Merely in different languages

Merely in Different Languages

Discover 'Merely' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'merely' is a small but powerful part of the English language. It may seem insignificant, but its significance cannot be overstated. 'Merely' is used to minimize or downplay the importance of something, often to emphasize that something is simpler or easier than it might appear. For example, saying

Merely

Merely in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansbloot
"Bloot" in Afrikaans can also mean "only," "exclusively" or "just like that."
Amharicብቻ
"ብቻ" is related to the verb "በቻ" (to be able) and literally means "only if able".
Hausakawai
Although usually translated as "merely," the Hausa word "kawai" also means "not yet" and can be used in negative responses to questions like "Have you eaten?"
Igbonanị
"Nanị" is short for "n'ani," from "n'ani ọhịa" meaning "animal of the bush," or "wild animal."
Malagasyfotsiny
The word "fotsiny" in Malagasy is derived from the root word "tsiny", meaning "fault" or "sin", and carries the connotation of "only" or "barely".
Nyanja (Chichewa)chabe
The Nyanja term 'chabe' also refers to 'just', 'only' and 'solely' in English.
Shonachete
In Shona, "chete" can also refer to "only" or "simply".
Somalikaliya
In Somali, "kaliya" also means "very" or "a lot."
Sesothofeela
"Feela" comes from the verb "feela", which means "to feel" or "to touch", and can also be used as an expression of emphasis.
Swahilitu
"Tu" can also mean "only" or "just".
Xhosanje
The word "nje" can also mean "only" or "just", emphasizing exclusivity or limitation.
Yorubalásán
"Lásán" also means 'only' or 'just' in Yoruba.
Zulunje
The word "nje" in Zulu, besides meaning "merely," is etymologically related to the prefix "in-" in other Bantu languages, indicating "in" or "into."
Bambaradama
Eweʋee ko
Kinyarwandagusa
Lingalakaka
Lugandaekyo kyoka
Sepedifela
Twi (Akan)kɛkɛ

Merely in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicمجرد
The word 'مجرد' in Arabic also has spiritual meanings and can refer to divine beings' transcendence of the material world.
Hebrewרק
The Hebrew word "רק" can derive from the Akkadian "riqu" (emptiness) or the Ugaritic "rq" (to be distant).
Pashtoیوازې
The word "یوازې" in Pashto can also mean "lonely" or "alone".
Arabicمجرد
The word 'مجرد' in Arabic also has spiritual meanings and can refer to divine beings' transcendence of the material world.

Merely in Western European Languages

Albanianthjesht
The word "thjesht" in Albanian is a shortened form of the ancient Greek word "theastos", meaning "divine" or "sacred".
Basquebesterik ez
The Basque term "besterik ez" has additional meanings besides "merely", including "only" and "nothing but".
Catalansimplement
The Catalan 'simplement' means 'merely' but also 'simply', 'just', or 'only', and even 'naïvely', or 'foolishly'
Croatiansamo
"Samo" means "merely," and the cognate "sam" found in other Slavic languages has additional meanings like "one," "alone," and "same."
Danishblot
The word "blot" in Danish can also mean "barely" or "just".
Dutchslechts
The word 'slechts' originally meant 'smooth' or 'even', and still has that meaning in some contexts.
Englishmerely
"Merely" derives from the Middle English word "merli," and originally meant "lightly", or "incompletely."
Frenchseulement
The word "seulement" can also mean "only" or "just" in French.
Frisiangewoan
The word "gewoan" in Frisian not only means "merely", but also "usual" or "customary".
Galiciansimplemente
La palabra "simplemente" en gallego también puede significar "solamente" o "únicamente."
Germannur
"Nur" is cognate with English "now," "near," and "northern" and originally implied proximity in space or time.
Icelandicbara
The word "bara" in Icelandic can also mean "only" or "just".
Irishach
Ach also means "but" or "however" and can be used to introduce a contradictory or contrasting statement.
Italiansemplicemente
The Italian word "semplicemente" derives from the Latin word "simplex", meaning "single, simple".
Luxembourgishjust
In Luxembourgish, the word "just" can also mean "exactly" or "precisely".
Maltesesempliċement
The word "sempliċement" in Maltese comes from the Latin word "simpliciter", which means "without addition" or "without condition".
Norwegianbare
In Norwegian, "bar" can also mean a child, while its related adjective "bar" means both "bare" and "naked".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)apenas
"Apenas" (Portuguese for "only") is derived from the Vulgar Latin word *ad penam* meaning "to the punishment".
Scots Gaelicdìreach
The word "dìreach" can also mean "truly" or "exactly" in Scots Gaelic.
Spanishsimplemente
The word "simplemente" in Spanish shares its etymology with the English word "simple" and also has the meaning of "simply".
Swedishendast
The word "endast" ultimately derives from the Old Swedish word "ændast" meaning "in one way only".
Welshyn unig
The Welsh word "yn unig" can also mean "alone" or "only".

