Steal in Different Languages
Discover 'Steal' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Stealing is a concept that has been around since the dawn of humanity. It signifies the act of taking something that doesn't belong to us, often without the owner's knowledge or consent. This action has been depicted in various cultural narratives, from ancient mythology to modern literature and film. The significance of 'steal' extends beyond material possessions, as it can also refer to intangible things like ideas, time, and attention.
Understanding the translation of 'steal' in different languages can provide valuable cultural insights. For instance, in Spanish, 'steal' is 'robar', while in French, it's 'voler'. In German, it's 'stehlen', and in Japanese, it's '盗む (nusumu)'. These translations not only help us communicate in various languages but also offer a glimpse into how different cultures view and handle the concept of stealing.
So, whether you're a globetrotter, a language learner, or a cultural enthusiast, knowing the translation of 'steal' in different languages can be a fascinating journey. Continue reading to discover more about this common yet complex term in various languages and cultures.
Steal
Steal in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | steel | ||
| The Afrikaans word "steel" is derived from the Dutch word "steel" meaning "to steal". | |||
| Amharic | መስረቅ | ||
| 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. | |||
| Hausa | sata | ||
| The word "sata" can also mean "snatch" or "rob". | |||
| Igbo | izu ohi | ||
| The Igbo word "izu ohi" can also refer to "snatching" or "robbing". | |||
| Malagasy | hangalatra | ||
| "Hangalatra" is also the name given to a type of Malagasy trap designed to catch small game. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuba | ||
| 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." | |||
| Shona | kuba | ||
| 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'. | |||
| Somali | xado | ||
| The word "xado" also has the alternate meaning "grab". | |||
| Sesotho | utsoa | ||
| The word "utsoa" in Sesotho has its origins in the Proto-Bantu word "-cwa," meaning "to take without permission." | |||
| Swahili | kuiba | ||
| The Swahili word "kuiba" also means "to borrow" or "to take without permission". | |||
| Xhosa | ukuba | ||
| The word "ukuba" in Xhosa can also mean "to take without permission" or "to remove something from its rightful place." | |||
| Yoruba | jale | ||
| The Yoruba word "jale" also refers to "borrowing" or "taking possession of land". | |||
| Zulu | ukweba | ||
| The word 'ukweba' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *kwéβa*, meaning 'to take something secretly or by force'. | |||
| Bambara | ka sonya | ||
| Ewe | fi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kwiba | ||
| Lingala | koyiba | ||
| Luganda | okubba | ||
| Sepedi | utswa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | dadeɛ | ||
Steal in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | سرقة | ||
| "سرقة" (steal) is also used to describe 'plagiarism' or 'fraud' | |||
| Hebrew | לִגנוֹב | ||
| The Hebrew word "לִגנוֹב" (steal) is related to the Akkadian word "nagu" which means to "steal, plunder." | |||
| Pashto | غلا کول | ||
| 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. | |||
| Arabic | سرقة | ||
| "سرقة" (steal) is also used to describe 'plagiarism' or 'fraud' | |||
Steal in Western European Languages
| Albanian | vjedhin | ||
| 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". | |||
| Basque | lapurtu | ||
| The Basque word "lapurtu" may have originated from the Proto-Basque root "-lap" meaning "to take" or "to bring". | |||
| Catalan | robar | ||
| "Robar" in Catalan can also refer to "to take away", like in "robar la vida" (take life away). | |||
| Croatian | ukrasti | ||
| The word 'ukrasti' is derived from the Indo-European root *kleu-, meaning 'to hook'. | |||
| Danish | stjæle | ||
| The Danish verb "stjæle" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic verb "*stelaną", which originally meant "to place" or "to set up". | |||
| Dutch | stelen | ||
| 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." | |||
| English | steal | ||
| The word "steal" originates from the Old English word "stelan", which means "to take without permission". | |||
| French | voler | ||
| The French word "voler" originally meant "to fly" and only later came to mean "to steal". | |||
| Frisian | stelle | ||
| In Frisian, "stelle" can also refer to a "place" or a "position". | |||
| Galician | roubar | ||
| The word "roubar" also means "to take away without giving back" in Galician. | |||
| German | stehlen | ||
| 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. | |||
| Icelandic | stela | ||
| In Icelandic, "stela" also means to "put someone in prison on remand". | |||
| Irish | ghoid | ||
| 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 | rubare | ||
