Steal in Different Languages
Discover 'Steal' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Steal
Afrikaans steel | ||
Albanian vjedhin | ||
Amharic መስረቅ | ||
Arabic سرقة | ||
Armenian գողանալ | ||
Assamese চুৰি | ||
Aymara lunthataña | ||
Azerbaijani oğurlamaq | ||
Bambara ka sonya | ||
Basque lapurtu | ||
Belarusian красці | ||
Bengali চুরি করা | ||
Bhojpuri चुरावल | ||
Bosnian ukrasti | ||
Bulgarian крадат | ||
Catalan robar | ||
Cebuano mangawat | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 偷 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 偷 | ||
Corsican arrubà | ||
Croatian ukrasti | ||
Czech ukrást | ||
Danish stjæle | ||
Dhivehi ވަގަށްނެގުން | ||
Dogri चोरी करना | ||
Dutch stelen | ||
English steal | ||
Esperanto ŝteli | ||
Estonian varastada | ||
Ewe fi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) magnakaw | ||
Finnish varastaa | ||
French voler | ||
Frisian stelle | ||
Galician roubar | ||
Georgian მოპარვა | ||
German stehlen | ||
Greek κλέβω | ||
Guarani monda | ||
Gujarati ચોરી | ||
Haitian Creole vòlè | ||
Hausa sata | ||
Hawaiian ʻaihue | ||
Hebrew לִגנוֹב | ||
Hindi चुराना | ||
Hmong nyiag | ||
Hungarian lop | ||
Icelandic stela | ||
Igbo izu ohi | ||
Ilocano takawen | ||
Indonesian mencuri | ||
Irish ghoid | ||
Italian rubare | ||
Japanese スチール | ||
Javanese nyolong | ||
Kannada ಕದಿಯಲು | ||
Kazakh ұрлау | ||
Khmer លួច | ||
Kinyarwanda kwiba | ||
Konkani चोरप | ||
Korean 훔치다 | ||
Krio tif | ||
Kurdish dizîn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) دزین | ||
Kyrgyz уурдоо | ||
Lao ລັກ | ||
Latin furantur | ||
Latvian nozagt | ||
Lingala koyiba | ||
Lithuanian vogti | ||
Luganda okubba | ||
Luxembourgish klauen | ||
Macedonian крадат | ||
Maithili चोरी | ||
Malagasy hangalatra | ||
Malay mencuri | ||
Malayalam മോഷ്ടിക്കുക | ||
Maltese jisirqu | ||
Maori tahae | ||
Marathi चोरणे | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯍꯨꯔꯥꯟꯕ | ||
Mizo ru | ||
Mongolian хулгайлах | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ခိုး | ||
Nepali चोरी | ||
Norwegian stjele | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kuba | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଚୋରି | ||
Oromo hatuu | ||
Pashto غلا کول | ||
Persian کش رفتن | ||
Polish kraść | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) roubar | ||
Punjabi ਚੋਰੀ | ||
Quechua suway | ||
Romanian fura | ||
Russian украсть | ||
Samoan gaoi | ||
Sanskrit चोरयति | ||
Scots Gaelic goid | ||
Sepedi utswa | ||
Serbian украсти | ||
Sesotho utsoa | ||
Shona kuba | ||
Sindhi چوري ڪيو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සොරකම් කරන්න | ||
Slovak kradnúť | ||
Slovenian ukrasti | ||
Somali xado | ||
Spanish robar | ||
Sundanese maok | ||
Swahili kuiba | ||
Swedish stjäla | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) magnakaw | ||
Tajik дуздӣ | ||
Tamil திருட | ||
Tatar урлау | ||
Telugu దొంగిలించండి | ||
Thai ขโมย | ||
Tigrinya ስርቂ | ||
Tsonga yiva | ||
Turkish çalmak | ||
Turkmen ogurlamak | ||
Twi (Akan) dadeɛ | ||
Ukrainian вкрасти | ||
Urdu چوری | ||
Uyghur ئوغرىلىق | ||
Uzbek o'g'irlash | ||
Vietnamese lấy trộm | ||
Welsh dwyn | ||
Xhosa ukuba | ||
Yiddish גנבענען | ||
Yoruba jale | ||
Zulu ukweba |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "steel" is derived from the Dutch word "steel" meaning "to steal". |
| Albanian | The word "vjedhin" in Albanian is cognate with the word "vidyati" in Sanskrit, which means "to know" or "to see". This suggests that the concept of stealing may have originated from the idea of "taking what one sees". |
| Amharic | The word "መስረቅ" is often used to describe the illegal act of stealing, but it can also refer to the legal process of confiscating property from someone who owes a debt or has committed a crime. |
| Arabic | "سرقة" (steal) is also used to describe 'plagiarism' or 'fraud' |
| Azerbaijani | The word "oğurlamaq" is derived from the Turkish word "oğur" which means "thief". |
| Basque | The Basque word "lapurtu" may have originated from the Proto-Basque root "-lap" meaning "to take" or "to bring". |
