Mere in Different Languages
Discover 'Mere' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'mere' is a small but mighty one, carrying significant meaning and cultural importance in the English language. It often denotes something slight or small, yet it can also signify a simple or basic version of something. But did you know that 'mere' has roots in Old English and Old French, and was once used to describe a body of water or a boundary?
Moreover, the significance of 'mere' extends beyond English, as it has been adopted and adapted in various languages and cultures around the world. For instance, in Spanish, 'mero' can refer to a type of fish or a complete or total thing. In Hindi, 'mere' is a possessive pronoun meaning 'my' or 'mine'. And in Maori, 'mere' is a traditional weapon made of jade or bone, used for both ceremonial and practical purposes.
Given its rich history and cultural significance, it's no wonder that someone might want to know the translation of 'mere' in different languages. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or simply curious, read on to discover the many meanings and uses of 'mere' in a global context.
Mere
Mere in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | meer | ||
| "Meer" can also mean "lake" or "the abundance of something" | |||
| Amharic | ተጨማሪ | ||
| The word "ተጨማሪ" ("mere") in Amharic can also mean "additional" or "extra." | |||
| Hausa | kara | ||
| Kara shares a root with k`ara, which means 'to scrape' or 'to graze'. | |||
| Igbo | ọzọ | ||
| Ọzọ, meaning "mere" in Igbo, also signifies "essence," highlighting the dual nature of "mere" as both superficial and profound. | |||
| Malagasy | bebe kokoa | ||
| "Bebe kokoa" (mere) likely derives from Old Austronesian *baqbaqu (*knife). | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zambiri | ||
| Shona | zvimwe | ||
| The word "zvimwe" can also mean "others" or "the rest" in Shona. | |||
| Somali | dheeraad ah | ||
| The Somali word "dheeraad ah" can also mean "too much" in some contexts. | |||
| Sesotho | hape | ||
| The word “Hape” is derived from the verb 'ho hapha' meaning 'to cover' which in return means 'to hide'. | |||
| Swahili | zaidi | ||
| The word "zaidi" can also mean "too much" or "extra." | |||
| Xhosa | kaninzi | ||
| The word "Kaninzi" has a derogatory connotation in modern Xhosa, unlike its cognate "Umama" meaning "mother." | |||
| Yoruba | siwaju sii | ||
| "Siwaju si" is usually translated as "mere" in English, but it also means "just" or "only" or "nothing but" or "simply" | |||
| Zulu | okuningi | ||
| The word "Okuningi" in Zulu is also used to refer to a small pot or container, a small amount of something, or a small number of people. | |||
| Bambara | caman | ||
| Ewe | gawu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | byinshi | ||
| Lingala | lisusu | ||
| Luganda | okwongera | ||
| Sepedi | go feta | ||
| Twi (Akan) | dodoɔ | ||
Mere in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أكثر | ||
| The word "أكثر" can also mean "more" or "most" in Arabic, depending on the context. | |||
| Hebrew | יותר | ||
| The Hebrew word "יותר" derives from an ancient Semitic root and has meanings beyond "mere," ranging from "excess" to "beyond" to "additional." | |||
| Pashto | نور | ||
| The word "نور" (mere) in Pashto is derived from the Persian word "نور" (light) and also means "sunlight" or "moonlight". | |||
| Arabic | أكثر | ||
| The word "أكثر" can also mean "more" or "most" in Arabic, depending on the context. | |||
Mere in Western European Languages
| Albanian | më shumë | ||
| Albanian "më shumë" means "more," but can also be used in a figurative sense to intensify a word or action. | |||
| Basque | gehiago | ||
| While the word "gehiago" is usually rendered simply as "more" in English, its literal meaning is "excess" or "abundance." | |||
| Catalan | més | ||
| In Catalan, "més" can be an adjective meaning "more," an adverb meaning "very," or a personal pronoun meaning "myself." | |||
| Croatian | više | ||
| The word 'više' has additional meanings in Croatian, including 'greater', 'taller', and 'older'. | |||
| Danish | mere | ||
| The Old Danish "mer" referred to the sea or a lake, and later came to mean a small or enclosed body of water as well as a swamp or bog. | |||
| Dutch | meer | ||
| The Dutch word "meer" derives from the Old Dutch "meri" but can also refer to an expanse of open land. | |||
| English | mere | ||
| "Mere" derives from the Middle English word "mere," meaning "lake," and is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*mer-" meaning "water." | |||
| French | plus | ||
| The French word "plus" can also mean "more" or "in addition to". | |||
| Frisian | mear | ||
| The original Frisian word 'mear' meant 'boundary' or 'border', with reference to a specific dividing line; it derives from various Old Germanic words. | |||
| Galician | máis | ||
| In the Portuguese language "Mais" means "more" indicating that "máis" (Galician) and "Mais" (Portuguese) share a common etymology. | |||
| German | mehr | ||
