tell

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• Multicultural-London-English: [thɔː]
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• British, Southern, Standard: /thɛw/
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• British, Southern, Standard: /thɛɫ/
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• General-American, UK: tĕl
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• General-American, UK: /tɛl/
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• General-American, UK: [thɛl]
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• General-American, UK: [thɛɫ]
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• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɛl
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• CMU ARPABET: T EH1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talō (“number, counting”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian tälle (“to say; tell”), West Frisian telle (“to count”), West Frisian fertelle (“to tell, narrate”), Dutch tellen (“to count”) and Dutch vertellen (“to tell”), Low German tellen (“to count”), German zählen, Faroese telja, Swedish tala (“to speak”). More at tale.

From Arabic تَلّ (tall, “hill, elevation”) or Hebrew תֵּל (tél, “hill”), from Proto-Semitic *tall- (“hill”).

253 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: تَلّ (tall) — A hill or mound
• French: tell — A hill or mound
• Hebrew: תֵּל (tel) — A hill or mound
• Italian: tell — A hill or mound
• Latin: tell — A hill or mound
• Polish: tell — A hill or mound
• Polish: tall — A hill or mound
• Portuguese: tell — A hill or mound
• Russian: телль (tellʹ) — A hill or mound
• Spanish: tell — A hill or mound
• Afrikaans: sê — to pass information
• Afrikaans: vertel — to pass information
• Albanian: them — to pass information
• Albanian: rrëfej — to pass information
• Arabic: أَخْبَرَ (ʔaḵbara) — to pass information
• Arabic: قَالَ (qāla) — to pass information
• Arabic: قال (ʔāl) — to pass information
• Arabic: قال (gāl) — to pass information
• Arabic: حَكَّى (ḥakka) — to pass information
• Armenian: ասել (asel) — to pass information
• Armenian: պատմել (patmel) — to pass information
• Assamese: ক (ko) — to pass information
• Azerbaijani: demək — to pass information
• Bashkir: әйтеү (əytew) — to pass information
• Belarusian: гавары́ць (havarýcʹ) — to pass information
• Belarusian: каза́ць (kazácʹ) — to pass information
• Belarusian: сказа́ць (skazácʹ) — to pass information
• Bengali: বলা (bola) — to pass information
• Bulgarian: разка́звам (razkázvam) — to pass information
• Burmese: ပြော (prau:) — to pass information
• Catalan: dir — to pass information
• Catalan: explicar — to pass information
• Chickasaw: anoli — to pass information
• Chinese Mandarin: 告訴 /告诉 (gàosu) — to pass information
• Chinese Mandarin: 說 /说 (shuō) — to pass information
• Choctaw: anoli — to pass information
• Cornish: leverel — to pass information
• Cornish: lawl — to pass information
• Czech: říci — to pass information
• Czech: hovořit — to pass information
• Czech: říkat — to pass information
• Danish: fortælle — to pass information
• Danish: sige — to pass information
• Dutch: vertellen — to pass information
• Dutch: zeggen — to pass information
• Emilian: dîr — to pass information
• Estonian: ütlema — to pass information
• Finnish: kertoa — to pass information
• French: dire — to pass information
• West-Frisian: fertelle — to pass information
• Georgian: თქმა (tkma) — to pass information
• German: sagen — to pass information
• German: erzählen — to pass information
• German: mitteilen — to pass information
• Gothic: 𐍃𐍀𐌹𐌻𐌻𐍉𐌽 (spillōn) — to pass information
• Greek: λέω (léo) — to pass information
• Ancient Greek: λέγω (légō) — to pass information
• Mbya Guarani: mombe'u — to pass information
• Hebrew: הִגִּיד (higíd) — to pass information
• Hebrew: אָמַר (amár) — to pass information
• Hindi: कहना (kahnā) — to pass information
• Hungarian: elmond — to pass information
• Icelandic: segja — to pass information
• Indonesian: kata — to pass information
• Irish: abair le — to pass information
• Italian: dire — to pass information
• Italian: raccontare — to pass information
• Japanese: 教える (oshieru) — to pass information
• Japanese: 言う — to pass information
• Japanese: 述べる (noberu) — to pass information
• Japanese: おっしゃる (ossharu) — to pass information
• Japanese: 申す (mōsu) — to pass information
• Japanese: 申し上げる (mōshiageru) — to pass information
• Javanese: kandha — to pass information
