Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'through' holds a significant place in the English language, often used to describe a passage or connection between two points. It's a small word with a big impact, indicating movement, progression, or a continuous stretch. Culturally, it's woven into our everyday expressions, from 'going through the motions' to 'seeing something through to the end'.
But what about in other languages? Understanding the translation of 'through' in different languages can provide fascinating insights into cultural nuances and language complexity. For instance, in Spanish, 'through' translates to 'por' or 'a través de', while in German, it's 'durch'. In Japanese, the concept of 'through' is expressed as '通り', which also means 'street' or 'passage'.
So, why should you care about translating 'through'? Knowing this can enrich your language skills, deepen your cultural understanding, and even enhance your travel experiences. Let's delve into the world of 'through' in different languages.
Afrikaans | deur | ||
In Afrikaans, 'deur' can also refer to a door, derived from the Dutch word 'deur'. | |||
Amharic | በኩል | ||
The word 'በኩል' ('through') in Amharic has alternate meanings of 'by way of', 'via', 'by means of', or 'by the agency of'. | |||
Hausa | ta hanyar | ||
The Hausa word "ta hanyar" can also mean "by means of". | |||
Igbo | site na | ||
The word "site na" can also be used as an exclamation of disbelief or surprise, like "oh my gosh". | |||
Malagasy | ny alalan ' | ||
The Malagasy word "ny alalan'" also means "the way" or "the path". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kupyola | ||
The word 'kupyola' can also mean 'to pass by' or 'to go around'. | |||
Shona | kuburikidza | ||
The word "kuburikidza" in Shona can also mean "to pass through" or "to cross over." | |||
Somali | iyada oo loo marayo | ||
The Somali term "iyada oo loo marayo" can also be used to convey the idea of "by means of" or "via". | |||
Sesotho | ka ho | ||
The word "ka ho" can also mean "because of" or "due to". | |||
Swahili | kupitia | ||
The Swahili word "kupitia" also means "to pass by" or "to go through". | |||
Xhosa | ukugqitha | ||
Ukugqitha in Xhosa can also mean to cross over or to go beyond. | |||
Yoruba | nipasẹ | ||
The word "nipasẹ" can also mean "by means of" or "with the help of". | |||
Zulu | ngokusebenzisa | ||
The word "ngokusebenzisa" can also mean "by means of" or "with the help of" in Zulu. | |||
Bambara | fɛ | ||
Ewe | to eme | ||
Kinyarwanda | binyuze | ||
Lingala | na nzela ya | ||
Luganda | mu | ||
Sepedi | go | ||
Twi (Akan) | fam | ||
Arabic | عبر | ||
In Arabic, "عبر" can also mean "across" or "beyond". It is derived from the root "ع ب ر" (ayn-ba'-ra') meaning "to pass by". | |||
Hebrew | דרך | ||
The Hebrew word "דרך" can also mean "manner," "custom," or "direction." | |||
Pashto | له لارې | ||
This word is also used to mean "because" or "since." | |||
Arabic | عبر | ||
In Arabic, "عبر" can also mean "across" or "beyond". It is derived from the root "ع ب ر" (ayn-ba'-ra') meaning "to pass by". |
Albanian | përmes | ||
Përmes derives from Proto-Albanian *përme "through, across" via regular sound changes. | |||
Basque | bidez | ||
The Basque word "bidez" can also mean "by means of" or "by way of". | |||
Catalan | a través | ||
The Catalan word "a través" derives from the Latin "transversus", meaning "across" or "going across". | |||
Croatian | kroz | ||
In its original meaning, the word "kroz" referred to a "narrow passage". | |||
Danish | igennem | ||
In Swedish, 'igennem' means 'again' or 'repeatedly' but in Danish it means 'through' or 'across'. | |||
Dutch | door | ||
The Dutch word "door" can also mean "gate" or "threshold". | |||
English | through | ||
The word 'through' can also mean 'completed' or 'finished', as in 'I'm through with this project'. | |||
French | à travers | ||
The French word "à travers" originally meant "to pierce" or "to cross over". | |||
Frisian | troch | ||
It also denotes a passage or a narrow passageway. | |||
Galician | a través | ||
A través is also a conjunction meaning "until" or "by means of" in Galician. | |||
German | durch | ||
"Durch" also means "by", "because of" or "across". | |||
Icelandic | í gegnum | ||
The word "í gegnum" is derived from Old Norse "í gegn" meaning "opposite" or "in opposition". | |||
Irish | tríd | ||
Despite being an everyday word, Irish “tríd” means many different things. | |||
Italian | attraverso | ||
"Attraverso" (lit. "across") can also mean "during" or "throughout," or, in a figurative sense, "by the means of"} | |||
