Nor in Different Languages
Discover 'Nor' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'nor' is a small but mighty conjunction in the English language, often used to connect two negative ideas in a sentence. While it may seem like a simple word, its significance lies in its ability to emphasize the negation and create a stronger negative statement. This cultural importance is reflected in its use in literature, where it can add nuance and emphasis to a writer's message.
Moreover, the word 'nor' is not limited to English alone. In fact, it has equivalents in many different languages, each with its own unique sound and cultural significance. For example, in Spanish, 'ni' is used in a similar way to 'nor', while in German, 'noch' serves a similar function. In French, 'ni' is used, just like in Spanish. These translations not only help us to better understand the language and culture of other countries, but they also allow us to communicate more effectively with people from around the world.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a world traveler, or just someone who wants to expand their vocabulary, learning the translations of 'nor' in different languages can be a fun and rewarding experience. Here are some translations to get you started:
Nor
Nor in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ook nie | ||
| In older texts like some Bible translations, "ook nie" is occasionally used interchangeably with the archaic "ook niet" (meaning "also not"). | |||
| Amharic | ወይም አይደለም | ||
| Hausa | kuma ba | ||
| Kuma ba can also mean "not" when used as a proclitic, particularly in the context of negating verb phrases in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | ma ọ bụ | ||
| The word "ma ọ bụ" can also be used to introduce an alternative or option. | |||
| Malagasy | na | ||
| In Imerina Malagasy, "na" may also mean "then" or "now". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kapena | ||
| In Chichewa, "kapena" also means "or" or "either," and shares its root with the word "pena," meaning "alone." | |||
| Shona | kana | ||
| The word "kana," meaning "nor," can also be used to mean "neither," "nor yet," "and not," or "not even." | |||
| Somali | sidoo kale | ||
| "Sidoo kale" in Somali directly translates as "and also," but is often used to mean "nor." | |||
| Sesotho | kapa | ||
| "Kapa" can also refer to the bark of the acacia tree, used traditionally for clothing amongst certain groups within Sesotho culture. | |||
| Swahili | wala | ||
| Etymology: a variant spelling of wala, meaning 'or' in Arabic and 'but' in Hindustani | |||
| Xhosa | okanye | ||
| The word "okanye" can also mean "or" and is often used in place of the conjunction "kana." | |||
| Yoruba | tabi | ||
| Tabi in Yoruba can also mean 'notwithstanding' or 'however'. | |||
| Zulu | noma | ||
| "Noma" in Zulu can also mean "to be sweet" or "to be beautiful." | |||
| Bambara | .... wa | ||
| Ewe | alo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | cyangwa | ||
| Lingala | to | ||
| Luganda | wadde | ||
| Sepedi | goba | ||
| Twi (Akan) | anaa | ||
Nor in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ولا | ||
| The Arabic word "ولا" (nor) can also have the meaning of "and not" in certain contexts. | |||
| Hebrew | ולא | ||
| Hebrew word 'ולא' ('nor') also means 'and not' or 'except' | |||
| Pashto | نه | ||
| The word "نه" can also be used as a negation marker, meaning "not". | |||
| Arabic | ولا | ||
| The Arabic word "ولا" (nor) can also have the meaning of "and not" in certain contexts. | |||
Nor in Western European Languages
| Albanian | as | ||
| The word "as" in Albanian can also mean "or", "either" or "neither". | |||
| Basque | ezta | ||
| The word "ezta" in Basque can also mean "not", "not even", or "no more". | |||
| Catalan | ni | ||
| The Catalan word "ni" has roots in Latin and can also mean "not even" or "neither" depending on context. | |||
| Croatian | ni | ||
| The Croatian word “ni” (“nor”) can also mean “not” when it appears before a verb. | |||
| Danish | heller ikke | ||
| The word "heller ikke" derives from the Old Norse "heldr ekki", meaning "rather not" or "I would rather not". | |||
| Dutch | noch | ||
| In modern Dutch, "noch" also retains its Old Germanic sense of "yet" or "furthermore. | |||
| English | nor | ||
| "Nor" is also used as a noun in the sense of a logical operator. | |||
| French | ni | ||
| The French word "ni" also functions like its English counterpart, "neither." | |||
| Frisian | ek net | ||
| 'Ek net' also translates as 'not only', although not all dialects have retained this dual-meaning. | |||
| Galician | nin | ||
| Galician "nin" is a shortened form of Latin "nec non", from "nec" (meaning "nor" or "not") and "non" (meaning "not"), hence it carries two negations and means "nor". It also has the meaning of "rather than". | |||
