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
| Afrikaans | onwaarskynlik | ||
| "Onwaarskynlik" is derived from the Dutch word "onwaarschijnlijk", which has the same meaning but is also used as an adverb to mean "improbable". | |||
| Amharic | የማይሆን | ||
| The word "የማይሆን" can also mean "impossible" or "not feasible". | |||
| Hausa | bazai yuwu ba | ||
| The phrase literally means "a cat's beard". | |||
| Igbo | eleghi anya | ||
| The Igbo word "eleghi anya" literally translates to "not seeing the eye". | |||
| Malagasy | inoana | ||
| 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. | |||
| Shona | zvisingaite | ||
| 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. | |||
| Somali | lagama yaabo | ||
| The phrase 'lagama yaabo' has an alternate literal translation meaning 'there are no things'. | |||
| Sesotho | ha ho bonahale joalo | ||
| The phrase "ha ho bonahale joalo" can also mean "it is not a coincidence" or "it is not surprising" in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | haiwezekani | ||
| The Swahili word "haiwezekani" is derived from the Arabic "hādhā yusīru maḥāla", meaning "this will become difficult or impossible". | |||
| Xhosa | akunakwenzeka | ||
| 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." | |||
| Yoruba | išẹlẹ ti | ||
| The literal meaning of "išẹlẹ ti" is a "not occurring thing". | |||
| Zulu | akunakwenzeka | ||
| The Zulu word "akunakwenzeka" is loosely etymologized as "it can't be made to come to happen". | |||
| Bambara | a tɛ se ka kɛ | ||
| Ewe | anɔ eme be menye nenemae o | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ntibishoboka | ||
| Lingala | ekoki kosalema te | ||
| Luganda | tekisuubirwa | ||
| Sepedi | go sa kgonege | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛnyɛ nea ɛbɛyɛ yiye | ||
Unlikely in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | من غير المرجح | ||
| The Arabic word "من غير المرجح" literally translates to "from the absence of likelihood". | |||
| Hebrew | לא סביר | ||
| The Hebrew word "לא סביר" also means "unbearable". | |||
| Pashto | ناممکن | ||
| The word "ناممکن" can also mean "impossible" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | من غير المرجح | ||
| The Arabic word "من غير المرجح" literally translates to "from the absence of likelihood". | |||
Unlikely in Western European Languages
| Albanian | nuk ka gjasa | ||
| In Albanian, the term "nuk ka gjasa" also signifies "unlikely" or "not probable". | |||
| Basque | nekez | ||
| The word "nekez" means "difficult" or "impossible" and originates from the Basque word "neke" meaning "effort" or "labor". | |||
| Catalan | poc 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". | |||
| Croatian | malo vjerojatno | ||
| The word "malo vjerojatno" literally means "little probable" or "slightly probable". | |||
| Danish | usandsynlig | ||
| The word "usandsynlig" comes from the Old Norse word "úsanni", meaning "not true" or "untrue". | |||
| Dutch | onwaarschijnlijk | ||
| 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". | |||
| English | unlikely | ||
| "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. | |||
| French | improbable | ||
| The French word "improbable" comes from the Latin word "improbabilis," meaning "not fit to be approved" | |||
| Frisian | ûnwierskynlik | ||
| Galician | improbable | ||
| The Galician word "improbable" comes from the Latin "improbabilis", meaning "not proven". | |||
| German | unwahrscheinlich | ||
| The word "unwahrscheinlich" is derived from the Old High German "unwārschinlīh," meaning "not appearing true." | |||
| Icelandic | ólíklegt | ||
| Ólíklegt is a loanword from the Old Norse word "úlíkligr" which meant "dissimilar" or "different." | |||
| Irish | ní dócha | ||
| Italian | improbabile | ||
| '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. | |||
| Luxembourgish | onwahrscheinlech | ||
| Maltese | improbabbli | ||
| The word "improbabbli" is derived from the Italian word "improbabile" and has the alternate meaning of "unbelievable". | |||
