False in Different Languages
Discover 'False' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'false' carries a significant weight in our vocabulary, signifying something that is untrue, incorrect, or not authentic. Its cultural importance is evident in various aspects of society, from legal contracts to everyday conversations. Understanding the translation of 'false' in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural appreciation.
For instance, in Spanish, 'false' translates to 'falso', while in French, it becomes 'faux'. In German, the word for 'false' is 'falsch', and in Japanese, it is 'false' or 'false' (pronounced 'fausu'). These translations not only help us understand the word's meaning in various languages but also offer insights into the cultural nuances of different societies.
Moreover, knowing the translation of 'false' can be particularly useful in international business, legal proceedings, or travel, where clear and accurate communication is essential. By learning these translations, we can deepen our understanding of different cultures and broaden our perspectives.
False
False in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | onwaar | ||
| "Onwaar" is derived from the archaic Middle Dutch word "onwar" meaning "not true". In Afrikaans its form and meaning remain nearly identical. | |||
| Amharic | ውሸት | ||
| The word ውሸት can also mean 'empty' or 'vain' in Amharic, suggesting a connection between falsehood and futility. | |||
| Hausa | ƙarya | ||
| The word 'ƙarya' is also used in Hausa for 'village' and is cognate to Arabic 'qarya' ('village'). | |||
| Igbo | ugha | ||
| Igbo word ugha, meaning "false," is derived from "ugha-ugha," used to describe unsteady movement or a lie. | |||
| Malagasy | diso | ||
| The Malagasy word "DISO" can also mean "untrue" or "incorrect". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zabodza | ||
| The word "zabodza" in Nyanja can also mean "fake" or "imitation." | |||
| Shona | nhema | ||
| "Nhema" also refers to a type of fish, reed, grass, and plant with black berries. | |||
| Somali | been ah | ||
| The word "been ah" in Somali can also mean "fake" or "artificial". | |||
| Sesotho | bohata | ||
| In a literal sense, the word “bohata” can be translated as “that which is without” or “devoid of”. | |||
| Swahili | uwongo | ||
| In some Bantu languages, "uwongo" means "truth" or "certainty", reflecting a cultural emphasis on the truthfulness of witnesses. | |||
| Xhosa | ubuxoki | ||
| The word "Ubuxoki" in Xhosa also refers to a type of traditional medicine used for protection against witchcraft. | |||
| Yoruba | èké | ||
| "Èké" refers to a "wrong side" or "reverse side" of something, such as a fabric or a relationship. | |||
| Zulu | amanga | ||
| The Zulu word 'amanga', besides meaning 'false', can also refer to a 'trick', 'cheat', or even a 'joke'. | |||
| Bambara | nkalon | ||
| Ewe | alakpa | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ibinyoma | ||
| Lingala | lokuta | ||
| Luganda | -kyaamu | ||
| Sepedi | maaka | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛnyɛ ampa | ||
False in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | خاطئة | ||
| The word 'خاطئة' in Arabic is linguistically related to the Hebrew word 'chata' meaning 'to miss the mark'. | |||
| Hebrew | שֶׁקֶר | ||
| The Hebrew word "שֶׁקֶר" can also mean "falsehood" or "a lie". | |||
| Pashto | غلط | ||
| The etymology of the Pashto word 'غلط' is likely linked to the Arabic word 'الغلط', meaning 'error' or 'mistake'. | |||
| Arabic | خاطئة | ||
| The word 'خاطئة' in Arabic is linguistically related to the Hebrew word 'chata' meaning 'to miss the mark'. | |||
False in Western European Languages
| Albanian | i rremë | ||
| "I rremë" derives from the Latin "remex" (rower), and in Albanian it also means "fake oar" or "useless thing". | |||
| Basque | faltsua | ||
| The word "faltsua" in Basque can also mean "incomplete", or "deformed" | |||
| Catalan | fals | ||