| German | noch | ||
| The German word | |||
| Icelandic | né | ||
| In Icelandic, "né" can also mean either "not" or "neither" depending on the context and case. | |||
| Irish | ná | ||
| "Ná" additionally means "not" or "do not" in Irish. | |||
| Italian | né | ||
| The Italian word "né" can also mean "neither" or "not even". | |||
| Luxembourgish | och net | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "och net" has the same dual meaning as the German word "auch nicht" (also not), as "och" has the dual meaning of "also" and "not". | |||
| Maltese | lanqas | ||
| Lanqas may also derive from the Arabic word 'lan يلان,' which means 'to deny' or 'to refute'. | |||
| Norwegian | eller | ||
| The word 'eller' has a secondary meaning related to 'alder', 'elder-wood' and 'alderwood'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | nem | ||
| "Nem" in Portuguese shares Latin roots with English "non" and "neither" (Latin "nec" and "neque"). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ni | ||
| Scots Gaelic "ni" is related to the same Indo-European negative particle root that is found in Latin "ne-" and Greek "mē-" | |||
| Spanish | ni | ||
| The Spanish word "ni" can also be translated as "not", "even", "neither", or "either". | |||
| Swedish | inte heller | ||
| In Swedish, the word "inte heller" contains the word "hel" which means "hell" and "heller" which means "rather". | |||
| Welsh | nac ychwaith | ||
| The Welsh word "nac ychwaith" ("nor") is an archaic, emphatic version of "nac". | |||
Nor in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | ні | ||
| In Belarusian "ні" also means "no" and has the same origin as the Polish word "ni", Czech "ni", and Russian "не" (all used to negate something). | |||
| Bosnian | niti | ||
| The word "niti" is cognate to the Latin "nec". | |||
| Bulgarian | нито | ||
| "Нито" can also mean "thread" or "string". | |||
| Czech | ani | ||
| Ani is sometimes used as a stand-alone exclamation, meaning "stop!" or "enough!" | |||
| Estonian | ega ka | ||
| "Ega" is a contraction of the phrase "ei aga" (not but), and it has the same meaning as the English word "nor." | |||
| Finnish | ei myöskään | ||
| While the literal translation of "ei myöskään" is "not either", it often means "nor" in English. | |||
| Hungarian | sem | ||
| The word "sem" can be used as "semmi" (nothing), "semmibe" (into nothing), or "semmire" (onto nothing). | |||
| Latvian | ne arī | ||
| The Latvian word "ne arī" is formed from "ne" (meaning "no") and "arī" (meaning "also") and it can sometimes be used as a synonym of "nevis" (meaning "rather"). | |||
| Lithuanian | nei | ||
| The word "nei" in Lithuanian also means "no" or "not". | |||
| Macedonian | ниту | ||
| Macedonian "ниту" (nor) is derived from Proto-Slavic "ni tū," meaning "not that". | |||
| Polish | ani | ||
| The Polish conjunction ani, meaning "neither," is cognate with the Latin conjunction neque with the same meaning. | |||
| Romanian | nici | ||
| In Romanian, "nici" can also mean "neither". | |||
| Russian | ни | ||
| The original meaning of the Russian word "ни" was "not"; its meaning "nor" developed later. | |||
| Serbian | нити | ||
| The Serbian word "нити" can also mean "thread" or "filament". | |||
| Slovak | ani | ||
| The Slovak word 'ani' can also be used as a prefix meaning 'non-', as in 'animálne' ('non-animal'). | |||
| Slovenian | niti | ||
| Derived from the Proto-Slavic *nъ, meaning 'but', 'and', or 'because'. | |||
| Ukrainian | ні | ||
| The Ukrainian word 'ні' can also be used as an interjection meaning 'no'. | |||
Nor in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | না | ||
| The Bengali word "না" has an archaic alternative meaning of "that". | |||
| Gujarati | ના | ||
| The Gujarati word "ના" also denotes a negative response or an expression of dissent. | |||
| Hindi | न | ||
| In Hindi, "न" can also mean "and" or "even not". | |||
| Kannada | ಅಥವಾ | ||
| The word "ಅಥವಾ" can also mean "or", "else", or "otherwise" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | ഇല്ല | ||
| The word "ഇല്ല" also means "no" or "not" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | किंवा नाही | ||
| The Marathi word "किंवा नाही" (nor) is cognate with the Sanskrit word "न वा" (na vā), meaning "not or". | |||
| Nepali | न त | ||
| The word "न त" in Nepali can also mean "and not". | |||
| Punjabi | ਨਾ ਹੀ | ||
| The word "naahee" can also mean "and not" in certain contexts | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නැත | ||
| The Sinhala word "නැත" ("nor") is derived from the Sanskrit word "न" ("na") which means "not". | |||
| Tamil | அல்லது | ||
