Afrikaans welsyn | ||
Albanian mirëqenia | ||
Amharic ደህንነት | ||
Arabic خير | ||
Armenian բարեկեցություն | ||
Assamese কল্যাণ | ||
Aymara walikiña | ||
Azerbaijani rifah | ||
Bambara kɛnɛya | ||
Basque ongizatea | ||
Belarusian дабрабыт | ||
Bengali কল্যাণ | ||
Bhojpuri कल्याण | ||
Bosnian blagostanja | ||
Bulgarian благосъстояние | ||
Catalan benestar | ||
Cebuano kaayohan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 福利 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 福利 | ||
Corsican benessere | ||
Croatian dobrobiti | ||
Czech blahobyt | ||
Danish velfærd | ||
Dhivehi ވެލްފެއަރ | ||
Dogri बेहतरी | ||
Dutch welzijn | ||
English welfare | ||
Esperanto bonfarto | ||
Estonian heaolu | ||
Ewe dedienɔnɔ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kapakanan | ||
Finnish hyvinvointi | ||
French aide sociale | ||
Frisian wolfeart | ||
Galician benestar | ||
Georgian კეთილდღეობა | ||
German wohlergehen | ||
Greek ευημερία | ||
Guarani tekoporã | ||
Gujarati કલ્યાણ | ||
Haitian Creole byennèt sosyal | ||
Hausa jindadin rayuwa | ||
Hawaiian pono | ||
Hebrew סעד | ||
Hindi कल्याण | ||
Hmong saib xyuas kev noj qab haus huv | ||
Hungarian jólét | ||
Icelandic velferð | ||
Igbo ọdịmma | ||
Ilocano kinakaradkad | ||
Indonesian kesejahteraan | ||
Irish leasa | ||
Italian benessere | ||
Japanese 福祉 | ||
Javanese karaharjan | ||
Kannada ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ | ||
Kazakh әл-ауқат | ||
Khmer សុខុមាលភាព | ||
Kinyarwanda imibereho myiza | ||
Konkani कल्याण | ||
Korean 복지 | ||
Krio tin dɛn we fɔ mek wi gladi | ||
Kurdish refah | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خۆشگوزەرانی | ||
Kyrgyz жыргалчылык | ||
Lao ສະຫວັດດີການ | ||
Latin welfare | ||
Latvian labklājību | ||
Lingala bolamu | ||
Lithuanian gerovė | ||
Luganda embeera | ||
Luxembourgish wuelergoen | ||
Macedonian благосостојба | ||
Maithili कल्यान | ||
Malagasy fifanampiana | ||
Malay kebajikan | ||
Malayalam ക്ഷേമം | ||
Maltese benesseri | ||
Maori toko i te ora | ||
Marathi कल्याण | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯌꯥꯏꯐ ꯊꯧꯔꯥꯡ | ||
Mizo hamthatna | ||
Mongolian халамж | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သက်သာချောင်ချိရေး | ||
Nepali कल्याण | ||
Norwegian velferd | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) ubwino | ||
Odia (Oriya) କଲ୍ୟାଣ | ||
Oromo fayyummaa | ||
Pashto ولسي | ||
Persian رفاه | ||
Polish dobrobyt | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) bem-estar | ||
Punjabi ਕਲਿਆਣ | ||
Quechua allin kay | ||
Romanian bunăstare | ||
Russian благосостояние | ||
Samoan manuia | ||
Sanskrit कल्याणं | ||
Scots Gaelic sochair | ||
Sepedi bobotlana | ||
Serbian благостање | ||
Sesotho boiketlo | ||
Shona kugara zvakanaka | ||
Sindhi ڀلائي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සුබසාධන | ||
Slovak blahobyt | ||
Slovenian blaginja | ||
Somali samafalka | ||
Spanish bienestar | ||
Sundanese karaharjaan | ||
Swahili ustawi | ||
Swedish välfärd | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kapakanan | ||
Tajik некӯаҳволӣ | ||
Tamil நலன்புரி | ||
Tatar иминлек | ||
Telugu సంక్షేమ | ||
Thai สวัสดิการ | ||
Tigrinya ድሕንነት | ||
Tsonga nhlayiso | ||
Turkish refah | ||
Turkmen abadançylygy | ||
Twi (Akan) yiedie | ||
Ukrainian добробут | ||
Urdu فلاح و بہبود | ||
Uyghur پاراۋانلىق | ||
Uzbek farovonlik | ||
Vietnamese phúc lợi | ||
Welsh lles | ||
Xhosa intlalontle | ||
Yiddish וווילשטאנד | ||
Yoruba iranlọwọ | ||
Zulu inhlalakahle |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "welsyn" ultimately derives from the Old English word "weal�th," meaning "wealth" or "prosperity." |
| Albanian | "Mirëqenia" originally meant "good luck" and has retained that meaning in addition to its modern meaning of "welfare." |
| Amharic | The word “ደህንነት” also translates to health and safety in English |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "خير" (khair) shares a root with the Hebrew word "טוב" (tov), meaning "good". |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word |
| Basque | Derived from the word |
| Belarusian | The word 'дабрабыт' (welfare) also carries the meanings of 'property' and 'prosperity'. |
| Bengali | The word "কল্যাণ" derives from the Sanskrit word "कल्याण" meaning "well-being, prosperity, or auspiciousness." |
| Bosnian | The word "blagostanja" in Bosnian is derived from the Slavic root "blago" meaning "good" and "stanje" meaning "condition". |
| Bulgarian | "Благосъстояние" derives from the Slavic "blago" (good) and "sostoianie" (condition), referring to a state of well-being beyond material needs. |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "benestar" also means "well-being" |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word 'kaayohan' is derived from the root word 'ayuhon', which means 'to make good' or 'to improve'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "福利" in Chinese can also mean fringe benefits or social benefits. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character "福利" (fú lì) can also mean "good luck" or "happiness" |
| Corsican | Corsican "benessere" is also used figuratively to mean "a good and happy life" |
