Defeat in Different Languages
Discover 'Defeat' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Defeat
Afrikaans nederlaag | ||
Albanian humbjen | ||
Amharic መሸነፍ | ||
Arabic يهزم | ||
Armenian պարտություն | ||
Assamese হৰুওৱা | ||
Aymara atipjaña | ||
Azerbaijani məğlub etmək | ||
Bambara ka se sɔrɔ | ||
Basque porrota | ||
Belarusian паражэнне | ||
Bengali পরাজয় | ||
Bhojpuri हराईं | ||
Bosnian poraz | ||
Bulgarian поражение | ||
Catalan derrota | ||
Cebuano kapildihan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 打败 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 打敗 | ||
Corsican disfatta | ||
Croatian poraz | ||
Czech porazit | ||
Danish nederlag | ||
Dhivehi ބަލި | ||
Dogri हार | ||
Dutch nederlaag | ||
English defeat | ||
Esperanto malvenko | ||
Estonian lüüa | ||
Ewe anyidzedze | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pagkatalo | ||
Finnish tappio | ||
French défaite | ||
Frisian ferslaan | ||
Galician derrota | ||
Georgian დამარცხება | ||
German niederlage | ||
Greek ήττα | ||
Guarani po'ẽ | ||
Gujarati હાર | ||
Haitian Creole defèt | ||
Hausa shan kashi | ||
Hawaiian eo ʻana | ||
Hebrew לִהַבִיס | ||
Hindi हार | ||
Hmong swb | ||
Hungarian vereség | ||
Icelandic ósigur | ||
Igbo mmeri | ||
Ilocano abaken | ||
Indonesian mengalahkan | ||
Irish ruaig | ||
Italian la sconfitta | ||
Japanese 敗北 | ||
Javanese kalah | ||
Kannada ಸೋಲು | ||
Kazakh жеңіліс | ||
Khmer បរាជ័យ | ||
Kinyarwanda gutsindwa | ||
Konkani हार | ||
Korean 패배 | ||
Krio win | ||
Kurdish binketî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) شکست | ||
Kyrgyz жеңилүү | ||
Lao ການເອົາຊະນະ | ||
Latin cladem | ||
Latvian sakāve | ||
Lingala kopolisa | ||
Lithuanian nugalėti | ||
Luganda okuwangulwa | ||
Luxembourgish néierlag | ||
Macedonian пораз | ||
Maithili हरेनाइ | ||
Malagasy faharesena | ||
Malay kekalahan | ||
Malayalam പരാജയം | ||
Maltese telfa | ||
Maori hinga | ||
Marathi पराभव | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯥꯏꯊꯤꯕ ꯄꯤꯕ | ||
Mizo hneh | ||
Mongolian ялагдал | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ရှုံးနိမ့်ခြင်း | ||
Nepali हार | ||
Norwegian nederlag | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kugonjetsedwa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପରାଜୟ | ||
Oromo mo'uu | ||
Pashto ماتې | ||
Persian شکست دادن | ||
Polish pokonać | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) derrota | ||
Punjabi ਹਾਰ | ||
Quechua qullupuy | ||
Romanian înfrângere | ||
Russian поражение | ||
Samoan faiaina | ||
Sanskrit पराजय | ||
Scots Gaelic ruaig | ||
Sepedi fenya | ||
Serbian пораз | ||
Sesotho hloloa | ||
Shona kukundwa | ||
Sindhi شڪست | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පරාජය | ||
Slovak porážka | ||
Slovenian poraz | ||
Somali guuldarro | ||
Spanish derrota | ||
Sundanese eleh | ||
Swahili kushindwa | ||
Swedish nederlag | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) pagkatalo | ||
Tajik шикаст | ||
Tamil தோல்வி | ||
Tatar җиңелү | ||
Telugu ఓటమి | ||
Thai พ่ายแพ้ | ||
Tigrinya ሽንፈት | ||
Tsonga hluriwa | ||
Turkish yenilgi | ||
Turkmen ýeňmek | ||
Twi (Akan) nkuguodie | ||
Ukrainian поразка | ||
Urdu شکست | ||
Uyghur مەغلۇبىيەت | ||
Uzbek mag'lubiyat | ||
Vietnamese đánh bại | ||
Welsh trechu | ||
Xhosa ukoyisa | ||
Yiddish באַזיגן | ||
Yoruba ijatil | ||
Zulu ukunqotshwa |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "nederlaag" has a secondary meaning of "a low-lying area," which reflects its origin in the Dutch "neerdaling," meaning "descent." |
| Albanian | The word 'humbjen' originates from the Proto-Albanian word '*hun-d'- (to separate). |
| Amharic | Amharic "መሸነፍ" not only means defeat, but also signifies being outdone in a game or contest |
| Arabic | The word "يهزم" in Arabic derives from the root "هزم" (h-z-m), which means "to put to flight" or "to scatter," and is related to the word "هزيمة" (hazīma), meaning "defeat" or "rout." |
| Azerbaijani | The word "məğlub etmək" in Azerbaijani derives from the Persian word "maghlub", meaning "conquered" or "overcome". |
| Basque | The Basque word "porrota" also means "lump" or "bump" and is likely related to "purro" ("boil") and "porrat" ("pustule"). |
| Belarusian | The word "паражэнне" in Belarusian has the same origin as the Russian word "поражение" (defeat) and the Polish word "porażka" (defeat). |
| Bengali | পরাজয় in Bengali comes from the Sanskrit पराजय (parajaya), meaning 'defeat' or 'discomfiture'. |
| Bosnian | In Polish, the word "poraz" also means "time" or "occasion". |
| Bulgarian | The word "поражение" can also be used to describe damage received to an enemy unit in a video game or similar media in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | "La derrota" en catalán también puede significar una ruta o camino difícil de recorrer. |
| Cebuano | Kapildihan is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kapila', meaning 'monkey' or 'red-colored', and is used metaphorically to describe a state of being defeated or outwitted. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 打败, also pronounced “dǎbái,” is sometimes used to mean “to beat” or “to whip” in a non-martial context. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 打敗 in Traditional Chinese can also mean "to beat (in a competition)." |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "disfatta" can also mean "bad luck" or "misfortune." |
