Freedom in Different Languages
Discover 'Freedom' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Freedom
Afrikaans vryheid | ||
Albanian liria | ||
Amharic ነፃነት | ||
Arabic حرية | ||
Armenian ազատություն | ||
Assamese স্বাধীনতা | ||
Aymara liwirtara | ||
Azerbaijani azadlıq | ||
Bambara hɔrɔnya | ||
Basque askatasuna | ||
Belarusian свабода | ||
Bengali স্বাধীনতা | ||
Bhojpuri आजादी | ||
Bosnian sloboda | ||
Bulgarian свобода | ||
Catalan llibertat | ||
Cebuano kagawasan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 自由 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 自由 | ||
Corsican libertà | ||
Croatian sloboda | ||
Czech svoboda | ||
Danish frihed | ||
Dhivehi މިނިވަންކަން | ||
Dogri अजादी | ||
Dutch vrijheid | ||
English freedom | ||
Esperanto libereco | ||
Estonian vabadus | ||
Ewe ablɔɖe | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kalayaan | ||
Finnish vapaus | ||
French liberté | ||
Frisian frijheid | ||
Galician liberdade | ||
Georgian თავისუფლება | ||
German freiheit | ||
Greek ελευθερία | ||
Guarani sãso | ||
Gujarati સ્વતંત્રતા | ||
Haitian Creole libète | ||
Hausa 'yanci | ||
Hawaiian kūʻokoʻa | ||
Hebrew חוֹפֶשׁ | ||
Hindi आजादी | ||
Hmong kev ywj pheej | ||
Hungarian szabadság | ||
Icelandic frelsi | ||
Igbo nnwere onwe | ||
Ilocano kinawaya | ||
Indonesian kebebasan | ||
Irish saoirse | ||
Italian la libertà | ||
Japanese 自由 | ||
Javanese kamardikan | ||
Kannada ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ | ||
Kazakh бостандық | ||
Khmer សេរីភាព | ||
Kinyarwanda umudendezo | ||
Konkani मुक्ती | ||
Korean 자유 | ||
Krio fridɔm | ||
Kurdish azadî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ئازادی | ||
Kyrgyz эркиндик | ||
Lao ເສລີພາບ | ||
Latin libertas | ||
Latvian brīvība | ||
Lingala bonsomi | ||
Lithuanian laisvė | ||
Luganda eddembe | ||
Luxembourgish fräiheet | ||
Macedonian слобода | ||
Maithili स्वतंत्रता | ||
Malagasy freedom | ||
Malay kebebasan | ||
Malayalam സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം | ||
Maltese libertà | ||
Maori herekore | ||
Marathi स्वातंत्र्य | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯅꯤꯡ ꯇꯝꯕ | ||
Mizo zalenna | ||
Mongolian эрх чөлөө | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) လွတ်လပ်ခွင့် | ||
Nepali स्वतन्त्रता | ||
Norwegian frihet | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ufulu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସ୍ୱାଧୀନତା | ||
Oromo bilisummaa | ||
Pashto ازادي | ||
Persian آزادی | ||
Polish wolność | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) liberdade | ||
Punjabi ਆਜ਼ਾਦੀ | ||
Quechua qispisqa kay | ||
Romanian libertate | ||
Russian свобода | ||
Samoan saolotoga | ||
Sanskrit स्वतंत्रता | ||
Scots Gaelic saorsa | ||
Sepedi tokologo | ||
Serbian слобода | ||
Sesotho tokoloho | ||
Shona rusununguko | ||
Sindhi آزادي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) නිදහස | ||
Slovak sloboda | ||
Slovenian svoboda | ||
Somali xorriyadda | ||
Spanish libertad | ||
Sundanese kabebasan | ||
Swahili uhuru | ||
Swedish frihet | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kalayaan | ||
Tajik озодӣ | ||
Tamil சுதந்திரம் | ||
Tatar ирек | ||
Telugu స్వేచ్ఛ | ||
Thai เสรีภาพ | ||
Tigrinya ነፃነት | ||
Tsonga ntshuxeko | ||
Turkish özgürlük | ||
Turkmen azatlyk | ||
Twi (Akan) fawohodie | ||
Ukrainian свобода | ||
Urdu آزادی | ||
Uyghur ئەركىنلىك | ||
Uzbek erkinlik | ||
Vietnamese sự tự do | ||
Welsh rhyddid | ||
Xhosa inkululeko | ||
Yiddish פרייהייט | ||
Yoruba ominira | ||
Zulu inkululeko |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans "vryheid" derives from the Dutch word "vrijheid" and literally means "lord freedom" or "freedom to be a lord." |
| Albanian | "Liria" comes from the Illyrian term *leiw-er-ya* that means "to release, free". The word had the same meaning in Ancient Greek and in Latin (liber / lībero)" } |
| Amharic | "Freedom (nǝssanǝn, liberty of a slave) comes under the general heading that includes (sǝrǝḥ (deliver, relieve), fäsäs (break, free), wäsädä (open up), hällälä (loosen)." |
| Arabic | The word "حرية" also means "exemption from obligation" in Arabic |
