Wisdom in Different Languages
Discover 'Wisdom' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Wisdom is a cherished concept that transcends cultures and languages. It represents a deep understanding and insight, gained through experience or knowledge, which allows one to navigate the world with grace and foresight. Throughout history, wisdom has been revered as a valuable trait, often associated with age, maturity, and spiritual awareness.
In many cultures, wisdom is considered a universal language, a shared human experience that connects us all. Its significance is reflected in various proverbs, stories, and philosophies that have been passed down through generations. For instance, in Greek philosophy, wisdom is personified as Sophia, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. Meanwhile, in Buddhism, wisdom is one of the three universal truths, representing the understanding of reality as it is.
Understanding the translation of wisdom in different languages can offer fascinating insights into how different cultures view and value this concept. Here are some sample translations to pique your curiosity:
- Sophia (Σοφία) in Greek
- Chokhmah (חכמה) in Hebrew
- Sen (賢) in Chinese
- Hikmah (حكمة) in Arabic
- Buddi (बुद्धि) in Sanskrit
Wisdom
Wisdom in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | wysheid | ||
| 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. | |||
| Amharic | ጥበብ | ||
| The word ጥበብ in Amharic is often interpreted in a religious context and refers to the wisdom of God. | |||
| Hausa | hikima | ||
| The Hausa word 'hikima' can also refer to knowledge, understanding, or judgment. | |||
| Igbo | amamihe | ||
| The Igbo word 'amamihe' also has meanings such as 'knowledge', 'understanding', 'intelligence'. | |||
| Malagasy | fahendrena | ||
| In the Malagasy language, the word "FAHENDRENA" derives from Arabic, meaning "wisdom in the eyes of the people". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nzeru | ||
| Nzeru shares its etymology with the Proto-Bantu root *-zeru, meaning "to know, understand, perceive." | |||
| Shona | uchenjeri | ||
| The Shona word 'uchenjeri' also refers to the ability to foretell the future or the wisdom gained through experience. | |||
| Somali | xigmad | ||
| Sesotho | bohlale | ||
| In some contexts, 'bohlale' can also refer to traditional knowledge, folklore, or philosophical teachings passed down through generations. | |||
| Swahili | hekima | ||
| In Swahili, "hekima" also refers to traditional healing practices and knowledge. | |||
| Xhosa | ubulumko | ||
| In Xhosa, 'ubulumko' is also used to refer to the art of healing, using traditional methods and knowledge passed down through generations. | |||
| Yoruba | ọgbọn | ||
| In Yorùbá, ọgbọn means "deep knowledge of a kind, wisdom that is acquired through experience and understanding of life." | |||
| Zulu | ukuhlakanipha | ||
| 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. | |||
| Bambara | hakilitigiya | ||
| Ewe | nunya | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ubwenge | ||
| Lingala | bwanya | ||
| Luganda | amagezi | ||
| Sepedi | bohlale | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nyansa | ||
Wisdom in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حكمة | ||
| The Arabic word "حكمة" not only means "wisdom", but also refers to sayings by famous individuals intended to provide guidance or teach a lesson. | |||
| Hebrew | חוכמה | ||
| The Hebrew word "חוכמה" also means "skill" and "art" | |||
| Pashto | هوښیارتیا | ||
| The Pashto word "هوښیارتیا" for "wisdom" translates to "intelligence" in English and has a secondary meaning of "shrewdness." | |||
| Arabic | حكمة | ||
| The Arabic word "حكمة" not only means "wisdom", but also refers to sayings by famous individuals intended to provide guidance or teach a lesson. | |||
Wisdom in Western European Languages
| Albanian | mençuri | ||
