Powerful in Different Languages
Discover 'Powerful' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'powerful' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting strength, influence, and capacity. Its cultural importance is evident across societies and time periods, from the political sphere to the realm of personal growth. Understanding the translation of 'powerful' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the nuances of various cultures and their unique perspectives on power.
For instance, the Spanish translation of 'powerful' is 'poderoso', which also means 'able' or 'capable'. Meanwhile, in German, 'powerful' becomes 'mächtig', a term often associated with authority and control. In Japanese, the translation is 'つよい' (tsuyoi), which can also mean 'strong' or 'sturdy'. These translations offer a glimpse into how different languages and cultures view and express the concept of power.
Exploring the translation of 'powerful' in a variety of languages can enrich our understanding of this fundamental concept and broaden our cultural horizons. Here are some translations to get you started:
Powerful
Powerful in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kragtig | ||
| "Kragtig" originates from the Old Dutch "kraftig," meaning "strong" or "forceful". | |||
| Amharic | ኃይለኛ | ||
| Although primarily meaning 'powerful,' ኃይለኛ can also mean 'capable' or 'competent.' | |||
| Hausa | mai iko | ||
| The Hausa word “mai iko” which means 'powerful' bears a resemblance to the Gwandara 'iko' | |||
| Igbo | dị ike | ||
| "Di ike" in Igbo can mean both "powerful" and "to be able to." | |||
| Malagasy | mahery | ||
| The word "MAHERY" in Malagasy also means "strong" and "capable". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | wamphamvu | ||
| The word "wamphamvu" can also mean "ability," "potency," or "strength" in Nyanja (Chichewa). | |||
| Shona | zvine simba | ||
| "Zvine simba" is a Shona word that literally means "with the heart of a lion", hence the English translation "powerful." | |||
| Somali | awood badan | ||
| "Awood badan" is also used in Somali to describe someone who is wealthy or influential. | |||
| Sesotho | matla | ||
| In another context, 'matla' may mean 'rich' or 'wealthy'. | |||
| Swahili | mwenye nguvu | ||
| Mwenye nguvu: owner of strength, one who has power | |||
| Xhosa | unamandla | ||
| The Xhosa word "unamandla" can also refer to a supernatural force or spiritual power. | |||
| Yoruba | alagbara | ||
| "Alagbara" in Yoruba is derived from "agbara," meaning "potency," and can also refer to a person or object with supernatural strength or influence. | |||
| Zulu | enamandla | ||
| The word "enamandla" in Zulu can also refer to the "power" of a group or community. | |||
| Bambara | barikama | ||
| Ewe | ŋusẽtɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ikomeye | ||
| Lingala | ya nguya | ||
| Luganda | -maanyi | ||
| Sepedi | nago le maatla | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ano yɛ den | ||
Powerful in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | قوي | ||
| The word "قوي" in Arabic can also mean "firm", "strong", or "hard." | |||
| Hebrew | חָזָק | ||
| The word "חָזָק" (strong) in Hebrew is derived from the root "חזק," which also means "to seize" or "to hold fast." | |||
| Pashto | غښتلی | ||
| The Pashto word "غښتلی" is derived from the verb "غښتل" meaning "to be able to" and can also mean "strong" or "mighty". | |||
| Arabic | قوي | ||
| The word "قوي" in Arabic can also mean "firm", "strong", or "hard." | |||
Powerful in Western European Languages
| Albanian | i fuqishëm | ||
| The term i fuqishëm stems from the word fuqi which is the Albanian cognate of words for power across other Indo-European tongues like French (pouvoir), English (power) and Sanskrit (pausha) which also shares its roots in Proto-Indo-European. | |||
| Basque | indartsua | ||
| The Basque word "indartsua" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Basque root "*indar-", meaning "strength" or "vigor". | |||
| Catalan | potent | ||
| The Catalan word "potent" comes from the Latin verb "potare" meaning "to drink", and originally meant "drunk" or "powerful through drink." | |||
