Withdraw in Different Languages
Discover 'Withdraw' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'withdraw' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting the action of pulling back or retreating from a situation. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, finance, and psychology, where it signifies a step back to regroup, reflect, or protect oneself. For instance, an author might use 'withdraw' to describe a character retreating from social engagements due to introversion, or a financial context might use it to explain the removal of funds from a bank account.
Given its wide applicability, knowing the translation of 'withdraw' in different languages can be quite useful. For example, in Spanish, 'withdraw' becomes 'retirar', while in French, it's 'retirer'. In German, it's 'zurückziehen', and in Japanese, it's '撤退' (tettai). These translations not only help in understanding the word's usage in various languages but also offer a glimpse into how different cultures perceive the concept of withdrawal.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the translations of 'withdraw' in a multitude of languages, providing you with a richer understanding of this common yet intriguing word.
Withdraw
Withdraw in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | onttrek | ||
| The Afrikaans word "onttrek" is derived from the verb "trekken" (meaning "to pull" or "to draw"), and it has the connotation of removing or detaching something. | |||
| Amharic | ማውጣት | ||
| "ማውጣት" (withdraw) has a broader meaning of "leaving a place". | |||
| Hausa | janye | ||
| The Hausa word "janye" can also mean "to abstain" or "to refrain" from something. | |||
| Igbo | wepụ | ||
| The Igbo word "wepụ" also means "to deduct" or "to subtract". | |||
| Malagasy | hiala | ||
| The word "hiala" is the verb "to withdraw" and is related to the word "hia" which is the noun "retreat" and also to the root "hi" which is a prefix meaning "away" or "lacking" such as in the word "hita" which means "to miss". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kunyamuka | ||
| In Nyanja, 'kunyamuka' can also mean 'to be shy' or 'to be bashful'. | |||
| Shona | withdraw | ||
| The Shona word "pfumvudza" can also mean "to withdraw" in the sense of "to pull out or remove something". | |||
| Somali | ka noqo | ||
| The Somali word "ka noqo" can also mean "to leave out" or "to spare something." | |||
| Sesotho | ikhula | ||
| Ikhula also means 'to leave', 'to let go' or 'to remove' in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | kutoa | ||
| "Kutoa" also means "to give" or "to remove" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | rhoxisa | ||
| "Rhoxisa" comes from the Xhosa word "rhowula," which means "to retreat," and is also used to describe the act of withdrawing from alcohol or drugs. | |||
| Yoruba | yọ kuro | ||
| The verb "yọ kuro" can also mean "to be born" or "to be delivered" in the context of childbirth, a meaning derived from the literal sense of "pulling out" or "removing something from within". | |||
| Zulu | khipha | ||
| In some contexts, 'khipha' can also mean 'pull out' as in 'khipha ikrele' ('pull out the spear'). | |||
| Bambara | bɔsili | ||
| Ewe | ɖee ɖa | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gukuramo | ||
| Lingala | kolongwa | ||
| Luganda | okujjayo | ||
| Sepedi | gogela morago | ||
| Twi (Akan) | yi firi | ||
Withdraw in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | انسحب | ||
| The word ''انسحب'' originates from the root word ''سحب'' meaning ''to pull''. Thus the act of ''انسحاب'' could also be viewed as ''pulling back'' or ''moving away'' from a conflict or problem. | |||
| Hebrew | לָסֶגֶת | ||
| לָסֶגֶת in Hebrew originally meant to move back by steps, a meaning still retained in the Bible and in modern Hebrew, but its more common sense, to go back or away, is from Old French "lasser," to grow weary, or from Latin "lassus," weary. | |||
| Pashto | وتل | ||
