Either in Different Languages
Discover 'Either' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'either' is a small but powerful term in the English language, often used to express a choice between two options. Its significance goes beyond grammar, as it reflects the decision-making process that is fundamental to human cognition and behavior. This concept is not exclusive to English speakers, but is rather a universal aspect of communication, making the understanding of its equivalent in different languages crucial for effective cross-cultural dialogue.
Throughout history, the concept of choice has played a pivotal role in shaping societies and cultures. From ancient philosophical debates on the nature of free will to modern political discourse on individual liberties, the ability to make choices is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. The word 'either' is a reflection of this, and its translations in different languages offer a glimpse into how other cultures express this concept.
For instance, in Spanish, 'either' is translated as 'o bien', in French as 'ou bien', in German as 'oder', in Chinese as '或者', and in Japanese as 'あるいは'. Understanding these translations can not only enhance your linguistic abilities, but also provide a window into the cultural contexts in which they are used.
Either
Either in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | óf | ||
| 'óf' is cognate with Dutch 'of' and German 'ob' (both meaning 'either') and is often used as a conjunction, but can also function as a preposition or a noun | |||
| Amharic | ወይ | ||
| "ወይ ወይ" also means "Oh no" in the sense of something being unfortunate. | |||
| Hausa | ko dai | ||
| Ko dai', a Hausa word for 'either', is also used to express uncertainty or to seek confirmation in a question. | |||
| Igbo | ma obu | ||
| "Ma obu" is composed of "ma" meaning "or" and "ọbụ" meaning "either". "Ma" is an inclusive or while "ọbụ" is an exclusive or. | |||
| Malagasy | na | ||
| The Malagasy word "na" also means "yes" and "or". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mwina | ||
| Mwina derives from the Bantu root -mwine, meaning 'alone', and originally meant 'one or the other', but later came to mean 'either' in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | kana | ||
| In Old Shona, "kana" was a noun meaning "choice" or "option"} | |||
| Somali | midkoodna | ||
| The word | |||
| Sesotho | ebang ke | ||
| In Tswana, the word "ebang ke" can also be used to mean "on the other hand". | |||
| Swahili | aidha | ||
| "Aidha" also comes from the word "adha", meaning "half" and can be translated to "half of the two" in English. | |||
| Xhosa | nokuba yeyiphi | ||
| In some dialects of Xhosa, "nokuba yeyiphi" can also mean "because" or "despite." | |||
| Yoruba | boya | ||
| The Yoruba word "boya" also means "maybe" or "perhaps" in English. | |||
| Zulu | noma | ||
| Noma, meaning "either" in Zulu, is also the name of a pastoralist tribe of East Africa. | |||
| Bambara | walima | ||
| Ewe | eya loo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | cyangwa | ||
| Lingala | to | ||
| Luganda | oba | ||
| Sepedi | e ka ba | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sɛ anaa | ||
Either in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | إما | ||
| إما can also be a conditional conjunction implying a result similar to "if". | |||
| Hebrew | אוֹ | ||
| או also means 'light' and is related to the word 'fire' אור (ʾōr). | |||
| Pashto | یو هم | ||
| The word "yo hum" is derived from the Old Persian word "ya-uma", meaning "one or the other". | |||
| Arabic | إما | ||
| إما can also be a conditional conjunction implying a result similar to "if". | |||
Either in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ose | ||
| The word "ose" in Albanian originates from the Latin word "aut", meaning "either". It can also be used as a conjunction meaning "or". | |||
| Basque | bai | ||
| Bai is also used in the sense of “yes”. It is a form of the verb “to have”, the first person of which is used to agree or affirm. | |||
| Catalan | tampoc | ||
| The word "tampoc" derives from the Latin "nec tempus", originally meaning "not at all" or "never" but now only used in the negative sense of "either". | |||
| Croatian | ili | ||
| The word "ili" in Croatian derives from Proto-Slavic "ili", meaning "or, either" and is cognate with the Latin "vel". | |||
| Danish | enten | ||
| The word "enten" is derived from Old Norse "eða," which also means "or." | |||
| Dutch | een van beide | ||
| The word “een van beide” literally means “one of the two” in Dutch. | |||
| English | either | ||
| The word "either" can also mean "each of two". This definition is used when referring to two groups or categories. | |||
| French | soit | ||
| The word "soit" in French can also mean "so be it". | |||
| Frisian | itsij | ||
| "Itsij" is derived from the Old Frisian word "itsy", meaning "that", and is related to the modern Dutch word "hetzij". | |||
| Galician | tampouco | ||
| The second definition of "tampouco" is "in the same way, thus", from Latin "tampŏcum", and it's rarely used. | |||
| German | entweder | ||
| The German word "entweder" originally meant "either" or "any of two"} | |||
