Meanwhile in Different Languages
Discover 'Meanwhile' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'meanwhile' is a small yet powerful connector that bridges gaps in narrative, conveying the simultaneous occurrence of events or the passage of time. Its significance extends beyond grammar, as it subtly shapes our understanding of storytelling and time. Meanwhile has cultural importance in literature, films, and everyday conversations, fostering connections between people and their experiences.
Delving into the translations of 'meanwhile' in different languages offers a fascinating glimpse into the nuances of global cultures. For instance, in Spanish, 'meanwhile' becomes 'entretanto,' while in German, it's 'in der Zwischenzeit.' These translations not only represent linguistic diversity but also reflect unique cultural perspectives on storytelling and time.
Language enthusiasts, culture aficionados, and global citizens may find it intriguing to learn the translations of 'meanwhile.' This knowledge enriches cross-cultural communication and fosters a deeper appreciation for the world's diverse languages and traditions.
Meanwhile
Meanwhile in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | intussen | ||
| "Intussen" is derived from the Dutch "intussen", which originally meant "in the time between" or "during that time". | |||
| Amharic | ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ | ||
| The word ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ refers a simultaneous event that is of less importance than the primary event | |||
| Hausa | yayin haka | ||
| "Yayin haka" is pronounced "ah-yin aa-kaa" and is also an expression of excitement in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | ka ọ dị ugbu a | ||
| The term "ka ọ dị ugbu a" also means "for the time being," or "for the present." | |||
| Malagasy | mandritra izany fotoana izany | ||
| The Malagasy word for "meanwhile" can also mean "at that time." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | panthawiyi | ||
| The word "panthawiyi" is derived from the word "pantha" (time) and the suffix "-i" (in), meaning "during the time". | |||
| Shona | ukuwo | ||
| "Ukuwo" is also used figuratively to describe an intervening moment of time. | |||
| Somali | dhanka kale | ||
| The origin of the term is debated, some linguists suggest an origin from Arabic 'thanaka' ('to mark with dye'), and a possible derivation through Oromo, while others suggest a Somali origin, with 'Dhan' ('there' or 'then') and '-ka' ('the') | |||
| Sesotho | khabareng | ||
| The word 'khabareng' can also mean 'in fact' or 'of course' when used in a sentence. | |||
| Swahili | wakati huo huo | ||
| In Swahili, the word "wakati huo huo" can also mean "at the same time" or "at that moment". | |||
| Xhosa | okwangoku | ||
| The term “okwangoku” means “meanwhile” in Xhosa yet bears the meaning of “now” to the initiated Zulu-speaking people as well, a shared characteristic of both languages. | |||
| Yoruba | lakoko yii | ||
| Lakoko yii can also mean "in the meantime" or "at the same time". | |||
| Zulu | okwamanje | ||
| The word "okwamanje" in Zulu can also refer to a time period or a pause in an action. | |||
| Bambara | san ni | ||
| Ewe | le esime esia le edzi yim la | ||
| Kinyarwanda | hagati aho | ||
| Lingala | na ntango tozozela | ||
| Luganda | mukasera kano | ||
| Sepedi | ka go le lengwe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nanso | ||
Meanwhile in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | وفى الوقت نفسه | ||
| The Arabic word "وفى الوقت نفسه" can also mean "and at the same time" or "and meanwhile". | |||
| Hebrew | בינתיים | ||
| בינתיים in Hebrew is an acronym for בינוני של עתיד וזמן עבר (participle of the future and past tense). | |||
| Pashto | په عین حال کې | ||
| Arabic | وفى الوقت نفسه | ||
| The Arabic word "وفى الوقت نفسه" can also mean "and at the same time" or "and meanwhile". | |||
Meanwhile in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ndërkohë | ||
| "Ndërkohë" derives from the Proto-Albanian "endërkohë". In ancient Albanian, it meant "within the course of time". | |||
