Much in Different Languages
Discover 'Much' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'much' is a small but mighty part of many languages, carrying significant meaning in a concise package. Expressing large quantities or degrees, it's an essential building block for communication across cultures. Much's cultural importance spans centuries, appearing in literature, music, and everyday conversation.
For example, in the English language, we often use 'much' to emphasize the importance of something, as in, 'I appreciate your help, much more than you know.' Or, in a song title like 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction,' the Rolling Stones use 'much' to express dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Understanding the translation of 'much' in different languages can help bridge cultural gaps and deepen our appreciation for the diversity of human expression. Here are a few examples:
- French: beaucoup
- Spanish: mucho
- German: viel
- Mandarin: 很多 (hěn duō)
- Japanese: 多い (おおい, たい)
Much
Much in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | veel | ||
| "Veel" is derived from the Dutch word "veel", meaning "much" or "many", and can also refer to a large quantity or number of something. | |||
| Amharic | ብዙ | ||
| The word "ብዙ" can also mean "many" or "a lot" depending on the context. | |||
| Hausa | da yawa | ||
| In Hausa, there are several nuances to the word "da yawa" such as "abundant," "great quantity," and "very plentiful." | |||
| Igbo | ukwuu | ||
| Despite its main meaning as "much" or "many," "ukwuu" can also refer to "size" or "importance." | |||
| Malagasy | be | ||
| The word "be" can also be used as a noun to mean "a lot" or "much". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zambiri | ||
| In the past, 'zambiri' also meant 'a great distance' or 'a long period'. | |||
| Shona | zvakawanda | ||
| The word "zvakawanda" can also mean "many" or "a lot" in Shona, depending on the context. | |||
| Somali | badan | ||
| The word "badan" can also mean "a lot" or "many" in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | haholo | ||
| Haholo also means 'plenty' and can be used to express the idea of 'a lot of' or 'many'. | |||
| Swahili | mengi | ||
| The word "mengi" can also refer to a large quantity or number, or to a great deal of something. | |||
| Xhosa | kakhulu | ||
| In the Xhosa language, "kakhulu" means "much" in addition to being derived from the word "khulu" meaning "big". | |||
| Yoruba | pọ | ||
| The Yoruba word "pọ" can also refer to a crowd of people or a period of time. | |||
| Zulu | okuningi | ||
| The word 'okuningi' is also used in Zulu to refer to a large number of people or things gathered together in one place. | |||
| Bambara | caman | ||
| Ewe | sᴐgbᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | byinshi | ||
| Lingala | mingi | ||
| Luganda | bingi | ||
| Sepedi | kudu | ||
| Twi (Akan) | pii | ||
Much in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | كثير | ||
| The Arabic word "كثير" (katheer) also means "abundant, numerous, or frequent". | |||
| Hebrew | הַרבֵּה | ||
| The word "הַרבֵּה" derives from the same root as the word "רֶב" meaning "abundance" and is also related to the word "רִבִּי" meaning "many" | |||
| Pashto | ډیر | ||
| The Pashto word “ډیر” may be related to the Sanskrit root for “lengthy”. | |||
| Arabic | كثير | ||
| The Arabic word "كثير" (katheer) also means "abundant, numerous, or frequent". | |||
Much in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shumë | ||
| The word "shumë" in Albanian also means "many" or "a lot" depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Basque | askoz ere | ||
| The word “askoz ere” can also mean “more so” or “rather,” depending on the context. | |||
| Catalan | molt | ||
| In Catalan, "molt" can mean "many" or "very". | |||
| Croatian | mnogo | ||
| The word 'mnogo' has several meanings in Croatian, including 'many', 'a lot', and 'very'. | |||
| Danish | meget | ||
| Meget can also refer to a "meeting" in Danish, derived from Middle Low German. | |||
| Dutch | veel | ||
| "Veel" can also mean "horse" as in "paard en veel" | |||
| English | much | ||
| The word "much" derives from the Old English word "mycel," meaning "great" and "large." | |||
| French | beaucoup | ||
| The French word “beaucoup” ultimately comes from the Latin “bellus campus,” meaning “beautiful field.” | |||
| Frisian | folle | ||
| The word "folle" can also refer to a large amount or quantity. | |||
| Galician | moito | ||
| "Moito" can also mean a lot of people or a group of things. | |||
| German | viel | ||
| Viel also means 'cattle' as its historical root was 'animal'. | |||
| Icelandic | mikið | ||
| The word "mikið" is descended from the Proto-Germanic word *mikilaz, meaning "great" or "large". | |||
| Irish | i bhfad | ||
| The word 'i bhfad' can be translated as 'to increase' or 'to make abundant'. | |||
| Italian | tanto | ||
