Select in Different Languages
Discover 'Select' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'select' holds great significance in many contexts, ranging from decision-making to highlighting important information. Its cultural importance is evident in various fields such as literature, education, and technology. For instance, in literature, 'select' is often used to describe a character's thoughtful consideration or choice, while in education, it's a term used to describe the process of choosing the best candidates for a particular program or opportunity.
Moreover, in technology, 'select' is a common command used in programming languages to choose specific data or elements from a larger set. Given its wide-ranging importance, it's no surprise that someone might want to know its translation in different languages.
Interestingly, the word 'select' has been used in various historical contexts, such as in the Bible, where it's used to describe God's choice of certain individuals or groups for specific purposes. In Latin, 'selectus' means 'chosen,' while in French, 'sélectionner' means 'to select.' In Spanish, the word 'seleccionar' also means 'to select,' while in German, 'auswählen' means 'to choose out.'
In the following list, you'll find the translations of the word 'select' in even more languages, providing a glimpse into the diversity and richness of global languages and cultures.
Select
Select in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kies | ||
| The word "kies" in Afrikaans derives from the Dutch word "kiezen", which shares the same meaning. | |||
| Amharic | ምረጥ | ||
| "ምረጥ" can also mean "choose" or "pick out." | |||
| Hausa | za .i | ||
| "Za .i" can also mean "choice" or "the act of choosing" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | họrọ | ||
| "Họrọ" can also mean "to search" or "to find" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | mifidy | ||
| The Malagasy word "mifidy" derives from the Proto-Austronesian root *pilid, which also means "to choose" or "to elect". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | sankhani | ||
| "Sankhani" can also mean "to win" or "to get chosen". | |||
| Shona | sarudza | ||
| The word sarudza can also mean 'choose' or 'pick' | |||
| Somali | dooro | ||
| The word "dooro" can also refer to the process of weeding in agriculture. | |||
| Sesotho | khetha | ||
| The word "khetha" also means "choose"} | |||
| Swahili | chagua | ||
| The Swahili word "chagua" is derived from the Arabic word "akhtaara", which means "to choose" or "to make a choice". | |||
| Xhosa | khetha | ||
| The word 'khetha' can also mean 'choose' or 'pick'. | |||
| Yoruba | yan | ||
| "Yan" can also refer to "to pick" or "to choose" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | khetha | ||
| The Zulu word "khetha" also means "to take" or "to choose", and originates from the Proto-Bantu language root *keta. | |||
| Bambara | ka sugandi | ||
| Ewe | tia | ||
| Kinyarwanda | hitamo | ||
| Lingala | kopona | ||
| Luganda | okulonda | ||
| Sepedi | kgetha | ||
| Twi (Akan) | yi ho | ||
Select in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تحديد | ||
| In the Qur'an, تحديد refers both to divine choice and human accountability | |||
| Hebrew | בחר | ||
| The verb "בחר" (to choose) is related to the noun "בחירה" (choice), both deriving from the root ב-ח-ר, which also gives rise to the noun "בחור" (young man), originally a euphemism for "chosen one". | |||
| Pashto | وټاکئ | ||
| The Pashto word "وټاکئ" can also mean "to choose" or "to pick out". | |||
| Arabic | تحديد | ||
| In the Qur'an, تحديد refers both to divine choice and human accountability | |||
Select in Western European Languages
| Albanian | zgjedh | ||
| In Albanian, the word “zgjedh” also means “luck” or “luckiness”. | |||
| Basque | hautatu | ||
| The Basque word "hautatu" originates from the Proto-Basque verb "au" (to choose), sharing a common etymology with "hautatu" (to capture) and "hauteste" (to win). | |||
| Catalan | seleccioneu | ||