| Croatian | The term "dobrobiti" can also refer to "assets" or "goods" in a legal or economic context. |
| Czech | The word "blahobyt" derives from Old Church Slavonic "blago" (good) and "byti" (to be). |
| Danish | In Danish, "velfærd" has a similar meaning to "well-being" in English, and can refer to various aspects of human happiness, such as health, education and social security. |
| Dutch | The word "welzijn" originally meant "well-being" or "good fortune" in Dutch. |
| Esperanto | In the language of Lojban, the word "bonfarto" is a cognate of the Esperanto word "malriĉo" (poverty) |
| Estonian | The word 'heaolu' is derived from the Estonian words 'hea' (good) and 'olu' (state), and can also mean 'well-being' or 'prosperity'. |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "hyvinvointi" (welfare) derives from "hyvä" (good) and "vointi" (feeling, well-being), and encompasses both material well-being and subjective flourishing. |
| French | In French, "aide sociale" can also refer to government assistance for people with disabilities or the elderly. |
| Frisian | From Old English wulf (wolf) + āre (honour), meaning 'wolf honour' or 'wolf price', used as a tax imposed on those who did not produce a sufficient number of wolves' heads as proof of having killed them according to the law. |
| Galician | `Benestar` in Galician comes from `ben` (good) and `estar` (to be), meaning a good state of being. |
| German | The word "Wohlergehen" in German comes from the Old High German word "wola", meaning "well-being". |
| Greek | ευημερία derives from εὖ and ἡμέρα, meaning "good day" |
| Gujarati | The word "कल्याण" in Gujarati originally meant "happiness" and "prosperity," but over time came to be used exclusively in the sense of "welfare" or "well-being." |
| Haitian Creole | The term "byennèt sosyal" is derived from the French phrase "bien-être social," meaning "social well-being." |
| Hausa | The term "jindadin rayuwa" in Hausa can also refer to a person's state of well-being or their overall quality of life. |
| Hawaiian | "Pono" in Hawaiian also means "righteousness, goodness, morality, and well-being." |
| Hebrew | The word "סעד" can also mean "supporting" or "assisting". |
| Hindi | The word "कल्याण" is derived from the Sanskrit root "कल्य" meaning "good" or "auspicious" and denotes a state of well-being, prosperity, and happiness. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "jólét" is derived from the Hungarian words "jó" (good) and "lét" (being), and can also mean "well-being" or "prosperity". |
| Icelandic | The word "velferð" initially meant "prosperity" or "well-being" |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "ọdịmma" can also mean "goodness," "prosperity," or "well-being." |
| Indonesian | The term "kesejahteraan" is borrowed from Sanskrit, meaning "well-being" or "happiness". |
| Irish | The Irish word for "welfare," leasa, is cognate with the Old Irish word *les, meaning "sufficiency, competence, ability." |
| Italian | In Italian, |
| Japanese | 福祉 literally translates to “happiness” or “well-being,” but it is often used to mean “welfare.” |
| Javanese | The word "karaharjan" in Javanese also means "to live in prosperity" or "to be well-off". |
| Kannada | The term 'ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ' (Kalyana) in Kannada, derived from Sanskrit, denotes a state of happiness, prosperity, and well-being, encompassing various aspects of life including health, education, and social progress. |
| Kazakh | The word "әл-ауқат" can also mean "time" or "opportunity" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | Though the word "សុខុមាលភាព" primarily translates to "welfare," it also implies "happiness" or "well-being" in Khmer. |
| Korean | The literal meaning of the word "복지" is "복: luck" and "지: place," meaning a "place of good fortune." |
| Kurdish | The word "refah" can also refer to "comfort" or "well-being" in Kurdish. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "жыргалчылык" in Kyrgyz also refers to the well-being and happiness of a community. |
| Latin | The Latin origin of the word "welfare," "vale," refers to health and strength, particularly the physical prosperity of someone who is cared for. |
| Latvian | The word "labklājība" is derived from the Latvian word "labklājs", which originally means "good fortune" or "luck". |
| Lithuanian | The word "gerovė" also means "wellness" or "well-being" in Lithuanian, in addition to its meaning of "welfare". |
| Macedonian | Благосостојба can also refer to "well-being" or "happiness" in a more general sense. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "fifanampiana" (welfare) is derived from the root word "fiana" (family) and "ampiana" (help), connoting a sense of collective support within communities. |
| Malay | While "kebajikan" usually means "welfare," it can also refer to "goodness" or "virtue". |
| Malayalam | "ക്ഷേമം" (kṣēmam) is derived from the Sanskrit word "kṣema" meaning "well-being" or "prosperity." |
| Maltese | The word "benesseri" likely derives from the Italian "ben essere," meaning "well being" or "comfort." |
