Often in Different Languages
Discover 'Often' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'often' is a small but powerful part of our daily vocabulary. It signifies that something happens frequently or on a regular basis. Understanding the word 'often' in different languages can open up new cultural experiences and deepen our appreciation for the world around us.
For example, in Spanish, 'often' translates to 'a menudo.' In French, it's 'souvent,' and in German, it's 'oft.' These translations not only help us communicate with people from different backgrounds, but they also provide insight into how other cultures express frequency and regularity.
Moreover, the word 'often' has a rich history. It comes from the Old English word 'oft,' which means 'frequently' or 'much.' This word has been a part of the English language for centuries and has evolved over time to become the word we know today.
So, why should you learn the translations of 'often' in different languages? Not only will it improve your language skills, but it will also deepen your understanding of other cultures and broaden your horizons. Here are some translations of 'often' in different languages:
Often
Often in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | gereeld | ||
| "Gereeld" comes from the Middle Dutch "gheere", which is related to English "year". In Frisian, it also means "regularly". | |||
| Amharic | ብዙውን ጊዜ | ||
| In Amharic, "ብዙውን ጊዜ" literally means "many times" but is commonly used as the equivalent of "often" in English. | |||
| Hausa | sau da yawa | ||
| The word "sau da yawa" is derived from the Hausa word "sawa", which means "time" or "period", and "yawa", which means "many" or "frequent". | |||
| Igbo | mgbe | ||
| The word “mgbe” is interchangeable with “mgbe nile” which means “at intervals”. | |||
| Malagasy | matetika | ||
| The word "matetika" may refer to "constantly", "always", or "regularly" in certain Malagasy dialects. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kawirikawiri | ||
| The repetition of the word 'kawiri' ('two') in 'kawirikawiri' emphasises the frequency of an action or event. | |||
| Shona | kazhinji | ||
| "Kazhinji" is also used in Shona to mean "most" or "majority". | |||
| Somali | badanaa | ||
| The word "badanaa" in Somali can also mean "very" or "greatly" in certain contexts. | |||
| Sesotho | hangata | ||
| Hangata can also mean "a while" or "repeatedly" depending on context. | |||
| Swahili | mara nyingi | ||
| Mara nyingi, a Swahili word that shares its root with 'repeated actions' and 'many times' | |||
| Xhosa | rhoqo | ||
| Rhoqo's primary meaning is "often," but can also mean "regularly" or "constantly". | |||
| Yoruba | nigbagbogbo | ||
| In archaic Yoruba, 'nigbagbogbo' meant 'all the time', but it is now used chiefly to refer to 'every now and then', 'regularly' or 'at intervals' | |||
| Zulu | kaningi | ||
| "Kaningi" comes from "kan" (a prefix indicating past tense) and "ingi" (denoting an indefinite period of time). | |||
| Bambara | waati dɔ | ||
| Ewe | often | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kenshi | ||
| Lingala | mbala mingi | ||
| Luganda | okutera | ||
| Sepedi | gantši | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mpɛn pii | ||
Often in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | غالبا | ||
| The word "غالبا" is derived from the Arabic root غ-ل-ب, which means "to overcome" or "to prevail". | |||
| Hebrew | לעתים קרובות | ||
| The word "לעתים קרובות" is derived from the root "עת" (time), and its literal meaning is "at many times". | |||
| Pashto | اکثرا | ||
| The word "اکثرا" in Pashto ultimately derives from the Arabic word "أكثر" and can also mean "majority" or "most". | |||
| Arabic | غالبا | ||
| The word "غالبا" is derived from the Arabic root غ-ل-ب, which means "to overcome" or "to prevail". | |||
Often in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shpesh | ||
