Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'transform' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting a change in form, appearance, or character. This concept has been a cornerstone of human culture and thought, inspiring countless works of art, literature, and scientific discovery. Understanding the translation of 'transform' in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural exchange.
For instance, in Spanish, 'transform' becomes 'transformar', while in French, it is 'transformer'. In German, the word is 'transformieren', and in Japanese, it is '変形する' (henkei suru). These translations not only reflect linguistic differences but also offer insight into how different cultures have approached and understood the concept of transformation.
Whether you're a language learner, a cultural enthusiast, or a global citizen, exploring the translations of 'transform' can be a fascinating journey. Keep reading to discover more about this word's cultural importance and its translations in various languages.
Afrikaans | transformeer | ||
In addition to the 'transform' meaning, the Afrikaans word 'transformeer' can also mean 'to redecorate' or 'to redesign'. | |||
Amharic | መለወጥ | ||
The Amharic word "መለወጥ" can also mean "to change" or "to alter". | |||
Hausa | canza | ||
The word 'canza' in Hausa has an alternate meaning of 'to bring into existence' or 'to create'. | |||
Igbo | gbanwee | ||
The Igbo word "gbanwee" originally meant "to be born" or "to be transformed into existence" but can now also mean "to change into" or "to transform". | |||
Malagasy | hanova | ||
"Hanova" may also mean "to turn around" or "to return" in Malagasy. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | sintha | ||
In Nyanja, the word "sintha" can sometimes also mean "become". | |||
Shona | shandura | ||
The word "shandura" can also mean "to change" or "to alter". | |||
Somali | beddelo | ||
The word "beddelo" in Somali also shares the same root as "beddel" in Arabic, which means "to exchange" or "to change." | |||
Sesotho | fetola | ||
The word "fetola" in Sesotho can also refer to the act of changing one's mind or opinion. | |||
Swahili | badilisha | ||
Badilisha also means 'exchange' in Swahili. | |||
Xhosa | tshintsha | ||
"Tshintsha" likely originates from the Khoikhoi word "tsintsha," meaning "to turn around." Thus, "tshintsha" implies a change of direction or state. | |||
Yoruba | yipada | ||
The Yoruba word 'yipada' also refers to reincarnation and metamorphosis. | |||
Zulu | guqula | ||
The word 'guqula' can also mean 'to move around' or 'to change one's position'. | |||
Bambara | fɛn caman tigɛli | ||
Ewe | trɔ asi le ame ŋu | ||
Kinyarwanda | guhinduka | ||
Lingala | kobongola | ||
Luganda | okukyusa | ||
Sepedi | fetola | ||
Twi (Akan) | nsakrae | ||
Arabic | تحول | ||
In Arabic, the word "تحول" (tahwil) can also mean "reversal" or "exchange". | |||
Hebrew | שינוי צורה | ||
In Hebrew, 'שינוי צורה' can also mean the process or result of altering someone's outward appearance, such as through surgery or extensive makeup. | |||
Pashto | بدلول | ||
The word "بدلول" in Pashto also means "a change in form or appearance." | |||
Arabic | تحول | ||
In Arabic, the word "تحول" (tahwil) can also mean "reversal" or "exchange". |
Albanian | shndërroj | ||
"Shndërroj" comes from the Albanian word "ndarje" (division), which suggests the idea of breaking something down into different parts before reconstructing it into a new form. | |||
Basque | eraldatu | ||
The Basque word "eraldatu" also means "translate" or "interpret" in the sense of changing the form or meaning of something. | |||
Catalan | transformar | ||
The Catalan word "transformar" also means "to reshape" and "to modify substantially."} | |||
Croatian | transformirati | ||
"Transformirati" comes from the Latin word "transformare," meaning "to change shape or form." | |||
Danish | transformere | ||
In Danish, "transformere" can also refer to an electrical transformer device or, informally, to the act of making food more appealing. | |||
Dutch | transformeren | ||
"Transformeren" originally only meant "change shape" but now also "change function". | |||
English | transform | ||
The word 'transform' comes from the Latin word 'transformare', which means to 'change shape'. | |||
French | transformer | ||
In French, the word "transformer" can also refer to a variable in a programming language, someone who has undergone a metamorphosis, or a type of furniture that converts into a bed. | |||
Frisian | transformearje | ||
The Frisian word "transformearje" also means "metamorphosis" or "transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly". | |||
Galician | transformar | ||
In Galician, "transformar" also means "to reform" or "to convert". | |||
German | verwandeln | ||
The German word "verwandeln" is derived from the Old High German "ferwandelen" and originally meant "to trade" or "to exchange". | |||
Icelandic | breyta | ||
