Afrikaans onwettig | ||
Albanian i paligjshëm | ||
Amharic ሕገወጥ | ||
Arabic غير شرعي | ||
Armenian անօրինական | ||
Assamese বেআইনী | ||
Aymara jan chiqaparu | ||
Azerbaijani qanunsuz | ||
Bambara a ma daga | ||
Basque legez kanpokoa | ||
Belarusian незаконны | ||
Bengali অবৈধ | ||
Bhojpuri अवैध | ||
Bosnian ilegalno | ||
Bulgarian незаконно | ||
Catalan il·legal | ||
Cebuano iligal | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 非法 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 非法 | ||
Corsican illegale | ||
Croatian ilegalno | ||
Czech ilegální | ||
Danish ulovlig | ||
Dhivehi ހުއްދަނޫން | ||
Dogri नजैज | ||
Dutch onwettig | ||
English illegal | ||
Esperanto kontraŭleĝa | ||
Estonian illegaalne | ||
Ewe mele se nu o | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) ilegal | ||
Finnish laiton | ||
French illégal | ||
Frisian yllegaal | ||
Galician ilegal | ||
Georgian უკანონო | ||
German illegal | ||
Greek παράνομος | ||
Guarani leimboykeha | ||
Gujarati ગેરકાયદેસર | ||
Haitian Creole ilegal | ||
Hausa ba bisa doka ba | ||
Hawaiian kū ʻole i ke kānāwai | ||
Hebrew בִּלתִי חוּקִי | ||
Hindi अवैध | ||
Hmong tsis raug cai | ||
Hungarian illegális | ||
Icelandic ólöglegt | ||
Igbo n'uzo na ezighi ezi | ||
Ilocano ilegal | ||
Indonesian liar | ||
Irish mídhleathach | ||
Italian illegale | ||
Japanese 違法 | ||
Javanese ilegal | ||
Kannada ಕಾನೂನುಬಾಹಿರ | ||
Kazakh заңсыз | ||
Khmer ខុសច្បាប់ | ||
Kinyarwanda bitemewe | ||
Konkani बेकायदेशीर | ||
Korean 불법 | ||
Krio di lɔ nɔ de alaw | ||
Kurdish neqanûnî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) نایاسایی | ||
Kyrgyz мыйзамсыз | ||
Lao ຜິດກົດ ໝາຍ | ||
Latin contra legem | ||
Latvian nelegāls | ||
Lingala endimami te na mibeko | ||
Lithuanian neteisėtas | ||
Luganda okumenya amateeka | ||
Luxembourgish illegal | ||
Macedonian незаконски | ||
Maithili गैरकानूनी | ||
Malagasy tsy ara-dalàna | ||
Malay haram | ||
Malayalam നിയമവിരുദ്ധം | ||
Maltese illegali | ||
Maori ture kore ture | ||
Marathi बेकायदेशीर | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯏꯟꯅ ꯌꯥꯗꯕ | ||
Mizo dan lo | ||
Mongolian хууль бус | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) တရားမဝင် | ||
Nepali अवैध | ||
Norwegian ulovlig | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) oletsedwa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବେଆଇନ | | ||
Oromo seeraan ala | ||
Pashto غیرقانوني | ||
Persian غیر مجاز | ||
Polish nielegalny | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) ilegal | ||
Punjabi ਗੈਰ ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ | ||
Quechua mana iñisqa | ||
Romanian ilegal | ||
Russian незаконный | ||
Samoan faʻatulafonoina | ||
Sanskrit अवैध | ||
Scots Gaelic mì-laghail | ||
Sepedi sego molaong | ||
Serbian илегално | ||
Sesotho molaong | ||
Shona zvisiri pamutemo | ||
Sindhi غيرقانوني | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) නීති විරෝධී | ||
Slovak nelegálne | ||
Slovenian nezakonito | ||
Somali sharci darro ah | ||
Spanish ilegal | ||
Sundanese haram | ||
Swahili haramu | ||
Swedish olaglig | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) iligal | ||
Tajik ғайриқонунӣ | ||
Tamil சட்டவிரோதமானது | ||
Tatar законсыз | ||
Telugu చట్టవిరుద్ధం | ||
Thai ผิดกฎหมาย | ||
Tigrinya ዘይሕጋዊ | ||
Tsonga riki nawini | ||
Turkish yasadışı | ||
Turkmen bikanun | ||
Twi (Akan) mmara tia | ||
Ukrainian незаконний | ||
Urdu غیر قانونی | ||
Uyghur قانۇنسىز | ||
Uzbek noqonuniy | ||
Vietnamese bất hợp pháp | ||
Welsh anghyfreithlon | ||
Xhosa engekho mthethweni | ||
Yiddish ומלעגאַל | ||
Yoruba arufin | ||
Zulu engekho emthethweni |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "onwettig" is derived from the Dutch word "onwettig", which means "unlawful" or "contrary to law". |
| Albanian | The word "i paligjshëm" in Albanian derives from the Old Slavic word "правъ" (pravi), meaning "right" or "true". |
| Amharic | The Amharic word ሕገወጥ can also mean "harmful". |
| Arabic | The word "غير شرعي" also means "illegitimate" or "not according to law". |
| Azerbaijani | "Qanun" means "law" in Turkish and Arabic, and "suz" means "without" in Azerbaijani. Therefore, "qanunsuz" means "illegal". |
| Basque | The word "legez kanpokoa" in Basque derives from the words "lege" (law) and "kanpokoa" (outside), hence meaning "outside the law". It also carries the connotation of being "against the norm" or "abnormal". |
| Belarusian | The word "незаконны" in Belarusian is derived from the Old East Slavic word "законъ", which means "law". The word "незаконны" means "not in accordance with the law". |
| Bengali | "অবৈধ" originally meant "not legal" or "not legitimate". In the 19th century, its meaning gradually expanded to include "contrary to law" or "unlawful". |
| Bosnian | The word 'ilegalno' comes from the Latin word 'illegalis', which means 'unlawful'. It can also be used to describe things that are against the social or moral code. |
