Necessary in Different Languages
Discover 'Necessary' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'necessary' is a fundamental part of our vocabulary, denoting something that is required or indispensable. Its significance extends beyond mere semantics, as it speaks to the very core of our decision-making process. To deem something necessary implies a prioritization of resources and values, a crucial skill in both personal and professional settings. Moreover, the concept of necessity has played a pivotal role in shaping human history, from the industrial revolution to the digital age, where new 'necessities' continue to emerge.
Given the cultural importance of the word 'necessary', it's no surprise that many languages have their own unique translations. For instance, in Spanish, 'necessary' translates to 'necesario', while in French it becomes 'nécessaire'. In German, the word is 'notwendig', and in Japanese, it's '必要な'. These translations not only reflect linguistic diversity but also offer a glimpse into different cultural perspectives on what constitutes a necessity.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the translations of 'necessary' in various languages, providing you with a global perspective on this fundamental concept.
Necessary
Necessary in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | nodig | ||
| The Afrikaans word "nodig" comes from the Dutch word "nodig" which has the same meaning but also means "need" and "want". | |||
| Amharic | አስፈላጊ | ||
| The word "አስፈላጊ" (asfelagi) is derived from the root "ፈላ" (fela), which means "to move" or "to change". | |||
| Hausa | zama dole | ||
| There is no alternative meaning for "Zama dole" in Hausa, and its etymology is not recorded. | |||
| Igbo | dị mkpa | ||
| The Igbo word 'dị mkpa' (necessary) is etymologically related to 'mkpa' (need or importance), indicating that something is both needful and important. | |||
| Malagasy | ilaina | ||
| The word "ilaina" can also mean "obligation" or "duty" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zofunikira | ||
| Zofunikira can also mean "important" or "obligatory." | |||
| Shona | zvakafanira | ||
| "Zvakafanira" can also mean "obligatory" or "it is befitting." | |||
| Somali | lagama maarmaan | ||
| Sesotho | hlokahala | ||
| Swahili | lazima | ||
| "Lazima" derives from the Arabic word "laazim" (لزوم), meaning "necessary" or "compulsory." | |||
| Xhosa | iyimfuneko | ||
| The word iyimfuneko comes from the Xhosa root verb 'funda,' meaning to learn, which is also the root of the word for 'school', 'isikolo,' and 'education', 'emfundo.' | |||
| Yoruba | pataki | ||
| Pataki in Yoruba can also mean 'obliged' or 'required' when used in certain contexts. | |||
| Zulu | kudingekile | ||
| The word 'kudingekile' can also be used to refer to an essential or crucial element or action. | |||
| Bambara | kan | ||
| Ewe | hiã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ngombwa | ||
| Lingala | ntina | ||
| Luganda | -ya mugaso | ||
| Sepedi | hlokega | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛhia | ||
Necessary in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ضروري | ||
| The Arabic word "ضروري" also means "urgent" or "important". | |||
| Hebrew | נחוץ | ||
| The Hebrew word "נחוץ" (necessary) comes from the root word "חץ" (arrow), indicating a pointed object or an imperative need. | |||
| Pashto | اړین | ||
| The word "اړین" can also refer to something that is essential or indispensable. | |||
| Arabic | ضروري | ||
| The Arabic word "ضروري" also means "urgent" or "important". | |||
Necessary in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e nevojshme | ||
| The word "e nevojshme" in Albanian comes from the Latin word "necesse" and also means "need". | |||
| Basque | beharrezkoa | ||
| The word "beharrezkoa" also means "inevitable" or "obligatory" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | necessari | ||
| The word "necessari" in Catalan, derived from Latin "necessarius," can also mean "close friend" or "spouse" | |||
| Croatian | potrebno | ||
