Towards in different languages

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

Afrikaansin die rigting van
The Afrikaans word "in die rigting van" also means "in that direction" and "in the direction of".
Amharicወደ
"ወደ" also refers to a "type" or a "sort"
Hausazuwa
In Hausa, "zuwa" can also mean "to", "in the direction of", "facing", or "on the way to".
Igbokwupụta
"Kwupụta" is the Igbo word for "towards," but it can also refer to "a portion" or "a share."
Malagasymankany
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.
Shonatakananga
The word "takananga" in Shona, meaning "towards", comes from the root word "kana" which refers to direction.
Somalidhanka
The word "dhanka" in Somali originally meant "side" or "part."
Sesotholebisa
The prefix "le" in "lebisa" indicates movement towards and can also mean "to bring" or "to fetch".
Swahilikuelekea
The verb "kuelekea" in Swahili can also mean "to visit" or "to go in the direction of".
Xhosamalunga
The word 'malunga' in Xhosa can also mean 'alongside', 'close to', or 'near'.
Yorubasi ọna
Si ọna in Yoruba can also mean "to the market," and "homeward."
Zulungase
The word "ngase" can also mean "the end," "the limit," or "death."
Bambarakasin
Eweɖo ta
Kinyarwandayerekeza
Lingalana ngambo ya
Lugandaeri
Sepedigo ya go
Twi (Akan)biribi so

Towards in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicتجاه
The word "تجاه" also means "in front of" or "facing".
Hebrewלִקרַאת
The word "לִקרַאת" ("towards") is derived from the Hebrew root "קרה" ("to meet").
Pashtoپه لور
په لور is a compound word, where په is a preposition meaning 'on' or 'over' and لور means 'side' or 'direction'.
Arabicتجاه
The word "تجاه" also means "in front of" or "facing".

Towards in Western European Languages

Albaniandrejt
"Drejt" also means "right" as in correct or true and "righteous" and is related to the word "drejtësi", meaning justice.
Basquealdera
The word "aldera" can also mean "to the other side" or "across" in Basque.
Catalancap a
The word "cap a" also means "the direction or point to which someone or something moves or faces."
Croatianprema
The word "prema" also means "according to" or "in accordance with".
Danishhen imod
The prefix 'imod' shares the same origin as the English 'meet', suggesting a reciprocal movement.
Dutchnaar
The word "naar" can also mean "fool" or "crazy" in Dutch, and is derived from the Old Dutch word "narro," meaning "jester."
Englishtowards
The word "towards" derives from the Old English word "tōweard," which means "facing" or "in the direction of."
Frenchvers
"VERS - from Latin versus (turned), a past part. of verto, meaning turn - means both towards something and against someone."
Frisiannei
"Nei" also has the alternate meaning "within", as in "nei in hûs" (within the house).
Galiciancara a
"Cara a" comes from Latin word "cada"
Germangegenüber
Gegenüber can also mean 'opposite' with a prepositional dative argument in German.
Icelandicgagnvart
The original meaning of gagnvart was "turning to", and can still be used this way in some situations.
Irishi dtreo
The Irish word 'i dtreo' can also have the meaning of 'in comparison with'.
Italianin direzione
The Italian phrase "in direzione" can also mean "in charge" or "in management".
Luxembourgishrichtung
The word "Richtung" in Luxembourgish can also refer to a "direction" or a "tendency".
Malteselejn
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".
Norwegianmot
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 Gaelica dh ’ionnsaigh
A dh ’ionnsaigh has an alternative idiomatic meaning: "with the intent of, for, or to the purpose of."
Spanishhacia
The Spanish word "hacia" likely derives from the Latin word "adversus" and can also mean "facing" or "against".
Swedishmot
"Mot" is also an abbreviation of the Swedish word "motor" meaning "engine" in English.
Welshtuag at
The word 'tuag at' is derived from the Old Welsh word 'tyag', which also means 'to' or 'until'.

Towards in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianнасустрач
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".
Bosnianprema
The word "prema" can also mean "according to" or "depending on".
Bulgarianкъм
In Bulgarian, "към" also means "to" and "of".
Czechvůči
The Czech word "vůči" can also mean "with respect to" or "in relation to".
Estoniansuunas
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'.
Finnishkohti
"Kohti" derives from Proto-Finno-Ugric *koti, which may refer to a place of living or an enclosure.
Hungarianfelé
The word "felé" can also mean "half" or "approximately".
Latvianuz
"Uz" in Latvian can also mean "in" or "at", as in "Uz veikalu" ("At the store").
Lithuanianlink
The Lithuanian word "link" can also mean "to lean", "to incline" or "to tilt".
Macedonianкон
The Macedonian word "кон" can also mean "with" or "along with".
Polishw kierunku
In some contexts, "w kierunku" can also mean "in the direction of" or "along the lines of."
Romaniancătre
"Către" derives from the Latin "contra" and also has the meaning of "against" in archaic Romanian.
Russianк
The word "к" can also mean "to" or "by" in Russian, depending on the context.
Serbianпрема
In Old Serbian the word also meant 'to', 'at' and 'on'
Slovaksmerom k
"Směr" is a Czech word meaning "direction" and "směr" is a Slovak word meaning "towards".
Slovenianproti
Proti (towards) is a preposition in Slovenian, derived from the Proto-Slavic *prьti (against), and also means "opposite" or "against".
Ukrainianназустріч
Etymology: from *na* (=on, upon) + *zu* (=tooth) + *striti* (=meet), i.e. literally "to meet face-to-face"}