| Mehr, pronounced with an "e" rather than an "a," is the comparative form of the German word "viel," meaning "much." | |||
| Icelandic | meira | ||
| The Icelandic word "meira" (mere) is derived from the Old Norse word "merr", meaning lake or sea. | |||
| Irish | níos mó | ||
| Italian | di più | ||
| The Italian word "Di Più" can also mean "more" or "in addition". | |||
| Luxembourgish | méi | ||
| Luxembourgish "méi" is a cognate of the French word "mère" (meaning "mother"), and is also used to mean "more" in the sense of "additional" or "extra". | |||
| Maltese | aktar | ||
| The word "aktar" can also mean "more" or "a lot" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | mer | ||
| The Norwegian word "mer" can also refer to a large lake, while in English "mere" usually means "only". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | mais | ||
| In Portuguese, "mais" can also mean "but" and is derived from the Latin "magis" (more). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | tuilleadh | ||
| The name is cognate with the word "tilth" in English. | |||
| Spanish | más | ||
| The Spanish word "más" is a cognate of the Latin word "magis" and the English word "more." | |||
| Swedish | mer | ||
| The Swedish word "mer" can also translate to "the sea" or "the ocean" in English. | |||
| Welsh | mwy | ||
| The Welsh word 'mwy' (mere) is derived from 'mawr' and shares its root with the Latin words 'maior' (greater) and 'maximus' (greatest). | |||
Mere in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | больш | ||
| The word "больш" in Belarusian has an ancient meaning "sea", known in Polish and Czech as "morze" and "moře" respectively. | |||
| Bosnian | više | ||
| Više can also mean 'more' or 'additional'. | |||
| Bulgarian | повече ▼ | ||
| The Bulgarian word "Повече ▼" (mere) is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *malъ, meaning "small" or "little." | |||
| Czech | více | ||
| Czech word "více" means "more" (when used as an adverb), "vice" (when used with a bad habit), and "vine" (when used in viticulture). | |||
| Estonian | rohkem | ||
| The term "rohkem" can refer to a larger amount of some object, but it can also mean "too much" or "more than necessary". | |||
| Finnish | lisää | ||
| "Lisää" is a cognate with the Hungarian word "liz" and the Estonian word "liis", meaning "silt". | |||
| Hungarian | több | ||
| - "Több" (meaning "mere") can also refer to an amount of something, like "többet" (meaning "more", in a quantitative sense). | |||
| Latvian | vairāk | ||
| Latvian word "vairāk" can also mean "more" or "over". | |||
| Lithuanian | daugiau | ||
| The word "daugiau" in Lithuanian can also refer to "more" or "greater". | |||
| Macedonian | повеќе | ||
| "Повеќе" means "more" in English, but also has the meaning of "simply" or "merely". | |||
| Polish | więcej | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning of "more," "więcej" can also mean "but" or "however" | |||
| Romanian | mai mult | ||
| The Romanian word "Mai Mult" (meaning "more") is also used in colloquial speech to mean "great" or "excellent". | |||
| Russian | больше | ||
| The word 'Больше' has many other meanings, including 'more', 'most', and 'greater'. | |||
| Serbian | више | ||
| "Више" can also mean "more" or "greater" | |||
| Slovak | viac | ||
| "Viac" is also used in Slovak as a synonym for "more" in the sense of "greater quantity or number". | |||
| Slovenian | več | ||
| The noun 'več' (feminine) is a Slavicization of the Germanic 'mark' (border), and so means 'boundary', 'frontier', 'limit', as in 'obmorski več', 'coastal region', or 'mestni več', 'city outskirts'. | |||
| Ukrainian | більше | ||
| The Ukrainian word "більше" (bil'she) shares its origin with the English word "more". | |||
Mere in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | আরও | ||
| "আরও" can also mean "more" or "again" in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | વધુ | ||
| The Gujarati word "mere" (વધુ) also means "addition, increase, excess, surplus," and comes from Sanskrit. | |||
| Hindi | अधिक | ||
| The word 'अधिक' ('adhik') in Hindi can also mean 'more', 'extra', or 'excessive'. | |||
| Kannada | ಹೆಚ್ಚು | ||
| The word is also used to suggest 'much', 'plenty' or 'greatly'. | |||
| Malayalam | കൂടുതൽ | ||
| Malayalam word 'കൂടുതൽ' (koo-du-thal) is derived from 'കൂട്' (koo-d) meaning 'nest' and 'തൽ' (thal) meaning 'that', thus metaphorically referring to a bird's nest as a place of excess. | |||
| Marathi | अधिक | ||
| The word "अधिक" also means "more" or "additional" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | अधिक | ||
| "अधिक" is a Nepali word that can mean either "more" or "excessive". | |||
| Punjabi | ਹੋਰ | ||
| The word "ਹੋਰ" ("mere") in Punjabi can also mean "other" or "more". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තවත් | ||
| The Sinhala word "තවත්" can also mean "again" or "moreover". | |||
| Tamil | மேலும் | ||
| The verb மேலும் is sometimes used in an emphatic sense as "very much", akin to the use of "too" in English. | |||
| Telugu | మరింత | ||
| The word "మరింత" (mere) in Telugu also means "more" or "additional". | |||
