How to say yes and no in 99 real languages and 8 fictional ones
Author: Karolina Assi
A look at how to say "yes" and "no" in various languages, emphasizing the cultural implications and variations in usage across different contexts.
In some situations, you may need to say “yes” or “no” to someone who doesn’t speak English or your native language. Maybe it’s while traveling to a different country, exploring a new culture, or simply having a conversation with someone who speaks a different language.
Just imagine yourself strolling through the bustling markets of Marrakech, and a friendly vendor asks if you'd like to buy some hand-made Moroccan lamps. You can confidently respond with a "نعم" (Na'am) for "yes" or "لا" (La) for "no" in Arabic, making the negotiation part of the adventure.
Either way, learning how to say “yes” and “no” in other languages isn’t only useful, but also fun! So, in this article, we’ve compiled a list of over 100 ways to say “yes” and “no” in different languages.
Yes and no in different languages
Learning how to say “yes” and “no” in over 100 different languages may seem pointless. But the truth is, you never know when it may come in handy!
Who knows if one day you may need to know a few words in Vietnamese because you found yourself in the middle of a lonely, dusty road in the Vietnamese countryside where no one speaks a word of English? Yes, it’s a true story that happened to yours truly sometime in 2015.
To help you prepare for any situation, we’ve compiled this list of how to say “yes” and “no” in 99 languages.
| Language | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Ja | Nee |
| Albanian | Po | Jo |
| Amharic | አዎን (Awoon) | አይ (Ay) |
| Arabic | نعم (Na'am) | لا (La) |
| Armenian | Այո (Ayo) | Ոչ (Voč) |
| Aymara | Aru | Mana |
| Azerbaijani | Bəli | Xeyir |
| Basque | Bai | Ez |
| Belarusian | Так (Tak) | Не (Nie) |
| Bengali | হ্যাঁ (Hyã) | না (Na) |
| Bosnian | Da | Ne |
| Bulgarian | Да (Da) | Не (Ne) |
| Cantonese | 係 (Hai) | 唔係 (M4 hai) |
| Catalan | Sí | No |
| Cebuano | Oo | Dili |
| Chichewa | Ee | Ayi |
| Corsican | Sì | No |
| Croatian | Da | Ne |
| Czech | Ano | Ne |
| Danish | Ja | Nej |
| Dutch | Ja | Nee |
| English | Yes | No |
| Estonian | Jah | Ei |
| Ewe | Ɛ̃ (ee) | Hɔ (ao) |
| Farsi (Persian) | بله (Bale) | نه (Na) |
| Fijian | Io | Sega |
| Filipino | Oo | Hindi |
| Finnish | Kyllä | Ei |
| French | Oui | Non |
| Gaelic (Irish) | Tá | Níl |
| Galician | Sí | Non |
| Georgian | კი (Ki) | არა (Ara) |
| German | Ja | Nein |
| Greek | Ναι (Ne) | Όχι (Ohi) |
| Guarani | Hẽ | Ajejá |
| Haitian Creole | Wi | Non |
| Hawaiian | ʻAe | ʻAʻole |
| Hebrew | כן (Ken) | לא (Lo) |
| Hindi | हाँ (Haan) | नहीं (Nahi) |
| Hmong | Yog | Tsis |
| Hungarian | Igen | Nem |
| Icelandic | Já | Nei |
| Igbo | Ee | Mba |
| Ilocano | Wen | Saan |
| Indonesian | Ya | Tidak |
| Italian | Sì | No |
| Japanese | はい (Hai) | いいえ (Iie) |
| Kazakh | Ия (Iya) | Жоқ (Joq) |
| Khmer | បាទ (Baht) | ទេ (Tei) |
| Kinyarwanda | Yego | Oya |
| Korean | 네 (Ne) | 아니요 (Aniyo) |
| Kurdish | Bella | Na |
| Lao | ໂດຍ (Doi) | ບໍ່ (Bo) |
| Latin | Ita | Minime |
| Latvian | Jā | Nē |
| Lithuanian | Taip | Ne |
| Luxembourgish | Jo | Nee |
| Macedonian | Да (Da) | Не (Ne) |
| Malagasy | Eny | Tsia |
| Malay | Ya | Tidak |
| Maltese | Iva | Le |
| Mandarin | 是 (Shì) | 不 (Bù) |
| Maori | Āe | Kāore |
| Mongolian | Тийм (Tiim) | Үгүй (Ügüi) |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဟုတ် (Hote) | မဟုတ် (Ma hote) |
| Nahuatl | Quin | Axi |
| Navajo | Hózhǫǫ́ | Hózhǫ́ǫ́go |
| Nepali | हो (Ho) | होइन (Hoina) |
| Norwegian | Ja | Nei |
| Pashto | هو (Hu) | نه (Na) |
| Polish | Tak | Nie |
| Portuguese | Sim | Não |
| Punjabi | ਹਾਂ (Haan) | ਨਹੀਂ (Nahi) |
| Quechua | Arí | Mana |
| Romanian | Da | Nu |
| Russian | Да (Da) | Нет (Net) |
| Samoan | Ioe | Leai |
| Sepedi | Ee | Aowa |
| Serbian | Да (Da) | Не (Ne) |
| Sesotho | Ee | Ha |
| Slovak | Áno | Nie |
| Slovenian | Da | Ne |
| Somali | Haa | Maya |
| Spanish | Sí | No |
| Swahili | Ndiyo | Hapana |
| Swedish | Ja | Nej |
| Tagalog | Oo | Hindi |
| Taiwanese | 有 (Ū) | 無 (Bô) |
| Tamil | ஆம் (Aam) | இல்லை (Illai) |
| Thai | ใช่ (Chai) | ไม่ (Mai) |
| Tibetan | ཨོ (O) | མདོ (Mado) |
| Tongan | ʻIo | ʻIkai |
| Turkish | Evet | Hayır |
| Ukrainian | Так (Tak) | Ні (Ni) |
| Urdu | ہاں (Haan) | نہیں (Nahi) |
| Uzbek | Ha | Yo'q |
| Vietnamese | Có | Không |
| Welsh | Ie | Na |
| Xhosa | Ewe | Hayi |
Wondering how to pronounce these yes’s and no’s? Here’s a quick guide on:
Yes and no in constructed languages
Aside from the 7,100+ known languages spoken in the world, some have been created artificially rather than as a result of gradual linguistic evolution. Also known as conlangs, constructed languages were designed to facilitate international communication.
