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
| Afrikaans | gewelddadig | ||
| The Afrikaans word "gewelddadig" derives from the Dutch word "geweld" meaning "force" or "power", and the suffix "-dadig" meaning "causing" or "producing." | |||
| Amharic | ጠበኛ | ||
| Hausa | tashin hankali | ||
| The word 'tashin hankali' can also mean 'madness' or 'insanity' in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | ime ihe ike | ||
| The Igbo term "ime ihe ike" also refers to aggressive or assertive actions or behaviors. | |||
| Malagasy | nahery | ||
| The word "NAHERY" in Malagasy also means "ferocious" or "savage". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | wachiwawa | ||
| Wachiwawa also means 'fierce' or 'furious' in Chichewa. | |||
| Shona | chisimba | ||
| 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". | |||
| Somali | rabshad leh | ||
| In Somali, the word "rabshad leh" shares its root with the word "rabsho," meaning "disturbance" or "uproar." | |||
| Sesotho | mabifi | ||
| Swahili | vurugu | ||
| The word "vurugu" can refer to both physical violence and chaos or confusion. | |||
| Xhosa | ubundlobongela | ||
| The word 'Ubundlobongela' in Xhosa is also used figuratively to denote extreme emotions like fury, wrath, and vengeance. | |||
| Yoruba | oníwà ipá | ||
| Zulu | enobudlova | ||
| The term 'enobudlova' in Zulu is derived from the word 'ubudlova,' meaning 'force' or 'violence,' and the prefix 'eno-,' which signifies 'intensity'. | |||
| Bambara | nijugu | ||
| Ewe | si wɔ avu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | urugomo | ||
| Lingala | mobulu | ||
| Luganda | obutujju | ||
| Sepedi | ka dikgoka | ||
| Twi (Akan) | basabasa | ||
Violent in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | عنيف | ||
| In ancient Arabic, the word "عنيف" also referred to a type of incense, and still carries the meaning of "fragrant" in some contexts. | |||
| Hebrew | אַלִים | ||
| "אַלִים" comes from the same root as "איל" (ram), which is an animal known for its strength and aggression. | |||
| Pashto | وحشي | ||
| 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" | |||
| Arabic | عنيف | ||
| 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
| Albanian | i dhunshëm | ||
| The word "i dhunshëm" also means "terrible" and "formidable" in Albanian. | |||
| Basque | bortitza | ||
| 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". | |||
| Catalan | violent | ||
| The Catalan word "violent" derives from the Latin "violentus," meaning "impetuous, passionate," and "forceful." | |||
| Croatian | nasilan | ||
| 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". | |||
| Danish | voldsom | ||
| "Voldsom" likely derives from Old Norse "vald" ("power, force"), also found in "valde" ("very, extremely"). | |||
| Dutch | gewelddadig | ||
| English | violent | ||
| "Violent" comes from the Latin word "violentus," meaning "full of force or strength." | |||
| French | violent | ||
| The word "violent" in French comes from the Latin "violentus," meaning "forceful" or "impetuous." | |||
| Frisian | gewelddiedich | ||
| The Frisian word "gewelddiedich" is derived from the Old Frisian word "walddēdig", which originally meant "full of power" or "strong". | |||
| Galician | violento | ||
| In Galician, "violento" also means "lively" in a cheerful sense, such as "a lively and colorful street market." | |||
| German | heftig | ||
| "Heftig" originally meant "sticky" and "heavy", but it changed to mean "severe" or "violent" in the 19th century. | |||
| Icelandic | ofbeldi | ||
| 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. | |||
| Irish | foréigneach | ||
| The word foréigneach also means 'foreman' in Irish, indicating the person in charge of a group of laborers or craftsmen. | |||
| Italian | violento | ||
| The word "violento" can also mean "strong" or "intense" in Italian, as in "violento temporale" ("heavy storm"). | |||
