Afrikaans vir altyd | ||
Albanian përgjithmonë | ||
Amharic ለዘላለም | ||
Arabic إلى الأبد | ||
Armenian ընդմիշտ | ||
Assamese চিৰদিন | ||
Aymara wiñayataki | ||
Azerbaijani həmişəlik | ||
Bambara badaa | ||
Basque betirako | ||
Belarusian назаўсёды | ||
Bengali চিরতরে | ||
Bhojpuri हरमेशा खातिर | ||
Bosnian zauvijek | ||
Bulgarian завинаги | ||
Catalan per sempre | ||
Cebuano hangtod sa hangtod | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 永远 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 永遠 | ||
Corsican per sempre | ||
Croatian zauvijek | ||
Czech navždy | ||
Danish for evigt | ||
Dhivehi އަބަދަށް | ||
Dogri उक्का | ||
Dutch voor altijd | ||
English forever | ||
Esperanto por ĉiam | ||
Estonian igavesti | ||
Ewe tegbee | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) magpakailanman | ||
Finnish ikuisesti | ||
French pour toujours | ||
Frisian ivich | ||
Galician para sempre | ||
Georgian სამუდამოდ | ||
German für immer | ||
Greek για πάντα | ||
Guarani arerã | ||
Gujarati કાયમ માટે | ||
Haitian Creole pou toutan | ||
Hausa har abada | ||
Hawaiian mau loa | ||
Hebrew לָנֶצַח | ||
Hindi सदैव | ||
Hmong nyob mus ib txhis | ||
Hungarian örökké | ||
Icelandic að eilífu | ||
Igbo rue mgbe ebighebi | ||
Ilocano agnanayon nga awan inggana | ||
Indonesian selama-lamanya | ||
Irish go deo | ||
Italian per sempre | ||
Japanese 永遠に | ||
Javanese selawase | ||
Kannada ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾಗಿ | ||
Kazakh мәңгі | ||
Khmer ជារៀងរហូត | ||
Kinyarwanda iteka ryose | ||
Konkani कायम | ||
Korean 영원히 | ||
Krio sote go | ||
Kurdish herdem | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بۆ هەمیشە | ||
Kyrgyz түбөлүккө | ||
Lao ຕະຫຼອດໄປ | ||
Latin aeternum | ||
Latvian uz visiem laikiem | ||
Lingala mbula na mbula | ||
Lithuanian amžinai | ||
Luganda lubeerera | ||
Luxembourgish fir ëmmer | ||
Macedonian засекогаш | ||
Maithili सदाक लेल | ||
Malagasy mandrakizay | ||
Malay selamanya | ||
Malayalam എന്നേക്കും | ||
Maltese għal dejjem | ||
Maori ake ake | ||
Marathi कायमचे | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯇꯝ ꯄꯨꯝꯕꯗ | ||
Mizo chatuan | ||
Mongolian үүрд мөнх | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ထာဝရ | ||
Nepali सधैंभरि | ||
Norwegian for alltid | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kwanthawizonse | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସବୁଦିନ ପାଇଁ | ||
Oromo barabaraan | ||
Pashto د تل لپاره | ||
Persian تا ابد | ||
Polish na zawsze | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) para sempre | ||
Punjabi ਸਦਾ ਲਈ | ||
Quechua wiñaypaq | ||
Romanian pentru totdeauna | ||
Russian навсегда | ||
Samoan faavavau | ||
Sanskrit सदा | ||
Scots Gaelic gu bràth | ||
Sepedi go-ya-go-ile | ||
Serbian заувек | ||
Sesotho ka ho sa feleng | ||
Shona zvachose | ||
Sindhi هميشه | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සදහටම | ||
Slovak navždy | ||
Slovenian za vedno | ||
Somali weligiis | ||
Spanish siempre | ||
Sundanese salamina | ||
Swahili milele | ||
Swedish evigt | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) magpakailanman | ||
Tajik то абад | ||
Tamil என்றென்றும் | ||
Tatar мәңгегә | ||
Telugu ఎప్పటికీ | ||
Thai ตลอดไป | ||
Tigrinya ንኹሉ ግዜ | ||
Tsonga hilaha ku nga heriki | ||
Turkish sonsuza dek | ||
Turkmen baky | ||
Twi (Akan) daa | ||
Ukrainian назавжди | ||
Urdu ہمیشہ کے لئے | ||
Uyghur مەڭگۈ | ||
Uzbek abadiy | ||
Vietnamese mãi mãi | ||
Welsh am byth | ||
Xhosa ngonaphakade | ||
Yiddish אויף אייביק | ||
Yoruba lailai | ||
Zulu ingunaphakade |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Dutch, "vir altyd" is a term that refers to the concept of "forever" within the context of a romantic or platonic relationship. |
| Albanian | "Përgjithmonë" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- "forward, before" and *gʰʰen- "to kill, strike". |
| Amharic | The word "ለዘላለም" can also be used to mean "eternity" or "for all time." |
| Arabic | إلى الأبد is often used in the sense of "for all time", but it has also been used to mean "until death". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "ընդմիշտ" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- meaning "forward, beyond, through, across." |