| Basque | bitartean | ||
| In Standard Basque, "bitartean" can also mean "during", "while", or "as". | |||
| Catalan | mentrestant | ||
| The word "mentrestant" comes from the Latin word "interim", meaning "in the meantime". | |||
| Croatian | u međuvremenu | ||
| The word "u međuvremenu" can also mean "in the meantime" or "meanwhile". | |||
| Danish | i mellemtiden | ||
| "I mellemtiden" is a compound word combining the preposition "i" (in/at) and the noun "mellemtiden" (the meantime). | |||
| Dutch | ondertussen | ||
| The word "ondertussen" is derived from the Dutch word "onder" (under) and "tussen" (between), meaning "in the meantime" or "during that time". | |||
| English | meanwhile | ||
| "Meantime" was once the preferred spelling, and still persists in the phrases "all the meantime" or "in the mean time". | |||
| French | pendant ce temps | ||
| "Pendant ce temps" literally means "during this time" but is used to indicate "meanwhile" like the conjunction "and". It can mean "at this time", "at the same time", or "during this interval of time". | |||
| Frisian | tuskentiid | ||
| Galician | mentres tanto | ||
| Galician's "mentres tanto" is a contraction of "mentres que esta cousa se fai namentres" (while one thing is happening the other is done) | |||
| German | inzwischen | ||
| Inzwischen derives from 'in des Zwischen' ('in the meantime') and can also mean 'by now' or 'currently'. | |||
| Icelandic | á meðan | ||
| "Á meðan" derives from the Old Norse words "á" (on, in, at) and "meðan" (during, while), thus literally meaning "in the middle of" or "during the time that..." | |||
| Irish | idir an dá linn | ||
| Italian | nel frattempo | ||
| The Italian expression "nel frattempo" comes from the Latin "interea", which means "in the meantime", "in the interval". | |||
| Luxembourgish | iwwerdeems | ||
| Iwwerdeems can also mean 'however' or 'but,' depending on the context. | |||
| Maltese | sadanittant | ||
| The word "sadanittant" is derived from the Semitic root "S-D-N", meaning "to proceed" or "to go forth". | |||
| Norwegian | i mellomtiden | ||
| In Norwegian "i mellomtiden" also means "at the moment". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | enquanto isso | ||
| "Enquanto isso", em português brasileiro, tem também o significado humorístico de "enquanto bebo". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | san eadar-ama | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "san eadar-ama" comes from the Old Irish phrase "san eter-ama", meaning "in the space of time between". | |||
| Spanish | mientras tanto | ||
| **Mientras** comes from the Latin word "mirare," which means to look or watch, and **tanto** means "so much" or "such a long time." Thus, **mientras tanto** literally means "while looking or watching so much or such a long time." | |||
| Swedish | under tiden | ||
| Under tiden', a Swedish word for 'meanwhile', was originally 'i mellan tiden', or 'in between the times'. | |||
| Welsh | yn y cyfamser | ||
| The word "yn y cyfamser" literally translates to "in the meantime" or "at the same time". | |||
Meanwhile in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | тым часам | ||
| It's a calque of the Russian word “тем часом” (“meanwhile”), which might be a Slavic translation of the Latin adverb “interim” (“interim”). | |||
| Bosnian | u međuvremenu | ||
| The word "u međuvremenu" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*medjuvrěmenъ", which means "between times". | |||
| Bulgarian | междувременно | ||
| The word "междувременно" in Bulgarian is cognate with "medium". | |||
| Czech | mezitím | ||
| The word "mezitím" originally meant "mean time", i.e. the time in between. | |||
| Estonian | vahepeal | ||
| The Estonian word "vahepeal" also has other meanings such as "gap" and historically meant "in between". | |||
| Finnish | sillä välin | ||
| The word "sillä välin" can also be used to mean "by the way" or "incidentally". | |||
| Hungarian | közben | ||
| The word 'közben' also means 'intermittently' and is composed of 'köz', meaning 'public' or 'communal', and 'benne', meaning 'in'. It suggests that something is done or happens between other activities or events. | |||
