Most in Different Languages
Discover 'Most' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'most' is a small but powerful term, indicating a high quantity or degree in English. It holds great significance in many areas of life, from everyday conversations to important decisions. Culturally, 'most' can be found in proverbs and idioms around the world, emphasizing its universal importance.
For globetrotters and language enthusiasts, understanding the translation of 'most' in different languages can open doors to new experiences and connections. It's a building block for expressing comparisons and superlatives in various tongues.
For instance, in Spanish, 'most' translates to 'la mayoría' or 'más' depending on context. In German, it's 'die Mehrheit' or 'am meisten'. In Mandarin Chinese, you'd say '最多'. These translations not only help you navigate linguistically diverse environments but also offer insights into how different cultures perceive and express quantity and degree.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the fascinating world of 'most' in different languages!
Most
Most in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | die meeste | ||
| In Afrikaans, "die meeste" can also refer to the majority or the greater part of something. | |||
| Amharic | በጣም | ||
| The word በጣም (most) can also mean "very" or "extremely" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | mafi | ||
| The word "mafi" also means "fullness" or "completion" in Hausa | |||
| Igbo | ọtụtụ | ||
| Ọtụtụ can also mean 'many' in Igbo, making it an equivalent of 'most' in the English language. | |||
| Malagasy | indrindra | ||
| The word 'indrindra' may stem from 'indra' ('strong') and the iterative prefix 'indri-'; it can also refer to something which is 'too much' or 'excessive'. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kwambiri | ||
| Kwambiri can refer to a group of things when it means "the majority," and not to a single object. | |||
| Shona | kunyanya | ||
| The Shona word "kunyanya" can also refer to "very" or "greatly". | |||
| Somali | badankood | ||
| The word "badankood" is derived from the Arabic word "badana", meaning "to be prominent" or "to excel." | |||
| Sesotho | haholo | ||
| The word can also refer to "a lot" in the sense of "many". | |||
| Swahili | zaidi | ||
| Historically, 'zaidi' was used after a cardinal number, where it now precedes. | |||
| Xhosa | uninzi | ||
| The Xhosa word “uninzi” also refers to the wild olive tree and its abundant fruit. | |||
| Yoruba | julọ | ||
| The Yoruba word "julọ" has a wider meaning and can also refer to the act of surpassing someone or something. | |||
| Zulu | kakhulu | ||
| The word "kakhulu" is also used to describe something that is "very good" or "very beautiful" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | fanba | ||
| Ewe | kekiake | ||
| Kinyarwanda | byinshi | ||
| Lingala | mingi | ||
| Luganda | -singa | ||
| Sepedi | bontši | ||
| Twi (Akan) | dodoɔ | ||
Most in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | معظم | ||
| "معظم" is the plural of "أكثر" which means more, but it is also used to mean most | |||
| Hebrew | רוב | ||
| The word "רוב" can also mean "majority" or "most of" in Hebrew | |||
| Pashto | ډیر | ||
| The Pashto word "ډیر" can also refer to "plenty" or "abundant." | |||
| Arabic | معظم | ||
| "معظم" is the plural of "أكثر" which means more, but it is also used to mean most | |||
Most in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shumica | ||
| The Albanian word "shumica" originates from the Proto-Albanian word "shum" meaning "many" and the suffix "-icë" meaning "abundance". | |||
| Basque | gehienak | ||
| The word "gehienak" can also refer to "the majority" in Basque. | |||
| Catalan | la majoria | ||
| In Catalan, the word "la majoria" can also mean "the majority of people" or "the majority party in a parliament". | |||
| Croatian | najviše | ||
| The word 'najviše' is the superlative form of the adjective 'visok' ('high') and can also refer to the greatest quantity or extent of something. | |||
| Danish | mest | ||
| In Danish, the word 'mest' can also mean 'very' or 'extremely' to indicate intensity or a high degree of something. | |||
| Dutch | meest | ||
| The Dutch word "meest" can also mean "dung" in some dialects. | |||
| English | most | ||
| The word 'most' originated as a superlative of the adjective 'much'. | |||
| French | plus | ||
| Plus derives from the Latin 'plus', meaning 'more', 'added' or 'additional'. | |||
| Frisian | measte | ||
| The Frisian word "measte" derives from the Proto-Germanic word "maista" meaning "most" or "greatest". | |||
| Galician | a maioría | ||
| In Galician, "a maioría" can refer to either the numerical majority or the political majority. | |||
| German | die meisten | ||
| The German word "die meisten" is the superlative form of "viel" (much) and can also mean "the majority". | |||
| Icelandic | flestir | ||
| The word "flestir" in Icelandic is also used to refer to the majority or the greatest part of something. | |||
| Irish | is mó | ||
| The word ''is mó'' also means ''it is'' and is conjugated from the verb ''bheith'' (to be). | |||