| The term "وتل" is also used to refer to the act of pulling or extracting something. | |||
| Arabic | انسحب | ||
| The word ''انسحب'' originates from the root word ''سحب'' meaning ''to pull''. Thus the act of ''انسحاب'' could also be viewed as ''pulling back'' or ''moving away'' from a conflict or problem. | |||
Withdraw in Western European Languages
| Albanian | tërheqë | ||
| The word 'tërheqë' is derived from the Proto-Albanian word '*terqe' meaning 'to take' or 'to pull'. | |||
| Basque | erretiratu | ||
| The word "erretiratu" also has the alternate meanings of "to retire" or "to leave". | |||
| Catalan | retirar-se | ||
| The Catalan verb retirar-se can also mean to retreat, to go back, or to retire from work. | |||
| Croatian | povući | ||
| "Povući" can have multiple meanings, such as "withdraw", "drag", or "pull" in English. | |||
| Danish | trække sig tilbage | ||
| The verb "trække" in Danish also means "pull"} | |||
| Dutch | terugtrekken | ||
| The verb "terugtrekken" in Dutch also means to pull or drag something back. | |||
| English | withdraw | ||
| The verb 'withdraw' derives from the Middle English verb 'withdrauen', which originally meant 'to pull back' and is related to 'draw'. | |||
| French | se désister | ||
| The French verb "se désister", meaning to withdraw from a competition, derives from "désister", meaning to abandon a claim or to desist from further action. | |||
| Frisian | weromlûke | ||
| In other Germanic languages, such as German, Dutch, and English, the related words mean 'to turn'. | |||
| Galician | retirar | ||
| 'Retirar' comes from Latin 'retro' (back, backward) + 'trahere' (to carry, drag), hence 'pull back'. | |||
| German | abheben | ||
| 'Abheben' can also mean 'to lift off' in both literal and figurative senses (e.g. from the ground or an idea) | |||
| Icelandic | draga sig til baka | ||
| The verb "draga sig til baka" can also mean "to drag oneself back," "to retreat," or "to move oneself backwards." | |||
| Irish | aistarraingt | ||
| The word "aistarraingt" is derived from the Old Irish word "astar", meaning "to depart" or "to leave". | |||
| Italian | ritirarsi | ||
| The verb "ritirarsi" comes from Latin "re" (again, back) + "trahere" (to drag, pull) and can also mean "to go back, to retreat, to retire". | |||
| Luxembourgish | zréckzéien | ||
| Maltese | tirtira | ||
| The word | |||
| Norwegian | ta ut | ||
| The word 'ta ut' can also mean 'to get out' or 'to take out'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | retirar | ||
| The Portuguese verb "retirar" comes from the Latin "retrahere", meaning "to pull back" or "to remove". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | tarraing air ais | ||
| From "tarraing","drawing", and "air ais", "to self"; hence “withdrawal”. | |||
| Spanish | retirar | ||
| The verb "retirar" in Spanish originally meant "to pull back". In modern Spanish, it has come to mean "to withdraw". | |||
| Swedish | dra tillbaka | ||
| In Swedish, "dra tillbaka" also means to pull back or retract something | |||
| Welsh | tynnu'n ôl | ||
| The word tynnu'n ôl is also used to describe the process of removing a horse from a cart. | |||
Withdraw in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | зняць | ||
| "Зняць" in Belarusian can also mean "to take off" (e.g. clothes), "to remove" (e.g. a bandage), "to lift" (e.g. a heavy object), "to cancel" (e.g. an event), "to dismiss" (e.g. an employee), "to relieve" (e.g. pain or stress), "to unload" (e.g. a truck), "to rent" (e.g. an apartment), "to steal" (e.g. a car) or "to win" (e.g. a competition). | |||
| Bosnian | povuci se | ||
| "Povuci se" is the South Slavic version of the verb "izvuci," coming from the root "vuc-" (pull). | |||
| Bulgarian | оттегляне | ||
| The word "оттегляне" derives from the verb "оттеглям" (withdraw), which is formed from the prefix "от" (away) and the verb "тегля" (pull). | |||
| Czech | ustoupit | ||
| Ustoupit (withdraw) comes from the Old Czech word "stúpiti" (to step), which in turn comes from the Proto-Slavic "*stopati" (to step). | |||