| Latvian | tikmēr | ||
| Tikmēr is derived from the word | |||
| Lithuanian | tuo tarpu | ||
| "Tuo tarpu" is a calque from the Russian "между тем", which literally means "among that". | |||
| Macedonian | во меѓу време | ||
| The Macedonian phrase "во меѓу време" literally means "in the between time" or "in the meantime" and is used to indicate an event or action that occurs during a period of time between two other events. | |||
| Polish | w międzyczasie | ||
| The Polish word "W międzyczasie" comes from the words "między" (between) and "czas" (time), and it is used to describe an event that occurs in the period between two other events. | |||
| Romanian | între timp | ||
| "Între timp" can also mean "meantime" in the sense of "during that time" in Romanian. | |||
| Russian | тем временем | ||
| The Russian word "тем временем" can also mean "in the meantime" or "in the current situation." | |||
| Serbian | у међувремену | ||
| The word 'у међувремену' can also mean 'in the meantime', 'meanwhile' and 'meantime'. | |||
| Slovak | zatiaľ | ||
| The words "zatiaľ" and "za to" are homographs but the former derives from "za" and "tiaľ", while the latter derives from "za" and "to". | |||
| Slovenian | medtem | ||
| "Medtem" can also mean "meantime" in Slovenian, and has an alternate spelling "medten". | |||
| Ukrainian | тим часом | ||
| The Ukrainian word "тим часом" also means "in the meantime", "at the same time", or "at that time". | |||
Meanwhile in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ইতিমধ্যে | ||
| ইতিমধ্যে can also mean "in the meantime", "already", "by now", or "at this moment." | |||
| Gujarati | દરમિયાન | ||
| Its literal meaning is 'in the middle of' referring to the placement between two other things | |||
| Hindi | इस दौरान | ||
| इस दौरान, derived from Sanskrit, also implies 'in the meantime', 'in this time period', and 'in the time of' | |||
| Kannada | ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ | ||
| The word "ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ" in Kannada is also used to mean "then" or "after that". | |||
| Malayalam | അതേസമയം | ||
| Marathi | दरम्यान | ||
| The word "दरम्यान" in Marathi also means "in between" or "during". | |||
| Nepali | यसै बीचमा | ||
| Literally 'in the same midst', यसै बीचमा is also used to mean 'anyhow' and 'in any case'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਇਸ ਦੌਰਾਨ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | මේ අතර | ||
| "මේ අතර" can also be used to indicate a change in speaker or scene. | |||
| Tamil | இதற்கிடையில் | ||
| Telugu | మరోవైపు | ||
| The Telugu word "మరోవైపు" is also used to mean "on the other hand" or "in contrast." | |||
| Urdu | اسی دوران | ||
| The Urdu word "اسی دوران" is originally a combination of "اسي "which means "this/here" and "دوران" which means "time" or "period". Thus it originally meant "this particular time" or "this duration". | |||
Meanwhile in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 与此同时 | ||
| 与此同时 (zìcìyúshí) is a phrase that can also mean "in addition to this," "furthermore," or "besides." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 與此同時 | ||
| 與此同時 is made of the characters 與 (with), 此 (this), 同 (same), and 時 (time), and means "at the same time as this; simultaneously". | |||
| Japanese | その間 | ||
| "その間" derives from the noun "間 (ma)" meaning space or interval and "其 (so)" meaning that or the one. | |||
| Korean | 그 동안에 | ||
| "그 동안에" (meanwhile) also means "in the meantime" or "in the intervening time". | |||
| Mongolian | энэ хооронд | ||
| The word "энэ хооронд" literally means "during this (time)" and can also be used to mean "in the meantime" or "while". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဤအတောအတွင်း | ||
| It can also mean "by the way" or "in the interim". | |||
Meanwhile in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sementara itu | ||
| The word 'sementara itu' is derived from the Arabic word 'samā'u', meaning 'heaven' or 'sky'. | |||
| Javanese | kangge | ||
| In Javanese, the word "Kangge" can also mean "as for" or "concerning". | |||
