Lack in Different Languages
Discover 'Lack' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'lack' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, highlighting the absence or insufficiency of something. Its cultural importance is evident across various societies, as it allows us to express needs, desires, and areas requiring improvement. Understanding the translation of 'lack' in different languages can broaden our perspective and enhance our communication skills in a global context.
Historically, the concept of 'lack' has been instrumental in shaping societies, economies, and even philosophies. For instance, the Buddhist concept of 'dukkha' shares similarities with 'lack,' referring to the inherent unsatisfactoriness or discontent in life. Exploring the nuances of 'lack' in various languages can shed light on how different cultures perceive and address shortcomings.
Now, let's delve into the translations of 'lack' in several languages, providing you with a glimpse into the diverse ways people articulate the idea of insufficiency.
Lack
Lack in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | gebrek | ||
| The word "gebrek" is derived from the Old Dutch word "ghebreck", meaning "breaking" or "deficiency". | |||
| Amharic | አጥረት | ||
| The word "አጥረት" (lack) comes from the root word "አጥር" (to be poor) and can also refer to poverty or destitution. | |||
| Hausa | rashin | ||
| The word "rashin" in Hausa can also mean "without" or "devoid of". | |||
| Igbo | ụkọ | ||
| Ụkọ can refer to a lack of something, or to a debt or obligation. | |||
| Malagasy | tsy | ||
| Alternate meanings of the word "tsy" in Malagasy include "not," "no," and "without." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kusowa | ||
| Kusowa originates from the Bemba verb 'ku sofwa', meaning 'to have nothing'. | |||
| Shona | kushaya | ||
| The Shona word "kushaya" also means "to be short of" or "to be in need of". | |||
| Somali | la'aanta | ||
| The word 'la'aanta' also has the alternate meanings of 'absence', 'deficiency', and 'shortage'. | |||
| Sesotho | tlhokeho | ||
| In Lesotho, the word "tlhokeho" also refers to a state of poverty or deprivation. | |||
| Swahili | ukosefu | ||
| Ukosefu, meaning 'lack' in Swahili, also denotes 'emptiness' and 'poverty', and derives from the root word 'kose', meaning 'to be empty' or 'to be poor'. | |||
| Xhosa | ukunqongophala | ||
| The Xhosa word 'ukunqongophala' also means 'to be poor' or 'to be destitute'. | |||
| Yoruba | aini | ||
| Aini, which is derived from the word `aini-n` and can also mean `deficit` or `want`, refers to an absence or shortage of something in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | ukuswela | ||
| The term "ukuswela" stems from the Zulu word "swela," meaning "to dry up" or "to be thirsty." | |||
| Bambara | dɛsɛ | ||
| Ewe | manᴐanyi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kubura | ||
| Lingala | kozanga | ||
| Luganda | ebbulwa | ||
| Sepedi | tlhokego | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nni | ||
Lack in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نقص | ||
| The word "نقص" can also mean "deficiency" in the sense of a lack of a particular nutrient or quality. | |||
| Hebrew | חוֹסֶר | ||
| The Hebrew word חוֹסֶר also means "want" and is related to the root "חָסַר" meaning "to spare" or "to be lacking." | |||
| Pashto | کمښت | ||
| کښت "lack" is also cognate with the word کشت "field, plantation" and may stem from the same root. | |||
| Arabic | نقص | ||
| The word "نقص" can also mean "deficiency" in the sense of a lack of a particular nutrient or quality. | |||
Lack in Western European Languages
| Albanian | mungesë | ||
| The Albanian word "mungesë" ultimately derives from the Latin "mancus" (maimed), but in modern usage it can also refer to a shortage or need. | |||
| Basque | falta | ||
