How to say “safe” 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.
- سليم/sa.liːm/ Arabic
- 安全/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/ Chinese
- 금고[kɯmɡo̞] Korean
- ασφαλής/a.sfaˈlis/ Greek
- უსაფრთხო[usäpʰɾtʰχo̞] Georgian
- ապահով/ɑpɑˈhov/ Armenian
“safe” in Italian: sicura · Portuguese: seguro · Chinese: 安全 · Korean: 금고 · Arabic: سليم · Turkish: güvenli · Greek: ασφαλής
It is commonest in Chinese, where 安全 is the 100th most used word.
Safe in other languages, A to Z
- Afrikaans veilig/ˈfɛɪləx/ #476
- Arabic سليم/sa.liːm/ safe, secure #1,690
- Armenian ապահով/ɑpɑˈhov/ #742
- Bengali সিন্দুক/ʃind̪uk/ box; chest; safe #1,335
- Bosnian sef/sêf/ safe, strongbox #1,803
- Catalan segur[səˈɣu] #186
- Chinese 安全/ˀän⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/ safe; secure #100
- Croatian sef/sêf/ safe, strongbox #2,223
- Czech bezpečné[ˈbɛspɛt͡ʃnɛː] #1,833
- Danish sikker[ˈseɡ̊ɐ] safe, secure #227
- Dutch kluis/klœy̯s/ a safe #1,909
- English haven/ˈheɪvən/ A safe place #299
- Esperanto sekura/seˈkura/ safe, secure #1,127
- Estonian ohutu/ˈohutu/ safe, harmless #1,061
- Finnish turvallista/ˈturvalˌlista/ #2,227
- Galician seguro/seˈɡuɾo/ secure; safe #226
- Georgian უსაფრთხო[usäpʰɾtʰχo̞] safe, secure #1,317
- Greek ασφαλής/a.sfaˈlis/ safe, secure #923
- Hindi सुरक्षित/sʊɾəkʂɪt̪/ protected, safe #342
- Indonesian aman/a.man/ safe; secure #320
- Italian sicura/siˈku.ra/ safe; secure #541
- Korean 금고[kɯmɡo̞] #1,959
- Latvian sveiks[svɛ̀jks] safe; unharmed despite adverse circumstances #156
- Lithuanian saugi[sɒʊˈɡʲɪ] safe, secure #880
- Macedonian безбеден[ˈbɛzbɛdɛn] safe, secure #1,490
- Norwegian sikker/ˈsɪkər/ safe, secure #272
- Persian امن/æmn/ secure; safe, especially against attacks,… #590
- Polish bezpieczna/bɛsˈpjɛt͡ʂ.na/ safe, secure #2,078
- Portuguese seguro/siˈɡu.ɾu/ safe; safely #666
- Serbian sef/sêf/ safe, strongbox #2,305
- Slovak bezpečné/bespet͡ʃneː/ #805
- Slovenian varen/ʋàːrən/ #731
- Spanish segura/seˈɡuɾa/ secure; safe #518
- Swedish säker/ˈsɛːkɛr/ #275
- Tagalog ligtas/liɡˈtas/ safe; free from danger #346
- Turkish güvenli/ɟyvenˈli/ safe, secure #670
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), Estonian (news (et_EE), CC BY 4.0) and Slovenian (artur (sl_SI), CC BY 4.0).
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.