Adequate in Different Languages
Discover 'Adequate' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'adequate' is a common English term that conveys the idea of sufficiency or being enough for a particular purpose. Its significance lies in its ability to express the notion of meeting minimum requirements or expectations. This concept is not limited to English-speaking cultures, but is universal, making the understanding of 'adequate' and its translations crucial in cross-cultural communication.
Through history, the word 'adequate' has been used in various contexts, from philosophical discussions about the 'adequate' idea to practical applications in business and daily life. Its cultural importance is evident in the way it bridges the gap between different languages and cultures, allowing for a shared understanding of what is 'enough'.
For those interested in language and culture, understanding the translations of 'adequate' can provide valuable insights into how different cultures perceive sufficiency. Here are a few sample translations to pique your curiosity:
- French: adéquat
- Spanish: adecuado
- German: ausreichend
- Mandarin: 足够 (zúgòu)
- Japanese: 十分 (jūbun)
Stay tuned for a comprehensive list of 'adequate' translations in various languages, providing you with a global perspective on this simple, yet powerful word.
Adequate
Adequate in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | voldoende | ||
| The Afrikaans word "voldoende" originates from the Dutch word "voldoen," meaning "to satisfy" or "to meet a requirement." | |||
| Amharic | በቂ | ||
| The Amharic word "በቂ" can also mean "necessary" or "sufficient" depending on context. | |||
| Hausa | isasshe | ||
| The word "isasshe" is an Hausa word that can also mean "comfortable" or "enough." | |||
| Igbo | zuru ezu | ||
| The term "zuru ezu" has a secondary meaning of "very beautiful," suggesting an adequate beauty that meets expectations. | |||
| Malagasy | sahaza | ||
| Sahaza also means "comfortable" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zokwanira | ||
| "Zokwanira" derives from the verb "kwanira," meaning "to suffice," and the noun class prefix "zo-" indicating abstract nouns. | |||
| Shona | zvakakwana | ||
| The word "zvakakwana" in Shona can also refer to something that is complete or satisfactory. | |||
| Somali | ku filan | ||
| The word "ku filan" in Somali can also mean "to be full" or "to be satisfied" | |||
| Sesotho | lekane | ||
| Lekane may be derived from the Proto-Bantu root *-kan- "to be sufficient, enough". | |||
| Swahili | kutosha | ||
| "Kutosha" can also mean "to be enough" or "to be sufficient". | |||
| Xhosa | yanele | ||
| Yanele, meaning "adequate" in Xhosa, is also used to describe a person who is competent or capable. | |||
| Yoruba | deedee | ||
| The Yoruba word "deedee" can also mean "very good" or "in good condition." | |||
| Zulu | ezanele | ||
| The word "ezanele" in Zulu can also mean "sufficient" or "enough". | |||
| Bambara | bɛrɛbɛnlen | ||
| Ewe | si de | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bihagije | ||
| Lingala | ebongi | ||
| Luganda | okumala | ||
| Sepedi | lekanetšego | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛso | ||
Adequate in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | كاف | ||
| The Arabic word "كاف" also means "enough" or "sufficient" | |||
| Hebrew | נאות | ||
| The word "נאות" also means "beautiful" and "pleasant" in Hebrew, reflecting its dual nature as both a practical and an aesthetic concept. | |||
| Pashto | کافي | ||
| The word "کافي" also means "enough" or "sufficient" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | كاف | ||
| The Arabic word "كاف" also means "enough" or "sufficient" | |||
Adequate in Western European Languages
| Albanian | adekuate | ||
| Albanian word "adekuate" derives from "adequate" in English, which comes from Latin "aequus" meaning "equal; just; right." | |||
| Basque | egokia | ||
| This word derives from the Basque phrase “gaua ondo” (“good night”), which in turn derives from the proto-Basque words *gau- (“night”) and *ondo- (“good, fine”). | |||
| Catalan | adequat | ||