| The Italian word "tanto" originally derived from the Latin phrase "tantus quantus," meaning "as much as," but later came to mean "a great amount of" or "a lot of." | |||
| Luxembourgish | vill | ||
| Vill was also used to express a feeling of surprise or amazement in older Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | ħafna | ||
| Ħafna derives from the Arabic word ḥafna, meaning "a lot" or "very much." | |||
| Norwegian | mye | ||
| The word "mye" can also mean "pain" in Norwegian. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | muito de | ||
| "Muito de" is a Portuguese expression used in Portugal to express gratitude.} | |||
| Scots Gaelic | mòran | ||
| "Mòran" shares a common Celtic root with the Irish word "mór" (great) and the Welsh word "mawr" (large). | |||
| Spanish | mucho | ||
| Mucho translates to "much" or "a lot" but also can mean "too much" or "very." | |||
| Swedish | mycket | ||
| The word "mycket" also means "nice" or "good" in Swedish colloquial speech | |||
| Welsh | llawer | ||
| Llawer is also the name of a legendary figure in Welsh mythology, a giant who was said to have been slain by King Arthur. | |||
Much in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | шмат | ||
| "Шмат" also means "piece" or "fabric" in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | mnogo | ||
| The word 'mnogo' is derived from Proto-Slavic '*mogno' (much, many), from the Proto-Indo-European '*mehǵ-no-' (great). | |||
| Bulgarian | много | ||
| The word 'много' can also mean 'many' and derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'mъnogъ'. | |||
| Czech | hodně | ||
| The word "hodně" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *gъdъ, which also means "dense" or "thick" | |||
| Estonian | palju | ||
| The word "palju" also means 'fever' or 'boil' in some dialects of Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | paljon | ||
| The Finnish word "paljon" is also a variant of the Finnish word for "many", "paljo". | |||
| Hungarian | sokkal | ||
| The word "sokkal" is derived from the Proto-Uralic word "suka", meaning "more". It can also refer to a large amount or quantity of something | |||
| Latvian | daudz | ||
| "Daudz" is cognate to the German "tausend" (thousand) and the Russian "тысяча" (also thousand). | |||
| Lithuanian | daug | ||
| The word "daug" can also refer to a large number or quantity of something. | |||
| Macedonian | многу | ||
| The word "многу" comes from Proto-Slavic and also means "very" in other Slavic languages. | |||
| Polish | dużo | ||
| The Polish word "dużo" also has the alternate definition "many," both as a noun and adjective. | |||
| Romanian | mult | ||
| The Romanian word «mult» (meaning «much») is derived from the Latin verb «multāre» (meaning «to punish» or «to fine») and can imply something negative or excessive. | |||
| Russian | много | ||
| The word "много" can also mean "lot" or "number" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | много | ||
| The word "много" can also mean "many" or "a lot" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | veľa | ||
| The word "veľa" in Slovak can also mean "quantity" and "amount"} | |||
| Slovenian | veliko | ||
| The word 'veliko' is also used to intensify other adjectives, e.g. 'velik uspeh' (great success). | |||
| Ukrainian | багато | ||
| The term 'багато' in Ukrainian may also derive from the Proto-Slavic root 'bogъ' ('god'), implying abundance or plenty. | |||
Much in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অনেক | ||
| The word "অনেক" in Bengali also means "many" or "a lot" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "अनेक" (anek) with the same meaning. | |||
| Gujarati | ઘણું | ||
| ઘણું is derived from 'ghana' meaning 'crowd', and is cognate with 'gun' meaning 'multitude'. | |||
| Hindi | बहुत | ||
| The Sanskrit word 'bahu' (बहु) can also mean 'many', 'several', or 'abundant'. | |||
| Kannada | ಹೆಚ್ಚು | ||
| The word "ಹೆಚ್ಚು" can also mean "more than" or "to exceed" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | വളരെ | ||
| The word 'വളരെ' can also mean 'gradually' or 'excessively' depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Marathi | जास्त | ||
| "जास्त" (much) is derived from the Sanskrit word "यष्ट" (to reach), implying abundance or excess. | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| The word "धेरै" can also mean "very" or "many". | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਹੁਤ | ||
| The word "ਬਹੁਤ" (bahut) comes from the Sanskrit word "bahu" meaning "many" or "much". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බොහෝ | ||
| The word "බොහෝ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "बहु" meaning "many" or "great". | |||
| Tamil | அதிகம் | ||
| The word "அதிகம்" is also used to refer to "abundance" or "excess" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | చాలా | ||
| The Telugu word "చాలా" can also mean "many," "very," or "a lot." | |||
| Urdu | زیادہ | ||