In Old Norse, breyta meant 'to make broader' or 'to increase,' and was not used figuratively until the 14th century. | |||
Irish | claochlú | ||
It was a common name in 16th-century Irish; the surname Clancy is derived from Mac an Chlaoichligh ("son of the Claochlúgh"). | |||
Italian | trasformare | ||
The Italian word "trasformare" can also mean "to transubstantiate" or "to remodel". | |||
Luxembourgish | verwandelen | ||
The Luxembourgish word "verwandelen" is derived from the German word "verwandeln", meaning "to change" or "to alter". | |||
Maltese | tittrasforma | ||
The Maltese word "tittrasforma" is derived from the Italian word "trasformare", which means "to transform" and has a prefix "tit-" indicating the passive form. | |||
Norwegian | forvandle | ||
"Forvandle" is derived from the Old Norse word "frá" (from, away) and "vanda" (to turn). | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | transformar | ||
The word "transformar" comes from the Latin word "transformare", which means "to change shape or form". | |||
Scots Gaelic | cruth-atharrachadh | ||
Spanish | transformar | ||
The verb "transformar" in Spanish comes from the Latin verb "transformare" meaning "to change shape". | |||
Swedish | omvandla | ||
The word 'omvandla' in Swedish comes from the Old Norse word 'umvenda,' which means 'to turn around' or 'to change direction.' | |||
Welsh | trawsnewid | ||
From Old Welsh trawsnewid, from Latin transmutare, from trans (across) and mutare (to change). The word was borrowed into Old Irish as trasnudid. |
Belarusian | пераўтварыць | ||
The word "пераўтварыць" (transform) in Belarusian also has the connotation of "to change direction" or "to reorient oneself". | |||
Bosnian | transformirati | ||
It is borrowed from the Latin ‘trānsformāre’, from ‘trāns-’ (meaning ‘across’ or ‘over’) and ‘formāre’ (meaning ‘to form’ or ‘to shape’), ultimately from the Greek ‘μορφή’ (morphē) meaning ‘form’ or ‘shape’. | |||
Bulgarian | трансформирам | ||
The word "трансформирам" is derived from Latin "transformare" - "to transform". | |||
Czech | přeměnit | ||
"Přeměnit" etymologically comes from "měnit" which means "to change" and "před" meaning "in front" or "before," so it literally means to change beforehand. | |||
Estonian | ümberkujundama | ||
The word "ümberkujundama" can also mean "to remodel" or "to redesign". | |||
Finnish | muuttaa | ||
“Muuttaa” also means to move, alter, remove, and change. | |||
Hungarian | átalakul | ||
The word "átalakul" comes from the Hungarian word "alak," meaning "form" or "shape. | |||
Latvian | pārveidot | ||
Pārveidot derives from the word "veidot" (to form), the prefix "pār" (over, again), thus meaning "to transform". | |||
Lithuanian | transformuotis | ||
"Transformuotis" comes to Lithuanian from French through the Polish term "transformować," meaning to change from one form to another. | |||
Macedonian | трансформира | ||
In addition to the primary meaning of "transform," "трансформира" can also mean "to change the appearance or form of something." | |||
Polish | przekształcać | ||
The word "przekształcać" also means "to alter","to reconstruct" and "to reshape" in Polish. | |||
Romanian | transforma | ||
Also used to mean “to transplant”, “to translate”, and “to transmit” in Romanian. | |||
Russian | преобразовать | ||
The verb "преобразовать" derives from Proto-Slavic, and originally meant either "to cross over", or (referring more loosely to a river or other obstacle in that context) "to get across", i.e. reach the 'other side'. | |||
Serbian | трансформисати | ||
The Serbian word "трансформисати" is derived from the French word "transformer", which means "to change the form or appearance of something". | |||
Slovak | transformovať | ||
Alternately, "transformovať" can mean "to adapt" in Slovak. | |||
Slovenian | preoblikovati | ||
The verb "preoblikovati" is derived from the word "oblika" (form) and the prefix "pre-" (before), indicating a change in form or appearance. | |||
Ukrainian | перетворювати | ||
The Ukrainian “перетворювати” can also mean “to create,” “to give birth to,” or “to convert.” |
Bengali | রূপান্তর | ||
The word "রূপান্তর" (transform) derives from the Sanskrit word "रूपांतर" (रूप = form, অন্তর = change), meaning "a change in form, shape, or structure". | |||
Gujarati | પરિવર્તન | ||
Gujarati word પરિવર્તન (transform) originated from Sanskrit word "parivartan," which literally means "to turn around" or "to change." | |||
Hindi | परिवर्तन | ||
The Sanskrit origin of the word 'परिवर्तन' suggests a shift or movement, aligning with its meaning of 'transform' in English. | |||
Kannada | ರೂಪಾಂತರ | ||
In the sense of "alteration" or "reformation," this word is used only in the form ರೂಪಾಂತರಿಸಿ (rūpāntarisi). | |||
Malayalam | പരിവർത്തനം | ||
The word | |||
Marathi | रूपांतर | ||
रूपांतर also refers to the change of a word from one part of speech into another. | |||
Nepali | रूपान्तरण | ||
"रूपान्तरण" is related to the Proto-Indo-European root "*rewp-", "*reup-" meaning "tear, pluck". | |||
