Shrug in Different Languages
Discover 'Shrug' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Shrug
Afrikaans trek sy skouers op | ||
Albanian ngre supet | ||
Amharic ትከሻ | ||
Arabic هز كتفيه | ||
Armenian թոթվել ուսերը | ||
Assamese shrug | ||
Aymara ukatsti amparanakap ch’uqt’aña | ||
Azerbaijani çiyinlərini çəkmək | ||
Bambara ka a kunkolo wuli | ||
Basque altxatu | ||
Belarusian паціснуць плячыма | ||
Bengali শ্রাগ | ||
Bhojpuri कंधा झटकत बानी | ||
Bosnian slegnuti ramenima | ||
Bulgarian сви рамене | ||
Catalan encongir-se d’espatlles | ||
Cebuano mikunhod | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 耸耸肩 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 聳聳肩 | ||
Corsican spalle | ||
Croatian slijeganje | ||
Czech pokrčit rameny | ||
Danish skuldertræk | ||
Dhivehi ކޮނޑު އަރުވާލާށެވެ | ||
Dogri कंधें झटकना | ||
Dutch schouderophalend | ||
English shrug | ||
Esperanto ŝultrolevi | ||
Estonian kehitama õlgu | ||
Ewe tsɔ abɔta ƒu gbe | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kibit-balikat | ||
Finnish kohauttaa olkapäitään | ||
French hausser les épaules | ||
Frisian skodholle | ||
Galician encollerse de ombreiros | ||
Georgian მხრები აიჩეჩა | ||
German zucken | ||
Greek σήκωμα των ώμων | ||
Guarani oñakãity | ||
Gujarati ખેંચો | ||
Haitian Creole osman | ||
Hausa shrug | ||
Hawaiian ʻūhā | ||
Hebrew למשוך בכתף | ||
Hindi कंधे उचकाने की क्रिया | ||
Hmong shrug | ||
Hungarian vállvonás | ||
Icelandic yppta öxlum | ||
Igbo maa mmaji | ||
Ilocano agkidem | ||
Indonesian mengangkat bahu | ||
Irish shrug | ||
Italian alzare le spalle | ||
Japanese 肩をすくめる | ||
Javanese nggrundel | ||
Kannada ಶ್ರಗ್ | ||
Kazakh иық тіреу | ||
Khmer shrug | ||
Kinyarwanda shrug | ||
Konkani खांदो वळोवप | ||
Korean 어깨를 으쓱하다 | ||
Krio shrug fɔ yu shrug | ||
Kurdish şerjêkirin | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) شانی هەڵکێشە | ||
Kyrgyz куушуруу | ||
Lao ຕົ້ນໄມ້ | ||
Latin shrug | ||
Latvian paraustīt plecus | ||
Lingala kotombola mapeka | ||
Lithuanian gūžtelėk pečiais | ||
Luganda okusika ebibegabega | ||
Luxembourgish réckelen | ||
Macedonian кревање раменици | ||
Maithili कान्ह झटकब | ||
Malagasy mampiaka-tsoroka | ||
Malay mengangkat bahu | ||
Malayalam ചുരുക്കുക | ||
Maltese iċċekken | ||
Maori kopikopiko | ||
Marathi श्रग | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁ꯭ꯔꯨꯒ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo a lu a thing nghal ringawt | ||
Mongolian мөрөө хавч | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ခုန် | ||
Nepali श्रग | ||
Norwegian trekke på skuldrene | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kunyamula | ||
Odia (Oriya) shrug | ||
Oromo harka isaa ol qabadhu | ||
Pashto شور | ||
Persian شانه بالا انداختن | ||
Polish wzruszać ramionami | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) dar de ombros | ||
Punjabi ਧੱਕਾ | ||
Quechua hombrokunata kuyuchiy | ||
Romanian ridicare din umeri | ||
Russian пожимать плечами | ||
Samoan faamimigi | ||
Sanskrit स्कन्धं संकुचयति | ||
Scots Gaelic shrug | ||
Sepedi go šišinya magetla | ||
Serbian слегнути раменима | ||
Sesotho nyolla | ||
Shona shrug | ||
Sindhi ڇڪڻ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) උරහිස් සෙලවීම | ||
Slovak pokrčiť | ||
Slovenian skomig | ||
Somali garbaha | ||
Spanish encogimiento de hombros | ||
Sundanese ngaréngkol | ||
Swahili shrug | ||
Swedish rycka på axlarna | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) nagkibit balikat | ||
Tajik китф дарҳам кашидан | ||
Tamil shrug | ||
Tatar кысу | ||
Telugu shrug | ||
Thai ยัก | ||
Tigrinya መንኵብ ሸጥ ኣቢልካ | ||
Tsonga ku rhurhumela | ||
Turkish omuz silkme | ||
Turkmen gysmak | ||
Twi (Akan) fa wo nsa twitwiw wo nsa | ||
Ukrainian знизати плечима | ||
Urdu shrug | ||
Uyghur shrug | ||
Uzbek yelka qisish | ||
Vietnamese nhún vai | ||
Welsh shrug | ||
Xhosa ndinyuse amagxa | ||
Yiddish שראַג | ||
Yoruba fa fifọ | ||
Zulu ukuhlikihla |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The idiom "om sy skouers op te trek" ("to shrug one's shoulders") is also a reference to the act of pulling a cloak over one's shoulders to protect from the elements, dating back to the Middle Ages. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "ngre supet", meaning "shrug", is derived from the French phrase "hausser les épaules", which has the same meaning. |