Luxembourgish | duerch | ||
In Luxembourgish, "duerch" is closely related to the German word "durch" and can also mean "for" or "by". | |||
Maltese | permezz | ||
"Permezz" also means "inside" or "within" in Maltese. | |||
Norwegian | gjennom | ||
"Gjennom" can also mean "across," "throughout," or "in the course of." | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | através | ||
The word "através" comes from the Latin "ad transversus", which means "to cross over". In Portuguese, it can also mean "over", "beyond", or "past". | |||
Scots Gaelic | troimhe | ||
The Scots Gaelic word "troimhe" can also mean "through and through" or "thoroughly". | |||
Spanish | mediante | ||
The word "mediante" in Spanish can also mean "by means of" or "through the intervention of". | |||
Swedish | genom | ||
The Swedish word "genom" also means "genome" and derives from Greek "genos" (meaning "race, origin") and Latin "-oma" (meaning "tumor"). | |||
Welsh | trwodd | ||
Welsh 'trwodd' is a contraction of 'trewth' and 'odd,' meaning 'across the length' and 'out' respectively, hence 'through'. |
Belarusian | наскрозь | ||
Слово "наскрозь" происходит от древнеславянского "на сквозь", что означало "насквозь, совершенно". | |||
Bosnian | kroz | ||
Kroz can also be used figuratively, such as 'kroz vatre' ('through the fires') | |||
Bulgarian | през | ||
The word "през" likely derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*perzъ", meaning "across" or "beyond". | |||
Czech | přes | ||
The word "přes" in Czech can also mean "over" or "across". | |||
Estonian | läbi | ||
Alternate meanings of "läbi" include "across" and "penetrate". | |||
Finnish | kautta | ||
"Kautta" as a noun also means a narrow, usually swampy path over a marsh or swamp. | |||
Hungarian | keresztül | ||
The word "keresztül" originally meant "transversely" or "across" in Hungarian, but it has since come to mean "through" in a more general sense. | |||
Latvian | cauri | ||
"Cauri" also means "in" or "into" when referring to entering a place. | |||
Lithuanian | per | ||
"Per" in Lithuanian is cognate with "per" in Latin, meaning "to go through." | |||
Macedonian | преку | ||
The word "преку" also means "at the home of" or "past" in Macedonian. | |||
Polish | przez | ||
"Przez" can also mean "across", "via" or "during". | |||
Romanian | prin | ||
The Romanian word "prin" is likely derived from the Latin preposition "per" and has retained its meaning of "through" or "by means of." | |||
Russian | через | ||
The word "через" can also mean "via" or "by means of" in Russian. | |||
Serbian | кроз | ||
The word "кроз" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*krozъ", which also meant "through" but could also refer to a narrow passage or opening. | |||
Slovak | cez | ||
The word "cez" is also used in various idioms and expressions such as "cez prsty" (literally "through fingers"), meaning "to let something slip" or "to overlook something." | |||
Slovenian | skozi | ||
“skozi” is one of the oldest existing Slovenian words, originating from before the Indo-European period. | |||
Ukrainian | через | ||
The Ukrainian word "через" can also mean "via" or "across". |
Bengali | মাধ্যম | ||
Bengali "মাধ্যম" (madhyam) derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "middle" and can mean either "through" or "medium" in English. | |||
Gujarati | દ્વારા | ||
The word "દ્વારા" in Gujarati can also mean "via" or "by means of". | |||
Hindi | के माध्यम से | ||
The Hindi word 'के माध्यम से' ('through') can also be used to mean 'by way of' or 'by means of'. | |||
Kannada | ಮೂಲಕ | ||
Apart from its literal meaning of "through", "ಮೂಲಕ" can also mean "through the means of" or "due to". | |||
Malayalam | വഴി | ||
"വഴി" literally translates to "way," but it can also signify a route, path, method, or means. | |||
Marathi | माध्यमातून | ||
The word "माध्यमातून" also means "through" in Marathi. | |||
Nepali | मार्फत | ||
मार्फत is also used to express means or medium as in ‘उसने मुझसे मार्फत काम करवाया’ (he got the work done through me). | |||
Punjabi | ਦੁਆਰਾ | ||
The word 'ਦੁਆਰਾ' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'द्वारा' ('dvaara'), which also means 'doorway' or 'entrance'. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඔස්සේ | ||
Sinhala "ඔස්සේ" can also mean "on account of" or "because of". | |||
Tamil | மூலம் | ||
Telugu | ద్వారా | ||
The word "ద్వారా" in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word "द्वारा" (dvāra) which also means "gate" or "doorway". | |||