| Maori | The Maori word "toko i te ora" (welfare) literally translates to "stand in the life" or "support for life." |
| Marathi | The word कल्याण (kalyāṇ) in Marathi can also refer to a place, especially the city of Kalyan in Maharashtra, India. |
| Mongolian | "Халамж" (welfare) is the Mongolian adaptation of the Sanskrit word "kalyāṇa" meaning "good, happy, favorable," and is also used to refer to "luck, fortune, or destiny." |
| Nepali | The Sanskrit word "कल्याण" (kalyāṇa) also means "auspiciousness" and relates to the concepts of "good" and "beautiful" in Sanskrit and Pali. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "velferd" comes from the Old Norse word "velferð", meaning "well-being"} |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "ubwino" can also mean "goodness" or "beauty" in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "ولسي" can also refer to the national assembly in Afghanistan and Pakistan |
| Persian | "رفاه" historically could also mean "luxury" or "comfort," meanings that are now mostly obsolete. |
| Polish | The word "dobrobyt" is derived from the Polish words "dobry" (good) and "byt" (being), and can also refer to prosperity or well-being. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "bem-estar" can also mean "well-being" or "happiness". |
| Romanian | In Romanian, "bunăstare" means "welfare" but also "well-being" and "prosperity." |
| Russian | The Russian word благосостояние can also mean 'well-being,' 'prosperity,' or 'good fortune'. |
| Samoan | "Manuia" also means "to raise" or "to lift up" in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word for "welfare," sochair, originates from the Latin term "societas," meaning "society." |
| Serbian | The word "благостање" is derived from the Slavic word "blago" meaning "good" and "stanje" meaning "state" or "condition". It can also refer to prosperity, happiness, or well-being. |
| Sesotho | In Sesotho, "boiketlo" also refers to the state of being protected, fortunate, or having well-being. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ڀلائي" derives from Sanskrit and also denotes "goodness" in other related Indo-Aryan languages, including Hindi and Marathi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In astrology, it refers to the planet Venus and to the 6th astrological house, also known as the sukha-bhāva, which governs comforts, pleasures, and luxuries. |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "blahobyt" is derived from the Czech word "blahobyt", which in turn comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "blago" meaning "good," and "byti" meaning "being." |
| Slovenian | The word 'blaginja' originates from the Proto-Slavic root *blagь, meaning 'good' or 'auspicious'. |
| Somali | The Somali word "samafalka" can also refer to a system of communal support and assistance within a community. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "bienestar" comes from the Latin "bene" (well) and "stare" (to stand) and thus means "living well" or "well-being". |
| Sundanese | The term 'karaharjaan' is also used to express 'prosperity', 'abundance', and a state of being 'well-to-do'. |
| Swahili | The word "ustawi" in Swahili comes from the Arabic word "isti’már" meaning "stability" or "well-being". |
| Swedish | The word "välfärd" originally meant "good fortune" or "well-being", and is related to the German word "Wohlfahrt". In Swedish, it is used to refer specifically to social welfare programs and benefits. |
| Tajik | The word " |
| Tamil | நலன்புரி (nalampuri) likely derives from the Tamil words நலம் (nalam, 'goodness' or 'wellbeing') and புரி (puri, 'town' or 'place'), thus indicating a 'place of wellbeing' or 'town of welfare'. |
| Telugu | The word 'సంక్షేమ' ('welfare') in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word 'संक्षेम' ('saṃkṣema'), which also means 'well-being', 'prosperity', and 'happiness'. |
| Thai | The word "สวัสดิการ" (welfare) derives from the Sanskrit word "svasti" meaning "well-being" or "good fortune". |
| Turkish | The word "refah" in Turkish also has the alternate meaning of "prosperity" or "abundance". |
| Ukrainian | The word "добробут" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic root "добро", meaning "good" or "well-being", and the suffix "-бут", meaning "state" or "condition." |
| Uzbek | Farovonlik also denotes well-being, good fortune, and prosperity. |
| Vietnamese | The word "phúc lợi" in Vietnamese has its roots in the Chinese language, where it means "happiness and benefit". |
| Welsh | The word 'lles' can also refer to 'benefit' or 'advantage'. |
| Xhosa | The word 'intlalontle' is derived from the Xhosa phrase 'ntlalontle ingene,' meaning 'the beauty that begets beauty' or 'the kindness that begets kindness.' |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "וווילשטאנד" also refers to a person's sense of well-being or prosperity. |
| Zulu | The word "inhlalakahle" is also used colloquially to refer to "being comfortable" or "feeling good". |
| English | Etymology: From Middle English welfare, from Old English wela ('well') + fǣre ('journey, way'), hence 'well-being' or 'prosperity' |