How to say “weep” in 32 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 Afrikaans, where huil is the 351st most used word.
- Afrikaans huil to cry; to weep #351
- Albanian qaj to cry, weep, shed tears #1,203
- Arabic نحب to lament, to weep, to cry #1,338
- Bengali কান্না cry, crying, weep, sob, lament #899
- Bosnian plakati to cry, weep #2,253
- Bulgarian плача to cry, to weep #2,470
- Catalan plorar to cry, to weep #1,530
- Croatian plakati to cry, weep #1,907
- Danish græde cry, weep #1,588
- Dutch huilen to cry, to weep #1,274
- English crying To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger… #880
- Esperanto ploras to cry, to weep, to mourn #1,636
- French pleurer to cry, to weep; to shed tears #1,461
- Galician chorar to cry, weep #1,127
- German wein to weep, cry #1,208
- Greek κλαις to cry, weep #2,029
- Hindi रोते to cry, weep #1,138
- Italian piangere to weep, cry #1,350
- Latvian raudāt to weep, to cry and producing inarticulate… #2,091
- Lithuanian verkti cry, weep #1,613
- Macedonian плачеш to cry, weep #1,876
- Norwegian gråt to cry or weep #1,541
- Portuguese chorar to cry; to weep #1,164
- Romanian plânge to cry, weep #1,425
- Serbian plače to cry, weep #2,165
- Slovak plakať to weep, to cry #986
- Spanish llorar to cry, to weep #1,546
- Swedish gråta to cry, to weep #1,667
- Tagalog umiyak to cry; to weep #1,111
- Tamil அழு to cry, to weep #1,425
- Urdu رونا to cry, weep #986
- Vietnamese khóc to cry, to weep #969
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.