Ever in Different Languages
Discover 'Ever' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Have you ever wondered about the significance and cultural importance of the word 'ever' across different languages? This simple word holds a world of meaning, opening up possibilities and expressing the notion of timelessness. From the ancient tongues of Latin and Greek to the modern languages of Spanish and Mandarin, the translation of 'ever' paints a fascinating picture of cultural nuances and linguistic evolution.
For instance, in Latin, 'ever' translates to 'semper', which is also the root word for 'always'. Meanwhile, in Greek, 'ever' is translated as 'aei', a term often associated with the eternal and unchanging nature of the universe. In Spanish, 'ever' becomes 'siempre', a word that not only signifies 'always' but also carries a sense of constancy and faithfulness.
Delving into the translations of 'ever' in different languages offers a unique perspective on how cultures perceive time and continuity. Discover more intriguing translations and insights below.
Ever
Ever in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ooit | ||
| The Afrikaans word "ooit" has the same root as the English word "ever" and the German word "ewig", meaning "eternal". | |||
| Amharic | መቼም | ||
| The word መቼም in Amharic also means "at any time" or "always". | |||
| Hausa | abada | ||
| The word "abada" also means "never" in certain contexts, such as when used in the phrase "ba ya abada" (literally "he will never"). | |||
| Igbo | mgbe | ||
| The Igbo word "mgbe," meaning "ever" in English, is derived from the root "gba," which also signifies "receiving" and "taking." | |||
| Malagasy | hatrany | ||
| The word "HATRANY" in Malagasy, besides meaning "ever", can also mean "constant" or "lasting". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | nthawi zonse | ||
| The word "nthawi zonse" is also used in Nyanja (Chichewa) to mean "at all times" or "all the time". | |||
| Shona | nokusingaperi | ||
| "Nokusingaperi" in Shona can also mean "always" or "forever". | |||
| Somali | abid | ||
| The Somali word "abid" is also used to mean "time" or "age". | |||
| Sesotho | kamehla | ||
| 'Kamehla' is also used to mean 'for a long time', akin to the English 'once upon a time'. | |||
| Swahili | milele | ||
| The Swahili word 'milele' can also mean 'always' or 'forever', and is derived from the Proto-Bantu root *-ile 'to continue'. | |||
| Xhosa | ngonaphakade | ||
| The word "ngonaphakade" is also used in Xhosa to express continuity or perpetuity, such as "umsebenzi ngonaphakade" (a permanent job). | |||
| Yoruba | lailai | ||
| In some dialects of Yoruba, "lailai" can also mean "very" or "too much". | |||
| Zulu | njalo | ||
| The word 'njalo' in isiZulu is a contraction of the words 'na' (with) and 'jalo' (thus). | |||
| Bambara | badaa | ||
| Ewe | tegbe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | burigihe | ||
| Lingala | ata moke te | ||
| Luganda | bulijo | ||
| Sepedi | ka mehla | ||
| Twi (Akan) | pɛn | ||
Ever in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أبدا | ||
| أبدا" is also used as an intensive or emphatic particle, meaning "extremely" or "greatly." | |||
| Hebrew | אֵיִ פַּעַם | ||
| The Hebrew word "אֵיִ פַּעַם" ("ever") is also used in the sense of "anytime," "at some time," or "on some occasion." | |||
| Pashto | کله هم | ||
| The word "کله هم" in Pashto is also used to refer to "the whole day" or "the whole night." | |||
| Arabic | أبدا | ||
| أبدا" is also used as an intensive or emphatic particle, meaning "extremely" or "greatly." | |||
Ever in Western European Languages
| Albanian | gjithnjë | ||
| The Albanian word "gjithnjë" is derived from Proto-Albanian *giþnjom-e, and is cognate with Old Greek "διαπαντός" (diapantos) and Old Prussian "wisan" both meaning "always. | |||
| Basque | inoiz | ||
| The word "inoiz" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | sempre | ||
| The Catalan word "sempre" derives from the Latin "semper", which also means "always". | |||
| Croatian | ikad | ||
| The word "ikad" in Croatian originally meant "always", but it can also mean "once" or "at some point". | |||
| Danish | nogensinde | ||
| "Nogensinde" derives from "noget" (something) and "sinde" (time), hence "at some time". | |||
| Dutch | ooit | ||
| "Ooit" can refer to a "bird's egg" in Dutch, similar to the English "ovum." | |||
| English | ever | ||
| The word "ever" originates from the Old English word "æfre" meaning "always" or "continually" | |||
| French | déjà | ||
| The word "déjà" derives from the Latin phrase "dies jam" (meaning "already day") and is related to the French word "jour" (meaning "day"). | |||
| Frisian | ea | ||
| In West Frisian, the word "ea" also means "water" or "river", deriving from the Proto-Germanic "ahwô". | |||
| Galician | nunca | ||
| In Galician, 'nunca' is often used to mean 'never', but it can also be used to emphasize that something is absolutely certain. | |||
| German | je | ||
| The word "je" in German can also mean "per" or "by". | |||
| Icelandic | alltaf | ||
