Sin in Different Languages
Discover 'Sin' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The concept of 'sin' has been a significant aspect of human culture and thought for centuries. Derived from the Old English 'synn' and rooted in the biblical idea of disobedience to divine law, sin has come to represent a wide range of transgressions, both religious and secular. From a cultural perspective, sin is often used to describe actions or behaviors that are considered morally wrong or offensive. Its significance extends beyond religion, as it plays a crucial role in shaping social norms and values.
Given its historical and cultural importance, it's no surprise that the word 'sin' has been translated into countless languages around the world. For those interested in language and culture, understanding these translations can offer valuable insights into how different societies view and approach moral issues. Here are a few examples:
- Latin: peccatum
- Spanish: pecado
- French: péché
- German: Sünde
- Italian: peccato
- Russian: грех (grekh)
- Japanese: 罪 (tsumi)
- Chinese: 罪过 (zuiguo)
Sin
Sin in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | sonder | ||
| In Afrikaans, 'sonder' means 'without' or 'apart from', carrying a connotation of loneliness or separation. | |||
| Amharic | ያለ | ||
| The word "ያለ" also means "lacking" or "without" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | ba tare da | ||
| The word "ba tare da" in Hausa has its roots in the Arabic word "bāʾiṭarah" meaning "veterinary medicine". | |||
| Igbo | na-enweghị | ||
| "Na-enweghị" is also translated as "not having" or "lacking" in Igbo, implying that sin is a state of lacking something essential for completeness or purity. | |||
| Malagasy | tsy | ||
| "TSY" can also mean "misdeed" or "fault" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | wopanda | ||
| The word "wopanda" also means "transgression" or "offense" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | pasina | ||
| The word "pasina" in Shona finds its origin in the Sanskrit word "pasa" which means "bondage" or "attachment." | |||
| Somali | la'aan | ||
| The word "la'aan" can also refer to a curse, oath, or excommunication. | |||
| Sesotho | ntle le | ||
| It also means "debt" in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | bila | ||
| The word "bila" can also refer to evil spirits or demons in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | ngaphandle | ||
| Xhosa word "ngaphandle" also means "outside," "outsider," or "exile." | |||
| Yoruba | lai | ||
| The word "lai" in Yoruba can also mean "a lie" or "falsehood." | |||
| Zulu | ngaphandle | ||
| The word 'ngaphandle' can also refer to a feeling of guilt or shame, or to a wrong or immoral act. | |||
| Bambara | jurumu | ||
| Ewe | nuvɔ̃ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | icyaha | ||
| Lingala | lisumu | ||
| Luganda | ekibi | ||
| Sepedi | sebe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bɔne | ||
Sin in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | بدون | ||
| In some contexts, بدون also means 'outside of', such as in 'بدون المنزل', or 'outside of the house'. | |||
| Hebrew | לְלֹא | ||
| The Hebrew word "לְלֹא" can also mean "but" or "except". | |||
| Pashto | بې له | ||
| The Pashto word "بې له" (bē la) can also mean "without" or "except". | |||
| Arabic | بدون | ||
| In some contexts, بدون also means 'outside of', such as in 'بدون المنزل', or 'outside of the house'. | |||
Sin in Western European Languages
| Albanian | pa | ||
| The Albanian word "pa" can also mean "fault" or "error". | |||
| Basque | gabe | ||
| The Basque word "gabe" (sin) is cognate with the Proto-Celtic word *gab-, meaning "to take" or "to seize". | |||
| Catalan | sense | ||
| The Catalan word "sentit" has the same Latin root as the English word "sense" and can mean both "sense" and "direction". | |||
| Croatian | bez | ||
| The word "bez" is an Old Church Slavonic loanword cognate with Polish "bez" and Russian "bez" meaning "without" or "lacking" rather than "sin". | |||
| Danish | uden | ||
| The word "uden" also means "without" in Danish. | |||
| Dutch | zonder | ||
| The word "zonder" in Dutch can also mean "without". | |||
| English | sin | ||
| The word "sin" derives from the Old English word "synn," meaning "guilt" or "transgression," and is cognate with the German "Sünde" and Dutch "zonde." | |||
| French | sans pour autant | ||
| "Sans pour autant" means "however" or "without any reason" in French, and it comes from the Middle French "sans pour ce" (without for this). | |||
| Frisian | sûnder | ||
| The Old Frisian word 'sûnder' also means 'harm' and 'destruction'. | |||
| Galician | sen | ||
| In Galician, "sen" also means "reason" or "sense". | |||
| German | ohne | ||
| In Middle High German "ohne" used to mean "without" or "except" but came to solely mean "sin" in modern German. | |||
| Icelandic | án | ||
| The original meaning of "án" was probably "lack; want of" as in its cognate in Gothic, where it also means "affliction; hardship". | |||
| Irish | sin | ||
| The Irish word "sion" (or "siona") means "weather" or "prosperity," but it can also mean "sin." | |||
| Italian | senza | ||
