Subject in different languages

Subject in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'subject' carries significant weight in language and culture, denoting a wide range of meanings from academic disciplines to grammatical concepts. Its significance is evident in its ubiquity, as it serves as a fundamental building block in various contexts.

Historically, the term 'subject' has been used to describe a person over whom political authority is exercised, reflecting its cultural importance. In the realm of academics, a subject refers to a specific area of study or a topic being discussed. Meanwhile, in grammar, the subject is the entity that performs the action or is described by the verb.

Given its multifaceted nature, understanding the translation of 'subject' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how various cultures conceptualize and categorize knowledge. For instance, in Spanish, 'subject' translates to 'tema' or 'asunto,' while in French, it is 'sujet' or 'matière.' In Mandarin Chinese, the term '主题' (zhǔtí) is used, and in Japanese, it is '主題' (shudai).

Join us as we delve deeper into the translations of 'subject' in different languages, shedding light on the fascinating nuances that underpin our global linguistic and cultural diversity.

Subject


Subject in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansvak
In Hungarian, 'vak' means 'blind' and refers to the idea of a subject being hidden or unknown.
Amharicርዕሰ ጉዳይ
The word "ርዕሰ ጉዳይ" also means "head of the matter" in Amharic.
Hausabatun
Hausa "batun" derives from Arabic "bāb", itself from Greek "basis" meaning "foundation" or "base".
Igboisiokwu
"Isi okwu" literally means "head of matter".
Malagasy-dahatsoratra
The Malagasy word for "subject" (-DAHATSORATRA) is also used to refer to a person or thing that is being discussed.
Nyanja (Chichewa)mutu
The word "mutu" in Nyanja (Chichewa) also means "human" or "person."
Shonachidzidzo
The word "chidzidzo" in Shona can also refer to the target of an action or the object of a verb.
Somalimawduuca
The word 'mawduuca' can also refer to a matter or topic that is being discussed.
Sesothosehlooho
Swahilisomo
The word "somo" derives from the Arabic "mawdūʿ", meaning "topic" or "subject matter."
Xhosaisihloko
The Xhosa word "isihloko" has alternative meanings such as "title", "topic", or "theme".
Yorubakoko-ọrọ
Koko-ọrọ, also known as orúkọ-ìdí, is a noun in Yoruba that refers to the subject of a sentence or an object that performs an action.
Zuluisihloko
The word 'isihloko' originates from the verb 'ukuhloka' ('to cover'), hinting at the subject's role in enveloping and unifying a discourse.
Bambarawalekɛlan
Ewenyati
Kinyarwandaingingo
Lingalamoto ya likambo
Lugandaessomo
Sepedihlogotaba
Twi (Akan)adesuadeɛ

Subject in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicموضوع
The Arabic word "موضوع" can also refer to a place of discussion or debate in a scientific context.
Hebrewנושא
The Hebrew word "נושא" (subject) also means "carrier" or "burden".
Pashtoمضمون
The word "مضمون" derives from the Arabic root "ضم" meaning "to contain".
Arabicموضوع
The Arabic word "موضوع" can also refer to a place of discussion or debate in a scientific context.

Subject in Western European Languages

Albanianlëndë
"Lëndë" is a word with multiple meanings in Albanian, deriving from the Latin "materia" (substance, material).
Basquegaia
"Gaia" also means "night" or "dark" in some Basque dialects, possibly related to the Indo-European root "*ghye-" meaning "to cover".
Catalanassignatura
The Catalan word "assignatura" derives from the Latin word "assignatus", meaning "marked or apportioned", reflecting its original sense of a topic or task assigned to students.
Croatianpredmet
The word "predmet" in Croatian can also refer to an object that one studies or discusses.
Danishemne
"Emne" is a Danish word meaning "subject". It can also refer to "theme", "topic", "matter", or "substance". It is derived from the Old Norse word "emni", which means "leisure".
Dutchonderwerpen
In Dutch 'onderwerpen' means 'to subject', 'to conquer' and 'to submit', and is related to the German 'unterwerfen' and the English 'overthrow'.
Englishsubject
The word subject comes from the Latin word "subjectus" which means "thrown under" or "placed under".
Frenchmatière
The French word "matière" originally meant "wood" or "material" and only later came to mean "subject".
Frisianûnderwerp
The word "ûnderwerp" can also mean "object" or "theme".
Galicianasunto
In Galician, "asunto" also means business, affair, matter, theme or topic.
Germangegenstand
"Gegenstand" is also a homophone of "Gegensatz" which mean "opposite". The "gegen" part of the work means opposite
Icelandicviðfangsefni
Víðfangsefni literally translates to "wide-embracing matter" in Icelandic.
Irishábhar
The word "ábhar" is also sometimes used in Irish to refer to a theme or topic of discussion.
Italiansoggetto
soggetto (m.) deriva dal latino subiectus "messo sotto" come sinonimo di "oggetto", in quanto soggetto all'azione del verbo.
Luxembourgishsujet
In Luxembourgish, "Sujet" can refer to both a "subject" (school topic) or a "subject" (person).
Maltesesuġġett
, or a person or thing being considered, talked about, or dealt with.
Norwegianemne
The Norwegian word “Emne” also has the meaning of “theme” and is used in the same sense as the English “topic”, “matter”, “issue”, “point” and “argument”.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)sujeito
In Portuguese, "sujeito" has the additional archaic meaning of "lover", and is cognate with "sujet" in French and "subject" in English.
Scots Gaeliccuspair
The Scots Gaelic word 'cuspair' can also refer to an individual, a person, or an object under discussion.
Spanishtema
Tema, from Greek, also means "what is proposed" and "what is discussed".
Swedishämne
"Ämne" can also mean "substance", "theme", "topic", or "matter".
Welshpwnc
Pwnc can also mean 'theme' or 'point' in Welsh, and is related to the English word 'puncture'.

