Third in Different Languages
Discover 'Third' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'third' holds a special significance in many cultures and languages around the world. It represents the idea of something coming after first and second, yet before all others, a concept that is both simple and complex. Throughout history, the number three has been considered a powerful and spiritual number, symbolizing completeness and wholeness in various religious and cultural traditions.
For language enthusiasts and travelers, knowing the translation of 'third' in different languages can be incredibly useful. Not only does it help in daily conversations, but it also provides insight into the unique ways that different cultures categorize and understand the world around them. For instance, in Spanish, 'third' is 'tercero', while in French, it's 'troisième'. In German, it's 'der dritte', and in Japanese, it's 'san-zensyō'.
In this article, we'll explore the significance and cultural importance of the word 'third', as well as its translations in various languages. Whether you're a language learner, a culture enthusiast, or simply curious, this article is sure to provide you with fascinating insights and insights into the world of language and culture.
Third
Third in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | derde | ||
| In the 1348 travelogue of Ibn Battuta, "derde" was mentioned as a city on the coast of the Indian Ocean. | |||
| Amharic | ሶስተኛ | ||
| In Amharic, "ሶስተኛ" can also refer to a group of three people or things. | |||
| Hausa | na uku | ||
| "Na uku" can also be used to mean "other", and is an old word for "three" in the Hausa language. | |||
| Igbo | nke atọ | ||
| The Igbo word "nke atọ" for "third" also means "one that belongs to three". | |||
| Malagasy | fahatelo | ||
| The word "fahatelo" in Malagasy also means "in the middle" or "between". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chachitatu | ||
| The word "chachitatu" originates from a Proto-Bantu verb meaning "to count" or "to enumerate." | |||
| Shona | chetatu | ||
| In Zezuru, "chetatu" means "in the middle" in addition to its primary meaning of "third". | |||
| Somali | saddexaad | ||
| The word "saddexaad" is derived from the Somali word "saddex", meaning "three", and the suffix "-aad," indicating the ordinal number. | |||
| Sesotho | ea boraro | ||
| The word "ea boraro" is derived from the root word "baro" which means "to pass". In this context it implies passing the second position to arrive at the third. | |||
| Swahili | cha tatu | ||
| The Swahili word 'cha tatu' can also mean 'two' in some contexts, such as when counting days or objects. | |||
| Xhosa | isithathu | ||
| Isithathu, meaning "third," can also mean "a third part" or "a remainder." | |||
| Yoruba | ẹkẹta | ||
| In the counting system used for traditional Yoruba board games, ẹkẹta refers to the first of three rounds. | |||
| Zulu | okwesithathu | ||
| The word "okwesithathu" (third) can also mean "the next one" or "the one after the next" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | sabanan | ||
| Ewe | etɔ̃lia | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gatatu | ||
| Lingala | ya misato | ||
| Luganda | eky'okusatu | ||
| Sepedi | boraro | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tɔ so mmiɛnsa | ||
Third in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الثالث | ||
| The word "الثالث" can also mean "the other two" or "the third person" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | שְׁלִישִׁי | ||
| This word originated from a root meaning "control," implying a person or thing holding a position of power or influence, such as a leader or governor. | |||
| Pashto | دریم | ||
| The Pashto word دریم also refers to the third (lower third) part of a three-piece garment that covers the lower third of the body. | |||
| Arabic | الثالث | ||
| The word "الثالث" can also mean "the other two" or "the third person" in Arabic. | |||
Third in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e treta | ||