| The word "falta" in Basque is derived from the Latin "falta", meaning "fault", and also has the meaning of "need" or "absence" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | falta | ||
| The Catalan word "falta" derives from the Latin "facere" (to do), and can also mean "debt" or "offense." | |||
| Croatian | nedostatak | ||
| Nedostatak ('lack') in Croatian literally means 'not enough' and also denotes a shortfall. | |||
| Danish | mangel | ||
| In Danish, the word "mangel" originally referred to physical deformities or disabilities. | |||
| Dutch | gebrek | ||
| Gebrek also has an archaic meaning, 'sickness', akin to the word 'break' meaning 'illness' | |||
| English | lack | ||
| The word "lack" is derived from the Old English word "leac" meaning "insufficiency" or "want". | |||
| French | manquer de | ||
| In French, "manquer de" can also mean to miss someone or something, or to fail to do something. | |||
| Frisian | gebrek | ||
| The word "gebrek" in Frisian shares its root with "gebrek" in Dutch, "gebrech" in Middle High German, and probably "brëca" in Old English, all meaning "affliction". | |||
| Galician | falta | ||
| En español y portugués, "falta" también significa infracción o error. | |||
| German | mangel | ||
| The word "Mangel" also denotes a large wooden roller used in laundry | |||
| Icelandic | skortur | ||
| The word 'skortur' is derived from the Old Norse verb 'skorta' meaning 'to want' or 'to be without'. | |||
| Irish | easpa | ||
| The word "easpa" in Irish also means "poverty" or "need". | |||
| Italian | mancanza | ||
| "Mancanza" comes from the Latin mancāre, meaning "to be mutilated," and shares a root with the Old English word "maim" | |||
| Luxembourgish | mangel | ||
| "Mangel" stammt aus dem Mittelhochdeutschen und bedeutete ursprünglich "Tadel" oder "Mangelhaftigkeit". | |||
| Maltese | nuqqas | ||
| The Maltese word "nuqqas" can also mean "flaw" or "defect". | |||
| Norwegian | mangel på | ||
| The word "mangel" is derived from the Old Norse word meaning "want". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | falta | ||
| In Spanish, "falta" often means "a mistake" or "a crime". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dìth | ||
| In Gaelic, 'dìth' derives from the Old Irish 'd'íth', meaning 'fate' or 'necessity'. | |||
| Spanish | carencia | ||
| Carencia, besides "lack", also means "the time left on a subscription or policy". | |||
| Swedish | brist | ||
| The word "brist" comes from the Old Norse word "bresta", meaning "to break", and is related to the English word "burst". It can also mean "to be missing" or "to be empty". | |||
| Welsh | diffyg | ||
| The Welsh word diffyg is related to the Welsh word diffin, meaning a part or share of something, but diffyg is more specifically used to mean the difference between two quantities or numbers. | |||
Lack in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | недахоп | ||
| The Belarusian word "недахоп" originated in the 16th century as "недохоп" and originally referred to "not reaching the desired target". | |||
| Bosnian | nedostatak | ||
| The original meaning of the word "nedostatak" was "inadequacy," but its meaning shifted exclusively to "lack" with the development of standard Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | липса | ||
| The Bulgarian word "липса" (lack) shares the same Proto-Indo-European origin as the word for "leave" and "left", indicating the concept of something being missing or absent. | |||
| Czech | nedostatek | ||
| The word "nedostatek" also means "shortcoming" or "defect" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | puudus | ||
| "Puudus" is derived from the verb "puududa" which means "to be missing". | |||
| Finnish | puute | ||
| Puute also means "necessity, want, need" in some dialects. | |||
| Hungarian | hiánya | ||
| Hiánya can refer to a lack of material goods, or a void in one's life. | |||
| Latvian | trūkums | ||