| The word "mençuri" possibly derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*men-/*mān-«, meaning "to think" or "to know". | |||
| Basque | jakinduria | ||
| The Basque word "jakinduria" has the alternate meaning of "scholarship." | |||
| Catalan | saviesa | ||
| The word "saviesa" is derived from the Latin "sapere," meaning "to know" or "to taste." | |||
| Croatian | mudrost | ||
| The word "mudrost" in Croatian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "mǫdrъ", originally meaning "clever, cunning, or shrewd." | |||
| Danish | visdom | ||
| The Danish word "visdom" is related to the old Norse "vísdóm," meaning "prophecy". | |||
| Dutch | wijsheid | ||
| The term "wijsheid" comes from the Old Saxon word "wis", meaning "to know" | |||
| English | wisdom | ||
| The word "wisdom" derives from the Latin word "sapere," meaning "to taste" or "to know." | |||
| French | sagesse | ||
| 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 | ||
| "Wysheid" is also a Frisian word for a small wooden box to hide small items. | |||
| Galician | sabedoría | ||
| Sabedoría is also a Galician word that means 'know-how' or 'expertise' | |||
| German | weisheit | ||
| Weisheit is derived from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, "knowledge, wisdom," from Proto-Indo-European *woid-s-, "to see, know." | |||
| Icelandic | speki | ||
| Speki is also used in Icelandic to describe a type of salt cod. | |||
| Irish | eagna | ||
| The word "eagna" in Irish comes from the root "aig" (to know), and it is related to the word "eolas" (knowledge). | |||
| Italian | saggezza | ||
| "Saggezza" shares the same root as the Latin "sagire" meaning "to perceive", and thus originally meant "discernment", "insight" and only later "wisdom." | |||
| Luxembourgish | wäisheet | ||
| Wäisheet is derived from the Old High German word "wīsa", meaning "way, path, or manner." | |||
| Maltese | għerf | ||
| "Għerf" is cognate with "għaraft" ("intelligence, knowledge") and has also been used with the meaning of "science." | |||
| Norwegian | visdom | ||
| In Norwegian, "visdom" is cognate with the German word "wissen" which means "to know". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | sabedoria | ||
| The word "sabedoria" in Portuguese comes from the Latin word "sapere", which means "to be wise" or "to know". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gliocas | ||
| The Irish Gaelic cognate of "gliocas" is "gléic" and means "skill or art". | |||
| Spanish | sabiduría | ||
| Sabiduría comes from the Latin 'sapere,' meaning 'to be wise,' and 'sapientia,' referring to knowledge and discernment. | |||
| Swedish | visdom | ||
| The word "visdom" in Swedish shares the same root as "vetenskap" (science), both stemming from the Latin "scire" (to know). | |||
| Welsh | doethineb | ||
| The word 'doethineb' is thought to be derived from the Proto-Celtic word *doitinom ('knowledge') or *douetiom ('understanding'). | |||
Wisdom in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | мудрасць | ||
| "Мудрасць" comes from the Proto-Indo-European "*men-" meaning "to think". | |||
| Bosnian | mudrost | ||
| Mudrost derives from the Old Slavonic word "mudrъ", meaning "skilled" or "wise". | |||
| Bulgarian | мъдрост | ||
| The word “мъдрост” is derived from Proto-Slavic and shares a root with the word “умерено” (moderation). | |||
| Czech | moudrost | ||
| "moudrost" also means "blue bottle" in Czech, reflecting the ancient belief that blue glass bottles were filled with wisdom and used for divination. | |||
| Estonian | tarkus | ||
| The word "tarkus" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*tarke", which also means "wisdom" or "knowledge". | |||
| Finnish | viisaus | ||
| In folklore, the word "viisaus" also refers to a mythical creature with healing powers. | |||
| Hungarian | bölcsesség | ||
| 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. | |||
