Visible in Different Languages
Discover 'Visible' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'visible' plays a pivotal role in both everyday communication and profound discussions across cultures, symbolizing the seen, recognized, or acknowledged. Its significance stretches beyond mere sight, often linked to ideas of presence, acknowledgment, and inclusivity within cultural contexts. Understanding 'visible' in different languages enriches cross-cultural communication, bridges gaps, and fosters a deeper appreciation of distinct cultural narratives. Historically, the concept of visibility has been central to art, philosophy, and science, evolving in meaning as societies have progressed. For instance, in French, 'visible' becomes 'visible', in Spanish, 'visible', and in Japanese, '見える' (mieru), highlighting linguistic diversity yet a shared human experience of perception and acknowledgment. Knowing how to say 'visible' in different languages isn't just about expanding one's vocabulary—it's about connecting more profoundly with others beyond linguistic barriers. Below, explore how 'visible' transcends language across the globe.
Visible
Visible in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sigbaar | ||
| The word "sigbaar" is derived from the Dutch word "zichtbaar", which means "visible" or "perceptible". It can also be used figuratively to mean "evident" or "noticeable". | |||
| Amharic | የሚታይ | ||
| The Amharic word "የሚታይ" (visible) can also mean "that which can be seen" or "what is apparent." | |||
| Hausa | bayyane | ||
| In the Sokoto Caliphate, the word 'bayyane' also had the meaning of 'public'. | |||
| Igbo | anya | ||
| In many Igbo communities, the word "anya" also represents the left side. | |||
| Malagasy | hita maso | ||
| The word 'hita maso' also means 'open' in Malagasy, likely due to the commonality between what is seen and what is not hidden behind a barrier. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuwonekera | ||
| The word "kuwonekera" in Nyanja can also mean "to be present" or "to be in attendance" | |||
| Shona | zvinoonekwa | ||
| The word "zvinoonekwa" can also mean "evident" or "clear". | |||
| Somali | muuqda | ||
| The Somali word "muuqda" comes from the Arabic word "wujuh", meaning "face" or "countenance." | |||
| Sesotho | bonahalang | ||
| Swahili | inayoonekana | ||
| In addition to meaning "visible," "inayoonekana" can also mean "understood" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | ebonakalayo | ||
| The word "ebonakalayo" in Xhosa also means "to be seen" or "to appear." | |||
| Yoruba | han | ||
| The word "han" also means "to appear, to become known, to be revealed" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | kuyabonakala | ||
| "Kuyabonakala" is derived from the verb 'bona', which also means "see" or "perceive". | |||
| Bambara | yelen ye | ||
| Ewe | nukpɔkpɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bigaragara | ||
| Lingala | oyo emonanaka | ||
| Luganda | ebirabika | ||
| Sepedi | e bonagalago | ||
| Twi (Akan) | a wotumi hu | ||
Visible in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | مرئي | ||
| "مرئي" means visible, readable, seen, conspicuous, perceptible, or legible | |||
| Hebrew | גלוי | ||
| In modern Hebrew, "גלוי" ("visible") also means frank, open or revealed. | |||
| Pashto | څرګندیدل | ||
| څرګندیدل comes from the Persian word "zaahir shudan" meaning "to appear" or "to become visible". | |||
| Arabic | مرئي | ||
| "مرئي" means visible, readable, seen, conspicuous, perceptible, or legible | |||
Visible in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e dukshme | ||
| The word "e dukshme" is derived from the Latin "ducere" (to lead), and also means "conspicuous" or "prominent". | |||
| Basque | ikusgai | ||
| The word "ikusgai" in Basque can also mean "conspicuous" or "noticeable". | |||
| Catalan | visible | ||
| The Catalan word "visible" comes from the Latin word "visibilis", meaning "able to be seen" or "perceptible to the eye". | |||
| Croatian | vidljivo | ||
| The word "vidljivo" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *viděti, meaning "to see". | |||
| Danish | synlig | ||
| Synlig in Danish shares its root with the word 'sun' in English and German, and also means 'apparent' or 'obvious'. | |||
| Dutch | zichtbaar | ||
| The Dutch word | |||
| English | visible | ||
| The word "visible" originates from the Latin "visibilis," meaning "able to be seen" or "clearly visible." | |||
| French | visible | ||
| The French word "visible" comes from the Latin word "visibilis", which means "able to be seen". | |||
| Frisian | sichtber | ||
| Besides "visible", "sichtber" can also mean "transparent" in Frisian. | |||
| Galician | visible | ||
| The Galician word "visible" also means "noticeable" or "evident". | |||
