“Obstacle” is a word that signifies a hindrance or barrier that impedes progress. This term is crucial in various contexts, from personal development to physical challenges. However, the word for “obstacle” can differ significantly across languages and cultures, making it an interesting topic of discussion. In this article, we’ll explore how the word for “obstacle” is expressed in different languages around the world, from the most commonly spoken languages to some of the lesser-known ones.
Here is a list of how to say “obstacle” in 70 different languages:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Pengesë | Pronunciation: Pen-geh-seh
- Arabic (🇸🇦) – عقبة (Uqba) | Pronunciation: Ooq-bah
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – խոչընդոտ (Khoch’əndot) | Pronunciation: Khotch-uhn-dot
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Maneə | Pronunciation: Mah-neh-ah
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Oztopo | Pronunciation: Oz-toh-poh
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Перашкода (Perashkoda) | Pronunciation: Peh-rah-shkoh-dah
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – বাধা (Bādha) | Pronunciation: Bah-dhah
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Prepreka | Pronunciation: Preh-preh-kah
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Препятствие (Prepyatstvie) | Pronunciation: Preh-pyat-stvee-eh
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Obstáculo | Pronunciation: Obs-tah-koo-loh
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Překážka | Pronunciation: Preh-kahsh-kah
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Forhindring | Pronunciation: For-hin-dring
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Obstakel | Pronunciation: Obs-tah-kuhl
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Obstacle | Pronunciation: Ob-stuh-kuhl
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Takistus | Pronunciation: Tah-kis-tus
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – مانع (Māni’) | Pronunciation: Mah-nee
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Este | Pronunciation: Eh-steh
- French (🇫🇷) – Obstacle | Pronunciation: Obs-tah-kl
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – დაბრკოლება (Dabrkoleba) | Pronunciation: Dah-br-koh-leh-bah
- German (🇩🇪) – Hindernis | Pronunciation: Hin-dern-is
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Εμπόδιο (Empodio) | Pronunciation: Em-boh-dee-oh
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – מכשול (Mikhshol) | Pronunciation: Meekh-shohl
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – बाधा (Bādha) | Pronunciation: Bah-dhah
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Akadály | Pronunciation: Ah-kah-dy
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Hindrun | Pronunciation: Hin-druhn
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Hambatan | Pronunciation: Ham-bah-tan
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Bac | Pronunciation: Bahk
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Ostacolo | Pronunciation: Oh-stah-koh-loh
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – 障害 (Shougai) | Pronunciation: Shoh-gai
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Кедергі (Kedergi) | Pronunciation: Keh-der-gee
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – ឧបសគ្គ (Uṗsâk) | Pronunciation: Oo-psak
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 장애물 (Jangaemul) | Pronunciation: Jahn-geh-mool
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Asteng | Pronunciation: Ah-steng
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Тоскоолдук (Toschoolduk) | Pronunciation: Tos-kool-dook
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ອຸປະສັກ (Ŭpasak) | Pronunciation: Oo-pah-sak
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Šķērslis | Pronunciation: Shkyehr-slis
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Kliūtis | Pronunciation: Klyoo-tis
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Hënneschten | Pronunciation: Hen-nesh-ten
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Пречка (Prechka) | Pronunciation: Preh-chka
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Halangan | Pronunciation: Hah-lahng-an
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Ostaklu | Pronunciation: Oh-stah-kloo
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 障碍 (Zhàng’ài) | Pronunciation: Jahng-eye
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – अडथळा (Aḍathaḷā) | Pronunciation: Ah-duth-lah
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Саад тотгор (Saad totgor) | Pronunciation: Sahd tot-gor
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – बाधा (Bādha) | Pronunciation: Bah-dhah
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Hindring | Pronunciation: Hin-dring
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – خنډ (Khund) | Pronunciation: Khund
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Przeszkoda | Pronunciation: Psheh-shkoh-dah
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Obstáculo | Pronunciation: Obs-tah-koo-loh
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Obstacol | Pronunciation: Obs-tah-kohl
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Препятствие (Prepyatstvie) | Pronunciation: Preh-pyat-stvee-eh
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Препрека (Prepreka) | Pronunciation: Preh-preh-kah
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – බාධකය (Bādhakaya) | Pronunciation: Bah-dhah-kah-yah
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Prekážka | Pronunciation: Preh-kahsh-kah
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Ovira | Pronunciation: Oh-vee-rah
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Caqabad | Pronunciation: Ah-kah-bahd
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Obstáculo | Pronunciation: Obs-tah-koo-loh
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Kikwazo | Pronunciation: Kee-kwah-zoh
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Hinder | Pronunciation: Hin-der
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Монеа (Monea) | Pronunciation: Moh-neh-ah
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – தடை (Taḍai) | Pronunciation: Thah-dai
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – అడ్డంకి (Aḍḍanki) | Pronunciation: Uhd-dun-kee
- Thai (🇹🇭) – อุปสรรค (Uppasak) | Pronunciation: Oop-pah-sak
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Engel | Pronunciation: En-gel
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Перешкода (Pereshkoda) | Pronunciation: Peh-resh-koh-dah
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – رکاوٹ (Rukawat) | Pronunciation: Roo-kah-wat
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Toʻsiq | Pronunciation: Toh-siq
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Chướng ngại | Pronunciation: Chuong-ngai
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Rhwystr | Pronunciation: Hroo-ees-tr
- Zulu (🇿🇦) – Isithiyo | Pronunciation: Ee-see-thee-yoh