Enormous in Different Languages
Discover 'Enormous' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Enormous. It's a word that instantly brings to mind something massive, colossal, and larger-than-life. Its significance lies in its ability to encapsulate something that is not just big, but truly epic in scale. From the natural world to human-made structures, the term 'enormous' is often used to describe things that leave us in awe.
Culturally, the concept of enormity has played a significant role in shaping our understanding of the world. From ancient myths and legends to modern-day architecture and engineering feats, enormous structures and phenomena have long been a source of fascination and inspiration. The Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Egypt, and the Grand Canyon are all examples of enormous wonders that have captured the imagination of people across the globe.
But what about the word 'enormous' itself? For those interested in language and culture, understanding how this term translates in different languages can offer unique insights into the ways that different cultures view and describe the world around them.
For instance, in Spanish, 'enormous' translates to 'enorme,' while in French, it's 'énorme.' In German, the term is 'enorm,' and in Italian, it's 'enorme' as well. Meanwhile, in Japanese, the word for enormous is 'おおきい' (oo-kii), and in Chinese, it's ' enorme' (dà).
Enormous
Enormous in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | enorm | ||
| The Afrikaans word "enorm" is derived from the Dutch word "enorm" meaning "immense" or "vast". | |||
| Amharic | እጅግ በጣም ትልቅ | ||
| Hausa | babba | ||
| "Babba" is derived from the Arabic "ba'ba'", which means "giant" or "monster". | |||
| Igbo | buru ibu | ||
| The Igbo term ‘buru ibu’ (‘enormous’), also translates to ‘very large’ or ‘massive’ in size or quantity." | |||
| Malagasy | goavana | ||
| The Malagasy word "goavana" is also used to describe something as "excessive" or "overabundant". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chachikulu | ||
| The word "chachikulu" in Nyanja (Chichewa) can also mean "to shake up and down" or "to stir up and down". | |||
| Shona | zvikuru | ||
| The word 'zvikuru' also denotes a person's stature, especially their height. | |||
| Somali | aad u weyn | ||
| The word "aad u weyn" in Somali, meaning "enormous", has semantic roots in the word "weyn" (big), indicating an amplified or exaggerated state of size. | |||
| Sesotho | e kholo haholo | ||
| The word "e kholo haholo" is also used to describe something that is very tall or large in size. | |||
| Swahili | kubwa sana | ||
| The Swahili word "kubwa sana" ("enormous") originates from the root word "kubwa" ("big"), which is related to the Bantu root "-kuba" ("to grow") and the Proto-Niger-Congo root "-kɔɓɔ" ("to be big"). | |||
| Xhosa | enkulu kakhulu | ||
| The word "enkulu kakhulu" can be literally translated as "big very" or "very big." | |||
| Yoruba | tobi pupo | ||
| The word "tobi pupo" literally means "very big" in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | okukhulu kakhulu | ||
| "Okukhulu kakhulu" is literally "big very big," but colloquially it means "enormous." It refers to an elephantine scale of size. | |||
| Bambara | camanba | ||
| Ewe | lolo ŋutᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kinini cyane | ||
| Lingala | monene | ||
| Luganda | obunene | ||
| Sepedi | ntši kudu | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛso | ||
Enormous in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ضخم | ||
| ضخم is derived from the Arabic word ضخم, which means heavy or massive, and is used to describe both physical and figurative size or importance. | |||
| Hebrew | עֲנָקִי | ||
| The word עֲנָקִי (enormous) in Hebrew derives from the biblical story of the Anakim, a race of giants inhabiting Canaan before the Israelites' conquest. | |||
| Pashto | ډېر | ||
| The word ډېر is also used in Pashto to describe something that is too much or excessive. | |||
| Arabic | ضخم | ||
| ضخم is derived from the Arabic word ضخم, which means heavy or massive, and is used to describe both physical and figurative size or importance. | |||
