Dangerous in Different Languages
Discover 'Dangerous' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'dangerous' carries a sense of urgency and importance, often evoking strong reactions and emotions. Its significance extends beyond personal safety, encompassing concepts of risk, harm, and potential consequences. Culturally, the perception of danger can shape societal norms, influencing how we navigate the world around us.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'dangerous' in different languages can provide valuable insights into cultural nuances and attitudes towards potential threats. For instance, the Danish translation of 'dangerous' - 'farlig' - also means 'perilous', reflecting a broader view of danger that includes not just physical harm but also potential misfortune.
Meanwhile, the German translation of 'dangerous' - 'gefährlich' - shares roots with the word for 'danger' itself - 'Gefahr' - highlighting the importance of recognizing and addressing potential threats. Similarly, the Italian translation of 'dangerous' - 'pericoloso' - underscores the potential for harm and the need for caution.
Intrigued? Discover more translations of 'dangerous' and deepen your understanding of this powerful word and its cultural significance:
Dangerous
Dangerous in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | gevaarlik | ||
| Afrikaans "gevaarlik" derives from Middle Dutch "ghevaer" meaning "risk" and "liik" meaning "body". Hence, literally "body at risk." | |||
| Amharic | አደገኛ | ||
| The word አደገኛ ('dangerous') is derived from the root አደግ ('to be difficult') and can also mean 'difficult' or 'obstructive'. | |||
| Hausa | mai hadari | ||
| Mai hadari (dangerous) literally means "who dares challenge" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | dị ize ndụ | ||
| The Igbo word "dị ize ndụ" can also refer to someone who is unpredictable or unstable. | |||
| Malagasy | nampidi-doza | ||
| The word "NAMPIDI-DOZA" can also mean "brave" or "fearless" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | owopsa | ||
| The word "owopsa" can also mean "evil" or "harmful". | |||
| Shona | zvine ngozi | ||
| Zvine ngozi can be broken into two Shona words, zvinhu meaning 'things' and ngozhi meaning 'skin', which translates to 'things with skin'. | |||
| Somali | khatar ah | ||
| The word "khatar ah" (dangerous) in Somali, derives from the Arabic word "khaṭar" (danger). | |||
| Sesotho | kotsi | ||
| In Sesotho, the term 'kotsi' carries an etymological link and alternative connotation related to 'fear' and 'caution', suggesting a sense of imminent threat. | |||
| Swahili | hatari | ||
| The word "hatari" is also used to denote a challenge or risk, or to express caution or warning. | |||
| Xhosa | yingozi | ||
| The Xhosa word "yingozi" also means "hyena" or "evil spirit" and is thought to be onomatopoeic, derived from the sound made by hyenas. | |||
| Yoruba | ewu | ||
| Ewu is also the Yoruba word for the domestic goat, which are well known as a livestock in Yoruba land. | |||
| Zulu | kuyingozi | ||
| The word "kuyingozi" is derived from the Zulu word "ingozi", meaning "danger" or "risk". | |||
| Bambara | faratima | ||
| Ewe | dziŋᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | biteje akaga | ||
| Lingala | likama | ||
| Luganda | akabi | ||
| Sepedi | kotsi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hu | ||
Dangerous in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | خطير | ||
| The word "خطير" is derived from the root "خطر" which also means "risk" or "hazard". | |||
| Hebrew | מְסוּכָּן | ||
| 'מסוכן' can also refer to a type of tree or the name of a place. | |||
| Pashto | خطرناک | ||
| خطرناک also means "brave" in Pashto; related to Persian "khatar" meaning "danger". | |||
| Arabic | خطير | ||
| The word "خطير" is derived from the root "خطر" which also means "risk" or "hazard". | |||
Dangerous in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e rrezikshme | ||
| The word 'e rrezikshme' is derived from the Latin word 'risicus', meaning 'danger'. It can also be used in a more general sense to refer to anything that is potentially harmful. | |||
| Basque | arriskutsua | ||
