Nowhere in different languages

Nowhere in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'nowhere' holds a unique significance in our vocabulary, representing a place that doesn't exist or can't be found. It's a concept that transcends cultural boundaries, making its translation in different languages intriguing and enlightening. For instance, in Spanish, 'nowhere' is 'en ningún lugar', while in French, it becomes 'nulle part'. In German, the word is 'nirgendwo', and in Japanese, it is 'どこにもない' (toko ni mo nai).

Throughout history, 'nowhere' has been used in various contexts, from literature to philosophy. In Dante's 'Inferno', the word is used to describe the depths of hell. In philosophy, it's often used to discuss the concept of nothingness. Moreover, it's a word that sparks curiosity and invites exploration, encouraging us to question what lies beyond our known horizons.

Understanding the translation of 'nowhere' in different languages not only broadens our linguistic skills but also deepens our cultural understanding. It's a small step towards appreciating the richness of diverse cultures and the power of language to shape our perception of the world.

Nowhere

Nowhere in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansnêrens nie
"Nêrens nie" is a double negative in Afrikaans, meaning "not anywhere" or "not nowhere," effectively intensifying the negation.
Amharicየትም የለም
The Amharic word "የትም የለም" (yet?m yälläm) literally means "it is not in any place".
Hausababu inda
The Hausa word "babu inda" is cognate to the Gwandara word "babbɔŋ" (forest), and means "hidden from sight". It is the origin of the city name "Babinda"}
Igboenweghị ebe
Malagasyna aiza na aiza
The Malagasy word "na aiza na aiza" is also used to refer to an indefinite place or an imaginary place that doesn't exist
Nyanja (Chichewa)paliponse
In Nyanja (Chichewa), "paliponse" also means "the back of somebody's head."
Shonahapana
In the Shona language, the word
Somalimeelna
Meelna is derived from the Somali verb "meel" (to disappear).
Sesothokae kapa kae
The word "kae kapa kae" is derived from the Sesotho words "kae" (where) and "kapa" (not), hence its meaning of "nowhere".
Swahilimahali popote
The Swahili word "mahali popote" does not mean "nowhere" but rather "any place" or "everywhere."
Xhosanaphi na
The Xhosa word "naphi na" also means "non-existence" and is used to describe something that is completely absent or does not exist.
Yorubanibikibi
Níbí-kíbí is often used to denote a 'faraway' place or a 'non-existent' place
Zulundawo
The Zulu word 'ndawo' originally meant a 'settlement' or a place where one resides, but has acquired the alternate meaning of 'nowhere' in some dialects.
Bambarayɔrɔ si tɛ yen
Eweafi aɖeke meli o
Kinyarwandanta na hamwe
Lingalaesika moko te
Lugandatewali wonna
Sepediga go na mo
Twi (Akan)baabiara nni hɔ

Nowhere in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicلا مكان
The Arabic word "لا مكان" literally means "no place", but it can also be used figuratively to mean "out of place" or "without a sense of belonging".
Hebrewלְשׁוּם מָקוֹם
The word "לְשׁוּם מָקוֹם" (nowhere) in Hebrew literally means "to no place".
Pashtoهیڅ ځای نه
The Pashto word "هیڅ ځای نه" ("nowhere") also means "not at all" or "completely".
Arabicلا مكان
The Arabic word "لا مكان" literally means "no place", but it can also be used figuratively to mean "out of place" or "without a sense of belonging".

Nowhere in Western European Languages

Albanianaskund
Albanian word "askund" originates from the Greek "askóund", meaning "dark, shadowy, gloomy place".
Basqueinon ez
"Inon ez" literally means "not there".
Catalanenlloc
In Catalan, “enlloc” comes from “en” (“in”) and “lloc” (“place”); it can also mean “place” or “somewhere,” depending on the context
Croatiannigdje
The Croatian word "nigdje" is derived from the Proto-Slavic *nikuje, which also means "at no time" or "never".
Danishingen steder
The Danish word "ingen steder" evolved from the Old Danish phrase "i engum stað" meaning "in no place".
Dutchnergens
The word "nergens" is derived from the Middle Dutch "nierghine", meaning "not in any place".
Englishnowhere
The term 'nowhere' derives from Middle English 'no-whare', meaning 'no where', i.e. in no place.
Frenchnulle part
The French word "nulle part" can also mean "no one" or "no thing".
Frisiannearne
The word nearne in Frisian can also mean "not"}
Galicianen ningunha parte
The Galician word "en ningunha parte" (nowhere) literally translates to "in no part".
Germannirgends
"Nirgends" comes from Middle High German "niemenges" meaning "no man's" and was originally only used for places where nobody lived.
Icelandichvergi
The word "hvergi" is derived from Old Norse "hvargi", meaning "neither here nor there".
Irisháit ar bith
"Áit ar bith" literally means "place on the world" in Irish, but it is used to express the concept of "nowhere".
Italianda nessuna parte
The Italian word "Da nessuna parte" literally means "from no part"
Luxembourgishnéierens
Malteseimkien
The word 'imkien' comes from the Arabic word 'makan', which means 'place', and the negative prefix 'im-', which means 'not'.
Norwegianingen steder
The word "ingen" means "no" or "not any" and "steder" means "places", so "ingen steder" literally translates to "no places".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)lugar algum
In Brazil, "lugar algum" (literally "some place") is a colloquial phrase used to mean "nowhere".
Scots Gaelicàite sam bith
Spanishen ninguna parte
"En ninguna parte" can be directly split in Spanish as "in any part" and is a pleonasm.
Swedishingenstans
The word "ingenstans" in Swedish means "nowhere" but also "no place", "no place at all", or "not anywhere".
Welshunman
The word "unman" in Welsh is derived from the same root as the English word "woman" and originally meant "lacking a woman".

