Few in Different Languages
Discover 'Few' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Few is a small but mighty word, packing a punch in its ability to convey a limited quantity. Its significance lies in its contrast to the word 'many,' drawing attention to the select few that stand out in a group. This humble term carries cultural importance across languages and borders, often used to express exclusivity or scarcity.
Delving into the world of language, one might wonder how few translates in different tongues. After all, understanding this term in various languages can open doors to cross-cultural communication and foster a deeper appreciation for the diversity of human expression.
For instance, in Spanish, few translates to 'pocos,' while in French, it becomes 'peu.' In the romance language of Italian, one would say 'poco,' and in the Germanic language of German, 'wenige' captures the essence of this concept. These translations not only offer insight into the linguistic structures of different languages but also highlight the universality of the idea conveyed by the word few.
Few
Few in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | min | ||
| In Afrikaans, "min" can also mean "my" or "little". | |||
| Amharic | ጥቂቶች | ||
| The word "ጥቂቶች" can also mean "some" or "a few". | |||
| Hausa | kaɗan | ||
| The Hausa word "kaɗan" can also refer to a small amount, a little bit, or a short while. | |||
| Igbo | ole na ole | ||
| The Igbo numeral 5, isè, can also mean a small or insignificant quantity | |||
| Malagasy | vitsy | ||
| VITSY is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word (*pitu) for 'seven', which also gives rise to the Malagasy word for 'seven' (fito) | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ochepa | ||
| The word "ochepa" in the Nyanja language has similar roots to the word "chopa" meaning "to break off" or "to take away." | |||
| Shona | vashoma | ||
| The word 'vashoma' in Shona can also mean 'young children', highlighting a connection between numerical and generational scarcity. | |||
| Somali | yar | ||
| The word "yar" can also refer to a small amount of something, such as a pinch of salt or a handful of rice. | |||
| Sesotho | mmalwa | ||
| In the phrase "mmalwa le" (few with), "mmalwa" can be used to describe the quality accompanying the noun that comes after "le" and not necessarily the amount. | |||
| Swahili | chache | ||
| The word "chache" in Swahili can also refer to a small amount or a little bit of something. | |||
| Xhosa | zimbalwa | ||
| 'Zimbalwa' is also used to describe someone who is stingy or not generous. | |||
| Yoruba | diẹ | ||
| The word 'diẹ' also means 'little' in the context of quantity and 'young' in the context of age. | |||
| Zulu | okumbalwa | ||
| The Zulu word "okumbalwa" can also mean "a little bit" or "a few people". | |||
| Bambara | damadɔ | ||
| Ewe | ʋee | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bake | ||
| Lingala | moke | ||
| Luganda | bitini | ||
| Sepedi | mmalwa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | kakra bi | ||
Few in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | قليل | ||
| The word "قليل" (qalīl) is also used to refer to something that is inadequate, worthless, or deficient. | |||
| Hebrew | מְעַטִים | ||
| The word "מְעַטִים" can also refer to "minorities" or "small groups in society." | |||
| Pashto | څو | ||
| The Pashto word "څو" (tsaw) can also mean "some" or "a little" in certain contexts. | |||
| Arabic | قليل | ||
| The word "قليل" (qalīl) is also used to refer to something that is inadequate, worthless, or deficient. | |||
Few in Western European Languages
| Albanian | pak | ||
| The word "pak" in Albanian is also a term of endearment for a sibling or close friend. | |||
| Basque | gutxi | ||
| The Basque word "gutxi" for "few" is also used to refer to a small amount of something, or a small number of people. | |||
| Catalan | pocs | ||
| Poc derives from the Latin word paucus and is related to the English word "paucity" | |||
| Croatian | nekoliko | ||
| The root word of 'nekoliko' is 'nek', 'someone' or 'some', while 'koliko' can mean either 'as much as' or 'how much'. | |||
| Danish | få | ||
| The Danish word "få" can also mean "small" or "limited", or be used to express a lack of something or a lack of experience. | |||
| Dutch | weinig | ||
| The word "weinig" can also mean "little" or "not much" in Dutch. | |||
| English | few | ||
| The word "few" can also mean "a small number"} | |||
| French | peu | ||
| The word "peu" in French can also mean "little" in the sense of "not much" | |||
| Frisian | stikmannich | ||
| The Frisian word "stikmannich" can also mean "somewhat" | |||
| Galician | poucos | ||
| The Galician word "poucos" also means "little", in the sense of "small" or "unimportant". | |||
| German | wenige | ||
| In Old Low German, "wenige" could also mean "little". In modern Dutch and Afrikaans, "wenig" and "weinig" retain this meaning. | |||
| Icelandic | fáir | ||
