Weak in Different Languages
Discover 'Weak' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Weak
Afrikaans swak | ||
Albanian i dobët | ||
Amharic ደካማ | ||
Arabic ضعيف | ||
Armenian թույլ | ||
Assamese দুৰ্বল | ||
Aymara t'ukha | ||
Azerbaijani zəif | ||
Bambara fɛgɛnman | ||
Basque ahula | ||
Belarusian слабы | ||
Bengali দুর্বল | ||
Bhojpuri कमजोर | ||
Bosnian slaba | ||
Bulgarian слаб | ||
Catalan feble | ||
Cebuano maluya | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 弱 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 弱 | ||
Corsican debule | ||
Croatian slab | ||
Czech slabý | ||
Danish svag | ||
Dhivehi ވަރުދެރަ | ||
Dogri कमजोर | ||
Dutch zwak | ||
English weak | ||
Esperanto malforta | ||
Estonian nõrk | ||
Ewe gbᴐdzᴐ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) mahina | ||
Finnish heikko | ||
French faible | ||
Frisian swak | ||
Galician débil | ||
Georgian სუსტი | ||
German schwach | ||
Greek αδύναμος | ||
Guarani kangy | ||
Gujarati નબળું | ||
Haitian Creole fèb | ||
Hausa mai rauni | ||
Hawaiian nawaliwali | ||
Hebrew חלש | ||
Hindi कमज़ोर | ||
Hmong tsis muaj zog | ||
Hungarian gyenge | ||
Icelandic veikburða | ||
Igbo adịghị ike | ||
Ilocano nakapsot | ||
Indonesian lemah | ||
Irish lag | ||
Italian debole | ||
Japanese 弱い | ||
Javanese ringkih | ||
Kannada ದುರ್ಬಲ | ||
Kazakh әлсіз | ||
Khmer ខ្សោយ | ||
Kinyarwanda abanyantege nke | ||
Konkani कमजोर | ||
Korean 약한 | ||
Krio wik | ||
Kurdish qels | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) لاواز | ||
Kyrgyz алсыз | ||
Lao ອ່ອນແອ | ||
Latin infirmi | ||
Latvian vājš | ||
Lingala kolemba | ||
Lithuanian silpnas | ||
Luganda obunafu | ||
Luxembourgish schwaach | ||
Macedonian слаб | ||
Maithili कमजोर | ||
Malagasy malemy | ||
Malay lemah | ||
Malayalam ദുർബലമാണ് | ||
Maltese dgħajjef | ||
Maori ngoikore | ||
Marathi कमकुवत | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯁꯣꯟꯕ | ||
Mizo chak lo | ||
Mongolian сул | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အားနည်းနေ | ||
Nepali कमजोर | ||
Norwegian svak | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ofooka | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଦୁର୍ବଳ | ||
Oromo dadhabaa | ||
Pashto ضعیف | ||
Persian ضعیف | ||
Polish słaby | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) fraco | ||
Punjabi ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰ | ||
Quechua unpu | ||
Romanian slab | ||
Russian слабый | ||
Samoan vaivai | ||
Sanskrit सप्ताहः | ||
Scots Gaelic lag | ||
Sepedi fokola | ||
Serbian слаб | ||
Sesotho fokola | ||
Shona kushaya simba | ||
Sindhi ڪمزور | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දුර්වල | ||
Slovak slabý | ||
Slovenian šibka | ||
Somali daciif ah | ||
Spanish débiles | ||
Sundanese lemah | ||
Swahili dhaifu | ||
Swedish svag | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) mahina na | ||
Tajik суст | ||
Tamil பலவீனமான | ||
Tatar зәгыйфь | ||
Telugu బలహీనమైన | ||
Thai อ่อนแอ | ||
Tigrinya ድኹም | ||
Tsonga vevuka | ||
Turkish güçsüz | ||
Turkmen gowşak | ||
Twi (Akan) mrɛ | ||
Ukrainian слабкий | ||
Urdu کمزور | ||
Uyghur ئاجىز | ||
Uzbek zaif | ||
Vietnamese yếu | ||
Welsh gwan | ||
Xhosa buthathaka | ||
Yiddish שוואַך | ||
Yoruba alailera | ||
Zulu buthakathaka |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "swak" is thought to have originated from the Dutch word "zwak", which also means "weak", or the Old English word "swāc", which means "pliant". |
| Albanian | In Albanian, the word "i dobët" can also refer to a person who is easily deceived or manipulated. |
| Amharic | The word "ደካማ" in Amharic also means "thin" or "lean". |
| Arabic | The word "ضعيف" can also mean "ill" or "feeble" and is derived from the root "ضعف" meaning "to be weak or feeble." |
| Armenian | From the Proto-Indo-European root *deleǵh-, meaning "to fall, perish" and also the name of a legendary serpent who steals the cattle of the sun and moon. |
| Azerbaijani | "Zəif" (weak) derives from Arabic and means "deficient", "poor", or "feeble". |
| Basque | The word "ahula" in Basque can also mean "fragile" or "delicate." |
| Belarusian | The word "слабы" in Belarusian can also refer to a feeble person or something lacking in strength. |
| Bengali | The term "দুর্বল" (weak) in Bengali can also refer to a person who is timid or lacking in confidence. |
| Bosnian | "Slaba" in Bosnian also refers to a syllable. |
| Bulgarian | The word "слаб" (slav) in Bulgarian also means "bad" or "inadequate". |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "feble" has Latin origins and can also mean "feeble-minded" or "foolish." |