Enormous in Western European Languages
| Albanian | e madhe | ||
| E madhe can also mean 'the great' as in "the great ruler". | |||
| Basque | izugarria | ||
| The Basque word "izugarria" is derived from the Basque verb "izugarri" which means "to terrify" or "to make one tremble". | |||
| Catalan | enorme | ||
| In Catalan, "enorme" also refers to a severe illness or physical ailment. | |||
| Croatian | ogroman | ||
| In Croatian,"ogroman" is derived from "ogr", meaning "ogre", with the suffix "-an" indicating size, hence "ogre-like" or "enormous". | |||
| Danish | enorm | ||
| In Danish, "enorm" originally meant "enormously rich", but its meaning has expanded to include "enormous" in general. | |||
| Dutch | enorm | ||
| In Dutch "enorm" means "very" or "terrible", while its cognate in English means "huge". | |||
| English | enormous | ||
| The word "enormous" originates from the Latin word "enormis," meaning "out of the ordinary," "irregular," or "monstrous." | |||
| French | énorme | ||
| In addition to the obvious "large", "énorme" can also mean something "amazing" (positive or not). | |||
| Frisian | enoarm | ||
| The Frisian word "enoarm" is cognate with the English "enormous" but also retains an obsolete English sense of "very wicked". | |||
| Galician | enorme | ||
| In Galician, "enorme" also means "very abundant or profuse, in reference to something positive". | |||
| German | enorm | ||
| Enorm, meaning "enormous," comes from the Latin word enormis, meaning "deviating from the norm". | |||
| Icelandic | gífurlegur | ||
| "Gífurlegur" is derived from the Old Norse "gifr", meaning "poison" or "venom", and originally referred to something that was deadly or monstrous. | |||
| Irish | ollmhór | ||
| "Ollmhór" is derived from "oll" (big) and "mór" (great), and can also mean "very much" or "very many". | |||
| Italian | enorme | ||
| The Italian "enorme" derives from the Latin "enormis," meaning "out of the norm," and in Italian can also mean "immense" or "very large." | |||
| Luxembourgish | enorm | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "enorm" means "boring", not "enormous". | |||
| Maltese | enormi | ||
| The Maltese word "enormi" is derived from the Latin word "enormis", meaning "deviating from the norm". | |||
| Norwegian | enorm | ||
| The Norwegian word "enorm" is based on the Latin "enormitas" which means "monstrousness" and can be used to refer to both the physical and metaphorical size of an object. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | enorme | ||
| "Enorme" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin "enormis," meaning "out of rule, irregular, enormous." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | fìor mhòr | ||
| In addition to meaning "enormous," the Scots Gaelic word "fìor mhòr" can also mean "true size" or "very big." | |||
| Spanish | enorme | ||
| The Spanish word "enorme" derives from the Latin word "enormis," meaning "monstrous" or "out of the ordinary." | |||
| Swedish | enorm | ||
| The Swedish word "enorm" derives from the Latin word "enormis", meaning "out of the norm" or "irregular." | |||
| Welsh | enfawr | ||
| "Enfawr" is derived from the Welsh words "an" (great) and "mawr" (big), and was once spelled "anfawr". | |||
Enormous in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | велізарны | ||
| In Belarusian, "велізарны" originally referred to something of gigantic size but has come to mean "enormous" in modern usage. | |||
| Bosnian | enormno | ||
| The word "enormno" is derived from the Latin word "enormis", meaning "deviating from the norm" or "monstrous". | |||
| Bulgarian | огромен | ||
| The word "огромен" in Bulgarian is thought to derive from the Old Slavic term *ogromъ, which likely came from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃eǵʰ-, meaning "to grow" or "to be heavy." | |||
| Czech | obrovský | ||
| The word "obrovský" comes from the Proto-Slavic "*oborъ", which referred to a giant or supernatural being resembling a dragon or ogre. | |||
| Estonian | tohutu | ||
| The word "tohutu" in Estonian derives from the Proto-Finnic word *tohtu, meaning "great" or "large" | |||
