How to say “problem” in 47 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.
- problema/pɾoˈblema/ Spanish
- проблема[prɐˈblʲemə] Russian
- مشكلة/muʃ.ki.la/ Arabic
- 문제[ˈmu(ː)ɲd͡ʑe̞] Korean
- समस्या/sə.məs.jɑː/ Hindi
- πρόβλημα/ˈpɾo.vli.ma/ Greek
“problem” in Spanish: problema · French: problème · German: problem · Italian: problema · Portuguese: problema · Korean: 문제 · Russian: проблема · Arabic: مشكلة
It is commonest in Malayalam, where പ്രശ്നം is the 103rd most used word.
Problem in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans probleem/pruˈbliəm/ #318
- Arabic مشكلة/muʃ.ki.la/ problem, difficulty #162
- Basque konponbide/kompombide/ way to solve a problem #1,546
- Bengali সমস্যা/ʃɔmoʃːa/ problem, difficulty, trouble #143
- Bosnian problem/prǒbleːm/ #247
- Bulgarian проблем[proˈblɛm] #204
- Catalan problema[pɾuˈβlɛ.mə] #269
- Chinese 沒事/meɪ̯³⁵ ʂɻ̩⁵¹/ no problem; don't worry about it; that's OK;… #354
- Croatian problem/prǒbleːm/ #268
- Czech problém[ˈproblɛːm] #288
- Danish problem/pʁoˈbleːˀm/ #379
- Dutch probleem/ˌproːˈbleːm/ #300
- Esperanto problemo/proˈblemo/ problem, trouble #422
- Estonian probleem/ˈprob̥leːm/ #416
- Finnish ongelma/ˈoŋːelmɑ/ problem, trouble, issue #541
- French problème/pʁɔ.blɛm/ #219
- Galician problema/pɾoˈblema/ #251
- Georgian პრობლემა[pʼɾo̞ble̞mä] #1,343
- German problem/pʁoˈbleːm/ #306
- Greek πρόβλημα/ˈpɾo.vli.ma/ problem, complicated question or subject #212
- Hebrew בעיה/be.(ʔ)aˈja/ #247
- Hindi समस्या/sə.məs.jɑː/ problem, issue, puzzle #295
- Hungarian baj[ˈbɒj] trouble, matter, problem #147
- Icelandic vandamál/ˈvantamaul/ #417
- Indonesian masalah/maˈsalah/ #136
- Italian problema/proˈblɛ.ma/ #259
- Korean 문제[ˈmu(ː)ɲd͡ʑe̞] problem, issue, question #337
- Latvian problēma/ˈproblæːma/ #484
- Lithuanian problema/proːblɛˈmɐ/ #452
- Macedonian проблем[ˈprɔblɛm] #184
- Malay masalah[maˈsalah] #144
- Malayalam പ്രശ്നം/pɾɐʃnɐm/ #103
- Norwegian problem/prʊˈbleːm/ #463
- Persian مسئله[mæs.ʔæ.lé] problem, question #520
- Polish problem/ˈprɔ.blɛm/ #293
- Portuguese problema/pɾoˈblẽ.mɐ/ #224
- Romanian problema/proˈblema/ #361
- Russian проблема[prɐˈblʲemə] #450
- Serbian problem/prǒbleːm/ #246
- Slovak problém/prɔbleːm/ #166
- Spanish problema/pɾoˈblema/ problem, issue, challenge #243
- Swedish problem/prʊˈbleːm/ a problem, an issue #224
- Tagalog problema/pɾoˈblema/ problem; trouble #172
- Tamil பிரச்சினை/pɪɾɐtʃtʃɪnɐɪ̯/ problem, issue, dispute #473
- Turkish sorunu/soɾuˈnu/ problem, difficulty, issue #927
- Ukrainian проблема[prɔˈbɫɛmɐ] #363
- Urdu مسئلہ/məs.ʔə.lɑ(ː)/ problem, issue #165
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) and Estonian (news (et_EE), CC BY 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.