| German | sichtbar | ||
| "Sichtbar" is cognate with English "sight" and the verb "sehen" (to see), originating from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweik- meaning "to see, watch, look". | |||
| Icelandic | sýnilegur | ||
| Sýnilegur derives from the Old Norse word "sýnligr" and also means "conspicuous". | |||
| Irish | infheicthe | ||
| Cognate with Welsh gweled, meaning 'to see' | |||
| Italian | visibile | ||
| Visibile derives from visus (Latin for sight) and also means "conspicuous" and "manifest". | |||
| Luxembourgish | sichtbar | ||
| Maltese | viżibbli | ||
| "Viżibbli" is derived from the Latin word "visibilis" and it also means "evident". It can be used to describe something that can be seen or understood. | |||
| Norwegian | synlig | ||
| The word "synlig" stems from the Old Norse word "sýnligr", which means "capable of being seen". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | visível | ||
| "Visível" comes from Latin "visibilis" and also means "noticeable" or "evident" in both Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ri fhaicinn | ||
| Spanish | visible | ||
| "Visible" in Spanish can also mean "dressed up" or "evident." | |||
| Swedish | synlig | ||
| The word 'synlig' comes from the Old Norse word 'sjǫn' which means 'to see'. | |||
| Welsh | gweladwy | ||
Visible in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | бачны | ||
| The word "бачны" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *obkъ, meaning "around, near, by, with, near, at, on, in". | |||
| Bosnian | vidljivo | ||
| "Vidljivo" comes from the Proto-Slavic root *viděti, which also means "to see". | |||
| Bulgarian | видими | ||
| "Видими") is a form of "видим" (visible), which is derived from the Slavic root "vid-", meaning 'to see' or 'to know' | |||
| Czech | viditelné | ||
| The Czech word "viditelné" means not only "visible", but also "evident" or "obvious". | |||
| Estonian | nähtav | ||
| The word "nähtav" also means "understandable" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | näkyvä | ||
| It can also be used to describe something that is obvious or noticeable. | |||
| Hungarian | látható | ||
| "Látható" is a Hungarian word meaning 'visible', but it can also mean 'apparent' or 'evident'. | |||
| Latvian | redzams | ||
| Redzams is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *reg-, meaning to see or perceive. | |||
| Lithuanian | matomas | ||
| The word "matomas" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *men-, meaning "to think" or "to know." | |||
| Macedonian | видлив | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning, "видлив" can also mean "prominent" or "noticeable". | |||
| Polish | widoczny | ||
| "Widoczny" in Polish can also mean "clear, distinct" and is a synonym for "widowy" (publicly known). | |||
| Romanian | vizibil | ||
| "Vizibil" derives from Latin "videre" (to see) and Slavic "videti" (to appear), but it also means tangible or clear. | |||
| Russian | видимый | ||
| The word "видимый" can also mean "apparent" or "seeming" in Russian, conveying a sense of something that might not be as it appears. | |||
| Serbian | видљиво | ||
| The word 'видљиво' (''vidljivo'') in Serbian can also refer to 'appearance' or 'image', as in the phrase 'добар видљив' ('''dobar vidljiv'') meaning 'good appearance'. | |||
| Slovak | viditeľné | ||
| The word "viditeľné" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *vid-, meaning "to see". | |||
| Slovenian | vidna | ||
| The word "vidna" also shares a root with "videti" (to see) and "videc" (seer). | |||
| Ukrainian | видно | ||
| "Видно" derives from the Proto-Slavic verb *viděti, meaning "to look, to behold; to know, to understand." | |||
Visible in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | দৃশ্যমান | ||
| Gujarati | દૃશ્યમાન | ||
| Its root in Sanskrit 'drishya' is also a term of Indian aesthetics that describes a sensory perception. | |||
| Hindi | दिखाई | ||
| The Hindi word "दिखाई" also means "appearance" or "sight". | |||
| Kannada | ಕಾಣುವ | ||
| Malayalam | ദൃശ്യമാണ് | ||
| A Malayalam word that can mean a movie or a television program | |||
| Marathi | दृश्यमान | ||
| The Marathi word "दृश्यमान" means "visible", but also "visible to the mind" or "that which can be understood by reason". | |||
| Nepali | देखिने | ||
| The word "देखिने" is also used in Nepali to refer to the aspect or appearance of something. | |||
| Punjabi | ਦਿਸਦਾ ਹੈ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දෘශ්යමාන වේ | ||
| Tamil | தெரியும் | ||
| The word "தெரியும்" also means "to know" or "to be aware" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | కనిపించే | ||
| The word "కనిపించే" comes from the root "కను" (to see) and the suffix "-పించే" (causing to see), and can also mean "to appear" or "to become visible." | |||
