Phrase guide

carpe diem

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌkɑː.piː ˈdaɪ.ɛm/
  • UK: /ˌkɑː.peɪ ˈdiː.əm/
  • US: /ˌkɑɹ.pi ˈdaɪ.ɛm/
  • /ˌkɑɹ.peɪ ˈdi.əm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

proverb

Meaning 1

Enjoy the present, make the most of today, (common mistranslation) seize the day.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gather rosebuds, take the cash and let the credit go

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin carpe diem (“enjoy the day”, literally “pluck (or harvest) the day”).

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: живей за мига (živej za miga) — seize the day
  • Chinese Mandarin: 及時行樂 /及时行乐 (jíshíxínglè) — seize the day
  • Chinese Mandarin: 把握今朝 (bǎ wò jīnzhāo) — seize the day
  • Chinese Mandarin: 花開堪折直須折 /花开堪折直须折 (huā kāi kān zhé zhí xū zhé) — seize the day
  • Danish: fang dagen — seize the day
  • Dutch: pluk de dag — seize the day
  • Finnish: tartu hetkeen — seize the day
  • French: cueille le jour — seize the day
  • French: carpe diem — seize the day
  • German: nutze den Tag — seize the day
  • Hebrew: קרפה דיים — seize the day
  • Indonesian: raih hari ini — seize the day
  • Irish: tapaidh go dheis — seize the day
  • Italian: cogli l'attimo — seize the day
  • Italian: vivere alla giornata — seize the day
  • Japanese: この日を掴め (kono hi o tsukame) — seize the day
  • Japanese: 今日を楽しめ (kyou o tanoshime) — seize the day
  • Norwegian: grip dagen — seize the day
  • Persian: دمغنیمتشمری — seize the day
  • Persian: خوشباشی — seize the day
  • Polish: chwytaj dzień — seize the day
  • Portuguese: carpe diem — seize the day
  • Russian: лови́ моме́нт (loví momént) — seize the day
  • Scottish Gaelic: dèan feum de latha chothroim — seize the day
  • Slovene: užij dan — seize the day
  • Spanish: disfruta el momento — seize the day
  • Spanish: carpe diem — seize the day
  • Swedish: fånga dagen — seize the day
  • Turkish: günü yakala — seize the day
  • Turkish: anı yaşa — seize the day
  • Turkish: günü yaşa — seize the day
  • Turkish: gündegün — seize the day