Failure in different languages

Failure in Different Languages

Discover 'Failure' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

Failure is a universal concept that carries significant weight in every culture and language. It signifies a lack of success or an unmet goal, but it can also serve as a powerful catalyst for growth and learning. Throughout history, famous figures such as Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein have redefined failure as a necessary step on the path to success.

Understanding the word 'failure' in different languages can provide unique cultural insights and broaden our perspective on this complex concept. For instance, the German word for failure, Misserfolg, comes from the roots miss- (as in missing a target) and Erfolg (success). Meanwhile, the Italian word for failure, fallimento, stems from the root fallire (to fail) and is closely related to the word for 'fall'.

Join us as we explore the many translations of 'failure' and delve into the fascinating histories and cultural nuances behind them.

Failure


Failure in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansmislukking
The word "mislukking" originally meant "bad luck" and is derived from the Dutch word "mislukken" meaning "to be unsuccessful" or "to fail". However, in Afrikaans, its meaning has shifted to simply mean "failure".
Amharicውድቀት
The word 'ውድቀት' (failure) also has the alternate meanings of 'collapse', 'fall' or 'defeat'.
Hausarashin cin nasara
"Rashin cin nasara" literally means "lack of achievement or success" in Hausa.
Igboodida
Igbo speakers use "odida" not just to mean "failure" but also to describe someone who "misses the mark" or an "incompetent or unlucky person."
Malagasytsy fahombiazana
The word "tsy fahombiazana" is derived from the root word "fahomby" meaning success, and the negative prefix "tsy" indicating negation.
Nyanja (Chichewa)kulephera
The Nyanja word for failure, 'kulephera,' also has an alternate meaning referring to the inability to pass through a narrow space.
Shonakukundikana
The Shona word 'kukundikana' is also used to describe the act of being 'trapped' or 'imprisoned', and can refer to both physical and psychological states.
Somaliguuldarro
The word "guuldarro" in Somali is also used to describe someone who is unsuccessful or has failed in their endeavors.
Sesothoho hloleha
The word "ho hloleha" can also refer to a state of being stuck or unable to progress, highlighting its broader connotation of being unable to fulfill or achieve something.
Swahilikutofaulu
The Swahili word "kutofaulu" originally meant "to fall short" or "to miss the mark" but has come to mean "failure" in general
Xhosaukusilela
From the verb '-silela,' or 'try something and fail.'
Yorubaikuna
The word "ikuna" also refers to "unfortunate" or "cursed" in Yoruba.
Zuluukwehluleka
The word "ukwehluleka" can also mean "to be unable to do something" or "to be unsuccessful in achieving a goal."
Bambaraka dɛsɛ
Ewemadzedzi
Kinyarwandagutsindwa
Lingalakopola
Lugandaokugwa
Sepedigo palelwa
Twi (Akan)nkuguodie

Failure in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicبالفشل
In Arabic, "بالفشل" can also be used to describe the state or condition of something that is unsuccessful or not up to standard.
Hebrewכישלון
Hebrew word "כישלון" is derived from "כשל" ("to stumble"), alluding to the idea of stumbling or falling short of expectations.
Pashtoناکامي
The word "ناکامي" (nakami) in Pashto also means "bad luck" or "disappointment".
Arabicبالفشل
In Arabic, "بالفشل" can also be used to describe the state or condition of something that is unsuccessful or not up to standard.

Failure in Western European Languages

Albaniandështimi
"Dështim" in Albanian comes from the Latin "destruxio," meaning destruction.
Basqueporrota
The word "porrota" in Basque is derived from the French "pêché" meaning "sin" or "error".
Catalanfracàs
In Catalan, the word "fracàs" also means "noise" or "uproar".
Croatianneuspjeh
The Croatian word "neuspjeh" is composed of the negation "ne" and the verb "uspeti" meaning "to succeed", thus literally meaning "non-success".
Danishfiasko
The word "fiasko" is derived from the Italian word "fiasco," which originally referred to a type of bottle used for storing wine.
Dutchmislukking
The word "mislukking" originates from the Middle Dutch "mislucken", meaning "to miss the target" or "to go wrong".
Englishfailure
The word failure comes from the Latin word “fallere”, meaning 'to deceive'.
Frenchéchec
The word "échec" originates from the Persian word "shāh māt" which means "the king is dead" in a game of chess.
Frisianmislearring
The word mislearring originally meant "misfortune" in Frisian.
Galicianfracaso
Galician "fracaso" derives from Gothic "fraikaznan" (to ask), but also means "to crack" or "to break" in Galician.
Germanfehler
Fehler, meaning "failure" in German, originates from the Old High German "felhan," meaning "to fail" or "to go astray," and is related to the English word "fault."
Icelandicbilun
In Icelandic slang, "bilun" can also refer to a blunder or an unfortunate mishap.
Irishteip
The Irish word "teip" also refers to a "lapse" or "transgression" in the context of morality or conduct.
Italianfallimento
The word "fallimento" comes from the Latin verb "fallere," meaning "to deceive," and is related to the English word "fallacy."
Luxembourgishechec
"Ech" may refer to either a game of chess, or to something broken.
Maltesefalliment
The word "falliment" is derived from the Italian word "fallimento", meaning "bankruptcy".
Norwegianfeil
The word "feil" is derived from the old Norse word "fela", meaning "to lack" or "to be absent".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)falha
The Portuguese word "falha" can also mean a gap or hole in a surface.
Scots Gaelicfàilligeadh
Spanishfracaso
The word "fracaso" in Spanish originally meant "noise" or "crash," but it has come to mean "failure" due to its association with the sound of something breaking.
Swedishfel
The Swedish word "fel" also means "wrong" or "error", and is related to the English word "fault."
Welshmethiant
The word "methiant" is also used to mean "forgetful" or "unlucky".

