to

See also: Appendix:Variations of "to"

Languages (69)

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Tongan.

Symbol

to

(international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Tongan.

English

Alternative forms

(dialectal) ter
(contraction) t'
(abbreviation) 2

Etymology 1

From Middle English to, from Old English tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō ~ *ta, from Proto-Indo-European *de ~ *do (“to”). Cognate with Scots tae, to (“to”), North Frisian to, tö, tu (“to”), Saterland Frisian tou (“to”), Low German to (“to”), Dutch toe, te (“to”), German zu (“to”), West Frisian ta (“to”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ndaj (“towards”), Irish do (“to, for”), Breton da (“to, for”), Welsh i (“to, for”), Russian до (do, “to”). Doublet of too.

Pronunciation

Stressed

enPR: to͞o, IPA^(key): /tuː/
- (UK)
  - (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [tu̟ː], [tʰʊw]
  - (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /tiː/
  - (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): [tʰʉw]
- (US) IPA^(key): [tʰu̟(ː)]
- (Canada) IPA^(key): [t(ʰ)u̟ː]
- (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [tʰʉː]
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Audio (General American): (file)
Homophones: too, two
Rhymes: -uː

Unstressed

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.
Particularly: "(US, after a vowel) (before a vowel) (US, after a vowel)"

(before a consonant) IPA^(key): /tə/, /tʊ/
- (US, after a vowel) IPA^(key): [ɾə]
- (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /tɪ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(before a vowel) IPA^(key): /tʊ/, /tu(ː)/
- (UK)
  - (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [tʊ(w)]
  - (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /tɪv/
  - (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): [t(ʰ)ʉw]
- (US) IPA^(key): [tʊ(w)], [tu̟]
- (US, after a vowel) IPA^(key): [ɾʊ(w)], [ɾu̟]
- (Canada) IPA^(key): [tʊ(w)], [tu̟(ː)]

(Indic, always) IPA^(key): /ʈʊ/

Particle

to

A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive.
I want to leave.

He asked me what to do.

I have places to go and people to see.

To err is human.

Who am I to criticise? I've done worse things myself.

Precisely to get away from you was why I did what I did.

I need some more books to read and friends to go partying with.
- 1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC:
  To err, is human; to forgive, divine.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
  To be, or not to be: that is the question: / […]
- 2010 July, “Archived copy”, in Associated Press‎^[2], archived from the original on 5 July 2010, headline:
  Odds are, BP to get new CEO this year
- 2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport‎^[3]:
  To that end, the home supporters were in good voice to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.
As above, with the verb implied.
"Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed."

If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to.
Used to indicate an obligation on the part of, or a directive given to, the subject.
You are to go to the store and buy a bottle of milk.

Derived terms

Translations

A user suggests that this English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “Sense 1 is not the English infinitive morpheme, that would be -∅. The sentence "I could eat." contains a verb in the infinitive but no to. Rather, to is a particle that is used in conjunction with an already (zero-)marked infinitive. The box below, however, seems to contain a random mix of translations of the infinitive marker -∅ (e.g. German -en, Romanian -a, Turkish -mek) and the particle to (e.g. German zu, Romanian a).”

Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup⁽⁺⁾ or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.

infinitive-marker

Albanian: të, për të
Arabic: أَنّ (ʔann)
Armenian: -ել (-el), -ալ (-al)
Assamese: -ইব (-ibo), -ইবলৈ (-iboloi)
Azerbaijani: -mək (az), -maq (az)
Bengali: -তে (-te)
Bulgarian: да (bg) (da)
Catalan: -ar (ca) (1st conjugation); -er (ca), -r, -re (2nd conjugation); -ir (ca) (3rd conjugation)
Cornish: -a
Czech: -t (cs), -ti, -i
Danish: at (da)
Dutch: te (nl), -en (nl)
Esperanto: -i (eo)
Estonian: not used in Estonian; the first infinitive of all verbs ends with -a
Faroese: at (fo), -a
Finnish: not used in Finnish; the first infinitive of all verbs ends with -a or -ä
French: -er (fr) (1st conjugation), -re (fr) (2nd conjugation), -ir (fr) (3rd conjugation)
Galician: -ar (gl) (1st conjugation), -er/-or (2nd conjugation), -ir (3rd conjugation)
German: zu (de), -en (de)
Greek: (extension) να (el) (na)
Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hawaiian: e
Hebrew: ל־ (he) (l-)
Hindi: -ना (-nā)
Hungarian: -ni (hu)
Icelandic: að (is), -a
Ido: -ar (present), -ir (past), -or (future)
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
Irish: a (ga)
Italian: -are (1st conjugation), -ere (2nd conjugation), -arre (2nd irregular conjugation), -orre (2nd irregular conjugation), -urre (2nd irregular conjugation), -ire (3rd conjugation)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latin: -āre, -ēre, -ere, -īre
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Limburgish: tö, -e (li)
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: да (da)
Malay: not used in Malay; first infinitive of all verbs
Maltese: please add this translation if you can
Neapolitan: -à, -e, -è, -ì
Nepali: -नु (-nu)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: å (no)

Nynorsk: å (nn)
Persian: ـدن (fa) (-dan), ـتن (fa) (-tan)
Polish: (suffix) -ać (pl), -eć (pl), -ić (pl), -ć (pl), -ąć (pl), -c
Portuguese: -ar (pt) (1st conjugation), -er (pt)/-or (pt) (2nd conjugation), -ir (pt) (3rd conjugation)
Punjabi: -ਣਾ (-ṇā)
Romanian: a (ro)
Russian: (suffix) -ать (-atʹ), -ять (-jatʹ), -еть (-etʹ), -ить (-itʹ), -ти (ru) (-ti), -уть (-utʹ), -чь (-čʹ), -ть (ru) (-tʹ)
Scots: tae
Serbo-Croatian: -ti, -ći
Sicilian: -ari (1st conjugation); -iri (2nd conjugation)
Slovak: -ť
Slovene: -ti
Spanish: -ar (es) (1st conjugation), -er (es) (2nd conjugation), -ir (es) (3rd conjugation)
Swahili: ku-
Swedish: att (sv)
Talysh:
Asalemi: کی (ki)
Tamil: -அ (-a)
Turkish: -mek (tr), -mak (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: ـمک (-mek), ـمق (-maq)
Ukrainian: -ати (-aty), -яти (-jaty), -ти (-ty), -іти (-ity), -ити (-yty)
Veps: -da
Volapük: -ön (vo)
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: first infinitive
Zulu: uku-

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

German: es tun (may left out)
Italian: da (it) (+ infinitive verb), per (it) (+ infinitive verb)

Conjunction

to

(expressing purpose) In order to.
I went to the shops to buy some bread.

