We in Different Languages
Discover 'We' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'we' is a small but powerful term that represents unity, collaboration, and community. It signifies a group of individuals coming together, sharing experiences, and working towards a common goal. This simple pronoun holds great cultural importance across the globe, symbolizing the collective spirit that transcends borders and connects us all.
Delving into the translations of 'we' in different languages can offer fascinating insights into the unique cultural perspectives of various societies. For instance, in Hawaiian, 'we' translates to 'mākou,' while in Russian, it becomes 'мы.' These translations not only help us navigate linguistic differences but also provide a glimpse into the values and beliefs of the people who use them.
Understanding the word 'we' in various languages can be beneficial for travelers, language learners, and those interested in global culture. It can facilitate communication, foster connections, and promote cross-cultural understanding.
Join us as we explore the translations of 'we' in a variety of languages, from the familiar to the exotic.
We
We in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ons | ||
| The Afrikaans word "ons" comes from the Dutch word "ons", which has both inclusive and exclusive meanings. | |||
| Amharic | እኛ | ||
| "እኛ" also has a second, archaic, meaning of "I" | |||
| Hausa | mu | ||
| Hausa 'mu' comes from the Proto-Chadic *mɔ̰ and can also mean 'my' or 'mine'. | |||
| Igbo | anyị | ||
| Igbo 'anyị' comes from Proto-Niger-Congo prefix '*nà-' referring to the 'self' or 'own' of a group, which can be found with similar meaning in several Niger-Congo languages. | |||
| Malagasy | isika | ||
| The word 'iSIKA' in Malagasy also means 'our' and 'us'. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ife | ||
| In Nyanja, the word "ife" can also mean "us" if it is used at the end of a sentence. | |||
| Shona | isu | ||
| Shona 'isu' stems from Proto-Bantu, and also means 'they' in the dialects spoken in southern Zimbabwe. | |||
| Somali | anaga | ||
| The Somali word anaga (we) is also used in the sense of 'us' (objective case). | |||
| Sesotho | rona | ||
| The Sesotho word "rona" can also refer to a group of people or a specific person depending on the context. | |||
| Swahili | sisi | ||
| "Sisi" is the plural form of "mimi" ("me") indicating a group including the speaker. | |||
| Xhosa | thina | ||
| In Xhosa, the word 'thina' means 'we' and is also used to refer to the collective of a group or community. | |||
| Yoruba | awa | ||
| The Yoruba word "awa" also means "belonging" or "ownership" and can be used in phrases like "awa ile" (belonging to the home) or "awa oba" (belonging to the king). | |||
| Zulu | thina | ||
| Though 'thina' translates to "we" in Zulu, it can also mean "ourselves" or "ours". | |||
| Bambara | ani | ||
| Ewe | mí | ||
| Kinyarwanda | twe | ||
| Lingala | biso | ||
| Luganda | ffe | ||
| Sepedi | rena | ||
| Twi (Akan) | yɛn | ||
We in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نحن | ||
| The word "نحن" (we) in Arabic can also refer to the concept of "self" or "collective identity" | |||
| Hebrew | אָנוּ | ||
| The word "אָנוּ" can also refer to "us" or "ourselves" depending on the context. | |||
| Pashto | موږ | ||
| The word "موږ" in Pashto also means "to give" or "to donate". | |||
| Arabic | نحن | ||
| The word "نحن" (we) in Arabic can also refer to the concept of "self" or "collective identity" | |||
We in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ne | ||
| "Ne" also means "he" or "she" in the Geg dialect of Albanian. | |||
| Basque | guk | ||
| The plural form of 'guk' in Basque is 'geu'. | |||
| Catalan | nosaltres | ||
| The word "nosaltres" is derived from Latin "nos" (we) and "alter" (an other) | |||
| Croatian | mi | ||
| The word 'mi' also means 'peace' in Croatian, derived from the Proto-Slavic word '*mirъ' with the same meaning. | |||
| Danish | vi | ||
| The word "vi" in Danish can also mean "sacred" or "holy" in various contexts such as religious texts or historical writings. | |||
| Dutch | wij | ||
| The Dutch word "wij" also means "temple" in Afrikaans. | |||
| English | we | ||
| The word 'we' can also be used to refer to a group of people who share a common interest or goal. | |||
| French | nous | ||
| The French word "nous" can also mean "intellect" or "mind", derived from the Latin word "nos" meaning "knowledge" or "understanding". | |||
| Frisian | wy | ||
| In some dialects of Saterland Frisian, the word "wy" can also mean "us". | |||
| Galician | nós | ||
| The word "nós" can also refer to "a nautical knot", "us or ourselves", "some", "the self", and "an individual's inner consciousness or conscience" | |||
| German | wir | ||
| German "Wir" is derived from Old High German "wir" (we) or "wiraz" and related to Latin "viros" (man) and "vir" (man), and Sanskrit "virās" (man) | |||
| Icelandic | við | ||
