Possibly in Different Languages
Discover 'Possibly' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'possibly' is a small but powerful term that indicates a degree of uncertainty or potentiality. It's a word that we use frequently in our daily conversations and writing, allowing us to express ideas and opinions without committing to absolute certainty. This linguistic tool is not only crucial in communication but also reflects the inherent ambiguity of life, where many things are open to interpretation and change.
Moreover, the word 'possibly' carries significant cultural importance across the globe. It's a universal concept that transcends language barriers and unites us in our shared human experience. From literature to film, 'possibly' has been used to create suspense, provoke thought, and inspire imagination.
If you're learning a new language or expanding your cultural knowledge, understanding the translation of 'possibly' in different languages can be both fascinating and practical. For instance, in Spanish, 'possibly' translates to 'posiblemente,' while in French, it's 'peut-être.' In German, you would say 'möglicherweise,' and in Japanese, 'おそらく (osoraku).'
Exploring the nuances of 'possibly' in various languages can open up a world of new perspectives and insights. So, let's delve into the fascinating world of language and culture, and discover how 'possibly' is expressed in different tongues.
Possibly
Possibly in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | moontlik | ||
| "Moontlik" is derived from the Old Saxon word "möglik", which also means "possible". | |||
| Amharic | ሊሆን ይችላል | ||
| Hausa | yiwu | ||
| The word "yiwu" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | enwere ike | ||
| The word "enwere ike" can also mean "there is power" or "it is possible" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | mety | ||
| The word "mety" is cognate with the French word "peut-être" and the Spanish word "quizás", all meaning "maybe". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mwina | ||
| "Mwina" can also be used to mean "it appears that" or "it would seem that". | |||
| Shona | pamwe | ||
| "Pamwe" can also mean "perhaps" or "maybe." | |||
| Somali | suurto gal | ||
| Suurto gal may also be used to express a sense of hesitation. | |||
| Sesotho | mohlomong | ||
| The term "mohlomong" may also imply doubt or uncertainty in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | ikiwezekana | ||
| The word "ikiwezekana" is derived from the root word "kiwezekana" meaning "to be possible" and the prefix "i-". Thus, "ikiwezekana" literally means "it is possible that..." | |||
| Xhosa | kunokwenzeka | ||
| The word "kunokwenzeka" derives from "ukwenzeka" (to happen) and the prefix "kuno" (probably, possibly). | |||
| Yoruba | ṣee ṣe | ||
| "Ṣe ṣe" can also mean "it is" or "it was" in conditional statements. | |||
| Zulu | kungenzeka | ||
| "Kungenzeka" is derived from the Zulu word "kunga," meaning "to be possible," and the passive suffix "-eka," indicating "to be in a state of being possible." | |||
| Bambara | a bɛ se ka kɛ | ||
| Ewe | ɖewohĩ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | birashoboka | ||
| Lingala | mbala mosusu | ||
| Luganda | kiyinzika okuba nga | ||
| Sepedi | mo gongwe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ebia na ɛte saa | ||
Possibly in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ربما | ||
| The word "ربما" is derived from the root "ربب" which means "to increase" or "to add to something". It also has an alternate meaning of "perhaps" or "maybe". | |||
| Hebrew | יִתָכֵן | ||
| Yitaken is also the name of a traditional Jewish children's game similar to hopscotch | |||
| Pashto | احتمال | ||
| The Pashto word "احتمال" (eḥtemal) originates from the Arabic word of the same spelling, ultimately derived from the Greek word "hypothesis." | |||
| Arabic | ربما | ||
| The word "ربما" is derived from the root "ربب" which means "to increase" or "to add to something". It also has an alternate meaning of "perhaps" or "maybe". | |||
Possibly in Western European Languages
| Albanian | mundësisht | ||
| Mundësisht derives from the word "mundësi" meaning possibility, capability, or power. | |||
