Stuff in Different Languages
Discover 'Stuff' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Stuff
Afrikaans dinge | ||
Albanian gjëra | ||
Amharic ነገሮች | ||
Arabic أمور | ||
Armenian իրեր | ||
Assamese বস্তু | ||
Aymara yä | ||
Azerbaijani şeylər | ||
Bambara fɛn | ||
Basque gauzak | ||
Belarusian рэчы | ||
Bengali জিনিসপত্র | ||
Bhojpuri सामान | ||
Bosnian stvari | ||
Bulgarian неща | ||
Catalan coses | ||
Cebuano mga butang | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 东西 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 東西 | ||
Corsican roba | ||
Croatian stvari | ||
Czech věci | ||
Danish ting og sager | ||
Dhivehi ތަކެތި | ||
Dogri समग्गरी | ||
Dutch spullen | ||
English stuff | ||
Esperanto aĵoj | ||
Estonian värk | ||
Ewe nuwo | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) bagay | ||
Finnish tavaraa | ||
French des trucs | ||
Frisian guod | ||
Galician cousas | ||
Georgian პერსონალი | ||
German zeug | ||
Greek υλικό | ||
Guarani mba'e | ||
Gujarati સામગ્રી | ||
Haitian Creole bagay | ||
Hausa kaya | ||
Hawaiian mea | ||
Hebrew דברים | ||
Hindi सामग्री | ||
Hmong os | ||
Hungarian dolog | ||
Icelandic dót | ||
Igbo ngwongwo | ||
Ilocano ipempen | ||
Indonesian barang | ||
Irish rudaí | ||
Italian cose | ||
Japanese もの | ||
Javanese barang | ||
Kannada ವಿಷಯ | ||
Kazakh заттар | ||
Khmer វត្ថុ | ||
Kinyarwanda ibintu | ||
Konkani सामायन | ||
Korean 물건 | ||
Krio tin | ||
Kurdish caw | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) شت | ||
Kyrgyz нерселер | ||
Lao ສິ່ງຂອງ | ||
Latin supellectilem | ||
Latvian sīkumi | ||
Lingala makanisi | ||
Lithuanian daiktai | ||
Luganda ebintu | ||
Luxembourgish saachen | ||
Macedonian ствари | ||
Maithili भरनाइ | ||
Malagasy zavatra | ||
Malay barang | ||
Malayalam സ്റ്റഫ് | ||
Maltese affarijiet | ||
Maori mea | ||
Marathi सामग्री | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯄꯣꯠꯂꯝ | ||
Mizo hnawh | ||
Mongolian эд зүйлс | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ပစ္စည်းပစ္စယ | ||
Nepali सामान | ||
Norwegian ting | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) zinthu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଷ୍ଟଫ୍ | ||
Oromo wanta | ||
Pashto توکی | ||
Persian چیز | ||
Polish rzeczy | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) coisa | ||
Punjabi ਸਮਾਨ | ||
Quechua imakuna | ||
Romanian chestie | ||
Russian вещи | ||
Samoan mea | ||
Sanskrit द्रव्यम् | ||
Scots Gaelic stuth | ||
Sepedi kitela | ||
Serbian ствари | ||
Sesotho sepakbola | ||
Shona zvinhu | ||
Sindhi سامان | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දේවල් | ||
Slovak veci | ||
Slovenian stvari | ||
Somali walax | ||
Spanish cosas | ||
Sundanese barang | ||
Swahili vitu | ||
Swedish grejer | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) bagay-bagay | ||
Tajik ашё | ||
Tamil பொருள் | ||
Tatar әйберләр | ||
Telugu విషయం | ||
Thai สิ่งของ | ||
Tigrinya እኩብ | ||
Tsonga xilo | ||
Turkish şey | ||
Turkmen zatlar | ||
Twi (Akan) adeɛ | ||
Ukrainian речі | ||
Urdu چیزیں | ||
Uyghur نەرسە | ||
Uzbek narsalar | ||
Vietnamese đồ đạc | ||
Welsh stwff | ||
Xhosa izinto | ||
Yiddish שטאָפּן | ||
Yoruba nkan na | ||
Zulu izinto |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Dinge" in Afrikaans is derived from the Dutch word "dingen," which also means "things" or "items," but can also refer to a legal summons or an agreement. |
| Albanian | "Gjëra" in Albanian is derived from Slavic "gjë", a generic loan from Proto-Indo-European, meaning "living being", "creature", and is cognate to English "deer", "dear" (adj.), "beast", "bear" (animal). |
| Amharic | The word "ነገሮች" can also refer to "things" or "matters" in Amharic. |
| Arabic | Etymology of the Arabic word "أمور" is from the root "أ م ر" meaning "to command, or order", suggesting "stuff" is whatever is "commanded" or "ordered". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "իրեր" can also mean "things, articles, belongings". |
| Azerbaijani | "Şeylər" is also used to refer to "things" or "matters" |
| Basque | The Basque word "gauzak" has two possible etymologies: “gau” meaning "night" and “zak” meaning "bag", or “gau" meaning "thing" and “zak” meaning "heap". |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word “рэчы” has additional meanings, such as “property” or “suitcase”, stemming from the Old Church Slavonic word “рьчь” meaning "speech, talking". |