| In the phrase 'அல் லது', 'அல்' means 'not' and the 'ல' represents a question particle, while 'லது', which is the past participle of 'இரு' ('to be'), means existence. The whole expression implies a state of nonexistence, hence its meaning of 'nor'. | |||
| Telugu | లేదా | ||
| లేదా is derived from లేదు (not) and వాద (argument), meaning "and not". The word is also used to mean "or not" or "whether or not". | |||
| Urdu | نہ ہی | ||
| The word "نہ ہی" can also be used to mean "in addition to". | |||
Nor in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 也不 | ||
| ‘也不’在《国语》中最早作‘亦不’，意为‘而且不’。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 也不 | ||
| The word "也不" can also mean "not only" or "besides". | |||
| Japanese | また | ||
| "また" also means "again" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | ...도 아니다 | ||
| The phrase ...도 아니다 can be used in an imperative sense, like "Do not think about it". | |||
| Mongolian | бас биш | ||
| The word "бас биш" in Mongolian can also mean "not at all" or "never". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မဟုတ်ပါ | ||
Nor in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | maupun | ||
| In Indonesian "maupun" can also be used as conjunction expressing the meaning "as well as" or "either". | |||
| Javanese | utawa | ||
| The Javanese term 'utawa' can also be translated as 'either' in English. | |||
| Khmer | ហើយ | ||
| The Khmer word ហើយ also means "and" or "but". | |||
| Lao | ຫລື | ||
| In Lao, the word "ຫລື" ("nor") can also mean "or" or "either-or". | |||
| Malay | tidak juga | ||
| The 'tidak' in 'tidak juga' is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ta:de?, meaning 'not', while 'juga' is from *juŋa:?, meaning 'also'. | |||
| Thai | หรือ | ||
| The word "หรือ" (or) in Thai can also mean "question mark" or "yes". | |||
| Vietnamese | cũng không | ||
| "Cũng không" có nghĩa gốc là "cũng chẳng", nghĩa khác là "không". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | hindi rin | ||
Nor in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | nə də | ||
| Kazakh | не | ||
| The word "не" in Kazakh is equivalent to the English word "nor" and can also be used as a negative adverb. | |||
| Kyrgyz | дагы | ||
| "Дагы" (nor) comes from Old Turkic "tag" and also means "mountain" in some Turkic languages. | |||
| Tajik | на | ||
| In Tajik, "на" is also used to negate clauses, and may be equivalent to "не/нет" (not). | |||
| Turkmen | ýa-da däl | ||
| Uzbek | na | ||
| In Uzbek, «na» can also mean "never". | |||
| Uyghur | ياكى ئەمەس | ||
Nor in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻaʻole hoʻi | ||
| In Hawaiian, ʻaʻole hoʻi, translated to "nor," can also be used to mean "not either" or "never." | |||
| Maori | kaua hoki | ||
| The word "kaua hoki" can also mean "moreover" or "furthermore". | |||
| Samoan | poʻo | ||
| The word "poʻo" is also used colloquially to mean "head" or "chief". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ni | ||
| The word "ni" in Tagalog also means "of" or "is possessed by," similar to the Spanish preposition "de." | |||
Nor in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ni | ||
| Guarani | jepe | ||
Nor in International Languages
| Esperanto | nek | ||
| "Nek" comes from the Old Norse word "ne" (never). | |||
| Latin | neque | ||
| Neque, or nec, is also an archaic term used in Latin with the meaning of "and not," "and none," or "nor." | |||
Nor in Others Languages
| Greek | ούτε | ||
| "Oύτε" means "ni" in Ancient Greek and "ni" in Spanish, derived from Latin "nec". | |||
| Hmong | tsis | ||
| The word "tsis" can also mean "without" or "lacking". | |||
| Kurdish | ne jî | ||
| In Kurdish, "ne jî" has roots in "ne" ("not") and "jî" ("also"), meaning "not even" or "not either". | |||
| Turkish | ne de | ||
| Turkish "ne de" (neither nor) can occasionally also mean "how much/many" when used in questions | |||
| Xhosa | okanye | ||
| The word "okanye" can also mean "or" and is often used in place of the conjunction "kana." | |||
| Yiddish | אדער | ||
| The Yiddish word "אדער" derives from the German "oder" and also means "or". | |||
| Zulu | noma | ||
| "Noma" in Zulu can also mean "to be sweet" or "to be beautiful." | |||
| Assamese | নতুবা | ||
| Aymara | ni | ||
| Bhojpuri | आउर ना | ||
| Dhivehi | ނުވަތަ | ||
| Dogri | ते नेईं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | hindi rin | ||
| Guarani | jepe | ||
| Ilocano | wenno | ||
| Krio | nɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نا | ||
| Maithili | आ नहि | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯠꯇꯕ | ||
| Mizo | ni lo ve ve | ||
| Oromo | miti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ନା | ||
| Quechua | manataq | ||
| Sanskrit | नापि | ||
| Tatar | һәм | ||
| Tigrinya | እውን ኣይኮነን | ||
| Tsonga | kumbe | ||