| Amharic | The Amharic word "ትከሻ" can also mean "to shake off" or "to dismiss with a gesture". |
| Arabic | In Arabic, the word "هز كتفيه" literally translates to "shake his shoulders", which is the physical gesture commonly associated with shrugging. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "çiyinlərini çəkmək" has the literal meaning of "pulling one's shoulders" and is also used as an idiom to convey the action of shrugging one's shoulders. |
| Basque | The Basque verb "altxatu" also means "to lift up," from the Latin "altare," "to lift up." |
| Belarusian | The Russian equivalent is пожать плечами, which can also idiomatically mean “to agree with resignation”. |
| Bengali | The word "শ্রাগ" ('shrug') comes from the English word "shrug", meaning an inclination of the shoulders. |
| Bosnian | The verb "slegnuti ramenima" in Bosnian, meaning "to shrug", also has a figurative meaning of "to show indifference or ignorance". |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "сви рамене" (shrug) originates from the verb "свивам" (to coil, roll up) and refers to the movement of shrugging, where the shoulders are rolled up towards the head. |
| Catalan | The phrase "encongir-se d’espatlles" literally translates to "shrink shoulders" but figuratively means to show indifference or ignorance. |
| Cebuano | Mikunhod is a combination of the Cebuano words 'mikun' ('to bend') and 'hod' ('shoulder'). |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The Chinese character 耸 (sǒng) can also mean "to rise" or "to tower", suggesting the idea of elevating one's shoulders in a shrug. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 聳聳肩 also means "to take lightly" or "to ignore" in Chinese. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "spalle" may derive from the Italian "spalla" (shoulder) or the Latin "spatula" (a broad, flat piece of wood or metal). |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "slijeganje" also means "subsidence" or "sinking". |
| Czech | The Czech word "pokrčit rameny" also means "to ignore" or "to not care". |
| Danish | Skuldertræk literally means 'shoulder pull' in Danish |
| Dutch | Schouderophalend, meaning "shrug", also means "indifferent" in Dutch. |
| Esperanto | Ŝultrolevi is derived from the Yiddish word “shultre” meaning “shoulder” and the Latin word “levare” meaning “to lift”. |
| Estonian | In Estonian, "kehitama õlgu" literally means "to hoist one's shoulders", with "õlg" meaning "shoulder". |
| Finnish | Kohauttaa olkapäitään derives from the word "koha" meaning "shoulder" and literally translates to "to tremble with the shoulders." |
| French | "Hausser les épaules" can also mean "to disdain", "to look down on" or "to belittle". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word 'skodholle' is etymologically related to 'shoulder' or 'to shake'. Its alternate meaning is 'a bundle of straw used as a cushion'. |
| Galician | The Galician phrase "encollerse de ombreiros" originated from the Latin verb "collum sternere," meaning to bow or lower one's neck, conveying submission or fear. |
| German | Although the verb „zucken“ is often translated as „to shrug“, it actually means „to twitch“. |
| Greek | The Greek word “σήκωμα των ώμων” (“shrug”) is derived from the verb “σηκώνω” (“I raise, I lift”), but it can also be used as a synonym for the word “άγνοια” (“ignorance”) or as an expression of uncertainty or indifference. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "ખેંચો" also means to pull or stretch, like pulling on a rope or stretching a muscle. |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "osman" likely derives from the French verb "hausser les épaules," meaning "to shrug." |
| Hausa | In Hausa, the word “shrug” refers to a gesture of indifference or uncertainty and can also be used to express contempt or mockery. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word ʻūhā can also be used to indicate agreement, disbelief or acceptance of a suggestion. |