| In Catalan, "adequat" can also mean "convenient" or "suitable" | |||
| Croatian | adekvatan | ||
| "Adekvatan" means "proportional" or "corresponding" in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | tilstrækkelig | ||
| The word "tilstrækkelig" derives from the Old Norse word "tilstrecka" meaning "to stretch to" or "to be sufficient" | |||
| Dutch | voldoende | ||
| The Dutch word "voldoende" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *fullianą, meaning "to satisfy" or "to fill up." | |||
| English | adequate | ||
| The word "adequate" originates from the Latin word "adaequare," meaning "to make equal" or "to correspond to." | |||
| French | adéquat | ||
| The French word "adéquat" comes from the Latin word "adaequatus", meaning "equal" or "level". | |||
| Frisian | adekwaat | ||
| "Adequate" in Frisian also refers to a piece of clothing or garment. | |||
| Galician | adecuado | ||
| "Adecuado" deriva del latín "adaequatus", que significa "igualar", o "ajustar", y es sinónimo de "idóneo". | |||
| German | angemessene | ||
| The word "angemessene" derives from the Middle High German word "gemezzen", meaning "measured" or "proportioned." | |||
| Icelandic | fullnægjandi | ||
| The word "fullnægjandi" is derived from the Old Norse word "fullnægr", meaning "sufficient" or "satisfactory". | |||
| Irish | leordhóthanach | ||
| The Irish word "leordhóthanach" (adequate) has a more literal meaning of "what satisfies requirement". | |||
| Italian | adeguato | ||
| The word "adeguato" derives from the Latin "adaequatus", meaning "equalized" or "made even". | |||
| Luxembourgish | adäquat | ||
| "Adäquat" can mean "adequate" in Luxembourgish, but also "convenient". | |||
| Maltese | adegwat | ||
| The Maltese word "adegwat" is derived from the Arabic word "kâfi" and is also used informally to mean "enough" or "passable". | |||
| Norwegian | tilstrekkelig | ||
| The word "tilstrekkelig" likely comes from the Old Norse "tilstrekjende", itself derived from the Proto-Germanic "*til-strak-" ("up to the mark"). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | adequado | ||
| In Portuguese, "adequado" comes from the Latin "adaequare" (to make equal) and can also mean "suitable" or "appropriate". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | iomchaidh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "iomchaidh" also means "sufficient", "suitable" or "worthy" depending on the context. | |||
| Spanish | adecuado | ||
| The Spanish word "adecuado" originally meant "adapted", from Latin "adaequare" (to make equal), and was only later used to mean "sufficient or satisfactory" | |||
| Swedish | lämplig | ||
| In Swedish, "lämplig" originates from "lämpa," which means "to adapt" or "to adjust to something." | |||
| Welsh | digonol | ||
| In Welsh the word "digonol" also means "enough" or "sufficient". | |||
Adequate in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | адэкватны | ||
| "Адэкватны" (adequate) comes from Latin "adaequare" - "to equalize" and "ad" (to) + "aequare" (to equate). Also used in the meaning of "normal" and "corresponding (to something)". | |||
| Bosnian | adekvatno | ||
| The word "adekvatno" comes from Latin "adaequatus" and means "equal", "similar" or "proportional". | |||
| Bulgarian | адекватен | ||
| Bulgarian "адекватен" is derived from the Latin word "adaequare", meaning "to make equal" or "to fit". | |||
| Czech | adekvátní | ||
| The word "adekvátní" in Czech originates from the Latin word "adaequatus", meaning "equal" or "equivalent". | |||
| Estonian | piisav | ||
| Piisav derives from the Proto-Uralic word *pičə meaning “drop, point, mark”. | |||
| Finnish | riittävä | ||
| "Riittävä" is derived from "riittää" meaning "to suffice". | |||
| Hungarian | megfelelő | ||
| Megfelelő comes from the verb "megfelel" meaning "to correspond to". "Fe" is the stem of the verb "felel" ("to answer"). | |||
| Latvian | adekvāti | ||
| In archaic or literary use, the Latvian word "adekvāti" can mean "suitable", "befitting" or "proportionate". | |||
| Lithuanian | tinkamas | ||
| The word "tinkamas" has no alternate meanings and comes from the verb "tikti", meaning "to fit, to suit, to comply with certain criteria" | |||