| Basque | seguru asko | ||
| The word 'seguru asko' is an adverbial phrase in Basque that is used to mean 'very likely', 'surely', or 'most probably'. | |||
| Catalan | possiblement | ||
| "Possiblement" derives from Latin "possibilis," meaning "capable of being or happening". | |||
| Croatian | možda | ||
| "Možda" has been used in Croatian since the 14th century and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "moždь", meaning "thought" or "opinion". | |||
| Danish | eventuelt | ||
| Eventuelt, meaning "possible," comes from French "éventuel" meaning "that may happen" | |||
| Dutch | mogelijk | ||
| In addition to "possibly", "mogelijk" can also mean "capable" or "feasible". | |||
| English | possibly | ||
| The word "possibly" is derived from the Latin word "possibilis", meaning "capable of being done or accomplished." | |||
| French | peut-être | ||
| The word "peut-être" derives from the Latin "potest fieri" meaning "it can be done" or "it is possible". | |||
| Frisian | eventueel | ||
| Eventueel has no alternate meanings but is derived from Dutch "eventueel" and Latin "eventualis" (relating to an event) | |||
| Galician | posiblemente | ||
| In Galician, "posiblemente" comes from Latin "possibile + mente", indicating "in a possible way". | |||
| German | möglicherweise | ||
| The German word "möglicherweise" is a contraction of the phrase "es mag als möglich sein", meaning "it may be possible". | |||
| Icelandic | hugsanlega | ||
| Hugsa is also the Icelandic word for the mind. | |||
| Irish | b’fhéidir | ||
| Italian | possibilmente | ||
| The word "possibilmente" can also mean "as far as possible" or "if possible". | |||
| Luxembourgish | méiglecherweis | ||
| The word "méiglecherweis" derives from the Middle High German word "mugelichwis" meaning "at some point". | |||
| Maltese | possibilment | ||
| The Maltese word "possibilment" is derived from the Latin word "possibilis", meaning "possible", and also has the alternate meaning of "probably". | |||
| Norwegian | muligens | ||
| "Muligens" comes from the Old Norse word "muk", meaning "maybe". In Norwegian, it can also mean "unlikely". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | possivelmente | ||
| The word "possivelmente" comes from the Latin word "possibilis", meaning "possible", and the suffix "-mente", meaning "in a possible way". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | is dòcha | ||
| Is dòcha, of uncertain etymology, has other meanings, such as "maybe", "it might be", "it seems to be" or "it is likely that". | |||
| Spanish | posiblemente | ||
| The Spanish word "posiblemente" means "possibly" but it's also related to the possibility of making something happen by the speaker. | |||
| Swedish | eventuellt | ||
| The alternate meaning of "eventuellt" includes "in the case of" and "perhaps". | |||
| Welsh | o bosibl | ||
| O bosibl is a mutation of o bosib, meaning 'maybe' (bosib) preceded by an emphatic particle (o). | |||
Possibly in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | магчыма | ||
| The word "магчыма" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *mogt-, meaning "to be able to" and "to have power". | |||
| Bosnian | moguće | ||
| The word "moguće" (possibly) is derived from the Slavic root "mogti" (to be able). | |||
| Bulgarian | евентуално | ||
| The word “eventualno” (possibly) comes from the Latin word “eventualis” which means “that which is likely to happen”. | |||
| Czech | možná | ||
| "Možná" originated as a contraction of the Czech phrase "možno jest," meaning "it is possible." | |||
| Estonian | võimalik | ||
| The word "võimalik" in Estonian originally meant "capable" or "able to be done", and is related to the word "võime" ("ability"). | |||
| Finnish | mahdollisesti | ||
| "Mahdollisesti" is etymologically related to Finnish "mahdollisuus" (opportunity, capability, possibility), which, via Proto-Finnic *mahəlla, ultimately derives from Uralic base word *maχ "land". | |||
| Hungarian | esetleg | ||
| The word "esetleg" is derived from the Hungarian word "eset" (case) and the suffix "-leg" (manner), and originally meant "in a possible way". | |||
| Latvian | iespējams | ||
