Swim in Different Languages
Discover 'Swim' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Swim
Afrikaans swem | ||
Albanian notuar | ||
Amharic መዋኘት | ||
Arabic السباحة | ||
Armenian լողալ | ||
Assamese সাঁতোৰ | ||
Aymara tuyuña | ||
Azerbaijani üzmək | ||
Bambara nɔn | ||
Basque igeri egin | ||
Belarusian плаваць | ||
Bengali সাঁতার | ||
Bhojpuri तैराकी | ||
Bosnian plivati | ||
Bulgarian плувам | ||
Catalan nedar | ||
Cebuano paglangoy | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 游泳 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 游泳 | ||
Corsican natà | ||
Croatian plivati | ||
Czech plavat | ||
Danish svømme | ||
Dhivehi ފެތުން | ||
Dogri तरना | ||
Dutch zwemmen | ||
English swim | ||
Esperanto naĝi | ||
Estonian ujuma | ||
Ewe ƒutsi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) lumangoy | ||
Finnish uida | ||
French nager | ||
Frisian swimme | ||
Galician nadar | ||
Georgian ცურვა | ||
German schwimmen | ||
Greek ζάλη | ||
Guarani yta | ||
Gujarati તરી | ||
Haitian Creole naje | ||
Hausa iyo | ||
Hawaiian ʻauʻau | ||
Hebrew לשחות | ||
Hindi तैराकी | ||
Hmong ua luam dej | ||
Hungarian úszás | ||
Icelandic synda | ||
Igbo igwu mmiri | ||
Ilocano aglangoy | ||
Indonesian berenang | ||
Irish snámh | ||
Italian nuotare | ||
Japanese 泳ぐ | ||
Javanese nglangi | ||
Kannada ಈಜು | ||
Kazakh жүзу | ||
Khmer ហែលទឹក | ||
Kinyarwanda koga | ||
Konkani पेंवप | ||
Korean 수영 | ||
Krio swin | ||
Kurdish ajnêkirin | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) مەلە | ||
Kyrgyz сүзүү | ||
Lao ລອຍ | ||
Latin natare | ||
Latvian peldēt | ||
Lingala kobeta mai | ||
Lithuanian plaukti | ||
Luganda okuwuga | ||
Luxembourgish schwammen | ||
Macedonian пливање | ||
Maithili पोरनाइ | ||
Malagasy milomano | ||
Malay berenang | ||
Malayalam നീന്തുക | ||
Maltese għum | ||
Maori kauhoe | ||
Marathi पोहणे | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯏꯔꯣꯏꯕ | ||
Mizo tuihleuh | ||
Mongolian сэлэх | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ရေကူး | ||
Nepali पौंडी | ||
Norwegian svømme | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kusambira | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପହଁରିବା | ||
Oromo daakuu | ||
Pashto لامبو | ||
Persian شنا کردن | ||
Polish pływać | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) nadar | ||
Punjabi ਤੈਰਨਾ | ||
Quechua wanpuy | ||
Romanian înot | ||
Russian плавать | ||
Samoan aau | ||
Sanskrit तरति | ||
Scots Gaelic snàmh | ||
Sepedi rutha | ||
Serbian пливати | ||
Sesotho sesa | ||
Shona kushambira | ||
Sindhi ترڻ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පීනන්න | ||
Slovak plávať | ||
Slovenian plavati | ||
Somali dabaal | ||
Spanish nadar | ||
Sundanese ngojay | ||
Swahili kuogelea | ||
Swedish simma | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) lumangoy | ||
Tajik шино кардан | ||
Tamil நீந்த | ||
Tatar йөзү | ||
Telugu ఈత | ||
Thai ว่ายน้ำ | ||
Tigrinya ምሕማስ | ||
Tsonga khida | ||
Turkish yüzmek | ||
Turkmen ýüzmek | ||
Twi (Akan) boro nsuo | ||
Ukrainian плавати | ||
Urdu تیرنا | ||
Uyghur سۇ ئۈزۈش | ||
Uzbek suzish | ||
Vietnamese bơi | ||
Welsh nofio | ||
Xhosa qubha | ||
Yiddish שווימען | ||
Yoruba we | ||
Zulu ukubhukuda |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | A variant spelling of "swem" in Afrikaans is "sweem". The word may also refer to the act of fainting or passing out. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "notuar" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *neu-, meaning "to flow" or "to wet". |
| Amharic | "መዋኘት" (swim) and "መዋኒያ" (swimmer) are derived from the root "ዋ" (water), suggesting a close connection between water and the act of swimming in Amharic. |
| Arabic | The verb "السباحة" also means "to float" or "to sail" in some contexts. |
| Armenian | The word “լողալ” in Armenian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *plew- (“to float”), cognate with Latin “pluere” (“to rain”) and English “pool.” |
| Azerbaijani | The verb "üzmək" (swim) may have originated from Proto-Altaic language and its root "**üz**" which also means "**to rise**" or "**to float**". |
| Basque | Etymology and alternate meanings of 'igeri egin' ('swim') in Basque |
| Bengali | "সাঁতার" word also has another meaning which is the "act or an instance of being pregnant". |
| Bosnian | In Bosnian, 'plivati' also means 'to spit'; the root 'pliv' likely referred to an act of making something wet through contact with a liquid (or saliva in the case of spitting). |
| Bulgarian | "Плувам" can also mean "drift" or "wander." |
| Catalan | Catalan word 'nedar' likely derives from Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ep- 'water' |
| Cebuano | In the olden times, the word "paglangoy" also meant a "person who carries a load" or a "stevedore". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 游泳也可指用于治疗目的的游水 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 游泳 is a compound word of 游, which means 'to roam' or 'to stroll' and 泳, which means 'to move through water'. |
