Briefly in Different Languages
Discover 'Briefly' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'briefly' is a common term that carries significant weight in our daily conversations and written communications. It is a time-honored word that has been used in the English language for centuries, and yet, its significance extends far beyond its simple definition. 'Briefly' is a word that signifies the art of being concise and to the point, without sacrificing clarity or essential information. This cultural importance is reflected in languages around the world, making the translation of 'briefly' an interesting and enlightening exploration of language and culture.
Did you know that the word 'briefly' can be translated into over 6,900 languages worldwide? This fascinating fact speaks to the universal need for clear and concise communication, regardless of language or culture. From the French 'brièvement' to the Spanish 'brevemente', the German 'kurz' to the Japanese 'すくなくて', the translation of 'briefly' offers a unique window into the linguistic and cultural diversity of our world.
Briefly
Briefly in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | kortliks | ||
| The word "kortliks" in Afrikaans derives from the Dutch word "kort" meaning "short" and the suffix "-liks" meaning "in a short way" or "briefly". | |||
| Amharic | በአጭሩ | ||
| The Amharic word "በአጭሩ" can also mean "in a nutshell" or "to sum up". | |||
| Hausa | a takaice | ||
| There is a similar phrase "daga takaice" which literally means "from briefly". | |||
| Igbo | na nkenke | ||
| The Igbo word "na nkenke" can also mean "in the morning" or "in the meantime." | |||
| Malagasy | fohifohy | ||
| Fohifohy is derived from the verb fohy, meaning 'to blow quickly', implying quick speech. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mwachidule | ||
| Mwachidule can also mean 'in a small way' or 'to a small extent'. | |||
| Shona | muchidimbu | ||
| Muchidimbu is also the name for a type of African drums that can be played with the hands | |||
| Somali | si kooban | ||
| Si kooban is used for 'abbreviate' but is not related to 'kooban' ('short'), rather deriving from 'ku u soo koobi' ('to make it concise'). | |||
| Sesotho | hanyane | ||
| The word "hanyane" in Sesotho can also mean "a small amount" or "a little bit". | |||
| Swahili | kwa ufupi | ||
| The Swahili word 'kwa ufupi' is derived from the Arabic word 'qaf', meaning 'short' or 'concise'. | |||
| Xhosa | ngokufutshane | ||
| The Xhosa word "ngokufutshane" also means "in a nutshell" or "in summary" | |||
| Yoruba | ni ṣoki | ||
| The word "ni ṣoki" is also used to mean "in a low voice" or "softly". | |||
| Zulu | kafushane | ||
| The Zulu word “kafushane” comes from the root word “fushane” meaning “to be quick,” or “in a hurry.” | |||
| Bambara | waati kunkurunnin kɔnɔ | ||
| Ewe | kpuie | ||
| Kinyarwanda | muri make | ||
| Lingala | na mokuse | ||
| Luganda | mu bufunze | ||
| Sepedi | ka boripana | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tiawa bi mu | ||
Briefly in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | موجز | ||
| The word "موجز" is derived from the root word "وجز" which means "to be concise". | |||
| Hebrew | בקצרה | ||
| The word "בקצרה" is also used to describe a person who is short in stature. | |||
| Pashto | په لنډه توګه | ||
| په لنډه توګه also translates to 'in short,' as well as expressing 'a concise way of expressing something spoken or written.' | |||
| Arabic | موجز | ||
| The word "موجز" is derived from the root word "وجز" which means "to be concise". | |||
Briefly in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shkurtimisht | ||
| "Shkurtimisht" is derived from the Albanian word "shkurt" meaning "short" and the Albanian suffix "-isht" meaning "in a manner of." | |||
| Basque | laburki | ||
| The term is originally an adverbial phrase with a subject that literally means "let me work". | |||
| Catalan | breument | ||