| Croatian | Historically, 'poraz' was used as the opposite of 'uspeh' ('success') and meant 'failure', but today 'neuspjeh' ('lack of success') is used instead, while 'poraz' is reserved for situations where an active intention is involved. |
| Czech | "Porazit" also means "to vomit" in Czech slang. |
| Danish | "Nederlag" comes from Old Norse "niðrlǫg", which originally meant "a laying-down of the body", hence "a fall". |
| Dutch | The word "nederlaag" also refers to a type of dance move in Dutch, specifically a stomp or stamping on the ground. |
| Esperanto | In the sense of a crushing defeat, "malvenko" alludes to the "malvenkos", mythical giants defeated by Thor. |
| Estonian | The word "lüüa" in Estonian has alternate meanings like "to strike" and "to play" in addition to "defeat". |
| Finnish | "Tappio" comes from the word "tappi", meaning "plug", and is related to the idea of "stopping" something. |
| French | In French, the word "défaite" can also mean "lack" or "failure." |
| Frisian | The word 'ferslaan' can also mean 'to strike' or 'to kill' in Frisian. |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "derrota" also refers to the physical or moral weakening caused by illness or suffering. |
| German | "Niederlage" comes from the Middle High German "niderlage", which meant "to lay down" or "to put down". |
| Greek | The word "ήττα" derives from the Homeric word "άαται" meaning "to be overcome." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "હાર" (haar) not only means "defeat" but also refers to a "garland" or "necklace," highlighting the contrasting notions of loss and adornment in a single term. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "defeat" retains its original French meaning, signifying "waste" or "loss". |
| Hausa | Originating from the Hausa word 'kashi' ('to break'), 'shan kashi' implies the breaking of an obstacle or challenge. |
| Hawaiian | The word "eo ʻana" in Hawaiian can also mean "to fail" or "to lose". |
| Hebrew | The word "לִהַבִיס" also means "to ignite" or "to flame" in Hebrew, suggesting a fiery or destructive aspect to the concept of defeat. |
| Hindi | The word "हार" in Hindi can also mean "garland", "necklace", or "offering". |
| Hmong | The word "swb" (defeat) in Hmong can also mean "to break." |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "vereség" is derived from the word "ver", meaning "to strike" or "to beat". It can also refer to a loss in a competition or a setback. |
| Icelandic | The Proto-Germanic verb of *ôsi- has the cognates of |
| Igbo | The word "mmeri" in Igbo, which means "discomfiture" or "outwitting", is derived from the word "mmere", meaning "cleverness". |
| Indonesian | "Mengalahkan" can also mean "to overpower" or "to conquer". |
| Irish | "Ruaig" can also mean "route", "march" or "journey". |
| Italian | The Italian word "la sconfitta" comes from the Latin word "conficere," which means "to conquer" or "to defeat." |
| Japanese | 敗北 can also refer to the act of losing or the state of being defeated, as well as a person who has been defeated. |
| Javanese | In Javanese, 'kalah' can also refer to a child's first attempt at a skill. |
| Kannada | "ಸೋಲು" also means "sunlight" in Kannada, implying that even in defeat, there is hope for a new beginning. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "жеңіліс" can also mean "failure" or "loss". |
| Khmer | "បរាជ័យ" is also a term used in Cambodian history and political science to describe the loss of power or territory. |
| Korean | 패배 is a sino-korean word meaning 'defeat,' but its hanja characters (敗北) literally translate to 'broken north,' likely due to the north direction being associated with weakness in traditional Chinese thought. |
| Kurdish | The word "binketî" also means "broken" or "destroyed" in Kurdish. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "жеңилүү" can also mean "relaxation" or "rest" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | Cladem also means "ruin" or "destruction" in Latin, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kled- ("to cover"). |
| Latvian | The word "sakāve" is derived from the Proto-Baltic root *sak-, meaning "to beat". |
| Lithuanian | Nugalėti is of Latvian origin and related to the word |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Néierlag" is derived from the Middle High German word "niderlage", which means "overthrow" or "deposition." |
| Macedonian | The word "пораз" in Macedonian can also refer to a "defeat" in a competition or game. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "faharesena" can also refer to a game, race, or competition in which one is defeated. |
| Malay | The word "kekalahan" is derived from the root word "kalah," which means "lose or be defeated in a contest". |
