Afrikaans briljant | ||
Albanian brilante | ||
Amharic ጎበዝ | ||
Arabic متألق | ||
Armenian փայլուն | ||
Assamese উজ্বল | ||
Aymara llijukiri | ||
Azerbaijani parlaq | ||
Bambara kunkɛnɛma | ||
Basque bikaina | ||
Belarusian бліскучы | ||
Bengali উজ্জ্বল | ||
Bhojpuri बहुत खूब | ||
Bosnian briljantno | ||
Bulgarian брилянтен | ||
Catalan brillant | ||
Cebuano hayag | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 辉煌 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 輝煌 | ||
Corsican brillanti | ||
Croatian sjajno | ||
Czech brilantní | ||
Danish strålende | ||
Dhivehi ވަރަށް ރަނގަޅު | ||
Dogri बुधवान | ||
Dutch briljant | ||
English brilliant | ||
Esperanto brila | ||
Estonian hiilgav | ||
Ewe si nya nu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) napakatalino | ||
Finnish loistava | ||
French brillant | ||
Frisian briljant | ||
Galician brillante | ||
Georgian ბრწყინვალე | ||
German brillant | ||
Greek λαμπρός | ||
Guarani overáva | ||
Gujarati તેજસ્વી | ||
Haitian Creole briyan | ||
Hausa m | ||
Hawaiian ʻōlinolino | ||
Hebrew מַברִיק | ||
Hindi प्रतिभाशाली | ||
Hmong ci ntsa iab | ||
Hungarian ragyogó | ||
Icelandic ljómandi | ||
Igbo amamiihe | ||
Ilocano naglaing | ||
Indonesian cemerlang | ||
Irish thar cionn | ||
Italian brillante | ||
Japanese 鮮やかさ | ||
Javanese sarwa | ||
Kannada ಅದ್ಭುತ | ||
Kazakh тамаша | ||
Khmer អស្ចារ្យ | ||
Kinyarwanda byiza | ||
Konkani हूशार | ||
Korean 훌륭한 | ||
Krio brayt | ||
Kurdish birqanî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ژیر | ||
Kyrgyz сонун | ||
Lao ຮຸ່ງເຮືອງ | ||
Latin praeclarum | ||
Latvian izcili | ||
Lingala kongenga | ||
Lithuanian genialus | ||
Luganda amagezi | ||
Luxembourgish genial | ||
Macedonian брилијантен | ||
Maithili तेज | ||
Malagasy mamirapiratra | ||
Malay cemerlang | ||
Malayalam ബുദ്ധിമാനായ | ||
Maltese brillanti | ||
Maori ngingila | ||
Marathi हुशार | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯍꯩ ꯁꯤꯡꯕ | ||
Mizo vengva | ||
Mongolian гайхалтай | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) တောက်ပ | ||
Nepali शानदार | ||
Norwegian strålende | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) waluntha | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଉଜ୍ଜ୍ୱଳ | ||
Oromo kan sammuun banamaa | ||
Pashto په زړه پوری | ||
Persian درخشان | ||
Polish znakomity | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) brilhante | ||
Punjabi ਹੁਸ਼ਿਆਰ | ||
Quechua llipipiq | ||
Romanian sclipitor | ||
Russian блестящий | ||
Samoan susulu | ||
Sanskrit मेधावी | ||
Scots Gaelic sgoinneil | ||
Sepedi bohlale | ||
Serbian сјајно | ||
Sesotho khanyang | ||
Shona penya | ||
Sindhi شاندار | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දීප්තිමත් | ||
Slovak geniálny | ||
Slovenian briljantno | ||
Somali cajiib ah | ||
Spanish brillante | ||
Sundanese cemerlang | ||
Swahili kipaji | ||
Swedish lysande | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) napakatalino | ||
Tajik олиҷаноб | ||
Tamil புத்திசாலி | ||
Tatar якты | ||
Telugu తెలివైన | ||
Thai ยอดเยี่ยม | ||
Tigrinya ጎበዝ | ||
Tsonga vutlharhi | ||
Turkish parlak | ||
Turkmen ajaýyp | ||
Twi (Akan) adenim | ||
Ukrainian блискучий | ||
Urdu شاندار | ||
Uyghur پارلاق | ||
Uzbek yorqin | ||
Vietnamese xuất sắc | ||
Welsh gwych | ||
Xhosa krelekrele | ||
Yiddish בריליאַנט | ||
Yoruba ologo | ||
Zulu okukhazimulayo |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "briljant" derives from the Dutch word "briljant" which originally meant "shining". It has later taken on the connotation of "outstanding" or "very intelligent". |
| Albanian | In Albanian, the word "brilante" also has the alternate meaning of "diamond" or "gemstone." |
| Amharic | The word "ጎበዝ" (brilliant) in Amharic also means "the eye of a needle". |
| Arabic | متألق has additional meanings such as luminous, shining, and resplendent. |
| Armenian | The word "փայլուն" also means "sparkling" or "lustrous" in Armenian, and is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰeh₂- "to shine". |
| Azerbaijani | "Parlaq" in Azerbaijani also means "bright" or "shining". |
| Basque | Although 'bikaina' means 'brilliant' in Basque, it also relates to 'life' and 'soul'. |
| Belarusian | The word "бліскучы" in Belarusian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*blesti", meaning "to shine". |
| Bengali | The word "উজ্জ্বল" (ujjwal) in Bengali originates from the Sanskrit word "उज्ज्वल" (ujjvala), meaning "to shine" or "to be bright". |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian word 'briljantno' is derived from Turkish 'parlak', meaning bright and shiny. |
| Bulgarian | The same word "брилянтен" in Bulgarian also refers to a rare type of cut of diamonds with 57 or 58 facets, also known as "round brilliant". |
| Catalan | "Brillant" in the language Catalan comes from the French "brillant" and also means "sparkling". |
| Cebuano | The term "hayag" can also mean "clear" or "obvious" in Cebuano. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 辉煌 (huīháng) can also mean "great" or "magnificent". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 輝煌 originated from a character that meant 'the sun' and was used to refer to the brilliance of the sun before being adopted to mean radiant, splendid, or magnificent. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "brillanti" can also refer to a type of traditional song or a type of firework. |