| Belarusian | The word "красці" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *korti, meaning "to cut" or "to sever." |
| Bengali | The word "চুরি করা" derives from the Sanskrit word "चौर्य" (caurya), meaning "theft". |
| Bosnian | The word "ukrasti" in Bosnian ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic word "korti", meaning "to cut" or "to shear" |
| Bulgarian | The word "крадат" also means "to borrow" in Bulgarian, but with the implication that the borrowed item will not be returned. |
| Catalan | "Robar" in Catalan can also refer to "to take away", like in "robar la vida" (take life away). |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "偷" originally meant "to hide," as in hiding something from others, and gradually came to mean "to steal". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word '偷' can also mean 'to hide' or 'to conceal'. |
| Corsican | The word "arrubà" has Arabic origins, meaning "to take away". It's also used in a figurative sense to denote plagiarism or cheating. |
| Croatian | The word 'ukrasti' is derived from the Indo-European root *kleu-, meaning 'to hook'. |
| Czech | The word "ukrást" has Proto-Indo-European origins and is related to words meaning "to hide" or "to deceive" in other Slavic languages. |
| Danish | The Danish verb "stjæle" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic verb "*stelaną", which originally meant "to place" or "to set up". |
| Dutch | Although both have the same etymological root in the verb "stelen" which means "to take", the Dutch "stelen" means "to take" and the English "steal" means "to take without permission." |
| Esperanto | The word "ŝteli" shares its root with "stelo" or "star" in Esperanto. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "varastada" is often used in the context of theft but has alternate meanings in other languages, such as "to hide" in Finnish. |
| Finnish | "Varastaa" originally meant "to take" and "varasto" ("storage room" or "warehouse") is related to the verb "varata" ("to reserve" or "to keep for oneself"). |
| French | The French word "voler" originally meant "to fly" and only later came to mean "to steal". |
| Frisian | In Frisian, "stelle" can also refer to a "place" or a "position". |
| Galician | The word "roubar" also means "to take away without giving back" in Galician. |
| Georgian | The word "მოპარვა" ("steal") in Georgian is derived from the verb "პარვა" ("to take"), and can also mean "to borrow without asking" or "to take without permission". |
| German | In archaic German, "stehlen" initially referred to a change of possession without connotation of illicitness, and "diebstahl" ("theft") to the illicit removal of another's property. |
| Greek | The word "κλέβω" is also used in Greek to describe the act of taking something away from someone without their consent, even if it is not considered to be stealing. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "ચોરી" not only means "steal," it also refers to an act of concealment or secrecy. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "vòlè" in Haitian Creole can also refer to "theft" or "robbery". |
| Hausa | The word "sata" can also mean "snatch" or "rob". |
| Hawaiian | 'Ai' also means to 'gather food' or 'eat', so 'ʻaihue' may have originally referred to someone who gathered food or ate without permission. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "לִגנוֹב" (steal) is related to the Akkadian word "nagu" which means to "steal, plunder." |
| Hindi | In addition to its primary meaning of "steal," the word "चुराना" can also mean "to take without permission" or "to snatch." |
| Hmong | Hmong nyiag can also mean "to take" or "to grab" something. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "lop" evolved from the verb "lógni", which means to hang, so "lopni" originally could also mean to take something that hangs or is left unattended |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "stela" also means to "put someone in prison on remand". |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "izu ohi" can also refer to "snatching" or "robbing". |
