Towards in Different Languages
Discover 'Towards' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'towards' is a small but powerful preposition in the English language, indicating movement, direction, or approach in relation to something or someone.
Throughout history, 'towards' has played a significant role in literature, poetry, and everyday communication. It reflects our constant motion and progress, both physically and metaphorically, as we navigate our world and relationships.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'towards' in different languages can enrich our cross-cultural communication and showcase the unique ways various languages express similar concepts.
For instance, in Spanish, 'towards' translates to 'hacia,' while in French, it becomes 'vers.' In German, the word is 'zu,' and in Japanese, 'towards' is expressed as '方向{houkou}.'
Discovering these linguistic nuances not only expands our vocabulary but also fosters a deeper appreciation for the diverse cultural contexts in which language evolves.
Towards
Towards in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | in die rigting van | ||
| The Afrikaans word "in die rigting van" also means "in that direction" and "in the direction of". | |||
| Amharic | ወደ | ||
| "ወደ" also refers to a "type" or a "sort" | |||
| Hausa | zuwa | ||
| In Hausa, "zuwa" can also mean "to", "in the direction of", "facing", or "on the way to". | |||
| Igbo | kwupụta | ||
| "Kwupụta" is the Igbo word for "towards," but it can also refer to "a portion" or "a share." | |||
| Malagasy | mankany | ||
| The Malagasy word "mankany" also means "in the direction of". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kulunjika | ||
| The word "kulunjika" can also mean "to turn around" or "to change direction" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | takananga | ||
| The word "takananga" in Shona, meaning "towards", comes from the root word "kana" which refers to direction. | |||
| Somali | dhanka | ||
| The word "dhanka" in Somali originally meant "side" or "part." | |||
| Sesotho | lebisa | ||
| The prefix "le" in "lebisa" indicates movement towards and can also mean "to bring" or "to fetch". | |||
| Swahili | kuelekea | ||
| The verb "kuelekea" in Swahili can also mean "to visit" or "to go in the direction of". | |||
| Xhosa | malunga | ||
| The word 'malunga' in Xhosa can also mean 'alongside', 'close to', or 'near'. | |||
| Yoruba | si ọna | ||
| Si ọna in Yoruba can also mean "to the market," and "homeward." | |||
| Zulu | ngase | ||
| The word "ngase" can also mean "the end," "the limit," or "death." | |||
| Bambara | kasin | ||
| Ewe | ɖo ta | ||
| Kinyarwanda | yerekeza | ||
| Lingala | na ngambo ya | ||
| Luganda | eri | ||
| Sepedi | go ya go | ||
| Twi (Akan) | biribi so | ||
Towards in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تجاه | ||
| The word "تجاه" also means "in front of" or "facing". | |||
| Hebrew | לִקרַאת | ||
| The word "לִקרַאת" ("towards") is derived from the Hebrew root "קרה" ("to meet"). | |||
| Pashto | په لور | ||
| په لور is a compound word, where په is a preposition meaning 'on' or 'over' and لور means 'side' or 'direction'. | |||
| Arabic | تجاه | ||
| The word "تجاه" also means "in front of" or "facing". | |||
Towards in Western European Languages
| Albanian | drejt | ||
| "Drejt" also means "right" as in correct or true and "righteous" and is related to the word "drejtësi", meaning justice. | |||
| Basque | aldera | ||
| The word "aldera" can also mean "to the other side" or "across" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | cap a | ||
| The word "cap a" also means "the direction or point to which someone or something moves or faces." | |||
| Croatian | prema | ||
| The word "prema" also means "according to" or "in accordance with". | |||
| Danish | hen imod | ||
| The prefix 'imod' shares the same origin as the English 'meet', suggesting a reciprocal movement. | |||
| Dutch | naar | ||
| The word "naar" can also mean "fool" or "crazy" in Dutch, and is derived from the Old Dutch word "narro," meaning "jester." | |||
| English | towards | ||
| The word "towards" derives from the Old English word "tōweard," which means "facing" or "in the direction of." | |||
| French | vers | ||
| "VERS - from Latin versus (turned), a past part. of verto, meaning turn - means both towards something and against someone." | |||
| Frisian | nei | ||
| "Nei" also has the alternate meaning "within", as in "nei in hûs" (within the house). | |||
| Galician | cara a | ||
| "Cara a" comes from Latin word "cada" | |||
| German | gegenüber | ||
| Gegenüber can also mean 'opposite' with a prepositional dative argument in German. | |||
| Icelandic | gagnvart | ||
| The original meaning of gagnvart was "turning to", and can still be used this way in some situations. | |||
| Irish | i dtreo | ||
