One in Different Languages
Discover 'One' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'one' is a fundamental building block of numeracy and language, holding significance across cultures and disciplines. As the first number in the cardinal series, 'one' represents unity, individuality, and the beginning of numerical progression.
Historically, the concept of 'one' has been pivotal in mathematical and philosophical developments. Ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians and Babylonians, used base-10 systems, which recognized 'one' as a foundational digit. In philosophy, the notion of 'oneness' has been explored through monotheistic religions and metaphysical theories, emphasizing unity and wholeness.
Understanding the translation of 'one' in different languages can offer valuable insights into cultural nuances and linguistic structures. For instance, in Japanese, 'one' is 'ichi', while in Mandarin Chinese, it is 'yī'. In German, 'one' is 'eins', and in French, it is 'un'.
Explore the various translations of 'one' below and discover the rich tapestry of language and culture interwoven in this simple, yet powerful, word.
One
One in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | een | ||
| Afrikaans 'een' can also mean 'alone' or 'lonely', as in 'Ek is heeltemal een' ('I am all alone'). | |||
| Amharic | አንድ | ||
| In Amharic, "አንድ" has an additional meaning of "a certain" or "a particular". | |||
| Hausa | daya | ||
| The Hausa word "daya" also means "alone" or "just one". | |||
| Igbo | otu | ||
| In the Igbo language, | |||
| Malagasy | iray | ||
| "Iray" can be used in place of the word "first" or "primary." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chimodzi | ||
| Shona | poshi | ||
| Poshi is also the root of the word 'poshorwa' which means 'to gather people together in unity'. | |||
| Somali | mid | ||
| The word "mid" is derived from the Semitic root *w-h-d*, which also appears in Arabic "wahad" (one) and Hebrew "echad" (one). In some dialects of Somali, "mid" can have the additional meaning of "the same" or "united". | |||
| Sesotho | ngoe | ||
| The Sesotho word "ngoe" is derived from the Bantu root "-ngwe" meaning "the only one". | |||
| Swahili | moja | ||
| "Moja" is also a prefix meaning "single" or "alone", as in "moja kwa moja" (directly). | |||
| Xhosa | nye | ||
| Nye is only used for counting people, otherwise 'enye' should be used. | |||
| Yoruba | ọkan | ||
| Yoruba 'ọkan' also refers to the 'heart', and is used as an intensifier in phrases such as 'ẹ̀yin ọkan' ('you solely'). | |||
| Zulu | eyodwa | ||
| The word “eyodwa” derives from the Zulu word “odwa”, meaning “alone” or “by oneself”. | |||
| Bambara | kelen | ||
| Ewe | ɖeka | ||
| Kinyarwanda | imwe | ||
| Lingala | moko | ||
| Luganda | emu | ||
| Sepedi | tee | ||
| Twi (Akan) | baako | ||
One in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | واحد | ||
| The Arabic word "واحد" also means "unique" or "single". | |||
| Hebrew | אחד | ||
| The Hebrew word "אחד" ("one") has a root meaning "to be unique" and is related to the word "אחדות" ("unity"). | |||
| Pashto | یو | ||
| The word یو in Pashto derives from the Proto-Indo-European numeral *einos, and shares a common origin with the numerals for one in English, Hindi, Russian, Latin, Greek, etc. | |||
| Arabic | واحد | ||
| The Arabic word "واحد" also means "unique" or "single". | |||
One in Western European Languages
| Albanian | një | ||
| The Albanian word "një" meaning "one" originates from the Proto-Albanian "në" which also meant "man" or "human being". | |||
| Basque | bat | ||
| In Basque, "bat" also refers to a hand or bunch, as well as a unit of measure (a handful). | |||
| Catalan | un | ||
| In Catalan, "un" can refer not only to the number "one", but also to an indefinite article translating to "a" or "an". | |||
| Croatian | jedan | ||
| The word “jedan” originates from “jedino”, a contraction of “-ěd-ino” (meaning “only” or “unique”), ultimately deriving from “-ěd-“ (meaning “one”). | |||
| Danish | en | ||
| The word "en" can also mean "a", "an", or "the" in Danish. | |||
| Dutch | een | ||
| In Dutch, "een" can mean "a" in addition to "one" and can precede both masculine and feminine nouns. | |||
| English | one | ||
| "One" originally meant "alone" and could be used like "alone" or in a way closer to "together" today. | |||
| French | un | ||
| The French word | |||
| Frisian | ien | ||
| The word "ien" in Frisian is derived from the Old Frisian numeral "en" and is also used to mean "alone" or "lonely." | |||
| Galician | un | ||
| In Galician, "un" has cognates meaning "big toe" and "first" in other Romance languages. | |||
| German | einer | ||
| The word "einer" in German can also refer to a person of unspecified gender or to a specific person who has been previously mentioned. | |||
| Icelandic | einn | ||
| The word einn also refers to an elf or faerie in Icelandic folklore. | |||
| Irish | ceann | ||
| "Ceann" also has other meanings in Irish, such as "head" and "end". | |||
| Italian | uno | ||
