Truth in Different Languages
Discover 'Truth' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Truth is a powerful and timeless concept that transcends language and culture. It represents the genuine state of things, the reality of a situation, or the honesty in one's words and actions. Throughout history, truth has been a central theme in philosophy, religion, and science, as people have sought to understand the world around them and make sense of their experiences.
The significance of truth cannot be overstated, as it forms the foundation of trust, communication, and relationships. In different cultures, truth is expressed and valued in unique ways, reflecting the diversity and richness of human language and thought.
For those interested in language and culture, exploring the translation of truth in different languages can be a fascinating and enlightening journey. For example, in Spanish, truth is 'verdad,' while in French, it is 'vérité.' In Mandarin Chinese, truth is '真理' (zhēn lǐ), and in Japanese, it is '真実' (shinjitsu).
By examining the nuances and subtleties of these translations, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity and beauty of human language and culture. So, let's embark on this journey of discovery and explore the many ways that truth is expressed and understood around the world.
Truth
Truth in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | waarheid | ||
| The Afrikaans word "waarheid" comes from the Dutch "waarheid" and is also related to the German "Wahrheit", all ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*werþaną", meaning "to become". | |||
| Amharic | እውነት | ||
| "እውነት" (ewnet) in Amharic also refers to "reality" or "the nature of things". | |||
| Hausa | gaskiya | ||
| Gaskiya derives from the Hausa word 'gaski' meaning 'straight' or 'correct'. | |||
| Igbo | eziokwu | ||
| Eziokwu can also refer to a deity or spiritual force associated with truth and justice | |||
| Malagasy | marina | ||
| The Malagasy word "marina" comes from Arabic and has multiple meanings, including truth, justice, law, and order. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chowonadi | ||
| The word "chowonadi" has several meanings and can refer to knowledge, honesty, or even the process of proving something. | |||
| Shona | chokwadi | ||
| The word "chokwadi" can also mean "justice" or "rightness" in Shona. | |||
| Somali | runta | ||
| The word runta can also mean "fact" or "proof" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | 'nete | ||
| In the 19th century, missionaries translated | |||
| Swahili | ukweli | ||
| The word "ukweli" can be traced back to the proto-Bantu word "-kʷeli", meaning "correct" or "valid". | |||
| Xhosa | inyaniso | ||
| Inyanda, the root of inyaniso, refers to a seed's essence or the inner workings of a thing. | |||
| Yoruba | otitọ | ||
| "Òtító" refers to the character of a person who does not lie and speaks the truth | |||
| Zulu | iqiniso | ||
| The word also means "the state of being correct or legitimate". | |||
| Bambara | tìɲɛ | ||
| Ewe | nyateƒe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ukuri | ||
| Lingala | solo | ||
| Luganda | amazima | ||
| Sepedi | bonnete | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nokorɛ | ||
Truth in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حقيقة | ||
| In Arabic, the word "حقيقة" (haqīqa) can also refer to the essence, nature, or reality of something. | |||
| Hebrew | אֶמֶת | ||
| The Hebrew word 'emet' (אֶמֶת) is a homophone, meaning it has the same pronunciation but different meanings and origins depending on its voweling. | |||
| Pashto | حقیقت | ||
| The word "حقیقت" in Pashto has a wider range of meanings than its English equivalent "truth", including "reality", "essence", and "justice". | |||
| Arabic | حقيقة | ||
| In Arabic, the word "حقيقة" (haqīqa) can also refer to the essence, nature, or reality of something. | |||
Truth in Western European Languages
| Albanian | të vërtetën | ||
| The Albanian word "të vërtetën" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wer- meaning "to speak". It is related to the English word "verity" and the Latin word "verus" (true). | |||
| Basque | egia | ||
| The Basque word "egia" also means "proof" or "evidence". | |||
| Catalan | veritat | ||
| In the 13th century, 'veritat' also designated the 'quality of a true statement' in the philosophical context. | |||