Failure in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianняўдача
The Belarusian word "няўдача" is derived from the root "даць", meaning "to give", expressing the concept of "not getting what you wanted."
Bosnianneuspjeh
The word "neuspjeh" is derived from the Slavic roots "ne" (no) and "uspjeh" (success), meaning "lack of success".
Bulgarianнеуспех
The term "неуспех" is rooted from the word for "not" ("не") and an old form for "success" without the prefix (усп-).
Czechselhání
The word "selhání" in Czech is also a colloquial term for a car breakdown or a computer crash.
Estonianebaõnnestumine
The noun 'ebaõnnestumine' is a derivative of the verb 'ebaõnnestuma', which itself is a compound of 'eba' ('un-') and 'õnnestuma' ('to succeed') with an additional -mine ending, thus literally meaning 'not-succeeding'.
Finnishepäonnistuminen
The word "epäonnistuminen" is a compound word formed from the words "epä-" (not) and "onnistua" (to succeed).
Hungariankudarc
The Hungarian word "kudarc" also refers to a type of earthenware pot or bowl, hinting at the idea that failure may be a vessel for learning and growth.
Latvianneveiksme
The Latvian word "neveiksme" comes from the word "veikt", which means "to do" or "to accomplish."
Lithuaniannesėkmė
The Lithuanian word "nesėkmė" literally means "not success".
Macedonianнеуспех
"Неуспех" is derived from the Slavic word "spēti" meaning "to succeed, to finish in time, to have time", and the prefix "ne-", meaning "not, no".
Polishniepowodzenie
The word 'niepowodzenie' in Polish is derived from the prefix 'nie-' (meaning 'not') and the noun 'powodzenie' (meaning 'success'), thus literally translating to 'not having success'.
Romanianeșec
The word "eșec" in Romanian can also refer to "a lack of success" or "an absence of expected results."
Russianнеудача
The word "неудача" is derived from the Old Russian word "неудача" (lack of success).
Serbianнеуспех
The word "неуспех" is derived from the Russian word "неудача", which itself is derived from the Old Russian word "неуспе". The prefix "не-" means "not", while the stem "успе" means "success". Thus, the word "неуспех" literally means "not success", or "failure".
Slovakzlyhanie
The word 'zlyhanie' in Slovak can also refer to a 'miscarriage' or 'abortive attempt'.
Slovenianneuspeh
"Neuspeh" derives from two Proto-Slavic roots, "ne-" (not or lack of) combined with "u-speh (successful). "
Ukrainianневдача
The Ukrainian word "невдача" derives from "не", meaning "not"; and "вдача"

Failure in South Asian Languages

Bengaliব্যর্থতা
The word "ব্যর্থতা" (byarthatha) comes from the Sanskrit word "वृथा" (vrtha), meaning "wasted" or "useless".
Gujaratiનિષ્ફળતા
In Gujarati "નિષ્ફળતા (nisphalata)" can also mean a miscarriage or the state of a plant that does not bear fruit.
Hindiअसफलता
The Hindi word असफलता "failure" is also used to describe any unaccomplished task, a state of imperfection or a state of being unfulfilling.
Kannadaವೈಫಲ್ಯ
The Kannada word "ವೈಫಲ್ಯ" (vaipalya) originates from the Sanskrit word "viphala".
Malayalamപരാജയം
Marathiअपयश
The word "अपयश" in Marathi also means "dishonor" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "अपयशस्".
Nepaliअसफलता
The Nepali word 'असफलता' has an alternate meaning, 'incompletion' or 'lack of success'
Punjabiਅਸਫਲਤਾ
The word "ਅਸਫਲਤਾ" can also mean "unsuccessful" or "lacking success".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)අසමත් වීම
The word 'අසමත් වීම' ('failure') in Sinhala literally means 'becoming unable' or 'not being able'.
Tamilதோல்வி
The word "தோல்வி" originates from the Proto-Dravidian root "*tol-", meaning "to peel off", thus implying a loss of strength or status.
Teluguవైఫల్యం
The Telugu word "వైఫల్యం" derives from Sanskrit and literally means "going away from the fruit or result," encompassing a broader sense of missing out or unfulfillment.
Urduناکامی
The Urdu word "ناکامی" also means "disappointment" or "frustration".

