Joy in Different Languages
Discover 'Joy' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Joy
Afrikaans vreugde | ||
Albanian gëzim | ||
Amharic ደስታ | ||
Arabic الفرح | ||
Armenian ուրախություն | ||
Assamese উল্লাহ | ||
Aymara kusisita | ||
Azerbaijani sevinc | ||
Bambara nisɔndiya | ||
Basque poza | ||
Belarusian радасць | ||
Bengali আনন্দ | ||
Bhojpuri हर्ष | ||
Bosnian radost | ||
Bulgarian радост | ||
Catalan goig | ||
Cebuano kalipay | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 喜悦 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 喜悅 | ||
Corsican gioia | ||
Croatian radost | ||
Czech radost | ||
Danish glæde | ||
Dhivehi އުފާވެރިކަން | ||
Dogri नंद | ||
Dutch vreugde | ||
English joy | ||
Esperanto ĝojo | ||
Estonian rõõmu | ||
Ewe dzidzɔ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kagalakan | ||
Finnish ilo | ||
French joie | ||
Frisian freugde | ||
Galician alegría | ||
Georgian სიხარული | ||
German freude | ||
Greek χαρά | ||
Guarani tory | ||
Gujarati આનંદ | ||
Haitian Creole kè kontan | ||
Hausa farin ciki | ||
Hawaiian ʻoliʻoli | ||
Hebrew שִׂמְחָה | ||
Hindi हर्ष | ||
Hmong kev xyiv fab | ||
Hungarian öröm | ||
Icelandic gleði | ||
Igbo ọ joyụ | ||
Ilocano ragsak | ||
Indonesian kegembiraan | ||
Irish áthas | ||
Italian gioia | ||
Japanese 喜び | ||
Javanese kabungahan | ||
Kannada ಸಂತೋಷ | ||
Kazakh қуаныш | ||
Khmer សេចក្តីអំណរ | ||
Kinyarwanda umunezero | ||
Konkani आनंद | ||
Korean 즐거움 | ||
Krio gladi | ||
Kurdish kêf | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خۆشی | ||
Kyrgyz кубаныч | ||
Lao ຄວາມສຸກ | ||
Latin gaudium | ||
Latvian prieks | ||
Lingala esengo | ||
Lithuanian džiaugsmo | ||
Luganda essanyu | ||
Luxembourgish freed | ||
Macedonian радост | ||
Maithili खुशी | ||
Malagasy fifaliana | ||
Malay kegembiraan | ||
Malayalam സന്തോഷം | ||
Maltese ferħ | ||
Maori koa | ||
Marathi आनंद | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯨꯡꯉꯥꯏꯕ | ||
Mizo lawmna | ||
Mongolian баяр баясгалан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) မင်္ဂလာပါ | ||
Nepali खुशी | ||
Norwegian glede | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chisangalalo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଆନନ୍ଦ | ||
Oromo gammachuu | ||
Pashto خوښۍ | ||
Persian شادی | ||
Polish radość | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) alegria | ||
Punjabi ਆਨੰਦ ਨੂੰ | ||
Quechua kusi | ||
Romanian bucurie | ||
Russian радость | ||
Samoan fiafia | ||
Sanskrit आनंदं | ||
Scots Gaelic gàirdeachas | ||
Sepedi boipshino | ||
Serbian радост | ||
Sesotho thabo | ||
Shona mufaro | ||
Sindhi خوشي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සතුට | ||
Slovak radosti | ||
Slovenian veselje | ||
Somali farxad | ||
Spanish alegría | ||
Sundanese kabungahan | ||
Swahili furaha | ||
Swedish glädje | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kagalakan | ||
Tajik хурсандӣ | ||
Tamil மகிழ்ச்சி | ||
Tatar шатлык | ||
Telugu ఆనందం | ||
Thai ความสุข | ||
Tigrinya ሓጎስ | ||
Tsonga ntsako | ||
Turkish sevinç | ||
Turkmen şatlyk | ||
Twi (Akan) anigyeɛ | ||
Ukrainian радість | ||
Urdu خوشی | ||
Uyghur خۇشاللىق | ||
Uzbek quvonch | ||
Vietnamese vui sướng | ||
Welsh llawenydd | ||
Xhosa uvuyo | ||
Yiddish פרייד | ||
Yoruba ayo | ||
Zulu injabulo |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "vreugde" in Afrikaans shares its roots with the Dutch word "vreugde", which means "joy" or "happiness", and also has the connotation of "excitement" or "elation". |
| Albanian | Albanian "gëzim" derives from Proto-Indo-European "*ǵʰes-mo-s" (pleasant, desirable, welcome) or "*ǵʰeH-is" (joy) and shares a root with Sanskrit "ghāsa-m" (hay, grass). |
| Amharic | "ደስታ" is also used to refer to the annual celebration of Jesus Christ's birth in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which is celebrated on January 7th. |
| Arabic | The word "الفرح" can also mean "a wedding." |
| Azerbaijani | The word "sevinc" also means "gladness" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | In Basque, "poza" also refers to the glow of fire, and is related to "putz" (blow) and "putzu" (spring). |
