Threaten in Different Languages
Discover 'Threaten' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'threaten' carries a significant weight, signifying the expression of an intention to cause harm or danger. It's a word that has been used in various cultural and historical contexts, often playing a crucial role in shaping narratives and discourses. From political negotiations to fictional storytelling, the concept of threatening has been a constant theme.
For instance, in Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar', the character Cassius threatens Brutus by saying, 'I will have my thumb in your score once more'. Here, the threat is metaphorical, but it effectively conveys Cassius's intent to dominate and control Brutus.
Understanding the translation of 'threaten' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how various cultures express the concept of threatening. For example, in Spanish, 'threaten' translates to 'amenazar', in French, it's 'menacer', and in German, it's 'drohen'. Each translation offers a unique cultural perspective on this significant word.
Stay tuned as we explore more translations of 'threaten' in different languages, providing you with a global understanding of this powerful word.
Threaten
Threaten in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | dreig | ||
| "Dreig" is likely derived from the Germanic base *drei-, meaning "to twist" or "to turn". | |||
| Amharic | አስፈራራ | ||
| The Amharic term "አስፈራራ" (asferarra), meaning "threaten", also has the connotation of "to cause to fear" and "to make tremble". | |||
| Hausa | yi barazanar | ||
| "Yi barazanar" means "to threaten" in Hausa and also derives from the word "baraza" (council) which refers to the act of threatening in some situations. | |||
| Igbo | yie egwu | ||
| The Igbo word "yie egwu" can also mean "to challenge" or "to dare" someone. | |||
| Malagasy | nampitahotra | ||
| The Malagasy word "NAMPITAHOTRA" can also mean to "frighten" or "intimidate" someone. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuopseza | ||
| The word "kuopseza" in Nyanja can also mean "to curse" or "to swear". | |||
| Shona | tyisidzira | ||
| The word "tyisidzira" can also refer to a warning or caution. | |||
| Somali | hanjabo | ||
| The term "hanjabo" can also be used to express the concept of "disgrace" or "humiliation". | |||
| Sesotho | tshosa | ||
| The word "tshosa" in Sesotho, besides meaning "threaten," also means "to show off," "to brag," or "to boast." | |||
| Swahili | kutishia | ||
| The Swahili word 'kutishia' can also mean 'to menace' or 'to intimidate' | |||
| Xhosa | songela | ||
| The word "songela" also means "to challenge" or "to dare" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | deruba | ||
| Deruba also means “to warn” in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | songela | ||
| Songela comes from the Zulu word "songa," meaning "to point at or threaten with a finger," and is also used to describe a threat or intimidation. | |||
| Bambara | ka lasiran | ||
| Ewe | do vɔvɔ̃ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | iterabwoba | ||
| Lingala | kobangisa | ||
| Luganda | okutiisatiisa | ||
| Sepedi | tšhošetša | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hunahuna | ||
Threaten in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | هدد | ||
| The Arabic word "هدد" (haddad) can also refer to the hoopoe bird, known for its distinctive crest and territorial calls. | |||
| Hebrew | מאיים | ||
| In Hebrew, "מאיים" (threaten) also means "threatening," "menacing," or "sinister." | |||
| Pashto | ګواښول | ||
| The verb "ګواښول" can also mean "to promise" or "to offer" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | هدد | ||
| The Arabic word "هدد" (haddad) can also refer to the hoopoe bird, known for its distinctive crest and territorial calls. | |||
Threaten in Western European Languages
| Albanian | kërcënojnë | ||
| The word "kërcënojnë" ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *ker- "to guard, protect". | |||
| Basque | mehatxatu | ||