| Corsican | "Natà" derives from the Latin "natare" and also means "to fly" or to "be born" in Corsican. |
| Croatian | In some other Slavic languages, the verb 'plivati' means 'to spit'. |
| Czech | Czech "plavat" derives from an old Slavic verb meaning "to flow" and is also used to mean "to float or drift". |
| Danish | The Old Norse word for "svømme" is "svimma" which also means "faint". |
| Dutch | The word "zwemmen" can also refer to "floating" or "soaking". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "naĝi" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*neǵh-", meaning "to wet". |
| Estonian | The word 'ujuma' is related to 'uju' which means to flow, and the suffix '-ma' which indicates an action or state. |
| Finnish | The word "uida" derives from Proto-Finnic *uida, meaning "to swim", which is further related to Proto-Indo-European *wed-, meaning "to wet". |
| French | The French word "nager" comes from the Latin word "navigare", which means "to sail". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "swimme" also means "to float" or "to drift along". |
| Galician | Originally a Proto-Celtic form that meant "to float" (like the English verb "nathe"), then adopted the meaning of "to swim" |
| Georgian | In Georgian folklore, აურვა ("swim") also refers to supernatural beings known as "water spirits." |
| German | "Schwimmen" also means "to float" or "to levitate". |
| Greek | The word "ζάλη" derives from the Greek word "ζέω," meaning "boil" or "seethe," and is related to the English word "dizzy" from the Proto-Indo-European root "gwher-," meaning "to turn." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "તરી" also means "to fly" or "to jump". |
| Haitian Creole | The word "naje" can also mean "to sail" or "to float" in Haitian Creole. |
| Hausa | Hausa's "iyo" also denotes water-related actions like floating or paddling |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word ʻauʻau not only means "to swim" but also "to cleanse" or "to be pure." |
| Hebrew | The word לשחות (lishhot) originally meant "to wander" or "to traverse," and is related to the Arabic word for "to float" or "to go around." |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "तैराकी" also refers to the act of flying, especially in the context of aircraft. |
| Hmong | The word "ua luam dej" in Hmong has alternate meanings of "to submerge" and "to sink". |
| Hungarian | The word "úszás" in Hungarian stems from the same root as "úszó" ("swimmer"), which likely derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ews- ("to dawn"), suggesting a connection between swimming and the rising of the sun. |
| Icelandic | Synda is also a term for "to float" in Icelandic. |
| Igbo | Igwu mmiri could also mean "to play in the water" or "to float on water" in Igbo. |
| Indonesian | In Malay and Javanese, the word 'berenang' can also mean 'to take a bath'. |
| Irish | The Irish word "snámh" has an interesting etymology, also referring to "thread" and "line". |
| Italian | "Nuotare" is one of the few Italian words that do not derive from Latin. It comes from the Greek word ναυς (naus), that means "ship". |
| Japanese | The word "泳ぐ" also means "to move through water quickly and gracefully". |
| Javanese | In Javanese, "nglangi" refers to not only swimming, but also floating and wading. |
| Kannada | The word "ಈಜು" can also refer to the movement of a snake or fish through water. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "жүзу" comes from the Proto-Turkic root "yǖz", meaning "to be wet". |
| Khmer | The word "ហែលទឹក" in Khmer is derived from the Sanskrit word "ह्लाद," meaning "to be happy or joyous." |
| Korean | "수영" (swim) can also mean "to have a bath" or "to take a shower" in Korean. |
| Kurdish | The word "ajnêkirin" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ep-, meaning "to float on water or in air" and is related to the English word "swim". |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "сүзүү" also means "to filter" in English. |
| Lao | ລອຍ (swim) can also refer to the act of floating or staying afloat. |
| Latin | The Latin word "natare" can also mean "to float" or "to sail". |
| Latvian | In ancient writings, it also meant "to sail" and "to float". |
| Lithuanian | The word "plaukti" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*plewk-", which also means "to float" or "to splash." |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'schwammen' in Luxembourgish is derived from the German word 'schwimmen' and also means 'to float' or 'to be adrift'. |
| Macedonian | The word "пливање" also means "swimming" in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The word "milomano" also means "to be wet" in Malagasy. |
| Malay | The Malay word "berenang" not only means "to swim" but also refers to the action of "floating" or "sailing" in a liquid. |
