Or in Different Languages
Discover 'Or' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'or' is a small but mighty conjunction in the English language, often used to connect two or more options, possibilities, or alternatives. Its significance lies in its ability to express choice and flexibility in communication. But did you know that the word 'or' has fascinating cultural importance and historical contexts across different languages?
For instance, in Spanish, 'or' translates to 'o' or 'u' depending on the context, while in French, it's 'ou.' In German, 'or' is 'oder,' and in Japanese, it's ' hayai.' These translations not only reflect linguistic diversity but also offer insights into cultural nuances and ways of thinking.
Understanding the translation of 'or' in different languages can enhance your cross-cultural communication skills and broaden your perspective. It can also help you appreciate the beauty and complexity of language and culture.
In the following list, explore how this simple yet powerful word is translated in various languages, from common ones like Spanish and French to less common ones like Hawaiian and Zulu.
Or
Or in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | of | ||
| In Afrikaans, "of" can also mean "from" or "out of". | |||
| Amharic | ወይም | ||
| The word "ወይም" can also mean "either" or "else". | |||
| Hausa | ko | ||
| The word "ko" in Hausa can also mean "but" or "however". | |||
| Igbo | ma ọ bụ | ||
| Malagasy | na | ||
| Malagasy "na" also means "the" as in English "the man" or "the house". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kapena | ||
| The word "kapena" can also mean "but" or "however" in Nyanja (Chichewa). | |||
| Shona | kana | ||
| The word "kana" can also mean "or else" | |||
| Somali | ama | ||
| In Somali, "ama" can also mean "either" or "whether" | |||
| Sesotho | kapa | ||
| The word "kapa" has also been interpreted to mean "for example". | |||
| Swahili | au | ||
| Swahili "au" derives from Proto-Bantu "-yò", | |||
| Xhosa | okanye | ||
| The term 'okanye' derives from the Bantu root '-ka', meaning 'to come', 'to arrive' or 'to exist'. | |||
| Yoruba | tabi | ||
| "Tabi" also means to 'take turns', 'in order', 'sequentially'. | |||
| Zulu | noma | ||
| The word 'noma' can also be used to describe a place where cattle graze and rest. | |||
| Bambara | walima | ||
| Ewe | alo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | cyangwa | ||
| Lingala | to | ||
| Luganda | oba | ||
| Sepedi | goba | ||
| Twi (Akan) | anaasɛ | ||
Or in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | أو | ||
| The word "أو" ("or") in Arabic can also mean "either". It is commonly used in the context of exclusive alternatives. | |||
| Hebrew | אוֹ | ||
| אוֹ can also be used as a relative pronoun, similar to "who" or "that" in English. | |||
| Pashto | یا | ||
| "یا" also represents the letter “h" when a word comes from Arabic. | |||
| Arabic | أو | ||
| The word "أو" ("or") in Arabic can also mean "either". It is commonly used in the context of exclusive alternatives. | |||
Or in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ose | ||
| The word "ose" in Albanian can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps." | |||
| Basque | edo | ||
| The word "edo" in Basque can also mean "again" or "even" in some contexts. | |||
| Catalan | o bé | ||
| The word "o bé" in Catalan is a conjunction used to connect two or more alternatives, similar to the English word "or". | |||
| Croatian | ili | ||
| The word "ili" is also used to express a choice between two or more alternatives and can be translated as "either" or "any". | |||
| Danish | eller | ||
| "Eller" has several meanings in Danish, including "or", "else", "otherwise", and "either". | |||
| Dutch | of | ||
| The Dutch word "of" can also mean "off" or "from". | |||
| English | or | ||
| The word "or" can also be used as a conjunction to indicate an alternative, as in "coffee or tea". | |||
| French | ou | ||
| "Ou" in French can mean "or" or "where," originating from the Latin "aut" and "ubi," respectively. | |||
| Frisian | of | ||
| In Frisian, "of" can also mean "off" or "from", indicating separation or origin. | |||
| Galician | ou | ||
| In Galician, "ou" also means "where" and is thus related to the Latin "ubi" | |||
| German | oder | ||
| The word "oder" can also refer to a river in Central Europe that flows into the North Sea. | |||
| Icelandic | eða | ||
| Eða, the Icelandic word for "or," derives from the Old Norse word "eða," meaning "or else" or "otherwise." | |||
| Irish | nó | ||
| The Irish word "nó" also means "then". | |||
| Italian | o | ||
| The Italian word "o" can also be used to mean "either... or..." | |||
| Luxembourgish | oder | ||
