Overcome in Different Languages
Discover 'Overcome' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'overcome' holds a significant place in our hearts and minds as it embodies the human spirit's ability to triumph over adversity. It is a powerful word that transcends cultures and languages, inspiring people worldwide to face their challenges head-on. Moreover, understanding the translation of 'overcome' in different languages can provide insight into how various cultures express resilience and determination.
Throughout history, the word 'overcome' has been a source of motivation for many. From ancient philosophers to modern-day leaders, the idea of overcoming obstacles has been a common theme in literature, speeches, and philosophical texts. For instance, the famous Stoic philosopher, Epictetus, once said, 'It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.' This quote highlights the importance of overcoming adversity and maintaining a positive attitude in the face of challenges.
With that in mind, here are some translations of the word 'overcome' in different languages:
Overcome
Overcome in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | oorkom | ||
| The word "oorkom" in Afrikaans ultimately derives from the Middle Dutch "overcomen" and shares a similar meaning with the English "overcome". | |||
| Amharic | አሸነፈ | ||
| 'አሸነፈ' is the causative form of the word 'ሸነፈ', which means 'to be defeated'. | |||
| Hausa | shawo kan | ||
| In Hausa, a word for "overcome," shawo kan, also means "overreach," highlighting the nuanced and multifaceted aspect of triumph. | |||
| Igbo | merie | ||
| "Merie" can also mean to surpass, to excel, to be superior or better than someone or something else. | |||
| Malagasy | handresy | ||
| The word 'handresy' in Malagasy can also mean 'to win' or 'to prevail'. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kugonjetsa | ||
| The word "kugonjetsa" is a cognate of the Swahili "kumgonjwa" (to become sick), hence its figurative meaning that is "to be overcome" | |||
| Shona | kukunda | ||
| The word “kukunda” shares its root with “ruka” meaning “to conquer by force of arms” and the name “Rukweza” who was the leader of the Karanga people in the Mberengwa area in the early 19th century. | |||
| Somali | laga adkaado | ||
| The term "laga adkaado" translates to "to overcome" but it literally means "to put down (on the) ground." | |||
| Sesotho | hlōla | ||
| "Hlōla" also means "to be ahead" or "to win" in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | kushinda | ||
| The word 'kushinda' in Swahili is cognate with the Arabic word 'qashara', which means 'to peel' or 'to remove the skin', implying the act of overcoming as removing an obstacle. | |||
| Xhosa | yoyisa | ||
| "Yoyisa" comes from the Proto-Bantu word "*joj-" and is also used in Nguni languages like Zulu and Ndebele with the meaning "to defeat, crush, or overcome." | |||
| Yoruba | bori | ||
| "Bòri" also refers to the process of spiritual cleansing and healing in Yoruba tradition. | |||
| Zulu | ukunqoba | ||
| The Zulu word ukunqoba, meaning "to overcome," is etymologically connected to the concept of "victory". | |||
| Bambara | ka latɛmɛ | ||
| Ewe | ɖu dzi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gutsinda | ||
| Lingala | kolonga | ||
| Luganda | okuwangula | ||
| Sepedi | hlola | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bunkam fa so | ||
Overcome in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | التغلب على | ||
| The verb "التغلب على" can also denote "defeat". | |||
| Hebrew | לְהִתְגַבֵּר | ||
| The verb "לְהִתְגַבֵּר" (lit. "to strengthen oneself") also means "to predominate" or "to prevail". | |||
| Pashto | بربنډ کیدل | ||
| The word "بربنډ کیدل" can also mean "to get rid of" or "to be free from" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | التغلب على | ||
| The verb "التغلب على" can also denote "defeat". | |||
Overcome in Western European Languages
| Albanian | kapërcehet | ||
| The Albanian word "kapërcehet" is derived from the Latin word "coaptare", meaning "to join together" or "to fit together". | |||
| Basque | gainditu | ||
| The word “gainditu” comes from the Proto-Basque root *gā(r), which is related to the Akkadian word qātûm meaning “to conquer” and the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰh₂en meaning “to kill”. | |||