| "arriskutsua" is the gerund of the verb "arriskatu", which means "to risk". | |||
| Catalan | perillós | ||
| The word "perillós" also means "risky" or "hazardous" in Catalan and comes from the Latin word "periculosus" with the same meaning. | |||
| Croatian | opasno | ||
| "Opasno" comes from the Proto-Slavic root "*opasъ", meaning "dangerous" or "harmful." | |||
| Danish | farligt | ||
| The word 'farligt' originated in Old Norse and is related to the words 'fær' (fear) and 'lige' (like), suggesting that something dangerous is something that is both fearful and similar to something else. | |||
| Dutch | gevaarlijk | ||
| Dutch "gevaarlijk" literally translates to "travelling-full" in English, where "travelling" refers to the act of travelling, and "full" refers to the completeness of the act. | |||
| English | dangerous | ||
| The word 'dangerous' has French roots: 'aventureux' meaning 'enterprising' and 'dangier' meaning 'harm'. | |||
| French | dangereux | ||
| The French word "dangereux" derives from the Latin "damnosus," meaning "harmful" or "destructive." | |||
| Frisian | gefaarlik | ||
| The Frisian word "gefaarlik" not only means "dangerous" but also "poisonous" and "malicious". | |||
| Galician | perigoso | ||
| In Galician, "perigoso" can also mean "difficult" or "complex". | |||
| German | gefährlich | ||
| The root word "Gefahr" comes from the old high german "gafara", which means deceit or ambush. | |||
| Icelandic | hættulegt | ||
| The word 'hættulegt' in Icelandic is derived from the Old Norse word 'hǫttr,' meaning 'hatred,' and is related to the Old English word 'hatol,' which also means 'hatred.' | |||
| Irish | contúirteach | ||
| The word 'contúirteach' can also mean 'difficult' or 'demanding'. | |||
| Italian | pericoloso | ||
| The word "pericoloso" comes from the Latin word "periculum," which means "risk" or "hazard." | |||
| Luxembourgish | geféierlech | ||
| The word 'geféierlech' is derived from the Old High German word 'gefaehrlich', which means 'full of peril'. | |||
| Maltese | perikolużi | ||
| The word "perikolużi" is derived from the Italian word "pericoloso", which means "dangerous". | |||
| Norwegian | farlig | ||
| The word "farlig" comes from the Old Norse word "farligr" and is related to the words "fær" (travel) and "lag" (law), suggesting a sense of danger associated with breaking the law or traveling far from home. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | perigoso | ||
| The word "perigoso" comes from the Greek word "περίγιος" (perigios), which means "around the sea" or "near the shore". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cunnartach | ||
| The word "cunnartach" can also refer to a "snare" or "trap". | |||
| Spanish | peligroso | ||
| Peligroso originates from Latin word "periculosus" meaning "full of perils". | |||
| Swedish | farlig | ||
| The word "farlig" originally meant "travelling" or "wandering" in Swedish, and still retains that meaning in some dialects. | |||
| Welsh | peryglus | ||
| The Welsh word "peryglus" also means "peril" and "hazard". | |||
Dangerous in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | небяспечны | ||
| The Belarusian word "небяспечны" is derived from the word "бяда" (misfortune, trouble) and literally means "not safe from trouble". | |||
| Bosnian | opasno | ||
| "Opasno" is a loanword from Turkish that also means "cautious" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | опасно | ||
| The word "опасно" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *opasъ, meaning "to fall" or "to stumble". | |||
| Czech | nebezpečný | ||
| The word "nebezpečný" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *nebъg-, meaning "not safe" or "not secure". | |||
| Estonian | ohtlik | ||
| The Estonian word "ohtlik" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Finnic word *ohtana, which meant "danger" or "fear". | |||
| Finnish | vaarallinen | ||
| "vaarallinen" can also be translated as "hazardous" or "perilous". | |||
| Hungarian | veszélyes | ||
| The word "veszélyes" originates from the Slavic word "veselije", which originally meant "joyful, cheerful". | |||
| Latvian | bīstams | ||