| Estonian | tagasi tõmbuma | ||
| "Tagasi tõmbama" literally means "to pull back". | |||
| Finnish | peruuttaa | ||
| In addition to meaning "withdraw," "peruuttaa" can also mean "cancel." | |||
| Hungarian | vonja vissza | ||
| In Hungarian, | |||
| Latvian | atsaukt | ||
| "Atsaukt" is the cognate of "atsaukts", which means "to call back" or "to cancel" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | pasitraukti | ||
| In Lithuanian, "pasitraukti" can also mean "move aside" or "make way". | |||
| Macedonian | повлече | ||
| The verb "повлече" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb *povьlẽkъ, meaning "to drag" or "to pull". | |||
| Polish | wycofać | ||
| Wycofać (withdraw) likely comes from 'wyć', meaning 'to whimper' or 'to pull back'. It can also mean 'to retract' or 'to disavow'. | |||
| Romanian | retrage | ||
| The word retrage is derived from the French word ‘retraite’ and it can also mean retreat or take back. | |||
| Russian | изымать | ||
| The word "изымать" is derived from the Old Russian word "изъимыти", meaning "to take out, to remove". | |||
| Serbian | повући се | ||
| "Повући се" can also mean "to retire" or "to retreat" in English. | |||
| Slovak | odstúpiť | ||
| The Slovak word "odstúpiť" can also mean to resign from a position or office. | |||
| Slovenian | dvigniti | ||
| The verb 'dvigniti' can also mean 'to lift up' or 'to raise'. | |||
| Ukrainian | зняти | ||
| The verb "зняти" derives from a Proto-Slavic root meaning "to take off" or "to remove", cognate with the English verb "to don". | |||
Withdraw in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রত্যাহার | ||
| "প্রত্যাহার" is etymologically related to "হার", and thus implies something being snatched or pulled back | |||
| Gujarati | પાછી ખેંચી | ||
| The Gujarati word "પાછી ખેંચી" "literally means to "pull back" in English and also implies a meaning of reluctance. | |||
| Hindi | निकालना | ||
| The word निकालना can also mean to 'take out' or 'remove' something, as in 'I will take out the trash'. | |||
| Kannada | ಹಿಂತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ | ||
| Malayalam | പിൻവലിക്കുക | ||
| Marathi | माघार घ्या | ||
| 'माघार घ्या' in Marathi ultimately comes from the Sanskrit root 'मृश्', to let loose, which also gives us words such as 'मरण' (death) and 'मरू' (desert). | |||
| Nepali | निकाल्नु | ||
| The word निकाल्नु (nikālnu) derives from Sanskrit and also means "to extract". | |||
| Punjabi | ਵਾਪਸ ਲੈ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉවත් වන්න | ||
| Tamil | திரும்பப் பெறுங்கள் | ||
| Telugu | ఉపసంహరించుకోండి | ||
| Urdu | واپس | ||
Withdraw in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 收回 | ||
| 收回 in Chinese (Simplified) can also mean to regain, recover, or retract something. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 收回 | ||
| 除了表示「收回」之外，在某些場合「收回」還含有「撤退」或「復原」的意涵。 | |||
| Japanese | 撤退 | ||
| "撤退" can also mean "to retreat" or "to pull out". | |||
| Korean | 빼다 | ||
| The word "빼다" can also mean "to subtract" or "to take out". | |||
| Mongolian | эргүүлэн татах | ||
| This verb can also mean "to pull back," "to pull away," "to retreat," "to withdraw funds," "to take back," "to retract," "to cancel," "to undo," "to reverse," "to revoke," "to repeal," "to cancel out," "to neutralize," "to offset," "to counterbalance," "to make void," "to annul," or "to nullify." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဆုတ်ခွာ | ||
| The word can also mean to pull back one's hand, to move backward, or to give up. | |||
Withdraw in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menarik | ||
| The verb "menarik" also means "to attract" or "to be interesting". | |||
| Javanese | mbatalake | ||
| The etymology of the Javanese word "mbatalake" remains unclear, but its alternative meanings include "to abolish", "to annul", and "to reject". | |||
| Khmer | ដក | ||
| While ដក typically means to withdraw, it can also refer to pulling, dragging, or taking something back. | |||
