Many in Different Languages
Discover 'Many' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'many' is a small but powerful term, denoting a large quantity or number. Its significance extends beyond mathematics, as it often represents abundance, variety, and diversity in cultural contexts. For instance, in English literature, 'many' has been used to express admiration, gratitude, and even warning.
Throughout history, 'many' has played a crucial role in storytelling, religion, and everyday life. In the Bible, 'many' is used to emphasize the greatness of God's love and mercy. In modern times, 'many' continues to be a vital part of our language, helping us to express complex ideas and emotions.
Understanding the translation of 'many' in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural appreciation. For example, in Spanish, 'many' translates to 'muchos', while in French, it becomes 'beaucoup'. In Mandarin Chinese, 'many' is translated as '多', and in Japanese, it is '多く'.
Exploring the various translations of 'many' is not only a linguistic exercise but also a journey through different cultures and traditions. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of language and discover the beauty of 'many' in all its forms.
Many
Many in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | baie | ||
| The Afrikaans word "baie" has an alternate meaning of "very" or "much" and is derived from the Dutch word "beï". | |||
| Amharic | ብዙዎች | ||
| The word "ብዙዎች" means "many" but can also refer to a group of people. | |||
| Hausa | da yawa | ||
| The Hausa word ''da yawa'' can also refer to a large amount or a great deal. | |||
| Igbo | ọtụtụ | ||
| Ọtụtụ also denotes a large number of people or things that are gathered together for a common purpose. | |||
| Malagasy | maro | ||
| Malagasy "maro" can also mean "a lot", "very", "great", "many", or "much" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ambiri | ||
| The word 'ambiri' can be traced back to Proto-Bantu *bili, meaning 'two'. | |||
| Shona | zvakawanda | ||
| "Zvakawanda" can also refer to a group of people or animals. | |||
| Somali | badan | ||
| The word "badan" also refers to an object used for counting beads in traditional Somali prayer necklaces. | |||
| Sesotho | tse ngata | ||
| Swahili | nyingi | ||
| The word "nyingi" can also mean "much". In Swahili, the concept of "much" is more closely associated with non-count nouns, while "many" is used for count nouns. | |||
| Xhosa | ezininzi | ||
| The word "ezininzi" can also be used to mean "abundant" or "greatly increased" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | ọpọlọpọ awọn | ||
| Zulu | eziningi | ||
| Eziningi in Zulu also refers to the number '1,000' and 'an abundance'. | |||
| Bambara | caman | ||
| Ewe | geɖewo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | benshi | ||
| Lingala | ebele | ||
| Luganda | -ngi | ||
| Sepedi | ntši | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bebree | ||
Many in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | كثير | ||
| The word "كثير" also means "a lot of" or "much" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | רב | ||
| The word "רב" can also mean "great", "master", or "teacher" in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | ډیری | ||
| The word "ډیری" in Pashto can also mean "plenty" or "abundant". | |||
| Arabic | كثير | ||
| The word "كثير" also means "a lot of" or "much" in Arabic. | |||
Many in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shumë | ||
| The word "shumë" is derived from Proto-Albanian *šumī, itself from Proto-Indo-European *sú-meh₁ "much, many". | |||
| Basque | asko | ||
| The Basque word "asko", meaning "many" or "a lot", has an Indo-European origin with a cognate in "a lot" in modern English. | |||
| Catalan | molts | ||
| The Catalan word "molts" is also an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "multum et saepe" (much and often). | |||
| Croatian | puno | ||
| Croatian 'puno' derives from a Slavic word for 'full' and may also mean 'full', 'rich' or 'fertile'. | |||
| Danish | mange | ||
| The Danish word "mange" has Old Norse roots and can have secondary meanings like "several" or "a lot" depending on the context. | |||
| Dutch | veel | ||
| The Dutch word "veel" has cognates in English like "fulfil" and "filthy" but its etymology remains uncertain. | |||
| English | many | ||
| Alternate meanings of "many" include a group or company of people, or a vast number or amount. | |||
| French | beaucoup | ||
| "Beaucoup" can also mean "very" or "a lot" in French, similar to "molto" in Italian and "muito" in Portuguese. | |||
| Frisian | folle | ||
| The word "folle" in Frisian is cognate with the English word "full" and means both "many" and "full". | |||
| Galician | moitos | ||
| "Moitos" in Galician is derived from the Latin "multitudo" but it can also be a synonym of "lungs" in some contexts. | |||
| German | viele | ||
| In Austrian German, "viele" can have the same meaning as "viel" in Standard German, referring to "a lot of" or "much". | |||
| Icelandic | margir | ||
| In Icelandic, "margur" is the singular form of "margir," meaning "many," and the singular form is used when referring to a quantity of people or things that is not countable. | |||
