Surprise in Different Languages
Discover 'Surprise' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Surprise
Afrikaans verras | ||
Albanian befasi | ||
Amharic መደነቅ | ||
Arabic مفاجأة | ||
Armenian անակնկալ | ||
Assamese আচৰিত কৰা | ||
Aymara akatjamata | ||
Azerbaijani sürpriz | ||
Bambara bala | ||
Basque sorpresa | ||
Belarusian здзіўленне | ||
Bengali আশ্চর্য | ||
Bhojpuri अचरज | ||
Bosnian iznenađenje | ||
Bulgarian изненада | ||
Catalan sorpresa | ||
Cebuano sorpresa | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 吃惊 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 吃驚 | ||
Corsican sorpresa | ||
Croatian iznenađenje | ||
Czech překvapení | ||
Danish overraskelse | ||
Dhivehi ސަރޕްރައިޒް | ||
Dogri रहान करना | ||
Dutch verrassing | ||
English surprise | ||
Esperanto surprizo | ||
Estonian üllatus | ||
Ewe si do le kpome | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) sorpresa | ||
Finnish yllätys | ||
French surprise | ||
Frisian ferrassing | ||
Galician sorpresa | ||
Georgian გაოცება | ||
German überraschung | ||
Greek έκπληξη | ||
Guarani oñeha'ãrõ'ỹva | ||
Gujarati આશ્ચર્ય | ||
Haitian Creole sipriz | ||
Hausa mamaki | ||
Hawaiian pūʻiwa | ||
Hebrew הַפתָעָה | ||
Hindi आश्चर्य | ||
Hmong ceeb | ||
Hungarian meglepetés | ||
Icelandic koma á óvart | ||
Igbo ihe ijuanya | ||
Ilocano siddaaw | ||
Indonesian mengherankan | ||
Irish iontas | ||
Italian sorpresa | ||
Japanese 驚き | ||
Javanese kaget | ||
Kannada ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ | ||
Kazakh тосын сый | ||
Khmer ភ្ញាក់ផ្អើល | ||
Kinyarwanda gutungurwa | ||
Konkani अजाप | ||
Korean 놀라다 | ||
Krio sɔprayz | ||
Kurdish nişkeşayî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) سوپرایس | ||
Kyrgyz сюрприз | ||
Lao ແປກໃຈ | ||
Latin mirum | ||
Latvian pārsteigums | ||
Lingala kokamwisa | ||
Lithuanian staigmena | ||
Luganda okuzinduukiriza | ||
Luxembourgish iwwerraschen | ||
Macedonian изненадување | ||
Maithili आश्चर्य | ||
Malagasy tsy nampoizina | ||
Malay kejutan | ||
Malayalam ആശ്ചര്യം | ||
Maltese sorpriża | ||
Maori ohorere | ||
Marathi आश्चर्य | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯉꯛꯄ | ||
Mizo mak ti | ||
Mongolian гэнэтийн зүйл | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အံ့သြစရာ | ||
Nepali अचम्म | ||
Norwegian overraskelse | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kudabwa | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଆଶ୍ଚର୍ଯ୍ୟ | ||
Oromo wanta hinyaadamin namaa gochuu | ||
Pashto حیرانتیا | ||
Persian تعجب | ||
Polish niespodzianka | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) surpresa | ||
Punjabi ਹੈਰਾਨੀ | ||
Quechua sorpresa | ||
Romanian surprinde | ||
Russian сюрприз | ||
Samoan teʻi | ||
Sanskrit आश्चर्य | ||
Scots Gaelic iongnadh | ||
Sepedi makatša | ||
Serbian изненађење | ||
Sesotho makatsa | ||
Shona kushamisika | ||
Sindhi حيرت انگيز | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) පුදුමය | ||
Slovak prekvapenie | ||
Slovenian presenečenje | ||
Somali layaab | ||
Spanish sorpresa | ||
Sundanese reuwas | ||
Swahili mshangao | ||
Swedish överraskning | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) sorpresa | ||
Tajik ҳайрон шудан | ||
Tamil ஆச்சரியம் | ||
Tatar сюрприз | ||
Telugu ఆశ్చర్యం | ||
Thai แปลกใจ | ||
Tigrinya ዘይተሓሰበ | ||
Tsonga xihlamariso | ||
Turkish sürpriz | ||
Turkmen geň galdyryjy | ||
Twi (Akan) nwanwa | ||
Ukrainian сюрприз | ||
Urdu حیرت | ||
Uyghur ھەيران قالارلىق | ||
Uzbek ajablanib | ||
Vietnamese sự ngạc nhiên | ||
Welsh syndod | ||
Xhosa ukumangaliswa | ||
Yiddish יבערראַשן | ||
Yoruba iyalenu | ||
Zulu ukumangala |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Verras" is derived from the Dutch word "verrassen", meaning "to surprise" or "to overtake by surprise". |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "befasi" comes from the Turkish "befazet", which means "to be astonished". |
| Amharic | The word "መደነቅ” comes from the root 'ደነቅ' which means 'to be strange or unusual'. |