| "Trūkums" also means "deficiency" or "disadvantage". | |||
| Lithuanian | trūkumas | ||
| "Trūkumas" shares a root with Lithuanian "trūkti" ("to lack") and the English verb "drought". | |||
| Macedonian | недостаток | ||
| The word "недостаток" in Macedonian can also mean "bad habit" or "shortcoming." | |||
| Polish | brak | ||
| Brak (Polish for 'lack') likely comes from the Proto-Indo-European word for 'break', which also gave rise to words like 'brittle' and 'broken'. | |||
| Romanian | lipsa | ||
| The word "lipsa" likely derives from the Slavic "hlipsati," meaning "to be absent" or "to lack something." | |||
| Russian | недостаток | ||
| "Не" in "недостаток" means "not," but "достаток" is the antonym of "недостаток." Therefore, "недостаток" literally translates to "not enough." | |||
| Serbian | недостатак | ||
| "Nedostatak" in Serbian can also mean "disability". | |||
| Slovak | nedostatok | ||
| "Nedostatok" is a Slovak word derived from two root words "ne-," meaning "not," and "dostať," meaning "to get", hence it literally means "not getting something." | |||
| Slovenian | pomanjkanje | ||
| The word "pomanjkanje" is derived from the verb "pomanjkati," which means "to be insufficient." | |||
| Ukrainian | відсутність | ||
| The word "відсутність" in Ukrainian has the alternate meaning of "absence". | |||
Lack in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অভাব | ||
| The word "অভাব" in Bengali is derived from Sanskrit and means "without" or "devoid of". | |||
| Gujarati | અભાવ | ||
| The word "અભાવ" is derived from the root "भू" meaning "to become" and the prefix "अ" meaning "not", hence it literally means "not becoming" or "absence". | |||
| Hindi | कमी | ||
| "कमी" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱem-, meaning "to cut, to lack." | |||
| Kannada | ಕೊರತೆ | ||
| The word 'ಕೊರತೆ' (korate) is derived from an Old Kannada root word 'koru' which also means 'to be deficient in something' | |||
| Malayalam | അഭാവം | ||
| In ancient Malayalam, 'ab hav' refers to a person who has nothing. Over time, the term came to be used for a lack or absence of something. | |||
| Marathi | अभाव | ||
| "अभाव " (abhava) can also be a philosophical concept denoting absence or negation | |||
| Nepali | अभाव | ||
| "अभाव" is derived from the Sanskrit "अबाध" (abādha), meaning "not restricted" or "not hindered". | |||
| Punjabi | ਘਾਟ | ||
| The word "ਘਾਟ" (ghaat) can also refer to a gap or a landing place on a river bank in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හිඟකම | ||
| The word හිඟකම is derived from the Sanskrit word 'hinga' and can also mean a 'fracture' or a 'dislocation'. | |||
| Tamil | பற்றாக்குறை | ||
| The Tamil word 'பற்றாக்குறை,' meaning 'lack,' also implies 'insufficiency' or a 'shortcoming,' capturing the idea of not having enough or meeting a certain standard. | |||
| Telugu | లేకపోవడం | ||
| Urdu | کمی | ||
| Urdu word 'کمی' (lack) also means 'a little bit' when used in the context of quantity. | |||
Lack in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 缺乏 | ||
| The word "缺乏" literally translates to "not having enough," which implies a sense of deficiency or inadequacy. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 缺乏 | ||
| 缺乏 is an abbreviation of the phrase "缺欠". The character "缺" means "missing" and "欠" means "owe". | |||
| Japanese | 欠如 | ||
| The word "欠如" can also be translated as "lack", "shortcoming", "defect", "deficiency", or "imperfection". | |||
| Korean | 결핍 | ||
| The word '결핍' is also used in the sense of 'deprivation, deficiency' or 'need' | |||
| Mongolian | дутагдал | ||
| The word "дутагдал" also has the meaning of "in need". It can be written as "дутагдал" or "дутугадал" depending on the context. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မရှိခြင်း | ||
Lack in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kekurangan | ||
| "Kekurangan" in Indonesian also means "disease" or "ailment". | |||
