500+ By in Different Languages 2026

The word “by” is one of the most commonly used prepositions in English. It can describe a location, explain who performs an action, show how something happens, or indicate a deadline. However, its translation changes depending on the meaning and context.

If you want to learn how to say by in different languages, this guide will help you explore its translations, native expressions, pronunciation and everyday examples from around the world.

One important point: English “by” does not have one universal translation. To make the comparisons accurate, the main table below focuses on “by” meaning “near” or “next to”. For example, “The café is by the station.” Other meanings are explained in separate sections.

By in Different Languages

Language	Native translation of “by”	Easy pronunciation	Example sentence	English meaning
Spanish	junto a	HOON-toh ah	El café está junto a la estación.	The café is by the station.
French	près de	preh duh	Le café est près de la gare.	The café is by the station.
German	neben	NAY-ben	Das Café ist neben dem Bahnhof.	The café is by the station.
Italian	accanto a	ah-KAHN-toh ah	Il bar è accanto alla stazione.	The café is by the station.
Portuguese	perto de	PEHR-too jee	O café fica perto da estação.	The café is by the station.
Dutch	naast	nahst	Het café is naast het station.	The café is by the station.
Afrikaans	langs	langs	Die kafee is langs die stasie.	The café is by the station.
Swedish	bredvid	breh-DVEED	Kaféet ligger bredvid stationen.	The café is by the station.
Norwegian	ved siden av	vehd SEE-den ahv	Kafeen ligger ved siden av stasjonen.	The café is by the station.
Danish	ved siden af	vehth SEE-den ah	Caféen ligger ved siden af stationen.	The café is by the station.
Icelandic	við hliðina á	vith HLEE-thin-ah ow	Kaffihúsið er við hliðina á stöðinni.	The café is by the station.
Finnish	vieressä	VYEH-rehs-sah	Kahvila on aseman vieressä.	The café is by the station.
Estonian	kõrval	KUR-val	Kohvik on jaama kõrval.	The café is by the station.
Latvian	blakus	BLAH-koos	Kafejnīca ir blakus stacijai.	The café is by the station.
Lithuanian	šalia	SHAH-lyah	Kavinė yra šalia stoties.	The café is by the station.
Polish	obok	OH-bok	Kawiarnia jest obok dworca.	The café is by the station.
Czech	vedle	VEH-dleh	Kavárna je vedle nádraží.	The café is by the station.
Slovak	vedľa	VEH-dlyah	Kaviareň je vedľa stanice.	The café is by the station.
Slovenian	poleg	POH-leg	Kavarna je poleg postaje.	The café is by the station.
Croatian	pored	POH-red	Kafić je pored stanice.	The café is by the station.
Serbian	поред	POH-red	Кафић је поред станице.	The café is by the station.
Bosnian	pored	POH-red	Kafić je pored stanice.	The café is by the station.
Bulgarian	до	doh	Кафенето е до гарата.	The café is by the station.
Macedonian	до	doh	Кафулето е до станицата.	The café is by the station.
Russian	рядом с	RYAH-duhm s	Кафе находится рядом со станцией.	The café is by the station.
Ukrainian	біля	BEE-lyah	Кафе біля вокзалу.	The café is by the station.
Belarusian	побач з	poh-BAHCH z	Кафэ знаходзіцца побач з вакзалам.	The café is by the station.
Greek	δίπλα σε	THEE-plah seh	Το καφέ είναι δίπλα στον σταθμό.	The café is by the station.
Albanian	pranë	PRAH-nuh	Kafeneja është pranë stacionit.	The café is by the station.
Romanian	lângă	LUHN-guh	Cafeneaua este lângă gară.	The café is by the station.
Hungarian	mellett	MEHL-lett	A kávézó az állomás mellett van.	The café is by the station.
Turkish	yanında	yah-NIN-dah	Kafe istasyonun yanında.	The café is by the station.
Azerbaijani	yanında	yah-NIN-dah	Kafe stansiyanın yanındadır.	The café is by the station.
