Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'all' is a simple yet powerful term that holds great significance in many languages and cultures around the world. It is a determiner and pronoun that refers to the total number or amount of something, with no exceptions. This word has been used in various expressions, literature, and conversations to emphasize inclusivity and completeness.
Moreover, 'all' has an interesting historical context. In Old English, the word was 'eall,' which evolved from the Proto-Germanic 'alaz' and the Proto-Indo-European 'ol.' This linguistic journey showcases how a single word can withstand the test of time and remain relevant in different languages and cultures.
Understanding the translations of 'all' in various languages can open up new avenues for cross-cultural communication and language learning. Here are a few examples:
Afrikaans | almal | ||
The Afrikaans word "almal" is derived from the Dutch word "allemaal", which means "everyone" or "the whole lot". | |||
Amharic | ሁሉም | ||
The word "ሁሉም" can also mean "every", "each", or "any". | |||
Hausa | duka | ||
In Hausa, the word 'duka' can also refer to a store or market stall. | |||
Igbo | ha niile | ||
The Igbo word 'ha niile' can also be used to refer to 'each one' or 'everyone'. | |||
Malagasy | rehetra | ||
Rehetra is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*saqata" meaning "all". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | zonse | ||
Nyanja "zonse" is derived from the Bantu root "*onse/*sonse" meaning "totality, completeness." | |||
Shona | zvese | ||
The word 'zvese' can also be used to mean 'everything', 'the universe' or 'all of creation'. | |||
Somali | dhan | ||
The word "dhan" can also mean "thing" or "object" in Somali. | |||
Sesotho | kaofela | ||
"Kaofela" can also mean "completely," "totally," or "entirely" in Sesotho. | |||
Swahili | yote | ||
The word "yote" originally applied to a set of items as a group, not in a totalizing sense, and is still so used as part of "zote zote". | |||
Xhosa | konke | ||
The word "konke" can also mean "everything" or "the whole thing". | |||
Yoruba | gbogbo | ||
``Gbogbo'' also means ``every'' and ``all of them'' in Yoruba. | |||
Zulu | konke | ||
'Konke' is also known as 'yonke' and 'sonke', which are all variations of the same word. | |||
Bambara | bɛɛ | ||
Ewe | katã | ||
Kinyarwanda | byose | ||
Lingala | nyonso | ||
Luganda | -onna | ||
Sepedi | ka moka | ||
Twi (Akan) | nyinaa | ||
Arabic | الكل | ||
The word 'الكل' ('all') derives from an Arabic word meaning 'the whole,' and is also used in a grammatical sense meaning 'the universal'. | |||
Hebrew | את כל | ||
את כל (et kol) originally meant "all of" or "the whole of" and could take a following noun with or without the definite article. | |||
Pashto | ټول | ||
The Pashto word "ټول" can also refer to a group of people or animals. | |||
Arabic | الكل | ||
The word 'الكل' ('all') derives from an Arabic word meaning 'the whole,' and is also used in a grammatical sense meaning 'the universal'. |
Albanian | të gjitha | ||
The Albanian word for "all", "të gjitha", is used to describe a complete or unspecified quantity, as well as to emphasize that something applies to every member of a group. | |||
Basque | guztiak | ||
"Guztiak" is the plural form in standard modern Basque, but in old texts (16th century) "guti" or "guziak" may appear to refer to all. | |||
Catalan | tot | ||
In Catalan, the word 'tot' can also mean 'every', 'any', or 'anything'. | |||
Croatian | svi | ||
The masculine form of 'svi' is 'svi', the feminine form is 'sve', and the neuter form is 'svo'. | |||
Danish | alle | ||
The Danish word "alle" (all) is derived from the Old Norse word "allr", which originally meant "entire" or "complete". In modern Danish, "alle" is used in a wider sense, including not only all members of a group, but also all possible instances of something. | |||
Dutch | allemaal | ||
Dutch "allemaal" is a contraction of "al" and "temaal", with "temaal" meaning "total". | |||
English | all | ||
The Old English word 'eall' meant 'entirely,' 'whole,' or 'completely.' | |||
French | tout | ||
"Tout" can mean "the whole" as in "tout Paris" (the whole of Paris) or "every" as in "tous les jours" (every day)." | |||
Frisian | alle | ||
The word "alle" also means "completely" or "totally". | |||
Galician | todo | ||
In Galician, "todo" has an alternate meaning of "each", which survives in "cada un/unha todo-los/as" ("each and every one"). | |||
German | alles | ||
The word 'alles' originated as a combination of 'al' (ancient word for 'other') and 'lez' (meaning 'all'). | |||
Icelandic | allt | ||
The Icelandic word "allt" is derived from the Proto-Norse word "alltr" and can also mean "everything" or "completely". | |||
Irish | ar fad | ||
The word "ar fad" can also mean "completely" or "wholly" in Irish. | |||