| Catalan | superar | ||
| In Catalan, the verb "superar" can also mean "to surpass" or "to excel". | |||
| Croatian | nadvladati | ||
| The Croatian verb "nadvladati" means "to overcome" or "to prevail," and is derived from the Slavic root "vlad-," which means "to rule" or "to govern." | |||
| Danish | overvinde | ||
| The Danish verb 'overvinde' is a compound word of 'over' and 'vinde', which means to win over. | |||
| Dutch | overwinnen | ||
| 'Overwinnen' is derived from Old Dutch words that mean 'to gain victory over' and is related to other Germanic words including Old English 'oferwinna', Old Frisian 'overwinna', and Old Saxon 'oborwinnien'. | |||
| English | overcome | ||
| The word "overcome" originates from the Old English word "ofercuman," meaning "to come over or beyond." | |||
| French | surmonter | ||
| The word "surmonter" in French can also mean "to rise above" or "to surpass". | |||
| Frisian | oerwinne | ||
| "Oerwinne" is a verb but can also be used as a noun in the sense of "overcoming an obstacle or difficulty". | |||
| Galician | superar | ||
| The verb "superar" in Galician also means to exceed, surpass, or go beyond something | |||
| German | überwinden | ||
| The word "überwinden" is composed of the prefix "über-," meaning "over," and the verb "winden," meaning "to wind" or "to turn." | |||
| Icelandic | sigrast á | ||
| Sigrast á means to overcome, succeed, or conquer, and can also refer to a victory or triumph. | |||
| Irish | shárú | ||
| The word "shárú" in Irish can also mean "to beat, defeat, conquer, or vanquish," as well as "to master, overpower, or control." | |||
| Italian | superare | ||
| The Italian word "superare" comes from the Latin "superare", which also means "to go over" or "to surpass". | |||
| Luxembourgish | iwwerwannen | ||
| "Iwwerwannen" derives from the Middle High German word "überwinden", which meant "to overcome, conquer, or surpass". | |||
| Maltese | jingħelbu | ||
| The Maltese word "jingħelbu" is derived from the Arabic "galaba", which also means to conquer. | |||
| Norwegian | overvinne | ||
| The verb 'overvinne' comes from the Old Norse word 'yfirvinna', which means 'to overcome', 'to conquer', or 'to get the better of'. It is also related to the German word 'überwinden', which has the same meaning. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | superar | ||
| "Superar" derives from Latin "super" (above) and implies "being on top" of something. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | faighinn thairis | ||
| "Faighinn thairis" derives from the Proto-Celtic root *ɸi-ge- "to conquer, obtain," and is cognate with the Irish "faighid"," meaning both "find, obtain." and "defeat." | |||
| Spanish | superar | ||
| In Spanish, "superar" can also mean "excel", "exceed", or "surpass". | |||
| Swedish | betagen | ||
| The word 'betagen' (meaning 'overcome') derives from the Middle Swedish word 'betyga,' which also means 'to conquer' and is related to the Norwegian word 'betvinne' (meaning 'to defeat'). | |||
| Welsh | goresgyn | ||
| In the context of poetry, "goresgyn" can also mean "to lament". | |||
Overcome in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | пераадолець | ||
| The word "пераадолець" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "преодолевати," which means "to overcome" or "to prevail over." | |||
| Bosnian | prebroditi | ||
| Bosnian 'prebroditi' comes from 'broditi' ('to ford') and denotes overcoming obstacles, like crossing a river. | |||
| Bulgarian | преодолявам | ||
| In Russian, «преодолявам» literally translates to «over-ride», indicating the action of going over or above an obstacle. | |||
| Czech | překonat | ||
| Překonat originated as the verb to “cross a horse-drawn vehicle over an obstacle”, and still refers to the crossing of water in this meaning. | |||
| Estonian | ületada | ||
| The Estonian word "ületada" traces its roots back to Proto-Finnic, and is thought to be related to words meaning "move over" or "go beyond". It is cognate with Finnish "ylittää" and Karelian "ülittäh". | |||
| Finnish | voittaa | ||
| The word 'voittaa' has roots in the word for 'victory' which is likely due to its usage in early combat. | |||
| Hungarian | legyőzni | ||
