Pattern · Meaning & Expression· Lexicon & Collocation
Switching a Device On
Which verb makes a machine start working?
A lamp, an air conditioner, recorded music, a vacuum cleaner and a washing machine each need a verb. Some languages reach for fire, some for opening or rotation, some for the plain act of putting a thing down. The choice also shifts from appliance to appliance within one language: Japanese attaches a light and hangs music, where Korean kindles the light and rotates the washing machine.
Strategies
Fire and light
KINDLE / MAKE BRIGHT → switch onAway from the switch, this verb lights a lamp or strikes a match. Korean 켜다 kyeoda lights an oil lamp, Spanish encender continues Latin incendere, Swahili washa sets something on fire. Persian روشن کردن rowšan kardan works from brightness instead of flame.
Korean · 불을 켜다 bul-eul kyeodaFrench · allumer la lumièreSpanish · encender la luzItalian · accendere la lucePortuguese · acender a luzPolish · zapalić światłoGreek (Modern) · ανάβω το φως anávo to fosIndonesian · menyalakan lampuHindi · बत्ती जलाना battī jalānāPersian (Farsi) · چراغ را روشن کردن čerâq râ rowšan kardanHebrew (Modern) · להדליק אור lehadlik orSwahili · kuwasha taaWelsh · cynnau'r golau
Opening
OPEN → switch onA door, a lid and a knot take the same verb. Mandarin 開 kāi, Turkish açmak, Thai เปิด pə̀ət, Vietnamese mở and Greek ανοίγω all reach the switch this way. In Turkish and Thai one verb covers the lamp, the air conditioner and the music alike.
Mandarin Chinese · 開燈 kāi dēngGreek (Modern) · ανοίγω το κλιματιστικόTurkish · ışığı açmakThai · เปิดไฟ pə̀ət faiVietnamese · mở nhạc
Turning
TURN / TWIST / ROTATE → switch onKnobs and taps left their mark here. English turn on and Korean 틀다 teulda come from twisting a control, while Korean 돌리다 dollida, Japanese 回す mawasu and Indonesian memutar name a drum or a disc going round.
English · turn on the lightJapanese · 洗濯機を回す sentakuki o mawasuKorean · 에어컨을 틀다 eeokeon-eul teuldaIndonesian · memutar musik
Connecting and switching
JOIN / FLIP → switch onMaking and breaking a connection. Russian включить and Polish włączyć are built on joining and enclosing, calqued on Latin inclūdere, and Portuguese ligar is Latin ligāre, to bind. German einschalten uses schalten, to shift; Vietnamese bật snaps.
English · switch onPortuguese · ligar o ar-condicionadoGerman · das Licht einschaltenRussian · включить свет vključit’ svetPolish · włączyć klimatyzacjęVietnamese · bật đèn
Placing
PUT / HANG / LET GO → switch onHere the thing gets put somewhere, or let loose. French mettre, Spanish poner, Greek βάζω and Hebrew לשים lasim all put music on, where Mandarin 放 fàng and Polish puścić release it. Japanese つける tsukeru attaches and かける kakeru hangs.
Mandarin Chinese · 放音樂 fàng yīnyuèJapanese · 電気をつける denki o tsukeruFrench · mettre de la musiqueSpanish · poner músicaItalian · mettere la musicaPortuguese · pôr músicaGerman · Musik auflegenDutch · het licht aanzettenPolish · puścić muzykęGreek (Modern) · βάζω μουσική vázo mousikíPersian (Farsi) · آهنگ گذاشتن âhang gozâštanHebrew (Modern) · לשים מוזיקה lasim muzika
Running and doing
MAKE GO / DO THE JOB → switch onThe verb names the machine working or the job getting done. Hindi चलाना calānā is the causative of “go”; Turkish çalıştırmak makes it work; Indonesian menghidupkan makes it live, and mematikan makes it die; German staubsaugen and Polish odkurzać are built out of the appliance itself.
