Thing in Different Languages
Discover 'Thing' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'thing' is a small but powerful part of our everyday vocabulary. It's a versatile term that can refer to a physical object, an idea, or an event. Its significance lies in its ability to encompass a wide range of concepts, making it a crucial component of how we communicate and understand the world around us.
The cultural importance of the word 'thing' goes beyond its basic definition. In Old English, 'thing' referred to a gathering or assembly, and this meaning has persisted in modern German as 'Ding' and Icelandic as 'thingvellir', the site of the world's first parliament. This historical context highlights the word's deep roots in our language and culture.
Understanding the translation of 'thing' in different languages can provide insight into the unique perspectives and ways of thinking of other cultures. For example, in Spanish, 'cosa' is a direct translation, but in Japanese, 'mono' is a more general term that can also mean 'person' or 'item'.
Explore the many translations of the word 'thing' and discover the rich cultural and linguistic diversity that exists in our world.
Thing
Thing in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ding | ||
| "Ding" is derived from the Proto-Germanic "*þingą" and has meanings including "assembly," "court," and "parliament." | |||
| Amharic | ነገር | ||
| The word "ነገር" in Amharic is derived from the Proto-Semitic root *n-g-r*, meaning "to move". It can also refer to "speech" or "matter". | |||
| Hausa | abu | ||
| Its plural, "abubuwa," denotes "property," "affairs," while "abu na..." means "that which is of..." | |||
| Igbo | ihe | ||
| The Igbo word 'ihe' can also refer to an event, an issue, or a situation. | |||
| Malagasy | zavatra | ||
| The Malagasy word "zavatra" can also mean "substance", "matter", "property", or "wealth" in different contexts. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chinthu | ||
| "Chinthu" in Nyanja also refers to a matter or issue needing attention. | |||
| Shona | chinhu | ||
| The word "chinhu" can also refer to a matter, issue, or affair, and is related to the verb "kuita", meaning "to do". | |||
| Somali | shay | ||
| Somali "shay" has an alternate plural form, "waxyaalo," and is also a noun root meaning "to be, to exist." | |||
| Sesotho | ntho | ||
| Ntho can also mean 'affair', 'business', or 'matter'. | |||
| Swahili | kitu | ||
| The word 'kitu' ('thing') in Swahili can also refer to an object, a matter, or an affair. | |||
| Xhosa | into | ||
| In Nguni languages, the cognate -nto signifies a physical location, or 'interior'. For example, in Swati the word endlini translates to 'in/inside the house'. | |||
| Yoruba | nkan | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "thing" in Yoruba, "nkan" can also refer to a "matter, subject, affair, business, case, or problem." | |||
| Zulu | into | ||
| The word 'into' derives from the Proto-Bantu *in-tu 'thing'. This is a common Bantu root and so it has cognates in many modern day Bantu languages. | |||
| Bambara | fɛn | ||
| Ewe | nu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ikintu | ||
| Lingala | eloko | ||
| Luganda | ekintu | ||
| Sepedi | selo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | adeɛ | ||
Thing in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | شيء | ||
| The Arabic word "شيء" can also refer to a matter, an affair, a business, or an event. | |||
| Hebrew | דָבָר | ||
| The word "דָבָר" has another meaning, "plague" or "pestilence", which is related to its root meaning of "to speak" or "to utter". | |||
| Pashto | شی | ||
| The word "شی" can also refer to a matter, an object, or a piece of property in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | شيء | ||
| The Arabic word "شيء" can also refer to a matter, an affair, a business, or an event. | |||
Thing in Western European Languages
| Albanian | sendi | ||
| The Albanian word "sendi" derives from Proto-Indo-European *ḱʰtóm- "ground, earth". | |||
| Basque | gauza | ||