| Cebuano | The word 'maluya' may also refer to a type of soft or tender plant material, or to something that is not very strong or durable. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "弱" also means "small" or "young" in Chinese. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word "弱" also means "beautiful" or "charming" when used in a literary context. |
| Corsican | Corsican "debule" derives from "debole," meaning "feeble" in Italian. |
| Croatian | In Croatian the word "slab" can also mean "thin" or "slim". |
| Czech | The word "slabý" is also used to describe something that is thin or flat, or to refer to a person who is frail or feeble. |
| Danish | The Danish word "svag" can also refer to something that is flimsy, frail, or delicate. |
| Dutch | The word |
| Estonian | The word "nõrk" is also used to refer to something that is not strong enough or is lacking in some way. |
| Finnish | The word "heikko" is derived from the Proto-Finnic "*heikku," meaning "frail" or "feeble." |
| French | The French word "faible" can also mean "a preference" or "failing". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "swak" is related to the Old English word "swican", meaning "to deceive" or "to betray". |
| Galician | «Débil» en gallego también puede significar «delicado» o «afectuoso». |
| Georgian | The word |
| German | "Schwach" also means "faint" and is related to the English word "swank" |
| Greek | The word 'αδύναμος' is derived from the root 'δυνα-' meaning 'power', and originally meant 'unable' or 'powerless'. |
| Gujarati | The word 'નબળું' comes from the Sanskrit word 'नर्वल' which means 'feeble', 'delicate' or 'soft'. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "fèb" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "faible" and also means "feeble" or "powerless." |
| Hausa | Mai rauni is also used to refer to a person who is not physically strong, or who is sick. |
| Hawaiian | The word 'nawaliwali' in Hawaiian can also mean 'fragile' or 'susceptible to breakage'. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "חלש" (chalash) also means "to be ill" or "to be faint". |
| Hindi | In Hindi, कमज़ोर can also mean 'feeble', 'delicate', 'unfit', 'fragile', or 'susceptible to being overcome'. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "tsis muaj zog" also means "without strength" or "lacking energy." |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "gyenge" also has roots in the Turkish language, where it means "fine, small, thin" |
| Icelandic | The word "veikburða" has an alternate meaning: "the one who is the weakest in a group" or "the one who is the least able to carry out a task". |
| Indonesian | The Javanese word also has a sense of 'deference', and in the Bugis language means 'unripe' |
| Irish | In Irish, "lag" can also refer to a lazy or slow person or a burden. |
| Italian | "Debole" shares an etymology with "debilitate": both stem from a word that meant "to break in two." |
| Japanese | "弱い" can also mean 'immature' or 'unfavorable' depending on context. |
| Javanese | The word "ringkih" in Javanese shares its etymology with the word "ringkih" in Indonesian, both meaning "brittle". |
| Kannada | The word "ದುರ್ಬಲ" in Kannada can also mean "unstable" or "unsteady". |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "әлсіз" is also used to describe someone who is powerless, or lacks authority. |
| Khmer | The word "ខ្សោយ" in Khmer can also refer to a lack of vigour, strength, or energy. |
| Korean | The Sino-Korean word 약한 can also mean slow or dull. |
| Kurdish | The word "qels" in Kurdish can also refer to a "soft" or "gentle" quality or a "lack of strength". |
| Latin | The Latin word "infirmi" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*h₁enp-" (to weaken) and is related to the Sanskrit word "abala" (weak) and the Old English word "unfæle" (weak, feeble). |
| Latvian | The Latvian word “vājš” comes from an older Indo-European root, *weg-, which also appears in Sanskrit and other related languages, where it meant “to move, shake, or tremble.” |
| Lithuanian | The word „silpnas“ also means "lazy" in Lithuanian. |
| Macedonian | The word "слаб" (slah) in Macedonian also means "meek" or "gentle". |
| Malagasy | "Malemy" can also mean "humble". |
| Malay | The Malay word |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "dgħajjef" is derived from the Arabic word "ḍaʿeef", which also means "low" or "inferior". |
| Maori | The word "ngoikore" comes from the Proto-Polynesian root *ngoi-, meaning "to break," and it also has the alternate meaning of "without foundation." |
