Soft in Different Languages
Discover 'Soft' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Soft
Afrikaans sag | ||
Albanian i butë | ||
Amharic ለስላሳ | ||
Arabic ناعم | ||
Armenian փափուկ | ||
Assamese কোমল | ||
Aymara jasa | ||
Azerbaijani yumşaq | ||
Bambara magan | ||
Basque biguna | ||
Belarusian мяккі | ||
Bengali নরম | ||
Bhojpuri मोलायम | ||
Bosnian mekan | ||
Bulgarian мека | ||
Catalan suau | ||
Cebuano humok | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 柔软的 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 柔軟的 | ||
Corsican dolce | ||
Croatian mekan | ||
Czech měkký | ||
Danish blød | ||
Dhivehi މަޑު | ||
Dogri मलैम | ||
Dutch zacht | ||
English soft | ||
Esperanto mola | ||
Estonian pehme | ||
Ewe bᴐbᴐ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) malambot | ||
Finnish pehmeä | ||
French doux | ||
Frisian sêft | ||
Galician suave | ||
Georgian რბილი | ||
German sanft | ||
Greek μαλακός | ||
Guarani sỹi | ||
Gujarati નરમ | ||
Haitian Creole mou | ||
Hausa mai laushi | ||
Hawaiian palupalu | ||
Hebrew רַך | ||
Hindi मुलायम | ||
Hmong mos | ||
Hungarian puha | ||
Icelandic mjúkur | ||
Igbo adụ | ||
Ilocano nalukneng | ||
Indonesian lembut | ||
Irish bog | ||
Italian morbido | ||
Japanese 柔らかい | ||
Javanese alus | ||
Kannada ಮೃದು | ||
Kazakh жұмсақ | ||
Khmer ទន់ | ||
Kinyarwanda yoroshye | ||
Konkani मोव | ||
Korean 부드러운 | ||
Krio saf | ||
Kurdish nerm | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) نەرم | ||
Kyrgyz жумшак | ||
Lao ອ່ອນ | ||
Latin mollis | ||
Latvian mīksts | ||
Lingala pete | ||
Lithuanian minkštas | ||
Luganda obugonvu | ||
Luxembourgish mëll | ||
Macedonian меки | ||
Maithili मुलायम | ||
Malagasy malefaka | ||
Malay lembut | ||
Malayalam മൃദുവായ | ||
Maltese artab | ||
Maori ngohengohe | ||
Marathi मऊ | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯊꯣꯠꯄ | ||
Mizo nem | ||
Mongolian зөөлөн | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ပျော့ပျောင်းသည် | ||
Nepali नरम | ||
Norwegian myk | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ofewa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ନରମ | ||
Oromo lallaafaa | ||
Pashto نرم | ||
Persian نرم | ||
Polish miękki | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) suave | ||
Punjabi ਨਰਮ | ||
Quechua llanpu | ||
Romanian moale | ||
Russian мягкий | ||
Samoan lemu | ||
Sanskrit मृदु | ||
Scots Gaelic bog | ||
Sepedi boleta | ||
Serbian мекан | ||
Sesotho bonolo | ||
Shona nyoro | ||
Sindhi نرم | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මෘදුයි | ||
Slovak mäkký | ||
Slovenian mehko | ||
Somali jilicsan | ||
Spanish suave | ||
Sundanese hipu | ||
Swahili laini | ||
Swedish mjuk | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) malambot | ||
Tajik мулоим | ||
Tamil மென்மையான | ||
Tatar йомшак | ||
Telugu మృదువైనది | ||
Thai อ่อนนุ่ม | ||
Tigrinya ልስሉስ | ||
Tsonga olova | ||
Turkish yumuşak | ||
Turkmen ýumşak | ||
Twi (Akan) mrɛ | ||
Ukrainian м'який | ||
Urdu نرم | ||
Uyghur يۇمشاق | ||
Uzbek yumshoq | ||
Vietnamese mềm mại | ||
Welsh meddal | ||
Xhosa ithambile | ||
Yiddish ווייך | ||
Yoruba asọ | ||
Zulu ithambile |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans "sag" comes from Dutch "zacht" meaning "soft" and also "calm" or "quiet". |
| Albanian | 'I butë' is closely related to Slavic 'butï' (бyтї), meaning 'to be' or 'to sit' and the Albanian 'bëj' (to do). |
| Amharic | Although it literally means soft, ለስላሳ is usually used to describe something that is easy, smooth, or fluent |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "ناعم" can also mean "smooth," "delicate," or "gentle." |
| Armenian | In Armenian, the word "փափուկ" (soft) can also refer to something that is delicate, gentle, or soothing. |
| Azerbaijani | Yumşaq also means "tender" or "delicate". |
| Basque | Biguna, meaning "soft", may also refer to "tender" or "delicate" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | "мяккі" also means tender or gentle and can be used to describe food, weather, or music |
| Bengali | The word "নরম" in Bengali comes from the Sanskrit word "मृदु" (mridu), which also means "soft", but can also mean "gentle", "mild", or "tender". |
| Bosnian | The word "mekan" also refers to something that is yielding or easily cut or broken. |
| Bulgarian | The word "мека" is also used figuratively in Bulgarian, to describe something gentle, pleasant, or soothing. |
| Catalan | "Suau" also means "mild" or "calm" in Catalan. |
| Cebuano | The word "humok" in Cebuano can also refer to a soft drink or a gentle breeze. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 柔软的, from 柔 (soft, pliable) + 软 (soft, pliable) |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word "柔軟的" also means "flexible" or "pliable" in Chinese. |
| Corsican | Dolce is also used to describe the weather, such as the phrase 'unu tempu dolce', meaning mild or balmy weather. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "mekan" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *mękyj, meaning "soft" or "yielding." |