| Bulgarian | The word "незаконно" can also mean "unauthorized" or "unlawful" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "il·legal" originally meant "not legitimate" but has since evolved to mean "illegal" in the sense of "against the law." |
| Cebuano | The Spanish word "ilegal" also means "irregular", and "not conforming to the rules" |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The word "非法" (illegal) can also mean "against the law" or "contrary to the law" in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "非法" can also refer to things not following the correct format, in addition to its well known meaning of illegal or unlawful. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "illegale" can also mean "unfair" or "badly done". |
| Croatian | The word "ilegalno" can also mean "illegitimate" in Croatian. |
| Czech | The word "ilegální" is derived from Latin and means "contrary to law" or "unlawful". |
| Danish | Ulovlig shares roots with "lov" meaning "law" or "permission". |
| Dutch | "Onwettig" originates from the Old Dutch word "onwet," meaning "not knowing" or "ignorant," and "wettig," meaning "legitimate" or "valid." |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "kontraŭleĝa" is derived from the Latin word "contra" (against) and the Esperanto word "leĝo" (law). |
| Estonian | The word "illegaalne" comes from the Estonian for "against the law" and can also refer to something that is "not allowed". |
| Finnish | The word "laiton" is derived from the Proto-Uralic word *lai̯ta, meaning "outlaw" or "stranger." |
| French | The French word "illégal" also has the obsolete meaning of "unlegitimate" as in an illegitimate child. |
| Frisian | The word "yllegaal" in Frisian also means "not allowed" or "forbidden." |
| Galician | The word "ilegal" in Galician can also refer to "invalid", "null", or "unlawful". |
| Georgian | In Georgian, “უკანონო,” meaning “illegal,” also means “without canon, without rule.” |
| German | The German term "illegal" is derived from Latin, meaning "not in accordance with the law". |
| Greek | The word 'παράνομος' originally implied deviation from ethical and religious norms, but today it predominantly denotes violation of formal laws. |
| Gujarati | The term "illegal" stems from the Latin "in-legalis" meaning "not within the law" and has been used in English since the 13th century. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "ilegal" can also mean "irregular". |
| Hausa | The phrase "ba bisa doka ba" in Hausa is derived from the root word "bisa", which carries a broad sense of "right", "appropriate" and "lawful" in various grammatical and idiomatic forms. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word "kū ʻole i ke kānāwai" can also mean "not within the law," "against the law," "not according to the law," or "contrary to the law." |
| Hebrew | בִּלתִי חוּקִי can also mean "irregular" or "not in accordance with established rules" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | The Sanskrit word अवैध, meaning 'not legal,' is also used in law and other contexts to mean 'unlawful.' |
| Hmong | In Hmong, "tsis raug cai" can also mean "not allowed" or "forbidden." |
| Hungarian | In Hungarian, the word "illegális" comes from the Latin word "illegalis", meaning "contrary to law". |
| Icelandic | The word "ólöglegt" in Icelandic, meaning "illegal," derives from the Old Norse "ólagligt," which also meant "unjust" or "wrongful." |
| Indonesian | "Liar" is derived from the Malay word "liar", which can also mean "treacherous". |
| Italian | The Italian word "illegale" also means "not logical". |
| Japanese | 違法 also means "against the law" in Japanese. |
| Javanese | The term 'ilegal' in Javanese also refers to an uncultivated field or forest, indicating the absence of human intervention. |
| Kannada | The word "ಕಾನೂನುಬಾಹಿರ" in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "कानूनविहीन" (kānunavihīna), which literally means "without law" or "lawless". |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "заңсыз" can also be used to describe a person who is "disobedient" or "unruly". |
| Korean | "불법" can also mean "outlaw" or "lawless". |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "мыйзамсыз" can also mean "unlawful" or "unrighteous". |
| Latin | Contra legem, which literally means "against the law," also carries connotations of "contrary to a command or prohibition." |
| Latvian | The word "nelegāls" (illegal) in Latvian is derived from "ne- + legāls" (not + legal) and has the alternate meaning of "unlawful". |
| Lithuanian | Lithuanian word "neteisėtas" is cognate with Old Church Slavonic "neправедно" which means "unjust" or "unethical". |
| Luxembourgish | The word "illegal" in Luxembourgish can also mean "unlawfully acquired". |
| Macedonian | The word "незаконски" can also mean "illegitimate", "unlawful" or "unauthorized" in some contexts. |
| Malagasy | "Tsy Ara-dalàna" is the direct translation of "not following the path" and has multiple meanings, also referring to "wrongdoing", "injustice", and "immorality". |
