Wisdom in Different Languages
Discover 'Wisdom' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Wisdom
Afrikaans wysheid | ||
Albanian mençuri | ||
Amharic ጥበብ | ||
Arabic حكمة | ||
Armenian իմաստություն | ||
Assamese জ্ঞান | ||
Aymara yatiña | ||
Azerbaijani müdriklik | ||
Bambara hakilitigiya | ||
Basque jakinduria | ||
Belarusian мудрасць | ||
Bengali প্রজ্ঞা | ||
Bhojpuri अकिल | ||
Bosnian mudrost | ||
Bulgarian мъдрост | ||
Catalan saviesa | ||
Cebuano kaalam | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 智慧 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 智慧 | ||
Corsican saviezza | ||
Croatian mudrost | ||
Czech moudrost | ||
Danish visdom | ||
Dhivehi ބުއްދި | ||
Dogri अकलमंदी | ||
Dutch wijsheid | ||
English wisdom | ||
Esperanto saĝo | ||
Estonian tarkus | ||
Ewe nunya | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) karunungan | ||
Finnish viisaus | ||
French sagesse | ||
Frisian wysheid | ||
Galician sabedoría | ||
Georgian სიბრძნე | ||
German weisheit | ||
Greek σοφία | ||
Guarani arandu | ||
Gujarati ડહાપણ | ||
Haitian Creole bon konprann | ||
Hausa hikima | ||
Hawaiian naauao | ||
Hebrew חוכמה | ||
Hindi बुद्धिमत्ता | ||
Hmong txhab | ||
Hungarian bölcsesség | ||
Icelandic speki | ||
Igbo amamihe | ||
Ilocano kapanunotan | ||
Indonesian kebijaksanaan | ||
Irish eagna | ||
Italian saggezza | ||
Japanese 知恵 | ||
Javanese kawicaksanan | ||
Kannada ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತಿಕೆ | ||
Kazakh даналық | ||
Khmer ប្រាជ្ញា | ||
Kinyarwanda ubwenge | ||
Konkani शाणेपण | ||
Korean 지혜 | ||
Krio sɛns | ||
Kurdish rîsipîti | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ژیری | ||
Kyrgyz акылдуулук | ||
Lao ປັນຍາ | ||
Latin sapientiae | ||
Latvian gudrība | ||
Lingala bwanya | ||
Lithuanian išmintis | ||
Luganda amagezi | ||
Luxembourgish wäisheet | ||
Macedonian мудрост | ||
Maithili बुद्धिमत्ता | ||
Malagasy fahendrena | ||
Malay kebijaksanaan | ||
Malayalam ജ്ഞാനം | ||
Maltese għerf | ||
Maori whakaaro nui | ||
Marathi शहाणपणा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯂꯧꯁꯤꯡ | ||
Mizo finna | ||
Mongolian мэргэн ухаан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဉာဏ်ပညာ | ||
Nepali बुद्धिको | ||
Norwegian visdom | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) nzeru | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଜ୍ଞାନ | ||
Oromo ogummaa | ||
Pashto هوښیارتیا | ||
Persian خرد | ||
Polish mądrość | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) sabedoria | ||
Punjabi ਬੁੱਧੀ | ||
Quechua yachay | ||
Romanian înţelepciune | ||
Russian мудрость | ||
Samoan poto | ||
Sanskrit प्रज्ञा | ||
Scots Gaelic gliocas | ||
Sepedi bohlale | ||
Serbian мудрост | ||
Sesotho bohlale | ||
Shona uchenjeri | ||
Sindhi دانش | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ප්ර .ාව | ||
Slovak múdrosť | ||
Slovenian modrost | ||
Somali xigmad | ||
Spanish sabiduría | ||
Sundanese hikmah | ||
Swahili hekima | ||
Swedish visdom | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) karunungan | ||
Tajik ҳикмат | ||
Tamil ஞானம் | ||
Tatar зирәклек | ||
Telugu జ్ఞానం | ||
Thai ภูมิปัญญา | ||
Tigrinya ጥበብ | ||
Tsonga vutlharhi | ||
Turkish bilgelik | ||
Turkmen paýhas | ||
Twi (Akan) nyansa | ||
Ukrainian мудрість | ||
Urdu حکمت | ||
Uyghur ھېكمەت | ||
Uzbek donolik | ||
Vietnamese sự khôn ngoan | ||
Welsh doethineb | ||
Xhosa ubulumko | ||
Yiddish חכמה | ||
Yoruba ọgbọn | ||
Zulu ukuhlakanipha |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Wysheid, pronounced "vys-hey-t", means wisdom in Afrikaans and comes from the Dutch word "wijsheid" which also means wisdom, as well as knowledge or good judgment. |
| Albanian | The word "mençuri" possibly derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*men-/*mān-«, meaning "to think" or "to know". |
