Once in different languages

Once in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'once' is a small but mighty term, carrying with it a sense of time, change, and possibility. Once can refer to a single occurrence in the past, or it can indicate a hypothetical situation in the future. It's a word that has captured the imagination of writers, poets, and thinkers for centuries, and has been translated into countless languages around the world.

In English, 'once' can convey a sense of wonder or excitement, as in the phrase 'once upon a time.' But its significance goes far beyond the realm of fairy tales. In many cultures, the concept of 'once' is deeply intertwined with notions of fate, destiny, and the passage of time. For example, in Spanish, 'once' is 'una vez,' and in French, it's 'une fois' - both of which carry the same sense of singularity and finality.

Understanding the translation of 'once' in different languages can offer valuable insights into the cultures and worldviews of people around the globe. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or simply curious about the world around you, exploring the many meanings of 'once' is a fascinating journey.

Once


Once in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanseen keer
"Een keer" in Afrikaans can mean a "single occasion" or an "occurrence".
Amharicአንድ ጊዜ
The word "አንድ ጊዜ" can also mean "sometime" or "once upon a time".
Hausasau daya
The word "sau daya" also denotes "at a time."
Igbootu ugboro
In some Igbo dialects, the word "otu ugboro" can also mean "one time" or "one instance."
Malagasy, indray mandeha
"Indray mandeha" in Malagasy literally means "one walk" and also conveys the meaning of "once".
Nyanja (Chichewa)kamodzi
The word "kamodzi" in Nyanja (Chichewa) also means "the first" and "the beginning"
Shonakamwe
In Shona, the word "kamwe" also means "in the first place" or "initially".
Somalimar
The word "mar" in Somali can also be used to mean "time" or "moment" in certain contexts.
Sesothohang
The Sesotho word "hang" also means "to stay for a time or purpose".
Swahilimara moja
Mara moja can also mean 'someday' in Swahili.
Xhosakanye
In Xhosa, "Kanye" can also refer to a type of small or young goat.
Yorubalẹẹkan
The Yoruba word 'lẹẹkan' can also refer to 'an instance, occurrence, or time'.
Zulukanye
In Zulu, 'kanye' can also mean 'one' or 'a certain' when used in different contexts.
Bambarasiɲɛ kelen
Ewezi ɖeka
Kinyarwandarimwe
Lingalambala moko
Luganda-umu
Sepedigatee
Twi (Akan)prɛko

Once in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicذات مرة
ذات مرة is the accusative case of "ذى مرة" (that time), which is itself the combination of the preposition "ذى" (which means "of" or "about") and "مرة" (which means "time").
Hebrewפַּעַם
פַּעַם relates to the concept of a single, discrete event and also to a unit of time, particularly a short or indefinite period.
Pashtoیوځل
The Pashto word یوځل (yojal) is also translated as "time" or "instance" in English, and is related to the Persian word يک جل (yek jol) meaning "at once".
Arabicذات مرة
ذات مرة is the accusative case of "ذى مرة" (that time), which is itself the combination of the preposition "ذى" (which means "of" or "about") and "مرة" (which means "time").

Once in Western European Languages

Albaniannjë herë
Basquebehin
"Behin" is derived from the proto-Basque word "*behin(a)" which means "one time" or "once".
Catalanun cop
"Un cop" in Catalan can also mean "once upon a time" or "a while ago".
Croatianjednom
Jednom can also mean 'for a moment' or 'at one point', with 'nekoć' or 'jedanput' being more typical words for 'once'.
Danishenkelt gang
Enkelt gang, meaning 'once', is a corruption of the older Danish en gang, meaning 'one time'.
Dutcheen keer
"Eens" is een vervoeging van het werkwoord "zijn" in de aanvoegende wijs, en kan in sommige gevallen "misschien" of "eventueel" betekenen.
Englishonce
"Once" can mean "one time" or, in the context of a conditional clause, "if".
Frenchune fois que
"Une fois que" can also be an interjection expressing doubt; its verb-like usage (with "que") is archaic.
Frisianienris
The Frisian word "ienris" is derived from Old Frisian "aneris" and is cognate with English "once" and German "einmal".
Galicianunha vez
In Galician, "unha vez" can also refer to an unspecified or approximate amount.
Germaneinmal
Einmal can also mean 'at some point' or 'in one go'
Icelandiceinu sinni
The words "einn sinn" literally mean "one time" in Icelandic, but have come to mean "once" in English.
Irishuair amháin
Italianuna volta
Una volta is Italian for "once" but is also used to refer to a "time" or "occasion."
Luxembourgisheemol
The word "eemol" is derived from the Proto-West Germanic word "ainamāl", meaning "at once".
Maltesedarba
The word 'darba' is also used to mean a 'time' (as in 'a long time') but also in the context of a 'hit' ('daqqa' means 'hit'; 'żewġ daqqiet', 'two hits', can also imply 'twice').
Norwegianen gang
In Norwegian, the word "en gang" can also mean "every now and then" or "once in a while".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)uma vez
In Brazil, "uma vez" can also mean "once upon a time".
Scots Gaelicaon uair
In traditional Gaelic, "aon uair" meant every three hours.
Spanishuna vez
The Spanish word "una vez" originated from the Latin phrase "ad unam vicem," meaning "for one turn"
Swedishen gång
In Scandinavian languages, "en gång" can also mean "once upon a time" or refer to "a time" in the past, but its meaning in Swedish is generally limited to the concept of singularity.
Welshunwaith
Welsh 'unwaith' also means 'once', possibly from 'yn waith' meaning 'in one time'.