| Marathi | The word "कमकुवत" in Marathi can also mean "impotent" or "ineffective". |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "сул" also means "left" or "inauspicious". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အားနည်းနေ is a Burmese word that originally meant "to become thin or frail," but now more commonly means "to become weak" or "to lose strength." |
| Nepali | The term 'कमजोर' is related to 'कम' meaning less and 'जोर' meaning force. |
| Norwegian | The word "svak" in Norwegian also refers to "a person of low social standing". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'ofooka' can also mean 'inferior' or 'lowly' in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | The word "ضعیف" (pronounced "zayeef") is derived from the Arabic word "ضعف" (pronounced "zu'f"), which means "weakness" or "feebleness". |
| Persian | The word "ضعیف" also means "poor" in Persian and derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *deiw-, meaning "to lack." |
| Polish | The etymology of **słaby** is likely related to the Proto-Slavic word *slabъ*, meaning "faint" or "sickly". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "fraco" originally meant "fragile" or "delicate", and is related to the Latin word "frangere" (to break). |
| Romanian | The word "slab" also means a block or flat piece, especially of stone or concrete. |
| Russian | In Russian, the word "слабый" also means "dizzy" or "sick". |
| Samoan | The word "vaivai" in Samoan not only means "weak," but also "frail," "delicate," or "feeble." |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "lag" in Scots Gaelic can also mean "to be behind" or "to be slow". |
| Serbian | The word "слаб" (weak) in Serbian shares an etymology with "славан" (glorious) and "слава" (glory), implying a connection between strength and honor. |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word "fokola" can also mean "to be sick" or "to be unable to do something." |
| Shona | In Shona, 'kushaya simba' can also refer to a person who is easily intimidated or lacks confidence. |
| Sindhi | As an adjective, ڪمزور can also mean feeble, impotent, or ineffectual depending on the context. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "දුර්වල" ("weak") in Sinhala (Sinhalese) is derived from the Sanskrit word "दुर्बल" ("weak"), which is itself a compound of "दुः" ("bad") and "बल" ("strength"). |
| Slovak | "Slabý" is also used in Slovak to refer to something that is thin or flat, like a slab of meat or a slab of rock. |
| Slovenian | The word 'šibka' is also a noun meaning 'lever' in Slovenian. |
| Spanish | “Débil” means “feeble” or “weak” in Spanish but was originally used in the 13th century to describe “an evil or malicious intention”. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word 'lemah' also means 'soft' or 'gentle' and is related to the Javanese word 'lembah', meaning 'valley'. |
| Swahili | Dhaifu can also refer to a person who is disabled or sick. |
| Swedish | "Svag" ("weak") also means "inconsistent," "vacillating," "timid," "faint," "low," "pale," "insipid," and "poor." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "mahina" can also mean "thin" or "frail" in Tagalog. |
| Tajik | The word "суст" is derived from the Persian word "سست" (sust), which means "weak, feeble, or languid". |
| Tamil | The Tamil word "பலவீனமான" (palaveenamaana) derives from the Sanskrit "balavam" meaning "strong," and thus implies a reversal or deficiency of strength. |
| Thai | The word "อ่อนแอ" can also mean "tender" or "mellow" in Thai. |
| Turkish | The word "güçsüz" can also refer to "powerless" or "helpless". |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "слабкий" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *slabъ, meaning "weak, feeble, or thin." |
| Urdu | The word "کمزور" in Urdu derives from the Arabic word "قمر" meaning "moon" and can also mean "delicate" or "fragile". |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, the word “zaif” shares roots with “zajf” in Arabic, “zəif” in Persian, and “zafi” in Tajiki, all with the same original meaning of 'feeble' or 'weak'. |
| Welsh | In Welsh, "gwan" can also refer to a "fault" or a "defect". |
| Yiddish | שװאַך is also used in Yiddish to mean “crazy” and is perhaps derived from the German word schwächlich, which means “feeble.” |
| Yoruba | The word "alailera" can be extended to mean "feeble" or "lacking energy." |
| Zulu | In an alternate sense, a buthakathaka can refer to a person who is sickly or frail. |
| English | The word "weak" shares the same Germanic root as "wick" and "wicker" as something that can be twisted or woven. |