Heavy in different languages

Heavy in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'heavy' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting a great weight or force, as well as carrying connotations of difficulty, seriousness, or importance. Its cultural importance is evident in its use across various domains, from literature and music to science and technology. For instance, in literature, 'heavy' characters often bear the weight of the story's themes, while in music, 'heavy' refers to genres like heavy metal that evoke power and intensity. In science, 'heavy' elements contribute to nuclear reactions, shaping the very fabric of our universe.

Given its wide-ranging significance, one might wonder about the translations of 'heavy' in different languages. After all, understanding this term in various cultural contexts can enrich our global perspective and foster cross-cultural communication. For example, in Spanish, 'heavy' translates to 'pesado'; in French, 'lourd'; in German, 'schwer'; in Mandarin, '重'; and in Japanese, '重い'. These translations not only reflect linguistic diversity but also reveal the universal human experience of weight and burden.

Heavy


Heavy in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansswaar
The word "swaar" can also refer to a sense of emotional or psychological burden.
Amharicከባድ
"ከባድ" also means "important" in Amharic.
Hausanauyi
The word "nauyi" in Hausa can also refer to someone who is dignified or important.
Igboarọ
The Igbo word "arọ" can also refer to a type of heavy weight used in traditional measurement or to an elder who carries the wisdom of the community.
Malagasymavesatra
The Malagasy word "mavesatra" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian root *beðat, meaning "weight" or "to carry a burden".
Nyanja (Chichewa)cholemera
In Nyanja, "cholemera" also means "to be burdensome" or "to be a burden".
Shonainorema
In Shona, "inorema" also means "difficult" or "arduous."
Somaliculus
The term culus, meaning "heavy" in Somali, also signifies a weighty emotional burden.
Sesothoboima
The word "boima" can also be used to describe something that is difficult or challenging.
Swahilinzito
The Swahili word "nzito" also means "difficult" or "hard to deal with" in addition to its primary meaning of "heavy".
Xhosainzima
The Xhosa word 'inzima' also refers to a burden or responsibility.
Yorubawuwo
The Yoruba word 'wuwo' can also refer to a person who is slow or sluggish.
Zulukusinda
The word "kusinda" in Zulu can also mean "to feel burdened" or "to be tired".
Bambaragirin
Ewekpekpem
Kinyarwandabiremereye
Lingalakilo
Lugandaokuzitowa
Sepediboima
Twi (Akan)mu duro

Heavy in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicثقيل
"ثقيل" can also mean "slow" or "boring" in Arabic.
Hebrewכָּבֵד
The Hebrew word "כָּבֵד" also refers to the human liver.
Pashtoدروند
The word "دروند" can also refer to a "heavily built or obese person" in Pashto.
Arabicثقيل
"ثقيل" can also mean "slow" or "boring" in Arabic.

Heavy in Western European Languages

Albaniani rëndë
The word "i rëndë" can also mean "difficult" or "important" in Albanian.
Basqueastuna
"Astuna" is derived from the Proto-Basque root "-tu-", which also means "down" or "towards the ground," providing the word with a sense of physical weightiness.
Catalanpesat
In Catalan, "pesat" can also mean "annoying".
Croatianteška
In Croatian dialects, the word 'teška' is also a type of folk song, named after its slow, mournful rhythm.
Danishtung
The Danish word "tung" also means "difficult" or "arduous".
Dutchzwaar
The word "zwaar" originates from the Proto-Germanic word "*swair", meaning both "heavy" and "expensive."
Englishheavy
The word 'heavy' can also refer to something that is burdensome or difficult to bear, or to a strong or intense emotion.
Frenchlourd
"Lourd" comes from the Latin "levem", meaning "light".
Frisianswier
The word "swier" is also used to describe something that is difficult or burdensome.
Galicianpesado
In Galician, "pesado" can also mean "annoying" or "tiresome".
Germanschwer
The word "schwer" also refers to serious or difficult tasks, problems, or consequences.
Icelandicþungur
The word þungur (pronounced “Thoong-ur”) also means slow or boring, especially when referring to other people.
Irishtrom
The Irish word "trom" (heavy) also refers to a burdensome situation or a difficult task.
Italianpesante
The Italian word "pesante" not only means "heavy", but also "boring", "dull", or "annoying".
Luxembourgishschwéier
The word "schwéier" is derived from the Old High German word "swāri", which can also mean "difficult" or "painful".
Maltesetqil
The Maltese word "tqil" is cognate of the Arabic word 'thaqeel' which means both "heavy" or "slow".
Norwegiantung
The word "tung" in Norwegian also means "difficult" or "hard to do".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)pesado
"Pesado" can also be used to describe something that is annoying or boring.
Scots Gaelictrom
The word can also mean "difficult" and is related to the Old Irish "tromm" meaning "heavy" or "difficult".
Spanishpesado
The Spanish word 'pesado,' meaning 'heavy' or 'annoying,' originated from the Latin word 'pensare,' meaning 'to weigh' or 'to consider'.
Swedishtung
"Tung" also means "sad" or "melancholic" in Swedish, capturing the emotional weight associated with heaviness.
Welshtrwm
The word "trwm" can also mean "sad" or "uncomfortable" in Welsh, suggesting a metaphorical connection between physical weight and emotional burden.