| The word "rubare" in Italian is derived from the Latin word "rapere," meaning "to seize" or "to snatch." | |||
| Luxembourgish | klauen | ||
| "Klauen" also means "to give a light blow with the hand" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | jisirqu | ||
| The word "jisirqu" also means "to grab" or "to usurp" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | stjele | ||
| "Stjele" is related to "steal" or "stolen goods" through Middle Low German "stelen/stolen" as well as Middle Dutch "stelen/ghesolen." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | roubar | ||
| 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. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | goid | ||
| Scots Gaelic "goid" derives from Middle Irish "goíd" ("theft"), with a cognates in Welsh "gŵyd" ("rape, theft") and Breton "kouezh" ("loot, plunder"). | |||
| Spanish | robar | ||
| Robar, a Spanish word for 'steal', traces its roots back to the Latin word 'rapere' meaning 'to seize', 'to carry off'. | |||
| Swedish | stjäla | ||
| The word "stjäla" comes from Old Norse and is related to the English words "steal" and "sticky". | |||
| Welsh | dwyn | ||
| 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'. | |||
Steal in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | красці | ||
| The word "красці" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *korti, meaning "to cut" or "to sever." | |||
| Bosnian | ukrasti | ||
| The word "ukrasti" in Bosnian ultimately derives from the Proto-Slavic word "korti", meaning "to cut" or "to shear" | |||
| Bulgarian | крадат | ||
| The word "крадат" also means "to borrow" in Bulgarian, but with the implication that the borrowed item will not be returned. | |||
| Czech | ukrást | ||
| The word "ukrást" has Proto-Indo-European origins and is related to words meaning "to hide" or "to deceive" in other Slavic languages. | |||
| Estonian | varastada | ||
| 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 | ||
| "Varastaa" originally meant "to take" and "varasto" ("storage room" or "warehouse") is related to the verb "varata" ("to reserve" or "to keep for oneself"). | |||
| Hungarian | lop | ||
| 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 | |||
| Latvian | nozagt | ||
| The word "nozagt" also means "to filch" and "to purloin" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | vogti | ||
| The word "vogti" can have a different meaning when referring to the "vogti" system, which was a medieval administrative territorial unit in Switzerland. | |||
| Macedonian | крадат | ||
| The word "крадат" likely comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*kradti", meaning "to steal" or "to take without permission." | |||
| Polish | kraść | ||
| The Polish word "kraść" also has the archaic meaning of "hide" or "conceal". | |||
| Romanian | fura | ||
| "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 | украсть | ||
| The Russian word "украсть" originally meant "to hide or conceal" but later acquired the meaning of "to steal". | |||
| Serbian | украсти | ||
| В сербском языке слово «украсти» также имеет переносное значение — «испортить настроение» | |||
| Slovak | kradnúť | ||
| "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 | ||
| "Ukrasti" in Slovenian is also related to the phrase "ukradena duša" (stolen soul). | |||
| Ukrainian | вкрасти | ||
| The word "вкрасти" derives from the Old Slavonic word "красти", meaning "to sneak", and originally meant "to enter stealthily". | |||
Steal in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | চুরি করা | ||
| The word "চুরি করা" derives from the Sanskrit word "चौर्य" (caurya), meaning "theft". | |||
| Gujarati | ચોરી | ||
| The Gujarati word "ચોરી" not only means "steal," it also refers to an act of concealment or secrecy. | |||
| Hindi | चुराना | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "steal," the word "चुराना" can also mean "to take without permission" or "to snatch." | |||
| Kannada | ಕದಿಯಲು | ||
| "ಕದಿಯಲು" is also a colloquial term for 'to hide' in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | മോഷ്ടിക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | चोरणे | ||
| The word "चोरणे" is derived from the Sanskrit word "चुर", meaning "to steal" or "to take away without permission." | |||
| Nepali | चोरी | ||
| 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. | |||
| Punjabi | ਚੋਰੀ | ||
| The word 'chori' can also refer to a type of bread made from leftover dough in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සොරකම් කරන්න | ||
| Tamil | திருட | ||
| In Tamil, the word "திருட" can also mean to "borrow" or "beg", depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Telugu | దొంగిలించండి | ||
| Urdu | چوری | ||
| چوری is also used as a unit of measurement for the size of pearls. | |||
Steal in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 偷 | ||