| The suffix -ni of the Hungarian word "legyőzni" (overcome) originates from the Proto-Ugric language and it was probably used to denote a passive result. | |||
| Latvian | pārvarēt | ||
| The word "pārvarēt" is derived from the verbs "pārvest" (to cross) and "varēt" (to be able), meaning "to be able to cross" or "to overcome". | |||
| Lithuanian | įveikti | ||
| Lithuanian “įveikti” is derived from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root *veik-, meaning 'to do' or 'to act'. | |||
| Macedonian | надминат | ||
| The word "надминат" also means "exceeded" or "surpassed". | |||
| Polish | przezwyciężać | ||
| "Przezwyciężyć", derived from Latin "pervincere" (to conquer, to vanquish), also means to win, to overcome or to prevail over obstacles. | |||
| Romanian | a depasi | ||
| The word "a depasi" in Romanian also means "to exceed" or "to surpass". | |||
| Russian | преодолеть | ||
| The verb "преодолеть" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *oboriti, meaning "to knock down," and can also mean "to surpass" or "to achieve." | |||
| Serbian | савладати | ||
| The word "савладати" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "съвладати" and also means "to master" or "to get the better of." | |||
| Slovak | prekonať | ||
| The word "prekonať" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root "*konati", meaning "to do" or "to make". | |||
| Slovenian | premagati | ||
| "Premagati" means "to overcome," however the root "mag" also suggests growth, meaning the word also conveys a connotation of triumph over adversity. | |||
| Ukrainian | подолати | ||
| The verb 'подолати' ('overcome') derives from the Proto-Slavic verb '*dolěti', which originally meant 'to reach' or 'to come close.' | |||
Overcome in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কাটিয়ে ওঠা | ||
| কাটিয়ে ওঠার মূল অর্থ ছিল 'ওঠার আগে কেটে ফেলা', পরে এর অর্থ 'পার হয়ে যাওয়া' তে পরিবর্তন হয় | |||
| Gujarati | કાબુ | ||
| "કાબુ" is also used in Gujarati to refer to a | |||
| Hindi | पर काबू पाने | ||
| The word 'पर काबू पाने' may also mean to 'gain mastery over' or 'to get under control'. | |||
| Kannada | ಜಯಿಸಿ | ||
| The word "ಜಯಿಸಿ" in Kannada can also mean "to win", "to achieve success", or "to triumph". | |||
| Malayalam | മറികടക്കുക | ||
| The closest Malayalam translation for "overcome" is "മറികടക്കുക" which can also mean "to cross over" or "to surpass". | |||
| Marathi | मात | ||
| In Marathi, "मात" (maat) also means "to surpass" or "to excel". | |||
| Nepali | हटाउनु | ||
| "हटाउनु" is one of the root words in Nepali which is used to derive many other words such as "निवारण" (prevention), "निराकरण" (remedy), "निर्वाचन" (election) and "नियन्त्रण" (control). | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਾਬੂ | ||
| The word 'ਕਾਬੂ' (overcome) is derived from the Persian word 'qābū' ('power, authority, mastery'). | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ජය ගන්න | ||
| ජය ගන්න in Sinhalese is also used figuratively to mean 'to conquer' or 'to win' over something. | |||
| Tamil | கடந்து வா | ||
| The word "கடந்து வா" in Tamil can also mean "to exceed" or "to surpass". | |||
| Telugu | అధిగమించటం | ||
| The Telugu word 'అధిగమించటం' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'gam', meaning 'to go', and the prefix 'adhi' (over). It can also mean 'surpass,' 'excel,' or 'attain.' | |||
| Urdu | پر قابو پانا | ||
Overcome in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 克服 | ||
| 克服 in Chinese, when broken into '克' and '服,' can mean 'to subdue' or 'to conquer.' | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 克服 | ||
| 克服 (kèfú) is a compound of two characters: 克 (kè), meaning 'to conquer,' and 服 (fú), meaning 'to submit.' | |||
| Japanese | 克服する | ||
| 「克服する」という言葉の語源は、「悪しきものを制する」という意味の「克服」が変化したと考えられています。 | |||
| Korean | 이기다 | ||
| 이기다 (overcome) is also used to mean 'to win' in the context of sports or competitions | |||
| Mongolian | даван туулах | ||
| The Mongolian root даван is also present in the word “давид” (meaning “weight”) and the expression “даван хурц” (meaning “sharp”). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကျော်ပြီ | ||
Overcome in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mengatasi | ||
| The word "mengatasi" in Indonesian is derived from the root word "gati" (movement) and the prefix "men-" (doer), indicating the process of overcoming an obstacle through effort and movement. | |||
