Desperate in Different Languages
Discover 'Desperate' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Desperate is a powerful word that conveys a strong sense of urgency and despair. It is often used to describe someone who is facing a difficult situation and has run out of options. The word has been used in literature and popular culture to add drama and emotion to stories, making it a culturally significant term.
Throughout history, desperate situations have led to innovative solutions and acts of bravery. For example, during World War II, the word was used to describe the desperate efforts of soldiers and civilians to survive and resist oppression. Today, the word continues to be relevant as people around the world face challenges such as poverty, discrimination, and climate change.
Knowing the translation of desperate in different languages can help us better understand and connect with people from diverse cultures. For instance, the French translation of desperate is désespéré, while in Spanish, it is desesperado. In German, the word is verzweifelt, and in Japanese, it is 絶望的 (zetsubō-teki).
In this article, we will explore the translations of desperate in 20 different languages, shedding light on the cultural nuances and historical contexts associated with this powerful word.
Desperate
Desperate in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | desperaat | ||
| Afrikaans “desperaat” comes from the Portuguese “desesperado” which can mean “brave” as well as “desperate”. | |||
| Amharic | ተስፋ የቆረጠ | ||
| The word also means "hopeless." | |||
| Hausa | matsananciya | ||
| The Hausa word "matsananciya" (desperation) is derived from the verb "tsana" (to hate), indicating a deep-seated emotional state. | |||
| Igbo | sikwara ike njite | ||
| "Ike njite" (literally "no strength") is the Igbo word for "desperate." | |||
| Malagasy | aretina tsy azo sitranina | ||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | wosimidwa | ||
| The word "wosimidwa" can also mean "to be frustrated". | |||
| Shona | apererwa | ||
| The word "apererwa" in Shona derives from the root "pera," meaning "to rush" or "to be in a hurry," and thus connotes a sense of urgency and desperation. | |||
| Somali | quus | ||
| The word "quus" (desperate) is derived from "qufu," meaning to run out of breath, or "qaad u siin," meaning a lack of resources. | |||
| Sesotho | tsielehile | ||
| The Sesotho word tsielehile is also used to describe someone who is reckless. | |||
| Swahili | kukata tamaa | ||
| The phrase kukata tamaa (lit. to cut hope) is Swahili for to become desperate | |||
| Xhosa | lithemba | ||
| The Xhosa word "lithemba" can also mean "hope" or "expectation"} | |||
| Yoruba | ainireti | ||
| 'Ainireti' may also mean 'having no hope' | |||
| Zulu | ngokuphelelwa yithemba | ||
| Literally meaning "to be abandoned by hope," ngokuphelelwa yithemba figuratively describes a state of powerlessness and forlornness. | |||
| Bambara | jigitigɛ | ||
| Ewe | tsi dzi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bihebye | ||
| Lingala | kozala na mposa | ||
| Luganda | okuyonkayonka | ||
| Sepedi | go ba tlalelong | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ahopere | ||
Desperate in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يائس | ||
| The verb originates from the root "يئِسَ/Y-ʾ-ʾ-S" from the Classical Arabic form meaning despair, grieve or become hopeless | |||
| Hebrew | נוֹאָשׁ | ||
| "נוֹאָשׁ" is the Hebrew equivalent of "desperate," although it is also a derogatory term for "pessimist." | |||
| Pashto | نا امید | ||
| The word "نا امید" ("desperate") is derived from the Persian word "ناامید" (nā-umīd), which literally means "without hope". | |||
| Arabic | يائس | ||
| The verb originates from the root "يئِسَ/Y-ʾ-ʾ-S" from the Classical Arabic form meaning despair, grieve or become hopeless | |||
Desperate in Western European Languages
| Albanian | i dëshpëruar | ||
| This word shares the same etymology with "shpërbejem", also meaning "to spread". | |||
| Basque | etsi | ||
| The Basque word "etsi" has several alternate meanings, including "in vain" and "nevertheless." | |||