| "Seleccioneu" is the imperative form of the Catalan verb "seleccionar", which comes from the Latin verb "seligere", meaning "to choose". | |||
| Croatian | odaberi | ||
| The word "odaberi" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *obirati, which also means "to gather" or "to collect." | |||
| Danish | vælg | ||
| The Danish word "vælg" is also an archaic noun meaning "choice" or "option." | |||
| Dutch | selecteer | ||
| The Dutch word "selecteer" or "selecteren" has a broader meaning than just "select", it also means "to make a choice" or "to pick out". | |||
| English | select | ||
| "Select" can also mean "to gather" and originates from the Latin word "legere," which means "to choose" or "to collect." | |||
| French | sélectionner | ||
| "Sélectionner" has origins in the Latin verb "eligere," meaning "to choose or select". | |||
| Frisian | útkieze | ||
| Frisian "útkieze" shares its etymology with English "choose" and German "küren". Like them, it comes from Proto-Germanic *keusaną "to test, to select". | |||
| Galician | seleccionar | ||
| In Galician, the verb "seleccionar" also means "to reserve" or "to book". | |||
| German | wählen | ||
| The word "wählen" is related to "well" and once meant "to turn" or "to roll". | |||
| Icelandic | veldu | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "select," "veldu" also means "to choose from an assortment." | |||
| Irish | roghnaigh | ||
| The word 'roghnaigh' originates from the Old Irish verb 'rogain', which means 'to ask', and is related to the word 'rogha' meaning 'choice' or 'selection'. | |||
| Italian | selezionare | ||
| The word "selezionare" comes from the Latin word "seligere," which means "to choose out." | |||
| Luxembourgish | wielt | ||
| Wielt is derived from the German word 'wählen', which means 'to choose' or 'to elect'. In Luxembourgish, it also means 'to select'. | |||
| Maltese | agħżel | ||
| Maltese 'agħżel' comes from the Arabic verb 'ghazala' meaning 'to spin' or 'to choose'. | |||
| Norwegian | plukke ut | ||
| The verb 'plukke ut' can also mean 'to pinch out', 'to pick out', or 'to pluck out'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | selecionar | ||
| The word "selecionar" comes from the Latin verb "seligere", meaning "to choose out" or "to pick out". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | tagh | ||
| The Gaelic word "tagh" can also mean "to pick" or "to gather". | |||
| Spanish | seleccione | ||
| The verb “seleccionar” and the noun “selección” come from the Latin word “selectio,” which is related to the word “eligere,” meaning “to choose”. | |||
| Swedish | välj | ||
| The word "Välj" is derived from the Old Norse word "velja", meaning "to choose". | |||
| Welsh | dewiswch | ||
| "Dewiswch" derives from the Welsh word "dewis" meaning "choice" and is cognate with the Irish word "toisg" meaning "selection". | |||
Select in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | выбраць | ||
| The word "выбраць" has two etymologies, the first coming from the Old Slavic word "iz-brati", meaning "to pick out" or "to choose", and the second coming from the Proto-Indo-European root "weik", meaning "to separate" or "to divide." | |||
| Bosnian | odaberite | ||
| Odaberite (select) comes from the Slavic stem od, meaning "separate," which is also found in words like odvojiti (separate) and odustati (give up). | |||
| Bulgarian | изберете | ||
| The word "изберете" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *obirati, meaning "to choose" or "to select." | |||
| Czech | vybrat | ||
| The word "vybrat" can also mean "to collect" or "to pick out" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | valige | ||
| The word "valige" is likely derived from the Old Norse verb "velja", meaning "to choose", and is cognate with the German word "wählen" and the English word "elect". | |||
| Finnish | valitse | ||
| The Finnish word "valitse" also means "to take over"} | |||
| Hungarian | válassza | ||
| "Választ" can also mean "choose", "decide", or "elect". | |||
| Latvian | atlasiet | ||
| The term "atlasiet" is also used to describe "selection for the final stage of a competition". | |||