| The word "bīstams" comes from the Old Prussian word "bīstan", which means "to fear". | |||
| Lithuanian | pavojinga | ||
| The word "pavojinga" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *per-, meaning "to cross". | |||
| Macedonian | опасно | ||
| Oпасно can also mean "carefully" when used as an adverb, often in a sarcastic tone. | |||
| Polish | niebezpieczny | ||
| The word "niebezpieczny" in Polish originates from the Proto-Slavic word "ne-bezpečenъ", meaning "not safe" or "not secure". | |||
| Romanian | periculos | ||
| "Periculos" in Romanian has the alternate meaning of "careful" or "cautious". | |||
| Russian | опасно | ||
| The Russian word "опасно" ("dangerous") is cognate with the Old Church Slavonic word "опась" which meant "care" or "fear". | |||
| Serbian | опасно | ||
| The word "опасно" in Serbian also means "dangerous" in other Slavic languages, such as Russian and Bulgarian. | |||
| Slovak | nebezpečné | ||
| "Nebezpečné" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *nebezpečenъ, meaning "without carefulness". | |||
| Slovenian | nevarno | ||
| The word "nevarno" in Slovenian has an alternate meaning of "unusually" | |||
| Ukrainian | небезпечний | ||
| Небезпечний (nebezpechnyi) comes from the Proto-Slavic word *nebėgъ, meaning "careless" or "negligent". | |||
Dangerous in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বিপজ্জনক | ||
| The word "বিপজ্জনক" (bipôjjônnôk) originates from the Sanskrit word "विपद्" (vipad), meaning "calamity" or "disaster". | |||
| Gujarati | ખતરનાક | ||
| The word 'ખતરનાક' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'khatar', which means 'risk' or 'hazard'. | |||
| Hindi | खतरनाक | ||
| The Hindi word "खतरनाक" (khatarnaak) originally meant "harmful to the body," but now it generally means "dangerous". | |||
| Kannada | ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ | ||
| Malayalam | അപകടകരമാണ് | ||
| In Sanskrit, the word “अप” (apa) means away or off, while “कर” (kara) means to do or make. Thus, “अपकर” (apakara) means to do away with, harm or injure. | |||
| Marathi | धोकादायक | ||
| 'धोकादायक' means 'dangerous' in Marathi and comes from the Sanskrit word 'dhoka', meaning 'fraud' or 'deception'. | |||
| Nepali | खतरनाक | ||
| "खतरनाक" (dangerous) has the same root as "खतरा" (risk), and can also mean "risky" or "hazardous". | |||
| Punjabi | ਖਤਰਨਾਕ | ||
| The word also refers to a feeling of unease or apprehension that something bad may happen. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | භයානකයි | ||
| The Sinhalese word "භයානකයි" also means "awful" or "terrible" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "भयानक" (bhayānaka). | |||
| Tamil | ஆபத்தானது | ||
| ஆபத்தானது (pronounced “aa-path-thaa-na-thu”) is a Tamil word that, when translated into English, means “dangerous”. | |||
| Telugu | ప్రమాదకరమైనది | ||
| Urdu | خطرناک | ||
| "خطرناک" is ultimately derived from the Persian word "خطر" which refers to "a calamity, disaster, or fatal accident." | |||
Dangerous in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 危险的 | ||
| "危险的" (wēixiǎn de) literally means "precariously inclined" and can also refer to something that is "unstable" or "risky." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 危險的 | ||
| 危险的 (wēixiǎnde) derives from the term "險" (xiǎn), meaning "unstable" and "perilous." | |||
| Japanese | 危険な | ||
| The second meaning of 危険 is "bad at", meaning "not good at" something | |||
| Korean | 위험한 | ||
| The Chinese characters used to write 위험 are 危 "risk" and 險 "dangerous, formidable," and thus the word can be translated as "extremely dangerous." | |||
| Mongolian | аюултай | ||
| The Mongolian word "аюултай" also refers to something or someone that causes fear or apprehension. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အန္တရာယ်ရှိသော | ||
Dangerous in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | berbahaya | ||
| "Berbahaya" originates from the word "bahaya," which means "peril" in Arabic. | |||
| Javanese | mbebayani | ||
| The word "mbebayani" is not a single word in Javanese; it is a phrase that translates to "something that is hazardous or dangerous". | |||
| Khmer | គ្រោះថ្នាក់ | ||
