian word "salg" is derived from the Old Norse word "sala", which means "give" or "barter". | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | venda | ||
The word "venda" in Portuguese has its origins in the Proto-Indo-European root "*wen-", meaning "to desire" or "to strive for." | |||
Scots Gaelic | reic | ||
The Gaelic word 'reic' can also refer to a market or a fair. | |||
Spanish | rebaja | ||
"Rebaja" comes from Arabic "ribh", meaning "profit", "gain", or "increment." | |||
Swedish | försäljning | ||
Försäljning can also refer to distribution or trade. | |||
Welsh | gwerthu | ||
"Gwerthu" can also mean "to earn" or "to gain" in Welsh, a nuance that has been lost in the modern language. |
Belarusian | продаж | ||
The Belarusian word "продаж" ("sale") also means "betrayal" or "treason". | |||
Bosnian | prodaja | ||
The word 'prodaja' is derived from the Slavic root 'prodati', meaning 'to sell', and also shares a common origin with the German word 'Predigt' ('sermon'). | |||
Bulgarian | продажба | ||
Продажба is also the Bulgarian cognate for “selling”, referring to the process or activity of selling goods, items, or assets. | |||
Czech | prodej | ||
"Prodej" in Czech comes from the Old Czech word "prodaja", which meant "giving away", and is related to the word "prodati", which means "to sell". | |||
Estonian | soodustus | ||
The Estonian word "soodustus" (sale) originates from the German word "Sold" (soldier's pay), which in turn derives from the Latin word "solidus" (a gold coin). | |||
Finnish | myynti | ||
In addition to “sale”, "myynti" can refer to a "performance" or "presentation" in Finnish. | |||
Hungarian | eladás | ||
The Hungarian word "eladás" can also mean "betrayal" or "treason" in Turkish. | |||
Latvian | pārdošana | ||
The word "pārdošana" is derived from the Proto-Baltic word "*pardōti", which means "to sell". | |||
Lithuanian | pardavimas | ||
The word "pardavimas" is also used in Lithuanian to refer to a discount or promotion event. | |||
Macedonian | продажба | ||
The word "продажба" in Macedonian is derived from the Slavic root "prodati", meaning "to sell". | |||
Polish | sprzedaż | ||
The Polish word "sprzedaż" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*prodati", which meant "to sell" or "to give away". | |||
Romanian | vânzare | ||
The word "vânzare" is derived from the Romanian word "a vinde", which means "to sell", and is cognate with the Latin word "vendere", which also means "to sell". | |||
Russian | продажа | ||
Продажа in Russian is derived from the verb “продавать,” which means to sell, and can also refer to the act of selling or the goods being sold. | |||
Serbian | продаја | ||
"Продаја" can refer to the act of buying or selling or a tax paid on them. | |||
Slovak | zľava | ||
The word "zľava" also means "left" in Slovak. | |||
Slovenian | prodajo | ||
In some dialects or contexts, "prodajo" can also refer to a "auction" or "bartering." | |||
Ukrainian | продаж | ||
The Ukrainian word "продаж" also refers to the amount or rate at which something is sold. |
Bengali | বিক্রয় | ||
The word "বিক্রয়" is derived from the Sanskrit root "vikraya," meaning "to sell" or "to barter." | |||
Gujarati | વેચાણ | ||
The Gujarati word for 'sale' can also mean 'auction', or 'bargain' | |||
Hindi | बिक्री | ||
"बिक्री" (sale) derives from the Sanskrit root "vikree" meaning "to distribute" or "to separate," and also carries the meaning of "separation" or "dispersal." | |||
Kannada | ಮಾರಾಟ | ||
"ಮಾರಾಟ" also means "fighting" in Kannada, derived from the Sanskrit root "mar" meaning "to kill". | |||
Malayalam | വിൽപ്പന | ||
The word "വിൽപ്പന" can also refer to the act of selling or the goods that are being sold. | |||
Marathi | विक्री | ||
The word "विक्री" in Marathi has an alternate meaning of "distribution", deriving from the Sanskrit root "वि" meaning "to distribute" or "to scatter". | |||
Nepali | बिक्री | ||
The word "बिक्री" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vikrayah," which means "to sell" or "to dispose of." | |||
Punjabi | ਵਿਕਰੀ | ||
The word "ਵਿਕਰੀ" (sale) in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "विक्रय" (vikraya), which means "selling" or "the act of selling". | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විකිණීමට | ||
The word "විකිණීමට" can also refer to the act of selling or the process of being sold. | |||
Tamil | விற்பனை | ||
The word "விற்பனை" can also mean "marketing" or "sales promotion" in Tamil. | |||
Telugu | అమ్మకం | ||
'అమ్మకం' ('sale' in Telugu) is derived from the verb 'అమ్మే' ('to sell'), and also carries other meanings such as 'trade' or 'commerce'. | |||
Urdu | فروخت | ||
Urdu "فروخت" derives from Arabic "فروش" meaning "sale", "business transaction", or "disposal". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 销售 | ||
销售 (sale) is also used as a verb meaning "to sell". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 銷售 | ||