| Azerbaijani | "Həmişəlik" is a compound word consisting of the words "həmişə" (always) and "-lik" (suffix denoting a state or condition), meaning "a state of always" or "permanently." |
| Basque | "Betirako" also means the "last child" or "last born" in Basque. |
| Belarusian | It comes from the Old Belarusian phrase “на завъсегда”, which means “always” or “for centuries”. |
| Bengali | "চিরতরে" can also mean "for a long time to come". |
| Bosnian | The word "zauvijek" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "zaviti", meaning "to fold" or "to wrap". |
| Bulgarian | The word “завинаги” traces its roots back to the Proto-Slavic base *vьnъ, which also meant “outside”. |
| Catalan | In Old Catalan, "per sempre" could also mean "until always" or "for eternity". |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "hangtod sa hangtod" etymologically means "until the end," as it is composed of the words "hangtod" meaning "until" and "hangtod" meaning "end." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character "永" in "永远" originally meant "flowing water" and was later used to represent eternity. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "永遠" has meanings of "not dying", "long life", or "always". |
| Corsican | "Per sempre" in Corsican can also mean "in perpetuity" or "for all eternity". |
| Croatian | The word "zauvijek" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *za-vьsьkъdь, meaning "all around" or "everywhere". |
| Czech | The word "navždy" can also mean "always" or "constantly" in Czech. |
| Danish | The word "for evigt" is derived from the Old Norse word "framvegis," meaning "always forward." |
| Dutch | The word "voor altijd" literally translates to "for all time" in Dutch, but has the same colloquial meaning of "forever" as in English. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "por ĉiam" literally means "for all time" and is equivalent to the English "forever" and the German "für immer". |
| Estonian | The word "igavesti" comes from "igav", meaning boredom, and refers to the eternity of a dull existence. |
| Finnish | The word 'ikuisesti' is of Baltic origin and is related to the word 'ika' meaning 'age'. |
| French | Pour toujours is a contraction of the Old French phrase 'por tous jors', meaning 'for all days'. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "ivich" (forever) derives from the Old Frisian word "eftich," originally meaning "after," and later "eternal." |
| Galician | The word "para sempre" can also be used in the sense of a temporary or short-lived period of time. |
| Georgian | The Georgian word "სამუდამოდ" is derived from the Proto-Kartvelian root *mūd-, meaning "permanent" or "eternal", and the suffix -od, indicating a state of being. |
| German | Für immer is also used in a different context to mean "in front of" |
| Greek | "Γεια" (Hello) is the informal way of greeting someone, "γεια σας" (Hello to you) is the formal way of greeting someone. |
| Gujarati | The word 'કાયમ માટે' is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kaew-, meaning 'to be firm, fixed, or permanent' |
| Haitian Creole | The word "pou toutan" comes from the French phrase "pour tout temps," meaning "for all time." |
| Hausa | The Hausa word “har abada” derives from the Arabic phrase “har abadan” (meaning “eternally” or “for all time”). |
| Hawaiian | "Mau loa" is a combination of two Hawaiian words: "mau" which means "continuous" or "ongoing," and "loa" which means "long" or "extended. |
| Hebrew | The word "לָנֶצַח" is a contraction of "לאין־צל" meaning "without a shadow", and therefore also figuratively "without an end" |
| Hindi | The word "सदैव" has alternate meanings of "at all times", "constantly", or "always". |
| Hmong | The Hmong word 'nyob mus ib txhis' not only means 'forever' but also can be translated as 'to live forever' or 'to live on'. |
| Hungarian | The word "örökké" originally meant "for ages" and was derived from the word "ör": century/age and the suffix "-ig/-ké": for the duration of. |
| Icelandic | The word "að eilífu" in Icelandic can also be used to describe something that is "everlasting" or "permanent." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "rue mgbe ebighebi" can also mean "from time immemorial" or "since ancient times". |
