Write in Different Languages
Discover 'Write' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The act of 'write' is a powerful and enduring form of communication, one that has shaped civilizations and cultures throughout history. From ancient hieroglyphs to modern emojis, the significance of write cannot be overstated. It is through write that we record our thoughts, share our stories, and connect with others across time and space.
Moreover, the cultural importance of write is undeniable. In many languages, the word for 'write' is intertwined with concepts of knowledge, power, and identity. For example, in Arabic, the word for 'write' is ktb, which is also the root word for 'book' and 'knowledge'. Meanwhile, in Chinese, the word for 'write' is xiě, which is a character that symbolizes both writing and wisdom.
As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, knowing the translation of 'write' in different languages can be a valuable skill. Not only can it help you navigate new cultures and contexts, but it can also deepen your appreciation for the richness and diversity of human expression.
Here are some translations of 'write' in different languages to get you started:
Write
Write in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | skryf | ||
| The word 'skryf' in Afrikaans is derived from the Old Norse word 'skrifa' meaning 'to scratch', 'to engrave', or 'to write'. | |||
| Amharic | ፃፍ | ||
| The Amharic word "ፃፍ" can also refer to "a letter" or "a symbol." | |||
| Hausa | rubuta | ||
| The word "rubuta" in Hausa, meaning "to write," can also refer to "painting" or "carving" | |||
| Igbo | dee | ||
| "Dee" can also mean "send a letter" or "send a message" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | soraty | ||
| "Soraty" derives from "tsoraka," meaning "mark" or "draw a line." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | lembani | ||
| Lembani is an archaic term for writing or drawing, and also means 'to paint' or 'to sketch'. | |||
| Shona | nyora | ||
| The word "nyora" in Shona is related to the word "nyoro," which means "water". This is because writing was traditionally done on wet clay tablets. | |||
| Somali | qor | ||
| The verb "qor" is also used in the Somali language to mean "record" or "register". | |||
| Sesotho | ngola | ||
| In addition to 'write', 'ngola' also means to 'draw' and 'paint' in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | andika | ||
| In certain contexts, 'andika' can also mean 'to draw', 'to publish', or 'to print'. | |||
| Xhosa | bhala | ||
| The Xhosa word 'bhala' originates from the Nguni root '-bhala' meaning 'to scratch, write, draw, carve' | |||
| Yoruba | kọ | ||
| The verb "kọ" can also mean "to learn" or "to be born". | |||
| Zulu | bhala | ||
| In addition to meaning "write," the word "bhala" can also mean "mark," or "draw." | |||
| Bambara | ka sɛbɛn | ||
| Ewe | ŋlᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | andika | ||
| Lingala | kokoma | ||
| Luganda | wandiika | ||
| Sepedi | ngwala | ||
| Twi (Akan) | twerɛ | ||
Write in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | اكتب | ||
| The noun (كتابة) derives from the verb (كتب), which initially had the specific meaning of writing "a letter". | |||
| Hebrew | לִכתוֹב | ||
| The Hebrew word "לִכתוֹב" can also mean "to inscribe" or "to draw a line". | |||
| Pashto | ولیکئ | ||
| The word "ولیکئ" can also mean "to type" or "to compose" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | اكتب | ||
| The noun (كتابة) derives from the verb (كتب), which initially had the specific meaning of writing "a letter". | |||
Write in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shkruaj | ||
| The Albanian word "shkruaj" ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *sker-, meaning "to cut, carve, or scratch". | |||
| Basque | idatzi | ||
| Idatzi also means 'draw' in Basque, which points to the origins of writing as a means to represent both language and images. | |||
| Catalan | escriure | ||
| "Escriure" derives from the Latin word "scribere", meaning "to write, draw, scratch, or mark." | |||
| Croatian | pisati | ||
| The word 'pisati' also has the meaning of 'to whistle' in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | skrive | ||
| "Skrive" comes from the Old Norse word "skrifa", meaning "to cut" or "to scratch". | |||
| Dutch | schrijven | ||
| Schrijven is derived from the Old Dutch word 'scríban' meaning 'to scrape' or 'to scratch'. | |||
| English | write | ||
| The word "write" is derived from the Old English word "writan", which meant "to scratch" or "to carve". | |||
| French | écrire | ||
| "Écrire" derives from Old French "escrire," from Latin "scribere," and also means "to subscribe to". | |||
| Frisian | skriuwe | ||
| The Frisian word 'skriuwe' is derived from the Old Frisian word 'skriuwan', which means 'to scratch' or 'to carve'. | |||
| Galician | escribir | ||
| The verb «escribir» also means «subscribe». | |||
| German | schreiben | ||
| The word 'schreiben' in German also means 'to scratch', hinting at its historical usage on wax tablets. | |||
