Updated on March 6, 2024
Disagreeing is a fundamental part of human communication and interaction. It allows us to express our unique perspectives and ideas, even when they differ from those of others. This cultural importance is reflected in languages around the world, with many unique and interesting translations of the word 'disagree'. For example, in Spanish, 'disagree' is 'disentir', while in French, it is 'disagréer'. In German, the word is 'widersprechen', and in Japanese, it is '異論する' (iaron suru).
Understanding how to express disagreement in different languages is not only useful for effective communication, but it also provides insight into the values and norms of different cultures. For instance, in some cultures, direct confrontation is frowned upon, and disagreements are often expressed in a more indirect or polite way. By learning the translations of 'disagree' in different languages, we can become more culturally aware and sensitive in our interactions with others.
Afrikaans | verskil | ||
The Afrikaans word "verskil" derives from the Dutch "verschil", meaning "difference", and is cognate with the English "discrepancy". | |||
Amharic | አልስማማም | ||
The verb አልስማማም can also mean to deny or dissent. | |||
Hausa | ban yarda ba | ||
"Ban yarda ba" comes from "ban" which comes from the Arabic word "ba" which means "with". It is used when a person is not in agreement with someone or something. | |||
Igbo | ekwetaghị | ||
The Igbo verb 'ekwetaghị' also means 'deny' or 'refuse'. | |||
Malagasy | tsy miombon-kevitra | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kusagwirizana | ||
The word kusagwirizana is also related to the word sagwila ('to turn or twist'), suggesting the idea of a divergence or separation of paths or opinions. | |||
Shona | kubvumirana | ||
Somali | diidan | ||
Sesotho | hana | ||
The Sesotho word "hana" also means "to disperse" or "to scatter". | |||
Swahili | hawakubaliani | ||
The Swahili word 'hawakubaliani' means to disagree but it also literally means 'to not receive each other' ('hau-' = not, 'ku' = to, 'kubaliana' = receive each other). | |||
Xhosa | andivumi | ||
The word "andivumi" can also mean "to be opposite" or "to be contrary". | |||
Yoruba | koo | ||
The word "koo" also means "to reject" and "to refuse" in Yoruba. | |||
Zulu | angivumelani | ||
The Zulu word 'angivumelani' derives from 'ngi' ('I'), 'avumelani' ('agree'), and 'anga' ('cannot'), indicating a negation of agreement. | |||
Bambara | tɛ sɔn o ma | ||
Ewe | melɔ̃ ɖe edzi o | ||
Kinyarwanda | ntibavuga rumwe | ||
Lingala | bayokani te | ||
Luganda | tebakkiriziganya | ||
Sepedi | ga ke dumelelane le seo | ||
Twi (Akan) | wɔne wɔn adwene nhyia | ||
Arabic | تعارض | ||
تعارض is Arabic for "to contradict", but it also denotes a "collision of interests" and an "interference" of objects; thus, this word represents various semantic fields. | |||
Hebrew | לא מסכים | ||
The Hebrew word "לא מסכים" literally means "not agreeing" or "not accepting" | |||
Pashto | سره موافق نه یاست | ||
Arabic | تعارض | ||
تعارض is Arabic for "to contradict", but it also denotes a "collision of interests" and an "interference" of objects; thus, this word represents various semantic fields. |
Albanian | nuk bie dakort | ||
The Albanian word "nuk bie dakort" literally translates to "does not agree". | |||
Basque | ados ez | ||
"Ados ez" literally means "not in harmony" in Basque. | |||
Catalan | discrepar | ||
The Catalan word "discrepar" comes from the Latin "dispar", meaning "different" or "unequal". | |||
Croatian | ne slažem se | ||
Croatian phrase "ne slažem se" can mean "I refuse" or "I don't think so." | |||
