on

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.

• ŏn
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• Eastern-New-England, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation: /ɒn/
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• Australian, British, Scotland, Southern, Standard: /ɔn/
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• SSB Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Northern-US, cot-caught-merger: /ɑn/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Canada: [ɒːn ~ ɔːn]
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• Ireland: /ɒn/
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• /än/ Dublin
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• ŏn Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore
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• /ɔn/ Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore
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• homophone: awn (cot–caught merger, Midland US, Southern US)
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• rhymes with -ɒn
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• rhymes with -ɔːn
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• CMU ARPABET: AA1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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• CMU ARPABET 2: AO1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2en-der. Proto-Germanic *an Proto-West Germanic *ana Old English on Middle English on English on From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h2en- (“on, onto”). Cognates Cognate with Yola a, an, ana, on (“on”), Saterland Frisian an (“on; at”), West Frisian oan (“on; to, towards”), Cimbrian aan, å (“on, onto”), Dutch aan (“on; at”), Low German an (“on; at, to”), German an (“at, in; on”), Luxembourgish un (“on; at, to”), Yiddish אָן (on, “on, onward”), Danish, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish å (“on”), Elfdalian ą̊ (“on”), Faroese and Icelandic á (“in; on”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana, “at, on”); also Umbrian 𐌀𐌌- (am-), 𐌀𐌍- (an-, “up, upon”), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “on, upon”) (whence Greek ανά (aná, “by, through, per”)), Albanian në (“in; on”), Latvian no (“from; out of; for; of; with”), Lithuanian nuo (“from, off; for, of”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian на (na, “on”), Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Slovene na (“on”), Serbo-Croatian на, na (“on”), Old Armenian ան- (an-, “at, on, unto”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish på (“on”), Norwegian Nynorsk paa, på (“on”), see upon.

From Japanese 音読み (on'yomi, literally “sound reading”).

From Old Norse ón, án (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḗnu (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on (“without”), Middle Dutch an, on (“without”), Middle Low German āne (“without”), German ohne (“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without, except”). Unlikely to be related to Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”), which is likely akin to Proto-Germanic *sundraz instead (whence sunder).

398 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Armenian: միացրած (miacʻrac) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Asturian: encendíu — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Czech: zapnuto — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Dutch: aan — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Dutch: op — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Dutch: actief — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Estonian: sees — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Finnish: päällä — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Finnish: -lla — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• French: allumé — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Galician: acendido — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Galician: prendido — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• German: an — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• German: ein — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• German: eingeschaltet — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• German: angeschaltet — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Greek: ανοικτό (anoiktó) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Hungarian: bekapcsolva — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Icelandic: kveiktur — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Indonesian: menyala — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Italian: acceso — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Persian: روشن (rowšan) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Persian: فعال (fa'âl) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Polish: włączony — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Portuguese: ligado — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Russian: вклю́ченный (vkljúčennyj) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Russian: вкл. (vkl.) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Scottish Gaelic: air — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Slovak: zapnuté — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Spanish: encendido — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Spanish: conectado — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Swedish: på — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Swedish: igång — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Zazaki: de (diq) — in the state of being active, functioning or operating
• Indonesian: terjadi — happening, take place
• Danish: på — destined
• Finnish: but see olla menoa — destined
• French: parti — destined
• Greek: periphrastically — destined
• Italian: dentro — destined
• Portuguese: destinar — destined
• Swedish: för — destined
• Swedish: på — destined
• Finnish: on-puolella — cricket: in, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs
• Dutch: aan — to an operating state
• Finnish: päälle — to an operating state
• German: an — to an operating state
