To in Different Languages
Discover 'To' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'to' may seem simple, but it holds a world of significance and cultural importance. It is a preposition in English that can indicate direction, purpose, or addition. For example, 'I am going to the store' or 'She added two and two to make four.' But 'to' is more than just a word in English; it's a concept that transcends language and culture.
Throughout history, 'to' has been used in various ways, from the title of famous pieces of literature like To Kill a Mockingbird to the mathematical concept of 'to the power of.' It's a versatile word that has been adapted and translated into many different languages.
Understanding the translation of 'to' in different languages can provide insight into the culture and language of the people who speak it. For example, in Spanish, 'to' is translated as 'a', while in French, it's translated as 'à'. These translations may seem simple, but they can tell us about the grammar and syntax of the language.
In this article, we will explore the translations of 'to' in different languages, shedding light on the cultural and linguistic significance of this small but mighty word.
To
To in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | aan | ||
| The Afrikaans word "aan" derives from the Dutch "aan" and can also mean "on", "at", or "in" | |||
| Amharic | ወደ | ||
| The word "ወደ" (to) can also mean "towards" or "in the direction of". | |||
| Hausa | zuwa | ||
| In some dialects, zuwa can also mean 'to become'. | |||
| Igbo | ka | ||
| Igbo ka can also mean "and" and "but" and can be used when asking a question. | |||
| Malagasy | ny | ||
| Malagasy "ny" may derive from Proto-Austronesian "*nu" or Proto-Malayo-Polynesian "*ni", both of which mean "(it/he/she) is." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuti | ||
| The word "kuti" in Nyanja also means "in order to" and "so that". | |||
| Shona | ku | ||
| In Shona, "ku" has cognates in other Bantu languages, including "ku" in Swahili, "uk" in Zulu, and "ko" in Luganda, indicating its widespread usage in Bantu languages. | |||
| Somali | ku | ||
| Somali "ku" is cognate with other Cushitic languages' "ku" or "ka," meaning "to" or "towards." | |||
| Sesotho | ho | ||
| 'Ho' can also refer to 'come here'. | |||
| Swahili | kwa | ||
| In Old Swahili, _kwa_ was also a preposition meaning _with_. | |||
| Xhosa | ukuya | ||
| The word "ukuya" also means "to go" or "to visit" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | si | ||
| While "si" is often translated as "to," it can also mean "for." | |||
| Zulu | uku | ||
| The word "uku" in Zulu can also be used to create the infinitive form of verbs. | |||
| Bambara | fɛ | ||
| Ewe | yi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kuri | ||
| Lingala | na | ||
| Luganda | ku | ||
| Sepedi | go | ||
| Twi (Akan) | kɔ | ||
To in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | إلى | ||
| Historically, “إلى” meant “upon” or “towards,” and it’s still used this way in certain idiomatic expressions | |||
| Hebrew | ל | ||
| The Hebrew letter "ל" also means "at" or "for" in some instances. | |||
| Pashto | ته | ||
| In some Pashto dialects, "ته" can also mean "until" or "by the time that". | |||
| Arabic | إلى | ||
| Historically, “إلى” meant “upon” or “towards,” and it’s still used this way in certain idiomatic expressions | |||
To in Western European Languages
| Albanian | te | ||
| The word "te" also means "with" or "about" in Albanian. | |||
| Basque | ra | ||
| Basque "ra" may come from Proto-Basque "ora" or "oraa" or Indo-European "*ar", meaning "toward, to". | |||
| Catalan | a | ||
| In Catalan, "a" may also mean "at" or "in" depending on context; it comes from the Latin word "ad" (meaning "to"). | |||
| Croatian | do | ||
| The Croatian word "do" (meaning "to") is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *do, which also means "to make". | |||
| Danish | til | ||
| The Danish word "til" can also mean "until" or "towards." | |||
| Dutch | naar | ||
| The word "naar" can also mean "towards", "in the direction of", "for", "with the purpose of", or "on the way to". | |||
| English | to | ||
| The word 'to' can also mean 'toward' or 'in the direction of', as in 'I'm going to the store'. | |||
| French | à | ||
| In addition to the standard meaning, "à" can also mean "at" or "in" in certain contexts. | |||
| Frisian | nei | ||
| In Saterland Frisian, "nei" can also express "in the direction of" | |||
| Galician | a | ||
| The word "a" in Galician can also mean "at", "in", or "on" depending on context. | |||
| German | zu | ||
| "Zu" can also mean "closed" or "towards": "Der Laden ist heute zu!" (The shop is closed today!), "Wir fahren zu dir!" (We're driving towards you!). | |||
| Icelandic | til | ||
