Doubt in Different Languages
Discover 'Doubt' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Doubt
Afrikaans twyfel | ||
Albanian dyshim | ||
Amharic ጥርጣሬ | ||
Arabic شك | ||
Armenian կասկած | ||
Assamese সন্দেহ | ||
Aymara payacha | ||
Azerbaijani şübhə | ||
Bambara sigasiga | ||
Basque zalantza | ||
Belarusian сумненне | ||
Bengali সন্দেহ | ||
Bhojpuri शक | ||
Bosnian sumnja | ||
Bulgarian съмнение | ||
Catalan dubte | ||
Cebuano pagduhaduha | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 怀疑 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 懷疑 | ||
Corsican dubbitu | ||
Croatian sumnjati | ||
Czech pochybovat | ||
Danish tvivl | ||
Dhivehi ޝައްކު | ||
Dogri शक्क | ||
Dutch twijfel | ||
English doubt | ||
Esperanto dubo | ||
Estonian kahtlus | ||
Ewe ɖikeke | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pagdududa | ||
Finnish epäillä | ||
French doute | ||
Frisian twivel | ||
Galician dúbida | ||
Georgian ეჭვი | ||
German zweifel | ||
Greek αμφιβολία | ||
Guarani py'amokõi | ||
Gujarati શંકા | ||
Haitian Creole dout | ||
Hausa shakka | ||
Hawaiian kānalua | ||
Hebrew ספק | ||
Hindi संदेह | ||
Hmong tsis ntseeg | ||
Hungarian kétség | ||
Icelandic efi | ||
Igbo enwe obi abụọ | ||
Ilocano dua-dua | ||
Indonesian keraguan | ||
Irish amhras | ||
Italian dubbio | ||
Japanese 疑問に思う | ||
Javanese mangu-mangu | ||
Kannada ಅನುಮಾನ | ||
Kazakh күмән | ||
Khmer ការសង្ស័យ | ||
Kinyarwanda gushidikanya | ||
Konkani संशय | ||
Korean 의심 | ||
Krio dawt | ||
Kurdish şik | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) گومان | ||
Kyrgyz күмөн | ||
Lao ສົງໄສ | ||
Latin dubium | ||
Latvian šaubas | ||
Lingala ntembe | ||
Lithuanian abejones | ||
Luganda okubuusabuusa | ||
Luxembourgish zweiwel | ||
Macedonian сомнеж | ||
Maithili शक | ||
Malagasy azo antoka | ||
Malay keraguan | ||
Malayalam സംശയം | ||
Maltese dubju | ||
Maori feaa | ||
Marathi शंका | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯆꯤꯡꯅꯕ | ||
Mizo ringhlel | ||
Mongolian эргэлзээ | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သံသယ | ||
Nepali शंका | ||
Norwegian tvil | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kukaikira | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସନ୍ଦେହ | | ||
Oromo shakkii | ||
Pashto شک | ||
Persian شک | ||
Polish wątpić | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) dúvida | ||
Punjabi ਸ਼ੱਕ | ||
Quechua iskayrayay | ||
Romanian îndoială | ||
Russian сомневаться | ||
Samoan masalosalo | ||
Sanskrit शङ्का | ||
Scots Gaelic teagamh | ||
Sepedi doubt | ||
Serbian сумња | ||
Sesotho pelaelo | ||
Shona kusava nechokwadi | ||
Sindhi شڪ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සැකයක් | ||
Slovak pochybnosti | ||
Slovenian dvom | ||
Somali shaki | ||
Spanish duda | ||
Sundanese mamang | ||
Swahili shaka | ||
Swedish tvivel | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) pagdududa | ||
Tajik шубҳа кардан | ||
Tamil சந்தேகம் | ||
Tatar шик | ||
Telugu అనుమానం | ||
Thai สงสัย | ||
Tigrinya ጥርጣረ | ||
Tsonga kanakana | ||
Turkish şüphe | ||
Turkmen şübhe | ||
Twi (Akan) nnye nni | ||
Ukrainian сумнів | ||
Urdu شک | ||
Uyghur گۇمان | ||
Uzbek shubha | ||
Vietnamese nghi ngờ | ||
Welsh amheuaeth | ||
Xhosa mathandabuzo | ||
Yiddish צווייפל | ||
Yoruba iyemeji | ||
Zulu ukungabaza |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "twyfel" is etymologically related to the Dutch word "twijfel," and its literal meaning is "double belief" |
| Albanian | Dyshim is also believed to derive from the Greek word `δισταγμός` (distagmos) which means "wavering" and also the Latin word `dubium` which means "doubt". |
| Amharic | "ጥርጣሬ" comes from the verb "ጠራጠር", meaning "to be anxious" or "to be suspicious". |
| Arabic | In Arabic, "شك" (shakk) also means "to suspect something" or "to be uncertain about something". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "կասկած" ultimately derives from the Persian word "گمان" (guman), which means "suspicion" or "conjecture." |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word "şübhə" ("doubt") is derived from the Arabic word "shubha", which also means "ambiguity" or "uncertainty". |
