How to say “idiot” in 36 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.
- идиот[ɪdʲɪˈot] Russian
- βλάκας/ˈvla.kas/ Greek
- იდიოტი[idio̞tʼi] Georgian
- احمق[ʔæɦ.mǽɢ̥] Persian
“idiot” in German: idiot · Italian: idiota · Russian: идиот · Greek: βλάκας
It is commonest in Persian, where احمق is the 287th most used word.
Idiot in other languages, A to Z
- Albanian debil/dɛbil/ moron, idiot #1,820
- Arabic مغفل/mu.ɣaf.fal/ fool, idiot, moron #1,975
- Bengali বেকুব/bekub/ fool; dumb; idiot; dunce #1,089
- Bosnian budala/budǎla/ fool, idiot, simpleton #1,131
- Bulgarian идиот[idiˈɔt] #698
- Catalan estúpida[əsˈtu.pi.ðə] dolt, idiot, simpleton #1,499
- Chinese 笨蛋/pən⁵¹⁻⁵³ tän⁵¹/ fool; idiot; silly #333
- Croatian budala/budǎla/ fool, idiot, simpleton #1,164
- Czech idiot[ˈɪdɪjot] #1,360
- Danish idiot/idiˈoːˀd/ an idiot, imbecile, fool #616
- Dutch idioot/ˌi.diˈ(j)oːt/ an idiot #780
- Esperanto stultulo/stulˈtulo/ #512
- Finnish idiootti/ˈidioːtːi/ #1,053
- Georgian იდიოტი[idio̞tʼi] #1,143
- German idiot/iˈdi̯oːt/ idiot; moron #863
- Greek βλάκας/ˈvla.kas/ idiot, moron, imbecile #1,672
- Hebrew אידיוט/iˈdjot/ A idiot: a stupid person #560
- Hungarian idióta[ˈidijoːtɒ] #859
- Icelandic fífl[ˈfipl̥] fool, idiot, buffoon #641
- Italian idiota/iˈdjɔ.ta/ idiot, moron, maroon, clot #754
- Korean 바보[ˈpa̠(ː)bo̞] fool, moron, idiot #419
- Latvian idiots/ˈidiuots/ #1,403
- Lithuanian kvailys[kʋɐɪ²ˈlʲiːs] fool, idiot #577
- Macedonian идиот[idiˈɔt] #623
- Malayalam വിഡ്ഢി/ʋiɖɖ(ʱ)i/ fool, idiot #408
- Norwegian idiot/ɪdɪˈuːt/ an idiot, imbecile, fool #645
- Persian احمق[ʔæɦ.mǽɢ̥] idiot, fool, dolt #287
- Portuguese animais/a.niˈmajs/ twat; idiot; moron #1,065
- Romanian idiot/i.diˈot/ idiot; moron; imbecile #1,075
- Russian идиот[ɪdʲɪˈot] #1,127
- Serbian budala/budǎla/ fool, idiot, simpleton #1,000
- Slovak idiot/iɟiɔt/ #522
- Swedish idiot/ɪdɪˈuːt/ an idiot #586
- Tagalog bobo/ˈbobo/ fool; idiot; simpleton; dunce #684
- Tamil முட்டாள்/mʊʈːɑːɭ/ fool, stupid, idiot, simpleton, dunce #186
- Ukrainian ідіот[idʲiˈɔt] #1,464
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) and Catalan (upc_ona (ca_ES), CC BY-SA 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.