Translations

in order to

Catalan: per (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 为了 (zh) (wèile)
Cornish: rag
Czech: aby (cs)
Danish: for at
Dutch: om te
Finnish: jotta (fi), että (fi); translative of first infinitive with possessive suffix
French: pour (fr), afin de (fr)
German: um … zu
Hebrew: כְּדֵי (kedéi)
Hungarian: hogy (hu) (+ subjunctive mood)
Italian: per (it)
Japanese: に (ja) (ni)
Latin: ut (la)
Malay: untuk (ms)
Polish: żeby (pl), aby (pl), by (pl)
Portuguese: para (pt)
Romanian: ca să, să (ro)
Russian: что́бы (ru) (štóby)
Spanish: para (es)
Swedish: för att (sv)
Tamil: -கு (-ku)
Ukrainian: по (uk) (po), у (uk) (u)
Vietnamese: để (vi)

Preposition

to

In the direction of; towards.
She looked to the heavens.
Indicating destination or final position: In the direction of, so as to arrive at or reach.
We are walking to the shop.

The water came right to the top of this wall.

The coconut fell to the ground.
- 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 September 2013:
  Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.
Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action.
I gave the book to him.

I spoke to him earlier.

He devoted himself to education.

They drank to his health.
So as to contact, press against, impact, etc.
I fixed the notice to the wall.

Put your shoulder to the door.

To clutch/clasp/hold/press one's hanky to one's mouth/nose/forehead.
So as to become or reach: indicating a terminal state resulting from an action.
His face was beaten to a pulp.

I sang my baby to sleep.

Whisk the mixture to a smooth consistency.
So as to bring about or elicit (an effect or outcome).
He made several bad-taste jokes to groans from the audience.

I tried complaining, but it was to no effect.

To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.
Used after an adjective to indicate its application.
similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking.
Indicating a degree or level reached.
It was to a large extent true.

We manufacture these parts to a very high tolerance.

This gauge is accurate to a second.

My car does 25 miles to the gallon.
Used to describe what something consists of or contains.
Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it.

There's a lot of sense to what he says.

The name has a nice ring to it.

There are 100 pence to the pound.
Denotes the end of a range.
It takes 2 to 4 weeks to process typical applications.
(obsolete) As a.
With God to friend (with God as a friend); with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe); lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice); took her to wife (took her as a wife); was sold to slave (was sold as a slave).
Used to indicate a ratio or comparison; compared to, as against.
one to one = 1:1

ten to one = 10:1.

I have ten dollars to your four.

The odds on that horse are seven to two.
- c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:
  The hoſt of Xerxes, which by fame is ſaid
  To drinke the mightie Parthian Araris,
  Was but a handfull to that we will haue.
- 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎^[4]:
  In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.
(arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation.
Three squared or three to the second power is nine.

Three to the power of two is nine.

Three to the second is nine.
(time) Preceding (the stated hour).
What's the time? – It's quarter to four in the afternoon (or 3:45 pm).

Antonym: past
1. (informal) With implied hour.
  It’s quarter to (3:45, or 4:45, or whatever time ending in 45 would make the most sense)
According to.
Our holiday did not go to plan.
(Canada, Cornwall (UK), Newfoundland, Wales, West Midlands (UK)) At.
Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

Where are you to?
- 1867, Cornish Tales, in prose and verse by various authors, page 33:
  "What's that to you?" said Trevool, rather sharply, "worn't I to a berrin? […]
Used more-or-less idiomatically with various verbs: keep to the left, agree to the proposal, attend to the matter, etc. See the individual entries.

Usage notes

In the sense of "as a", it is a fossil word (Standard English only), found usually only in obsolete set phrases like: "to take a woman to wife", "to have someone to friend", "to have something to birthright" etc. In northern dialects,(clarification of this definition is needed.) where it is rare but still in common use, it is often used in combination with with.

Derived terms

Translations

used to indicate the indirect object

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Arabic: لِ (ar) (li)
South Levantine Arabic: لِ (la-)
Armenian: uses the dative case
Catalan: a (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 給 / 给 (zh) (gěi)
Czech: (uses dative case)
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: aan (nl)
Esperanto: al (eo)
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
French: à (fr)
Galician: a (gl)
German: (uses dative case)
Greek:
Ancient Greek: (uses dative case)
Hungarian: -nak (hu)/-nek (hu)
Irish: do
Japanese: ...に (ja) (...-ni)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latin: (uses dative case), ad (la)
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Maltese: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: til (no)
Bokmål: til (no)

Nynorsk: til
Persian: به (fa) (be)
Portuguese: a (pt), para (pt)
Scots: tae
Scottish Gaelic: do, gu, ri
Slovak: please add this translation if you can
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: a (es)
Swahili: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: till (sv), åt (sv)
Tamil: -ஐ (-ai)
Telugu: -కి (-ki), -కు (-ku)
Venetan: a (vec)
Veps: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: cho (vi)
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: allative case

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: لِأَجْل (leʔajl)
Egyptian Arabic: عشان (ʕašaan)
Dutch: voor (nl), om te
French: à (fr), pour (fr)
German: (devote) uses the dative case; (drink) auf (de)
Greek: να (el) (na)
Italian: per (it)
Latin: ut (la) (+ subj.)
Malay: untuk (ms)
Polish: (dative case)
Portuguese: a (pt)
Spanish: para (es)
Swedish: för (sv), åt (sv)
Venetan: par (vec)

in the direction of, and arriving at

Albanian: në
Arabic: إِلَى (ar) (ʔilā), عَلَى (ar) (ʕalā)
Egyptian Arabic: لـ (le)
Armenian: դեպի (hy) (depi)
Assamese: -অলৈ (-oloi)
Bakhtiari: وه (ve)
Bashkir: ...-ға (...-ğa), ...-гә (...-gə), ...-ҡа (...-qa), ...-кә (...-kə)
Burmese: ကို (my) (kui)
Catalan: a (ca), cap a (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 到 (zh) (dào)
Comorian:
Ndzwani Comorian: -ni (suffix)