| Arabic | The word مفاجأة derives from the root ف-ج-أ which means to attack suddenly. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "sürpriz" in Azerbaijani can also mean "an unexpected event or occurrence". |
| Basque | The word "sorpresa" in Basque is derived from the Latin "subripere", which means "to snatch away". |
| Belarusian | The word "здзіўленне" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*divъ", meaning "wonder" or "miracle". |
| Bengali | "আশ্চর্য" comes from the Sanskrit word "aścarya", which means "wonderful, marvelous, or surprising". |
| Bosnian | Bosnian 'iznenađenje' comes from Turkish 'şaşırtmak' (to surprise or amaze) and shares cognates with the word 'astonish'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "изненада" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "изъ" (out) and "ненада" (unexpected). |
| Catalan | "Sorpresa" in Catalan can also mean "unexpectedly" or "by chance". |
| Cebuano | In Cebuano, "sorpresa" can also mean "dessert". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "吃惊'(surprise) in Chinese comes from '吃' (eat) and '惊'(fright), and it refers to the feeling of being so shocked that your jaw drops |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 吃驚 is also an idiom in modern Chinese, which means to be very shocked or astounded. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, the word "sorpresa" can also mean "present" or "gift." |
| Croatian | Iznenađenje originates from the verb 'iznenaditi' 'to take by surprise', whose root 'nenad' means 'something unexpected'. |
| Czech | The Czech word "překvapení" also means "an act of surprising someone". |
| Danish | The word "overraskelse" likely stems from the Old Norse "yfirraskan" meaning "to attack with great force". |
| Dutch | Verrassing, meaning surprise in Dutch, comes from the same Proto-Germanic root "war" as English surprise or wary and can also refer to the verb to stir or turn; a verb that can be applied to water, liquids, or thoughts. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word 'surprizo' is derived from the French word 'surprise', meaning 'astonishment'. |
| Estonian | Üllatus is also the Estonian word for "thunder" and is derived from the verb "ülbama," meaning "to thunder". |
| Finnish | "Yllätys" can also refer to a sudden change in weather in Finnish. |
| French | In French, the word "surprise" also means "overwhelm" or "astonishment". |
| Frisian | The word 'ferrassing' is a blend of the Frisian words 'fer' ('very') and 'rassing' ('quick'). |
| Galician | In Galician, "sorpresa" can also mean "a sudden and unexpected event" or "a piece of surprising news". |
| German | Cognates of the German word 'Überraschung' include the English 'overreach' and 'surprise'. |
| Greek | The word έκπληξη is derived from the verb εκπλήσσω, meaning "to fill with amazement or awe". |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "આશ્ચર્ય" comes from the Sanskrit word "आश्चर्य" (āścarya), which means both "surprise" and "wonder". |
| Haitian Creole | The word 'sipriz' in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word 'surprise' and can also mean 'secret' or 'unexpected event'. |
| Hausa | In Hausa, the word "mamaki" originates from the root word "mamako" meaning "to be struck by wonder or amazement". |
| Hawaiian | Pūʻiwa is derived from the word pūʻi, which refers to a pimple or swelling on the skin, and is also used to describe something that is unexpected or sudden. |
| Hebrew | The verb הפתיע (hipti'a) in Hebrew means to suddenly attack, to ambush, or to capture by surprise. |
| Hindi | The word "आश्चर्य" in Hindi derives from Sanskrit and has the alternate meaning of "wonder". |
| Hmong | "Ceeb" originated in the Hmong-Mien languages and is a term of endearment used for babies and children. |
| Hungarian | 'Meg' means 'again' and 'lep' means 'to steal'. So the word literally means 'to be stolen back', indicating the unexpected nature of surprise. |
| Icelandic | "Koma á óvart" literally translates to "come upon unaware". |
| Igbo | In Igbo, the word "ihe ijuanya" can also mean "a wonderful or amazing thing". |
