Shape in different languages

Shape in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

Shape is a powerful word that carries significant meaning across cultures and languages. It refers to the form or configuration of an object, whether natural or man-made. From ancient civilizations to modern art, shape has played a crucial role in shaping our understanding of the world around us.

Throughout history, shape has been used as a tool for communication and self-expression. For instance, in ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs were used to depict various shapes, each with its unique meaning. Similarly, in Chinese culture, the concept of shape is deeply embedded in philosophy and art, where it is believed to represent the balance and harmony of the universe.

Understanding the translation of shape in different languages can open up a world of cultural insights and nuances. For example, the word for shape in Spanish is 'forma', in French 'forme', in German 'Form', in Russian 'форма' (forma), and in Japanese '形状' (keijou).

Exploring the translations of shape in various languages is not just a linguistic exercise, but also a journey through the rich tapestry of human history, culture, and creativity.

Shape


Shape in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansvorm
The word "vorm" in Afrikaans can also mean "mold" or "pattern", and is cognate with the English word "form".
Amharicቅርፅ
The noun ቅርፅ can also mean 'form', 'figure', 'format', 'type', or 'class'.
Hausasiffar
The word "siffar" in Hausa has its root in the Arabic word "zifera", meaning "nought", and can also be translated as "number" or "quantity".
Igboudi
In an alternate usage, the Igbo word
Malagasyendrika
"Endrika" can refer to a form, style, appearance, or outline in Malagasy.
Nyanja (Chichewa)mawonekedwe
The Nyanja word "mawonekedwe" originally meant "the act of seeing or imagining something," while its current meaning of "shape" is a derived sense.
Shonachimiro
The word "chimiro" can mean "form" or "pattern" and is derived from the Proto Bantu word "*cima" meaning "to make, form, shape".
Somaliqaab
The word "qaab" can also refer to a person's appearance or physical form.
Sesothosebopeho
The term
Swahilisura
The Swahili word "sura" can also mean "face" or "appearance".
Xhosaimilo
The Xhosa term "imilo" has additional connotations of "form" and "image".
Yorubaapẹrẹ
The word "apẹrẹ" also means "form" or "pattern" in Yoruba.
Zuluisimo
"Isi" is a prefix used to denote language and "mo" is a prefix used to denote abstract nouns, so "isimo" is used for abstract shapes.
Bambaraka labɛn
Ewedzedzeme
Kinyarwandaimiterere
Lingalaforme
Lugandaenkula
Sepedisebopego
Twi (Akan)bɔbea

Shape in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicشكل
The word "شكل" can also mean "form", "image", or "figure", and originates from the root "ش ك ل" meaning "to give form to".
Hebrewצוּרָה
The Hebrew word "צוּרָה" (tzurah) holds several additional meanings apart from "shape," including "form," "pattern," or "image."
Pashtoب .ه
The Pashto word "ب .ه" can also mean "appearance" or "condition" in certain contexts.
Arabicشكل
The word "شكل" can also mean "form", "image", or "figure", and originates from the root "ش ك ل" meaning "to give form to".

Shape in Western European Languages

Albanianformë
The word "formë" is also used to refer to the appearance of an object or person.
Basqueforma
"Forma" in Basque can also mean "appearance", "way" or "manner".
Catalanforma
The word "forma" in Catalan can also refer to the size of paper used in bookmaking or other printed works.
Croatianoblik
The word "oblik" in Croatian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "oblьkъ", which could also mean "image" or "face."
Danishform
The Danish word "form" can also refer to a school class or grade level.
Dutchvorm
The Dutch "vorm" is thought to derive from the Indo-European root "wer-", meaning "to turn, bend", or "to cover, envelop."
Englishshape
The word "shape" comes from the Old English word "sceape", meaning "form" or "figure", and is related to the German word "Schaffen", meaning "to create".
Frenchforme
The Old French word "forme" has also given the words "form" (n.) and "form" (v.) in English.
Frisianfoarm
Frisian word 'foarm' is derived from Proto-Germanic *formanaz, meaning "shape, outward appearance".
Galicianforma
The Galician word "forma" can also mean "manner", "way", or "style".
Germangestalten
The word "gestalten" can also mean "to create" or "to form" in German, reflecting its original meaning of "to give shape to something."
Icelandiclögun
The word "lögun" in Icelandic can also refer to specific geometric shapes such as a hexagon or octagon.
Irishcruth
The Irish word "cruth" can also refer to a physical form, outline, or appearance.
Italianforma
The Italian word "forma" (shape) derives from the Latin verb "formare" (to form, to shape) and shares a root with "formula," "formation," "iform," and "formal."
Luxembourgishform
Luxembourgish "Form" comes from the German "Form" or Latin "Forma" and also means "formality" or "document".
Malteseforma
Maltese “forma” derives from Latin and originally denoted the “figure” (or contour, aspect, nature, etc.) of something.
Norwegianform
The Norwegian word "form" can also refer to a tray or dish.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)forma
In Portuguese, "forma" derives from Latin "forma" ("appearance, shape, form") and can refer to any external or internal mold, or the manner of something's existence.
Scots Gaeliccumadh
The Proto-Celtic root meaning "to make" underlies the word "cumadh" (shape).
Spanishforma
"Forma" derives from the Latin word "forma" meaning "shape, appearance, model", which itself comes from the Greek word "μορφή" (morphē) meaning "form, shape, appearance."
Swedishform
The Swedish word "form" comes from the Old Norse word "formr", meaning "appearance", "form", or "shape".
Welshsiâp
The word "siâp" has been suggested to be an early 19th-century loanword from Northern England dialect "shap" (meaning "shape"), but this remains inconclusive.