| Croatian | istina | ||
| The word "istina" in Croatian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *istina, meaning "that which is", and is related to the words "ist" (true) and "isto" (same). | |||
| Danish | sandhed | ||
| The Danish word "sandhed" derives from Old Norse "sannr," meaning "true," and originally meant "that which is real or true," but later came to refer to "a true statement" or "the quality of being true." | |||
| Dutch | waarheid | ||
| "Waarheid" (Dutch for "truth") derives from the Old Dutch "wari" ("true") and "heit" ("state, condition"), akin to the Old English "wær" ("true") and the Old Saxon "wār" ("truthful, honest"). | |||
| English | truth | ||
| The word "truth" derives from the Old English word "treowth," meaning "faith" or "fidelity." | |||
| French | vérité | ||
| The word "vérité" comes from the Latin word "veritas" which means "truth" or "actuality." | |||
| Frisian | wierheid | ||
| Frisian "wierheid" originally referred to a legal district and later came to mean "truth." | |||
| Galician | verdade | ||
| The Galician word "verdade" also means "justice" and comes from the Latin "veritatem", meaning "true". | |||
| German | wahrheit | ||
| The word "Wahrheit" also refers to a "proof" or "confirmation of a fact" in German, and is derived from the Old High German "wār" (true) and "heit" (state, condition). | |||
| Icelandic | sannleikur | ||
| The second element of the word, 'leikur,' means 'play' in Icelandic, implying that truth is a performance or construction rather than an absolute. | |||
| Irish | fírinne | ||
| The word 'fírinne' in Irish has a secondary connotation of justice, which is derived from its ancient meaning of 'to put everything in its right place'. | |||
| Italian | verità | ||
| The Italian word "verità" derives from the Latin "veritas," meaning "truth," and also carries the connotation of "sincerity" and "uprightness." | |||
| Luxembourgish | wourecht | ||
| The word "Wourecht" is derived from Old High German "wāri", meaning "true" or "genuine". | |||
| Maltese | verità | ||
| The Maltese word | |||
| Norwegian | sannhet | ||
| "Sannhet" is derived from the Old Norse word "sannr," which means "real" or "genuine." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | verdade | ||
| Portuguese "verdade" "truth" derives from the Latin "veritas" "truth, reality" and also means "justice, fairness, equity". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | fìrinn | ||
| In Gaelic, "fìrinn" has an etymological connection to "fìor", meaning "true" or "real", as well as a separate connotation of "justice". | |||
| Spanish | verdad | ||
| The Spanish word "verdad" derives from the Latin word "verus," meaning "true" or "real," and has the same meaning in Spanish, referring to a statement or belief that corresponds to reality. | |||
| Swedish | sanning | ||
| The word 'sanning' is derived from Proto-Germanic words that mean 'to see' or 'to show', giving it the connotation of something that is made evident or visible. | |||
| Welsh | gwirionedd | ||
| The Welsh word "gwirionedd" derives from the Proto-Celtic "*u̯er-i̯on-et-i̯eh₁" meaning "truthful". It is also related to the Irish word "fír" and the Breton word "gwir" both meaning "true". | |||
Truth in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | праўда | ||
| Праўда also means 'justice' and comes from pro- ('for') and vye-da- ('to know'). | |||
| Bosnian | istina | ||
| The word "istina" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *istina, which is in turn derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁es-, meaning "to be." | |||
| Bulgarian | истина | ||
| The word "истина" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *isъtь, meaning "what is" or "reality". | |||
| Czech | pravda | ||
| In Czech, the word "pravda" also refers to justice or fairness. | |||
| Estonian | tõde | ||
| The word "tõde" is related to words for "to know" in other Uralic languages and is likely derived from the Proto-Uralic root *tot-. | |||
| Finnish | totuus | ||
| In Finnish, the word "totuus" also refers to "reality" or "existence". | |||
| Hungarian | igazság | ||
| The Hungarian word "igazság" is derived from the Proto-Uralic word "*toδi", meaning "just" or "righteous". | |||
| Latvian | patiesība | ||
| The word “patiesība” in Latvian also means “reality” and is related to the word “pats,” which means “self.” | |||
