Disability in Different Languages
Discover 'Disability' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Disability
Afrikaans gestremdheid | ||
Albanian paaftësia | ||
Amharic የአካል ጉዳት | ||
Arabic عجز | ||
Armenian հաշմանդամություն | ||
Assamese অক্ষমতা | ||
Aymara discapacidad ukaxa janiwa utjkiti | ||
Azerbaijani əlillik | ||
Bambara bololabaara | ||
Basque minusbaliotasuna | ||
Belarusian інваліднасць | ||
Bengali অক্ষমতা | ||
Bhojpuri विकलांगता के बा | ||
Bosnian invaliditet | ||
Bulgarian увреждане | ||
Catalan discapacitat | ||
Cebuano kakulangan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 失能 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 失能 | ||
Corsican invalidità | ||
Croatian invaliditet | ||
Czech postižení | ||
Danish handicap | ||
Dhivehi ނުކުޅެދުންތެރިކަން | ||
Dogri विकलांगता | ||
Dutch onbekwaamheid | ||
English disability | ||
Esperanto malkapablo | ||
Estonian puue | ||
Ewe nuwɔametɔnyenye | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kapansanan | ||
Finnish vammaisuus | ||
French invalidité | ||
Frisian beheining | ||
Galician discapacidade | ||
Georgian ინვალიდობა | ||
German behinderung | ||
Greek αναπηρία | ||
Guarani discapacidad rehegua | ||
Gujarati અપંગતા | ||
Haitian Creole andikap | ||
Hausa nakasa | ||
Hawaiian kīnā ʻole | ||
Hebrew נָכוּת | ||
Hindi विकलांगता | ||
Hmong kev tsis taus | ||
Hungarian fogyatékosság | ||
Icelandic fötlun | ||
Igbo nkwarụ | ||
Ilocano baldado | ||
Indonesian disabilitas | ||
Irish míchumas | ||
Italian disabilità | ||
Japanese 障害 | ||
Javanese cacat | ||
Kannada ಅಂಗವೈಕಲ್ಯ | ||
Kazakh мүгедектік | ||
Khmer ពិការភាព | ||
Kinyarwanda ubumuga | ||
Konkani अपंगत्व आसा | ||
Korean 무능 | ||
Krio disabiliti | ||
Kurdish karnezanî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) کەمئەندامی | ||
Kyrgyz майыптык | ||
Lao ພິການ | ||
Latin vitium | ||
Latvian invaliditāte | ||
Lingala bozangi makoki ya nzoto | ||
Lithuanian negalios | ||
Luganda obulemu | ||
Luxembourgish behënnerung | ||
Macedonian попреченост | ||
Maithili विकलांगता | ||
Malagasy fahasembanana | ||
Malay kecacatan | ||
Malayalam വികലത | ||
Maltese diżabilità | ||
Maori hauātanga | ||
Marathi दिव्यांग | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯗꯤꯁꯑꯦꯕꯤꯂꯤꯇꯤ ꯂꯩꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo rualbanlote an ni | ||
Mongolian хөгжлийн бэрхшээл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) မသန်စွမ်းမှု | ||
Nepali अशक्तता | ||
Norwegian uførhet | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kulemala | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅକ୍ଷମତା | ||
Oromo qaama miidhamummaa | ||
Pashto معلولیت | ||
Persian ناتوانی | ||
Polish inwalidztwo | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) incapacidade | ||
Punjabi ਅਪਾਹਜਤਾ | ||
Quechua discapacidad nisqa | ||
Romanian handicap | ||
Russian инвалидность | ||
Samoan le atoatoa | ||
Sanskrit विकलांगता | ||
Scots Gaelic ciorram | ||
Sepedi bogole bja mmele | ||
Serbian инвалидитет | ||
Sesotho bokooa | ||
Shona kuremara | ||
Sindhi معذور | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ආබාධිත | ||
Slovak postihnutie | ||
Slovenian invalidnost | ||
Somali naafonimo | ||
Spanish discapacidad | ||
Sundanese cacad | ||
Swahili ulemavu | ||
Swedish handikapp | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kapansanan | ||
Tajik маъюбӣ | ||
Tamil இயலாமை | ||
Tatar инвалидлык | ||
Telugu వైకల్యం | ||
Thai ความพิการ | ||
Tigrinya ስንክልና | ||
Tsonga vulema | ||
Turkish sakatlık | ||
Turkmen maýyplyk | ||
Twi (Akan) dɛmdi | ||
Ukrainian інвалідність | ||
Urdu معذوری | ||
Uyghur مېيىپ | ||
Uzbek nogironlik | ||
Vietnamese khuyết tật | ||
Welsh anabledd | ||
Xhosa ukukhubazeka | ||
Yiddish דיסעביליטי | ||
Yoruba ailera | ||
Zulu ukukhubazeka |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "gestremdheid" originates from the Dutch word "gestremd" and refers to a physical or mental impairment. |
| Albanian | The word "paaftësia" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*peh₂-", meaning "to seize" or "to hold". This suggests that the original meaning of "paaftësia" may have been "weakness" or "inability". |
| Amharic | In Amharic, "የአካል ጉዳት" (disability) literally translates to "lack of body." |
| Arabic | The word "عجز" comes from the root "ع ج ز" which can also mean "to be unable to do something" or "to lack something". |