| Latvian "iespējams" is a cognate of "possible" in English, with a possible origin in the Vulgar Latin "possibilis" (via "possibilis") | |||
| Lithuanian | galbūt | ||
| Originally derived from Proto-Indo-European “*kel-bʰ-”, “galbūt” has a secondary meaning of “scarce” | |||
| Macedonian | евентуално | ||
| The word "eventualno" is derived from the Latin word "eventus," meaning "outcome" or "consequence." | |||
| Polish | możliwie | ||
| The word "możliwie" also means "as much as possible" or "if possible" in Polish. | |||
| Romanian | eventual | ||
| The word "eventual" derives from Latin's "eventum" and originally meant "anything which comes out" in the sense of an occurrence. | |||
| Russian | возможно | ||
| The word «возможно» can also mean «permissible» or «probable», or be used instead of «но» (but). | |||
| Serbian | могуће | ||
| "Могуће" is a derivative of the Serbo-Croatian verb "моћи" (can, be able), and literally means "that which is possible." | |||
| Slovak | príp | ||
| The word "príp" is derived from the Czech word "příklad" meaning "example" or "instance". | |||
| Slovenian | mogoče | ||
| "Mogoče" is cognate with "moči" (can), with the added suffix "-oče". While this suffix denotes potentiality in various Slavic languages, it's most frequent in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | можливо | ||
| "Можливо" is the Ukrainian form of the Old Church Slavonic word "могъ", which means "strong" or "able". | |||
Possibly in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সম্ভবত | ||
| সম্ভবত is the Bengali cognate of सम्भवतः, an adverb of possibility in Sanskrit that literally means 'in a way that it is probable'. | |||
| Gujarati | સંભવત | ||
| Hindi | संभवत: | ||
| The word 'संभवत:' is often used in Hindi to indicate 'possibility' or 'uncertainty', but its etymology suggests a broader meaning of 'connection' or 'cohesion'. | |||
| Kannada | ಬಹುಶಃ | ||
| "ಬಹುಶಃ" (bahuśaḥ) is likely derived from the Sanskrit term "bahu" meaning "much" and "śaḥ" meaning "power," suggesting the idea of "with great possibility." | |||
| Malayalam | ഒരുപക്ഷേ | ||
| "ഒരുപക്ഷേ" means "probably" or "it is possible that," and also "a little" or "somewhat." | |||
| Marathi | शक्यतो | ||
| "शक्यतो" is derived from the Sanskrit word "शक्" (śak) meaning "to be able to" and the suffix "-तो" (-ta) meaning "that which is possible." | |||
| Nepali | सम्भवतः | ||
| " सम्भवतः " is used as a word with a range of meanings: possibly, plausibly, probably, etc. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸੰਭਵ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | සමහරවිට | ||
| The word සමහරවිට can also mean 'perhaps' or 'probably' depending on the context. | |||
| Tamil | சாத்தியமான | ||
| Telugu | బహుశా | ||
| Urdu | ممکنہ طور پر | ||
| Although derived from Arabic ممکِن ('ممکنہ', meaning 'possible'), it took on an alternate connotation in Urdu to mean 'possibly'. | |||
Possibly in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 可能 | ||
| 可能 (kěnéng) "can be," is an abstract form of 能 (néng) "to be able to." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 可能 | ||
| 可能（kěnéng）is also used in the sense of "likely" or "probable" and is synonymous with 恐怕（kǒngpà）. | |||
| Japanese | おそらく | ||
| "おそらく" is derived from the Classical Japanese word “おぼつかなく” (“tentatively"), which stems from "おぼつかない" ("insecure"). | |||
| Korean | 혹시 | ||
| "혹시" was originally a contraction of "혹시モ올시다", where "혹시" means "maybe" and "모올시다" is a polite version of "있다" (to be). | |||
| Mongolian | магадгүй | ||
| The Mongolian word "магадгүй" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဖြစ်နိုင်သည် | ||
| The equivalent word in Pali, သာဓယ, is used in Burmese as a verb to mean 'to prove'. | |||
Possibly in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mungkin | ||
| "Mungkin" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*mungkin", meaning "to be doubtful". It can also mean "perhaps" or "maybe". | |||
| Javanese | bisa uga | ||
| Bisa uga can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | អាច | ||
| The word "អាច" ("possibly") can also have the meanings of "perhaps", "maybe", "could be", or "it is possible". | |||
| Lao | ເປັນໄປໄດ້ | ||
| Malay | kemungkinan | ||