| Macedonian | адекватно | ||
| The Macedonian word "адекватно" also means "sufficiently" or "in sufficient quantity". | |||
| Polish | odpowiedni | ||
| The word "odpowiedni" comes from the Old Polish word "odpowiedzieć", meaning "to answer". This is because the word originally meant "fit for a purpose". | |||
| Romanian | adecvat | ||
| In Romanian, "adecvat" also means "conforming to a standard, requirement, or purpose."} | |||
| Russian | адекватный | ||
| "Адекватный" originated from the Latin "adaequatio," meaning "to match" or "to equal". | |||
| Serbian | адекватно | ||
| The word "адекватно" in Serbian can also mean appropriate and competent. | |||
| Slovak | adekvátne | ||
| The Slovak word "adekvátne" comes from Latin "adaequare", meaning "to make equal" or "to fit". | |||
| Slovenian | ustrezna | ||
| The word "ustrezna" in Slovenian is derived from the Old Slavic word "ustre", which means "to meet" or "to satisfy" and can also mean "proper" or "suitable". | |||
| Ukrainian | адекватний | ||
| The Ukrainian word "адекватний" can also mean "satisfactory" or "appropriate". | |||
Adequate in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পর্যাপ্ত | ||
| "পর্যাপ্ত" comes from the Sanskrit root "par"," full" + "yapt" "accomplish." It also can mean "ready" and "competent." | |||
| Gujarati | પર્યાપ્ત | ||
| Hindi | पर्याप्त | ||
| The word "पर्याप्त" is derived from the Sanskrit word "परि" (around) and "आप" (water), meaning "surrounded by water" or "sufficient". | |||
| Kannada | ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು | ||
| The word ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು can also mean 'enough' or 'sufficient'. | |||
| Malayalam | മതിയായ | ||
| Marathi | पुरेशी | ||
| The Marathi word "पुरेशी" is cognate with the Sanskrit word "पर्याप्त" and the Avestan word "paourvya". | |||
| Nepali | पर्याप्त | ||
| पर्याप्त is derived from the Sanskrit word 'par-yap', meaning 'to join sufficiently'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਾਫ਼ੀ | ||
| The word "ਕਾਫ਼ੀ" in Punjabi has roots in Persian and alternatively means "sufficient" or "enough." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්රමාණවත් | ||
| The word "ප්රමාණවත්" (pramanaawat) is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रमाण" (pramana), meaning "proof" or "evidence", and the suffix "-වත්" (-wat), indicating "having". Therefore, it literally means "having proof" or "evidential". | |||
| Tamil | போதுமானது | ||
| Telugu | తగినంత | ||
| తగినంత is derived from the Sanskrit word 'tag' meaning 'to reach' and the suffix '-ina' meaning 'sufficient' in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | مناسب | ||
| The word "مناسب" is derived from the Arabic root "نسب" meaning "relation" or "connection". | |||
Adequate in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 充足 | ||
| 充足 originally meant “stop” or “sufficient” and was used in the context of military strategy. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 充足 | ||
| In Japanese, the equivalent term "jyuubun" can refer to a person's physical health or strength. | |||
| Japanese | 適切 | ||
| 適切 (teki setsu) in Japanese means “exactly suitable,” etymologically referring to bow and arrow archery, with teki translating to “bow” and setsu to “arrow notch,” hence “fitting perfectly like an arrow in a notch”. | |||
| Korean | 적당한 | ||
| 적당한 derives from the roots 적 (appropriate) and 당 (measure), and is a similar concept to the English word "fitting". | |||
| Mongolian | хангалттай | ||
| "Хангалттай" is derived from "хангах" (to suffice, to be enough), meaning "sufficient" or "enough." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လုံလောက်သော | ||
| The word can also be used to describe something that is enough or sufficient | |||
Adequate in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | memadai | ||
| The Indonesian word "memadai" originally meant "sufficient for needs" but now also implies "good enough". | |||
| Javanese | cekap | ||
| The word "cekap" in Javanese derives from "capa" meaning "sufficient, enough", and is cognate (via Malay) from the Sanskrit word meaning "adequate," "fit" or "proper" | |||