| The Basque word "gauza" can also refer to "matter", "substance", or "affair". | |||
| Catalan | cosa | ||
| It derives from the Latin word causa, meaning 'cause', 'motive' or 'reason', from which derives also the English word 'cause'. | |||
| Croatian | stvar | ||
| "Stvar" comes from the Old Slavic *stvarъ, which meant "property" but later acquired a broader sense of "thing, object". | |||
| Danish | ting | ||
| The Danish word "ting" can also refer to a legislative or judicial assembly, or to a meeting or gathering. | |||
| Dutch | ding | ||
| In Dutch, the word "ding" can also refer to a gadget, device, or object, similar to the English "gizmo" or "contraption". | |||
| English | thing | ||
| The origin of 'thing' is Proto-Germanic *þeŋgaz, or possibly a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to press' or 'to grasp' | |||
| French | chose | ||
| The word "chose" is derived from the Latin word "causa", which means "cause" or "matter". The French word "chose" can therefore have both a concrete meaning ("thing") and an abstract meaning ("cause"). | |||
| Frisian | ding | ||
| In Frisian, the word "ding" has a dual meaning, referring to both "thing" and "trial." | |||
| Galician | cousa | ||
| The Galician word "cousa" is derived from the Latin "causa", meaning "cause, reason, or matter". | |||
| German | sache | ||
| The term 'Sache' has a dual origin: the Middle Low German word "sake", which referred to "litigation" and a legal case and the Middle High German term "sahhe", which referred to the subject under discussion and was related to "Sagen" ("to say"). | |||
| Icelandic | hlutur | ||
| The word "hlutur" can also mean "object" or "matter". | |||
| Irish | rud | ||
| In Old Irish, 'rud' could refer to a possession, property, or wealth. | |||
| Italian | cosa | ||
| The Italian word "cosa" can also mean "business", "affair", or "matter". | |||
| Luxembourgish | saach | ||
| The word "Saach" is derived from the Proto-West Germanic word *saka, meaning "dispute" or "lawsuit". | |||
| Maltese | ħaġa | ||
| The Maltese word "ħaġa" can also be used to refer to an object or a concept | |||
| Norwegian | ting | ||
| The word "ting" in Norwegian is cognated with the English word "thing", and shares its etymological roots in Old Norse and Proto-Germanic. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | coisa | ||
| The etymology of "coisa" can be traced back to the Latin "causa," meaning "case," "reason," or "motive." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | rud | ||
| The Gaelic word rud means 'thing', but it can also mean 'element' or 'matter'. | |||
| Spanish | cosa | ||
| The word "cosa" (thing) derives from the Latin word "causa" (cause or reason), hence its original meaning in Spanish was "reason" or "matter". | |||
| Swedish | sak | ||
| The word "sak" can also refer to a legal case or a document. | |||
| Welsh | peth | ||
| The word "peth" in Welsh can also refer to a "piece" of something, or a "part" of something. | |||
Thing in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | рэч | ||
| The word "рэч" can be used figuratively to denote "property" or "affair." | |||
| Bosnian | stvar | ||
| "Stvar" can also mean "creation" in Bosnian, derived from its Slavic root word "sŭtvarŭ" which means "to create". | |||
| Bulgarian | нещо | ||
| In the Bulgarian word "нещо" there is no prefix. The word "не" usually translates to "not", but here it has a different meaning, it has an indefinite meaning. | |||
| Czech | věc | ||
| The etymology of "věc" suggests a connection to the notion of "property" or "affair," indicating its significance beyond mere materiality. | |||
| Estonian | asi | ||
| The Estonian word "asi", which means "thing", shares a linguistic origin with the Latin word for "matter" and "stuff" in the form of the Indo-European words "h₂é-so" (meaning, "thing, stuff, substance, material, stuff, it") and "h₃ehs₂-ó-", meaning, "to be". | |||
| Finnish | asia | ||
| The word "asia" can also mean "cause" or "matter", and is related to the word "asia" meaning "case" in Estonian and "cause" in Livonian. | |||