| Malay | The word "haram" comes from the Arabic word "haram", which means "forbidden" or "prohibited". It is also used to refer to things that are considered unclean or impure. |
| Maltese | The word "illegali" in Maltese originates from the Italian word for "illegal", but is also used to refer to someone who is not born in Malta. |
| Maori | "Ture" is the Maori word for "law" and "kore" means "not". |
| Marathi | The word "बेकायदेशीर" comes from the Sanskrit word "अकायदेशिर," which means "not according to law." |
| Mongolian | The word "хууль бус" can also mean "against the law", "unlawful", and "not allowed". |
| Nepali | The word अवैध (illegal) derives from the Sanskrit word "vidhi" (law), with the negative prefix "a" (not) added. |
| Norwegian | This word originally meant 'not permitted' or 'not according to law', but its significance shifted to 'illegal' over time. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In some contexts, 'oletsedwa' can also refer to 'unacceptable' or 'unlawful'. |
| Pashto | The word "غیرقانوني" is the Pashto equivalent of the English word "illegal". |
| Persian | The word "غیر مجاز" also means "inadmissible" or "unauthorized" in Persian. |
| Polish | The Polish word 'nielegalny', derived from 'nie-' ('no') and 'legalny' ('lawful'), carries the same meaning in both Polish and Latin. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "ilegal" also means "illegitimate" or "unlawful". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "ilegal" originates from Latin "illēgālis" which means "not permissible by law" |
| Russian | "Незаконный" derives from "не-законный" (not-legal) and also means "illegitimate" or "unlawful." |
| Samoan | The word "faʻatulafonoina" in Samoan is derived from "faʻa" (meaning "to make"), "tulafono" (meaning "law"), and "-ina" (meaning "passive"), suggesting that something has been made contrary to the law. |
| Scots Gaelic | In medieval Scotland, "mì-laghail" could also refer to someone who had committed a crime worthy of death or exile. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word 'илегално' comes from the French word 'illegal' and has the same meaning, but it can also refer to something that is secret or clandestine. |
| Sesotho | The word "molaong" in Sesotho can also mean "wrongful" or "incorrect". |
| Slovak | The word "nelegálne" in Slovak is derived from the Latin word "illegalis," meaning "not according to law; contrary to the law." |
| Slovenian | The word "nezakonito" can also refer to illegitimacy or the state of being illegitimate. |
| Somali | The word "sharci darro ah" literally translates to "against the law" in Somali. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "ilegal" also means "illegitimate" or "improper", implying a lack of morality or legitimacy beyond legal implications. |
| Sundanese | In Sundanese, "haram" can also mean "sacred" or "forbidden". |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "haramu" is derived from the Arabic word "haram", which means "forbidden" or "unlawful." |
| Swedish | The word 'olaglig' can also refer to something that is 'unlawful' or 'unjust'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "iligal" in Tagalog is derived from the Spanish word "ilegal", which means "unlawful" or "contrary to law." |
| Tajik | ғайриқонунӣ (ghayriqonunī) is borrowed from Arabic and literally means “out of law”. In Persian, it has the alternate meaning of “unfair”. |
| Telugu | Illegal comes from the Latin word "in" and "legalis", which means "not lawful". |
| Thai | The root word "-กฎ" in ""ผิดกฎหมาย"" means to control, hence ""not under control"" which in turn means ""against rule or law"" |
| Turkish | The word "yasadışı" derives from the Turkish words "yasa" ("law") and "dışı" ("outside"), indicating that something is "outside the law" or prohibited. |
| Ukrainian | The word "незаконний" in Ukrainian is derived from the Proto-Slavic **ne-zakonъ**, meaning "not according to the law". |
| Urdu | "غیر قانونی" means "unlawful" or "not in accordance with the law" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | "Noqonuniy" derives from Arabic root "QnN" (to forbid) and was used with a similar meaning in pre-Islamic times. |
| Vietnamese | The word "bất hợp pháp" is derived from the Chinese word "非法", meaning "against the law". |
| Welsh | In Welsh, "anghyfreithlon" can also mean "unfair" or "unjust." |
| Xhosa | The word "engekho mthethweni" can also mean "unlawful" or "against the law". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "ומלעגאַל" comes from the Hebrew word "מלכות" ("kingdom") and means "outside the law" or "unlawful". |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word "arufin" also refers to a forbidden act or practice. |
| Zulu | Engekho emthethweni is not a native Zulu word but a loan word from Afrikaans, where it literally means "not within the law." |
| English | The word "illegal" derives from the Latin "illegalis," meaning "not according to law." |