Heavy in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianцяжкі
Цяжкі (“heavy”) comes from the Proto-Slavic word *těžьkъ, which also meant “pregnant”.
Bosnianteška
"Teška" can also refer to a type of Bosnian folk music featuring heavy bass and drums.
Bulgarianтежък
"Тежък" is also used figuratively to mean "difficult, burdensome, or serious."
Czechtěžký
The word "těžký" also means "difficult" or "hard" in Czech, reflecting its dual nature as a physical and abstract concept.
Estonianraske
In the Estonian slang, "raske" also means "good" or "cool".
Finnishraskas
The word "raskas" can also refer to something laborious, difficult, or burdensome.
Hungariannehéz
The Hungarian word "nehéz" also means "difficult" or "hard" depending on the context.
Latviansmags
The word “smags” in Latvian was borrowed from the Low German word “smag” (“strong” or “thick”), a cognate of the English word “smear.”
Lithuaniansunkus
In Lithuanian, the word "sunkus" shares the same origin as its Old Prussian and Latvian counterparts, suggesting its Balto-Slavic origin, despite having a distinct Proto-Indo-European etymology compared to Slavic counterparts such as "tyazhel".
Macedonianтежок
The word "тежок" can also mean "difficult" or "hard" in Macedonian.
Polishciężki
The Polish word "ciężki" originally meant "pregnant" but later took on the meaning of "heavy."
Romaniangreu
"Greu" also means "hard (to do, understand, etc.)"
Russianтяжелый
The word "тяжелый" can mean "serious" or "difficult" as well as "heavy".
Serbianтешка
The word "тешка" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root "*težъka", meaning "difficult", and is related to the words "tight" and "narrow" in other Slavic languages.
Slovakťažký
"Ťažký" also means "difficult" in Slovak, as in "ťažká otázka" (difficult question), or "serious" as in "ťažká choroba" (serious illness).
Sloveniantežka
The word "težka" in Slovenian shares its etymology with "tough" in English, originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰéwtko-.
Ukrainianважкий
The Ukrainian word "важкий" is cognate to the Polish word "ważki," which means "important".

Heavy in South Asian Languages

Bengaliভারী
"ভারী" can also mean "important", "significant", or "serious" in Bengali, not just "heavy".
Gujaratiભારે
The Gujarati word "ભારે" (bhare) originally meant "costly" or "valuable," and still retains that meaning in some contexts.
Hindiभारी
भारी (bhārī) also means "great" or "important" in Hindi, as in "भारी काम" (an important task).
Kannadaಭಾರ
The word 'ಭಾರ' (heavy) is also used to describe a sense of burden or responsibility, or a situation that requires great effort.
Malayalamകനത്ത
"കനത്ത" can also mean 'solid', 'dense', 'thick' or 'rich'.
Marathiभारी
The word "भारी" in Marathi can also mean "important" or "difficult".
Nepaliभारी
The Nepali word "भारी" traces its roots to the Sanskrit term "भृ" which means "to carry or support" and also has the alternate meaning of "great, much or many."
Punjabiਭਾਰੀ
The word "ਭਾਰੀ" can also mean "costly" or "expensive" in Punjabi.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)බර
The word "බර" can also mean "weight" or "pressure".
Tamilகனமான
Despite deriving from the root 'KaN',' 'கனமான' does not always mean weighty but also implies gravity or seriousness.
Teluguభారీ
"భారీ" also refers to being bulky in size; the term is commonly used when a person has gained weight and is looking a bit large.
Urduبھاری
The word "بھاری" (bhārī) shares its root with the Sanskrit word "भारी" (bhārī), meaning "important, weighty"