| The word "við" can also refer to the wood of the birch tree, or to a group of people who share a common interest or goal. | |||
| Irish | muid | ||
| Muíd can also mean 'mob' or 'crowd' in Irish slang. | |||
| Italian | noi | ||
| The word "noi" in Italian can also refer to "no" ("us") when used in the dative case. | |||
| Luxembourgish | mir | ||
| "Mir", in addition to its meaning of "we", can also mean "us", "ourselves", "ours" or "mine" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | aħna | ||
| The word "aħna" in Maltese can also mean "our" or "ours". | |||
| Norwegian | vi | ||
| The Norwegian word "vi" can also mean "wood" or "timber". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | nós | ||
| From Latin 'nos', nós is the nominative plural form in Portuguese of the first person pronoun. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | sinn | ||
| In Scots Gaelic, "sinn" also has the alternate meaning of "our" and is related to the Old Irish "sinni" meaning "us". | |||
| Spanish | nosotros | ||
| The word "nosotros" is derived from the Latin "nos" and "alter" (the other), and is originally used as a plural form of the reflexive pronoun "se" | |||
| Swedish | vi | ||
| In Swedish, 'vi' also means 'us' in the objective case. | |||
| Welsh | ni | ||
| The Welsh language also has another word for "we", "nyni", which is used in more formal settings. | |||
We in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | мы | ||
| The word "мы" can also mean "they" in Belarusian, which is similar to its Proto-Slavic root "my". | |||
| Bosnian | mi | ||
| Bosnian "mi" is an alternative form of Common Slavic *my and is also related to English "my", German "mich", and Russian "мы" (my). | |||
| Bulgarian | ние | ||
| The Bulgarian word "ние" can also be spelled "ниъ" in old Cyrillic literature. | |||
| Czech | my | ||
| In Czech, "my" can mean both "we" and "mine". | |||
| Estonian | meie | ||
| The word "meie" in Estonian is the genitive case of the pronoun "mina" ("I") and can also mean "us" or "our". | |||
| Finnish | me | ||
| The Finnish word "me" can also refer to the first-person plural pronoun "I" in certain contexts. | |||
| Hungarian | mi | ||
| Hungarian "mi" has roots in the Proto-Uralic *mäŋe and Proto-Indo-European *mē, meaning "I" and "me" respectively. | |||
| Latvian | mēs | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "we," "mēs" can also mean "us," "our," or "ourselves." | |||
| Lithuanian | mes | ||
| "Mes" is cognate with "мы" in Russian and "moi" in French, meaning "my," and "mit" in German meaning "with." | |||
| Macedonian | ние | ||
| "ние" in Macedonian has different forms in different cases, like "нам" (accusative, "us") and "нас" (genitive, "of us"). | |||
| Polish | my | ||
| The Polish word for "my" and "we" is the same, and can be interpreted differently in different sentences. | |||
| Romanian | noi | ||
| The Romanian word "noi" ultimately derives from the Latin "nos" (we), but it can also refer to the musical concept of "noiseless"} | |||
| Russian | мы | ||
| In Russian, 'мы' can refer not only to a group of people but also to an individual, expressing a sense of modesty or politeness. | |||
| Serbian | ми | ||
| Some scholars believe that the Serbian word \ | |||
| Slovak | my | ||
| The word "my" ("we") in Slovak is cognate to the English word "moi" ("mine, my"), and both words are derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *me- ("me, my"). | |||
| Slovenian | mi | ||
| The word 'mi' in Slovenian can also mean 'me' when used in a specific context. | |||
| Ukrainian | ми | ||
| "Ми" is cognate with the Polish cog "my", the Czech cog "my", and the Slovak cog "my", all meaning the same "we". | |||
We in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আমরা | ||
| "আমরা" also used to mean "our" (possessive form) of "I" (আমি), e.g. "আমরা বই" (Our book). | |||
| Gujarati | અમે | ||
| The Gujarati word 'અમે' is a cognate of the Sanskrit word 'asmān' and is cognate to the English word 'us'. | |||
| Hindi | हम | ||
| The Sanskrit root of 'हम' ('we') is the Proto-Indo-European '*h₁mes' meaning 'we' or 'our', thus cognate with English words like 'home' and 'my'. | |||
| Kannada | ನಾವು | ||
| The word | |||
| Malayalam | ഞങ്ങൾ | ||
| The second-person plural pronoun 'we' also refers to oneself respectfully. | |||
| Marathi | आम्ही | ||
| The Marathi word "आम्ही" originates from the Sanskrit word "asmad", sharing its Indo-European root with the German word "wir" and the English word "we". | |||
| Nepali | हामी | ||
| The Nepali word "हामी" ("we") is related to the Sanskrit word "asmān", which means "self" or "own person". | |||
| Punjabi | ਅਸੀਂ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਅਸੀਂ" is related to the Sanskrit word "asmākam," meaning "of us," and also to the Avestan word "aṣma," meaning "we." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අප | ||
| අප can also refer to the dual "me and you" as well as "my" and "your" in the first person possessive. | |||
| Tamil | நாங்கள் | ||