| The word "shpesh" in Albanian is derived from the Proto-Albanian word *shpesht*, which means "many times". In some northern Albanian dialects, the word "shpesh" can also mean "continuously" or "frequently". | |||
| Basque | askotan | ||
| Askotan, meaning "frequently" in Basque, also refers to the "frequency" of an occurrence or event. | |||
| Catalan | sovint | ||
| The word "sovint" in Catalan derives from the Latin word "subinde", which originally meant "one after the other" or "continually". | |||
| Croatian | često | ||
| The Croatian word "često" has its roots in the Proto-Slavic word *çęstъ, which could mean either "often" or "honorable," depending on the context. | |||
| Danish | tit | ||
| In Danish, "tit" refers to something that happens regularly or continuously, or that is a characteristic of someone or something. | |||
| Dutch | vaak | ||
| The Dutch word vaak ('often') has the same origin as 'awake', as it was originally the plural of 'wake'} | |||
| English | often | ||
| The word 'often' is derived from the Old English word 'oft', meaning 'frequently'. | |||
| French | souvent | ||
| In Old French, 'souvent' was the present participle of a verb meaning 'to remember'. | |||
| Frisian | faak | ||
| The word "faak" in Frisian can also mean "many" or "much". | |||
| Galician | a miúdo | ||
| The Galician word "a miúdo" derives from the Portuguese phrase "a miúdo" (meaning "often") and the Latin adjective "minutus" (meaning "small"), thus signifying "at small intervals". | |||
| German | häufig | ||
| Häufig is derived from Old High German "huf", meaning "heap", "throng", or "crowd". | |||
| Icelandic | oft | ||
| The Icelandic equivalent of "oft" means "frequently" rather than "often" | |||
| Irish | go minic | ||
| "Minic" also means "little" or "small" in Irish, and is related to the English word "minor". | |||
| Italian | spesso | ||
| The word "spesso" derives from the Latin "spissus" meaning "thick" or "dense" and can also mean "very" or "much" in Italian. | |||
| Luxembourgish | dacks | ||
| "Dacks" derives from the Old High German "tagas" and Old English "dæg" meaning "day". | |||
| Maltese | spiss | ||
| Spiss in Maltese can also be used to mean 'dense', 'thick' or 'crowded'. | |||
| Norwegian | ofte | ||
| The form 'ofte', which is the most used in modern Norwegian, comes from an older word 'ofta' which meant 'many times'. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | frequentemente | ||
| Frequentemente comes from the Latin word "frequens," meaning "numerous," "crowded," or "repeatedly occurring." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gu tric | ||
| Scots Gaelic gu tric may be related to Welsh gweithiau "sometimes," from the stem *wei "time," or to Irish goidche "night" and Breton goezh "a spell, interval, pause" from *wo-id-tio-. | |||
| Spanish | a menudo | ||
| A "menudo" is also a traditional Mexican soup made from cow stomach (tripe) and red chili peppers. | |||
| Swedish | ofta | ||
| "Ofta" is a homograph; it can also mean "sacrifice" in Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | aml | ||
| The word "aml" can also mean "frequent", "repeatedly", or "regularly" in Welsh. | |||
Often in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | часта | ||
| The word 'часта' can also mean 'frequently', 'repeatedly', or 'constantly' in Belarusian. | |||
| Bosnian | često | ||
| The word 'često' is also used in the sense of 'frequently' or 'regularly'. | |||
| Bulgarian | често | ||
| "Често" in Bulgarian also means "forehead". | |||
| Czech | často | ||
| In some dialects of Czech, "často" can mean "a lot" or "very much". | |||
| Estonian | sageli | ||
| In Estonian, "sageli" is not only used to indicate a frequent occurrence but can also mean "generally" or "as a rule". | |||
| Finnish | usein | ||
| The word "usein" also means frequently, repeatedly, customarily or habitually. | |||
| Hungarian | gyakran | ||
| The word "gyakran" is derived from the Proto-Turkic root "*kerek-", meaning "to turn frequently." | |||