| Bengali | The word "জিনিসপত্র" is derived from the Sanskrit word "द्रव्य" (dravya), meaning "substance" or "material." |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian word "stvari" derives from the Slavic word "stvоr", meaning "creature" or "being" |
| Bulgarian | The word "неща" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "вещь" meaning "thing" or "object". |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "coses" derives from the Latin "causa" (cause, thing), and it can also refer to physical objects or intellectual matters. |
| Cebuano | The word "mga butang" in Cebuano is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*butaŋ", which means "thing, possession". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 东西, in its original usage, was also a philosophical term that signified matter or material existence |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Chinese tradition, 東西 can also refer to the cardinal directions east and west, respectively. |
| Corsican | "Roba" is a Corsican word that can also mean "clothes" or "things" |
| Croatian | The Croatian word “stvari” (plural) can also mean "things," and even “matters” when used with a plural ending like in “u stvarima" (as in matters). |
| Czech | The Czech word "věci" has Proto-Slavic roots, likely originating from the Proto-Indo-European base word *weik-, which also gave rise to the Latin "vicus" (neighborhood) and the English "wick" (village, farm). |
| Danish | The phrase "ting og sager" literally means "things and matters" in Danish and is often used to refer to a miscellaneous collection of objects or belongings. |
| Dutch | Spullen shares its etymology with the English word "spoil" and originally meant "plunder". |
| Esperanto | The word "aĵo" comes from the Old English word "ealh," and is also related to the German word for "stuff," which is also "zeug." |
| Estonian | The word "värk" can also refer to a device, tool, or mechanism in Estonian. |
| Finnish | The word "tavaraa" can also mean "goods" or "merchandise" in Finnish. |
| French | Although the French phrase "des trucs" literally means "of the things," it is commonly used to refer to unspecified or miscellaneous items. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "guod" is likely derived from Old Saxon "gôd" (good), referring to the usefulness of possessions. |
| Galician | The word "cousas" in Galician is derived from the Latin word "causa" and originally meant "thing" or "matter". |
| Georgian | The word პერსონალი is a borrowing from Latin persona and originally meant 'mask', 'character' or 'person' in Georgian too. |
| German | 'Zeug' as a loanword from Low German, originally denoting 'equipment' or 'tool,' was then applied figuratively to the totality of one's equipment and also its quality, so 'poor Zeug' was 'inferior equipment'. |
| Greek | The word "υλικό" derives from the Ancient Greek "ὕλη", meaning "matter" or "material", and can also refer to the substance or composition of something. |
| Gujarati | The word "samagri" in Gujarati has its origins in Sanskrit and can also refer to "materials", "ingredients", or "equipment". |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "bagay" originates from the French word "bagage" (luggage) and also means "thing" or "matter". |
| Hausa | In English, one of the meanings of "kaya" is "the edible pulp of a fruit". The word is also used as an exclamation to express surprise, excitement, or dismay. |
| Hawaiian | The word "mea" in Hawaiian also means "thing" or "property". |
| Hebrew | Hebrew "דברים" can also mean "words" or "things." |
| Hindi | The Hindi word सामग्री (sāmagri) is derived from Sanskrit and can also mean 'ingredients', 'materials', or 'content'. |
| Hmong | The Proto-Hmong-Mien word */ʔɔ́/ 'substance' likely originates from a verb expressing the notion of 'becoming' that also exists in other Southeast Asian languages, particularly Mon-Khmer. |