Ngazidja Comorian: pvo
Cornish:
Kernewek Kemmyn: dhe (sometimes yn)
Czech: k (cs), ke (cs), ku (cs), do (cs)
Danish: til (da)
Dutch: naar (nl)
Esperanto: al (eo)
Estonian: -sse (illative case, into something)
Faroese: til
Finnish: expressed with the case of the headword, often illative or allative case; (genitive +) suuntaan (fi) (direction of), (genitive +) päin (fi) (direction of), (genitive +) luokse (fi) (to vicinity of), (genitive +) luo (fi) (to vicinity of), (genitive +) tykö (fi) (to vicinity of)
French: à (fr), au (fr) m, en (fr) f
Frisian:
West Frisian: nei
Galician: a (gl)
German: zu (de), nach (de) (in this sense only used for and sole preposition option for constructions without articles, i.e. general directions (e.g. up, west), most countries and cities etc. and nachhause/nach Hause (home)), in (de)
Gothic: 𐌳𐌿 (du)
Greek: προς (el) (pros), σε (el) (se)
Ancient Greek: εἰς (eis) (+ accusative case), πρός (prós) (+ accusative case), -δε (-de) (adverbial suffix added to certain nouns), -σε (-se) (adverbial suffix added to certain pronouns and adjectives)
Hawaiian: i
Hebrew: אל (he) (el), ל־ (he) (le-) (written together with the following word)
Hindi: ... को (hi) (... ko)
Hungarian: -hoz (hu)/-hez (hu)/-höz (hu) (allative, arriving at), felé (hu) (postposition, in the direction of)
Icelandic: til (is)
Ido: a (io), ad (io)
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: ke (id), sampai (id), hingga (id), kepada (id)
Interlingua: a (ia)
Irish: chuig, chun, go dtí, go, ionsar
Italian: a (it), ad (it) (before a vowel, especially "a"), in (it), per (it)
Japanese: ...へ (ja) (...-e), ...まで (ja) (...-made)
Judeo-Italian: אַה (ʾah /⁠a⁠/)
Khmer: ដល់ (km) (dɑl)
Korean: ...으로 (ko) (...euro), ...에게 (ko) (...ege)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Lao: please add this translation if you can
Latgalian: da
Latin: ad (la) (+ accusative))
Latvian: līdz
Lithuanian: į (lt)
Low German: to, tau
Middle Low German: to, tho
Malay: ke (ms), kepada (ms)
Maltese: lil, lejn, lill-
Manchu: ᡩᡝ (de)
Māori: ki
Mongolian: -д (-d) (dative case), руу (ruu) (postposition)
Neapolitan: a
Norwegian:
Bokmål: til (no)

Nynorsk: til
Nǀuu: ǁʻâa
Occitan: cap a (oc)
Old Norse: til
Persian: به (fa) (be), (used with people) پیش (fa) (piš), زی (fa) (zi) (poetic)
Polish: do (pl)
Portuguese: a (pt), para (pt) (colloquial)
Romanian: la (ro), către (ro), spre (ro)
Russian: на (ru) (na); в (ru) (v), к (ru) (k) (words consisting of a consonant)
Sanskrit: please add this translation if you can
Scots: tae
Scottish Gaelic: gu
Slovak: do (sk), k (sk), ku
Slovene: k (sl), h (sl) (if the next word begins with a "k" or "g"), proti (sl), v (sl)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: do
Spanish: a (es), hacia (es)
Swahili: hadi (sw), mpaka (sw), kwenda
Swedish: till (sv)
Talysh:
Asalemi: (mostly for animate, uses oblique) ور (var)
Tamil: -கு (-ku), -இல் (-il)
Telugu: -కి (-ki), -కు (-ku)
Thai: ยัง (th) (yang)
Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
Tok Pisin: long
Turkish: -e (tr), -a (tr), -ye, -ya
Tuvan: -же (-je), -че (-çe)
Ukrainian: на (uk) (na), в (uk) (v), до (uk) (do)
Urdu: ... کو (... kō)
Venetan: a (vec)
Vietnamese: đến (vi)
Volapük: ad (vo), lü (vo)
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: illative case

target or recipient of an action

Bashkir: ...-ға (...-ğa), ...-гә (...-gə), ...-ҡа (...-qa), ...-кә (...-kə)
Dutch: aan (nl)
Finnish: -lle (fi) (e.g. annoin lantin hänelle ~ I gave a coin to her/him; puhuin hänelle ~ I spoke to her/him), (genitive +) kanssa (fi) (e.g. puhuin hänen kanssa(an) ~ I spoke with her/him)
French: à (fr)
German: dem (de) m or n, der (de) f, den (de) pl
Judeo-Italian: אַה (ʾah /⁠a⁠/)
Polish: (uses dative case)
Russian: (uses dative case)
Spanish: a (es), a (es)
Tamil: -இடம் (-iṭam), -ஆக (-āka)

to indicate result of action

Finnish: -ksi (fi)
Hebrew: עַד (he) ('ad)
Tamil: -கு (-ku), வரை (ta) (varai)

used after certain adjectives to indicate a relationship

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: uses the dative case or նկատմամբ (hy) (nkatmamb)
Catalan: a (ca)
Czech: uses the dative case
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: tegen (nl), aan (nl), met (nl)
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: (following verb in infinitive), -lle (fi) (e.g. julma hänelle ~ cruel to her/him)
French: à (fr), au (fr) m, envers (fr), de (fr)
German: zu (de)
Greek: με (el) (me)
Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hindi: से (hi) (se)
Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
Irish: varies according to adjective
Italian: a (it)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latin: ad (la)
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Maltese: għal
Norwegian:
Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
Persian: بِه (fa) (be)
Polish: do (pl)
Portuguese: com (pt), a (pt)
Romanian: cu (ro)
Russian: please add this translation if you can
Scots: tae
Scottish Gaelic: ri
Slovak: please add this translation if you can
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: a (es)
Swahili: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: till (sv), med (sv) (protagonistic relation), mot (sv) (antagonistic relation)
Tamil: -இடம் (-iṭam)
Veps: please add this translation if you can
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: e.g. allative case

end of range

Bashkir: ...-ға (...-ğa), ...-гә (...-gə), ...-ҡа (...-qa), ...-кә (...-kə); dative + тиклем (tiklem), dative + хәтлем (xətlem)
Dutch: tot (nl)
Esperanto: ĝis (eo)
Finnish: (use illative case), (number +) -en/-än (e.g. kahdesta neljään ~ from two to four)
French: à (fr)
Hebrew: עַד (he) ('ad)
Indonesian: sampai (id)
Latin: ad (la)
Portuguese: a (pt)
Russian: до (ru) (do)
Swahili: mpaka (sw)
Swedish: till (sv)
Tamil: வரை (ta) (varai)

used to indicate ratios

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: uses the dative case or նկատմամբ (hy) (nkatmamb)
Bashkir: ...-ға (...-ğa), ...-гә (...-gə), ...-ҡа (...-qa), ...-кә (...-kə)
Catalan: a (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 比 (zh) (bǐ)
Czech: ku (cs)
Danish: til (da)
Dutch: tegen (nl)
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: (first number in genitive case) suhde (second number in illative case) (e.g. yhden suhde yhteen ~ one to one)
French: contre (fr)
German: zu (de)
Greek: προς (el) (pros)
Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: banding (id)
Irish: in aghaidh, i
Italian: a (it), per (it)
Japanese: に (ja) (ni), へ (ja) (e)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latgalian: pret
Latin: et (la)
Latvian: pret
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Malay: nisbah (ms)
Maltese: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
Polish: do (pl)
Portuguese: a (pt)
Romanian: la (ro)
Russian: к (ru) (k)
Scots: tae
Scottish Gaelic: gu
Slovak: k (sk)
Slovene: proti (sl)
Spanish: a (es)
Swahili: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: till (sv)
Tamil: -கு (-ku)
Telugu: -కి (-ki), -కు (-ku)
Ukrainian: до (uk) (do)
Veps: please add this translation if you can
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: please add this translation if you can

