Serious in Different Languages
Discover 'Serious' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'serious' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting importance, gravity, and sincerity. Its cultural importance is undeniable, as it shapes our interactions, decisions, and communication styles in various contexts. Have you ever pondered how this concept is expressed in other languages? Understanding the translations of 'serious' in different languages can offer a fascinating glimpse into the nuances of cultural perspectives.
For instance, in Spanish, 'serious' translates to 'serio', while in French, it becomes 'sérieux'. In German, the word 'ernst' captures the essence of 'serious', and in Japanese, the term 'majimena' is used to convey the same meaning. These translations not only bridge linguistic gaps but also provide food for thought about how different cultures perceive and communicate concepts of gravity and importance.
Join us as we delve deeper into the world of 'serious' in different languages, uncovering intriguing facts and historical contexts along the way. This exploration will undoubtedly enrich your appreciation for language and culture, opening up a world of possibilities for cross-cultural communication and understanding.
Serious
Serious in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ernstig | ||
| The Afrikaans word "ernstig" can also refer to a state of anger or annoyance. | |||
| Amharic | ከባድ | ||
| The word "ከባድ" can also mean "difficult" or "heavy". | |||
| Hausa | mai tsanani | ||
| "Mai tsanani" can also refer to a strict or disciplined person. | |||
| Igbo | akwa | ||
| "Akwa" can also mean "a state of being without blemish or fault". | |||
| Malagasy | matotra | ||
| The word “matotra” comes from the root “totra” meaning “deep.” | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kwambiri | ||
| The word "kwambiri" can also mean "very" or "extremely" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | zvakakomba | ||
| The word "zvakakomba" (serious) in Shona can also mean "thoroughly" or "completely." | |||
| Somali | culus | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "serious," "culus" can also mean "important," "grave," or "critical" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | tebile | ||
| In Northern Sotho, "tebile" can refer to both "serious" and the act of making a fire. | |||
| Swahili | kubwa | ||
| "Kubwa" also means "great" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | nzulu | ||
| The Xhosa word "nzulu" also means "heavy" in Zulu, highlighting the connection between seriousness and weightiness. | |||
| Yoruba | pataki | ||
| In Yoruba, the term "pataki" additionally implies gravity or significance, emphasizing the weighty nature of crucial matters. | |||
| Zulu | sina | ||
| The word 'sina' also has connotations of 'earnestness', 'devotion', and 'fervor'. | |||
| Bambara | sɛbɛ | ||
| Ewe | moveviẽ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bikomeye | ||
| Lingala | ya ntina | ||
| Luganda | kikulu | ||
| Sepedi | tiišitše | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ani abere | ||
Serious in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | جدي | ||
| "جدي" also means grandfather in Arabic, which is why you sometimes hear people joke "لا يوجد شيء غير جدي أكثر من جدك" (There is nothing more serious than your grandfather). | |||
| Hebrew | רְצִינִי | ||
| The root of the word "רְצִינִי" ("serious") is "רצ" ("to run"), possibly alluding to the idea of "not taking things lightly" or "running after" one's responsibilities. | |||
| Pashto | جدي | ||
| The Pashto word "جدي" can also mean "grandparent" or "ancestor". | |||
| Arabic | جدي | ||
| "جدي" also means grandfather in Arabic, which is why you sometimes hear people joke "لا يوجد شيء غير جدي أكثر من جدك" (There is nothing more serious than your grandfather). | |||
Serious in Western European Languages
| Albanian | serioze | ||
| "Serioze" (serious) derives from the Latin "serius" or "serosus" meaning "whey" or "watery," and hence "sluggish" or "dull." | |||