| Lithuanian | tiesa | ||
| The word tiesa originates from the Proto-Baltic root *teisa-, meaning 'right' or 'justice'. | |||
| Macedonian | вистина | ||
| The Macedonian word "вистина" is derived from Proto-Slavic *vistina, meaning "certainty", and is cognate with Russian истина and Polish prawda. | |||
| Polish | prawda | ||
| The Polish word "prawda" derives from Proto-Slavic "pravda" meaning "justice" and originally denoted legal or courtly truth. | |||
| Romanian | adevăr | ||
| The Romanian word "adevăr" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*h₁éḱ-ros" meaning "clear" or "sharp," suggesting the idea of truth as something that is clear and unobscured. | |||
| Russian | правда | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, “правда” meant “justice” or “the right way.” | |||
| Serbian | истина | ||
| The Serbian word "истина" (truth) is cognate with the Russian word "истина" and the Greek word "ἀλήθεια" (truth). | |||
| Slovak | pravda | ||
| The word "pravda" in Slovak shares the same root as "law" and "justice", denoting a profound connection between truth and moral order. | |||
| Slovenian | resnico | ||
| "Resnica" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁res-, meaning "correct" or "straight". | |||
| Ukrainian | правда | ||
| The word „правда“ can also mean „justice” and is related to the word „право”, meaning „law”. | |||
Truth in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সত্য | ||
| The Sanskrit word 'satya' is the root of the Bengali word 'সত্য', and it also means 'existing' or 'being'. | |||
| Gujarati | સત્ય | ||
| સત્ય and satya, both words for "truth" in Sanskrit and Gujurati, are descended from the Proto-Indo-Aryan root sat-, which in turn is related to the Proto-Indo-European root es- which also meant "to be" | |||
| Hindi | सत्य | ||
| The word "सत्य" can also mean "existence" or "reality" in Hindi, and is derived from the Sanskrit word "सत्" (sat), meaning "being" or "essence." | |||
| Kannada | ಸತ್ಯ | ||
| The word "ಸತ್ಯ" (sathya) in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "सत्य" (satya), meaning "that which is" or "reality." | |||
| Malayalam | സത്യം | ||
| The word `സത്യം` (satya) comes from `സത്` (sat) - `being`, thus means 'that which is'. | |||
| Marathi | सत्य | ||
| The word सत्य (satya) is derived from the Sanskrit word सत (sat), which means 'existence' or 'being'. | |||
| Nepali | सत्य | ||
| The word "सत्य" is derived from the Sanskrit word "sat", meaning "being" or "existence". It can also mean "true" in the sense of something that is "real" or "valid". In addition to its literal meaning, "सत्य" also has a metaphorical meaning of "eternal" or "unchanging". In this sense, it is often used to describe the nature of the divine or the ultimate reality. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸੱਚ | ||
| The word "ਸੱਚ" (truth) in Punjabi also has alternate meanings such as "reality" and "justice". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සත්යය | ||
| සත්යය comes from සත් 'sat' ('good') and is also used in Buddhist doctrine to mean the 'real' and the 'unchanging'. | |||
| Tamil | உண்மை | ||
| The word "உண்மை" in Tamil can also refer to a state of being real or genuine. | |||
| Telugu | నిజం | ||
| "నిజం" derives from the Proto-Dravidian root "nī" meaning "straight" or "correct". | |||
| Urdu | سچائی | ||
| The term "سچائی" is rooted in the Sanskrit word "Satya" and conveys ideas of reality, purity, and authenticity | |||
Truth in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 真相 | ||
| "真相" (zhen-xiang) in Chinese can also refer to photographic evidence taken in a crime scene or a revelation in a detective mystery, suggesting the process of uncovering the truth. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 真相 | ||
| The original meaning of 真相 is 'to verify a fact', not 'truth' as the modern interpretation. | |||
| Japanese | 真実 | ||
| The word "真実" (shinjitsu) also means "reality" or "true nature". | |||
| Korean | 진실 | ||
| 진실 is also the name of a popular Korean film released in 2016, starring Cho Jin-woong and Han Ye-ri. | |||
| Mongolian | үнэн | ||
| The Mongolian word "үнэн" also means "real", "genuine", "sincere", or "authentic". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အမှန်တရား | ||
| Derived from the Old Burmese words for "firm" and "thing," implying a tangible quality to truth. | |||