• German: ein — to an operating state
• Greek: periphrastically — to an operating state
• Norwegian Bokmål: på — to an operating state
• Norwegian Nynorsk: på — to an operating state
• Persian: روشن (rowšan) — to an operating state
• Swedish: på — to an operating state
• Indonesian: pasang — to cover or be fitted
• Indonesian: pakai — to cover or be fitted
• Finnish: edelleen — continuing an action
• French: encore — continuing an action
• German: weiter — continuing an action
• Greek: periphrastically — continuing an action
• Slovak: ďalej — continuing an action
• Swedish: på — continuing an action
• Swedish: vidare — continuing an action
• Finnish: edelleen — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• French: encore — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• German: an — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• Greek: periphrastically — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• Italian: ancora — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• Slovak: ďalej — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• Swedish: vidare — along, forwards (continuing an action)
• Albanian: mbi — positioned at the upper surface of
• Arabic: عَلَى (ʕalā) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Arabic: على (ʕala) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Armenian: վրա (vra) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Asturian: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Azerbaijani: üzərində — positioned at the upper surface of
• Azerbaijani: üstündə — positioned at the upper surface of
• Bakhtiari: سر (sar) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Bashkir: тураһында (turahında) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Belarusian: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Belizean Creole: pahn — positioned at the upper surface of
• Bengali: উপর (upor) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Bhojpuri: ऊपर (ūpar) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Breton: war — positioned at the upper surface of
• Bulgarian: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Burmese: မှာ (hma) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Burmese: ၌ (hnai.) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Burmese: အပေါ် (a.pau) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Catalan: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Chinese Mandarin: ......上 (... shàng) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Chuukese: won — positioned at the upper surface of
• Cornish: war — positioned at the upper surface of
• Czech: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Dalmatian: saupra — positioned at the upper surface of
• Danish: på — positioned at the upper surface of
• Dutch: op — positioned at the upper surface of
• Esperanto: sur — positioned at the upper surface of
• Finnish: päällä — positioned at the upper surface of
• French: sur — positioned at the upper surface of
• Galician: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Galician: encol de — positioned at the upper surface of
• Galician: en — positioned at the upper surface of
• Ge'ez: ላዕለ (laʿlä) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Georgian: -ზე (-ze) — positioned at the upper surface of
• German: auf — positioned at the upper surface of
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Greek: πάνω (páno) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Greek: σε (se) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Ancient Greek: ἐπί (epí) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Ancient Greek: ἐν (en) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Mbya Guarani: áry — positioned at the upper surface of
• Hebrew: עַל (al) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Hebrew: על פני — positioned at the upper surface of
• Hindi: ... पर — positioned at the upper surface of
• Hungarian: -n — positioned at the upper surface of
• Hungarian: -on — positioned at the upper surface of
• Hungarian: -en — positioned at the upper surface of
• Icelandic: á — positioned at the upper surface of
• Ido: sur — positioned at the upper surface of
• Indonesian: di atas — positioned at the upper surface of
• Indonesian: atas — positioned at the upper surface of
• Interlingua: super — positioned at the upper surface of
• Interlingua: sur — positioned at the upper surface of
• Irish: ar — positioned at the upper surface of
• Italian: su — positioned at the upper surface of
• Italian: sopra — positioned at the upper surface of
• Japanese: ...の上に (... no ue ni) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Kazakh: үстінде (üstınde) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Khmer: នៅលើ (nɨv ləə) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Korean: ...위에 (...wie) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Central Kurdish: لەسەر (leser) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Central Kurdish: لە سەر (le ser) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Northern Kurdish: ser — positioned at the upper surface of
• Kyrgyz: үстүнө (üstünö) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Kyrgyz: үстүндө (üstündö) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Lao: ເທິງ (thœng) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Lao: ບົນ (bon) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Latin: in — positioned at the upper surface of
• Latin: super — positioned at the upper surface of
• Latin: suprā — positioned at the upper surface of
• Latin: ab — positioned at the upper surface of
• Latin: a — positioned at the upper surface of
• Latvian: uz — positioned at the upper surface of
• Ligurian: in sce — positioned at the upper surface of
• Lithuanian: ant — positioned at the upper surface of
• Livonian: pǟl — positioned at the upper surface of
• Macedonian: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Malay: atas — positioned at the upper surface of
• Malay: di atas — positioned at the upper surface of
• Maltese: fuq — positioned at the upper surface of
