Should in Different Languages
Discover 'Should' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'should' is a small but powerful part of the English language. It is a modal verb that expresses obligation, advice, or expectation. Its significance lies in its ability to guide our actions and decisions, making it a crucial component of communication and culture. 'Should' is used in various contexts, from giving advice to expressing social expectations.
Throughout history, 'should' has played a vital role in shaping literature, laws, and moral debates. Its cultural importance is evident in the way it is used in everyday conversations and formal settings alike. By understanding the many nuances of 'should,' we can gain valuable insights into the English-speaking world and its values.
Moreover, knowing the translation of 'should' in different languages can be beneficial for anyone looking to expand their linguistic and cultural horizons. For instance, the German translation of 'should' is 'sollte,' while the Spanish translation is 'debería.' By learning these translations, you can better communicate with people from different backgrounds and appreciate the richness of their languages and cultures.
In the following list, you will find the translations of 'should' in various languages, from French to Chinese and beyond. Each translation offers a unique perspective on this versatile word and the cultures that use it.
Should
Should in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | moet | ||
| The word "moet" in Afrikaans, meaning "should", derives from the Dutch "moet" and ultimately the Proto-Germanic word "*motaz", cognate with English "must." | |||
| Amharic | ይገባል | ||
| The word "ይገባል" (yegabal) can also mean "can" and "is possible." | |||
| Hausa | ya kamata | ||
| The word "ya kamata" in Hausa also means "it is necessary". | |||
| Igbo | kwesịrị | ||
| The word "kwesịrị" can also mean "it is necessary" or "it is appropriate." | |||
| Malagasy | tokony | ||
| The Malagasy word "tokony" originally meant "it is necessary" and is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "tuqun." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ayenera | ||
| The word "ayenera" can also mean "it is possible" or "it is necessary". | |||
| Shona | ndinofanira | ||
| Ndino refers to "be"; fanira to "appropriate," thus ndinofanira translates to "this is how it should be." | |||
| Somali | waa in | ||
| Waa in, often interpreted as the conditional "should", also carries the connotation of "it is appropriate" when referencing the weather or time. | |||
| Sesotho | lokela | ||
| Lokela is a contraction of the phrase 'ho lokela' which means 'to be fitting or appropriate'. | |||
| Swahili | inapaswa | ||
| In Swahili, "inapaswa" is a passive form of "-paswa" meaning "to be forced, obliged, or necessary". | |||
| Xhosa | kufanele | ||
| Kufanele is also used in the sense of "to be adequate or sufficient"} | |||
| Yoruba | yẹ | ||
| Yoruba yẹ derives from Èyí yẹ́ which means "this is good" or "this is what should be done" | |||
| Zulu | kufanele | ||
| Kufanele also means 'to be worthy' and 'to deserve' in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | ka kan | ||
| Ewe | ele be | ||
| Kinyarwanda | igomba | ||
| Lingala | esengeli | ||
| Luganda | -teekwa | ||
| Sepedi | swanetše | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛwɔ sɛ | ||
Should in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ينبغي | ||
| The word "ينبغي" (should) in Arabic derives from the root "ن-ب-غ" meaning "to grow" or "to be high" and carries connotations of appropriateness, necessity, and obligation. | |||
| Hebrew | צריך | ||
| The Hebrew word 'צריך' can also mean 'need' or 'be necessary', implying an element of necessity or requirement. | |||
| Pashto | باید | ||
| In Pashto, “باید” (“should”) originates from the Old Persian term “bai” meaning “duty” and is cognate to the Proto-Indo-European root “bhē-,” indicating a sense of “duty” or “necessity.” | |||
| Arabic | ينبغي | ||
| The word "ينبغي" (should) in Arabic derives from the root "ن-ب-غ" meaning "to grow" or "to be high" and carries connotations of appropriateness, necessity, and obligation. | |||