銷售 (xiāoshòu) originally meant "to exhaust" or "to use up". | |||
Japanese | セール | ||
セール is the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "sale". | |||
Korean | 판매 | ||
The Korean word "판매 (sale)" also means a unit of measure for paper and other materials, similar to a quire in English. | |||
Mongolian | хямдрал | ||
In addition, the word "хямдрал" has the alternate meanings of "opportunity" or "bargain". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ရောင်းရန်ရှိသည် | ||
Sale is not only used in commercial contexts but is also used to mean a cheap imitation of something genuine. |
Indonesian | penjualan | ||
The Indonesian word "penjualan" derives from the root word "jual", meaning "to sell", reflecting its primary meaning of "sale" of goods or services. | |||
Javanese | didol | ||
The word "didol" in Javanese comes from the Proto-Austronesian word *dajual, which also means "to sell" in many other Austronesian languages. | |||
Khmer | លក់ | ||
The Khmer word លក់ "sale" is also used to mean sell or trade. | |||
Lao | ຂາຍ | ||
The word "ຂາຍ" is ultimately derived from Sanskrit "kraya", meaning "purchase". | |||
Malay | jualan | ||
The word "jualan" comes from the Arabic word "juwwala", meaning "to proclaim" or "to make public", and it refers to the act of announcing the availability of goods for sale in public. | |||
Thai | ขาย | ||
In Thai, "ขาย" can also mean "to sell" or "to trade". | |||
Vietnamese | giảm giá | ||
Giảm giá literally means 'reduce the price' or 'decrease the price'. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | pagbebenta | ||
Azerbaijani | satış | ||
The word "satış" in Azerbaijani derives from the Arabic word "satw", and also signifies "purchase" and "trade". | |||
Kazakh | сату | ||
The word "сату" in Kazakh originally meant "change" or "barter", and in some dialects it retains this meaning. | |||
Kyrgyz | сатуу | ||
The word "сатуу" in Kyrgyz can also mean "income" or "proceeds". | |||
Tajik | фурӯш | ||
The word "фурӯш" in Persian has multiple meanings, such as "selling", "auction", and "sacrifice for the sake of something". | |||
Turkmen | satuw | ||
Uzbek | sotish | ||
Sotish is a homonym that means 'sale', but it also means 'gullible' or 'naive' depending on context. | |||
Uyghur | سېتىش | ||
Hawaiian | kūʻai aku | ||
In Hawaiian, the word 'kūʻai aku' can also mean 'to buy' in addition to its primary meaning of 'sale'. | |||
Maori | hoko | ||
The word hoko can also refer to the selling and exchanging of goods in traditional Māori trade networks and practices.} | |||
Samoan | faʻatau atu | ||
The word 'faʻatau atu' can also mean 'offer' or 'propose' in Samoan. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | pagbebenta | ||
The Tagalog word "pagbebenta" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "*beŋkaR", which also means "trade" or "exchange" in other Philippine languages. |
Aymara | alja | ||
Guarani | mboguejy | ||
Esperanto | vendo | ||
"Vendo" is derived from the Latin word "vendere" (to sell) and also means "autumn" in Esperanto. | |||
Latin | sale | ||
The Latin word “sale” means “salt” and in the Roman Empire, soldiers were paid with a portion of salt, which was known as “salarium,” hence the word “salary”. |
Greek | πώληση | ||
Πώληση comes from the verb "πωλώ" meaning "to sell" and has the same root as "πάω" (to go) and "πόλος" (axis). | |||
Hmong | muag | ||
In Hmong, the word "muag" can also refer to the act of buying something or the price of an item. | |||
Kurdish | firotin | ||
Firotin in Kurdish is a compound word, it is the combination of 'firin' that means 'oven' and '-ot' that signifies 'product of'. Therefore, 'firotin' originally meant bakery products, and later became the general noun for sale. | |||
Turkish | satış | ||
The word 'satış' in Turkish is also used to refer to a 'deed of sale' or 'an auction'. | |||
Xhosa | intengiso | ||
The word "intengiso" may also refer to an auction or a clearance sale. | |||
Yiddish | פאַרקויף | ||
The Yiddish word "פאַרקויף" (farkoyf) has origins in the German word "Verkauf" and can also refer to selling out or betrayal. | |||
Zulu | ukuthengisa | ||
The Zulu word "ukuthengisa" can also refer to the act of persuading someone to accept a deal or proposition. | |||
Assamese | বিক্ৰী | ||
Aymara | alja | ||
Bhojpuri | बिक्री | ||
Dhivehi | ސޭލް | ||
Dogri | सेल | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | pagbebenta | ||
Guarani | mboguejy | ||
Ilocano | naglakuan | ||
Krio | sɛl | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | فرۆشتن | ||
Maithili | बिक्री | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯣꯟꯕ | ||
Mizo | zuar | ||
Oromo | gurgurtaa | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ବିକ୍ରୟ | ||
Quechua | pisiyachiy | ||
Sanskrit | विक्रय | ||
Tatar | сату | ||
Tigrinya | መሸጣ | ||
Tsonga | mbhukuto | ||