| While 'senza' in Italian means 'without', it derives from a Latin word meaning 'separate, apart', cognate with Sanskrit 'sahiyam' (strength). | |||
| Luxembourgish | ouni | ||
| The word "ouni" is derived from the Middle High German "ûne", which also means "lack" or "defect" | |||
| Maltese | mingħajr | ||
| The Maltese word "mingħajr" has its origins in the Arabic word for "without," "min ghayr." | |||
| Norwegian | uten | ||
| The Norwegian word "uten" is also used in compound nouns to form verbs with negative connotations, such as "utenfor" ("outside") and "utenom" ("other than"). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | sem | ||
| The word "sem" in Portuguese has multiple meanings depending on the context: it can indicate absence, negation, direction of movement, etc. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | sin | ||
| The Gaelic word "siol" (pronounced 'sheel') has several meanings, including 'seed', 'offspring', and occasionally 'sin' or 'transgression'. Similar in sound, this Gaelic term is completely unrelated to its English counterpart. | |||
| Spanish | sin | ||
| The Spanish word "seno" has two meanings: 1. "sin" or 2. "bosom". | |||
| Swedish | utan | ||
| Utan, like its English equivalent 'out', also means 'without' in Swedish, leading to humorous misinterpretations. | |||
| Welsh | heb | ||
| The word 'heb' in Welsh can also refer to 'lack' or 'absence'. | |||
Sin in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | без | ||
| In Belarusian, "без" is also used to mean "without". | |||
| Bosnian | bez | ||
| Historically, the word "bez" was also used to refer to a law or regulation. | |||
| Bulgarian | без | ||
| "Без" can also mean "without" or "lack of" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | bez | ||
| Bez can also be understood as 'lack' in a wider sense than simply the absence of a deity, reflecting a shift in Czech's historical religious outlook. | |||
| Estonian | ilma | ||
| The word "ilma" in Estonian is also used to refer to the world and the weather. | |||
| Finnish | ilman | ||
| The word "ilman" also means "without" in Finnish, suggesting a potential connection between sin and the absence of something. | |||
| Hungarian | nélkül | ||
| The word "nélkül" in Hungarian is cognate to " nélkülöz", meaning lack of something. | |||
| Latvian | bez | ||
| The word “bez” can also refer to a particular type of dance, a musical instrument, and a type of woven fabric in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | be | ||
| The Lithuanian word "būti" (to be) is cognate with the Sanskrit word "bhavati" (to become), and both words ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰuH- (to grow, to become). | |||
| Macedonian | без | ||
| In Macedonian, "без" can also mean "without" or "lacking". | |||
| Polish | bez | ||
| "Bez" in Polish can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic word "bezъ", which also meant "lack" or "deprivation" | |||
| Romanian | fără | ||
| The Romanian word "fără" is a homonym of the prepositions "without" and "outside", and the conjunction "but". | |||
| Russian | без | ||
| Russian “без” (“sin”) derives from Proto-Slavic *bezъ, cognate with Avestan baēša, Latin foedus, “treaty, covenant,” and Middle Irish béo “life.” | |||
| Serbian | без | ||
| The Serbian word "без" can also mean "without" or "lacking". | |||
| Slovak | bez | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, 'bez' had a broader meaning referring to absence or lack, without necessarily implying wrongdoing. | |||
| Slovenian | brez | ||
| The word 'brez' also has meanings relating to imperfections or faults in objects. | |||
| Ukrainian | без | ||
| The Ukrainian word "без" can also mean "lack" or "deprivation". | |||
Sin in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বিনা | ||
| "বিনা" could also have been formed by the word "বিনি" in Sanskrit meaning "exchange" or "bargain". | |||
| Gujarati | વગર | ||
| The word "વગર" comes from the Sanskrit word "vi-agra" meaning "without desire" and is also used as a preposition meaning "without". | |||
| Hindi | के बिना | ||
| The Hindi word "के बिना" has the same origin as the English word "sine", referring to a geometrical sine. | |||
| Kannada | ಇಲ್ಲದೆ | ||
| "ಇಲ್ಲದೆ" also means "except" and "without". | |||
| Malayalam | കൂടാതെ | ||
| കൂടാതെ means "besides" or "in addition to" in Malayalam, originating from the Sanskrit word "kuṭ" meaning "union". | |||
| Marathi | विना | ||
| The Marathi word 'विना' ('vina') is a Sanskrit word deriving from 'veena', a chordophone musical instrument, which can also be used referentially and metaphorically in the sense of 'without' or 'lacking'. | |||
| Nepali | बिना | ||
| बिना is also used as a synonym for "without" and "free from" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਿਨਾ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තොරව | ||
| The word "තොරව" in Sinhala derives from the Sanskrit word "tathā" meaning "such" or "thus". | |||
| Tamil | இல்லாமல் | ||
| The Tamil word "இல்லாமல்" (illamāl) means "without" and is cognate with the Sanskrit word "अन्य" (anya), meaning "other". | |||
| Telugu | లేకుండా | ||
| లేకుండా (lēkunḍā) is derived from the Sanskrit word "hin" meaning "without" or "lacking". | |||