| The Irish word 'i dtreo' can also have the meaning of 'in comparison with'. | |||
| Italian | in direzione | ||
| The Italian phrase "in direzione" can also mean "in charge" or "in management". | |||
| Luxembourgish | richtung | ||
| The word "Richtung" in Luxembourgish can also refer to a "direction" or a "tendency". | |||
| Maltese | lejn | ||
| The etymology of the Maltese word "lejn" is uncertain, with some scholars suggesting an origin in the Arabic word for "direction" and others proposing a derivation from the Berber word for "path". | |||
| Norwegian | mot | ||
| The word "mot" also means "against" or "to meet" in the context of movement. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | para | ||
| The preposition "para" can also mean "for" or "in order to" in Portuguese. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | a dh ’ionnsaigh | ||
| A dh ’ionnsaigh has an alternative idiomatic meaning: "with the intent of, for, or to the purpose of." | |||
| Spanish | hacia | ||
| The Spanish word "hacia" likely derives from the Latin word "adversus" and can also mean "facing" or "against". | |||
| Swedish | mot | ||
| "Mot" is also an abbreviation of the Swedish word "motor" meaning "engine" in English. | |||
| Welsh | tuag at | ||
| The word 'tuag at' is derived from the Old Welsh word 'tyag', which also means 'to' or 'until'. | |||
Towards in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | насустрач | ||
| The word "насустрач" is a combination of the preposition "на" (on) and a form of the verb "стрэць" (meet), meaning "to meet on the way" or "to face". | |||
| Bosnian | prema | ||
| The word "prema" can also mean "according to" or "depending on". | |||
| Bulgarian | към | ||
| In Bulgarian, "към" also means "to" and "of". | |||
| Czech | vůči | ||
| The Czech word "vůči" can also mean "with respect to" or "in relation to". | |||
| Estonian | suunas | ||
| Etymology: suund ('direction'), related to Soome ('Finland'), suggesting a connection between the direction and the east. Also used in the sense of 'in the direction of' or 'to'. | |||
| Finnish | kohti | ||
| "Kohti" derives from Proto-Finno-Ugric *koti, which may refer to a place of living or an enclosure. | |||
| Hungarian | felé | ||
| The word "felé" can also mean "half" or "approximately". | |||
| Latvian | uz | ||
| "Uz" in Latvian can also mean "in" or "at", as in "Uz veikalu" ("At the store"). | |||
| Lithuanian | link | ||
| The Lithuanian word "link" can also mean "to lean", "to incline" or "to tilt". | |||
| Macedonian | кон | ||
| The Macedonian word "кон" can also mean "with" or "along with". | |||
| Polish | w kierunku | ||
| In some contexts, "w kierunku" can also mean "in the direction of" or "along the lines of." | |||
| Romanian | către | ||
| "Către" derives from the Latin "contra" and also has the meaning of "against" in archaic Romanian. | |||
| Russian | к | ||
| The word "к" can also mean "to" or "by" in Russian, depending on the context. | |||
| Serbian | према | ||
| In Old Serbian the word also meant 'to', 'at' and 'on' | |||
| Slovak | smerom k | ||
| "Směr" is a Czech word meaning "direction" and "směr" is a Slovak word meaning "towards". | |||
| Slovenian | proti | ||
| Proti (towards) is a preposition in Slovenian, derived from the Proto-Slavic *prьti (against), and also means "opposite" or "against". | |||
| Ukrainian | назустріч | ||
| Etymology: from *na* (=on, upon) + *zu* (=tooth) + *striti* (=meet), i.e. literally "to meet face-to-face"} | |||
Towards in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দিকে | ||
| The word "দিকে" can also mean "in the direction of" or "towards something" | |||
| Gujarati | તરફ | ||
| તરફ's other meaning is 'for' or 'on behalf of'. | |||
| Hindi | की ओर | ||
| In Hindi, "की ओर" can also mean "in the direction of" or "towards something". | |||
| Kannada | ಕಡೆಗೆ | ||
| ಕಡೆಗೆ is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *kati- "direction, side, region" and is related to the Tamil word "கடை" (kadai) "end, extremity, last, final". | |||
| Malayalam | നേരെ | ||
| The word "നേരെ" also means "in front" or "straight ahead". | |||
| Marathi | दिशेने | ||
| दिशेने (dishiṇe) is derived from the Sanskrit word dis, meaning direction, and also means the southern direction in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | तिर | ||
| तिर (tir) is also used in the sense of 'direction, side, part' (e.g. उत्तर तिर, पश्चिम तिर), or as a suffix to denote an action towards something, like in तलतिर (in a downward direction). | |||
| Punjabi | ਵੱਲ | ||
| The word "ਵੱਲ" (vall) in Punjabi is closely related to the Hindi word "वल" (val), which also means "towards". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දෙසට | ||
| The word "දෙසට" (desath) can also mean "to the side" or "in the direction of". | |||
| Tamil | நோக்கி | ||
| The term "நோக்கி" also refers to the direction from which something comes. | |||