| The word "mehatxatu" can also mean "advise" or "warn" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | amenaçar | ||
| The Catalan word "amenaçar" derives from the Latin word "mināre," which means "to project" or "to overhang." | |||
| Croatian | ugroziti | ||
| The Croatian word “ugroziti” derives from the Old Slavic verb groziti, meaning “to threaten” or “to horrify”. | |||
| Danish | true | ||
| The Danish word "true" means "threaten" in Norwegian. | |||
| Dutch | dreigen | ||
| The word 'dreigen' in Dutch is derived from the Old Frisian word 'dregia', meaning 'to strike'. | |||
| English | threaten | ||
| The word "threaten" originates from the Old English word "þrēatian" and the Old Norse word "þrōta", both meaning "to press" or "to urge". | |||
| French | menacer | ||
| From Middle French ''menacer'', going back to Late Latin ''minaciare'' meaning "to tell", from which also modern French ''mener" meaning "to lead". | |||
| Frisian | driigje | ||
| The Frisian word "driigje" is derived from the Middle Dutch word "dregen," which means "to draw" or "to pull." | |||
| Galician | ameazar | ||
| "Ameazar" in Galician derives from the Latin "minaciare" and also means "to promise" | |||
| German | drohen | ||
| The verb "drohen" is derived from Old High German "drauên," meaning "to roar" or "to make a loud noise," and is related to the English word "thunder." | |||
| Icelandic | hóta | ||
| "Hóta" in Icelandic can also mean "threaten to harm" or "intimidate". | |||
| Irish | bagairt | ||
| The term 'bagairt' can also imply 'warning', or something 'fearsome' or 'dangerous'. | |||
| Italian | minacciare | ||
| The Italian word "minacciare" comes from the Latin word "minaciare", which also means "to gesture a threat." | |||
| Luxembourgish | menacéieren | ||
| The word "menacéieren" can also mean "to threaten" in French, from which it is derived. | |||
| Maltese | thedded | ||
| The word "thedded" ultimately derives from the Arabic word "wa'd," meaning "promise" or "threat." | |||
| Norwegian | true | ||
| The Norwegian word "true" is derived from the Old Norse word "trúa," meaning "to trust" or "to believe." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ameaçar | ||
| The verb "ameaçar" can also refer to the action of making something worse or more severe. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bagairt | ||
| In Irish Gaelic, "bagairt" means "to promise" or "to warn". | |||
| Spanish | amenazar | ||
| The etymology of "amenazar" comes from the Latin word "minare," which means "to threaten with evil." | |||
| Swedish | hota | ||
| "Hoti" is the past tense of "hota", which also means "threaten" in Swedish, but can also refer to a threat or a curse | |||
| Welsh | bygwth | ||
| Bygwth can also mean 'terrorise' and can be used in a context where someone is being physically threatened. | |||
Threaten in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | пагражаць | ||
| The word "пагражаць" (pahražać) comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*g̃orditi" (to threaten, to rebuke). | |||
| Bosnian | prijetiti | ||
| In Serbian and Croatian, "prijetiti" retains its original meaning of "to swear" or "to promise". | |||
| Bulgarian | заплашвам | ||
| The root "плаша" in "заплашвам" is related to the Slavic word "plamen" (flame) that is still used in contemporary Bulgarian, implying that "заплашвам" initially meant "lighting someone on fire or scorching them". | |||
| Czech | vyhrožovat | ||
| The word "vyhrožovat" derives from the Old Czech word "hrozieti," meaning "to fear" or "to tremble." | |||
| Estonian | ähvardada | ||
| The word “ähvardada” also signifies a “threatening” presence in the sense of a ghost or omen. | |||
| Finnish | uhata | ||
| The Finnish word "uhata" is derived from the Proto-Uralic root *uxa-, meaning "to harm". | |||
| Hungarian | fenyeget | ||
| The word "fenyeget" comes from the Proto-Finnic word *penkā "to threaten, intimidate". | |||
| Latvian | draudēt | ||
| The Latvian word “draudēt” is related to words like the Lithuanian word “drąsus”, which means “brave”, or “drąsa”, which means “bravery”. | |||
| Lithuanian | grasinti | ||