| The Albanian word "e treta" has uncertain etymology but may be related to Proto-Indo-European "*treye" meaning "three". | |||
| Basque | hirugarrena | ||
| The Basque word 'hirugarrena' also signifies 'the youngest child of a family with three children' | |||
| Catalan | tercer | ||
| "Tercer" also means "last" or "final" in some contexts, such as the "tercer acto" of a play. | |||
| Croatian | treći | ||
| The Croatian word "treći" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*tretьjь", and is cognate with the Russian word "третий" (tretij). | |||
| Danish | tredje | ||
| Tredje is derived from the Old Norse word 'þriðji', which is related to 'thread' and 'thrive', implying a sense of 'growth' and 'progress' in the ordinal number. | |||
| Dutch | derde | ||
| The word "derde" in Dutch can also refer to a person who is third in a series or order. | |||
| English | third | ||
| The word "third" derives from an Old English term meaning "a third," as well as a collective plural for a group of three. | |||
| French | troisième | ||
| Troisième, in Old French, also means "terrestrial". | |||
| Frisian | tredde | ||
| The Frisian word 'tredde', meaning 'third', is cognate with English 'third', German 'dritte', and Old Norse 'þriðja'. | |||
| Galician | terceiro | ||
| In Galician the word "terceiro" also means "arbitrator" or "broker." | |||
| German | dritte | ||
| The German word "dritte" originates from Old High German "dritto" and is related to English "third" and Dutch "derde". | |||
| Icelandic | þriðja | ||
| Þriðja is also used in Icelandic as a noun meaning "an eighth of a barrel", which is approximately 50 liters. | |||
| Irish | tríú | ||
| The Irish word 'tríú' can also refer to a 'triplet', or three of a kind. | |||
| Italian | terzo | ||
| The Italian word "terzo" comes from the Latin word "tertius" meaning "third" and is also used as a noun to indicate a group of three items. | |||
| Luxembourgish | drëtten | ||
| The word 'drëtten' is derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'þrijiz' and is cognate with the English word 'third'. | |||
| Maltese | it-tielet | ||
| "it-tielet" stems from the Arabic numeral ٣٣٤ (thalāthat). | |||
| Norwegian | tredje | ||
| In Norwegian, "tredje" can also refer to the third day of the week, Tuesday, or a group of three. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | terceiro | ||
| In Portuguese the word "terceiro" can also mean a subcontractor, intermediary or arbitrator. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | an treas | ||
| "an treas" can also mean "threefold" or "trinity" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | tercero | ||
| The word "tercero" can also refer to an intermediary or arbitrator. | |||
| Swedish | tredje | ||
| In Swedish, "tredje" is often confused with the word "tre", meaning "tree", due to their similar spelling and pronunciation. | |||
| Welsh | trydydd | ||
| The Welsh word "trydydd" can also refer to a period of three days or a three-year period. | |||
Third in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | трэці | ||
| Belarusian трэці (tretsi) comes from Old Church Slavonic треть (tretь) and also means “trembling.” | |||
| Bosnian | treće | ||
| The word 'treće' also means 'belly' in Bosnian, related to 'treb' ('intestines'). | |||
| Bulgarian | трето | ||
| The word "трето" in Bulgarian also comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "третїй" meaning "the youngest son" or the "third son". | |||
| Czech | třetí | ||
| The word "Třetí" also means "arbitrary" or "random". | |||
| Estonian | kolmas | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning, "kolmas" can also refer to "the one who comes third" or "a third part" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | kolmas | ||
| The word "kolmas" is related to "kolme" meaning "three" and "kolmasosa" meaning "one third". | |||
| Hungarian | harmadik | ||
| The word "harmadik" also means "the third party" in Hungarian, referring to a person or entity not directly involved in a situation but affected by it. | |||
| Latvian | trešais | ||
