Suicide in Different Languages
Discover 'Suicide' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Suicide
Afrikaans selfmoord | ||
Albanian vetëvrasje | ||
Amharic ራስን መግደል | ||
Arabic انتحار | ||
Armenian ինքնասպանություն | ||
Assamese আত্মহত্যা | ||
Aymara jupa pachpa jiwayasiña | ||
Azerbaijani intihar | ||
Bambara yɛrɛfaga | ||
Basque suizidioa | ||
Belarusian самагубства | ||
Bengali আত্মহত্যা | ||
Bhojpuri आत्महत्या के बात बा | ||
Bosnian samoubistvo | ||
Bulgarian самоубийство | ||
Catalan suïcidi | ||
Cebuano paghikog | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 自杀 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 自殺 | ||
Corsican suicidiu | ||
Croatian samoubojstvo | ||
Czech sebevražda | ||
Danish selvmord | ||
Dhivehi އަމިއްލައަށް މަރުވުމެވެ | ||
Dogri आत्महत्या | ||
Dutch zelfmoord | ||
English suicide | ||
Esperanto memmortigo | ||
Estonian enesetapp | ||
Ewe ameɖokuiwuwu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pagpapakamatay | ||
Finnish itsemurha | ||
French suicide | ||
Frisian selsmoard | ||
Galician suicidio | ||
Georgian თვითმკვლელობა | ||
German selbstmord | ||
Greek αυτοκτονία | ||
Guarani ojesuicida haguã | ||
Gujarati આત્મહત્યા | ||
Haitian Creole swisid | ||
Hausa kashe kansa | ||
Hawaiian pepehi kanaka ʻana | ||
Hebrew הִתאַבְּדוּת | ||
Hindi आत्मघाती | ||
Hmong yus tua yus | ||
Hungarian öngyilkosság | ||
Icelandic sjálfsmorð | ||
Igbo igbu onwe | ||
Ilocano panagpakamatay | ||
Indonesian bunuh diri | ||
Irish féinmharú | ||
Italian suicidio | ||
Japanese 自殺 | ||
Javanese lampus | ||
Kannada ಆತ್ಮಹತ್ಯೆ | ||
Kazakh суицид | ||
Khmer ការធ្វើអត្តឃាត | ||
Kinyarwanda kwiyahura | ||
Konkani आत्महत्या करप | ||
Korean 자살 | ||
Krio fɔ kil dɛnsɛf | ||
Kurdish xwekûştinî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خۆکوشتن | ||
Kyrgyz суицид | ||
Lao ການຂ້າຕົວຕາຍ | ||
Latin mortem | ||
Latvian pašnāvība | ||
Lingala komiboma | ||
Lithuanian savižudybė | ||
Luganda okwetta | ||
Luxembourgish suizid | ||
Macedonian самоубиство | ||
Maithili आत्महत्या | ||
Malagasy famonoan-tena | ||
Malay membunuh diri | ||
Malayalam ആത്മഹത്യ | ||
Maltese suwiċidju | ||
Maori whakamomori | ||
Marathi आत्महत्या | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯁꯥꯅꯥ ꯃꯁꯥꯕꯨ ꯁꯤꯖꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo mahni intihhlum | ||
Mongolian амиа хорлох | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ကိုယ့်ကိုယ်ကိုသတ်သေခြင်း | ||
Nepali आत्महत्या | ||
Norwegian selvmord | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kudzipha | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଆତ୍ମହତ୍ୟା | ||
Oromo of ajjeesuu | ||
Pashto ځان وژنه | ||
Persian خودکشی کردن | ||
Polish samobójstwo | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) suicídio | ||
Punjabi ਖੁਦਕੁਸ਼ੀ | ||
Quechua wañuchikuy | ||
Romanian sinucidere | ||
Russian самоубийство | ||
Samoan pule i le ola | ||
Sanskrit आत्महत्या | ||
Scots Gaelic fèin-mharbhadh | ||
Sepedi go ipolaya | ||
Serbian самоубиство | ||
Sesotho ho ipolaea | ||
Shona kuzviuraya | ||
Sindhi خودڪشي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සියදිවි නසා ගැනීම | ||
Slovak samovražda | ||
Slovenian samomor | ||
Somali ismiidaamin | ||
Spanish suicidio | ||
Sundanese bunuh diri | ||
Swahili kujiua | ||
Swedish självmord | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) pagpapakamatay | ||
Tajik худкушӣ | ||
Tamil தற்கொலை | ||
Tatar үз-үзенә кул салу | ||
Telugu ఆత్మహత్య | ||
Thai การฆ่าตัวตาย | ||
Tigrinya ነብሰ ቅትለት | ||
Tsonga ku tidlaya | ||
Turkish intihar | ||
Turkmen öz janyna kast etmek | ||
Twi (Akan) obi a okum ne ho | ||
Ukrainian самогубство | ||
Urdu خودکشی | ||
Uyghur ئۆزىنى ئۆلتۈرىۋېلىش | ||
Uzbek o'z joniga qasd qilish | ||
Vietnamese tự sát | ||
Welsh hunanladdiad | ||
Xhosa ukuzibulala | ||
Yiddish זעלבסטמאָרד | ||
Yoruba igbẹmi ara ẹni | ||
Zulu ukuzibulala |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Selfmoord" (suicide) in Afrikaans derives from "zelf" (self) and "moord" (murder), indicating the perception of suicide as an act of self-murder. |
| Albanian | The word "vetëvrasje" derives from the Albanian words "vetë" (self) and "vrasje" (killing), and it can also refer to self-sacrifice or martyrdom in some contexts. |
| Azerbaijani | The word 'intihar' is derived from the Arabic word 'intihar', which means 'to throw oneself into danger'. |
| Basque | The Basque word "suizidioa" is related to "suizida" in the Romance languages and "suicide" in English, with no alternative meanings. |
| Belarusian | The word "самагубства" (suicide) is derived from the Old Slavic root "губъ" (to destroy, to lose). |
| Bosnian | The word "samoubistvo" is derived from the Old Slavonic word "sъmoubijьstvo", which means "self-killing". |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "самоубийство" derives from the Proto-Slavic "*samъ" (self) and "*ubiti" (to kill), meaning "self-killing". |