Shape in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianформа
Belarusian форма can also refer to the military uniform of officers and soldiers
Bosnianoblik
The word "oblik" can also mean "form", "figure", or "contour".
Bulgarianформа
"Форма" (shape) originated from the Old Bulgarian word "формъ", which had a broader meaning, encompassing form, image, appearance, and even "law" or "statute".
Czechtvar
The word "tvar" in Czech also means "creature" and is closely related to the Russian word "tvar'" meaning "face."
Estoniankuju
"Kuju" can also mean "image", "picture", or "statue" in Estonian.
Finnishmuoto
The word 'muoto' is likely derived from the Proto-Finnic word 'muotâ', meaning 'pattern' or 'mold'.
Hungarianalak
"Alak" also means "person" in the sense of "body" (e.g. "egy alak" can mean "an individual" or "a person").
Latvianforma
"Forma" is also used to refer to a mold or a form for casting or shaping.
Lithuanianfigūra
The word "figūra" in Lithuanian can also refer to a person, usually in a negative or contemptuous sense.
Macedonianформа
The word "форма" in Macedonian is a cognate of the Russian word "форма" and the English word "form".
Polishkształt
The word "kształt" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*stěltъ", which also meant "to spread" or "to lay down".
Romanianformă
The word "formă" is cognate with the French, Spanish, and Portuguese word "forma" and can also refer to a mold, pattern, or matrix.
Russianформа
The Russian word "форма''" can also mean "a uniform" or "a mold to cast things in".
Serbianоблик
"Облик" is also used in the sense of "image" or "form" in the Orthodox Christian context.
Slovaktvar
The word "tvar" also means "creature" in Slovak, as in "divný tvar" (strange creature).
Slovenianobliko
The word "obliko" can also mean "form", "figure", "pattern", or "design".
Ukrainianформу
The etymology of "форму" originates from the same root as the Latin "forma", meaning "appearance" or "figure."

Shape in South Asian Languages

Bengaliআকৃতি
আকৃতি originates from Sanskrit and refers to the outline, outline, or appearance of someone or something
Gujaratiઆકાર
The word "આકાર" (shape) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आकार" (outline, dimension), which is also the root of the English word "architecture".
Hindiआकार
The word "आकार" (shape) derives from the Sanskrit word "आकृति" (appearance), and also means "size" or "form".
Kannadaಆಕಾರ
The Kannada word "ಆಕಾರ" can also refer to a form or figure in mathematics.
Malayalamആകാരം
"ആകാരം" is derived from the Sanskrit word "ākāra" meaning "form, shape, figure, manner" and is also used to refer to the "shape" of a letter in the Malayalam alphabet.
Marathiआकार
The word "आकार" is also used to mean "figure", "size", "form", or "outline" in Marathi.
Nepaliआकार
The word "आकार" can also mean "size" or "form" in Nepali.
Punjabiਸ਼ਕਲ
The word "ਸ਼ਕਲ" (shape) in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "शक्ल" (appearance or form).
Sinhala (Sinhalese)හැඩය
In Sinhala, the word "හැඩය" can also refer to the form or structure of something, or its appearance.
Tamilவடிவம்
"வடிவம்" (shape) also means "form" or "appearance" and is related to the Sanskrit word "विध" (vidh), meaning "to arrange".
Teluguఆకారం
The Telugu word "ఆకారం" also refers to the "appearance" or "form of something".
Urduشکل
"شکل" is the Urdu word for "shape", but it can also mean "figure", "image", or "form".

