Tell in Different Languages
Discover 'Tell' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'tell' is a simple, yet powerful part of our daily vocabulary. It holds significance in various contexts, such as sharing stories, providing information, or expressing opinions. The cultural importance of 'tell' is evident in the numerous idioms and phrases it has spawned, like 'tell it like it is' or 'a tale as old as time.'
Understanding the translation of 'tell' in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural appreciation. For instance, in Spanish, 'tell' translates to 'contar,' while in German, it's 'erzählen.' In French, 'tell' is 'raconter,' and in Japanese, 'tsuuchou' (通帳) is the word used for 'telling' one's expenses.
Moreover, the historical context of 'tell' is fascinating. In Old English, 'tell' was 'tellan,' which meant 'to reckon' or 'to count.' This etymology highlights the word's deep roots in communication and numeracy.
Join us as we delve into the various translations of 'tell' in different languages, and discover the rich cultural and historical significance behind this everyday word.
Tell
Tell in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vertel | ||
| The word "vertel" in Afrikaans may be derived from the Middle Dutch word "vertellen," or from the Old French word "vertir" | |||
| Amharic | ንገረኝ | ||
| The Amharic verb "ንገረኝ" can also mean "to teach" or "to notify". | |||
| Hausa | gaya | ||
| The word "gaya" can also mean "to say" or "to speak" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | gwa | ||
| The word "gwa" can also mean "to inform" or "to announce" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | milaza | ||
| The Malagasy word "milaza" derives from the Proto-Austronesian word "*laCay" (to speak). | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nenani | ||
| The Nyanja word "nenani" can also refer to the act of narrating a story or providing information. | |||
| Shona | taura | ||
| The Shona word “taura” means “to speak” and is also used as a noun meaning “speech” or “conversation.” | |||
| Somali | sheeg | ||
| The term "sheeg" can refer to telling someone verbally or via body language. | |||
| Sesotho | bolella | ||
| The word "bolella" is also used to refer to the act of informing or reporting something. | |||
| Swahili | sema | ||
| Swahili's "sema" also means "to speak", "to say", "to express", "to announce", "to inform", "to declare", or "to narrate." | |||
| Xhosa | xelela | ||
| The word "Xelela" has an alternate meaning of "to narrate" or "to recite" in the Xhosa language. | |||
| Yoruba | sọ | ||
| The word "sọ" can also mean "to speak" or "to say". | |||
| Zulu | tshela | ||
| The word "tshela" in Zulu can also refer to "divulging information" or "exposing something hidden". | |||
| Bambara | ka lakali | ||
| Ewe | gblᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bwira | ||
| Lingala | koyebisa | ||
| Luganda | okugamba | ||
| Sepedi | botša | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ka kyerɛ | ||
Tell in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يخبار | ||
| يخبُر، أخبار, خَبَر - to inform. The noun 'خبر' can also means 'news'. | |||
| Hebrew | לאמר | ||
| "לאמר" can also mean "say" or "speak" in some contexts. | |||
| Pashto | ووايه | ||
| The word "ووايه" in Pashto can also refer to the act of informing or communicating. | |||
| Arabic | يخبار | ||
| يخبُر، أخبار, خَبَر - to inform. The noun 'خبر' can also means 'news'. | |||
Tell in Western European Languages
| Albanian | tregoj | ||
| Derived from Proto-Albanian *tregu̯-a, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreǵʰ- | |||
| Basque | kontatu | ||
| Basque verb 'kontatu' relates 'counting' and 'narrating' through the notion of 'enumerating', akin to 'account'. | |||
| Catalan | dir | ||
| In Catalan, "dir" is a shortened form of "decir" in Spanish, which shares the same Latin root "dicere" with the English word "dictate". | |||
| Croatian | reći | ||
| The Croatian word "reći" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *rešti, meaning "to speak" or "to say". | |||
| Danish | fortælle | ||
| The word 'fortælle' derives from the Middle Danish word 'forthællæ', meaning 'to set forth a story' or 'to interpret a tale'. | |||
| Dutch | vertellen | ||
| In Limburgish, a dialect spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, "vertellen" also means "to translate". | |||
| English | tell | ||
| "Tell" originally meant "to count" or "to give an account," a meaning still retained in the noun "tale," a narrative or a count. | |||
| French | dire | ||
| French "dire" also means "to predict" as in, "On peut dire que le temps va changer" (We can say that the weather is going to change). | |||
| Frisian | fertelle | ||
| The word ‘fertelle’ can also mean ‘to count’ which likely derives from an Old-Frisian word ‘fertalle’ referring to ‘counting or calculating’. | |||
| Galician | contar | ||
| In Galician, "contar" can also mean "to count" or "to add up". | |||
| German | sagen | ||
| The word "sagen" also means "to saw" and "to speak." | |||
| Icelandic | segja | ||
| "Segja" derives from the Old Norse word "segja", meaning "to utter words" or "to announce" | |||
| Irish | insint | ||