| Catalan | Suïcidi comes from the Latin word "sui cidium", meaning "self-killing". |
| Cebuano | The etymology of the Cebuano word "paghikog" is unclear, although it could be derived from the Proto-Austronesian "*pəŋ-ikug" or "*bəŋ-ikug" with meanings like "to hang oneself" or "to strangle". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The term 自杀 ('suicide') literally means 'self-killing' in Chinese. |
| Corsican | Corsican "suicidiu" originally meant "self-murder" but now strictly refers to suicide. |
| Czech | The Czech word "sebevražda" is derived from the Slavic word "vražda" (murder) and the prefix "sebe-" (self), literally meaning "murder of oneself". |
| Danish | The Danish word "selvmord" is derived from the Old Norse "sjalfsmorð", a compound of "sjalf" (self) and "morð" (murder), and thus literally means "self-murder." |
| Dutch | The word 'zelfmoord' (suicide in Dutch) is derived from the Old Dutch words 'zelf' (self) and 'moord' (murder), meaning literally 'murdering oneself' |
| Esperanto | Memmortigo is a calque of the Latin word "memoriam mortis" (remembrance of death). |
| Estonian | The term is not considered to be an original Estonian one, with some sources suggesting it may have been borrowed from Old Norse. |
| Finnish | "Itsemurha" is a compound word, formed from the words "itse" (self) and "murha" (murder). |
| French | The French word for "suicide" is composed of the words "sui" (oneself) and "cide" (to kill), and shares a common root with the English word "homicide". |
| Frisian | The Middle Frisian word "selsmoard" comes from the root "self" (self) and "moard" (murder). |
| Galician | The word "suicidio" in Galician can also refer to the voluntary termination of one's life. |
| German | The German word "Selbstmord" literally translates to "self-murder," reflecting its legal and moral connotations in German society. |
| Greek | Αυτοκτονία derives from "αὐτός" (self) and "κτείνω" (to kill) and originally referred to the act of killing oneself in order to avoid dishonour or disgrace. |
| Gujarati | The word "आत्महत्या" (suicide) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आत्महत्या" (self-killing), which is composed of the words "आत्म" (self) and "हत्या" (killing). |
| Hawaiian | The word "pepehi kanaka ʻana" can also be used to describe homicide or other forms of killing. |
| Hebrew | The word "הִתאַבְּדוּת" derives from the root "אבד", meaning "to be lost" or "to perish." |
| Hindi | The word "आत्मघाती" can also mean "murderer" or "killer" in Hindi. |
| Hmong | "Yus tua yus" literally means "a life for a life" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | "Öngyilkosság" literally means "self-killing" in Hungarian. |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "sjálfsmorð" can also refer to "self-death". |
| Igbo | Etymology of 'igbu onwe' suggests it meant something different in earlier forms of Igbo: 'igbu' meaning 'killing' and 'onwe' meaning 'person' but in this context it means 'oneself'. |
| Japanese | The Japanese word "自殺" (jisatsu) originally meant "self-killing" or "self-murder" but is now used solely to refer to suicide. |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "lampus" originates from the Old Javanese word "lampu", meaning "to burn oneself". |
| Kazakh | Слово «суицид» в казахском языке произошло от латинского «sui caedere», что означает «убивать себя». |
| Korean | 자살 is the Korean word for 'suicide,' derived from Chinese characters meaning 'self' and 'kill' and can also refer to the Buddhist concept of 'self-killing' or 'death of the self,' which is considered as a way of transcending the cycle of rebirth and achieving spiritual enlightenment. |
| Kurdish | The word “xwekûştinî” derives from the two words “xwe” (self) and “kûştin” (kill), thus literally meaning “self-killing.” |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "суицид" is derived from the Latin word "sui cidium," which means "self-killing." |
| Latin | "Mortem", which stems from Latin, can also refer to the state of being dead, rather than just the act of intentional death. |
| Latvian | The term "pašnāvība" in Latvian can also refer to self-mutilation and ritual self-sacrifice. |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Suizid" is also used to describe the act of self-sacrifice, martyrdom, or dying for a noble cause. |
| Macedonian | The word "самоубиство" is derived from the Slavic word "sam" (self) and "ubiti" (to kill). |
| Malayalam | The word "ആത്മഹത്യ" (suicide) is derived from the Sanskrit words "आत्म" (self) and "हत्या" (killing). It can also be used in a broader sense to refer to self-harm or self-destructive behavior. |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "suwiċidju" comes from the Latin "suicidium", which in turn comes from the Latin verb "sui caedere", meaning "to kill oneself". |