| Malayalam | The word "പരാജയം" is also used to denote "disappointment" and "frustration" in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | 'Telf' in Maltese comes from the Arabic 'talafa' ('to be lost'), and it is also used to describe a situation where something is 'ruined' or 'spoiled'. |
| Maori | The word "hinga" can also mean "downfall" or "destruction" in Maori. |
| Marathi | The word 'पराभव' can also mean 'destruction' or 'overthrow' in Marathi and is derived from Sanskrit roots. |
| Mongolian | The word "ялагдал" is also used to refer to a "loss" in the context of a game or competition. |
| Nepali | The word 'हार' also means 'flower garland' in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | "Nederlag" in Norwegian comes from the Old Norse word "niðrlægja," meaning "to humiliate" or "to overthrow." |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja, "kugonjetsedwa" can also figuratively mean "to be fooled or tricked". |
| Pashto | ماتې literally means "to die" in Pashto, but it has also been used to mean "to defeat" for centuries. |
| Persian | شکست means brokenness as it is derived from the word |
| Polish | The word 'Pokonać' is similar to the word 'Pokonywać', which means 'to conquer'. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "derrota" originates from the Late Latin verb "derotare," meaning "to overturn, turn over, or upset." |
| Punjabi | The word "ਹਾਰ" can also mean a garland or necklace in Punjabi. |
| Romanian | Înfrângere, also known as "neizbândă or eșec in Romanian, means "defeat". |
| Russian | "Поражение" can also mean a lesion, wound or damage in the context of medicine or biology. |
| Samoan | The word 'faiaina' can also refer to a battle, a game or a contest, and is the root word for 'faia' (battle) and 'faia'i' (to play a game or contest). |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word "ruaig" also means "rout" or "disorderly flight" in English. |
| Serbian | The word 'пораз' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'poraziti', meaning 'to strike' or 'to knock down'. |
| Sesotho | "Hloloa" may also refer to the act of peeling or skinning something. |
| Shona | Etymology: Stemmed from the word "kukunda" meaning "to lose" or "to miss the mark". Alternate meaning: Failure. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "شڪست" can also mean "broken" or "damaged". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "පරාජය" (parajaya) is derived from the Sanskrit word "परिराजय" (parirajaya), meaning "to surround" or "to enclose." |
| Slovak | In addition to the meaning “defeat,” “porážka” also carries the meaning “slaughter.” |
| Slovenian | In Russian, the word "porazheniye" (поражение) has the same etymology and also means defeat. |
| Somali | The verb "guuldarro" can also mean "to fall down" or "to be overthrown," and is etymologically related to the word "guul," which means "victory." |
| Spanish | In 17th and 18th century Spain, the verb |
| Sundanese | Eleu is cognate with eleh, the Sundanese word for defeat, with the same etymology as other el- words describing defeat in the Malayo-Polynesian languages. |
| Swahili | The term kushindwa is also used figuratively in Swahili to indicate a setback in a wider enterprise. |
| Swedish | "Nederlag" can also refer to the act of lowering a flag." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Pagkatalo" can also refer to a "failure to comply with a regulation or law." |
| Tajik | The word "шикаст" can also mean "to break or damage" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | The word ''தோல்வி'' (thōlvi) is derived from ''தோல்'' (thōl), meaning skin, hide, or pelt, suggesting that defeat is akin to having one's skin or protective layer stripped away. |
| Telugu | "ఓటమి" has alternate meanings as a verb, including: "to be defeated" and "to reject". It has alternate meanings as a noun, including: "defeat", "disagreement", and "contention". |
| Thai | "พ่ายแพ้" can also mean "failure" or "to give up on something." |
| Turkish | Yenilgi is derived from the old Turkish word yenil, which means "to be defeated" or "to be exhausted" |
| Ukrainian | "Поразка" is Ukrainian for "defeat," but can also refer to "damage," "loss," "failure," or "impairment." |
| Urdu | شکست is derived from the Persian word **shikast** (**شکست**), meaning "broken", "shattered", or "torn". |
| Uzbek | The word "mag'lubiyat" can also refer to a loss in a competition or game, or to a setback or failure in general. |
| Vietnamese | The word "đánh bại" in Vietnamese literally means "to hit and defeat". |
| Welsh | The word "trechu" also means "to overcome" or "to conquer" in Welsh. |
| Xhosa | The word 'Ukoyisa' in Xhosa can also mean 'to overcome' or 'to surpass'. |
| Yiddish | "באַזיגן" is related to the German verb "besiegen" and English word "besiege". |
| Yoruba | The word 'ijatil' can also refer to 'disgrace' in Yoruba. |
| Zulu | Ukubuyiswa: The word "ukunqotshwa" also means to be returned or sent back, as in the phrase "ukunqotshwa emuva," which means to be returned home. |
| English | The word "defeat" shares its origin with the Latin word "fatigare", meaning "to tire". |