| Hungarian | dolog | ||
| The word "dolog" derives from the verb "dolokik", meaning to work or to make, and is related to the word "dologidő", which means time spent working. | |||
| Latvian | lieta | ||
| The word "lieta" can also mean "case" or "matter" in a legal context. | |||
| Lithuanian | dalykas | ||
| The word "dalykas" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *(dʰegʷʰ)- "to put, set", also found in English "thing" and "deed." | |||
| Macedonian | ствар | ||
| "The word 'ствар' is derived from the Old Slavic words 'stvoriti' (to create, to make) and 'tvar' (form, appearance)." | |||
| Polish | rzecz | ||
| The word "rzecz" can also refer to a "republic" or a "matter" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | lucru | ||
| In Romanian, "lucru" can also refer to a business or a task, stemming from Latin "lucrum" meaning "profit," similar to its English use in "lucrative." | |||
| Russian | предмет | ||
| The Russian word "предмет" can also refer to a subject of study or a topic of discussion. | |||
| Serbian | ствар | ||
| The word "ствар" can also refer to a lawsuit or a legal dispute. | |||
| Slovak | vec | ||
| The word "vec" in Slovak can also refer to a "device" or an "object" of any kind. | |||
| Slovenian | stvar | ||
| The Slovenian word "stvar" is a cognate of the Russian word "veshch", meaning "essence" or "material being." | |||
| Ukrainian | річ | ||
| In Ukrainian, "річ" can also refer to a possession or property. | |||
Thing in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | জিনিস | ||
| The word "জিনিস" can also mean "goods" or "property" in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | વસ્તુ | ||
| The word "વસ્તુ" means "thing", but it can also mean "substance", "matter", or "object". | |||
| Hindi | चीज़ | ||
| The Hindi word "चीज़" can also refer to an artifact, item, or substance. | |||
| Kannada | ವಿಷಯ | ||
| "ವಿಷಯ" can also mean 'context', 'substance' or 'topic'. | |||
| Malayalam | കാര്യം | ||
| The word 'കാര്യം' can also mean 'reason', 'purpose', or 'matter'. | |||
| Marathi | गोष्ट | ||
| The word "गोष्ट" can also refer to a story, affair, or a matter, deriving from the Sanskrit word "घोष्टा" meaning "conversation" or "talk." | |||
| Nepali | कुरा | ||
| कुरा shares its root word with English | |||
| Punjabi | ਚੀਜ਼ | ||
| The word "ਚੀਜ਼" (thing) in Punjabi can also refer to "a matter" or "an object of value." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දෙයක් | ||
| The word "දෙයක්" (deyek) in Sinhala can also mean "property" or "belonging". | |||
| Tamil | விஷயம் | ||
| "விஷயம்" has multiple meanings, including "matter", "topic", "business", "affair", "case", "subject", and "circumstance". | |||
| Telugu | విషయం | ||
| In Telugu, "విషయం" ("vishayam") means both "thing" and "subject". | |||
| Urdu | چیز | ||
| The Urdu word "چیز" (thing) is derived from the Persian word "چیز" and can also refer to a piece of property or an object used in sorcery. | |||
Thing in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 事情 | ||
| The two characters that compose 事情 ( | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 事情 | ||
| "事情" (thing) was originally an event, but since anything can become a topic, it is now also "thing". | |||
| Japanese | 事 | ||
| The word "事" (こと) in Japanese can also mean "affair", "matter", "event", or "circumstance". | |||
| Korean | 맡은 일 | ||
| The word "맡은 일" in Korean can also mean "duty" or "responsibility". | |||
| Mongolian | зүйл | ||
| The Mongolian word зүйл derives from the Proto-Mongolic word *süyel, meaning "thing, object." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အရာ | ||
| The word "အရာ" is also used to refer to a person or object of uncertain or unspecified nature. | |||
Thing in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | benda | ||
| Benda, also spelled bendaa, is also a title often given to traditional religious leaders such as dukun or bomoh in certain regions of Indonesia, particularly East Java. | |||
| Javanese | bab | ||
| In the Madurese language, "bab" refers to a specific type of woven fabric skirt. | |||