| Azerbaijani | Azadlıq is cognate with the Persian word "āzādi", both deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂leh₃u-, meaning "to free, liberate, exempt, protect". |
| Basque | 'Askatasuna' comes from the Basque words 'aski' meaning 'enough' and 'as' meaning 'time', and originally meant 'having enough time'. |
| Belarusian | The word "свабода" is etymologically related to the word "воля", which means "will" or "desire" in Russian. |
| Bengali | স্বাধীনতা originates from the Sanskrit word 'स्वाधीनत' (svādhīnatā) meaning 'self-rule' or 'autonomy'. |
| Bosnian | The word "sloboda" comes from the Slavic word "slobodija", and initially referred to tax exemption for newly settled areas. |
| Bulgarian | The word "свобода" (freedom) in Bulgarian also refers to the absence of obstacles or hindrances. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "llibertat" comes from the Latin "libertatem", meaning "the state of being free" |
| Cebuano | In pre-colonial Cebuano, "kagawasan" meant "freedom to move, speak, and act as a person wished." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The Chinese character 自由 (freedom) is composed of two characters: 自 (self) and 由 (originating from the concept of a chariot without reins) |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 自由 can also be interpreted as 'freely' or 'to do whatever you want'. |
| Corsican | In Corsican the word "libertà" also means "free time". |
| Croatian | The word 'sloboda' can also refer to a type of settlement in Eastern Europe, similar to a town or village, that was granted special privileges or exemptions. |
| Czech | "Svoboda" (freedom) originates from the Old Slavic word "svob" meaning "one's own" and also shares a root with the word "svat" (holy, sacred). |
| Danish | The Danish word "frihed" originates from the Old Norse word "frjáls," meaning "free, noble, or generous." |
| Dutch | In early Dutch, "vrijheid" meant the immunity enjoyed by certain individuals or locations from a feudal lord. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "libereco" derives from French "liberté", with the suffix "-eco" denoting an abstract quality, and also means "liberty" or "independence" |
| Estonian | The word "vabadus" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *wabaz, meaning "open" or "unbound" |
| Finnish | Etymology: from Proto-Uralic *wapa, meaning "free, open, unoccupied" |
| French | The word "liberté" also means "liberty" in French, and it comes from the Latin word "libertas," meaning "freedom from restraint." |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "frijheid" has its origins in the Old Saxon "frīheit" and the Old English "freodom", both meaning "freedom". |
| Galician | In Galician, the word "liberdade" is also used to express the concept of "personal space" or "privacy". |
| German | The word 'Freiheit' is derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'frijaz', meaning 'love' or 'friend'. |
| Greek | Ελευθερία, meaning "freedom" in Greek, is derived from the word "ελεύω," meaning "to come out of." It also carries connotations of "independence" and "sovereignty." |
| Haitian Creole | The word "libète" in Haitian Creole is a cognate of the French word "liberté," both derived from the Latin word "libertas." |
| Hausa | 'Yancin' in Hausa can also mean 'right' or 'power' and is not derived from the Arabic root meaning 'freedom'. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "kūʻokoʻa" also refers to "the right of governance (self-determination) without threat or infringement from an outside force, without being dependent upon others (including family), or upon the government"} |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "חוֹפֶשׁ" not only means "freedom," but also "vacation" or "holiday." |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "आजादी" also means "independence" or "self-governance". |
| Hmong | "Kev ywj pheej" literally means "space to walk", referring to the freedom to move and act without restriction. |
| Hungarian | Szabadság originates from the Proto-Slavic word svoboda, meaning "free time" or "holiday". |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, the word "frelsi" is derived from the word "frelsa," meaning "to free, to deliver," and can also refer to a "release" or "rescue." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "nnwere onwe" literally translates to "ownership of oneself". |