| Latvian | bieži | ||
| The word "bieži" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰi- meaning "to go, to move". | |||
| Lithuanian | dažnai | ||
| The word "dažnai" is derived from the Proto-Baltic root *daž-, meaning "dense" or "thick". | |||
| Macedonian | често | ||
| The Old Slavic "čęsto" can also mean "brushwood". | |||
| Polish | często | ||
| The word "często" can be translated literally as "a lot of time", "often" or "long ago". | |||
| Romanian | de multe ori | ||
| The Romanian word "de multe ori" is also used to mean "repeatedly" or "frequently". | |||
| Russian | довольно часто | ||
| The word "довольно часто" can also mean "fairly often" or "quite often." | |||
| Serbian | често | ||
| The Serbian word "често" also means "comb". | |||
| Slovak | často | ||
| The Slovak word "často" is also used to mean "frequently" or "regularly". | |||
| Slovenian | pogosto | ||
| The word pogosto is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *pǫgostъ, which could refer to a trading post, a marketplace, or an inn, and its use to mean "often" is likely a secondary development. | |||
| Ukrainian | часто | ||
| Часто originates from the same root as 'час' (time), implying 'at times' or 'during time' | |||
Often in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | প্রায়শই | ||
| In Sanskrit, the word also means 'abundant', 'great' or 'excessive'. | |||
| Gujarati | ઘણી વાર | ||
| "ઘણી વાર" is also used as an intensifier, similar to "बहुत" in Hindi. | |||
| Hindi | अक्सर | ||
| The Hindi word "अक्सर" has its roots in the Sanskrit word "आकस्मिक" meaning "unexpected" and "असामान्य" meaning "unusual". | |||
| Kannada | ಆಗಾಗ್ಗೆ | ||
| The word "ಆಗಾಗ್ಗೆ" (often) is derived from the words "ಆಗ" (then) and "ಆಗ" (again), indicating "happening again and again". | |||
| Malayalam | പലപ്പോഴും | ||
| The word "പലപ്പോഴും" also means "frequently" or "repeatedly" in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | अनेकदा | ||
| अनेकदा is a compound Marathi word derived from the words अन ( | |||
| Nepali | प्राय: | ||
| "प्राय:" is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्राय:", which also means "generally" or "mostly". | |||
| Punjabi | ਅਕਸਰ | ||
| The word 'ਅਕਸਰ' in Punjabi can also be used to refer to 'frequently' or 'regularly' in a general sense, signifying repeated or habitual occurrences. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බොහෝ විට | ||
| "බොහෝ විට" is often wrongly used to mean "most", when it actually means "often". | |||
| Tamil | பெரும்பாலும் | ||
| Telugu | తరచుగా | ||
| తరచుగా shares its roots with తర, meaning a generation, or a line of descendancy. | |||
| Urdu | اکثر | ||
| The word "اکثر" (often) in Urdu originates from the Arabic word "اکثر" (most) and shares similar connotations of frequency and abundance. | |||
Often in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 经常 | ||
| The word '经常' ('often') originally meant to 'frequently go' or 'often cross'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 經常 | ||
| The word "經常" also means "constant" or "regular" and is composed of the characters "經" (regular) and "常" (constant). | |||
| Japanese | しばしば | ||
| しばしば is a Japanese word that can also mean "densely" or "repeatedly". This is related to its etymology, which derives from the root word "shiba", meaning "grass" or "vegetation." | |||
| Korean | 자주 | ||
| "자주" (often) can also mean "violet" or "purple" in Korean, likely due to the deep purple color of violets and the frequency of their blooms. | |||
| Mongolian | ихэвчлэн | ||
| There are two interpretations of the word "ихэвчлэн" in Mongolian: 1. "repeatedly" and 2. "in the majority" or "mostly". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မကြာခဏ | ||
Often in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sering | ||
| Sering (often) comes from the Proto-Austronesian word *siRiŋ, meaning 'repeatedly' or 'in series'. | |||
