Violent in different languages

Violent in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'violent' carries a significant weight, evoking images of conflict, harm, and discord. Its cultural importance is undeniable, as it has been used throughout history to describe everything from political upheaval to interpersonal disputes. Understanding the translation of 'violent' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how other cultures conceptualize and address conflict.

For instance, in Spanish, 'violent' is 'violento,' while in French, it's 'violent.' These translations may seem straightforward, but they can reveal subtle differences in cultural attitudes towards conflict and aggression. In German, 'violent' is 'gewalttätig,' which carries a slightly different connotation than the English term. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'violent' is 'バイオレント (baiorento),' reflecting the influence of Western culture on the language.

Below, you'll find a list of translations of 'violent' in various languages, providing a glimpse into the diverse ways that cultures around the world understand and express this powerful concept.

Violent


Violent in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansgewelddadig
The Afrikaans word "gewelddadig" derives from the Dutch word "geweld" meaning "force" or "power", and the suffix "-dadig" meaning "causing" or "producing."
Amharicጠበኛ
Hausatashin hankali
The word 'tashin hankali' can also mean 'madness' or 'insanity' in Hausa.
Igboime ihe ike
The Igbo term "ime ihe ike" also refers to aggressive or assertive actions or behaviors.
Malagasynahery
The word "NAHERY" in Malagasy also means "ferocious" or "savage".
Nyanja (Chichewa)wachiwawa
Wachiwawa also means 'fierce' or 'furious' in Chichewa.
Shonachisimba
The word "chisimba" in Shona has an alternate meaning of "violent" or "destructive" force, possibly connected to the root "-simba" meaning "to rage" or "to roar".
Somalirabshad leh
In Somali, the word "rabshad leh" shares its root with the word "rabsho," meaning "disturbance" or "uproar."
Sesothomabifi
Swahilivurugu
The word "vurugu" can refer to both physical violence and chaos or confusion.
Xhosaubundlobongela
The word 'Ubundlobongela' in Xhosa is also used figuratively to denote extreme emotions like fury, wrath, and vengeance.
Yorubaoníwà ipá
Zuluenobudlova
The term 'enobudlova' in Zulu is derived from the word 'ubudlova,' meaning 'force' or 'violence,' and the prefix 'eno-,' which signifies 'intensity'.
Bambaranijugu
Ewesi wɔ avu
Kinyarwandaurugomo
Lingalamobulu
Lugandaobutujju
Sepedika dikgoka
Twi (Akan)basabasa

Violent in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicعنيف
In ancient Arabic, the word "عنيف" also referred to a type of incense, and still carries the meaning of "fragrant" in some contexts.
Hebrewאַלִים
"אַלִים" comes from the same root as "איל" (ram), which is an animal known for its strength and aggression.
Pashtoوحشي
The Pashto word وحشي (waḥšī) is derived from the Arabic word وحش (waḥš), meaning "wild animal". The word وحشي can also mean "barbaric" or "uncivilized"
Arabicعنيف
In ancient Arabic, the word "عنيف" also referred to a type of incense, and still carries the meaning of "fragrant" in some contexts.

Violent in Western European Languages

Albaniani dhunshëm
The word "i dhunshëm" also means "terrible" and "formidable" in Albanian.
Basquebortitza
The word derives from the phrase bortiz bat "a hit" where "borti" is itself an augmentative of "hor" which is a hit and "bat" is "one".
Catalanviolent
The Catalan word "violent" derives from the Latin "violentus," meaning "impetuous, passionate," and "forceful."
Croatiannasilan
The Croatian word "nasilan" is derived from "nasilje", meaning "violence" or "force", and also shares a root with the Latin word "nasci", meaning "to be born".
Danishvoldsom
"Voldsom" likely derives from Old Norse "vald" ("power, force"), also found in "valde" ("very, extremely").
Dutchgewelddadig
Englishviolent
"Violent" comes from the Latin word "violentus," meaning "full of force or strength."
Frenchviolent
The word "violent" in French comes from the Latin "violentus," meaning "forceful" or "impetuous."
Frisiangewelddiedich
The Frisian word "gewelddiedich" is derived from the Old Frisian word "walddēdig", which originally meant "full of power" or "strong".
Galicianviolento
In Galician, "violento" also means "lively" in a cheerful sense, such as "a lively and colorful street market."
Germanheftig
"Heftig" originally meant "sticky" and "heavy", but it changed to mean "severe" or "violent" in the 19th century.
Icelandicofbeldi
Ofbeldi can also mean "wild" or "savage" in Icelandic and comes from the verb "ofbelda" (to assault), originally referring to an animal that was out of control.
Irishforéigneach
The word foréigneach also means 'foreman' in Irish, indicating the person in charge of a group of laborers or craftsmen.
Italianviolento
The word "violento" can also mean "strong" or "intense" in Italian, as in "violento temporale" ("heavy storm").
Luxembourgishgewaltsam
In Luxembourgish, "gewaltsam" can also mean "forcibly" or "compulsorily"
Maltesevjolenti
Vjolenti (violent) comes from the Italian word "violento" and can also mean forceful or intense
Norwegianvoldelig
The word "voldelig" can also refer to "compulsive", as in "eating disorder".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)violento
"Violento" in Portuguese can also refer to "out of tune" (musically), "turbulent" (sea), or "lively" (colors).
Scots Gaelicfòirneartach
Spanishviolento
The word "violento" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "violentus," meaning "full of force or violence."
Swedishvåldsam
"Våldsam" comes from the Old Norse word "valdsamr" meaning "powerful" or "mighty".
Welshtreisgar
The word "treisgar" may also mean "strong" or "mighty" and is related to the Irish word "treasg".

