Today in Different Languages
Discover 'Today' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'today' holds a significant place in our daily vocabulary, signifying the present day and distinguishing it from yesterdays of the past and tomorrows yet to come. Its cultural importance is universal, crossing linguistic and geographical boundaries, and playing a vital role in how we communicate and connect with one another.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'today' in different languages can provide fascinating insights into the cultural nuances and unique perspectives of various societies around the world. For instance, in Spanish, 'hoy' (pronounced 'oy') is a one-syllable word that encapsulates the essence of the present moment, while in Japanese, 'kyou' (今日) is a two-character word that combines the characters for 'now' and 'day'.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or simply someone who appreciates the beauty and complexity of human communication, exploring the many translations of 'today' can be a rewarding and enlightening experience.
Today
Today in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vandag | ||
| "Vandag" is derived from the Dutch "heden" and originally carried the connotation of "this very day" as opposed to "some day in the near future." | |||
| Amharic | ዛሬ | ||
| The word ዛሬ (today) comes from the root ዛራ (to dawn), and is related to the word ዛሬት (tomorrow). | |||
| Hausa | yau | ||
| The word "yau" can also mean "now" or "recently". | |||
| Igbo | taa | ||
| "Taa" also means "now" and can be used in the phrase "taa bu nke a," meaning "now is the time for this." | |||
| Malagasy | amin'izao fotoana izao | ||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | lero | ||
| The Nyanja word 'lero' is thought to stem from the verb 'kuwala' ('to arise'), and initially meant 'the rising of the sun', later generalised to encompass the whole day. | |||
| Shona | nhasi | ||
| Although today usually refers to the current day, "nhasi" can also mean "now" or "this time." | |||
| Somali | maanta | ||
| The Somali word 'Maanta', meaning 'today', comes from the Arabic 'al-yaum' and has the same root as 'time' and 'era'. | |||
| Sesotho | kajeno | ||
| The word "kajeno" in Sesotho is also used to mean "currently" or "at the present time". | |||
| Swahili | leo | ||
| Leo can mean 'this morning' if there is a time reference point in the conversation. | |||
| Xhosa | namhlanje | ||
| "Namhlanje" originally meant "the time of milk" in Xhosa, referring to the morning when cows are milked, and has since evolved to mean "today". | |||
| Yoruba | loni | ||
| Loni can also mean 'recently' or 'a while ago' depending on the context. | |||
| Zulu | namuhla | ||
| The Zulu word 'namuhla' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *namu-kala, meaning 'the present time'. | |||
| Bambara | bi | ||
| Ewe | egbe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | uyu munsi | ||
| Lingala | lelo | ||
| Luganda | leero | ||
| Sepedi | lehono | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛnnɛ | ||
Today in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | اليوم | ||
| The word اليـوم (also al-yawm) is thought to have derived from the Arabic word for 'night', "ليلة" (layla), as in many cultures, a day would typically begin at sunset the previous day. | |||
| Hebrew | היום | ||
| The word "היום" can also mean "now" or "currently" in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | نن | ||
| The word "نن" can also refer to "the present time" or "the current era" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | اليوم | ||
| The word اليـوم (also al-yawm) is thought to have derived from the Arabic word for 'night', "ليلة" (layla), as in many cultures, a day would typically begin at sunset the previous day. | |||
Today in Western European Languages
| Albanian | sot | ||
| Sot derives from the Proto-Albanian word *sъdita, meaning "this day". | |||
| Basque | gaur | ||
| In Basque, "gaur" can also mean "tomorrow" or "day after tomorrow". | |||
| Catalan | avui | ||