| Basque | The Basque word “zalantza” also means “weight” or “balance” as well as “doubt”. |
| Belarusian | "Сумненне" (doubt) in Belarusian comes from the Proto-Slavic root *sъmьnъ, meaning "confusion, trouble". |
| Bengali | "সন্দেহ" is also the name of a 2005 film directed by Gautam Ghose. |
| Bosnian | The word 'sumnja' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word '*sъmьnja', which also meant 'suspicion' and 'thought'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "съмнение" in Bulgarian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъmŭniti, meaning "to think". |
| Catalan | Dubte can also mean "pause" in literary or musical contexts, which derives from its Latin origin "dubitare" |
| Cebuano | The etymology of 'pagduhaduha' is unclear, it has also been used to refer to a state of perplexity. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 怀疑 (doubt) is also the name of a 1988 film directed by Zhang Yimou. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 懷疑 originally meant "to carry" in the context of carrying something in one's mind or heart, which is the root of its modern day meaning "to think about or consider." |
| Corsican | In older Corsican, the word "dubbitu" also meant "suspicion" or "uncertainty" |
| Croatian | In Croatian, "sumnjati" also means "to suspect" and comes from the Proto-Slavic word "sumъ", meaning "thought" or "idea". |
| Czech | The verb "pochybovat" is derived from the noun "pochyba" (doubt), which comes from the Old Czech word "chyba" (fault) |
| Danish | The Danish word "tvivl" is related to the German word "zweifeln" and the English word "doubt", all deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwei- "to be uncertain". |
| Dutch | The word "twijfel" ("doubt") also means "double fold" or "twofold" in Dutch. |
| Esperanto | The word "dubo" derives from the Latin word "dubius". |
| Estonian | "Kahtlus" is the Estonian word for "doubt". Its etymological root, "kahe" ("two") suggests its original meaning referred to being caught between two options. |
| Finnish | The word "epäillä" can also mean "to suspect" or "to be suspicious of". |
| French | In Middle French, "doute" also meant a matter to be judged, a dispute or quarrel |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "twivel" can also mean a double-headed axe. |
| Galician | The Galician word “dúbida” originates from the Latin verb “dubitare”, meaning to doubt or waver, and is cognate with the English word “dubious”. |
| Georgian | The word ეჭვი can also mean "suspicion" or "uncertainty" in Georgian. |
| German | The word "Zweifel" in German derives from Old High German "zwivalôn" and also means "to divide" or "to separate." |
| Greek | "αμφιβολία" comes from the verb "αμφίβαλλω" (to throw or cast around), akin to Latin's "ambigere" (to go around). |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "શંકા" comes from Sanskrit and originally meant "to weigh". |
| Haitian Creole | Dout in Haitian Creole can also mean "to hesitate" or "to be afraid". |
| Hausa | The word shakka can also mean 'argument' or 'reason'. |
| Hawaiian | "Kānalua" also refers to the place where two intersecting valleys meet and a small stream flows in one or both of them. |
| Hebrew | In Hebrew, "ספק" ('doubt') can also refer to "indecisiveness" or a "quantity or amount that is uncertain or indefinite." |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "संदेह" (doubt) is derived from the Sanskrit word "संदिह" (indecision), which in turn is derived from the root "दिह" (to linger). |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "tsis ntseeg" originally meant "not believing" but now also means "doubt". |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "kétség" shares an etymological origin with "kést" ("knife"), both stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root "*kezd-" meaning "to cut or separate". |
| Icelandic | In addition to meaning "doubt," "efi" can also mean "uncertainty" or "indecision" in Icelandic. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "keraguan" is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root "*ragu" and also has the meanings of "hesitation" or "suspense."} |