Violent in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianгвалтоўны
Bosniannasilan
The word "nasilan" can also mean "with force" in Bosnian.
Bulgarianнасилствен
The word "насилствен" also means "forcible" in Bulgarian.
Czechnásilný
Násilný comes from the word 'násilí', which also means 'rape'.
Estonianvägivaldne
The word "vägivaldne" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "vägi", meaning "force" or "power."
Finnishväkivaltainen
"Väkivaltainen" comes from the words "väki" (power, force) and "valta" (power, authority).
Hungarianerőszakos
A szó eredetileg az "erő" szóból ered, és azt jelentette, hogy "erővel, hatalommal rendelkezik".
Latvianvardarbīgs
The word "vardarbīgs" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wret- "to turn, twist" and is related to the words "vērst" ("to turn") and "virpulis" ("whirlpool") in Latvian.
Lithuaniansmurtinis
The word "smurtinis" derives from the Indo-European root *(s)mer- which also appears in the English words "murder," "smite," and "mortal."
Macedonianнасилни
The word "насилни" in Macedonian can also mean "aggressive" or "abusive".
Polishgwałtowny
Romanianviolent
"Violent" is a Latin cognate meaning both "violent" and "purple," as the color purple was originally prepared using a violent extraction method.
Russianжестокий
The word "жестокий" derives from the root "жечь" ("to burn"), and it originally meant "harsh" or "cruel".
Serbianнасилан
The word "насилан" can also mean "enforced" or "compulsory" in Serbian.
Slovaknásilný
The Slovak word ňásilný is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *nьsilьnъ, which meant “forced, compelled”.
Sloveniannasilno
In the past "nasilno" also meant "mandatory" or "compulsory", which is still common in Russian (насильно).
Ukrainianжорстокий
The Ukrainian word

Violent in South Asian Languages

Bengaliহিংস্র
The word "হিংস্র" is derived from the Sanskrit word "हिस्र" (hisra), meaning "to hurt" or "to injure". It also has the alternate meaning of "jealous" or "envious".
Gujaratiહિંસક
Hindiहिंसा करनेवाला
The word "हिंसा करनेवाला" can also mean "violent" or "harsh" in the context of language or speech.
Kannadaಹಿಂಸಾತ್ಮಕ
The word "ಹಿಂಸಾತ್ಮಕ" derives from Sanskrit roots meaning "injuring" and "to hurt" and also carries connotations of brutality and cruelty.
Malayalamഅക്രമാസക്തൻ
Marathiहिंसक
The word हिंसक is derived from the Sanskrit word "हिंसा" (himsa), meaning "violence" or "injury".
Nepaliहिंसात्मक
The word "हिंसात्मक" can also refer to aggression or brutality.
Punjabiਹਿੰਸਕ
"हिंसा" (hinsa) in Sanskrit means "injury", "violence", but also "harm". In Punjabi it means "violent".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ප්‍රචණ්ඩකාරී
Tamilவன்முறை
"வன்முறை" originally meant "excessively strong" or "harsh".
Teluguహింసాత్మక
Urduپرتشدد
The word "پرتشدد" in Urdu can also mean "intense" or "severe".

