Seriously in Different Languages
Discover 'Seriously' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Have you ever stopped to ponder the word 'seriously' and its significance in our daily conversations? This simple term, often used to convey importance or urgency, holds a special place in many languages around the world. Its cultural importance is undeniable, as it allows us to emphasize our thoughts and feelings, ensuring that our message is received with the gravity it deserves.
Throughout history, 'seriously' has been a cornerstone of communication, helping to shape conversations and convey meaning. But did you know that the way we express this concept can vary greatly from one language to another? For instance, in Spanish, 'seriously' can be translated as 'seriamente,' while in French, it becomes 'sérieusement.'
Understanding these translations can open up a world of cultural insights, allowing you to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences. By appreciating the nuances of 'seriously' in different languages, we can deepen our understanding of the world and enrich our own communication skills.
Join us as we explore the fascinating world of 'seriously' in various languages, from the familiar to the exotic. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of communication, this journey is sure to inspire and delight.
Seriously
Seriously in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ernstig | ||
| Afrikaans "ernstig" shares the same Proto-West Germanic root as English "earnest" and can have the alternate meanings of "important" or "sincere." | |||
| Amharic | በቁም ነገር | ||
| Hausa | da gaske | ||
| The word "da gaske" also conveys the concept of being "true, genuine, or authentic." | |||
| Igbo | kpọrọ ihe | ||
| "Kpọrọ ihe" can also mean "something grave," and is often used when someone has done something that is particularly bad or dangerous. | |||
| Malagasy | zava-dehibe | ||
| The word "zava-dehibe" is thought to mean literally "a thing of the night" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mozama | ||
| The Swahili word "majuzu" (meaning "religious zealot/fanatic") is the probable etymology of mozama, and is the origin of the second sense of "religious." | |||
| Shona | zvakakomba | ||
| The word "zvakakomba" is also used to express strong agreement or to affirm something | |||
| Somali | dhab ah | ||
| The word "dhab ah" in Somali, meaning "seriously," is derived from Arabic and has a similar meaning in that language. | |||
| Sesotho | ka botebo | ||
| The word "ka botebo" can also mean "certainly" or "without a doubt". | |||
| Swahili | kwa umakini | ||
| "Kwa umakini" also means "with attention" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | nzulu | ||
| In other Bantu languages, 'nzulu' refers to an elephant, due to its weighty size and importance. | |||
| Yoruba | isẹ | ||
| "Isẹ" in Yoruba also means "business" or "work". | |||
| Zulu | sina | ||
| The origin of the Zulu word 'sina' may lie in the Nguni verb 'sina' (to hate) or the Zulu noun 'isina' (a thing of no account). | |||
| Bambara | sɛbɛla | ||
| Ewe | veviẽ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bikomeye | ||
| Lingala | ya mpasi | ||
| Luganda | okikakasa | ||
| Sepedi | ka tiišetšo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | aniberesɛm | ||
Seriously in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | بجدية | ||
| بجدية may derive from the word "جد" (father's brother) or from the Persian word "جد" (diligence). | |||
| Hebrew | ברצינות | ||
| ברצינות is cognate to ברצון (with pleasure) and relates to one's readiness to do something. | |||
| Pashto | په جدي ډول | ||
| The word په جدي ډول in Pashto, which means "seriously", is a compound word consisting of the preposition په (on, upon) and the noun جدي (seriousness). | |||
| Arabic | بجدية | ||
| بجدية may derive from the word "جد" (father's brother) or from the Persian word "جد" (diligence). | |||
Seriously in Western European Languages
| Albanian | seriozisht | ||