| Luxembourgish | gewaltsam | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "gewaltsam" can also mean "forcibly" or "compulsorily" | |||
| Maltese | vjolenti | ||
| Vjolenti (violent) comes from the Italian word "violento" and can also mean forceful or intense | |||
| Norwegian | voldelig | ||
| 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 Gaelic | fòirneartach | ||
| Spanish | violento | ||
| The word "violento" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "violentus," meaning "full of force or violence." | |||
| Swedish | våldsam | ||
| "Våldsam" comes from the Old Norse word "valdsamr" meaning "powerful" or "mighty". | |||
| Welsh | treisgar | ||
| The word "treisgar" may also mean "strong" or "mighty" and is related to the Irish word "treasg". | |||
Violent in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | гвалтоўны | ||
| Bosnian | nasilan | ||
| The word "nasilan" can also mean "with force" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | насилствен | ||
| The word "насилствен" also means "forcible" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | násilný | ||
| Násilný comes from the word 'násilí', which also means 'rape'. | |||
| Estonian | vägivaldne | ||
| The word "vägivaldne" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "vägi", meaning "force" or "power." | |||
| Finnish | väkivaltainen | ||
| "Väkivaltainen" comes from the words "väki" (power, force) and "valta" (power, authority). | |||
| Hungarian | erőszakos | ||
| A szó eredetileg az "erő" szóból ered, és azt jelentette, hogy "erővel, hatalommal rendelkezik". | |||
| Latvian | vardarbīgs | ||
| 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. | |||
| Lithuanian | smurtinis | ||
| The word "smurtinis" derives from the Indo-European root *(s)mer- which also appears in the English words "murder," "smite," and "mortal." | |||
| Macedonian | насилни | ||
| The word "насилни" in Macedonian can also mean "aggressive" or "abusive". | |||
| Polish | gwałtowny | ||
| Romanian | violent | ||
| "Violent" is a Latin cognate meaning both "violent" and "purple," as the color purple was originally prepared using a violent extraction method. | |||
| Russian | жестокий | ||
| The word "жестокий" derives from the root "жечь" ("to burn"), and it originally meant "harsh" or "cruel". | |||
| Serbian | насилан | ||
| The word "насилан" can also mean "enforced" or "compulsory" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | násilný | ||
| The Slovak word ňásilný is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *nьsilьnъ, which meant “forced, compelled”. | |||
| Slovenian | nasilno | ||
| In the past "nasilno" also meant "mandatory" or "compulsory", which is still common in Russian (насильно). | |||
| Ukrainian | жорстокий | ||
| The Ukrainian word | |||
Violent in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | হিংস্র | ||
| 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". | |||
| Gujarati | હિંસક | ||
| Hindi | हिंसा करनेवाला | ||
| The word "हिंसा करनेवाला" can also mean "violent" or "harsh" in the context of language or speech. | |||
| Kannada | ಹಿಂಸಾತ್ಮಕ | ||
| The word "ಹಿಂಸಾತ್ಮಕ" derives from Sanskrit roots meaning "injuring" and "to hurt" and also carries connotations of brutality and cruelty. | |||
| Malayalam | അക്രമാസക്തൻ | ||
| Marathi | हिंसक | ||
| The word हिंसक is derived from the Sanskrit word "हिंसा" (himsa), meaning "violence" or "injury". | |||
| Nepali | हिंसात्मक | ||
| The word "हिंसात्मक" can also refer to aggression or brutality. | |||
| Punjabi | ਹਿੰਸਕ | ||
| "हिंसा" (hinsa) in Sanskrit means "injury", "violence", but also "harm". In Punjabi it means "violent". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්රචණ්ඩකාරී | ||
| Tamil | வன்முறை | ||
| "வன்முறை" originally meant "excessively strong" or "harsh". | |||
| Telugu | హింసాత్మక | ||
| Urdu | پرتشدد | ||
