Weak in different languages

Weak in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'weak' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, often used to describe a lack of strength or power. But its implications extend far beyond the physical, encompassing emotional, mental, and moral spheres as well. From a cultural perspective, perceptions of weakness vary greatly across societies, with some valuing vulnerability as a sign of authenticity and others viewing it as a liability.

Given the complexity of this concept, it's no surprise that the word 'weak' has a rich history and a multitude of translations in different languages. For instance, in Spanish, 'weak' translates to 'débil', while in French, it becomes 'faible'. In German, the word is 'schwach', and in Japanese, '弱い' (yowai).

Understanding these translations can offer valuable insights into how other cultures view and approach weakness, making it a fascinating topic for language enthusiasts and cultural observers alike.

Weak

Weak in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansswak
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".
Amharicደካማ
The word "ደካማ" in Amharic also means "thin" or "lean".
Hausamai rauni
Mai rauni is also used to refer to a person who is not physically strong, or who is sick.
Igboadịghị ike
Malagasymalemy
"Malemy" can also mean "humble".
Nyanja (Chichewa)ofooka
The word 'ofooka' can also mean 'inferior' or 'lowly' in Nyanja.
Shonakushaya simba
In Shona, 'kushaya simba' can also refer to a person who is easily intimidated or lacks confidence.
Somalidaciif ah
Sesothofokola
The Sesotho word "fokola" can also mean "to be sick" or "to be unable to do something."
Swahilidhaifu
Dhaifu can also refer to a person who is disabled or sick.
Xhosabuthathaka
Yorubaalailera
The word "alailera" can be extended to mean "feeble" or "lacking energy."
Zulubuthakathaka
In an alternate sense, a buthakathaka can refer to a person who is sickly or frail.
Bambarafɛgɛnman
Ewegbᴐdzᴐ
Kinyarwandaabanyantege nke
Lingalakolemba
Lugandaobunafu
Sepedifokola
Twi (Akan)mrɛ

Weak in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicضعيف
The word "ضعيف" can also mean "ill" or "feeble" and is derived from the root "ضعف" meaning "to be weak or feeble."
Hebrewחלש
The Hebrew word "חלש" (chalash) also means "to be ill" or "to be faint".
Pashtoضعیف
The word "ضعیف" (pronounced "zayeef") is derived from the Arabic word "ضعف" (pronounced "zu'f"), which means "weakness" or "feebleness".
Arabicضعيف
The word "ضعيف" can also mean "ill" or "feeble" and is derived from the root "ضعف" meaning "to be weak or feeble."

Weak in Western European Languages

Albaniani dobët
In Albanian, the word "i dobët" can also refer to a person who is easily deceived or manipulated.
Basqueahula
The word "ahula" in Basque can also mean "fragile" or "delicate."
Catalanfeble
The Catalan word "feble" has Latin origins and can also mean "feeble-minded" or "foolish."
Croatianslab
In Croatian the word "slab" can also mean "thin" or "slim".
Danishsvag
The Danish word "svag" can also refer to something that is flimsy, frail, or delicate.
Dutchzwak
The word
Englishweak
The word "weak" shares the same Germanic root as "wick" and "wicker" as something that can be twisted or woven.
Frenchfaible
The French word "faible" can also mean "a preference" or "failing".
Frisianswak
The Frisian word "swak" is related to the Old English word "swican", meaning "to deceive" or "to betray".
Galiciandébil
«Débil» en gallego también puede significar «delicado» o «afectuoso».
Germanschwach
"Schwach" also means "faint" and is related to the English word "swank"
Icelandicveikburða
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".
Irishlag
In Irish, "lag" can also refer to a lazy or slow person or a burden.
Italiandebole
"Debole" shares an etymology with "debilitate": both stem from a word that meant "to break in two."
Luxembourgishschwaach
Maltesedgħajjef
The Maltese word "dgħajjef" is derived from the Arabic word "ḍaʿeef", which also means "low" or "inferior".
Norwegiansvak
The word "svak" in Norwegian also refers to "a person of low social standing".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)fraco
The word "fraco" originally meant "fragile" or "delicate", and is related to the Latin word "frangere" (to break).
Scots Gaeliclag
The word "lag" in Scots Gaelic can also mean "to be behind" or "to be slow".
Spanishdébiles
“Débil” means “feeble” or “weak” in Spanish but was originally used in the 13th century to describe “an evil or malicious intention”.
Swedishsvag
"Svag" ("weak") also means "inconsistent," "vacillating," "timid," "faint," "low," "pale," "insipid," and "poor."
Welshgwan
In Welsh, "gwan" can also refer to a "fault" or a "defect".

Weak in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianслабы
The word "слабы" in Belarusian can also refer to a feeble person or something lacking in strength.
Bosnianslaba
"Slaba" in Bosnian also refers to a syllable.
Bulgarianслаб
The word "слаб" (slav) in Bulgarian also means "bad" or "inadequate".
Czechslabý
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.
Estoniannõrk
The word "nõrk" is also used to refer to something that is not strong enough or is lacking in some way.
Finnishheikko
The word "heikko" is derived from the Proto-Finnic "*heikku," meaning "frail" or "feeble."
Hungariangyenge
The Hungarian word "gyenge" also has roots in the Turkish language, where it means "fine, small, thin"
Latvianvājš
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.”
Lithuaniansilpnas
The word „silpnas“ also means "lazy" in Lithuanian.
Macedonianслаб
The word "слаб" (slah) in Macedonian also means "meek" or "gentle".
Polishsłaby
The etymology of **słaby** is likely related to the Proto-Slavic word *slabъ*, meaning "faint" or "sickly".
Romanianslab
The word "slab" also means a block or flat piece, especially of stone or concrete.
Russianслабый
In Russian, the word "слабый" also means "dizzy" or "sick".
Serbianслаб
The word "слаб" (weak) in Serbian shares an etymology with "славан" (glorious) and "слава" (glory), implying a connection between strength and honor.
Slovakslabý
"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.
Slovenianšibka
The word 'šibka' is also a noun meaning 'lever' in Slovenian.
Ukrainianслабкий
The Ukrainian word "слабкий" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *slabъ, meaning "weak, feeble, or thin."