Once in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianадзін раз
Belarusian "адзін раз" is a calque of Russian "один раз" and derives from the word for "one".
Bosnianjednom
The word 'jednom' can also mean 'one time', 'some time', or 'at one time' in Bosnian.
Bulgarianведнъж
The Bulgarian word "веднъж" is related to the word "вече" ("already") and shares a common etymology with the word "всегда" ("always") in Russian.
Czechjednou
The word "jednou" in Czech also means "one day" or "at some point in the future".
Estonianüks kord
The Estonian word "üks kord" can also mean "one time", "once upon a time", or "sometimes" in English.
Finnishyhden kerran
"Yhden kerran" can also mean "of one piece".
Hungarianegyszer
"Egyszer" also refers to the mathematical constant "e", in which case the word derives from Latin, not the Hungarian numeral.
Latvianvienreiz
Latvian word “vienreiz” has different meanings: one by one, only once, and once in a lifetime.
Lithuaniankartą
In Polish and Czech, the cognate word means 'punishment.
Macedonianеднаш
The word "еднаш" comes from Proto-Slavic "jednъ", meaning "one" or "once", and is related to the words "единица" (unit) and "едно" (one).
Polishpewnego razu
Pewnego razu' is one of the many ways to say 'once' in Polish, but it is a bit more emphatic and is often used in fairytales or fables.
Romaniano singura data
"O singură dată" can also mean "at some point" or "for a certain period of time" in Romanian.
Russianодин раз
The word "один раз" literally translates to "one time" in English
Serbianједном
The word "једном" in Serbian can also mean "occasionally" or "sometime".
Slovakraz
The word "raz" comes from Proto-Slavic "ordь," meaning "turn" or "time."
Slovenianenkrat
In addition to its primary meaning of "once," "enkrat" can also mean "immediately," "suddenly," or "right away."
Ukrainianодин раз
The Ukrainian word 'один раз' ('once') may also mean 'one time' or 'at the same time'.

Once in South Asian Languages

Bengaliএকদা
একদা'র অর্থ শুধু 'অতীতে একবার' নয়, এটি 'কিছুকালের জন্য' অর্থেও ব্যবহৃত হয়।
Gujaratiએકવાર
The Gujarati word "એકવાર" can also mean "at some point" or "on one occasion" in English.
Hindiएक बार
In addition to meaning "once," "एक बार" (ek baar) also means "at once" and "for a moment" in Hindi.
Kannadaಒಮ್ಮೆ
ಒಮ್ಮೆ means 'once,' 'sometimes,' or 'previously.'
Malayalamഒരിക്കല്
The word "ഒരിക്കല്" (once) in Malayalam also means "sometime" or "at some point of time".
Marathiएकदा
Marathi word "एकदा" derives from Sanskrit "एकदत" which also means "one-time"}
Nepaliएक पटक
"एक पटक" is derived from Sanskrit and also means "one time" or "once upon a time."
Punjabiਇਕ ਵਾਰ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)වරක්
The Sinhala word "වරක්" has other meanings such as "at one time" and "in a while".
Tamilஒரு முறை
In Tamil, "ஒரு முறை" can also refer to "one way" or "one direction."
Teluguఒకసారి
ఒకసారి (okasari) literally means 'one time', but can also be used to mean 'once upon a time' or 'a long time ago'.
Urduایک بار
ایک بار can also mean one-time, at first, or just one.