| Armenian | "Հաշմանդամություն" originates from the Persian word "hashtb andam", meaning "eight limbs". It refers to the traditional belief that a disabled person has lost eight limbs, hence the term "eight-limbed". |
| Azerbaijani | Əlillik can refer to not only physical disabilities, but also mental disabilities and chronic illnesses |
| Basque | The word “minusbaliotasuna” has an etymological relationship meaning “less strength” and “inferiority” |
| Belarusian | This is derived from the Belarusian word "інвалідаў'' meaning an invalidated or injured person. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word 'অক্ষমতা' not only means 'disability' but also 'inability'. |
| Bosnian | Invaliditet comes from the Latin word 'invalidus', which means 'weak' or 'powerless'. |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "увреждане" has the same root as "вред" and "поражение", which mean harm, injury, and defeat. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "discapacitat" derives from the Latin "discapacitare", meaning "to disable" or "to hinder". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 失能 can also refer to the loss of function due to injury or illness |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Chinese, "失能" can mean "incompetent", "unable to perform a function", or "incapable". |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "invalidità" can mean both "disability" and "illegality". |
| Croatian | The Croatian word “invaliditet” also refers to the legal status of individuals with disabilities. |
| Czech | Czech postižení, like Russian postignutye, retains the sense of 'suffering'. |
| Danish | Handicap derives from the Middle French 'handicape' meaning hindrance or impediment. |
| Dutch | The word "onbekwaamheid" originally meant "inability" or "unsuitability" in Dutch, not specifically "disability." |
| Esperanto | "Malkapablo" decomposes into "mal-" (bad) and "kapablo" (capability), reflecting the negative connotation often associated with disability. |
| Estonian | The word "puue" is derived from the word "puu" (tree) and refers to the stumps of trees that were left in the field after felling which made it difficult for farmers to work the land. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "vammaisuus" (disability) is related to the word "vamma", which means "defect" or "impairment". |
| French | "Invalidité" also includes invalid status (e.g.: of elections). |
| Frisian | "Beheining" in Frisian originally meant "hinderance" or "obstruction", and only later came to mean "disability". |
| Galician | "Discapacidade" derives from the Latin "capax, capācis" and "dis- " meaning "without ability". |
| Georgian | The term ინვალიდობა, derived from the Latin 'invalidus', originally referred to soldiers unable to serve due to injury or illness. |
| German | The word "Behinderung" comes from the Old High German word "hindarūn", meaning "to obstruct" or "to prevent". This word is related to the English word "hinder". The root word "hindar" means "behind" and is also present in the English words "behind" and "hinderance." |
| Greek | Originally referred to a lack of capability but now also means 'invalidity'. |
| Gujarati | The word "અપંગતા" comes from the Sanskrit word "अ्पंग" (apanga), which originally meant "not having wings". This etymology suggests that disabilities have been historically associated with impaired movement. |
| Haitian Creole | Andi kap (Haitian Creole for "disability") is derived from "in-the-handicap," a French colonial term referring to slaves who were unfit for work due to illness or injury. |
| Hausa | The word 'nakasa' can also refer to 'poverty' or 'lack of resources'. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "נָכוּת" (nakhut) originally referred to being "struck by something" and later took on the meaning of "disability." |
| Hindi | The word "विकलांगता" derives from the Sanskrit root "ang" (limb), and originally referred to a physical impairment. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "kev tsis taus" literally translates to "lacking ability". |
