See in Different Languages
Discover 'See' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'see' is a fundamental building block of communication, allowing us to perceive and understand the world around us. It holds cultural significance across the globe, as the ability to see is often associated with knowledge, understanding, and insight in various traditions and stories. For instance, in Greek mythology, the goddess Athena is often depicted with an owl, a symbol of wisdom, because of its ability to see in the dark.
Given its importance, it's no surprise that the word 'see' has been translated into countless languages, each with its own unique cultural and linguistic nuances. For example, in Spanish, 'see' is 'ver,' while in French, it's 'voir.' In Mandarin Chinese, the word for 'see' is '看' (kàn), which also has the meaning of 'look' or 'watch.' In Japanese, 'see' is '見' (mi), which is also used in many compound words related to perception and understanding.
Below, you'll find a list of translations of the word 'see' in various languages, along with some interesting cultural and historical contexts associated with the word.
See
See in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sien | ||
| "Sien" in Afrikaans has Germanic and Medieval Latin roots, and can also mean "face" or "sight". | |||
| Amharic | ተመልከት | ||
| The verb 'ተመልከት' can also have the alternate meanings 'understand, realize, look upon, regard', 'look at, behold', and 'have an opinion' | |||
| Hausa | gani | ||
| The Hausa word "gani" can also mean "to experience" or "to look at". | |||
| Igbo | lee | ||
| Igbo word 'lee' comes from Proto-Benue-Congo '*ri' meaning 'look at' and is also used in Edo and Yoruba. | |||
| Malagasy | jereo ny | ||
| In Malagasy, the word "JEREO NY" not only means "see" but also carries the connotation of "look" and "stare." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mwawona | ||
| "Mwawona" can also mean "know" or "understand." | |||
| Shona | maona | ||
| The word "maona" in Shona also means "vision" or "perceptibility." | |||
| Somali | eeg | ||
| The Somali word "eeg" is derived from the Cushitic root "*eg-/*ek-/, meaning "to see". | |||
| Sesotho | bona | ||
| The Sesotho word "bona" can also mean "to know" or "to understand." | |||
| Swahili | tazama | ||
| The word 'tazama' is derived from the Proto-Bantu root '-tam-'. It also means 'to look at', 'to observe', or 'to examine'. | |||
| Xhosa | yabona | ||
| In a wider sense, yabona also means 'to visit' someone. | |||
| Yoruba | wo | ||
| In some contexts, the verb 'wo' can mean 'to look for' or 'to inspect'. | |||
| Zulu | bheka | ||
| The word "bheka" can also mean "to look at" or "to stare at". | |||
| Bambara | ka ye | ||
| Ewe | kpɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | reba | ||
| Lingala | kotala | ||
| Luganda | okulaba | ||
| Sepedi | bona | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hwɛ | ||
See in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نرى | ||
| The verb نرى (see) in Quranic Arabic also holds meanings of "perceive," "know," "look at," and "think" | |||
| Hebrew | לִרְאוֹת | ||
| The Hebrew word "לִרְאוֹת" not only means "to see" but also "to have a vision" or "to experience." | |||
| Pashto | وګوره | ||
| In Pashto, the word "وګوره" can also be used to indicate "look at" or "consider". | |||
| Arabic | نرى | ||
| The verb نرى (see) in Quranic Arabic also holds meanings of "perceive," "know," "look at," and "think" | |||
See in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shiko | ||
| The Albanian word "Shiko" (see) is also used to mean "understand" or "figure out" the meaning of something | |||
| Basque | ikusi | ||
| The word "ikusi" in Basque also has the alternate meaning of "to understand" or "to perceive". | |||
| Catalan | veure | ||
| Catalan 'veure' derives from Vulgar Latin 'vidēre' and can also mean 'to look', 'to inspect' or 'to perceive'. | |||
| Croatian | vidjeti | ||
| The Croatian word "vidjeti" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *viděti, which is also the origin of the English word "vision". | |||
| Danish | se | ||
| In Danish, "se" can also mean "look for" or "try to find". | |||
| Dutch | zien | ||
| The Dutch word "zien" is related to the Old English word "seon" and the German word "sehen", all of which mean "to see". | |||
| English | see | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "to perceive with the eyes", "see" can also refer to understanding, expecting, or envisioning something. | |||
| French | voir | ||
| The French word "voir" also has the alternate meanings of "to look" and "to seem". | |||
| Frisian | sjen | ||
| The Frisian word "sjen” is derived from Old Frisian "sea" and means both "see" and "look". | |||
| Galician | ver | ||
| In Galician, "ver" also means "spring" and is related to the Latin word "veris". | |||
| German | sehen | ||
| The German word "sehen" is related to the English word "see", with both derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱeh₁-("*see, look*"). | |||
| Icelandic | sjá | ||