| Belarusian | This word is etymologically related to the Old Slavonic word “rad’”, meaning 'eager' or 'diligent'. |
| Bengali | The word "আনন্দ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "ānanda," which also means "bliss" or "happiness." |
| Bosnian | The word 'radost' in Bosnian is also a type of folk song, typically performed at weddings and other joyful occasions. |
| Bulgarian | The word "радост" is derived from Proto-Slavic "*radъ", meaning "gladness" or "happiness." |
| Catalan | The etymology of the word "goig" can be traced back to the Latin word "gaudium," meaning "great joy". |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "kalipay" also means "happiness," and can be used to refer to a sense of contentment or emotional well-being. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "喜悦" also means "to be happy" and "to be glad" in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "喜" originally means "to give birth" and "悅" means "to be harmonious", so the original meaning of "喜悅" is "the pleasure of childbirth". |
| Corsican | The word “gioia” derives from the Latin word “gaudia,” meaning “rejoicing” or “great joy.” |
| Croatian | Rado is an archaic Slavic word meaning "paradise" or "heavenly realm", and is cognate with the Russian word "radost", meaning "joy". |
| Czech | The Czech word "radost" is thought to be related to the Old Church Slavonic word "radu" meaning "to care" or "to be glad". |
| Danish | "Glæde," "joy" in Danish, derives from Middle Low German and Old Norse "gladie," initially meaning a "shining" or radiant light. |
| Dutch | The word "vreugde" comes Dutch "vro" (meaning "early") and "dag" (meaning "day"), as joy is associated with the start of a new day. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "ĝojo" stems from the Romanian "jgheab," meaning "channel," or "hollow". |
| Estonian | According to the Estonian Etymological Dictionary, the closest cognate is the Finnish "riemu". |
| Finnish | The word 'ilo' also means 'air' in Finnish, suggesting a connection between joy and fresh air or vitality. |
| French | The French word 'joie' originates from the Latin word 'gaudium', meaning both joy and physical pleasure. |
| Frisian | Freugde is cognate with freude in German and has several meanings in West Frisian: joy, gladness, gaiety. |
| Galician | In Galician, "alegría" can also mean "party", derived from the Latin "alacritas", meaning "liveliness or cheerfulness". |
| Georgian | სიხარული is often used to express the feeling of delight or happiness, but it can also refer to a more profound sense of joy or contentment. |
| German | The word 'Freude' also refers to the 'pleasure' or 'delight' derived from an aesthetic or intellectual experience. |
| Greek | Χαρά originates from the word χαίρω (chairo), meaning to rejoice or be glad. |
| Gujarati | The word "આનંદ" (joy) is derived from Sanskrit and has other meanings in Gujarati, including wealth and pleasure. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "kè kontan" literally translates to "happy heart". |
| Hausa | The word "farin ciki" in Hausa is derived from the Arabic word "farah", meaning "joy" or "happiness". It can also refer to the "inner" or "core" of something. |
| Hawaiian | 'Oliʻoli' is also related to the words 'oli' (chant) and 'oliʻoli' (to be happy), suggesting a deep connection between music, joy, and spiritual expression in Hawaiian culture. |
| Hebrew | The word "שִׂמְחָה" also means "playing with music" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | Hindi word "हर्ष" is derived from Sanskrit "हृष्" (hrish), meaning "to rejoice" or "to be excited or delighted." |
| Hmong | "Kev xyiv fab" can also mean "to be happy" or "to have a good time." |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "öröm" has connections to the Old Turkic word "ürün" meaning "gain," "profit," or "victory." |
| Icelandic | The Old Norse form of "gleði" was "gleði" and it also meant "play" and "amusement." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word ọ joyụ also means "to be at ease or relaxed" |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "kegembiraan" also conveys a sense of "happiness" or "elation". |