| The Icelandic word "til" (to, until) is cognate with the English word "till," a word with a broad range of meanings including "to, towards, until, as far as, as soon as, so as to." This broad range is also true of the Icelandic word. | |||
| Irish | chun | ||
| "Chun" is cognate with Welsh "cyn" ("before"), originally cognate with English "when." | |||
| Italian | per | ||
| In Italian, "per" can also mean "through", "by", "for", and "during". | |||
| Luxembourgish | an | ||
| The word "an" in Luxembourgish can also mean "on" or "in", depending on the context. | |||
| Maltese | għal | ||
| `Għal` is originally derived from the Arabic preposition `ʿalá` („على”) meaning “up(on), over”, “against”, “to”, etc.; however, the latter has not survived and modern Maltese does not use `għal` in this same way. | |||
| Norwegian | til | ||
| In Norwegian, "til" can also mean "until". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | para | ||
| Although 'para' means 'to' or 'for' in Portuguese, it can also mean 'stop' in some expressions. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gu | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "gu" can also mean "for the purpose of". | |||
| Spanish | a | ||
| The Spanish word "a" derives from Latin ad (towards), and can also imply purpose, place, or motion. | |||
| Swedish | till | ||
| The word "till" in Swedish can also mean "in order to" or "in the direction of." | |||
| Welsh | i | ||
| 'I' is also used to make a noun into a verb, such as 'ei' (to give), or 'canu' (to sing). | |||
To in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | да | ||
| The word "да" in Belarusian can also mean "so" or "well". | |||
| Bosnian | do | ||
| The Bosnian word 'do' can also mean 'to be' or 'to exist'. | |||
| Bulgarian | да се | ||
| The word "да се" can also mean "in order to" or "so as to". It is similar in usage to the English word "to" in these contexts. | |||
| Czech | na | ||
| The Czech word "na" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *na, meaning "onto" or "upon". | |||
| Estonian | kuni | ||
| The word "kuni" is also used as a preposition meaning "until" or "as far as". | |||
| Finnish | että | ||
| "Että" is an ancient noun meaning "purpose" or "cause". | |||
| Hungarian | nak nek | ||
| The word "nak nek" originally meant "to be like" or "to resemble", but it has since lost this meaning and now only means "to". | |||
| Latvian | uz | ||
| It's an ancient Balto-Slavic particle with diverse meanings and different spellings (in Old Prussian it was written as "us", in Lithuanian it was written as "uʒ", and in Latvian it was written as "uz". | |||
| Lithuanian | į | ||
| The Lithuanian word “į” (“to”) originally meant “in, into” and still has this meaning in certain contexts. | |||
| Macedonian | до | ||
| The word "до" in Macedonian also has the meaning of "until" or "up to". | |||
| Polish | do | ||
| The word "do" can also mean "to get" or "to make" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | la | ||
| "La" also means "by" (feminine), "at", "per", "on" (when referring to time), and "in" (when referring to a place). | |||
| Russian | к | ||
| "К" means "to" in Russian but can also refer to the first letter of the Cyrillic alphabet or the abbreviation for километр (kilometer). | |||
| Serbian | до | ||
| The word "до" (**to**) in Serbian also means "until" in Russian and "up until" (**before**) in Polish. | |||
| Slovak | do | ||
| 'Do' also means 'until,' and when it appears before a verb it indicates completion of action. | |||
| Slovenian | do | ||
| "Delati" is the infinitive form of the verb "delati" in Slovenian, which means "to do" or "to make." | |||
| Ukrainian | до | ||
| The word "до" in Ukrainian can also mean "before", "until", or "towards". | |||
To in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রতি | ||
| The Bengali word 'প্রতি' can also mean 'for' or 'in honor of', as in 'আমার প্রতি আপনার ভালোবাসা আমাকে অভিভূত করে' (Your love for me overwhelms me). | |||
| Gujarati | પ્રતિ | ||
| "પ્રતિ" derives from the Sanskrit "prati" (towards), also meaning "about" or "against" in some contexts. | |||
| Hindi | सेवा | ||
| The word 'सेवा' can also mean 'service', 'respect', or 'worship'. | |||
| Kannada | ಗೆ | ||
| "ಗೆ" is not only used in the sense of "to" but also to mean "towards" or "in the direction of". | |||
| Malayalam | ടു | ||
| The word "ടു" ("to") in Malayalam can also mean "towards" or "in the direction of". | |||
| Marathi | करण्यासाठी | ||
| The word करण्यासाठी ("to") in Marathi has alternate meanings including "in order to" and "for the purpose of". | |||
| Nepali | लाई | ||
| The Nepali word "लाई" can also be used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence. | |||
| Punjabi | ਨੂੰ | ||
| The word "ਨੂੰ" (to) in Punjabi can also be used to mean "for" or "in order to". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දක්වා | ||
| දක්වා (dakvā) can also mean "through" or "by way of". | |||