| The Lithuanian word "grasinti" is thought to be derived from the Slavic word "grosa", meaning "fear" or "horror". | |||
| Macedonian | се закануваат | ||
| The verb "се закануваат" in Macedonian comes from the noun "закон" (law), indicating a threat under the legal authority.} | |||
| Polish | grozić | ||
| The word "grozić" can also mean "to thunder" or "to roar" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | a ameninta | ||
| The Romanian word "a ameninta" is derived from the Latin word "minari" meaning "to threaten". | |||
| Russian | угрожать | ||
| The Russian verb "угрожать" is a cognate of the word for “threat” in many Indo-European languages, including English “threat”, and derives ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root "*dʰreǵʰ-" (“flee, fear”). | |||
| Serbian | претити | ||
| "Претити" also means "threaten" in the context of magic/occult/witchcraft, as in threatening with a curse. | |||
| Slovak | vyhrážať sa | ||
| The verb vyhrážať sa originally carried a more general meaning of 'to make a loud declaration,' and its use to denote 'to threaten' is relatively recent. | |||
| Slovenian | grozi | ||
| The word "grozi" derives from the Proto-Slavic root "*gordъ", which also gave rise to the words "threat" and "horror" in English. | |||
| Ukrainian | загрожувати | ||
| The verb "загрожувати" has the same root as "гроза" ("thunderstorm") and "грозный" ("terrible"). | |||
Threaten in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | হুমকি | ||
| "হুমকি" derives from the Persian word "humaak", meaning "a terrifying threat", and also has a secondary meaning of "warning". | |||
| Gujarati | ધમકી | ||
| "ધમકી" also means 'threatening,' 'menace,' and 'intimidation' in Gujarati. | |||
| Hindi | धमकाना | ||
| The word "धमकाना" is derived from the Sanskrit word "धमक," which means "to sound" or "to make a noise." | |||
| Kannada | ಬೆದರಿಕೆ | ||
| Malayalam | ഭീഷണിപ്പെടുത്തുക | ||
| The word ഭഷනളറ്නപාദුതുക is derived from the Sanskrit word ජමවඖ, which means "to frighten". | |||
| Marathi | धमकी | ||
| The Marathi word "धमकी" (threaten) is derived from the Sanskrit word "धम" (threat). It can also refer to a warning or a caution. | |||
| Nepali | धम्की | ||
| The word "धम्की" is cognate with the Sanskrit word "धर्षणा" meaning "to harm". | |||
| Punjabi | ਧਮਕੀ | ||
| The word "ਧਮਕੀ" (dhamki) is derived from the Sanskrit word "धृक" (dhruk), meaning "to roar" and is also used to refer to a loud noise or a threat. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තර්ජනය | ||
| In old Sinhala, | |||
| Tamil | அச்சுறுத்தல் | ||
| Telugu | బెదిరించే | ||
| Urdu | دھمکی دینا | ||
| The root of the word 'دھمکی دینا' ('threaten') in Urdu, 'dhamk', is thought to have come from the Sanskrit 'dham', which means 'blame'. | |||
Threaten in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 威胁 | ||
| "威胁"一词最早出现在《左传》，原意为劝诫、告戒。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 威脅 | ||
| "威" in "威脅" means "power" or "prestige," while "脅" means "flank" or "side." The word together implies using power to put pressure on someone. | |||
| Japanese | 脅かす | ||
| Despite its threatening appearance, the kanji 脅 (kyō) also appears in the word 脅迫 (kyōhaku, coercion) but its original meaning was actually "a person at an impasse." | |||
| Korean | 위협하다 | ||
| '위협하다' ('threaten') has an alternate meaning of 'to be dangerous,' which is used in the phrase '위험하다' ('to be dangerous'). | |||
| Mongolian | заналхийлэх | ||
| The word 'заналхийлэх' can also mean 'to warn' or 'to caution'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခြိမ်းခြောက် | ||
Threaten in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mengancam | ||
| The Indonesian word "mengancam" is derived from the Old Javanese word "ancaman", meaning "threat", and is cognate with the Malay word "ancaman" and the Tagalog word "banta." | |||
| Javanese | ngancam | ||
| In certain contexts, "ngancam" can also mean "to dare" or "to challenge". | |||
| Khmer | គំរាមកំហែង | ||
| "គំរាមកំហែង" may also refer to an archaic form of capital punishment, similar to "death by a thousand cuts", where convicted felons were repeatedly stabbed with sharpened bamboo splinters. | |||