| "Potrebno" is also used with the meaning "poor" (in the financial sense) or "needy" in the Croatian language and is derived from a Slavic root. | |||
| Danish | nødvendig | ||
| The Danish word "nødvendig" is derived from the Old Norse word "nauðsyn", meaning "need". | |||
| Dutch | noodzakelijk | ||
| The word "noodzakelijk" is derived from the Middle Dutch "noet" (need) and "zakelijk" (relating to a matter). | |||
| English | necessary | ||
| The word "necessary" comes from the Latin "necessarius," meaning "impossible to do without." | |||
| French | nécessaire | ||
| Nécessaire can also mean "makeup kit", "toilet bag" (when it is masculine) | |||
| Frisian | needsaaklik | ||
| "Needsaaklik" comes from the Old Frisian words "nēdsaaklik" or "nēdseklik" and "nēd" meaning compulsion, constraint or necessity. | |||
| Galician | necesario | ||
| In Galician, "necesario" can also mean "toilet", deriving from Latin "necessarium" | |||
| German | notwendig | ||
| "Notwendig" also means "inevitable" or "unavoidable" in German. | |||
| Icelandic | nauðsynlegt | ||
| The word "nauðsynlegt" is derived from the Old Norse word "nauðsyn," which means "necessity, need, or compulsion." | |||
| Irish | riachtanach | ||
| Although 'riachtanach' is used most often in Irish to mean 'necessary', the word itself more literally translates to 'coming to an end', 'reaching conclusion'. | |||
| Italian | necessario | ||
| The Italian word "necessario" comes from the Latin "necesse," meaning "compulsory" or "inevitable," and can also refer to a privy or toilet. | |||
| Luxembourgish | noutwendeg | ||
| The word "noutwendeg" comes from the Middle High German word "notdürftig", which means "poor" or "needy". | |||
| Maltese | meħtieġ | ||
| From a Semitic root meaning 'to make poor', also the origin of 'muħħ' (brain) | |||
| Norwegian | nødvendig | ||
| The Norwegian word "nødvendig" is ultimately derived from the Latin word "necessitas," meaning "constraint". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | necessário | ||
| In Portuguese “necessário” also means "toilet". Both meanings come from Latin "necessarius", meaning something that can't be avoided. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | riatanach | ||
| In the older forms of the word 'riatanach' its first syllable was pronounced "ri" as opposed to today's "re". "Ri" is an older form of "ro", as in "ro-fheudar", or "must". | |||
| Spanish | necesario | ||
| "Necesario" derives from the Latin "necessarius," meaning "essential" or "indispensable." | |||
| Swedish | nödvändig | ||
| While "nödvändig" shares its origin with English "need", it can also mean "sufficient" in Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | angenrheidiol | ||
| "Angenrheidiol" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*h₃enǵʰ-", meaning "to bind". | |||
Necessary in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | неабходна | ||
| The word "неабходна" shares its etymology with the Latin word "necesse" and can also mean "needful" or "essential". | |||
| Bosnian | potrebno | ||
| Potrebno is also used to express a need or desire for something, similar to the English word 'needful'. | |||
| Bulgarian | необходимо | ||
| Bulgarian "необходимо" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *nędьtь meaning "lack" and has secondary meanings such as "misfortune" and "distress". | |||
| Czech | nutné | ||
| The Czech word "nutné" is related to "need" (i.e. having to do something), but has the additional meaning "essential" (i.e. being important). | |||
| Estonian | vajalik | ||
| The Estonian word "vajalik" originated from the Proto-Finnic word "wačali" which means "lacking" | |||
| Finnish | tarpeen | ||
| While 'tarpeen' has cognates in other Uralic languages, the Finnish word is distinct in its meaning as 'necessary'. | |||
| Hungarian | szükséges | ||
| "Szükséges" is an old Hungarian word, with its root in Turkish. | |||
| Latvian | nepieciešams | ||
