Initially in Different Languages
Discover 'Initially' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'initially' is a small but powerful term that signifies the beginning or early stages of something. Its significance lies in its ability to set the stage for what is to come, making it a crucial concept in various cultures and languages.
Throughout history, the idea of an 'initial' phase has been a source of fascination and inspiration. From the 'initial' spark of creativity in art and literature to the 'initial' steps of a scientific discovery, the concept has played a pivotal role in shaping human history and progress.
Understanding the translation of 'initially' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the cultural nuances and linguistic differences that exist around the world. For example, in Spanish, 'initially' is 'inicialmente,' while in French, it is 'initialement.' Meanwhile, in German, the term is 'zunächst,' and in Japanese, it is '初期に' (shoki ni).
By exploring the various translations of 'initially,' we can gain a deeper appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture. So, let's delve into the fascinating world of 'initially' and discover how this simple term has been interpreted and expressed in different languages and contexts.
Initially
Initially in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | aanvanklik | ||
| The word "aanvanklik" initially meant "at the beginning" or "in the first place" in Dutch, but it has since come to mean "initially" in Afrikaans. | |||
| Amharic | በመጀመሪያ | ||
| The word "በመጀመሪያ" can also mean "first of all" or "in the first place". | |||
| Hausa | da farko | ||
| The Hausa word "da farko" derives from the Arabic "darakta," meaning "to begin" or "to originate." | |||
| Igbo | na mbido | ||
| "Na mbido" can also mean 'at first', 'in the beginning', or 'from the outset' in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | voalohany | ||
| The word "voalohany" in Malagasy can also refer to "firstly" or "at the beginning". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | poyamba | ||
| Poyamba can also mean 'on its own' or 'independently'. | |||
| Shona | pakutanga | ||
| It is also used as an exclamation to express approval or astonishment. | |||
| Somali | bilowgii | ||
| The word 'bilowgii' is derived from the word 'bilow' which means 'beginning or start'. | |||
| Sesotho | qalong | ||
| The word "qalong" or "qalongqa" also means "at first" or "at the beginning" in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | mwanzoni | ||
| The Swahili word "mwanzoni" can also mean "in the beginning" or "at the start". | |||
| Xhosa | ekuqaleni | ||
| The word 'ekuqaleni' can also mean 'at the beginning of' or 'originally'. | |||
| Yoruba | lakoko | ||
| The Yoruba word "lakoko" can also mean "in the first place", "at first" or "originally". | |||
| Zulu | ekuqaleni | ||
| The Zulu word "ekuqaleni" can also refer to the "beginning" of something, or to the "first time" an action is taken. | |||
| Bambara | a daminɛ na | ||
| Ewe | le gɔmedzedzea me | ||
| Kinyarwanda | mu ntangiriro | ||
| Lingala | na ebandeli | ||
| Luganda | mu kusooka | ||
| Sepedi | mathomong | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mfiase no | ||
Initially in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | في البداية | ||
| Hebrew | בתחילה | ||
| "בתחילה" is also the name of an Israeli punk rock band based in Tel Aviv. | |||
| Pashto | په پیل کې | ||
| Arabic | في البداية | ||
Initially in Western European Languages
| Albanian | fillimisht | ||
| The word "fillimisht" in Albanian is thought to derive from the Latin word "fili" meaning "son" or "heir", suggesting a sense of continuity or succession. | |||
| Basque | hasieran | ||
| The word "hasieran" in Basque also means "at the beginning of" or "from the start". | |||
| Catalan | inicialment | ||
| The Catalan word "inicialment" derives from the Latin "initialis", meaning "first" or "primary". | |||
| Croatian | u početku | ||
| In Croatian, "u početku" can refer to the beginning of a story or the start of a new period. | |||
| Danish | i første omgang | ||
| The Danish expression "i første omgang" literally means "in the first turn". | |||
| Dutch | aanvankelijk | ||
| Alternate meaning of "aanvankelijk" is "originally," from the prefix "aan-," meaning "on" or "to," and the root "vankelijk," meaning "captive" or "prisoner." | |||
| English | initially | ||
| "Initially" derives from Medieval Latin "inītiō" meaning "at the beginning," from Latin "īre" or "go" | |||
| French | initialement | ||
| The word "initialement" in French can also mean "originally" or "in the beginning". | |||
| Frisian | ynearsten | ||
| The Old Frisian word "ýneárst" is related to the modern Frisian word "earne," which has the dual meaning of "before" and "early in the morning." | |||
| Galician | inicialmente | ||
| In Galician, "inicialmente" can also be used to mean "in principle" or "at the outset." | |||
| German | anfänglich | ||
| Das Wort "anfänglich" stammt vom althochdeutschen Wort "anafanc" ab, was "Anfang" bedeutet. | |||
| Icelandic | upphaflega | ||
| The word "upphaflega" also means "originally" or "at first". | |||