Truth in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kebenaran | ||
| "Kebenaran" can also mean "justice" or "fact". | |||
| Javanese | bebener | ||
| The word "bebener" in Javanese can also mean "proof" or "evidence". | |||
| Khmer | សេចក្តីពិត | ||
| Lao | ຄວາມຈິງ | ||
| ຄວາມ (khouam) refers to a quality, state, or nature of something while ຈິງ (ching) means 'real', 'true', or 'right'. | |||
| Malay | kebenaran | ||
| The word "kebenaran" also means "righteousness" and is derived from the Arabic word "khalifa", meaning "deputy of God". | |||
| Thai | ความจริง | ||
| The word "ความจริง" is etymologically related to the Sanskrit word "satya", which means "essence" or "being". | |||
| Vietnamese | sự thật | ||
| The word "sự thật" can also mean "fact" or "reality" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | katotohanan | ||
Truth in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | həqiqət | ||
| The word "həqiqət" can also refer to "reality" or "existence" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | шындық | ||
| The word "шындық" in Kazakh comes from the verb "шын", which means "to be," and the suffix "-дық," which denotes a quality or state, hence "truth" or "the quality of being true." | |||
| Kyrgyz | чындык | ||
| Tajik | ҳақиқат | ||
| The Tajik word «ҳақиқат» («truth») also means «justice» or «reality» and is related to the Arabic word «الحقيقة» («truth») | |||
| Turkmen | hakykat | ||
| Uzbek | haqiqat | ||
| In Uzbek, "haqiqat" can also refer to religious knowledge or reality beyond physical existence. | |||
| Uyghur | ھەقىقەت | ||
Truth in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻoiaʻiʻo | ||
| The Hawaiian word ʻoiaʻiʻo is etymologically related to the word ʻoi, meaning "firmly fixed" or "stable", suggesting its connection to concepts of certainty and reliability. | |||
| Maori | pono | ||
| In addition to its meaning as "truth", the Maori word "pono" also refers to correctness, accuracy, and righteousness. | |||
| Samoan | upu moni | ||
| The original meaning of "upu moni" was probably "the gathering of wealth," and over time came to mean "truth" or "agreement." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | katotohanan | ||
| Katotohanan, derived from the root word "totoo" (real), also encompasses authenticity, honesty, and reliability. | |||
Truth in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | chiqa | ||
| Guarani | añetegua | ||
Truth in International Languages
| Esperanto | vero | ||
| "Vero" is also used as a particle after an adjective to emphasize the truth of something. | |||
| Latin | veritas | ||
| The Latin word 'veritas' (truth) is related to the verb 'vereri' (to fear), suggesting that truth was originally seen as something to be revered. | |||
Truth in Others Languages
| Greek | αλήθεια | ||
| The word "αλήθεια" in Greek also means "reality" or "actuality", indicating a congruence between what is true and what exists. | |||
| Hmong | qhov tseeb | ||
| The Hmong word "qhov tseeb" not only means "truth", but also "justice" and "righteousness". | |||
| Kurdish | rastî | ||
| In the Alevi religious branch, the term 'rastî' also refers to 'the holy book', similar to how 'Torah' is considered a book of truth in the Jewish religion. | |||
| Turkish | hakikat | ||
| The word "hakikat" also refers to the inner essence or reality of something, and is related to the Arabic word "haqq," meaning "right" or "justice." | |||
| Xhosa | inyaniso | ||
| Inyanda, the root of inyaniso, refers to a seed's essence or the inner workings of a thing. | |||
| Yiddish | אמת | ||
| In Yiddish, "אמת" (emes) is also used as a measure of time, specifically denoting "a moment". | |||
| Zulu | iqiniso | ||
| The word also means "the state of being correct or legitimate". | |||
| Assamese | সত্য | ||
| Aymara | chiqa | ||
| Bhojpuri | सच्चाई | ||
| Dhivehi | ޙަޤީޤަތް | ||
| Dogri | सच्चाई | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | katotohanan | ||
| Guarani | añetegua | ||
| Ilocano | agpayso | ||
| Krio | trut | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ڕاستی | ||
| Maithili | सत्य | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯆꯨꯝꯕ | ||
| Mizo | thudik | ||
| Oromo | dhugaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସତ୍ୟ | ||
| Quechua | chiqaq | ||
| Sanskrit | सत्यं | ||
| Tatar | хакыйкать | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓቂ | ||
| Tsonga | ntiyiso | ||