Resist in Different Languages
Discover 'Resist' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'resist' holds a powerful significance in our daily lives, as it embodies the strength and determination to stand against adversity. Its cultural importance is evident in various movements and histories, where people have risen to resist oppression, injustice, and inequality. Understanding the translation of 'resist' in different languages can open doors to global solidarity and unity in the face of challenges.
For instance, in Spanish, 'resistir' reflects the resilience of those who continue to fight for their rights and beliefs. Meanwhile, in French, 'résister' echoes the sentiments of the French Resistance during World War II, inspiring countless individuals to take a stand against tyranny. In German, 'widerstehen' represents the power of endurance and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Join us as we explore the translations of 'resist' in various languages, delving into the historical contexts and cultural nuances that make each one unique.
Resist
Resist in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | weerstaan | ||
| The Afrikaans word "weerstaan" is derived from the Dutch word "weerstand", which means resistance, opposition, or defiance. | |||
| Amharic | መቃወም | ||
| The word "መቃወም" ("resist") in Amharic is etymologically related to the word "ቃም" ("mouth"), and can also mean "to argue" or "to object." | |||
| Hausa | tsayayya | ||
| **Tsaya refers to the action of stopping or waiting in Hausa. It can also mean to resist, oppose, or protest. | |||
| Igbo | iguzogide | ||
| Iguzogide also translates to "the way a child refuses to do something" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | tohero | ||
| The word "tohero" in Malagasy can also mean "to defend" or "to protect". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kukana | ||
| The word 'kukana' in Nyanja is a homophone, meaning it is pronounced the same as another word, but has a different spelling and a different meaning; in the case of 'kukana', it means either 'to refuse' or 'to prevent'. | |||
| Shona | kuramba | ||
| The word "kuramba" can also refer to "being strong", "not getting tired easily", or "enduring pain". | |||
| Somali | iska caabin | ||
| The word "iska caabin" ("resist") comes from the Arabic word "qa'ada" ("to sit down") and the Somali prefix "iska-," which denotes opposition. | |||
| Sesotho | hanela | ||
| The word "hanela" also means "to be stubborn" or "to be disobedient" in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | kupinga | ||
| The word "kupinga" in Swahili also means "to cover the ears". | |||
| Xhosa | xhathisa | ||
| In Xhosa, the word "xhathisa" can also refer to the act of blocking or preventing something. | |||
| Yoruba | koju | ||
| "Koju" in Yoruba also means to be firm, unbending, and immovable, emphasizing its strong and determined nature. | |||
| Zulu | melana | ||
| The word "melana" in Zulu also refers to a shield, protection or defense. | |||
| Bambara | ka firifiri | ||
| Ewe | gbe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kurwanya | ||
| Lingala | kotelemela | ||
| Luganda | okulwana | ||
| Sepedi | iphemela | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mpene | ||
Resist in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | يقاوم | ||
| The word "يقاوم" also means "to be hard or firm" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | לְהִתְנַגֵד | ||
| The Hebrew word "לְהִתְנַגֵד" (lit. "to be over against") also means "to oppose" or "to contradict". | |||
| Pashto | مقاومت | ||
| The Pashto word "مقاومت" comes from the Arabic word "مقاومة" and can also mean "endurance" or "patience." | |||
| Arabic | يقاوم | ||
| The word "يقاوم" also means "to be hard or firm" in Arabic. | |||
Resist in Western European Languages
| Albanian | rezistoj | ||
| Rezistoj, a derivative of the Latin word "resisto," also means "to oppose" or "to withstand" in Albanian. | |||
| Basque | eutsi | ||
| Eutsi is etymologically related to the Basque word "euts": "force", as well as the verb "eutsit": "to be stubborn". | |||
| Catalan | resistir | ||