| Irish | go leor | ||
| In Munster Irish, "go leor" commonly means "much" or "very" rather than "many". | |||
| Italian | molti | ||
| "Molti" shares the same Latin etymology as "moltitudine" meaning "multitude". | |||
| Luxembourgish | vill | ||
| The word 'vill' in Luxembourgish can also be used to refer to a particular place where there are many houses, similar to the English word 'village'. | |||
| Maltese | ħafna | ||
| In Maltese, "ħafna" can also be used to express a large number of people, animals, or objects. | |||
| Norwegian | mange | ||
| The word "mange" in Norwegian can also refer to a skin disease in animals. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | muitos | ||
| "Muitos" is cognate with the Spanish, Italian and French "mucho" and its Latin root "multus." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | mòran | ||
| The word 'mòran' is cognate with the Irish word 'mór' ('big'), and can also mean 'much' or 'great' in Scots Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | muchos | ||
| In 16th century Spain, "muchos" was an intensive, meaning "very." This usage became obsolete. | |||
| Swedish | många | ||
| Cognate with the English word "many" and the German word "Menge" | |||
| Welsh | llawer | ||
| In place names, 'llawer' may derive from 'llaw' meaning 'flowing' or 'stream'. | |||
Many in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | шмат | ||
| 'Шмат' means 'many' in Belarusian, but it can also mean 'piece' depending on the context. | |||
| Bosnian | mnogi | ||
| The word 'mnogi' is most often a simple and direct synonym of 'mnogo', but, in certain uses, carries a strong meaning of multitude, in that of countless, unspecified amount, and, as such, can be often found where this nuance needs to be stressed to highlight a size of a collective, or even simply in contexts dealing with huge amounts to accentuate the scale. | |||
| Bulgarian | много | ||
| The word "много" can also mean "a lot of" or "much" in Bulgarian. | |||
| Czech | mnoho | ||
| The word "mnoho" has Slavic origins, deriving from the Proto-Slavic root *mъnogъ, meaning "many, much". | |||
| Estonian | palju | ||
| The word "palju" can also refer to a large amount of something, such as a lot of money or a large number of people. | |||
| Finnish | monet | ||
| 'Monet' can also mean 'several' or 'some', which are less than 'many'. | |||
| Hungarian | sok | ||
| The word "sok" is also used in the sense of "much", "a lot of", or "plenty of". | |||
| Latvian | daudzi | ||
| "Daudzi" is a Latvian word that is not etymologically related to its cognates in Germanic and Slavic languages, where it usually corresponds to the concept of "two". | |||
| Lithuanian | daugelis | ||
| The word "daugelis" is derived from the Proto-Baltic root *daug- meaning "much, many". | |||
| Macedonian | многумина | ||
| The word “многумина” originally meant “a crowd” and is related to the word “многу” meaning “much”. | |||
| Polish | wiele | ||
| The word "wiele" finds its roots in Proto-Slavic "velьmi", meaning "very". It also corresponds to the Latin "valde" and the German "wahl". | |||
| Romanian | mulți | ||
| The Romanian word "mulți" originates from the Latin root "multus". However, in modern Romanian slang, it is often used to mean "cool" or "awesome" | |||
| Russian | многие | ||
| The Russian word "многие" can also refer to "a multitude" or "most". | |||
| Serbian | многи | ||
| The word "многи" also has a secondary meaning of "various" or "different". | |||
| Slovak | veľa | ||
| The Slovak word "veľa" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*wel- " meaning "to wrap" or "to cover". | |||
| Slovenian | veliko | ||
| The word 'veliko' has cognates in most other Slavic languages and is similar to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *wel- | |||
| Ukrainian | багато | ||
| The word "багато" (many) in Ukrainian is derived from the Proto-Slavic *bogъ, which also meant "god" or "wealth". | |||
Many in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অনেক | ||
| The word "অনেক" can also mean "much", "a lot", or "abundantly" in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | ઘણા | ||
| The word "ઘણા" can also mean "much" or "a lot" depending on the context. | |||
| Hindi | अनेक | ||
| The word 'अनेक' (anek) in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अनु' (anu), meaning 'after' or 'in succession', and 'एक' (eka), meaning 'one', referring to the idea of many things occurring in a sequence or together. | |||
| Kannada | ಅನೇಕ | ||
| The word 'ಅನೇಕ' is also used to refer to a large quantity or number of things, as in 'ಅನೇಕ ಜನರು' ('a large number of people'). | |||
| Malayalam | പലരും | ||
| The word "പലരും" in Malayalam can also mean "several" or "a few," depending on the context. | |||
| Marathi | अनेक | ||
| The Marathi word "अनेक" ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁enǵʰ- meaning "one by one". | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| The Nepali word "धेरै" is derived from the Sanskrit word "धृ" meaning "hold". It can also mean "much", "a lot", or "in great quantity". | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਹੁਤ ਸਾਰੇ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විවිධ | ||
| Tamil | பல | ||