| Lithuanian | pasirinkite | ||
| Pasirinkite is of uncertain origin, maybe borrowed from Polish "pasierb" (stepson) or "pasieść" (to adopt/tame). | |||
| Macedonian | изберете | ||
| The word "изберете" (select) in Macedonian comes from the Proto-Slavic root *birati, meaning "to take" or "to choose." | |||
| Polish | wybierz | ||
| The Polish word "wybierz" derives from the Old Slavic "voliti", meaning "to will" or "to prefer". | |||
| Romanian | selectați | ||
| The term "Selectați" is derived from the Latin word "selectus," meaning "chosen or picked out." | |||
| Russian | выбрать | ||
| The word "выбрать" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *vir-, meaning "to turn, to twist" | |||
| Serbian | изаберите | ||
| The Serbian word "изаберите" also means "be chosen" or "be elected". | |||
| Slovak | vyberte | ||
| "Vyberte" comes from the Czech root "vybírat" meaning "to choose". | |||
| Slovenian | izberite | ||
| The word "izberite" in Slovenian is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *izbrati, meaning "to choose". It also has the alternate meaning of "to elect" in some contexts. | |||
| Ukrainian | виберіть | ||
| The word "виберіть" derives from the Old Slavonic "вибрати" meaning "to choose" and is also related to the word "вибір" (choice). | |||
Select in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | নির্বাচন করুন | ||
| The word "নির্বাচন করুন" is derived from the Sanskrit word "निर्वचन" (nirvacana), which means "to decide" or "to determine". | |||
| Gujarati | પસંદ કરો | ||
| Hindi | चुनते हैं | ||
| In Hindi, the word "चुनते हैं" can also refer to the act of picking or choosing something. | |||
| Kannada | ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿ | ||
| The Kannada word "ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿ" ("select") comes from the Sanskrit word "ā-√vṛñj", meaning "to choose; to take; to get." | |||
| Malayalam | തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | निवडा | ||
| निवडा is also an obsolete Marathi word that means 'to make a decision' or 'to resolve' | |||
| Nepali | चयन गर्नुहोस् | ||
| "Select" derives from the Latin word "seligere," meaning "to choose out." Its first known use in English was in the 13th century. | |||
| Punjabi | ਚੁਣੋ | ||
| In Punjabi, the word "ਚੁਣੋ" also means "choose," "pick," or "appoint." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තෝරන්න | ||
| The Sinhala word “තෝරන්න” can also mean “to choose, to pick out, to elect, and to opt for”. | |||
| Tamil | தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும் | ||
| Telugu | ఎంచుకోండి | ||
| The word "ఎంచుకోండి" is derived from the Sanskrit word "वृञ्चति" (vṛñcati), meaning "to choose" or "to select". | |||
| Urdu | منتخب کریں | ||
Select in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 选择 | ||
| 选择 in Chinese can also mean 'pick', 'choose', or 'option'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 選擇 | ||
| The full form of 選擇 is 選擇擇，meaning 'to pick and choose' | |||
| Japanese | 選択する | ||
| "選択する" literally means "to grab" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 고르다 | ||
| 고르다 also means "to make straight, even out" and originated from the Proto-Korean "*koɾ-ta" | |||
| Mongolian | сонгох | ||
| The word "сонгох" can also refer to the process of choosing or appointing someone for a particular role. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရွေးချယ်ပါ | ||
Select in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pilih | ||
| "Pilih" may be related to the Proto-Austronesian word *pilix, meaning "to choose," and is a cognate of words like "pili" in the Philippines and "pihi" in Hawaii. | |||
| Javanese | pilih | ||
| The Javanese word 'pilih' shares its root with the Malay word 'pilih', both meaning to choose or select, and is cognate with the Indonesian 'pilih'. | |||
| Khmer | ជ្រើសរើស | ||
| The word "ជ្រើសរើស" in Khmer comes from Pali and has an alternate meaning of "to investigate". | |||
| Lao | ເລືອກ | ||
| The word "ເລືອກ" also means "to taste" or "to choose something to eat" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | pilih | ||
