How to say “wild” in 31 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 Norwegian, where ville is the 62nd most used word.
- Afrikaans wilde #978
- Albanian egër #942
- Arabic وحش wild animal #1,021
- Armenian վայրի wild, savage #744
- Basque basati #851
- Catalan salvatges wild; savage #1,462
- Chinese 野心 wild ambition or schemes; careerism #2,344
- Croatian zvijer beast, wild animal #2,135
- Danish vild #677
- Esperanto sovaĝa wild, savage, ferocious #1,146
- Estonian metsik #1,647
- Galician salvaxes wild; savage #1,358
- Georgian ველური savage, wild #474
- German wild wild, unrestrained, raucous #2,298
- Icelandic villtur wild, unruly, savage #2,217
- Indonesian liar wild, untamed, undomesticated #1,249
- Latvian nikns wild, furious, raging #1,999
- Lithuanian laukinis wild, untamed, uncultivated, feral #2,493
- Malay liar wild; untamed; feral #1,194
- Malayalam പേ mad, wild, vicious #607
- Norwegian ville #62
- Persian وحشی #2,060
- Serbian zver beast, wild animal #2,243
- Slovak divoký #2,066
- Slovenian divji #1,000
- Spanish salvaje wild, savage #2,460
- Swedish and a wild duck #1,799
- Tamil அஞ்சலி Anjili, wild jackfruit #2,077
- Telugu ఈత wild date tree called Phoenix sylvestris #595
- Turkish vahşi turbulent, lawless, wild, truculent,… #1,268
- Vietnamese rợ #2,342
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.