Simply put, they were created to allow us to understand each other without needing to speak various languages. For example, Interlingua is a universal language designed to replace all Romance languages, like Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese (it’s also really easy to understand if you speak at least one of those).
These languages have recently been gaining popularity on platforms like TikTok, with creators teaching Esperanto and Interlingua. According to the internet, there are around 900 constructed languages in the world, with Esperanto at the head of them with approximately 2 million speakers.
So, here’s how to say yes and no in the most popular conlangs.
| Constructed language | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Esperanto | Jes | Ne |
| Interlingua | Si | No |
| Lingua Franca Nova | Si | No |
Yes and no in fantasy languages
Our favorite fantasy worlds also have their own unique languages. Fantasy and fictional languages have no other mission than immersing us even deeper into the worlds of wizardry, dragons, and mythical kingdoms we all love. They’re part of what makes these worlds feel real to us - at least while we’re engrossed in reading the books or watching the series.
If you’re a Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones fan, you’re going to love this part! Here’s how to say “yes” and “no” in various fantasy languages.
| Fantasy language | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Dothraki | Sek | Vos |
| Valyrian | Kessa/Issa | Daor |
| Klingon | HIja' | Ghobe’ |
| Quenya (Elvish) | Ná | Lá |
| Na’vi | Srane | Kehe |
29 ways to say yes without saying “yes”
“Yes” is a useful word. You’ll need it in various situations - when arranging a romantic date with your crush, planning your Saturday night with your friends, or agreeing to do someone a favor.
And while you can reply with a simple “yes” in all these situations, you may want to be more expressive and find a different way to agree. Unless you’re standing at the altar or you’ve just been proposed to, you can respond in any of these 29 ways to say yes without saying yes.
- Absolutely.
- Affirmative.
- Agreed.
- Alright.
- By all means.
- Count me in.
- Duh!
- It's a go.
- I'm all in.
- I'm in.
- Let's do it.
- Of course.
- Ok (Okay).
- Okey dokey.
- Perfect.
- Roger that.
- Sounds good.
- Sounds great.
- Spot on.
- Sure.
- Sure thing.
- That's right.
- Totally.
- Yup.
- Yeah.
- You betcha.
- You got it!
- You said it.
- I'd love to.
29 ways to say no without saying “no”
While it may be more difficult to say than “yes”, “no” is an indispensable word in our vocabulary. It can help us escape situations we don’t want to be in, get out of favors we don’t want to commit to, reject unwanted dates, refuse to answer uncomfortable questions during awkward family dinners, and prevent other people from overstepping our boundaries.
Each of these situations will require a different approach and, therefore, a different way to express your disagreement. So, here are 29 ways to say “no” without saying “no.”
- Absolutely not.
- Ain't gonna happen.
- By no means.
- Certainly not.
- Count me out.
- Forget it.
- I can't.
- I shall not.
- I won't.
- Nah.
- Nay.
- Negative.
- Never.
- No can do.
- No thanks.
- No way.
- Nope.
- Not a chance.
- Not happening.
- Not interested.
- Not now.
- Not possible.
- Not really.
- Most certainly not.
- Of course not.
- Over my dead body.
- Sorry, can't do that.
- Uh-uh.
- I think not.
Say yes to life!
In the movie “Yes, Man,” Carl (played by Jim Carrey) leads a boring life as a loan officer until he participates in a self-help program that challenges him to say “yes” for an entire year. Taking it literally, Carl begins to say yes to everything, leading to funny situations that make the movie hilarious to watch.
But most importantly, he begins to experience the magic of “yes,” watching how his life transforms and opportunities start to flow his way.
Saying “yes” more often than saying “no” can bring a positive change to your life. Still, it’s important to say these two simple words with discernment. Say yes to what you want and no to what you don’t want.
If you haven’t seen this movie, this is your sign to do so!
Continue learning with us
If you enjoyed learning to say yes and no in over 100 languages, you may also want to know how to say “hello” and “goodbye” in different languages. You may also go a little bit further and learn how to say “I love you” or wish someone a Merry Christmas in their mother tongue.
Either way, the world is your oyster no matter what language you’d like to learn. Check out our free language blog for more educational and fun resources.