| Croatian | snažan | ||
| The word "snažan" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *sъnъgъ and is related to the words "snaga" (strength) and "snažiti" (to strengthen). | |||
| Danish | magtfulde | ||
| The word "magtfulde" derives from the Old Norse word "makt", meaning "force" or "strength". | |||
| Dutch | krachtig | ||
| In the past, the word "krachtig" could also mean "sick" or "unhealthy" in Dutch. | |||
| English | powerful | ||
| "Powerful" comes from the Middle English "pouerful," which means "possessed of great strength" or "able to exercise authority or influence." | |||
| French | puissant | ||
| In heraldry, a rampant lion is also known as a 'lion puissant'. | |||
| Frisian | krêftich | ||
| The word "krêftich" in Frisian also means strong, muscular, mighty, effective, capable and potent. | |||
| Galician | poderoso | ||
| In Galician, "poderoso" can also mean "wealthy" or "influential". | |||
| German | mächtig | ||
| The word "mächtig" in German can also mean "influential" or "considerable". | |||
| Icelandic | öflugur | ||
| Öflugur is also an Icelandic word for "fortunate" and is related to the word "öflun" which means "acquisition". | |||
| Irish | cumhachtach | ||
| The Irish word 'cumhachtach' also refers to 'authoritative' or 'having sovereignty'. | |||
| Italian | potente | ||
| Potente derives from the Latin verb "posse" (to be able), sharing the same root as "potēns" (mighty) and "potentia" (power). | |||
| Luxembourgish | mächteg | ||
| While “mächteg” primarily means “powerful,” it can also mean “great” or “important” in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | qawwi | ||
| The word "qawwi" comes from the Arabic word "qawiyy" and also means "strong" or "firm" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | kraftig | ||
| The word "kraftig" can also mean "strong" or "robust". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | poderoso | ||
| The word "poderoso" originated in Latin and derives from "potens", which also means "potent" or "capable". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cumhachdach | ||
| The word "cumhachdach" can also refer to "possessing power", "wealthy", or "influential". | |||
| Spanish | poderoso | ||
| The word "poderoso" comes from the Latin word "potēns," which means "strong" or "able." | |||
| Swedish | kraftfull | ||
| Kraftfull's Old Norse root, 'kraftr,' means 'strength, power, or might.' | |||
| Welsh | pwerus | ||
| The root of 'pwerus' may be shared with 'pawr' (grasp, hold, seize, get, possess), hence the secondary meaning of 'pwerus' = 'powerful' but also 'grasping' or 'seizing'. | |||
Powerful in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | магутны | ||
| The word "магутны" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *mogątь, meaning "capable" or "strong." | |||
| Bosnian | moćan | ||
| The word "moćan" in Bosnian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "mogti", which means "to be able". | |||
| Bulgarian | мощен | ||
| The word "мощен" in Bulgarian is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *mogъ, meaning "to be able". | |||
| Czech | silný | ||
| The Czech word "silný" can also refer to someone or something that is physically or emotionally strong or resilient. | |||
| Estonian | võimas | ||
| The word "võimas" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "wäki", meaning "might". In addition to its main meaning of "powerful", it can also mean "capable", "strong", or "influential". | |||
| Finnish | voimakas | ||
| In Finnish, "voimakas" relates to the word "voi" which means butter or fat. | |||
| Hungarian | erős | ||
| The word "erős" is derived from the Proto-Finno-Ugric word "*erek" meaning "man" and is related to words meaning "strong" in many other Finno-Ugric languages. | |||
| Latvian | spēcīgs | ||
| Spēcīgs in Latvian is cognate with other Baltic languages and is related to the word 'spēcēt', meaning 'to push' or 'to press' | |||
| Lithuanian | galingas | ||
| The word "galingas" in Lithuanian, meaning "powerful," is cognate with the Latin "galea," meaning "helmet," and may also mean "brave" or "heroic." | |||
| Macedonian | моќни | ||