| According to experts, the word 'avui' comes from the Latin "hodie", which also means "today", but it was influenced by the expression "ad huius diei", which means "up to this day" in Latin. | |||
| Croatian | danas | ||
| The word "danas" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *dьnь, which also means "day". | |||
| Danish | i dag | ||
| The Danish word "i dag" originally referred to the present day as opposed to the past or future, while "nu" was used to denote only the specific moment of the present. | |||
| Dutch | vandaag | ||
| The Dutch word "vandaag" is derived from the Middle Dutch word "vandage", which in turn comes from the Old Dutch word "vandaghes", meaning "on this day". | |||
| English | today | ||
| In Old English, 'today' was originally written as 'to-dæge', meaning 'on this day'. | |||
| French | aujourd'hui | ||
| "Aujourd'hui" comes from Old French "a" (to) and "jui" (day), and originally meant "on this day". | |||
| Frisian | hjoed | ||
| Hjoed means “the day of the Thing” (assembly). | |||
| Galician | hoxe | ||
| In Galician, "hoxe" is often used in the sense of "this particular moment" or "now" rather than just "the current day". | |||
| German | heute | ||
| The word "heute" derives from the Old High German word "hiutu", which meant "this day". In some dialects, it can also mean "tomorrow" or "yesterday". | |||
| Icelandic | í dag | ||
| The word "í dag" can also mean "this day" or "on this day," and is often used in formal or poetic contexts. | |||
| Irish | inniu | ||
| "Inniu" comes from the Proto-Celtic term "*andiu" meaning "present time". | |||
| Italian | oggi | ||
| "Buongiorno!" This common Italian greeting translates to "Good day!" but is used specifically in the morning, before noon. | |||
| Luxembourgish | haut | ||
| The word "haut" can also mean "loud" or "high" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | illum | ||
| The Maltese word "illum" is an irregular plural form meaning "today", but is the singular word for "light" when used in Ecclesiastical contexts. | |||
| Norwegian | i dag | ||
| "I dag" can also mean "in the present time" or "at the present time". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | hoje | ||
| "Hoje" shares its Latin etymology with the English "hodi," which itself derives from the Proto-Indo-European verb "ǵʰéy" meaning "go". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | an-diugh | ||
| “An-diugh” literally translates to “the day of today”. | |||
| Spanish | hoy | ||
| "Hoy" is the Spanish word for "today", it derives from the Latin "hodie" meaning "on this day". | |||
| Swedish | i dag | ||
| The Swedish word "i dag" literally means "in the day". | |||
| Welsh | heddiw | ||
| Historically, "heddiw" could mean "this evening" as well. | |||
Today in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сёння | ||
| The word сёння derives from the Proto-Slavic word sьnь, meaning "this day". | |||
| Bosnian | danas | ||
| The word "danas" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "dьnь", meaning "day", and is related to other Slavic words for "day", such as the Russian "день" (den) and the Polish "dzień". | |||
| Bulgarian | днес | ||
| "Днес" derives from Slavic root "дьнь" meaning "day" and also has meanings "at present" or "nowadays". | |||
| Czech | dnes | ||
| In the past, "dnes" also meant "this afternoon" or "the day after yesterday". | |||
| Estonian | täna | ||
| In Finnish, "tänä" means "this", similar to the Estonian word "täna", which means "today". | |||
| Finnish | tänään | ||
| The word "tänään" is derived from the combination of the words "tänä" (this) and "päivänä" (day). | |||
| Hungarian | ma | ||
| The Hungarian word for 'today,' "Ma," may also refer to a feminine first name. | |||
| Latvian | šodien | ||
| The Latvian word "šodien" is derived from the Old Prussian word "scho-dien", meaning "this day". | |||
| Lithuanian | šiandien | ||
| The word "šiandien" is derived from the verb "šviesti" (to shine) and refers to the "present day" or "today". | |||
| Macedonian | денес | ||
| The word "денес" can also mean "this day" or "the present time" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | dzisiaj | ||
