Delay in Different Languages
Discover 'Delay' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Delays can be frustrating, but they're also a natural part of life. Whether it's waiting for a friend who's running late or dealing with a flight delay, the word 'delay' is universally understood. But have you ever wondered how to say 'delay' in different languages? Understanding this simple word in various languages can help you navigate new cultures and connect with people from around the world.
The word 'delay' has roots in Latin, and it has been used in the English language since the 15th century. It's a term that has been used in various contexts, from transportation to technology, and it's even been the subject of songs and poetry. In many cultures, delays are seen as a test of patience and resilience, while in others, they're simply a part of daily life.
So, why should you learn the translation of 'delay' in different languages? For starters, it can help you communicate more effectively when traveling or doing business abroad. It also shows a level of respect and cultural awareness that can go a long way in building relationships and breaking down barriers.
Without further ado, here are some translations of the word 'delay' in different languages:
Delay
Delay in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vertraging | ||
| The word "vertraging" in Afrikaans originated from the Dutch word vertraging, meaning "delay" and also has the alternate meaning of "slowing down" or "retarding". | |||
| Amharic | መዘግየት | ||
| The word "መዘግየት" comes from the Geez word "ዘገየ" (zagaye), which means "to hinder" or "to obstruct." | |||
| Hausa | jinkiri | ||
| "Jinkiri" in Hausa also means "to stop temporarily". | |||
| Igbo | igbu oge | ||
| "igbu oge" can also mean "to waste time" | |||
| Malagasy | fahatarana | ||
| "Fahatarana" comes from the verb "fahatra" meaning "to catch (someone)," or "to overtake (someone)" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuchedwa | ||
| In Nyanja, "kuchedwa" commonly means "delay," but can also refer to "lateness" or "being tardy." | |||
| Shona | kunonoka | ||
| The word "kunonoka" derives from an etymological root meaning "to be heavy" or "sluggish." | |||
| Somali | daahid | ||
| Daahid is also the Somali word for hesitation or procrastination. | |||
| Sesotho | lieha | ||
| The word "lieha" in Sesotho is the root of a family of words related to waiting or delaying. | |||
| Swahili | kuchelewesha | ||
| The word 'kuchelewesha' in Swahili comes from the root 'chelewa', meaning 'to be late' or 'to take time'. | |||
| Xhosa | ukulibaziseka | ||
| 'Ukubaziseka' can also mean to loiter. | |||
| Yoruba | idaduro | ||
| "Idadura" also means "postponement, adjournment, procrastination, or suspension" in Yoruba language. | |||
| Zulu | ukubambezeleka | ||
| The Zulu verb 'ukubambezeleka' comes from the noun 'sibambezele', meaning 'a block or obstacle'. | |||
| Bambara | ka mɛ | ||
| Ewe | hehe ɖe megbe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gutinda | ||
| Lingala | kozelisa | ||
| Luganda | okulwawo | ||
| Sepedi | diega | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ka akyi | ||
Delay in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تأخير | ||
| "تأخير" (delay), from "أخر" (to make late), comes from a different root than the similar-sounding word in Persian | |||
| Hebrew | לְעַכֵּב | ||
| The verb לְעַכֵּב can also mean "to prevent" or "to obstruct". | |||
| Pashto | ځنډ | ||
| The word "ځنډ" (delay) in Pashto may also refer to a "pause" or "break" in a sentence or piece of music. | |||
| Arabic | تأخير | ||
| "تأخير" (delay), from "أخر" (to make late), comes from a different root than the similar-sounding word in Persian | |||
Delay in Western European Languages
| Albanian | vonesë | ||
| The word "vonesë" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wen-, meaning "to wait"} | |||
| Basque | atzerapena | ||
| "Atzerapena", meaning "delay", can be traced back to the Proto-Basque word "*atera-pen-a", meaning "to come later". The first element, "atera", is related to the word "atera", meaning "late", while the second element, "pen-a", is a nominal suffix. | |||