| Maori | The word "whakamomori" can also mean "to protect" or "to keep safe" in Maori. |
| Marathi | The word "आत्महत्या" (suicide) in Marathi comes from the Sanskrit words "आत्म" (self) and "हत्या" (killing), thus conveying the idea of self-killing or taking one's own life. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word ‘амиа хорлох’ is etymologically connected to the word ‘хорлон’ which is the Mongolian word for ‘worm’, and it can metaphorically represent ‘the worm that hollows a tree’. |
| Nepali | The word "आत्महत्या" literally means "giving up oneself" in Sanskrit. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "selvmord" literally translates to "self-murder". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | 'Kudzipha' comes from the root word 'pha', meaning 'to kill', and the prefix 'ku', signifying an action. It shares a root with the word 'kupha', meaning 'to die' or 'to be killed'. |
| Pashto | The word "ځان وژنه" not only means "suicide" but is also used as the technical word for "self-sacrifice". |
| Polish | The Polish word 'samobójstwo' is derived from the Old Polish word 'samobójca' meaning 'one who kills himself' and is related to the Slavic root 'smrt' ('death'). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Suicídio comes from the Latin 'suicidium' while also meaning the act of taking one's own life. |
| Romanian | In the case of Romanian "sinucidere" the prefix "sino-" (literally "by itself, by one's own will, on its own, of its own accord, by itself alone, unaided ") refers to an action done without any external help. |
| Russian | "Самоубийство" is not related to any words for "self" or "kill" but instead goes back to "убийство," meaning "murder". |
| Samoan | The Samoan word for suicide, "pule i le ola," literally translates to "prayer for life". |
| Scots Gaelic | The term "fèin-mharbhadh" in Scots Gaelic can also refer to the "self-murder" of one's reputation or status. |
| Serbian | The word "самоубиство" in Serbian originally meant "self-sacrifice" or "death by one's own hand", but it has since come to mean "suicide". |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word "ho ipolaea" (suicide) is derived from the verb "ho ipolosa" (to destroy oneself). |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "خودڪشي" comes from the Persian words "خود" (self) and "کشي" (killing), and it can also refer to any action that harms or destroys oneself. |
| Slovak | "Samovražda" in Slovak is related to the word "vražda" (murder), suggesting self-killing as a form of murder against oneself. |
| Slovenian | The word "samomor" in Slovenian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъmo-morъ, meaning "self-inflicted death". |
| Somali | The word "ismiidaamin" in Somali is derived from the Arabic word "istimdaad", meaning "to seek help". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "suicidio" can also refer to the act of giving up one's life for religious or political reasons. |
| Swahili | The word 'kujiua' in Swahili originates from 'ku' (to do) and 'jiua' (to kill oneself), but can also refer to animal sacrifice. |
| Swedish | "Självmord" literally means "self-murder" in Swedish. |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "худкушӣ" derives from the Persian word "خودکشی" (khudkushī), meaning "self-killing". |
| Tamil | In Tamil, the word "தற்கொலை" (suicide) literally translates to "self-killing." |
| Telugu | The word "ఆత్మహత్య" (suicide) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आत्महत्या" (ātmahatyā), which literally means "self-killing". |
| Thai | In Thai, the word "การฆ่าตัวตาย" can also refer to ritual suicide or self-sacrifice. |
| Turkish | "İntihar" is an Arabic loanword used in Turkish that originally meant "warning", a meaning still retained in Azeri. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "самогубство" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *samgubstvo, which is derived from the roots *samъ ("self") and *gubiti ("to destroy"). |
| Vietnamese | The word "tự sát" (suicide) is formed from two Sino-Vietnamese words: "tự" (self) and "sát" (to kill). |
| Welsh | The word 'hunanladdiad' is derived from the Welsh words 'hun' (self) and 'lladdiad' (killing), literally meaning 'self-killing'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word for 'suicide' is 'זעלבסטמאָרד', a compound word meaning 'self-murder'. |
| Yoruba | Igbẹ́mi ara ẹni translates to 'self-killing', and not suicide as it is commonly used. |
| English | The English word 'suicide' has roots in Latin as well as French (where it was 'suiscide'): both are ultimately derived from Old Latin _sui caedere_ (_sway kay-duh-ray_; "to kill oneself"), but also have meanings associated with murder of another person, especially through treachery; the English 'cide' suffix is ultimately derived from this verb and appears in numerous modern words derived from Latin that pertain to killing. |