Nobody in Different Languages
Discover 'Nobody' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Nobody
Afrikaans niemand nie | ||
Albanian askush | ||
Amharic ማንም የለም | ||
Arabic لا أحد | ||
Armenian ոչ ոք | ||
Assamese কোনো নহয় | ||
Aymara ni khiti | ||
Azerbaijani heç kim | ||
Bambara mɔgɔ si | ||
Basque inor ez | ||
Belarusian ніхто | ||
Bengali কেউ না | ||
Bhojpuri केहू ना | ||
Bosnian niko | ||
Bulgarian никой | ||
Catalan ningú | ||
Cebuano wala ni kinsa man | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 没有人 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 沒有人 | ||
Corsican nimu | ||
Croatian nitko | ||
Czech nikdo | ||
Danish ingen | ||
Dhivehi އެއްވެސް މީހެއްނޫން | ||
Dogri कोई नेईं | ||
Dutch niemand | ||
English nobody | ||
Esperanto neniu | ||
Estonian mitte keegi | ||
Ewe ame aɖeke o | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) walang tao | ||
Finnish kukaan | ||
French personne | ||
Frisian nimmen | ||
Galician ninguén | ||
Georgian არავინ | ||
German niemand | ||
Greek κανείς | ||
Guarani avave | ||
Gujarati કોઈ નહી | ||
Haitian Creole pèsonn | ||
Hausa ba kowa | ||
Hawaiian ʻaʻohe kanaka | ||
Hebrew אף אחד | ||
Hindi कोई भी नहीं | ||
Hmong tsis muaj leej twg | ||
Hungarian senki | ||
Icelandic enginn | ||
Igbo ọ dịghị onye | ||
Ilocano saan a siasinoman | ||
Indonesian tak seorangpun | ||
Irish aon duine | ||
Italian nessuno | ||
Japanese 誰も | ||
Javanese ora ana wong | ||
Kannada ಯಾರೂ | ||
Kazakh ешкім | ||
Khmer គ្មាននរណាម្នាក់ | ||
Kinyarwanda ntawe | ||
Konkani कोणूच न्हय | ||
Korean 아무도 | ||
Krio nɔbɔdi | ||
Kurdish nekes | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) هیچ کەسێک | ||
Kyrgyz эч ким | ||
Lao ບໍ່ມີໃຜ | ||
Latin neminem | ||
Latvian neviens | ||
Lingala moto moko te | ||
Lithuanian niekas | ||
Luganda tewali muntu | ||
Luxembourgish keen | ||
Macedonian никој | ||
Maithili कोनो नहि | ||
Malagasy tsy misy olona | ||
Malay tiada siapa | ||
Malayalam ആരും | ||
Maltese ħadd | ||
Maori tangata | ||
Marathi कोणीही नाही | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯀꯅꯥ ꯅꯠꯇꯕ | ||
Mizo tumah | ||
Mongolian хэн ч биш | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဘယ်သူမှ | ||
Nepali कुनै हैन | ||
Norwegian ingen | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) palibe aliyense | ||
Odia (Oriya) କେହି ନୁହ | ||
Oromo namni tokkollee | ||
Pashto هیڅ نه | ||
Persian هيچ كس | ||
Polish nikt | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) ninguém | ||
Punjabi ਕੋਈ ਨਹੀਂ | ||
Quechua mana pipas | ||
Romanian nimeni | ||
Russian никто | ||
Samoan leai seisi | ||
Sanskrit अविदितम् | ||
Scots Gaelic duine | ||
Sepedi ga go motho | ||
Serbian нико | ||
Sesotho ha ho motho | ||
Shona hapana munhu | ||
Sindhi ڪوبه نه | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කවුරුවත් නැහැ | ||
Slovak nikto | ||
Slovenian nihče | ||
Somali qofna | ||
Spanish nadie | ||
Sundanese teu aya sasaha | ||
Swahili hakuna mtu | ||
Swedish ingen | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) walang tao | ||
Tajik ҳеҷ кас | ||
Tamil யாரும் இல்லை | ||
Tatar беркем дә | ||
Telugu ఎవరూ | ||
Thai ไม่มีใคร | ||
Tigrinya ዋላ ሓደ | ||
Tsonga ku hava | ||
Turkish kimse | ||
Turkmen hiç kim | ||
Twi (Akan) ɛnyɛ obiara | ||
Ukrainian ніхто | ||
Urdu کوئی نہیں | ||
Uyghur ھېچكىم | ||
Uzbek hech kim | ||
Vietnamese không ai | ||
Welsh neb | ||
Xhosa akukho mntu | ||
Yiddish קיינער | ||
Yoruba ko si eniti o | ||
Zulu akekho |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Niemand nie" is a double negative in Afrikaans, meaning "absolutely nobody". |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "askush" is thought to have originated from Latin "nescius", meaning "ignorant" or "unknown". |
| Arabic | The word "لا أحد" is derived from the words "لا" (no), "أحد" (one). It also means "no one" and "not even one." |
