Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'weigh' holds great significance in our daily lives, as it relates to the process of measuring an object's weight or importance. This simple verb has a wide range of applications, from measuring ingredients in a recipe to evaluating the significance of an argument or idea. Moreover, the concept of weighing has been an essential part of human culture since ancient times, with scales being one of the earliest forms of measurement tools.
Given the word's cultural importance and widespread use, it's no surprise that people might want to know its translation in different languages. For instance, in Spanish, 'weigh' translates to 'pesar,' while in French, it's 'peser' and in German, 'wiegen.' These translations not only help us communicate effectively in different languages but also provide insight into the cultural nuances and historical contexts associated with the word.
In this article, we'll explore the translations of 'weigh' in various languages, shedding light on the cultural significance and historical contexts of this important verb.
Afrikaans | weeg | ||
In older Dutch texts "weegen" and "wegen" are sometimes used interchangeably, meaning both "weigh" and "move". | |||
Amharic | ይመዝኑ | ||
Hausa | auna | ||
The word "auna" can also mean "to measure" or "to compare" in Hausa. | |||
Igbo | tụọ | ||
"Tụọ" is a homophone in Igbo that can also mean "be seated" or "squat". | |||
Malagasy | mandanja | ||
The word "mandanja" in Malagasy also means "to compare" or "to measure". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kulemera | ||
The word "kulemera" in Nyanja can also mean "to measure" or "to assess". | |||
Shona | kurema | ||
The word "kurema" in Shona can also mean "to press down" or "to oppress". | |||
Somali | miisaan | ||
The word 'miisaan' can also mean 'justice' or 'balance' in Somali, mirroring its use in Arabic. | |||
Sesotho | boima | ||
Boima is derived from the Proto-Bantu *p-ɔŋa, meaning "to put" or "to place". | |||
Swahili | kupima | ||
The word "kupima" also means "to measure" or "to compare" in Swahili. | |||
Xhosa | bunzima | ||
In Xhosa, 'bunzima' also denotes 'oppression', deriving from the literal sense of a heavy burden on one's shoulders. | |||
Yoruba | sonipa | ||
The word "sonipa" in Yoruba also refers to a "scale" or "balance". | |||
Zulu | isisindo | ||
"Isisindo" also means "knowledge" or "wisdom". | |||
Bambara | pese kɛ | ||
Ewe | da kpekpeme | ||
Kinyarwanda | gupima | ||
Lingala | kopesa kilo | ||
Luganda | okupima | ||
Sepedi | ela boima | ||
Twi (Akan) | kari | ||
Arabic | وزن | ||
"وزن" can also refer to "measure", "value", or "importance" in Arabic. | |||
Hebrew | לשקול | ||
The word "לשקול" can also imply contemplation or deliberation. | |||
Pashto | وزن | ||
The word "وزن" also means "measure" in Pashto. | |||
Arabic | وزن | ||
"وزن" can also refer to "measure", "value", or "importance" in Arabic. |
Albanian | peshe | ||
The Albanian word "peshe" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*penkʷ-," meaning "five," likely referring to the ancient practice of using five fingers to measure weight. | |||
Basque | pisatu | ||
"Pisatu" derives from the Latin word "pensare", meaning "to weigh" or "to consider". | |||
Catalan | pesar | ||
Catalan verb "pesar" derives from Latin verb "pensare," which could mean either "to weigh" or "to think." | |||
Croatian | vagati | ||
Vagati, meaning "to weigh," also means "to measure, evaluate, or estimate" in Croatian. | |||
Danish | veje | ||
Veje, meaning 'road' in Danish, originates from the Old Norse word 'vegr', which referred to a path or road between two places. | |||
Dutch | wegen | ||
Because of its spelling, "wegen" (weigh) in Dutch can sometimes be mistaken for the German word "wegen" (because). | |||
English | weigh | ||
The word "weigh" has several meanings, including its literal meaning of determining the heaviness of an object. | |||
French | peser | ||
The French word "peser" can also mean to consider or evaluate, reflecting its Latin roots in "pensare" (to weigh or ponder). | |||
Frisian | weagje | ||
In older Frisian 'weagje' can also mean an amount of 20 herring or a type of net. | |||
Galician | pesar | ||
**Pesar** derives from Latin "pensare" and is also a noun for a "thought". | |||
German | wiegen | ||
The verb "wiegen" can also mean "to rock" or "to swing". | |||
Icelandic | vega | ||
"Vega" also means "balance" or "equilibrium" and is related to the word "vegur" meaning "way" or "direction". | |||