Merely in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпроста
"Проста" in Belarusian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "prostь" meaning "emptiness, void".
Bosniansamo
The word "samo" is also used in the sense of "only" in the expression "samo on," which means "only this," and in the sense of "except" in the expression "samo ti," which means "except you."
Bulgarianпросто
"Просто" can sometimes mean "simply" or "just" instead of "merely".
Czechpouze
The word "pouze" is an adverb that shares a root with the adjective "pouhý" (mere).
Estonianlihtsalt
The word "lihtsalt" can also mean "only" or "just" in Estonian.
Finnishvain
The word “vainaa” has many meanings, from “merely” to “sheath” to “womb”.
Hungariancsupán
In Old Hungarian, *čupán* meant 'all, complete', from Proto-Uralic *čumpi- 'to gather, bring together'.
Latviantikai
It is of unclear etymology, possibly cognate to Russian "только" (tol'ko, "only").
Lithuaniantik
"Tik" can also mean "only" or, with the particle "ne," "not even."
Macedonianсамо
The Macedonian word "само" can be traced back to the Old Slavic "самь" meaning "self, alone," with the same root found in other Slavic languages.
Polishjedynie
"Jedynie" is also used as a verb in Polish, meaning "to be the only one" or "to be the only thing that exists".
Romaniandoar
"Doar" is likely a shortening of the obsolete conjunction "doară" (now only found as a phrase), which is derived from Latin *dum ora*, "while an hour", i.e. "while there is still time", "yet".
Russianпросто
The Russian word "просто" (merely) also has the meanings of "only" and "simply".
Serbianсамо
The word "само" can also mean "only" or "just".
Slovakiba
The word "iba" in Slovak comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "ibaco", which means "only" or "but".
Slovenianzgolj
Possibly derived from the Middle High German word "zol", meaning "feeble" or "weak"}
Ukrainianпросто
The word “просто” originally meant “free,” as in “free from all obligations,” and is related to the word “простить” (“forgive”).

Merely in South Asian Languages

Bengaliনিছক
"নিছক" derives from the Sanskrit word "निश्‍चय" (niścay), meaning 'firmness,' 'determination,' or 'decision'.
Gujaratiમાત્ર
The word “માત્ર” can also mean “the soul”, “God”, or “truth” in Gujarati.
Hindiकेवल
केवल also means 'alone' or 'exclusive' in Hindi, and is often used in legal and financial contexts to indicate singularity or exclusivity.
Kannadaಕೇವಲ
The word "ಕೇವಲ" comes from the Sanskrit root "kevala", meaning "alone, separate, pure, or entire."
Malayalamകേവലം
The term "കേവലം" originates from the Sanskrit word "Kevala," which means "pure" or "absolute." It can also indicate totality or entirety in certain contexts.
Marathiफक्त
The word "फक्त" in Marathi could come from the Sanskrit word "पक्षत" meaning "certainly" or "only".
Nepaliकेवल
The word केवल (keval) in Nepali originates from the Sanskrit word केवल (kevala), meaning "alone, single, or unique."
Punjabiਸਿਰਫ
The word "ਸਿਰਫ" (sirph) in Punjabi originates from the Persian word "सिर्फ" (sirph), meaning "only, merely, just".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)හුදෙක්
Tamilவெறுமனே
Teluguకేవలం
The word "కేవలం" can also mean "solitude" or "isolation" in Telugu.
Urduمحض
The word "محض" ("merely") in Urdu shares the same root with "محض" ("pure") in Arabic, suggesting a connection between purity and simplicity.

