How to say “support” in 36 different languages
Every one of these is a word that turns up in ordinary speech, not a dictionary curiosity — the number beside it is where it ranks in that language.
- apoyo/aˈpoʝo/ Spanish
- دعم/daʕama/ Arabic
- 支持/ʈ͡ʂɻ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɻ̩³⁵/ Chinese
- 지원[t͡ɕiwʌ̹n] Korean
- समर्थन/sə.məɾ.t̪ʰən/ Hindi
- υποστήριξη/i.poˈsti.ɾi.ksi/ Greek
“support” in Spanish: apoyo · French: supporter · German: unterstützung · Portuguese: apoio · Chinese: 支持 · Korean: 지원 · Arabic: دعم · Hindi: समर्थन
It is commonest in Chinese, where 支持 is the 264th most used word.
Support in other languages, A to Z
- Albanian mbështetje/mbəʃtɛtjɛ/ #2,060
- Arabic دعم/daʕama/ to support #1,447
- Basque eduki/eduki/ to support, sustain #305
- Bengali নির্ভর/niɾbʱɔɾ/ dependence, support #754
- Catalan suport[suˈpɔrt] #837
- Chinese 支持/ʈ͡ʂɻ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɻ̩³⁵/ to support; to back #264
- Czech podporu[ˈpotporu] #1,954
- Danish støtte/støtə/ #1,190
- Dutch steun/støːn/ to support, keep up, back up, assist #1,581
- English stand/ˈstænd/ To support oneself on the feet in an erect… #454
- Finnish kannattaa/ˈkɑnːɑtːɑːˣ/ to support, bear up, hold up, prop up, carry #1,243
- French supporter/sy.pɔʁ.te/ to support #1,888
- German unterstützung/ʊntɐˈʃtʏt͡sʊŋ/ support, assistance, backing, also endorsement #2,135
- Greek υποστήριξη/i.poˈsti.ɾi.ksi/ #2,230
- Hebrew תמיכה/tmiˈχa/ support, assistance, backing #1,884
- Hindi समर्थन/sə.məɾ.t̪ʰən/ support, advocacy, backing, agreement,… #829
- Icelandic fylgi[ˈfɪlcɪ] support, help #1,237
- Indonesian berdiri/bərˈdi.ri/ to support oneself on the feet in an erect… #432
- Korean 지원[t͡ɕiwʌ̹n] support; aid #1,316
- Lithuanian paramos[pɐɾɐˈmoːs] #2,149
- Macedonian поддршка[ˈpɔddr̩ʃka] help, support #1,448
- Malay tanggung/ˈtaŋɡuŋ/ to support on the shoulder #1,652
- Malayalam പിന്തുണ/pin̪t̪uɳɐ/ #1,490
- Norwegian støtte/ˈstœtə/ #960
- Persian حمایت[he.mɒː.jǽt̪ʰ] support, backing, aid, advocacy #1,697
- Polish wsparcie/ˈfspar.t͡ɕɛ/ #2,212
- Portuguese apoio/aˈpoj.u/ support, backing #1,348
- Romanian sprijin/ˈspri.ʒin/ support, assistance, aid, succor #2,452
- Russian держать[dʲɪrˈʐatʲ] to hold, to keep, to support #941
- Spanish apoyo/aˈpoʝo/ #1,613
- Swedish stöd/støːd/ #1,688
- Tagalog suporta/suˈpoɾta/ support; prop #1,534
- Tamil ஆதாரம்/ɑːd̪ɑːɾɐm/ support, ground, basis #728
- Telugu సంరక్షణ/ˈsanrakˌʂaɳa/ protection, sustaining, support, maintenance,… #366
- Turkish destek/desˈtec/ #878
- Urdu پیٹھ/piːʈʰ/ back, support, aid #670
The speaker reads the word in the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a recording of a native speaker, so treat it as a guide. A row without a button has no reading we are free to use, or none we trust, yet. Voices for Bengali (google (bn_BD), CC BY-SA 4.0) and Catalan (upc_ona (ca_ES), CC BY-SA 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.