Once in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)一旦
一旦 is composed of two Chinese characters: 一 (yī) meaning "one" and 但 (dàn) meaning "however, but". It was originally used to emphasize suddenness or unexpectedness.
Chinese (Traditional)一旦
Traditionally written as 一旦 in Classical Chinese, '一旦' implies the meaning of 'all of a sudden'.
Japanese一度
一度 can also mean "once in a lifetime" or "never again."
Korean한번
"한번" can mean once, one time, one opportunity, one occasion, one trial, one round, one instance, one portion, one dose, one unit, one time, one instance, one instance, one time, etc.
Mongolianнэг удаа
The Mongolian word "нэг удаа" can also mean "for the first time" or "on one occasion".
Myanmar (Burmese)တခါ
တခါ (taga) can also be used in Myanmar (Burmese) to denote "each other" or "each time".

Once in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiansekali
The word "sekali" in Indonesian can also mean "immediately" or "at the same time"
Javanesesapisan
The Javanese word "sapisan" can also mean "alone"
Khmerម្តង
The word “ម្តង” can also mean “once” in the context of a past occurrence or a habitual event.
Laoຄັ້ງດຽວ
"ຄັ້ງດຽວ" also means only once, just once, just for once, one time, the only one time, the first time ever, the last time ever, only this one time
Malaysekali
"Sekali" means "once", but can also mean "again" or "at once" when used with "lagi".
Thaiครั้งเดียว
The word "ครั้งเดียว" in Thai literally means "one time" but it can also be used to refer to an event or instance.
Vietnamesemột lần
Một lần can also mean "any time" or "every time"
Filipino (Tagalog)minsan

Once in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanibir dəfə
The word "bir dəfə" in Azerbaijani is cognate with "bir" and "dəfə" in Turkish, meaning "one" and "time", respectively.
Kazakhбір рет
The Kazakh word "бір рет" (once) has alternate meanings of "once in a blue moon" and "rarely."
Kyrgyzбир жолу
The term "бир жолу" also refers to an instance, a single occasion, or a specific event.
Tajikяк бор
Yak bor is also used to mean "once upon a time" in Tajik.
Turkmenbir gezek
Uzbekbir marta
The word "bir marta" in Uzbek also means "a long time ago".
Uyghurبىر قېتىم

Once in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianpākahi
Pākahi can also mean 'alone', 'single', 'solitary', or 'just once'.
Maorikotahi
In Maori myths, Kotahi was the original name for the island we call Aotearoa-New Zealand.
Samoanfaʻatasi
The Samoan word "faʻatasi" has many additional meanings, including "suddenly", "at once", and "just".
Tagalog (Filipino)sabay

Once in American Indigenous Languages

Aymaramaya kuti
Guaranipeteĩ jey

Once in International Languages

Esperantounufoje
In Esperanto, "unufoje" literally means "one time," but it is also used idiomatically to mean "sometime" or "at some point."
Latiniterum
The word "iterum" is also used in the sense of "again" or "a second time".

Once in Others Languages

Greekμια φορά
The Greek phrase "μια φορά" can also mean "once upon a time" or "a long time ago".
Hmongib zaug
'Ib zaug' can also mean 'one time' or 'on one occasion' in Hmong, highlighting its versatile usage beyond just expressing the concept of 'once'.
Kurdishcarek
In Kurdish, "carek" (pronounced ja-rek) carries both the primary meaning of "one time" and a less-common secondary meaning of "at all"
Turkishbir zamanlar
The word "bir Zamanlar" ("once") literally translates to "there was once" in Turkish, implying that it is a narrative about an event that has since come and gone.
Xhosakanye
In Xhosa, "Kanye" can also refer to a type of small or young goat.
Yiddishאַמאָל
The Yiddish word "אַמאָל" can also mean "once, once upon a time, in the past, at one time, formerly."
Zulukanye
In Zulu, 'kanye' can also mean 'one' or 'a certain' when used in different contexts.
Assameseএবাৰ
Aymaramaya kuti
Bhojpuriएक बार
Dhivehiއެއްފަހަރު
Dogriइक बारी
Filipino (Tagalog)minsan
Guaranipeteĩ jey
Ilocanomaminsan
Kriowan tɛm
Kurdish (Sorani)کاتێک
Maithiliएक बेर
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯃꯨꯛꯈꯛ
Mizovawikhat
Oromoal tokko
Odia (Oriya)ଥରେ |
Quechuahuk kutilla
Sanskritएकदा
Tatarбер тапкыр
Tigrinyaሓንሳዕ
Tsongaxikan'we

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