| Catalan | retard | ||
| In catalan 'retard' also means 'slow', 'late' and 'backwards' | |||
| Croatian | odgoditi | ||
| The Croatian word "odgoditi" is derived from the Old Slavic word "godina" meaning "year". | |||
| Danish | forsinke | ||
| The word 'forsinke' in Danish is derived from the Old Norse word 'forsinnka', which means 'to delay' or 'to postpone'. | |||
| Dutch | vertraging | ||
| The word "vertraging" in Dutch can also mean "slowing down" or "deceleration." | |||
| English | delay | ||
| The word "delay" derives from the Old English word "dalian"," which means "to put off" or"defer". | |||
| French | retard | ||
| In French, "retard" can also mean "late" or "to be late". | |||
| Frisian | fertraging | ||
| In Saterland Frisian, 'fertraging' also means 'delaying', while in North Frisian it means 'delayed' | |||
| Galician | atraso | ||
| The Galician word "atraso" can also mean slowness, laziness, backwardness or lack of progress. | |||
| German | verzögern | ||
| The word "verzögern" originally meant "to drag" or "to draw out" in Middle High German. | |||
| Icelandic | seinkun | ||
| The word "seinkun" has alternate meanings in Icelandic such as "hesitation" and "tardiness." | |||
| Irish | moill | ||
| The word 'moill' is cognate with the Welsh word 'moel' meaning 'bare, bald' and Breton 'moal' meaning 'bald' and with the Old Irish 'maol' meaning 'delay'. | |||
| Italian | ritardo | ||
| In musical terminology, "ritardo" also indicates a slight slowing of tempo. | |||
| Luxembourgish | verspéidung | ||
| The word "Verspéidung" is derived from the Latin word "vesper", meaning "evening", and also has the alternate meaning of "evening meal" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | dewmien | ||
| "Demien" is a noun meaning "delay", from "damjar" (wait, linger), and is also the feminine singular form of the verb "damja" (wait). | |||
| Norwegian | forsinkelse | ||
| The word 'forsinkelse' comes from the Old Norse word 'forseinka', meaning 'to obstruct' or 'to hinder'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | demora | ||
| The word "demora" can also mean "stay" or "stop" in Portuguese. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dàil | ||
| Dàil is also a word used in Scottish Gaelic for a valley. | |||
| Spanish | retrasar | ||
| "Retrasar" originated both from the Latin "trahere," meaning "to drag (slowly)," through the Medieval Romance "retardar," "to slow," and from "ras-," a contraction of the prefix that originated in the Latin and Greek "re-, retro-" | |||
| Swedish | dröjsmål | ||
| The Swedish word "dröjsmål" can also refer to a penalty of payment for exceeding specified delivery times of goods. | |||
| Welsh | oedi | ||
| The verb 'oedi' in Welsh can also mean 'tarry' or 'dally', emphasising its connection to passing time. | |||
Delay in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | затрымка | ||
| The word "затрымка" in Belarusian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*zatьrmati", which also means "to detain" or "to hold back". | |||
| Bosnian | odgoditi | ||
| "Odgoditi" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*wedh-" meaning "bind, hinder". | |||
| Bulgarian | забавяне | ||
| The word "забавяне" (delay) in Bulgarian can also refer to "hindrance" or "obstruction" | |||
| Czech | zpoždění | ||
| The word "zpoždění" in Czech relates to the word "" (late"" in English. | |||
| Estonian | viivitus | ||
| The Estonian word "viivitus" is cognate with the Finnish word "viive", which has the same meaning, and both words are ultimately derived from the Proto-Finnic word *wihwe, which meant "delay, postponement, or respite." | |||
| Finnish | viive | ||
| Viive is derived from the Proto-Uralic root *wiht-, meaning "to rest" or "to wait". | |||
| Hungarian | késleltetés | ||
| The Hungarian word "késleltetés" is cognate with the Finnish noun "keskeytys", meaning "interruption" | |||
| Latvian | kavēšanās | ||
