Shake in different languages

Shake in Different Languages

Discover 'Shake' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'shake' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, with meanings ranging from a physical action to a state of emotion. It can refer to the act of shaking something, the sensation caused by fear or excitement, or even a type of cocktail!

Culturally, 'shake' has made its mark through various art forms. From James Bond's iconic 'shaken, not stirred' martini to the energetic dance moves in hip-hop culture, this word continues to resonate worldwide.

Given its wide usage and cultural importance, knowing the translation of 'shake' in different languages can be quite useful. It not only helps in understanding foreign languages better but also provides insights into how various cultures express this concept.

For instance, in Spanish, 'shake' translates to 'agitar'. In French, it's 'secouer'. And in German, you'd say 'schütteln'.

Shake


Shake in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansskud
Though the Afrikaans "skud" means "shake," in Dutch it also refers to a shower of rain or snow.
Amharicመንቀጥቀጥ
The word መንቀጥቀጥ can also refer to the act of vibrating, trembling, or oscillating, and its root derives from the verb ንቀጥቀጠ, meaning 'to cause to shake'.
Hausagirgiza
The Hausa word 'girgiza' can also refer to 'contagion', 'trembling' or 'shivering'.
Igbomaa jijiji
"Maa jijiji" is an onomatopoeic word in Igbo, mimicking the sound of shaking.
Malagasymihorohoro
"Mihorohoro" can refer to a gentle movement, a sudden jolt, or a state of agitation.
Nyanja (Chichewa)gwedezani
"Gwedezani" also means "mix" or "scatter" and shares a root with "gwedeza" ("sprinkle").
Shonazunza
The word "zunza" in Shona can also mean "to move quickly or suddenly" or "to shake or tremble".
Somaliruxid
The word "ruxid" in Somali can also mean "tremble" or "vibrate".
Sesothotsitsinyeha
The word "tsitsinyeha" in Sesotho can also refer to the act of stirring or churning liquids.
Swahilikutikisika
"Kutikisika" can also mean "to be nervous" or "to be restless" in Swahili.
Xhosavuthulula
The word "vuthulula" (shake) also means "to excite" in Xhosa.
Yorubagbọn
The Yoruba word "gbọn" also means "to scatter" and likely comes from the verb "gbún", which means "to break".
Zuluqhaqhazela
The word 'qhaqhazela' can also mean 'to shudder' or 'to tremble', originating from the onomatopoeic 'qhaqa' representing the sound of shaking.
Bambaraka yigiyigi
Eweʋuʋu
Kinyarwandakunyeganyega
Lingalakoningisa
Lugandaokunyeenya
Sepedišikinya
Twi (Akan)woso

Shake in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicهزة
The word "هزة" in Arabic can also mean an "earthquake", "shock", or "tremor".
Hebrewלְנַעֵר
The root of the verb "לְנַעֵר" also appears in the word "נער" (young boy), possibly alluding to the physical growth and energy of youth.
Pashtoشیک
The word "شیک" in Pashto can also refer to a type of dance, or a specific type of musical instrument.
Arabicهزة
The word "هزة" in Arabic can also mean an "earthquake", "shock", or "tremor".

Shake in Western European Languages

Albanianshkund
Shkund shares the same Proto-Indo-European root as "shake": "sk(w)end-", meaning "to leap, jump, or shake."
Basqueastindu
The word can also mean "to move something from side to side" or "to tremble".
Catalansacsejar
The word "sacsejar" comes from the Latin "saccus", meaning "bag", and refers to the action of shaking something to empty its contents.
Croatiantresti
In Italian, 'tresti' means 'flax' or 'linen'. In Polish, 'trząść' means 'to shake' and 'trząść się' means 'to tremble'.
Danishryste
The noun 'ryste' can also refer to a fence, a trap, or a barrier designed to obstruct movement.
Dutchschudden
Schudden can also mean "to stir", "to swing" or "to toss" in Dutch.
Englishshake
The word 'shake' can mean to move or cause something to move with rapid, short movements, to cause something to tremble or vibrate, or to experience trembling or vibration.
Frenchsecouer
The verb "secouer" can also denote "shocking" or "unsettling".
Frisianskodzje
The Frisian word 'skodzje' or 'skodzje' is derived from the Old Frisian word 'skoddia,' meaning 'to shake,' and is related to the Dutch word 'schudden,' also meaning 'to shake.'
Galicianaxitar
The word "axitar" comes from the same root as "agitar" in Spanish and "agitate" in English, all of which mean "to shake" or "to move rapidly to and fro."
Germanshake
The German word "Schnack" is also derived from "Shake" and means "chat".
Icelandichrista
The verb "hrista" also means "to tremble" or "to flap" in Icelandic.
Irishcroith
The word 'croith' is derived from the Old Irish word 'crith', meaning 'tremble' or 'shiver'.
Italianscuotere
The verb "scuotere" comes from the Latin word "excutere" (to shake out), which is related to "cutis" (skin) and "cutere" (to beat).
Luxembourgishrëselen
The verb "rëselen" originates from the Old High German "russeln", which meant to shake a sieve with coarse mesh to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Malteseħawwad
"Ħawwad" can also mean "shake hands" or "confuse."
Norwegianriste
The Norwegian 'riste' relates to English 'wrestle', sharing a Proto-Germanic root of 'wrest', to turn violently.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)mexe
The word "mexe" in Brazilian Portuguese also means "to touch" or "to handle" something.
Scots Gaeliccrathadh
Crathadh is sometimes erroneously connected to “crat,” denoting a skin disease; others derive it from “crith,” which means “trembling
Spanishsacudir
"Sacudir" also means "to jerk" in Spanish, which comes from the Arabic word "sakr" meaning "falcon".
Swedishskaka
The verb 'skaka' is cognate with the German 'schacken' and originated in Medieval Low German.
Welshysgwyd
In certain parts of southern Wales, "ysgwyd" also means "to rain very heavily (of rain)."

