Sufficient in Different Languages
Discover 'Sufficient' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'sufficient' is a powerful tool in our vocabulary, denoting an amount or quality that is adequate for a particular purpose. It's a word that transcends cultures and languages, highlighting the universal human need for resources and capabilities to fulfill our goals. Understanding the translation of 'sufficient' in different languages can open doors to cross-cultural communication and cooperation.
Throughout history, the concept of sufficiency has played a crucial role in shaping societies and economies. For instance, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that virtue lies in the 'golden mean' between excess and deficiency, emphasizing the importance of sufficiency in achieving a balanced and virtuous life. Similarly, in many Eastern philosophies, the concept of 'enoughness' is central to the pursuit of happiness and contentment.
Here are some translations of 'sufficient' in different languages: Chinese (jiàn), Spanish (suficiente), French (suffisant), German (ausreichend), Arabic (كافي), Japanese (十分), Russian (достаточный), and many more.
Sufficient
Sufficient in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | voldoende | ||
| The Afrikaans word "voldoende" is derived from the Dutch word "voldoen", which also means "to satisfy" or "to meet a need." | |||
| Amharic | በቃ | ||
| The word "በቃ" is also used to refer to the completion of a task or event, as well as to the ability or competence to do something. | |||
| Hausa | isa | ||
| "Isa" is also short for the name "Jesu" (Jesus) in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | ezu | ||
| "Ezu," meaning "enough," can also refer to a particular kind or portion of something. | |||
| Malagasy | sahaza | ||
| The word "SAHAZA" in Malagasy also means "ready" or "prepared". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zokwanira | ||
| Zokwanira is possibly derived from 'kwanira' ('to be enough, or sufficient') and the prefix 'zo-' which suggests fullness or wholeness. | |||
| Shona | zvakakwana | ||
| The Shona word "zvakakwana" (sufficient) is derived from the root "kwan" (to be full) and the suffix "-a" (to cause to be). | |||
| Somali | ku filan | ||
| 'Ku filan' in Somali can also mean 'enough' or 'satisfactory', and is related to the Arabic word 'kafa', meaning 'to suffice'. | |||
| Sesotho | lekane | ||
| In Sesotho and several dialects of Nguni, the word "lekane" is used to refer to something which is adequate, rather than simply sufficient. | |||
| Swahili | ya kutosha | ||
| The word 'ya kutosha' can also mean 'satisfactory'. | |||
| Xhosa | yanele | ||
| The word "yanele" can also mean "enough", "satisfactory" or "adequate" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | to | ||
| "To" means both 'sufficient' and 'it's finished' in Yoruba and can be used for both situations." | |||
| Zulu | kwanele | ||
| "Kwanele" (sufficient) comes from the root -kwana, meaning "to become light" or "to become day." | |||
| Bambara | ɲɛnama | ||
| Ewe | de | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bihagije | ||
| Lingala | ebongi | ||
| Luganda | okumala | ||
| Sepedi | lekanetšego | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛso | ||
Sufficient in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | كافي | ||
| The word “كافي” could also indicate the meaning of “to be able” or the ability of doing something, as in: “أنا كافي أتكفل بالموضوع”, which in English means “I can take care of the matter”. | |||
| Hebrew | מַסְפִּיק | ||
| The word "מַסְפִּיק" (maspik) in Hebrew also means "a threshold" or "a doorpost", both of which are places where one thing meets another. | |||
| Pashto | کافي | ||
| The Pashto word "کافي" can also mean "worthy" or "able". | |||
| Arabic | كافي | ||
| The word “كافي” could also indicate the meaning of “to be able” or the ability of doing something, as in: “أنا كافي أتكفل بالموضوع”, which in English means “I can take care of the matter”. | |||
Sufficient in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e mjaftueshme | ||
| The word "e mjaftueshme" is derived from the Albanian word "mjaft" (enough) and the suffix "-eshme" (tendency to). | |||