Italian | tutti | ||
The Italian word "tutti" ('all') comes from the Latin word "totus," which also means all, and is cognate with the English word "total." | |||
Luxembourgish | all | ||
The Luxembourgish word "all" comes from the Old High German word "al", which means "entire" or "complete". | |||
Maltese | kollha | ||
Kollha is also used to indicate the third person plural pronoun "they" in Maltese. | |||
Norwegian | alle | ||
The word "alle" can also refer to a type of tree common in Norway and Sweden known as alder or Alnus. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | todos | ||
The word "todos" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin word "totus" and also means "everybody". | |||
Scots Gaelic | uile | ||
The word "uile" in Scots Gaelic can also mean "very" or "great". | |||
Spanish | todas | ||
The word "todas" originally meant "entirely" or "completely" in Old Spanish. | |||
Swedish | allt | ||
The Swedish word "allt" also relates to the German "alt" (old) and English "elder". | |||
Welsh | i gyd | ||
The Welsh word “I gyd” is also used as a form of emphasis and means “indeed” or “certainly”. |
Belarusian | усе | ||
The word "усе" can also mean "everything" or "the whole thing" in Belarusian. | |||
Bosnian | sve | ||
"Sve" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *sь, meaning "this one" or "that one." | |||
Bulgarian | всичко | ||
"Всичко" can also refer to a sum of money in some dialects. | |||
Czech | všechno | ||
The Czech word "Všechno" is derived from Proto-Slavic *vьsь, meaning "all" or "entirely". | |||
Estonian | kõik | ||
"Kõik", which means "all" in Estonian, is a loanword from German "gëhewelik" which means "universal" in English." | |||
Finnish | kaikki | ||
The word "kaikki" can also mean "everything" or "the whole thing" in Finnish. | |||
Hungarian | összes | ||
Összes derives from the Turkic "öz", meaning "self", and thus originally meant "our own" or "of one's own". | |||
Latvian | visi | ||
The word "visi" in Latvian stems from the Proto-Indo-European root "weis-", meaning "tribe" or "people". | |||
Lithuanian | visi | ||
Etymology: cognate with Russian вce (vse) and Proto-Slavic vьsь (vьsь), from Proto-Indo-European *wesu-. | |||
Macedonian | сите | ||
"Сите" is derived from Old Church Slavonic "съ вьси" and also means "every". | |||
Polish | wszystko | ||
The Polish word "wszystko" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*vьsь", which also means "whole" or "entire". | |||
Romanian | toate | ||
In ancient Romanian, "toate" also meant "everyone". | |||
Russian | все | ||
The Russian word "все" ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wes- meaning "all, entire". | |||
Serbian | све | ||
"Све" can mean both "all" and "each one" in Serbian, possibly originating from the same Indo-European root as "sva" in Sanskrit and Ancient Greek. | |||
Slovak | všetko | ||
The Slovak word "všetko" is a combination of the prefix "vše-" (meaning "all") and the noun "to". "To" has various meanings, including "it" and "this one", hence the phrase "všetko to" (meaning "all of it") can literally be translated as "all this/it". | |||
Slovenian | vse | ||
The word "vse" can also refer to "every" or "the whole" in Slovenian. | |||
Ukrainian | всі | ||
The word «всі» can also be used in the sense of "all the same" or "anyway". |
Bengali | সব | ||
In Bengali, the word "সব" can also mean "everything" or "the whole thing." | |||
Gujarati | બધા | ||
The Gujarati word "બધા" also means "all things" or "everything" in the sense of "everyone or everything involved", "the whole lot" or "everything considered". | |||
Hindi | सब | ||
Though most often meaning "all," in Marathi, "saab" or "sab" means "master" or "owner." | |||
Kannada | ಎಲ್ಲಾ | ||
The word "ಎಲ್ಲಾ" can also mean "every" in Kannada. | |||
Malayalam | എല്ലാം | ||
"എല്ലാം" means all, everything, totality, every. Also signifies 'the whole world'" | |||
Marathi | सर्व | ||
The word "सर्व" in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "sarva," which means "all" or "entirely." | |||
Nepali | सबै | ||
The Nepali word "सबै" can refer to all of a specific group but it can also refer to all of multiple groups. | |||
Punjabi | ਸਭ | ||
The word "ਸਭ" also means "everyone" or "all people" in Punjabi. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සියල්ල | ||
The word "සියල්ල" (siyalla) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit "सर्व" (sarva), meaning "all, entire, or whole." | |||
Tamil | அனைத்தும் | ||
"அனைத்தும்" is a compound word formed from the root "அன்", meaning "not" and "இது" meaning "this" that emphasizes that something is not missing. | |||
Telugu | అన్నీ | ||
"అన్నీ" is also the name of a Telugu film released in 2009. | |||
Urdu | سب | ||
The word "سب" in Urdu can also refer to "every" or "each". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 所有 | ||
