How to say “calm” in 39 different languages
Every one of these is a word that turns up in ordinary speech, not a dictionary curiosity — the number beside it is where it ranks in that language.
- tranquilo/tɾanˈkilo/ Spanish
- هادئ/haː.diʔ/ Arabic
- სიჩუმე[sit͡ʃʰume̞] Georgian
“calm” in Spanish: tranquilo · French: calme · German: ruhe · Italian: tranquillo · Portuguese: calma · Arabic: هادئ · Turkish: sakin
It is commonest in Indonesian, where tenang is the 295th most used word.
Calm in other languages, A to Z
- Albanian qetësohem/cɛtəsɔhɛm/ to calm down, to quiet down #2,414
- Arabic هادئ/haː.diʔ/ calm, restful, quiet, tranquil #1,412
- Basque lasaitu/las̺ai̯tu/ to calm down, to simmer down #327
- Bengali শান্ত/ʃant̪o/ quiet, calm #246
- Bulgarian спокойствие[spoˈkɔjstviɛ] quiet, silence, calm #1,938
- Catalan tranquil[tɾəŋˈkil] tranquil, calm #454
- Chinese 冷靜/lɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹/ sober; calm #2,007
- Croatian smiriti/smǐːriti/ to calm, soothe, pacify #2,298
- Danish rolig/ˈʁoːli/ calm, quiet, peaceful #341
- Dutch kalm/kɑl(ə)m/ calm, tranquil, free of noise and disturbance #1,305
- English whoa/woʊ/ Stop; calm down; slow down #501
- Esperanto trankviliĝu/ˌtrankviˈlidʒu/ to calm down, quiet down #460
- Finnish rauhoitu/ˈrauhoitu/ to calm down, relax, unwind, get ahold of… #635
- French calme/kalm/ to calm, pacify, soothe #589
- Galician tranquilo/tɾaŋˈkilo/ calm, tranquil #920
- Georgian სიჩუმე[sit͡ʃʰume̞] calm, hush, quiet, quietness, quietude,… #1,125
- German ruhe/ˈʁuːə/ calm, relative quietness #462
- Greek ηρέμησε/iˈre.mi.se/ to calm down #630
- Hebrew רגוע/ʁaˈɡua/ relaxed, calm #1,328
- Hungarian nyugodt[ˈɲuɡotː] calm, peaceful, tranquil #2,246
- Icelandic kyrr[ˈcʰɪrː] still, calm #339
- Indonesian tenang/tə.naŋ/ calm, motionless #295
- Italian tranquillo/tranˈkwil.lo/ calm, sober, tranquil #1,030
- Latvian mierā/ˈmieraː/ peace, tranquility, calm, quiet, rest #493
- Lithuanian ramus[rɐˈmʊs] #1,147
- Macedonian смири[ˈsmiɾi] to appease, calm down #408
- Malay tenang/təˈnaŋ/ calm, composed, still, collected,… #447
- Norwegian rolig/ˈruːlɪ/ calm, quiet, peaceful #413
- Persian آرام[ʔɒː.ɹɒ́ːm] quiet, calm, tranquil, relaxed #1,265
- Polish spokój/ˈspɔ.kuj/ calm, calmness, peace, tranquility #334
- Portuguese calma/ˈkaw.mɐ/ #425
- Romanian ho/ˈho/ Used to calm or stop a domestic animal,… #1,782
- Slovenian pogovoriti/pɔɡɔʋɔrìːti/ to calm by talking #341
- Spanish tranquilo/tɾanˈkilo/ calm, peaceful, tranquil, quiet #794
- Swedish lugnt/ˈlɵŋnt/ calm, tranquil #373
- Tagalog mahinahon/mahiˈnahon/ #1,803
- Turkish sakin/saːˈcin/ #296
- Ukrainian заспокойся[zɐspɔˈkɔi̯sʲɐ] calm down, remain calm #925
- Vietnamese an[ʔaːn˧˧] calm; peaceful; comfortable; at ease; safe #327
The speaker reads the word in the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a recording of a native speaker, so treat it as a guide. A row without a button has no reading we are free to use, or none we trust, yet. Voices for Bengali (google (bn_BD), CC BY-SA 4.0), Catalan (upc_ona (ca_ES), CC BY-SA 4.0), Slovenian (artur (sl_SI), CC BY 4.0) and Vietnamese (vais1000 (vi_VN), CC BY 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.