By in Different Languages: How to Say “By” in 70 Languages

The word “by” is one of the most useful and versatile words in English. It can describe a method, a person who performs an action, a deadline, movement near a place, or a means of transportation. Because its meaning changes with context, there is not always one direct translation in every language.

If you are searching for by in different languages, this guide provides 70 translations with easy pronunciations and practical example sentences. These by translations can help students, travelers, writers, language learners, and anyone interested in how to say “by” around the world.

Quick Answer: How Do You Say “By” in Different Languages?

The translation of “by” depends on its meaning. For example, Spanish commonly uses por for “by” in passive sentences and en for transportation, while French often uses par for an agent and en for transportation. The table below gives a useful everyday equivalent for each language.

“By” in Different Languages Around the World

#	Language	Native Phrase	Easy English Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
1	English	by	bai	The letter was sent by John.	The letter was sent by John.
2	Spanish	por	por	The book was written by María.	The book was written by María.
3	French	par	par	The song was written by Paul.	The song was written by Paul.
4	German	von	fon	The painting was made by Anna.	The painting was made by Anna.
5	Italian	da	dah	This book was written by Marco.	This book was written by Marco.
6	Portuguese	por	por	The letter was sent by Ana.	The letter was sent by Ana.
7	Dutch	door	door	The book was written by him.	The book was written by him.
8	Swedish	av	ahv	The song was written by her.	The song was written by her.
9	Norwegian	av	ahv	The picture was painted by Lars.	The picture was painted by Lars.
10	Danish	af	ahf	The book was written by Peter.	The book was written by Peter.
11	Finnish	toimesta	toy-MES-tah	The decision was made by the committee.	The decision was made by the committee.
12	Estonian	poolt	poolt	The proposal was approved by the group.	The proposal was approved by the group.
13	Latvian	ar	ahr	I travel by train.	I travel by train.
14	Lithuanian	per	pehr	I sent it by mail.	I sent it by mail.
15	Polish	przez	pshehz	The book was written by Anna.	The book was written by Anna.
16	Czech	od	oht	I received a letter by mail.	I received a letter by mail.
17	Slovak	od	oht	The message came by email.	The message came by email.
18	Slovenian	od	oht	The story was written by him.	The story was written by him.
19	Croatian	od	ohd	The book was written by Ivan.	The book was written by Ivan.
20	Serbian	од стране	od STRAH-neh	The decision was made by the team.	The decision was made by the team.
21	Bulgarian	от	oht	The painting was made by Maria.	The painting was made by Maria.
22	Macedonian	од	oht	The song was performed by Elena.	The song was performed by Elena.
23	Russian	посредством	pos-red-STVOM	The message was sent by email.	The message was sent by email.
24	Ukrainian	за допомогою	zah do-po-MOH-ho-yu	I did it by using a computer.	I did it using a computer.
25	Belarusian	з дапамогай	z da-pa-MOH-hai	We solved it by using a map.	We solved it using a map.
26	Greek	από	ah-PO	The painting was created by Nikos.	The painting was created by Nikos.
27	Albanian	nga	ngah	The book was written by Arben.	The book was written by Arben.
28	Romanian	de	deh	The song was written by Elena.	The song was written by Elena.
29	Hungarian	által	AHL-tahl	The work was completed by the team.	The work was completed by the team.
30	Turkish	tarafından	tah-rah-FUN-dahn	The book was written by Ali.	The book was written by Ali.
31	Azerbaijani	tərəfindən	teh-reh-FEEN-den	The work was completed by the team.	The work was completed by the team.
32	Georgian	მიერ	mee-EHR	The book was written by him.	The book was written by him.
33	Armenian	կողմից	kohg-MEETS	The work was done by Anna.	The work was done by Anna.
34	Persian	توسط	tavassot	The book was written by Ali.	The book was written by Ali.
35	Arabic	بواسطة	bee-WA-si-tah	The message was sent by email.	The message was sent by email.
36	Hebrew	על ידי	al yeh-DEE	The book was written by David.	The book was written by David.
37	Hindi	द्वारा	dwa-RAH	The book was written by Prem.	The book was written by Prem.
38	Urdu	کے ذریعے	kay zaree-ay	The message was sent by email.	The message was sent by email.
39	Bengali	দ্বারা	dwa-ra	The work was completed by him.	The work was completed by him.
40	Punjabi	ਦੁਆਰਾ	doo-RAH	The letter was sent by Ali.	The letter was sent by Ali.
41	Gujarati	દ્વારા	dwa-ra	The work was completed by the team.	The work was completed by the team.
42	Marathi	द्वारे	dwa-ray	The message was sent by email.	The message was sent by email.
43	Nepali	द्वारा	dwa-RAH	The book was written by him.	The book was written by him.
44	Sinhala	විසින්	wi-SIN	The song was sung by her.	The song was sung by her.
45	Tamil	மூலம்	moo-lam	I sent it by email.	I sent it by email.
46	Telugu	ద్వారా	dwa-ra	The message was sent by email.	The message was sent by email.
47	Kannada	ಮೂಲಕ	moo-la-ka	I sent the document by email.	I sent the document by email.
48	Malayalam	വഴി	vazhi	I sent it by email.	I sent it by email.
49	Odia	ଦ୍ୱାରା	dwa-ra	The work was completed by him.	The work was completed by him.
50	Assamese	দ্বাৰা	dwa-ra	The letter was sent by him.	The letter was sent by him.
51	Chinese	由	yoh	The book was written by Li.	The book was written by Li.
52	Japanese	によって	nee-YOH-teh	The book was written by Yuki.	The book was written by Yuki.
53	Korean	에 의해	eh heh	The work was done by the team.	The work was done by the team.
54	Vietnamese	bởi	buh-ee	The song was written by Lan.	The song was written by Lan.
55	Thai	โดย	doy	The book was written by him.	The book was written by him.
56	Indonesian	oleh	oh-leh	The book was written by Budi.	The book was written by Budi.
57	Malay	oleh	oh-leh	The letter was written by Ali.	The letter was written by Ali.
58	Filipino	ni	nee	The book was written by Maria.	The book was written by Maria.
59	Swahili	na	nah	The book was written by Amina.	The book was written by Amina.
60	Afrikaans	deur	deur	The book was written by him.	The book was written by him.
61	Zulu	ngu-	ngoo	The song was sung by her.	The song was sung by her.
62	Xhosa	ngu-	ngoo	The song was sung by him.	The song was sung by him.
63	Yoruba	nípasẹ̀	nee-pah-SEH	The work was done by him.	The work was done by him.
64	Igbo	site na	see-teh nah	The message was sent by email.	The message was sent by email.
65	Haitian Creole	pa	pah	The song was written by him.	The song was written by him.
66	Latin	a	ah	The book was written by Cicero.	The book was written by Cicero.
67	Esperanto	de	deh	The book was written by Anna.	The book was written by Anna.
68	Icelandic	af	ahv	The poem was written by Jón.	The poem was written by Jón.
69	Irish	ag	ahg	The work was completed by him.	The work was completed by him.
70	Welsh	gan	gan	The book was written by her.	The book was written by her.