Irish | meá | ||
Italian | pesare | ||
The Italian word "pesare" shares linguistic roots with the Latin verb "pensare" (to think) and the Greek word "pezein" (to press down). | |||
Luxembourgish | weien | ||
Maltese | iżen | ||
The Maltese word "iżen" also means "value" or "importance". | |||
Norwegian | veie | ||
The word 'veie' can also mean 'road' in Norwegian. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | pesar | ||
The Portuguese word "pesar" (weigh) derives from the Latin "pensum" (balance) and also means "grief" or "remorse". | |||
Scots Gaelic | cuideam | ||
"Cuideam" is also used to mean "ponder" or "consider". | |||
Spanish | pesar | ||
The Spanish word "pesar" can also mean "sorrow" or "grief", reflecting the emotional weight associated with the act of weighing. | |||
Swedish | väga | ||
The verb 'väga' in Swedish can also mean 'to consider' or 'to value'. | |||
Welsh | pwyso | ||
Pwyso derives from an older Celtic base, from Proto-Celtic *weg-, which also gives us English weigh (weight). |
Belarusian | узважыць | ||
The word "узважыць" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *vъzъ- + *vъgъ "to weigh”. Its cognates include "важить" (Russian), "важити" (Ukrainian), "важити" (Serbian), "vážit" (Czech), and "ważyć" (Polish). | |||
Bosnian | vagati | ||
Vagati can also mean to determine the importance of something, similar to the English word "weigh" or "consider". | |||
Bulgarian | претеглят | ||
"Претеглям" and "тегля" come from the same old Slavic root meaning "to put" or "to pull". | |||
Czech | vážit | ||
The Czech verb "vážit" also means "to respect" or "to esteem". | |||
Estonian | kaaluma | ||
The word "kaaluma" also means "to ponder" or "to consider" in Estonian. | |||
Finnish | punnita | ||
In the word "punnita" the syllable "pun" refers to weight and "ni" refers to the verb "to weigh." | |||
Hungarian | mérlegelni | ||
In ancient Hungarian, 'mérlegelni' also meant to 'judge' or 'estimate' something. | |||
Latvian | svars | ||
The word "svars" is derived from the Indo-European root "*sweg-", meaning "heavy". It is also a cognate of the English word "sway". | |||
Lithuanian | pasverti | ||
The Lithuanian word "pasverti" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*swe-," meaning "to push, move". | |||
Macedonian | измерат | ||
The word измерат is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*meriti" meaning "to measure" and shares a root with the word "мера" (measure). | |||
Polish | ważyć | ||
The verb "ważyć" in Polish can also mean "to hesitate" or "to consider". | |||
Romanian | cântări | ||
In Romanian, "cântări" is also used as a plural noun for "song" or "hymn." | |||
Russian | весить | ||
Its cognate, "вес" (ves), means "weight" and is a loan from Old German "wāga", which also gave rise to "wagen" ("to weigh"). | |||
Serbian | извагати | ||
The verb "извагати" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic verb "изважити", meaning "to draw out" or "to take out". | |||
Slovak | vážiť | ||
In Slovak, the word "vážiť" can refer to two different but related concepts: measuring the weight of something and valuing or respecting something. | |||
Slovenian | tehtati | ||
In the dialect of the Gorica hills the Slovene word "tehtati" also has the meaning "to carry under one's arm". | |||
Ukrainian | зважити | ||
In Slavic languages like Ukrainian and Polish, “важу” (“weigh” in English; zvazhu in Ukrainian and ważę/waż in Polish), originally also meant “measure with eyes,” "guess by eye," |
Bengali | ওজন করা | ||
In Arabic, the word "وزان" (wazan) means both "weight" and "rhythm in poetry". | |||
Gujarati | તોલવું | ||
Hindi | तौलना | ||
The Hindi word "तौलना" can also mean "to evaluate" or "to measure". | |||
Kannada | ತೂಕ | ||
In Kannada, "ತೂಕ" can also mean "worth" or "value". | |||
Malayalam | തൂക്കം | ||
The word "തൂക്കം" also means "balance" or "equilibrium" in Malayalam, both literally and figuratively. | |||
Marathi | तोलणे | ||
"तोलणे" (weigh) in Marathi, from "तोल" (balance), also means "to compare" or "to judge" | |||
Nepali | तौल | ||
The word "तौल" can also refer to the balance or equilibrium of something. | |||
Punjabi | ਵਜ਼ਨ | ||
The word "ਵਜ਼ਨ" can also refer to "importance" or "influence" in matters of opinion or judgment. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බර | ||
The term බර refers to a load carried and can also refer to a weight measurement, such as a pound | |||
Tamil | எடை | ||
The word எடை also means 'importance' or 'value' in Tamil. | |||
Telugu | బరువు | ||
