Danger in Different Languages
Discover 'Danger' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Danger
Danger in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | gevaar | ||
| 'Gevaar' shares the same etymological root with 'cautious', 'guard' and 'quarantine' | |||
| Amharic | አደጋ | ||
| The word "አደጋ" originates from the Semitic root "dgr," implying "to go astray" or "to make a wrong turn," and originally referred to events occurring due to external forces, such as natural disasters or accidents. | |||
| Hausa | hadari | ||
| Derived from 'hada' (a trap), it can also mean a place for hunting animals. | |||
| Igbo | ihe egwu | ||
| The Igbo word "Ihe egwu" literally translates to "something that can cause harm." | |||
| Malagasy | loza | ||
| "Loza" is also used to refer to something that is forbidden. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ngozi | ||
| "Ngozi" also means "evil" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | ngozi | ||
| The word "ngozi" in Shona can also refer to a spiritual force that brings misfortune or harm. | |||
| Somali | khatar | ||
| The Somali word "khatar" originates from the Arabic word "khatar", meaning "risk, peril, or hazard." | |||
| Sesotho | kotsi | ||
| The word "Kotsi" in Sesotho also refers to a small poisonous millipede. | |||
| Swahili | hatari | ||
| In Swahili, 'hatari' also means 'caution' or 'warning'. | |||
| Xhosa | ingozi | ||
| The word "Ingozi" in Xhosa can also refer to malicious spirits believed to cause harm or misfortune. | |||
| Yoruba | ijamba | ||
| The Yoruba word "Ijamba" can also refer to a trap, snare or a situation of peril. | |||
| Zulu | ingozi | ||
| The 'gozi' aspect of this word can also be found in other Zulu words such as 'inselele' (troublemaker), 'ukugwala' (to injure) and 'isigwili' (danger). | |||
| Bambara | farati | ||
| Ewe | ŋɔdzi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | akaga | ||
| Lingala | likama | ||
| Luganda | akabi | ||
| Sepedi | kotsi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔhaw a ɛbɛtumi aba | ||
Danger in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | خطر | ||
| The word "خطر" in Arabic derives from the Semitic root word for "nose" or "sniff", indicating a sense of sniffing out danger. | |||
| Hebrew | סַכָּנָה | ||
| The Hebrew word “סַכָּנָה” (“danger”) also has the alternate meaning of “rock” or “cliff,” referring to the potential for a physical hazard. | |||
| Pashto | خطر | ||
| The word "خطر" can also mean "risk" or "hazard" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | خطر | ||
| The word "خطر" in Arabic derives from the Semitic root word for "nose" or "sniff", indicating a sense of sniffing out danger. | |||
Danger in Western European Languages
| Albanian | rreziku | ||
| The word "rreziku" in Albanian derives from the Ancient Greek word "rhízikos", meaning "risky". | |||
| Basque | arriskua | ||
| Arriskuak has another meaning in Basque, being used to refer to a type of sea urchin which are especially spiky and venomous. | |||
| Catalan | perill | ||
| "Perill" also means "loss", "damage", "harm", or "injury" in Catalan. | |||
| Croatian | opasnost | ||
| The word "opasnost" derives from the Slavic word "opas", meaning to surround or to go around, referring to a place that is treacherous or difficult to pass. | |||
| Danish | fare | ||
| The Danish word "fare" is cognate with the English word "fear," both deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *peh₂- "to protect, to fear." | |||
| Dutch | gevaar | ||
| The Dutch word "gevaar" comes from the Old French word "garandir," meaning "to protect," and also has the alternate meaning of "security." | |||
| English | danger | ||
| The word 'danger' comes from the Old French word 'dangier', meaning 'power' or 'control'. | |||
| French | danger | ||
| The word "danger" comes from the Latin "dominium", meaning "lordship" or "power", and originally referred to the power of a lord over his vassals. | |||