| Khmer | រឿង | ||
| In Old Khmer, 'រឿង' also meant 'a type of poem'. | |||
| Lao | ສິ່ງ | ||
| The word "thing" can also refer to an action or an event. | |||
| Malay | benda | ||
| The word "benda" has many different meanings in Malay, depending on the context. It can mean an "object," a "thing," a "creature," or a "person." | |||
| Thai | สิ่ง | ||
| The Thai word "สิ่ง" is cognate with other Kra-Dai languages, and its root meaning is likely "existence", "entity" or "fact"} | |||
| Vietnamese | điều | ||
| The word "Điều" can also mean "article", "point" or "condition". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bagay | ||
Thing in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | şey | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "şey", besides meaning "thing", can also be used in the sense of "property" or "estate". | |||
| Kazakh | нәрсе | ||
| The word 'нәрсе' ('thing' in Kazakh) comes from the Turkic root 'narse', meaning 'substance'. | |||
| Kyrgyz | нерсе | ||
| The word "нерсе" can also mean "business" or "affair" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | чиз | ||
| The word "чиз" can refer to a particular item, a specific instance of something, or an object in general. | |||
| Turkmen | zat | ||
| Uzbek | narsa | ||
| The word "narsa" also means "what" and "which" and is related to words like "nerse" which means "this". | |||
| Uyghur | نەرسە | ||
Thing in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mea | ||
| The Hawaiian word "mea" can also refer to a concept, an object, or a matter. | |||
| Maori | mea | ||
| The Maori word "mea" is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word "*mea" and has the alternate meaning of "belongings" or "goods". | |||
| Samoan | mea | ||
| The word 'mea' in Samoan, besides its literal meaning of 'thing', also carries connotations of personal belongings or possession. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bagay | ||
| Bagay can also refer to an article of clothing, a suit, or an outfit. | |||
Thing in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | yä | ||
| Guarani | mba'e | ||
Thing in International Languages
| Esperanto | afero | ||
| The Esperanto word "afero" ultimately derives from the Latin "res" meaning "thing, matter, or affair." | |||
| Latin | rem | ||
| The word "rem" also means an "object", or "article", and is related to "res", meaning "affair". | |||
Thing in Others Languages
| Greek | πράγμα | ||
| In Greek, "πράγμα" can also refer to a matter, case, or action. | |||
| Hmong | khoom | ||
| In Hmong, "khoom" encompasses the concept of "existence," meaning not only inanimate objects but also entities like dreams, ideas, and events. | |||
| Kurdish | tişt | ||
| The word "tişt" in Kurdish can also refer to an object, a tool, or a property. | |||
| Turkish | şey | ||
| The word 'şey' can also mean 'it' or 'that' and is the origin of 'şöyle' ('like this') and 'öyle' ('like that'). | |||
| Xhosa | into | ||
| In Nguni languages, the cognate -nto signifies a physical location, or 'interior'. For example, in Swati the word endlini translates to 'in/inside the house'. | |||
| Yiddish | זאַך | ||
| זאַך, meaning "a thing" in Yiddish, is derived from the Middle High German "sache", which also means "a thing" and can refer to property or a legal affair | |||
| Zulu | into | ||
| The word 'into' derives from the Proto-Bantu *in-tu 'thing'. This is a common Bantu root and so it has cognates in many modern day Bantu languages. | |||
| Assamese | বস্তু | ||
| Aymara | yä | ||
| Bhojpuri | चीज | ||
| Dhivehi | އެއްޗެއް | ||
| Dogri | चीज | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bagay | ||
| Guarani | mba'e | ||
| Ilocano | banag | ||
| Krio | tin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | شت | ||
| Maithili | चीज | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯣꯠꯁꯛ | ||
| Mizo | thil | ||
| Oromo | wanta | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଜିନିଷ | ||
| Quechua | ima | ||
| Sanskrit | वस्तु | ||
| Tatar | нәрсә | ||
| Tigrinya | ነገር | ||
| Tsonga | xilo | ||