Armenian	կողքին	kohgh-KEEN	Սրճարանը կայարանի կողքին է։	The café is by the station.
Georgian	გვერდით	GVER-deet	კაფე სადგურის გვერდითაა.	The café is by the station.
Arabic	بجانب	bee-JAH-nib	المقهى بجانب المحطة.	The café is by the station.
Hebrew	ליד	leh-YAD	בית הקפה ליד התחנה.	The café is by the station.
Persian	کنار	ke-NAAR	کافه کنار ایستگاه است.	The café is by the station.
Urdu	کے پاس	kay paas	کیفے اسٹیشن کے پاس ہے۔	The café is by the station.
Hindi	के पास	kay paas	कैफ़े स्टेशन के पास है।	The café is by the station.
Bengali	পাশে	PAH-sheh	ক্যাফেটি স্টেশনের পাশে।	The café is by the station.
Punjabi	ਕੋਲ	kol	ਕੈਫੇ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਦੇ ਕੋਲ ਹੈ।	The café is by the station.
Gujarati	પાસે	pah-say	કેફે સ્ટેશન પાસે છે.	The café is by the station.
Marathi	जवळ	juh-VUL	कॅफे स्टेशनजवळ आहे.	The café is by the station.
Nepali	छेउमा	chhay-oo-MAH	क्याफे स्टेशनको छेउमा छ।	The café is by the station.
Sinhala	අසල	AH-suh-lah	කැෆේ එක දුම්රිය ස්ථානය අසලයි.	The café is by the station.
Tamil	அருகில்	ah-ROO-geel	கஃபே நிலையத்திற்கு அருகில் உள்ளது.	The café is by the station.
Telugu	పక్కన	PUK-kuh-nuh	కేఫ్ స్టేషన్ పక్కన ఉంది.	The café is by the station.
Kannada	ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ	PUK-kuh-dul-lee	ಕೆಫೆ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿದೆ.	The café is by the station.
Malayalam	അടുത്ത്	ah-DUTTH	കഫേ സ്റ്റേഷന്റെ അടുത്താണ്.	The café is by the station.
Thai	ข้าง ๆ	khaang-khaang	คาเฟ่อยู่ข้างสถานี	The café is by the station.
Lao	ຂ້າງ	khaang	ຮ້ານກາເຟຢູ່ຂ້າງສະຖານີ	The café is by the station.
Khmer	ក្បែរ	kbaer	ហាងកាហ្វេនៅក្បែរស្ថានីយ៍។	The café is by the station.
Vietnamese	cạnh	kahn	Quán cà phê ở cạnh nhà ga.	The café is by the station.
Indonesian	di dekat	dee duh-KAHT	Kafe itu berada di dekat stasiun.	The café is by the station.
Malay	berhampiran	ber-ham-PEE-ran	Kafe itu berhampiran stesen.	The café is by the station.
Filipino	katabi ng	kah-TAH-bee ng	Katabi ng istasyon ang café.	The café is by the station.
Swahili	karibu na	kah-REE-boo nah	Mkahawa uko karibu na kituo.	The café is by the station.
Zulu	eduze kwe	eh-DOO-zeh kweh	Ikhefi liseduze nesiteshi.	The café is by the station.
Xhosa	ecaleni kwe	eh-kah-LEH-nee kweh	Ikhefi lisecaleni kwesikhululo.	The café is by the station.
Yoruba	lẹ́gbẹ̀ẹ́	leh-GHEH-eh	Kafe wa lẹ́gbẹ̀ẹ́ ibùdó ọkọ̀ ojú irin.	The café is by the station.
Igbo	n’akụkụ	nah-KOO-koo	Ebe a na-aṅụ kọfị dị n’akụkụ ọdụ ụgbọ oloko.	The café is by the station.
Hausa	kusa da	KOO-sah dah	Kafe yana kusa da tashar jirgin ƙasa.	The café is by the station.
Amharic	አጠገብ	ah-teh-GHEB	ካፌው ከጣቢያው አጠገብ ነው።	The café is by the station.
Somali	agta	AG-tah	Maqaaxidu waxay agta saldhigga ku taallaa.	The café is by the station.
Mandarin Chinese	旁边	pahng-BYEN	咖啡馆在车站旁边。	The café is by the station.
Japanese	のそばに	noh SOH-bah nee	カフェは駅のそばにあります。	The café is by the station.
Korean	옆에	YUH-peh	카페는 역 옆에 있어요.	The café is by the station.
Mongolian	хажууд	hah-JOOT	Кафе буудлын хажууд байдаг.	The café is by the station.

What Does “By” Mean in English?

The word “by” is a preposition with several meanings. Its exact meaning depends on how it is used in a sentence.

Here are its most common meanings:

1. Near or beside: Something is located close to another thing.
Example: The house is by the river.

2. The person performing an action: It identifies who created or performed something.
Example: The book was written by a famous author.

3. The method used: It explains how an action is completed.
Example: She travelled by train.

4. A deadline: It indicates that something must happen before or no later than a particular time.
Example: Please finish the work by Monday.