| The Italian word "uno" derives from the Latin "unus," meaning "single, alone," and shares its origin with the English "only." | |||
| Luxembourgish | eent | ||
| In Luxembourgish, the word "eent" not only means "one," but also refers to the number "eleven." | |||
| Maltese | waħda | ||
| Maltese 'waħda' is cognate to Arabic 'waḥīd' (only one) and the feminine form of 'waḥid' (one), which can be used to mean 'some', as in the English phrase 'a few'. It is also used as the indefinite article 'a', 'an'. | |||
| Norwegian | en | ||
| In Norwegian, "en" can also refer to a male person or the indefinite article, "a" or "an." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | 1 | ||
| In Portuguese, “um” (“one”) can also mean “a” or “an,” as in “um carro” (“a car”). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | aon | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word “aon” can mean "one," "a," or "an," and also occasionally functions as the first syllable of ordinal numbers from "eleven" to "ninety-nine." | |||
| Spanish | uno | ||
| The Spanish word "uno" ultimately derives from the Latin "unus," meaning "single" but has also come to be used as a general indefinite article ("a"). | |||
| Swedish | ett | ||
| The Swedish word "ett" is cognate with the English pronoun "it," and is often used in the same way in informal speech | |||
| Welsh | un | ||
| The word "un" can also mean "number" in Welsh, indicating a quantity or group. | |||
One in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | адзін | ||
| The word "адзін" is of Proto-Slavic origin, meaning "alone" or "lonely". | |||
| Bosnian | jedan | ||
| Jedno has many meanings in Bosnian, including one, single, certain, a certain, some, any, etc. | |||
| Bulgarian | един | ||
| The word 'един' in Bulgarian also means 'only' or 'unique'. | |||
| Czech | jeden | ||
| The word `jeden` can also mean `a` or `one of several` in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | üks | ||
| The word "üks" in Estonian is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "yksi", meaning "alone" or "single". It can also refer to a person or thing that is unique or exceptional. | |||
| Finnish | yksi | ||
| The Finnish word "yksi" is a cognate of the Estonian word "üks" and the Karelian word "yksi", all of which derive from Proto-Finnic *yksi. | |||
| Hungarian | egy | ||
| The word 'egy' in Hungarian is derived from the Proto-Uralic word '*eke' meaning 'first', and has various archaic meanings including 'alone', 'only', 'single', and 'unique'. | |||
| Latvian | viens | ||
| The word "viens" in Latvian, meaning "one", is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *oinos, which also gave rise to the words "unus" (Latin), "eins" (German), and "one" (English). | |||
| Lithuanian | vienas | ||
| The Lithuanian word "vienas" originally meant "alone" or "solitary," and its meaning of "one" developed later. | |||
| Macedonian | еден | ||
| The Proto-Slavic form of "Еден" is "единъ", also meaning "unique, alone". | |||
| Polish | jeden | ||
| The word 'jeden' ('one') in Polish can also refer to unity, wholeness, or a specific person. | |||
| Romanian | unu | ||
| In Romanian, the word "unu" (one) is also used in the context of "alone" or "solitary". | |||
| Russian | один | ||
| In Slavic languages, the word "odin" is also used as a pronoun meaning "alone" | |||
| Serbian | један | ||
| It is cognate to "jedina" meaning "fir, conifer", and also to "једанпут" "once". | |||
| Slovak | jeden | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, the word "jeden" meant "one" and "alone". | |||
| Slovenian | eno | ||
| The word "eno" in Slovenian derives from Proto-Slavic "jьnъ" and is cognate with "one" in English and "eins" in German. | |||
| Ukrainian | один | ||
| The word “один” (“one”) derives from Proto-Slavic “jedinъ”, which also means "single, unique, alone". | |||
One in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | এক | ||
| The root of 'এক' is the verb 'কর' and 'একক' originated from this root. | |||
| Gujarati | એક | ||
| The Gujarati word 'એક' also means 'at a time', 'each' or 'a particular' in other contexts. | |||
| Hindi | एक | ||
| The word "एक" in Hindi stems from the Sanskrit word "एका" and is cognate with the English word "one" and the Latin word "unus". | |||
| Kannada | ಒಂದು | ||
| In Kannada, "ಒಂದು" is a numeral, but also refers to a "piece", "portion", or "small quantity". | |||
| Malayalam | ഒന്ന് | ||
| "ഒന്ന്" also means "the same; similar; alike; equal" | |||
| Marathi | एक | ||
| The Marathi word "एक" can refer to the number one, unity, oneness, uniqueness, alone, single, or singular. | |||
| Nepali | एक | ||
| The Nepali word "एक" also means "the same" and is the origin of the Hindi word "एक (ek)" | |||
| Punjabi | ਇਕ | ||
| The word "ਇਕ" is also used to refer to a single unit or instance of something. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | එක | ||
| The word "එක" derives from the Sanskrit word "एका" (ekā), meaning "single" or "alone". | |||
| Tamil | ஒன்று | ||