| Urdu | مزید | ||
Mere in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 更多 | ||
| 更多 means 'more' in English, but it also has the connotation of 'only' or 'no more than'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 更多 | ||
| 「更多」在文言文中是「只有」的意思，在現代漢語中則是用來表示程度很低或數量很少。 | |||
| Japanese | もっと | ||
| "もっと" can also mean "more" or "more so". | |||
| Korean | 더 | ||
| The word "더" can also mean "more" or "further". | |||
| Mongolian | дэлгэрэнгүй | ||
| Дэлгэрэнгүй means "mere" or "only" but can also be used to describe something simple and straightforward (like math problems). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | နောက်ထပ် | ||
Mere in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | lebih | ||
| The word "lebih" in Indonesian can also mean "more" or "better". | |||
| Javanese | liyane | ||
| In Javanese, the word "liyane" can also mean "other(s)" or "the others". | |||
| Khmer | ច្រើនទៀត | ||
| Originally a Sanskrit word, this term is also used to indicate "only" or "just". | |||
| Lao | ຫຼາຍ | ||
| The term ຫຼາຍ has alternate meanings such as "several," "more than," and "much. | |||
| Malay | lebih banyak lagi | ||
| The Malay word "lebih banyak lagi" also means "all the more so", "still more", or "much more". | |||
| Thai | มากกว่า | ||
| The Thai word "มากกว่า" also has a sense of "exceeding" or "surpassing" in terms of quantity, number or degree. | |||
| Vietnamese | hơn | ||
| The word "hơn" is related to the Chinese word "偪" (cài), which means "to press", "to coerce", or "to bully." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | higit pa | ||
Mere in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | daha çox | ||
| "Daha çox" also means "more" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | көбірек | ||
| The word "Көбірек" in Kazakh language also means "more" or "extra". | |||
| Kyrgyz | көбүрөөк | ||
| "Көбүрөөк" (mere) translates to "more" in English, but it has an additional meaning of "sheer," referring to something that is absolute or complete. | |||
| Tajik | бештар | ||
| The Tajik word "Бештар" is also used to mean "the other side of a mountain or hill" | |||
| Turkmen | has köp | ||
| Uzbek | ko'proq | ||
| The Uzbek word "ko'proq" is thought to have been derived from the Persian word "kam" (كم) meaning "less". It can also be used to refer to something that is "deficient" or "insufficient". | |||
| Uyghur | تېخىمۇ كۆپ | ||
Mere in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hou aku | ||
| The term 'hou aku' can also refer to a type of Hawaiian weapon made of wood or bone. | |||
| Maori | atu | ||
| The word 'atu' in Maori can also refer to a weapon made of wood or bone. | |||
| Samoan | sili atu | ||
| Its other meaning as 'sharp stone' reveals its original obsidian source; obsidian can be very sharp but becomes very dull if used incorrectly. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | higit pa | ||
| The word "higit pa" in Tagalog can also mean “plus” or “more” in the sense of “additional”. | |||
Mere in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | juk'ampi | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
Mere in International Languages
| Esperanto | pli | ||
| 'pli' is related to the root 'plen' (full) and has the alternate meaning 'additional' or 'extra' | |||
| Latin | magis | ||
| The Latin word "magis" also means "rather" or "more than" in some contexts. | |||
Mere in Others Languages
| Greek | περισσότερο | ||
| The Greek word "περισσότερο" is derived from the Indo-European root "*mehr-", meaning "greater" or "more", and is related to the English word "more". | |||
| Hmong | ntxiv | ||
| Ntxiv can also mean "ordinary" or "commonplace" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | zêde | ||
| The Kurdish word "zêde" originates from the Persian word "mâdar" and has the alternate meaning of "mother" in some contexts. | |||
| Turkish | daha | ||
| Originating from the Arabic word "dhayyuqa", "daha" also signifies "very" or "really" in Turkic languages. | |||
| Xhosa | kaninzi | ||
| The word "Kaninzi" has a derogatory connotation in modern Xhosa, unlike its cognate "Umama" meaning "mother." | |||
| Yiddish | מער | ||
| While "mere" means "lake" or "pond" in general usage, in Yiddish, it specifically denotes a swamp or wetland (see "meer"). | |||
| Zulu | okuningi | ||
| The word "Okuningi" in Zulu is also used to refer to a small pot or container, a small amount of something, or a small number of people. | |||
| Assamese | অধিক | ||
| Aymara | juk'ampi | ||
| Bhojpuri | अधिका | ||
| Dhivehi | އިތުރަށް | ||
| Dogri | होर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | higit pa | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
| Ilocano | ad-adu pay | ||
| Krio | mɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زیاتر | ||
| Maithili | अधिक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯍꯦꯟꯕ | ||
| Mizo | belh | ||
| Oromo | caalaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅଧିକ | ||
| Quechua | aswan | ||
| Sanskrit | अधिकः | ||
| Tatar | күбрәк | ||
| Tigrinya | ቡዙሕ | ||
| Tsonga | swo tala | ||