| Italian | maggior parte | ||
| The word "maggior parte" is derived from the Latin phrase "maior pars", meaning "greater part" or "majority". | |||
| Luxembourgish | meescht | ||
| The word "meescht" is derived from Old High German "meista" and can also mean "majority" or "greatest part". | |||
| Maltese | l-aktar | ||
| The word "l-aktar" can also mean "the more" or "the most" in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | mest | ||
| In Bokmål, the word "mest" can also mean "particularly" or "especially". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | a maioria | ||
| The word 'maioria' is derived from the Latin word 'maior', meaning 'greater', and can also mean 'majority' or 'the greater part'. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | mhòr-chuid | ||
| "Mhòr-chuid" is the Scots Gaelic phrase meaning "most" or "most of," the second part of the term deriving from the word "cuid," meaning "portion" or "share." | |||
| Spanish | más | ||
| The Spanish word "más" can also translate to "but" in certain contexts. | |||
| Swedish | mest | ||
| Originally, the word "mesta" in Swedish could mean "the majority", a "great quantity", or "generally speaking". | |||
| Welsh | fwyaf | ||
| The word "fwyaf" in Welsh also means "best" or "greatest". | |||
Most in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | большасць | ||
| The word | |||
| Bosnian | najviše | ||
| Another meaning of "najviše" is "not at all", used for denial in negative sentences | |||
| Bulgarian | най-много | ||
| The word "най-много" in Bulgarian is derived from the superlative form of the adjective "много" (much) and the suffix "-то" (the), meaning "the most". It can also be used as a noun to refer to the greatest number or amount of something. | |||
| Czech | většina | ||
| “Většina” also means “majority”, deriving from the Old Church Slavonic word “větši” meaning “greater”. | |||
| Estonian | kõige rohkem | ||
| The phrase “kõige rohkem” can also be used to express “the most of” something, like in “Mul oli kõige rohkem lõbus sinu seltskonnas” (“I had the most fun in your company”). | |||
| Finnish | useimmat | ||
| Finnish "useimmat" may derive from "usea", meaning "several", but it may also derive from Uralic "*usema", "many" or "several", both cognate with English "much" or "mostly". | |||
| Hungarian | a legtöbb | ||
| A "le" szó "lefelé" jelentésű, a "több" szó pedig "nagyobb mennyiséget" jelent, így a "le" + "több" szóösszetétel eredetileg azt jelentette, hogy "több lefelé". | |||
| Latvian | lielākā daļa | ||
| Lielākā daļa is derived from the word "liels", meaning "great". Thus, "lielākā daļa" literally translates to "great part". | |||
| Lithuanian | dauguma | ||
| Lithuanian "dauguma" is cognate with Latvian "daudzums" (abundance) and related to Greek "δημιουργία" (creation). | |||
| Macedonian | повеќето | ||
| The word "повеќето" in Macedonian also means "majority" or "most of". | |||
| Polish | większość | ||
| The Polish word "większość" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *vętьšь-, which meant "greater, larger, bigger". | |||
| Romanian | cel mai | ||
| The word "cel mai" in Romanian comes from the Latin "ille magis", meaning "that more" or "that which is more", and has evolved over time to become the superlative form of adjectives in the language. | |||
| Russian | самый | ||
| The word "самый" ("most") in Russian derives from the Proto-Slavic "samъ" ("alone, self"), emphasizing uniqueness rather than quantity. | |||
| Serbian | највише | ||
| The Serbian word "najviše" also means "highest" or "most expensive". | |||
| Slovak | najviac | ||
| The Slavic word "najviac" derives from the Proto-Slavic "najь" (strongest, most important, best), which is also cognate with the German "nähen" (to sew). | |||
| Slovenian | najbolj | ||
| The word 'najbolj' is a superlative form and is related to the word 'bolj' meaning 'more'. | |||
| Ukrainian | більшість | ||
| In Ukrainian, the word "більшість" has a unique grammatical case, the vocative case, for direct address, which is used in appeals, prayers, oaths, and toasts. | |||
Most in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সর্বাধিক | ||
| The word সর্বাধিক is derived from Sanskrit 'sarv-adhik', meaning 'most superior'. | |||
| Gujarati | સૌથી વધુ | ||
| The word "સૌથી વધુ" can also be used in Gujarati to mean "the most important" or "the best". | |||
| Hindi | अधिकांश | ||
| The word 'अधिकांश' is derived from the Sanskrit words 'अधिक' (more) and 'अंश' (part), implying 'a greater part'. | |||
| Kannada | ಹೆಚ್ಚು | ||
| The word "ಹೆಚ್ಚು" can also mean "more" or "greater" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | മിക്കതും | ||
| Marathi | सर्वाधिक | ||
| The Marathi word "सर्वाधिक" comes from the Sanskrit word "सर्वोत्तम" which also means "best" or "greatest". | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| The word "धेरै" also means "a lot" or "many" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਹੁਤੇ | ||
| ਬਹੁਤੇ means "many" and is a plural form of the word "बहु", which means "much" or "many" in Sanskrit. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බොහෝ | ||
| The Sinhala word "බොහෝ" also means "many", "much", or "a lot". | |||