Should in Western European Languages
| Albanian | duhet të | ||
| The Albanian word "duhet të" also means "needs to" or "is supposed to". | |||
| Basque | beharko luke | ||
| The Basque word "beharko luke" literally means "it would be necessary," but it is used to express an obligation or necessity. | |||
| Catalan | hauria | ||
| The Catalan word "hauria" comes from the Latin verb "habere" (to have) and originally meant "to be fit or suitable". | |||
| Croatian | treba | ||
| The verb "treba" in Croatian can also mean "to be necessary" or "it is required". | |||
| Danish | skulle gerne | ||
| Danish "skulle gerne" originally meant "be supposed to" but in modern Danish has come to primarily mean "should". | |||
| Dutch | zou moeten | ||
| In the 19th century, "zou moeten" was also used as an alternative phrasing for "zou kunnen" ("could"). | |||
| English | should | ||
| The word "should" derives from the Old English word "sceoldan," which means "to be obliged or compelled." | |||
| French | devrait | ||
| The French word “devrait” can also refer to “being forced to” or “having the right to.” | |||
| Frisian | soene | ||
| In the Saterland dialect, "soene" means "to see" instead of "should." | |||
| Galician | debería | ||
| “Debería” se utilizaba principalmente en el pasado para la segunda persona del singular del pretérito imperfecto del modo indicativo del verbo “deber”. | |||
| German | sollte | ||
| "Sollte" can also be used to express a hypothetical situation, such as "Wenn es regnen sollte, nehmen Sie einen Regenschirm mit." | |||
| Icelandic | ætti | ||
| "Ætti" also means "grandfather" and "clan" | |||
| Irish | chóir | ||
| In Old Irish, "chóir" also referred to a bond of kinship and legal responsibility. | |||
| Italian | dovrebbero | ||
| "Dovrebbero" derives from the Latin "debere," which can also mean "to owe" or "to be obliged". | |||
| Luxembourgish | soll | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "soll" can also mean "sun" and "sole", derived from Proto-Germanic roots. | |||
| Maltese | għandu | ||
| 'Għandu' can also mean 'has to' or 'is supposed to' in some contexts. | |||
| Norwegian | bør | ||
| The word "bør" in Norwegian is also used to express obligation or necessity, and carries a stronger sense of urgency than the word "skal". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | devemos | ||
| The Portuguese word "devemos" is cognate with the Spanish word "debemos", both derived from the Latin verb "debēre". In English, the verb "owe" is cognate with the Portuguese and Spanish words. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bu chòir | ||
| Bu chòir derives from the verbs bui "to be" and cheart "to be right". | |||
| Spanish | debería | ||
| The word "debería" can also mean "to owe" or "to need to do something." | |||
| Swedish | skall | ||
| The word "skall" in Swedish is cognate with "skal" in Norwegian, Danish, and "shall" in English, ultimately derived from Proto-Germanic "skal". | |||
| Welsh | dylai | ||
| The word "dylai" in Welsh also means "ought" or "must". | |||
Should in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | павінна | ||
| The word "павінна" also means "must" or "have to" in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | treba | ||
| The word "treba" in Bosnian ultimately derives from a Proto-Slavic verb meaning "need". | |||
| Bulgarian | трябва | ||
| In addition to its meaning of "must" or "should," "трябва" can also mean "to need" or "to be necessary." | |||
| Czech | by měl | ||
| The word "by měl" ("should") comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*byti", meaning "to be". | |||
| Estonian | peaks | ||
| The word "peaks" in Estonian also means "points" or "tops". | |||
| Finnish | pitäisi | ||
| The word "pitäisi" is derived from the Proto-Uralic word *pita-, meaning "to hold" or "to keep". | |||
| Hungarian | kellene | ||
| The noun usage of "kellene" means "need" or "want" and it is a homonym of the infinitive of the verb "kell" ("have/must"). | |||
| Latvian | vajadzētu | ||