English · vacuum the floorMandarin Chinese · 用洗衣機 yòng xǐyījīFrench · passer l'aspirateurSpanish · pasar la aspiradoraItalian · fare la lavatriceGerman · staubsaugenDutch · stofzuigenRussian · пропылесосить propylesosit’Polish · odkurzaćTurkish · çamaşır makinesini çalıştırmakThai · ดูดฝุ่น dùut fùnVietnamese · hút bụiIndonesian · menghidupkan ACHindi · मशीन चलाना maśīn calānāHebrew (Modern) · להפעיל מכונת כביסה lehaf‘il mekhonat kvisa
Geographic distribution
Each dot is one attested language, coloured by the strategy it uses. Click a dot for the surface form.
Marker positions are approximate cultural centres — they are not territorial claims. Tiles: OpenFreeMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Dark tiles: © CARTO.
Language comparison
| Language | Strategy | Expression | Origin & overlap | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
English Indo-European › Germanic | Turning | turn on the light | from rotary switches and taps | |
English Indo-European › Germanic | Connecting and switching | switch on | ||
English Indo-European › Germanic | Running and doing | vacuum the floor | denominal verb from the appliance | |
Mandarin Chinese Sino-Tibetan › Sinitic | Opening | 開燈 kāi dēng | ||
Mandarin Chinese Sino-Tibetan › Sinitic | Placing | 放音樂 fàng yīnyuè | ||
Mandarin Chinese Sino-Tibetan › Sinitic | Running and doing | 用洗衣機 yòng xǐyījī | ||
Japanese Japonic | Placing | 電気をつける denki o tsukeru | つける is 付ける, to attach; the spelling 点ける marks the lighting sense | |
Japanese Japonic | Turning | 洗濯機を回す sentakuki o mawasu | ||
Korean Koreanic | Fire and light | 불을 켜다 bul-eul kyeoda | ||
Korean Koreanic | Turning | 에어컨을 틀다 eeokeon-eul teulda | 틀다 is to twist; 돌리다 is to make something rotate | |
French Indo-European › Romance | Fire and light | allumer la lumière | ||
French Indo-European › Romance | Placing | mettre de la musique | ||
French Indo-European › Romance | Running and doing | passer l'aspirateur | ||
Spanish Indo-European › Romance | Fire and light | encender la luz | ||
Spanish Indo-European › Romance | Placing | poner música | ||
Spanish Indo-European › Romance | Running and doing | pasar la aspiradora | ||
Italian Indo-European › Romance | Fire and light | accendere la luce | ||
Italian Indo-European › Romance | Placing | mettere la musica | ||
Italian Indo-European › Romance | Running and doing | fare la lavatrice | ||
Portuguese Indo-European › Romance | Connecting and switching | ligar o ar-condicionado | ligar is Latin ligāre, to bind | |
Portuguese Indo-European › Romance | Fire and light | acender a luz | ||
Portuguese Indo-European › Romance | Placing | pôr música | ||
German Indo-European › Germanic | Connecting and switching | das Licht einschalten | ||
German Indo-European › Germanic | Placing | Musik auflegen | auflegen, to lay on — from the record player | |
German Indo-European › Germanic | Running and doing | staubsaugen | ||