Subject in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпрадмет
"Прадмет" can also refer to the object of study in education or science.
Bosniansubjekt
The Bosnian word "subjekt" can also refer to a person's attitude or opinion towards a particular matter.
Bulgarianпредмет
"Предмет" in Bulgarian can also mean "object" or "item".
Czechpředmět
"Předmět" also means "object" in Czech.
Estonianteema
The word "teema" in Estonian originated from the Greek word "thema", which referred to a military division and became generalized to denote a subject or topic.
Finnishaihe
Aiheeton (adjective) means "groundless", "without a cause" or "baseless". The noun aiheettomuus (lack of cause or reason) has a similar meaning.
Hungariantantárgy
The Hungarian word tantárgy (subject) derives ultimately from the Greek term antikeimenon (object).
Latvianpriekšmets
Priekšmets in Latvian can also mean 'topic', 'item', or 'object.'
Lithuaniansubjektas
In Lithuanian, "subjektas" also means "an individual".
Macedonianпредмет
The word "предмет" can also mean "object" or "item".
Polishprzedmiot
"Przedmiot" in Polish also means "object" or "thing"
Romaniansubiect
In Romanian, "subiect" can also mean "citizen" or "topic of a conversation".
Russianпредмет
The Russian word "предмет", besides its primary meaning of "subject" in the sense of a school discipline, also means "object" in the sense of a material thing.
Serbianпредмет
In Ukrainian and Belarusian this word means more specifically “article”, while in Bosnian “item”.
Slovakpredmet
"Predmet" also means "object" in Slovak.
Slovenianpredmet
"Predmet" in Slovenian also means "object".
Ukrainianпредмет
The word предмет (subject) is also used in Ukrainian to refer to an object or thing, similar to the English "item".

Subject in South Asian Languages

Bengaliবিষয়
বিষ, যা জ্ঞানের একটি শাখাকে বোঝায়, তা থেকেই 'বিষয়' শব্দের উৎপত্তি।
Gujaratiવિષય
In Gujarati, "વિષય" can also refer to a topic, theme, or matter being discussed.
Hindiविषय
The word विषय can also mean 'topic', 'object', or 'matter' in Hindi depending on the context.
Kannadaವಿಷಯ
The Kannada word "ವಿಷಯ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "विषय", which means "object". It also means "topic", "matter", or "substance".
Malayalamവിഷയം
"വിഷയം" can also mean "topic" or "content" in Malayalam, derived from the Sanskrit word "viṣaya" meaning "object" or "matter."
Marathiविषय
"विषय" also denotes an object of attention, a topic discussed, an issue under consideration
Nepaliविषय
The word 'विषय' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'विषय', which means 'object' or 'topic' and can also refer to the 'realm of experience' or 'sphere of consciousness'.
Punjabiਵਿਸ਼ਾ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)විෂය
The word "විෂය" ("subject") in Sinhala can also mean "topic", "matter", or "content".
Tamilபொருள்
The word 'பொருள்' has roots in the concept of 'matter' or 'essence', and can also refer to 'wealth' or 'property'.
Teluguవిషయం
"విషయం" is derived from the Sanskrit word "विषय" (vishaya), which literally means "that which is known". Originally, it referred to the object of perception, experience, or knowledge, as well as the topic or matter under discussion.
Urduمضمون
The word "مضمون" comes from the Arabic word "ضَمَنَ", meaning "to contain" or "to include".