| Norwegian | lite 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 Gaelic | eu-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". | |||
| Spanish | improbable | ||
| The Spanish word "improbable" comes from the Latin word "improbabilis", meaning "not approved" or "disapproved of". | |||
| Swedish | osannolik | ||
| The Swedish word "osannolik" is derived from the Old Norse "ólík", which means "unlike" or "dissimilar". | |||
| Welsh | annhebygol | ||
| The Welsh word "annhebygol" can also mean "unpleasant" or "unbecoming." | |||
Unlikely in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | малаверагодна | ||
| Bosnian | malo 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". | |||
| Bulgarian | малко вероятно | ||
| The Bulgarian word "малко вероятно" literally translates to "a little likely" (a negative connotation) or "slightly likely". | |||
| Czech | nepravděpodobné | ||
| The Czech word "nepravděpodobné" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "nepravdь", meaning "false" or "untrue". | |||
| Estonian | ebatõenäoline | ||
| Ebatõenäoline derives from eba- ('not') + tõenäoline ('likely'), and can also mean 'improbable' or 'doubtful'. | |||
| Finnish | epätodennäköistä | ||
| "Epätodennäköistä" derives from "epä-" (not), "toden-" (real), and "näköinen" (looking, seeming). | |||
| Hungarian | valószínűtlen | ||
| The Hungarian word "valószínűtlen," originally meaning "without probability," can also mean "improbable" or "doubtful." | |||
| Latvian | maz ticams | ||
| The Latvian word "maz ticams" originally meant "of little faith", but its meaning has since evolved to mean "unlikely" or "improbable". | |||
| Lithuanian | mažai tikėtina | ||
| The Lithuanian word "mažai tikėtina" can also be translated as "improbable" or "hardly likely" | |||
| Macedonian | малку 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". | |||
| Polish | mało prawdopodobne | ||
| "Mało" means "few," so "mało prawdopodobne" literally means "few probable." | |||
| Romanian | improbabil | ||
| The word "improbabil" comes from the Latin word "improbabilis", which means "unbelievable". | |||
| Russian | навряд ли | ||
| The word may also be connected to the Russian idiom "от ворот поворот" ("to be turned away at the gate"), suggesting strong denial. | |||
| Serbian | мало 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". | |||
| Slovak | nepravdepodobné | ||
| The word "nepravdepodobné" in Slovak is derived from the negation of the word "pravdepodobné" (likely), making it literally mean "not likely". | |||
| Slovenian | malo verjetno | ||
| The Slovene word "malo verjetno" is a compound of "malo" ("little") and "verjetno" ("likely"), thus literally meaning "a little likely". | |||
| Ukrainian | малоймовірно | ||
| 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
| Bengali | অসম্ভব | ||
| 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" | |||
| Gujarati | અસંભવિત | ||
| The word "અસંભવિત" literally means "not probable" in Gujarati, implying something that is not likely to happen. | |||
| Hindi | संभावना नहीं | ||
| The word "संभावना नहीं" (sam̄bhāvanā nahīṃ) literally means "not possible" in Hindi. | |||
| Kannada | ಅಸಂಭವ | ||
| "ಅಸಂಭವ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "असंभव" which literally means "not possible". | |||
| Malayalam | സാധ്യതയില്ല | ||
| Marathi | संभव नाही | ||
| The Marathi word "संभव नाही" can also refer to "impossibility" or "inability." | |||
| Nepali | असम्भव | ||
| The word "असम्भव" is derived from the Sanskrit word "संभव," meaning "possible" or "feasible," and the negative prefix "अ," meaning "not" or "without." | |||
| Punjabi | ਸੰਭਾਵਨਾ | ||
| 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 | ||
| Tamil | சாத்தியமில்லை | ||
| Telugu | అవకాశం లేదు | ||
| The word "అవకాశం లేదు" literally means "no opportunity" in Telugu, implying a lack of possibility or feasibility. | |||
| Urdu | امکان 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。 | |||
| Korean | 있을 것 같지 않게 | ||
| The Korean word "있을 것 같지 않게" literally means "it is not like there will be something", implying a low probability. | |||
| Mongolian | магадлал багатай | ||