| Armenian | The Armenian word ոչ ոք ("nobody") may also be used in the sense of "none," as in the case of a negative quantity or value. |
| Azerbaijani | "Heç kim" in Azerbaijani comes from the Persian word "hiç kimse", which literally means "not anyone". |
| Basque | The Basque word "inor ez" ("nobody") appears with the same meaning in medieval texts but with a totally different spelling: "enhor ez". |
| Belarusian | In Belarusian, "ніхто" also refers to an evil or mischievous mythical creature that can take many animal guises to trick people. |
| Bengali | The word "কেউ না" can also mean "no one" or "anyone" in Bengali, depending on the context. |
| Bosnian | The word "niko" also means "the son of Nikola". |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "Никой" is related to Serbian and Croatian "nikakav" and "nikakav" in Macedonian and Montenegrin, all having the meaning of "non-essential" and related words in Russian, Czech and other Slavic languages. |
| Catalan | The word "ningú" derives from the Latin "ne unus quidem", meaning "not even one." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Chinese, "没有人" can also mean "an insignificant person" or "a nobody". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character "沒" means "not" while "有人" means "anybody", so "沒有人" literally means "not anybody". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "nimu" originates from the Latin word "nemo," which also means "nobody." |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "nitko" shares its etymology with the Slavic word "nikъ", meaning both "no one" and "every man". |
| Czech | The word "nikdo" in Czech is composed of the negating prefix "ni" with the indefinite form "kdo" meaning "who", thus originally referring to an indeterminate person. |
| Danish | The word "ingen" can also mean "not a single one" or "none". |
| Dutch | The word 'niemand' is derived from the Middle Dutch word 'niemen', which means 'no one' or 'nothing'. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "neniu" derives from the Latin word "ne unus", meaning "not one". |
| Estonian | "Mitte keegi" translates as "nobody" but literally means "not anyone". |
| Finnish | "Kukaan" can mean "anyone" in interrogatives and "no one" in negatives. |
| French | The word "personne" traces its origins to the Latin "persona," meaning "mask" or "character" in a theatrical performance. |
| Frisian | The word ‘nimmen’ can be traced back to the Old Frisian term ‘niemenne’, originating from the Proto-Germanic word ‘neman’, ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root ‘ne-’, meaning ‘not’. In modern Frisian, the word can also signify ‘none’. |
| Galician | "Ninguén" may also mean "no one" or "not one" in Galician. |
| Georgian | The word არავინ is cognate to the Persian word هرآوينا which also means "nobody." |
| German | The word "Niemand" comes from Middle High German "niemen" meaning "no one". "Niemand" also means "an unknown person" or "a nobody". |
| Greek | The Greek word "κανείς" derives from the phrase "ουδέ εις," meaning "not even one," and is cognate with the Latin "nemo." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "કોઈ નહી" (ko-i na-hi) literally means "no one", but it can also be used to express feelings of disappointment or resignation. |
| Haitian Creole | "Pèsonn" in Haitian Creole derives from the French word "personne," meaning "person" or "nobody." |
| Hausa | "Ba kowa" in Hausa literally means "not anybody," highlighting the idea of exclusion or absence. |
| Hawaiian | ʻAʻohe kanaka can be used as a humble way to refer to oneself or one's group, in contrast to the more formal ʻaʻohe mea (nothing). |
| Hebrew | "אף אחד" (nobody) literally means "no nose" in Hebrew, and is cognate with Arabic "انف" (nose). |