Dutch Indo-European › Germanic | Placing | het licht aanzetten | zetten, to set; the particle aan carries “on” | |
Dutch Indo-European › Germanic | Running and doing | stofzuigen | ||
Russian Indo-European › Slavic | Connecting and switching | включить свет vključit’ svet | ||
Russian Indo-European › Slavic | Running and doing | пропылесосить propylesosit’ | ||
Polish Indo-European › Slavic | Fire and light | zapalić światło | ||
Polish Indo-European › Slavic | Connecting and switching | włączyć klimatyzację | ||
Polish Indo-European › Slavic | Placing | puścić muzykę | puścić, to let go — the same move as Mandarin 放 | |
Polish Indo-European › Slavic | Running and doing | odkurzać | ||
Greek (Modern) Indo-European › Hellenic | Fire and light | ανάβω το φως anávo to fos | ||
Greek (Modern) Indo-European › Hellenic | Opening | ανοίγω το κλιματιστικό | ||
Greek (Modern) Indo-European › Hellenic | Placing | βάζω μουσική vázo mousikí | ||
Turkish Turkic › Oghuz | Opening | ışığı açmak | ||
Turkish Turkic › Oghuz | Running and doing | çamaşır makinesini çalıştırmak | ||
Thai Tai-Kadai › Tai | Opening | เปิดไฟ pə̀ət fai | ||
Thai Tai-Kadai › Tai | Running and doing | ดูดฝุ่น dùut fùn | literally “suck dust” | |
Vietnamese Austroasiatic › Vietic | Connecting and switching | bật đèn | bật, to snap or bounce | |
Vietnamese Austroasiatic › Vietic | Opening | mở nhạc | ||
Vietnamese Austroasiatic › Vietic | Running and doing | hút bụi | ||
Indonesian Austronesian › Malayic | Fire and light | menyalakan lampu | nyala is flame | |
Indonesian Austronesian › Malayic | Running and doing | menghidupkan AC | hidup is alive; mati, dead, turns it off | |
Indonesian Austronesian › Malayic | Turning | memutar musik | ||
Hindi Indo-European › Indo-Aryan | Fire and light | बत्ती जलाना battī jalānā | ||
Hindi Indo-European › Indo-Aryan | Running and doing | मशीन चलाना maśīn calānā | ||
Persian (Farsi) Indo-European › Iranian | Fire and light | چراغ را روشن کردن čerâq râ rowšan kardan | rowšan is bright | |
Persian (Farsi) Indo-European › Iranian | Placing | آهنگ گذاشتن âhang gozâštan | ||
Hebrew (Modern) Afro-Asiatic › Semitic | Fire and light | להדליק אור lehadlik or | ||
Hebrew (Modern) Afro-Asiatic › Semitic | Placing | לשים מוזיקה lasim muzika | ||
Hebrew (Modern) Afro-Asiatic › Semitic | Running and doing | להפעיל מכונת כביסה lehaf‘il mekhonat kvisa | lehaf‘il, to activate, from פעל, to act | |
Swahili Atlantic-Congo › Bantu | Fire and light | kuwasha taa | washa, to set on fire; zima, to extinguish, turns it off | |
Welsh Indo-European › Celtic | Fire and light | cynnau'r golau |
Which verb for which appliance
Read across a row for one language handling five appliances; read down a column for one appliance across languages. Fire dominates the lamp column. Music draws placing and letting-go verbs, and the washing machine draws rotation alongside a plain “do the washing”. Where a language reuses one verb down several rows, the run of a single colour shows it.