Merely in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)仅仅
The word "仅仅" can also mean "only" or "just".
Chinese (Traditional)僅僅
僅僅本義為「只有」，引申為「不過」等，由「單衣」中的「單」字演變而來，單衣指只有一層的衣服。
Japanese単に
This word's literal meaning is 'one' and 'matter'
Korean단지
The Korean word 단지 (danji) is also used to refer to a "residential complex" or "housing estate."
Mongolianзүгээр л
"Зүгээр л" is also used to say "only" or "just".
Myanmar (Burmese)မျှမျှတတ

Merely in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianhanya
"Hanya" is originally from Sanskrit 'hena' that means 'small' and in Old Javanese is 'hanya' that still means 'small'.
Javanesenamung
The Javanese word "namung" (merely) also means "but".
Khmerគ្រាន់តែ
Laoພຽງແຕ່
Malaysemata-mata
Derived from the Sanskrit term 'semā-tā', 'semata-mata' can also mean 'distinction' or 'mark'.
Thaiเพียง
The Thai word "เพียง" is also used as an adjective meaning "enough", and a noun meaning "adequacy".
Vietnameseđơn thuần
"Đơn thuần" derives from Chinese characters meaning "simplicity, honesty" and is also a Buddhist term meaning "to have an uncluttered mind".
Filipino (Tagalog)basta

Merely in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanisadəcə
The word "sadəcə" also means "simply" and "only".
Kazakhтек
The Kazakh word "тек" also has the meaning of "even" or "indeed".
Kyrgyzжөн гана
The Kyrgyz word "жөн гана" can have several meanings, including "merely", "only", "just", "no more than", or "as much as".
Tajikтанҳо
The word "танҳо" in Tajik can also mean "alone" or "only".
Turkmendiňe
Uzbekshunchaki
Shunchaki is also used as an intensifier of negation, meaning "absolutely not" or "by no means."
Uyghurپەقەت

Merely in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianwale
The Hawaiian word "wale" also means "to stretch" or "to spread out".
Maorinoa
The word "noa" in Maori also connotes normalcy, emptiness, or lack of supernatural tapu (restrictions)
Samoannaʻo
The word "naʻo" can also mean "nothing" or "none" in Samoan.
Tagalog (Filipino)lamang
"Lamang" can also mean "advantage" or "exceed" in Tagalog.

Merely in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaramiraminti
Guaranitasy'ỹ

Merely in International Languages

Esperantosimple
The Esperanto word "simpla" has a secondary meaning of "elementary" related to its origin in mathematics as a name for "simple" equations
Latinmodo
The Latin word "modo" can also mean "just now" or "recently."

Merely in Others Languages

Greekαπλώς
In ancient Greek, "απλώς" could also mean "simply", "unfold", or "open out".
Hmongyuav luag
Luag is used as a noun for "reason" and yauv is used as an adverb for "only".
Kurdishtenê
The word "tenê" in Kurdish also means "only" or "just".
Turkishsadece
The word "sadece" is derived from the Persian word "sadeh", meaning "pure"}
Xhosanje
The word "nje" can also mean "only" or "just", emphasizing exclusivity or limitation.
Yiddishmerely
In Yiddish, "merely" can also mean "but" or "rather".
Zulunje
The word "nje" in Zulu, besides meaning "merely," is etymologically related to the prefix "in-" in other Bantu languages, indicating "in" or "into."
Assameseকেৱল
Aymaramiraminti
Bhojpuriमहज
Dhivehiކިރިޔާ
Dogriसिर्फ
Filipino (Tagalog)basta
Guaranitasy'ỹ
Ilocanomaymaysa
Kriojɔs
Kurdish (Sorani)بە تەنها
Maithiliकेवल मात्र
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯈꯖꯤꯛꯈꯛ
Mizochauhin
Oromoqofa
Odia (Oriya)କେବଳ
Quechuayanqalla
Sanskritनाममात्रेण
Tatarбары тик
Tigrinyaጥራሕ
Tsongantsena

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