"所有" ("all") also means "ownership" or "property" in Chinese. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 所有 | ||
The Chinese character "所有" can also mean "ownership" or "possession". | |||
Japanese | すべて | ||
The word "すべて" can also be used to mean "the whole" or "everything". | |||
Korean | 모두 | ||
"모두" can also mean "everyone" or "the whole group" in Korean. | |||
Mongolian | бүгд | ||
The term "бүгд" is derived from the word "bügü" which is of Turkic origin and is used in various languages such as Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, etc., meaning "everything, whole". | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | အားလုံး | ||
The word "အားလုံး" is derived from the Pali word "sabbe", meaning "all", and can also be used in the sense of "every" or "everyone" |
Indonesian | semua | ||
The word "semua" is originally derived from the Sanskrit word "sarva," meaning "all" or "entire." | |||
Javanese | kabeh | ||
The Javanese word "kabeh" also has the alternate meaning of "all (of us)," as in "kabeh padha dolan nang kutha" (we all went to the city). | |||
Khmer | ទាំងអស់ | ||
When referring to time, | |||
Lao | ທັງ ໝົດ | ||
Malay | semua | ||
Though the Malay word "semua" most commonly means "all", it can also mean "everything" or "the whole thing" in certain contexts. | |||
Thai | ทั้งหมด | ||
The word "ทั้งหมด" originated from the Pali word "sabbattha" meaning "everywhere", reflecting its comprehensive nature. | |||
Vietnamese | tất cả | ||
The word "tất cả" is derived from the Chinese word "全部", which also means "all". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | lahat | ||
Azerbaijani | hamısı | ||
The Azerbaijani word "hamısı" is ultimately of Persian origin, and is related to the Persian word "hama" (all, whole). | |||
Kazakh | бәрі | ||
In Kazakh, "бәрі" also means "universe" and is derived from the Persian word "bari," meaning "maker" or "creator." | |||
Kyrgyz | баары | ||
The Kyrgyz word "баары" has an alternate sense as "only" that can be used to emphasize the exclusivity of something. | |||
Tajik | ҳама | ||
The Tajik word "ҳама” does not only mean “all” but also “each and every one”, “in all”, and “total”. | |||
Turkmen | hemmesi | ||
Uzbek | barchasi | ||
The word "barchasi" in Uzbek originally meant "five" and is related to the Persian word "panj" meaning "five". Over time, it came to mean "all" in Uzbek. | |||
Uyghur | ھەممىسى | ||
Hawaiian | nā mea āpau | ||
The word "nā mea āpau" can also refer to "all things," "everything," or "the universe."} | |||
Maori | katoa | ||
The word "katoa" can also mean "everyone" or "the whole group" in Maori. | |||
Samoan | uma | ||
"Uma" originated from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian form "*quma" which also exists in Tagalog, Javanese, and many other languages in the family. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | lahat | ||
"Lahat" also means "to disappear" or "to vanish" in Tagalog. |
Aymara | taqini | ||
Guarani | opavave | ||
Esperanto | ĉiuj | ||
'Ĉiuj' and 'ĉiu' are cognate with 'each' and 'every' in English, and with 'jeg' in Old Norse | |||
Latin | omnis | ||
The word 'omnis' also has a sense of 'every' or 'any', similar to the use of 'all' as in 'all men are mortal'. |
Greek | όλα | ||
όλα is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₂el-, meaning "whole" or "entire" | |||
Hmong | txhua | ||
The Hmong word "txhua" can be broken into a prefix and a suffix; "tx" is the classifier for 'people or things of the same type,' and "-hua" is the plural marker. | |||
Kurdish | gişt | ||
The word "gişt" also means "dust" or "powder" in Kurdish, likely deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰist- meaning "to boil or foam". | |||
Turkish | herşey | ||
"Herşey" is a compound noun formed from the root word "her" (each) and the suffix "-şey" (thing), and also refers to "everything, all kinds of things, anything". | |||
Xhosa | konke | ||
The word "konke" can also mean "everything" or "the whole thing". | |||
Yiddish | אַלע | ||
The Yiddish word "אַלע" can also mean "any" or "every," depending on context. | |||
Zulu | konke | ||
'Konke' is also known as 'yonke' and 'sonke', which are all variations of the same word. | |||
Assamese | আটাইবোৰ | ||
Aymara | taqini | ||
Bhojpuri | कुल्हि | ||
Dhivehi | ހުރިހާ | ||
Dogri | सब्भै | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | lahat | ||
Guarani | opavave | ||
Ilocano | amin | ||
Krio | ɔl | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | گشت | ||
Maithili | सभटा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯨꯝꯅꯃꯛ | ||
Mizo | zavai | ||
Oromo | hunda | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ସମସ୍ତ | ||
Quechua | llapan | ||
Sanskrit | सर्वे | ||
Tatar | барысы да | ||
Tigrinya | ኩሎም | ||
Tsonga | hinkwaswo | ||