Towards in South Asian Languages

Bengaliদিকে
The word "দিকে" can also mean "in the direction of" or "towards something"
Gujaratiતરફ
તરફ's other meaning is 'for' or 'on behalf of'.
Hindiकी ओर
In Hindi, "की ओर" can also mean "in the direction of" or "towards something".
Kannadaಕಡೆಗೆ
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".
Malayalamനേരെ
The word "നേരെ" also means "in front" or "straight ahead".
Marathiदिशेने
दिशेने (dishiṇe) is derived from the Sanskrit word dis, meaning direction, and also means the southern direction in Marathi.
Nepaliतिर
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).
Punjabiਵੱਲ
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".
Tamilநோக்கி
The term "நோக்கி" also refers to the direction from which something comes.
Teluguవైపు
'వైపు' (towards) is also the Telugu word for 'side'.
Urduکی طرف
کی طرف can also mean "for" or "in the direction of".

Towards in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
The character "向" can also mean "to face", "to incline" "to turn", or "to yield".
Chinese (Traditional)
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".
Mongolianзүг 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

Indonesianmenuju
The word "menuju" comes from the Proto-Austronesian root *tudjuq, meaning "to point". It can also mean "to aim" or "to target".
Javanesenuju
"Nuju" in Javanese can also indicate the future direction, purpose or time.
Khmerឆ្ពោះទៅ
The word "ឆ្ពោះទៅ" can also mean "in front of" or "opposite to" depending on the context.
Laoຕໍ່
The Lao word ຕໍ່ can also mean "continue" or "until", depending on context.
Malayke arah
Ke arah' comes from the Old Malay word 'kahadapan' meaning 'forward' or 'facing'.
Thaiไปทาง
*ไปทาง* may also be slang for 'to die' or, rarely, 'to escape' in Thai.
Vietnamesehướng 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

Azerbaijanidoğru
The word "doğru" is also used in Azerbaijani with the meanings of "correct" and "proper".
Kazakhқарай
Kyrgyzкөздөй
The word "көздөй" can also mean "to aim", "to target", or "to aspire."
Tajikба сӯи
"Ба сӯи" (towards) also means "in the direction of" or "on the way to."
Turkmentarapa
Uzbektomonga
The word "tomonga" can also refer to a direction or orientation.
Uyghurتەرەپكە

Towards in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiani 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.
Maoriki
The Maori word "ki" also signifies "to" or "at" depending on the context.
Samoanagaʻi 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

Aymarauksaru
Guaranigotyo

Towards in International Languages

Esperantoal
In Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan, "al" is also used before masculine singular definite articles (corresponding to English "the").
Latinversus
The Latin word "versus" originally referred to a line of poetry, and only later came to mean "towards" or "against".

Towards in Others Languages

Greekπρος
Προς can also mean 'about' or 'with reference to,' and in mathematics, it is used to indicate multiplication.
Hmongrau
The word 'rau,' meaning 'towards,' can also mean 'to,' 'in the direction of,' or 'facing.'
Kurdishber bi
The word "ber bi" can also mean "against" or "for" depending on the context.
Turkishdoğru
"Doğru" is also the Turkish word for "correct" or "straight line."
Xhosamalunga
The word 'malunga' in Xhosa can also mean 'alongside', 'close to', or 'near'.
Yiddishצו
In Yiddish, "צו" can also mean "in order to" or "for the purpose of".
Zulungase
The word "ngase" can also mean "the end," "the limit," or "death."
Assameseএই দিশে
Aymarauksaru
Bhojpuriके ओर
Dhivehiއެދިމާއަށް
Dogriभेठा
Filipino (Tagalog)patungo sa
Guaranigotyo
Ilocanoagpaturong idiay
Krioto
Kurdish (Sorani)بەرەو
Maithiliक' तरफ
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯥꯍꯀꯩꯔꯣꯝꯗ
Mizopanin
Oromogara ... tti
Odia (Oriya)ଆଡକୁ
Quechuahacia
Sanskritअभिमुखम्‌
Tatarягына
Tigrinyaናብ ገፅ
Tsongakuya eka

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