| Czech | The Czech word "měkký" is etymologically related to the English "maggot". |
| Danish | The word 'blød' is derived from the Proto-Germanic root '*blautaz', meaning 'soft' or 'tender'. |
| Dutch | Zacht in Dutch can also mean 'quiet' or 'gentle', and is related to the German 'sanft'. |
| Esperanto | "Mola" also means "mill" in Esperanto. |
| Estonian | Also used as a synonym for "lazy" or "weak" in informal speech. |
| Finnish | "Pehmeä" also means "kind, gentle, mild" and it's related to the word "peace". |
| French | The word doux in French comes from the Latin word 'dulcis', meaning sweet or pleasant, suggesting a broader connotation beyond mere softness. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "sêft" also refers to something that is kind, compassionate, or gentle. |
| Galician | Suave, in Galician, is also used to describe someone as kind, gentle, or mild-mannered. |
| Georgian | The word "რბილი" also means "smooth" or "gentle" in Georgian, describing a surface or movement that is free from roughness or abruptness. |
| German | Sanft is derived from Middle High German 'sanfte,' which can also mean 'calm, meek, or gentle.' |
| Greek | "Μαλθακός" also means "smooth" in Modern Greek and can be used to describe the feel of a fabric or a person's skin. |
| Gujarati | "નરમ" can also refer to a feminine, or weak person. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "mou" also means "ripe" or "tender". |
| Hausa | The Hausa word 'mai laushi' (meaning 'soft') is also used to refer to a person who is gentle or easygoing in nature. |
| Hawaiian | Palupalu also refers to fine mats, as well as a soft rain or calm sea, suggesting a semantic extension from 'soft' to 'quiet' or 'soothing'. |
| Hebrew | The feminine form of "רַך" is "רַכָּה" which also means "tender". |
| Hindi | मुलायम derives from the Sanskrit word 'mridu' meaning 'tender'. It is also associated with 'malai' (cream) and 'mayur' (peacock) |
| Hmong | In addition to its primary meaning of "soft," "mos" can also mean "weak," "flexible," or "tender." |
| Hungarian | "Puha" also means "fluffy" in Hungarian, referring to the softness and lightness of something. |
| Icelandic | The word "mjúkur" in Icelandic has etymological links to the Old Norse word "mjúkr" meaning "soft" or "tender," and is also sometimes used to describe something that is "pliable" or "flexible." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word for "soft," adụ, also carries meanings of "tender," "gentle," and "supple." |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "lembut" can also mean "polite" or "gentle". |
| Irish | In Irish, the term "bog" has multiple meanings, including "soft" and areas of wet, peaty land. |
| Italian | "Morbido" also means "morbid" in Italian, with the same Latin root as "morte" (death). Morbid is a strong term, and its Italian usage is similar to its English one. It means "of or associated with disease or death" and can also refer to a person's fascination with death or decay. |
| Japanese | 柔らかい can also mean "tender," "meek," or "vulnerable." |
| Javanese | The Javanese word 'alus' can also refer to the fineness of powder, smoothness of fabric, or politeness of speech. |
| Kannada | 'ಮೃದು' is a Kannada word that is cognate with Sanskrit 'mṛdu', which also means 'soft'. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "жұмсақ" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*jumušaq", which also means "weak" or "gentle". |
| Khmer | "ទន់" can also mean thin, as in a fine piece of fabric, or as a layer of something, or a small amount of something. |
| Korean | 부드러운's root word '부드러우다' referred to the behavior of a deer walking on soft ground. |
| Kurdish | In the Goran dialect of Kurdish, 'nerm' means both 'soft' and 'young of animals'. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "жумшак" is also used to describe a person who is gentle or kind. |
| Lao | The word "ອ່ອນ" can also mean "weak", "gentle", or "flexible" in Lao depending on the context. |
| Latin | In addition to its primary meaning "soft", "mollis" can mean "weak", "effeminate", or "pliable". |
| Latvian | Mīksts is also used to describe something that is weak or gentle. |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "minkštas" may also refer to the soft part of bread, which is called the "minkštimas." |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'mëll' is also used to describe something that is gentle, kind or pleasant. |
| Macedonian | The term "меки" can refer to various qualities of softness, including gentleness, tenderness, and vulnerability. |
| Malagasy | "Malefaka" can come from the Indonesian and Malay 'lemak' meaning 'fatty'. |
| Malay | Lembut is also used as a verb and means to soften something or to calm someone down. |