used to indicated exponentiation

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Czech: please add this translation if you can
Danish: i (da) (the exponent is in the ordinal form)
Dutch: tot (nl)
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: (ordinal number of the exponent in illative case), potenssiin (fi) (+ number)
French: au (fr) m, à la (fr) f
Galician: á (gl)
German: hoch (de)
Greek: στην (el) (stin)
Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hebrew: ב־ (he) (b-) (written together with the following word)
Hungarian: (ordinal number of the exponent in superessive case)
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
Irish: i
Italian: alla (it), a (it)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latin: please add this translation if you can
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Maltese: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
Polish: do potęgi (pl)
Portuguese: a (pt)
Russian: в (ru) (v)
Slovak: na (sk)
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: a (es)
Swedish: upphöjt till
Tamil: -இருந்து (-iruntu)
Ukrainian: в (uk) (v)
Veps: please add this translation if you can
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: please add this translation if you can

time: preceding

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: 差 (zh)
Czech: please add this translation if you can
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: voor (nl)
Estonian: enne (et)
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: vaille (fi), (partitive of number +) vaille (fi)
French: moins (fr)
Georgian: უკლია (uḳlia)
German: vor (de)
Greek: παρά (el) (pará)
Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hindi: तक (hi) (tak)
Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: kurang (id)
Ingrian: vaijaa
Irish: chun, go dtí
Italian: a (it) (+ definite article)
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latin: please add this translation if you can
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Maltese: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
Persian: (مانده) به (fa) (mânde be)
Polish: za (pl)
Portuguese: para (pt)
Russian: без (ru) (bez)
Slovak: please add this translation if you can
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: menos (es) (Spain), para (es) (South America)
Swahili: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: i (sv)
Tamil: -ஆக (-āka) (Rarely used, in contrast with "time following" words such as quarter past and half past.)
Venetan: a (vec), avanti (vec)
Veps: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: kém (vi)
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Woiwurrung: ^{(please verify)} kondee

Adverb

to (not comparable)

(regional, UK, US) Toward a closed, touching, or engaging position.
Synonyms: closed, shut

Antonyms: open, ajar

Please push the door to.
- 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 12”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
  He went in his room, pushed the door to, without fastening the latch.
- 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter V, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 104:
  Aware of the loud beating of my own heart I pulled the door to against the increasing rain.
(nautical) Into the wind.
Misspelling of too.

Usage notes

(etymology 1 sense 1): A regionalism found in various parts of the UK and US.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Czech: please add this translation if you can
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: toe (nl), dicht (nl)
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: kiinni (fi) (closed, touching), päälle (fi) (engaging)
French: please add this translation if you can
German: zu (de)
Greek: σε (el) (se) + articles, προς (el) (pros)
Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
Irish: please add this translation if you can
Italian: not used in Italian
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Ladino: please add this translation if you can
Latin: please add this translation if you can
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Maltese: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
Polish: zamknięte
Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
Russian: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: please add this translation if you can
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: please add this translation if you can
Swahili: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: till (sv)
Tamil: -ஐ (-ai)
Veps: please add this translation if you can
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Võro: please add this translation if you can
Votic: tšiin

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Hindi तो (to).

Pronunciation

(India) IPA^(key): /t̪oː/, [t̪oː]

Particle

to

(mild intensifier, colloquial, chiefly North India) A filler word common amongst urban Indians.
I am to so bored right now.

References

Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Anagrams

OT, ot-

Abinomn

Noun

to

sago (tree)

Ao

Etymology

From Proto-Central Naga *a-wa.

Pronunciation

(Chungli) IPA^(key): /tu˥/, [tu˥]

Noun

to

(Chungli) leaf

Asturian

Etymology 1

From Latin tuus.

Adjective

to (epicene, plural tos)

your

Related terms

tuyu

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

to

first-person singular present indicative of tar

Babine-Witsuwit'en

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Noun

to

water

References

Sharon Hargus, Wisuwit’en Grammar: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology (2007), page 43

Babuza

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

to

water

References

Naoyoshi Ogawa, English-Favorlang vocabulary (2003)
S. Tsuchida, A Comparative Vocabulary of Austronesian Languages of Sinicized Ethnic Groups in Taiwan, Part I: Western Taiwan, Memoirs of the Faculty of Letters, No. 7 (1982)

Bahnar

Etymology

From Proto-Bahnaric *tɔʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *tɔʔ. Cognates include Vietnamese đó, Khmer ដ៏ (dɑɑ).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tɔː/

Pronoun

to

that, there

Bambara

Noun

to

stiff porridge

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tonus, from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos).^[1] First attested in 1575.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈtɔ]
Audio (Barcelona): (file)

Noun

to m (plural tons)

(music) tone (specific pitch)
(linguistics) tone (pitch of a word)
tone or shade of a color

Derived terms

References

^ “to”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech to.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈto]
Audio: (file)

Pronoun

to n

nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of ten: it, this, that

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin tuus. Compare Italian tuo, Romanian tău, Friulian to, French ton, Spanish tu.

Pronoun

to m (feminine toa)

your; second-person masculine singular possessive pronoun

Danish

**Danish numbers ^(edit)**
	20
^{[a], [b]} ← 1	2	3 →
Cardinal: to Ordinal: anden
Danish Wikipedia article on 2

Etymology 1

From Old Norse tveir, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”).

The modern Danish form is a merger of the original East Old Norse accusative masculine twā and the nominative/accusative feminine twāʀ (West tvær). The neuter tū (West tvau) is preserved in the adverb itu.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈtˢoˀ]

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Numeral

to

two

Etymology 2

From Old Danish thwa, from Old Norse þvá (“wash”), from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈtˢoˀ]

Verb

to (imperative to, infinitive at to, present tense tor, past tense toede, perfect tense har toet)

(archaic) to wash

Conjugation

Conjugation of to

	active	passive
present	tor	toes
past	toede	toedes
infinitive	to	toes
imperative	to	—

	participle
present	toende
past	toet (auxiliary verb have)
gerund	toen

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /to/
Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: to

Noun

to (accusative singular to-on, plural to-oj, accusative plural to-ojn)

The name of the Latin script letter T/t.

