Unlikely in different languages

Unlikely in Different Languages

Discover 'Unlikely' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 5, 2024

Unlikely is a small word that carries a big punch. It refers to something that is not expected to happen, or has a low probability of occurring. The term is commonly used in everyday language, and its significance cannot be understated. It's a word that can convey surprise, disappointment, or even hope, depending on the context.

The word 'unlikely' has cultural importance that extends beyond the English language. Its translation varies across different languages, offering a unique perspective into how different cultures perceive the concept of probability. For instance, in Spanish, 'unlikely' translates to 'poco probable,' while in French, it's 'peu probable.' In German, the term is 'unwahrscheinlich,' and in Japanese, it's ' menosugirai.'

Understanding the translation of 'unlikely' in different languages can be fascinating for language enthusiasts and culturally curious individuals. It's a way to explore the nuances of different languages and cultures, and to gain a deeper appreciation for the richness and diversity of human communication.

Unlikely


Unlikely in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansonwaarskynlik
"Onwaarskynlik" is derived from the Dutch word "onwaarschijnlijk", which has the same meaning but is also used as an adverb to mean "improbable".
Amharicየማይሆን
The word "የማይሆን" can also mean "impossible" or "not feasible".
Hausabazai yuwu ba
The phrase literally means "a cat's beard".
Igboeleghi anya
The Igbo word "eleghi anya" literally translates to "not seeing the eye".
Malagasyinoana
The word "inoana" also means "unlikely" in Malagasy, and it is derived from the word "ino" which means "not".
Nyanja (Chichewa)zosatheka
Zosatheka is derived from 'ku-satha', meaning 'to doubt', likely because the unlikely is something you would doubt.
Shonazvisingaite
The word "zvisingaite" is derived from the verb "kusinga", meaning "to be rare or unusual". It is also sometimes used to refer to something that is improbable or unlikely to happen.
Somalilagama yaabo
The phrase 'lagama yaabo' has an alternate literal translation meaning 'there are no things'.
Sesothoha ho bonahale joalo
The phrase "ha ho bonahale joalo" can also mean "it is not a coincidence" or "it is not surprising" in Sesotho.
Swahilihaiwezekani
The Swahili word "haiwezekani" is derived from the Arabic "hādhā yusīru maḥāla", meaning "this will become difficult or impossible".
Xhosaakunakwenzeka
The term "akunakwenzeka" in Xhosa is derived from the combination of "akuna" (there is not) and "kwenzeka" (to happen), forming the compound word "akunakwenzeka," meaning "cannot happen" or "unlikely."
Yorubaišẹlẹ ti
The literal meaning of "išẹlẹ ti" is a "not occurring thing".
Zuluakunakwenzeka
The Zulu word "akunakwenzeka" is loosely etymologized as "it can't be made to come to happen".
Bambaraa tɛ se ka kɛ
Eweanɔ eme be menye nenemae o
Kinyarwandantibishoboka
Lingalaekoki kosalema te
Lugandatekisuubirwa
Sepedigo sa kgonege
Twi (Akan)ɛnyɛ nea ɛbɛyɛ yiye

Unlikely in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicمن غير المرجح
The Arabic word "من غير المرجح" literally translates to "from the absence of likelihood".
Hebrewלא סביר
The Hebrew word "לא סביר" also means "unbearable".
Pashtoناممکن
The word "ناممکن" can also mean "impossible" in Pashto.
Arabicمن غير المرجح
The Arabic word "من غير المرجح" literally translates to "from the absence of likelihood".

Unlikely in Western European Languages

Albaniannuk ka gjasa
In Albanian, the term "nuk ka gjasa" also signifies "unlikely" or "not probable".
Basquenekez
The word "nekez" means "difficult" or "impossible" and originates from the Basque word "neke" meaning "effort" or "labor".
Catalanpoc probable
The word "poc probable" in Catalan is composed of two words, "poc" (little) and "probable" (probable), and its meaning is the opposite of what one would expect: it means "unlikely".
Croatianmalo vjerojatno
The word "malo vjerojatno" literally means "little probable" or "slightly probable".
Danishusandsynlig
The word "usandsynlig" comes from the Old Norse word "úsanni", meaning "not true" or "untrue".
Dutchonwaarschijnlijk
The Dutch word "onwaarschijnlijk" is derived from the Old Saxon word "unwar" meaning "unaware" and "lik" meaning "body". This suggests an original meaning of "not knowing what one's body is doing".
Englishunlikely
"Unlikely" derives from the Middle English "unlikly," meaning both "not like," or "not natural," and "not likely," a sense that emerged in the late 15th century.
Frenchimprobable
The French word "improbable" comes from the Latin word "improbabilis," meaning "not fit to be approved"
Frisianûnwierskynlik
Galicianimprobable
The Galician word "improbable" comes from the Latin "improbabilis", meaning "not proven".
Germanunwahrscheinlich
The word "unwahrscheinlich" is derived from the Old High German "unwārschinlīh," meaning "not appearing true."
Icelandicólíklegt
Ólíklegt is a loanword from the Old Norse word "úlíkligr" which meant "dissimilar" or "different."
Irishní dócha
Italianimprobabile
'Improbabile' derives from the Latin 'im' (not), 'probus' (good) and '-bile' (capable), and had the primary meaning of 'unsuitable' or 'improper', especially in a legal or moral sense.
Luxembourgishonwahrscheinlech
Malteseimprobabbli
The word "improbabbli" is derived from the Italian word "improbabile" and has the alternate meaning of "unbelievable".
Norwegianlite sannsynlig
The word "lite sannsynlig" can also mean "slightly probable" or "somewhat likely" in Norwegian.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)improvável
"Improvável" in Portuguese also means "badly done" or "unsuitable".
Scots Gaeliceu-coltach
The first element, eu-, is a nominalising prefix but is not found in other words in the language; the second element, coltach, means "similar, like".
Spanishimprobable
The Spanish word "improbable" comes from the Latin word "improbabilis", meaning "not approved" or "disapproved of".
Swedishosannolik
The Swedish word "osannolik" is derived from the Old Norse "ólík", which means "unlike" or "dissimilar".
Welshannhebygol
The Welsh word "annhebygol" can also mean "unpleasant" or "unbecoming."