Punjabi | ਤਬਦੀਲੀ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පරිණාමනය | ||
Tamil | உருமாற்றம் | ||
Telugu | రూపాంతరం | ||
Urdu | تبدیل | ||
The root of the Urdu word "تبدیل" is the Arabic word "بدل", which means "a change." |
Chinese (Simplified) | 转变 | ||
转变 also means "to change jobs" in Chinese. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 轉變 | ||
轉 in 轉變 means revolve, circle or change. | |||
Japanese | 変換 | ||
変換 also means "converting" in a more general sense (e.g. converting currencies, formats, etc.) | |||
Korean | 변환 | ||
The word "변환" originates from the Chinese characters "變" (변) and "換" (환), which mean "change" and "exchange" respectively. | |||
Mongolian | хувиргах | ||
The word "хувиргах" derives from the Mongolian word "хув", meaning "change" or "alteration". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | အသွင်ပြောင်းလဲ | ||
Indonesian | mengubah | ||
Mengubah also means "to change", "to remodel", and "to edit" in Indonesian. | |||
Javanese | ngowahi | ||
The Javanese word ngowahi can also mean 'to change' or 'to alter'. | |||
Khmer | ប្លែង | ||
The word "ប្លែង" also means "to change one's appearance or form". | |||
Lao | ຫັນປ່ຽນ | ||
Malay | mengubah | ||
The verb 'mengubah' is ultimately derived from the Proto-Austronesian verb *ubah, which also means 'change' or 'alter'. | |||
Thai | แปลง | ||
"แปลง" can also mean "to change the form or appearance of something, to convert something from one form to another, to translate something from one language to another, or to make an arrangement or plan. | |||
Vietnamese | biến đổi | ||
The Vietnamese word "biến đổi" can also mean "mutation", "change", or "variation." | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ibahin ang anyo | ||
Azerbaijani | çevirmək | ||
"Çevirmək" in Azerbaijani also means "to turn" or "to translate". | |||
Kazakh | түрлендіру | ||
The verb "түрлендіру" can also mean "to translate" or "to interpret" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | өзгөртүү | ||
In Old Turkic, "өзгөртүү" could also mean "to arrange" or "to settle". | |||
Tajik | табдил додан | ||
The root of the word "табдил додан" is the Arabic word "تبدیل" which also means "substitute". | |||
Turkmen | öwürmek | ||
Uzbek | o'zgartirish | ||
In Uzbek, the word "o'zgartirish" derives from the root "o'zgar-", meaning "to change" or "to transform." | |||
Uyghur | ئۆزگەرتىش | ||
Hawaiian | hoʻololi | ||
hoʻololi is a compound word formed from the root word loli which means "turn, twist, or change" and the causative prefix hoʻo- which gives the meaning of "to cause to do something" or "to make something happen". | |||
Maori | huri | ||
The word "huri" can also mean "to turn" or "to reverse" in Maori. | |||
Samoan | suia | ||
Derived from Proto-Austronesian '*susu-an' and related to "change". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | magbago | ||
Magbago's alternate meanings are 'to repent', 'to change your ways', 'to reform your ways', 'to turn over a new leaf', 'to switch allegiances', or 'to betray' |
Aymara | mayjt’ayaña | ||
Guarani | oñemoambue | ||
Esperanto | transformi | ||
"Transformi" comes from the Latin word "transformare", which also means "change shape". | |||
Latin | transform | ||
The Latin verb "transformare" means "to change form" and is the origin of the English word "transform." |
Greek | μεταμορφώνω | ||
The Greek word "μεταμορφώνω" (metamorphonó) literally means "to change shape", from "meta-" (change) and "morphe" (shape). | |||
Hmong | hloov | ||
The word "hloov" is also used to refer to the process of changing one's clothing or appearance. | |||
Kurdish | veguherîn | ||
The word 'veguherîn' is a composite of the words 've' (into) and 'guherîn' (to change), which suggests a change of state or form. | |||
Turkish | dönüştürmek | ||
It originates from the Arabic word 'devr', which means 'turning'. | |||
Xhosa | tshintsha | ||
"Tshintsha" likely originates from the Khoikhoi word "tsintsha," meaning "to turn around." Thus, "tshintsha" implies a change of direction or state. | |||
Yiddish | יבערמאַכן | ||
The Yiddish word "יבערמאַכן" is derived from the German word "übermachen" meaning "to transmit" or "to convey". | |||
Zulu | guqula | ||
The word 'guqula' can also mean 'to move around' or 'to change one's position'. | |||
Assamese | ৰূপান্তৰ | ||
Aymara | mayjt’ayaña | ||
Bhojpuri | रूपांतरित हो जाला | ||
Dhivehi | ޓްރާންސްފޯމް ކުރާށެވެ | ||
Dogri | रूपांतरण करना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ibahin ang anyo | ||
Guarani | oñemoambue | ||
Ilocano | agbalbaliw | ||
Krio | transfɔm | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | گۆڕینی | ||
Maithili | रूपांतरण | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇ꯭ꯔꯥꯟꯁꯐꯣꯔꯝ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo | transform | ||
Oromo | jijjiirraa | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ରୂପାନ୍ତର | ||
Quechua | tikray | ||
Sanskrit | परिणमति | ||
Tatar | үзгәртү | ||
Tigrinya | ትራንስፎርም ምግባር | ||
Tsonga | ku hundzuka | ||