| The word "kavēšanās" also means "procrastination" or "tardiness" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | delsimas | ||
| The word "delsimas" in Lithuanian is derived from the Latin word "delassatio", meaning tiredness or fatigue. | |||
| Macedonian | доцнење | ||
| Доцнење is cognate with Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, and Ukrainian for "late" and has the extended meaning of "lateness". | |||
| Polish | opóźnienie | ||
| The word "opóźnienie" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "opъzniti", meaning "to stop, delay". | |||
| Romanian | întârziere | ||
| "Întârziere" ultimately derives from the Latin word "tardiare", meaning "to be slow". | |||
| Russian | задержка | ||
| Originally, this word meant "stopping or holding back". | |||
| Serbian | одлагање | ||
| The word 'одлагање' can also mean 'deferment', 'postponement', or 'expiration'. | |||
| Slovak | meškanie | ||
| The Slovak word "meškanie" is derived from the Old Slavic word "meškati", meaning "to linger" or "to wait". | |||
| Slovenian | zamuda | ||
| The word "zamuda" in Slovenian originally meant "obstruction", "obstacle" or "difficulty". | |||
| Ukrainian | затримка | ||
| Etymology: a delay, retention, postponement, from 'zatyrmuvaty': 'to hinder' (cf. '+tyrmati+', '-tym'); delay in delivery of an object or performance of some act | |||
Delay in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বিলম্ব | ||
| The word "বিলম্ব" derives from Sanskrit "vilamba" meaning "pause". It also denotes "tardiness" or "slowness". | |||
| Gujarati | વિલંબ | ||
| The term "વિલંબ" is derived from the Sanskrit "वि-लम्ब", meaning "hanging down" or "suspended", indicating a state of inaction or postponement. | |||
| Hindi | विलंब | ||
| The Hindi word विलम्ब originally meant "to be long, drawn out, or tedious," and continues to be used in this sense in compound phrases. | |||
| Kannada | ವಿಳಂಬ | ||
| As a verb, ವಿಳಂಬ can also mean to procrastinate or hesitate. | |||
| Malayalam | കാലതാമസം | ||
| Marathi | विलंब | ||
| "विलंब" can also mean an "obstacle" in Marathi, derived from the Sanskrit word "विघ्न" meaning "impediment". | |||
| Nepali | ढिला | ||
| "ढिला" can colloquially mean 'lax' in Nepali, especially when describing people. | |||
| Punjabi | ਦੇਰੀ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਦੇਰੀ" (delay) shares its root with the Sanskrit word "दिरा" (slow), which also means "long, distant, or protracted." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්රමාදය | ||
| Its Sanskrit cognate, pramāda, means 'negligence' rather than 'delay' in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | தாமதம் | ||
| "தாமதம்" comes from the Tamil word "தம்", meaning "self" or "one's own", and "தம்ம" meaning "to cause a delay" or "to tarry". Additionally, it can also mean "slowness" or "inertia". | |||
| Telugu | ఆలస్యం | ||
| The term 'ఆలస్యం' can also refer to a 'pause', 'interval', 'rest' or 'delay'. | |||
| Urdu | تاخیر | ||
| The word "تاخیر" (takheer) is derived from the Arabic word for "postponement" or "stay of execution," and can also carry the connotation of "negligence" or "dereliction of duty." | |||
Delay in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 延迟 | ||
| 延迟 (chíyán) was originally used to record the names of criminals who needed to be executed after the autumn harvest. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 延遲 | ||
| "延" can also mean "extend" and "遲" can mean "slow". | |||
| Japanese | ディレイ | ||
| The English word "delay" is derived from the Old French word "delai, | |||
| Korean | 지연 | ||
| In Korean, "지연" can also refer to a person who is tardy or procrastinates. | |||
| Mongolian | саатал | ||
| The word "саатал" can also refer to "hesitation" or "procrastination". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | နောက်ကျ | ||
Delay in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menunda | ||
| Menunda is derived from the Old Javanese word "tunda" which means to postpone or defer. | |||
| Javanese | tundha | ||
| In Javanese, "tundha" has multiple meanings, including "to delay" and "to leave something behind." | |||