| In Luxembourgish, "oder" can also mean "but" or "although". | |||
| Maltese | jew | ||
| The etymology of "jew" in Maltese, meaning "or", is uncertain, with theories suggesting a Semitic or Arabic origin. | |||
| Norwegian | eller | ||
| In Norwegian "eller" can also mean "alder" (alder) or "elvetre" (alder tree). | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ou | ||
| In ancient Portuguese and Galician 'ou' meant 'and' and 'or' was expressed with 'e' | |||
| Scots Gaelic | no | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "no" can also mean "and", "than", or "but" depending on context. | |||
| Spanish | o | ||
| In some regions of Spain, "o" can also mean "where" or "to". | |||
| Swedish | eller | ||
| The Swedish word “eller” can also mean “Alder (tree)”, “or (branch)”, and “or (river)”, all of which have their roots in Old Norse. | |||
| Welsh | neu | ||
| In some contexts, 'neu' means 'whereas' and in others, it means 'if', 'when' or 'when indeed'. | |||
Or in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | альбо | ||
| АЛЬБО (“or”) in Belarusian also means “either” in English. | |||
| Bosnian | ili | ||
| In Bosnian, "ili" can also refer to an alternative option or a choice between two or more possibilities, similar to English "either". | |||
| Bulgarian | или | ||
| The word "или" also means "either" in Bulgarian, similar to its use in Russian. | |||
| Czech | nebo | ||
| In Old Church Slavonic, nebo translates as "heaven" but can also refer to "sky". | |||
| Estonian | või | ||
| The word "või" in Estonian, meaning "or," also means "butter" and is related to the Finnish word "voi," meaning "fat" or "tallow." | |||
| Finnish | tai | ||
| The word "tai" is closely related to the Finnish possessive suffix "ta". | |||
| Hungarian | vagy | ||
| The word "vagy" in Hungarian can also refer to "either" in English. | |||
| Latvian | vai | ||
| The word "vai" is used both as a conjunction and as an interjection and has meanings such as ``ah,'' ``oh,'' ``well,'' and ``come on,''. | |||
| Lithuanian | arba | ||
| Arba is also used for a variety of other purposes such as "but","as","for","and","when", and "either-or". | |||
| Macedonian | или | ||
| The word "или" in Macedonian can also mean "else" or "otherwise". | |||
| Polish | lub | ||
| In Polish, the word "lub" is also used as a conjunction for linking two nouns or adjectives of equal importance, similar to the English word "and". | |||
| Romanian | sau | ||
| The word "sau" can also be used as a preposition meaning "except for" or "without" | |||
| Russian | или же | ||
| The word "или же" also means "the same as" or "instead of". | |||
| Serbian | или | ||
| In Serbian, the word "или" ("or") also refers to the alternative state of being between life and death. | |||
| Slovak | alebo | ||
| In Old Slovak, "alebo" was an indefinite pronoun meaning "someone" or "something". | |||
| Slovenian | ali | ||
| The word "ali" in Slovenian can also mean "but" or "however". | |||
| Ukrainian | або | ||
| The word "або" can also be used in Ukrainian as a conjunction meaning "either". | |||
Or in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বা | ||
| The word 'বা' also means 'except' in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | અથવા | ||
| The Gujarati word "અથવા" can also be used to mean "alternatively" or "similarly". | |||
| Hindi | या | ||
| The word "या" ("or") in Hindi can also mean "by which" or "because". | |||
| Kannada | ಅಥವಾ | ||
| ಅಥವಾ (athova) is a compound word made up of ಅತ್+ ಹವಾ (at + hava) meaning "in that case" or "otherwise." | |||
| Malayalam | അഥവാ | ||
| "അഥവാ" also means "namely" or "that is to say" | |||
| Marathi | किंवा | ||
| The word "किंवा" (kinvā) is derived from the Sanskrit word "किं" (kim), which means "what" or "which". | |||
| Nepali | वा | ||
| The word 'वा' in Sanskrit and Nepali can also mean 'by' or 'in' and is derived from the Indo-European root *we-. | |||
| Punjabi | ਜਾਂ | ||
| The word "ਜਾਂ" in Punjabi is also a verb meaning "to go" or "to come". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හෝ | ||
| Sinhala 'හෝ' (hō) derives from a combination of Sanskrit 'वा' (vā) meaning 'alternative' and 'अथवा' (athvā) meaning 'or'. | |||
| Tamil | அல்லது | ||
| "அல்லது" can also mean "not" or "do not" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | లేదా | ||
| The word "లేదా" can also mean "except" or "if not". | |||
| Urdu | یا | ||
| In Urdu, the word "یا" can also mean "or else", implying a warning or threat. | |||
Or in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 要么 | ||
| 要么, a commonly used conjunction, originally meant "if" or "when." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 要么 | ||
| 要么 "or" in Chinese (Traditional) refers to the two extremes of a spectrum, where the choice between either option is unavoidable. | |||