| In Catalan, the word "fals" can also refer to a type of dance or a type of bird. | |||
| Croatian | lažno | ||
| Lažno can also mean 'hypocritically' or 'pretentiously'. | |||
| Danish | falsk | ||
| "Falsk" is cognate with English "false" and German "falsch", from Proto-Germanic *falskaz meaning "false, cunning, deceitful, treacherous". | |||
| Dutch | false | ||
| "Vals" can also mean forgery (e.g. "valse munten") or oath (e.g. "een eed vals doen", to forswear) | |||
| English | false | ||
| The word "false" derives from the Latin "falsus" meaning "deceptive" or "untrue," which in turn evolved from the Proto-Indo-European root "*pelh2-" meaning "to deceive." | |||
| French | faux | ||
| In French, the word "faux" can also mean "scythe" or "beech tree" | |||
| Frisian | falsk | ||
| The Frisian word "falsk" is also a noun with the archaic meaning "forgery". | |||
| Galician | falso | ||
| "Falso" also means "fictitious" or "fake" in Galician. | |||
| German | falsch | ||
| German "falsch" derives from Proto-Germanic "falks" meaning "crooked" or "twisted" and is related to the English word "false". | |||
| Icelandic | rangt | ||
| The Icelandic word 'rangt' has roots in Old Norse, where it referred to being crooked or twisted, and is also related to the English word 'wrong'. | |||
| Irish | bréagach | ||
| The word "bréagach" can also mean "illusion" or "mirage" in Irish, reflecting its connection to the concept of perceived reality. | |||
| Italian | falso | ||
| Falsetto is an Italian term for a type of singing voice that is higher than a person's normal speaking voice. | |||
| Luxembourgish | falsch | ||
| "Falsch" is the Luxembourgish cognate of the German word "falsch", which ultimately derives from the Proto-Germanic root "*falsk-." | |||
| Maltese | falza | ||
| The Maltese word "falza" is derived from the Arabic word "falsa" meaning "copper coin" and has come to mean "false" in Maltese due to the association of copper coins with counterfeit currency. | |||
| Norwegian | falsk | ||
| The Norwegian word "falsk" comes from the Old Norse "falskr" which also meant "unskillful" and "faulty". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | falso | ||
| "Falso" comes from the Latin word "falsus", meaning "deceptive" or "untrue". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | meallta | ||
| "Meallta" in Scots Gaelic can also mean "concealed" or "hidden." | |||
| Spanish | falso | ||
| The word "falso" is derived from the Latin word "falsus," which means "deceptive" or "untrue." | |||
| Swedish | falsk | ||
| The word 'falsk' also means 'falsely made' or 'fake' in Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | ffug | ||
| The Welsh word "ffug" can also mean "deception" or "fiction." | |||
False in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | ілжывы | ||
| Ілжывы can also mean 'fictitious' or 'fabricated'. | |||
| Bosnian | lažno | ||
| The term 'lažno' or 'lažni' can also be used to describe someone who is cunning or deceitful in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | невярно | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, "невярно" also meant "not believing," "faithless," or "unfaithful," as it is related to "вера" ("faith"). | |||
| Czech | nepravdivé | ||
| "Nepravdivé" comes from the Proto-Slavic "nepravь" ("unjust") and is related to the Russian "неправда" ("injustice"). | |||
| Estonian | vale | ||
| The Estonian word "vale" originally meant "a lie" and was related to the Finnish word "valehtella," meaning "to tell a lie." | |||
| Finnish | väärä | ||
| Väärä is also the name of a region in Finland, located in the southwest. | |||
| Hungarian | hamis | ||
| Hamis also means "forgery" in Hungarian, and is related to the word "hamisít" meaning "to forge" or "to counterfeit". | |||
| Latvian | nepatiesa | ||
| The Latvian word "nepatiesa" can also mean "dishonest" or "unscrupulous. | |||
| Lithuanian | melagingas | ||
| The word "melagingas" comes from the Greek word "melangein," which means "to mix" or "to deceive." | |||
