Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'although' is a small but powerful connector in the English language. It allows us to express contrasting ideas and add complexity to our sentences. Although may seem like a simple word, its significance lies in its ability to bridge two opposing thoughts, creating a deeper understanding of the relationship between them.
Throughout history, 'although' has played a crucial role in literature and communication. Many famous works, from Shakespearean plays to modern novels, have used although to convey complex emotions and situations. Its cultural importance is undeniable, as it has become a staple in the English language and a tool for expression around the world.
Understanding the translation of although in different languages can open up a world of possibilities for language learners and cultural enthusiasts. For example, the German translation of although is 'obwohl,' while the Spanish translation is 'aunque.' These translations not only help us communicate in different languages but also provide insight into the unique ways different cultures express contrasting ideas.
In the following list, you'll find the translations of although in various languages, from French to Chinese and beyond. Whether you're a language learner, a writer, or simply curious about the world around you, this list is sure to inspire and educate.
Afrikaans | hoewel | ||
The Afrikaans word "hoewel" also means "however" | |||
Amharic | ምንም እንኳን | ||
Hausa | ko da yake | ||
"Ko da yake" derives from "ko da" (even though) and "ya ke" (this) and can alternatively mean "in spite of this". | |||
Igbo | ọ bụ ezie | ||
"Ọ bụ ezie" literally translates to "It is true that" in English, emphasizing the conditional nature of the subsequent statement. | |||
Malagasy | na | ||
The Malagasy word "na" corresponds to "quoique" in French, meaning "although", but it also carries the meaning of "if" or "when". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | ngakhale | ||
"Ngakhale" can also mean "despite" or "in spite of". | |||
Shona | nyangwe | ||
Nyangwe is also used to mean "if". | |||
Somali | in kastoo | ||
"In kastoo," which means "although" in Somali, can also mean "in fact" or "indeed." | |||
Sesotho | leha | ||
Leha derives from the Proto-Bantu root "*lega" (to attach/adhere) via Proto-Sotho "*lega". | |||
Swahili | ingawa | ||
The word "ingawa" in Swahili also means "except for" or "apart from". | |||
Xhosa | nangona nje | ||
The Xhosa word "Nangona nje" originated from the phrase "Nangona unganje," meaning "Even though you are what you are." | |||
Yoruba | biotilejepe | ||
Biotilejepe is derived from "bio ti o le je pe" which means "as we've been able to swallow". | |||
Zulu | yize | ||
The Zulu word "yize" also means "however" and is often used in conjunction with other conjunctions like "ke" (but). | |||
Bambara | hali | ||
Ewe | togbɔ be | ||
Kinyarwanda | nubwo | ||
Lingala | atako | ||
Luganda | newankubadde | ||
Sepedi | le ge | ||
Twi (Akan) | ɛwom | ||
Arabic | برغم من | ||
The word "برغم من" (barm man) is derived from two words: "بَرغم" (barm), meaning "in spite of" (Persian origin), and the Arabic preposition "من" (min), meaning "from" or "of". | |||
Hebrew | למרות ש | ||
למרות ש" is derived from the root "מרד" meaning "rebellion", implying that the subsequent clause expresses a concession or contrast. | |||
Pashto | که څه هم | ||
In Persian, "cheh" "چِه" means "what" and "ham" "هم" means "also". Thus, "cheh ham" "چه هم" (also in Pashto "que ham" "که هم") means "what also." | |||
Arabic | برغم من | ||
The word "برغم من" (barm man) is derived from two words: "بَرغم" (barm), meaning "in spite of" (Persian origin), and the Arabic preposition "من" (min), meaning "from" or "of". |
Albanian | megjithëse | ||
The Albanian word "megjithëse" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*megʰ-", meaning "great, much, very", and the suffix "-se", which indicates concession. | |||