| Tamil | பெரும்பாலானவை | ||
| Telugu | అత్యంత | ||
| The word "అత్యంత" comes from the Sanskrit word "अत्यन्त" (atyánta), meaning "at the end". It can also mean "extremely" or "very much". | |||
| Urdu | سب سے زیادہ | ||
Most in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 最 | ||
| 最 can also mean "beginning" or "first" in Classical Chinese. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 最 | ||
| The Chinese character '最' ('most') can also mean 'the end' or 'the extreme'. | |||
| Japanese | 最も | ||
| Originally meant "root" or "bottom", and was later used to mean "extreme" or "highest degree". | |||
| Korean | 대부분 | ||
| "대부분" can also mean "for the most part" or "to a great extent" in Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | хамгийн их | ||
| The Mongolian word "хамгийн их" ("most") is derived from the verb "хамгаалах" ("to protect"), indicating its original meaning of "the best way to protect or defend" | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အများဆုံး | ||
Most in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | paling | ||
| The word 'paling' in Indonesian can also mean 'fence' or 'palisade', which reflects its use as a barrier or boundary. | |||
| Javanese | paling | ||
| The Javanese word "paling" can also refer to "the side" or "the edge" of something. | |||
| Khmer | ភាគច្រើន | ||
| Lao | ຫຼາຍທີ່ສຸດ | ||
| Malay | paling | ||
| The word "paling" in Malay also has the meaning of "fence" or "palisade". | |||
| Thai | มากที่สุด | ||
| The Thai word "มากที่สุด" is composed of the words "มาก" meaning "much" and "ที่สุด" meaning "very" and literally translates to "most" | |||
| Vietnamese | phần lớn | ||
| The word "phần lớn" literally means "the big part", as in the majority of something. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | karamihan | ||
Most in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | ən çox | ||
| "Ən çox" is used for both singular and plural words, just like "the" is used in English for both singular and plural words in front of adjectives. | |||
| Kazakh | ең | ||
| The Kazakh word "ең" (most) comes from the Proto-Turkic root "*eŋ", meaning "upper or higher portion". | |||
| Kyrgyz | көпчүлүк | ||
| Көпчүлүк translates to "most" in English. It's also the name of the governing party in Kyrgyzstan. | |||
| Tajik | аз ҳама | ||
| "Аз ҳама" in Tajik is a derivative of the Persian word "азом", which also means "most". | |||
| Turkmen | köpüsi | ||
| Uzbek | eng | ||
| The Uzbek word "eng" is a contraction of the Persian word "ang", which means "portion" or "part." | |||
| Uyghur | كۆپىنچىسى | ||
Most in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | nui loa | ||
| The phrase "nui loa" can also mean "great" or "very" in Hawaiian, intensifying the degree of something. | |||
| Maori | nuinga | ||
| In Maori, "nuinga" can also signify "many" or "a lot." | |||
| Samoan | tele | ||
| The Proto-Polynesian root word *tele, meaning "most," is still encountered in many Polynesian languages, including Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pinaka | ||
| The word "pinaka" in Tagalog can also mean "most important" or "main". | |||
Most in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jilpachani | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
Most in International Languages
| Esperanto | plej multaj | ||
| While plej multaj means "most" in Esperanto, it's composed of plej "more" + multaj "many," emphasizing "out of many." | |||
| Latin | maxime | ||
| The Latin word 'maxime' originally meant 'greatest,' and it is related to the words 'magnus' (great) and 'magister' (master). | |||
Most in Others Languages
| Greek | πλέον | ||
| The word "πλέον" in Greek can also mean "again" or "therefore". | |||
| Hmong | feem ntau | ||
| In Hmong, "feem ntau" translates from the Chinese idiom "fen da duo" which means "dividing equally." | |||
| Kurdish | zêdeyî | ||
| Zêdeyî is derived from the Persian word 'ziyâd', meaning 'more'. | |||
| Turkish | çoğu | ||
| The word "çoğu" comes from the Proto-Turkic verb "çok-", meaning "to be plentiful" or "to be many". | |||
| Xhosa | uninzi | ||
| The Xhosa word “uninzi” also refers to the wild olive tree and its abundant fruit. | |||
| Yiddish | מערסט | ||
| The Yiddish word "מערסט" (meyrest) is derived from the Middle High German "meiste" and also means "superlative". | |||
| Zulu | kakhulu | ||
| The word "kakhulu" is also used to describe something that is "very good" or "very beautiful" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | অধিকাংশ | ||
| Aymara | jilpachani | ||
| Bhojpuri | अधिका | ||
| Dhivehi | އެންމެ | ||
| Dogri | मते | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | karamihan | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
| Ilocano | kaadduan | ||
| Krio | pas ɔl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زۆرینە | ||
| Maithili | अधिकतर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯌꯥꯝꯕ | ||
| Mizo | ber | ||
| Oromo | harka calu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅଧିକାଂଶ | ||
| Quechua | aswan | ||
| Sanskrit | अधिकतमः | ||
| Tatar | күпчелек | ||
| Tigrinya | ብጥዕሚ | ||
| Tsonga | swo tala | ||