How to say “sick” in 43 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 Indonesian, where sakit is the 222nd most used word.
- Afrikaans siek ill, sick, unwell #253
- Albanian sëmurë in an ailing/sick/diseased condition #623
- Arabic مريض sick, ill #595
- Armenian հիվանդ sick, ill, diseased #794
- Basque gaixorik sick, ill, crank #534
- Bengali অসুস্থ unwell, sick #520
- Bosnian bolestan sick, ill #1,104
- Bulgarian болен sick, ill; unhealthy #1,064
- Catalan malalt sick, ill #1,121
- Chinese 病人 patient; invalid; sick person #414
- Croatian bolestan sick, ill #1,121
- Danish syg sick, ill #633
- Dutch betere not sick anymore; recovered #1,147
- Esperanto malsana unhealthy, ill, sick #870
- Estonian haige sick, ill #618
- Finnish sairas ill, sick #1,021
- French malade ill, unwell, sick #626
- Galician enfermo sick, ill, diseased #1,061
- Georgian ავად sick, ill #1,306
- German krank ill, sick #711
- Greek άρρωστος ill, sick #1,324
- Hebrew חולה sick, ill #537
- Hindi बीमार ill, sick #742
- Hungarian beteg sick, ill #573
- Icelandic sjúklingur a patient, sick person #1,872
- Indonesian sakit ill; sick; hurt #222
- Italian malato ill, sick, unwell, affected, sore #1,751
- Latvian slims sick, ill, diseased #1,570
- Macedonian болен sick, ill #884
- Malay sakit ill, painful, sick #324
- Norwegian syk sick, ill #658
- Persian مریض sick, ill, unwell #1,870
- Polish chory ill, sick #1,468
- Portuguese doente #774
- Romanian bolnav sick, ill #1,021
- Serbian bolestan sick, ill #1,079
- Spanish enfermo sick, ill #1,158
- Swedish sjuk sick, ill #691
- Telugu రోగి patient, sick person, sufferer #819
- Turkish hasta ill, sick #523
- Ukrainian хворий ill, sick, diseased #1,625
- Urdu بیمار ill; sick #586
- Vietnamese ốm ill; sick #1,548
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.