Unlikely in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianмалаверагодна
Bosnianmalo vjerovatno
The word "malo vjerovatno" in Bosnian is derived from the Slavic root "mal" meaning "small" and "vjerovatno" meaning "probable". It therefore literally means "slightly probable" or "not very likely".
Bulgarianмалко вероятно
The Bulgarian word "малко вероятно" literally translates to "a little likely" (a negative connotation) or "slightly likely".
Czechnepravděpodobné
The Czech word "nepravděpodobné" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "nepravdь", meaning "false" or "untrue".
Estonianebatõenäoline
Ebatõenäoline derives from eba- ('not') + tõenäoline ('likely'), and can also mean 'improbable' or 'doubtful'.
Finnishepätodennäköistä
"Epätodennäköistä" derives from "epä-" (not), "toden-" (real), and "näköinen" (looking, seeming).
Hungarianvalószínűtlen
The Hungarian word "valószínűtlen," originally meaning "without probability," can also mean "improbable" or "doubtful."
Latvianmaz ticams
The Latvian word "maz ticams" originally meant "of little faith", but its meaning has since evolved to mean "unlikely" or "improbable".
Lithuanianmažai tikėtina
The Lithuanian word "mažai tikėtina" can also be translated as "improbable" or "hardly likely"
Macedonianмалку веројатно
The Macedonian word "малку веројатно" is derived from the Slavic root "ver", meaning "faith" or "belief," and the prefix "малку," meaning "little" or "slightly". Therefore, it literally means "slightly unlikely" or "not very likely".
Polishmało prawdopodobne
"Mało" means "few," so "mało prawdopodobne" literally means "few probable."
Romanianimprobabil
The word "improbabil" comes from the Latin word "improbabilis", which means "unbelievable".
Russianнавряд ли
The word may also be connected to the Russian idiom "от ворот поворот" ("to be turned away at the gate"), suggesting strong denial.
Serbianмало вероватно
The word "мало вероватно" is derived from the Slavic root "ver-" (meaning "faith" or "belief"), and literally means "little faith" or "lack of belief".
Slovaknepravdepodobné
The word "nepravdepodobné" in Slovak is derived from the negation of the word "pravdepodobné" (likely), making it literally mean "not likely".
Slovenianmalo verjetno
The Slovene word "malo verjetno" is a compound of "malo" ("little") and "verjetno" ("likely"), thus literally meaning "a little likely".
Ukrainianмалоймовірно
The word 'малоймовірно' (unlikely) in Ukrainian derives from the root 'малий' (small) and means 'having a small probability' or 'being not very likely to happen'.

Unlikely in South Asian Languages

Bengaliঅসম্ভব
The word "অসম্ভব" in Bengali is related to the idea of something that is not possible to achieve or realize, derived from the root "সম্ভব"
Gujaratiઅસંભવિત
The word "અસંભવિત" literally means "not probable" in Gujarati, implying something that is not likely to happen.
Hindiसंभावना नहीं
The word "संभावना नहीं" (sam̄bhāvanā nahīṃ) literally means "not possible" in Hindi.
Kannadaಅಸಂಭವ
"ಅಸಂಭವ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "असंभव" which literally means "not possible".
Malayalamസാധ്യതയില്ല
Marathiसंभव नाही
The Marathi word "संभव नाही" can also refer to "impossibility" or "inability."
Nepaliअसम्भव
The word "असम्भव" is derived from the Sanskrit word "संभव," meaning "possible" or "feasible," and the negative prefix "अ," meaning "not" or "without."
Punjabiਸੰਭਾਵਨਾ
The word "ਸੰਭਾਵਨਾ" in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "संभावना" (sambhavana), which means "possibility" or "probability". Ironically, in Punjabi, it has come to mean "unlikely" or "improbable".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)නොහැක්කකි
Tamilசாத்தியமில்லை
Teluguఅవకాశం లేదు
The word "అవకాశం లేదు" literally means "no opportunity" in Telugu, implying a lack of possibility or feasibility.
Urduامکان نہیں
The Urdu word 'امکان نہیں' literally translates to 'not possible,' while its deeper meaning implies 'highly unlikely' or 'nearly impossible'.