| Telugu | వైపు | ||
| 'వైపు' (towards) is also the Telugu word for 'side'. | |||
| Urdu | کی طرف | ||
| کی طرف can also mean "for" or "in the direction of". | |||
Towards in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 向 | ||
| The character "向" can also mean "to face", "to incline" "to turn", or "to yield". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 向 | ||
| 向 can also mean "to" (a place or person), "up" (direction), or "bright" (light). | |||
| Japanese | に向かって | ||
| It can also be used to mean "against", especially when talking about the negative effects of something. | |||
| Korean | ...쪽으로 | ||
| "쪽" in "...쪽으로" can mean "direction", "side", or "part of something". | |||
| Mongolian | зүг рүү | ||
| The word "зүг рүү" can also be used to mean "in the direction of" or "towards the goal." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဆီသို့ | ||
Towards in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menuju | ||
| The word "menuju" comes from the Proto-Austronesian root *tudjuq, meaning "to point". It can also mean "to aim" or "to target". | |||
| Javanese | nuju | ||
| "Nuju" in Javanese can also indicate the future direction, purpose or time. | |||
| Khmer | ឆ្ពោះទៅ | ||
| The word "ឆ្ពោះទៅ" can also mean "in front of" or "opposite to" depending on the context. | |||
| Lao | ຕໍ່ | ||
| The Lao word ຕໍ່ can also mean "continue" or "until", depending on context. | |||
| Malay | ke arah | ||
| Ke arah' comes from the Old Malay word 'kahadapan' meaning 'forward' or 'facing'. | |||
| Thai | ไปทาง | ||
| *ไปทาง* may also be slang for 'to die' or, rarely, 'to escape' in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | hướng tới | ||
| The word "hướng tới" in Vietnamese also means "to move towards" or "to aim at something" | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | patungo sa | ||
Towards in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | doğru | ||
| The word "doğru" is also used in Azerbaijani with the meanings of "correct" and "proper". | |||
| Kazakh | қарай | ||
| Kyrgyz | көздөй | ||
| The word "көздөй" can also mean "to aim", "to target", or "to aspire." | |||
| Tajik | ба сӯи | ||
| "Ба сӯи" (towards) also means "in the direction of" or "on the way to." | |||
| Turkmen | tarapa | ||
| Uzbek | tomonga | ||
| The word "tomonga" can also refer to a direction or orientation. | |||
| Uyghur | تەرەپكە | ||
Towards in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i mua o | ||
| The term 'i mua o' is also a Hawaiian term meaning 'in front of' and is used to refer to a place or person. | |||
| Maori | ki | ||
| The Maori word "ki" also signifies "to" or "at" depending on the context. | |||
| Samoan | agaʻi i | ||
| In Samoan, "aga'i i" translates as "towards" and also signifies "facing" or "confronting". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | patungo sa | ||
| The Tagalog word "patungo sa" can also be used in other contexts, such as indicating the direction of a path or road. | |||
Towards in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uksaru | ||
| Guarani | gotyo | ||
Towards in International Languages
| Esperanto | al | ||
| In Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan, "al" is also used before masculine singular definite articles (corresponding to English "the"). | |||
| Latin | versus | ||
| The Latin word "versus" originally referred to a line of poetry, and only later came to mean "towards" or "against". | |||
Towards in Others Languages
| Greek | προς | ||
| Προς can also mean 'about' or 'with reference to,' and in mathematics, it is used to indicate multiplication. | |||
| Hmong | rau | ||
| The word 'rau,' meaning 'towards,' can also mean 'to,' 'in the direction of,' or 'facing.' | |||
| Kurdish | ber bi | ||
| The word "ber bi" can also mean "against" or "for" depending on the context. | |||
| Turkish | doğru | ||
| "Doğru" is also the Turkish word for "correct" or "straight line." | |||
| Xhosa | malunga | ||
| The word 'malunga' in Xhosa can also mean 'alongside', 'close to', or 'near'. | |||
| Yiddish | צו | ||
| In Yiddish, "צו" can also mean "in order to" or "for the purpose of". | |||
| Zulu | ngase | ||
| The word "ngase" can also mean "the end," "the limit," or "death." | |||
| Assamese | এই দিশে | ||
| Aymara | uksaru | ||
| Bhojpuri | के ओर | ||
| Dhivehi | އެދިމާއަށް | ||
| Dogri | भेठा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | patungo sa | ||
| Guarani | gotyo | ||
| Ilocano | agpaturong idiay | ||
| Krio | to | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەرەو | ||
| Maithili | क' तरफ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯥꯍꯀꯩꯔꯣꯝꯗ | ||
| Mizo | panin | ||
| Oromo | gara ... tti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆଡକୁ | ||
| Quechua | hacia | ||
| Sanskrit | अभिमुखम् | ||
| Tatar | ягына | ||
| Tigrinya | ናብ ገፅ | ||
| Tsonga | kuya eka | ||