| Macedonian | лажни | ||
| The etymology of "лажни" is from Latin through Greek "лаж" (lie) or from Ottoman "yaln" meaning "false, not real, unreal, fictional". | |||
| Polish | fałszywy | ||
| The word "fałszywy" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *lьsьtivъ, meaning "deceitful" or "cunning". | |||
| Romanian | fals | ||
| The Romanian word "fals" derives from the Latin word "falsus", meaning "deceptive" or "untrue". | |||
| Russian | ложный | ||
| "Ложный" comes from Old East Slavic "лъжати", "to lie", from Proto-Slavic *lьgъ "lie, untruth", from Proto-Indo-European *leugh- "to lie, deceive, conceal". | |||
| Serbian | лажно | ||
| The word 'лажно' in Serbian can be used to refer to a counterfeit or forgery or to describe someone as dishonest or insincere. | |||
| Slovak | nepravdivé | ||
| The word "nepravdivé" comes from the Slavic root "prav", meaning "truth", and the prefix "ne-", meaning "not". | |||
| Slovenian | napačno | ||
| The Slovenian word "napačno" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "nepravъ", which originally meant "not right". | |||
| Ukrainian | помилковий | ||
| The Ukrainian word "помилковий" is cognate with the Polish "myłkowy", "mylić", which can mean to err or to make a mistake. | |||
False in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | মিথ্যা | ||
| The Sanskrit root word, "mith-", from which "মিথ্যা" is derived, also holds connotations of "error" or "illusion", as seen in words like "mithya", meaning "false view or perception". | |||
| Gujarati | ખોટું | ||
| The Gujarati word "ખોટું" can also mean "wrong," "mistaken," or "incorrect." | |||
| Hindi | असत्य | ||
| The word असत्य can also mean 'non-existence' or 'illusion'. | |||
| Kannada | ಸುಳ್ಳು | ||
| The word "ಸುಳ್ಳು" can also mean "a lie" or "untruth" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | തെറ്റായ | ||
| The Malayalam word "തെറ്റായ" can also mean "inaccurate" or "mistaken". | |||
| Marathi | खोटे | ||
| The word 'खोटे' in Marathi shares its origin with 'khota' in Hindi and 'khuda' or 'khuta' in Urdu and Persian, meaning 'false or impure money' | |||
| Nepali | गलत | ||
| The word "गलत" is derived from the Sanskrit word "गल" meaning "to go astray". | |||
| Punjabi | ਗਲਤ | ||
| The word "ਗਲਤ" can also mean "mistake" or an "error" in Punjabi | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බොරු | ||
| The word "බොරු" in Sinhala is derived from the Pali word "vohara", which means "to speak" or "to say". | |||
| Tamil | பொய் | ||
| The Tamil word "பொய்" is also used as an adjective to describe something that is fake or artificial, and as an adverb to mean "falsely". | |||
| Telugu | తప్పుడు | ||
| Urdu | جھوٹا | ||
| The word "جھوٹا" not only means "untrue", but also describes something brittle and breakable. | |||
False in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 假 | ||
| In Cantonese, "假" is also used as a prefix to indicate something is artificial or synthetic (e.g., 假花), but "虚假" is preferred. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 假 | ||
| The character 假 (false) was originally used as a verb meaning 'to borrow' or 'to lend' | |||
| Japanese | false | ||
| In Japanese, the word "false" can also mean "unnatural" or "pretend." | |||
| Korean | 그릇된 | ||
| Mongolian | худал | ||
| The Mongolian word "худал" can also mean "empty" or "deficient". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မှားသည် | ||
False in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | salah | ||
| The word 'salah' can also refer to an error or mistake. | |||
| Javanese | palsu | ||
| The Javanese word 'palsu' derives from 'salu' ('one'), indicating its original meaning of 'single' or 'uniform'. | |||
| Khmer | មិនពិត | ||
| The Khmer word "មិនពិត" can also mean "not true" or "incorrect". | |||
| Lao | ບໍ່ຈິງ | ||
| In the Tai Lüe language, the word "ບໍ່ຈິງ" means "not true or real" and "incorrect". | |||
| Malay | salah | ||
| The Arabic word "salah" also means 'mistake, error, fault', and is the origin of the Malay word "silap", which has the same meaning. | |||