Danish | være uenig | ||
"Være uenig" is a loan word from Old Swedish, where "uenigh" originates in Old High German, where "nicht einig" meant "not agreeing". | |||
Dutch | het oneens zijn | ||
The Dutch expression "het oneens zijn" literally translates to "being of one mind," but paradoxically means "to disagree." | |||
English | disagree | ||
The word 'disagree' originated from the Old French word 'desagreer', which meant 'to differ in opinion'. | |||
French | être en désaccord | ||
Literally, “être en désaccord” means “to be in discord” in English, hinting at the state of disharmony created by disagreement. | |||
Frisian | net mei iens | ||
The Frisian word "net mei iens" can also mean "to be at odds" or "to fall out". | |||
Galician | desacordo | ||
In Galician, "desacordo" means both "disagree" and "non-cooperation". | |||
German | nicht zustimmen | ||
"Nicht zustimmen" literally means "not to agree". | |||
Icelandic | ósammála | ||
The word "ósammála" can also refer to the verb "to be at odds" or to a "difference of opinion". | |||
Irish | easaontú | ||
The word is derived from "eas" meaning "waterfall" and "ontú" meaning "against the current" | |||
Italian | disaccordo | ||
"Disaccordo" also means "dissonance" in the musical sense of the word, when notes clash together unharmoniously. | |||
Luxembourgish | net averstanen | ||
The word "net averstanen" is derived from the Middle High German "niht anerkennen", meaning "not to acknowledge or accept". | |||
Maltese | ma taqbilx | ||
The word "ma taqbilx" also means "don't kiss" in Maltese. | |||
Norwegian | være uenig | ||
The word 'være uenig' is derived from the Old Norse word 'u-einig,' meaning 'not united or in agreement'. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | discordo | ||
The word "discordo" comes from the Latin word "discors," which means "different in opinion." | |||
Scots Gaelic | eas-aonta | ||
The Gaelic word "eas-aonta" is derived from "eas" meaning "easy" and "aonta" meaning "agreement", hence "disagree". | |||
Spanish | discrepar | ||
In Spanish, "discrepar" also means to "differ in opinion" or to "disagree with a decision, statement, or action made by an authority or a group." | |||
Swedish | instämmer inte alls | ||
The word "instämmer inte alls" comes from the words "instämma" (to agree) and "alls" (at all), meaning "I do not agree at all." | |||
Welsh | anghytuno | ||
Anghytuno, meaning "to disagree," has alternate meanings including "to refuse" and "to deny." |
Belarusian | не згодны | ||
In the Belarusian language, 'не згодны' could translate to both 'disagree' and 'not agree'. | |||
Bosnian | ne slažem se | ||
The noun `slaganje` can also mean `composition`. | |||
Bulgarian | не съм съгласен | ||
The word "не съм съгласен" literally translates to "I am not agreeing". | |||
Czech | nesouhlasit | ||
The word "nesouhlasit" is derived from the negation "ne-" and the verb "souhlasit" (to agree), therefore it means "to not agree" or "to disagree". | |||
Estonian | pole nõus | ||
Pole nõus is an Estonian word that literally means 'not together' | |||
Finnish | olla eri mieltä | ||
This phrase literally translates as 'to be of a different mind' | |||
Hungarian | nem ért egyet | ||
The Hungarian word "nem ért egyet" literally translates to "does not understand one (thing)," highlighting the connection between agreement and understanding. | |||
Latvian | nepiekrītu | ||
"Nepiekrītu" comes from "ne" (no) + "piekrist" (agree), but can also imply "not accepting" or "rejecting". | |||
Lithuanian | nesutikti | ||
“Nesutikti” also means “fasting” in Lithuanian. | |||
Macedonian | не се согласувам | ||
