Us in Different Languages
Discover 'Us' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'us' is a small but powerful term that represents inclusion and unity. It's a word that transcends cultures and languages, yet its translation can vary greatly depending on the language and culture in which it's used. Understanding the translation of 'us' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the cultural significance of this simple word.
For example, in Spanish, 'us' is translated to 'nosotros' or 'nosotras,' depending on the gender of the group being referred to. In French, 'us' becomes 'nous,' while in German, it's 'uns.' Each of these translations not only conveys the same basic meaning as 'us,' but also carries with it the cultural nuances and connotations of the language in which it's used.
So why might someone want to know the translation of 'us' in different languages? For starters, it can help build connections and foster understanding between people from different cultures. It can also provide a window into the unique perspectives and values of different languages and cultures, helping to broaden our own worldview and appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture.
Below, you'll find a list of translations of 'us' in different languages, along with some interesting facts and historical contexts associated with each translation.
Us
Us in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ons | ||
| The Afrikaans word "ons" is derived from the Dutch "ons", which is a reflexive pronoun meaning "ourselves" but evolved into the first person plural pronoun "we" in Dutch and Afrikaans. | |||
| Amharic | እኛ | ||
| The word "እኛ" can also mean "we" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | mu | ||
| Hausa 'mu' also refers to a part or the whole of a group, as well as the totality of all living things. | |||
| Igbo | anyị | ||
| Igbo term "anyị" is etymologically linked to "anya," meaning "eye," emphasizing shared vision and collective perspective. | |||
| Malagasy | antsika | ||
| "Antsika" is the plural form of "isika", which can also mean "name" or "character". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ife | ||
| In many areas of Zambia, 'ife' can be used to mean 'you' as well as 'us'. | |||
| Shona | isu | ||
| The Shona word "isu" derives from the Proto-Bantu word "*isu" meaning "we" or "our". | |||
| Somali | anaga | ||
| In the 19th and early 20th centuries, anaga was sometimes written in orthographies based on Arabic script as anagaa. | |||
| Sesotho | rona | ||
| The word "rona" in Sesotho can also refer to a type of bird and a traditional dance. | |||
| Swahili | sisi | ||
| The word ''sisi'' in Swahili can also mean ''we'', ''our'', or ''ourselves''. | |||
| Xhosa | thina | ||
| The Xhosa word "thina" also signifies "a collection of people" or "the people of a place". | |||
| Yoruba | àwa | ||
| "Àwa" means "us" in Yoruba, but it also refers to an extended family or group of people connected by kinship. | |||
| Zulu | thina | ||
| The word 'thina' ('us' in English) is a Zulu possessive pronoun that can also refer to the speaker and their group. | |||
| Bambara | an | ||
| Ewe | mí | ||
| Kinyarwanda | twe | ||
| Lingala | biso | ||
| Luganda | ffe | ||
| Sepedi | rena | ||
| Twi (Akan) | yɛn | ||
Us in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نحن | ||
| The Arabic word "نحن" (us) is the plural form of the first-person singular pronoun "أنا" (I) and can also mean "our". | |||
| Hebrew | לָנוּ | ||
| The Biblical Hebrew word "לָנוּ" can also mean "for us." | |||
| Pashto | موږ | ||
| The Pashto word "موږ" (mōẓ) also denotes the singular "I" and the plural "we". | |||
| Arabic | نحن | ||
| The Arabic word "نحن" (us) is the plural form of the first-person singular pronoun "أنا" (I) and can also mean "our". | |||
Us in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ne | ||
