Sentence in Different Languages
Discover 'Sentence' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
A sentence is more than just a group of words; it's a complete thought or unit of meaning that's essential to communication. From Shakespearean sonnets to legal contracts, sentences are the building blocks of written language and have played a vital role in shaping human culture. Understanding the meaning of a sentence is a complex process that involves not only recognizing individual words but also understanding their relationships to one another.
The significance of sentences extends beyond any single language. In fact, the word 'sentence' can be translated into a variety of languages, each with its own unique cultural and linguistic context. For example, in Spanish, a sentence is translated as 'una oración,' while in German, it's 'einem Satz.' In French, the word is 'une phrase,' and in Mandarin Chinese, it's '一句话 (yī jù huà).'
Whether you're a language learner looking to expand your vocabulary or a cultural enthusiast seeking to deepen your understanding of the world, exploring the translations of common words like 'sentence' can be a fascinating and rewarding journey. Keep reading to discover more about the cultural significance and translations of this essential word.
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Sentence in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vonnis | ||
| The Afrikaans word "vonnis" originates from Middle Dutch meaning "condemnation". | |||
| Amharic | ዓረፍተ-ነገር | ||
| The word ዓረፍተ-ነገር derives from the Ge'ez verb ረፈደ, meaning "to arrange" or "to put in order." | |||
| Hausa | hukunci | ||
| The Hausa word "hukunci" can also mean "punishment". | |||
| Igbo | ikpe | ||
| In some dialects of Igbo, the word "ikpe" can also mean "a curse". | |||
| Malagasy | didim-pitsarana | ||
| In its original Indonesian-Malay origin, the word "didim-pitsarana" had the literal meaning "to stand before (a judge)" and has a close relationship to the word "pidana" or "criminal offense". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chiganizo | ||
| The word "chiganizo" in Nyanja can also mean an "example" or "illustration". | |||
| Shona | mutongo | ||
| The word "mutongo" can also refer to a piece of something that has been cut or broken off. | |||
| Somali | xukun | ||
| The word "xukun" in Somali can refer to a sentence imposed by a court or the process of judicial decision-making itself. | |||
| Sesotho | polelo | ||
| The word "polelo" not only means "sentence" but can also refer to "a language" or "a piece of knowledge." | |||
| Swahili | sentensi | ||
| In addition to its meaning as the English word “sentence” from Latin “sentus”, “sentensi” also comes from Arabic “sintisaq (choice; selection); “sintisi” (opinion). | |||
| Xhosa | isivakalisi | ||
| The Xhosa word 'isivakalisi' literally translates to 'that which gives understanding'. | |||
| Yoruba | gbolohun ọrọ | ||
| Zulu | umusho | ||
| "Umusho" also refers to a "boundary" or "limit" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | kumasen | ||
| Ewe | nyagbe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | interuro | ||
| Lingala | phrase | ||
| Luganda | sentensi | ||
| Sepedi | lefoko | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔkasamu | ||
Sentence in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | جملة او حكم على | ||
| "جملة او حكم على" comes from the Arabic root "جمــل" which means "to be beautiful," as sentences often express complete, coherent thoughts. | |||
| Hebrew | משפט | ||
| The word "משפט" (sentence) in Hebrew can also mean "judgment" or "lawsuit". | |||
| Pashto | جمله | ||
| The Pashto word "جمله" can also mean a phrase or a clause. | |||
| Arabic | جملة او حكم على | ||
| "جملة او حكم على" comes from the Arabic root "جمــل" which means "to be beautiful," as sentences often express complete, coherent thoughts. | |||
Sentence in Western European Languages
| Albanian | fjali | ||
| Derived from Italian "fole" meaning "sheet" through the Venetian "fói". | |||