| The word "моќни" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word for "might" or "strength". | |||
| Polish | potężny | ||
| "Potężny" (powerful) is derived from "potęga" (power) and "potężny" (mighty). It can also mean "powerful" or "impressive". | |||
| Romanian | puternic | ||
| The Romanian word "puternic" is derived from the Latin word "potens", meaning "able" or "capable". | |||
| Russian | мощный | ||
| The Russian word "мощный" can also mean "strong" or "big" in a physical sense. | |||
| Serbian | моћан | ||
| The word "моћан" derives from Proto-Slavic "*mogъ", meaning "able", "capable", or "strong." | |||
| Slovak | silný | ||
| The word "silný" in Slovak means "muscular" or "strong", but can also be used figuratively to mean "influential" or "effective". | |||
| Slovenian | močan | ||
| The word "močan" in Slovenian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *močь, meaning "strength" or "might". | |||
| Ukrainian | потужний | ||
| The word "потужний" (powerful) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*pǫtь" (way, path), meaning "to be able to do something"} | |||
Powerful in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ক্ষমতাশালী | ||
| "ক্ষমতাশালী" originates from Sanskrit "kṣamatā-śalin" meaning "able" or "capable", and also relates to "ক্ষমা" meaning "forgiveness" or "pardon". | |||
| Gujarati | શક્તિશાળી | ||
| The word "શક્તિશાળી" in Gujarati has its roots in Sanskrit and also means "strong", "forceful", or "capable". | |||
| Hindi | शक्तिशाली | ||
| "शक्तिशाली" is the Hindi word for "powerful" and also means "energetic" or "able". | |||
| Kannada | ಶಕ್ತಿಯುತ | ||
| The word ಶಕ್ತಿಯುತ (śaktiyuTa) derives from the Sanskrit term "śakti," meaning "ability" or "energy." | |||
| Malayalam | ശക്തമായ | ||
| The word "ശക്തമായ" in Malayalam can also mean "strong" or "intense". | |||
| Marathi | शक्तिशाली | ||
| "शक्तिशाली" is derived from the Sanskrit word "शक्ति" meaning "strength" or "power". In Marathi, it can also refer to a person or thing that has great influence or authority. | |||
| Nepali | शक्तिशाली | ||
| The word "शक्तिशाली" is derived from the Sanskrit root "शक्ति," meaning "power" or "ability," and is often used to describe a person or thing with great strength or influence. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸ਼ਕਤੀਸ਼ਾਲੀ | ||
| शाक्ति (Shakti) is the goddess that represents the primordial cosmic energy in Hinduism. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බලවත් | ||
| The word "බලවත්" derives from the Sanskrit word "बलवंत" meaning "strong" or "having great strength". It also has metaphorical meanings such as "influential" or "dominant" in Sinhala (Sinhalese). | |||
| Tamil | சக்திவாய்ந்த | ||
| Telugu | శక్తివంతమైన | ||
| "శక్తివంతమైన" (shaktivaṃtamaina) is the Telugu equivalent of "powerful", which is an adjective describing something with great strength or influence. | |||
| Urdu | طاقتور | ||
| The Urdu word "طاقتور" is ultimately derived from the Persian word "توانگر", which means "wealthy" or "prosperous." | |||
Powerful in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 强大 | ||
| "强大" also means "strong and healthy" or "tall and majestic". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 強大 | ||
| The character "強" originally meant "vigorous" but later acquired the meaning of "forceful" or "powerful". | |||
| Japanese | 強力 | ||
| 強力 can also mean "hardly possible" or "strong force/violence" depending on the pronunciation and kanji used. | |||
| Korean | 강한 | ||
| The word "강한" also means "strong" and is derived from the Proto-Korean word "*kɔŋ" meaning "to be strong, firm, or hard." | |||
| Mongolian | хүчирхэг | ||
| The Mongolian word "хүчирхэг" (powerful) has an alternative meaning of "having the power to influence or control others." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အစွမ်းထက် | ||
| In its original Pali form, "aswamthak" was a term denoting an elephant trainer or charioteer. | |||
Powerful in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kuat | ||
| "Kuat" is also an Indonesian noun which literally means "strength." | |||
| Javanese | kuat | ||
| “Kuat” means "strong" in Indonesian, while in Javanese, it also means "hard" or "difficult to break". | |||