| The Malay word "pilih" may have been borrowed from Tamil "pirik" or "per-i" which means "divide". In Sundanese and Javanese languages, "pilih" means to "separate", although in Thai the word "pilih" means to "compare". | |||
| Thai | เลือก | ||
| In Thai, the word "เลือก" can also mean to "pick" or "choose". | |||
| Vietnamese | lựa chọn | ||
| The Sino-Vietnamese word "lựa chọn" is composed of the elements "lựa" (to choose) and "chọn" (to pick), and is cognate with the Classical Chinese verb 擇 (择) "to select". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pumili | ||
Select in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | seçin | ||
| The word "seçin" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to choose" or "to pick out." | |||
| Kazakh | таңдаңыз | ||
| The word "таңдаңыз" in Kazakh is related to the word "таң", which means "to choose" or "to select". | |||
| Kyrgyz | тандоо | ||
| The word "тандоо" also means "to decide, to choose" and originated from Old Turkic. | |||
| Tajik | интихоб кунед | ||
| In Tajik, the word "интихоб кунед" ("select") has Persian roots and is derived from the word "انتخاب" ("selection"). | |||
| Turkmen | saýlaň | ||
| Uzbek | tanlang | ||
| The word "tanlash" is derived from the Persian word "tanidan" which means "to know" or "to recognize." | |||
| Uyghur | تاللاڭ | ||
Select in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | koho | ||
| The Hawaiian word “koho” originally referred specifically to the selection of a chief or ruler, but gradually acquired more general meanings. | |||
| Maori | tīpako | ||
| The word "tīpako" also means "filter", "separate" or "cleanse" in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | filifili | ||
| The word "filifili" in Samoan is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word "pili" meaning "to choose". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pumili ka | ||
| The word "pumili ka" is also used in Tagalog to mean "choose" or "pick" when referring to a person or an inanimate object. | |||
Select in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ajlliña | ||
| Guarani | poravo | ||
Select in International Languages
| Esperanto | elektu | ||
| The root of 'elektu' is from the Latin word 'eligere' meaning 'to choose'. | |||
| Latin | eligere | ||
| The etymology of "eligere" is connected to the Proto-Indo-European root *leg- "to gather" and is used in English in words like negligence, election and legend. | |||
Select in Others Languages
| Greek | επιλέγω | ||
| Derived from 'epi' meaning 'upon' and 'legō' meaning 'to gather', the word originally implied the action of harvesting before its use in selecting. | |||
| Hmong | xaiv | ||
| A form of "xaiv" is used as "xaiv lub" in the context of choosing a spouse. | |||
| Kurdish | neqandin | ||
| The word "neqandin" also means "to take, to grab" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | seç | ||
| The word "seç" (select) also has the meaning of "to choose" or "to pick", which is derived from the Proto-Turkic root "seç-" meaning "to separate". | |||
| Xhosa | khetha | ||
| The word 'khetha' can also mean 'choose' or 'pick'. | |||
| Yiddish | אויסקלייַבן | ||
| "אויסקלייַבן" also means to separate wheat from other grains by winnowing. | |||
| Zulu | khetha | ||
| The Zulu word "khetha" also means "to take" or "to choose", and originates from the Proto-Bantu language root *keta. | |||
| Assamese | চয়ন কৰা | ||
| Aymara | ajlliña | ||
| Bhojpuri | चुनीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ޚިޔާރުކުރުން | ||
| Dogri | चुनो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pumili | ||
| Guarani | poravo | ||
| Ilocano | agpili | ||
| Krio | pik | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دەسنیاشنکردن | ||
| Maithili | चुननाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | thlang | ||
| Oromo | filuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଚୟନ କରନ୍ତୁ | | ||
| Quechua | akllay | ||
| Sanskrit | विचि | ||
| Tatar | сайлагыз | ||
| Tigrinya | ምረፅ | ||
| Tsonga | hlawula | ||