| Hindi | In English, the word "nobody" means "not anybody." In Hindi, the word "कोई भी नहीं" ("koi bhi nahin") literally means "not even anybody." |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "tsis muaj leej twg" can also refer to a mythical creature that lives in the forest and is said to be invisible to humans. |
| Hungarian | "Senki" is originally a compound word, composed of the pronoun "se" (himself/herself) and the archaic negative "-ki" (not). Nowadays it is used for the third person (like in "senki nincs otthon" (nobody is home)) or as a general indefinite pronoun. |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "enginn" may derive from an Old Norse phrase meaning "not one" or "none at all." |
| Igbo | 'Ọ dịghị onye' in Igbo literally means 'there is no person', but it also suggests a sense of insignificance or nonexistence. |
| Indonesian | The word "tak seorangpun" is derived from the Javanese and Sundanese languages, and originally meant "not one person". |
| Irish | Aon duine ('nobody') may have derived from Middle Irish aen-duine ('one person'). |
| Italian | Derived ultimately from Latin "nemo" meaning "not a man" (i.e., "nobody"), "nessuno" also retains an archaic use meaning "no one person" (i.e., "everybody"). |
| Japanese | In addition to meaning "nobody," the word "誰も" can also mean "everyone" in Japanese, due to the negative prefix "な" indicating an unexpected or surprising situation. |
| Javanese | The Javanese phrase "ora ana wong" (literally "there is no person") also carries the connotation of "insignificant" or "of no account." |
| Kannada | "ಯಾರೂ" is also used as the name of an ancient Indian philosopher. |
| Kazakh | "Ешкім" in Kazakh is cognate with the Turkish "es", meaning "companion". |
| Korean | "아무도" can mean both "anybody" and "nobody" in Korean because it literally means "the other extreme". In "아무", "아" means "this extreme" and "무" means "the other extreme". |
| Kurdish | The word "nekes" in Kurdish is a cognate of the Persian word "nakes" meaning "useless or worthless thing" and the Sanskrit word "nakis" meaning "deficient or lacking" |
| Kyrgyz | Эч ким originated from the root “эч” (“nothing”) and has a negative connotation. |
| Latin | As well as the meaning "nobody", "neminem" also can be translated as "no one," "not anyone," or "none". |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "neviens" (nobody) shares a root with the word "nieki" (nothing). |
| Lithuanian | The word "niekas" in Lithuanian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ne" meaning "not" and "*kʷi" meaning "who". |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "keen" has the same origin as the German "keinerlei" meaning "no kind", "kein" meaning "no one". |
| Macedonian | Etymology-wise a cognate of Greek "οὐδείς" (oudeis), meaning "not one". |
| Malagasy | Tsy misy olona, or "nobody" in Malagasy, can also mean "there is no one" or "it doesn't exist." |
| Malay | 'Tiada siapa' is a conjunction of 'tiada' ('no') and 'siapa' ('who'), thus literally meaning 'nobody'. |
| Malayalam | "ആരും" is derived from the Tamil word "ஆர்" meaning "who", indicating a lack of specific individuals. |
| Maltese | The word "ħadd" is cognate with Arabic "ḥādd" (edge) and can also refer to a boundary or a limit. |
| Maori | The word "tangata" in Maori can also mean "other" or "outsider". |
| Mongolian | "Хэн ч биш" phrase in Mongolian is derived from the word "хүний" (human) and means "no human" or "none". |
| Nepali | The term "कुनै हैन" is derived from "कोहि" (who) and "छैन" (not), implying the complete absence of any individual. |
| Norwegian | The Norwegian word "ingen" (nobody) derives from the combination of "ne" (not) and "ein" (one), as nobody is not someone. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Palibe aliyense can also refer to an individual that is not important or has no significance |
| Pashto | هیڅ نه can also be used to emphasize the negative, meaning "absolutely nothing". |