| Hungarian | The word "dolog" can also refer to "things" or "matters" in a general sense. |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word 'dót' can also refer to a small animal, particularly a rabbit or a hare. |
| Igbo | 'Ngwongwo' means 'stuff' in Igbo, but can also refer to a type of soup or a person who is always involved in other people's business. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "barang" derives from the Portuguese word "barang" meaning "trade goods" or "possessions." |
| Irish | The Irish word "rudaí" can also mean "affairs" or "matters" in the context of law or politics. |
| Italian | The Italian word "cose" derives from the Latin verb "conserere," meaning "to sow together" or "to plant," and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ser-," meaning "to join" or "to connect. |
| Japanese | The word "mono" (pronounced "moh-noh") in Japanese originally referred to "things" or "objects" but has since expanded to include more abstract concepts like "stuff" or "things that you have a lot of". |
| Javanese | The word 'barang' in Javanese also has a separate meaning, 'something that is brought', suggesting a connection to trade and exchange. |
| Kannada | The word 'ವಿಷಯ' in Kannada also means 'topic' or 'subject' and is derived from the Sanskrit word 'विषय' (vishaya), which has the same meanings. |
| Kazakh | The word 'заттар' can also mean 'matter' or 'substance' in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | The term "វត្ថុ" (vatthu) in Khmer is derived from Sanskrit, meaning "substance, material, or thing". |
| Korean | The word "물건" can also refer to an object or thing in general, or to an item or article, especially one that is owned or used. |
| Kurdish | "Caw" in Kurdish also means "what" or "what thing." |
| Kyrgyz | The word "нерселер" also means "things" or "objects" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | The Latin word "supellectilem" not only means "stuff," but also refers specifically to "household furniture." |
| Latvian | In Latvian, the word "sīkumi" can also refer to small details, trifles, or minutiae. |
| Lithuanian | The word "daiktai" in Lithuanian is derived from the Slavic word "daikati", meaning "to bestow" or "to give", and originally referred to the act of giving a gift. |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, 'Saachen' originally meant 'things' but is now commonly used for 'stuff'. |
| Macedonian | "Ставари" might be derived from the Slavic verb "stavariti" ("to put"), which originally meant "things put together, baggage," as can be inferred from the usage of "stavariti" in other Slavic languages. |
| Malagasy | "Zavatra" comes from the root "-vatra", which means "inside" or "substance" in Proto-Malayo-Polynesian. |
| Malay | The word "barang" in Malay is derived from the Sanskrit word "vranga" meaning "crowd" or "flock", and the Portuguese word "barang" meaning "trade goods". |
| Malayalam | The word "സ്റ്റഫ്" in Malayalam can also refer to "people" or "persons" in addition to its primary meaning of "stuff" or "material" |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "affarijiet" is derived from the Italian word "affari" (meaning "business") and originally referred to one's material possessions. |
| Maori | The word "mea" can also refer to "property", "possession", "belongings", "value" and "matter." |
| Marathi | "सामग्री" can also mean "material", "content" and "ingredients". |
| Mongolian | The word "stuff" is also used as a mass noun referring to the contents of a container or place, such as the stuff in a bag or the stuff in a room. |
| Nepali | The word 'सामान', or 'samaan', in Nepali originally meant 'things brought from a distant land', but now generally refers to any type of goods or belongings. |
| Norwegian | The word "ting" can also refer to a legislative assembly or an assembly of gods in Norse mythology. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "zinthu" can also refer to "things" or "possessions" in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word توکی ultimately derives from the Sanskrit root *tukk-, meaning "to pierce, to strike". |
| Persian | "چیز" (stuff) comes from the word "چیستن" (to pick), and also means "something" or "anything". |