| "Resistir" in Catalan also means to withstand, to endure, to oppose, and to hold back. | |||
| Croatian | odoljeti | ||
| "Odoljeti" derives from Proto-Slavic "odolěti" and originally meant both "resist" and "win". | |||
| Danish | modstå | ||
| The word "modstå" is derived from the Old Norse word "móðstand", meaning "opposition" or "resistance." | |||
| Dutch | zich verzetten | ||
| The Dutch verb "zich verzetten" originally meant "to move aside to make way". | |||
| English | resist | ||
| The word "resist" can also mean to oppose or to endure. | |||
| French | résister | ||
| In its etymology, the word "résister" refers to "standing firm". | |||
| Frisian | fersette | ||
| The word "fersette" in Frisian is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *firsijaną, meaning "to delay, hinder, or prevent." | |||
| Galician | resistir | ||
| The Galician word "resistir" derives from the Latin "resistere", with the alternate meanings of "withstanding" and "enduring."} | |||
| German | widerstehen | ||
| The verb "widerstehen" derives from the Middle High German word "widerstân," meaning "to stand against." | |||
| Icelandic | standast | ||
| The Icelandic word "standast" is derived from Old Norse and is cognate with the English words "stand" and "withstand". | |||
| Irish | cur i gcoinne | ||
| The Irish "cur i gcoinne" derives from the Proto-Celtic cognate *kontro- "against", also the root of "counter-" and "contra-". | |||
| Italian | resistere | ||
| Resistere derives from the Latin word “sisto,” which means “to stand or remain.” | |||
| Luxembourgish | widderstoen | ||
| "Widderstoen" is derived from the Middle High German "widerstân", which also means "to stand against". | |||
| Maltese | jirreżistu | ||
| The word "jirreżistu" comes from the Latin "resistere", meaning "to stand against". | |||
| Norwegian | motstå | ||
| The Norwegian word "motstå" is derived from the Old Norse "mótstá", meaning "to withstand" or "to oppose". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | resistir | ||
| In Portuguese, "resistir" can also mean "to endure" or "to withstand". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cuir an aghaidh | ||
| Cuir an aghaidh is based on the words cuir (put) and aghaidh (face), meaning to put one's face against something to oppose it. | |||
| Spanish | resistir | ||
| The Spanish verb "resistir" derives from the Latin "resistere," meaning "to stand firm" or "to oppose." | |||
| Swedish | stå emot | ||
| The verb "stå emot" literally translates to "to stand against". | |||
| Welsh | gwrthsefyll | ||
| The Welsh word "gwrthsefyll" derives from the roots "gwrth" (against) and "sefyll" (stand), and also has the meaning "withstand". | |||
Resist in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | супраціўляцца | ||
| The verb 'супраціўляцца' comes from the noun 'супраціў' ('resistance'), which has the same etymology as in English (from Latin 'super' = 'upper' or 'over' and 'stare' = 'to stand'). | |||
| Bosnian | oduprijeti se | ||
| "Oduprijeti se" comes from the verb "odupreti", which means "to lean against" or "to rest against". | |||
| Bulgarian | противопоставям се | ||
| The Bulgarian word "противопоставям се" also means "to oppose" or "to contrast". | |||
| Czech | odolat | ||
| In Polish, odolat means "to defeat". | |||
| Estonian | vastu | ||
| The Estonian word "vastu" derives from Proto-Finnic *vasta and the Proto-Uralic root *vasta "against, towards". | |||
| Finnish | vastustaa | ||
| In Kalevala Karelian, "vastustaa" also means the opposite (agree, support). Contrast the Finnish form."vastata".} | |||
| Hungarian | ellenáll | ||
| The Hungarian word "ellenáll" originates from the Proto-Hungarian word *ellenáll "resist, withstand", which is cognate with the Finnish word *vastustaa "resist". | |||
| Latvian | pretoties | ||
| The word "pretoties" in Latvian is derived from the Latin word "praestolari", meaning "to expect" or "to wait for". | |||
| Lithuanian | priešintis | ||
| The word "priešintis" in Lithuanian stems from the verb "priešinti", which means "to place against", "to oppose". | |||
| Macedonian | се спротивстави | ||