| Amharic | The word ጥበብ in Amharic is often interpreted in a religious context and refers to the wisdom of God. |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "حكمة" not only means "wisdom", but also refers to sayings by famous individuals intended to provide guidance or teach a lesson. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "müdriklik" is also used to refer to the ability to predict the future or see things that are hidden. |
| Basque | The Basque word "jakinduria" has the alternate meaning of "scholarship." |
| Belarusian | "Мудрасць" comes from the Proto-Indo-European "*men-" meaning "to think". |
| Bengali | The word "প্রজ্ঞা" originally referred to knowledge obtained through meditation. |
| Bosnian | Mudrost derives from the Old Slavonic word "mudrъ", meaning "skilled" or "wise". |
| Bulgarian | The word “мъдрост” is derived from Proto-Slavic and shares a root with the word “умерено” (moderation). |
| Catalan | The word "saviesa" is derived from the Latin "sapere," meaning "to know" or "to taste." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 智慧 (zhì huì): “know-how”; combination of “know” (智) and “understand” (慧) |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The first character in "智慧" (zhìhuì) means "to know," while the second means "to perceive". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "saviezza" is related to the Italian "sapere" and the Latin "sapere", both meaning "to know". |
| Croatian | The word "mudrost" in Croatian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "mǫdrъ", originally meaning "clever, cunning, or shrewd." |
| Czech | "moudrost" also means "blue bottle" in Czech, reflecting the ancient belief that blue glass bottles were filled with wisdom and used for divination. |
| Danish | The Danish word "visdom" is related to the old Norse "vísdóm," meaning "prophecy". |
| Dutch | The term "wijsheid" comes from the Old Saxon word "wis", meaning "to know" |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "saĝo" is derived from the Latin word "sapientia", which also means "wisdom". |
| Estonian | The word "tarkus" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*tarke", which also means "wisdom" or "knowledge". |
| Finnish | In folklore, the word "viisaus" also refers to a mythical creature with healing powers. |
| French | The word "sagesse" is derived from the Latin word "sapere," meaning "to taste" or "to know," and also has the alternate meaning of "sound judgment" or "good sense." |
| Frisian | "Wysheid" is also a Frisian word for a small wooden box to hide small items. |
| Galician | Sabedoría is also a Galician word that means 'know-how' or 'expertise' |
| Georgian | "სიბრძნე" in Georgian comes from the Proto-Kartvelian root "*barz" meaning "high" or "great". |
| German | Weisheit is derived from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, "knowledge, wisdom," from Proto-Indo-European *woid-s-, "to see, know." |
| Greek | Σοφία also has a second, less common, meaning of "art, craft, skill, or knowledge", similar to "τέχνη" |
| Haitian Creole | "Bon konprann" literally translates to "good understanding". |
| Hausa | The Hausa word 'hikima' can also refer to knowledge, understanding, or judgment. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word "naauao" can also refer to "understanding," "knowledge," or "learning." |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "חוכמה" also means "skill" and "art" |
| Hindi | The Hindi word बुद्धिमत्ता (wisdom) comes from the Sanskrit word बुद्धि (intellect), which also means "awakening" and "enlightenment". |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "txhab" originally referred to the spirit inside the heart during divination practices and to the spirit that guards a house. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "bölcsesség" comes from the Slavic word "bol'ša", meaning "greater" or "more". It was borrowed into Hungarian in the 13th century and has been used to refer to wisdom and knowledge ever since. |