• Mirandese: subre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Mongolian: дээр (deer) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Navajo: bikááʼ (bɪkháːʔ) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Navajo: bąąh — positioned at the upper surface of
• Neapolitan: ngoppe — positioned at the upper surface of
• Norwegian: på — positioned at the upper surface of
• Norwegian Bokmål: på — positioned at the upper surface of
• Norwegian Nynorsk: på — positioned at the upper surface of
• Occitan: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Old Occitan: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Church Slavic: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Old East Slavic: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Pashto: پر (për) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Pashto: باندې (bânde) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Persian: روی (ru-ye) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Persian: بر (bar) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Persian: سوار (savâr) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Polish: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Portuguese: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Portuguese: no — positioned at the upper surface of
• Portuguese: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Romagnol: adòs — positioned at the upper surface of
• Romanian: deasupra — positioned at the upper surface of
• Romanian: pe — positioned at the upper surface of
• Russian: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Scottish Gaelic: air — positioned at the upper surface of
• Serbo-Croatian: на — positioned at the upper surface of
• Serbo-Croatian: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Sicilian: supra — positioned at the upper surface of
• Sicilian: sùpira — positioned at the upper surface of
• Slovak: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Slovene: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Lower Sorbian: na — positioned at the upper surface of
• Spanish: en — positioned at the upper surface of
• Spanish: sobre — positioned at the upper surface of
• Swedish: på — positioned at the upper surface of
• Swedish: ovanpå — positioned at the upper surface of
• Swedish: å — positioned at the upper surface of
• Swedish: upp å — positioned at the upper surface of
• Tajik: ба (ba) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Tajik: рӯи (rü-yi) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Tajik: бар (bar) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Thai: บน (bon) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Tibetan: སྒང་ལ (sgang la) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Turkish: üstünde — positioned at the upper surface of
• Turkmen: üstünde — positioned at the upper surface of
• Ukrainian: на (na) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Urdu: ... پر — positioned at the upper surface of
• Uyghur: ئۈستىدە (üstide) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Uzbek: ustiga — positioned at the upper surface of
• Vietnamese: trên — positioned at the upper surface of
• Volapük: su — positioned at the upper surface of
• Walloon: so — positioned at the upper surface of
• Walloon: dissu — positioned at the upper surface of
• Welsh: ar — positioned at the upper surface of
• Yiddish: אויף (oyf) — positioned at the upper surface of
• Zazaki: sero — positioned at the upper surface of
• Zazaki: sera — positioned at the upper surface of
• Arabic: عَلَى (ʕalā) — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Armenian: վրա (vra) — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Czech: na — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Dutch: bij — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Dutch: aan — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Esperanto: sur — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Finnish: -lla — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• French: sur — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• West-Frisian: oan — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• West-Frisian: by — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• German: an — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• German: bei — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Greek: πάνω (páno) — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Hebrew: נוגע — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Hebrew: תלוי על — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Hungarian: -n — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Hungarian: -on — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Hungarian: -en — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Italian: su — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Italian: a — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Latin: in — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Latin: super — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Latin: supra — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Pashto: پورې (pore) — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Persian: روی (ru-ye) — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Polish: na — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Portuguese: na — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Portuguese: no — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Slovak: na — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Slovene: na — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Spanish: en — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Spanish: sobre — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Swedish: på — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Tibetan: ལྡེབས་ལ (ldebs la) — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Zazaki: naser — positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to
• Arabic: عَلَى (ʕalā) — covering
• Armenian: վրա (vra) — covering
• Burmese: မှာ (hma) — covering
• Burmese: ၌ (hnai.) — covering
• Dutch: over — covering
• Esperanto: sur — covering
• Finnish: päällä — covering
• Finnish: yllä — covering
• French: sur — covering
• French: au-dessus — covering
• German: über — covering
• Greek: πάνω (páno) — covering
• Hebrew: מכסה — covering