| The word 'பல' in Tamil is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root '*par-a', which also means 'multitude' or 'army'. | |||
| Telugu | చాలా | ||
| "చాలా" also means "enough" or "very" when used as an adverb. | |||
| Urdu | بہت | ||
| "بہت" is derived from Sanskrit "bahuta" and has alternate meanings like "excessive" or "a lot". | |||
Many in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 许多 | ||
| The phrase "许多" was first used over 1,100 years ago to describe the "many" parts of a song | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 許多 | ||
| The word "許多" (pronounced "xǔduō") can also mean "much" or "a great deal" in Chinese. | |||
| Japanese | たくさんの | ||
| Lots can also be said in Japanese as “ippai”, while “yoku” is a somewhat uncommon version of “lots”, which is more popular in Kansai regions. | |||
| Korean | 많은 | ||
| The word "많은" can also mean "much" or "a lot". | |||
| Mongolian | олон | ||
| "Олон" is plural in Mongolian, but if used as a noun it means "time" or "occasion" | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အများကြီး | ||
Many in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | banyak | ||
| The Javanese word "kathah" is the root of the Indonesian word "banyak". | |||
| Javanese | akeh | ||
| "Akeh" can also mean "much" or "plenty" depending on the context. | |||
| Khmer | ជាច្រើន | ||
| ជាច្រើន originates from Middle Khmer with Sanskrit influence, originally meaning both "much" and "difficult". | |||
| Lao | ຫຼາຍ | ||
| The word "ຫຼາຍ" in Lao is derived from the Proto-Tai-Kadai word *plaːj, meaning "group, company, multitude". | |||
| Malay | banyak | ||
| The word "banyak" also means "much", "plenty", or "a lot" depending on the context. | |||
| Thai | มากมาย | ||
| The Thai word "มากมาย" ("many") can also be used to describe a large amount or quantity of something. | |||
| Vietnamese | nhiều | ||
| The word “nhiều” can also mean “much” or “a lot”, depending on the context. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | marami | ||
Many in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çox | ||
| The word "çox" in Azerbaijani is cognate with "çok" in Turkish, "çoq" in Crimean Tatar, "чох" in Karachay-Balkar, and "чox" in Nogai. | |||
| Kazakh | көп | ||
| "Көп" also means "to increase" and "to multiply" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | көп | ||
| The word "көп" in Kyrgyz can also mean "much" or "plenty". | |||
| Tajik | бисёр | ||
| The word "бисёр" in Tajik can also mean "a lot" or "plenty". | |||
| Turkmen | köp | ||
| Uzbek | ko'p | ||
| Ko'p also means "group" or "bunch", especially when referring to people ("ko'p odam") or similar concepts. | |||
| Uyghur | نۇرغۇن | ||
Many in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | lehulehu | ||
| The Hawaiian word "lehulehu" can also refer to a crowd of people, indicating both a large number and a collective aspect. | |||
| Maori | maha | ||
| The word 'maha' means 'many' in Maori and can describe a large quantity of objects or people that are seen as plentiful. | |||
| Samoan | tele | ||
| "Tele" in Samoan also refers to a gathering or meeting. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | marami | ||
| "Marami" also refers to a species of Philippine anchovy. | |||
Many in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | walja | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
Many in International Languages
| Esperanto | multaj | ||
| The word "multaj" can also refer to a large number of people, animals, or things. | |||
| Latin | multis | ||
| The word "multis" in Latin is the plural form of "multus" which also means "much" or "great". | |||
Many in Others Languages
| Greek | πολλά | ||
| "Πολλά" derives from the ancient Greek word "πολύς" (polús), meaning "much" or "numerous," and in modern Greek it can also mean "so much" or "too much" | |||
| Hmong | coob leej | ||
| The verb 'coob leej' in Hmong can also mean 'to multiply' or 'to increase' in quantity. | |||
| Kurdish | gelek | ||
| The word "gelek" also refers to a specific type of Kurdish dance, typically performed by women in a line formation. | |||
| Turkish | birçok | ||
| The word "birçok" in Turkish shares its etymology with the word "bir" (one) and can also mean "several" or "a few" in some contexts. | |||
| Xhosa | ezininzi | ||
| The word "ezininzi" can also be used to mean "abundant" or "greatly increased" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | פילע | ||
| The Yiddish word "פילע" (many) is derived from the German word "viel" (much). | |||
| Zulu | eziningi | ||
| Eziningi in Zulu also refers to the number '1,000' and 'an abundance'. | |||
| Assamese | অনেক | ||
| Aymara | walja | ||
| Bhojpuri | ढेर | ||
| Dhivehi | ބައިވަރު | ||
| Dogri | केईं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | marami | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
| Ilocano | adu | ||
| Krio | bɔku | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زۆر | ||
| Maithili | बहुत रास | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯌꯥꯝ | ||
| Mizo | tam tak | ||
| Oromo | hedduu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅନେକ | ||
| Quechua | achka | ||
| Sanskrit | बहवः | ||
| Tatar | күп | ||
| Tigrinya | ቡዙሕ | ||
| Tsonga | swotala | ||