Would in Different Languages
Discover 'Would' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'would' is a small but powerful part of the English language, expressing a range of meanings from future possibility to past tense to politeness. Its significance lies in its ability to convey nuanced ideas and soften requests, making it an essential tool in communication. Culturally, 'would' is used in various forms across the English-speaking world, reflecting the diversity of the language and its speakers.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'would' in different languages can provide valuable insights into cultural differences and similarities. For example, in Spanish, 'would' is translated as 'habría,' which shares the same root as the word 'habitat,' reflecting the language's emphasis on the natural world. Meanwhile, in Mandarin Chinese, 'would' is translated as '会,' which also means 'can' or 'able to,' highlighting the language's focus on ability and potential.
With this in mind, let's explore the translations of 'would' in 10 different languages, shedding light on the richness and diversity of the world's linguistic and cultural heritage.
Would
Would in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sou | ||
| The word "sou" in Afrikaans can also mean "must" or "ought to". | |||
| Amharic | ነበር | ||
| The word 'ነበር' can also mean 'to exist' or 'to be present' | |||
| Hausa | zai | ||
| Zai is also an exclamation or intensive particle, and it can be used to express a wish or curse. | |||
| Igbo | ga | ||
| "Ga" in Igbo language can also mean "going to" or "to be about to" when used in context. | |||
| Malagasy | ve | ||
| In Malagasy, "ve" also functions as an adverb meaning "completely" or "very" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mungatero | ||
| Shona | ndingadaro | ||
| The form 'ndinga-' is used for the conditional mood, meaning 'might', 'could', 'should', 'would' or 'will'. | |||
| Somali | lahaa | ||
| The word | |||
| Sesotho | na | ||
| In Sesotho, "na" can also mean "with" or "and". | |||
| Swahili | ingekuwa | ||
| The word "ingekuwa" is derived from the verb "kuwa" (to be) and the future tense marker "-nge". | |||
| Xhosa | ngaba | ||
| Ngaba is derived from the verb 'ukuba', meaning 'to be' or 'to happen'. | |||
| Yoruba | yoo | ||
| In some dialects of Yoruba, "yoo" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps." | |||
| Zulu | ngabe | ||
| In addition to meaning "would," "ngabe" also means "if." | |||
| Bambara | bɛ | ||
| Ewe | awɔe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | by | ||
| Lingala | ako | ||
| Luganda | -andi | ||
| Sepedi | tla | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɛ | ||
Would in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | سيكون | ||
| The Arabic word "سيكون" (sikūn) also means "will be" or "shall be" in the future tense | |||
| Hebrew | היה | ||
| היה as an alternate form of "הֲווּיָה" (being or existence) appears in Isaiah 41:4; as an auxiliary verb (would, should, or might) appears in Leviticus 26:42. | |||
| Pashto | و به | ||
| The word "وبه" (woba) in Pashto can also refer to breath or life. | |||
| Arabic | سيكون | ||
| The Arabic word "سيكون" (sikūn) also means "will be" or "shall be" in the future tense | |||
Would in Western European Languages
| Albanian | do të | ||
| The word "do të" in Albanian derives from the Greek word "θα" and also means "to be able to" | |||
| Basque | litzateke | ||
| "Litzateke" is also a common noun meaning "a place where something is made or done" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | faria | ||
| The Catalan word "faria" is derived from the Latin "facere," meaning "to make" or "to do." | |||
| Croatian | bi | ||
| Bi is a contraction of the verb 'biti' (to be) and can also mean 'here' or 'there', depending on the context. | |||
| Danish | ville | ||
| The word "ville" is also used in Danish as a synonym for "desire" or "want". | |||
| Dutch | zou | ||
| The word "zou" in Dutch can also mean "should" or "might", depending on the context. | |||
| English | would | ||
| The word "would" can also mean "intended". | |||
| French | aurait | ||
| The French word "aurait" is derived from the Latin verb "habēre" (to have) and originally signified "that there should be" or "it is fitting that". | |||
| Frisian | soe | ||
| The Frisian word 'soe' also means 'want' or 'wish' in the sense of 'to want or wish to do something'. | |||
| Galician | faría | ||
| Faría may also mean 'dust or flour' or 'magic'. | |||
| German | würde | ||
| The noun "Würde" can also mean "dignity" and "esteem or honour". | |||
| Icelandic | myndi | ||
| Icelandic 'myndi' derives from Old Norse 'mundi,' meaning 'possibility,' 'intent,' or 'inclination.' | |||
| Irish | bheadh | ||