| The Catalan word breument derives from the medieval Latin brevimentum or breviamentum, "a short document or writing", "a summary". | |||
| Croatian | kratko | ||
| The word "kratko" is derived from the Croatian word "kratak" meaning "short" or "brief". | |||
| Danish | kort | ||
| The word "kort" in Danish can also mean "map" or "deck of cards" and is related to the German word "Karte". | |||
| Dutch | kort | ||
| The word 'kort' in Dutch can also refer to a short circuit or a short story. | |||
| English | briefly | ||
| The adverb 'briefly' comes from the Old English 'brēfe' meaning a letter, document, or written record. | |||
| French | brièvement | ||
| Brièvement comes from "bref" meaning "short" and the suffix "-ment" which indicates an adverb. | |||
| Frisian | koart | ||
| The word "koart" likely derives from Old Frisian "kort", meaning "short", "narrow", "brief" or "small". | |||
| Galician | brevemente | ||
| The Galician word "brevemente" originates from the Latin "brevis" (short) and has the alternate meaning of "in a little while". | |||
| German | kurz | ||
| The word "kurz" also means "short" in the sense of length. | |||
| Icelandic | stuttlega | ||
| "Stuttlega" is an archaic form of the word "stutt" (short), which is still used in the phrase "stuttur stund" (a short while). | |||
| Irish | go hachomair | ||
| "Go hachomair" is an idiomatic phrase commonly used to describe something that is done quickly or for a short period of time | |||
| Italian | brevemente | ||
| “Brevemente” can also mean “soon” in Italian, unlike in English. | |||
| Luxembourgish | kuerz | ||
| "Kuerz" derives from the Old High German word "kurzen", which means "to shorten" or "to make short". | |||
| Maltese | fil-qosor | ||
| "Fil-qosor" is derived from the Arabic word "qasr" meaning "to shorten" or "to abridge." | |||
| Norwegian | kort | ||
| The word "kort" in Norwegian is cognate with "short" in English, both deriving from the Proto-Germanic root *kurtaz. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | brevemente | ||
| "Brevemente" derives from the Latin "brevis" (short), and also means "soon" or has the connotation of "in a short period of time". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | greiseag | ||
| The word 'greiseag' has several alternate meanings and is not only used as an adverb that means 'briefly' but can also mean 'a handful' or 'a portion'. | |||
| Spanish | brevemente | ||
| "Brevemente" also means "soon" or "in a short time" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | i korthet | ||
| The word "i korthet" is originally a noun meaning shortness or a summary | |||
| Welsh | yn fyr | ||
| In Old Welsh, the word "yn fyr" meant "in a sum" or "in short". | |||
Briefly in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | коратка | ||
| The word "коратка" in Belarusian also refers to a small, round bread roll. | |||
| Bosnian | kratko | ||
| The word "kratko" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "kъrtъкъ", which also means "short" or "abrupt". | |||
| Bulgarian | за кратко | ||
| In Bulgarian, "за кратко" can also mean "for a short time." | |||
| Czech | krátce | ||
| "Krátce" originates from the Old Czech word "kračiti," meaning "to take a step." | |||
| Estonian | lühidalt | ||
| "Lühidalt" is derived from the Estonian word "lühike, which means "short" or "concise." | |||
| Finnish | lyhyesti | ||
| The word "lyhyesti" is the essive form of the Finnish word "lyhyt" (short), and can also mean "in short" or "to put it briefly". | |||
| Hungarian | röviden | ||
| The word "röviden" can also mean "shortly" in a temporal sense, implying an imminent occurrence. | |||
| Latvian | īsi | ||
| Latvian "īsi" is a cognate of Lithuanian "iš" ("from, out of, of") and Russian "изы" ("from, out of, because of") and goes back to Proto-Balto-Slavic "*izъ". The word "īsi" can also be used to mean "at a glance", "in short", or "in summary". | |||