| In Albanian, the word "ne" can be used as both the accusative and dative form of the first-person plural pronoun, with accusative meaning "us" and dative meaning "to us". | |||
| Basque | gu | ||
| The Basque word | |||
| Catalan | nosaltres | ||
| It is a contraction of "nos" (we) and "altres" (others), thus being an inclusive form of "we". | |||
| Croatian | nas | ||
| "Nas" can also mean "nose" in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | os | ||
| In Danish, "os" is used both as a personal pronoun (meaning "us") and to mean "bones" or "antler". | |||
| Dutch | ons | ||
| In Dutch, the word "ons" can also refer to the pronoun "we" when it is used as the subject of a sentence. | |||
| English | us | ||
| In linguistics, "us" can refer to the first person plural nominative and accusative case of personal pronouns, or the voiced alveolar sibilant consonant /z/. | |||
| French | nous | ||
| The word "nous" also means "mind" in philosophy as it is derived from the Ancient Greek word "νόος". | |||
| Frisian | ús | ||
| "ús" also refers to the first person plural in the Frisian language. | |||
| Galician | nós | ||
| Galician 'nós' derives from Latin 'nōs' ('we'), while Portuguese 'nós' comes from Latin 'nōdu(m)' ('knot') and Spanish 'nosotros' from Latin 'nōs' ('we') merged with 'met ipsu(m)' ('with myself'). | |||
| German | uns | ||
| In German, "uns" can also be a dative pronoun meaning "to us" or an archaic nominative pronoun meaning "we." | |||
| Icelandic | okkur | ||
| The word "okkur" in Icelandic is related to the Latin word "occurro" meaning "to meet". | |||
| Irish | linn | ||
| Linn derives from the Irish Gaelic word linn, "a pool or pond," likely due to the frequent occurrence of such geological features near linen sites. | |||
| Italian | noi | ||
| Derived from the Latin word "nos", "noi" can also mean "we" in Italian, as opposed to "noi due" (the two of us). | |||
| Luxembourgish | eis | ||
| Maltese | magħna | ||
| Magħna derives from an Arabic root meaning "to be with" and can also mean "together with" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | oss | ||
| The word "oss" can also mean a type of small fish. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | nos | ||
| "Nós" in Portuguese can refer to "us" but it can also mean "knots", "news" or "nausea" in the plural form. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dhuinn | ||
| The Gaelic word for 'us', 'dhuinn', is derived from the Old Irish 'd(u)uin' which also meant 'to us'. | |||
| Spanish | nos | ||
| The 'os' ending in 'nos' is the same as in 'vosotros' (you all), representing the plural of 'you' instead of 'we'. | |||
| Swedish | oss | ||
| The word "oss" in Swedish is related to the Latin word "nos", meaning "us", and also has the alternate meaning of "bone". | |||
| Welsh | ni | ||
| Welsh "ni" is also used as a possessive pronoun "our" as in "ein ni, ein gwlad, ein hiaith." (our nation, our country, our language). | |||
Us in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | нас | ||
| The word "нас" can also refer to the concept of "ours" in Belarusian, as in "нас дом" ("our house"). | |||
| Bosnian | nas | ||
| The word 'nas' ('us') in Bosnian can also refer to 'nose'. | |||
| Bulgarian | нас | ||
| Bulgarian 'нас' is a contraction of the Old Church Slavonic word 'нaсъ', derived from Proto-Indo-European '*nos', meaning 'we'. | |||
| Czech | nás | ||
| The word "nás" has multiple origins and also means "violence", "coercion" | |||
| Estonian | meile | ||
| The word "meile" in Estonian does not have any other meanings or etymological origins. | |||
| Finnish | meille | ||
| The word "meille" is the illative singular third-person form of the Finnish personal pronoun "me" (meaning "we") and means "to us". | |||
| Hungarian | minket | ||
| The word "minket" is used as a personal pronoun in the accusative case in Hungarian, but it can also refer to a type of fur. | |||
| Latvian | mums | ||
| In Latvian, "mums" means both "us" and "mothers". | |||
| Lithuanian | mus | ||