| Irish | The word "amhras" is also an archaic noun meaning "difficulty", akin to the Welsh word "ammhryd" (difficulty). |
| Italian | The word "dubbio" also means "indecision" or "uncertainty". |
| Japanese | 「疑問に思う」 is written purely in kanji despite originating from the Buddhist term 「五蘊」 (five aggregates). |
| Javanese | Mangu-mangu comes from the word “manggu” which means “to be afraid”, suggesting that doubt often arises from fear of uncertainty. |
| Kannada | ಅನುಮಾನ also means 'inference', 'reasoning' or 'conclusion'. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "күмән" ("doubt") derives from the noun "күмі" ("darkness, obscurity") and describes the ambiguous and uncertain qualities of doubt. |
| Khmer | The word "ការសង្ស័យ" can also refer to suspicion or hesitation, implying a lack of belief or confidence. |
| Korean | "의심" also means "question." |
| Kurdish | Kurdish "şik" also means "to be silent" or "to be motionless". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "күмөн" in Kyrgyz also refers to a type of plant known as fennel. |
| Lao | The Lao word "ສົງໄສ" (doubt) is derived from the Sanskrit word "saṃsāya", which originally meant "wandering" or "going astray". |
| Latin | In ancient Greek, it was the name given to a kind of double-edged sword. |
| Latvian | "Šaubas" may have evolved from the Sanskrit "shap" (to curse), suggesting a historical association between doubt and fear of retribution. |
| Lithuanian | The word "abejones" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰrew-, meaning "to boil, to bubble", and is related to the words "brantas" (trouble, disturbance), "brēti" (to dawn, to break), and "brēkšti" (to dawn). |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Zweiwel" is likely derived from the Old High German word "zwival", which means "branching". The term thus not only denotes a state of uncertainty, but also refers to a fork in the road where one has to make a decision. |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "сомнеж" can also refer to the act of suspecting or guessing. |
| Malagasy | Though "Azo antoka" means "doubt" in Malagasy, it literally translates to "to have two minds". |
| Malay | The Malay word "keraguan" can also mean "difficulty", or "hesitation". |
| Malayalam | "സംശയം" also means "suspicion" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "samsaya" meaning "coming together of two opinions." |
| Maltese | "Dubju" is a Maltese word that has its roots in the Arabic word "shubha," meaning "suspicion" or "uncertainty." |
| Maori | In some contexts, the word "feaa" can also mean "fear" or "concern". |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "शंका" comes from the Sanskrit word "शङ्का", which is derived from the root "शङ्क" meaning "to waver". |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word эргэлзээ (doubt) also means "spinning" or "circular motion" in a broader sense, which suggests a connection between doubt and the idea of something going around and around in one's mind. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သံသယ (doubt) derives from the Sanskrit word "saṃśaya", meaning "wavering or uncertainty of mind." |
| Nepali | The word "शंका" is derived from the Sanskrit root "शक्" meaning "to doubt" or "to be uncertain". |
| Norwegian | The word "tvil" in Norwegian also means "twist" or "spin", reflecting the idea of mental uncertainty.} |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'kukaikira' can also mean 'to hesitate' or 'to be uncertain'. |
| Pashto | "شک" (doubt) derives from Sanskrit "शंक" and also means "suspicion" in Pashto. |
| Persian | In Persian, the word "شک" derives from the Arabic root "شكك" and has the alternate meaning of "to cleave". |
| Polish | The verb "wątpić" derives from an Old Polish noun "wątpa" ("doubt"), which is also related to the noun "wątły" ("weak") and the adjective "wątły" ("feeble"). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "dúvida" comes from the Latin word "dubitare", meaning "to waver" or "to hesitate". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਸ਼ੱਕ" in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "शंक" (śaṅka), which means "thorn" and "suspicion". |