| Icelandic | Speki is also used in Icelandic to describe a type of salt cod. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word 'amamihe' also has meanings such as 'knowledge', 'understanding', 'intelligence'. |
| Indonesian | In Javanese, kebijaksanaan has a similar but broader meaning, encompassing wisdom, intelligence, and cunning. |
| Irish | The word "eagna" in Irish comes from the root "aig" (to know), and it is related to the word "eolas" (knowledge). |
| Italian | "Saggezza" shares the same root as the Latin "sagire" meaning "to perceive", and thus originally meant "discernment", "insight" and only later "wisdom." |
| Japanese | "知恵" (wisdom) also means "knowledge" or "intellect". |
| Javanese | "Kawicaksanan" derives from the word "wicaksana" meaning "intelligent, astute," and the suffix "-an" indicating "something possessed or obtained." |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "даналық" (wisdom) is derived from the Persian word "dānā" (wise), which is also the root of the English word "doctor" |
| Korean | "지혜" is written using characters that also mean "branch of a tree". |
| Kurdish | The word 'rîsipîti' is derived from the Persian 'dânish' and also has the meaning of 'knowledge'. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "акылдуулук" is derived from the root word "акыл", meaning "mind" or "intellect", and the suffix "-лук", which indicates a quality or state of being. |
| Latin | The word "sapientia" in Latin is related to the words "sapere" (to be wise) and "sapor" (taste). |
| Latvian | "Gudrība" in Latvian shares its etymology with "good" in English, reflecting wisdom's association with moral virtue. |
| Lithuanian | Išmintis may also refer to a 'seer' or 'sage' in Lithuanian folklore. |
| Luxembourgish | Wäisheet is derived from the Old High German word "wīsa", meaning "way, path, or manner." |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "мудрост" can also refer to "intelligence" or "knowledge". |
| Malagasy | In the Malagasy language, the word "FAHENDRENA" derives from Arabic, meaning "wisdom in the eyes of the people". |
| Malay | In Sanskrit, the root word "budh" refers to both "knowledge" and "awakening," suggesting wisdom's connection to both cognitive and spiritual realms. |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word "ജ്ഞാനം" (jñānam) is derived from the Sanskrit word "jñāna", which means "knowledge" or "understanding." |
| Maltese | "Għerf" is cognate with "għaraft" ("intelligence, knowledge") and has also been used with the meaning of "science." |
| Maori | Whakaaro nui in Maori can also refer to the concept of 'deep thinking' or 'reflection'. |
| Marathi | The word "शहाणपणा" (wisdom) comes from the Sanskrit word "ज्ञाना" (knowledge) and means "possessing knowledge". |
| Nepali | "बुद्धिको" is derived from the Sanskrit word "buddhi" which also means "intellect" or "understanding." |
| Norwegian | In Norwegian, "visdom" is cognate with the German word "wissen" which means "to know". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Nzeru shares its etymology with the Proto-Bantu root *-zeru, meaning "to know, understand, perceive." |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "هوښیارتیا" for "wisdom" translates to "intelligence" in English and has a secondary meaning of "shrewdness." |
| Persian | Persian خرد (xord) is cognate with Avestan xratu 'knowledge', ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥t-ós 'thought, mind, purpose'. |
| Polish | The Polish word "mądrość" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*mǫdrosьtь", which also meant "courage" or "strength". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "sabedoria" in Portuguese comes from the Latin word "sapere", which means "to be wise" or "to know". |
| Punjabi | ਬੁੱਧੀ means 'wisdom', but is also a name for the female deity Saraswati and the planet Mercury. |