| Javanese | asring | ||
| 'Asring' can also mean 'often' or 'regularly' in the Central Javanese dialect | |||
| Khmer | ជាញឹកញាប់ | ||
| The term ជាញឹកញាប់ was derived from the words ជាញឹក (occasionally) and ញាប់ (closely or repeatedly) and is used to express an action that occurs frequently but not necessarily on a regular basis. | |||
| Lao | ເລື້ອຍໆ | ||
| The word "ເລື້ອຍໆ" can also be used to describe something that is continuous or ongoing. | |||
| Malay | selalunya | ||
| The word "selalunya" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word *salaŋ, meaning "to do repeatedly". | |||
| Thai | บ่อยครั้ง | ||
| "บ่อยครั้ง" comes from the Khmer word "ពល" (bal) meaning "frequency, strength." | |||
| Vietnamese | thường xuyên | ||
| "Thường xuyên" also means "always" or "regularly". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | madalas | ||
Often in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | tez-tez | ||
| "Tez-tez" can also mean "fast" or "quickly" (in addition to "often"). | |||
| Kazakh | жиі | ||
| Жиі, meaning "often" in Kazakh, has a derivative meaning in the Karakalpak language, "жыйың" (crowd, assembly). | |||
| Kyrgyz | көп | ||
| "Көп" also means "many" or "much" and is often used in the context of quantity or number. | |||
| Tajik | аксар вақт | ||
| Turkmen | köplenç | ||
| Uzbek | ko'pincha | ||
| The word ko'pincha is a shortened form of ko'p marta, "many times". | |||
| Uyghur | دائىم | ||
Often in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pinepine | ||
| Pinepine can also mean to be on the edge or border of something, or to be close to something. | |||
| Maori | pinepine | ||
| In Maori, the word “pinepine” also means “fat,” “full” or “satisfied”. | |||
| Samoan | masani | ||
| The word "masani" can also mean "frequently" or "constantly". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | madalas | ||
| "Madalas" is also a term in Filipino martial arts referring to frequency in attacking and defending. | |||
Often in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | ukhakamaxa | ||
| Guarani | jepi | ||
Often in International Languages
| Esperanto | ofte | ||
| The word "ofte" in Esperanto comes from the Old Norse word "oft", meaning "many times". | |||
| Latin | saepe | ||
| The word "saepe" in Latin can also mean "frequently", "repeatedly", or "numerous times". | |||
Often in Others Languages
| Greek | συχνά | ||
| The word “συχνά” derives from the Ancient Greek word “πυκνός”, which means “dense”, “crowded”, or “frequent”. | |||
| Hmong | feem ntau | ||
| The word "feem ntau" comes from the Hmong words "feem" (repeated action) and "ntau" (many times), which together mean "often." | |||
| Kurdish | gelek car | ||
| Gelek car, derived from the Persian word "gelecek vakit" meaning "future time," is also used to refer to imminent events or actions. | |||
| Turkish | sıklıkla | ||
| "Sıklıkla" may also mean "with frequency" or "at regular intervals". | |||
| Xhosa | rhoqo | ||
| Rhoqo's primary meaning is "often," but can also mean "regularly" or "constantly". | |||
| Yiddish | אָפט | ||
| The Yiddish word "אָפט" (often) is derived from the German "oft" and also has the meaning "already" | |||
| Zulu | kaningi | ||
| "Kaningi" comes from "kan" (a prefix indicating past tense) and "ingi" (denoting an indefinite period of time). | |||
| Assamese | প্ৰায়ে | ||
| Aymara | ukhakamaxa | ||
| Bhojpuri | कई बारी | ||
| Dhivehi | ގިނަފަހަރު | ||
| Dogri | अक्सर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | madalas | ||
| Guarani | jepi | ||
| Ilocano | masansan | ||
| Krio | bɔku tɛm | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زۆرجار | ||
| Maithili | अक्सर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯠꯇꯅ | ||
| Mizo | fo | ||
| Oromo | yeroo hedduu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରାୟତ। | | ||
| Quechua | yaqa sapa kuti | ||
| Sanskrit | बहुशः | ||
| Tatar | еш | ||
| Tigrinya | ኩል ግዘ | ||
| Tsonga | hi xitalo | ||