| Basque | larria | ||
| "Larria": it comes from Latin but it also means the plague or pestilence | |||
| Catalan | greu | ||
| The Catalan word "greu" also means "fat" or "big" in the sense of "heavy". | |||
| Croatian | ozbiljan | ||
| The word "ozbiljan" comes from the Proto-Slavic root "ozbъ", meaning "firm" or "severe". | |||
| Danish | alvorlig | ||
| The Danish word "alvorlig" is ultimately derived from the Latin word "gravitas," meaning "weight" or "importance." | |||
| Dutch | echt | ||
| Echt (serious) derives from the Proto-Germanic adjective *ahtaz meaning "pertaining to property, estate". | |||
| English | serious | ||
| The word 'serious' comes from the Latin word 'serius,' meaning 'grave' or 'important.' | |||
| French | sérieux | ||
| The word "sérieux" can also refer to a set of related things, such as a series of lectures or a set of exercises. | |||
| Frisian | serieus | ||
| The Frisian word "serieus" also means "painful" or "difficult". | |||
| Galician | serio | ||
| In Galician, "serio" also means "cold" or "wet and cold". | |||
| German | ernst | ||
| The German word "ernst" has been used since the 10th century and derives from the Old High German word "ernust" | |||
| Icelandic | alvarlegt | ||
| The word "alvarlegt" is derived from the Old Norse word "alvarr," which means "careful" or "watchful. | |||
| Irish | tromchúiseach | ||
| "Tromchúiseach" refers to a person in a serious mood or having a long face. | |||
| Italian | grave | ||
| The Italian word "grave" derives from the Latin word "gravis," which means both "heavy" and "serious." | |||
| Luxembourgish | eescht | ||
| Besides its basic meaning of "serious", "eescht" can also mean "very" or "really" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | serju | ||
| The word "serju" (serious) in Maltese is derived from the Latin "serius" and can also mean "quiet" or "well-behaved". | |||
| Norwegian | seriøs | ||
| The word "seriøs" ("serious") in Norwegian can also mean "solemn" or "formal." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | grave | ||
| The Portuguese word "grave" can also mean "low" or a "deep sound", derived from Latin "gravis" (heavy). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | trom | ||
| The origin of the Gaelic word "trom" is uncertain, but it may derive from the Proto-Germanic root "*draugmaz" meaning "phantom" or "spirit." | |||
| Spanish | grave | ||
| In Spanish, "grave" also means "accent" and is used to refer to the tilde (~) above "n" in "año". | |||
| Swedish | allvarlig | ||
| The word 'allvarlig' derives from the Old Norse word 'alvor' meaning 'seriousness' or 'strength'. | |||
| Welsh | difrifol | ||
| The word "difrifol" in Welsh has also been used to describe a state of being "in the dumps". | |||
Serious in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сур'ёзна | ||
| сур'ёзна is a Belarusian adjective meaning "serious", "solemn", or "severe", and derives from the Slavic word *surъ" meaning "raw" or "unripe". | |||
| Bosnian | ozbiljno | ||
| The word "ozbiljno" comes from the Turkish word "vazgeçilmez" meaning "irreplaceable" or "indispensable". | |||
| Bulgarian | сериозно | ||
| "Сериозно" also means "in earnest" or "sincerely". | |||
| Czech | vážně | ||
| Vážně (serious) comes from the Proto-Slavic word *věšč (< *věč-ti), meaning "to believe" or "to trust". | |||
| Estonian | tõsine | ||
| In Estonian, the word "tõsine" also means "heavy; weighty" and is used to describe both physical and metaphorical weightiness. | |||
| Finnish | vakava | ||
| The word "vakava" comes from the Proto-Finnic word *vakava, which also meant "heavy" or "weighty" in reference to either physical or emotional weight. | |||
| Hungarian | komoly | ||
| The word "komoly" is also used to describe something that is important or weighty. | |||
| Latvian | nopietns | ||
| The noun "nopietnība" (seriousness) is a derivative of the adjective "nopietns" (serious), which in turn comes from the Old Prussian "napirsti" (serious) and the ancient Greek "anêpsis" (relish) and "anapneo" (to recover one's breath). | |||