| Malayalam | In Tamil, the word நீந்து (nīntu) also means "to stretch out". |
| Maltese | The term "għum" has also been used in historical texts to refer to "the act of walking in water". |
| Maori | "Kauhoe" is thought to derive from the Proto-Austronesian word *kapaw, which also means "to swim." |
| Marathi | The word पोहणे (swim) also means 'to drown' in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | The word for "swim" in Mongolian, сэлэх, is also used to describe the act of moving through other liquids or even air, conveying the sense of graceful, effortless motion. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The verb ရေကူး also refers to moving over the sea in a boat (especially if there are waves or obstacles), wading through a flood and swimming (human and animals). |
| Nepali | The word "पौंडी" can also refer to a type of traditional Nepali dance. |
| Norwegian | The word 'svømme' has an alternate meaning, 'swoon', that was lost in other Germanic languages. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Kusambira" in Nyanja also means "to float on water". |
| Pashto | لامبو is borrowed from Persian and also means "to hang upside down". |
| Persian | شنا can also mean "to know" or "to recognize" in Persian. |
| Polish | "Pływać" in Polish means "swim" but also "float" and "sail" |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | "Nadar" derives from Latin "natare" (meaning to float) related to Greek "neō", which originated the English "nautical". |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਤੈਰਨਾ' in Punjabi, which means 'swim,' comes from the Sanskrit word 'tirati,' which means 'cross' or 'pass over.' |
| Romanian | "Înot" also means "sorrow" in Romanian, likely due to the feeling of sinking when swimming. |
| Russian | In Russian, the word "плавать" can also mean "to float", "to sail", or "to cruise." |
| Samoan | "Aau" can also mean "to bathe" or "to wash oneself." |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word "snàmh" also has the meanings "soak", "imbue", and "baptize" |
| Serbian | "пливати" also means "to sail" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | 'Sesa' is also used to refer to 'soaking' or 'steeping' something in a liquid. |
| Shona | The word 'kushambira' is often used interchangeably with 'kushambadza,' a verb that means 'to bathe someone' or 'to give someone a bath.' |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ترڻ" (swim) also means "to pass through" or "to cross over". |
| Slovak | The verb "plávať" originally meant "to float" and is related to the word "plavák" ("float"). |
| Slovenian | The word "plavati" in Slovenian can also mean "sail" or "float". |
| Somali | "Dabaal" also means "run" in the context of a horse race |
| Spanish | Also meaning 'to float', the verb 'nadar' comes from the Latin 'natare', which originally meant 'to wash' |
| Sundanese | Ngojay, besides meaning "swim," also refers to the movement of fish and the way water flows. |
| Swahili | "Kuogelea" also means "to float" in Swahili. |
| Swedish | "Swimma, "to swim", is the same as the Old English word." } |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Lumangoy" in Tagalog (Filipino) originally meant "to row a boat", and can still mean this in a poetic or literary context. |
| Tajik | "Шино кардан" is also used to describe the action of a bird flying through water. |
| Tamil | "நீந்த" can mean "to walk through water" too. |
| Telugu | The word "ఈత" in Telugu also means "a swim", "a person who can swim", "a swimmer", or "swimming". |
| Thai | ว่ายน้ำ can also mean "to cross" or "to go across" when used in a figurative sense. |
| Turkish | The word 'yüzmek' is also used in Turkish to describe the act of washing clothes by hand. |
| Ukrainian | The word "плавати" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *plov-, meaning "to float"} |
| Urdu | In Urdu, the word "تیرنا" is also used to describe the act of flowing or moving gracefully through water, like a boat or a fish. |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "suzish" is also used to describe the process of soaking or steeping in water. |
| Vietnamese | The word "bơi" in Vietnamese can also mean "to float" or "to drift". |
| Welsh | The Middle Welsh word "nofiaf" meant "to swim" or "to wade". |
| Xhosa | The word 'qubha' can also mean 'to float'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "שווימען" has the same etymology as "swim" in English, both ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European "swem-", meaning "to float or flow." |
| Yoruba | In Yoruba, "we" means "to swim" in pools but "to row" in rivers. |
| Zulu | The Zulu verb ukubhukuda, derived from the onomatopoeic root bhuk, also carries the metaphorical meaning of "to avoid". |
| English | The word 'swim' comes from the Old English word 'swimman', which also means 'to float or drift'. |