| Khmer | ពន្យាពេល | ||
| ពន្យាពេល (delay) comes from Sanskrit 'vyānatta' (expanded) suggesting a state of being extended or stretched out. | |||
| Lao | ຊັກຊ້າ | ||
| The Lao word ຊັກຊ້າ has the alternate meaning of procrastination, which is the act of voluntarily delaying or postponing a task despite knowing that it needs to be addressed. | |||
| Malay | kelewatan | ||
| "Kelewatan" also means "excessive" or "too much" in Malay. | |||
| Thai | ล่าช้า | ||
| The word "ล่าช้า" also means "to be late" or "to be tardy" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | sự chậm trễ | ||
| In Vietnamese, "sự chậm trễ" can also refer to a period of inactivity or inaction. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagkaantala | ||
Delay in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | gecikmə | ||
| The word | |||
| Kazakh | кешіктіру | ||
| The verb "кешіктіру" is derived from the noun "кешік" meaning "delay" and also means "to prolong" or "to slow down". | |||
| Kyrgyz | кечигүү | ||
| The word 'кечигүү' in Kyrgyz can also mean 'forgiveness' or 'pardon'. | |||
| Tajik | таъхир | ||
| The word also means 'to put off doing something until later'. | |||
| Turkmen | gijikdirmek | ||
| Uzbek | kechikish | ||
| The verb «kechikish» is cognate with the Turkish verb «geç kalmak» which means either «to be late» or «to delay». | |||
| Uyghur | كېچىكىش | ||
Delay in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻolohi | ||
| 'Hoʻolohi' shares an etymological relationship with 'lōhi', meaning 'slow' or 'gentle', hinting at its semantic origins in the concept of slowing down or taking one's time. | |||
| Maori | whakaroa | ||
| A secondary meaning of "whakaroa" is to "hold up an end of the net" while fishing. | |||
| Samoan | tuai | ||
| The word "tuai" can also mean "to prolong," "to hold back," or "to defer." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | antala | ||
| In Tagalog, "antala" also means "hesitation" or "procrastination." | |||
Delay in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jayarsti | ||
| Guarani | mbegue | ||
Delay in International Languages
| Esperanto | prokrasti | ||
| Prokrasti can also mean 'postpone', and comes from the Greek word 'akrasis', meaning 'not mixed' or 'in disorder'. | |||
| Latin | mora | ||
| The Latin word "mora" also refers to the unit of measurement used in the study of poetry. | |||
Delay in Others Languages
| Greek | καθυστέρηση | ||
| The Greek word "καθυστέρηση" also refers to the physical distance between two objects or the intellectual gap between two opinions. | |||
| Hmong | ncua sijhawm | ||
| "Ncua sijhawm" means "delay" in Hmong, and also refers to the act of procrastinating or putting something off until later. | |||
| Kurdish | derengxistin | ||
| In Kurdish, the word "derengxistin" not only means "delay," but also carries the connotation of "putting off" or "avoiding" a task or responsibility. | |||
| Turkish | gecikme | ||
| The word "gecikme" originates from the Persian word "gecik" meaning "to be late" and has a similar meaning in Albanian. | |||
| Xhosa | ukulibaziseka | ||
| 'Ukubaziseka' can also mean to loiter. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרהאַלטן | ||
| In addition to its common meaning of "delay," the Yiddish word "פאַרהאַלטן" (farehalt) can also mean "to stop" or "to detain." | |||
| Zulu | ukubambezeleka | ||
| The Zulu verb 'ukubambezeleka' comes from the noun 'sibambezele', meaning 'a block or obstacle'. | |||
| Assamese | পলম কৰা | ||
| Aymara | jayarsti | ||
| Bhojpuri | देरी | ||
| Dhivehi | ލަސްވުން | ||
| Dogri | चिर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagkaantala | ||
| Guarani | mbegue | ||
| Ilocano | itantan | ||
| Krio | westɛm | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دواخستن | ||
| Maithili | देरी | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯊꯦꯡꯊꯕ | ||
| Mizo | titlai | ||
| Oromo | boodatti hafuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବିଳମ୍ବ | ||
| Quechua | unayay | ||
| Sanskrit | विलम्बः | ||
| Tatar | тоткарлау | ||
| Tigrinya | ምዝንጋዕ | ||
| Tsonga | hlwela | ||