| Japanese | または | ||
| The term または (matawa) derives from the classical Japanese phrase まだしもは (ma-shi-shi-mo-ha), which translates to "even if, moreover," and also serves as a form of emphasis. | |||
| Korean | 또는 | ||
| "또는" evolved from "또른" which itself derived from "또리" which originated from "아니라" (to negate something). Therefore its original meaning was "other than." | |||
| Mongolian | эсвэл | ||
| The Mongolian word "эсвэл" can also mean "except" or "but". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သို့မဟုတ် | ||
Or in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | atau | ||
| "Atau" in Indonesian is also a Malay plant and is related to the word for "sugar". Malay was the lingua franca of the Indonesian archipelago. | |||
| Javanese | utawa | ||
| In Old Javanese, "utawa" could also mean "unless" or "besides." | |||
| Khmer | ឬ | ||
| The Khmer word "ឬ" ("or") is also used to convey "or else", "whether", or "either". | |||
| Lao | ຫຼື | ||
| The word ຫຼື also serves as an interjection to attract attention, or an expletive added to a sentence without altering its meaning. | |||
| Malay | atau | ||
| "Atau" (Malay for "or") derives from Old Malay "ataw", which also means "except". | |||
| Thai | หรือ | ||
| The Thai word "หรือ" (or) can also be used to mean "is it possible that" or "I wonder if" | |||
| Vietnamese | hoặc là | ||
| The Vietnamese word "hoặc là" can also mean "either" or "if not" in certain contexts, expanding its range of usage. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | o | ||
Or in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | və ya | ||
| The word "və ya" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Persian word "va yā" and can also mean "either" or "whether". | |||
| Kazakh | немесе | ||
| The word "немесе" also means "but" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | же | ||
| The word "же" in Kyrgyz can also mean "however" or "but". | |||
| Tajik | ё | ||
| In Tajik, 'ё' is also a separate vowel letter with an 'o' sound similar to the 'e' in the English word 'her'. | |||
| Turkmen | ýa-da | ||
| Uzbek | yoki | ||
| The Uzbek word "yoki" can also mean "either," and can be used in both disjunctive and inclusive senses. | |||
| Uyghur | ياكى | ||
Or in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | a i ʻole | ||
| In Hawaiian, "a i ʻole" can also mean "whether" or "if not". | |||
| Maori | ranei | ||
| Ranei has two distinct interpretations, depending on whether a phrase includes another term such as | |||
| Samoan | pe | ||
| The Samoan word 'pe' can also be used to indicate possession, meaning 'of' or 'belonging to'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | o | ||
| Tagalog word "o" is a cognate of Malay "atau", meaning "either". In Ilokano, it can mean "if", while in Cebuano, it can mean "or" or "when". | |||
Or in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | o | ||
| Guarani | térã | ||
Or in International Languages
| Esperanto | aŭ | ||
| The Esperanto word "aŭ" is also a contraction of "aŭtune" meaning "in autumn" and the archaic "aŭdienco" meaning "an audience". | |||
| Latin | uel | ||
| The Latin "uel" derives from "vel", which in turn comes from the conjunction "aut", but can also be used with the disjunctive meaning "either/or" | |||
Or in Others Languages
| Greek | ή | ||
| Derived from PIE *h₂e-, *h₂w-, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *’*w, ultimately from Afro-Asiatic Proto-West-Semitic *’*w. | |||
| Hmong | lossis | ||
| The Hmong word "lossis" can also be used to mean "but" or "except". | |||
| Kurdish | an | ||
| In Kurdish, "an" can also mean "if" or "whether". | |||
| Turkish | veya | ||
| "Veya" originates from the Persian conjunction "va" meaning "and". It's also an archaic Turkish word meaning "place, area, district". | |||
| Xhosa | okanye | ||
| The term 'okanye' derives from the Bantu root '-ka', meaning 'to come', 'to arrive' or 'to exist'. | |||
| Yiddish | אָדער | ||
| The Yiddish word "אָדער" also means "vein" in German. | |||
| Zulu | noma | ||
| The word 'noma' can also be used to describe a place where cattle graze and rest. | |||
| Assamese | অথবা | ||
| Aymara | o | ||
| Bhojpuri | अऊर | ||
| Dhivehi | ނުވަތަ | ||
| Dogri | जां | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | o | ||
| Guarani | térã | ||
| Ilocano | wenno | ||
| Krio | ɔ | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | یان | ||
| Maithili | वा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯠꯇ꯭ꯔꯒ | ||
| Mizo | emaw | ||
| Oromo | yookaan | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କିମ୍ବା | ||
| Quechua | utaq | ||
| Sanskrit | वा | ||
| Tatar | яки | ||
| Tigrinya | ወይ | ||
| Tsonga | kumbe | ||