How to say “possibility” in 38 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.
- احتمال/iħ.ti.maːl/ Arabic
- 可能性/kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ nɤŋ³⁵ ɕiŋ⁵¹/ Chinese
- संभावना/səm.bʱɑːʋ.nɑː/ Hindi
- δυνατόν/ðinaˈton/ Greek
- സാധ്യത/saːd̪(ʱ)jɐd̪ɐ/ Malayalam
- можливість[mɔʒˈɫɪʋʲisʲtʲ] Ukrainian
“possibility” in Italian: possibilità · Portuguese: possibilidade · Chinese: 可能性 · Arabic: احتمال · Hindi: संभावना · Turkish: ihtimal · Greek: δυνατόν
It is commonest in Vietnamese, where được is the 15th most used word.
Possibility in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans moontlikheid/ˈmʊəntləkˌhɛɪt/ #1,482
- Albanian mundësi/mundəsi/ possibility, chance #294
- Arabic احتمال/iħ.ti.maːl/ possibility, likelihood, chance, eventuality #1,526
- Armenian հնար/həˈnɑɾ/ means, way; possibility #1,083
- Bosnian mogućnost/moɡǔːt͡ɕnoːst/ possibility, potentiality #1,585
- Bulgarian възможност[vɐzˈmɔʒnost] #613
- Catalan possibilitat[pu.si.βi.liˈtat] #1,271
- Chinese 可能性/kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ nɤŋ³⁵ ɕiŋ⁵¹/ possibility; probability; likelihood #990
- Croatian mogućnost/moɡǔːt͡ɕnoːst/ possibility, potentiality #1,381
- Czech možnost[ˈmoʒnost] #716
- Danish mulighed/muːliheːd/ #937
- Dutch mogelijkheid/ˈmoːɣələkˌɦɛi̯t/ #1,915
- English chance/t͡ʃæns/ An opportunity or possibility #419
- Finnish mahdollisuus/ˈmɑhdolːisuːs/ possibility, chance, probability, likelihood #1,263
- German kann/kan/ to be able, to have the possibility of, can #51
- Greek δυνατόν/ðinaˈton/ #1,038
- Hebrew סיכוי/siˈkuj/ A chance, probability, possibility #430
- Hindi संभावना/səm.bʱɑːʋ.nɑː/ possibility, chance, probability, likelihood #1,094
- Icelandic möguleiki[ˈmœːɣʏˌleiːcɪ] possibility, chance #1,362
- Indonesian kemungkinan/kəmuŋˈkinan/ #749
- Italian possibilità/pos.si.bi.liˈta/ #1,119
- Korean 가능성[ˈka̠(ː)nɯŋs͈ʌ̹ŋ] degree of possibility #1,863
- Latvian varbūt/ˈʋarbuːt/ Used to express possibility, probability;… #77
- Lithuanian galimybė[ɡɐlʲɪ¹ˈmʲiːbʲeː] #802
- Macedonian можност[ˈmɔʒnɔst] #609
- Malayalam സാധ്യത/saːd̪(ʱ)jɐd̪ɐ/ #379
- Persian امکان[ʔem.kʰɒ́ːn] #551
- Polish możliwości/mɔ.ʐliˈvɔɕ.t͡ɕi/ #1,573
- Portuguese possibilidade/po.si.bi.liˈda.d͡ʒi/ #2,216
- Serbian mogućnost/moɡǔːt͡ɕnoːst/ possibility, potentiality #1,456
- Slovak možnosť/mɔʒnɔsc/ #440
- Slovenian možnost/mòːʒnɔst/ #324
- Spanish riesgo/ˈrjesɡo/ risk; the possibility of harm or an… #1,501
- Swedish möjlighet/ˈmœjlɪɡˌheːt/ possibility, opportunity #1,788
- Turkish ihtimal/ih.tiˈmal/ possibility, probability #2,017
- Ukrainian можливість[mɔʒˈɫɪʋʲisʲtʲ] #1,170
- Urdu امکان/ɪm.kɑːn/ possibility, probability #988
- Vietnamese được[ʔɗɨək̚˧˨ʔ] particle that expresses ability, possibility #15
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 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.