5. The means of doing something: It describes the way someone achieves a result.
Example: He learned English by practising every day.

How to Say “By” in Different Languages Based on Context

Learning the correct “by” translations requires understanding the sentence. The same English word can have different equivalents in another language.

English meaning	Example	Spanish	French	German
Near or beside	Sit by me.	junto a	près de	neben
Person responsible	Written by John.	escrito por	écrit par	geschrieben von
Method of travel	Travel by bus.	en autobús	en bus	mit dem Bus
Deadline	Finish by Friday.	para el viernes	d’ici vendredi	bis Freitag
Means or method	Learn by practising.	mediante la práctica	en pratiquant	durch Übung

These examples show why context matters when translating “by” around the world.

Different Ways to Use “By” in Everyday English

The word “by” appears in conversations, books, instructions and everyday communication. Understanding its different uses can help you speak and write more naturally.

By Meaning Near or Beside

This is the meaning used in the 70-language table. It describes the position of a person or object close to something else.

Examples:

• She is standing by the door.
• There is a small shop by my house.
• He sat by his friend.

By Meaning Through or Using

When “by” describes a method, it explains how someone does something.

Examples:

• I go to work by car.
• You can improve your vocabulary by reading.
• She contacted me by email.

By Meaning Who Did Something

In passive sentences, “by” introduces the person or thing responsible for an action.

Examples:

• The painting was created by an artist.
• This song was written by my brother.
• The cake was made by my mother.

By Meaning Before a Deadline

When used with time, “by” usually means that something should happen no later than the specified time.

Examples:

• Submit your application by Monday.
• Please arrive by 9 a.m.
• I will complete the project by tomorrow.

Why Does “By” Have Different Translations Around the World?

Languages have different grammar rules, sentence structures and ways of expressing relationships. As a result, a single English preposition may require several different words in another language.

For example, Spanish uses junto a to express being beside something, but it commonly uses por or de in other contexts involving “by”.

Similarly, French uses près de for proximity, par for the person performing an action, and en for certain methods of transport.

This is why translating complete sentences is often more reliable than translating individual words.

Common Words and Expressions Related to “By”

Understanding related expressions can make it easier to recognise the meaning of “by” in everyday communication.

English expression	Meaning	Example
By the way	Introducing an additional point	By the way, I called you yesterday.
By myself	Alone or without help	I completed the task by myself.
By hand	Using your hands	She made the decoration by hand.
By chance	Accidentally or unexpectedly	We met by chance.
By mistake	Accidentally	I sent the wrong message by mistake.
By heart	From memory	He knows the poem by heart.
By now	Before or at the present time	You should be home by now.
By far	To a great degree	This is by far the best option.

Tips for Learning “By” in Different Languages

Learning prepositions can be challenging because their meanings do not always match across languages. These simple tips can make the process easier.

• Learn complete sentences: Memorise expressions in context instead of learning isolated translations.
• Practise everyday examples: Use sentences about travel, locations, people and deadlines.
• Compare similar expressions: Notice how different languages express the same idea.
• Listen to native speakers: Pay attention to how prepositions are used in natural conversations.
• Learn the grammar: Understand whether a language uses a preposition, a postposition or another grammatical structure.
• Review regularly: Repeat new expressions and use them in your own sentences.

Conclusion

The word “by” has several meanings in English, and its translation depends on the context. In this guide, you explored ways to express “by” meaning “near” or “beside” in different languages, along with native phrases, pronunciations and practical examples.

Whether you are learning Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Urdu, Japanese or another language, understanding the context will help you choose the right expression. Remember that learning complete sentences is one of the best ways to use translations naturally.

FAQs

1. How do you say “by” in different languages?
The translation depends on the meaning. For example, Spanish uses junto a for “by” meaning beside, French uses près de, German uses neben, and Hindi uses के पास.

2. What is the meaning of “by” in English?
“By” is a preposition that can describe location, the person performing an action, a method, or a deadline. Its meaning changes depending on the sentence.

3. How do you say “by” in Spanish?
For the meaning “near” or “beside”, Spanish commonly uses junto a. For example, “The café is by the station” can be translated as “El café está junto a la estación.”

4. What is the difference between “by” and “near”?
“Near” generally means close to something, while “by” can also mean beside something. “By” has additional meanings, including describing a method, an agent or a deadline.

5. Why does “by” have different translations in different languages?
Languages use different grammatical structures and expressions. A translation that works for location may not work for describing an action, method or deadline. Therefore, the correct translation depends on context.