| Malayalam | മൃദു's roots are 'मृदु' (mṛdu) in Sanskrit, which refers to 'tender', 'delicate', or 'gentle'. |
| Maltese | The word "artab" is derived from the Arabic word "artab" which means "damp" or "moist". |
| Maori | In some dialects, the word can also be a synonym for 'cooked' |
| Mongolian | The word "зөөлөн" can also mean "gentle" or "kind". |
| Nepali | The word 'नरम' can also mean 'gentle' or 'tender' in Nepali. |
| Norwegian | "Myk" also means "moist" or "wet" in some parts of Norway. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "ofewa" in Nyanja also refers to a type of grass used for thatching roofs. |
| Pashto | This word can also be used figuratively, for example 'نرم اخلاق' (meaning: gentle, courteous) or 'نرم گفتار' (meaning: soft-spoken). |
| Persian | The Persian word نرم (narm) comes from Middle Persian and also has the meaning "tender" or "feminine". |
| Polish | The word "miękki" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *mękъkъ, meaning "soft, tender." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Suave in Portuguese can also mean gentle, pleasant, or sweet. |
| Punjabi | "ਨਰਮ" (narma) also means delicate, pliable, supple, soothing, gentle, tender, or compassionate. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "moale" is derived from the Latin "mollis", meaning "soft" or "supple." |
| Russian | "Мягкий" also means "kind" and derives from the same root as "моя" ("my") and "мне" ("me"), hinting at the idea of comfort and protection. |
| Samoan | The word "lemu" can also refer to a type of taro that is soft and easily mashed. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, "bog" (pronounced "bogə") also refers to a type of wetland or marsh. |
| Serbian | The Slavic word 'мекан' ('soft') is of Iranian origin, originating from the word 'maika' ('soft', 'tender') in the Proto-Slavic language. |
| Sesotho | The word "bonolo" in Sesotho also means "gentle," "calm," or "kind." |
| Shona | The Shona word 'nyoro' can also mean 'to be flexible or elastic' or 'to be slack or loose'. |
| Sindhi | The word 'نرم' in Sindhi is also used to describe someone who is gentle or kind. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word 'මෘදුයි' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'मृदु', which means 'soft, tender, or gentle'. |
| Slovak | Mäkký is a cognate of the Russian word мягкий, meaning "soft", and of the Polish word miękki, meaning "soft". It is also related to the Latin word mollis, meaning "soft". |
| Slovenian | The word "mehko" in Slovenian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *měkkъ, meaning "soft" or "tender." |
| Somali | The word 'jilicsan' likely derives from the Proto-Cushitic root *l̩k, meaning 'to be flexible' or 'to be pliable'. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "suave" also means "gentle," "smooth," or "agreeable." |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "hipu" also refers to "soft soil", "a soft voice", or "weakness" depending on the context. |
| Swahili | Its origin can be linked to the word 'lain', meaning 'smooth'. |
| Swedish | 'Mjuk' derives from the Proto-Germanic word 'meukjaz', meaning 'soft, weak, or cowardly'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Malambot" can also be used to describe something that is gentle, fragile, or weak. |
| Tajik | The word "мулоим" in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "ملايم" (malāyim), which means "soft" or "gentle". It can also be used to describe a person who is kind or considerate. |
| Tamil | The word |
| Thai | The Thai word "อ่อนนุ่ม" literally means "soft as water." |
| Turkish | It can also mean 'gentle, compassionate, or smooth'. |
| Ukrainian | "М'який" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Slavic word *mękyj, meaning "soft" or "weak", and is related to the Latin word mollis, meaning "soft". Additionally, "м'який" also means "meek" or "gentle" in Ukrainian. |
| Urdu | In addition to "soft," the word "نرم" can also mean "gentle," "meek," or "polite." |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "yumshoq" is a cognate of the Turkish word "yumuşak," which also means "soft." |
| Vietnamese | "Mềm mại" is also used to describe a gentle or delicate touch, or a person with a kind and gentle nature. |
| Welsh | The word 'meddal' can also mean 'meddlesome' or 'interfering' in Welsh. |
| Xhosa | The word "ithambile" can also mean "tender" or "vulnerable". |
| Yiddish | The word ווייך ('soft') comes from Middle High German 'weich', meaning 'to retreat' or 'to give way'. |
| Yoruba | The word "aṣọ" can also mean "cloth" or "fabric" in Yoruba, due to the soft, pliable nature of textiles. |
| Zulu | Ithambile also means 'submissive' or 'passive' in Zulu. |
| English | The word "soft" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "softe," meaning "weak" or "delicate". |