| Urdu | بغیر | ||
| Urdu word "بغیر" is often confused with the homophone meaning "sin", but it actually refers to "without" or "except" in Persian. | |||
Sin in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 没有 | ||
| In Chinese folklore, '没有' is the name of a demon that steals children. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 沒有 | ||
| "沒有" means "not have" and is often used as a negative response to questions in Chinese. | |||
| Japanese | なし | ||
| In addition to "sin", "なし" can also mean "nothing" or "pear" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 없이 | ||
| The word "없이" (sin) also means "there is not" and is used as a negative existential in Korean grammar. | |||
| Mongolian | үгүй | ||
| The Mongolian word for 'sin', 'үгүй', is derived from the verb 'үгүйлэх', meaning 'to break', and the noun 'үг', meaning 'word' or 'commandment'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မရှိ | ||
| မရှိ in Myanmar not only means “sin” but also “not available”. | |||
Sin in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tanpa | ||
| Tanpa can also mean 'without' or 'lacking', as in 'tanpa uang' (without money). | |||
| Javanese | tanpa | ||
| In Javanese, "tanpa" may also refer to "absence" or "lack" indicating an empty state. | |||
| Khmer | ដោយគ្មាន | ||
| The Khmer word "ដោយគ្មាន" can also mean "without" or "without having". | |||
| Lao | ໂດຍບໍ່ມີການ | ||
| Malay | tanpa | ||
| The word "tanpa" can also mean "free from" or "lacking", and is derived from the Sanskrit word "vināpana". | |||
| Thai | ไม่มี | ||
| The Thai word ไม่มี (sin) can also mean "no" or "doesn't have". | |||
| Vietnamese | không có | ||
| "Không có" is a Vietnamese phrase that literally translates to "have not". It is also used in many other contexts, such as in the context of possession, to mean "do not have". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kasalanan | ||
Sin in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | olmadan | ||
| The word "olmadan" originally meant "not being", and is used in several Turkic languages with this meaning as well as the meaning of "sin". | |||
| Kazakh | жоқ | ||
| The word "жоқ" can also mean "no" or "not" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жок | ||
| "Жок" is also used to mean "not" or "don't have." | |||
| Tajik | бе | ||
| The word «бе» (sin) is likely derived from the Sanskrit word «vi», which also means «away from» or «against». | |||
| Turkmen | günä | ||
| Uzbek | holda | ||
| The word "holda" derives from the Old Uzbek verb "holda-mak", meaning "to make a mistake" or "to commit a fault" | |||
| Uyghur | گۇناھ | ||
Sin in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mawaho | ||
| The word "mawaho" in Hawaiian can also refer to a "transgression" or a "wrongdoing." | |||
| Maori | kore | ||
| In some dialects, “kore” can describe not just sin, but a general moral lapse. | |||
| Samoan | e aunoa ma | ||
| "E aunoa ma" also refers to a "transgression of traditional behavioral expectations" in Samoa | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | wala | ||
| The word 'wala' in Tagalog can also mean 'nothing' or 'none'. | |||
Sin in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jucha luraña | ||
| Guarani | angaipa | ||
Sin in International Languages
| Esperanto | sen | ||
| The word "sen" is also used in Esperanto as an abbreviation for "sensen" (cent) and "sennight" (week). | |||
| Latin | sine | ||
| In Latin, "sine" means "without" or "lacking something," and it's used in mathematical functions to denote the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle. | |||
Sin in Others Languages
| Greek | χωρίς | ||
| The word "χωρίς" also means "without" in Greek, akin to the English word "sin". | |||
| Hmong | tsis muaj | ||
| The word "tsis muaj" also means "missing" or "deficient" in Hmong, indicating a broader sense of transgression beyond moral boundaries. | |||
| Kurdish | bê | ||
| Kurdish bê 'sin' is also sometimes used for 'wrong' in the sense of 'doing something wrong' (as opposed to a 'moral' sin). | |||
| Turkish | olmadan | ||
| The word "olmadan" in Turkish can also refer to "lacking" or "without". | |||
| Xhosa | ngaphandle | ||
| Xhosa word "ngaphandle" also means "outside," "outsider," or "exile." | |||
| Yiddish | אָן | ||
| The Yiddish word "אָן" (pronounced "ayen") also means "without" or "lacking" in Hebrew. | |||
| Zulu | ngaphandle | ||
| The word 'ngaphandle' can also refer to a feeling of guilt or shame, or to a wrong or immoral act. | |||
| Assamese | পাপ | ||
| Aymara | jucha luraña | ||
| Bhojpuri | पाप के बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ފާފަ އެވެ | ||
| Dogri | पाप | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kasalanan | ||
| Guarani | angaipa | ||
| Ilocano | basol | ||
| Krio | sin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گوناه | ||
| Maithili | पाप | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯥꯞ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | sual | ||
| Oromo | cubbuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପାପ | ||
| Quechua | hucha | ||
| Sanskrit | पापम् | ||
| Tatar | гөнаһ | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓጢኣት | ||
| Tsonga | xidyoho | ||