Ewe

Noun

to

Verb

to

to crush
to pound

Finnish

Etymology

Abbreviation of torstai (“Thursday”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈto/, [ˈt̪o̞]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification^(key): to
Hyphenation^(key): to

Noun

to

Thu (abbreviation of Thursday)

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /to/
Audio (France (Agen)): (file)
Homophones: tau, taux, tôt

Noun

to m (plural tos)

(cooking, West Africa) variant of tô

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin tuus.

Pronoun

to (second-person singular possessive of masculine singular, of feminine singular tô, of masculine plural tiei, of feminine plural tôs)

(used attributively) your, thy; of yours, of thine
che al sedi santifiât il to nom, che al vegni il to ream, — "Your kingdom come, your will be done," (third and fourth sentences of Lord's Prayer)
(used predicatively) yours, thine
(used substantively) yours, thine; the thing belonging to you/ thee

Fula

Preposition

to

in, at, to

References

Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.

Galician

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtɔː/ [ˈt̪ɔː]
Rhymes: -ɔː

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Hyphenation: to

Interjection

to

used to call dogs or cattle
- 1820, B. A. Fandiño, El Heráclito Español y Demócrito Gallego:
  Meu señor santo Tomé, ¶ tendes dous nomes nun só, ¶ sodes castrón polo mé, ¶ é sodes cán polo tó.
  My good sir Santo Tomé: ¶ You have two names in just one, ¶ You are a ram with the “mé”, ¶ And a dog with the “tó”.

References

Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “to”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “to”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “to”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Garifuna

Article

to

feminine definite article
Mutu to ― the woman

Antonyms

le

Gonja

Noun

to

language

References

Mary E. Kropp Dakubu, The Languages of Ghana

Gun

Etymology 1

Cognates include Fon tò, Saxwe Gbe otò, Aja (West Africa) eto

Alternative forms

òtò, otò

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Noun

tò (plural tò lɛ́ or tò lẹ́)

city, village, town, country
Ùn ná yì ná tò cé / N ná yì ná tò ṣié ― I will go to my country

Derived terms

tòdàhó (“city”)
tòhọ̀ (“city hall”)
tòkpɛví (“village”)
tòpẹví (“village”)
tòví (“citizen”)
tòxɔ̀ (“city hall”)
tòɖàxó (“city”)

Etymology 2

Cognates include Fon tò

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Particle

tò

a present progressive or habitual tense marker, only used before nouns
Synonyms: nɔ̀, nọ̀

Nyɛ́ tò hàn jì / Yẹ́n tò hàn jì ― I am singing

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Preposition

tò

in, at

Etymology 4

Cognates include Fon tò, Aja (West Africa) tò. Compare Yoruba tò, Ifè tò

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Verb

tò

to arrange, manage, organise

Etymology 5

From Proto-Gbe *-tó.^[1] Cognates include Fon tó, Saxwe Gbe otó, Aja (West Africa) eto, Ewe eto

Alternative forms

òtó, otó

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tó/

Noun

tó (plural tó lɛ́ or tó lẹ́)

ear

Derived terms

dó tó (“to hear”)
tómɛ̀nú (“earring”)
tómẹ̀nú (“earring”)
ɖó tó (“to hear”)

References

^ Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1991), A Comparative Phonology of Gbe (Publications in African Languages and Linguistics; 14), Berlin/New York; Garome, Benin: Foris Publications & Labo Gbe (Int), page 215

Hupa

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /to(ː)/

Noun

to

a body of water, such as a lake or ocean

References

The Phonology of the Hupa Language, part 1: The Individual Sounds, volume 5, by Roland Burrage Dixon, Samuel Alfred Barrett, Washington Matthews, Bill Ray (using the older orthography "tō")
Victor Golla, Hupa Language Dictionary Second Edition (1996), page 105 (to)

Ido

Pronoun

to

alternative form of ito (“that”)

Itene

Noun

to

eye

References

Čestmír Loukotka, ‎Johannes Wilbert (editor), Classification of South American Indian Languages (1968, Los Angeles: Latin American Studies Center, University of California), page(s) 162

Japanese

Romanization

to

The hiragana syllable と (to) or the katakana syllable ト (to) in Hepburn romanization.

Kangean

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Hyphenation: to

Noun

to

person; individual
people

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: to

Pronoun

to

relative and interrogative pronoun; this, that

Kituba

Conjunction

to

or

Kongo

Conjunction

to

or

Kwalhioqua-Tlatskanai

Alternative forms

tū

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Noun

to

water

References

Franz Boas, Pline Early Goddard, Vocabulary of an Athapascan dialect of the State of Washington, IJAL volume III, pages 39-45 (1924-1925)

Latvian

Pronoun

to

that; accusative singular masculine of tas
with that; instrumental singular masculine of tas
of that; genitive plural masculine of tas
that; accusative singular feminine of tas
with that; instrumental singular feminine of tas
of that; genitive plural feminine of tas

Lingala

Conjunction

to

or

Lithuanian

Pronoun

to

that; genitive singular masculine of tas

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

Inherited from French tu (“you, thou”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /to/
Rhymes: -o
Homophone: tô

Pronoun

to (second person informal singular, plural vouzòt, ouzòt, zòt, zo, objective twa, possessive determiner tô, possessive pronoun tokin, tochin)

you (singular), thou
To té paʼlé gra. / To te pale gra.
You spoke with an accent. (literally: "You had spoken thick.")

Derived terms

(prevocalic) t'

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [tɔ]

Pronoun

to n

this

Determiner

to

nominative neuter singular of ten
accusative neuter singular of ten

Lower Tanana

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *taˑ.

Root

to

to attempt, to care for

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Conclusive	toyh	tonh	toɬ	toɬ
Neuter	to	to	to	to
Neuter2	to'	to'	to'	to'
Reversitative	tox	tonh	tox	tox
Momentaneous	toyh	tonh	toɬ	toɬ

Derived terms

noɬto' (“for, for the purpose of”)
tr'enokayi k'onaɬtoyenh (“babysitter”)
xwnoɬto' (“due to”)

References

Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 356

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French tu.

Pronoun

to (objective twa, formal ou)

you (second-person singular nominative personal pronoun)

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English tā, tāhe, from Proto-West Germanic *taihā, from Proto-Germanic *taihwǭ (“toe”).

Alternative forms

toe, towe, two, tho, teie; ta (northern); toa (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tɔː/
(Northern) IPA^(key): /taː/

Noun

to (plural tos or ton)

(anatomy) toe

Related terms

mistelto

Descendants

English: toe
Scots: tae
Yola: toan (plural)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /toː/
(unstressed) IPA^(key): /tu/, /tɔ/

Particle

to

to (infinitive marker)

Descendants

English: to
Scots: tae

References

“tọ̄̆, verbal part.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Preposition

to

to

Descendants

English: to
Scots: tae
Yola: ta, to, t'

References

“tọ̄̆, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adverb

to

to

Alternative forms

two

Descendants

English: to
Scots: tae

References

“tọ̄, adv.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adverb

to

too

Alternative forms

two; ta (northern West Midlands)

Descendants

English: too
Scots: tae
Yola: too

References

“tọ̄, adv.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Conjunction

to

References

“tọ̄̆, conj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Shortening of tone.