| The Latvian term "nepieciešams" shares similarities with other Indo-European words, with possible roots traced back to "necesse" from Latin or "deik-" in Proto-Indo-European, both implying constraints or obligations. | |||
| Lithuanian | būtina | ||
| The word "būtina" may also refer to a "compulsory subject". | |||
| Macedonian | неопходни | ||
| The word "неопходни" is derived from the Greek word "ανάγκη", meaning "necessity" or "need". It can also mean "essential", "indispensable", or "requisite". | |||
| Polish | niezbędny | ||
| The word "niezbędny" also means "impossible" in Polish, derived from the negation of "być" (to be) and the word "zbędny" (disposable). | |||
| Romanian | necesar | ||
| The Romanian word 'necesar' originates from Latin 'necesse' meaning 'fateful'. | |||
| Russian | необходимо | ||
| The word «необходимо» comes from the Old Church Slavonic word «нєобходимъ», which means «forced, inevitable». | |||
| Serbian | неопходно | ||
| "Неопходно" (neohodno) comes from the Proto-Slavic *nędъ, meaning "poverty", "want", or "need". It is related to the Russian надо (nado), meaning "must" or "should" and the Polish niedostatek (niedostatek), meaning "lack" or "deficiency." | |||
| Slovak | nevyhnutné | ||
| The word "nevyhnutné" in Slovak is cognate with the Russian word "неизбежный", meaning "inevitable". | |||
| Slovenian | potrebno | ||
| The word "potrebno" in Slovenian likely derives from the Slavic root "potrebъ", meaning "need" or "requirement." | |||
| Ukrainian | необхідний | ||
| "Необхідний" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*potreba (*need)", which also gave rise to the Russian word "нужда" (*need). In the Ukrainian language, "необхідний" has acquired the additional meaning of "urgent" or "indispensable". | |||
Necessary in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রয়োজনীয় | ||
| The word "প্রয়োজনীয়" is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रयोजन" (prayojana), which means "purpose" or "need." | |||
| Gujarati | જરૂરી | ||
| Hindi | ज़रूरी | ||
| The word "ज़रूरी" is derived from the Persian word "zorori", meaning "essential". | |||
| Kannada | ಅಗತ್ಯ | ||
| Alternate meanings of "ಅಗತ್ಯ" include "obligation" and "need", while it derives from Sanskrit "आगत्य" (āgatya), meaning "arrival" or "coming." | |||
| Malayalam | ആവശ്യമാണ് | ||
| Marathi | आवश्यक | ||
| The word "आवश्यक" is an adjective derived from the word "आवश्य", which means "need, want, or requirement" in Sanskrit, and has the same meaning in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | आवश्यक | ||
| "आवश्यक" can also mean 'required', 'requisite', or 'essential'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අවශ්යයි | ||
| The word "අවශ්යයි" (avashyayi) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "आवश्यक" (āvashyaka), which means "essential" or "indispensable." | |||
| Tamil | அவசியம் | ||
| Telugu | అవసరం | ||
| The word "అవసరం" (avasaaram) in Telugu derives from the Sanskrit word "आवश्यक" (aavashyak), meaning "needful" or "requisite". | |||
| Urdu | ضروری | ||
| ضروری comes from Arabic ضرور meaning 'essential, indispensable' and has alternate meanings of 'urgent' in Hindi and 'must' in Bengali. | |||
Necessary in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 必要 | ||
| "必要(bixu)" also means "indispensable" in Chinese. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 必要 | ||
| "必要" is the traditional Chinese form of the simplified "必须" | |||
| Japanese | 必要 | ||
| "必要" originated from the Chinese word "必用", which means "what must be used". | |||
| Korean | 필요한 | ||
| 필요한 is also a compound word formed from '필(必)' meaning 'surely' and '요(要)' meaning 'necessity'. | |||
| Mongolian | шаардлагатай | ||
| The word "шаардлагатай" originally meant "obligatory" or "compulsory". Nowadays, it is used to mean "necessary" in a more general sense. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လိုအပ်သော | ||
Necessary in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | perlu | ||
| The word "perlu" in Indonesian also carries the meaning of "to need", as in "Saya perlu uang" ("I need money"). | |||
| Javanese | prelu | ||