| The Icelandic word "alltaf" is etymologically related to "allt," meaning "everything". | |||
| Irish | riamh | ||
| The Irish word "riamh" can also mean "at all times, always". | |||
| Italian | mai | ||
| In Italian, "mai" can also mean "never" or be used as an adverb to form negative phrases. | |||
| Luxembourgish | ëmmer | ||
| Maltese | qatt | ||
| The word "qatt" is also used to mean "at all" in negative sentences | |||
| Norwegian | noensinne | ||
| Norwegian "noensinne" comes from the Old Norse "nokkurn tíma," lit. "any time," with "nokkurn" meaning "some" or "any." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | sempre | ||
| "Sempre" derives from the Latin "semper", meaning "always" or "continuously". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | a-riamh | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "a-riamh" is a compound of "a" (prefix meaning "not") and "riamh" (meaning "time"). | |||
| Spanish | nunca | ||
| “Nunca” comes from the Latin phrase “nec una,” meaning “not one”. | |||
| Swedish | någonsin | ||
| The word "någonsin" originally meant "any time" and is related to the word "någon" which means "someone". | |||
| Welsh | erioed | ||
| In Welsh, the word "erioed" also means "a while" or "a period of time". | |||
Ever in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | ніколі | ||
| The word "ніколі" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "nikъ", meaning "someone". | |||
| Bosnian | ikad | ||
| The word "ikad" in Bosnian is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *vьsьdь, meaning "always" or "every time". | |||
| Bulgarian | някога | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic някога (nyakoga) means 'now' whereas in modern Bulgarian it has acquired the meaning of 'ever' while запали някога (zapali nyakoga) means 'set someone on fire' | |||
| Czech | vůbec | ||
| Vůbec also means "at all" or "in general" in Czech | |||
| Estonian | kunagi | ||
| The word "kunagi" can also mean "once" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | koskaan | ||
| In Northern dialects, koskaan means "sometimes". | |||
| Hungarian | valaha | ||
| The Finnish word 'valhe' meaning 'lie' might originate from 'valaha' or 'avalaha' meaning 'without end', 'eternity' or 'ever'} | |||
| Latvian | kādreiz | ||
| "Kādreiz" can also mean "sometimes", or even "never" in a double negative, e.g. "ne nekad". | |||
| Lithuanian | kada nors | ||
| The Lithuanian word "kada nors" originally meant "sometimes" but has since shifted to mean "ever" | |||
| Macedonian | некогаш | ||
| The Macedonian word "некогаш" also means "once" or "at some point in the past." | |||
| Polish | zawsze | ||
| Polish 'zawsze' originated from 'za wsze' ('for all time'), and has the alternate meaning 'always' like English 'ever'. | |||
| Romanian | vreodată | ||
| The Romanian word "vreodată" derives from a Slavic root meaning "sometime", and it is cognate with similar words in other Slavic languages. | |||
| Russian | когда-либо | ||
| The word "Когда-либо" was created by the merger of two words: "когда" ("when") and "либо" ("either"). It can also be used to mean "at any time" or "in the future". | |||
| Serbian | икад | ||
| The word "икад" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *jekъda, which also meant "at any time" or "once." | |||
| Slovak | vôbec | ||
| The word "vôbec" derives from the Proto-Slavic root *ob-ъ, meaning "around, about, over". | |||
| Slovenian | kdajkoli | ||
| In Old Russian, the word kada corresponds to the Slovenian kdaj, and in Old Church Slavonic the word kogda is used for when. | |||
| Ukrainian | ніколи | ||
| In Ukrainian, "ніколи" can also mean "never", but is used more commonly in the positive sense of "always". | |||
Ever in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কখনও | ||
| "কখনও" has two meanings: "at any time" and "in all cases." | |||
| Gujarati | ક્યારેય | ||
| ક્યારેય is the Gujarati cognate of the Sanskrit "kadachid," meaning "at any time" or "anytime at all." | |||
| Hindi | कभी | ||
| "कभी" has alternate obsolete meanings including "a little bit" and "sometimes." | |||
| Kannada | ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ | ||
| The word "ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ" (ever) in Kannada literally translates to "until then". It can also mean "always" or "forever". | |||
| Malayalam | എന്നേക്കും | ||
| "എന്നേക്കും" means "forever or eternally" and refers to a duration without an apparent end. | |||
| Marathi | कधीही | ||
| The Marathi word "कधीही" is also used to express "at any time." | |||
| Nepali | कहिले पनि | ||
| In the Kathmandu Valley, "कहिले पनि" (ever) can also mean "maybe" | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਦੇ | ||
| The term "ਕਦੇ" can refer to an unspecified point in the past as well as to habitual actions. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සදහටම | ||
| සදහටම translates to 'ever', and is originally an adverb formed from the Sanskrit word 'Sadā' meaning 'always'. | |||
| Tamil | எப்போதும் | ||
| The original Tamil word, எப்போதும், means "any time" rather than the more specific and common modern usage of "any time in the past or future". | |||