| Lithuanian has several words similar to the word | |||
| Macedonian | нас | ||
| Macedonian word "нас" is homophonous with Macedonian word "на" (on) meaning that it sounds the same but is spelled differently with a different meaning. | |||
| Polish | nas | ||
| The Polish word "nas" comes from the Proto-Slavic "nьsь", which meant "belonging to us". It also appears in Russian as "наш", in Ukrainian as "наш" (naš) and Belarussian as "наш" (naš). | |||
| Romanian | ne | ||
| The Romanian word "ne" can also mean "to" or "for". | |||
| Russian | нас | ||
| The word "нас" can also be used as a polite form of address to a single person, similar to "you" in English. | |||
| Serbian | нас | ||
| The word can also be used instead of a second-person singular pronoun (like “thou”) when talking to a child or to an animal | |||
| Slovak | nás | ||
| Originally the word "nás" did not mean "us" but rather "our". | |||
| Slovenian | nas | ||
| The word "nas" can also mean "nose", "stalk", or "beam" in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | нас | ||
| The word "нас" in Ukrainian can also mean "we" in Russian, making it a useful term for communicating across borders. | |||
Us in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আমাদের | ||
| "আমাদের" is also the plural of "আমার" ("my") in Bangla | |||
| Gujarati | અમને | ||
| The Gujarati word "અમને" (pronounced "ah-muh-nay") is derived from the Sanskrit word "asmākam," which also means "us."} | |||
| Hindi | अमेरिका | ||
| The word "अमेरिका" can also refer to the United States of America or the Americas (North and South America). | |||
| Kannada | ನಮಗೆ | ||
| The word "ನಮಗೆ" ("us") in Kannada, besides its typical meaning, can also mean "to us" or "for us" in certain contexts. | |||
| Malayalam | ഞങ്ങളെ | ||
| The word "ഞങ്ങളെ" also derives from the Proto-Dravidian root "*yaŋ-/ñā-/ñγ-" meaning "we, us, our". | |||
| Marathi | आम्हाला | ||
| In Marathi, "आम्हाला"'s alternate meaning includes "me", "you" and "oneself" based on context. | |||
| Nepali | हामीलाई | ||
| The word "हामीलाई" can also be used to mean "our" or "us (inclusive)" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਾਨੂੰ | ||
| The word "ਸਾਨੂੰ" also means "to us" in Punjabi, and is derived from the Sanskrit word "स्नु" (snu), meaning "to give". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අපට | ||
| In Sinhala, "අපට" can also mean "to" or "for". | |||
| Tamil | எங்களுக்கு | ||
| Telugu | మాకు | ||
| "మకు" is a colloquial form of "మాకు" (us) and can also be used in the sense "ours". In Old Tamil it meant "me". It can be used to indicate "we" as well if the subject of the sentence is a group or a community. | |||
| Urdu | ہمیں | ||
| The word "ہمیں" can also be used as a respectful form of address, similar to "you" in English. | |||
Us in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 我们 | ||
| The word "我们" can also mean "our" or "we". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 我們 | ||
| 「我們」的同音字「吾們」，在古書中指「我」的複數，後來則轉變為「你我」的集合，相當於「我們」的用法。 | |||
| Japanese | 我ら | ||
| "我ら" is an old-fashioned, honorific version of "we" and is still used to refer to oneself in certain contexts, such as when speaking to a superior. | |||
| Korean | 우리 | ||
| "우리" can also mean "we" or "our" in Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | бид | ||
| `Бид` (us) in Mongolian appears as `би` in the word `бидний` (we), and also signifies duality in `би гэрбээт` (husband and wife). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ငါတို့ | ||
| In Burmese, "nga do" means both "us (exclusive)" and "we (inclusive)", unlike in English where "us" is inclusive and "we" is exclusive. | |||
Us in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kami | ||
| "Kami" can also refer to a group of people or a company. | |||
| Javanese | kita | ||
| The Javanese word "kita" not only means "us" but also has ceremonial and formal connotations, and can be used to refer to third parties. | |||
| Khmer | ពួកយើង | ||