| Irish | i dtosach | ||
| The Irish word "i dtosach" is derived from the phrase "i dtús na hach" meaning "at the beginning of," and is often used to introduce or set the scene for a story or event. | |||
| Italian | inizialmente | ||
| The Italian word "inizialmente" derives from the Latin "initium," meaning "beginning" or "start." | |||
| Luxembourgish | ufanks | ||
| The word "ufanks" can also mean "from the beginning" or "from the start". | |||
| Maltese | inizjalment | ||
| The word "inizjalment" is derived from the Italian word "inizialmente", which also means "initially". | |||
| Norwegian | i utgangspunktet | ||
| The Norwegian phrase "i utgangspunktet" literally means "in the starting point". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | inicialmente | ||
| The Portuguese word "inicialmente" can also mean "originally", "primarily", or "principally" in English. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | an toiseach | ||
| The word "an toiseach" originated from the Old Irish term "i n-toisech" meaning "in the beginning". | |||
| Spanish | inicialmente | ||
| Inicialmente deriva del latín initialis, y también significa 'principiante' o 'elemental'. | |||
| Swedish | initialt | ||
| The Swedish word "initialt" can also mean "in the beginning" or "originally". | |||
| Welsh | i ddechrau | ||
| The term “i ddechrau” can also mean “from the beginning,” as in the context of a story or journey. | |||
Initially in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | першапачаткова | ||
| The word “першапачаткова” can also mean “in the beginning” or “from the very beginning” in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | u početku | ||
| The phrase "u početku" can also mean "at the beginning of" or "in the beginning" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | първоначално | ||
| The Bulgarian word "първоначално" can also mean "originally" or "primordially". | |||
| Czech | zpočátku | ||
| The Czech word "zpočátku" comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "spočatъka", which means "from the beginning". | |||
| Estonian | esialgu | ||
| Finnish | aluksi | ||
| The word "aluksi" derives from the Proto-Finnic word "*alki", meaning "beginning" or "origin." | |||
| Hungarian | alapvetően | ||
| The word "alapvetően" in Hungarian has Indo-European roots and is related to the Latin word "elementum", meaning "element", "basis", or "principle". | |||
| Latvian | sākotnēji | ||
| The word "sākotnēji" can also refer to the "initial point" or "beginning" of something. | |||
| Lithuanian | iš pradžių | ||
| Iš pradžių is a Lithuanian adverb formed from iš- (out of) + pradžia (beginning). It means initially, at first, or from the beginning. | |||
| Macedonian | првично | ||
| The word " првично" ("initially ") in Macedonian is derived from the Proto - Slavic root " pervьnъ" ( "first") and can also mean"primitive","primary", or "native". | |||
| Polish | początkowo | ||
| The word początkowo derives from the Proto-Slavic word *počьnǫti, meaning "to begin". | |||
| Romanian | inițial | ||
| In archaic Romanian, "inițial" also means "simple", "without ornamentation". | |||
| Russian | первоначально | ||
| The word "первоначально" is derived from the Proto-Slavic adjective "прьвъ", meaning "first" or "primary." | |||
| Serbian | у почетку | ||
| In Serbian, "у почетку" can also mean "in the beginning" or "at first". | |||
| Slovak | spočiatku | ||
| The word "spočiatku" can also mean "at first" or "from the beginning". | |||
| Slovenian | sprva | ||
| The word "sprva" evolved from the Proto-Slavic word "sъprьva", meaning "beginning" or "from the beginning". | |||
| Ukrainian | спочатку | ||
| The word "спочатку" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*potičati", meaning "to begin, to start". It is also semantically related to the words "початок" (beginning) and "починати" (to begin). | |||
Initially in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রাথমিকভাবে | ||
| প্রাথমিকভাবে (pradhamika bhabe) originated from the Sanskrit root “pradhana,” meaning “important” or “principal.” | |||
| Gujarati | શરૂઆતમાં | ||
| Hindi | शुरू में | ||
| The word 'शुरू में' ('initially') consists of 'शुरू' ('beginning') and 'में' ('in'). | |||
| Kannada | ಆರಂಭದಲ್ಲಿ | ||
| The word "ಆರಂಭದಲ್ಲಿ" (ārambhadalli) can be literally translated to "in the beginning" or "from the beginning". | |||
| Malayalam | തുടക്കത്തിൽ | ||
| Marathi | सुरुवातीला | ||
| Its alternate meanings, "at first" and "in the beginning," are mostly used in the same context. | |||
| Nepali | सुरुमा | ||
| The word "सुरुमा" in Nepali derives from the Sanskrit "सुरु" meaning "beginning" and "मा" meaning "in". It can also be used to refer to the "very first time" or "in the beginning" of something. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਵਿੱਚ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මුලදී | ||
| The word "මුලදී" can also mean "originally", "at first" or "in the beginning". | |||
| Tamil | ஆரம்பத்தில் | ||
| Initially is also used in Tamil to mean the 'early stages of something that is likely to lead to something more extensive' and is used to indicate a 'starting place'. | |||
| Telugu | ప్రారంభంలో | ||