| Indonesian | The word "selama-lamanya" is derived from the Sanskrit word "śāśvata", meaning "eternal". |
| Irish | The spelling "go deo" in Irish is used to indicate that one is referring to the Christian God, as in "go deo agus go deo" ("forever and ever"). |
| Italian | The Italian word "per sempre" literally means "for always" or "through the ages". |
| Japanese | The kanji 永遠に, meaning "eternity" or "forever," originated from the Chinese concept of "endless time, from everlasting antiquity to everlasting futurity." |
| Javanese | "Selawase" has an alternate meaning, "as long as", which can be used to denote a specific period instead of perpetuity. |
| Kannada | ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾಗಿ" ("forever") originates from the Sanskrit word "śāśvatam," which means "eternal" or "unchanging." |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "мәңгі" not only means "forever", but is also a synonym for the concepts of "constant", "permanent", and "eternal". |
| Korean | "영원히" is short for "영원토록" or "영원토록히", meaning "eternity" or "forever". The suffix "히" indicates an adverbial form. |
| Kurdish | The word "herdem" in Kurdish has roots in the Persian phrase "her dam", meaning "every moment". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "түбөлүккө" is derived from the Old Turkic word "tüpülgi" meaning "endlessness" or "eternity". It can also refer to a "perpetual lease" or "permanent tenure" in Kyrgyz law. |
| Latin | "Aeternum" also means "of this world" or "temporal" in a few Latin phrases, although the primary meaning is indeed "eternal." |
| Latvian | Uz visiem laikiem derives from uz (on) and visiem laikiem (all times), meaning "throughout all time." |
| Lithuanian | Amžinai could also mean 'eternity' or 'for all eternity', implying an unending period of time. |
| Luxembourgish | "Fir ëmmer" comes from the German "für immer" which is a combination of the words "für" (for) and "immer" (always). |
| Macedonian | The word "засекогаш" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*vьsьkъgъ"," which also means "all" or "entire". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "MANDRAKIZAY" derives from the words "Mandrak'i" (to hold on) and "zay" (here), signifying "to hold on to this place, forever." |
| Malay | The word “selamanya” originates from “sela” (time) and “manya” (countless), hence its temporal connotation. |
| Malayalam | "എന്നേക്കും", meaning "forever", is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word "*en-t-ē-k-u-m", meaning "day after day". |
| Maltese | 'Għal dejjem' derives from the Arabic 'daliman' (meaning everlasting), and can also signify an eternal debt of gratitude. |
| Maori | The word "ake ake" in Maori can also refer to the "continuance of time" or the "distant past and future". |
| Marathi | The word "कायमचे" is derived from Sanskrit word "kaayam" meaning body and signifies continuity or permanence. |
| Mongolian | Üürd mönh literally means 'a long road', which signifies permanence and eternity in Mongolian culture. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word 'ထာဝရ' (forever) in Myanmar is derived from the Sanskrit word 'स्थावर' (stable), which also means 'permanent' or 'immovable'. |
| Nepali | The word "सधैंभरि" is derived from the Sanskrit word "सदा" (always) and the Nepali suffix "भरि" (full). |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word 'for alltid' originated from the Old Norse 'fyrir aldr', meaning 'for ages' |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "kwanthawizonse" in Nyanja (Chichewa) literally means "up to the other side of the horizon." |
| Pashto | Etymology and alternate meanings of د تل لپاره are not available. |
| Persian | The Persian word "تا ابد" ("forever") comes from the Arabic phrase "إلى الأبد" ("to eternity"), which is itself derived from the root word "ب د د" ("to last"). |
| Polish | The word "na zawsze" is composed of the preposition "na" ("on") and the noun "zawsze" ("always"). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | "Para sempre" literally means "for a time that does not end". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "pentru totdeauna" can also mean "always" or "for life." |