| The verb "vajadzētu" is derived from the noun "vajadzība" (need) and the reflexive particle "-ties". | |||
| Lithuanian | turėtų | ||
| "Turėtų" is also one of the two Lithuanian conditional tense auxiliaries (the other being "būtų") used to form sentences such as "Jei būčiau žinojęs, taip nebūčiau pasakęs". | |||
| Macedonian | треба | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, "треба" meant "need" and was cognate with the Russian word "надо". In Macedonian, it came to be used in a more general sense, encompassing obligation and necessity. | |||
| Polish | powinien | ||
| In older Polish, "powinien" meant "bound to" or "owing something to someone". | |||
| Romanian | ar trebui să | ||
| In Romanian, "ar trebui să" literally translates to "it ought to be that," suggesting necessity rather than obligation. | |||
| Russian | должен | ||
| The Russian term должен ("should") also shares roots with the word долг ("debt"), reflecting the sense of obligation embedded in its meaning. | |||
| Serbian | требало би | ||
| In some Serbian dialects, "требало би" can also mean "to intend to do something" or "to be necessary." | |||
| Slovak | by mal | ||
| The word "by mal" in Slovak is derived from the Old Slavic word "byti", meaning "to be". | |||
| Slovenian | bi morali | ||
| Bi morali can also mean to have to in some contexts | |||
| Ukrainian | повинен | ||
| In Ukrainian, the word "повинен" (povinen) can also refer to "being obligated or duty-bound". | |||
Should in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | উচিত | ||
| উচিত (উচ্ছিত), উচচ, উদচ্য, উদগ, উদার উদারতার বিভিন্ন রূপ। | |||
| Gujarati | જોઈએ | ||
| "જોઈએ" can also mean "be necessary" or "require". | |||
| Hindi | चाहिए | ||
| The word "chahiye" is derived from the Sanskrit word "iccha" meaning "desire" or "wish." | |||
| Kannada | ಮಾಡಬೇಕು | ||
| In the Kannada language, the word "ಮಾಡಬೇಕು" can also mean "must" or "have to". | |||
| Malayalam | ചെയ്യണം | ||
| The Malayalam word "ചെയ്യണം" has an alternative meaning of "must" or "have to." | |||
| Marathi | पाहिजे | ||
| The word "पाहिजे" also has the potential meanings of "there is a need for" or "it is necessary for" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | हुनु पर्छ | ||
| 'हुनु पर्छ' is the passive form of 'हुनुपर्छ' ('must') and is used formally to indicate obligation or necessity. | |||
| Punjabi | ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කළ යුතුයි | ||
| The word "කළ යුතුයි" can also mean "is supposed to" or "is required to" depending on the context. | |||
| Tamil | வேண்டும் | ||
| The word "வேண்டும்" (vēṇṭum) also means "to be necessary" and "to be required" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | ఉండాలి | ||
| The word "ఉండాలి" ("should") in Telugu is derived from the verb "ఉండు" ("to be"), indicating necessity or obligation. | |||
| Urdu | چاہئے | ||
| The word "چاہئے" can also mean "to want" or "to need". | |||
Should in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 应该 | ||
| 该 in 应该 can be used as an adjective meaning 'this' or 'the one', or as a pronoun meaning 'it' or 'the one' | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 應該 | ||
| The word 應該 (yīnggāi) is also used to express obligation or expectation, and can be translated as "must" or "ought to" in English. | |||
| Japanese | すべき | ||
| The word "すべき" (should) in Japanese derives from the verb "す" (to do), indicating an obligation or a task that needs to be completed. | |||
| Korean | 할까요 | ||
| In addition to its meaning of "should," "할까요" can also mean "do you want to do this with me?" or "how about doing this?" | |||
| Mongolian | ёстой | ||
| The word "ёстой" in Mongolian can alternatively mean to "fit". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သင့်တယ် | ||
Should in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sebaiknya | ||
| 'Sebaiknya' literally means 'better', but is idiomatically used as an adverb to express advice or obligation. | |||
| Javanese | kudune | ||
| The word "kudune" derives from the Sanskrit "kudhi" and can also mean "must". | |||
| Khmer | គួរ | ||