The Macedonian word "не се согласувам" also means "to be incompatible" in the context of computer systems. | |||
Polish | nie zgadzać się | ||
The word "nie zgadzać się" literally means "not to agree", and can also be used to mean "to dispute" or "to contradict". | |||
Romanian | dezacord | ||
The Romanian word "dezacord" comes from the Latin "discors", meaning "of different minds", and has the alternate meanings of "conflict", "discord", and "lack of harmony". | |||
Russian | не согласен | ||
"Не согласен" comes from the Old Russian phrase "не сгласен" meaning "unsimilar". | |||
Serbian | не слазем се | ||
The Serbian word "не слазем се" (disagree) literally translates to "we do not get off (the same place)". | |||
Slovak | nesúhlasím | ||
The Slovak word "nesúhlasím" is composed of the prefix "ne-", which denotes negation, and the verb "súhlasiť", which means "to agree", thus conveying the opposite meaning of "disagreement". | |||
Slovenian | ne strinjam se | ||
The word "ne strinjam se" in Slovenian could also be used to describe a lack of connection between two objects or ideas. | |||
Ukrainian | не погоджуюсь | ||
The Ukrainian word "не погоджуюсь" comes from the words "не" (no) and "погоджуюсь" (agree), and literally means "not to agree". |
Bengali | অসমত | ||
অসমত is cognate with the Sanskrit word समत (samaṭ), meaning "equal" or "similar". | |||
Gujarati | અસંમત | ||
In Gujarati, | |||
Hindi | असहमत | ||
The word असहमत (asahmat) is derived from the Sanskrit words 'asama' (not) and 'sammata' (agreement), meaning 'not in agreement' or 'disagreeing'. | |||
Kannada | ಒಪ್ಪುವುದಿಲ್ಲ | ||
Malayalam | വിയോജിക്കുന്നു | ||
Marathi | असहमत | ||
The word असहमत originates from the Sanskrit word असहमति, which means 'lack of agreement' or 'absence of consensus'. | |||
Nepali | असहमत | ||
The Nepali word "असहमत" (disagree) originates from the Sanskrit word "सम मत" (similar opinion), with the prefix "अ" (not) negating the meaning to express disagreement. | |||
Punjabi | ਅਸਹਿਮਤ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එකඟ නොවන්න | ||
Tamil | கருத்து வேறுபாடு | ||
Telugu | అంగీకరించలేదు | ||
Urdu | متفق نہیں | ||
"متفق نہیں" is derived from the Arabic root "و فق" meaning "to agree", and literally means "not agreed upon". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 不同意 | ||
不同意, which means "disagree" in Chinese, is literally translated as "not same opinions." | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 不同意 | ||
不同意 is a compound of 不 (not), 同 (same), and 意 (thought), meaning literally "not of the same thought." | |||
Japanese | 同意しない | ||
"同意しない" literally means "not agreeing to something" in Japanese. | |||
Korean | 동의하지 않는다 | ||
동의하지 않는다 is formed by adding the negative ending -지 않는다 to the verb 동의하다 (agree). | |||
Mongolian | санал зөрөх | ||
"Санал зөрөх" is also the name of a competitive Mongolian sport in which two sides debate a topic or policy, and the audience votes on which side they agree with. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | သဘောမတူဘူး | ||
Indonesian | tidak setuju | ||
"Tidak setuju" literally means "not agree" in Indonesian, reflecting the language's tendency to use double negatives for emphasis. | |||
Javanese | ora setuju | ||
In Javanese, “ora setuju” is a negation of the phrase “setuju,” meaning “agree,” and also means “not convinced, not sure, or don't understand”. | |||
Khmer | មិនយល់ស្រប | ||
The word "មិនយល់ស្រប" (disagree) can also mean "to be in disagreement" or "to be at odds with someone." | |||
Lao | ບໍ່ເຫັນດີ ນຳ | ||
Malay | tidak bersetuju | ||
"Tidak bersetuju" can also mean "not in agreement" or "not in accordance with" in Malay. | |||