| Catalan | desesperat | ||
| From the Latin "desperatus," it denotes both a state of desperation and a specific type of criminal in medieval Catalan law. | |||
| Croatian | očajan | ||
| "Očajan' in Croatian is derived from 'očaj,' meaning 'despair.' | |||
| Danish | desperat | ||
| The word "desperat" in Danish also means "hopeless" and "reckless". | |||
| Dutch | wanhopig | ||
| The Dutch word "wanhopig" has roots in Middle Dutch "wanhopen," which combines "wan" (lacking) with "hopen" (hope), hence "lacking hope". | |||
| English | desperate | ||
| The word "desperate" comes from the Latin "desperare," meaning "to lose hope." | |||
| French | désespéré | ||
| The French word “désespéré” can also mean “hopeless,” “helpless,” or “powerless”. | |||
| Frisian | wanhopich | ||
| Wanhopich is formed from the Old Frisian words 'wan' ('lacking') and 'hope' ('hope'), and its original meaning was 'lacking hope'. | |||
| Galician | desesperado | ||
| In Galician, "desesperado" is also used to refer to a reckless or daring person. | |||
| German | verzweifelt | ||
| The German word "verzweifelt" originally meant "to be torn apart" or "to despair". | |||
| Icelandic | örvæntingarfullur | ||
| Etymology: ör (arrow) + vænti (hope) + ingar (lacking) + fullur (full). Originally, hopeless against incoming arrows. | |||
| Irish | éadóchasach | ||
| The Gaelic adjective "éadóchasach" originally carried a meaning closer to "idle" or "lacking in hope". | |||
| Italian | disperato | ||
| In Italian, the word "disperato" originally meant "without hope" but now refers to someone who is determined, even recklessly so. | |||
| Luxembourgish | verzweifelt | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "verzweifelt" can also mean "hopeless" or "powerless." | |||
| Maltese | iddisprat | ||
| The word "iddisprat" in Maltese derives from the Sicilian word "dispiratu", meaning "despair". | |||
| Norwegian | desperat | ||
| The Norwegian word "desperat" can also mean "disastrous". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | desesperado | ||
| The word "desesperado" also has the alternate meaning "reckless" in Portuguese. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | eu-dòchasach | ||
| Eu-dòchasach derives from eu 'out' + dochas 'hope', hence 'without hope'. | |||
| Spanish | desesperado | ||
| The term "desesperado" in Spanish has origins in the Latin word "desperare," meaning "to lose hope" and "to despair." | |||
| Swedish | desperat | ||
| The Swedish word "desperat" originally meant "hopeless" and derives from the Latin word "desperatus," meaning "given up." | |||
| Welsh | anobeithiol | ||
| "Anobeithiol" in Welsh is cognate with Irish "anaithnid" (unknown), and can also mean "strange, foreign, alien". | |||
Desperate in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | адчайны | ||
| The word "адчайны" can also mean "infernal" or "hellish" in Belarusian, reflecting its Slavic roots and the concept of "hell" as a place of desperation and torment. | |||
| Bosnian | očajna | ||
| The word "očajna" comes from the Old Slavonic word "očajati", meaning "to despair" or "to be in deep sorrow". | |||
| Bulgarian | отчаян | ||
| "Отчаян" comes from "отчаяние" which means "despair" and is also related to the word "часть" which means "part". In the past, "отчаян" meant "lacking a part". | |||
| Czech | zoufalý | ||
| "Zoufalý" shares the same root with "zoufat", meaning "to lose hope", which in turn derives from the Old Czech word "zufati", meaning "to groan", "to sigh", and "to complain." | |||
| Estonian | meeleheitel | ||
| The word "meeleheitel" comes from the verb "heitma," meaning "to throw," and the noun "meel," meaning "mind." It originally meant "to be thrown out of one's mind," and has come to mean "desperate." | |||
| Finnish | epätoivoinen | ||
| The Finnish word "epätoivoinen" (desperate) is a compound word consisting of the negation "epä-" (not) and "toivo" (hope), hence "hopeless". | |||
| Hungarian | kétségbeesett | ||
| The word "kétségbeesett" originates from the Old Hungarian words "két" ("two") and "ség" ("doubt"), meaning „having two doubts". | |||