| The Khmer word "ពួកយើង" ("us") is derived from the Sanskrit word "avaśyam", meaning "necessary" or "essential". | |||
| Lao | ພວກເຮົາ | ||
| Malay | kita | ||
| The word "kita" in Malay can also mean "we" or "our group", and is a common pronoun used to refer to oneself and a group of people. | |||
| Thai | เรา | ||
| The Thai word | |||
| Vietnamese | chúng ta | ||
| "Chúng ta" is related to the Chinese pronoun "咱(men)" and also the 2nd person plural pronoun "you (all)" in some other Sino-Tibetan languages like Thai. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa amin | ||
Us in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | biz | ||
| In Azerbaijani, the word "biz" means "us" and is also the root of the word "bizim" which means "our. | |||
| Kazakh | біз | ||
| The word "біз" in Kazakh can also refer to a group of people who share a common interest or goal. | |||
| Kyrgyz | биз | ||
| `Биз` originates from the Turkic root `bi-` (`we, us`) and can also mean `this` or `such` when used as an adjective. | |||
| Tajik | мо | ||
| The word "мо" (us) can also refer to the plural form of "я" (I) or "ты" (you) in the nominative case. | |||
| Turkmen | biz | ||
| Uzbek | biz | ||
| "Biz" is a homonym in Uzbek, meaning both "we" as a first-person plural pronoun and "knife" as a noun. | |||
| Uyghur | us | ||
Us in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻo mākou | ||
| 'ʻO mākou' is the exclusive form of 'kākou', meaning 'we' and only including the speaker and those they consider to be most closely connected to them, like immediate family members. | |||
| Maori | matou | ||
| This word is likely derived from the Proto-Oceanic term *matou, which also means "us" in many other Polynesian languages. | |||
| Samoan | tatou | ||
| 'Tatou' can also mean 'inclusive' or 'all-encompassing' in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | tayo | ||
| In archaic Tagalog, "tayo" also means "I", but it was used by people of high social rank and royalty. | |||
Us in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jiwasaru | ||
| Guarani | ore | ||
Us in International Languages
| Esperanto | ni | ||
| Ni derives from the French word "nous", meaning "we". It shares the same root with the English word "us". Ni has also been interpreted as an acronym for "nova internacia", meaning "new international". | |||
| Latin | nobis | ||
| Nobis means 'belonging to' or 'towards us' and is related to the French word 'nous' | |||
Us in Others Languages
| Greek | μας | ||
| The word "μας" can also be used as a plural form of the second-person pronoun "εσύ" (you), similar to the use of "y'all" in some English dialects. | |||
| Hmong | peb | ||
| The Hmong word 'peb' can also refer to "our" and "we". | |||
| Kurdish | me | ||
| The Kurdish word "me" can also mean "us", depending on the context. | |||
| Turkish | bize | ||
| The word "bize" in Turkish may derive from the Persian word "biz" meaning "we", or from the Turkish word "biz" meaning "this". | |||
| Xhosa | thina | ||
| The Xhosa word "thina" also signifies "a collection of people" or "the people of a place". | |||
| Yiddish | אונדז | ||
| In Yiddish, "אונדז" can also refer to a group of people, including the speaker, or to a general sense of community. | |||
| Zulu | thina | ||
| The word 'thina' ('us' in English) is a Zulu possessive pronoun that can also refer to the speaker and their group. | |||
| Assamese | আমাক | ||
| Aymara | jiwasaru | ||
| Bhojpuri | हमनीं के | ||
| Dhivehi | އަހަރެމެން | ||
| Dogri | अस | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa amin | ||
| Guarani | ore | ||
| Ilocano | sitayo | ||
| Krio | wi | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئێمە | ||
| Maithili | हम सब | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯩꯈꯣꯏ | ||
| Mizo | keini | ||
| Oromo | nuyi | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆମ | ||
| Quechua | ñuqayku | ||
| Sanskrit | वयम् | ||
| Tatar | без | ||
| Tigrinya | ንሕና | ||
| Tsonga | hina | ||