| The Macedonian word "се спротивстави" is derived from the Slavic root "proti", meaning "against", and the verb "staviti", meaning "to place". It can also mean "to oppose" or "to defy". | |||
| Polish | opierać się | ||
| Apart from resisting, the word "opierać się" also implies relying on something or taking a stance. | |||
| Romanian | a rezista | ||
| Romanian's "a rezista" is also a noun referring to a person who resists oppression. | |||
| Russian | сопротивляться | ||
| The word 'сопротивляться' (resist) comes from the same root as the word 'против' (against), and can also mean 'to oppose' or 'to withstand'. | |||
| Serbian | одолети | ||
| In the 17th-century, the word “одолети” also meant “to get the better of” or “to overcome.” | |||
| Slovak | odolať | ||
| The Slovak word "odolať" is related to the verb "odolávať", which means "to withstand". | |||
| Slovenian | upreti se | ||
| The word "upreti se" can also mean to oppose or defy something. | |||
| Ukrainian | чинити опір | ||
| The word "чинити опір" derives from two verbs, one meaning "to do" and the other meaning "to support". So the word literally means "to support action." | |||
Resist in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রতিহত করা | ||
| The word 'প্রতিহত করা' has an alternate meaning as 'to prevent' or 'to hinder' something from happening. | |||
| Gujarati | પ્રતિકાર | ||
| The Sanskrit verb "Prati-Kr" (प्रति-कृ) from which "Pratik" is derived also translates to "to make". This suggests a deeper meaning; that "resistance" can also involve "making". This is similar in English as "resisting authority" can involve making a speech, a stand, etc. | |||
| Hindi | विरोध | ||
| The word 'विरोध' also means 'contradiction' or 'opposition' in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿ | ||
| "ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿ" means to oppose, resist, or withstand something. It can also be used to mean 'to stand against' or 'to protest' against something. | |||
| Malayalam | ചെറുത്തുനിൽക്കുക | ||
| The word "cheruthunilkkുക" comes from the Proto-Dravidian root *cir- "to oppose, to resist" and the suffix -kk- "to do, to make". | |||
| Marathi | प्रतिकार करणे | ||
| The word 'प्रतिकार करणे' in Marathi has the literal meaning of 'to counter' or 'to act against'. This word can be used in various contexts such as resisting an opponent in a fight or resisting an oppressive force. | |||
| Nepali | प्रतिरोध | ||
| "प्रतिरोध" (resist) comes from the Sanskrit word "prati-rodh," which literally means "to stop back" or "to obstruct." | |||
| Punjabi | ਵਿਰੋਧ ਕਰੋ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විරුද්ධ වන්න | ||
| Tamil | எதிர்க்க | ||
| The Tamil word "எதிர்க்க" can also refer to "to be against" or "to oppose." | |||
| Telugu | అడ్డుకోండి | ||
| Urdu | مزاحمت کرنا | ||
| The word "مزاحمت کرنا" can also mean "to obstruct" or "to inconvenience". | |||
Resist in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 抗 | ||
| The character "抗" was originally used to describe a person carrying something heavy on their shoulders. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 抗 | ||
| "抗" originates from the ideogram "柁", a hand gripping the bow handle, denoting "to bear the weight of (the bow), to withstand, resist", with the addition of "戈" and "氵" meaning "spear" and "water" respectively representing "force to repel," and "to overcome, endure." | |||
| Japanese | 抵抗する | ||
| The kanji characters in 「抵抗する」 can also be read as 「ていこうする」, meaning "to oppose" or "to protest against." | |||
| Korean | 견디다 | ||
| "견디다" is derived from the Middle Korean word "견디(kŏndi)", which also means "to endure". | |||
| Mongolian | эсэргүүцэх | ||
| The word “эсэргүүцэх” in Mongolian also means “confront”, “contradict”, or “oppose”. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခုခံတွန်းလှန် | ||
Resist in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | menolak | ||
| Menolak in Indonesian can also mean 'to refuse' or 'to reject'. | |||
| Javanese | nolak | ||
| In the phrase “ora nolak” (unable to resist), nolak means “desire”. | |||
| Khmer | ទប់ទល់ | ||
| The Khmer word "ទប់ទល់" also means "to oppose" or "to withstand". | |||