| Language | the light An electric lamp, heir to the candle and the oil lamp. | the air conditioner A machine with no pre-electric ancestor to borrow words from. | music Putting on a record, a tape, a file. | the vacuum cleaner A hand tool that has to be pushed across a floor. | the washing machine A drum that turns for an hour unattended. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English Indo-European › Germanic | turn on the light Turning | turn on the AC Turning | put on music / play music Placing | vacuum (the floor) Running and doing the appliance became the verb | do the washing / run a load Running and doing |
Mandarin Chinese Sino-Tibetan › Sinitic | 開燈 kāi dēng Opening open the light | 開冷氣 / 開空調 kāi lěngqì Opening open the cold air | 放音樂 fàng yīnyuè Placing release the music | 用吸塵器 yòng xīchénqì Running and doing use the dust-sucker | 用洗衣機 yòng xǐyījī Running and doing use the clothes-washer |
Japanese Japonic | 電気をつける denki o tsukeru Placing attach the electricity; spelled 点ける in the lighting sense | エアコンをつける eakon o tsukeru Placing attach the air conditioner | 音楽をかける ongaku o kakeru Placing hang the music | 掃除機をかける sōjiki o kakeru Placing hang the cleaner | 洗濯機をまわす sentakuki o mawasu Turning turn the washer |
Korean Koreanic | 불을 켜다 bul-eul kyeoda Fire and light kindle the light | 에어컨을 틀다 eeokeon-eul teulda Turning twist the air conditioner | 음악을 틀다 eumak-eul teulda Turning twist the music | 청소기를 돌리다 cheongsogi-reul dollida Turning make the cleaner rotate | 세탁기를 돌리다 setakgi-reul dollida Turning make the washer rotate |
French Indo-European › Romance | allumer la lumière Fire and light light it up | allumer / mettre la clim Fire and light | mettre de la musique Placing put some music | passer l'aspirateur Running and doing pass the vacuum | lancer une machine Running and doing launch a machine |
Spanish Indo-European › Romance | encender la luz Fire and light from Latin incendere | poner el aire Placing put the air | poner música Placing | pasar la aspiradora Running and doing pass the vacuum | poner la lavadora Placing |
Italian Indo-European › Romance | accendere la luce Fire and light from Latin accendere, to kindle | accendere il condizionatore Fire and light | mettere la musica Placing | passare l'aspirapolvere Running and doing | fare la lavatrice Running and doing do the washer |
Portuguese Indo-European › Romance | acender / ligar a luz Fire and light | ligar o ar-condicionado Connecting and switching connect it, from Latin ligāre | pôr música Placing | passar o aspirador Running and doing | pôr a máquina de lavar Placing |
German Indo-European › Germanic | das Licht einschalten / anmachen Connecting and switching schalten, to shift a switch | die Klimaanlage einschalten Connecting and switching | Musik auflegen / anmachen Placing lay the record on | staubsaugen Running and doing dust-suck | die Waschmaschine anstellen Placing stellen, to set |
Dutch Indo-European › Germanic | het licht aandoen / aanzetten Placing set it on | de airco aanzetten Placing | muziek opzetten Placing set it up | stofzuigen Running and doing dust-suck | de wasmachine aanzetten Placing |
Russian Indo-European › Slavic | включить свет vključit’ svet Connecting and switching calqued on Latin inclūdere, to enclose | включить кондиционер Connecting and switching | включить / поставить музыку Connecting and switching поставить, to stand it up, is the placing alternative | пропылесосить propylesosit’ Running and doing a verb made from пылесос, dust-sucker | запустить стирку Running and doing launch the wash |
Polish Indo-European › Slavic | zapalić światło Fire and light ignite the light | włączyć klimatyzację Connecting and switching w- plus łączyć, to join | puścić muzykę Placing let the music go | odkurzać Running and doing de-dust | nastawić pralkę Placing set the washer |
Greek (Modern) Indo-European › Hellenic | ανάβω το φως anávo to fos Fire and light from Ancient Greek ἀνάπτω, to kindle | ανοίγω το κλιματιστικό Opening | βάζω μουσική vázo mousikí Placing | — | βάζω πλυντήριο vázo plyntírio Placing put the washer |