| Irish | Áthas is the Irish word for 'joy' which also comes from the Greek word 'athlos' meaning 'contest' or 'struggle'. |
| Italian | The word "gioia" may also refer to a precious stone or treasure. |
| Japanese | "喜び" also means "happiness" and is used in compounds such as "喜び組" (courtesan), "喜びの涙" (tears of joy), and "喜びの舞" (dance of joy). |
| Javanese | "Kabungahan" is also used to refer to the feeling of satisfaction or fulfillment. |
| Kannada | The word "ಸಂತೋಷ" (joy) in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "santushti," which means "satisfaction" or "contentment." |
| Kazakh | The word "қуаныш" is derived from the Old Turkic word "қуа", meaning "to be happy or satisfied". |
| Korean | The word "즐거움" is also used to refer to the "state of being pleased or satisfied". |
| Kurdish | The word 'kêf' in Kurdish also means 'state of mind' or 'pleasure'. |
| Kyrgyz | The word |
| Lao | The term "ຄວາມສຸກ" is an old Lao word and it also means the state of having no suffering. |
| Latin | "Gaudium" originally referred to pleasure derived from agriculture and animal husbandry. |
| Latvian | The word "prieks" in Latvian may have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root "prek" meaning "to ask" or "to beg", suggesting that joy was originally associated with the fulfillment of a desire or request. |
| Lithuanian | Džiaugsmas cognate with the English word "jocular," and likely related to the Greek word "doxa," meaning "glory". |
| Luxembourgish | The verb 'freed' can also mean 'to make merry' |
| Macedonian | The word "радост" can also refer to the act of giving birth or to the feeling of relief that comes after it. |
| Malagasy | "FIFALIANA" is formed with the roots "fia" (to be full) and "lana" (to extend). |
| Malay | Kegembiraan's root word, 'gembira,' is borrowed from Sanskrit and means 'to tremble with excitement'. |
| Malayalam | The word 'സന്തോഷം' originated from the Sanskrit word 'Santosh', which means contentment or satisfaction. |
| Maltese | The word 'ferħ' is derived from the Arabic word 'farah', which also means 'happiness' or 'joy'. |
| Maori | The Māori word 'koa' can also refer to a type of seaweed or a feeling of longing or desire. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word 'आनंद' comes from Sanskrit 'ananda' which has several alternate meanings including joy, bliss and happiness; 'ananda' also refers to a religious concept of spiritual liberation within Indian philosophies. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "баяр баясгалан" ("joy") is thought to be derived from the Turkic word "bayram" (meaning "holiday" or "festival"). |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | In Burmese, the word 'မင်္ဂလာပါ' can also mean a special blessing or greeting for a specific occasion, often used to wish someone well or to congratulate them. |
| Nepali | "खुशी" is derived by concatenating "खु", (meaning "sweet") and "शी", (expressing a female or feminine quality) to denote a "pleasant feeling that lifts one's spirit". |
| Norwegian | The word "glede" in Norwegian also means "meadow" or "pasture". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "chisangalalo" can also mean "happiness" or "delight" in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | "خوښۍ" is cognate with the Persian word "خوشی" and the Sanskrit word "सुख" (sukha), all of which mean "joy" or "happiness". |
| Persian | The word "شادی" (shādi) in Persian derives from the Old Persian word "xšayam" meaning "king" or "lord". |
| Polish | The Polish word "radość" also carries connotations of freedom and liberation, reflecting the deep-seated historical struggles of the Polish people for independence. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "alegria" in Brazilian Portuguese also refers to a traditional music genre originating in the Northeast region of the country. |
| Punjabi | The word "आनंद को" can also mean "blissful". |
| Romanian | The word "bucurie" (joy in Romanian) is derived from the Slavic word "božьstvo" (godhood), suggesting a link between joy and the divine. |
| Russian | In Old Church Slavonic, the word радость meant "paradise" |