| Frisian | gefaar | ||
| The word "gefaar" in Frisian derives from the Old Frisian word "gafara", meaning "sudden attack". | |||
| Galician | perigo | ||
| The Galician word "perigo" comes from the Latin word "periculum". Similarly, the Spanish word "peligro" is related to the Latin word "periculum". | |||
| German | achtung | ||
| The word "Achtung" is derived from the Middle High German "ahten," meaning "to pay attention" or "to be aware." | |||
| Icelandic | hætta | ||
| "Hætta" comes from the Old Norse "hǫttr" meaning "hatred or peril." | |||
| Irish | contúirt | ||
| Italian | pericolo | ||
| "Pericolo" comes from the Latin "periculum," which originally meant "experiment" or "trial." | |||
| Luxembourgish | gefor | ||
| The word "Gefôr" in Letzebuergesch is a reflex of the Old High German "gîfar" (gift), and it was originally used in the sense of a poison or a mortal peril. | |||
| Maltese | periklu | ||
| The word 'periklu' is derived from the Italian word 'pericolo', meaning 'danger', and can also refer to a 'risk' or 'hazard'. | |||
| Norwegian | fare | ||
| In Norwegian, "fare" also means "to travel" or "to get". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | perigo | ||
| Perigo in Portuguese originated from Latin periculum, meaning "risk" or "hazard". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cunnart | ||
| The Old Gaelic spelling is 'cunart', meaning 'risk of being killed'. | |||
| Spanish | peligro | ||
| "Peligro" derives from the Greek word "pelygros", meaning "hazard" or "risk". | |||
| Swedish | fara | ||
| The word "fara" in Swedish can also mean "to travel" or "to go away". | |||
| Welsh | perygl | ||
| The Welsh word 'perygl' ('danger') derives from the Latin 'periculum', which also means 'hazard' or 'risk'. | |||
Danger in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | небяспека | ||
| The word "небяспека" can be split into "не" + "бяспека", and "бяспека" is cognate with the Russian word "безопасность" and means "safety". | |||
| Bosnian | opasnost | ||
| The word "opasnost" means 'danger' and derives from Old Slavic опас ("opas") or *opъ, a noun with multiple meanings, including 'fear' as well as 'misfortune'. | |||
| Bulgarian | опасност | ||
| The word "опасност" originates from the Proto-Slavic word "*opasъ", which also means "bondage" or "trouble". | |||
| Czech | nebezpečí | ||
| The word "nebezpečí" originates from the Proto-Slavic word "nepыtь", which meant "misfortune" or "disaster". | |||
| Estonian | oht | ||
| The word "oht" in Estonian also means "threat" and "risk". | |||
| Finnish | vaara | ||
| The word "vaara" also means "mountain" and originates from the Proto-Finnic word *waara, which had the same meaning. | |||
| Hungarian | veszély | ||
| "Veszély" comes from the root "vés" ("misfortune, peril") and the suffix "-ly" ("abundance, state, condition"). Hence, its original meaning was "a state of misfortune or peril," which is still evident in some of its idioms and phrases. | |||
| Latvian | briesmas | ||
| The word "briesmas" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰer- meaning "to cut" or "to pierce". | |||
| Lithuanian | pavojus | ||
| The word "pavojus" is derived from the Lithuanian word "pavas" meaning "spring", as spring was considered a time of increased danger due to flooding and other natural hazards. | |||
| Macedonian | опасност | ||
| The Macedonian word "опасност" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "опасъ," meaning "fall, ruin". | |||
| Polish | zagrożenie | ||
| In the 16th century, 'zagrożenie' was a noun meaning 'threat' | |||
| Romanian | pericol | ||
| The Romanian word "pericol" comes from the Latin word "periculum", meaning "risk, trial, attempt, hazard". | |||
| Russian | опасность | ||
| The Russian word «Опасность» derives from the Old Slavic «*opasь», meaning "a fall", and is cognate with "lapse" and "collapse". | |||