| Alternate meanings of “trešais” include “thirdly,” “in the third place,” and “in three parts.” | |||
| Lithuanian | trečias | ||
| The Lithuanian word "trečias" is cognate with the Latvian "trešais" and the Old Prussian "trists", all meaning "third". | |||
| Macedonian | трето | ||
| In some dialects, “трето” can also mean “the day before yesterday”. | |||
| Polish | trzeci | ||
| In Slavic languages, "trzeci" literally means "the last one", as a derivative of the word "tret" (loss). | |||
| Romanian | al treilea | ||
| The word 'al treilea' in Romanian not only means 'third', but can also refer to a hypothetical 'third way' in a dispute. | |||
| Russian | в третьих | ||
| The word "в третьих" can also mean "in the third place" or "thirdly" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | треће | ||
| The word "треће" (third) in Serbian derives from the Proto-Slavic term "tretji", meaning "divided into three parts" | |||
| Slovak | tretí | ||
| In Slovak, "tretí" also means "a third of a barrel". | |||
| Slovenian | tretjič | ||
| Tretjič is the Slovenian word for "third". It is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *tretьjь, which also means "third". | |||
| Ukrainian | третій | ||
| The Ukrainian word "третій" (third) is cognate with the Latin "tertius" and the Slavic "trъ̌jь", both meaning "three". | |||
Third in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | তৃতীয় | ||
| The word "তৃতীয়" (tṛtīya) shares an etymological root with "তৃষ্ণা" (tṛṣṇā) ("thirst"), "তৃপ্ত" (tṛpta) ("satisfied"), and "ত্রাতা" (trātā) ("savior"), all of which are related to the concept of "fulfillment" or "satisfaction. | |||
| Gujarati | ત્રીજું | ||
| The word | |||
| Hindi | तीसरा | ||
| "तीसरा" (third) can also mean a third-rate person or quality. | |||
| Kannada | ಮೂರನೇ | ||
| "ಮೂರನೇ" is a word in Kannada language which is also used to refer to the number 108 in some contexts. | |||
| Malayalam | മൂന്നാമത് | ||
| The word "മൂന്നാമത്" (third) in Malayalam is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word "*mu-nu" meaning "three". | |||
| Marathi | तिसऱ्या | ||
| तिसऱ्या is derived from the Sanskrit word 'tisraha', which means 'three or threefold'. | |||
| Nepali | तेस्रो | ||
| "तेस्रो" (third) derives from Proto-Indo-Aryan *trtiyah and also bears the meaning of "different." | |||
| Punjabi | ਤੀਜਾ | ||
| The word "ਤੀਜਾ" can also mean "Tuesday" in Punjabi, originating from the Sanskrit word "tritya". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තෙවන | ||
| The word තෙවන ('third') is also used to refer to the third day of a Buddhist lent. | |||
| Tamil | மூன்றாவது | ||
| The word "மூன்றாவது" is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word "*mu(ː)n(d)u(m)", meaning "three". It also means "the third part of a whole" or "a group of three". | |||
| Telugu | మూడవది | ||
| మూడవది (mūḍavadi) may also mean "thirdly" or "in the third place". | |||
| Urdu | تیسرے | ||
| In ancient times, "تیسرے" also conveyed the meaning of "other; another." | |||
Third in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 第三 | ||
| Chinese classifier for 'group' or 'time', which is written as 三 surrounded by a square. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 第三 | ||
| In Mandarin Chinese, "第三" also denotes "others outside a specific group", "the next generation", or "a person of lower ranking than one's elder brother, cousin, or uncle." | |||
| Japanese | 第3 | ||
| 第3 can also mean "the upper half of the Japanese character "人" (person)", "a step (in dance)", or "a series". | |||
| Korean | 제삼 | ||
| The word "제삼" also means "others" or "another party" in Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | гурав дахь | ||
| In Mongolian, 'гурав дахь' is a numeral used not just for counting objects or items, but also for expressing ordinal numbers and indicating the third position in a sequence. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တတိယ | ||
| In Myanmar, the word 'တတိယ' is also used to refer to the 'third day of the waning moon'. | |||
Third in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | ketiga | ||