Shake in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianстрасянуць
The Belarusian word "страсянуць" is cognate with the Ukrainian word "трясти" and the Russian word "трясти", all meaning "shake".
Bosnianpromućkati
Promućkati comes from the root word 'mucati', meaning to shake or stir.
Bulgarianклатя
The initial meaning of "клатя" was to swing, oscillate, like a pendulum.
Czechotřást
"Otřást" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*treti", meaning "to strike or rub".
Estonianraputama
Raputama, besides "shake", can also mean "to flutter" or "to shiver" in Estonian.
Finnishravista
"Ravista" originates from the Swedish word "röra", meaning to stir or mix.
Hungarianráz
The word "ráz" can also mean "time" or "occasion".
Latviankrata
The word "krata" can also refer to a type of fish drying rack in Latvian.
Lithuanianpapurtyti
The word "papurtyti" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *purt- meaning "to shake" and is related to the Latin word "perturbare" and the English word "perturb".
Macedonianсе тресат
The word "се тресат" can also mean "to be very upset" or "to be terrified".
Polishpotrząsnąć
The Polish word "potrząsnąć" also has the alternate meanings of "to shake one's head", "to stir up", and "to provoke or shock".
Romanianscutura
The word's etymology is not certain, and is sometimes associated with scutura from Latin, meaning «to move violently».
Russianвстряхнуть
"Встряхнуть" originated from "стрясти" meaning "to shake (down) or cause to fall down" and "в" (a prefix meaning "in")
Serbianмућкати
The Serbian word "мућкати" can also mean "to move in a swaying manner" or "to make a swishing sound."
Slovaktriasť
"Triasť" in Slovak also means "to tremble" and is related to the word "strach" (fear).
Slovenianpretresemo
Pretresemo is thought to come from the Slavic word *tresti/*tręsti*, which also means "to shake" and is the origin of the word "tremor" in English.
Ukrainianструсити
In Old Ukrainian, the word "струсити" could also mean "to shudder", "to tremble" or "to get goosebumps".

Shake in South Asian Languages

Bengaliঝাঁকি
The word "ঝাঁকি" can also mean a glimpse or a short glance in Bengali.
Gujaratiશેક
The Gujarati word "શેક" ("shake") can also refer to the dish known as "pan cake" in English.
Hindiशेक
"शेक" (shake) can also refer to a kind of dessert drink or, historically, a theatrical dance style.
Kannadaಅಲುಗಾಡಿಸಿ
The word "ಅಲುಗಾಡಿಸಿ" can also mean "to move" or "to cause to move" in Kannada.
Malayalamകുലുക്കുക
In Malayalam, "കുലുക്കുക" can also refer to shaking or swaying a tree to collect fruits.
Marathiशेक
The Marathi word "शेक" has a second meaning, that of "a branch of a tree"
Nepaliहल्लाउनु
The word 'हल्लाउनु' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'हल्,' which means 'to move' or 'to stir'
Punjabiਹਿਲਾ
'Hilā' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'calati', meaning 'to move' or 'to stir'.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)සොලවන්න
The Sinhala word "සොලවන්න" can also mean "to excite" or "to agitate" and has its origins in the Sanskrit word "śal" meaning "to loosen".
Tamilகுலுக்கல்
The term 'குலுக்கல்' (shake) is also used in Tamil to refer to a lottery or gamble, where lots are shaken to determine the winner.
Teluguషేక్
In Persian, 'షేక్' ('shake') also refers to a ruler or chief.
Urduہلا
Etymology: From Persian 'halidn' (to move).