| Basque | esaldia | ||
| The word "esaldia" can also refer to a set of words forming a coherent idea or a proposition, or a decision or judgement. | |||
| Catalan | frase | ||
| In Catalan, "frase" can also mean "phrase, remark, or expression" in addition to its meaning as "sentence." | |||
| Croatian | rečenica | ||
| The Croatian word "rečenica" is derived from the Latin word "sententia", meaning "opinion" or "thought". | |||
| Danish | dømme | ||
| The word 'dømme' also means 'judgment' or 'opinion' in Danish. | |||
| Dutch | zin | ||
| The Dutch word "zin" can also refer to a meaningful phrase that is a complete thought. In this sense, it is equivalent to the English word "sentence." | |||
| English | sentence | ||
| "Sentence" derives from the Latin "sententia", meaning both "opinion" and "decree". Judges pass sentences based on the evidence presented to them, and criminals are given sentences based on the crimes they have committed. | |||
| French | phrase | ||
| The word "phrase" in French also means "sentence". | |||
| Frisian | sin | ||
| Frisian "sin" may also mean "way, path" or "time". | |||
| Galician | sentenza | ||
| In Galician, "sentenza" can also mean "proverb" or "maxim". | |||
| German | satz | ||
| In German, "Satz" not only means "sentence" but also "bet" or "composition." | |||
| Icelandic | setning | ||
| In Icelandic, "setning" can also refer to a phrase, proposition, or a period of time. | |||
| Irish | abairt | ||
| The Irish word "abairt" also means "opinion" or "declaration", reflecting its origin in the verb "abair" ("to say"). | |||
| Italian | frase | ||
| The word "frase" can also refer to a musical phrase or a sentence in a dialogue. | |||
| Luxembourgish | saz | ||
| The word 'Saz' can also refer to a type of traditional stringed instrument in Luxembourgish culture. | |||
| Maltese | sentenza | ||
| In Maltese, the word "sentenza" (sentence) derives from the Latin "sententia" (opinion, judgment), giving it a broader meaning encompassing legal, philosophical, and moral contexts. | |||
| Norwegian | setning | ||
| Setning, in Norwegian, can also mean "composition" or "sentence" in a linguistics sense. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | frase | ||
| Derived from the Latin word "phrasis", it can also mean "expression", "saying" or "clause" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | seantans | ||
| The word "seantans" derives from the Old Irish "sentens" or the Latin "sententia", meaning "thought" or "opinion". | |||
| Spanish | frase | ||
| 'Frase' comes from the Latin 'phrasis', meaning 'mode of speech' or 'diction' | |||
| Swedish | mening | ||
| In Swedish, the word "men" can also mean "but" or "however". | |||
| Welsh | brawddeg | ||
| The Welsh word 'brawddeg' is not only used for a sentence, but also to refer to a 'proverb' or a 'judgment'. | |||
Sentence in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | прыгавор | ||
| The Belarusian word "прыгавор" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic "prigovor" meaning "speech, command" and can also refer to a "verdict" or "opinion."} | |||
| Bosnian | rečenica | ||
| The word 'rečenica' comes from the verb 'reći' meaning 'to speak', and also means 'a remark'. | |||
| Bulgarian | изречение | ||
| The Russian word "изречение" can also refer to aphorisms, maxims, or proverbs. | |||
| Czech | věta | ||
| Věta is also used as a synonym for "clause" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | lause | ||
| The word "lause" can also mean "conclusion" or "phrase" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | tuomita | ||
| The word "tuomita" derives from the Proto-Finnic word "*tuomijō" meaning 'verdict' or 'judgement' and is related to the Estonian word "tuum" and the Karelian word "tuomi". | |||
| Hungarian | mondat | ||
| The etymology of "mondat" is unknown but it may be related to the Sanskrit "mantrā" which means "sacred verses." | |||
| Latvian | teikumu | ||
| The word "teikumu" is derived from the verb "teikt" (to say), implying its purpose as a complete utterance. | |||