| The word "fáir" also means "leisure, peace, spare time, or vacation" in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | cúpla | ||
| The word "cúpla" also means "a brace", in the sense of a pair of connected things. | |||
| Italian | pochi | ||
| The term "pochi" in Italian can also refer to a specific unit of volume used for measuring liquids, particularly in the wine industry. | |||
| Luxembourgish | puer | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "puer" comes from the Latin "pauci", meaning "few" or "small in number" and can also refer to "pueri", meaning "children" or "boys". | |||
| Maltese | ftit | ||
| The Maltese word "ftit," meaning "few," is thought to share a common root with the Arabic "qatīt" and Hebrew "qat". | |||
| Norwegian | få | ||
| Få also means "vain" in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | poucos | ||
| The word "poucos" is derived from the Latin word "pauci", meaning "small in number". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | beagan | ||
| Beagan is used to refer to a small quantity or the early stages of something, similar to the English words 'few' and 'small'. | |||
| Spanish | pocos | ||
| In some Spanish dialects, "pocos" can also refer to a small amount of a liquid or substance. | |||
| Swedish | få | ||
| The word "få" in Swedish can also mean "obtain." | |||
| Welsh | ychydig | ||
| The word "ychydig" has alternate meanings, including "not many or much" and "comparatively small in number, quantity, or extent." | |||
Few in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | няшмат | ||
| "Няшмат" also means "несколько" (several) in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | malo | ||
| The word "malo" can also be used to mean "a little" or "slightly". | |||
| Bulgarian | малцина | ||
| "Малцина" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "мал" (meaning "small"), and can also mean "little" or "insignificant" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | málo | ||
| The word "málo" can also mean "little", "hardly", or "not enough" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | vähe | ||
| In Estonian, "vähe" can mean both "few" and "less", although the latter meaning is more common in a negative context. | |||
| Finnish | harvat | ||
| "Harvat" is the plural of "harva" meaning "sparse". It can also refer to someone who is shy or introverted. | |||
| Hungarian | kevés | ||
| "Kevés" also means "salty" in Hungarian, a usage that may originate from the use of salt as a form of currency in ancient times. | |||
| Latvian | maz | ||
| The word "mazs" in Latvian is derived from an ancient Proto-Indo-European root that also gave rise to "small" in English. | |||
| Lithuanian | nedaug | ||
| The word "nedaug" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ne- "not" and the suffix *-aug | |||
| Macedonian | малкумина | ||
| The word "малкумина" also has the meaning of "a little bit" or "a small amount". | |||
| Polish | mało | ||
| The word "mało" in Polish can also mean "a little" or "not much". | |||
| Romanian | putini | ||
| The word "putini" in Romanian is derived from the Latin word "pauci" meaning "few" and also means "a few" or "handful" in a collective sense. | |||
| Russian | несколько | ||
| The word "несколько" in Russian can also mean "some" in the sense of an unspecified amount, similar to "сколько-то" or "кое-что". | |||
| Serbian | неколико | ||
| The Serbian word "неколико" derives from the Proto-Slavic "několko", meaning "a small number". | |||
| Slovak | málo | ||
| The word "málo” also means "little" or "a small amount" in Slovak. | |||
| Slovenian | malo | ||
| The word "malo" can also mean "a little bit" or "slightly". | |||
| Ukrainian | небагато | ||
| "Небагато" is derived from Proto-Slavic "*nebogъ", meaning "poor, lacking". | |||
Few in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কয়েক | ||
| The word "কয়েক" is also used in the sense of "a few", but it implies a smaller quantity than "কয়েকগুলি". | |||
| Gujarati | થોડા | ||
| The word "થોડા" (THODA) in Gujarati has the alternate meaning of "some" | |||
| Hindi | कुछ | ||
| "कुछ" (few) is derived from Proto-Indo-Aryan "kuci" (slightly), and can still carry that meaning in Hindi (कुछ गरम - slightly warm). | |||
| Kannada | ಕೆಲವು | ||
| The Kannada word "ಕೆಲವು" (few) can also refer to "some" or "a few" in English, and is used in the same way. | |||
| Malayalam | കുറച്ച് | ||
| The word 'kurachu' also means 'some' in Malayalam, and can be used in a similar way to 'some' in English. | |||
| Marathi | काही | ||
| It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kalpi', meaning 'a small quantity'. | |||
| Nepali | केही | ||
| In Sanskrit, the word 'kechi' (केची) refers to those who speak softly or who are stingy and guarded with their wealth. | |||
| Punjabi | ਕੁਝ | ||
| The word "ਕੁਝ" ("few") in Punjabi can also mean "some", "a little", or "a bit". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කිහිපයක් | ||
| The word කිහිපයක් can also mean "some" or "a number of", depending on the context. | |||
| Tamil | சில | ||