• Kambera: paní — to pass information
• Kashmiri: وَنُن (vanun) — to pass information
• Kashmiri: دَپُن (dapun) — to pass information
• Kashmiri: بوزناوُن (bōznāvun) — to pass information
• Kashubian: rzec — to pass information
• Kazakh: айту (aitu) — to pass information
• Kazakh: деу (deu) — to pass information
• Khmer: និយាយ (niyiəy) — to pass information
• Khmer: ថា (thaa) — to pass information
• Korean: 말하다 (malhada) — to pass information
• Korean: 말씀하다 (malsseumhada) — to pass information
• Korean: 알리다 (allida) — to pass information
• Northern Kurdish: gotin — to pass information
• Kyrgyz: айтуу (aytuu) — to pass information
• Lao: ບອກ (bǭk) — to pass information
• Lao: ກ່າວ (kāo) — to pass information
• Latin: narrō — to pass information
• Latin: memoro — to pass information
• Latvian: stāstīt — to pass information
• Lithuanian: sakyti — to pass information
• Lithuanian: pasakyti — to pass information
• Lombard: dì — to pass information
• Macedonian: кажува (kažuva) — to pass information
• Macedonian: каже (kaže) — to pass information
• Malay: kata — to pass information
• Manchu: ᡥᡝᠨᡩᡠᠮᠪᡳ (hendumbi) — to pass information
• Marathi: सांगणे (sāṅgṇe) — to pass information
• Mongolian: хэлэх (xelex) — to pass information
• Nepali: भन्नु (bhannu) — to pass information
• Norman: dithe — to pass information
• Norwegian Bokmål: fortelle — to pass information
• Norwegian Bokmål: si — to pass information
• Church Slavic: рещи (rešti) — to pass information
• Church Slavic: говорити (govoriti) — to pass information
• Old English: secgan — to pass information
• Pashto: اظهارول (ezhārawᶕl) — to pass information
• Persian: گُفْتَن (goftan) — to pass information
• Pitcairn-Norfolk: tull — to pass information
• Polish: powiedzieć — to pass information
• Polish: mówić — to pass information
• Polish: rzec — to pass information
• Portuguese: contar — to pass information
• Portuguese: dizer — to pass information
• Romanian: spune — to pass information
• Romanian: zice — to pass information
• Russian: говори́ть (govorítʹ) — to pass information
• Russian: сказа́ть (skazátʹ) — to pass information
• Northern Sami: muitalit — to pass information
• Northern Sami: máinnastit — to pass information
• Sanskrit: गदति (gadati) — to pass information
• Scottish Gaelic: innis — to pass information
• Serbo-Croatian: ре̏ћи — to pass information
• Serbo-Croatian: гово̀рити — to pass information
• Serbo-Croatian: ка́зати — to pass information
• Serbo-Croatian: rȅći — to pass information
• Serbo-Croatian: govòriti — to pass information
• Serbo-Croatian: kázati — to pass information
• Slovak: povedať — to pass information
• Slovak: hovoriť — to pass information
• Slovene: reči — to pass information
• Lower Sorbian: wulicowaś — to pass information
• Lower Sorbian: wulicyś — to pass information
• Spanish: decir — to pass information
• Spanish: contar — to pass information
• Spanish: recontar — to pass information
• Spanish: platicar — to pass information
• Spanish: devisar — to pass information
• Swedish: säga — to pass information
• Swedish: berätta — to pass information
• Swedish: tala om — to pass information
• Tagalog: sabihin — to pass information
• Tajik: гуфтан (guftan) — to pass information
• Tatar: әйтергә (äytergä) — to pass information
• Tatar: дияргә (diyärgä) — to pass information
• Tày: cạ — to pass information
• Thai: บอก (bɔ̀ɔk) — to pass information
• Thai: กล่าว (glàao) — to pass information
• Thai: พูด (pûut) — to pass information
• Tocharian B: we- — to pass information
• Tocharian B: āks- — to pass information
• Turkish: söylemek — to pass information
• Turkish: demek — to pass information
• Turkmen: aýtmak — to pass information
• Turkmen: diýmek — to pass information
• Ukrainian: розповіда́ти (rozpovidáty) — to pass information
• Ukrainian: говори́ти (hovorýty) — to pass information
• Ukrainian: каза́ти (kazáty) — to pass information
• Ukrainian: сказа́ти (skazáty) — to pass information
• Urdu: کَہْنا (kahnā) — to pass information
• Uyghur: دېمەك (dëmek) — to pass information
• Uyghur: ئېيتماق (ëytmaq) — to pass information
• Uzbek: gapirmoq — to pass information
• Uzbek: demoq — to pass information
• Uzbek: aytmoq — to pass information
• Vietnamese: kể — to pass information
• Vietnamese: bảo — to pass information
• Vietnamese: nói — to pass information
• Yiddish: זאָגן (zogn) — to pass information
• Zealandic: vertelle — to pass information
• Zhuang: gangj — to pass information
• Bashkir: тейеү (teyew) — to instruct
• Bashkir: ҡушыу (quşıw) — to instruct