| The word "ஒன்று" can also mean "thing", "something", or "a certain thing". | |||
| Telugu | ఒకటి | ||
| The word "ఒకటి" in Telugu also means "a single thing". | |||
| Urdu | ایک | ||
| Urdu word "ایک" ("one") is derived from the Indo-Aryan root "eka" and is cognate with its Sanskrit equivalent "eka". It also has alternate meanings such as "unique", "single", and "solitary". | |||
One in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 一 | ||
| 一 is also used as a prefix to indicate 'first', 'beginning', or 'initial'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 一 | ||
| The character "一" can also mean "a little" or "a bit". | |||
| Japanese | 1 | ||
| The character "一" (ichi) can also mean "beginning", "first", or "all" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 하나 | ||
| The word '하나' also has ancient meanings such as 'whole' or 'unity' in Sino-Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | нэг | ||
| The Mongolian word "нэг" (one) also means "alone" or "single". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တစ်ခု | ||
One in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | satu | ||
| The word "satu" is also used as a prefix to numerals to form ordinal numbers, e.g. "satuan" (first), "kedua" (second), "ketiga" (third), etc. | |||
| Javanese | siji | ||
| "Siji" also means the same as the word "istilah" in Indonesian, but it is rarely used. | |||
| Khmer | មួយ | ||
| មួយ is also used as the numeral classifier for round things, like plates or tables. | |||
| Lao | ຫນຶ່ງ | ||
| Malay | satu | ||
| Satu is also the Malay word for "single", and is cognate with the Tagalog "isa". | |||
| Thai | หนึ่ง | ||
| The word “หนึ่ง” (“one”) in Thai derives from a Mon-Khmer word meaning “person,” which is reflected in its use as a classifier for people. | |||
| Vietnamese | một | ||
| The word "một" in Vietnamese can also mean "first" or "a little bit of something." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | isa | ||
One in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bir | ||
| In Azerbaijan, "bir" also means "peace" or "unity", and is found in some national slogans and mottos. | |||
| Kazakh | бір | ||
| "Бір" is a number, a unit of measurement, "something", and also "a few." | |||
| Kyrgyz | бир | ||
| The word "бир" also means "alone" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | як | ||
| "Yak" is a Persian word meaning "one", but in Tajik it can also be used to mean "some". | |||
| Turkmen | biri | ||
| Uzbek | bitta | ||
| As the initial component of words, bitta can mean 'whole, all, every, single' as bittabosh, 'forehead'. | |||
| Uyghur | بىرى | ||
One in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ekahi | ||
| Ekahi can also mean "alone, single, solitary, or unique" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | kotahi | ||
| The Maori word 'kotahi' is cognate with the Proto-Polynesian word 'tahi', which also means 'one' and is found in many other Polynesian languages. | |||
| Samoan | tasi | ||
| Tasi is a homonym that can also mean 'ocean', in which case the 's' is pronounced | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | isa | ||
| "Isa" in Tagalog can also refer to "first" or "singular." | |||
One in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | maya | ||
| Guarani | peteĩ | ||
One in International Languages
| Esperanto | unu | ||
| The word "unu" also means "the first" or "the only" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | unus | ||
| The word "unus" in Latin is cognate with the Greek word "hen", meaning "one". | |||
One in Others Languages
| Greek | ένας | ||
| The Ancient Greek word "ἕἷς" (heîs) meant "one" but also "alone" or "unique" and was the masculine nominative form of the numeral "εἷς, μία, ἕν" (heîs, mía, hén). | |||
| Hmong | ib tug | ||
| "Ib tug" means either "one", "single", or "first" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | yek | ||
| The word 'yek' in Kurdish derives from the Proto-Indo-European word 'oinos', meaning 'one' or 'alone'. | |||
| Turkish | bir | ||
| The Turkish word "bir" can also refer to a "union", or a "unity". | |||
| Xhosa | nye | ||
| Nye is only used for counting people, otherwise 'enye' should be used. | |||
| Yiddish | איינער | ||
| The Yiddish word "איינער" also has a meaning of "someone" or "a person". | |||
| Zulu | eyodwa | ||
| The word “eyodwa” derives from the Zulu word “odwa”, meaning “alone” or “by oneself”. | |||
| Assamese | এক | ||
| Aymara | maya | ||
| Bhojpuri | एगो | ||
| Dhivehi | އެކެއް | ||
| Dogri | इक | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | isa | ||
| Guarani | peteĩ | ||
| Ilocano | maysa | ||
| Krio | wan | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | یەک | ||
| Maithili | एकटा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯃ | ||
| Mizo | pakhat | ||
| Oromo | tokko | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗୋଟିଏ | | ||
| Quechua | huk | ||
| Sanskrit | एकम् | ||
| Tatar | бер | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓደ | ||
| Tsonga | n'we | ||