Nowhere in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianнідзе
The word "нідзе" (nowhere) in Belarusian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "nьidь" meaning "not a place".
Bosniannigdje
The word "nigdje" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *nikъde, which also means "nowhere" in other Slavic languages.
Bulgarianникъде
It also serves as a negative pronoun meaning "no one".
Czechnikde
The words "nikde" and "nic" are homonyms in Czech, meaning "nowhere" and "nothing", respectively.
Estonianmitte kuskil
The word "mitte kuskil" can also mean "not anywhere" or "nowhere to be found" in the sense of not being present or having been lost, as well as "never" or "not at all" in the negative sense of never happening or existing.
Finnishei mihinkään
"Ei mihinkään" literally means "not to somewhere," which is in contrast to "joku mihin tahansa" (somewhere), "ei minnekään" (not anywhere) and "jonnekin" (somewhere).
Hungarianmost itt
"Most it" is the result of agglutination of the word "most", meaning "now", to an archaic possessive suffix that denotes absence: "itt".
Latviannekur
Nekur originates from ancient Indo-European word "*nekʷo-", cognate with English "now".
Lithuanianniekur
"Niekur" in Lithuanian also means "not anywhere".
Macedonianникаде
The word "никаде" in Macedonian is of Proto-Slavic origin and is related to the words "ник" (no) and "каде" (where).
Polishnigdzie
In Polish, the word "nigdzie" comes from the Proto-Slavic phrase *ni* "not" and *kъde* "where"
Romaniannicăieri
The word "nicăieri" is also used to idiomatically refer to a faraway or obscure location, akin to "in the middle of nowhere".
Russianнигде
"Нигде" derives from the Old Russian preposition "ни" (not) and the adverb "где" (where), hence its meaning "not anywhere". In modern Russian, it often has the connotation of "no place in particular" or "in no place at all".
Serbianнигде
The word "нигде" is borrowed from Church Slavonic and originally meant "not anywhere."
Slovaknikde
The word "nikde" is derived from the old Slavic word "nikuda", meaning "in no direction".
Sloveniannikjer
This word has a double meaning in Slovenian, it can also mean "at no time".
Ukrainianнікуди
The word "нікуди" in Ukrainian can also mean "to no purpose" or "in vain".

Nowhere in South Asian Languages

Bengaliকোথাও
In archaic Bengali, "কোথাও" also meant "at home."
Gujaratiક્યાય પણ નહિ
Hindiकहीं भी नहीं
"कहीं भी नहीं " derives from the Sanskrit word 'na kva' meaning 'not where'.
Kannadaಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ
Malayalamഒരിടത്തുമില്ല
The Malayalam word ‘ഒരിടത്തുമില്ല’ (‘nowhere’) shares the meaning of ‘in the other world’ and also refers to being without assets.
Marathiकोठेही नाही
The phrase 'कोठेही नाही' is a compound word that literally means 'not anywhere' or 'in no place'.
Nepaliकतै पनि छैन
The Nepali word "कतै पनि छैन" (katai pani chhaina) is a compound word consisting of "कतै" (katai, meaning "anywhere"), "पनि" (pani, meaning "even"), and "छैन" (chhaina, meaning "is not"). This compound word literally translates to "is not even anywhere", implying that something does not exist in any place.
Punjabiਕਿਤੇ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)කොතැනකවත් නැත
The word can also mean "at some place".
Tamilஎங்கும் இல்லை
Teluguఎక్కడా లేదు
The word "ఎక్కడా లేదు" is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *ek- "one" and the suffix *-a "not", meaning "not one place".
Urduکہیں نہیں