The word "బరువు" comes from the Proto-Dravidian *paruvu, meaning "to carry" or "to be heavy." | |||
Urdu | وزن | ||
Urdu word "وزن" is derived from the Arabic word "وزن" and also means "measure" and "standard". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 称重 | ||
The Chinese word "秤重" is used not only for weighting things but also in a less common but metaphorical sense of "estimating someone's character." | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 稱重 | ||
"稱重" 在其他語境下也表示「稱讚」的意思。 | |||
Japanese | 計量する | ||
The kanji 秤 used in 計量する originally meant "level" and "balance." | |||
Korean | 달다 | ||
The Korean word "달다" also means "to be sweet" or "to be tasty". | |||
Mongolian | жинлэх | ||
"Жинлэх" also means "try","attempt" or "make an effort" in Mongolian. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ချိန်ခွင် | ||
Indonesian | menimbang | ||
"Menimbang" has other meanings like "considering" or "deliberating" and is often used in legal contexts to introduce a consideration or a reasoning. | |||
Javanese | bobote | ||
The word "bobote" can also mean "to swing" or "to hang" in Javanese. | |||
Khmer | ថ្លឹងទម្ងន់ | ||
The word "ថ្លឹងទម្ងន់" can also refer to the act of comparing or evaluating something. | |||
Lao | ຊັ່ງນໍ້າ ໜັກ | ||
Malay | menimbang | ||
In Malay, the word "menimbang" means to "consider" or to "evaluate" something, not just to weigh it in terms of physical mass. | |||
Thai | ชั่งน้ำหนัก | ||
The word "ชั่งน้ำหนัก" can also refer to the process of comparing two or more things or concepts. | |||
Vietnamese | cân | ||
Can, or cân, can also mean "scale" or "libra" (a constellation). | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | timbangin | ||
Azerbaijani | çəkin | ||
The word "çəkin" in Azerbaijani can also mean "to hesitate" or "to fear". | |||
Kazakh | өлшеу | ||
The verb "өлшеу" can also mean "to measure" in Kazakh. | |||
Kyrgyz | тараза | ||
Taraza also means "scales" in Turkic languages and is related to the word "taraju" in Arabic, meaning "balance". | |||
Tajik | баркашидан | ||
The word "баркашидан" (weigh) in Tajik also means "to carry" or "to transport". | |||
Turkmen | agram sal | ||
Uzbek | tortmoq | ||
The word "tortmoq" in Uzbek also means "to feel sorry for" or "to be sorry for". | |||
Uyghur | ئېغىرلىقى | ||
Hawaiian | kaupaona | ||
The word "kaupaona" also carries the meaning of "heavy," as in the heaviness of emotions or thoughts. | |||
Maori | paunatia | ||
The word "paunatia" in Maori can also mean "to balance" or "to hold in equilibrium." | |||
Samoan | fua | ||
The Samoan word "fua" can also mean "to measure" or "to compare". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | timbangin | ||
The Tagalog word "timbangin" originally meant "to equate" or "to compare" before gaining its modern meaning of "to weigh". |
Aymara | pesaña | ||
Guarani | opesa | ||
Esperanto | pezi | ||
"Pezi" also means to estimate or evaluate, as in "pezi la situacion" (to evaluate the situation)"} | |||
Latin | aeque ponderare | ||
In medieval law, 'aeque ponderare' could also refer to the equality of rights and duties between the parties in a contract. |
Greek | ζυγίζω | ||
The verb "ζυγίζω" is derived from the noun "ζυγός", which means "balance" or "scales". | |||
Hmong | hnyav | ||
The word "hnyav" can also mean "heavy" or "important" in Hmong. | |||
Kurdish | pîvan | ||
The Kurdish word | |||
Turkish | tartmak | ||
"Tartmak" sözcüğü, ayrıca "tarama yapmak", "değerlendirmek" ve "muhakeme etmek" anlamına da gelir. | |||
Xhosa | bunzima | ||
In Xhosa, 'bunzima' also denotes 'oppression', deriving from the literal sense of a heavy burden on one's shoulders. | |||
Yiddish | וועגן | ||
The Yiddish "וועגן" (weigh) also means "because" and "about" in other Germanic languages like German | |||
Zulu | isisindo | ||
"Isisindo" also means "knowledge" or "wisdom". | |||
Assamese | ওজন কৰা | ||
Aymara | pesaña | ||
Bhojpuri | तौलल जाला | ||
Dhivehi | ބަރުދަން | ||
Dogri | तौलना | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | timbangin | ||
Guarani | opesa | ||
Ilocano | timbangen | ||
Krio | wej fɔ wej | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | کێش بکە | ||
Maithili | तौलब | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯋꯥꯏꯇꯦꯞ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo | rit zawng teh | ||
Oromo | madaaluu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଓଜନ | ||
Quechua | pesa | ||
Sanskrit | तौलनम् | ||
Tatar | үлчәү | ||
Tigrinya | ምምዛን ይከኣል | ||
Tsonga | ku pima | ||