• Hungarian: -n — covering
• Hungarian: -on — covering
• Hungarian: -en — covering
• Italian: su — covering
• Italian: a — covering
• Latin: in — covering
• Latin: super — covering
• Latin: suprā — covering
• Pashto: په (pë) — covering
• Persian: روی (ru-ye) — covering
• Polish: na — covering
• Portuguese: em — covering
• Russian: на (na) — covering
• Scottish Gaelic: air — covering
• Scottish Gaelic: mu — covering
• Slovak: na — covering
• Slovene: na — covering
• Spanish: en — covering
• Spanish: sobre — covering
• Swedish: på — covering
• Arabic: فِي (fī) — at the date of
• Armenian: -ին (-in) — at the date of
• Burmese: မှာ (hma) — at the date of
• Burmese: ၌ (hnai.) — at the date of
• Czech: dne — at the date of
• Dutch: op — at the date of
• Esperanto: je — at the date of
• Finnish: -na — at the date of
• German: an — at the date of
• Greek: articles — at the date of
• Ancient Greek: ἐν (en) — at the date of
• Hebrew: בתאריך — at the date of
• Hungarian: -n — at the date of
• Hungarian: -on — at the date of
• Hungarian: -en — at the date of
• Japanese: ...に (...ni) — at the date of
• Latin: in — at the date of
• Malay: pada — at the date of
• Maltese: fi — at the date of
• Pashto: په (pë) — at the date of
• Persian: در (dar) — at the date of
• Portuguese: na — at the date of
• Portuguese: no — at the date of
• Romanian: pe — at the date of
• Romanian: de — at the date of
• Russian: в (v) — at the date of
• Russian: -го (-vo) — at the date of
• Slovak: dňa — at the date of
• Slovene: na — at the date of
• Swedish: på — at the date of
• Swedish: under — at the date of
• Arabic: فِي (fī) — dealing with the subject of
• Armenian: մասին (masin) — dealing with the subject of
• Armenian: վերաբերյալ (veraberyal) — dealing with the subject of
• Asturian: sobre — dealing with the subject of
• Catalan: sobre — dealing with the subject of
• Czech: o — dealing with the subject of
• Dutch: over — dealing with the subject of
• Esperanto: pri — dealing with the subject of
• Finnish: -sta — dealing with the subject of
• Finnish: -stä — dealing with the subject of
• French: sur — dealing with the subject of
• French: à propos de — dealing with the subject of
• French: au sujet de — dealing with the subject of
• Galician: sobre — dealing with the subject of
• Galician: acerca de — dealing with the subject of
• German: über — dealing with the subject of
• Greek: πάνω (páno) — dealing with the subject of
• Ancient Greek: περί (perí) — dealing with the subject of
• Hebrew: בנושא — dealing with the subject of
• Italian: su — dealing with the subject of
• Italian: di — dealing with the subject of
• Latin: de — dealing with the subject of
• Latin: super — dealing with the subject of
• Latin: supra — dealing with the subject of
• Pashto: په (pë) — dealing with the subject of
• Persian: در (dar) — dealing with the subject of
• Persian: اندر (andar) — dealing with the subject of
• Polish: o — dealing with the subject of
• Portuguese: na — dealing with the subject of
• Portuguese: no — dealing with the subject of
• Romanian: despre — dealing with the subject of
• Scottish Gaelic: air — dealing with the subject of
• Slovak: o — dealing with the subject of
• Slovene: na — dealing with the subject of
• Spanish: sobre acerca de — dealing with the subject of
• Swedish: om — dealing with the subject of
• Swedish: angående — dealing with the subject of
• Finnish: -lla — mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain
• Italian: in — mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain
• Latin: in — mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain
• Polish: przy — mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain
• Swedish: av — mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain
• Finnish: -lla — mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain
• Italian: in — mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain
• Latin: in — mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain
• Polish: na — mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain
• Swedish: av — mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain
• Dutch: wegens — because of, due to
• Finnish: takia — because of, due to
• Finnish: vuoksi — because of, due to
• Finnish: -sta — because of, due to
• Finnish: -stä — because of, due to
• Finnish: perusteella — because of, due to
• Finnish: johdosta — because of, due to
• Finnish: seurauksena — because of, due to
• French: pour — because of, due to
• French: à propos de — because of, due to
• German: wegen — because of, due to
• German: aufgrund — because of, due to
• Greek: periphrastically — because of, due to
• Italian: con — because of, due to
• Latin: in — because of, due to
• Pashto: په (pë) — because of, due to
• Slovak: pre — because of, due to
• Swedish: på grund av — because of, due to
• Arabic: عَلَى حِسَابِهِ (ʕalā ḥisābihi) — paid for by
• German: auf — paid for by
• Greek: periphrastically — paid for by
• Latin: in — paid for by
• Pashto: په (pë) — paid for by
• Persian: با (bâ) — paid for by
• Russian: с (s) — paid for by
• Russian: за счёт (za sčot) — paid for by
• Slovak: na — paid for by
• Swedish: är på — paid for by
• French: avec — used to indicate means or medium
• French: grâce à — used to indicate means or medium
• German: in — used to indicate means or medium
• German: an — used to indicate means or medium
• Greek: periphrastically — used to indicate means or medium
• Italian: in — used to indicate means or medium
• Italian: a — used to indicate means or medium
• Latin: in — used to indicate means or medium
• Pashto: په (pë) — used to indicate means or medium
• Persian: در (dar) — used to indicate means or medium
• Spanish: en — used to indicate means or medium
• Swedish: på — used to indicate means or medium
• Spanish: competer — Expressing figurative placement, burden, or attachment.
• Spanish: recaer sobre — Expressing figurative placement, burden, or attachment.
• Spanish: tras — (also often 'upon') at the time of (and often because of)
• Spanish: al — (also often 'upon') at the time of (and often because of)
• Spanish: en pos de — (also often 'upon') at the time of (and often because of)