| Javanese | ngatasi | ||
| "Ngatasi" can also mean to take the place of something or someone. | |||
| Khmer | យកឈ្នះ | ||
| The word "យកឈ្នះ" can also mean "to defeat" or "to conquer" in a competition or battle. | |||
| Lao | ເອົາຊະນະ | ||
| Malay | mengatasi | ||
| Mengatasi's root word 'atasi' can also mean 'to overcome' in a game of checkers. | |||
| Thai | เอาชนะ | ||
| The word "เอาชนะ" can also mean "to defeat" or "to conquer". | |||
| Vietnamese | vượt qua | ||
| Vượt qua (overcome) literally means "to cross over" in Vietnamese, implying the act of surmounting an obstacle or challenge. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagtagumpayan | ||
Overcome in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | aşmaq | ||
| The word "aşmaq" also means "to jump over" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | жеңу | ||
| The Kazakh word "жеңу" is derived from the Proto-Turkic verb *čeŋ- "to defeat, conquer, overcome". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жеңүү | ||
| The term "жеңүү" derives from the Proto-Turkic "*yeŋü-", meaning "victory," while also implying "dominance" and "success". | |||
| Tajik | бартараф кардан | ||
| The word “бартараф кардан” is the Tajik translation of the English word “neutralize”. | |||
| Turkmen | ýeňiň | ||
| Uzbek | yengish | ||
| "Yengish" is cognate with the Middle Mongolian verb **yegü-** 'to conquer, subdue', from Proto-Mongolic *yeke, meaning 'big, great, much'. | |||
| Uyghur | يەڭ | ||
Overcome in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | lanakila | ||
| The Hawaiian word 'lanakila' also refers to the victory chant performed after winning a hula competition. | |||
| Maori | wikitoria | ||
| The word "wikitoria" is of Maori origin and its root word "wiki" means to conquer or vanquish. | |||
| Samoan | manumalo | ||
| 'manumalo' also translates as 'to be blessed' or 'anoint'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pagtagumpayan | ||
| The word "pagtagumpayan" in Tagalog can also refer to the act of overcoming a challenge or difficulty, or to the result of such an effort. | |||
Overcome in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | nayrarstaña | ||
| Guarani | pu'aka | ||
Overcome in International Languages
| Esperanto | venki | ||
| Esperanto "venki" is cognate with Italian "vincere" and Latin "vincō" with the meaning "to conquer" | |||
| Latin | superare | ||
| In Latin, "superare" may also mean "be greater than," or "ascend," implying a vertical or hierarchical context. | |||
Overcome in Others Languages
| Greek | καταβάλλω | ||
| The Greek word "καταβάλλω" means "to put down, to overcome, to depose, to pay out, to deposit, to contribute, to exhaust". | |||
| Hmong | kov yeej | ||
| The word "kov yeej" in Hmong also means "to surpass" and "to exceed". | |||
| Kurdish | derbas kirin | ||
| The word "derbas kirin" (overcome) in Kurdish comes from the Persian word "derbashtan" (to pass over), and also means "to cross over" or "to surpass". | |||
| Turkish | aşmak | ||
| The verb "aşmak" also means "to bypass" or "to go beyond" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | yoyisa | ||
| "Yoyisa" comes from the Proto-Bantu word "*joj-" and is also used in Nguni languages like Zulu and Ndebele with the meaning "to defeat, crush, or overcome." | |||
| Yiddish | באַקומען | ||
| The Yiddish verb "באַקומען" could also mean "to catch disease". | |||
| Zulu | ukunqoba | ||
| The Zulu word ukunqoba, meaning "to overcome," is etymologically connected to the concept of "victory". | |||
| Assamese | অতিক্ৰম কৰি অহা | ||
| Aymara | nayrarstaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | काबू पावल | ||
| Dhivehi | ފަހަނަޅައި ދިޔުން | ||
| Dogri | काबू पाना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagtagumpayan | ||
| Guarani | pu'aka | ||
| Ilocano | sarangten | ||
| Krio | sɔlv | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زاڵ بوون | ||
| Maithili | जीतनाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯍꯦꯟꯒꯠꯄ | ||
| Mizo | tuarchhuak | ||
| Oromo | dandamachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅତିକ୍ରମ କର | | ||
| Quechua | atipay | ||
| Sanskrit | अतिक्रामति | ||
| Tatar | җиңү | ||
| Tigrinya | ተቈፃፀረ | ||
| Tsonga | hlula | ||