| Thai | เท็จ | ||
| The word "เท็จ" can also mean "to deny" or "to deceive". | |||
| Vietnamese | sai | ||
| The word "sai" in Vietnamese also has secondary meanings such as "mistaken" or "wrongful". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mali | ||
False in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yalan | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "yalan" is related to the Turkish word "yalan" and the Persian word "derog", both meaning "falsehood". | |||
| Kazakh | жалған | ||
| The root of "жалған" also appears in the related terms "жалғандық" (meaning "lie, untruth") and "жалғаншы" (meaning "liar"). In another meaning, the verb "жалу" from which it is derived means "to cover or wrap" in Kazakh, suggesting an alternate interpretation of "жалған" as a disguise or deception. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жалган | ||
| The word "жалган" also means "deception" or "illusion" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | дурӯғ | ||
| The word "дурӯғ" derives from the Persian word "دروغ" with the same meaning. | |||
| Turkmen | ýalan | ||
| Uzbek | yolg'on | ||
| "Yolg'on" in Uzbek ultimately comes from the Persian word "drog" meaning "lie". | |||
| Uyghur | false | ||
False in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | wahaheʻe | ||
| "Wahaheʻe" (pronounced wah-hah-heh-eh) is also used to describe something that is inauthentic or not genuine. | |||
| Maori | hē | ||
| Maori has two distinct words for "no" which are sometimes used in conjunction: "kāore" is used for absolute negation and "hē" for relative negation (e.g. he didn't go yesterday). | |||
| Samoan | pepelo | ||
| The word "pepelo" can also refer to a rumor or a lie. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | hindi totoo | ||
| "Hindi totoo" can also be interpreted as "not true to oneself" or "not genuine". | |||
False in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | k'ari | ||
| Guarani | japu | ||
False in International Languages
| Esperanto | falsa | ||
| The Esperanto word "falsa" originates from the Latin word "falsus", and also means "incorrect" or "wrong". | |||
| Latin | falsus | ||
| "Falsus" means "false" from the Latin root meaning "to deceive" | |||
False in Others Languages
| Greek | ψευδής | ||
| The term "ψευδής" derives from the PIE root *bʰewdh-, meaning "to speak" and is related to the words "φημί" and "φάτις" (statement). | |||
| Hmong | cuav | ||
| The word "cuav" in Hmong can also refer to a lie or to something that is not real or true. | |||
| Kurdish | şaş | ||
| Şaş originates from the Kurdish word 'şaşin' meaning 'to be amazed' or 'to be perplexed', and has come to mean 'false' or 'wrong' over time. | |||
| Turkish | yanlış | ||
| Yanlış also means "unlucky" when used idiomatically with the word "ayak" as in "yanlış ayakla kalkmak ("to get out of bed on the wrong foot") | |||
| Xhosa | ubuxoki | ||
| The word "Ubuxoki" in Xhosa also refers to a type of traditional medicine used for protection against witchcraft. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַלש | ||
| The Yiddish word "פאַלש" also means "stale". | |||
| Zulu | amanga | ||
| The Zulu word 'amanga', besides meaning 'false', can also refer to a 'trick', 'cheat', or even a 'joke'. | |||
| Assamese | মিছা | ||
| Aymara | k'ari | ||
| Bhojpuri | गलत | ||
| Dhivehi | ރަނގަޅުނޫން | ||
| Dogri | गलत | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | mali | ||
| Guarani | japu | ||
| Ilocano | saan nga agpayso | ||
| Krio | lay | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەڵە | ||
| Maithili | झूठ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯔꯥꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | diklo | ||
| Oromo | soba | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ମିଥ୍ୟା | ||
| Quechua | pantasqa | ||
| Sanskrit | असत्य | ||
| Tatar | ялган | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓሶት | ||
| Tsonga | vunwa | ||