| Urdu | مرئی | ||
| The root مرأ (marʾa) means 'to see,' and is also found in the words مراة (mirʾāh, 'mirror') and منظَر (manẓar, 'view'). | |||
Visible in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 可见 | ||
| 可見 (kě jiàn) is an adverb meaning "possibly" or "probably" in addition to its more common meaning of "visible" | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 可見 | ||
| 可見 in Traditional Chinese can also be used as an adjective to describe something that is worthy of seeing. | |||
| Japanese | 見える | ||
| "Miru" is the Sino-Japanese reading of 見える and means “to see,” while "mieru" is its native Japanese reading, meaning “to be visible." | |||
| Korean | 명백한 | ||
| The word "명백한" can also mean "evident" or "obvious". | |||
| Mongolian | харагдана | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မြင်နိုင်သော | ||
Visible in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | terlihat | ||
| The word | |||
| Javanese | katon | ||
| Katon is likely derived from the Proto-Austronesian root *ka-di-n, also found in the Malay and Philippine words for 'eye' and 'see'. | |||
| Khmer | ដែលអាចមើលឃើញ | ||
| Lao | ເບິ່ງເຫັນໄດ້ | ||
| Malay | kelihatan | ||
| "Kelihatan" originates from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root "*kita", meaning "to see" or "to appear." | |||
| Thai | มองเห็นได้ | ||
| มองเห็นได้ can also mean 'noticeable', 'discernible', or 'evident'. | |||
| Vietnamese | có thể nhìn thấy | ||
| "Có thể nhìn thấy" is also a phrase used to refer to the ability to see something or to be able to see something. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nakikita | ||
Visible in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | görünən | ||
| Kazakh | көрінетін | ||
| Kyrgyz | көрүнөө | ||
| The word "көрүнөө" can also mean "appearance" or "view" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | намоён | ||
| The word "намоён" in Tajik can also mean "clear" or "distinct". | |||
| Turkmen | görünýär | ||
| Uzbek | ko'rinadigan | ||
| The word "ko'rinadigan" is derived from the verb "ko'rin-" meaning "to be visible" or "to appear". | |||
| Uyghur | كۆرۈندى | ||
Visible in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻike ʻia | ||
| 'Ike ʻia can also mean to be found, known, or understood, coming from the root word ʻike meaning to know. | |||
| Maori | kitea | ||
| The Māori word "kitea" can also refer to a sighting, appearance, or vision, and is related to the word "kite" (to see). | |||
| Samoan | vaʻaia | ||
| The word vaʻaia derives from the Proto-Austronesian word *paŋaŋa, meaning "view" or "look". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | nakikita | ||
| "Nakikita" can also mean "to be caught" or "to be involved" in Tagalog. | |||
Visible in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | uñjañjamawa | ||
| Guarani | ojehechakuaáva | ||
Visible in International Languages
| Esperanto | videbla | ||
| It is derived from the Latin words "videre" (to see) and "abl" (fit). | |||
| Latin | visibilis | ||
| "Visibilis" in Latin also relates to "sight" or "vision". | |||
Visible in Others Languages
| Greek | ορατός | ||
| The word "ορατός" can also mean "seen," "noticed," or "observable." | |||
| Hmong | pom tau | ||
| In addition to its literal meaning of "visible," "pom tau" can also refer to a person's appearance or attractiveness. | |||
| Kurdish | têdîtinî | ||
| The Kurdish word | |||
| Turkish | gözle görülür | ||
| "Gözle görülür" means "visible" in Turkish, but it also means "conspicuous" or "noticeable". | |||
| Xhosa | ebonakalayo | ||
| The word "ebonakalayo" in Xhosa also means "to be seen" or "to appear." | |||
| Yiddish | קענטיק | ||
| The root of 'קענטיק' in Yiddish can also be found in the English word 'recognize', meaning 'to make visible'. | |||
| Zulu | kuyabonakala | ||
| "Kuyabonakala" is derived from the verb 'bona', which also means "see" or "perceive". | |||
| Assamese | দৃশ্যমান | ||
| Aymara | uñjañjamawa | ||
| Bhojpuri | लउकत बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ފެންނަން ހުރެއެވެ | ||
| Dogri | दिक्खने गी मिलदा ऐ | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | nakikita | ||
| Guarani | ojehechakuaáva | ||
| Ilocano | makita | ||
| Krio | we pɔsin kin si | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دیارە | ||
| Maithili | दृश्यमान | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯎꯕꯥ ꯐꯪꯏ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | hmuh theih a ni | ||
| Oromo | mul’atu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଦୃଶ୍ୟମାନ | ||
| Quechua | rikukuq | ||
| Sanskrit | दृश्यमानम् | ||
| Tatar | күренеп тора | ||
| Tigrinya | ዝርአ እዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | swi vonaka | ||