| Despite its similarity to "serious" in English, "seriozisht" lacks the connotation of gravity and is used to emphasize an action or state. | |||
| Basque | serio | ||
| The word "serio" also means "grave" or "earnest" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | seriosament | ||
| "Seriosament" comes from the Latin word "serius" (meaning "grave, important"), and also means "solemnly, earnestly" in Catalan. | |||
| Croatian | ozbiljno | ||
| "Ozbiljno" can also mean "real" or "full", as in "ozbiljna ljubav" (real love). | |||
| Danish | helt seriøst | ||
| The Danish word “helt seriøst” also shares etymological roots with “serum,” a fluid that separates from a clotted or coagulated substance, such as blood or milk. | |||
| Dutch | ernstig | ||
| The word "ernstig" comes from the Middle Dutch word "ernst", which meant "sorrowful" or "grave". | |||
| English | seriously | ||
| The word 'seriously' originated from the Middle English 'serios' and Latin 'serius' meaning 'important' or 'grave'. | |||
| French | sérieusement | ||
| The word "sérieusement" in French comes from the Latin word "serius," meaning "grave," "earnest," or "important." | |||
| Frisian | serieus | ||
| The Frisian word "serieus" comes from the Latin word "serius" (meaning "grave") and the French word "sérieux" (meaning "seriousness"). | |||
| Galician | en serio | ||
| The Galician word "en serio" derives from the Latin phrase "in serio", meaning "in earnest". | |||
| German | ernsthaft | ||
| The word 'Ernsthaft' comes from the Middle High German word 'ernest', meaning 'serious, solemn, or earnest'. | |||
| Icelandic | alvarlega | ||
| The word "alvarlega" in Icelandic originates from the Old Norse word "alvarr," meaning "serious" or "grave". | |||
| Irish | dáiríre | ||
| Dáiríre may also refer to a meeting or conference, especially one in which serious matters are discussed. | |||
| Italian | sul serio | ||
| "Sul serio" can be interpreted literally, meaning "on the serious," a reference to a person's demeanor, or figuratively, referring to an earnest and determined approach to a particular task. | |||
| Luxembourgish | eescht | ||
| The word "eescht" is derived from Old High German "erist" and can also mean "first" or "first of all" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | bis-serjetà | ||
| The word "bis-serjetà" is derived from the Italian word "serietà", meaning "seriousness". | |||
| Norwegian | alvor | ||
| The word "alvor" originates from "alvar", meaning the serious and sacred character of life's important events. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | a sério | ||
| "A sério" is the Portuguese equivalent of "seriously", but it can also mean "for real" or "in earnest". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gu dona | ||
| The word "gu dona" in Scots Gaelic also translates to "of all things" or "above all", although the latter is rarely encountered in speech. | |||
| Spanish | seriamente | ||
| "Seriamente" viene de la palabra latina *serius*, relacionado con la palabra griega *hieros*, que significa "propiedad sagrada". | |||
| Swedish | allvarligt | ||
| Allvarligt comes from the Old Swedish word "allvar", meaning "gravity", which in turn comes from the Latin word "gravis", meaning "heavy". | |||
| Welsh | o ddifrif | ||
| The phrase literally translates as "o' the difference," but "difference" in this sense may have originally implied "difference from what might have been expected." | |||
Seriously in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сур'ёзна | ||
| Belarusian "сур'ёзна" is derived from the Church Slavonic "съринъ" (serious), which shares a root with "сер" (heart). | |||
| Bosnian | ozbiljno | ||
| Ozbiljno is also the name of a town in Serbia. | |||
| Bulgarian | сериозно | ||
| The word "сериозно" comes from the Old Russian word "серьзнѣ" (серѣзно), meaning "important, serious, severe". | |||
| Czech | vážně | ||
| The word "vážně" can also mean "truly" or "actually" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | tõsiselt | ||