| Italian | voluto | ||
| The Italian word "voluto" can also mean "desired" or "wished." | |||
| Luxembourgish | géif | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "géif" is ultimately derived from the Old High German "geban", meaning "to give", and has various connotations, including desire, intention, or obligation. | |||
| Maltese | kieku | ||
| The Maltese word "kieku" is derived from the Arabic word "ka'anna" meaning "as if" or "like" and is used to express hypothetical or counterfactual situations. | |||
| Norwegian | ville | ||
| Ville is also used as a short form of viljen, meaning "will" or "intention". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | seria | ||
| The archaic use of "seria" to mean "would happen" is similar to the English "should" and "would". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bhiodh | ||
| The word 'bhiodh' in Scots Gaelic can also refer to a conditional or habitual state of being, similar to the English 'used to' or 'would'. | |||
| Spanish | haría | ||
| The word "haría" can also mean "would make" or "would do" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | skulle | ||
| "Skulle" in Swedish can also mean "should" or "be supposed to". | |||
| Welsh | fyddai | ||
| The word "fyddai" can also be used to express a conditional, such as "I would go if I could." | |||
Would in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | бы | ||
| In the Belarusian language, "бы" also functions as a particle denoting a hypothetical or conditional state. | |||
| Bosnian | bi | ||
| The word | |||
| Bulgarian | би се | ||
| The Bulgarian word би се can also refer to a hypothesis or assumption | |||
| Czech | bych | ||
| The word "bych" in Czech can also mean "to be"} | |||
| Estonian | oleks | ||
| Õlex, õlex, õleks and õleks all mean "would" in Estonian, but their different forms are used in different kinds of subordinate clauses, such as conditional or interrogative clauses. | |||
| Finnish | olisi | ||
| In the older Finnish literature, "olisi" was also used in the conditional, e.g. "jos olisi rahaa" ~ "if there were money". | |||
| Hungarian | lenne | ||
| The Hungarian word "lenne" has a historical root in a Proto-Finno-Ugric verb that meant 3rd person singular "there is". | |||
| Latvian | būtu | ||
| "Būtu" is the Latvian form of the conditional particle "would", but it can also mean "it happened that", "it should have been", or "it is supposed to be". | |||
| Lithuanian | būtų | ||
| The word "būtų" can also mean "was, were", "should be", or "will be". | |||
| Macedonian | би | ||
| Macedonian "би" has the same Slavic root as the English "be" and has the same meaning as the past tense of "be" in English (was or were). | |||
| Polish | by | ||
| In Polish, the word "by" is also used to express the concept of "there is" or "there are." | |||
| Romanian | ar | ||
| The word "ar" can also mean "to have" in the present tense or "to be" in the past tense. | |||
| Russian | было бы | ||
| The Russian word "было бы" (would) originated from the Old Russian word "быти" (to be), and it can also mean "it would be" or "it would have been." | |||
| Serbian | би | ||
| The word "би" (would) in Serbian can also be used in the sense of "maybe" or "possibly". | |||
| Slovak | by | ||
| In Slovak, "by" can also mean "to be" or "to become". | |||
| Slovenian | bi | ||
| The word "bi" in Slovenian is derived from the verb "biti" (to be), and originally meant "being" or "existing". It has since evolved to mean "would" in conditional clauses. | |||
| Ukrainian | би | ||
| In Ukrainian, «би» can also refer to a particle expressing a wish or a possibility. | |||
Would in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | হবে | ||
| The word 'হবে' ('would') in Bengali comes from the Sanskrit word 'भविष्यति' ('bhaviṣyati'), which means 'to become'. | |||
| Gujarati | કરશે | ||
| The word "કરશે" (would) derives from the Sanskrit word "कृष" (to do) indicating an intention or action to be performed in the future. | |||
| Hindi | चाहेंगे | ||
| The word "चाहेंगे" has an alternate meaning of "desire" or "want", indicating a request or longing. | |||
| Kannada | ಎಂದು | ||
| ಎಂದು can also mean "since" or "because". | |||
| Malayalam | ചെയ്യും | ||
| The word "ചെയ്യും" can also mean, "to make" or "to do" in English. | |||
| Marathi | होईल | ||
| The root "हो" in "होईल" is shared with the words "आहे" and "होता" (is and being), indicating a correlation between desire and existence in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | हुनेछ | ||
| The word "हुनेछ" evolved from the verb "हुन्छ" ("to be"), and its alternate meanings include "should" and "must." | |||
| Punjabi | ਹੋਵੇਗਾ | ||
| The word “ਹੋਵੇਗਾ” also means "will" in Punjabi and is used in the future tense. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කැමති | ||