Subject in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)学科
学科 (xué kē) can also refer to a field of study or a branch of knowledge.
Chinese (Traditional)學科
學科 originally meant "learning discipline" or "branch of knowledge" before it came to refer to a subject taught in school.
Japanese件名
件名 is another word for "business". It's usually written in a square box at the top of letters.
Korean제목
The word "제목" (subject) can also refer to the topic of a conversation or discussion.
Mongolianсэдэв
Its alternative meanings include "cause", "reason", "basis", and "foundation".
Myanmar (Burmese)ဘာသာရပ်

Subject in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiansubyek
The Indonesian word "subyek" also refers to the topic or theme of a conversation, speech, or text.
Javanesesubyek
In Javanese, "subyek" also refers to a form of respectful speech in addressing someone.
Khmerប្រធានបទ
Laoຫົວຂໍ້
Malaysubjek
The Malay word "subjek" is derived from the Sanskrit word "viṣaya" meaning "knowledge" or "object of thought."
Thaiเรื่อง
In Thai slang, "เรื่อง" can also mean "drama" or "trouble".
Vietnamesemôn học
Môn học in Vietnamese literally means "gate of learning" and can also refer to a field of study, a branch of knowledge, or a particular topic of study.
Filipino (Tagalog)paksa

Subject in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanimövzu
In the 1920s, "mövzu" had 57 different meanings, including its current meaning of "subject."
Kazakhтақырып
The Kazakh word "тақырып" comes from the Arabic word "طريق" meaning "way" or "road".
Kyrgyzтема
The Kyrgyz word "тема" also refers to a topic, issue, or conversation.
Tajikмавзӯъ
Originally from the Arabic word meaning “to fall,” “мавзӯъ” is used in many different Tajik contexts—in addition to “subject,” it can also indicate a location or the main idea of a message.
Turkmenmowzuk
Uzbekmavzu
The word "Mavzu" in Uzbek has a secondary meaning of "topic" or "theme" derived from its Arabic root.
Uyghurتېما

Subject in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankumuhana
The word 'kumuhana' also means 'source', 'cause', 'foundation', or 'basis' depending on context.
Maorikaupapa
The term 'kaupapa' has also been used historically to refer to a thesis or principle, and is still used in this sense in some contexts.
Samoanmataupu
The word 'mataupu' also means 'head' and 'eye' in Samoan.
Tagalog (Filipino)paksa
The Tagalog word "paksa" can also refer to the subject matter of a discussion or a lawsuit.

Subject in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarasujitu
Guaraniñe'ẽrã

Subject in International Languages

Esperantosubjekto
The Esperanto word "subjekto" is derived from the Latin word "subjectus" (meaning "placed under"), but is mainly used to mean "topic of discussion" in Esperanto, similar to “theme” in English.
Latinsubject
The Latin word "subjectus" originally meant "thrown under" or "lying beneath".

Subject in Others Languages

Greekθέμα
In Ancient Greek, 'θέμα' referred to a 'base' or 'foundation', reflecting its role as the basis of a sentence.
Hmongkev kawm
In addition to the abstract "subject," "kev kawm" can also refer to a specific course or field of study.
Kurdishmijar
The word "mijar" in Kurdish originates from the Persian word "mijr", meaning "axis" or "center".
Turkishkonu
In Japanese and Korean, "konu" means "theme music" or the main soundtrack in movies and animes.
Xhosaisihloko
The Xhosa word "isihloko" has alternative meanings such as "title", "topic", or "theme".
Yiddishונטערטעניק
"ונטערטעניק" is also the Yiddish word for "underwear", and is a humorous calque of the German "Untertan".
Zuluisihloko
The word 'isihloko' originates from the verb 'ukuhloka' ('to cover'), hinting at the subject's role in enveloping and unifying a discourse.
Assameseবিষয়
Aymarasujitu
Bhojpuriबिषय
Dhivehiމައުޝޫއު
Dogriबिशे
Filipino (Tagalog)paksa
Guaraniñe'ẽrã
Ilocanomaad
Kriotɔpik
Kurdish (Sorani)بابەت
Maithiliविषय
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯍꯤꯔꯝ
Mizothupui
Oromomata duree
Odia (Oriya)ବିଷୟ
Quechuarimana
Sanskritविषयः
Tatarтема
Tigrinyaዋና
Tsonganhlokomhaka

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