| The word "tõsiselt" is derived from the adjective "tõsine" (true), reflecting its original meaning of "in earnest." | |||
| Finnish | vakavasti | ||
| This word is derived from the noun "vaka" (seriousness) and the suffix "-sti" (forming adverbs). | |||
| Hungarian | komolyan | ||
| The word "Komolyan" can also mean "genuinely" or "in earnest". | |||
| Latvian | nopietni | ||
| The word "nopietni" (meaning "seriously") has the same etymology as "nopietns" (meaning "impartial") | |||
| Lithuanian | rimtai | ||
| The word "rimtai" in Lithuanian can also mean "deliberately" or "purposefully" | |||
| Macedonian | сериозно | ||
| The word "сериозно" in Macedonian is also used colloquially to mean "ironic" or "in jest." | |||
| Polish | poważnie | ||
| The word "poważnie" can also mean "gravely" or "with dignity" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | serios | ||
| “Serios” is also used in Romanian with the nuance of “strict” or “severe”. | |||
| Russian | шутки в сторону | ||
| The Russian idiom "шутки в сторону" ("seriously") can alternately be translated as "let's drop the jokes now," implying that it is time to get serious. | |||
| Serbian | озбиљно | ||
| "Озбиљно" originates from the old Slavic word "обь" (in Bulgarian: "об") and the suffix "-ьнъ". It is related to the words "обь" ("around") and "объяти" ("to embrace"), referring to the notion of encompassing something with one's attention or focus. | |||
| Slovak | vážne | ||
| The word "vážne" comes from the same root as "važný" meaning "serious" or "important". | |||
| Slovenian | resno | ||
| It is cognate with the Latin word "res" (thing) via the Slavic languages. | |||
| Ukrainian | серйозно | ||
| The word "серйозно" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъrьdь, meaning "anger" or "wrath", and now refers to a state of seriousness or solemnity. | |||
Seriously in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | গুরুত্ব সহকারে | ||
| The term "গুরুত্ব সহকারে" (literally "with importance") in Bengali can also refer to situations involving dignity or honor. | |||
| Gujarati | ગંભીરતાથી | ||
| Hindi | गंभीरता से | ||
| The Hindi word "गंभीरता से" (seriously) derives from the Sanskrit word "गंभ', meaning "to sound" or "to roar". | |||
| Kannada | ಗಂಭೀರವಾಗಿ | ||
| Malayalam | ഗുരുതരമായി | ||
| Marathi | गंभीरपणे | ||
| The word "गंभीरपणे" can also mean "deeply", "gravely" or "with a heavy heart" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | गम्भीरतापूर्वक | ||
| The word "गम्भीरतापूर्वक" is derived from the Sanskrit word "गम्भीर", meaning "deep, serious, or weighty". | |||
| Punjabi | ਗੰਭੀਰਤਾ ਨਾਲ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බරපතල ලෙස | ||
| Tamil | தீவிரமாக | ||
| It stems from the word "தீ" (fire) and therefore originally meant "like fire". | |||
| Telugu | తీవ్రంగా | ||
| తీవ్రంగా is an adverb in Telugu that means intensely, deeply, or fully. | |||
| Urdu | سنجیدگی سے | ||
| سنجیدگی سے is a compound of 'سنجید' (thoughtful, balanced, judicious) and 'گی' (a suffix that adds 'ly') that may also imply 'with gravity, solemnity'. | |||
Seriously in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 认真地 | ||
| The term "认真地" is composed of two characters: "认真", which means "to be serious", and "地", which is a particle indicating adverbial manner. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 認真地 | ||
| "認真地" is composed of characters meaning "true" and "see". | |||
| Japanese | 真剣に | ||
| The two characters in "真剣に" (真剣) originally meant "a real sword". | |||
| Korean | 진지하게 | ||
| 진지하게, originally a word used in Buddhist literature to express the idea of 'earnestness' or 'sincerity' | |||
| Mongolian | ноцтой | ||
| The word "ноцтой" is derived from the verb "ноцох" meaning "to believe" or "to trust". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အလေးအနက်ထား | ||
Seriously in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | serius | ||
| In Indonesian, 'serius' can also mean 'calm' or 'composed', derived from the Sanskrit word 'sirya' meaning 'heat, sun'. | |||
| Javanese | serius | ||