| Basque | nahikoa | ||
| In Basque, the word "nahikoa" can also mean "as much as necessary" or "adequate". | |||
| Catalan | suficient | ||
| Catalan "suficient" derives from Latin "sufficiēns" (capable), which also relates to "sufficiency" in English. | |||
| Croatian | dovoljno | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, 'dovoljno' meant 'to allow', 'to let'. | |||
| Danish | tilstrækkelig | ||
| The word 'tilstrækkelig' stems from the Old Danish 'til' (to, enough) and 'strække' (to stretch), thus meaning 'stretching to' or 'reaching (for)'. | |||
| Dutch | voldoende | ||
| The Dutch word "voldoende" is derived from the Middle Dutch "vol" (full) and "doen" (to do), originally meaning "to satisfy" or "to fulfill". | |||
| English | sufficient | ||
| The word 'sufficient' comes from the Latin word 'sufficere', meaning 'to put underneath' or 'to be enough'. | |||
| French | suffisant | ||
| In French, "suffisant" doesn't just mean "sufficient" but also "arrogant" or "self-satisfied" | |||
| Frisian | foldwaande | ||
| The word "foldwaande" in Frisian likely comes from the Old Frisian word "faldwonda", meaning "fully satisfied". | |||
| Galician | suficiente | ||
| Suficiente "sufficient" in Galician is the same word as "sufficient" in Spanish but it is sometimes also used to mean "plenty" or "enough". | |||
| German | ausreichend | ||
| The word "ausreichend" is derived from the Middle High German word "ausreichen," which means "to make do" or "to be enough." | |||
| Icelandic | nægilegt | ||
| Nægilegt is an Icelandic word that can also mean "sufficiently". | |||
| Irish | leordhóthanach | ||
| "Leordhóthanach" has multiple meanings, including "to furnish, to supply" or "to equip, to provide". | |||
| Italian | sufficiente | ||
| "Sufficiente", oltre a indicare quantità "adeguate" o competenze "idonee", deriva da "sub-" e "facere", nel senso di "agire per riempire"} | |||
| Luxembourgish | genuch | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "genuch" can also refer to a large amount of a substance or a group of people. | |||
| Maltese | biżżejjed | ||
| The word "biżżejjed" comes from the Arabic word بَشْط (ba-shat), or ""to extend a cloth". | |||
| Norwegian | tilstrekkelig | ||
| The word 'tilstrekkelig' derives from the Old Norse 'tilstrekkja', meaning 'to stretch out', and its primary meaning is 'adequate' or 'satisfactory' rather than 'sufficient'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | suficiente | ||
| The Portuguese word "suficiente" comes from the Latin "sufficere", meaning "to put under" or "to substitute", or "to fill up completely". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gu leòr | ||
| The word 'gu leòr' is derived from the Old Irish phrase 'go leor', which also meant 'sufficient'. | |||
| Spanish | suficiente | ||
| "Suficiente" comes from the Latin word "sufficienter", meaning "equal to the purpose, adequate"} | |||
| Swedish | tillräcklig | ||
| The Swedish word "tillräcklig" is derived from "till", meaning "to", and "räcklig", meaning "reaching" or "adequate", indicating something that is sufficient for a specific purpose or need. | |||
| Welsh | digonol | ||
| Digonol in Welsh derives ultimately from the Latin word "dignus", meaning "worthy" or "deserving", and is cognate with the words "decent" and "dignity" in English. | |||
Sufficient in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | дастатковы | ||
| The word "дастатковы" in Belarusian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *dostokъ, which also means "enough" or "adequate". | |||
| Bosnian | dovoljno | ||
| "Dovoljno" originally meant "free time" as in "to indulge in", | |||
| Bulgarian | достатъчно | ||
| The word "достатъчно" (sufficient) is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "достатокъ" (sufficiency, abundance). | |||
| Czech | dostatečný | ||
| The Czech word dosti ('plenty') has been loaned into Ukrainian, Polish, and Belarusian with the same meaning. | |||
| Estonian | piisav | ||
| The word "piisav" shares a root with the verb "pidada," meaning "to hold" or "to keep" | |||
| Finnish | riittävä | ||
| "Riittävä" derives from the Proto-Finnic verb *riittä- (*to last, to suffice), cognate with the Estonian *riita- (*to quarrel, to be sufficient), and the Hungarian *rí (=plenty, abundance), as well as meaning "abundance" in obsolete Finnish. | |||