| Icelandic | annað hvort | ||
| Annað hvort derives from the Old Norse "annat-hvárt", meaning "the one or the other" | |||
| Irish | ach an oiread | ||
| The Irish word "ach an oiread" can also mean "however much" or "as much as". | |||
| Italian | o | ||
| "O" comes from the Latin word "aut," also meaning "either," and is related to "or," from the Indo-European root "aw." | |||
| Luxembourgish | entweder | ||
| The word "entweder" in Luxembourgish has a secondary meaning of "or" when used in a disjunctive sense but not in a question. | |||
| Maltese | jew | ||
| The Maltese word "jew" also means "or" and is derived from the Arabic word "aw". | |||
| Norwegian | enten | ||
| The suffix "-en" is also used as a diminutive in Norwegian, and can sometimes indicate that something is cute or endearing. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ou | ||
| "Ou" can also mean "where" in Portuguese, derived from the Latin word "ubi" meaning "in what place". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | an dàrna cuid | ||
| The Gaelic word "an dàrna cuid" has two other meanings besides "either"—namely, "the other part" and "the rest". | |||
| Spanish | ya sea | ||
| In Spanish, 'ya sea' also means 'whether'. | |||
| Swedish | antingen | ||
| The word "antingen" is a compound of the words "annat" and "tingen", meaning "the other thing". | |||
| Welsh | chwaith | ||
| The Welsh word "chwaith" originally meant "turn" or "time," and is related to the word "chwilio" meaning "to search." | |||
Either in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | альбо | ||
| The alternate meaning of "альбо" is "or". | |||
| Bosnian | bilo | ||
| The Bosnian word "bilo" can also mean "formerly" or "once". | |||
| Bulgarian | или | ||
| Bulgarian "или" derives from Proto-Slavic "ilь", meaning "alternative", "choice". It can also mean "or" in conditional sentences. | |||
| Czech | buď | ||
| The Czech word "buď" derives from Proto-Slavic and shares its root with "byt" ("be"), implying a choice between alternatives that lead to different states of being. | |||
| Estonian | kas | ||
| "Kas" is derived from Proto-Finnic *kakse meaning "two" and is cognate with Finnish "kaksi" and Karelian "kakši". | |||
| Finnish | jompikumpi | ||
| The Finnish word "jompikumpi" is an archaic form of the word "umpi", meaning "closed" or "full", and was originally used to refer to something that was completely enclosed or filled. | |||
| Hungarian | bármelyik | ||
| "Bármelyik" derives from the word "bármely" ("any"), with the suffix "-ik" indicating the "one of many" aspect. | |||
| Latvian | arī | ||
| Arī, a cognate of the Sanskrit word "ara" and the English word "ere," shares the meaning of "before" in some contexts. | |||
| Lithuanian | arba | ||
| "Arba" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂erbʰ- (“to divide, separate, inherit”), which gives rise to terms for inheritance and division in many Indo-European languages such as Modern English "heir" and Latin "orbus" (“orphaned")." | |||
| Macedonian | или | ||
| The word "или" can also mean "else" or "or." | |||
| Polish | zarówno | ||
| «Zarówno» is an Old Slavic conjunction, meaning «at the same time». | |||
| Romanian | fie | ||
| Fie is derived from Latin "aut", "sive" both meaning "or", but it can also mean "Fie!" expressing disgust. | |||
| Russian | или | ||
| The word "или" can also mean "or" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | било | ||
| The word "било" can also be used to mean "once" or "at some point in time." | |||
| Slovak | buď | ||
| The word "buď" in Slovak can also mean "to be" or "to come to be". | |||
| Slovenian | bodisi | ||
| The word "bodisi" in Slovenian can also mean "let it be" or "whether". | |||
| Ukrainian | або | ||
| The word “або” has various meanings and etymologies, deriving from the Proto-Slavic “abo”, meaning “if either”. | |||
Either in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | হয় | ||
| The word "হয়" in Bengali can also mean "is" or "are" depending on the context. | |||
| Gujarati | ક્યાં તો | ||
| Hindi | भी | ||
| The word "भी" can also mean "even" or "too" in Hindi, and can be used to express additional emphasis or to indicate that something is included. | |||
| Kannada | ಎರಡೂ | ||
| ಎರಡೂ is derived from the word 'ಎರಡು', meaning 'two', and is used in Kannada to refer to selecting one of two options or items. | |||
| Malayalam | ഒന്നുകിൽ | ||
| ഒന്നുകിൽ is often used in Malayalam as a sentence connector, as a substitute for conjunctions like 'but' or 'and'. | |||
| Marathi | एकतर | ||
| The Marathi word "एकतर" "एकतर" is a variation of "एकेतर" and is used in conjunction with "किंवा", meaning "or", to denote two alternatives. | |||
| Nepali | या त | ||
| In Sanskrit, "या त" also means "or". | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ" can also be used to mean "any" or "some" in certain contexts. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එක්කෝ | ||
| The Sinhalese word "එක්කෝ" (either) is used to refer to both the possibility of choosing one of two options or the certainty of one option being true, depending on the context. | |||
| Tamil | ஒன்று | ||