| The Icelandic word 'sjá' is cognate with the English word 'sea', due to their shared origin in the Proto-Indo-European root *seh₂-. | |||
| Irish | féach | ||
| "Féach" in Irish likely shares a root etymology with "watch" in English and can be used either in the reflexive sense ("féachaint ort" is "to look in a mirror") or in a directive context ("féach thú" - "look"). | |||
| Italian | vedere | ||
| The Latin root of the Italian word 'vedere' can also mean 'to know'. | |||
| Luxembourgish | gesinn | ||
| Maltese | ara | ||
| The Maltese word 'ara' can also mean 'look for' or 'examine'. | |||
| Norwegian | se | ||
| The word "se" in Norwegian can also mean "ocean" or "lake". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | vejo | ||
| In Portuguese, "vejo" can also mean "I foresee" or "I understand". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | faic | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word 'faic' is also used in the phrase 'faic air ais', meaning 'look back'. | |||
| Spanish | ver | ||
| The Spanish verb 'ver' (to see) comes from the Latin 'videre' (to see, to perceive), and is related to the English word 'vision'. | |||
| Swedish | ser | ||
| The word "ser" in Swedish derives from the Old Norse word "sjá," meaning "to look" or "to observe." | |||
| Welsh | gwel | ||
| The word "gwel" originates from the Proto-Celtic word "*wekw-sloh2-", meaning "to see, to watch, to look at, to find". | |||
See in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | бачыць | ||
| The word "бачыць" can also mean "to notice" or "to perceive". | |||
| Bosnian | vidi | ||
| It stems from the Latin word "vidēre" and Proto-Indo-European root *weyd- "to see". | |||
| Bulgarian | вижте | ||
| The Bulgarian word "вижте" can also mean "look" or "watch" | |||
| Czech | vidět | ||
| The Czech word "vidět" not only means "to see" but can also mean "to meet" or "to experience" something. | |||
| Estonian | vaata | ||
| The Estonian word "vaata" is also used to mean "appearance" or "look". | |||
| Finnish | katso | ||
| The word "katso" in Finnish also means "to look at" or "to pay attention to". | |||
| Hungarian | lát | ||
| In colloquial language, "lát" can also mean "experience", "meet" or "find". | |||
| Latvian | redzēt | ||
| The word "redzēt" in Latvian is cognate with the Lithuanian word "regėti" and the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁reǵ-. | |||
| Lithuanian | pamatyti | ||
| The Lithuanian word "pamatyti" can also mean "to understand" or "to notice". | |||
| Macedonian | види | ||
| "Види" is a shortened form of the imperative "видите", which is the second person plural of the verb "видам" and means "to see with the eyes". | |||
| Polish | widzieć | ||
| The Polish verb "widzieć" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weid-, meaning "to look" or "to know." | |||
| Romanian | vedea | ||
| The Romanian word "vedea" can also refer to a river in Romania or a municipality in Spain. | |||
| Russian | видеть | ||
| The verb "видеть" can also mean "to imagine" or "to understand". | |||
| Serbian | види | ||
| The word 'види' can also refer to a type of vision or insight. | |||
| Slovak | viď | ||
| In some contexts, the Slovak word "viď" can mean something similar to "you know" or "right" in English. | |||
| Slovenian | glej | ||
| The Slovenian word 'glej' derives from the Old Slavic 'gledati', which also meant 'to seek, desire, or look for'. | |||
| Ukrainian | подивитися | ||
| The Ukrainian verb "подивитися" comes from the Old East Slavic "подивити ся", meaning "to look around, to marvel". | |||
See in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দেখা | ||
| The word 'দেখা' in Bengali can also mean 'to meet' or 'to encounter' | |||
| Gujarati | જુઓ | ||
| જુઓ is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weḱ-, meaning "to look" or "to see". | |||
| Hindi | देख | ||
| The word "देख" in Hindi comes from the Sanskrit root "drish," which also means "to see" and "to look," while in some contexts it may also mean "to appear."} | |||
| Kannada | ನೋಡಿ | ||
| "ನೋಡಿ" in Kannada also means "look at" or "consider". | |||
| Malayalam | കാണുക | ||
| The Malayalam word "കാണുക" can also mean "to experience" or "to get to know." | |||
| Marathi | पहा | ||
| In Marathi, "पहा" (paha) also means "to take care of" or "to look after". | |||
| Nepali | हेर्नुहोस् | ||
| The Nepali word "हेर्नुहोस्" (see) also means "look" and "watch". | |||
| Punjabi | ਵੇਖੋ | ||
| The word 'ਵੇਖੋ' ('see') in Punjabi can also mean 'look' or 'behold'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බලන්න | ||
| In Sinhala, බලන්න (balanə) also means "to watch, observe, look at" and "to notice, perceive". | |||
| Tamil | பார்க்க | ||
| பார்க்க (pārka) means "to see" in Tamil, but also has other meanings, such as "to look after," "to expect," or "to visit." | |||
| Telugu | చూడండి | ||
| The verb "చూడండి" is cognate with "to see" in English, and also has the alternate meaning "to look at". | |||
| Urdu | دیکھیں | ||
| The word "دیکھیں" can also mean "look" or "watch" and is related to the Persian word "ديدن" (dīdan) meaning "to see". | |||