| Hungarian | elegendő | ||
| In Hungarian, "elegendő" can also mean "perfect" or "ample", suggesting its close semantic connection to the concept of sufficiency. | |||
| Latvian | pietiekams | ||
| The word "pietiekams" comes from the verb "pietikt" which means "to be enough" and the suffix "-ams" which indicates a passive or reflexive form. | |||
| Lithuanian | pakanka | ||
| The word pakanka is cognate with the Old Greek word "πλήρης" (plḗrēs), meaning "full" or "complete". | |||
| Macedonian | доволен | ||
| The word "доволен" can also mean "satisfied" or "pleased". | |||
| Polish | wystarczający | ||
| The word "wystarczający" is cognate with the Czech verb "stačit" and the Ukrainian noun "стяг" (flag) | |||
| Romanian | suficient | ||
| "Suficient" in Romanian has the archaic meaning of "competent" and is similar to the Latin "sufficiens", which means "electing" or "appointing". | |||
| Russian | достаточно | ||
| Originally the word «достаточно» meant «to get, to reach» | |||
| Serbian | довољан | ||
| The word довољан in Serbian, a South Slavic language, is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "dovola". It cognate to words such as dovoljan in Bulgarian and Slovenian, достаточный in Russian, dosyć in Polish, доста in Ukrainian and Belarusian, dovle in Czech and dost in Slovak. | |||
| Slovak | dostatočné | ||
| The word "dostatočné" (sufficient) comes from the Proto-Slavic word *dosto- (worthy), which is related to the word "dosť" (enough). | |||
| Slovenian | zadostno | ||
| "Zadostno" initially referred to "sufficiently bad," but later evolved into "sufficiently good." | |||
| Ukrainian | достатньо | ||
| The word "достатньо" in Ukrainian can also mean "enough" or "adequate". | |||
Sufficient in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | পর্যাপ্ত | ||
| "পর্যাপ্ত" (pôryapto) derives from the Sanskrit word "paryāpta," meaning "reached," "arrived," "attained," "completed," or "fulfilled." | |||
| Gujarati | પુરતું | ||
| The Proto-Dravidian root _por(k)_ can also mean "a bit," which survives in Gujarati's _por-". | |||
| Hindi | पर्याप्त | ||
| The word पर्याप्त comes from the Sanskrit word 'pariyāpta' meaning 'come near' or 'reached the end', suggesting something is complete or充足的。 | |||
| Kannada | ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು | ||
| The word "ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು" can also mean "enough" or "adequate" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | മതി | ||
| "മതി" also means 'to be satisfied' and is cognate with the English word 'meet' | |||
| Marathi | पुरेशी | ||
| In Sanskrit, 'pur' means 'full' and 'esha' denotes 'this'; in Prakrit, the word is 'puraes' or 'purae'. | |||
| Nepali | पर्याप्त | ||
| The word "पर्याप्त" ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "पर्याप्त" meaning "as much as is necessary". | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਾਫ਼ੀ | ||
| The word 'kafi' is derived from an Arabic root meaning 'to be enough', and also means 'poetry' or 'song' in Persian. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්රමාණවත් | ||
| The word "ප්රමාණවත්" ("sufficient") derives from the Sanskrit word "ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣ" ("proof") and originally meant "having proof" or "adequate justification". | |||
| Tamil | போதுமானது | ||
| Telugu | సరిపోతుంది | ||
| Urdu | کافی | ||
| The word "کافی" in Urdu is derived from the Arabic word "كفئ" (kaf'an), which means "to be enough" or "to be sufficient." | |||
Sufficient in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 足够 | ||
| 「足够」的本义指「秤准了分量」，后引申为「数量或程度已经达到需要的标准」之意。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 足夠 | ||
| 足夠 is also a Chinese idiom meaning “to stand on one foot” | |||
| Japanese | 十分 | ||
| The character "分" in "十分" also means "to divide," which could be interpreted as "to break down into small parts" until it reaches adequacy. | |||
| Korean | 충분한 | ||
| The word "충분한" can also mean "fairly" or "tolerably." | |||
| Mongolian | хангалттай | ||
| Хангалттай is formed from the Mongolian words "ханга" (enough) + "гүй" (to move) + "лт" (suffix to form adjectives). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | လုံလောက် | ||