| Indonesian | The word 'kebebasan' in Indonesian likely derives from the Sanskrit word 'svabhava,' meaning 'nature' or 'essence,' and also signifies one's 'independence' or 'self-possession.' |
| Irish | The word 'saoirse' in Irish may have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *sew- meaning 'to shine' or 'to turn red'. |
| Italian | "La libertà" derives from the Latin word "libertas," which means "state of being free". |
| Japanese | “自由” literally means “as you wish”. |
| Javanese | "Merdeka" means "untied" ("mer-de-ka") in Sanskrit and originally meant "liberated from suffering" in Buddhism. In Javanese, it means "to be able to act independently" |
| Kazakh | The word "Бостандық" comes from the Persian word "bostan" meaning "garden". |
| Khmer | The word "សេរីភាព" ("freedom") in Khmer is derived from Sanskrit "svabhāva", meaning "self-nature" or "original state" |
| Korean | The word '자유' can also mean 'leisure' or 'holiday' in Korean. |
| Kurdish | The term 'azadî' in Kurdish can be derived from the Indo-Iranian root 'aza', denoting 'possession, power, authority,' or from the Avestan word 'aṣa' (truth, order) or 'āzati' (freedom) |
| Kyrgyz | The root of the word “эркиндик” means “wide” as in open space, as a steppe. |
| Latin | The Latin term 'libertas' not only represents political or personal liberty but also bears the connotation of 'independence' or 'autonomy' in the context of social or political standing. |
| Latvian | "Brīvība" possibly originates from Sanskrit "bhravas", "fearless" or "unshaken". |
| Lithuanian | The word "laisvė" in Lithuanian is cognate to "license" in English and means not only "freedom" but also "permission" and "authorization." |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Fräiheet" originates from the Germanic word "frijahait" meaning "love" or "friendship". |
| Macedonian | The word СЛОБОДА also means a settlement free from feudal obligations. |
| Malagasy | The word "fahafahana" literally translates to "no longer be a slave" |
| Malay | The word "kebebasan" derives from the Arabic word "hurriyyah", meaning "independence" or "autonomy." |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം" also means "independence" or the state of being separated from or not subject to constraint. |
| Maltese | In Maltese, 'libertà' derives from the Italian 'libertà' (freedom), which itself originates from the Latin 'libertas' (liberty). |
| Maori | Maori language uses the phrase "herekore kore" in legal contexts to refer to "no-choice situations". |
| Marathi | The word "स्वातंत्र्य" in Marathi originates from the Sanskrit word "स्वतन्त्र," meaning "self-reliant" or "independent." |
| Mongolian | Эрх чөлөө is also a term used in Mongolian shamanism to refer to the spirits of the dead. |
| Nepali | स्वतन्त्रता is derived from the Sanskrit word swa-tantra, which literally means "self-rule" or "autonomous." |
| Norwegian | The word 'frihet' likely originates from the Old Norse word 'frjáls', meaning 'own one's self' or 'be one's own master' |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "ufulu" derives from the verb "kufula", meaning "to allow" or "to give permission". |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "ازادي" is derived from the Persian "آزادی" and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European word "h₂ews-ero-" meaning "one's own". |
| Persian | The Persian word "آزادی" (āzādī), meaning "freedom," ultimately originates from the Middle Persian "āzād," which itself derives from the Avestan word "azata-," meaning "independent". |
| Polish | The word "wolność" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *volja, meaning "will" or "choice". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "liberdade" in Portuguese derives from the Latin word "libertas", meaning "condition of a free person exempt from servitude". |
| Punjabi | "Āzādī" is closely related to the Persian word "āzād" and is also a term for a style in North Indian classical music. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word for "freedom" comes from the Latin word "libertas", originally meaning "the right to own land", from an Indo-European root meaning "fat". |