| The word "කැමති" can also mean "willing" or "favorable" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | என்று | ||
| என்று can also mean a 'certain time' or 'a long time' in some contexts in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | రెడీ | ||
| The word "రెడీ" can also mean "want" or "desire" in the context of making a request. | |||
| Urdu | کرے گا | ||
Would in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 将 | ||
| 将 can also mean 'general', 'commander', 'force', 'compel' and 'will', depending on the context. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 將 | ||
| 將 (jiāng) is also the traditional Chinese form of the Japanese word "将" (shō), meaning "general". | |||
| Japanese | だろう | ||
| The word "だろう" (darou) can also mean "I guess" or "probably". | |||
| Korean | 할 것이다 | ||
| Mongolian | болно | ||
| The word 'болно' is derived from Mongolian word 'болооч' ('being') and is homophonous with the Russian word 'больной' ('sick'). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လိုလိမ့်မည် | ||
Would in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | akan | ||
| Akan also means "is going to" or "will". | |||
| Javanese | bakal | ||
| The word 'bakal', besides meaning 'would', can also be used to express intention, possibility, or inevitability | |||
| Khmer | នឹង | ||
| The word "នឹង" can also mean "to intend" or "to plan". | |||
| Lao | ຈະ | ||
| The word "ຈະ" (would) is also used to indicate a future tense in Lao. | |||
| Malay | akan | ||
| In Malay, 'akan' can also mean 'to' (a place or event), 'towards' (a direction), or 'in the future'. | |||
| Thai | จะ | ||
| The Thai word "จะ" (pronounced "jâ") can also mean "about to" or "will" in certain contexts. | |||
| Vietnamese | sẽ | ||
| "Sẽ" can mean "will" or "will be" when attached to verbs, but can also be an interjection used to express willingness, consent, or affirmation. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | gagawin | ||
Would in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | olardı | ||
| The origin of | |||
| Kazakh | болар еді | ||
| The Kazakh word “болар еді” (“would”) is the infinitive form of the verb “болу” (“to be”) and is used to express conditionals, speculation, or desire. | |||
| Kyrgyz | болмок | ||
| The word "болмок" is a conjugated form of the verb "болуу" and can also mean "to exist" or "to be". | |||
| Tajik | мебуд | ||
| The Tajik word "мебуд" is of Persian origin and is cognate with the English word "would". | |||
| Turkmen | ederdi | ||
| Uzbek | bo'lardi | ||
| Uyghur | would | ||
Would in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | makemake | ||
| Maori | pai | ||
| The word “pai” comes from the Proto-Polynesian word *pai, meaning “good”. | |||
| Samoan | mafai | ||
| "Mafai" can also mean "can," "may," "allowed," or "permitted." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ay | ||
| "Ay" is also an exclamation used to express pain or surprise. | |||
Would in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | would | ||
| Guarani | upéichane | ||
Would in International Languages
| Esperanto | volus | ||
| In Esperanto, "volus" is related to "volo" (meaning "will") and "volonte" (meaning "to will"). | |||
| Latin | utinam sustineretis | ||
| The Latin phrase "utinam sustineretis" can also mean "I wish you could bear with" or "I wish you could tolerate". | |||
Would in Others Languages
| Greek | θα | ||
| Although "θα" means "would", it's also a noun meaning "thrush" or "wart." | |||
| Hmong | yuav | ||
| "Yuav" can also be used in Hmong as a measure word for clothes. | |||
| Kurdish | dê | ||
| In addition to meaning "would," "dê" can also mean "give" or "let" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | olur | ||
| In Turkish, the word "olur" can also mean "okay" or "it happens." | |||
| Xhosa | ngaba | ||
| Ngaba is derived from the verb 'ukuba', meaning 'to be' or 'to happen'. | |||
| Yiddish | וואָלט | ||
| The Yiddish word "וואָלט" derives from the Old French word "voler," meaning "to want" or "to be willing." | |||
| Zulu | ngabe | ||
| In addition to meaning "would," "ngabe" also means "if." | |||
| Assamese | হ'ব | ||
| Aymara | would | ||
| Bhojpuri | चाहिले | ||
| Dhivehi | ކުރެވިދާނެ | ||
| Dogri | जो होना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | gagawin | ||
| Guarani | upéichane | ||
| Ilocano | naitalek | ||
| Krio | go | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ویستن | ||
| Maithili | करत | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯧꯒꯅꯤ | ||
| Mizo | ang | ||
| Oromo | would | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କରିବ | ||
| Quechua | would | ||
| Sanskrit | चेत् | ||
| Tatar | .әр сүзнең | ||
| Tigrinya | ይኸውን | ||
| Tsonga | nga | ||