| Croatian | The noun 'sjaj' denotes brilliance and the act of shining, and also refers to a precious metal or its imitation. |
| Czech | The Czech word "brilantní" is derived from the French word "brillant," and it also has the alternate meaning of "sharp." |
| Danish | Strålende originates from the old Norse word "stråla", meaning "to radiate or shine". |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "briljant" comes from the Old French "briller", meaning "to shine". |
| Esperanto | The word "brila" in Esperanto is derived from the French word "briller", meaning "to shine". It can also be used figuratively to mean "excellent" or "outstanding". |
| Estonian | The word "hiilgav" also means "glowing" or "radiant". |
| Finnish | The word "loistava" can also mean "excellent" or "magnificent" in Finnish. |
| French | In French, 'brillant' can also mean 'shiny' or 'sparkling', referencing the glittering quality of gemstones or certain materials. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "briljant" can also mean "spectacle" or "glasses" in English. |
| Galician | A "brillante" is a precious stone such as a diamond in Galician. In Brazil, it also means "very beautiful" when used figuratively. |
| German | The German word "brillant" is derived from the Old French word "briller" meaning "to shine" and is related to the Old High German word "berht" meaning "bright". |
| Greek | In Byzantine Greek, "λαμπρός" could refer to a high-ranking official or a wealthy landowner. |
| Gujarati | The word "तेजस्वी" can also mean "sun" or "fire" in Sanskrit. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "briyan" in Haitian Creole, derived from the French "brillant," can also mean "clear" or "clean." |
| Hausa | In Hausa, "m" can also mean "to be great" or "to be distinguished". |
| Hawaiian | ʻŌlinolino may come from the word ʻōlino, meaning "smooth" or "fine". |
| Hebrew | The word "מַברִיק" can also mean "polishing" or "shining" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | The word "प्रतिभाशाली" can also refer to someone who is intelligent, resourceful, or creative. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "ci ntsa iab" also means "clear", "bright", and "glowing". |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "ragyogó" (meaning "brilliant") is derived from the verb "ragyogni" (meaning "to shine"), which is of Proto-Indo-European origin and cognate with the English word "radiant." |
| Icelandic | The word 'ljómandi' in Icelandic may also mean 'resounding', 'shining' or 'lustrous. |
| Igbo | The word "amamiihe" also means "shining" or "radiant" in Igbo. |
| Indonesian | "Cemulang" in old Sundanese language originally meant "the sun". |
| Irish | Thar cionn is derived from the Old Irish word for "head," and also means "in front of" or "before." |
| Italian | "Brillante" is also used in Italian to mean "shining" or "sparkling". |
| Japanese | The kanji "鮮" in the word "鮮やかさ" originally meant "fish" and later came to mean "fresh" and "beautiful" in the context of food. |
| Javanese | "Sarwa" also means "all" or "whole" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | The word 'ಅದ್ಭುತ' (adbhut) can also mean 'wonderful', 'astonishing' or 'extraordinary' in Kannada. |
| Kazakh | "Тамаша" can also mean "a show" or "a spectacle" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | The word "អស្ចារ្យ" (brilliant) in Khmer is derived from the Sanskrit word "अस्त्र" (weapon), and also means "strange" or "wonderful". |
| Korean | The word "훌륭한" can also mean "excellent" or "outstanding". |
| Kurdish | The word "birqanî" is said to be derived from the Persian word "barq", meaning "lightning". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "сонун" in Kyrgyz can also mean "beautiful" or "good-looking." |
| Latin | "Praeclarum" can also mean "very clear, conspicuous, or renowned." |
| Latvian | The word "izcili" also has the alternate meaning of "exquisite" in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "genialus" is derived from the Latin word "ingenium", meaning "inborn talent" or "natural ability". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, "genial" means "nice" or "friendly". |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "брилијантен" also means "gemstone", stemming from the French word "brillant" meaning "shiny". |
| Malagasy | "Mamirapiratra" is thought to derive from "mira" meaning "beautiful" and "piratra" meaning "very" or "much". |
| Malay | The word "cemerlang" also has the meaning of shining or reflecting, as well as a metaphorical meaning of being prominent or distinguished. |
| Maltese | The Maltese "brillanti" also means "diamond" and derives from the French "brillant". |
| Maori | The word "ngingila" also refers to a type of fish known for its iridescent scales. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "हुशार" (huśār) is derived from the Arabic word "هوشيار" (hūshyār), which means "awake" or "alert". It can also mean "clever" or "intelligent" in some contexts. |