Pronoun

to

the one (of two)

Alternative forms

two; ta (northern)

Mizo

Etymology 1

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *taw.

Verb

to

to sit (with one's own body)
to squat

Etymology 2

Adjective

to

Mohawk

Particle

to

alternative form of tó꞉

Norwegian Bokmål

**Norwegian Bokmål cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : to Ordinal : annen

Etymology

From Old Norse tvá, accusative case of tveir, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tuː/

Numeral

to

two

Derived terms

References

“to” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

**Norwegian Nynorsk cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : to Ordinal : andre

Alternative forms

tvo, tvei, tvaug, tvau, tvær, tver, tu, tvu (two, non-standard or Høgnorsk gender-depending)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tuː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse tvá, accusative case of tveir, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Numeral

to

two

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse tó n.

Noun

to n (definite singular toet, indefinite plural to, definite plural toa)

fabric
(figurative, by extension) ability, nature

Etymology 3

From Old Norse tó f.

Noun

to f (definite singular toa, indefinite plural tør, definite plural tørne)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

“to” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

ot

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to.

Pronoun

to

nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of ten: it, this, that

Descendants

Czech: to

References

Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “to”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Alternative forms

ti — Northumbrian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō, *ta (“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *de, *do (“to”). Cognate with Old Saxon tō (“to”), Old High German zuo (“to”), Old Irish do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /toː/

Preposition

tō

to, into
- 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 30‎^[7]:
  Þonne iċ mec onhebbe ond hī onhnīgaþ tō mē, moniġe mid miltse, þǣr iċ monnum sceal īċan upcyme ēadiġnesse.
  When I raise myself up and they bow down to me, many with mercy, then I shall increase rising of happiness for men.
towards
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
  ...ðā beseah hē tō Petre sumere ælmessan wilniġende...
  Then looked he towards Peter, desiring an alms,...
- Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
  ...ðā ðā hǣðenan āhēowon þæt trēow mid ormǣtre blisse, þæt hit brastliende sāh tō ðām hālgan were, hetelīċe swiðe. Þā worhte hē onġēan ðām hrēosendum trēowe þǣs Hǣlendes rōde tācn, and hit ðǣrrihte ætstōd, wende ðā onġēan, and hrēas underbæc, and fornēan offēoll ðā ðe hit ǣr forcurfon.
  Then the heathens cut down the tree with great joy, so that, rustling, it fell towards the holy man very violently. Then he made the sign of the Savior's cross to the falling tree, and it immediately stood still, turned around, and fell backwards, and almost fell upon those who had previously cut it.
at
(grammar) used to mark the infinitive (supine) of the verb
- Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
  Đā ongunnon ealle ðā nǣddran tō ċēowenne heora flæsċ and heora blōd sucan, þæt hī þæt āttor ūt ātugon
  Then all the snakes began to chew their flesh and suck their blood in order to draw out the venom.
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
  Wearð þæt unġemetlīċe myċle ġefeoht betwuh Crētense, ⁊ Atheniense, þǣm folcum. ⁊ þā Crētense hæfdon ðone grimlēċan siġe, ⁊ ealle þā æþelestan bearn þāra Athēniensa hȳ ġenomon, ⁊ sealdon þǣm Mīnōtaurō tō etanne, þæt wæs healf mon healf lēo.
  There was an immensely great war between the Cretans and the Athenians. And the Cretans won a grim victory, and they took all the most noble of the Athenian children and gave them to the Minotaur, who was half man and half lion, for him to eat.
tō drīfenne ― to drive
as (in the role of)
tō bōte ― to boot (literally, “as an improvement, thus in addition”)

iċ wyrċe tō īsensmiðe ― I work as an ironsmith

þā nam iċ hīe tō wīfe ― then I took her as a wife
- Blickling Homilies, "The Dedication of St. Michael's Church"
  Englas bēoð tō ðeġnunge gǣstum fram Gode hider on world sended...
  Angels will be sent by God as spirits of service hither into the world...

Adverb

tō

besides
in addition, also, too; moreover
to an excessive degree; too
- 10th century, The Wanderer:
  Ne sċeal nō tō hātheort, · ne tō hrædwyrde,
  ne tō wāc wiga, · ne tō wanhȳdiġ,
  ne tō forht, ne tō fæġen, · ne tō feohġīfre,
  ne nǣfre ġielpes tō ġeorn, · ǣr hē ġeare cunne.
  Should not be too wrathful, nor too hasty in words,
  nor too weak warrior, nor too careless,
  nor too fearful, nor too joyful, nor too eager for money,
  nor ever too eager of pride, before he would know enough.

Descendants

Middle English: to
- English: to, too
- Geordie: te, tiv
- Scots: tae

Old High German

Preposition

to

alternative form of zuo

Old Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *só

Proto-Balto-Slavic *tas

Proto-Slavic *tъ

Proto-Slavic *to

Old Polish to

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to. First attested in the second half of the 14th century.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /tɔ/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /tɔ/

Particle

to

intensifying particle

Pronoun

to

relative and interrogative pronoun; this, that
possessive pronoun
indeterminate pronoun; this, that
introduction pronoun; this

Conjunction

to

then (in that case, used in if constructions)
clarifies a statement; namely
resultative conjunction; so
secondary clause equivalent in superordinate clauses

Descendants

Polish: to
Silesian: to

References

Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “to (partykuła)”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “to (rzeczownik (zaimek rzeczowny))”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk
B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “to”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
S. Urbańczyk, editor (1984), “to”, in Słownik staropolski (in Polish), volume 9, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Łódź: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 16

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

tuo, thuo, te, ti

Etymology

Proto-Germanic *tō, whence also Old English ti and Old High German zuo

Preposition

tō

to
as (In the role of)
- 9th c. Heliand, verse 60-64
  Erodes was an Hierusalem oƀer that Judeono folk gikoran te kuninge, sō ina thie kēser thārod, fon Rūmuburg rīki thiodan satta undar that gisīđi.
  Herodes was chosen as king in Jerusalem over the Jewish nation, so there the emperor, powerful ruler from Rome placed him among the servants.

Descendants

Middle Low German: tô
- Low German: to
- Plautdietsch: to
⇒ Old Saxon: tōtō, tōte
- Middle Low German: tôte, tote, tôt, tot

Pichinglis

Etymology

From English to.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Preposition

to

(rare) to

References

Kofi Yakpo (2019), A grammar of Pichi (Studies in Diversity Linguistics; 23)‎^[8], Berlin: Language Science Press, →DOI, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 576

Plautdietsch

Etymology

From Middle Low German tô, from Old Saxon tō, from Proto-West Germanic *tō.