| Polish | The Polish word "rzeczy" is cognate with the English word "real" and the Russian word "veshch" |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Brazil, 'coisa' can also mean 'thing' or 'matter', while in Portugal it can additionally mean 'object', 'item', or 'affair'. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਸਮਾਨ" can also mean "equipment" or "materials" in Punjabi. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "chestie" is derived from the Hungarian word "csövest" and originally referred to a type of drinking vessel or tool. |
| Russian | The word "вещи" also refers to things that belong to somebody, such as personal belongings or property. |
| Samoan | Mea is also used to refer to a person's possessions, or to a general collection of things. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, "stuth" can also refer to "goods" or "property". |
| Serbian | The word "ствари" (stuff) in Serbian is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "сътворити" (to create), and can also refer to "belongings" or "property" |
| Sesotho | The word "sepakbola" has a different meaning and etymology in the Sesotho language compared to English. |
| Shona | The word "zvinhu" can also refer to wealth or possessions. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "سامان" can also refer to "house" or "furniture" in addition to "stuff". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In Sinhala, "දේවල්" (stuff) is also used figuratively to refer to someone's personal belongings or property |
| Slovak | The word "veci" can also refer to "things", "issues", or "business" in the context of law. |
| Slovenian | "Stvari" is a homograph, meaning both "stuff," and "things" in the sense of phenomena or creations |
| Somali | The word "walax" can also mean "thing" or "object". |
| Spanish | "Cosas" in Spanish is derived from Latin "causa" (cause), suggesting that stuff is a collection of related things. |
| Sundanese | In Sundanese, "barang" originally meant "thing" or "object" and was used specifically for items in a household. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "vitu" has a Proto-Bantu origin from the word "*bidi," meaning "things" or "property." |
| Swedish | The word 'grejer' may have an origin in Danish dialectal usage, possibly from the Middle Low German word 'gerë' meaning 'utensil' or 'implement'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "bagay-bagay" can refer to physical objects, but also to abstract concepts like emotions or ideas. |
| Tajik | The word "ашё" in Tajik can also mean "material", "substance", or "matter". |
| Telugu | "విషయం" (viṣayam) comes from the Sanskrit word "viṣaya" meaning "subject, topic, matter, substance". |
| Thai | The Thai word "สิ่งของ" can also mean "thing","object", or "belongings". |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "şey" can also mean "thing" or "object," and is related to the Arabic word "shay'" meaning "something." |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word «речі» is cognate with the Czech «řeč» and Polish «rzecz», all of which derive ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European word for «speech». |
| Urdu | The Urdu word چیزیں is derived from the Persian word "čīz" and ultimately from Old Turkic "šīš" , meaning "thing" or "object. |
| Uzbek | The word "narsalar" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "nar" meaning "thing" and the plural suffix "-lar". |
| Vietnamese | "Đồ đạc" is a Sino-Vietnamese compound word derived from the Chinese "家什", meaning furniture, or "家當", meaning household effects. |
| Welsh | The word "stwff" in Welsh is etymologically related to the English word "stuff" which means 'material' |
| Xhosa | The word "izinto" in Xhosa can also mean "things" or "beings". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "שטאָפּן" can also mean "to fill up" or "to clog up". |
| Yoruba | The word "nkan na" can also mean "thing" or "item" in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, 'izinto' can refer to objects, abstract concepts, or even personal attributes. |
| English | The English noun 'stuff' can also refer to a substance such as fabric or a drug and can also mean the personal baggage of a traveller. |