Violent in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)暴力
The term 暴力 (bàolì) in Chinese is composed of two characters: 暴 (bào) meaning 'fierce', 'sudden', or 'uncontrollable', and 力 (lì) meaning 'force', 'strength', or 'power'.
Chinese (Traditional)暴力
In classical Chinese, the term “暴力” originally meant the use of physical force to resolve disputes, and only later acquired the broader meaning of “doing violence” to people or things.
Japanese暴力的
The word "暴力" can also mean "force" or "power" depending on the context.
Korean격렬한
The word "격렬한" can also mean "fierce" or "intense".
Mongolianхүчирхийлэл
Myanmar (Burmese)အကြမ်းဖက်

Violent in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiankasar
"Kasar" can refer to either violence or coarseness, as in speech or texture.
Javanesekasar
The term "kasar" can also refer to "coarse", "rough", or "low-quality".
Khmerអំពើហឹង្សា
Laoຮຸນແຮງ
Malayganas
Thaiรุนแรง
The word "รุนแรง" can also refer to situations that are severe or intense, but not necessarily violent.
Vietnamesehung bạo
**Hung bạo** comes from the Chinese word "猛暴" (měng bào), meaning "ferocious and violent".
Filipino (Tagalog)marahas

Violent in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanizorakı
"Zorakı" is derived from the Persian word "zor" meaning "force" or "compulsion," and can also refer to a forceful or violent person.
Kazakhзорлық-зомбылық
Kyrgyzзомбулук
The word "зомбулук" in Kyrgyz is derived from the Persian word "zombul", meaning "violent, furious" or "tyranny, oppression" and is related to the Arabic word "zalama", meaning "to oppress, wrong, or injure someone."
Tajikзӯроварӣ
"Зӯроварӣ" also means strength, power, authority, might, or potency in Tajik.
Turkmenzorlukly
Uzbekzo'ravonlik
The Uzbek word "zo'ravonlik" comes from the Persian words "zor" (meaning "force") and "avan" (meaning "advantage"). It can also refer to oppression, tyranny, or coercion.
Uyghurزوراۋان

Violent in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankolohe
"Kolohe" can also refer to a playful or mischievous child.
Maoritutu
The word 'tutu' also refers to the Tutu plant, a native New Zealand shrub with poisonous berries.
Samoansaua
In old Samoan, saua described the noise of the wind or ocean waves and later came to mean “violent.”
Tagalog (Filipino)marahas
The word "marahas" is also used to describe the sound of loud thunder or heavy rain.

Violent in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajank'aki
Guaranimbaretépe

Violent in International Languages

Esperantoperforta
The word "perforta" is derived from the Latin word "perfora", meaning "to pierce" or "to bore".
Latinvehementi
'Vehemens' is related to Latin words meaning 'to carry' or 'to be borne,' and the English cognate word 'vehement.'

Violent in Others Languages

Greekβίαιος
"βίαιος" derives from "βία" and is semantically connected with "vitality," "might". In the Greek of the Hellenistic period, it referred chiefly to mental or moral force.
Hmongtsausmuag
"Tsausmuag" also means "unfair" and "unreasonable" in Hmong.
Kurdishcebrî
The word Cebrî derives from the Arabic word 'jabr' meaning 'tyranny, force', which also shares its root with the word 'jabbar' meaning 'tyrant, violent'
Turkishşiddetli
"şiddetli" means "violent" but can also mean "great" or "intense."
Xhosaubundlobongela
The word 'Ubundlobongela' in Xhosa is also used figuratively to denote extreme emotions like fury, wrath, and vengeance.
Yiddishהיציק
The word "היציק" in Yiddish, meaning "violent", is derived from the Hebrew word "הציק" meaning "to harass" or "to afflict".
Zuluenobudlova
The term 'enobudlova' in Zulu is derived from the word 'ubudlova,' meaning 'force' or 'violence,' and the prefix 'eno-,' which signifies 'intensity'.
Assameseহিংসাত্মক
Aymarajank'aki
Bhojpuriहिंसक
Dhivehiއަނިޔާވެރި
Dogriउग्गर
Filipino (Tagalog)marahas
Guaranimbaretépe
Ilocanonasalungasing
Kriofɛt-fɛt
Kurdish (Sorani)تووندوتیژ
Maithiliउग्र
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯌꯦꯛꯈꯥꯏ ꯊꯤꯟꯒꯥꯏꯕ
Mizotharum
Oromoabbaa irree
Odia (Oriya)ହିଂସାତ୍ମକ
Quechuapiña sunqu
Sanskritउग्र
Tatarтупас
Tigrinyaዓመጸና
Tsongamadzolonga

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