| Lithuanian | trumpai | ||
| Trumpai is cognate to the Russian word "трудно" (trudno) meaning "hard, difficult". | |||
| Macedonian | накратко | ||
| The word "накратко" derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "кратъкъ", meaning "short" or "concise". | |||
| Polish | krótko | ||
| "Krótko" derives from the noun "krót" ("tail") and historically meant "by the tail," then "quickly" and "briefly." | |||
| Romanian | scurt | ||
| The Romanian word "scurt" also means "short (in length)" and derives from the Latin "curtus" with the same meaning. | |||
| Russian | кратко | ||
| The word «кратко» originated from the Old Church Slavonic «кратъкъ», which in turn came from the Common Slavic «korbъ», meaning «small». | |||
| Serbian | укратко | ||
| "Укратко" (briefly) is derived from the word "кратак" (short), which in turn comes from the Proto-Slavic root *korbъ, meaning "to cut" or "to shorten." | |||
| Slovak | krátko | ||
| The word "krátko" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *korto*, which also means "short". | |||
| Slovenian | na kratko | ||
| The etymological ancestor of "na kratko" is an Old Slovene idiom, "kratek beseda" (literally: "short word") meaning "a brief or concise speech." | |||
| Ukrainian | коротко | ||
| The word "коротко" can also mean "to make short" or "to cut short". | |||
Briefly in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সংক্ষেপে | ||
| The word 'সংক্ষেপে' can also mean 'in short' or 'for short'. | |||
| Gujarati | ટૂંકમાં | ||
| The Gujarati word "ટૂંકમાં" is derived from the Sanskrit word "तूष्णम्" (tūṣṇam), which means "silently" or "in a low voice". It can also be used to mean "in short" or "concisely". | |||
| Hindi | संक्षिप्त | ||
| The Hindi word "संक्षिप्त" has Sanskrit origins and is related to the words for "contracted" or "abridged." | |||
| Kannada | ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತವಾಗಿ | ||
| The word "ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತವಾಗಿ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "संक्षिप्त" (saṃkṣipta), meaning "condensed, abridged, or summarized." | |||
| Malayalam | ഹ്രസ്വമായി | ||
| The word ഹ്രസ്വമായി (hrasuvami) in Malayalam literally means "shortened" and is a derivative of the Sanskrit word "hrasva." | |||
| Marathi | थोडक्यात | ||
| Nepali | छोटकरीमा | ||
| छोटकरीमा is derived from छोटो 'short' + कर्म 'deed,' which signifies 'to do a thing shortly or swiftly'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸੰਖੇਪ ਵਿੱਚ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කෙටියෙන් | ||
| In Sinhala, the word "කෙටියෙන්" comes from the root word "කෙටි" meaning "short" and in some contexts refers to "small" or "short in size". | |||
| Tamil | சுருக்கமாக | ||
| Telugu | క్లుప్తంగా | ||
| Urdu | مختصرا | ||
| The word "مختصرا" is derived from the root word "ختص", meaning "to specialize" or "to be specific". It can also mean "in short" or "concisely". | |||
Briefly in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 短暂地 | ||
| “短暂地”在汉语中除了表示时间短暂外，还有轻微、草草了事的意思，如“短暂地瞥了一眼”。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 短暫地 | ||
| 短暫地 derives from 短 (short) and 暫 (temporary), meaning something that lasts for a short while. | |||
| Japanese | 簡単に | ||
| "簡単に" can also mean "easy" or "concise". | |||
| Korean | 간단히 | ||
| The word "간단히" can also mean "simply" or "easily". | |||
| Mongolian | товчхон | ||
| The word "товчхон" can also mean "concisely" or "in a nutshell". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အတိုချုပ် | ||
Briefly in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | secara singkat | ||
| The phrase "secara singkat" is the Indonesian translation of "in brief", with "secara" meaning "in the manner of", and "singkat" meaning "short". | |||
| Javanese | sedhela | ||
| The term 'sedhela' was also formerly used in the meaning of 'small' but it has become obsolete now | |||
| Khmer | យ៉ាងខ្លី | ||
| Lao | ໂດຍຫຍໍ້ | ||