| Hungarian | The word "fogyatékosság" in Hungarian comes from the verb "fogyatkozni," meaning "to decrease" or "to become deficient," and the suffix "-ság," meaning "state" or "condition." |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "fötlun" originated from the Proto-Norse root *futlun-, which originally referred to foot paralysis. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word 'disabilitas' is derived from the Latin word 'disability', meaning 'the state of lacking a particular ability' |
| Irish | The word "míchumas" in Irish also means "infirmity" or "weakness". |
| Italian | "Disabilità" (disability) comes from the Latin "dis-habilitas", meaning "lack of ability". |
| Japanese | 障碍 is the Chinese translation of the English word “handicap.” |
| Javanese | In Balinese, 'cacat' refers to a physical or mental condition that limits a person's abilities, while in Javanese it also connotes a sense of shame or disgrace. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "мүгедектік" is derived from Persian "مفلوج" (maflūj) meaning "paralyzed" and originally referred to physical impairments. |
| Korean | In Korean, the word "무능" can also mean "lack of ability" or "incompetence". |
| Kurdish | The word 'karnezanî' is derived from the Old Persian word 'karnazan,' meaning 'to be crippled or infirm'. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "майыптык" also refers to "inadequacy" and "deformity" in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | The Lao word “ພິການ” (disability) can also refer to a physical defect or a flaw in something. |
| Latin | The Latin word "vitium" can also refer to a flaw, defect, or fault, and is the root of the English word "vitiate." |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "invaliditāte" derives from the Latin word "invalidus", meaning "weak" or "powerless". |
| Lithuanian | The word "negalios" in Lithuanian is derived from the word "galia" which means "power, ability" and the prefix "ne-" which means "not," indicating a lack of power or ability. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Behënnerung" derives from the Germanic root "hinth" meaning "deficient" and shares a common origin with the English word "hinder". |
| Macedonian | The word "попреченост" is also used to describe obstacles, difficulties, or something that prevents something from being done. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "fahasembanana" is also used to refer to the state of being in poor health or being weakened from sickness. |
| Malay | The noun "kecacatan" has a parallel meaning as the noun "defect" or "imperfection" in English. |
| Malayalam | The word "വികലത" (vikalatha) in Malayalam derives from the Sanskrit root "vikala," meaning "divided" or "imperfect," and can also refer to a "disfigurement" or "abnormality." |
| Maltese | “Diżabilità” originates from the Italian word “disabilità”, which itself comes from Latin “dishabilitas”, meaning “unsuitability”. |
| Maori | "Hauātanga" is a Māori word with a rich etymology, encompassing meanings such as "frail" and "weak." |
| Marathi | दृष्टि से वंचित (दिव + अंग = दिव्यांग) के लिए वैकल्पिक रूप से 'चक्षुश्री' व 'नेत्रहीन' का प्रयोग किया जाता है। |
| Mongolian | The term "хөгжлийн бэрхшээл" originates from the word "хөгжил" (development), implying a deviation from the expected developmental trajectory for individuals with impaired abilities. |
| Nepali | The Nepali word "अशक्तता" is derived from the Sanskrit word "शक्ति" (meaning "strength") and the negative prefix "अ" (meaning "not"), indicating a lack or absence of strength. |
| Norwegian | The word "uførhet" derives from the Old Norse word "ufœrr", meaning "unable to travel". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word “kulemala” can also mean 'to be weak', 'to be lazy', or 'to be sick'. |
| Pashto | The word 'معلولیت' in Pashto can also mean 'inability' or 'disadvantage'. |
| Persian | "ناتوانی" is also used to refer to "not being able to" or "lacking the power to do something" |
| Polish | Etymology: From Old Polish inwalid (meaning 'invalid' or 'disabled'), from Latin invalidus, from in- + validus, from valēre ('to be strong'). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, 'incapacidade' can refer to both physical and legal limitations, as well as the condition of being under someone else's authority. |
| Romanian | In Romanian, "handicap" originally meant "obstruction" or "difficulty", and is still used in this sense in some contexts. |