| Lithuanian | sakinys | ||
| Lithuanian "sakinys" derives from "sakau" (to say) and literally means "that which is said." | |||
| Macedonian | реченица | ||
| The Macedonian word "реченица" also means "clause" or "proposition" in grammar. | |||
| Polish | zdanie | ||
| The Polish word "zdanie" can also refer to an opinion or a building. | |||
| Romanian | propoziție | ||
| In Romanian, "propoziție" can also mean "assumption" or "hypothesis". | |||
| Russian | предложение | ||
| Предложение is a Russian word that can mean either 'request' or 'sentence' and is derived from the verb 'предлагать', which means 'to offer' or 'to propose'. | |||
| Serbian | реченица | ||
| The Serbian word “реченица” (“sentence”) derives from the Slavic words “речь” (“speech”) and “ница” (“tool”). | |||
| Slovak | veta | ||
| Despite sharing the same spelling with the Spanish word "veta," "veta" in Slovak refers exclusively to a sentence and not to a vein or mineral deposit. | |||
| Slovenian | stavek | ||
| In ancient Slovenia, stavek could mean a 'verse', the part of the song that comes after the rhyme. | |||
| Ukrainian | речення | ||
| The word "речення" in Ukrainian has an alternate meaning of "phrase". | |||
Sentence in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বাক্য | ||
| বাক্য (bakya) in Bengali also means 'speech,' which points to an older, broader definition of the term, encompassing any kind of linguistic expression. | |||
| Gujarati | વાક્ય | ||
| The Gujarati word "વાક્ય" can also refer to a period, era, or term in addition to a sentence. | |||
| Hindi | वाक्य | ||
| The word "वाक्य" in Hindi can also refer to a grammatical unit (clause) or a speech given in a courtroom (statement). | |||
| Kannada | ವಾಕ್ಯ | ||
| "ವಾಕ್ಯ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vakya", meaning "to speak" or "to utter". | |||
| Malayalam | വാചകം | ||
| In Malayalam, "വാചകം" can also refer to a phrase, a clause, or a statement. | |||
| Marathi | वाक्य | ||
| The Marathi word "वाक्य" comes from Sanskrit, where it originally meant "thought" or "statement" rather than a grammatical sentence. | |||
| Nepali | वाक्य | ||
| "वाक्य" means "phrase" or "sentence" in Sanskrit and is also the term used to refer to a sentence in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਵਾਕ | ||
| The word "ਵਾਕ" can also mean a "speech" or "statement" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වාක්යය | ||
| ‘Sentence’ in Sinhala ‘Vakyaya (වාක්යය)’ is used in multiple contexts like a statement that is grammatically complete or a group of words expressing an independent idea or a fixed amount or time served. | |||
| Tamil | தண்டனை | ||
| The word “தண்டனை” (“sentence”) is derived from Tamil words “தண்டு” (“stick”) and “இணை” (“to join”), referring to the act of joining a stick to punish someone (historically). | |||
| Telugu | వాక్యం | ||
| The word "sentence" in English can also refer to a collection of words that have a specific structure or follow a certain grammatical order. | |||
| Urdu | جملہ | ||
| The word 'جمله' in Urdu can also refer to an aphorism or proverb. | |||
Sentence in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 句子 | ||
| "句子" (jùzi) originally meant "a thread", "a string" or "a group of knotted cords used for record-keeping or message-passing" in Classical Chinese. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 句子 | ||
| 句子 in addition to "sentence" or a "law regulation" could also mean "to judge or criticize" in Chinese | |||
| Japanese | 文 | ||
| 文 (sentence) is also used as a suffix to form nominalizations, such as 事件 (event) from 起る (to occur) and 問題 (problem) from 問う (to ask). | |||
| Korean | 문장 | ||
| The term "문장" also denotes a musical notation, the score of a piece of music. | |||
| Mongolian | өгүүлбэр | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဝါကျ | ||
| In Burmese, "ဝါကျ" (sentence) derives from Sanskrit "vakya" meaning "speech" or "utterance". | |||
Sentence in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kalimat | ||