| Russian | The word “свобода” (freedom) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word “svoboda”, which originally meant “one's own” or “belonging to oneself.” |
| Samoan | Saolotoga is also a name for a Samoan weapon consisting of a long stick with pointed barbs along one side. |
| Scots Gaelic | In medieval Gaelic, 'saorsa' also meant 'deliverance' or 'redemption'. |
| Serbian | The word "слобода" in Serbian derives from the Greek word "eleutherodia" meaning "liberty". |
| Sesotho | The word 'tokoloho' in Sesotho is also used to refer to a mythical creature known as the Tokoloshe, believed to be a mischievous and troublesome spirit with supernatural powers. |
| Shona | The Shona word 'rusununguko' can also refer to emancipation or liberation from oppression or servitude. |
| Sindhi | The word آزادي, meaning 'freedom' in Sindhi, is also a Persian word, and is cognate with the word 'азат' or 'azad' which is used in Balochi, Pashto, and Kashmiri |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "නිදහස" derives from the Sanskrit word "nih-daha", meaning "away from burning" or "not burnt". |
| Slovak | Sloboda also means "neighborhood" in Russian and Ukrainian and "suburb" in Polish. |
| Slovenian | The word "svoboda" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *svobodъ, which meant "one's own" or "independent." |
| Somali | The word "xorriyadda" is derived from the Arabic word "hurriya", which also means "freedom". |
| Spanish | The word "libertad" in Spanish derives from the Latin word "libertas" meaning "the state of being free". |
| Sundanese | "Kabebasan" also refers to a specific period after a birth in the Sundanese traditional culture when the mother and the newborn are forbidden from going out. |
| Swahili | "Uhuru" also means 'independence' in Swahili, reflecting the close association between the two concepts. |
| Swedish | The word 'frihet' in Swedish is derived from the Old Norse word 'frjáls', meaning 'free from restraint or obligation'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Kalayaan" is rooted in the pre-colonial concept of "karayaan" and signifies autonomy or self-governance. |
| Tajik | Derived from Persian "āzādī," the word "озодӣ" can also refer to independence or self-determination. |
| Tamil | சுதந்திரம்'s etymological root, 'swa', signifies ownership, reflecting its inherent connotation of self-determination. |
| Telugu | 'స్వేచ్ఛ' ('freedom') is thought to have originated from the Sanskrit word 'svaccha' meaning 'bright' or 'pure'. The term can also refer to 'liberation' or 'deliverance'. |
| Thai | เสรีภาพ (seriap), from Pali, is also used to mean 'leisure time'. |
| Turkish | "Özgürlük" means "freedom" but is also a combination of the words "öz" (self) and "gürlük" (abundance), implying "abundance of self." |
| Ukrainian | Свобода originated from the word "свой" which means "own", emphasizing the independence aspect of the concept. |
| Urdu | آزادی (āzādī) is a common noun that originates from the Persian word "āzād", meaning "unrestrained"} |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "erkinlik" is borrowed from the Persian word "آزاد" and also has the meaning "liberality". |
| Vietnamese | In addition to its literal meaning of "freedom", "sự tự do" can also refer to autonomy, independence, or self-determination. |
| Welsh | "Rhyddid" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *reudh- meaning "to clear", related to words like "ruthless" and "rudder." |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, 'inkululeko' also refers to a bird that soars high in the sky, symbolizing aspiration and liberation. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "פֿרײַהײַט" (friheit) can also refer to the state of being free from pain or discomfort. |
| Yoruba | "Omìnìrà" is an alternative expression for "òfèfé" (freedom), emphasizing the idea of independence and self-determination. |
| Zulu | 'Inkuleleko' is also the Zulu word for 'independence' |
| English | The word 'freedom' can be traced back to the Old English word 'freodom', meaning 'peace' or 'immunity from obligations'. |