| Indonesian | "Mengerankan" in Indonesian comes from the root word "heran," which means "astonished" and can also refer to a "riddle." |
| Irish | "Iontas" also means "expectation" or "expectation of something that may or may not happen" in Irish |
| Italian | The word "sorpresa" can also mean "overtaking" or "ambush" in Italian. |
| Japanese | 驚き literally translates to mean either "sudden movement" or "to stir up". |
| Javanese | 'Kaget' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'khēda' meaning 'sorrow, trouble, or fatigue'. |
| Kannada | In Kannada, 'ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ' not only means 'surprise' but also has meanings like 'wonder', 'amazement', 'astonishment', and 'marvel'. |
| Kazakh | The word "тосын сый" can also mean "unexpected gift" or "unforeseen event" in Kazakh. |
| Korean | The word “놀라다” derives from the Middle Korean word “놀라”, meaning "to tremble" or "to shake." |
| Kurdish | Etymology unknown, perhaps of onomatopoetic origin. |
| Kyrgyz | "Сюрприз" (surprise) is a noun in Kyrgyz, derived from the Russian "сюрприз". The Turkish equivalent is "sürpriz". The origin is most likely the French word "surprise". |
| Latin | The word "mirum" also means "wonderful" or "strange" and is the root of the English word "miracle". |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "pārsteigums" originates from the verb "steigt", meaning "to rise, to go up" and the prefix "pār-", meaning "over, above, across". |
| Lithuanian | The word "staigmena" in Lithuanian is derived from the word "staigti," meaning "to rise, to stand," and also refers to a sudden rise or change. |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'iwwerraschen' is derived from the Old French word 'sorprendre' with the same meaning, which in turn is ultimately derived from the Latin 'subripere' meaning 'to steal'. |
| Malagasy | In Malagasy, the word "tsy nampoizina" is a noun meaning "surprise," but it is also an expression meaning "without knowing it." |
| Malay | The word kejutan also has another meaning, which is "secret" (especially in the context of a plan or intention). |
| Malayalam | "ആശ്ചര്യം" also refers to wonder, awe, amazement or astonishment, depending on the context. |
| Maltese | Maltese 'sorpriża' comes from French 'surprise' and is related to Italian 'sorpresa', sharing the root word 'surprendre', meaning to catch unexpectedly. |
| Maori | The Maori word "ohorere" also means "to be astonished" or "to be amazed". |
| Marathi | आश्चर्य (āścarya) is also used to express the concept of 'miracle' or 'wonder' in Marathi |
| Mongolian | Гэнэтийн зүйл is a Mongolian phrase that can also mean a sudden event or an unexpected happening. |
| Nepali | The word "अचम्म" originally meant "wonder" and was derived from "चमत्कार," which means a miracle. |
| Norwegian | "Overraskelse" is derived from Dutch "overraschen" and means "catch unawares," implying a negative rather than positive sense. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "kudabwa" in Nyanja can also mean "to happen" or "to occur." |
| Pashto | حیرانتیا can also means "astonishment" or "bewilderment" in Pashto. |
| Persian | In addition to its primary meaning of 'surprise', 'تعجب' also denotes 'interjection', 'admiration', or 'astonishment'. |
| Polish | In Polish, the word "niespodzianka" can also mean a "gift" or a "treat". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "surpresa" comes from the Old Occitan "sobrepresa" and the Old French "surprise", both derived from the Latin "superprisus" meaning "taken or caught unaware". |
| Punjabi | The word "हैरान" originated from the same root as "confusion", hinting at the complex and unexpected emotions it evokes. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "surprinde" ultimately derives from the French word "prendre" (meaning "to take") and originally meant "to catch someone in the act". |
| Russian | Сюрприз (surprise) derives from the French word 'surprise' and is also used in Russian to refer to a 'gift' or 'unexpected event'. |