| Serbian | опасност | ||
| "Опасност" is also used to mean "risk", "hazard", or "peril". | |||
| Slovak | nebezpečenstvo | ||
| "Nebezpečenstvo" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *opasь, meaning "to bind" or "to hold", suggesting a sense of entrapment or constraint. | |||
| Slovenian | nevarnost | ||
| The word "nevarnost" is derived from the adjective "nevaren", meaning "dangerous". There is no alternate meaning of the word. | |||
| Ukrainian | небезпека | ||
| The word "небезпека" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *ob-pěka, meaning "to surround", and is cognate with the Russian word "опа́сность" (opasnost) and the Polish word "ópasáć" (to surround). | |||
Danger in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বিপদ | ||
| The word "বিপদ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vipat" meaning "calamity, disaster". | |||
| Gujarati | ભય | ||
| The word "ભય" derives from Sanskrit and originally meant "fear" or "terror". | |||
| Hindi | खतरा | ||
| "खतरा" is a Hindi word derived from the Prakrit word "khaddah" meaning "pit", hence also signifying peril. | |||
| Kannada | ಅಪಾಯ | ||
| The word "ಅಪಾಯ" can also mean "risk" or "hazard" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | അപായം | ||
| The word "അപായം" in Malayalam is derived from the Sanskrit word "अपाय" (apaya), which means "harm, injury, or destruction." | |||
| Marathi | धोका | ||
| The Marathi word "धोका" shares a root word with "धोखाधडी", meaning "fraud". | |||
| Nepali | खतरा | ||
| "खतरा" is also used to refer to a 'letter'" | |||
| Punjabi | ਖ਼ਤਰਾ | ||
| The word "ਖ਼ਤਰਾ" (khatara) in Punjabi derives from the Persian word "khatar", which means both "danger" and "risk". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අනතුර | ||
| "අනතුර" also means "an incident that occurs accidentally and unexpectedly, typically resulting in damage or injury", "a situation or event that is likely to cause harm", | |||
| Tamil | ஆபத்து | ||
| The word "ஆபத்து" (aapathu) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आपत्ति" (āpati), which originally meant "calamity" or "misfortune", and later came to mean "danger" or "peril". | |||
| Telugu | ప్రమాదం | ||
| The word ''ప్రమాదం'' in Telugu has various meanings, including risk, hazard, difficulty, disaster, and misfortune. | |||
| Urdu | خطرہ | ||
| The word 'خطرہ' (khatra) is derived from the Arabic word 'خطر' (khatar), which means 'risk' or 'peril'. | |||
Danger in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 危险 | ||
| In Chinese, the word "危险" (wēixiǎn) can also mean "risky" or "precarious." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 危險 | ||
| "危" originally means a precipice; "險" originally means an overhanging rock. | |||
| Japanese | 危険 | ||
| The word "危険" (kiken) is also used to describe a situation in which something is not safe or has the potential to cause harm. | |||
| Korean | 위험 | ||
| The word "위험" can also mean "risk" or "hazard" in Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | аюул | ||
| The word "аюул" can also mean "fear" or "anxiety" in Mongolian. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အန္တရာယ် | ||
Danger in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | bahaya | ||
| "Bahaya" comes from Sanskrit "bhaya" which also means "fear" and is related to "bhay" meaning "to fear". | |||
| Javanese | bebaya | ||
| The word "bebaya" can also refer to a "fearsome" or "terrible" object, such as a monster or a weapon. | |||
| Khmer | គ្រោះថ្នាក់ | ||
| Lao | ອັນຕະລາຍ | ||
| The word อันตราย ('danger') originates from the Pali word 'antara', 'interval' or 'gap'. | |||
| Malay | bahaya | ||
| The word 'bahaya' also refers to the concept of 'power' in Malay, implying that danger can be seen as a source of strength or empowerment. | |||
| Thai | อันตราย | ||