| Telugu | ఎప్పుడూ | ||
| Urdu | کبھی | ||
| The word "کبھی" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Urdu. | |||
Ever in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 曾经 | ||
| 曾经 in Chinese can also refer to "in the past" and literally means "had once". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 曾經 | ||
| "曾經" means "in the past" as well as "ever. | |||
| Japanese | これまで | ||
| "これまで" is an adverb. The original meaning is "up to this point". | |||
| Korean | 이제까지 | ||
| The word '이제까지' is derived from the Sino-Korean word '以只加至', meaning 'up to this point' or 'until now'. | |||
| Mongolian | хэзээ ч | ||
| Хэзээ ч is a compound of Хэ зэр ('when' in the sense of 'at what time') and the emphatic affix 'ч'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အမြဲတမ်း | ||
Ever in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | pernah | ||
| The word "pernah" in Indonesian can also mean "to have experienced something in the past". | |||
| Javanese | tau | ||
| The word "tau" in Javanese also means "to know" or "to be aware of". | |||
| Khmer | ដែលមិនធ្លាប់មាន | ||
| Lao | ເຄີຍ | ||
| In Old Lao, the word "ເຄີຍ" could also mean "to meet someone who has been away for a long time." | |||
| Malay | pernah | ||
| The word "pernah" in Malay is also a variant spelling of "pernah," meaning "to have flown" or "to have ascended". | |||
| Thai | เคย | ||
| "เคย" is a homophone in Thai and can also mean "catfish", "to be used to" or "to once have been". | |||
| Vietnamese | không bao giờ | ||
| In older Vietnamese, the word "không bao giờ" was interchangeable with the word "luôn luôn" for "always" | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kailanman | ||
Ever in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | heç vaxt | ||
| Despite its translation, the word «heç vaxt» can be used to emphasize the negative in a sentence. | |||
| Kazakh | мәңгі | ||
| The word "мәңгі" can also mean "immortal" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | эч качан | ||
| Tajik | ҳамеша | ||
| The word "ҳамеша" ("ever") in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "hame-shab", which means "all night". | |||
| Turkmen | hemişe | ||
| Uzbek | har doim | ||
| The Uzbek word "har doim" is thought to derive from the Persian "har dam", which means "every moment". | |||
| Uyghur | ever | ||
Ever in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | mau loa | ||
| The Hawaiian word 'mau loa' has historical roots in Polynesian mythology, where the word 'loa' referred to the 'great void' that was believed to have existed before creation. | |||
| Maori | ake ake | ||
| The Māori word 'ake' means both 'ever', and a 'type of fern or moss'. | |||
| Samoan | faavavau lava | ||
| The word "faavavau lava" in Samoan means "forever" or "eternally", and it is derived from the root word "faavaava", which means "to be continuous" or "to last". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kailanman | ||
| The Tagalog word "kailanman" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *ka-di-an*, meaning "when?" | |||
Ever in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | mä kuti | ||
| Guarani | ikatu jave | ||
Ever in International Languages
| Esperanto | iam ajn | ||
| The word "iam ajn" is also used in the Esperanto phrase "de tempo al tempo", which means "from time to time" or "occasionally" | |||
| Latin | semper | ||
| The word "semper" has a second meaning of "always" and is the root of the word "sempiternal". | |||
Ever in Others Languages
| Greek | πάντα | ||
| Πάντα (ever): from PIE *kwet- meaning "indefinitely"; cf. also L quandocumque and Eng when | |||
| Hmong | puas tau | ||
| The term puas tau can also refer to a specific kind of Hmong traditional clothing. | |||
| Kurdish | herdem | ||
| The word "herdem" is derived from the Persian word "har dam" meaning "every moment" or "all the time". | |||
| Turkish | hiç | ||
| The word "hiç" in Turkish does not only mean "ever" but also signifies "nothing" or "none." | |||
| Xhosa | ngonaphakade | ||
| The word "ngonaphakade" is also used in Xhosa to express continuity or perpetuity, such as "umsebenzi ngonaphakade" (a permanent job). | |||
| Yiddish | אלץ | ||
| The word “אלץ” (ever) also means “always” and “for the time being” in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | njalo | ||
| The word 'njalo' in isiZulu is a contraction of the words 'na' (with) and 'jalo' (thus). | |||
| Assamese | কেতিয়াবা | ||
| Aymara | mä kuti | ||
| Bhojpuri | हमेशा | ||
| Dhivehi | އެއްވެސް އިރެއްގައި | ||
| Dogri | कदें | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kailanman | ||
| Guarani | ikatu jave | ||
| Ilocano | agnanayon | ||
| Krio | ɛva | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | قەت | ||
| Maithili | सदैव | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯀꯩꯗꯧꯉꯩꯗꯁꯨ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | reng | ||
| Oromo | yoomiyyuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସବୁବେଳେ | ||
| Quechua | wiñaypaq | ||
| Sanskrit | नित्यम् | ||
| Tatar | гел | ||
| Tigrinya | ብስሩ | ||
| Tsonga | nga heriki | ||