Basque | nahiz eta | ||
The Basque word "nahiz eta" originated from the word "nahi" meaning "to wish" and the quotative suffix "-z eta". | |||
Catalan | encara que | ||
In Valencian, "encara que" also means "at least". | |||
Croatian | iako | ||
In Croatian, the word "iako" derives from the Proto-Slavic *jьko meaning "how" or "as". | |||
Danish | selvom | ||
Selvom' can also mean 'even if' or 'despite the fact that'. | |||
Dutch | hoewel | ||
The word "hoewel" is derived from the Middle Dutch "hoe wel," meaning "however." | |||
English | although | ||
The word 'although' is derived from the Old English word 'eall ðeah', meaning 'notwithstanding' or 'for all that'. | |||
French | bien que | ||
In Old French, "bien que" meant "very much" as well as "although". | |||
Frisian | alhoewol | ||
The word "alhoewol" in Frisian also means "notwithstanding" or "despite". | |||
Galician | aínda que | ||
"Aínda que" in Galician is also used to mean "even if" or "still". | |||
German | obwohl | ||
The word "obwohl" comes from the Middle High German word "ob" (above) and "wol" (well), and originally meant "from above, from a superior position". | |||
Icelandic | samt | ||
The term "samt" originates from the Old Norse "sam", meaning "together" and was used to indicate something opposite or unexpected. | |||
Irish | cé | ||
Cé can also mean "who" or "what" when used in interrogative sentences. | |||
Italian | sebbene | ||
The word "sebbene" comes from the Latin "si bene". Its other meanings include "even though", "in spite of" and "yet". | |||
Luxembourgish | obwuel | ||
Obwuel likely originates from the combination of "ob" (off) and "weil" (because) | |||
Maltese | għalkemm | ||
'Għalkemm' is a common conjunction in Maltese and is also a colloquial term for 'nevertheless'. | |||
Norwegian | selv om | ||
Selv in "selv om" comes from "sjalfr" (Old Norse for "self") and means "even" or "even if". "Om" comes from "um" (meaning "round" or "around") and means "around" or "about". | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | apesar | ||
Despite being a conjunction, 'a pesar' also means 'in spite of' or 'despite' in Portuguese. | |||
Scots Gaelic | ged | ||
In Scots Gaelic, the word "ged" can also mean "though, since," or "while," | |||
Spanish | a pesar de que | ||
The Spanish phrase "a pesar de que" originally meant "in spite of the fact that" or "notwithstanding that." | |||
Swedish | fastän | ||
The word "fastän" in Swedish is cognate with the English "fasten" and means "to stick". | |||
Welsh | er | ||
Welsh "er" is a contraction of the phrase "yr un", meaning "the one", which evolved into "er" for brevity. |
Belarusian | хаця | ||
"Хаця" is a conjunction in Belarusian which historically meant "even though" or "in spite of," but now only means "although." | |||
Bosnian | iako | ||
The word "iako" in Bosnian also means "since" or "because". | |||
Bulgarian | макар че | ||
The Bulgarian conjunction "макар че" is also used in the sense of "whereas" and "although it is true that". | |||
Czech | ačkoli | ||
"Ačkoli" is used to describe an opposition, and has other meanings including "however" and "yet" in English. | |||
Estonian | kuigi | ||
In colloquial speech, this word is also a conjunction meaning "or else" or "otherwise." | |||
Finnish | siitä huolimatta | ||
"Huolimatta" comes from the verb "välittää" (to care, mind, regard). When you "huolehdit," you care about something. "Siitä huolimatta" means that something doesn't matter; it doesn't affect your feelings one way or another, so regardless of the issue, you're not concerned with it. | |||
Hungarian | habár | ||
The Hungarian word "habár" (although) originates from the Old Turkic word "avur". This word meant "opening, gap, hole" in Old Turkic. | |||
Latvian | lai gan | ||
The Latvian conjunction "lai gan" (although) is historically derived from "lai" (that) and "gan" (even) and may also be used in an adversative sense as "but rather". | |||
