Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn ailment caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), leading to lethargy and organ complications.
Similar
endemic neuritiskakke
Origin
Possibly borrowed from Sinhalese phrase බැරි බැරි (bæri bæri, “I cannot, I cannot”) due to weakness.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali বেরিবেরি
- বেরিবেরি (beriberi)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Bulgarian бери-бери
- бери-бери (beri-beri)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Catalan beri-beri
- beri-beripathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Chinese Cantonese 腳氣病 /脚气病
- 腳氣病 /脚气病 (goek³ hei³ beng⁶)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Chinese Mandarin 腳氣病 /脚气病, 軟腳 /软脚
- 腳氣病 /脚气病 (jiǎoqìbìng)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
- 軟腳 /软脚 (ruǎnjiǎo)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
- 軟腳病 /软脚病 (ruǎnjiǎobìng)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Danish beriberi
- beriberipathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Dutch beriberi, rijstziekte
- beriberipathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
- rijstziektepathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Esperanto beribero
- beriberopathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Finnish beriberi
- beriberipathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
French béribéri
- béribéripathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
German Beriberi
- Beriberipathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Greek μπέρι μπέρι
- μπέρι μπέρι (béri béri)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Hindi बेरीबेरी
- बेरीबेरी (berīberī)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Indonesian beri-beri
- beri-beripathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Japanese 脚気
- 脚気 (kakke)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Korean 각기병
- 각기병 (gakgibyeong)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Polish beri-beri
- beri-beripathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Portuguese beribéri
- beribéripathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Russian бе́ри-бе́ри
- бе́ри-бе́ри (béri-béri)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Spanish beriberi
- beriberipathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Swedish beriberi
- beriberipathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Tagalog pamamanas
- pamamanaspathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Tamil பெரிபெரி
- பெரிபெரி (periperi)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Thai โรคเหน็บชา
- โรคเหน็บชา (rôhk nèp chaa)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Ukrainian бері-бері
- бері-бері (beri-beri)pathology: ailment caused by deficiency of vitamin B
Cite this entry
APA
beriberi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beriberi
MLA
“beriberi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beriberi. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beriberi,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beriberi.
Source: beriberi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.