top twenty popular languages on earth and their words for yes and no
Here’s a list of the top 20 most widely spoken languages in the world (by native and secondary speakers combined), along with how each language says “Yes” and “No.”
| Rank | Language | Word for “Yes” | Word for “No” |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Yes | No |
| 2 | Mandarin Chinese | 是 (shì) / 对 (duì) | 不 (bù) / 不是 (bú shì) |
| 3 | Hindi | हाँ (haan) | नहीं (nahin) |
| 4 | Spanish | Sí | No |
| 5 | French | Oui | Non |
| 6 | Arabic | نعم (na‘am) | لا (la) |
| 7 | Bengali | হ্যাঁ (hyã) | না (na) |
| 8 | Portuguese | Sim | Não |
| 9 | Russian | Да (da) | Нет (nyet) |
| 10 | Urdu | ہاں (haan) | نہیں (nahin) |
| 11 | Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) | Ya | Tidak |
| 12 | German | Ja | Nein |
| 13 | Japanese | はい (hai) | いいえ (iie) |
| 14 | Swahili | Ndiyo | Hapana |
| 15 | Marathi | हो (ho) | नाही (nāhī) |
| 16 | Telugu | అవును (avunu) | కాదు (kaadu) |
| 17 | Turkish | Evet | Hayır |
| 18 | Korean | 네 (ne) | 아니요 (aniyo) |
| 19 | Tamil | ஆம் (ām) | இல்லை (illai) |
| 20 | Italian | Sì | No |
Would you like me to include pronunciations (phonetic spellings) for all of them in English next?
how would they sound how are they pronounced
Perfect — here’s how each “Yes” and “No” in the top 20 most spoken languages sounds when pronounced in English-style phonetics (approximate for clarity, not IPA).
| Rank | Language | “Yes” | Pronunciation | “No” | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Yes | yehs | No | noh |
| 2 | Mandarin Chinese | 是 / 对 | shr / dway | 不 / 不是 | boo / boo-shrr |
| 3 | Hindi | हाँ | haahn (nasal ‘n’) | नहीं | nuh-heen |
| 4 | Spanish | Sí | see | No | noh |
| 5 | French | Oui | wee | Non | noh(n) (nasal) |
| 6 | Arabic | نعم | nah-ahm | لا | lah |
| 7 | Bengali | হ্যাঁ | hyah(n) | না | nah |
| 8 | Portuguese | Sim | sing (nasal “ng”) | Não | nowng (nasal) |
| 9 | Russian | Да | dah | Нет | nyet |
| 10 | Urdu | ہاں | haahn | نہیں | na-heen |
| 11 | Indonesian | Ya | yah | Tidak | tee-dahk |
| 12 | German | Ja | yah | Nein | nine |
| 13 | Japanese | はい | hai (like “hi”) | いいえ | ee-yeh |
| 14 | Swahili | Ndiyo | n-dee-yo | Hapana | hah-pah-nah |
| 15 | Marathi | हो | ho | नाही | naa-hee |
| 16 | Telugu | అవును | ah-voo-noo | కాదు | kaa-doo |
| 17 | Turkish | Evet | eh-vet | Hayır | hah-yur |
| 18 | Korean | 네 | neh | 아니요 | ah-nee-yo |
| 19 | Tamil | ஆம் | aam | இல்லை | ill-lai |
| 20 | Italian | Sì | see | No | noh |