Heavy in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
重 (zhòng) can also refer to "again," as in 重复 (chóngfù) "repeat," or "twice," as in 重点 (zhòngdiǎn) "main point."
Chinese (Traditional)
The character "重" was originally used to refer to a person doubled over under a heavy load.
Japaneseヘビー
"ヘビー" can also mean "serious" or "severe".
Korean무거운
"무거운" 본래의 의미는 무게가 더 크다는 것보다는 "무겁다"는 의미가 강했다.
Mongolianхүнд
The Mongolian word "хүнд" also means "hard, difficult".
Myanmar (Burmese)မိုးသည်းထန်စွာ

Heavy in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianberat
"Berat" can also mean "difficult" or "burdensome."
Javaneseabot
"Abot" also means "to carry" in Javanese, suggesting a connection between the weight of an object and the effort required to move it.
Khmerធ្ងន់
"ធ្ងន់" can also mean "difficult" or "serious" in Khmer
Laoໜັກ
"ໜັກ" is also an adjective that means "important" or "serious".
Malayberat
The word "berat" in Malay can also refer to "important" or "burdensome"
Thaiหนัก
"หนักมือ" literally means "heavy-handed" but figuratively means "harsh".
Vietnamesenặng
The word "nặng" also means "difficult" or "serious", reflecting the weight of responsibility or the difficulty of a task.
Filipino (Tagalog)mabigat

Heavy in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniağır
The word "ağır" in Azerbaijani also means "serious, important, or difficult"
Kazakhауыр
"Ауыр" also means "difficult," "serious," or "severe."
Kyrgyzоор
The word "оор" in Kyrgyz, meaning "heavy," also has connotations of slowness, clumsiness, or difficulty.
Tajikвазнин
The word "вазнин" in Tajik can also mean "serious" or "important".
Turkmenagyr
Uzbekog'ir
The word "og'ir" in Uzbek also means "difficult" or "complex".
Uyghurئېغىر

Heavy in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankaumaha
In Hawaiian mythology, Kaumaha is the name of a gigantic turtle that is said to carry the islands on its back.
Maoritaumaha
The word taumaha can be used metaphorically in several contexts including when someone feels burdened with responsibility, physically exhausted, or overwhelmed with negative emotion
Samoanmamafa
In Samoan, "mamafa" can also mean "important" or "serious".
Tagalog (Filipino)mabigat
Mabigat also means 'difficult' or 'burdensome', from the root word 'bigat', meaning 'weight'.

Heavy in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajathi
Guaranipohýi

Heavy in International Languages

Esperantopeza
The word "peza" is also used to refer to something difficult or burdensome.
Latingravis
In Latin, "gravis" also signifies importance, serious, or solemn, which is its original meaning.

Heavy in Others Languages

Greekβαρύς
The word "βαρύς" (barys) derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*gʷer-/*gʷr-", meaning "heavy" or "serious."
Hmonghnyav
In Hmong, the word "hnyav" can also refer to a person who is important or highly esteemed.
Kurdishgiran
"Giran" can also mean "difficult" or "complicated" in Kurdish.
Turkishağır
The word "ağır" also means "serious", "mature", or "difficult" in Turkish.
Xhosainzima
The Xhosa word 'inzima' also refers to a burden or responsibility.
Yiddishשווער
The Yiddish word "shver" can also refer to a father-in-law or brother-in-law.
Zulukusinda
The word "kusinda" in Zulu can also mean "to feel burdened" or "to be tired".
Assameseগধুৰ
Aymarajathi
Bhojpuriभारी
Dhivehiބަރު
Dogriभारी
Filipino (Tagalog)mabigat
Guaranipohýi
Ilocanonadagsen
Krioebi
Kurdish (Sorani)قورس
Maithiliभारी
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯔꯨꯝꯕ
Mizorit
Oromoulfaataa
Odia (Oriya)ଭାରୀ
Quechuallasaq
Sanskritभारयुक्तम्‌
Tatarавыр
Tigrinyaከቢድ
Tsongatika

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