| Khmer | ទន្ទឹមនឹងនេះ | ||
| Lao | ໃນຂະນະດຽວກັນ | ||
| Malay | sementara itu | ||
| The word "sementara itu" is derived from the Sanskrit word "samanantara" meaning "at the same time". | |||
| Thai | ในขณะเดียวกัน | ||
| The word "ในขณะเดียวกัน" can also mean "at the same time" or "simultaneously". | |||
| Vietnamese | trong khi đó | ||
| Trong khi đó derives from the Chinese word 當其時 (dāngqíshí), meaning "at that time." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | samantala | ||
Meanwhile in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bu vaxt | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "bu vaxt" can also mean "at this time" or "currently". | |||
| Kazakh | бұл арада | ||
| The Kazakh word "бұл арада" also means "in this regard" or "in this context". | |||
| Kyrgyz | ошол эле учурда | ||
| Tajik | дар ҳамин ҳол | ||
| The word "дар ин ҳол" (meanwhile) in Tajik is derived from the Persian phrase "dar in hal", meaning "in this state or condition." | |||
| Turkmen | arada | ||
| Uzbek | bu orada | ||
| In Uzbek, "bu orada" can also mean "at the same time" or "simultaneously". | |||
| Uyghur | شۇنىڭ بىلەن بىللە | ||
Meanwhile in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻoiai kēia manawa | ||
| ʻOiai kēia manawa literally means "time is this", but has come to mean "meanwhile" in modern usage. | |||
| Maori | i tenei wa | ||
| The term "i tenei wa" can also refer to "in this case" or "under these circumstances". | |||
| Samoan | i le taimi nei | ||
| The Samoan phrase "i le taimi nei" can also mean "at the time being," "currently," or "at present." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | samantala | ||
| The word “samantala” comes from the Sanskrit word 'sam-anta-la', where “sam” means “with”, “anta” means “end”, and “la” is a suffix. Thus, the term “samantala” literally means "at the same time." | |||
Meanwhile in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukhakamaxa | ||
| Guarani | upe aja | ||
Meanwhile in International Languages
| Esperanto | dume | ||
| The word "dume" in Esperanto comes from the Latin word "dum", which means "during" or "while". | |||
| Latin | interim | ||
| It means 'in the meantime', and derives from the Latin word 'interim', meaning 'during' and 'being within'. | |||
Meanwhile in Others Languages
| Greek | εν τω μεταξύ | ||
| The ancient Greek word "Εν τω μεταξύ" literally means "in the middle of things" or "in between". | |||
| Hmong | lub caij no | ||
| The Hmong word "lub caij no" is a compound word consisting of "lub caij," meaning "time," and "no," meaning "middle," literally translating to "middle of the time." | |||
| Kurdish | di vê navberê de | ||
| The word "di vê navberê de" has multiple meanings in Kurdish, including "in the meantime" and "in the middle of." | |||
| Turkish | o esnada | ||
| The word "o esnada" in Turkish comes from the Persian word "esnād", which means "during" or "at the time of". | |||
| Xhosa | okwangoku | ||
| The term “okwangoku” means “meanwhile” in Xhosa yet bears the meaning of “now” to the initiated Zulu-speaking people as well, a shared characteristic of both languages. | |||
| Yiddish | דערווייל | ||
| 'דער, weyl' is Yiddish for "the", and "weil" means "while" or "because". So you can translate "דערװײל" as "the while" or (more loosely) "currently." | |||
| Zulu | okwamanje | ||
| The word "okwamanje" in Zulu can also refer to a time period or a pause in an action. | |||
| Assamese | তাৰ মাজতে | ||
| Aymara | ukhakamaxa | ||
| Bhojpuri | ए बीच | ||
| Dhivehi | މިގޮތަށް ކަންތައް އޮތްއިރު | ||
| Dogri | इस्सै दरान | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | samantala | ||
| Guarani | upe aja | ||
| Ilocano | itatta | ||
| Krio | we dis de bi | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لە کاتێکدا | ||
| Maithili | एहि बीच मे | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯥꯟꯀꯥꯁꯤꯗ | ||
| Mizo | chumilai | ||
| Oromo | yerooma wal fakkaatutti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଏହି ସମୟରେ | ||
| Quechua | chaynapi | ||
| Sanskrit | मध्यांतरे | ||
| Tatar | шул ук вакытта | ||
| Tigrinya | ክሳብ ሽዑ | ||
| Tsonga | xinkarhana | ||