| Khmer | គ្រប់គ្រាន់ | ||
| In older Khmer, គ្រប់គ្រាន់ is an adverb with meanings including “completely” and “sufficiently”, but its usage evolved so that today it is understood as an adjective in the sense of “sufficient”. | |||
| Lao | ພຽງພໍ | ||
| The word "ພຽງພໍ" originally meant "enough" in Pali, and its meaning has since expanded to encompass "suitable" or "sufficient". | |||
| Malay | memadai | ||
| The word "memadai" in Malay is derived from the Arabic word "mada" meaning "to reach" or "to suffice". | |||
| Thai | เพียงพอ | ||
| The word "เพียงพอ" can also mean "to the point" or "just enough" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | đầy đủ | ||
| The word "đầy đủ" is derived from the Chinese word " đầy đủ" (充裕), which also means "abundant" or "plentiful". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sapat | ||
Adequate in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | adekvat | ||
| The word "adekvat" in Azerbaijani originally meant "equivalent" or "equal". | |||
| Kazakh | барабар | ||
| The Kazakh word "барабар" is derived from "бара" meaning "shoulder blade", and can also mean "proportionate" or "in harmony." | |||
| Kyrgyz | адекваттуу | ||
| "Адекваттуу" (adequate) is derived from the Latin word "adaequatus" with the same meaning and can also mean "fair" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | мувофиқ | ||
| The word “мувофиқ” originates from the Arabic word “موافقا” meaning “compliant” or “suitable”. | |||
| Turkmen | ýeterlik | ||
| Uzbek | etarli | ||
| The word "etarli" in Uzbek is derived from the Persian word "etar" meaning "sufficiency" or "enough" | |||
| Uyghur | يېتەرلىك | ||
Adequate in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | lawa | ||
| The Hawaiian word "lawa" also means "lava" or "to flow". | |||
| Maori | rawaka | ||
| The word "rawaka" can also refer to a small, flat freshwater fish found in New Zealand. | |||
| Samoan | lava | ||
| Samoan "lava" also means "to be ripe", an alternate meaning cognate with its Tahitian cousin "rava". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sapat na | ||
| Sapat na also means 'to suffice' or 'to be enough'. | |||
Adequate in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukatjama | ||
| Guarani | heséva | ||
Adequate in International Languages
| Esperanto | adekvata | ||
| "Adekvata" is a loanword from Latin "adaequatus," meaning "equal to" or "correspondent." | |||
| Latin | satis | ||
| The Latin word "satis" can also mean "enough" or "sufficient" depending on the context. | |||
Adequate in Others Languages
| Greek | επαρκής | ||
| The word “επαρκής” can also mean “competent” or “capable” in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | txaus | ||
| The word 'txaus' also means 'correct' or 'right' in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | gordil | ||
| The word 'gordil' can also refer to a 'small amount' in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | yeterli | ||
| The word 'yeterli' is related to the Arabic word 'kifayet', which means 'sufficiency'. In Turkish, 'yeterli' also carries the connotation of being 'suitable' or 'appropriate'. | |||
| Xhosa | yanele | ||
| Yanele, meaning "adequate" in Xhosa, is also used to describe a person who is competent or capable. | |||
| Yiddish | טויגן | ||
| The Yiddish word "טויגן" derives from the German "tauglich" meaning "fit" or "suitable". | |||
| Zulu | ezanele | ||
| The word "ezanele" in Zulu can also mean "sufficient" or "enough". | |||
| Assamese | পৰ্যাপ্ত | ||
| Aymara | ukatjama | ||
| Bhojpuri | पर्याप्त | ||
| Dhivehi | އެކަށީގެންވާ | ||
| Dogri | पूरा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sapat | ||
| Guarani | heséva | ||
| Ilocano | naan-anay | ||
| Krio | i du | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گونجاو | ||
| Maithili | पर्याप्त | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯆꯞ ꯆꯥꯕ | ||
| Mizo | awm tawk | ||
| Oromo | ga'aa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପର୍ଯ୍ୟାପ୍ତ | ||
| Quechua | aypaq | ||
| Sanskrit | पर्याप्तं | ||
| Tatar | адекват | ||
| Tigrinya | እኹል | ||
| Tsonga | ringanela | ||