One of the first things you should learn when starting a new language is how to say yes and no. They’re two simple words that you’re going to need to use quite a bit. It may seem like a simple thing, but learning these phrases across as many languages as possible is probably a pretty good idea. You never know when you’ll run into a situation where one of these simple terms can help a great deal — where you’ll want to say yes in Spanish to an opportunity that comes your way or to say no in German to those you can’t manage.
We should mention there’s more than one way to say yes and no in each language. You could say yes in French in a few different ways: oui, bien sûr, d’accord and so on. For another example, you can look at just a few of the many options in English.
@babbelHow many different ways can you say yes in English without actually saying yes? 🤔 Drop some more nonsensical English in the comments 👉 #learnenglish #englishgrammar #etymology #nerdy #englishfacts #learningenglish #englishteacher #learnenglishonline #bilingual #polyglot #multilingual #babbel
That said, we’re starting you off with a guide to the simplest ways to say “yes” and “no” in 25 different languages. You can also scroll further down for recordings for how to say these words in many of the languages as well!
How To Say Yes And No Around The World
‘Yes’ In 25 Languages
| Language | Word for “Yes” |
|---|---|
| English | Yes |
| Spanish | Sí |
| French | Oui |
| German | Ja |
| Italian | Sì |
| Portuguese | Sim |
| Russian | Да (Da) |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 是 (Shì) |
| Japanese | はい (Hai) |
| Korean | 네 (Ne) |
| Arabic | نعم (Na’am) |
| Hindi | हाँ (Haan) |
| Bengali | হ্যাঁ (Hyā̃) |
| Turkish | Evet |
| Greek | Ναι (Ne) |
| Dutch | Ja |
| Swedish | Ja |
| Danish | Ja |
| Norwegian | Ja |
| Finnish | Kyllä |
| Polish | Tak |
| Czech | Ano |
| Hungarian | Igen |
| Thai | ใช่ (Chai) |
| Vietnamese | Vâng |
‘No’ In 25 Languages
| Language | Word for “No” |
|---|---|
| English | No |
| Spanish | No |
| French | Non |
| German | Nein |
| Italian | No |
| Portuguese | Não |
| Russian | Нет (Net) |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 不 (Bù) |
| Japanese | いいえ (Iie) |
| Korean | 아니요 (Aniyo) |
| Arabic | لا (Lā) |
| Hindi | नहीं (Nahin) |
| Bengali | না (Nā) |
| Turkish | Hayır |
| Greek | Όχι (Ochi) |
| Dutch | Nee |
| Swedish | Nej |
| Danish | Nej |
| Norwegian | Nei |
| Finnish | Ei |
| Polish | Nie |
| Czech | Ne |
| Hungarian | Nem |
| Thai | ไม่ (Mai) |
| Vietnamese | Không |
How To Pronounce ‘Yes’ And ‘No’ In 10 Languages
Yes
- Yes In German — Ja
- Yes In Spanish — Sí
- Yes In French — Oui
- Yes In Italian — Si
- Yes In Portuguese — Sim
- Yes In Swedish — Ja
- Yes In Turkish — Evet
- Yes In Polish — Tak
- Yes In Indonesian — Ya
- Yes In Russian — да (Da)
No
- No In German — Nein
- No In Spanish — No
- No In French — Non
- No In Italian — No
- No In Portuguese — Não
- No In Swedish — Nej
- No In Turkish — Hayır
- No In Polish — Nie
- No In Indonesian — Tidak
- No In Russian — нет (Nyet)