| Finnish | valtava | ||
| "Valtava" is cognate with "valta" ("power"), "valtataistelu" ("struggle for power"), and "valtikka" ("scepter"). | |||
| Hungarian | hatalmas | ||
| The word originates from the Turkish word 'hatalı' meaning 'mistaken' and was originally used to describe something that was so big it was beyond comprehension. | |||
| Latvian | milzīgs | ||
| "Milzīgs" likely comes from the word "milzis," which in some Baltic languages means "giant." | |||
| Lithuanian | milžiniškas | ||
| The Lithuanian word "milžiniškas" is derived from the word "milžinas," meaning "giant." | |||
| Macedonian | огромна | ||
| The word "огромна" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *ogromъ, meaning "thunder, loud noise", and is related to the word "грозный" ("formidable, terrible"). | |||
| Polish | ogromny | ||
| The word 'ogromny' originates from the Old East Slavic 'ogrom' meaning 'terror' or 'fear'. | |||
| Romanian | enorm | ||
| Enorm is a homograph in Romanian with two different meanings, one of which derives from the Ottoman Turkish "enorm". | |||
| Russian | огромный | ||
| The word "огромный" comes from the Old Russian word "громада", meaning "a large crowd" or "a huge building". | |||
| Serbian | огроман | ||
| The word "огроман" in Serbian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *ogromъ, which means "huge" or "colossal". | |||
| Slovak | enormný | ||
| The word "enormný" is derived from the Latin word "enormis", meaning "out of the ordinary" or "monstrous". | |||
| Slovenian | ogromno | ||
| The word 'ogromno' originates from the Slavic root 'groz-', meaning 'fearsome, terrible', thus connoting the awe-inspiring size of something enormous. | |||
| Ukrainian | величезний | ||
| The word "величезний" may also refer to an object that is of great importance or significance. | |||
Enormous in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রচুর | ||
| প্রচুর is derived from Sanskrit 'pracurya' meaning abundance and also has meanings like 'much, many, ample' etc. | |||
| Gujarati | પ્રચંડ | ||
| Hindi | विशाल | ||
| The Sanskrit root "viś" means to enter or pervade | |||
| Kannada | ಅಗಾಧ | ||
| The word "ಅಗಾಧ" can also mean "unfathomable" or "inscrutable". | |||
| Malayalam | വളരെയധികം | ||
| Marathi | प्रचंड | ||
| The word "प्रचंड" derives from the Sanskrit word "prachanda," which means "violent" or "intense." | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| The word "धेरै" derives from the Sanskrit word "धारा" meaning "stream" or "flow". | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਹੁਤ | ||
| The word "बहु" in Sanskrit means "many" or "much", and the word "बहु-त" in Punjabi literally translates to "very much". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දැවැන්ත | ||
| The word "දැවැන්ත" means "elephant" and is also used to refer to large or powerful things. | |||
| Tamil | மகத்தான | ||
| The word "மகத்தான" in Tamil also means "great" or "important". | |||
| Telugu | అపారమైనది | ||
| The word "అపారమైనది" (enormous) in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word "aparam"," meaning "unlimited or immense". | |||
| Urdu | بہت زیادہ | ||
Enormous in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 巨大 | ||
| The first character 巨 means giant and the second 大 means big; the character is often used for emphasis, rather than to indicate a precise measurement. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 巨大 | ||
| The Chinese character "巨大" can also describe an exaggerated or remarkable person or thing, like a "giant talent". | |||
| Japanese | 巨大な | ||
| The word "巨大な" (kyodaina) can also mean "colossal" or "gigantic". | |||
| Korean | 거대한 | ||
| The word 거대한 is also used in Korea to describe someone or something that is powerful or impressive. | |||
| Mongolian | асар их | ||
| The Mongolian word "асар их" can also mean "very" or "extremely". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ကြီးမားသည် | ||
Enormous in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | besar sekali | ||
| The word 'besar sekali' is often used when describing things in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | gedhe tenan | ||