| Hindi | The word "shrug" comes from the Middle English word "shruggen," which means "to draw up the shoulders." |
| Hmong | In Hmong, "shrug" can also refer to "a gesture of indifference or uncertainty" or "to throw something off one's shoulders". |
| Hungarian | The word 'vállvonás' in Hungarian can also refer to an act of feigned carelessness or ignorance, as in 'Csak vállvonással hárította el kérdéseimet.' (He just shrugged off my questions.) |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic term "yppta öxlum" originates from the Old Norse phrase "upp yppa öxlum," meaning "to lift up the shoulders." |
| Igbo | The etymology of 'maa mmaji' in Igbo is 'to pour water', with 'mmaji' being water and 'maa' meaning to pour. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "mengangkat bahu" not only means "to shrug", but also "to take responsibility" or "to raise to a higher position". |
| Irish | In Irish, "shrug" is an older spelling of "sruth," meaning "stream". |
| Italian | The expression "alzare le spalle" in Italian also means to "give up" or "to say I don't know". |
| Japanese | In Japanese, 肩をすくめる (katasukumeru) literally means "to shrink one's shoulders." |
| Javanese | Nggrundel comes from 'nggronjel' (wrinkled), referring to the face that shows resistance and unwillingness when shrugging. |
| Kannada | Kannada word "ಶ್ರಗ್" ("shrug") is derived from English word "shrug" meaning to lift shoulders as a gesture of indifference or uncertainty. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "иық тіреу" can also refer to the act of supporting or assisting someone, particularly in a difficult situation. |
| Khmer | In Khmer, "shrug" can also mean "to shake one's shoulders to express indifference or uncertainty." |
| Korean | 어깨를 으쓱하다 means to raise or lift one's shoulders and spread one's elbows, implying indifference or uncertainty. |
| Kurdish | The word "şerjêkirin" in Kurdish is derived from the Persian word "sharj" meaning "move" or "shake". |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "куушуруу" (shrug) also means "to shake off" or "to get rid of". |
| Latin | Latin "excutere," meaning "to shake off," is the root of modern English "shrug." |
| Latvian | The Latvian word for "shrug" is "paraustīt plecus," which literally means "to pull one's shoulders." |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian verb 'gūžtelėti pečiais' (to shrug) is derived from the noun 'pečiai', meaning 'shoulders', and the reflexive suffix '-si'. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "réckelen" is cognate with the Dutch "rekken" and the German "recken", all of which mean "to stretch". |
| Macedonian | The word "кревање раменици" in Macedonian can also refer to a gesture of uncertainty or indifference, similar to the English "shrug". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "mampiaka-tsoroka" translates to "shrug" in English and is derived from the root word "tsoroka", meaning "shoulder". It implies raising and lowering the shoulders in a dismissive or indifferent manner. |
| Malay | The Malay phrase "mengangkat bahu" can also mean "to ignore" or "to not care". |
| Malayalam | The word |
| Maltese | "Iċċekken" likely derives from the Arabic "تشكين", meaning "doubt", implying an inward shrug that expresses doubt or uncertainty. |
| Maori | Kopikopiko also means 'to shake the shoulders or body; to flap the wings', and 'to shake from cold or fear'. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "श्रग" is derived from the Sanskrit word "श्रग" (śrug), which means "to move the shoulders up or down." |
| Mongolian | The term "мөрөө хавч" is derived from the Mongolian word "мөр" (shoulder) and the verb "хавч" (to shake), referring to the movement of shaking one's shoulders to express confusion or indifference. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The verb ခုန် (khun) can also mean "lean" or "push". |
| Nepali | The word "shrug" is originally from Old English word "scrūgian" meaning to shrink. |