| Mongolian | The word "гайхалтай" is derived from the root "гайх", meaning "to be surprised" or "to be astonished". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "တောက်ပ" (tauk pa) in Myanmar (Burmese) is derived from the Pali word "tapati" meaning "to shine" or "to burn". It also has the alternate meaning of "fiery" or "bright red". |
| Nepali | The word "शानदार" is derived from the Persian word "שאן دهر" (shaan-e-dahr), meaning "the glory of the age". |
| Norwegian | The word 'strålende' can also mean 'radiant' or 'shining'. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "waluntha" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-luntha" meaning "to be white or shiny." |
| Pashto | The word "په زړه پوری" ("brilliant") in Pashto can also be used to describe something that is "very beautiful" or "very good". |
| Persian | The word درخشان can also refer to a kind of beetle known for its iridescent shell |
| Polish | The word "znakomity" derives from the word "znać" (to know) and originally meant "well-known" or "distinguished". It is also used ironically to describe someone or something as "brilliant" or "wonderful" in a sarcastic or dismissive way. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "brilhante" also means "shiny" or "sparkling" in Portuguese. |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਹੁਸ਼ਿਆਰ' can also mean clever or sharp, and derives from the Persian verb 'hush-dar' meaning 'with sense'. |
| Romanian | Sclipitor comes from the Latin word "scintilla', meaning "spark". |
| Russian | In Russian, the word "блестящий" (brilliant) comes from the word "блеск" (shine), indicating that "блестящий" signifies not only intellectual brilliance but also outward radiance and splendor. |
| Samoan | In Samoan the word "susulu" can also mean "to shine" or "to glow". |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "sgoinneil" (brilliant) is also used to describe "something that has been sharpened" in Scots Gaelic. |
| Serbian | The word "сјајно" also means "very well" in Serbian, e.g. "сјајно је прошла проба" (the audition went very well). |
| Sesotho | The word "khanyang" also means "to show off" or "to brag" in Sesotho. |
| Shona | "Penya" can also mean "a big black spider" or "a person with a very dark complexion" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "شاندار" is derived from the Persian word "شاندن" (to adorn, to decorate), and also means "beautiful, graceful, or elegant." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "දීප්තිමත්" in Sinhala means brilliant and originates from Sanskrit "dīptimat" which refers to brightness, light, or brilliance. |
| Slovak | In Slovak, "geniálny" also means "native". |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word "briljantno" can also mean "diamond" or "cut glass". |
| Somali | The word "cajiib ah" derives from the Arabic word "ʿajīb" (عجيب), meaning "wonderful" or "strange". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "brillante" comes from the French word "brillant" meaning "sparkling" or "lustrous." |
| Sundanese | "Cemerlang" in Sundanese can also mean "shining" or "glistening". |
| Swahili | The word 'kipaji' in Swahili can also mean 'talent' or 'ability'. |
| Swedish | The word 'lysande' means shining, dazzling, or brilliant. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Napakatalino" comes from the word "talino" (intellect) with the prefix "napaka-" (very), indicating a high or remarkable level of brightness. |
| Tajik | The word "олиҷаноб" can also mean "shining" or "radiant" in Tajik. |
| Thai | "ยอดเยี่ยม" (brilliant) derives from the Sanskrit word "uttama" meaning "uppermost" or "best." |
| Turkish | The word "parlak" in Turkish originally meant "shining" or "glowing" and was used to describe the appearance of the sun, moon, and stars. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "блискучий" also means "close" or "near", and comes from the Proto-Slavic word *bliskъ, meaning "near". |
| Urdu | "شاندار" also means "magnificent" or "glorious" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | The word "yorqin" in Uzbek can also mean "clear" or "sharp". |
| Vietnamese | Xuất sắc (brilliant) means to stand out from the crowd, with its root word “xuất” (to exit) and “sắc” (color). |
| Welsh | The word "gwych" is derived from the Latin word "viridis," meaning "green." |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, 'krelekrele' also means 'clear, bright, or shining' and is related to the word 'krala', meaning 'enclosure' or 'kraal'. |
| Yiddish | "בריליאַנט" (brilliant) in Yiddish can also mean "diamond" or "very clear (gemstone)" |
| Yoruba | In Yoruba, "ologo" can also refer to a type of traditional Yoruba drum or the head priest of a religious sect |
| Zulu | "Okukhazimulayo" also means "shining" or "to give light" in Zulu. |
| English | The word 'brilliant' originally meant either 'shining' or 'piercing' and could apply to the sun, a diamond, intellect, wit, an idea, a performance, a career, a future, anything that shines or captivates. |