| Lao | ຕ້ານທານ | ||
| "ຕ້ານທານ" means "to oppose", "to withstand", or in a military or political context, it refers to "resistance against the enemy" and "resistance against the government". | |||
| Malay | menentang | ||
| The Malay word menentang can also mean 'hinder' or 'oppose' in English. | |||
| Thai | ต่อต้าน | ||
| The Thai word "ต่อต้าน" derives from the Sanskrit "prati" + "tyand" and has the alternative meaning of "opposite" | |||
| Vietnamese | kháng cự | ||
| Kháng cự means 'oppose' in Chinese, where it originated, and also means 'antibiotic' in modern scientific Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | lumaban | ||
Resist in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | müqavimət göstərmək | ||
| The word "müqavimət göstərmək" is derived from the Arabic word "muqawama", which means "resistance" or "opposition". | |||
| Kazakh | қарсыласу | ||
| The word "қарсыласу" can also mean "to oppose" or "to refute" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | каршылык көрсөтүү | ||
| Tajik | муқобилат кунед | ||
| The word муқобилат кунед derives from Persian and means "face something with courage and resilience". | |||
| Turkmen | garşy dur | ||
| Uzbek | qarshilik ko'rsatish | ||
| The Uzbek word "qarshilik ko'rsatish" can also mean "to oppose", "to defy", or "to stand up to". | |||
| Uyghur | قارشىلىق كۆرسەت | ||
Resist in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kūʻē | ||
| The word "kūʻē" in Hawaiian can also refer to "defend", "oppose", or "withstand". | |||
| Maori | ātete | ||
| 'ātete' is a variant form of 'tete' meaning 'resist' or 'disobey' | |||
| Samoan | teteʻe | ||
| Teteʻe is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word *tete, which also means "to stand firm" or "to hold on to". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | labanan | ||
| The term "labanan" can also be used to refer to a struggle between two or more parties, or the act of competing against someone or something. | |||
Resist in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | thurt'asiña | ||
| Guarani | ñemyatã | ||
Resist in International Languages
| Esperanto | rezisti | ||
| "Rezisti" in Esperanto can also refer to "resistance wire," a term used in electrical engineering. | |||
| Latin | resistere | ||
| The Latin word "resistere" can also mean "to stand firm" or "to oppose," and is related to the word "status," meaning "standing." | |||
Resist in Others Languages
| Greek | αντιστέκομαι | ||
| "αντιστέκομαι" is the present active indicative first-person singular form of the verb "ανθίσταμαι" which comes from the Greek word "ἵστημι" (hístemi) which means "to stand". | |||
| Hmong | tiv | ||
| The Hmong word "tiv" also has alternate meanings such as "block" and "obstruct". | |||
| Kurdish | berxwedan | ||
| Berxwedan means "to stand upright" or "to hold up" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | direnmek | ||
| The word "direnmek" is a combination of "dir-" (meaning "stand" or "firm") and "en-" (a suffix denoting reflexivity), hence the sense of "standing up for oneself". | |||
| Xhosa | xhathisa | ||
| In Xhosa, the word "xhathisa" can also refer to the act of blocking or preventing something. | |||
| Yiddish | אַנטקעגנשטעלנ זיך | ||
| The Yiddish word "אַנטקעגנשטעלנ זיך" is derived from the German word "entgegenstellen" and can also mean "to oppose" or "to set against". | |||
| Zulu | melana | ||
| The word "melana" in Zulu also refers to a shield, protection or defense. | |||
| Assamese | বিৰোধ কৰা | ||
| Aymara | thurt'asiña | ||
| Bhojpuri | विरोध | ||
| Dhivehi | ރުންކުރުވުން | ||
| Dogri | बरोध करना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | lumaban | ||
| Guarani | ñemyatã | ||
| Ilocano | labanan | ||
| Krio | avɔyd | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەرگری کردن | ||
| Maithili | प्रतिरोध | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯪꯍꯟꯗꯕ | ||
| Mizo | dodal | ||
| Oromo | ittisuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବାଧା ଦେବା | ||
| Quechua | atipakuy | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रतिरोध | ||
| Tatar | каршы тор | ||
| Tigrinya | ተቓውሞ | ||
| Tsonga | sihalala | ||