• Bulgarian: ука́звам (ukázvam) — to instruct
• Bulgarian: нареждам (nareždam) — to instruct
• Catalan: dir — to instruct
• Danish: tilsige — to instruct
• Danish: instruere — to instruct
• Dutch: instrueren — to instruct
• Finnish: käskeä — to instruct
• Finnish: määrätä — to instruct
• French: dire — to instruct
• German: sagen — to instruct
• German: erklären — to instruct
• Greek: λέω (léo) — to instruct
• Hebrew: הִגִּיד (higíd) — to instruct
• Hebrew: אָמַר (amár) — to instruct
• Hungarian: megmond — to instruct
• Irish: abair le — to instruct
• Italian: insegnare — to instruct
• Latin: doceo — to instruct
• Macedonian: кажува (kažuva) — to instruct
• Mòcheno: learnen — to instruct
• Norman: dithe — to instruct
• Portuguese: mandar — to instruct
• Portuguese: dizer — to instruct
• Russian: говори́ть (govorítʹ) — to instruct
• Russian: сказа́ть (skazátʹ) — to instruct
• Russian: приказа́ть (prikazátʹ) — to instruct
• Northern Sami: bagadallat — to instruct
• Slovak: povedať — to instruct
• Spanish: decir — to instruct
• Swedish: säga åt — to instruct
• Swedish: säga till — to instruct
• Swedish: tala om — to instruct
• Bashkir: белеү (belew) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Bashkir: күреү (kürew) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Bashkir: айырыу (ayırıw) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Bulgarian: различавам (različavam) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Catalan: conèixer — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Catalan: notar — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Catalan: adonar-se — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Chinese Mandarin: 看出 (kànchū) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Danish: afsige — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Danish: afgøre — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Dutch: vertellen — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Dutch: zeggen — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Esperanto: distingi — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Finnish: sanoa — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• French: se voir — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• French: discerner — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• German: unterscheiden — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• German: erkennen — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• German: sagen — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Greek: καταλαβαίνω (katalavaíno) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Hebrew: הבין (hevín) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Hebrew: הבדיל (hivdíl) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Hungarian: megmond — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Italian: notare — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Japanese: 分かる (wakaru) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Japanese: 判る (wakaru) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Macedonian: разликува (razlikuva) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Norwegian Nynorsk: skjelna — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Old English: tōcnāwan — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Portuguese: dizer — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Portuguese: notar — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Russian: различа́ть (različátʹ) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Russian: различи́ть (različítʹ) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Russian: отлича́ть (otličátʹ) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Russian: отличи́ть (otličítʹ) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Slovak: povedať — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Spanish: darse cuenta — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Spanish: percatar — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Spanish: percatarse — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Spanish: notarse — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Swedish: säga — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Swedish: avgöra — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Ukrainian: відрізня́ти (vidriznjáty) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• Ukrainian: відрізни́ти (vidriznýty) — to discern, notice, identify or distinguish
• German: petzen — to inform someone in authority