| Tamil | க்கு | ||
| The Tamil word "க்கு" (to) has alternative meanings like "for" and "in the direction of". | |||
| Telugu | కు | ||
| "కు" can also mean the letter 'క' in the Telugu alphabet. | |||
| Urdu | کرنے کے لئے | ||
To in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 至 | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning, 至 (zhì) can also mean "extreme" or "highest point" | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 至 | ||
| 至 (zhì) also means 'extreme' or 'most' | |||
| Japanese | に | ||
| "に" (ni) can also mean "in", "on", "at", or "for" depending on the context. | |||
| Korean | ...에 | ||
| In addition to its directional meaning, "...에" can also mean "at", "on", "in", or "inside" depending on the context. | |||
| Mongolian | руу | ||
| "Руу" means "towards", "in the direction of," "to a time or period," "by, with" and sometimes "in such a way"} | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရန် | ||
| ရန် is also used as an honorific prefix to the names of revered monks. | |||
To in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | untuk | ||
| The word "untuk" can also mean "for" or "in order to". | |||
| Javanese | kanggo | ||
| The word "kanggo" in Javanese, besides meaning "to", can also mean "for" or "in order to" | |||
| Khmer | ទៅ | ||
| The word “ទៅ” can also mean “towards” or “arrive at”. | |||
| Lao | ເຖິງ | ||
| ເຖິງ also means 'until,' and is cognate with the Thai ถึง meaning 'to', 'until', or 'when'. | |||
| Malay | ke | ||
| The word "ke" in Malay can also mean "toward" or "in the direction of." | |||
| Thai | ถึง | ||
| The word "ถึง" also serves as the conjunction "until" (as in the "until" in "I was there until noon") | |||
| Vietnamese | đến | ||
| The Vietnamese word "đến" can also mean "until" or "up to." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa | ||
To in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | üçün | ||
| "Üçün" can also mean "for" or "because". | |||
| Kazakh | дейін | ||
| The word "дейін" also means "until" or "up to" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | чейин | ||
| The word "чейин" also means "towards" or "in the direction of" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | ба | ||
| The word "ба" can also mean "but" or "however". | |||
| Turkmen | to | ||
| Uzbek | ga | ||
| The word "ga" can also mean "toward" or "in the direction of". | |||
| Uyghur | to | ||
To in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i | ||
| Despite the brevity of "i" in Hawaiian, it denotes both the preposition and infinitive marker, akin to the multivalent "to" in English. | |||
| Maori | ki | ||
| The Maori word "ki" has its origins in the Proto-Polynesian word "*ki" meaning "to" or "towards". | |||
| Samoan | i le | ||
| The Samoan word "i le" can also mean "in" or "on". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sa | ||
| The Tagalog "sa" can also be a contraction of the words "sa mga" or "sa mga ang" meaning "to the" and "to the ones the"} | |||
To in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | a | ||
| Guarani | g̃uarã-hag̃ua | ||
To in International Languages
| Esperanto | al | ||
| The Esperanto preposition "al" has a dual etymology, partly from the Latin "ad" and partly from the English "to". | |||
| Latin | ut | ||
| In ancient Latin, "ut" could also imply "as" when expressing equivalence or comparison. | |||
To in Others Languages
| Greek | προς το | ||
| Προς το may also mean "in comparison to" or "in conformity with" in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | rau | ||
| In some dialects of Hmong, 'rau' is a shortened form of 'tseem rau', 'rau' specifically referring to movement in one direction. | |||
| Kurdish | ber | ||
| The word "ber" can also mean "in front of" or "nearby". | |||
| Turkish | -e | ||
| The Turkish suffix "-e" derives from the Proto-Turkic directional suffix "-gA" denoting movement towards. | |||
| Xhosa | ukuya | ||
| The word "ukuya" also means "to go" or "to visit" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | צו | ||
| Yiddish "צו" (tsu) can also mean "towards" or "for" (e.g. "I am going to the store" = "איך גיי צו דעם לאדן"). | |||
| Zulu | uku | ||
| The word "uku" in Zulu can also be used to create the infinitive form of verbs. | |||
| Assamese | লৈ | ||
| Aymara | a | ||
| Bhojpuri | खातिर | ||
| Dhivehi | އަށް | ||
| Dogri | गी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa | ||
| Guarani | g̃uarã-hag̃ua | ||
| Ilocano | tapno | ||
| Krio | to | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بۆ | ||
| Maithili | होए | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | to | ||
| Mizo | ah | ||
| Oromo | gara | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କୁ | ||
| Quechua | to | ||
| Sanskrit | इत्यस्मै | ||
| Tatar | to | ||
| Tigrinya | ናብ | ||
| Tsonga | eka | ||