| Indonesian | "Mencuri" is derived from the Old Javanese word "curi" meaning "to snatch" or "to take away". |
| Irish | The Irish word "ghoid" derives from the Proto-Celtic root *gwid- meaning "forest" or "wild". Thus, to "steal" was originally conceived of as "taking something from the wild". |
| Italian | The word "rubare" in Italian is derived from the Latin word "rapere," meaning "to seize" or "to snatch." |
| Japanese | The Japanese word "スチール" (suteru) can also refer to "steel" and is derived from the English word "steel" |
| Javanese | In Javanese, the word "nyolong" can also mean "to copy" or "to imitate".} |
| Kannada | "ಕದಿಯಲು" is also a colloquial term for 'to hide' in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word “ұрлау” also has the meaning “hide”. When referring to stealing it has a negative connotation of “taking something away”, and a positive connotation when used in the meaning of “hiding something away” or “keeping something safe”. |
| Khmer | លួច can also mean 'to catch or trap,' especially birds or fish. |
| Korean | "훔치다" is derived from "훔치기", which in turn comes from the Middle Korean word "흠치다", meaning "to hide". |
| Kurdish | The word "dizîn" in Kurdish derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *deus-, meaning "to give" or "to take." |
| Kyrgyz | The word "уурдоо" can also refer to the act of smuggling or unauthorized movement of goods across borders. |
| Lao | The word "ລັກ" can also mean "to hide" or "to conceal" in Lao. |
| Latin | The word "furantur" derives from the Proto-Indo-European term "*bʰer-, *bʰor-," meaning "to cut, shear; to carry, convey, steal." |
| Latvian | The word "nozagt" also means "to filch" and "to purloin" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | The word "vogti" can have a different meaning when referring to the "vogti" system, which was a medieval administrative territorial unit in Switzerland. |
| Luxembourgish | "Klauen" also means "to give a light blow with the hand" in Luxembourgish. |
| Macedonian | The word "крадат" likely comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*kradti", meaning "to steal" or "to take without permission." |
| Malagasy | "Hangalatra" is also the name given to a type of Malagasy trap designed to catch small game. |
| Malay | The word "mencuri" in Malay is derived from the Sanskrit word "cur" which means "to seize" or "to take by force". It can also refer to plagiarism or infringement of intellectual property. |
| Maltese | The word "jisirqu" also means "to grab" or "to usurp" in Maltese. |
| Maori | Tahae in Maori also means 'taking something that belongs to you that has been unjustly taken' |
| Marathi | The word "चोरणे" is derived from the Sanskrit word "चुर", meaning "to steal" or "to take away without permission." |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian 'хулгайлах' may refer to stealing animals, the most valuable property of a steppe nomad. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | In its archaic usage, "ခိုး" (steal) originally meant to "take something and hide it" rather than "taking something belonging to others". |
| Nepali | The word 'चोरी' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'चौर', which means 'thief'. It is also used as a noun to refer to the act of stealing itself. |
| Norwegian | "Stjele" is related to "steal" or "stolen goods" through Middle Low German "stelen/stolen" as well as Middle Dutch "stelen/ghesolen." |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Kuba, the Nyanja (Chichewa) word for "steal," has roots in other Bantu languages, where it carries meanings related to "taking forcibly" or acquiring something "without permission." |
| Pashto | The word "غلا کول" can also refer to a type of dance or a game played in the Pashto-speaking regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. |
| Persian | The term "کش رفتن" can also refer to the act of "dragging" or "pulling" something. |