| The Polish "dzisiaj" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*dьnьсь", meaning "this day". | |||
| Romanian | astăzi | ||
| The Romanian word "astăzi" derives from the Latin "ista dies", which means "this day". | |||
| Russian | cегодня | ||
| "Cегодня" is derived from the Old Slavic word "сьгoдьни", which originally meant "this day" or "the present time". | |||
| Serbian | данас | ||
| The word 'данас' (today) in Serbian, derived from 'дан' (day) and 'нас' (our), suggests that today is 'our day' or 'the day belonging to us'. | |||
| Slovak | dnes | ||
| "Dnes" is a contraction of the Old Slavic phrase "dъnь ѥстъ", meaning "this is the day". | |||
| Slovenian | danes | ||
| The word "danes" also means "day" or "days" in Slovenian, and it's related to the old Slavic root meaning "day". | |||
| Ukrainian | сьогодні | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, "сьогодні" meant "yesterday". Today, it only means "today" in Ukrainian. | |||
Today in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আজ | ||
| "আজ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "अद्य" (adya), meaning "this day" or "the present day." | |||
| Gujarati | આજે | ||
| The word "આજે" comes from the Sanskrit word "अद्य" (adya), which also means "today". | |||
| Hindi | आज | ||
| The word "आज" ("today") derives from "अध्यः" ("now"), originally "this time", hence "in this present state". | |||
| Kannada | ಇಂದು | ||
| ಇಂದು originates from the word 'ಅಂದು' ('that day') and has come to mean 'the current day' over time. | |||
| Malayalam | ഇന്ന് | ||
| The Malayalam word "ഇന്ന്" (today) is derived from the Sanskrit word "अद्य" (adya), meaning "this day" or "the present day." | |||
| Marathi | आज | ||
| The word "आज" can also refer to the present time or the current era in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | आज | ||
| The word "आज" is also used to refer to a specific part of the day, specifically the time between sunrise and noon. | |||
| Punjabi | ਅੱਜ | ||
| ਅੱਜ (aaj), meaning 'today', is derived from the Sanskrit word 'adhyah', meaning 'this day' or 'on this day'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අද | ||
| In Sinhala, "අද" can also mean "now" or indicate the current point in time. | |||
| Tamil | இன்று | ||
| "இன்று" can also mean "this day" or "the present day". | |||
| Telugu | ఈ రోజు | ||
| The Telugu word "ఈ రోజు" derives from the Sanskrit expression "idam arjuna", which literally translates to "this day." | |||
| Urdu | آج | ||
| The word "آج" can also mean "the present" or "the current time". | |||
Today in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 今天 | ||
| The word "今天" was originally a Buddhist term indicating "the present moment". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 今天 | ||
| The word "今天" (today) in Traditional Chinese is derived from the words "今" (now) and "天" (sky), and also means "the present day." | |||
| Japanese | 今日 | ||
| The word "今日" can also mean "this day" or "the present time". | |||
| Korean | 오늘 | ||
| 오늘 is derived from the Middle Korean word 오늘이, which in turn comes from the Old Korean word *onul, meaning "this day". | |||
| Mongolian | өнөөдөр | ||
| The suffix “өдөр” in the Mongolian word “өнөөдөр” appears in the words for “yesterday” and “tomorrow,” implying a meaning of “this day” rather than “the present day.” | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဒီနေ့ | ||
| The word "ဒီနေ့" (today) is derived from the Pali word "idani", meaning "now" or "at this time." | |||
Today in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | hari ini | ||
| The Indonesian word 'hari ini' literally translates to 'a day this'. | |||
| Javanese | dina iki | ||
| The word "dina iki" in Javanese derives from the root "dino" meaning "day" and "iki" meaning "this". It can also be used in a more general sense to refer to the present time or era. | |||
| Khmer | ថ្ងៃនេះ | ||
| Lao | ມື້ນີ້ | ||
| Malay | hari ini | ||
| "Hari" is also a term denoting "day", and "ini" means "this" or "the current one." | |||
| Thai | วันนี้ | ||