| Romanian | Îndoială is thought to be derived from an old Indo-European root *wei- which also gave rise to words meaning 'to see' in various languages, indicating the connection between doubt and perceiving. |
| Russian | "Сомневаться" is connected to the word "сон" ("sleep") as one is in a state of "mental sleep" when doubting. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "masalosalo" can also mean "to hesitate" or "to be undecided". |
| Scots Gaelic | Scots Gaelic 'teagamh' can also mean 'opinion', 'belief' and 'expectation', and is possibly a corruption of 'dearmadh', meaning 'regard'. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "sumnja" is cognate with the Lithuanian word "sumišimas" ("confusion") and the Old Church Slavonic word "sŭmьniti" ("to think"). |
| Sesotho | Pelaelo is also used to describe a person who is shy or timid. |
| Shona | The Shona word "kusava nechokwadi" is also used to describe a lack of certainty or faith in something. |
| Sindhi | The word "شك" means "doubt" in Sindhi. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "pochybnosti" (doubt) is related to the verb "pochybovať" (to doubt), which itself is derived from the Old Church Slavonic "po" (after, according to) and "chybiti" (to miss). |
| Slovenian | The word "dvom" also means "pair" in Slovenian, as in a pair of shoes or a pair of dice. |
| Somali | The Somali word shaki is a cognate of shauku in Swahili, both meaning 'doubt'. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, the word "duda" not only means doubt but also a coin toss and a unit of measurement equivalent to 12 units of something. |
| Sundanese | "Mamang" is also used as an informal term of address for an older male, similar to the English "uncle". |
| Swahili | The word 'shaka' in Swahili can also mean 'suspicion' or 'uncertainty'. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "tvivel" is etymologically related to the German word "zweifeln" (to doubt), both deriving from the Proto-Germanic *twi- ("two"), and the English "twa" (two). |
| Tajik | In the Quran, the word "shubha" means "doubt" or "ambiguity" and is used in the context of religious matters. |
| Tamil | In Tamil, the word "சந்தேகம்" can mean not only doubt, but also hesitation or reluctance. |
| Telugu | "అనుమానం" originates from the Sanskrit word "manas," meaning "mind," and suggests a state of uncertainty or suspicion in one's thoughts. |
| Thai | "สงสัย" (doubt) is derived from the Sanskrit word "saṃśaya" meaning "uncertainty, doubt, suspicion," and in Thai, it also has the alternate meaning "to be curious about something." |
| Turkish | The word 'şüphe' originates from the Arabic word 'shubha' meaning 'ambiguity' or 'uncertainty'. |
| Ukrainian | The word "сумнів" can also mean "problem" or "question" in Ukrainian. |
| Urdu | The word "شک" in Urdu derives from the Sanskrit word "शङ्का" (śaṅkā), meaning "doubt, suspicion, conjecture". |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, the word "shubha" can also refer to a "suspicion" or a "misgiving". |
| Vietnamese | "Nghi ngờ" in Vietnamese, originating from "nghĩ" and "ngờ", suggests both the process of thinking and experiencing uncertainty. |
| Welsh | The word "amheuaeth" is derived from the Old Welsh word "amheu," meaning "to consider" or "to think about." |
| Xhosa | The word 'mathandabuzo' can also mean 'suspicion' or 'uncertainty'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "צווייפל" (tsveyfl) is derived from the German word "zweifel," and also means "twins" |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word 'iyemeji' also means 'coincidence' and derives from the root word 'iye', which means 'mother'. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "ukungabaza" can also refer to a state of uncertainty or skepticism. |
| English | The word "doubt" derives from the Old French word "doute" and the Latin word "dubitare," meaning "to hesitate" or "to fear. |