| Latvian | gudrība | ||
| "Gudrība" in Latvian shares its etymology with "good" in English, reflecting wisdom's association with moral virtue. | |||
| Lithuanian | išmintis | ||
| Išmintis may also refer to a 'seer' or 'sage' in Lithuanian folklore. | |||
| Macedonian | мудрост | ||
| The Macedonian word "мудрост" can also refer to "intelligence" or "knowledge". | |||
| Polish | mądrość | ||
| The Polish word "mądrość" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*mǫdrosьtь", which also meant "courage" or "strength". | |||
| Romanian | înţelepciune | ||
| The word "înţelepciune" in Romanian comes from the Latin word "intelligentia", which means "understanding" or "knowledge". | |||
| Russian | мудрость | ||
| The Russian word "мудрость" (wisdom) derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*men-," also meaning "to think". | |||
| Serbian | мудрост | ||
| The word "мудрост" also means "knowledge" or "learning". | |||
| Slovak | múdrosť | ||
| The word "múdrosť" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *mǫdrъ, meaning "wise" or "skilled". | |||
| Slovenian | modrost | ||
| The word comes from the Proto-Slavic word "modru" which can mean "clever" or "sly." | |||
| Ukrainian | мудрість | ||
| The word "мудрість" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *mǫdrъ, meaning "wise, prudent, clever, sagacious." | |||
Wisdom in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রজ্ঞা | ||
| The word "প্রজ্ঞা" originally referred to knowledge obtained through meditation. | |||
| Gujarati | ડહાપણ | ||
| Hindi | बुद्धिमत्ता | ||
| The Hindi word बुद्धिमत्ता (wisdom) comes from the Sanskrit word बुद्धि (intellect), which also means "awakening" and "enlightenment". | |||
| Kannada | ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತಿಕೆ | ||
| Malayalam | ജ്ഞാനം | ||
| The Malayalam word "ജ്ഞാനം" (jñānam) is derived from the Sanskrit word "jñāna", which means "knowledge" or "understanding." | |||
| Marathi | शहाणपणा | ||
| The word "शहाणपणा" (wisdom) comes from the Sanskrit word "ज्ञाना" (knowledge) and means "possessing knowledge". | |||
| Nepali | बुद्धिको | ||
| "बुद्धिको" is derived from the Sanskrit word "buddhi" which also means "intellect" or "understanding." | |||
| Punjabi | ਬੁੱਧੀ | ||
| ਬੁੱਧੀ means 'wisdom', but is also a name for the female deity Saraswati and the planet Mercury. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ප්ර .ාව | ||
| ප්ර.ාව originates from the Sanskrit word 'प्रज्ञा' which also means 'wisdom' and is often associated with spiritual enlightenment. | |||
| Tamil | ஞானம் | ||
| In Ancient Tamil, 'ஞானம்' also referred to a type of yoga and spiritual practice | |||
| Telugu | జ్ఞానం | ||
| The Telugu word 'జ్ఞానం' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'jñana', which means enlightenment or spiritual wisdom. | |||
| Urdu | حکمت | ||
| The word "حکمت" also means "prophecy" in Urdu, as it is derived from the Arabic word "حكمة" which has both meanings. | |||
Wisdom in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 智慧 | ||
| 智慧 (zhì huì): “know-how”; combination of “know” (智) and “understand” (慧) | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 智慧 | ||
| The first character in "智慧" (zhìhuì) means "to know," while the second means "to perceive". | |||
| Japanese | 知恵 | ||
| "知恵" (wisdom) also means "knowledge" or "intellect". | |||
| Korean | 지혜 | ||
| "지혜" is written using characters that also mean "branch of a tree". | |||
| Mongolian | мэргэн ухаан | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဉာဏ်ပညာ | ||
Wisdom in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kebijaksanaan | ||
| In Javanese, kebijaksanaan has a similar but broader meaning, encompassing wisdom, intelligence, and cunning. | |||
| Javanese | kawicaksanan | ||
| "Kawicaksanan" derives from the word "wicaksana" meaning "intelligent, astute," and the suffix "-an" indicating "something possessed or obtained." | |||