| Norwegian | The literal translation of the Norwegian idiom "å trekke på skuldrene" is "to pull on shoulders", which refers to the physical gesture of shrugging. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word is derived from the Chewa verb 'kunyamuka' meaning 'to remove or take away' |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "شور" also refers to a type of traditional Afghan cloak often worn by men. |
| Persian | "شانه بالا انداختن" can mean either "to shrug" or "to comb one's hair" in Persian. |
| Polish | "Wzruszać ramionami" in Polish literally means "to move one's shoulders up and down". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "dar de ombros" can also mean "to ignore" or "to not care about something" |
| Romanian | The Romanian verb 'ridica din umeri', meaning 'to shrug', is also used figuratively to mean 'to be indifferent' or 'not to care'. |
| Russian | The Russian verb "пожимать плечами" literally means "to shake shoulders". |
| Samoan | Faamimigi may also be a synonym of 'faato' or 'faafefe', which mean 'to nod' and 'to wag one's tail' respectively. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, the word "sgrug" means both "shrug" and "shoulder". |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "слегнути раменима" can also mean "to express indifference or uncertainty." |
| Sesotho | The word "nyolla" also means "to fold up" or "to gather" in Sesotho. |
| Shona | In Shona, "shrug" also means "the remnants of something, such as burnt food." |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ڇڪڻ" can also mean "to jump" or "to bounce." |
| Slovak | Pokrčiť in Slovak can also mean "to wrinkle" or "to crumple". |
| Slovenian | "Skomigati" is also a word for "to shrug" in Serbo-Croatian and it comes from the Proto-Slavic verb *skomati "to move, shake". |
| Somali | In Somali, 'garbaha' can also mean 'to ignore' or 'to despise'. |
| Spanish | In Spain, the verb encogerse de hombros (to shrug) is often used figuratively to mean 'to resign oneself' to something undesirable. |
| Sundanese | The word 'ngaréngkol' in Sundanese can also mean 'to walk unsteadily' or 'to stagger'. |
| Swahili | In Swahili, "shrug" can also refer to something done without any enthusiasm or with a lack of motivation. |
| Swedish | "Rycka på axlarna" translates to "shrug" in English and can also mean to "dodge" or "evade". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Nagkibit balikat" may refer to either shrugging shoulders or carrying someone on one's back, like a baby carried in a blanket. |
| Tamil | In Tamil, the word "shrug" can also refer to a "sign of ignorance" or "a dismissive gesture." |
| Telugu | The word "shrug" in Telugu, "అంటే", can also mean "to shake the shoulders to express indifference or uncertainty." |
| Thai | The word "ยัก" can also mean "to avoid" or "to evade" in Thai. |
| Turkish | In Turkish slang, "omuz silkme" also means "to be indifferent or apathetic". |
| Ukrainian | In Ukrainian, the phrase "знизати плечима" also means "to give up" or "to surrender". |
| Urdu | The word "shrug" in Urdu can also mean "to shake one's head" or "to express doubt or indifference." |
| Uzbek | The word "yelka qisish" in Uzbek is derived from the word "yelka", meaning "shoulder", and the verb "qisish", meaning "to move", indicating the act of moving one's shoulders to express indifference or uncertainty. |
| Vietnamese | "Nhún vai" comes from the verb "nhún" which means "to bob" or "to shake", and the noun "vai" which means "shoulder". |
| Welsh | In Welsh, "gwgu" also means "cuckoo". |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "ndinyuse amagxa" literally means "throw out the shoulder blades". |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "שראַג" (shrag) comes from the German word "Schragen", meaning a wooden frame that supports a heavy object |
| Yoruba | Fa fifọ is also used as a verb to describe the movement of the shoulders or the whole body when one is not sure or doesn't care about something. |
| Zulu | Ukuhlikihla is an onomatopoeic word that imitates the sound of a person's shoulders rising and falling as they shrug. |
| English | In addition to its primary meaning, "shrug" can also mean "to draw one's shoulders together in an upward motion to express indifference or uncertainty." |