| 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. | |||
| Korean | 격렬한 | ||
| The word "격렬한" can also mean "fierce" or "intense". | |||
| Mongolian | хүчирхийлэл | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အကြမ်းဖက် | ||
Violent in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kasar | ||
| "Kasar" can refer to either violence or coarseness, as in speech or texture. | |||
| Javanese | kasar | ||
| The term "kasar" can also refer to "coarse", "rough", or "low-quality". | |||
| Khmer | អំពើហឹង្សា | ||
| Lao | ຮຸນແຮງ | ||
| Malay | ganas | ||
| Thai | รุนแรง | ||
| The word "รุนแรง" can also refer to situations that are severe or intense, but not necessarily violent. | |||
| Vietnamese | hung bạo | ||
| **Hung bạo** comes from the Chinese word "猛暴" (měng bào), meaning "ferocious and violent". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | marahas | ||
Violent in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | zorakı | ||
| "Zorakı" is derived from the Persian word "zor" meaning "force" or "compulsion," and can also refer to a forceful or violent person. | |||
| Kazakh | зорлық-зомбылық | ||
| Kyrgyz | зомбулук | ||
| 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." | |||
| Tajik | зӯроварӣ | ||
| "Зӯроварӣ" also means strength, power, authority, might, or potency in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | zorlukly | ||
| Uzbek | zo'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. | |||
| Uyghur | زوراۋان | ||
Violent in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kolohe | ||
| "Kolohe" can also refer to a playful or mischievous child. | |||
| Maori | tutu | ||
| The word 'tutu' also refers to the Tutu plant, a native New Zealand shrub with poisonous berries. | |||
| Samoan | saua | ||
| 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
| Aymara | jank'aki | ||
| Guarani | mbaretépe | ||
Violent in International Languages
| Esperanto | perforta | ||
| The word "perforta" is derived from the Latin word "perfora", meaning "to pierce" or "to bore". | |||
| Latin | vehementi | ||
| 'Vehemens' is related to Latin words meaning 'to carry' or 'to be borne,' and the English cognate word 'vehement.' | |||
Violent in Others Languages
| Greek | βίαιος | ||
| "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. | |||
| Hmong | tsausmuag | ||
| "Tsausmuag" also means "unfair" and "unreasonable" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | cebrî | ||
| The word Cebrî derives from the Arabic word 'jabr' meaning 'tyranny, force', which also shares its root with the word 'jabbar' meaning 'tyrant, violent' | |||
| Turkish | şiddetli | ||
| "şiddetli" means "violent" but can also mean "great" or "intense." | |||
| Xhosa | ubundlobongela | ||
| The word 'Ubundlobongela' in Xhosa is also used figuratively to denote extreme emotions like fury, wrath, and vengeance. | |||
| Yiddish | היציק | ||
| The word "היציק" in Yiddish, meaning "violent", is derived from the Hebrew word "הציק" meaning "to harass" or "to afflict". | |||
| Zulu | enobudlova | ||
| The term 'enobudlova' in Zulu is derived from the word 'ubudlova,' meaning 'force' or 'violence,' and the prefix 'eno-,' which signifies 'intensity'. | |||
| Assamese | হিংসাত্মক | ||
| Aymara | jank'aki | ||
| Bhojpuri | हिंसक | ||
| Dhivehi | އަނިޔާވެރި | ||
| Dogri | उग्गर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | marahas | ||
| Guarani | mbaretépe | ||
| Ilocano | nasalungasing | ||
| Krio | fɛt-fɛt | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تووندوتیژ | ||
| Maithili | उग्र | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯦꯛꯈꯥꯏ ꯊꯤꯟꯒꯥꯏꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tharum | ||
| Oromo | abbaa irree | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ହିଂସାତ୍ମକ | ||
| Quechua | piña sunqu | ||
| Sanskrit | उग्र | ||
| Tatar | тупас | ||
| Tigrinya | ዓመጸና | ||
| Tsonga | madzolonga | ||