| The Tamil word "ஒன்று" can also mean "one", "a thing"," or "a person." | |||
| Telugu | గాని | ||
| "గాని" is also the name of a raga in Carnatic music, a collection of notes with a unique scale and aesthetic characteristics. | |||
| Urdu | یا تو | ||
| The word "یا تو" (either) is derived from the Arabic word "أو" (or) which also means "else" or "otherwise" indicating a choice between two or more options. | |||
Either in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 要么 | ||
| 要么 originates from Middle Chinese, where it meant "either-or" or a choice between two possibilities. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 要么 | ||
| "要么" can also be translated as "or else" and "in order to." | |||
| Japanese | どちらか | ||
| どちらか (dochira ka) is an abbreviated form of とちら (dochira) ('which'), plus か (ka), a particle used for uncertainty. | |||
| Korean | 어느 한 쪽 | ||
| In Korean, "어느 한 쪽" can also mean "one side," "one party," or "one direction." | |||
| Mongolian | бас | ||
| "Бас" is a Mongolian word with a similar meaning to the English "or" or "either", but it can also be used to emphasize the fact that a particular action or condition is the only one that is being considered. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တစ်ခုခုကိုဖြစ်စေ | ||
Either in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | antara | ||
| The word "antara" in Indonesian can also mean "among" or "between". | |||
| Javanese | uga | ||
| The word "uga" in Javanese can also refer to a negative particle (like "don't" or "no") when used in certain contexts. | |||
| Khmer | ទាំង | ||
| The Khmer word "ទាំង" can also mean both or all, depending on the context of the sentence. | |||
| Lao | ທັງ | ||
| ທັງ may also mean "all" or "whole" when used with certain words. | |||
| Malay | sama ada | ||
| In the past, the word was a repetition of | |||
| Thai | ทั้ง | ||
| In the past, "ทั้ง" could also mean "both". | |||
| Vietnamese | hoặc | ||
| The word "hoặc" is derived from the Middle Vietnamese word "hộc" meaning "to learn," and has alternate meanings that derive from it, for example "scholarly" or "learned." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | alinman | ||
Either in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ya da | ||
| Ya da is also used in some phrases, such as "bir ya da iki," meaning "one or two" | |||
| Kazakh | немесе | ||
| "Немесе" (either) is a conjunction in Kazakh that can also mean "or else" or "if not". | |||
| Kyrgyz | же | ||
| "Же" in Kyrgyz can also mean "in place of". | |||
| Tajik | низ | ||
| "Низ" (or as it's spelled nowadays, "нӣз") is an Old Persian word which literally means "low or bottom" and thus translates directly as "down" or "lower". | |||
| Turkmen | ýa-da | ||
| Uzbek | yoki | ||
| The word "yoki" in Uzbek comes from the Persian word "ya" meaning "or". | |||
| Uyghur | ياكى | ||
Either in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kekahi | ||
| Kekahi can also mean "some", "a few", or "certain" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | ahakoa | ||
| Ahakoa is also used in the sense of "even though" or "despite". | |||
| Samoan | a le | ||
| The word "a le" in Samoan can also be used to mean "each other." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | alinman din | ||
| The word "alinman din" came from the Spanish word "o din" which also means "either or". | |||
Either in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | o | ||
| Guarani | oimeraẽva | ||
Either in International Languages
| Esperanto | ĉu | ||
| The word "ĉu" in Esperanto can also be used to mean "whether" or to introduce a question. | |||
| Latin | aut | ||
| Aut may come from the Sanskrit word “uta,” meaning “or.” | |||
Either in Others Languages
| Greek | είτε | ||
| In ancient Greek, 'είτε' also meant 'if'. | |||
| Hmong | txawm yog | ||
| The word "txawm yog" can also mean "although" or "even if". | |||
| Kurdish | yan jî | ||
| The Kurmanji word “yan jî” is also used in Persian, and it was borrowed from Arabic, where it also means “either” and is commonly used in legal documents. | |||
| Turkish | ya | ||
| In Turkish, the word "ya" originally meant "or" and has been used as an emphatic particle since the 13th century. | |||
| Xhosa | nokuba yeyiphi | ||
| In some dialects of Xhosa, "nokuba yeyiphi" can also mean "because" or "despite." | |||
| Yiddish | יעדער | ||
| The word "יעדער" can also mean "every" or "each" in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | noma | ||
| Noma, meaning "either" in Zulu, is also the name of a pastoralist tribe of East Africa. | |||
| Assamese | যিকোনো এটা | ||
| Aymara | o | ||
| Bhojpuri | कऊनो | ||
| Dhivehi | ނުވަތަ | ||
| Dogri | जां | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | alinman | ||
| Guarani | oimeraẽva | ||
| Ilocano | uray ania iti dua | ||
| Krio | ɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەریەک | ||
| Maithili | वा तँ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯃ ꯅꯠꯇ꯭ꯔꯒ ꯑꯃ ꯑꯣꯏꯔꯕꯁꯨ | ||
| Mizo | zawk zawk | ||
| Oromo | yookaan | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କିମ୍ବା | ||
| Quechua | utaq | ||
| Sanskrit | अन्यतर | ||
| Tatar | яисә | ||
| Tigrinya | ወይ | ||
| Tsonga | kumbe | ||