| "Kalimat" in Indonesian can also refer to a single word or a phrase. | |||
| Javanese | ukara | ||
| The word 'ukara' also means 'word' or 'speech' in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ការកាត់ទោស | ||
| Lao | ປະໂຫຍກ | ||
| Malay | ayat | ||
| The word 'ayat' in Malay, originating from classical Arabic, can also refer to a verse in the Quran or a sign of God. | |||
| Thai | ประโยค | ||
| "ประโยค" means "proposition" or "theorem" in Pali, but it's also a type of dance and a kind of sweet dessert in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | kết án | ||
| Kết án (sentence) derives from the Chinese 結案, meaning "to conclude a case". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pangungusap | ||
Sentence in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | cümlə | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "cümlə" can also refer to a "paragraph" or a "stanza". | |||
| Kazakh | сөйлем | ||
| "Sөilem" can also mean "statement" or "discourse" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | сүйлөм | ||
| The word 'сүйлөм' also refers to a saying, statement of judgement. | |||
| Tajik | ҳукм | ||
| The Tajik word "ҳукм" also has the alternate meaning of "decree" and is derived from the Arabic word "حُكْم" (ḥukm) with the same meaning. | |||
| Turkmen | sözlem | ||
| Uzbek | hukm | ||
| The word "hukm" in Uzbek also means "decision", "order", or "command". | |||
| Uyghur | جۈملە | ||
Sentence in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻōlelo ʻōlelo | ||
| “ʻŌlelo ʻōlelo,” originally meaning “speech,” eventually came to mean “sentence” in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | rerenga kōrero | ||
| Samoan | faʻasalaga | ||
| "Faʻasalaga" is a derivative of the word "sala" meaning "sin" or "wrong". Hence, the original meaning of "faʻasalaga" was "judgment of a wrong or sin," but today it has come to mean "judgment of a crime". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pangungusap | ||
| "Pangungusap" in Tagalog derives from the root word "usap" (to speak), signifying a spoken or written group of words that conveys a complete thought. | |||
Sentence in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | urasyuna | ||
| Guarani | ñembo'e | ||
Sentence in International Languages
| Esperanto | frazo | ||
| Esperanto's "frazo" is etymologically related to English "phrase," both derived from Greek φράσις (phrase, style of speech); it also shares meaning with "expression". | |||
| Latin | damnationem | ||
| Damnatio (sentence) relates to the Old Latin word 'damnum', meaning loss, injury, or harm. | |||
Sentence in Others Languages
| Greek | πρόταση | ||
| Πρόταση in Greek is also used to refer to a "proposition" or a "motion". | |||
| Hmong | kab lus | ||
| The term 'kab lus' is also used to describe the severity of a crime. | |||
| Kurdish | biryar | ||
| The Kurdish word "biryar" can also refer to a period of imprisonment. | |||
| Turkish | cümle | ||
| In Turkish, 'cümle' can also refer to a 'clause', 'phrase' or a 'collection' of words. | |||
| Xhosa | isivakalisi | ||
| The Xhosa word 'isivakalisi' literally translates to 'that which gives understanding'. | |||
| Yiddish | זאַץ | ||
| The word "זאַץ" also means "grounds" or "dregs" in Yiddish, referring to the sediment that settles at the bottom of a liquid. | |||
| Zulu | umusho | ||
| "Umusho" also refers to a "boundary" or "limit" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | বাক্য | ||
| Aymara | urasyuna | ||
| Bhojpuri | वाक्य | ||
| Dhivehi | ޖުމްލަ | ||
| Dogri | वाक्य | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pangungusap | ||
| Guarani | ñembo'e | ||
| Ilocano | keddeng | ||
| Krio | sɛntɛns | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕستە | ||
| Maithili | वाक्य | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯋꯥꯍꯩ ꯄꯔꯦꯡ | ||
| Mizo | thutlukna | ||
| Oromo | hima | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବାକ୍ୟ | ||
| Quechua | rimay | ||
| Sanskrit | वाक्य | ||
| Tatar | җөмлә | ||
| Tigrinya | ቅፅዓት | ||
| Tsonga | xivulwa | ||