Urdu | کے ذریعے | ||
Through is commonly used in the sense of passing from one end, side, or part to the other, but may also be used with reference to passing into or out of a body or system. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 通过 | ||
通过 is also used as a verb, meaning 'to pass through' or 'to succeed in doing something'. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 通過 | ||
通過 in Traditional Chinese also means "to agree upon"} | |||
Japanese | 使って | ||
The word "使って" can also mean "using" or "by means of" in Japanese. | |||
Korean | ...을 통하여 | ||
The word "...을 통하여" can also mean "by means of" or "by the way of". | |||
Mongolian | дамжуулан | ||
This word can also signify 'between' or 'by way of' and derives from the verb 'to go' | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | မှတဆင့် | ||
Indonesian | melalui | ||
"Melalui" is derived from the word "lalu" (past) and the prefix "me-", indicating that something has passed through something else. | |||
Javanese | liwat | ||
"Liwat" also means "to pass by" or "to cross over" in Javanese. | |||
Khmer | ឆ្លងកាត់ | ||
The Khmer word ឆ្លងកាត់ ("through") also means "to cross over" and "to pass through". | |||
Lao | ຜ່ານ | ||
In certain contexts, ຜ່ານ can also mean to pass or to allow. | |||
Malay | melalui | ||
The Malay word "melalui" can also refer to the process of passing or flowing through something, such as a liquid passing through a pipe. | |||
Thai | ผ่าน | ||
The word "ผ่าน" also means "to pass" or "to experience". | |||
Vietnamese | xuyên qua | ||
The word "xuyên qua" in Vietnamese has Chinese origin and also means "to pierce" or "to penetrate." | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | sa pamamagitan ng | ||
Azerbaijani | vasitəsilə | ||
Kazakh | арқылы | ||
"Арқылы" (through) also means "by means of" or "by virtue of" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | аркылуу | ||
The word "аркылуу" can also mean "by means of" or "via". | |||
Tajik | тавассути | ||
The word «тавассути» is an alternative form of «тавассул» and the word «тавассул» is a noun derived from the verb «тавассул кардан» which means «to use someone or something to achieve a goal» or «to use someone or something as a intermediary». | |||
Turkmen | üsti bilen | ||
Uzbek | orqali | ||
"Orqali" also means "in", "across", or "via" in Uzbek. | |||
Uyghur | ئارقىلىق | ||
Hawaiian | ma o | ||
Another meaning of "ma o" is "from" or "from the time of" or "from the beginning of". | |||
Maori | na roto i | ||
The word "na roto i" ("through") can also mean "inside" or "within" in Maori. | |||
Samoan | ala atu | ||
The word "ala atu" in Samoan has a dual meaning, also translating to "beyond" or "at the end". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | sa pamamagitan ng | ||
Aymara | uksatuqi | ||
Guarani | rupi | ||
Esperanto | tra | ||
The word "tra" also means "over" or "across" in Esperanto. | |||
Latin | propter | ||
In Latin, "propter" can also mean "on account of" or "because of". |
Greek | διά μέσου | ||
"διά μέσου": can also be translated to "via", especially when relating to communication of information or funds. | |||
Hmong | txog | ||
Despite its brevity, "txog" is a versatile word with semantic domains that overlap with English terms like "between" and "up to". | |||
Kurdish | bi rêve | ||
The word "bi rêve" in Kurdish also means "through the middle of" or "across". | |||
Turkish | vasıtasıyla | ||
"Vasıtasıyla" is derived from the Persian word "vasıta" (means "mean, vehicle"), and also means "means, agent, tool, instrument" in Turkish. | |||
Xhosa | ukugqitha | ||
Ukugqitha in Xhosa can also mean to cross over or to go beyond. | |||
Yiddish | דורך | ||
The Yiddish word "דורך" (durch) is derived from the German word "durch" and also means "by means of" or "via". | |||
Zulu | ngokusebenzisa | ||
The word "ngokusebenzisa" can also mean "by means of" or "with the help of" in Zulu. | |||
Assamese | মাজেদি | ||
Aymara | uksatuqi | ||
Bhojpuri | जरिये | ||
Dhivehi | ތެރެއިން | ||
Dogri | दे राहें | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | sa pamamagitan ng | ||
Guarani | rupi | ||
Ilocano | babaen | ||
Krio | pas | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | لەڕێگەی | ||
Maithili | माध्यम सँ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯨꯊꯥꯡ | ||
Mizo | tlang | ||
Oromo | keessa | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ | ||
Quechua | chayninta | ||
Sanskrit | समया | ||
Tatar | аша | ||
Tigrinya | ብውሽጢ | ||
Tsonga | hileka | ||