Failure in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)失败
In Mandarin, "失败" (shībài) also means "to waste something" or "to let something be in vain".
Chinese (Traditional)失敗
The word 「失敗」can also mean "to try" or "to make an attempt"
Japanese失敗
The word 失敗 can also mean "not succeeding to do something" or "making a mistake" in Japanese.
Korean실패
"실패" (failure) is a Korean word that comes from the Chinese word "失擺," meaning "to lose" or "to make a mistake."
Mongolianалдаа
The Mongolian word "алдаа" can also mean "mistake" or "error".
Myanmar (Burmese)ပျက်ကွက်

Failure in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiankegagalan
The word "kegagalan" in Indonesian derives from the Sanskrit word "cala" meaning "to go astray" or "to be spoiled or destroyed."
Javanesegagal
"Gagak" in Javanese also means "crow", likely due to the bird's association with bad luck and failure.
Khmerការបរាជ័យ
The Khmer word "ការបរាជ័យ" also means "to be defeated" or "to be unable to do something"
Laoຄວາມລົ້ມເຫຼວ
Malaykegagalan
Kegagalan derives from the word gagah meaning 'to dare', thus kegagalan translates literally as 'a lack of daring'.
Thaiความล้มเหลว
The word "ความล้มเหลว" can also mean "a mistake" or "an error".
Vietnamesesự thất bại
The word "sự thất bại" can also mean "a lack of results" or "an unsuccessful attempt to do something."
Filipino (Tagalog)kabiguan

Failure in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniuğursuzluq
"Uğursuzluq" derives from the Turkish word "uğursuz" meaning "unlucky" or "inauspicious".
Kazakhсәтсіздік
The Kazakh word “сәтсіздік” also means “misfortune,” “incapacity,” and “bad luck.”
Kyrgyzийгиликсиздик
Слово «ийгиликсиздик» происходит от глагола «ийгилик» («успех») и имеет в своём составе отрицательный суффикс «-сиз-», то есть буквально означает «отсутствие успеха».
Tajikнокомӣ
The word "нокомӣ" in Tajik has Persian roots and also means "imperfection" or "inadequacy".
Turkmenşowsuzlyk
Uzbekmuvaffaqiyatsizlik
This word in Uzbek can be split into two: "muvaffaqiyat" and "sizlik". "Muvaffaqiyat" means "success", while "sizlik" carries the opposite meaning, "lack" or "absence", thus turning the word into "lack of success", which also means "failure."
Uyghurمەغلۇبىيەت

Failure in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianholomua
“Holomua” is also used to describe a
Maoringoikore
The word "ngoikore" can also refer to a state of deficiency, poverty, or lack, as well as to a person who is poor or needy.
Samoantoilalo
The word 'toilalo' ('failure') also refers to the last-born child in some Samoan families; the implication is that this child will never surpass their older siblings.
Tagalog (Filipino)pagkabigo
Pagkabigo also means 'disappointment' as it is rooted in the word 'bigo' ('to disappoint').

Failure in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarapantja
Guaranijejavyreko

Failure in International Languages

Esperantomalsukceso
Malsukceso derives from the Esperanto words "mal" (bad) and "sukceso" (success) and can also mean "misfortune" or "disaster".
Latindefectum,
In medieval Latin, defectum could also refer to an eclipse or to a physical or mental disability.

Failure in Others Languages

Greekαποτυχία
The word "αποτυχία" in Greek literally means "falling from" or "missing the mark".
Hmongtsis ua hauj lwm
Tsïs ua hauj lwm literally means "failure to do something".
Kurdishtêkçûnî
Têkçûnî, a Kurdish word for 'failure,' originates from the verb 'têkçûn,' meaning 'to fall or collapse,' and can also refer to 'downfall' or 'defeat.'
Turkishbaşarısızlık
{"text": "Başarısızlık, "başarmamak" fiilinden gelmektedir ve "sonuçsuzluk, başarısız olma" anlamına da gelir."}
Xhosaukusilela
From the verb '-silela,' or 'try something and fail.'
Yiddishדורכפאַל
"דורכפאַל" is related to the German word "Durchfall" and means literally "falling through".
Zuluukwehluleka
The word "ukwehluleka" can also mean "to be unable to do something" or "to be unsuccessful in achieving a goal."
Assameseবিফল হোৱা
Aymarapantja
Bhojpuriअसफल
Dhivehiފެއިލްވުން
Dogriनकामी
Filipino (Tagalog)kabiguan
Guaranijejavyreko
Ilocanopannakaabak
Kriofel
Kurdish (Sorani)شکست
Maithiliविफलता
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯥꯏꯊꯤꯕ
Mizohlawhchhamna
Oromokufaatii
Odia (Oriya)ବିଫଳତା
Quechuapantay
Sanskritअसफलता
Tatarуңышсызлык
Tigrinyaውድቀት
Tsongahluleka

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