Shape in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)形状
形状 (xíngzhuàng) literally means 'appearance' and can also refer to 'form', 'figure', or 'condition'.
Chinese (Traditional)形狀
形狀, 狀, 狀語, 狀況, 顯著, 表現, 狀態
Japanese形状
The second character of 「形状」 refers to one's personal appearance
Korean모양
The word "모양" (shape) in Korean is related to the word "모습" (form), which itself is derived from the verb "보다" (to see). This suggests that the concept of shape in Korean is closely tied to visual perception.
Mongolianхэлбэр
"хэлбэр" is derived from the word "хэв" meaning "form" and shares the same etymology with the word "хуви" meaning "proportion".
Myanmar (Burmese)ပုံသဏ္.ာန်

Shape in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianbentuk
Bentuk also refers to the form, format, or arrangement of something, such as a document, a piece of art, or a musical composition.
Javanesewujud
The Javanese word "wujud" also means "existence" or "being".
Khmerរូបរាង
The word "រូបរាង" can also refer to the appearance or form of something.
Laoຮູບຮ່າງ
Malaybentuk
Bentuk is also used to refer to a form, a blueprint, or a model.
Thaiรูปร่าง
"รูปร่าง" comes from the verb "รูป" (to form) and the noun "ร่าง" (body), hence "shape".
Vietnamesehình dạng
The word "hình dạng" can also mean "appearance" or "form" depending on the context.
Filipino (Tagalog)hugis

Shape in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniforma
The word "forma" also means "form" or "mold" in Azerbaijani.
Kazakhпішін
The Kazakh noun "пішін" ('shape') comes from the Proto-Turkic word "biç", meaning 'figure', 'appearance', 'shape', or 'image'. It is cognate with the Turkish noun "biçim", which has the same meanings.
Kyrgyzформа
The word "форма" also means "form" or "uniform" in Russian, which is where it was borrowed from.
Tajikшакл
The word "шакл" can also mean "form, figure, appearance, or condition".
Turkmengörnüşi
Uzbekshakli
The Uzbek word "shakli" also means "similar" and is derived from the Persian word "shakl" which has the same meaning.
Uyghurشەكلى

Shape in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankinona
The word "kinona" can also refer to a mold, model, or form.
Maoriahua
"Ahua" also means "reflection" or "likeness" in Maori, conveying the idea of external form capturing an inner essence.
Samoanfoliga
The word foliga can also refer to an action, process, or event, as in "fafoliga" (the process of doing something).
Tagalog (Filipino)hugis
"Hugis" is also sometimes used to refer to the physical appearance of someone or something.

Shape in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaraukhama
Guaranimolde

Shape in International Languages

Esperantoformo
The word "formo" in Esperanto is derived from the Latin word "forma" which also means "form".
Latinfigura,
The Latin word "figura" also has the meanings of "image" or "trope."

Shape in Others Languages

Greekσχήμα
In religious contexts, "σχήμα" has referred to a monk's habit.
Hmongduab
The Hmong word "duab" can mean either "shape" or "to make".
Kurdishcins
The word "cins" (shape) in Kurdish has an alternate meaning of "species" and it is a cognate with the English word "genus".
Turkishşekil
The word "şekil" in Turkish also means "image", "form", and "manner".
Xhosaimilo
The Xhosa term "imilo" has additional connotations of "form" and "image".
Yiddishפאָרעם
The Yiddish word "פאָרעם" can also refer to a mold or form used in casting.
Zuluisimo
"Isi" is a prefix used to denote language and "mo" is a prefix used to denote abstract nouns, so "isimo" is used for abstract shapes.
Assameseআকাৰ
Aymaraukhama
Bhojpuriअकार
Dhivehiބައްޓަން
Dogriशक्ल
Filipino (Tagalog)hugis
Guaranimolde
Ilocanosukong
Krioshep
Kurdish (Sorani)شێوە
Maithiliआकार
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯑꯣꯡ ꯃꯇꯧ
Mizoriruang
Oromoboca
Odia (Oriya)ଆକୃତି |
Quechuarikchay
Sanskritआकारः
Tatarформасы
Tigrinyaቅርፂ
Tsongaxivumbeko

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