| The word "நாங்கள்" also has an archaic meaning of "strength" or "force". | |||
| Telugu | మేము | ||
| "మేము" can also be used to address or refer to a single person, in place of "నేను" ( | |||
| Urdu | ہم | ||
| The Urdu word "ہم" (we) likely comes from an Old Indo-Aryan word meaning "to gather, to collect, to come together" and is related to the Persian "am" (us, we). | |||
We in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 我们 | ||
| 「我们」除「我們」的意思外，亦有「我們的國家」、「我們的黨」之意。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 我們 | ||
| "我們" can also be used metaphorically to mean "all living things" or "all people." | |||
| Japanese | 我々 | ||
| "我々" (wareware) also means "self" or "I" when used as a reflexive pronoun (e.g. "by myself"). | |||
| Korean | 우리 | ||
| "우리" can also refer to a country, such as "our country" or "motherland". | |||
| Mongolian | бид | ||
| The word "бид" can also refer to a group of people, such as a family or a community. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ငါတို့ | ||
We in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kita | ||
| The word 'kita' can also refer to a particular group of people or a community. | |||
| Javanese | kita | ||
| "Kita" in Javanese means "we", and also refers to an extended family that lives under one roof. | |||
| Khmer | យើង | ||
| In Khmer, យើង can also be used to refer to a specific person or entity, depending on the context. | |||
| Lao | ພວກເຮົາ | ||
| "ພວກເຮົາ" (we) is a Lao word that is also used to refer to a group of people who are close to each other, such as family or friends. | |||
| Malay | kami | ||
| In Malay, 'kami' can also refer to a group of unspecified people. | |||
| Thai | เรา | ||
| The Thai word "เรา" (we) derives from the Pali term "mayam" meaning "I" but has also been theorized to originate from the Javanese "rawuh" (to come). | |||
| Vietnamese | chúng tôi | ||
| 'Chúng tôi' (we in Vietnamese) is the plural form of 'tôi' (I) after being attached with the prefix 'chúng,' and it can also take on the sense of 'they' when referring to a group of people | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tayo | ||
We in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | biz | ||
| In Azerbaijani, the word "biz" also means "nose". | |||
| Kazakh | біз | ||
| The word | |||
| Kyrgyz | биз | ||
| Бир (bir) Kyrgyz number for one, and (биз) 'we' are cognate with the Old Turkic words (бир), (биз). | |||
| Tajik | мо | ||
| "Мо" comes from the Persian "ما" (mā), but can also refer to "our" or "ours". | |||
| Turkmen | biz | ||
| Uzbek | biz | ||
| In Uzbek, "biz" can also refer to the first person plural exclusive ("we" without you). | |||
| Uyghur | بىز | ||
We in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mākou | ||
| The word "mākou" can also mean "ours" or "belonging to us". | |||
| Maori | matou | ||
| The Maori word "matou" can also refer to a group of people or an object that belongs to multiple individuals. | |||
| Samoan | matou | ||
| In formal speech 'matou' might be replaced with 'ta' and in certain circumstances 'tatou' might be used. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kami naman | ||
| The word 'kami naman' in Tagalog can also mean 'me too' or 'and I'. | |||
We in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | nanaka | ||
| Guarani | ore-ñande | ||
We in International Languages
| Esperanto | ni | ||
| The word "ni" in Esperanto also means "our" and can be used as a possessive pronoun. | |||
| Latin | nobis | ||
We in Others Languages
| Greek | εμείς | ||
| The etymology of "εμείς" is unknown, though it has been variously suggested to derive from Indo-European "*we/o-" (our) or "*e-s-me" (we are). | |||
| Hmong | peb | ||
| The word "peb" in Hmong can also mean "our" or "ours" when used in different contexts. | |||
| Kurdish | em | ||
| Derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *me- meaning "me, I, my". | |||
| Turkish | biz | ||
| The Turkish word "Biz" not only means "we" but can also be used to refer to a collective group that includes the speaker. | |||
| Xhosa | thina | ||
| In Xhosa, the word 'thina' means 'we' and is also used to refer to the collective of a group or community. | |||
| Yiddish | מיר | ||
| Yiddish "מיר" emerged from 13th century Middle High German "wir" through Old Yiddish "mir". | |||
| Zulu | thina | ||
| Though 'thina' translates to "we" in Zulu, it can also mean "ourselves" or "ours". | |||
| Assamese | আমি | ||
| Aymara | nanaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | हम | ||
| Dhivehi | އަހަރެމެން | ||
| Dogri | अस | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | tayo | ||
| Guarani | ore-ñande | ||
| Ilocano | sikami | ||
| Krio | wi | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئێمە | ||
| Maithili | हम सभ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯩꯈꯣꯏ | ||
| Mizo | keini | ||
| Oromo | nuti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଆମେ | ||
| Quechua | ñuqanchik | ||
| Sanskrit | वयम् | ||
| Tatar | без | ||
| Tigrinya | ንሕና | ||
| Tsonga | hina | ||