| The Irish word "insint" originates from the Old Irish verb "insním," which means "to tell" or "to relate a story." | |||
| Italian | raccontare | ||
| "Raccontare" comes from the Latin word "computare," meaning to count or to recount, and it has also been used in Italian to mean to calculate or to reason. | |||
| Luxembourgish | erzielen | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "erzielen" can also mean "to obtain" or "to achieve". | |||
| Maltese | għid | ||
| The Maltese word "għid" is etymologically related to the Arabic word "qāla" with the same meaning, and is also used as a noun referring to a saying, a joke or a proverb. | |||
| Norwegian | fortelle | ||
| Fortelle's archaic Norwegian roots stem from the term 'fortæla,' originating from Old Norse 'fortelja,' and ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European base 'telh-,' meaning 'to hide or cover up.' | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | contar | ||
| In Portuguese, "contar" also means to depend on, to rely upon, or to count on someone or something. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | innis | ||
| Alternate meanings of "innis" include "a piece of land," or, figuratively, something which may be "in one's way." | |||
| Spanish | contar | ||
| "Contar" also means "to matter" or "to count (objects)" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | säga | ||
| The Swedish word "säga" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *sagjaną, meaning "to say" or "to speak". | |||
| Welsh | dywedwch | ||
| The Welsh word "dywedwch" can also mean "say" or "speak" | |||
Tell in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | скажыце | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "tell," the Belarusian word "скажыце" can also mean "say" or "speak." | |||
| Bosnian | reci | ||
| "reci" can also refer to "quote". | |||
| Bulgarian | казвам | ||
| In Bulgarian, "казвам" has Slavic roots and also means "call," "invite," "ask" or "say". | |||
| Czech | sdělit | ||
| The word "sdělit" can also mean "to communicate" or "to inform" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | ütle | ||
| The word "ütlen" is also derived from the Proto-Finnic word "ütän," which means "to say" or "to speak." | |||
| Finnish | kertoa | ||
| The word "kertoa" is cognate with the English word "hearth" | |||
| Hungarian | mond | ||
| In Old Hungarian, the word "mond" also meant "speech, talk, conversation". | |||
| Latvian | pastāstīt | ||
| The Latvian word "pastāstīt" also means "to dictate" or "to recite". | |||
| Lithuanian | pasakyk | ||
| "Pasakyk" can mean either "to tell" or "to recite". | |||
| Macedonian | кажи | ||
| The word "кажи" also means "show" or "prove" in some Slavic languages, including Russian and Bulgarian. | |||
| Polish | powiedzieć | ||
| The Polish word 'powiedzieć' also implies uttering or speaking out loud. | |||
| Romanian | spune | ||
| The Romanian word "spune" has a similar etymological root with the English "speech", and also means "to speak". | |||
| Russian | рассказать | ||
| Рассказать: 1) reveal; 2) count; 3) lay out (cards); 4) gossip; 5) inform; 6) narrate a story; 7) tell a joke; 8) tell about something; 9) tell on someone; 10) tell fortunes. | |||
| Serbian | кажи | ||
| In archaic Serbian, "кажи" meant not only "tell" but also "show". | |||
| Slovak | povedz | ||
| "Povedz" is connected to "vedieť" (know), and also means "say," "speak," "utter," or "recite." | |||
| Slovenian | povej | ||
| The Slovenian word "povej" is derived from Proto-Slavic "*povьďь" and shares its origin with the Slavic words for "tale" and "legend" indicating the historical use of storytelling and narration in the language. | |||
| Ukrainian | скажи | ||
| The word "скажи" can also be used as a polite way to ask someone to do something, similar to "please". | |||
Tell in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বলুন | ||
| The word "বলুন" can also mean "to speak" or "to say". | |||
| Gujarati | કહો | ||
| The word "કહો" also means "speak" or "say" in Gujarati. | |||
| Hindi | कहना | ||
| Hindi word 'कहना' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kr'. It also means 'to speak', 'to say', or 'to utter' | |||
| Kannada | ಹೇಳಿ | ||
| ಹೇಳಿ (hēḷi) can also mean to ask, request, command, advise or suggest. | |||
| Malayalam | പറയുക | ||
| The word "പറയുക" can also mean "speak," "say," "utter," or "pronounce." | |||
| Marathi | सांगा | ||
| The Marathi word "सांगा" is also used to refer to a message or news. | |||
| Nepali | बताउनुहोस् | ||
| "बताउनु" means "to tell" in Nepali. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "वक", which means "to speak" or "to tell". | |||
| Punjabi | ਦੱਸੋ | ||
| The word "ਦੱਸੋ" (daso) in Punjabi can also mean "to show" or "to indicate". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කියන්න | ||
| As a noun, “කියන්න” refers to the act of speaking or uttering words. | |||
| Tamil | சொல்லுங்கள் | ||
| The Tamil word சொல்லுங்கள் comes from the root word சொல், which means both "to say" and "to think" or "to suppose". | |||
| Telugu | చెప్పండి | ||
| The Telugu verb 'చెప్పండి' originates from Sanskrit and is related to words meaning 'to speak' and 'to explain'. | |||
| Urdu | بتاؤ | ||