| Khmer | អ្នកមានអំណាច | ||
| The term “អ្នកមានអំណាច” (“powerful”) is used to describe those who hold sway over a particular domain, be it political, economic, or social. | |||
| Lao | ມີ ອຳ ນາດ | ||
| Malay | berkuasa | ||
| The word "berkuasa" comes from the Sanskrit word "vas" (to dwell) and the prefix "ber-" (possessing or having), and its original meaning is "possessing a place or abode." | |||
| Thai | ทรงพลัง | ||
| The term "ทรงพลัง" can also refer to the "royalty", a person, thing, or action related to a Thai monarch | |||
| Vietnamese | quyền lực | ||
| "Quyền lực" derives from Chinese "權力" (quánlì), meaning "authority" or "influence", and is distinct from "sức mạnh" (strength) or "năng lực" (ability). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | makapangyarihan | ||
Powerful in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | güclü | ||
| "Güclü" also means "strong, solid, firm, mighty, vehement, violent, potent, vigorous, robust, forceful, sturdy, stalwart, stout, hefty, brawny, husky, and athletic" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | қуатты | ||
| The word "қуатты" in Kazakh is derived from the Persian word "qūwat", which also means "power" or "strength". | |||
| Kyrgyz | күчтүү | ||
| The word "күчтүү" is cognate with Old Turkic word "kүч" that means "strength, power", and "туу" that means "to be born". This etymology suggests its meaning of "innate strength or power". | |||
| Tajik | тавоно | ||
| In Tajik, the word "тавоно" also means "mighty, strong, able, potent, influential, vigorous, and sturdy." | |||
| Turkmen | güýçli | ||
| Uzbek | kuchli | ||
| Uzbek "kuchli" derives from the verb "kuch" ("to become strong") and means "having inner strength", "able to endure hardships". | |||
| Uyghur | كۈچلۈك | ||
Powerful in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mana | ||
| Mana also refers to spiritual and supernatural powers, as well as the power and authority of chiefs or priests. | |||
| Maori | kaha | ||
| The word 'kaha' also signifies strength, vitality, and authority. | |||
| Samoan | mamana | ||
| The word 'mamana' in Samoan can also refer to a chief or a person of high rank. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | makapangyarihan | ||
Powerful in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ch'amani | ||
| Guarani | pokatu | ||
Powerful in International Languages
| Esperanto | potenca | ||
| The Esperanto word "potenca" also means "potential" in English. | |||
| Latin | potens | ||
| The Latin root "pot- " also gives us "potable," meaning "drinkable," as well as "potent," meaning "having great force or influence." | |||
Powerful in Others Languages
| Greek | ισχυρός | ||
| "Ισχυρός" can be used to describe not only physical strength, but also the power of ideas or emotions. | |||
| Hmong | haib | ||
| "Haib" can also refer to a strong or courageous person. | |||
| Kurdish | erke | ||
| "Erke" in Kurdish can also mean "warrior" or "hero". | |||
| Turkish | güçlü | ||
| "Güçlü" derives from the old Turkic root "kuc" meaning "strength, power", but also means "difficult" and "hard". | |||
| Xhosa | unamandla | ||
| The Xhosa word "unamandla" can also refer to a supernatural force or spiritual power. | |||
| Yiddish | שטאַרק | ||
| The Yiddish word "שטאַרק" (shtark) also means "very" or "great" in a general sense. | |||
| Zulu | enamandla | ||
| The word "enamandla" in Zulu can also refer to the "power" of a group or community. | |||
| Assamese | শক্তিশালী | ||
| Aymara | ch'amani | ||
| Bhojpuri | शक्तिशाली | ||
| Dhivehi | ބާރުގަދަ | ||
| Dogri | ताकतवर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | makapangyarihan | ||
| Guarani | pokatu | ||
| Ilocano | napigsa | ||
| Krio | pawaful | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەهێز | ||
| Maithili | शक्तिशाली | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯄꯥꯡꯒꯜ ꯂꯩꯕ | ||
| Mizo | thiltithei | ||
| Oromo | humna-qabeessa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଶକ୍ତିଶାଳୀ | ||
| Quechua | kallpayuq | ||
| Sanskrit | शक्तिशाली | ||
| Tatar | көчле | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓያል | ||
| Tsonga | matimba | ||