| The Mongolian word 'магадлал багатай', meaning 'unlikely', literally translates to 'with little probability'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မဖြစ်နိုင်ဘူး | ||
Unlikely in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | tidak sepertinya | ||
| "Tidak sepertinya" literally translates as "not like it", which can also mean "unnatural" or "abnormal". | |||
| Javanese | ora mungkin | ||
| The word "ora mungkin" in Javanese is derived from "ora" (not) and "mungkin" (possible), meaning "not possible" or "unlikely." | |||
| Khmer | មិនទំនង | ||
| Lao | ຄົງຈະບໍ່ເປັນ | ||
| Malay | tidak mungkin | ||
| "Tidak mungkin" literally means "not possible" in Malay, but it's often used to convey the idea of something being unlikely or improbable. | |||
| Thai | ไม่น่าเป็นไปได้ | ||
| "ไม่น่าเป็นไปได้" is used not only to mean "unlikely" but also "impossible". | |||
| Vietnamese | không chắc | ||
| The word "không chắc" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | malabong | ||
Unlikely in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | mümkün deyil | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "mümkün deyil" also means "impossible" in Turkish. | |||
| Kazakh | екіталай | ||
| The word "екіталай" in Kazakh also means "unexpected". | |||
| Kyrgyz | күмөн | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "күмөн" ("unlikely") also means "doubt" or "uncertainty". | |||
| Tajik | гумон аст | ||
| Turkmen | ähtimal | ||
| Uzbek | ehtimoldan yiroq | ||
| The word "ehtimoldan yiroq" (unlikely) in Uzbek comes from the Persian word "ehtemal" (probability), with the addition of the suffix "-siz" (without). | |||
| Uyghur | مۇمكىن ئەمەس | ||
Unlikely in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻaʻole paha | ||
| ʻAʻole paha is made up of several words that have multiple meanings: ʻaʻole (maybe not), paha (perhaps), and kaha (firmly). | |||
| Maori | kaore pea | ||
| "Kaore Pea" means "not here" or "non-existence" and is the Maori equivalent of "never" or "hardly ever" in English. | |||
| Samoan | ono | ||
| 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
| Aymara | janiw ukhamäkiti | ||
| Guarani | ndaha’éi oje’éva | ||
Unlikely in International Languages
| Esperanto | neverŝajna | ||
| The word "neverŝajna" is derived from the root "ŝajni" meaning "to seem" and the prefix "ne-" meaning "no, not". | |||
| Latin | unlikely | ||
| 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
| Greek | απίθανος | ||
| "απίθανος" means "unlikely" in Greek, but it can also mean "unbelievable" or "astonishing". | |||
| Hmong | tsis 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". | |||
| Kurdish | bêgûman | ||
| The Kurdish word "bêgûman" has no direct translation in English, but its closest meaning is "impossible" or "beyond belief." | |||
| Turkish | olası olmayan | ||
| "Olası olmayan" kelimesi Türkçe'de "olabilen" veya "mümkün" anlamına da gelebilir. | |||
| Xhosa | akunakwenzeka | ||
| 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." | |||
| Yiddish | אַנלייקלי | ||
| "אַנלייקלי" also means "not loving" or "reluctant" | |||
| Zulu | akunakwenzeka | ||
| The Zulu word "akunakwenzeka" is loosely etymologized as "it can't be made to come to happen". | |||
| Assamese | অসম্ভৱ | ||
| Aymara | janiw ukhamäkiti | ||
| Bhojpuri | संभावना कम बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ނާދިރު ކަމެކެވެ | ||
| Dogri | संभावना नहीं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | malabong | ||
| Guarani | ndaha’éi oje’éva | ||
| Ilocano | saan a nalabit | ||
| Krio | i nɔ go izi fɔ du | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەدووری نازانرێت | ||
| Maithili | असंभावित | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯥꯝꯅꯥ ꯊꯥꯖꯗꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | a rinawm loh | ||
| Oromo | hin fakkaanne | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସମ୍ଭବ ନୁହେଁ | ||
| Quechua | mana yaqapaschá | ||
| Sanskrit | असम्भाव्यम् | ||
| Tatar | мөгаен | ||
| Tigrinya | ዘይመስል እዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | a swi nge endleki | ||