| Russian | The Russian word "инвалидность" comes from the German word "Invalidität," which in turn comes from the Latin word "invalidus," meaning "not strong." |
| Samoan | Le atoatoa in Samoan can refer to both 'disability' and 'limitation'. |
| Scots Gaelic | "Ciorram" is also used to refer to a person with a disability, as opposed to the disability itself. |
| Serbian | Serbian "инвалидитет" derives from the Latin word invalidus, meaning „weak, infirm" and can also refer to a "pension paid to war invalids". |
| Shona | "Kuremara" can also mean "to be paralyzed" or "to be unable to move a limb." |
| Sindhi | The word "معذور" in Sindhi can also refer to an excuse or justification for an action. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "ආබාධිත" comes from the word "ආපාද:" meaning "from the foot" and the word "හිත" which means "heart". Thus, the term originally meant "physical" or "lame". |
| Slovak | The word 'postihnutie' in Slovak can also refer to 'comprehension' or 'grasping' of a concept. |
| Slovenian | The word's original meaning is 'lack of legal force,' from 'in-,' meaning 'not,' and 'validus,' meaning 'strong'. The Latin root also gives rise to 'validity,' 'valor,' and 'value.' |
| Somali | The word "naafonimo" can also be used to imply temporary physical impairment, such as injury. |
| Spanish | “Discapacidad” derives from the Latin word “capacitas”, meaning “capacity” or “ability”. Thus, discapacidad implies a lack or limitation of capacity. |
| Sundanese | The word "cacad" in Sundanese also has a secondary meaning, referring to a disabled person and has the same root word as "cacat" which means "imperfect" in Indonesian. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "ulemavu" also refers to a person with a disability or impairment. |
| Swedish | The word handikapp is derived from the German word 'Handicap', which in turn is derived from the Middle English word 'handycap', meaning 'a disadvantage given to a superior competitor in a race or game'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Kapansanan' comes from the word 'kapansin-pansin' (noticeable), implying that a person with a disability is noticeable or different from the norm. |
| Tajik | The word "маъюбӣ" in Tajik can also mean "defectiveness" or "imperfection". |
| Tamil | "இயலாமை" also means "impossibility" or "inability". |
| Telugu | The word "వైకల్యం" is derived from the Sanskrit word "विकल" (vikla), meaning "defective" or "imperfect." |
| Thai | The Thai word "ความพิการ" literally means "deviation from the norm". |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "sakatlık" is also related to "sakıt"," which denotes something being worthless or rejected due to defects. |
| Ukrainian | The word "інвалідність" can also mean "weakness" or "defect" in Ukrainian. |
| Urdu | The term 'معذوری' can also refer to a person with a disability in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | The word "nogironlik" in Uzbek can also refer to a person with a disability, rather than just the disability itself. |
| Vietnamese | "Khuyet tat" originated from "khuyet" (lacking, missing) and "tat" (parts, limbs), referring to a condition of physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments. |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "anabledd" is derived from the root "gallu" (power), suggesting the idea of "lacking power" or being "without ability." |
| Xhosa | The word "ukukhubazeka" can also mean "to be limited" or "to be unable to do something". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "דיסעביליטי" comes from the German word "Unfähigkeit" which means "inability". It can also refer to a person who is unable to work due to a physical or mental impairment. |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "ailera" can also refer to a misfortune or an affliction that befalls someone. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word 'ukukhubazeka' comes from the verb 'khubazeka,' which means 'to be crippled' or 'to be disabled.' |
| English | The word "disability" originally meant "lack of ability" but has since taken on a new meaning of "a physical or mental impairment that limits a person's ability to do certain activities." |