See in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 看到 | ||
| The word "看到" can also mean "to experience" or "to understand". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 看到 | ||
| "看到" (traditional: 看到, simplified: 看到) is a verb that means "to see" or "to look at." | |||
| Japanese | 見る | ||
| "見" is often used in onomatopoeia, such as "キラキラ" (kirakira, sparkling) or "ぴかぴか" (pikapika, shiny). | |||
| Korean | 보다 | ||
| 보다 also means “more than” in the sense of “better than” or “more significant than”. | |||
| Mongolian | харах | ||
| The word "харах" is also used to describe "the center of something" such as the center of a circle or a target, as well as “the middle". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကြည့်ပါ | ||
See in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | lihat | ||
| Lihat shares roots with the words "see" and "look" in English, which all stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *weik-, meaning "to see". | |||
| Javanese | ndeleng | ||
| "Ndeleng" is derived from "ndelok" (see), which originated from "dela" (open), meaning to open one's eyes to see. | |||
| Khmer | សូមមើល | ||
| The word "សូមមើល" can also be used to mean "examine" or "inspect". | |||
| Lao | ເບິ່ງ | ||
| The word ເບິ່ງ is derived from Pali "pekhati", which also means "to look". It can be used to describe the act of seeing something or to refer to a specific viewpoint. | |||
| Malay | lihat | ||
| The word "lihat" in Malay is a cognate of the Proto-Austronesian word *li?at, meaning "to look at". | |||
| Thai | ดู | ||
| The Thai word "ดู" can also mean "to look at" or "to watch". | |||
| Vietnamese | xem | ||
| The word "xem" in Vietnamese can also mean "to consider" or "to think about". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tingnan mo | ||
See in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | görmək | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "görmək" not only means "to see", but can also mean "to experience", "to understand", or "to perceive". | |||
| Kazakh | қараңыз | ||
| "Қараңыз" in Kazakh shares a root with the word for "look" or "watch". | |||
| Kyrgyz | көрүү | ||
| The word “көрүү” is also used figuratively in Kyrgyz, for example to mean 'to experience' or 'to understand'. | |||
| Tajik | дидан | ||
| The word "дидан" is derived from the Persian word "ديدن" (dīdan), which also means "to see." | |||
| Turkmen | seret | ||
| Uzbek | qarang | ||
| The word "qarang" in Uzbek also means "consider" and "reflect". | |||
| Uyghur | قاراڭ | ||
See in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻike | ||
| ʻIke can also refer to knowledge, understanding, or wisdom in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | tirohia | ||
| In formal Maori, tirohia also means 'observe', 'look at' or 'watch'. | |||
| Samoan | vaai | ||
| The Samoan word 'vaai' ('see') shares an etymological root with the Maori word 'whakahihi' ('display'). | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tingnan mo | ||
| "Tingnan mo" can also refer to inspecting or observing something carefully. | |||
See in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uñjaña | ||
| Guarani | hecha | ||
See in International Languages
| Esperanto | vidu | ||
| Esperanto's 'vidu' is etymologically related to Latin 'video' ('I see') and English 'video'. | |||
| Latin | videre | ||
| The verb 'videre' in Latin is cognate with Greek 'idein', Sanskrit 'vid' and Slavic 'videti', all relating to seeing or knowing. | |||
See in Others Languages
| Greek | βλέπω | ||
| The Ancient Greek word 'βλέπω' also means 'look', and derives from the PIE root *bhel-, meaning 'to shine'. | |||
| Hmong | saib | ||
| The word "saib" in the Hmong language can also mean "look" or "observe". | |||
| Kurdish | dîtin | ||
| The verb dîtin in Kurdish language is believed to be rooted in Indo-European dialects and possibly derived from the same root word of 'deiknuvai' in ancient Greek and 'dicere' in Latin, indicating the basic notion of 'showing' or 'displaying'. | |||
| Turkish | görmek | ||
| Görmek can also mean perceive, think, realize, recognize, and suppose in Turkish | |||
| Xhosa | yabona | ||
| In a wider sense, yabona also means 'to visit' someone. | |||
| Yiddish | זען | ||
| The word "זען" ("see") in Yiddish has an alternate meaning related to vision and eyesight. | |||
| Zulu | bheka | ||
| The word "bheka" can also mean "to look at" or "to stare at". | |||
| Assamese | চোৱা | ||
| Aymara | uñjaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | देखीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ފެނުން | ||
| Dogri | दिक्खो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tingnan mo | ||
| Guarani | hecha | ||
| Ilocano | kitaen | ||
| Krio | si | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بینین | ||
| Maithili | देखू | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯎꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hmu | ||
| Oromo | ilaaluu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଦେଖନ୍ତୁ | | ||
| Quechua | qaway | ||
| Sanskrit | पश्यतु | ||
| Tatar | кара | ||
| Tigrinya | ረአ | ||
| Tsonga | vona | ||