| Latvian | izmisis | ||
| The Latvian word "izmisis" derives from Lithuanian "izmisti", meaning "to despair". | |||
| Lithuanian | beviltiška | ||
| The word "beviltiška" is derived from the word "beviltis", which means "hopelessness" or "despair". | |||
| Macedonian | очаен | ||
| The word 'очаен' comes from the Proto-Slavic word '*otъčajь', meaning 'despair'. | |||
| Polish | zdesperowany | ||
| The word "zdesperowany" is derived from the Latin word "desperatus," which means "hopeless." | |||
| Romanian | disperat | ||
| In Romanian, the word "disperat" also means "scattered" or "separated". | |||
| Russian | отчаянный | ||
| The word "отчаянный" comes from the Old Russian word "отъчание," meaning "despair" or "hopelessness." | |||
| Serbian | очајан | ||
| The word "очајан" is derived from the Slavic root "čajati", meaning "to hope or expect" and has the connotation of "without hope" or "beyond hope". | |||
| Slovak | zúfalý | ||
| The Slovak word "zúfalý" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "zufalъ", which means "misfortune" or "sorrow". | |||
| Slovenian | obupno | ||
| According to Snoj, the word "obupno" derives from the 16th-century expression "ob up", meaning "without hope" or "lost". | |||
| Ukrainian | відчайдушний | ||
| The Ukrainian word "відчайдушний" also means "reckless, daring" | |||
Desperate in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | মরিয়া | ||
| The word "মরিয়া" has two meanings: 1) desperate and 2) mortal, which comes from the word "মৃত" (dead). | |||
| Gujarati | ભયાવહ | ||
| "ભયાવહ" can also refer to something terrifying. | |||
| Hindi | बेकरार | ||
| The word "बेकरार" (desperate) is derived from the Persian word "Bekarar" which means "unemployed" or "idle". | |||
| Kannada | ಹತಾಶ | ||
| In some contexts, "ಹತಾಶ" can also mean "eager" or "determined". | |||
| Malayalam | നിരാശ | ||
| Meaning 'hopelessness' and 'disappointment', this word is commonly used to refer to a state of despair. | |||
| Marathi | हताश | ||
| "हताश" derives from the Sanskrit "hata āśa," which literally means "deprived of hope". | |||
| Nepali | हताश | ||
| The word "हताश" is derived from Sanskrit and literally means "without hope". | |||
| Punjabi | ਹਤਾਸ਼ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මංමුලා සහගතයි | ||
| The word is originated from ancient Sinhala word "මාමුල" which means a habit or tradition that leads to desperate situation. | |||
| Tamil | ஆற்றொணா | ||
| The word "ஆற்றொணா" in Tamil is derived from the root word "ஆறு" (river), meaning "unable to cross a river" or "incapable of dealing with a difficult situation". | |||
| Telugu | తీరని | ||
| The word "తీరని" also means "unremitting" or "relentless". | |||
| Urdu | بیتاب | ||
| The Urdu word "بیتاب" also has a secondary, archaic meaning, which is "without water." | |||
Desperate in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 绝望的 | ||
| “绝望的”一词源于“望”，意思是“看”或“希望”。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 絕望的 | ||
| 「絕望的」一詞在中文裡同時具有「極其困難」和「令人絕望」的雙重含義。 | |||
| Japanese | やけくその | ||
| 「やけくそ」 is a combination of the words 「焼く」（yaku）, which means "to burn", and 「糞」（kuso）, which means "shit" or "excrement." | |||
| Korean | 필사적 인 | ||
| "필사적 인"은 "필사(必死)"에서 유래하여 원래는 "죽을 覚悟으로"라는 뜻"을 가지고 있다. | |||
| Mongolian | цөхрөнгөө барсан | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အပူတပြင်း | ||
Desperate in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | putus asa | ||
| The word "putus asa" in Indonesian is derived from the Sanskrit word "patita-asa" which means "fallen hope" or "loss of hope". | |||
| Javanese | nekat | ||
| Nekat is commonly confused with nekad, which means steadfast or persistent. | |||
| Khmer | អស់សង្ឃឹម | ||
| "អស់សង្ឃឹម" is also used to describe something that is extremely difficult or impossible to do. | |||
| Lao | ໝົດ ຫວັງ | ||
| " หมดหวัง " is a Sino-Tibetan compound: "หมด" (Sanskrit "muc" "หมด": "to release, to end") and "หวัง" (Sanskrit "prap" "ปรารถนา": "to desire, to hope for"). | |||
| Malay | putus asa | ||