| The word 'زیادہ' ('much') is derived from the Arabic word 'زائد', which means 'exceeding' or 'in excess'. | |||
Much in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 许多 | ||
| The character "多" (duō) in "许多" (xǔduō) is also used in Mandarin to represent the suffix "-fold". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 許多 | ||
| "許多" in Traditional Chinese is a compound word consisting of the characters "多" (duō, meaning "much") and "數" (shù, meaning "number" or "quantity"). | |||
| Japanese | 多く | ||
| The kanji used in 多く (おおく) also means "numerous" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 많은 | ||
| "많은" originally meant "full" in Middle Korean and referred to filling an object, space, or time. | |||
| Mongolian | их | ||
| Их in Mongolian is a contraction of the words 'үг' and 'их', meaning 'word' and 'many', respectively so it means 'many words' | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အများကြီး | ||
Much in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | banyak | ||
| In ancient Javanese and Sanskrit, "banyak" meant "many", but in Indonesian it has come to mean "much" or "a lot". | |||
| Javanese | akeh | ||
| The word "akeh" also has a sense of "many" or "a lot" and is frequently utilized in various scenarios. | |||
| Khmer | ច្រើន | ||
| The word "ច្រើន" can also mean "many" or "a lot" in Khmer. | |||
| Lao | ຫຼາຍ | ||
| The word "ຫຼາຍ" (hâai) also means "many" or "numerous" in Lao and is related to the Thai word "หลาย" (lâai) and the Khmer word "ច្រើន" (chroeun). | |||
| Malay | banyak | ||
| In Iban, "banyak" can also mean "lazy" or "difficult". | |||
| Thai | มาก | ||
| "มาก" comes from the Khmer word "มัก" (mok), which means "many" or "abundance." | |||
| Vietnamese | nhiều | ||
| "Nhiều" (much) is derived from an ancient Austroasiatic root meaning "more than one," and is related to the word "nhị" (two). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magkano | ||
Much in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çox | ||
| "Çox" also means "very" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | көп | ||
| The word "көп" can also mean "many" or "numerous". | |||
| Kyrgyz | көп | ||
| The word "көп" in Kyrgyz can also mean "numerous", "many", or "a lot". | |||
| Tajik | хеле | ||
| The Tajik word "хеле" can also refer to "excessive" or "too much." | |||
| Turkmen | köp | ||
| Uzbek | ko'p | ||
| Originally, “ko‘p” meant “crowd,” “quantity” or “abundance,” and was only used in the plural form. | |||
| Uyghur | كۆپ | ||
Much in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | nui loa | ||
| Nui loa ('many') is used to express a very large number or amount, and it can also be used figuratively to mean 'excessive' or 'too much'. | |||
| Maori | nui | ||
| The word "nui" can also mean "great" or "important". | |||
| Samoan | tele | ||
| The word "tele" can also be used to mean "exceedingly". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | marami | ||
| The word "marami" in Tagalog (Filipino) comes from the Proto-Austronesian word *ma*ra?mi, meaning "more than" or "abundant." | |||
Much in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | walja | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
Much in International Languages
| Esperanto | multe | ||
| The Esperanto word "multe" can also mean "many times" or "often." | |||
| Latin | tantum | ||
| The Latin word “tantum” not only means “much” but also can refer to a “sacred mystery” in religious contexts. | |||
Much in Others Languages
| Greek | πολύ | ||
| In Ancient Greek, 'πολύ' signified not merely quantity, but also quality ('good', 'noble'). | |||
| Hmong | ntau | ||
| Ntau can also mean "too much" or "very" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | pir | ||
| The word "pir" in Kurdish can also refer to an elder or a holy person, similar to the Persian word "pir". | |||
| Turkish | çok | ||
| Çok may also mean "very" or "too much" and is cognate with the Persian word "çok". | |||
| Xhosa | kakhulu | ||
| In the Xhosa language, "kakhulu" means "much" in addition to being derived from the word "khulu" meaning "big". | |||
| Yiddish | פיל | ||
| The word "פיל" (pronounced "feel") does not actually mean "much" in Yiddish, but rather "elephant". | |||
| Zulu | okuningi | ||
| The word 'okuningi' is also used in Zulu to refer to a large number of people or things gathered together in one place. | |||
| Assamese | অনেক | ||
| Aymara | walja | ||
| Bhojpuri | ढेर | ||
| Dhivehi | ވަރަށް | ||
| Dogri | मता | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | magkano | ||
| Guarani | heta | ||
| Ilocano | adu | ||
| Krio | bɔku | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زیاتر | ||
| Maithili | ढेर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯌꯥꯝꯕ | ||
| Mizo | tam | ||
| Oromo | hedduu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବହୁତ | ||
| Quechua | achka | ||
| Sanskrit | अति | ||
| Tatar | күп | ||
| Tigrinya | ብዙሕ | ||
| Tsonga | tala | ||