Lithuanian | nors | ||
The word "nors" is a conjunction meaning "although", "however", or "but". It is derived from the Old Prussian word "norsan", which had a similar meaning. | |||
Macedonian | иако | ||
The word "иако" has a dual etymology, derived from both Slavic and Turkish languages, with alternate meanings including "nevertheless" and "however". | |||
Polish | mimo że | ||
There is no widely accepted etymology of "mimo że" in Polish, but it may derive from the preposition "mimo" ("despite") and the conjunction "że" ("that"). | |||
Romanian | cu toate că | ||
In Romanian, "cu toate că" literally means "with all that," and is related to the phrase "cu toate acestea," meaning "despite this." | |||
Russian | несмотря на то что | ||
The phrase "несмотря на то что" translates literally to "despite the fact that". | |||
Serbian | иако | ||
The word "иако" is formed by merging Serbian conjunction "и" with Bulgarian conjunction "ако". | |||
Slovak | hoci | ||
Hoci in Slovak also functions as a synonym for i keď (even if) and ibaže (except that). | |||
Slovenian | čeprav | ||
In older literature, the word “čeprav” (although) was often used as a conjunction and had a somewhat different meaning, closer to the modern “ker” (because). | |||
Ukrainian | хоча | ||
"Хоча" is a conjunction that used to be interchangeable with the conjunction "і" (and). |
Bengali | যদিও | ||
"যদিও" has different connotations, depending on its position. At a sentence's start, it denotes contrast between something already said and what the speaker wishes to say next (as in "although she loves cats" and "although we don't want to"); within a sentence or clause, it conveys conditional permission/sanction (as in "যদিও আপনি যাবেন") or concessions of truth, probability, or possibility (as in "অতএব তা যদিও সত্য নয়"), as well as other uses like "even if". | |||
Gujarati | જોકે | ||
The word "જોકે" can also mean "but", "yet", or "however" and its etymology likely traces back to the Sanskrit word "yathā ki" meaning "accordingly, just as". | |||
Hindi | हालांकि | ||
The word 'हालांकि' is derived from the Sanskrit words 'हाल' (now) and 'कि' (because), and also means 'present condition' or 'nowadays'. | |||
Kannada | ಆದಾಗ್ಯೂ | ||
ಆದಾಗ್ಯೂ can also mean 'therefore' or 'nevertheless' depending on the context. | |||
Malayalam | എന്നിരുന്നാലും | ||
Marathi | तरी | ||
In Marathi, the word "तरी" can also refer to a ferry or a boat. | |||
Nepali | यद्यपि | ||
यद्यपि is derived from the Sanskrit word 'यदि' (if) and 'अपि' (even), conveying the idea that even if something is the case, something else may still be true. | |||
Punjabi | ਹਾਲਾਂਕਿ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කෙසේ වෙතත් | ||
The word "කෙසේ වෙතත්" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कथं चित्" meaning "somehow", and is also used to indicate "but" or "even if". | |||
Tamil | இருப்பினும் | ||
Telugu | అయినప్పటికీ | ||
Urdu | اگرچہ | ||
The word "اگرچہ" is derived from the Persian word "agarcha" which means "if it is so". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 虽然 | ||
The word "虽然" can also mean "even though" and "even if". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 雖然 | ||
"雖" means "yes" (in Literary Chinese); "然" can be an emphatic particle or suffix to the word "是/事 (to be)," and it makes it "very" (also in Literary Chinese) | |||
Japanese | でも | ||
The particle "でも" can also be used to express concession, contrast, or a sense of resignation. | |||
Korean | 이기는 하지만 | ||
"이기는 하지만" is a compound word combining the verbs "이기다" (meaning "to win") and "하나" (meaning "still"). | |||
Mongolian | хэдийгээр | ||
The word "хэдийгээр" originates from the Mongolian word "хэд" (how many) and "игээр" (by way of), thus giving it the meaning of "in spite of the fact that" or "even though." | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | သော်လည်း | ||
Indonesian | meskipun | ||