| Lao | ຂົ່ມຂູ່ | ||
| Malay | mengancam | ||
| The word "mengancam" originally meant "to stand against" or "to face off" in Old Malay. | |||
| Thai | คุกคาม | ||
| "คุกคาม" has an alternate meaning in Thai: "to encroach upon" | |||
| Vietnamese | hăm dọa | ||
| The word "hăm dọa" in Vietnamese comes from the Sino-Vietnamese "hăm" (harm) and "dọa" (frighten). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagbabanta | ||
Threaten in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | təhdid etmək | ||
| The word "təhdid etmək" also means "to warn" or "to inform someone that there will be negative consequences if they do not do something".} | |||
| Kazakh | қорқыту | ||
| The word "қорқыту" derives from the Persian "khorkhidan" meaning "to eat" and "to intimidate". | |||
| Kyrgyz | коркутуу | ||
| The word "коркутуу" can also be used to refer to a warning or a caution. | |||
| Tajik | таҳдид кардан | ||
| The word "таҳдид кардан" can also mean "to warn" or "to admonish" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | haýbat atyň | ||
| Uzbek | tahdid qilmoq | ||
| In Chagatai, the word “tahdîd qilmoq” (“to threaten”) has the meaning “to warn or threaten,” but it also has another meaning: “to restrain, to stop, to forbid, or to refuse to allow.” | |||
| Uyghur | تەھدىد | ||
Threaten in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hoʻoweliweli | ||
| The word "hoʻoweliweli" can also mean "to frighten" or "to horrify" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | whakawehi | ||
| "Whakawehi" can also mean "to make fearful" or "to cause fear". | |||
| Samoan | faʻamataʻu | ||
| The word "faʻamataʻu" in Samoan also means "to terrify" and comes from the root word "mataʻu" meaning "fear". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pananakot | ||
| The Tagalog word "pananakot" can also refer to the act of scaring or frightening someone. | |||
Threaten in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | asxarayaña | ||
| Guarani | ha'anga | ||
Threaten in International Languages
| Esperanto | minaci | ||
| The word "minaci" is derived from the Latin word "minari", which means "to threaten". It can also be used to describe someone who is threatening or intimidating. | |||
| Latin | remittentes minas | ||
| Remittentes minas is a legal term meaning 'to threaten,' and is derived from the Latin word remitto, meaning 'to send back,' and mina, meaning 'threat.' | |||
Threaten in Others Languages
| Greek | απειλώ | ||
| Ancient meaning: 'to speak against', 'to disobey'. | |||
| Hmong | tso hem thawj | ||
| The Hmong word "tso hem thawj" can also mean "to scare" or "to intimidate". | |||
| Kurdish | çavtirsandin | ||
| The Kurdish word 'çavtirsandin' also means 'to scare away' or 'to intimidate', reflecting its strong connotation of causing fear or unease. | |||
| Turkish | tehdit etmek | ||
| Tehdit etmek is related to the Arabic word “tahdit” meaning "warning." | |||
| Xhosa | songela | ||
| The word "songela" also means "to challenge" or "to dare" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | סטראַשען | ||
| The Yiddish word "străshn" is derived from the German word "strafen," meaning to punish or torture. | |||
| Zulu | songela | ||
| Songela comes from the Zulu word "songa," meaning "to point at or threaten with a finger," and is also used to describe a threat or intimidation. | |||
| Assamese | ভাবুকি | ||
| Aymara | asxarayaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | धमकावल | ||
| Dhivehi | ބިރުދެއްކުން | ||
| Dogri | धमकाना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pagbabanta | ||
| Guarani | ha'anga | ||
| Ilocano | layatan | ||
| Krio | trɛtin | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەڕەشە لێکراو | ||
| Maithili | धमकानाइ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯀꯤꯍꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | vau | ||
| Oromo | doorsisuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଧମକାଇବା | ||
| Quechua | manchachiy | ||
| Sanskrit | त्रयोदश | ||
| Tatar | куркыт | ||
| Tigrinya | ምፍርራሕ | ||
| Tsonga | chavisa | ||