Nowhere in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)无处
"无处" (wúchù; "nowhere") is also a Buddhist term meaning "not arising", describing the state where all phenomena are devoid of substance or essence.
Chinese (Traditional)無處
The first character of 無處 (無) means "not," and the second character (處) refers to "place" or "location," so together they mean "not a place," or "nowhere."
Japaneseどこにも
The word どこにも literally means "to anywhere," but has come to mean "nowhere" in modern Japanese.
Korean아무데도
The word 아무데도 can also mean "in no way" or "not at all" in Korean.
Mongolianхаана ч байхгүй
"Хаана ч байхгүй" means nowhere, but it can also be interpreted as "not being in any place".
Myanmar (Burmese)ဘယ်နေရာမှာ

Nowhere in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiantidak ada tempat
In Indonesian, "tidak ada tempat" literally means "no place" or "no space" and is used to describe a non-existent location.
Javaneseora ono
Ora ono can also mean "nothing" or "nonexistent."
Khmerកន្លែងណា
In ancient Khmer, the term was used to refer to a sacred and forbidden place, akin to the
Laoບໍ່ມີບ່ອນໃດ
Malayentah ke mana
The word 'entah ke mana' is literally translated as 'to an unknown place' or 'who knows where'.
Thaiไม่มีที่ไหนเลย
"ไม่มีที่ไหนเลย" in Thai literally means "there is no place anywhere".
Vietnamesehư không
"Hư không" shares the same root with "hư vô" (nonexistence) and "hư ảo" (illusory), reflecting its intangible and immaterial nature.
Filipino (Tagalog)wala kahit saan

Nowhere in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniheç bir yerdə
The word "heç bir yerdə" is composed of the particle "heç" (indicating absence) and the noun phrase "bir yer" (meaning "any place"), hence implying the absence of any place.
Kazakhеш жерде
The Kazakh word "еш жерде" literally means "nothing place", emphasizing a complete lack of location.
Kyrgyzэч жерде
The Kyrgyz word "эч жерде" may also refer to a state of non-existence or absence.
Tajikдар ҳеҷ куҷо
Turkmenhiç ýerde
Uzbekhech qaerda
The Uzbek word "hech qaerda" is derived from the Persian idiom "hekhe khodā" which means "before God"
Uyghurھېچ يەردە

Nowhere in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianma hea lā
The Hawaiian word “ma hea lā” can also mean “no way” or an emphatic “not at all”.
Maorikare ki hea
The word "kare ki hea" can also mean "not yet, still to come".
Samoanleai se mea
The word 'leai se mea' in Samoan literally translates to 'no thing'.
Tagalog (Filipino)kahit saan
The word "kahit saan" in Tagalog can also mean "whenever" or "anytime".

Nowhere in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajaniw kawkhans utjkiti
Guaranimoõve

Nowhere in International Languages

Esperantonenie
The word "nenie" also means "lament" or "dirge" in Polish.
Latinnusquam
The word "nusquam" derives from the Latin root "nus," meaning "no, not," and "quam," meaning "how, at all."

Nowhere in Others Languages

Greekπουθενά
The word "πουθενά" derives from the ancient Greek word "ποῦ", meaning "where," and the suffix "-θεν," meaning "from."
Hmongtsis pom qhov twg
Kurdishne litûder
The word "ne litûder" in Kurdish is derived from the negative particle "ne" and the verb root "lît" meaning "to find" or "to be present", implying a state of non-existence or absence.
Turkishhiçbir yerde
The word "Hiçbir yerde" is a compound of the negative marker "hiç" and the noun "yer" meaning "place".
Xhosanaphi na
The Xhosa word "naphi na" also means "non-existence" and is used to describe something that is completely absent or does not exist.
Yiddishינ ערגעצ ניט
The phrase 'ינ ערגעצ ניט' can be used to indicate a lack of physical, emotional, or intellectual presence.
Zulundawo
The Zulu word 'ndawo' originally meant a 'settlement' or a place where one resides, but has acquired the alternate meaning of 'nowhere' in some dialects.
Assameseক'তো নাই
Aymarajaniw kawkhans utjkiti
Bhojpuriकतहीं ना
Dhivehiއެއްވެސް ތަނެއްގައި ނެތެވެ
Dogriकहीं नहीं
Filipino (Tagalog)wala kahit saan
Guaranimoõve
Ilocanoawan sadinoman
Krionɔsay nɔ de
Kurdish (Sorani)لە هیچ شوێنێکدا
Maithiliकतहु नहि
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯐꯝ ꯑꯃꯠꯇꯗꯥ ꯂꯩꯇꯦ꯫
Mizokhawiah mah a awm lo
Oromoeessayyuu hin jiru
Odia (Oriya)କେଉଁଠି ନାହିଁ
Quechuamana maypipas
Sanskritन कुत्रापि
Tatarберкайда да
Tigrinyaኣብ ዝኾነ ቦታ የለን
Tsongaa ku na kun’wana

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