| Malay | sekejap | ||
| "Sekejap" may also refer to a period of 20-40 minutes in Indonesian timekeeping. | |||
| Thai | สั้น ๆ | ||
| In Thai, the word "สั้นๆ" (san san) can also mean "short" or "concise" in addition to its primary meaning of "briefly." | |||
| Vietnamese | tóm tắt | ||
| "Tóm tắt" means "summary" and is derived from the Chinese word "tōngshuài" (统帅), meaning "to lead an army." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa madaling sabi | ||
Briefly in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | qısaca | ||
| The word "qısaca" in Azerbaijani is derived from "qısa" ("short") and the suffix "-ca" (meaning "in a manner") and can also mean "in short". | |||
| Kazakh | қысқаша | ||
| Kyrgyz | кыскача | ||
| The word "кыскача" can also mean "in short" or "to summarize" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | мухтасар | ||
| The word "мухтасар" is derived from the Arabic word "mukhtasar", meaning "abbreviated" or "summarized". In Persian, it means "concise" or "brief". | |||
| Turkmen | gysgaça | ||
| Uzbek | qisqacha | ||
| The word "qisqacha" is derived from the Persian word "qesseh", meaning "speech" or "narrative". | |||
| Uyghur | قىسقىچە | ||
Briefly in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pōkole | ||
| The etymology of "pōkole" is obscure, but it may derive from "po" (night) and "kō" (cut), suggesting a "cut-off" of time. | |||
| Maori | poto | ||
| "Poto" can mean either "short" or "briefly" in Maori, and is used in both the literal and figurative sense. | |||
| Samoan | puupuu | ||
| "Puupuu" can also mean "butterfly" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | panandalian | ||
Briefly in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | mä juk’a arumpi | ||
| Guarani | mbykymi | ||
Briefly in International Languages
| Esperanto | nelonge | ||
| It is derived from the word "longa", which is an adverb also meaning "briefly" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | breviter | ||
| The Latin word "breviter" may also mean "in few words" or "concisely." | |||
Briefly in Others Languages
| Greek | εν ολίγοις | ||
| The phrase "εν ολίγοις" is derived from the Greek words "εἴς" (meaning "in" or "to") and "ὀλίγος" (meaning "few"), and literally means "in few words" or "concisely". | |||
| Hmong | luv luv | ||
| The word "luv luv" is derived from the syllables "lu" (short) and "vub" (quick), and also means "lightly" or "hurriedly". | |||
| Kurdish | kûrt | ||
| The word "kûrt" is also used to refer to a type of short sword or dagger in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | kısaca | ||
| Derived from the Arabic word for "shortening," kısaca originally meant "to cut short" before shifting to its modern meaning. | |||
| Xhosa | ngokufutshane | ||
| The Xhosa word "ngokufutshane" also means "in a nutshell" or "in summary" | |||
| Yiddish | בעקיצער | ||
| The Yiddish word "בעקיצער" ("bikitzer") is related to the German word "bitte" (a polite way to ask something) and the Yiddish word "קצר" ("katser") meaning "short". | |||
| Zulu | kafushane | ||
| The Zulu word “kafushane” comes from the root word “fushane” meaning “to be quick,” or “in a hurry.” | |||
| Assamese | চমুকৈ | ||
| Aymara | mä juk’a arumpi | ||
| Bhojpuri | संक्षेप में कहल जाव त | ||
| Dhivehi | ކުރުކޮށް ބުނެލާށެވެ | ||
| Dogri | संक्षेप च | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa madaling sabi | ||
| Guarani | mbykymi | ||
| Ilocano | iti apagbiit | ||
| Krio | fɔ shɔt tɛm | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەکورتی | ||
| Maithili | संक्षेप मे | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯁꯟꯗꯣꯛꯅꯥ ꯇꯥꯀꯏ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | tawi te tein | ||
| Oromo | gabaabumatti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସଂକ୍ଷେପରେ | ||
| Quechua | pisillapi | ||
| Sanskrit | संक्षेपेण | ||
| Tatar | кыскача | ||
| Tigrinya | ብሓጺሩ | ||
| Tsonga | hi ku komisa | ||