| The word "சில" also means "some" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | కొన్ని | ||
| The word 'కొన్ని' can also mean 'some' or 'certain' in Telugu, depending on the context. | |||
| Urdu | کچھ | ||
| The word "کچھ" in Urdu can also mean "some" or "something". | |||
Few in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 几个 | ||
| "几个" in Chinese can refer to both "a few" or "several". It also means "what number". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 幾個 | ||
| "幾個" can mean not only "a few" but also "how many." | |||
| Japanese | 少数 | ||
| The word "少数" can also mean "minority" or "small number". | |||
| Korean | 조금 | ||
| The Korean word "조금" can also mean "a little" or "a bit" in English. | |||
| Mongolian | цөөн | ||
| The word 'цөөн' derives from Proto-Mongolic *čön and has cognates throughout Altaic languages. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အနည်းငယ် | ||
Few in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | beberapa | ||
| The word "beberapa" can also mean "some" or "several". | |||
| Javanese | sawetara | ||
| "Sawetara" can also mean 'some' or 'a little' in Indonesian. | |||
| Khmer | ពីរបី | ||
| The word ពីរបី is a compound of the words ពីរ (two) and បី (three), and can also be used to mean "a few" or "several". | |||
| Lao | ບໍ່ຫຼາຍປານໃດ | ||
| Malay | beberapa | ||
| The word 'beberapa' is used to indicate an unspecified small number of items, though it originally came from a root word meaning 'several'. | |||
| Thai | ไม่กี่ | ||
| The word "ไม่กี่" (mai-kii, "few") also has a secondary meaning of "a little bit" | |||
| Vietnamese | vài | ||
| “Vài” can also mean “some,” “a few,” or “a bit.” | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kakaunti | ||
Few in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | az | ||
| The word "az" is also used in the sense of "small" in certain contexts, such as "az-az" (very small) or "az bir" (a little bit). | |||
| Kazakh | аз | ||
| The Kazakh word "аз" can also mean "a little" or "not enough." | |||
| Kyrgyz | бир нече | ||
| The word "бир нече" can also mean "a little bit" or "some" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | кам | ||
| The word "кам" can also mean "little" or "a small amount". | |||
| Turkmen | az | ||
| Uzbek | oz | ||
| "Oz" is also one of the old names for the Aral Sea, and in its original meaning could mean "mouth of a river" or "wide opening". | |||
| Uyghur | ئاز | ||
Few in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kakaikahi | ||
| The word "kakaikahi" is a reduplicated form of the word "kahi", which means "to separate". The word "kakaikahi" is also used to describe something that is small or insignificant. | |||
| Maori | tokoiti | ||
| The word "tokoiti" can also mean "small" or "insignificant" in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | toʻaitiiti | ||
| The word 'toʻaitiiti' in Samoan can also refer to a small group of people or a small amount of something. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kakaunti | ||
| "Kakaunti" also refers to something that is of small or low quantity or number. | |||
Few in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | juk'aki | ||
| Guarani | sa'i | ||
Few in International Languages
| Esperanto | malmultaj | ||
| "Malmultaj" likely comes from Latin "multum" = "much" with "mal-" as a negative prefix (like "malbona") resulting in "not many" i.e. "few" | |||
| Latin | pauci | ||
| Pauci (Latin for 'few'), derives from the root pau- (meaning little) and is related to the word paucity (meaning scarcity). | |||
Few in Others Languages
| Greek | λίγοι | ||
| λίγοι (λίγος) is also used in Modern Greek to mean small or slender, especially in the expressions λίγος άνθρωπος (small man) and λίγο ψάρι (small fish). | |||
| Hmong | tsawg | ||
| 'Tsawg' can also refer to a limited quantity or amount, or a small number of people or things. | |||
| Kurdish | kêmane | ||
| In Sorani Kurdish, “kêmane” can also mean “the last one” or “the youngest one in a family”. | |||
| Turkish | az | ||
| In Old Turkic, "az" also meant "little by little", "slowly", or "gradually". | |||
| Xhosa | zimbalwa | ||
| 'Zimbalwa' is also used to describe someone who is stingy or not generous. | |||
| Yiddish | ווייניק | ||
| In Yiddish, "ווייניק" can also refer to a small amount of money or a short period of time. | |||
| Zulu | okumbalwa | ||
| The Zulu word "okumbalwa" can also mean "a little bit" or "a few people". | |||
| Assamese | খুব কম | ||
| Aymara | juk'aki | ||
| Bhojpuri | तनी | ||
| Dhivehi | މަދު | ||
| Dogri | किश | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kakaunti | ||
| Guarani | sa'i | ||
| Ilocano | bassit | ||
| Krio | sɔm | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کەم | ||
| Maithili | कम | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯔ | ||
| Mizo | tlem | ||
| Oromo | muraasa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅଳ୍ପ | ||
| Quechua | wakin | ||
| Sanskrit | कतिपय | ||
| Tatar | бик аз | ||
| Tigrinya | ቁሩብ | ||
| Tsonga | switsongo | ||