| Khmer | ប្រាជ្ញា | ||
| Lao | ປັນຍາ | ||
| Malay | kebijaksanaan | ||
| In Sanskrit, the root word "budh" refers to both "knowledge" and "awakening," suggesting wisdom's connection to both cognitive and spiritual realms. | |||
| Thai | ภูมิปัญญา | ||
| The word "ภูมิปัญญา" in Thai can also refer to traditional medicine and agricultural techniques passed down through generations. | |||
| Vietnamese | sự khôn ngoan | ||
| The Vietnamese word "sự khôn ngoan" can also mean "shrewdness" or "cunning". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | karunungan | ||
Wisdom in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | müdriklik | ||
| The word "müdriklik" is also used to refer to the ability to predict the future or see things that are hidden. | |||
| Kazakh | даналық | ||
| The Kazakh word "даналық" (wisdom) is derived from the Persian word "dānā" (wise), which is also the root of the English word "doctor" | |||
| Kyrgyz | акылдуулук | ||
| 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. | |||
| Tajik | ҳикмат | ||
| The word "ҳикмат" is also used to refer to religious teachings or guidance. | |||
| Turkmen | paýhas | ||
| Uzbek | donolik | ||
| Donolik is also used to refer to a specific type of spiritual knowledge or enlightenment in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | ھېكمەت | ||
Wisdom in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | naauao | ||
| The Hawaiian word "naauao" can also refer to "understanding," "knowledge," or "learning." | |||
| Maori | whakaaro nui | ||
| Whakaaro nui in Maori can also refer to the concept of 'deep thinking' or 'reflection'. | |||
| Samoan | poto | ||
| The word "poto" in Samoan also means "knowledge", "intelligence", or "understanding" | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | karunungan | ||
| 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. | |||
Wisdom in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | yatiña | ||
| Guarani | arandu | ||
Wisdom in International Languages
| Esperanto | saĝo | ||
| The Esperanto word "saĝo" is derived from the Latin word "sapientia", which also means "wisdom". | |||
| Latin | sapientiae | ||
| The word "sapientia" in Latin is related to the words "sapere" (to be wise) and "sapor" (taste). | |||
Wisdom in Others Languages
| Greek | σοφία | ||
| Σοφία also has a second, less common, meaning of "art, craft, skill, or knowledge", similar to "τέχνη" | |||
| Hmong | txhab | ||
| The Hmong word "txhab" originally referred to the spirit inside the heart during divination practices and to the spirit that guards a house. | |||
| Kurdish | rîsipîti | ||
| The word 'rîsipîti' is derived from the Persian 'dânish' and also has the meaning of 'knowledge'. | |||
| Turkish | bilgelik | ||
| Bilgelik derives from the word "bilgi" (knowledge) and the Proto-Turkic word "*bil" (to know) | |||
| Xhosa | ubulumko | ||
| In Xhosa, 'ubulumko' is also used to refer to the art of healing, using traditional methods and knowledge passed down through generations. | |||
| Yiddish | חכמה | ||
| In Yiddish, the word "חכמה" can also refer to knowledge, craftiness, or cunning. | |||
| Zulu | ukuhlakanipha | ||
| 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. | |||
| Assamese | জ্ঞান | ||
| Aymara | yatiña | ||
| Bhojpuri | अकिल | ||
| Dhivehi | ބުއްދި | ||
| Dogri | अकलमंदी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | karunungan | ||
| Guarani | arandu | ||
| Ilocano | kapanunotan | ||
| Krio | sɛns | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ژیری | ||
| Maithili | बुद्धिमत्ता | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯂꯧꯁꯤꯡ | ||
| Mizo | finna | ||
| Oromo | ogummaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଜ୍ଞାନ | ||
| Quechua | yachay | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रज्ञा | ||
| Tatar | зирәклек | ||
| Tigrinya | ጥበብ | ||
| Tsonga | vutlharhi | ||