| Polish | The Polish word "kraść" also has the archaic meaning of "hide" or "conceal". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The origin of the word "roubar" is unknown, but it may be related to the Arabic word "rub" (theft), which entered the Portuguese language through the influence of the Moors. |
| Punjabi | The word 'chori' can also refer to a type of bread made from leftover dough in Punjabi. |
| Romanian | "Fura" means "steal" in Romanian, but it also means "to run away" in Italian, "to drill" in Russian, "to blow" in German, and "to clean" in Swedish. |
| Russian | The Russian word "украсть" originally meant "to hide or conceal" but later acquired the meaning of "to steal". |
| Samoan | The verb 'gaoi' can also be used figuratively, especially in the context of a relationship, to mean 'to break' or 'to destroy'. |
| Scots Gaelic | Scots Gaelic "goid" derives from Middle Irish "goíd" ("theft"), with a cognates in Welsh "gŵyd" ("rape, theft") and Breton "kouezh" ("loot, plunder"). |
| Serbian | В сербском языке слово «украсти» также имеет переносное значение — «испортить настроение» |
| Sesotho | The word "utsoa" in Sesotho has its origins in the Proto-Bantu word "-cwa," meaning "to take without permission." |
| Shona | Kuba' is an uncommon word for 'steal' and is probably derived through dissimilation from 'sava'. In this context, 's' has become 'k' and 'v' has become 'b', as in 'svitsakatsa' for 'switswakatsa'. It is occasionally used and can be confused with 'kuba' for 'remove'. |
| Sindhi | چوري ڪيو is also used to refer to copying someone's work or ideas and presenting them as your own. |
| Slovak | "Kradnúť" in Slovak shares its root with a word meaning "to cut" or "to shear", suggesting an original sense of "to cut off" or "to take away." |
| Slovenian | "Ukrasti" in Slovenian is also related to the phrase "ukradena duša" (stolen soul). |
| Somali | The word "xado" also has the alternate meaning "grab". |
| Spanish | Robar, a Spanish word for 'steal', traces its roots back to the Latin word 'rapere' meaning 'to seize', 'to carry off'. |
| Sundanese | Maok can also mean to take possession of something without permission or to confiscate something |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "kuiba" also means "to borrow" or "to take without permission". |
| Swedish | The word "stjäla" comes from Old Norse and is related to the English words "steal" and "sticky". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "magnakaw" in Tagalog is derived from the Malay word "mencuri", which also means "to steal". |
| Tajik | "Дуздӣ" is derived from the Persian word "duzd" meaning "thief" and can also refer to the act of piracy. |
| Tamil | In Tamil, the word "திருட" can also mean to "borrow" or "beg", depending on the context in which it is used. |
| Thai | The word "ขโมย" is derived from the Sanskrit word "chōra," which means "thief" or "bandit." |
| Turkish | "Çalmak" means "steal," but it also means "to play a musical instrument." |
| Ukrainian | The word "вкрасти" derives from the Old Slavonic word "красти", meaning "to sneak", and originally meant "to enter stealthily". |
| Urdu | چوری is also used as a unit of measurement for the size of pearls. |
| Uzbek | The word "o'g'irlash" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Turkic word "oγur-", meaning "to steal". |
| Vietnamese | The word "lấy trộm" literally means "to take secretly" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | Dwyn is a mutation of 'duyn', a Welsh word meaning 'to lead' or 'to bring', and is related to the Latin 'ducere', meaning 'to lead'. |
| Xhosa | The word "ukuba" in Xhosa can also mean "to take without permission" or "to remove something from its rightful place." |
| Yiddish | The word "גנבענען" can also mean "to borrow something without the intention of returning it." |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "jale" also refers to "borrowing" or "taking possession of land". |
| Zulu | The word 'ukweba' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *kwéβa*, meaning 'to take something secretly or by force'. |
| English | The word "steal" originates from the Old English word "stelan", which means "to take without permission". |