| Lao | ອັນຕະລາຍ | ||
| In Thai 'อันตราย' also shares the meanings of 'disaster' and 'harm', likely from Pali 'antarāya' with similar meanings. | |||
| Malay | berbahaya | ||
| The word "berbahaya" in Malay shares its root with the word "bahaya" which means "disaster" or "calamity." | |||
| Thai | อันตราย | ||
| “อันตราย” may have originated from Sanskrit “antaraaya” meaning “obstacle or delay.” | |||
| Vietnamese | nguy hiểm | ||
| "Nguy hiểm" originates from the Chinese word "危險" (yīxiǎn), which means "dangerous". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mapanganib | ||
Dangerous in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | təhlükəli | ||
| The word "təhlükəli" is derived from the Persian word "tahlukeh", which means "danger" or "risk". | |||
| Kazakh | қауіпті | ||
| The Kazakh word “қауіпті” means “dangerous”, but it also means “bad” and “ugly”. | |||
| Kyrgyz | коркунучтуу | ||
| The word "коркунучтуу" can also refer to something that is awe-inspiring or formidable. | |||
| Tajik | хатарнок | ||
| The word comes from the Persian word | |||
| Turkmen | howply | ||
| Uzbek | xavfli | ||
| The Uzbek word "xavfli" is thought to be related to the Persian words "khaufnak" and "khabarnak," both of which mean "dangerous". It may also be related to the Turkish word "korkunç," which means "terrible" or "frightening." | |||
| Uyghur | خەتەرلىك | ||
Dangerous in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | weliweli | ||
| Weliweli may also refer to something that is "treacherous" or "wicked" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | mōrearea | ||
| The Maori word "mōrearea" also signifies "dreadful, fearful, horrible". | |||
| Samoan | mataʻutia | ||
| The word "mataʻutia" in Samoan literally translates to "eyes that look out". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | mapanganib | ||
| "Mapanganib" (dangerous) is related to the root word "pangamba" (fear) and can also mean "threatening" or "foreboding." | |||
Dangerous in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | asxarkaya | ||
| Guarani | iñangave'ỹva | ||
Dangerous in International Languages
| Esperanto | danĝera | ||
| "Danĝera" is based on "danger" but is more akin to the French word "dangereux", which has connotations of forbidden, harmful, or evil. | |||
| Latin | periculo | ||
| Periculo also means "trial" in Latin, as it is derived from the verb "perire" (to perish), suggesting that taking risks can either lead to success or failure. | |||
Dangerous in Others Languages
| Greek | επικίνδυνος | ||
| "Επικίνδυνος" comes from the ancient Greek "επί" (epi, "on") and "κίνδυνος" (kindunos, "risk"), meaning "risky" or "perilous". | |||
| Hmong | txaus ntshai | ||
| "txaus ntshai" can refer to a ferocious animal, a malevolent spirit, or something ominous in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | talûkeyî | ||
| The word "talûkeyî" comes from the Arabic word "talaka", meaning "to divorce". | |||
| Turkish | tehlikeli | ||
| Tehlikeli is derived from the Persian word | |||
| Xhosa | yingozi | ||
| The Xhosa word "yingozi" also means "hyena" or "evil spirit" and is thought to be onomatopoeic, derived from the sound made by hyenas. | |||
| Yiddish | געפערלעך | ||
| The word "געפערלעך" in Yiddish can also mean "hazardous" or "risky". | |||
| Zulu | kuyingozi | ||
| The word "kuyingozi" is derived from the Zulu word "ingozi", meaning "danger" or "risk". | |||
| Assamese | বিপদজনক | ||
| Aymara | asxarkaya | ||
| Bhojpuri | खतरनाक | ||
| Dhivehi | ނުރައްކާތެރި | ||
| Dogri | खतरनाक | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mapanganib | ||
| Guarani | iñangave'ỹva | ||
| Ilocano | delikado | ||
| Krio | denja | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | مەترسیدار | ||
| Maithili | खतरनाक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯨꯗꯣꯡꯊꯤꯅꯤꯡꯉꯥꯏ ꯑꯣꯏꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hlauhawm | ||
| Oromo | balaafamaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବିପଜ୍ଜନକ | | ||
| Quechua | manchachikuq | ||
| Sanskrit | भयंकरं | ||
| Tatar | куркыныч | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓደገኛ | ||
| Tsonga | nghozi | ||