| Romanian | The word "înţelepciune" in Romanian comes from the Latin word "intelligentia", which means "understanding" or "knowledge". |
| Russian | The Russian word "мудрость" (wisdom) derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*men-," also meaning "to think". |
| Samoan | The word "poto" in Samoan also means "knowledge", "intelligence", or "understanding" |
| Scots Gaelic | The Irish Gaelic cognate of "gliocas" is "gléic" and means "skill or art". |
| Serbian | The word "мудрост" also means "knowledge" or "learning". |
| Sesotho | In some contexts, 'bohlale' can also refer to traditional knowledge, folklore, or philosophical teachings passed down through generations. |
| Shona | The Shona word 'uchenjeri' also refers to the ability to foretell the future or the wisdom gained through experience. |
| Sindhi | In Sindhi, the word "دانش" (dāniś) also means "knowledge" and "science". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්ර.ාව originates from the Sanskrit word 'प्रज्ञा' which also means 'wisdom' and is often associated with spiritual enlightenment. |
| Slovak | The word "múdrosť" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *mǫdrъ, meaning "wise" or "skilled". |
| Slovenian | The word comes from the Proto-Slavic word "modru" which can mean "clever" or "sly." |
| Spanish | Sabiduría comes from the Latin 'sapere,' meaning 'to be wise,' and 'sapientia,' referring to knowledge and discernment. |
| Sundanese | The word 'hikmah' in Sundanese can also mean 'knowledge' or 'intelligence'. |
| Swahili | In Swahili, "hekima" also refers to traditional healing practices and knowledge. |
| Swedish | The word "visdom" in Swedish shares the same root as "vetenskap" (science), both stemming from the Latin "scire" (to know). |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word 'karunungan' (wisdom) is derived from the root word 'alam' (know) and the suffix '-an', indicating a place or state of being, suggesting that wisdom is the state of knowing or being knowledgeable. |
| Tajik | The word "ҳикмат" is also used to refer to religious teachings or guidance. |
| Tamil | In Ancient Tamil, 'ஞானம்' also referred to a type of yoga and spiritual practice |
| Telugu | The Telugu word 'జ్ఞానం' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'jñana', which means enlightenment or spiritual wisdom. |
| Thai | The word "ภูมิปัญญา" in Thai can also refer to traditional medicine and agricultural techniques passed down through generations. |
| Turkish | Bilgelik derives from the word "bilgi" (knowledge) and the Proto-Turkic word "*bil" (to know) |
| Ukrainian | The word "мудрість" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *mǫdrъ, meaning "wise, prudent, clever, sagacious." |
| Urdu | The word "حکمت" also means "prophecy" in Urdu, as it is derived from the Arabic word "حكمة" which has both meanings. |
| Uzbek | Donolik is also used to refer to a specific type of spiritual knowledge or enlightenment in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | The Vietnamese word "sự khôn ngoan" can also mean "shrewdness" or "cunning". |
| Welsh | The word 'doethineb' is thought to be derived from the Proto-Celtic word *doitinom ('knowledge') or *douetiom ('understanding'). |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, 'ubulumko' is also used to refer to the art of healing, using traditional methods and knowledge passed down through generations. |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish, the word "חכמה" can also refer to knowledge, craftiness, or cunning. |
| Yoruba | In Yorùbá, ọgbọn means "deep knowledge of a kind, wisdom that is acquired through experience and understanding of life." |
| Zulu | Zulu word "ukuhlakanipha" is derived from the verb "ukuhlakanipha" meaning "to make wise/to cause to acquire wisdom," implying wisdom is not an inherent quality but a learned trait. |
| English | The word "wisdom" derives from the Latin word "sapere," meaning "to taste" or "to know." |