Weak in South Asian Languages

Bengaliদুর্বল
The term "দুর্বল" (weak) in Bengali can also refer to a person who is timid or lacking in confidence.
Gujaratiનબળું
The word 'નબળું' comes from the Sanskrit word 'नर्वल' which means 'feeble', 'delicate' or 'soft'.
Hindiकमज़ोर
In Hindi, कमज़ोर can also mean 'feeble', 'delicate', 'unfit', 'fragile', or 'susceptible to being overcome'.
Kannadaದುರ್ಬಲ
The word "ದುರ್ಬಲ" in Kannada can also mean "unstable" or "unsteady".
Malayalamദുർബലമാണ്
Marathiकमकुवत
The word "कमकुवत" in Marathi can also mean "impotent" or "ineffective".
Nepaliकमजोर
The term 'कमजोर' is related to 'कम' meaning less and 'जोर' meaning force.
Punjabiਕਮਜ਼ੋਰ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)දුර්වල
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").
Tamilபலவீனமான
The Tamil word "பலவீனமான" (palaveenamaana) derives from the Sanskrit "balavam" meaning "strong," and thus implies a reversal or deficiency of strength.
Teluguబలహీనమైన
Urduکمزور
The word "کمزور" in Urdu derives from the Arabic word "قمر" meaning "moon" and can also mean "delicate" or "fragile".

Weak in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)弱
"弱" also means "small" or "young" in Chinese.
Chinese (Traditional)弱
The word "弱" also means "beautiful" or "charming" when used in a literary context.
Japanese弱い
"弱い" can also mean 'immature' or 'unfavorable' depending on context.
Korean약한
The Sino-Korean word 약한 can also mean slow or dull.
Mongolianсул
The Mongolian word "сул" also means "left" or "inauspicious".
Myanmar (Burmese)အားနည်းနေ
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."

Weak in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianlemah
The Javanese word also has a sense of 'deference', and in the Bugis language means 'unripe'
Javaneseringkih
The word "ringkih" in Javanese shares its etymology with the word "ringkih" in Indonesian, both meaning "brittle".
Khmerខ្សោយ
The word "ខ្សោយ" in Khmer can also refer to a lack of vigour, strength, or energy.
Laoອ່ອນແອ
Malaylemah
The Malay word
Thaiอ่อนแอ
The word "อ่อนแอ" can also mean "tender" or "mellow" in Thai.
Vietnameseyếu
Filipino (Tagalog)mahina

Weak in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanizəif
"Zəif" (weak) derives from Arabic and means "deficient", "poor", or "feeble".
Kazakhәлсіз
The Kazakh word "әлсіз" is also used to describe someone who is powerless, or lacks authority.
Kyrgyzалсыз
Tajikсуст
The word "суст" is derived from the Persian word "سست" (sust), which means "weak, feeble, or languid".
Turkmengowşak
Uzbekzaif
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'.
Uyghurئاجىز

Weak in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiannawaliwali
The word 'nawaliwali' in Hawaiian can also mean 'fragile' or 'susceptible to breakage'.
Maoringoikore
The word "ngoikore" comes from the Proto-Polynesian root *ngoi-, meaning "to break," and it also has the alternate meaning of "without foundation."
Samoanvaivai
The word "vaivai" in Samoan not only means "weak," but also "frail," "delicate," or "feeble."
Tagalog (Filipino)mahina na
The word "mahina" can also mean "thin" or "frail" in Tagalog.

Weak in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarat'ukha
Guaranikangy

Weak in International Languages

Esperantomalforta
Latininfirmi
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).

Weak in Others Languages

Greekαδύναμος
The word 'αδύναμος' is derived from the root 'δυνα-' meaning 'power', and originally meant 'unable' or 'powerless'.
Hmongtsis muaj zog
The Hmong word "tsis muaj zog" also means "without strength" or "lacking energy."
Kurdishqels
The word "qels" in Kurdish can also refer to a "soft" or "gentle" quality or a "lack of strength".
Turkishgüçsüz
The word "güçsüz" can also refer to "powerless" or "helpless".
Xhosabuthathaka
Yiddishשוואַך
שװאַך is also used in Yiddish to mean “crazy” and is perhaps derived from the German word schwächlich, which means “feeble.”
Zulubuthakathaka
In an alternate sense, a buthakathaka can refer to a person who is sickly or frail.
Assameseদুৰ্বল
Aymarat'ukha
Bhojpuriकमजोर
Dhivehiވަރުދެރަ
Dogriकमजोर
Filipino (Tagalog)mahina
Guaranikangy
Ilocanonakapsot
Kriowik
Kurdish (Sorani)لاواز
Maithiliकमजोर
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯁꯣꯟꯕ
Mizochak lo
Oromodadhabaa
Odia (Oriya)ଦୁର୍ବଳ
Quechuaunpu
Sanskritसप्ताहः
Tatarзәгыйфь
Tigrinyaድኹም
Tsongavevuka

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