True in different languages

True in Different Languages

Discover 'True' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'true' holds a profound significance in many languages and cultures around the world. It represents authenticity, honesty, and reliability, forming the foundation of trust and credibility in our social interactions. The concept of 'true' is universal, yet the way we express it can vary greatly across different languages.

For instance, did you know that the Spanish word for 'true' is 'verdadero'? Or that in French, 'true' is translated as 'vrai'? These translations not only reflect the linguistic diversity of our world but also provide insights into the cultural contexts in which they are used.

Understanding the translations of 'true' in various languages can enrich our appreciation of cultural nuances and deepen our cross-cultural communication. It can also help us to better understand the philosophical and existential implications of 'truth' in different cultural contexts.

So, without further ado, let's explore some of the many translations of 'true' in different languages.

True


True in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanswaar
The word "waar" in Afrikaans can also refer to goods or merchandise, derived from the Dutch word "waar" meaning "commodity".
Amharicእውነት ነው
Hausagaskiya
The word 'gaskiya' is derived from the Arabic word 'sadiq', which means 'truthful' or 'sincere'.
Igboeziokwu
The word "eziokwu" in Igbo not only means "true" but also "reality" or "authenticity"
Malagasymarina
The word "marina" can also mean "indeed" or "very much" in Malagasy.
Nyanja (Chichewa)zoona
The word "zoona" in Nyanja (Chichewa) is also used to mean "straight" or "correct".
Shonaichokwadi
In addition to its usage to signify truth, "ichokwadi" (true) can also refer to a fact, truthfulness, or correctness.
Somalirun
Run is also used as a verb to describe the action of flowing or leaking, such as in the phrase 'biyuhu wuu runayaa' (the water is flowing).
Sesotho'nete
"Nete" in Sesotho means 'real' or 'genuine' and is cognate with 'nete' in Sepedi, which means 'right', and with 'net' in Ndebele, which means 'firm'.
Swahilikweli
The Swahili word "kweli" is commonly used to indicate "truth" or "authenticity", but it also has a secondary meaning of "really" or "indeed".
Xhosayinyani
In Xhosa, 'yinyani' also means 'real' or 'genuine', reflecting the importance of truthfulness in the culture.
Yorubaotitọ
The Yoruba word "otitọ" is derived from the phrase "ò ti tọ," which means "it has come to pass."
Zuluiqiniso
It is a variant of the word 'iqiniso'. Both can be used for 'truth' and 'faith'.
Bambarasɛbɛ
Ewenyateƒe
Kinyarwandani ukuri
Lingalaya solo
Lugandakituufu
Sepedinnete
Twi (Akan)nokorɛ

True in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicصحيح
In religious terms, "صحيح" (true) can also mean "sound" or "valid," as in a hadith that is considered authentic and reliable.
Hebrewנָכוֹן
"נָכוֹן" (true) also means ready or set, like "הַכֹּל נָכוֹן" (everything is ready).
Pashtoریښتیا
ریښتیا is derived from the Persian word rast, meaning 'straight' or 'correct'.
Arabicصحيح
In religious terms, "صحيح" (true) can also mean "sound" or "valid," as in a hadith that is considered authentic and reliable.

True in Western European Languages

Albaniane vertete
The word "e vertete" is also used to mean "a truth", "the truth" or "a true thing".
Basqueegia
The Basque word "egia" also means "reality" and "justice".
Catalancert
The word "cert" in Catalan also means "certain" or "sure."
Croatianpravi
Pravi in Croatian can also mean 'right' in the sense of 'correct', and derives from the Proto-Slavic word *pravъ.
Danishrigtigt
Rigtigt can also mean "proper," "decent," "correct," or "appropriate."
Dutchwaar
In Dutch, the word "waar" can also mean "product," derived from the Old Frisian word "were," meaning "goods."
Englishtrue
The word "true" comes from the Old English word "treow," meaning "faithful" or "trustworthy."
Frenchvrai
The etymology of "vrai" is the Latin word "verus," which also means "real"}
Frisianwier
The word "wier" in Frisian has a rich history related to the concepts of "defense" and "sacredness".
Galiciancerto
The Galician word "certo" can also mean "precise" or "sure".
Germanwahr
The word "wahr" in German also means "good" or "genuine".
Icelandicsatt
Cognate with English 'sad' (serious) or German 'satt' (full, satisfied)
Irishfíor
In Old Irish, "fíor" could also mean "pure," "clear," "genuine," "legitimate," or "righteous."
Italianvero
Vero, meaning 'true' in Italian, derives from the Latin word 'verum', which also means 'true', 'real', or 'genuine'.
Luxembourgishrichteg
The word "richteg" can also be used to describe a "real" person, a person of good character.
Maltesevera
The Maltese word "vera" is derived from the Latin "vera" (true), and it also has the alternate meaning of "really" or "indeed".
Norwegianekte
The word "ekte" can also mean "genuine" or "authentic".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)verdadeiro
In Portuguese, the word "verdadeiro" originally meant "something one must see".
Scots Gaelicfìor
The word 'fìor' is derived from the Gaelic root 'fìr', meaning 'man' or 'true'.
Spanishcierto
The word "cierto" in Spanish can also mean "some" or "certain".
Swedishsann
Sann can also mean "certain" or "positive"
Welshwir
"Wir" can also mean "to become" or "to get" in Welsh.