"Meskipun" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word *pituŋ, meaning "otherness". | |||
Javanese | sanajan | ||
The word "sanajan" in Javanese is also used to express concession, condition, or reason, similar to the English word "though". | |||
Khmer | ទោះបីជា | ||
ទោះបីជា is derived from the Sanskrit word "tathāpi", which also means "however" and "in spite of." | |||
Lao | ເຖິງແມ່ນວ່າ | ||
Malay | walaupun | ||
The word "walaupun" is derived from the Proto-Malay word "walau", meaning "even if" or "though", and the suffix "-pun", which emphasizes the certainty or definitiveness of the statement. | |||
Thai | แม้ว่า | ||
The word "แม้ว่า" can also be used to mean "even though" or "despite the fact that." | |||
Vietnamese | mặc du | ||
The word "Mặc du" is also used as an expression of regret or disappointment. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | bagaman | ||
Azerbaijani | baxmayaraq | ||
Baxmayaraq originates from the root baxmaq (to look) and the suffix -araq (indicating a direction towards something) and thus literally means "while looking towards something" | |||
Kazakh | дегенмен | ||
The word "дегенмен" in Kazakh is derived from the verb "деу", meaning "to say" or "to speak" | |||
Kyrgyz | бирок | ||
"Бирок" can also mean "even though" or "though." | |||
Tajik | ҳарчанд | ||
The Tajik word "ҳарчанд" can also mean "nevertheless" or "however" in English. | |||
Turkmen | bolsa-da | ||
Uzbek | bo'lsa-da | ||
The word "bo'lsa-da" originated from the Persian word "agarche" which also means "although". | |||
Uyghur | ھالبۇكى | ||
Hawaiian | ʻoiai | ||
The word ʻoiai is cognate with the Tahitian word ʻoia which means "so, therefore". | |||
Maori | ahakoa | ||
In Maori, “ahakoa” can also be used to express resilience and perseverance, as in "Ahakoa he uaua, ka utaina" ("Even though it's difficult, it will be carried"). | |||
Samoan | e ui lava | ||
In Samoan, 'e ui lava' also means 'not so much'. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | bagaman | ||
The Tagalog word "bagaman" originally meant "even if", and was often used in the sense of "even though" or "although." |
Aymara | ukhamipansa | ||
Guarani | jepe | ||
Esperanto | kvankam | ||
The word "kvankam" derives from the phrase "kvankam tio" (although it is), and originally meant "since it is." | |||
Latin | quamquam | ||
Quamquam can also mean "but" or "nevertheless" and is formed from the obsolete quam quam "as much as". |
Greek | παρόλο | ||
"Παρόλο" is a compound of "παρά" (above, beside, near, against, etc.) and "ο λόγος" (the word, speech, reason), and can also be used to mean "by the way" or "apropos." | |||
Hmong | txawm hais tias | ||
The Hmong word "txawm hais tias" can also mean "even if" or "despite the fact that." | |||
Kurdish | herçi | ||
The word "herçi" also means "every" in Kurdish. | |||
Turkish | olmasına rağmen | ||
"Olmasına rağmen" is also used as an abbreviation for "olduğuna rağmen" meaning "despite of". | |||
Xhosa | nangona nje | ||
The Xhosa word "Nangona nje" originated from the phrase "Nangona unganje," meaning "Even though you are what you are." | |||
Yiddish | כאָטש | ||
כאָטש derives from the Proto-Germanic base of the English word 'what', 'wō'. | |||
Zulu | yize | ||
The Zulu word "yize" also means "however" and is often used in conjunction with other conjunctions like "ke" (but). | |||
Assamese | যদিও | ||
Aymara | ukhamipansa | ||
Bhojpuri | हालांकि | ||
Dhivehi | އެހެންވިޔަސް | ||
Dogri | भाएं | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | bagaman | ||
Guarani | jepe | ||
Ilocano | nupay | ||
Krio | pan ɔl | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | گەرچی | ||
Maithili | यद्यपि | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯗꯨ ꯑꯣꯏꯔꯕꯁꯨ | ||
Mizo | pawh ni se | ||
Oromo | ta'ullee | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଯଦିଓ | ||
Quechua | aunque | ||
Sanskrit | यद्यपि | ||
Tatar | булса да | ||
Tigrinya | ዋላ እኳ | ||
Tsonga | hambiloko | ||