| The word "วันนี้" (today) in Thai is derived from the Sanskrit word "अद्य" (adya), meaning "this day". | |||
| Vietnamese | hôm nay | ||
| The Vietnamese word "hôm nay" originated from the Old Chinese word "kim nhật", meaning "this sun" or "the present day". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | ngayon | ||
Today in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bu gün | ||
| The word "bu gün" also means "this day" in Azerbaijani, emphasizing the current day and the events happening on it. | |||
| Kazakh | бүгін | ||
| The Kazakh word “бүгін” is thought to be derived from the Proto-Turkic word “bugün” which meant “this morning”, and is ultimately related to the Mongolian word “bügüde” and the Old Turkic word “bürkü”. | |||
| Kyrgyz | бүгүн | ||
| The word "бүгүн" is derived from the Old Turkic word "bugün", itself derived from the stem "bug", meaning "this" or "present". | |||
| Tajik | имрӯз | ||
| "Имрӯз" means "today" in Tajik. It is derived from the Persian word "امروز" (emrūz), which is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ems-ro-, meaning "this day". | |||
| Turkmen | bu gün | ||
| Uzbek | bugun | ||
| "Bugun" is the accusative case of "bu kun," meaning "this day" or "today" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | بۈگۈن | ||
Today in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i kēia lā | ||
| The Hawaiian word “i kēia lā” is derived from “i kē,” meaning “on this day” and “lā,” meaning “sun.” | |||
| Maori | i tenei ra | ||
| The word "i tenei ra" in Maori is a compound of two shorter words, "i tenei" and "ra". "I tenei" means "on this" or "in this" and "ra" means "day". So the literal translation of "i tenei ra" is "on this day". | |||
| Samoan | aso nei | ||
| "Aso nei" also means "now" or "today-time," implying a period of time from sunrise to sunset. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ngayon | ||
| "Ngayon" is a grammatical particle in Tagalog used to mark the present tense. It is also sometimes used to mean "now" or "at the present time." | |||
Today in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jichhüru | ||
| Guarani | ko árape | ||
Today in International Languages
| Esperanto | hodiaŭ | ||
| "Hodiaŭ" in Esperanto derives from the Latin word "hodie", meaning "on this day". | |||
| Latin | hodie | ||
| The Latin word “hodie” also signifies “this day,” “now,” and “presently”. | |||
Today in Others Languages
| Greek | σήμερα | ||
| "Σήμερα" is derived from the Ancient Greek term "τὰ σήμερον," meaning "the present day", and is related to the word "σημεῖον," meaning "sign" or "mark". | |||
| Hmong | niaj hnub no | ||
| The Hmong word for "today", "niaj hnub no", literally translates to "this sun now". | |||
| Kurdish | îro | ||
| The Kurdish word "îro" is said to share a linguistic root with the Avestan "airo" and the Sanskrit "ahar," which all imply "a section of time" in their respective languages. | |||
| Turkish | bugün | ||
| The word "bugün" originally meant "this day" in Old Turkic and was formed by combining the words "bu" (this) and "gün" (day). | |||
| Xhosa | namhlanje | ||
| "Namhlanje" originally meant "the time of milk" in Xhosa, referring to the morning when cows are milked, and has since evolved to mean "today". | |||
| Yiddish | היינט | ||
| The word "היינט" derives from the German "heute," sharing a common ancestor with the English word "today." | |||
| Zulu | namuhla | ||
| The Zulu word 'namuhla' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *namu-kala, meaning 'the present time'. | |||
| Assamese | আজি | ||
| Aymara | jichhüru | ||
| Bhojpuri | आजु | ||
| Dhivehi | މިއަދު | ||
| Dogri | अज्ज | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | ngayon | ||
| Guarani | ko árape | ||
| Ilocano | ita nga aldaw | ||
| Krio | tide | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئەمڕۆ | ||
| Maithili | आइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯉꯁꯤ | ||
| Mizo | vawiin | ||
| Oromo | har'a | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆଜି | ||
| Quechua | kunan | ||
| Sanskrit | अद्य | ||
| Tatar | бүген | ||
| Tigrinya | ሎምዓንቲ | ||
| Tsonga | namuntlha | ||