| Icelandic | skrifa | ||
| The Old Norse origin of "skrifa" is also found in "skrive" (Danish), "skriver" (Swedish) and "skrive" (Norwegian). | |||
| Irish | scríobh | ||
| Italian | scrivi | ||
| "Scrivi" derives from the Latin "scribere" (write, scratch), which is also the origin of the English "scribe" and "script". | |||
| Luxembourgish | schreiwen | ||
| "Schreiwen" is also used in the sense of "to cry" or "to scream" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | ikteb | ||
| "Iktieb" also means "to print" or "to type" in Maltese, but its root is in the Arabic word "kataba," meaning "to inscribe" or "to correspond." | |||
| Norwegian | skrive | ||
| The Norwegian word "skrive" is also cognate with the Proto-Germanic word "skriban", meaning "to scratch or engrave". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | escreva | ||
| Escreva can also mean a piece of writing (esp. a handwritten draft) | |||
| Scots Gaelic | sgrìobh | ||
| Spanish | escribir | ||
| The Spanish verb "escribir" originates from the Latin word "scribere", meaning "to scratch". | |||
| Swedish | skriva | ||
| In the Swedish Dalarna dialect, "skriva" also means "roost", likely originating from the action of birds scratching the ground before settling down to sleep. | |||
| Welsh | ysgrifennu | ||
| The word 'ysgrifennu' is cognate with the English word 'scribe' and can also mean 'to inscribe' or 'to engrave'. | |||
Write in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | пісаць | ||
| The Belarusian word "пісаць" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *pisati, which also means "to paint" or "to draw" | |||
| Bosnian | pisati | ||
| Pisati also means 'to pee' in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | пиши | ||
| In the past, the Proto-Slavic verb *pisati also meant "to draw", but in Bulgarian and Macedonian its meaning has shifted to "to write" | |||
| Czech | psát si | ||
| "Psát si" in Czech means "to write to each other", implying correspondence or exchange of letters or other written communication. | |||
| Estonian | kirjutama | ||
| Kirjutama shares its root with "kirj" (book), referring to writing in the original sense of "etching into a tablet". | |||
| Finnish | kirjoittaa | ||
| Kirjoittaa is also the root word for kirja (book). | |||
| Hungarian | ír | ||
| The word "ír" comes from the Proto-Finno-Ugric word "*kir-/*kyr-", meaning "to scratch," as writing was originally done by scratching symbols into surfaces. | |||
| Latvian | rakstīt | ||
| The word "rakstīt" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *reǵ-, meaning "to set in order, arrange" and is also cognate with Russian word "растить" (rastit), meaning "to grow" or "to raise." | |||
| Lithuanian | rašyti | ||
| "Rašyti" is derived from Proto-Indo-European root "*reg-" meaning "to draw, to scratch, to mark out". | |||
| Macedonian | пиши | ||
| The word | |||
| Polish | pisać | ||
| "Pisać" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "pisati", which means "to write, draw, or scratch". | |||
| Romanian | scrie | ||
| The Romanian word "scrie" originates from "exscribere", meaning to "copy out of" or "transcribe" in Latin. | |||
| Russian | записывать | ||
| "Записывать" also means "to sign up" or "to enroll" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | писати | ||
| The root word 'pis' in 'pisati' suggests that writing is like drawing or marking in Old Church Slavonic. | |||
| Slovak | napíš | ||
| The word "napíš" in Slovak also has the secondary meaning of "to type". | |||
| Slovenian | piši | ||
| Slovenian "piši" can also refer to urinating and is etymologically related to similar words across Slavic languages such as Russian "писа́ть" (pisát'). | |||
| Ukrainian | писати | ||
| "Писати" is an antonym of "терти" ("erase"). | |||
Write in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | লিখুন | ||
| বৈদিক সংস্কৃতে (প্রাচীনতম সাহিত্যে) ''লিখুন'' শব্দটির অর্থ ছিল ''খচিত করা''। | |||
| Gujarati | લખો | ||
| "લખો" also means "to compose" as in "लखो रे रघुवीर" (compose, O Raghuveera) from Ramcharitmanas. | |||
| Hindi | लिखो | ||
| The word "लिखो" can also mean "to draw" or "to paint" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಬರೆಯಿರಿ | ||
| The word "ಬರೆಯಿರಿ" comes from the Sanskrit word "वृ" (vr.) which means "to choose" or "to select." | |||
| Malayalam | എഴുതുക | ||
| "எழுதുക" is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *eḻu, meaning "to write, draw, or mark". | |||
| Marathi | लिहा | ||
| In Sanskrit, the word 'लिख्' has several meanings, such as 'to engrave', 'to draw', 'to compose' and 'to mark' | |||
| Nepali | लेख्नुहोस् | ||
| The Nepali word "लेख्नुहोस्" is derived from the Sanskrit word "lipi," meaning "script" or "writing." | |||
| Punjabi | ਲਿਖੋ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਲਿਖੋ" ("likho") is related to the Sanskrit word "लेखन" ("lekhan") and the Old Persian word "ni-piš" ("to write"). | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ලියන්න | ||
| The word "ලියන්න" can also mean "to compose" or "to draw". | |||