Sufficient in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | cukup | ||
| "Cukup" is a Malayo-Polynesian word that also means "enough" in Sundanese and Javanese. | |||
| Javanese | cekap | ||
| In Javanese, 'cekap' also means 'expert' or 'skilled' in a particular field or activity. | |||
| Khmer | គ្រប់គ្រាន់ | ||
| Lao | ພຽງພໍ | ||
| Malay | mencukupi | ||
| "Mencukupi" is borrowed from the Dutch word "voldoen". | |||
| Thai | เพียงพอ | ||
| The word "เพียงพอ" can also mean "adequate", "enough", or "satisfactory" in Thai. | |||
| Vietnamese | đủ | ||
| The word "đủ" also means "enough" or "adequate" and is related to the word "đầy" ("full") and "đong" ("to measure"). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sapat | ||
Sufficient in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | kifayətdir | ||
| "Kifayətdir" means "sufficient" in Azerbaijani and also "enough" in Turkish. | |||
| Kazakh | жеткілікті | ||
| The word "жеткілікті" in Kazakh can also mean "self-sufficient" or "adequate". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жетиштүү | ||
| In the Kyrgyz epic poem the "Manas," "жетиштүү" can also refer to the name of various places or objects of religious significance. | |||
| Tajik | кофӣ | ||
| The word "кофӣ" is a loanword from Arabic, meaning "enough" or "plenty." | |||
| Turkmen | ýeterlik | ||
| Uzbek | etarli | ||
| The word "etarli" in Uzbek also means "adequate" or "suitable". | |||
| Uyghur | يېتەرلىك | ||
Sufficient in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | lawa | ||
| In Hawaiian, 'lawa' can also refer to lava from volcanoes, demonstrating the language's descriptive nature. | |||
| Maori | rawaka | ||
| Rawaka, which means abundant or enough, is also the name of a type of shark. | |||
| Samoan | ia lava | ||
| Ia lava is rooted in the Polynesian word “lava” meaning “to spread” or “to extend” - implying an adequate amount for distribution. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sapat na | ||
| The word "sapat na" in Tagalog also means "enough" and "adequate". | |||
Sufficient in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukhaki | ||
| Guarani | oĩporãma | ||
Sufficient in International Languages
| Esperanto | sufiĉa | ||
| The Esperanto word "sufiĉa" is derived from the Latin "sufficere" (to be underneath) and also means "to satisfy a need". | |||
| Latin | sufficient | ||
| The Latin word "satis" meant "enough" and gave rise to "sufficient" and "satisfy". | |||
Sufficient in Others Languages
| Greek | επαρκής | ||
| The verb ἐπαρκέω, from which the word originates, means 'to come to aid', 'to help'. | |||
| Hmong | txaus | ||
| In Hmong, "txaus" derives from "tos", meaning "to reach"} | |||
| Kurdish | bese | ||
| The word "bese" in Kurdish ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*bʰes-," which also gives rise to the English word "best." | |||
| Turkish | yeterli | ||
| In Old Turkish yeter 'sufficiency, plenty, abundance', and yeterlik 'the quality or state of being sufficient; adequacy, competence, ability' were attested as derivatives of yet- 'to reach, to arrive, to suffice'. | |||
| Xhosa | yanele | ||
| The word "yanele" can also mean "enough", "satisfactory" or "adequate" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | גענוגיק | ||
| The Yiddish word "גענוגיק" can also mean "adequate" or "enough" in English. | |||
| Zulu | kwanele | ||
| "Kwanele" (sufficient) comes from the root -kwana, meaning "to become light" or "to become day." | |||
| Assamese | পৰ্যাপ্ত | ||
| Aymara | ukhaki | ||
| Bhojpuri | अनघा | ||
| Dhivehi | ފުދުން | ||
| Dogri | सुद्धा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sapat | ||
| Guarani | oĩporãma | ||
| Ilocano | naan-anay | ||
| Krio | i du | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گونجاو | ||
| Maithili | पर्याप्त | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯇꯤꯛ ꯆꯥꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tawk | ||
| Oromo | ga'aa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଯଥେଷ୍ଟ | ||
| Quechua | kamaq | ||
| Sanskrit | पर्याप्त | ||
| Tatar | җитәрлек | ||
| Tigrinya | እኹል | ||
| Tsonga | ringanerile | ||