| Russian | The word "навсегда" comes from the Old Russian word "сънъвръшити" which means "to complete, to finish". |
| Samoan | Fa'avavau derives from the root word 'vau', meaning 'long', and conveys an indefinite or eternal duration. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "gu bràth" in Scots Gaelic also means "eternity" and is derived from the Old Irish word "go bráth" meaning "until judgement day." |
| Serbian | "Заувек" comes from the Proto-Slavic "*za vьkъ" (literally "for ages") and also means "very long". |
| Sesotho | Sesotho word "ka ho sa feleng" (translated as "forever" in English) is etymologically related to "ho sa" (meaning "to end" or "to cease") and "feleng" (meaning "to grow" or "to spread"), hence implies a state of continuous growth or never-ending expansion. |
| Shona | Zvachose has no alternate meanings in Shona but comes from the word "chose" which means "remain". |
| Sindhi | هميشه is also the name of a famous Sindhi film starring the legendary Sindhi actor, Mustafa Qureshi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "සදහටම" (forever) is derived from the Sanskrit word "sadā" (always) and the suffix "-ta" (ness). It can also mean "everlasting" or "perpetual". |
| Slovak | Navždy is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "navěky", meaning "to all eternity." |
| Slovenian | The word "za vedno" in Slovenian originated from the Proto-Slavic word "za-*vьdomь", meaning "for all times". |
| Somali | The word 'weligiis' is derived from the Arabic word 'walij' meaning "eternal" and ultimately from the Proto-Semitic root *w-l-' meaning "to be first". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "siempre" derives from the Latin "semper", which can also mean "always", "continually", or "on every occasion." |
| Sundanese | The word "salamina" in Sundanese also means "completely" or "thoroughly." |
| Swahili | "Milele" comes from the Proto-Bantu word for "eternal existence," and is cognate with the word "mile" in Portuguese, both ultimately deriving from the Latin "mīlle," meaning "thousand." |
| Swedish | Evigt originates from the Proto-Norse word "aiwinegoz," which means "eternal," and is cognate with "eonian," meaning "pertaining to eternity." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Derived from the Tagalog words "paka" (cause to be) and "ilan" (how many), "magpakailanman" literally means "to cause to be how many times," implying infinity. |
| Tajik | “то абад” is also used to mean eternity or infinity, conveying a sense of endlessness. |
| Telugu | The word "ఎప్పటికీ" can also mean "constantly", "always", or "ever". |
| Thai | The word 'ตลอดไป' has an alternate meaning of 'continuously' and derives from the Sanskrit word 'trayodaśa,' meaning 'thirteen'. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word "sonsuza dek" is a calque from the Persian "tâ abad" and Arabic "ilā āl-abad", both meaning "to the end of the ages." |
| Ukrainian | The word "назавжди" is derived from the Old Slavic word "na" meaning "on" or "upon" and the word "вѣк" or "вѣкъ" meaning "age" or "eternity." |
| Uzbek | The word "abadiy" is derived from the Arabic word "abadi", which means "eternal" or "perpetual." |
| Vietnamese | " mãi mãi" means "forever", but it also can be used to express a wish or hope for something to last a long time. |
| Welsh | The word "am byth" in Welsh is derived from "am" (time) and "byth" (ever), and also has the meaning "eternally" in Welsh. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, "ngonaphakade" can also mean "throughout time" or "until the end of time." |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word 'אויף אייביק' ('forever') originally referred to the afterlife or eternity but has since taken on a more secular meaning. |
| Yoruba | "Lailai" is also used to describe something that is enduring or permanent. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "ingunaphakade" also means "in the time of the ancestors". |
| English | The adverb 'forever' derives from Middle English 'for evere' meaning 'for a long time', with 'for' denoting continuation and 'evere' denoting time. |