| Urdu | ابتدائی طور پر | ||
Initially in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 原来 | ||
| The character "原" in "原来" means "to return" or "to recover", hence its original meaning is "to restore to the initial state". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 原來 | ||
| 原來, 本指「事物之本來面貌」, 後引申為「起初, 最初」之義。 | |||
| Japanese | 最初は | ||
| *Originally, the word *hajime wa* meant "first off". | |||
| Korean | 처음에는 | ||
| "처음에는" consists of "처음에" (meaning "at first") and "는" (a topic marker), emphasizing the initial aspect. | |||
| Mongolian | эхэндээ | ||
| The word 'эхэндээ' can also mean 'first' or 'at the beginning'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အစပိုင်းတွင် | ||
Initially in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mulanya | ||
| The word "mulanya" in Indonesian originally meant "from the beginning" or "since the beginning". | |||
| Javanese | wiwitane | ||
| "Wiwitane" can also mean "from the beginning" or "from the start". | |||
| Khmer | ដំបូង | ||
| "ដំបូង" can also mean "the beginning" or "the first time". | |||
| Lao | ໃນເບື້ອງຕົ້ນ | ||
| Malay | pada mulanya | ||
| In Old Javanese, 'pada mulanya' means 'at the source' or 'in the beginning'. In Malay, it retains its Old Javanese meaning and its literal translation is 'at the beginning of it'. | |||
| Thai | เริ่มแรก | ||
| The word "เริ่มแรก" is derived from the Sanskrit word "prathamam", meaning "first" or "beginning". | |||
| Vietnamese | ban đầu | ||
| The word "ban đầu" also means "originally" or "at first". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa simula | ||
Initially in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | əvvəlcə | ||
| The word "əvvəlcə" derives from the Arabic "aWWalan", meaning "first", and can also refer to "preliminary" or "originally". | |||
| Kazakh | бастапқыда | ||
| The word "бастапқыда" can also mean "in the first instance" in English. | |||
| Kyrgyz | башында | ||
| The word initially can also mean top or head in Turkish and Azeri. | |||
| Tajik | дар аввал | ||
| The word "дар аввал" is a combination of the words "дар" („in, within") and "аввал" („first") and it is related to the Persian word "اَوَّل" (avval), which also means "first." | |||
| Turkmen | başda | ||
| Uzbek | dastlab | ||
| The word "dastlab" is derived from the Persian word "dast" meaning "hand" and "lab" meaning "lip", suggesting its original meaning of "at hand" or "ready to use". | |||
| Uyghur | دەسلەپتە | ||
Initially in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i kinohi | ||
| The Hawaiian word "i kinohi" can also mean "previously" or "in the past". | |||
| Maori | i te timatanga | ||
| The word 'i te timatanga' in Maori can also refer to 'the beginning of time' or 'the creation of the world'. | |||
| Samoan | muamua | ||
| "Muamua" can also mean "firstly" and "before." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sa una | ||
| "Sa una" is derived from the root word "isa" which means "one" or "first". | |||
Initially in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | qalltanxa | ||
| Guarani | iñepyrũrã | ||
Initially in International Languages
| Esperanto | komence | ||
| The word also means "for a start, after all", and comes from the word "komenco" or start. | |||
| Latin | initio | ||
| Initio, meaning "in the beginning," derives from the Latin noun initium, "beginning." | |||
Initially in Others Languages
| Greek | αρχικά | ||
| The word "αρχικά" derives from the Greek word "ἀρχή," meaning "beginning, origin, first principle". | |||
| Hmong | thaum pib | ||
| Thaum pib is derived from the words "thaum" (at the time) and "pib" (beginning) and conveys a sense of when an action was first started. | |||
| Kurdish | destpêkde | ||
| The term 'destpêkde' in Kurdish is often used to denote the starting point of an action or sequence of events, indicating a temporal beginning. | |||
| Turkish | başlangıçta | ||
| In Turkish, "başlangıçta" can also mean "firstly" or "at first." | |||
| Xhosa | ekuqaleni | ||
| The word 'ekuqaleni' can also mean 'at the beginning of' or 'originally'. | |||
| Yiddish | טכילעס | ||
| טכילעס is derived from the Hebrew word טכילה, meaning “immersion” or “dipping,” and refers to the initial stage of a process. | |||
| Zulu | ekuqaleni | ||
| The Zulu word "ekuqaleni" can also refer to the "beginning" of something, or to the "first time" an action is taken. | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰথম অৱস্থাত | ||
| Aymara | qalltanxa | ||
| Bhojpuri | शुरू में शुरू में भइल | ||
| Dhivehi | ފުރަތަމަ ފަހަރަށް | ||
| Dogri | शुरू च | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa simula | ||
| Guarani | iñepyrũrã | ||
| Ilocano | idi damo | ||
| Krio | fɔs | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لە سەرەتادا | ||
| Maithili | प्रारम्भ मे | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯍꯥꯅꯕꯗꯥ ꯑꯦꯟ.ꯗꯤ.ꯑꯦ | ||
| Mizo | a tir lamah chuan | ||
| Oromo | jalqaba irratti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରାରମ୍ଭରେ | ||
| Quechua | qallariypiqa | ||
| Sanskrit | प्रारम्भे | ||
| Tatar | башта | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣብ መጀመርታ | ||
| Tsonga | eku sunguleni | ||