Preposition

to

to

Derived terms

toom

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *só

Proto-Balto-Slavic *tas

Proto-Slavic *tъ

Proto-Slavic *to

Old Polish to

Polish to

Inherited from Old Polish to. Cognate with Czech to, Russian то (to), Ancient Greek τό (tó), German das, English that.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ/

(Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ/

Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)
Audio 3: (file)
Audio 4: (file)
Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: to

Conjunction

to

be (used to attribute to the known object a characteristic that helps one know more about the topic) [with jest ‘is’ (optionally) and nominative]
Janek to mój brat. ― Janek is my brother.

Górnicy to jest takie specyficzne społeczeństwo. ― Miners are such a peculiar society.
used to juxtapose elements that are equivalent
chcieć to móc
where there's a will, there's a way
(literally, “to want is to be able to”)

ciekawość to pierwszy stopień do piekła
curiosity killed the cat
(literally, “curiosity is the first step to hell”)
used to indicate that the subject of the conversation has peculiarities which are familiar to the interlocutors, so that nothing else needs to be said about it in order to understand the topic
Nasze straty są minimalne, ale bez śmierci się nie obejdzie. Wojna to wojna.
Our losses are minimal but some casualties are inevitable. War is war.

No, ale rozkaz to rozkaz. Nie mnie podważać.
Well, but an order is an order. Not for me to question.
(used in if-constructions)
in that case, then
Coordinate term: jeśli

„Wiem, co chcę zrobić.” „To to zrób”. ― “I know what I want to do.” “Then do it.”

Jeśli to zrobisz, to daj mi znać. ― If you do this, then let me know.

„Jeżeli zbuduję sobie kiedyś własny dom, to właśnie taki” – myślałam.
“If I ever build my own house one day, this is the one,” I thought.

Derived terms

conjunction

atoli

Particle

to

used to indicate what one is talking about
Parę razy mi się udało. Z jedną to nawet bardzo.
I have succeeded a couple of times. With one it was even very successful.
used to indicate what can be said about the topic, in contrast to all that cannot be said about it
W tych ścianach to ona była królową i musiała mieć królewskie wejście.
Within these walls, it was her who was the queen and had to have a royal entrance.
so (used after a pause for thought to introduce a new topic, question, or story, or a new thought or question in continuation of an existing topic)
Synonym: a

No to kiedy zaczynamy? ― So when are we starting?

OK, to do zobaczenia. ― OK, see you then.
used to indicate that the topic in the relevant question refers to a known set of elements from which a choice has to be made
Synonym: też

Od kiedy to morderstwo jest takim ewenementem? ― Since when is murder such a rarity?

Komu to przypadło dzisiaj kucharzowanie? ― Who is cooking today?
used to express surprise that something is indeed like that as the speaker did not think it could really be so
Synonyms: ale, co za, jaki

A to zdolniacha z wuja! ― Uncle really is gifted!

No, tośmy wczoraj mieli niezły bal! ― Well, we had quite a party yesterday!
(literary) used to indicate that the topic refers to a known object, mentioned in the preceding statement
O Czechosłowacji po roku 1968 dochodziły do nas ponure wiadomości, dlatego to starałem się przejechać ten kraj jak najszybciej mimo zmęczenia.
There was grim news about Czechoslovakia after 1968, which is why I tried to cross the country as quickly as possible despite my fatigue.
(colloquial) used to indicate that what someone has said about the topic is a fait accompli and should no longer be discussed
Spróbuj zaakceptować jego wady. Nikt nie jest kryształowy. Pali to pali, widziały gały co brały.
Try to accept his flaws. No one is perfect. OK, he smokes, so what? Big deal, you should've thought about it earlier.

Pronoun

to n

this (nearby, neuter)
Antonym: tamto

Inna rzecz, że nikt nie zwracał na niego szczególnej uwagi; to go dziwiło.
The other thing was that no one paid any particular attention to him; this surprised him.
used to point to the object to which the sentence refers
Synonym: oto

Ewa, to Andrzej. ― Ewa, this is Andrzej.

Declension

Declension of to

	singular	plural
nominative	to	te
genitive	tego	tych
dative	temu	tym/tem (archaic)
accusative	to	te
instrumental	tym/tem (archaic)	tymi/temi (archaic)
locative	tym/tem (archaic)	tych
vocative	to	te

Derived terms

adverbs

ni to, ni sio

particles

i to

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), to is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 655 times in scientific texts, 307 times in news, 880 times in essays, 1038 times in fiction, and 2233 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 5113 times, making it the 11th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[1]

References

^ Ida Kurcz (1990), “to”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language]‎^[1] (in Polish), volume 605, Kraków; Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 2

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /tu/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /to/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /tu/

Audio (Portugal (Porto)): (file)
Hyphenation: to

Contraction

to (feminine ta)

contraction of te +‎ o, literally “him/it to you (familiar singular)”

Selepet

Noun

to

water

References

K. A. McElhanon, Selepet grammar (1972)
William A. Foley, The Papuan Languages of New Guinea (1986, →ISBN, page 257

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tôː/

Pronoun

tȏ (Cyrillic spelling то̑)

neuter nominative/accusative singular of taj

Silesian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *só

Proto-Balto-Slavic *tas

Proto-Slavic *tъ

Proto-Slavic *to

Old Polish to

Silesian to

Inherited from Old Polish to.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: to

Pronoun

to n

this (nearby, neuter)
used to point to the object to which the sentence refers

Particle

to

intensifier particle in questions

Conjunction

to

in that case, then (used in if-constructions)

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to.

Pronoun

to

nominative/accusative neuter singular of ten: it, this, that

Slovene

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tóː/

Pronoun

tọ̑

inflection of ta:
1. accusative singular feminine
2. nominative/accusative singular neuter

Tagalog

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈto/ [ˈt̪o]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: to

Adjective

to (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜓ)

alternative spelling of 'to

Pronoun

to (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜓ)

alternative spelling of 'to

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dʰowh₂ōn, from the root *dʰewh₂-.

Noun

to m

(detachable) body hair on the human body (especially pubic hair)

Tooro

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-tòó.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /to/

Adjective

-to (declinable)

young
Synonym: -hyaka (“new”)

Antonym: -kuru (“old, senior”)

Declension

Inflected forms of *-to*
Noun class	indefinite		definite
Noun class	singular	plural	singular	plural
1/2	muto	bato	omuto	abato
3/4	muto	mito	omuto	emito
5/6	lito	mato	erito	amato
7/8	kito	bito	ekito	ebito
9/10	nto	nto	ento	ento
11/10	ruto	nto	oruto	ento
12/14	kato	buto	akato	obuto
13	—	tuto	—	otuto
14/6	buto	mato	obuto	amato
15/6	kuto	mato	okuto	amato
16	hato	—	ahato	—

References

Entry 7185 at Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3
Kaji, Shigeki (2007), A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[9], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 373

Tututni

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Noun

to

(Euchre Creek) water

References

Victor Golla, Tututni (Oregon Athapaskan), International Journal of American Linguistics, volume 42:3 (July 1976), pages 217-227

Uzbek

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic طَاء (ṭāʔ).