| Lithuanian | rimtas | ||
| The word "rimtas" also means "gravity" in the context of physics. | |||
| Macedonian | сериозен | ||
| The word "сериозен" can also mean "solemn" or "grave" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | poważny | ||
| The Polish word "poważny" originally meant "worthy of trust" or "authoritative". | |||
| Romanian | serios | ||
| "Serios" in Romanian can also mean "kind" or "nice". | |||
| Russian | серьезный | ||
| The archaic Russian verb 'серять' ('seryat') means 'to urinate', so 'серьёзный' ('serious') may have originally described the grim expression of a person relieving themselves in public. | |||
| Serbian | озбиљно | ||
| The word 'озбиљно' is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word 'озри' meaning 'to see', and it can also mean 'clear', 'evident' or 'certain'. | |||
| Slovak | vážne | ||
| The Slovak word "vážne" can also mean "seriously" or "really". | |||
| Slovenian | resno | ||
| "Resno" also denotes solemnity or dignity in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | серйозний | ||
| The Ukrainian word “серйозний” originates from the Old Church Slavonic word “сьрѧнъ”, meaning “grave” or “severe”. | |||
Serious in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | গুরুতর | ||
| In Bengali, 'গুরুতর' (serious) is derived from Sanskrit 'গুরু' (heavy) and 'তর' (to cross), referring to something that carries significant weight or poses a great challenge. | |||
| Gujarati | ગંભીર | ||
| The word "ગંભીર" has a rich etymology, originating from Sanskrit and holding alternate meanings such as "weighty", "gravely", and "deeply involved". | |||
| Hindi | गंभीर | ||
| The Hindi word "गंभीर" is derived from the Sanskrit word "गम्भीर", which also commonly translates to "serious" in English, but its alternate meanings in Hindi also include "dignified", "weighty", and "deep". | |||
| Kannada | ಗಂಭೀರ | ||
| The word "ಗಂಭೀರ" also means "majestic" or "impressive" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | ഗുരുതരമായത് | ||
| The word "ഗുരുതരമായത്" in Malayalam also means "heavy" when referring to weight. | |||
| Marathi | गंभीर | ||
| The word "गंभीर" in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "गम्भीर" which can also mean "deep" or "heavy". | |||
| Nepali | गम्भीर | ||
| 'गम्भीर' (gambhīr) comes from Sanskrit 'गम्भीर' (gambhīra) meaning 'deep', referring to the depth of seriousness. | |||
| Punjabi | ਗੰਭੀਰ | ||
| The word "ਗੰਭੀਰ" (serious) in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "गम्भीर" (deep, profound), and also means "dignified, majestic, or solemn". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බරපතල | ||
| The word "බරපතල" (barapathala) in Sinhala has multiple meanings, including "heavy," "important," and "difficult." | |||
| Tamil | தீவிரமானது | ||
| Telugu | తీవ్రమైన | ||
| Urdu | سنجیدہ | ||
| 'سنجیدہ' ('serious') is derived from the Persian word 'سنجیدن' ('to weigh, to ponder') which also means 'thoughtful', 'prudent', or 'considerate'. | |||
Serious in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 严重 | ||
| In Classical Chinese, 严重 can also refer to a person's facial expression, meaning "solemn" or "respectful". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 嚴重 | ||
| 嚴 (yán) in 嚴重 refers to sternness, while 重 (zhòng) means heavy or important. | |||
| Japanese | 深刻 | ||
| The word "深刻" literally means "deep-cut" or "deeply engraved", implying a sense of gravity or seriousness. | |||
| Korean | 진지한 | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of 'serious,' 진지한 can also mean 'sincere' or 'earnest'. | |||
| Mongolian | ноцтой | ||
| The Mongolian word "ноцтой" also means "weighty" or "burdensome". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အလေးအနက်ထား | ||
| The term is used in both literary and colloquial settings. | |||
Serious in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | serius | ||
| The word "serius" in Indonesian can also mean "in earnest" or "diligently". | |||