Shake in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
"揺" also signifies trembling and waving in Chinese culture.
Chinese (Traditional)
搖 can also mean 'to sway' or 'to swing'.
Japaneseシェイク
シェイク can also mean a milk-based beverage similar to a milkshake.
Korean떨림
"떨림" can also refer to an anxious or uncomfortable feeling similar to the physical sensation of trembling.
Mongolianсэгсрэх
"Сэгсрэх" also means to "be startled" in Mongolian
Myanmar (Burmese)လှုပ်
The word “လှုပ်” comes from the Mon language and also means “to move”.

Shake in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianmenggoyang
Menggoyang, also meaning 'to dance', derives from the Malay word 'goyang', which can mean either 'shake' or 'dance'.
Javanesegoyangake
The word 'goyangake' is also used as a term of endearment for close friends, signifying comfort and familiarity.
Khmerអ្រងួន
Laoສັ້ນ
The word ສັ້ນ comes from the Proto-Tai-Kadai root *saŋ, meaning "to tremble, shake".
Malaygoncang
The Malay word "goncang" also means to adulterate, to falsify, to cheat, or to swindle.
Thaiเขย่า
The word "เขย่า" can also mean "to stir" or "to agitate".
Vietnameserung chuyển
The word "rung chuyển" can also mean "upheaval" or "turmoil".
Filipino (Tagalog)iling

Shake in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanisilkələmək
The word
Kazakhшайқау
The word "шайқау" in Kazakh can also mean "to shake hands" or "to shuffle cards."
Kyrgyzсилкинүү
The word "силкинүү" comes from the root "силки" and means "to move something back and forth". It is cognate with the Turkish word "sallamak" and the Russian word "трясти".
Tajikларзидан
The word "ларзидан" can also mean "to tremble" or "to quiver".
Turkmensilkmek
Uzbeksilkit
The word "silkit" in Uzbek also means "to move quickly from side to side" and is derived from the Persian word "silkanidan".
Uyghurسىلكىش

Shake in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianluliluli
"Luliluli" also means "to sway" in Hawaiian.
Maoriruru
The word "ruru" in Maori also means "owl", which is believed to be named after the sound it makes.
Samoanlulu
Lulu' can also refer to a 'tremor' or ‘earthquake’ in Samoan.
Tagalog (Filipino)iling
The word "iling" in Tagalog also refers to the motion of swaying or trembling.

Shake in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarathalsuña
Guaranijetyvyro

Shake in International Languages

Esperantoskui
"Skui" has several different meanings and etymologies depending on the language it's being used in.
Latinexcutite
In classical Latin, "excutio" has an additional sense meaning "to pay, fulfill (an obligation)". This is thought to derive from an archaic legal concept relating to the transfer of property by physical movement of the object from one person to another.

Shake in Others Languages

Greekσέικ
The word "σέικ" can also refer to a type of cocktail, with origins in the early 20th century
Hmongco
In Hmong, the word "co" can also mean to oscillate or move back and forth.
Kurdishrijandin
The Kurdish word "rijandin" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *reg-, meaning "to move or shake."
Turkishsallamak
The Turkish word "sallamak" may be of Arabic origin and has alternate meanings such as "to swing", "to oscillate", or "to move rhythmically."
Xhosavuthulula
The word "vuthulula" (shake) also means "to excite" in Xhosa.
Yiddishשאָקלען
The Yiddish word "שאָקלען" can also refer to a back-and-forth motion, similar to rocking or swaying.
Zuluqhaqhazela
The word 'qhaqhazela' can also mean 'to shudder' or 'to tremble', originating from the onomatopoeic 'qhaqa' representing the sound of shaking.
Assameseকঁপা
Aymarathalsuña
Bhojpuriहिलल-डुलल
Dhivehiތަޅުވާލުން
Dogriझटका
Filipino (Tagalog)iling
Guaranijetyvyro
Ilocanoiwagwag
Krioshek
Kurdish (Sorani)شەقاندن
Maithiliहिलनाइ
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯅꯤꯛꯄ
Mizothing
Oromourgufuu
Odia (Oriya)ହଲେଇବା
Quechuaaytiy
Sanskritघट्ट्
Tatarселкетү
Tigrinyaምጭባጥ
Tsongadzinginisa

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