How to say “drug” in 32 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.
It is commonest in Vietnamese, where thuốc is the 393rd most used word.
- Afrikaans dwelms #1,853
- Armenian դեղ drug, medicine, medicament #1,310
- Basque droga #639
- Bengali নেশাখোর drug addict #2,353
- Bosnian droga #1,872
- Bulgarian лекарство medicine, drug #2,016
- Catalan drogues #893
- Chinese 毒品 drug; narcotic #532
- Croatian droga #1,888
- Czech drogy drug, recreational drug #1,180
- English lucy The drug LSD #2,074
- Estonian ravim drug, medicine #1,994
- Finnish huumeita drug, narcotic #1,626
- French drogue #1,042
- Hebrew סם drug, narcotic #813
- Icelandic lyf drug, medicine #1,001
- Korean 마약 drug, narcotic #535
- Macedonian дрога drug, narcotic #607
- Malayalam മയക്കുമരുന്ന് drug used for recreational use #676
- Persian دارو medicine, drug, medication #796
- Polish narkotyki #2,142
- Portuguese droga #1,044
- Romanian medicamente medicine, drug, medication #1,697
- Russian лекарство medicine, drug #2,173
- Serbian droga #1,930
- Slovak liek medicine, pharmaceutical drug #742
- Slovenian mamilo #1,891
- Spanish drogas #1,008
- Swedish droger a drug, a narcotic #1,368
- Telugu మందులు medicine, physic, drug #466
- Turkish uyuşturucu drug, narcotic #659
- Vietnamese thuốc medicine; medicament; drug #393
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.