| Polish | The word "nikt" is derived from the Slavic word "nikъ", meaning "not one". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | "Ninguém" derives from the archaic pronoun "nen", used in old Portuguese for inanimate beings and animals. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "nimeni" is a contraction of the phrase "nici un om" meaning "not a single person" |
| Russian | The Russian word "никто" (nobody) is derived from the Old Church Slavonic "никъто" (no one), which in turn is derived from the Proto-Slavic "nikyjьto" (not-somebody). |
| Samoan | The word "leai seisi" can also be used to mean "no one in particular" or "no one important." |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "duine" in Scots Gaelic also means "person" or "man" and is cognate with the Irish word "duine." |
| Serbian | 'Нико' is a Serbo-Croatian word which can mean both 'nobody' and 'someone' |
| Sesotho | The word "ha ho motho" has several meanings in Sesotho, including "nobody," "there is nobody," and the idiomatic "there is something happening." |
| Shona | The Shona word "hapana munhu" can also mean "there is no one" or "it is deserted". |
| Sindhi | Alternately, "ڪوبه نه" can also mean "nothing" in Sindhi, in addition to "nobody." |
| Slovak | Nikto is a diminutive of the Slovak name Nikodém (Nicodemus). |
| Slovenian | In the 15th century, “nihče” meant 'no one' but also 'each one'. |
| Somali | The word "qofna" can also be used to refer to an absent person, an unknown person, or an unspecified group of people. |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "nadie" derives from Latin "natus" and "dies", but is cognate with English "natal", "nativity" and French "naître". |
| Sundanese | The term "teu aya sasaha" literally translates to "not having a shadow", referring to the idea that a person who is "nobody" has no tangible presence or significance. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "hakuna mtu" comes from the Arabic phrase "haakuna mattaa", which means "there is not anything". |
| Swedish | An alternative Swedish synonym of "ingen" is "ingenjälp," meaning "no help." Another synonym is "ingenstans," meaning "nowhere." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Walang tao" also means "there is nothing" in some instances. |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "ҳеҷ кас" ("nobody") stems from the Persian word "هیچکس" ("nobody"), which means "no one". |
| Telugu | The word "ఎవరూ" can also be used to refer to inanimate things or abstract concepts implying a lack thereof. |
| Thai | The word "ไม่มีใคร" can also be used to mean "not anyone" or "no one". |
| Turkish | The word "kimse" comes from the phrase "kimse yok," meaning "there is no one." |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "ніхто" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *nekʷ-, meaning "not one". |
| Uzbek | In modern Uzbek, "hech kim" derives from "hech" (nothing) and "kim" (who), originally meaning "not anyone or anything". |
| Vietnamese | The word "không ai" literally means "not who" which refers to "no human" and therefore means "nobody" when translated into English. |
| Welsh | In some areas of Wales, particularly Carmarthenshire, 'neb' is pronounced similarly to 'new' meaning 'one' which can create confusion. |
| Xhosa | Akukho mntu also means "there is not" or something is "unavailable." |
| Yiddish | In Yiddish culture, "קיינער" also refers to spirits that protect against evil |
| Yoruba | The term "ko si eniti o" also means "there is no one that is not" in Yoruba language, implying that everyone is special. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "akekho" has a double etymology, meaning both "there is none" and "without a chief". |
| English | The word "nobody" is derived from the Middle English phrase "not body," meaning literally "no one of any significance." |