True in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпраўда
The Russian "правда" derives from "право", cognate to the Greek "orphos" (straight) and to the Sanskrit "rta" (order, truth, straightness).
Bosniantačno
The word "tačno" in Bosnian can also mean "straight" or "accurate".
Bulgarianвярно
In Old Bulgarian, "вярно" also had the meaning of "constant" (непрекъснато, непрестанно). This meaning is preserved today in some dialects.
Czechskutečný
"Skutočný" originated from "skut-", meaning "deed", suggesting its original meaning was "factual" or "realized".
Estoniantõsi
The word "tõsi" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Uralic root *tōćće, meaning "certainty, truth."
Finnishtotta
The word "totta" is derived from the Uralic root *tokta-, meaning "precise" or "correct".
Hungarianigaz
In Hungarian, "igaz" originally referred to the axis of a cart or wheel, hence its figurative meaning of "straight" or "correct".
Latviantaisnība
"Taisnīga" can also mean "honest" or "fair".
Lithuaniantiesa
Linguists posit that „tiesa“ is cognate with the Proto-Indo-European word for „law” or „right.” Therefore, it holds the meaning of both „true” and „correct.”
Macedonianвистинито
The word "вистинито" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *istina, meaning "truth" or "validity."
Polishprawdziwe
The word 'prawdziwe' in Polish also refers to a specific type of mushroom, the Boletus edulis.
Romanianadevărat
The Romanian word "Adevărat" derives from the Proto-Slavic "pravdъ," meaning "justice" or "right."
Russianправда
The word "правда" originally meant "straight", hence its connection to "rightness" and "truth"
Serbianистина
The word "истина" also means "truth" in Russian, and both words have the same root as the English word "true".
Slovakpravda
In Slovak, the word "pravda" can also mean "justice" or "righteousness".
Slovenianprav
"Prav" in Slovenian can also mean "right" or "just," and comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*pravъ" with the same meanings.
Ukrainianправда
The word "правда" also means "justice" and comes from the Proto-Slavic word "pravъ", meaning "rightful" or "correct."

True in South Asian Languages

Bengaliসত্য
সত্য shares its root 'sat' (सत् ) from Sanskrit with 'satya' (সত্য), which has a wider meaning of a 'good' 'righteous' 'existent' 'non-false'.
Gujaratiસાચું
સાચું is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *tek-, meaning 'to build', and is related to English 'thatched'.
Hindiसच
The word 'सच' (sach) in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'सत्' (sat), which also means 'being' or 'existence'.
Kannadaನಿಜ
The Kannada word "ನಿಜ" also has alternate meanings like "proper" and "the actual state or form of something."
Malayalamശരി
The word 'ശരി' (sari) also means 'right' in Malayalam, suggesting a connection between truth and correctness or alignment.
Marathiखरे
"खरे" (true) also means "solid" or "real".
Nepaliसत्य
"सत्य" can also mean "fact" or "reality" in Sanskrit.
Punjabiਸੱਚ ਹੈ
The Punjabi word "ਸੱਚ ਹੈ" can also mean "it is true" or "it is the truth".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)සැබෑ
The Sinhala word "සැබෑ" is also used to describe something that is authentic, genuine, or real.
Tamilஉண்மை
"உண்மை" also means "the real form of something, nature, reality".
Teluguనిజం
"నిజం" (true) also means "real", "genuine", or "honest" in Telugu.
Urduسچ ہے
The phrase 'سچ ہے' also serves as an emphatic response that means 'Of course it is true' when placed after a statement.