| "偷" originally meant "to hide," as in hiding something from others, and gradually came to mean "to steal". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 偷 | ||
| The word '偷' can also mean 'to hide' or 'to conceal'. | |||
| Japanese | スチール | ||
| The Japanese word "スチール" (suteru) can also refer to "steel" and is derived from the English word "steel" | |||
| Korean | 훔치다 | ||
| "훔치다" is derived from "훔치기", which in turn comes from the Middle Korean word "흠치다", meaning "to hide". | |||
| Mongolian | хулгайлах | ||
| In Mongolian 'хулгайлах' may refer to stealing animals, the most valuable property of a steppe nomad. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခိုး | ||
| In its archaic usage, "ခိုး" (steal) originally meant to "take something and hide it" rather than "taking something belonging to others". | |||
Steal in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mencuri | ||
| "Mencuri" is derived from the Old Javanese word "curi" meaning "to snatch" or "to take away". | |||
| Javanese | nyolong | ||
| In Javanese, the word "nyolong" can also mean "to copy" or "to imitate".} | |||
| Khmer | លួច | ||
| លួច can also mean 'to catch or trap,' especially birds or fish. | |||
| Lao | ລັກ | ||
| The word "ລັກ" can also mean "to hide" or "to conceal" in Lao. | |||
| Malay | mencuri | ||
| 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. | |||
| Thai | ขโมย | ||
| The word "ขโมย" is derived from the Sanskrit word "chōra," which means "thief" or "bandit." | |||
| Vietnamese | lấy trộm | ||
| The word "lấy trộm" literally means "to take secretly" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magnakaw | ||
Steal in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | oğurlamaq | ||
| The word "oğurlamaq" is derived from the Turkish word "oğur" which means "thief". | |||
| Kazakh | ұрлау | ||
| 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”. | |||
| Kyrgyz | уурдоо | ||
| The word "уурдоо" can also refer to the act of smuggling or unauthorized movement of goods across borders. | |||
| Tajik | дуздӣ | ||
| "Дуздӣ" is derived from the Persian word "duzd" meaning "thief" and can also refer to the act of piracy. | |||
| Turkmen | ogurlamak | ||
| Uzbek | o'g'irlash | ||
| The word "o'g'irlash" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Turkic word "oγur-", meaning "to steal". | |||
| Uyghur | ئوغرىلىق | ||
Steal in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻaihue | ||
| 'Ai' also means to 'gather food' or 'eat', so 'ʻaihue' may have originally referred to someone who gathered food or ate without permission. | |||
| Maori | tahae | ||
| Tahae in Maori also means 'taking something that belongs to you that has been unjustly taken' | |||
| Samoan | gaoi | ||
| The verb 'gaoi' can also be used figuratively, especially in the context of a relationship, to mean 'to break' or 'to destroy'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | magnakaw | ||
| The word "magnakaw" in Tagalog is derived from the Malay word "mencuri", which also means "to steal". | |||
Steal in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | lunthataña | ||
| Guarani | monda | ||
Steal in International Languages
| Esperanto | ŝteli | ||
| The word "ŝteli" shares its root with "stelo" or "star" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | furantur | ||
| The word "furantur" derives from the Proto-Indo-European term "*bʰer-, *bʰor-," meaning "to cut, shear; to carry, convey, steal." | |||
Steal in Others Languages
| Greek | κλέβω | ||
| 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. | |||
| Hmong | nyiag | ||
| Hmong nyiag can also mean "to take" or "to grab" something. | |||
| Kurdish | dizîn | ||
| The word "dizîn" in Kurdish derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *deus-, meaning "to give" or "to take." | |||
| Turkish | çalmak | ||
| "Çalmak" means "steal," but it also means "to play a musical instrument." | |||
| Xhosa | ukuba | ||
| The word "ukuba" in Xhosa can also mean "to take without permission" or "to remove something from its rightful place." | |||
| Yiddish | גנבענען | ||
| The word "גנבענען" can also mean "to borrow something without the intention of returning it." | |||
| Zulu | ukweba | ||
| The word 'ukweba' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *kwéβa*, meaning 'to take something secretly or by force'. | |||
| Assamese | চুৰি | ||
| Aymara | lunthataña | ||
| Bhojpuri | चुरावल | ||
| Dhivehi | ވަގަށްނެގުން | ||
| Dogri | चोरी करना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magnakaw | ||
| Guarani | monda | ||
| Ilocano | takawen | ||
| Krio | tif | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دزین | ||
| Maithili | चोरी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯨꯔꯥꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | ru | ||
| Oromo | hatuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଚୋରି | ||
| Quechua | suway | ||
| Sanskrit | चोरयति | ||
| Tatar | урлау | ||
| Tigrinya | ስርቂ | ||
| Tsonga | yiva | ||