| The Javanese word "gedhe tenan" derives from the word "gedhe" meaning "big" and "tenan" meaning "indeed", so it literally means "big indeed". | |||
| Khmer | សម្បើមណាស់ | ||
| Lao | ມະຫາສານ | ||
| The word "ມະຫາສານ" is also used to describe something that is extremely large or impressive. | |||
| Malay | sangat besar | ||
| "Sangat besar" derives from "sanget" (very) and "besar" (big) and is also a way to express gratitude | |||
| Thai | มหาศาล | ||
| "มหาศาล" is also a colloquial word for "very expensive". | |||
| Vietnamese | to lớn | ||
| The word "to lớn" in Vietnamese can also mean "to grow" or "to become larger". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | napakalaki | ||
Enormous in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | böyük | ||
| The word "böyük" in Azerbaijani also means "elder" or "senior". | |||
| Kazakh | өте үлкен | ||
| The Kazakh word "өте үлкен" also means "very great" or "excessive". | |||
| Kyrgyz | эбегейсиз | ||
| "Эбегейсиз" is related to the word "эбек", with the suffix "-сиз" making the phrase mean the lack of something - in this case, a boundary. | |||
| Tajik | азим | ||
| The word "азим" in Tajik can also mean "huge" or "vast". | |||
| Turkmen | ullakan | ||
| Uzbek | juda katta | ||
| "Juda katta" can also mean "exceedingly" or "immensely" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | غايەت زور | ||
Enormous in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | nui loa | ||
| "Nui loa" can also mean "very long" or "for a long time". | |||
| Maori | nui rawa | ||
| In the Maori language, "nui rawa" can mean "very large" or "very many." | |||
| Samoan | matuā tele | ||
| "Matuā tele" in Samoan can also mean "strong" or "powerful". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | napakalaking | ||
| The word "napakalaking" is derived from the root word "laki" meaning "big" and the prefix "napa-" which intensifies the meaning. | |||
Enormous in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jach'a | ||
| Guarani | tuicha | ||
Enormous in International Languages
| Esperanto | grandega | ||
| The word "grandega" is derived from the Latin "grandis" (large), and also means "majestic" or "magnificent". | |||
| Latin | immane mittam | ||
| The word "immane mittam" is thought to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *meg-, meaning "great". It is also cognate with the Sanskrit word "maha", meaning "large". | |||
Enormous in Others Languages
| Greek | τεράστιος | ||
| The word ''τεράστιος'' in Greek derives from ''τέρας'', which can mean ''monster'', suggesting fear and awe, thus highlighting the intimidating size. | |||
| Hmong | loj heev | ||
| The word "loj heev" can also refer to a "big man" or "giant" in Hmong folklore. | |||
| Kurdish | pirr mezin | ||
| In Kurdish, "pirr mezin" literally translates to "great old man" or "great father". | |||
| Turkish | muazzam | ||
| The word "muazzam" comes from the Arabic word "azuma", meaning "to make great". | |||
| Xhosa | enkulu kakhulu | ||
| The word "enkulu kakhulu" can be literally translated as "big very" or "very big." | |||
| Yiddish | ריזיק | ||
| The Yiddish word "ריזיק" (rizik; enormous) derives from German "riesig" (gigantic), which in turn comes from the Latin "res" (thing) that also gave rise to the word "real." | |||
| Zulu | okukhulu kakhulu | ||
| "Okukhulu kakhulu" is literally "big very big," but colloquially it means "enormous." It refers to an elephantine scale of size. | |||
| Assamese | বৃহত্ | ||
| Aymara | jach'a | ||
| Bhojpuri | बिसाल | ||
| Dhivehi | ނުހަނު | ||
| Dogri | बराट-रूप | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | napakalaki | ||
| Guarani | tuicha | ||
| Ilocano | dakkel unay | ||
| Krio | big big | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | مەزن | ||
| Maithili | बड्ड पैघ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯥꯛ ꯆꯥꯎꯕ | ||
| Mizo | lian | ||
| Oromo | hedduu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବହୁତ ବଡ | ||
| Quechua | hatun hatun | ||
| Sanskrit | अत्यंत | ||
| Tatar | бик зур | ||
| Tigrinya | ብዙሕ | ||
| Tsonga | lexikulu | ||