Unlikely in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)不太可能
不太可能'源自'不太可能实现', 指实现的可能性很低。
Chinese (Traditional)不太可能
「不太可能」可指微乎其微的可能性,或指某事困難度極高,近乎不可能發生。
Japaneseありそうもない
"ありそうもない"は「有る様も無い」が変化したもの。
Korean있을 것 같지 않게
The Korean word "있을 것 같지 않게" literally means "it is not like there will be something", implying a low probability.
Mongolianмагадлал багатай
The Mongolian word 'магадлал багатай', meaning 'unlikely', literally translates to 'with little probability'.
Myanmar (Burmese)မဖြစ်နိုင်ဘူး

Unlikely in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiantidak sepertinya
"Tidak sepertinya" literally translates as "not like it", which can also mean "unnatural" or "abnormal".
Javaneseora mungkin
The word "ora mungkin" in Javanese is derived from "ora" (not) and "mungkin" (possible), meaning "not possible" or "unlikely."
Khmerមិនទំនង
Laoຄົງຈະບໍ່ເປັນ
Malaytidak mungkin
"Tidak mungkin" literally means "not possible" in Malay, but it's often used to convey the idea of something being unlikely or improbable.
Thaiไม่น่าเป็นไปได้
"ไม่น่าเป็นไปได้" is used not only to mean "unlikely" but also "impossible".
Vietnamesekhông chắc
The word "không chắc" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps" in Vietnamese.
Filipino (Tagalog)malabong

Unlikely in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanimümkün deyil
The Azerbaijani word "mümkün deyil" also means "impossible" in Turkish.
Kazakhекіталай
The word "екіталай" in Kazakh also means "unexpected".
Kyrgyzкүмөн
In Kyrgyz, "күмөн" ("unlikely") also means "doubt" or "uncertainty".
Tajikгумон аст
Turkmenähtimal
Uzbekehtimoldan yiroq
The word "ehtimoldan yiroq" (unlikely) in Uzbek comes from the Persian word "ehtemal" (probability), with the addition of the suffix "-siz" (without).
Uyghurمۇمكىن ئەمەس

Unlikely in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianʻaʻole paha
ʻAʻole paha is made up of several words that have multiple meanings: ʻaʻole (maybe not), paha (perhaps), and kaha (firmly).
Maorikaore pea
"Kaore Pea" means "not here" or "non-existence" and is the Maori equivalent of "never" or "hardly ever" in English.
Samoanono
The Samoan word 'ono' also means 'delicious'. This secondary meaning comes from the belief that improbable things are likely to be especially tasty.
Tagalog (Filipino)malabong mangyari

Unlikely in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajaniw ukhamäkiti
Guaranindaha’éi oje’éva

Unlikely in International Languages

Esperantoneverŝajna
The word "neverŝajna" is derived from the root "ŝajni" meaning "to seem" and the prefix "ne-" meaning "no, not".
Latinunlikely
The word "unlikely" derives from the late Middle English word "unlikly," which itself derives from the Old English word "ungelīc," meaning "dissimilar" or "unlike."

Unlikely in Others Languages

Greekαπίθανος
"απίθανος" means "unlikely" in Greek, but it can also mean "unbelievable" or "astonishing".
Hmongtsis zoo li
It is likely that the word "tsis zoo li" was borrowed from the Chinese word "不可能" (bù kě néng), meaning "impossible".
Kurdishbêgûman
The Kurdish word "bêgûman" has no direct translation in English, but its closest meaning is "impossible" or "beyond belief."
Turkisholası olmayan
"Olası olmayan" kelimesi Türkçe'de "olabilen" veya "mümkün" anlamına da gelebilir.
Xhosaakunakwenzeka
The term "akunakwenzeka" in Xhosa is derived from the combination of "akuna" (there is not) and "kwenzeka" (to happen), forming the compound word "akunakwenzeka," meaning "cannot happen" or "unlikely."
Yiddishאַנלייקלי
"אַנלייקלי" also means "not loving" or "reluctant"
Zuluakunakwenzeka
The Zulu word "akunakwenzeka" is loosely etymologized as "it can't be made to come to happen".
Assameseঅসম্ভৱ
Aymarajaniw ukhamäkiti
Bhojpuriसंभावना कम बा
Dhivehiނާދިރު ކަމެކެވެ
Dogriसंभावना नहीं
Filipino (Tagalog)malabong
Guaranindaha’éi oje’éva
Ilocanosaan a nalabit
Krioi nɔ go izi fɔ du
Kurdish (Sorani)بەدووری نازانرێت
Maithiliअसंभावित
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯌꯥꯝꯅꯥ ꯊꯥꯖꯗꯕꯥ꯫
Mizoa rinawm loh
Oromohin fakkaanne
Odia (Oriya)ସମ୍ଭବ ନୁହେଁ
Quechuamana yaqapaschá
Sanskritअसम्भाव्यम्
Tatarмөгаен
Tigrinyaዘይመስል እዩ።
Tsongaa swi nge endleki

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