| Samoan | "Fa'a" in "fiafia" comes from "fa'a-fa'a", which means to make something beautiful. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word gàirdeachas also means 'boisterous' and comes from the Old Irish word gáirdi ('joyful cry'). |
| Serbian | The word "радост" is a cognate of the Russian word "радость" and is also related to the words "radovati" (to rejoice) and "radovan" (joyful). |
| Sesotho | The word 'thabo' in Sesotho can also refer to 'happiness,' 'delight,' or 'pleasure.' |
| Shona | In Shona, the word "mufaro" has a dual meaning of "joy" and "riches." |
| Sindhi | The word "خوشي" (joy) in Sindhi has alternate meanings of "good news" and "happiness". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "සතුට" (joy) can also mean "satisfaction" or "contentment". |
| Slovak | The word "radosti" also means "pleasures" or "delights" in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | Slovene word veselje, derived from Proto-Slavic *veselьje, is related to English "vessel," a container for liquid. |
| Somali | Farxad is rooted in Proto-Cushitic *farxad 'to be delighted, rejoiced', from which also come Beja firxad 'to be happy', Oromo farxadu 'to rejoice'. |
| Spanish | Alegría, alegría, alegría, alegría. Alegría que me da la vida. Alegría, alegría, alegría, alegría. Alegría que me da el amor. Alegría, alegría, alegría, alegría. Alegría que me da la amistad. |
| Sundanese | The word "kabungahan" in Sundanese can also refer to a state of emotional satisfaction or fulfillment. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "furaha" has Bantu origins and is related to the concept of "lightness" or "ease". It can also mean "fun" or "pleasure". |
| Swedish | The word "glädje" is derived from the Old Norse word "glaðr", meaning "bright" or "shining". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "kagalakan" in Tagalog likely traces its roots to the Malay "kagak", meaning to be happy; this etymology could also link the Filipino word to the Sanskrit "kam", meaning pleasure. |
| Tajik | The word "хурсандӣ" can also mean "happiness" or "delight" in Persian, from which Tajik developed. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word 'மகிழ்ச்சி' ('joy'), derived from an ancient Indo-European root, also implies the concept of 'beauty'. This association with aesthetics is a common thread among many languages of that language family. |
| Telugu | "Ānandamu" originally translates to delight, a milder form of joy, however its modern sense stems from "anada," a Sanskrit term for "no sound" implying the serene happiness of the void, where one resides in a state of ultimate peace and fulfillment. |
| Thai | The Thai word 'ความสุข' derives from Pali and Sanskrit terms meaning 'well-being' and 'ease' |
| Turkish | "Sevinç" can also mean "abundance of water" or "a flood" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "радість" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *radъ, which also means "glad" and "council". |
| Urdu | The word 'خوشی' has Persian origins, where it is derived from the word 'khush,' meaning 'happy' or 'content.' |
| Uzbek | The word "quvonch" is derived from the Persian word "khvān", meaning "invitation to dinner". |
| Vietnamese | "Vui" means "joy" and "sướng" means "pleasure", |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'llawenydd' (joy) comes from the root 'llawen' ('merry'), ultimately deriving from the Proto-Celtic *ɸlawenos ('laughter'). |
| Xhosa | The prefix 'uvu' in 'uvuyo' may be related to the prefix 'u' in 'ubumnandi' ('sweetness'). |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, "פרייד" ("freyd") also denotes a festive meal or celebration, similar to the English "feast" |
| Yoruba | In the Yoruba language, "ayo" means more than joy and it's a versatile word that can also refer to luck, happiness, fortune, or delight |
| Zulu | The word "injabulo" in Zulu not only means "joy", but also refers to a sense of profound happiness and contentment. |
| English | The word "joy" comes from the Old French word "joie," which itself derives from the Latin word "gaudium," meaning "great happiness." |