| The Khmer word គួរ "should" is also used in the sense of "deserving" or "fit". | |||
| Lao | ຄວນ | ||
| The Lao word "ຄວນ" also means "to be appropriate" or "to be necessary". | |||
| Malay | semestinya | ||
| Although the word "semestinya" directly translates to "should," it shares a root with and is often used synonymously with "mesti" (must). | |||
| Thai | ควร | ||
| "ควร" has a similar double role in Thai, where it means both "should" and "worthwhile," which is why "ควรค่า" ("khur-khăa") means "worthiness." | |||
| Vietnamese | nên | ||
| In Sino-Vietnamese, "nên" also means to dye, to paint, or to paste. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dapat | ||
Should in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | olmalıdır | ||
| In Turkish, "olmalıdır" also means "is required" or "must be done." | |||
| Kazakh | керек | ||
| The Kazakh word “керек” (“should”) originates from the word “кереу” (“be required”), which is derived from the Proto-Turkic word *ker-, meaning “need”. | |||
| Kyrgyz | керек | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "керек" can also mean "need" or "necessity". | |||
| Tajik | бояд | ||
| The word "бояд" comes from the Persian word "باید" (bāyad), which means "it is necessary" or "it is obligatory."} | |||
| Turkmen | etmeli | ||
| Uzbek | kerak | ||
| The word "kerak" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "kerek" meaning "necessary", and can also mean "need" or "requirement" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | لازىم | ||
Should in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pono | ||
| In Hawaiian, "pono" also implies righteousness, correctness, and balance. | |||
| Maori | kia | ||
| The word "kia" can also mean "in order to" or "so that" depending on the context. | |||
| Samoan | tatau | ||
| The word "tatau" also means "to be able to do something" or "to be capable of doing something" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | dapat | ||
| "Dapat" in Tagalog also means "must" or "to deserve" and comes from the Sanskrit word "yuj" meaning "to join" or "to be connected to". | |||
Should in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | lurañapa | ||
| Guarani | va'erã | ||
Should in International Languages
| Esperanto | devus | ||
| "Devo" is also the first-person singular present tense of the verb "devi" (to owe). | |||
| Latin | nequaquam ut | ||
| The term "nequaquam ut" can also mean "by no means" in Latin, denoting a strong negation. | |||
Should in Others Languages
| Greek | πρέπει | ||
| "Πρέπει" comes from the verb "πρέπειν" meaning to "be fitting" or "appropriate". The form used to express obligation in modern Greek is the ancient participle neuter plural form. | |||
| Hmong | yuav tsum | ||
| The Hmong modal verb "yuav tsum" has alternate meanings of "must" and "have to". | |||
| Kurdish | divêt | ||
| Despite its primary meaning of "should," "divêt" can also serve as a conjunction denoting "if." | |||
| Turkish | meli | ||
| The Turkish word "meli" is cognate with the Arabic word "wajib", which also means "should". | |||
| Xhosa | kufanele | ||
| Kufanele is also used in the sense of "to be adequate or sufficient"} | |||
| Yiddish | זאָל | ||
| The Yiddish word "זאָל" ("zol") derives from the Middle High German word "sol" and cognate to the English word "shall". | |||
| Zulu | kufanele | ||
| Kufanele also means 'to be worthy' and 'to deserve' in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | should | ||
| Aymara | lurañapa | ||
| Bhojpuri | चाहीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ޖެހޭނީ | ||
| Dogri | चाहिदा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dapat | ||
| Guarani | va'erã | ||
| Ilocano | kasapulan | ||
| Krio | fɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پێویستە | ||
| Maithili | चाहिए | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯧꯒꯗꯕꯅꯤ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | tur | ||
| Oromo | ta'uu qaba | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କରିବା ଉଚିତ | ||
| Quechua | kanan tiyan | ||
| Sanskrit | स्यात् | ||
| Tatar | тиеш | ||
| Tigrinya | ይሓይሽ | ||
| Tsonga | fanele | ||