Turkish Turkic › Oghuz | ışığı açmak Opening open the light | klimayı açmak Opening | müzik açmak Opening | süpürmek Running and doing sweep — the same verb as with a broom | çamaşır makinesini çalıştırmak Running and doing make the washer work |
Thai Tai-Kadai › Tai | เปิดไฟ pə̀ət fai Opening open the light | เปิดแอร์ pə̀ət ɛɛ Opening | เปิดเพลง pə̀ət phleeng Opening | ดูดฝุ่น dùut fùn Running and doing suck dust | ซักผ้า sák phâa Running and doing wash the clothes |
Vietnamese Austroasiatic › Vietic | bật đèn Connecting and switching snap the lamp | bật điều hòa Connecting and switching | mở nhạc / bật nhạc Opening open the music | hút bụi Running and doing suck dust | — |
Indonesian Austronesian › Malayic | menyalakan lampu Fire and light from nyala, flame | menghidupkan AC Running and doing make it live | memutar musik Turning from putar, to turn | menyedot debu Running and doing suck dust | — |
Hindi Indo-European › Indo-Aryan | बत्ती जलाना battī jalānā Fire and light burn the light | एसी चलाना esī calānā Running and doing make the AC go | गाना बजाना gānā bajānā Running and doing make the song sound | — | मशीन चलाना maśīn calānā Running and doing |
Persian (Farsi) Indo-European › Iranian | چراغ را روشن کردن čerâq râ rowšan kardan Fire and light make the lamp bright | کولر را روشن کردن kulir râ rowšan kardan Fire and light | آهنگ گذاشتن âhang gozâštan Placing put a song | — | ماشین لباسشویی را روشن کردن mâšin-e lebâsšuyi râ rowšan kardan Fire and light |
Hebrew (Modern) Afro-Asiatic › Semitic | להדליק אור lehadlik or Fire and light kindle a light | להדליק מזגן lehadlik mazgan Fire and light | לשים מוזיקה lasim muzika Placing put music | — | להפעיל מכונת כביסה lehaf‘il mekhonat kvisa Running and doing activate the washer |
Swahili Atlantic-Congo › Bantu | kuwasha taa Fire and light set the lamp alight; kuzima, to extinguish, turns it off | kuwasha kiyoyozi Fire and light | — | — | — |
Welsh Indo-European › Celtic | cynnau'r golau Fire and light kindle the light | — | — | — | — |
Examples
Toggle between Natural / Literal / Gloss to see how each language conceptualises the same idea.
“Turn the light on.”
The oldest of the five appliances, and the one that inherited the vocabulary of flame.
Japanese · 日本語
電気をつけて。
denki o tsukete.
- Natural
- Turn the light on.
Korean · 한국어
불 좀 켜 줘.
bul jom kyeo jwo.
- Natural
- Turn the light on, would you.
Mandarin Chinese · 普通话
把燈打開。
bǎ dēng dǎkāi.
- Natural
- Turn the light on.
Swahili · Kiswahili
Washa taa.
- Natural
- Turn the light on.
References
- @mkpoli 2022 01@mkpoli (2022).英中日韓の家電製品系共起表現 [English–Chinese–Japanese–Korean household-appliance collocations].X (Twitter), 8 October 2022. Extends the Japanese–Korean grid to English and Chinese and adds a literal gloss under each verb; speaker judgements, without corpus counts. https://x.com/mkpoli/status/1578603868413624320
- François 2008 02François, Alexandre (2008).Semantic maps and the typology of colexification: Intertwining polysemous networks across languages.In Vanhove, Martine (eds.), From Polysemy to Semantic Change: Towards a Typology of Lexical Semantic Associations. John Benjamins (Studies in Language Companion Series 106). 163–215. https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027290328-slcs.106.09fra
- Koptjevskaja-Tamm et al. 2016 03Koptjevskaja-Tamm, Maria; Rakhilina, Ekaterina; Vanhove, Martine (2016).The semantics of lexical typology.In Riemer, Nick (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Semantics. Routledge. 434–454. https://www.ling.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.196379.1403771108!/menu/standard/file/MKT+ER+MV.pdf
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- Wiktionary contributors 2026 21Wiktionary contributors (2026).Wiktionary: menghidupkan.
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- ゆうき 유욱희 (@yuki7979seoul) 2022 27ゆうき 유욱희 (@yuki7979seoul) (2022).日韓家電製品系コロケーション [Japanese–Korean household-appliance collocations].X (Twitter), 8 October 2022. Japanese–Korean grid of five appliances; a language teacher’s own judgements, without corpus counts. https://x.com/yuki7979seoul/status/1578561594753441793