| Javanese | serius | ||
| The Javanese word "serius" also means "difficult to please" and is related to the word "tresna" (to love). | |||
| Khmer | ធ្ងន់ធ្ងរ | ||
| The word ធ្ងន់ធ្ងរ can also be used in the context of weight and physical heaviness, and it may be cognate to the Thai word หนัก (nak), meaning 'heavy'. | |||
| Lao | ຮ້າຍແຮງ | ||
| ຮ່າຍແຮງ was originally used to mean 'painful or injurious' in the context of poison or weapons. | |||
| Malay | serius | ||
| The word "serius" in Malay has an alternate meaning of "strict". | |||
| Thai | จริงจัง | ||
| The word "จริงจัง" can also mean "earnest" or "sincere". | |||
| Vietnamese | nghiêm trọng | ||
| The Vietnamese word "nghiêm trọng" originates from the Chinese word "嚴重", which itself means "serious". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | seryoso | ||
Serious in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ciddi | ||
| The word "ciddi" in Azerbaijani also means "firm", "solid", "steadfast", and "earnest". | |||
| Kazakh | байсалды | ||
| The word "байсалды" in Kazakh can also refer to a "wise person" or "sage". | |||
| Kyrgyz | олуттуу | ||
| The word "олуттуу" in Kyrgyz has the same root ("олут") as the word meaning "death" ("ölüm"), and the two words share a similar pronunciation. | |||
| Tajik | ҷиддӣ | ||
| The term "ҷиддӣ" may also refer to the concept of "being responsible" or "acting maturely" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | çynlakaý | ||
| Uzbek | jiddiy | ||
| The Uzbek word "jiddiy" traces its roots back to the Arabic word "jidd" signifying both seriousness and an ancestor. | |||
| Uyghur | ئېغىر | ||
Serious in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | koʻikoʻi | ||
| Hawaiian “koʻikoʻi,” meaning “serious” in English, also refers to one’s physical state of health or condition. | |||
| Maori | tino | ||
| In Maori, "tino" also means "very" or "intense". | |||
| Samoan | matuia | ||
| The word “matuia” may come from the Proto-Polynesian term “*matu,” which also meant “heavy” or “grave.” | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | seryoso | ||
| The word "seryoso" also means "firm" or "rigid" in Tagalog. | |||
Serious in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | amulaqa | ||
| Guarani | vaieterei | ||
Serious in International Languages
| Esperanto | serioza | ||
| The word "serioza" in Esperanto can also mean "earnest" or "important". | |||
| Latin | gravis | ||
| The Latin word "gravis" also refers to the low register in ancient Greek music. | |||
Serious in Others Languages
| Greek | σοβαρός | ||
| The word | |||
| Hmong | loj heev | ||
| "Loj heev" literally means "cold liver" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | ciddî | ||
| The word 'ciddî' in Kurdish originates from the Arabic word 'jiddi' and shares its meaning of 'serious'. | |||
| Turkish | ciddi | ||
| "Ciddi" shares the same etymological root with "jiddi" in Arabic, which means "paternal grandfather". | |||
| Xhosa | nzulu | ||
| The Xhosa word "nzulu" also means "heavy" in Zulu, highlighting the connection between seriousness and weightiness. | |||
| Yiddish | ערנסט | ||
| The word "ערנסט" can also mean "earnest" or "solemn" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | sina | ||
| The word 'sina' also has connotations of 'earnestness', 'devotion', and 'fervor'. | |||
| Assamese | গহীন | ||
| Aymara | amulaqa | ||
| Bhojpuri | गम्भीर | ||
| Dhivehi | ސީރިއަސް | ||
| Dogri | नाजक | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | seryoso | ||
| Guarani | vaieterei | ||
| Ilocano | serioso | ||
| Krio | siriɔs | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | جددی | ||
| Maithili | गंभीर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯔꯨꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tihtakzet | ||
| Oromo | qoosaa kan hin ta'iin | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗମ୍ଭୀର | ||
| Quechua | llasaq | ||
| Sanskrit | गम्भीरः | ||
| Tatar | җитди | ||
| Tigrinya | ቁም ነገር | ||
| Tsonga | tiyimisela | ||