| Lao | ຖອນ | ||
| The verb 'ຖອນ' can also refer to the action of retreating from a position or withdrawing support. | |||
| Malay | menarik diri | ||
| "Menarik diri" also means "attractive" or "charming" in Malay, as it shares a root with the word "tarik" (pull). | |||
| Thai | ถอน | ||
| "ถอน" in Thai comes from Old Khmer "cuɔŋ" which originally referred to pulling an animal out of the mud. | |||
| Vietnamese | rút lui | ||
| The Vietnamese word "rút lui" is also used to refer to the act of retreating from combat. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bawiin | ||
Withdraw in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | geri çəkilmək | ||
| "Geri" has the meaning of "back" and "çekmek" has the meaning of "to draw". The compound phrase literally means "draw back". Thus the literal translation into English of "geri çəkilmək" would be "draw back", in addition to its usual translation "withdraw". | |||
| Kazakh | қайтарып алу | ||
| Kyrgyz | алып салуу | ||
| Alternate meanings of the verb "алып салуу" include "to take away", "to remove", and "to extract". | |||
| Tajik | бозпас гирифтан | ||
| The word "бозпас гирифтан" in Tajik can also mean to refrain or desist. | |||
| Turkmen | çekmek | ||
| Uzbek | chekinmoq | ||
| Chekinmoq's alternate meaning ('to become tired') derives from the Persian word 'chekinmek', meaning the same. | |||
| Uyghur | چېكىنىش | ||
Withdraw in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | huki hope | ||
| The Hawaiian word "huki hope", meaning "withdraw", is derived from an ancient Polynesian term for removing one\’s hand or hook from something. | |||
| Maori | whakamuri | ||
| Samoan | alu i tua | ||
| The word "alu i tua" can also refer to moving backward or retreating. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bawiin | ||
| The Tagalog word "bawiin" can also mean "to take back" or "to retract" in English, suggesting a broader concept of retrieval. | |||
Withdraw in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | aptaña | ||
| Guarani | pe'a | ||
Withdraw in International Languages
| Esperanto | retiriĝi | ||
| The Esperanto word "retiriĝi" is a compound of the root "rei" (back), and the suffix "-iĝi" (to become) and thus it means "to become in back", i.e. "withdraw." | |||
| Latin | recedere | ||
| In Medieval Latin, "recedere" sometimes meant to retreat from battle. | |||
Withdraw in Others Languages
| Greek | αποσύρω | ||
| "Αποσύρω" also means "retire" or "retreat" and is not specifically connected to money or finances | |||
| Hmong | thim | ||
| "Thim" in Hmong can also mean "to step back," "to pull up," or "to avoid." | |||
| Kurdish | vekişîn | ||
| The word "vekişîn" can also mean "to retreat" or "to step back". | |||
| Turkish | çekil | ||
| Çekil can also mean to retreat, shy away from, or avoid something. | |||
| Xhosa | rhoxisa | ||
| "Rhoxisa" comes from the Xhosa word "rhowula," which means "to retreat," and is also used to describe the act of withdrawing from alcohol or drugs. | |||
| Yiddish | צוריקציען | ||
| The Yiddish word "צוריקציען" is borrowed from German "zurückziehen" ("retreat") and also means "to retract". | |||
| Zulu | khipha | ||
| In some contexts, 'khipha' can also mean 'pull out' as in 'khipha ikrele' ('pull out the spear'). | |||
| Assamese | উলিয়াই অনা | ||
| Aymara | aptaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | निकालल | ||
| Dhivehi | ނެގުން | ||
| Dogri | बापस कड्ढना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bawiin | ||
| Guarani | pe'a | ||
| Ilocano | ibabawi | ||
| Krio | pul an pan | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کشانەوە | ||
| Maithili | वापस करनाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯟꯗꯣꯛꯄ | ||
| Mizo | lachhuak | ||
| Oromo | gidduutti dhaabuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରତ୍ୟାହାର | ||
| Quechua | suchuy | ||
| Sanskrit | निर्ह्वयति | ||
| Tatar | алу | ||
| Tigrinya | ምቁራፅ | ||
| Tsonga | ku teka | ||