| The word "prelu" can also mean "essential" or "fundamental". | |||
| Khmer | ចាំបាច់ | ||
| Lao | ມີຄວາມ ຈຳ ເປັນ | ||
| Malay | perlu | ||
| "Perlu" stems from the Proto-Austronesian word "*pəlu", which means "to need" or "to be required." | |||
| Thai | จำเป็น | ||
| จำเป็น (จำ - เป็น) - จดจำไว้เป็นสิ่งจำเป็น (necessary) | |||
| Vietnamese | cần thiết | ||
| Cần thiết derives from the Chinese concept of “necessity,” and it originally meant “urgent” or “pressing.” | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kailangan | ||
Necessary in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | zəruri | ||
| The word “zəruri” is derived from the Arabic word “darura”, which means “essential” or “urgent”. | |||
| Kazakh | қажетті | ||
| The Kazakh word "қажетті" is derived from the Persian word "kārz", meaning "work" or "need". | |||
| Kyrgyz | зарыл | ||
| The word "зарыл" in Kyrgyz, meaning "necessary", also has the connotation of "urgent" or "indispensable". | |||
| Tajik | зарурӣ | ||
| The word "зарурӣ" can also mean "urgent" or "important". | |||
| Turkmen | zerur | ||
| Uzbek | zarur | ||
| "Zarur" has the same root with the word "zarurat" which means "situation of helplessness". | |||
| Uyghur | زۆرۈر | ||
Necessary in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pono | ||
| "Pono" also means righteous, proper, fitting, or correct in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | tika | ||
| 'Tika' in Maori can also refer to a sacred mark or symbol on the forehead or face. | |||
| Samoan | talafeagai | ||
| In Samoan, "talafeagai" originally meant "to meet a need". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kailangan | ||
| "Kailangan" is the Tagalog word for "necessary," a word which also means "need," "requirement," and "demand." | |||
Necessary in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | wakiskiri | ||
| Guarani | oñeikotevẽva | ||
Necessary in International Languages
| Esperanto | necesa | ||
| Esperanto's "necesa" comes from Latin "necesse" which can also mean "fateful, unavoidable, destined, inevitable," and shares a root with "nexus." | |||
| Latin | necesse | ||
| Nec esse is a Latin phrase that literally means 'it is not possible to not', | |||
Necessary in Others Languages
| Greek | απαραίτητη | ||
| "Απαραίτητη" means "indispensable" in Greek, ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *par- "to pass through". | |||
| Hmong | tsim nyog | ||
| The Hmong word for necessary, "tsim nyog," also means "must" or "have to." | |||
| Kurdish | pêwist | ||
| The word "pêwist" in Kurdish has a wider meaning than its common English translation, "necessary". It can also refer to something that is obligatory, unavoidable, or inevitable. | |||
| Turkish | gerekli | ||
| The word "gerekli" is derived from the Arabic word "gerek", meaning "need" or "want". | |||
| Xhosa | iyimfuneko | ||
| The word iyimfuneko comes from the Xhosa root verb 'funda,' meaning to learn, which is also the root of the word for 'school', 'isikolo,' and 'education', 'emfundo.' | |||
| Yiddish | נויטיק | ||
| The Yiddish word נויטיק also means 'distressed' and is related to the German 'nötig' (distressed) and the Old Norse nauðr (distress). | |||
| Zulu | kudingekile | ||
| The word 'kudingekile' can also be used to refer to an essential or crucial element or action. | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰয়োজনীয় | ||
| Aymara | wakiskiri | ||
| Bhojpuri | जरूरी | ||
| Dhivehi | ކޮންމެހެން ބޭނުންވާ | ||
| Dogri | जरूरी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kailangan | ||
| Guarani | oñeikotevẽva | ||
| Ilocano | nasken | ||
| Krio | nid | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | پێویست | ||
| Maithili | आवश्यकता | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯊꯧ ꯇꯥꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tul | ||
| Oromo | barbaachisaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆବଶ୍ୟକ | ||
| Quechua | manakusqa | ||
| Sanskrit | आवश्यकम् | ||
| Tatar | кирәк | ||
| Tigrinya | አድላዩ | ||
| Tsonga | laveka | ||