What Does “By” Mean in Different Contexts?

The English word “by” has several meanings, so its translation changes depending on the sentence.

It can identify the person who performs an action, as in “The novel was written by Jane.” It can also describe a method or means, such as “I traveled by train.”

“By” can also indicate a deadline, as in “Finish the work by Friday,” or location, as in “She walked by the house.” This is why direct word-for-word translation is not always accurate.

How to Say “By” in Different Languages for Transportation

When “by” describes transportation, many languages use a completely different word from the one used for an agent.

For example, English says “by train,” “by car,” and “by plane.” In Spanish, transportation is commonly expressed with en, while French uses en for several forms of transportation. Always consider the complete sentence rather than translating “by” alone.

“By” Translations for Passive Sentences

One of the most common uses of “by” is identifying who performed an action in a passive sentence.

Examples include:

• The book was written by John.
• The song was performed by the singer.
• The painting was created by the artist.

Languages such as Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese have established grammatical forms for expressing this relationship.

“By” as a Way or Method

Another important meaning appears when “by” describes how something happens.

For example:

• I sent the document by email.
• She learned English by watching movies.
• We traveled by train.

In these situations, the correct translation may be closer to “through,” “using,” “with,” or a transportation expression rather than a direct equivalent of “by.”

“By” for Deadlines and Time

English also uses “by” to express a deadline.

For example, “Please finish the project by Monday” means the project should be completed no later than Monday.

This meaning is different from the “by” used in “The book was written by Sarah.” Therefore, translations for time-related uses should be checked according to the grammar of the target language.

Common Mistakes When Translating “By”

A common mistake is assuming that “by” always has one fixed translation. Because English uses the word in many grammatical situations, a direct translation can sometimes sound unnatural or incorrect.

For accurate by translations, identify the meaning first. Ask whether “by” refers to an agent, method, transportation, location, or deadline. Then choose the natural expression used in the target language.

Why Learn “By” in All Languages?

Learning common words such as “by” can make language study easier because they appear frequently in everyday speech and writing. Understanding their different uses also helps learners avoid literal translation mistakes.

This list of by in all languages provides a starting point for comparing grammatical patterns across Europe, Asia, Africa, and other regions.

Conclusion

The word “by” has many meanings in English, and its translation can change depending on context. The 70 languages above show how different languages express ideas involving agents, methods, communication, transportation, and other relationships.

When learning by in different languages, focus on the meaning of the complete sentence rather than translating the single word in isolation.

FAQs:

1. How do you say “by” in Spanish?

“By” can commonly be translated as por when identifying the agent of a passive action, while other meanings may require different Spanish words such as en for certain transportation expressions.

2. How do you say “by” in French?

The common translation is par when “by” identifies the person or agent performing an action. Other meanings of “by” can use different French expressions.

3. What is “by” in Urdu?

A common Urdu expression for “by” when describing a method or means is کے ذریعے (kay zaree-ay). The correct Urdu translation depends on the context.

4. What is “by” in Hindi?

A common Hindi equivalent for “by” when identifying the agent of an action is द्वारा (dwa-RAH). Other meanings can require different Hindi expressions.

5. Why does “by” have different translations in different languages?

“By” has several grammatical meanings in English. It can indicate an agent, method, transportation, location, or deadline. Since languages organize these ideas differently, there is not always one universal translation.