True in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)真正
"真正" originally meant "real" as opposed to "imaginary".
Chinese (Traditional)真正
The term '真正' is used to emphasize authenticity and genuineness.
Japanesetrue
The word "true" (真実) in Japanese literally means "real thing" or "genuine thing".
Korean진실
"진실" is derived from the Sino-Korean word 真實, which means "real" or "genuine."
Mongolianүнэн
The term "үнэн" can also mean "honest" or "fair".
Myanmar (Burmese)မှန်ပါတယ်

True in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianbenar
Benar has a root in Old Javanese meaning 'to agree' and 'not broken', and in Malay it also means 'good'.
Javanesebener
The word "bener" in Javanese also means "to fix something" or "to make something right".
Khmerពិត
The Khmer word "ពិត" is derived from Sanskrit "prati", meaning "in accordance with", and is also used in the sense of "correct" or "proper".
Laoຄວາມຈິງ
The Lao word for "true" has cognates in Sanskrit, Pali, and Thai, and has been used since at least the 14th century.
Malaybenar
The word 'benar' also means 'constant', 'firm' or 'permanent' in Malay.
Thaiจริง
Thai word "จริง" means "true", comes from the Sanskrit "Satya" and is also related to the word "thing" (สิ่ง)
Vietnamesethật
In the context of Buddhist meditation,
Filipino (Tagalog)totoo

True in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanidoğru
The Azerbaijani word "doğru" means "truth", "correct", or "correctness", while its etymology relates it to the Turkic root "doğur", meaning "to give birth" or "to create".
Kazakhшын
The word "шын" can also mean "genuine" or "authentic" in Kazakh, highlighting its multifaceted nature.
Kyrgyzчындык
In Kyrgyz, the word "чындык" can also refer to "reality" or "the truth of the matter"
Tajikдуруст
The word “дуруст” also means “correct”, “straight”, and “suitable”
Turkmendogry
Uzbekto'g'ri
The word "to'g'ri" in Uzbek has connotations of "straight" or "correct" besides its primary meaning of "true".
Uyghurtrue

True in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianʻoiaʻiʻo
In Hawaiian, ʻoiaʻiʻo not only means "true," but also "to be in agreement," "to be accurate," and "to be certain."
Maoripono
"Pono" can also mean correct, moral, genuine, or virtuous, and is often used in a religious context.
Samoanmoni
The Samoan word "moni" can also mean "wealth" or "money".
Tagalog (Filipino)totoo
The word "totoo" can also mean "real" or "genuine", and is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*tuqtuq" meaning "straight" or "correct".

True in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarachiqa
Guaraniteete

True in International Languages

Esperantovera
In Spanish, 'vera' means 'bank,' and thus a 'beach' is a 'sandy bank'.
Latinverum
"Verum" also derives from the Etruscan word "feru" (right, proper) but also from "weros" (sacred).

True in Others Languages

Greekαληθής
The word "αληθής" can also mean "unhidden" or "not forgotten" in Greek.
Hmongmuaj tseeb
The Hmong word for true, muaj tseeb, is also used as an emphasis to indicate that something is really good.
Kurdishrast
The word "rast" also means "right" in the sense of direction or correctness.
Turkishdoğru
In Turkish, "doğru" also means "straight" and is the origin of the word "doğruluk" (uprightness).
Xhosayinyani
In Xhosa, 'yinyani' also means 'real' or 'genuine', reflecting the importance of truthfulness in the culture.
Yiddishאמת
The Yiddish word "אמת" (emet) derives from the Hebrew word of the same spelling, which means "truth" or "faithfulness."
Zuluiqiniso
It is a variant of the word 'iqiniso'. Both can be used for 'truth' and 'faith'.
Assameseসঁচা
Aymarachiqa
Bhojpuriसच
Dhivehiރަނގަޅު
Dogriसच्च
Filipino (Tagalog)totoo
Guaraniteete
Ilocanoagpayso
Kriotru
Kurdish (Sorani)ڕاست
Maithiliसत्य
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯆꯨꯝꯕ
Mizodik
Oromodhugaa
Odia (Oriya)ସତ
Quechuachiqaq
Sanskritसत्यम्‌
Tatarдөрес
Tigrinyaሓቂ
Tsongantiyiso

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