| The word "kemungkinan" also means "chance" or "potential". | |||
| Thai | อาจเป็นไปได้ | ||
| Another word for “อาจเป็นไปได้” is “อาจเป็นได้”. | |||
| Vietnamese | có khả năng | ||
| ''Có khả năng'' is a combination of ''có'' (to have, to possess) and ''khả năng'' (possibility, ability). It commonly refers to the possibility or likelihood of something occurring. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | posibleng | ||
Possibly in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bəlkə də | ||
| 'Bəlkə də' sözü köken olarak Türkçedeki 'belki' sözünden gelir ve 'olasılık, tahmin' anlamlarına da gelebilir. | |||
| Kazakh | мүмкін | ||
| "Мүмкін" derives from the Persian word "mumkin," which also means "certain" or "probable." | |||
| Kyrgyz | мүмкүн | ||
| The word "мүмкүн" can also mean "able to" or "capable of". | |||
| Tajik | эҳтимолан | ||
| "Эхтимолан” — слово арабского происхождения и восходит к слову «ихтимал» («предположение», «вероятность»). В таджикском языке его синонимами также выступают слова «гумон» («сомнение»), «шояд» («вероятно»), «муртоиб» («сомнительно»), «оё» («кажется»), «балки» («наверное»). | |||
| Turkmen | ähtimal | ||
| Uzbek | ehtimol | ||
| The word "ehtimol" is derived from the Persian word "eihtemel", meaning "probability" or "possibility". | |||
| Uyghur | مۇمكىن | ||
Possibly in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | malia paha | ||
| The word "malia paha" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps" in Hawaiian, depending on the context. | |||
| Maori | pea | ||
| The Māori word 'pea', meaning 'possibly', is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word 'peke', meaning 'to conjecture or guess'. | |||
| Samoan | ono mafai | ||
| The Samoan word "ono mafai" (meaning "possibly") literally translates to "possibly". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | marahil | ||
| The word "marahil" is derived from the Spanish word "quizás". | |||
Possibly in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | inas ukhamächispa | ||
| Guarani | ikatu avei | ||
Possibly in International Languages
| Esperanto | eble | ||
| The Esperanto word "eble" comes from the German word "vielleicht" (possibly). | |||
| Latin | nequicquam | ||
| Nequicquam can also mean "in vain" or "to no avail". | |||
Possibly in Others Languages
| Greek | πιθανώς | ||
| "πιθανώς" is derived from the Greek word "πιθανολογώ" meaning "to consider probable" and is related to the word "πειθώ" meaning "persuasion" or "belief". The term is also closely connected to the concept of "doxa," which can mean "opinion" or "likelihood." | |||
| Hmong | tejzaum nws | ||
| The word "tejzaum nws" can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps". | |||
| Kurdish | bi îmkan | ||
| The word "bi îmkan" in Kurdish is derived from the Persian word "emkân" meaning "possibility" and the Kurdish word "bi" meaning "with". | |||
| Turkish | muhtemelen | ||
| The Turkish word 'muhtemelen' originates from the Arabic word 'muḥtamal' meaning 'capable' or 'probable'. | |||
| Xhosa | kunokwenzeka | ||
| The word "kunokwenzeka" derives from "ukwenzeka" (to happen) and the prefix "kuno" (probably, possibly). | |||
| Yiddish | עפשער | ||
| The word "עפשער" in Yiddish also means "more or less". | |||
| Zulu | kungenzeka | ||
| "Kungenzeka" is derived from the Zulu word "kunga," meaning "to be possible," and the passive suffix "-eka," indicating "to be in a state of being possible." | |||
| Assamese | সম্ভৱতঃ | ||
| Aymara | inas ukhamächispa | ||
| Bhojpuri | संभव बा कि | ||
| Dhivehi | ވެދާނެ އެވެ | ||
| Dogri | संभवत: | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | posibleng | ||
| Guarani | ikatu avei | ||
| Ilocano | posible a kasta | ||
| Krio | i kin bi se na so i bi | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لەوانەیە | ||
| Maithili | संभवतः | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯣꯏꯊꯣꯀꯄꯥ ꯌꯥꯏ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | a ni thei | ||
| Oromo | ta’uu danda’a | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ସମ୍ଭବତ। | | ||
| Quechua | ichapas | ||
| Sanskrit | संभवतः | ||
| Tatar | мөгаен | ||
| Tigrinya | ክኸውን ይኽእል እዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | swi nga ha endleka | ||