| Tamil | எழுதுங்கள் | ||
| Telugu | వ్రాయడానికి | ||
| Urdu | لکھیں | ||
| The Urdu word "لکھیں" is derived from the Sanskrit word "likhati", which also means "to write". | |||
Write in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 写 | ||
| In addition to its literal meaning, "写" can also refer to painting or drawing, capturing moments or depicting objects. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 寫 | ||
| The character "寫" (xiě) contains a phonetic component "舍" (shè), indicating that its pronunciation was influenced by the word "舌" (shé), which means "tongue". | |||
| Japanese | 書く | ||
| "書く" also means "to draw" when used in the context of "絵を書く" (to draw a picture). | |||
| Korean | 쓰다 | ||
| The word "쓰다" also means "to draw" or "to paint" | |||
| Mongolian | бичих | ||
| "Бичлэх" is derived from the verb "бичихуй", which means to "mark", "draw", or "carve". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရေးလိုက် | ||
Write in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menulis | ||
| The word "menulis" in Indonesian also has the alternate meanings of "to write down" and "to compose". | |||
| Javanese | nulis | ||
| "Nulis" comes from the word "nulisi" which means "to scratch", a reference to the way traditional Javanese writing was inscribed on palm leaves. | |||
| Khmer | សរសេរ | ||
| "សរសេរ" can also refer to "drawing" or "engraving". | |||
| Lao | ຂຽນ | ||
| The word ຂຽນ also can mean "to draw or paint" and is related to other Tai languages' words for the same concept. | |||
| Malay | menulis | ||
| Menulis also has an archaic meaning of “to weave” in the context of making mats, baskets or cloth, which are traditionally made by women. | |||
| Thai | เขียน | ||
| The word "เขียน" also means "draw" or "paint" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | viết | ||
| "Viết" also means "to draw", especially lines or letters. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magsulat | ||
Write in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yaz | ||
| "Yazmak" kelimesinin Azericedeki "yaxmak" kelimesinden türediği tahmin edilmektedir. | |||
| Kazakh | жазу | ||
| The word "жазу" (write) in Kazakh is also used to refer to the process of creating written communication, such as a letter or a book. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жазуу | ||
| The word "жазуу" also means "letter" or "script" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | нависед | ||
| The Russian word "навес" (canopy) shares the same root as Tajik "нависед". That means that the Tajik word originally referred to a "canopy" before it started meaning "to write". | |||
| Turkmen | ýaz | ||
| Uzbek | yozmoq | ||
| The word "yozmoq" in Uzbek is derived from the Proto-Turkic verb *yaz- and also means "to draw" or "to paint". | |||
| Uyghur | يېزىڭ | ||
Write in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kākau | ||
| In Hawaiian, "kākau" can also mean "to tattoo" or "to draw a line". | |||
| Maori | tuhi | ||
| The Maori word "tuhi" can also mean "to draw" or "to paint." | |||
| Samoan | tusi | ||
| The word "tusi" also means "to write a letter" or "to draw a picture" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sumulat | ||
| The word “sumulat” comes from the Spanish word “escribir”, which also means “write”. | |||
Write in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | qillqaña | ||
| Guarani | hai | ||
Write in International Languages
| Esperanto | skribi | ||
| Latin | scribentes injustitiam | ||
Write in Others Languages
| Greek | γράφω | ||
| The root of the word 'γράφω' is 'γρᾰ́φ-ω' which means 'to scratch' or 'to scrape'. | |||
| Hmong | sau | ||
| In addition to write, "sau" also means "to sow". The "u" in "sau" is pronounced in a high falling tone to distinguish it from the word "saw" (pronounced with a mid falling tone), which means "to chop". | |||
| Kurdish | nivîsîn | ||
| Turkish | yazmak | ||
| "Yazmak" in Turkish also refers to "to register", as in with the authorities, or "to record". | |||
| Xhosa | bhala | ||
| The Xhosa word 'bhala' originates from the Nguni root '-bhala' meaning 'to scratch, write, draw, carve' | |||
| Yiddish | שרייבן | ||
| In Yiddish, "שרייבן" can also be used to refer to writing poetry or composing music. | |||
| Zulu | bhala | ||
| In addition to meaning "write," the word "bhala" can also mean "mark," or "draw." | |||
| Assamese | লিখা | ||
| Aymara | qillqaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | लिखीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ލިޔުން | ||
| Dogri | लिखो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magsulat | ||
| Guarani | hai | ||
| Ilocano | isurat | ||
| Krio | rayt | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نووسین | ||
| Maithili | लिखू | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯏꯕ | ||
| Mizo | ziak | ||
| Oromo | barreessuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଲେଖ | ||
| Quechua | qillqay | ||
| Sanskrit | लिखतु | ||
| Tatar | яз | ||
| Tigrinya | ፀሓፍ | ||
| Tsonga | tsala | ||