Tell in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 告诉 | ||
| "告诉"在古汉语中可作动词，本义为‘通告’，后引申为‘报告’、‘告知’等含义。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 告訴 | ||
| The word “告訴” can also mean “to sue” or “to prosecute” in a court of law. | |||
| Japanese | 教えて | ||
| The verb "oshiete" has an original meaning of "to guide" or "to show". | |||
| Korean | 텔 | ||
| '텔' can refer to a hill in Korean, which is related to the Japanese 'tera' (temple) as the characters are cognate. | |||
| Mongolian | хэлэх | ||
| The word "хэлэх" can also mean "to sing" or "to speak out", depending on the context. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ပြောပြပါ | ||
Tell in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menceritakan | ||
| "Menceritakan" can also mean "to narrate", "to relate", or "to recount". | |||
| Javanese | marang | ||
| Marang can also mean 'to' or 'towards' in Javanese language. | |||
| Khmer | ប្រាប់ | ||
| "ប្រាប់" (praap) can mean either "to tell" or "to give". In the latter sense, it is often used when offering something. | |||
| Lao | ບອກ | ||
| The word "ບອກ" can also mean "to inform" or "to let know" | |||
| Malay | memberitahu | ||
| It may refer to the "memberitahu ke" form, used before an inanimate object or an entity whose identity is not definite or clear. | |||
| Thai | บอก | ||
| The Thai word "บอก" also means "to report" or "to accuse". | |||
| Vietnamese | nói | ||
| The word "nói" also means "to talk" or "to speak". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sabihin | ||
Tell in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | deyin | ||
| The word "deyin" in Azerbaijani, meaning "tell," has an alternate meaning of "to advise" and is derived from the Proto-Turkic root *ti- "to speak," also found in Turkish "demek" and Kazakh "deyt"} | |||
| Kazakh | айтыңыз | ||
| The word "айтыңыз" in Kazakh is derived from the Proto-Turkic verb "ayt-", meaning "to speak". In addition to "tell", it can also mean "to say", "to utter", or "to recite". | |||
| Kyrgyz | айтып бер | ||
| The verb "айтып бер" can also mean "to narrate" or "to recite." | |||
| Tajik | нақл кунед | ||
| The word "nakl kune" can mean "report" or "narrate" in addition to "tell." | |||
| Turkmen | aýt | ||
| Uzbek | ayt | ||
| The Uzbek word "ayt" can also refer to a type of traditional Uzbek storytelling performance. | |||
| Uyghur | ئېيتىپ بەر | ||
Tell in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | haʻi | ||
| The word "haʻi" also means "to speak" in Hawaiian and is related to the word "ha" which means "breath". | |||
| Maori | korero | ||
| The Maori word 'korero' can also refer to a formal meeting or assembly where important matters are discussed. | |||
| Samoan | taʻu atu | ||
| The Samoan word "taʻu atu" can also mean "speak" or "address". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sabihin mo | ||
| The word "sabihin mo" in Tagalog can also mean "to order" or "to command". | |||
Tell in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | saña | ||
| Guarani | e | ||
Tell in International Languages
| Esperanto | rakontu | ||
| The word "rakontu" is etymologically linked to the Latin word "reconta" meaning "to count again". | |||
| Latin | amen dico | ||
| "Amen dico" is a Latin phrase used in the Bible to solemnly introduce an important statement, and can be translated as "truly, I say to you" | |||
Tell in Others Languages
| Greek | λέγω | ||
| The word "λέγω" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *leg-, meaning "to gather, collect." | |||
| Hmong | qhia | ||
| The word “qhia” (tell) also means “to narrate, to inform, to declare, to announce, to communicate, to state, to report, to describe, to explain, to interpret, to translate, to read, to write, to record, to document, to testify, to witness, to give an account of, to make known, to publicize, to spread the word, to let someone know, to keep someone informed, to fill someone in, to give the scoop, to dish the dirt, and to spill the beans. | |||
| Kurdish | gotin | ||
| The word "gotin" in Kurdish is also used to mean "to explain" or "to inform". | |||
| Turkish | söylemek | ||
| Söylemek also can mean "to play" or "to sing". | |||
| Xhosa | xelela | ||
| The word "Xelela" has an alternate meaning of "to narrate" or "to recite" in the Xhosa language. | |||
| Yiddish | דערציילן | ||
| The Yiddish word "דערציילן" derives from the Middle High German "zirzeln" or "zerzeln" meaning "to tell" or "to relate". | |||
| Zulu | tshela | ||
| The word "tshela" in Zulu can also refer to "divulging information" or "exposing something hidden". | |||
| Assamese | কওক | ||
| Aymara | saña | ||
| Bhojpuri | कहीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ބުނުން | ||
| Dogri | दस्सो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sabihin | ||
| Guarani | e | ||
| Ilocano | ibaga | ||
| Krio | tɛl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پێ ووتن | ||
| Maithili | कहू | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯥꯏꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hrilh | ||
| Oromo | himuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କୁହ | ||
| Quechua | willay | ||
| Sanskrit | कथय | ||
| Tatar | әйт | ||
| Tigrinya | ንገር | ||
| Tsonga | byela | ||