| The word "อันตราย" comes from the Sanskrit word "an" meaning "without" and "trāy" meaning "save" or "protect". | |||
| Vietnamese | nguy hiểm | ||
| "Nguy hiểm" has another meaning of "narrowly escaping something bad". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | panganib | ||
Danger in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | təhlükə | ||
| The word "təhlükə" is derived from the Persian word "tahlukeh", which means "risk" or "hazard". | |||
| Kazakh | қауіп | ||
| Қауіп, cognate with "хаос," originally denoted "chaos, emptiness" (cf. Persian "хава", "emptiness, air"). | |||
| Kyrgyz | коркунуч | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "коркунуч" also refers to a type of evil spirit believed to cause illness or misfortune. | |||
| Tajik | хатар | ||
| The word "Хатар" can also refer to a "trap" or "risk". | |||
| Turkmen | howp | ||
| Uzbek | xavf | ||
| "Xavf" also means "risk" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | خەتەر | ||
Danger in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | weliweli | ||
| "Weliweli" is also an adjective used to describe the weather and the sea. | |||
| Maori | mōrearea | ||
| The word 'mōrearea' also refers to a supernatural being associated with danger in Maori mythology. | |||
| Samoan | tulaga mataʻutia | ||
| The word ''tulaga mataʻutia'' can also refer to a ''place of danger'' or a ''dangerous situation''. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | panganib | ||
| The word 'panganib' likely originated from the Proto-Austronesian word *panik, meaning 'to be afraid' or 'fear'. | |||
Danger in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jan walt'a | ||
| Guarani | ñemongyhyje | ||
Danger in International Languages
| Esperanto | danĝero | ||
| The word "danĝero" is derived from the French word "danger", which ultimately comes from the Latin word "damnum", meaning "loss" or "damage". | |||
| Latin | periculum | ||
| The Latin word "periculum" derives from the verb "perire" ("to perish") and originally meant "trial" or "test" but later came to imply the risk of harm or danger. | |||
Danger in Others Languages
| Greek | κίνδυνος | ||
| The Greek word "κίνδυνος" derives from the verb "κυλινδεῖν" (to roll), suggesting the potential for movement and uncertainty associated with danger. | |||
| Hmong | txaus ntshai | ||
| "Txaus ntshai" literally translates to "fear and fright" or "bad feelings" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | talûke | ||
| The term "talûke" also refers to a type of large earthen vessel commonly used in rural Kurdish households, particularly for storing liquids or grains. | |||
| Turkish | tehlike | ||
| The word "Tehlike" in Turkish is derived from the Arabic word "Talak" meaning "divorce", implying the idea of separation or disconnection. | |||
| Xhosa | ingozi | ||
| The word "Ingozi" in Xhosa can also refer to malicious spirits believed to cause harm or misfortune. | |||
| Yiddish | געפאַר | ||
| The Yiddish word "געפאַר" also derives from the Old French "gefa" and Spanish "guerra" meaning "war". | |||
| Zulu | ingozi | ||
| The 'gozi' aspect of this word can also be found in other Zulu words such as 'inselele' (troublemaker), 'ukugwala' (to injure) and 'isigwili' (danger). | |||
| Assamese | বিপদ | ||
| Aymara | jan walt'a | ||
| Bhojpuri | खतरा | ||
| Dhivehi | ނުރައްކާ | ||
| Dogri | खतरा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | panganib | ||
| Guarani | ñemongyhyje | ||
| Ilocano | peggad | ||
| Krio | denja | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | مەترسی | ||
| Maithili | खतरा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯨꯗꯣꯡꯊꯤꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hlauhawm | ||
| Oromo | hamaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବିପଦ | ||
| Quechua | manchay | ||
| Sanskrit | संकट | ||
| Tatar | куркыныч | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓደጋ | ||
| Tsonga | nghozi | ||