| Samoan | "Teʻi" can also mean to be stunned, bewildered, or amazed. |
| Scots Gaelic | "Iongnadh" in Scots Gaelic originally referred to a "marvel" or "wonder," and only came to mean "surprise" in the 18th century. |
| Serbian | Изненађење relates to a word implying 'to know' or 'to perceive' and also carries the connotation of 'unexpectedness'. |
| Sesotho | In some instances, 'makatsa' can also translate as 'be taken by surprise', 'startled', 'shocked', 'amazed', 'astonished', 'surprised to an extreme degree', 'gobsmacked', 'floored', 'discombobulated', or 'flabbergasted'. |
| Shona | The word 'kushamisika' also means 'to be frightened' or 'to be startled'. |
| Sindhi | The word "حيرت انگيز" (hairat angeez) comes from the Persian word for "astonishing" and can also mean "extraordinary" or "wonderful" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word "පුදුමය" also refers to "the ability to see spirits" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "adbhutha". |
| Slovak | The word "prekvapenie" (surprise) derives from the verb "prekvapiť" (to surprise), which in turn comes from the Old Slavic word "prěkvapa" (ambush, sudden attack). |
| Slovenian | The Slovenian word "presenečenje" is ultimately of Slavic origin, and is related to words such as "surprise," "present," and "presence" in other Slavic languages. |
| Somali | The word "layaab" can also refer to an unexpected event or an occurrence that is not easily explained. |
| Spanish | The term "sorpresa" also refers to an unexpected situation in which one finds oneself without having sought it. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'reuwas' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'rahasya', which means 'secret' or 'mystery', suggesting a connection between surprise and the revelation of something hidden. |
| Swahili | Mshangao can also mean 'a spectacle' or 'an unexpected event', which reveals the word's close semantic relationship to its root 'shangaza', meaning 'to be astonished' or 'to be amazed'. |
| Swedish | In Swedish, "överraskning" also refers to a pleasant incident or unexpected gift. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "sorpresa" can also refer to a present or a gift, and is derived from the Spanish word "sorpresa". |
| Tajik | The word "ҳайрон шудан" is derived from the Persian word "ḥayrān" and is also commonly used in Dari, with slightly different meanings and usage. |
| Tamil | "ஆச்சரியம்" comes from the root "அசிர்" (wonder), indicating a reaction to something that evokes amazement. |
| Thai | The Thai word "แปลกใจ" can also mean "interesting" or "unusual." |
| Turkish | Sürpriz's Persian root means 'to please', whereas in Turkish it is often used for something unexpected. |
| Ukrainian | In Ukrainian, "сюрприз" can also mean "a prank". |
| Urdu | "حیرت" not only means "surprise", but also, in its original sense, "bewilderment", "confusion", "perplexity", or "astonishment." |
| Uzbek | The word "ajablanib" is derived from the Arabic word "ajab" (wonder, amazement), and also means "to be astonished" or "to be amazed". |
| Vietnamese | In the south, "sự ngạc nhiên" can also mean "regrets" and is often used in "có gì ngạc nhiên?", which means "it is expected that something happened that way and nothing is surprising." |
| Welsh | Although 'syndod' now means 'surprise', it was once used in the sense of 'gift'. |
| Xhosa | The Xhosa word "ukumangaliswa" can also mean "a wonder" or "a marvel." |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "יִבערראַשן" ("surprise") is derived from the German word "überraschen" with the same meaning. |
| Yoruba | "Iyale" in Yoruba means a family house, so "iyalenu" can also represent something that happens unexpectedly in the family house. |
| Zulu | The word "ukumangala" in Zulu can also mean "a sudden attack" or "an unexpected event". |
| English | The word "surprise" derives from the Middle French word "surprisse," meaning "to seize" or "to attack unexpectedly." |