Noun

to (plural tolar)

the Arabic letter ط

Declension

Declension of to
	singular	plural
nominative	to	tolar
genitive	toning	tolarning
dative	toga	tolarga
definite accusative	toni	tolarni
locative	toda	tolarda
ablative	todan	tolardan
similative	todek	tolardek

Possessive forms of to
1^st person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	toim	tolarim
genitive	toimning	tolarimning
dative	toimga	tolarimga
definite accusative	toimni	tolarimni
locative	toimda	tolarimda
ablative	toimdan	tolarimdan
similative	toimdek	tolarimdek

2^nd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	toing	tolaring
genitive	toingning	tolaringning
dative	toingga	tolaringga
definite accusative	toingni	tolaringni
locative	toingda	tolaringda
ablative	toingdan	tolaringdan
similative	toingdek	tolaringdek

3^rd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	toi	tolari
genitive	toining	tolarining
dative	toiga	tolariga
definite accusative	toini	tolarini
locative	toida	tolarida
ablative	toidan	tolaridan
similative	toidek	tolaridek

1^st person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	toimiz	tolarimiz
genitive	toimizning	tolarimizning
dative	toimizga	tolarimizga
definite accusative	toimizni	tolarimizni
locative	toimizda	tolarimizda
ablative	toimizdan	tolarimizdan
similative	toimizdek	tolarimizdek

2^nd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	toingiz	tolaringiz
genitive	toingizning	tolaringizning
dative	toingizga	tolaringizga
definite accusative	toingizni	tolaringizni
locative	toingizda	tolaringizda
ablative	toingizdan	tolaringizdan
similative	toingizdek	tolaringizdek

3^rd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	toi	tolari
genitive	toining	tolarining
dative	toiga	tolariga
definite accusative	toini	tolarini
locative	toida	tolarida
ablative	toidan	tolaridan
similative	toidek	tolaridek

Vietnamese

Etymology

Compare Thai โต (dtoo), Lao ໂຕ (tō), Lü ᦷᦎ (ṫo).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tɔ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [tɔ˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [tɔ˧˧]

Adjective

to • (蘇, 𡚢, 𫰅, 𡚡)

Usage notes

In many situations, this word and lớn are interchangeable:
nhà to mà chẳng ai ở ― a big house where no one lives in

căn nhà lớn trên đỉnh đồi ― a big house on top of the hill
However, for body parts, it seems like only to is used:
tai to ― big ears

Votic

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian то (to).

Pronunciation

(Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈto/, [ˈto]
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation: to

Conjunction

to

(if ...) then
or else

References

Hallap, V.; Adler, E.; Grünberg, S.; Leppik, M. (2012), “to”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *toɣ (“covering”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /toː/
Rhymes: -oː

Noun

to m (plural toeau or toeon)

roof
Synonym: pen tŷ

Derived terms

aderyn y to, llwyd y to (“house sparrow”)
bondo (“eaves”)
gwallt to (“combover”)
rhoi'r ffidil yn y to (“to give up”, literally “to put the fiddle in the roof”)
to bach (“circumflex”)
to gwellt (“thatched roof”)
toi (“to roof, to tile, to thatch”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of to
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
to	do	nho	tho

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Yola

Particle

to

alternative form of ta
- 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 14, page 90:
  Shoo ya aam zim to doone, as w' be doone nowe;
  She gave them some to do, as we are doing now;
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 93:
  A near a haapney to paay a peepeare.
  Had ne'er a halfpenny to pay the piper.
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 94:
  Wee aar lhaung vlealès an pikkès, to waaite apan a breede.
  With their long flails and picks, to wait upon the bride.

Preposition

to

alternative form of ta
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
  Coome to thee met.
  Come to thy meat.
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 94:
  Hea marreet dear Phielim to his sweet Jauane.
  He married dear Phelim to his sweet Joan.

References

Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 31

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Verb

tò

(transitive) to arrange, to line up
(transitive) to order, to put things in order
(intransitive) to become ordered, to become arranged

Usage notes

to before a direct object

Derived terms

atò
to eegun
títò (“ordering”)
ètò (“process”)
ìtò

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tò/

Verb

tò

(Ekiti, Ondo) to talk incessantly; to gossip
Synonym: rò

Ẹjọ́ kúwe é tò
What are you gossiping about?
(literally, “What matter are you talking incessantly about?”)

Usage notes

to before a direct object

Derived terms

tojọ́
ètítò (“word”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tó/

Verb

tó

(intransitive) to be enough, to be worthy, to be sufficient, to amount to
(intransitive) to be comparable to
gíga a rẹ̀ẹ́ tó erin ― His tallness is comparable to an elephant

Usage notes

It is a common verb in Yoruba names affirming the worthiness of entities like the orisha. (Ex. Ògúntósìn (“A Yoruba name meaning, "Ogun is worthy of being worshipped."”)).

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tó/

Verb

tó

to reach up to
ọwọ́ mi kò tó o ― My hand does not reach it
to be visible, to be comprehensible

Zazaki

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *túH, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Related to Persian (to).

Pronoun

to

(informal) you (sg., acc.)

[1] “to”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

[2] Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1991), A Comparative Phonology of Gbe (Publications in African Languages and Linguistics; 14), Berlin/New York; Garome, Benin: Foris Publications & Labo Gbe (Int), page 215

[3] Ida Kurcz (1990), “to”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language]‎^[1] (in Polish), volume 605, Kraków; Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 2

[1]

[1]

[1]

	singular	plural
1st person	mo mwa (objective)	nou
2nd person	to (informal), ou (formal) twa (objective)	zot
3rd person	li	zot, bann-la

Translingual

Etymology

Symbol

English

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Particle

Derived terms

Translations

Conjunction

Translations

Preposition

Usage notes

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Adverb

Usage notes

Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Particle

References

Anagrams

Abinomn

Noun

Ao

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Asturian

Etymology 1

Adjective

Related terms

Etymology 2

Verb

Further reading

Babine-Witsuwit'en

Etymology

Noun

References

Babuza

Etymology

Noun

References

Bahnar

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Bambara

Noun

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

References

Further reading

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Further reading

Dalmatian

Etymology

Pronoun

See also

Danish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Numeral

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Esperanto

Pronunciation