| "Putus asa" is derived from the word "putus" which means "cut", and "asa" which means "hope". It metaphorically means having one's hope cut off. | |||
| Thai | หมดหวัง | ||
| The word "หมดหวัง" can also mean "exhausted" or "hopeless". | |||
| Vietnamese | tuyệt vọng | ||
| Tuyệt vọng originates from the Chinese word "絕望" and carries the dual meaning of "despair" and "absolute hope". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | desperado | ||
Desperate in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ümidsiz | ||
| The word "ümidsiz" is derived from the Persian word "omid", meaning "hope", and the suffix "-siz", meaning "without", indicating a lack of hope. | |||
| Kazakh | үмітсіз | ||
| The word "үмітсіз" in Kazakh is derived from the word "үміт" meaning "hope", indicating a state of hopelessness. | |||
| Kyrgyz | айласы кеткен | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "айласы кеткен" ("desperate") literally means "lost their way" or "without a plan." | |||
| Tajik | ноумед | ||
| The word "ноумед" is derived from the Persian word "نا امید" (nā omīd), meaning "hopeless" or "despaired". | |||
| Turkmen | umytsyz | ||
| Uzbek | umidsiz | ||
| The word "umidsiz" in Uzbek can also mean "hopeless" or "without hope". | |||
| Uyghur | ئۈمىدسىزلەنگەن | ||
Desperate in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hopena loa | ||
| Hopena loa is a loanword of the Hawaiian word meaning "very desperate" or "very much," meaning very intense. | |||
| Maori | tino pau | ||
| Tino pau can also refer to a state of being completely destroyed, wiped out, or finished. | |||
| Samoan | matua | ||
| The Samoan word "matua" also means "parent" or "elder". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | desperado na | ||
| The word "desperado na" in Tagalog is also used to describe someone who is determined or willing to take risks. | |||
Desperate in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | phatikasita | ||
| Guarani | py'aropu | ||
Desperate in International Languages
| Esperanto | senespera | ||
| The Esperanto word "senespera" is a compound of the prefix "sen-" (without) and the root "espero" (hope), hence "desperate". | |||
| Latin | desperatis | ||
| The Latin word "desperatis" can refer to both "desperate" and "hopeless" or "futile". | |||
Desperate in Others Languages
| Greek | απελπισμένος | ||
| The word απελπισμένος originally meant "without hope" and was used in a religious context. | |||
| Hmong | xav ua kom tau | ||
| "Xav ua kom tau" literally means "to want to climb the post". In other contexts, the word "tau" can refer to "cross". So the full phrase can also mean "(wanting to) climb to the cross". | |||
| Kurdish | neçare | ||
| The word "neçare" in Kurdish is derived from the Arabic word "najar" meaning "to save", and can also mean "help" or "support". | |||
| Turkish | umutsuz | ||
| Umutsuz was originally derived from the Arabic word ümîd, meaning "hope," and carries the opposite meaning due to its transformation in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | lithemba | ||
| The Xhosa word "lithemba" can also mean "hope" or "expectation"} | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרצווייפלט | ||
| The Yiddish word "פאַרצווייפלט" (fartzveyfelt) derives from the German word "verzweifelt" and also means "hopeless". | |||
| Zulu | ngokuphelelwa yithemba | ||
| Literally meaning "to be abandoned by hope," ngokuphelelwa yithemba figuratively describes a state of powerlessness and forlornness. | |||
| Assamese | হতাশ | ||
| Aymara | phatikasita | ||
| Bhojpuri | खिसियाह | ||
| Dhivehi | މާޔޫސް | ||
| Dogri | नराश | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | desperado | ||
| Guarani | py'aropu | ||
| Ilocano | malagawan | ||
| Krio | fil se ɔltin dɔn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بێ هیوا | ||
| Maithili | निराश | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯉꯥꯏꯉꯝꯗꯕ | ||
| Mizo | duh takzet | ||
| Oromo | abdii kutataa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ହତାଶ | | ||
| Quechua | llakipakusqa | ||
| Sanskrit | प्राणान्तिक | ||
| Tatar | өметсез | ||
| Tigrinya | ተስፋ ዘቑርፅ | ||
| Tsonga | hiseka | ||