| "Ketiga" also means "of three" or "three" | |||
| Javanese | kaping telu | ||
| “Kaping telu” could also mean “twice” in certain literary contexts and when used in the context of “twice” its equivalent in Krama Inggil is “Kaping kalih”. | |||
| Khmer | ទីបី | ||
| The word ទីបី also means "the third time". | |||
| Lao | ທີສາມ | ||
| Malay | ketiga | ||
| The Malay word "ketiga" is also used with ordinal or fractional numbers and refers to the penultimate value of a series rather than the third. | |||
| Thai | ที่สาม | ||
| The Thai word "ที่สาม" (third) can also refer to an "umpire" or a "referee". | |||
| Vietnamese | ngày thứ ba | ||
| Ngày thứ ba, in Vietnamese, can refer to the past Tuesday or the upcoming Thursday. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pangatlo | ||
Third in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | üçüncü | ||
| "Üçüncü" also means "triplet" in Azerbaijani, referring to a set of three identical things. | |||
| Kazakh | үшінші | ||
| The word "үшінші" has an additional meaning of "small" or "the last one" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | үчүнчү | ||
| The word "үчүнчү" ("third") in Kyrgyz can also mean "follower" or "disciple". | |||
| Tajik | сеюм | ||
| The word "сеюм" comes from the Proto-Iranian word "*þritiya-", which also meant "third". | |||
| Turkmen | üçünji | ||
| Uzbek | uchinchi | ||
| The word "uchinchi" can also mean "the youngest". | |||
| Uyghur | ئۈچىنچىسى | ||
Third in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ke kolu | ||
| "Ke kolu" also refers to the third finger or toe, as well as to the third child or sibling. | |||
| Maori | tuatoru | ||
| Tuatoru (third) is also used figuratively to describe an individual with exceptional abilities. | |||
| Samoan | tulaga tolu | ||
| The Samoan word 'tulaga tolu' may also refer to the third person or the third time. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pangatlo | ||
| The word 'pangatlo' also means 'assistant' and is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paŋatlu which means 'third'. | |||
Third in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kimsïri | ||
| Guarani | mbohapyha | ||
Third in International Languages
| Esperanto | tria | ||
| The word "tria" derives from the Latin "tres", and it is also cognate with the Greek "tria" and the English "three". | |||
| Latin | tertium | ||
| Though it stems from 'tres' ('three'), 'tertium' also denotes "a third person" or "an arbiter" | |||
Third in Others Languages
| Greek | τρίτος | ||
| The word "τρίτος" can also refer to "a person in a group of three," "the three Fates," "one who arbitrates," or "a middleman." | |||
| Hmong | feem peb | ||
| In some Hmong dialects, "feem peb" can also mean "three". | |||
| Kurdish | sêyem | ||
| The Kurdish word "sêyem" can also be used to refer to an older, more experienced, or more respected individual. | |||
| Turkish | üçüncü | ||
| "Üçüncü" aynı zamanda bir ağacın köklerini tutan, yatay olan odun parçası ve bir kemiğin eklem yerindeki çıkıntı anlamlarına gelir. | |||
| Xhosa | isithathu | ||
| Isithathu, meaning "third," can also mean "a third part" or "a remainder." | |||
| Yiddish | דריט | ||
| The Yiddish word "דריט" derives from the Old High German "dritto", meaning "straight" or "in a row". | |||
| Zulu | okwesithathu | ||
| The word "okwesithathu" (third) can also mean "the next one" or "the one after the next" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | তৃতীয় | ||
| Aymara | kimsïri | ||
| Bhojpuri | तीसरा | ||
| Dhivehi | ތިންވަނަ | ||
| Dogri | त्रीआ | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pangatlo | ||
| Guarani | mbohapyha | ||
| Ilocano | maikatlo | ||
| Krio | tɔd | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | سێیەم | ||
| Maithili | तेसर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯍꯨꯝꯁꯨꯕ | ||
| Mizo | pathumna | ||
| Oromo | sadaffaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ତୃତୀୟ | ||
| Quechua | kimsa ñiqi | ||
| Sanskrit | तृतीयं | ||
| Tatar | өченче | ||
| Tigrinya | ሳልሳይ | ||
| Tsonga | vunharhu | ||