| Javanese | kurang | ||
| In Javanese, "kurang" (lack) can also mean "not yet finished" or "short (period of time)". | |||
| Khmer | ខ្វះខាត | ||
| The word "ខ្វះខាត" (lack) in Khmer is derived from the Sanskrit word "kṣīṇa" (diminished, reduced, lacking). | |||
| Lao | ຂາດ | ||
| The word "ຂາດ" can also mean "need" or "want". | |||
| Malay | kekurangan | ||
| Kekurangan is also used to refer to the shortfall of a particular item or resource. | |||
| Thai | ขาด | ||
| ขาด can also mean "missing" or "to be broken". | |||
| Vietnamese | thiếu sót | ||
| The word "thiếu sót" can be literally translated to "missing and falling", referring to the idea of something not being present or complete. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kulang | ||
Lack in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çatışmazlıq | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "çatışmazlıq" also means "disagreement" or "dispute". | |||
| Kazakh | жетіспеушілік | ||
| Kyrgyz | жетишсиздик | ||
| Tajik | норасоӣ | ||
| This word is derived from the Persian word "نارسایی" meaning "inadequacy" or "insufficiency". | |||
| Turkmen | ýetmezçiligi | ||
| Uzbek | etishmaslik | ||
| "Etishmaslik" also means "disagreement" and comes from the verb "etish-" meaning "to agree". | |||
| Uyghur | كەمچىل | ||
Lack in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | nele | ||
| The Hawaiian word 'nele' can also refer to a 'lack of stability' or a 'disorderly state'. | |||
| Maori | hapa | ||
| In Maori, "hapa" can also refer to an absence or deficit, such as a lack of knowledge or resources. | |||
| Samoan | le lava | ||
| In addition to its meaning as "lack," "le lava" can also mean "deficiency" or "absence" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kulang | ||
| The Tagalog word "kulang" can also mean "inadequate" or "missing". | |||
Lack in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | utjaskiwa | ||
| Guarani | guereko'ỹ | ||
Lack in International Languages
| Esperanto | manko | ||
| "Manko" also means "hole" in Esperanto, reflecting the underlying concept of a missing piece. | |||
| Latin | carentiam | ||
| Carentiam can refer to either 'poverty' or 'death', and can be used to mean either a physical absence of an element or the spiritual deprivation of something. | |||
Lack in Others Languages
| Greek | έλλειψη | ||
| Έλλειψη (lack) likely derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *leykʷ- (to abandon, leave behind). | |||
| Hmong | tsis muaj | ||
| "Tsis muaj" is also an adjective and a verb in Hmong, with a similar meaning of lacking something." | |||
| Kurdish | kêmasî | ||
| The word "kêmasî" in Kurdish originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*kem-/*kam-/*kom-", meaning "to want, desire, lack". | |||
| Turkish | eksiklik | ||
| Turkish "eksiklik" comes from Arabic "naksa" which also means "setback, damage" in Arabic | |||
| Xhosa | ukunqongophala | ||
| The Xhosa word 'ukunqongophala' also means 'to be poor' or 'to be destitute'. | |||
| Yiddish | פעלן | ||
| In Yiddish, "פעלן" can also mean "to be absent" or "to fail to do something". | |||
| Zulu | ukuswela | ||
| The term "ukuswela" stems from the Zulu word "swela," meaning "to dry up" or "to be thirsty." | |||
| Assamese | অভাৱ | ||
| Aymara | utjaskiwa | ||
| Bhojpuri | कमी | ||
| Dhivehi | މަދުވުން | ||
| Dogri | कमी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kulang | ||
| Guarani | guereko'ỹ | ||
| Ilocano | kurang | ||
| Krio | nɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نەبوون | ||
| Maithili | अभाव | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯥꯎꯗꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tlachham | ||
| Oromo | hanqina | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅଭାବ | | ||
| Quechua | pisi | ||
| Sanskrit | विरहः | ||
| Tatar | җитмәү | ||
| Tigrinya | ዋሕዲ | ||
| Tsonga | mpfumaleko | ||