| The Javanese word "serius" can also mean "in earnest" or "with sincerity". | |||
| Khmer | ធ្ងន់ធ្ងរ | ||
| Lao | ຢ່າງຈິງຈັງ | ||
| Malay | serius | ||
| The Malay word "serius" originates from the Javanese word "serius" meaning "strict". | |||
| Thai | อย่างจริงจัง | ||
| The word "อย่างจริงจัง" can also mean "earnestly" or "sincerely" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | nghiêm túc | ||
| Nghiêm túc (seriously) derives from two words: “nghiêm” (severe) and “túc” (careful) | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | seryoso | ||
Seriously in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ciddi | ||
| "Ciddi" also means "tight" or "difficult" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | байыпты | ||
| The Kazakh word "байыпты" (seriously) also means "solid", "reliable", or "well-founded". | |||
| Kyrgyz | олуттуу | ||
| The word "олуттуу" can also be translated as "heavy", "important", or "difficult". | |||
| Tajik | ҷиддӣ | ||
| The Tajik word "ҷиддӣ" (seriously), originally meant “firmly,” and is related to the word "ҷадд" (firm, steadfast). | |||
| Turkmen | çynlakaý | ||
| Uzbek | jiddiy | ||
| The Uzbek word "jiddiy" is derived from the Arabic word "jadd," meaning "seriousness" or "earnestness". | |||
| Uyghur | ئەستايىدىل | ||
Seriously in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | koʻikoʻi | ||
| The Hawaiian word "koʻikoʻi" can also mean "firmly" or "unyielding." | |||
| Maori | tino | ||
| The Maori word "tino" also means "pure" or "essence," reflecting its use in the phrase "tino rangatiratanga" (absolute sovereignty). | |||
| Samoan | matuaʻi | ||
| The word "matuaʻi" has other meanings such as "old" and "elderly". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | seryoso | ||
| The Tagalog word "seryoso" is derived from the Spanish word "serio", which can mean "earnest" or "grave" as well as "serious". | |||
Seriously in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | qhanpacha | ||
| Guarani | añetehápe | ||
Seriously in International Languages
| Esperanto | serioze | ||
| Serioze is derived from the word "serio" which means "serious" in Esperanto and "serious" in Latin. | |||
| Latin | gravissime | ||
| The word "gravissime" (seriously) is the superlative form of "gravis" (heavy), indicating a maximum level of seriousness. | |||
Seriously in Others Languages
| Greek | σοβαρά | ||
| Σοβαρός (sobarós) also means 'important' and 'urgent' in Greek. | |||
| Hmong | tiag | ||
| Tiag comes from the same Proto-Hmong-Mien root as the word for "true" and "trustworthy". | |||
| Kurdish | bi giranî | ||
| The term “bi giranî” can also refer to a person or a group that are overly serious, dull or boring (e.g., "Ewqas bi giranî ye" meaning “He/she is so serious.”). | |||
| Turkish | ciddi anlamda | ||
| Ciddi anlamda (literally "by the serious meaning") is also used to mean "really" or "actually". | |||
| Xhosa | nzulu | ||
| In other Bantu languages, 'nzulu' refers to an elephant, due to its weighty size and importance. | |||
| Yiddish | עמעס | ||
| The term derives from the Yiddish "ma'amin", which literally means "believer" (of biblical or talmudic teachings). | |||
| Zulu | sina | ||
| The origin of the Zulu word 'sina' may lie in the Nguni verb 'sina' (to hate) or the Zulu noun 'isina' (a thing of no account). | |||
| Assamese | গুৰুত্ব সহকাৰে | ||
| Aymara | qhanpacha | ||
| Bhojpuri | गंभीरतापूर्वक | ||
| Dhivehi | ސީރިއަސްކޮށް | ||
| Dogri | संजीदगी कन्नै | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | seryoso | ||
| Guarani | añetehápe | ||
| Ilocano | serioso | ||
| Krio | siriɔs | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بە جددی | ||
| Maithili | गंभीरता सँ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯁꯦꯡꯕꯅꯤ | ||
| Mizo | tihtakzetin | ||
| Oromo | isa dhugumaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗମ୍ଭୀରତାର ସହିତ | | ||
| Quechua | chiqaqpuni | ||
| Sanskrit | गंभीरतया | ||
| Tatar | җитди | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣኽቢድካ ዝርአ | ||
| Tsonga | hakunene | ||