Thai | ไม่เห็นด้วย | ||
In Thai, the word "ไม่เห็นด้วย" (disagree) is a combination of the negative particle "ไม่" (not) and the verb "เห็นด้วย" (agree), literally meaning "not agreeing". | |||
Vietnamese | không đồng ý | ||
"Không đồng ý" (disagree) derives from "không" (no) and "đồng ý" (agree), literally meaning "not agree". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | hindi sumasang-ayon | ||
Azerbaijani | razı deyiləm | ||
The term "razı deyiləm" is a combination of the words "razı" (consent) and "deyiləm" (I am not), expressing a lack of agreement. | |||
Kazakh | келіспеймін | ||
The word "келіспеймін" derives from the verb "келу", meaning "to come" or "to happen", and the suffix "-мей", indicating negation. | |||
Kyrgyz | макул эмес | ||
Tajik | розӣ нашудан | ||
The word "розӣ нашудан" is an idiom that literally translates as "not becoming a day", meaning a disagreement that lasts for more than a day. | |||
Turkmen | ylalaşmaýarlar | ||
Uzbek | rozi emas | ||
The word "rozi emas" is a combination of the Persian word "ruz" meaning "day" and the Turkish word "mas" meaning "not", implying "not daytime", i.e. "not working together" or "disagreeing". | |||
Uyghur | قوشۇلمايدۇ | ||
Hawaiian | kūlike ʻole | ||
The word "kūlike ʻole" is also used to describe "a condition of not being alike". | |||
Maori | whakahē | ||
Whakahē is also used in a general sense to mean 'to separate' or 'to divide'. | |||
Samoan | le malie | ||
'Le malie' also means 'the charm' or 'the witch'. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | hindi sang-ayon | ||
In old Tagalog, 'hindi sang-ayon' meant 'to be in good agreement with' or 'to be of one mind', but it now means the opposite. |
Aymara | janiw iyaw sañjamäkiti | ||
Guarani | noĩri de acuerdo | ||
Esperanto | malkonsenti | ||
Latin | dissentio | ||
In Medieval Latin, "dissentio" could also mean "quarantine" or "dispute between two factions." |
Greek | διαφωνώ | ||
The Greek word "διαφωνώ" (disagree) literally means "to sound through" or "to sound out of tune" | |||
Hmong | tsis pom zoo | ||
The term "tsis pom zoo" comes from the concept of two "pom" (minds) being "tsis" (not together or separate). | |||
Kurdish | lihevderneketin | ||
The word "lihevderneketin" comes from a root meaning "to shake" or "to move", and can also refer to disagreement or a lack of harmony. | |||
Turkish | katılmıyorum | ||
"Katılmıyorum" is derived from the verb "katılmak" (to join, to participate), and its negative form "katıl-ma-mak" (not to join, not to participate). | |||
Xhosa | andivumi | ||
The word "andivumi" can also mean "to be opposite" or "to be contrary". | |||
Yiddish | דיסאַגרי | ||
In Yiddish, "disagree" can also mean "disagree with" or "disagree about". | |||
Zulu | angivumelani | ||
The Zulu word 'angivumelani' derives from 'ngi' ('I'), 'avumelani' ('agree'), and 'anga' ('cannot'), indicating a negation of agreement. | |||
Assamese | অসন্মত | ||
Aymara | janiw iyaw sañjamäkiti | ||
Bhojpuri | असहमत बानी | ||
Dhivehi | އެއްބަހެއް ނުވޭ | ||
Dogri | असहमत होंदे | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | hindi sumasang-ayon | ||
Guarani | noĩri de acuerdo | ||
Ilocano | saan nga umanamong | ||
Krio | nɔ gri wit dis | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | ناکۆکن | ||
Maithili | असहमत छी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯥꯅꯤꯡꯗꯦ꯫ | ||
Mizo | a pawm lo | ||
Oromo | walii hin galan | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଏକମତ ନୁହେଁ | ||
Quechua | mana acuerdopichu | ||
Sanskrit | असहमतः | ||
Tatar | риза түгел | ||
Tigrinya | ኣይሰማምዑን እዮም። | ||
Tsonga | a ndzi pfumelelani na swona | ||