Quite in Different Languages
Discover 'Quite' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'quite' is a small but mighty part of the English language. It can completely change the meaning of a sentence, often softening or emphasizing the statement that follows. For example, 'she is quite talented' implies a high level of skill, while 'she is a talented woman' has a more straightforward meaning.
But what about when communicating in different languages? Understanding the translation of 'quite' can greatly enhance your cross-cultural communication. For instance, in Spanish, 'quite' translates to 'bastante,' which can be used to express a similar range of meanings as in English. In German, 'quite' becomes 'ziemlich,' and in French, 'plutôt.'
The word 'quite' has also made its way into various cultural expressions and idioms. For example, in English-speaking cultures, the phrase 'quite a thing' is used to describe something that is particularly impressive or noteworthy. Meanwhile, in Spanish-speaking cultures, 'estar para' followed by 'bastante' is used to describe someone who is on the verge of a certain state or condition.
So, whether you're looking to expand your vocabulary, improve your language skills, or simply appreciate the nuances of cross-cultural communication, exploring the translation of 'quite' is a great place to start.
Below, you'll find a list of translations of 'quite' in various languages, along with some interesting cultural contexts and facts to further enrich your understanding of this versatile word.
Quite
Quite in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | nogal | ||
| The Afrikaans word "nogal" originates from the Dutch "nogal", itself a borrowing of the German word "noch" meaning "still" or "yet". | |||
| Amharic | በጣም | ||
| In addition to meaning "quite," the word "በጣም" can also mean "very much," "greatly," or "exceedingly." | |||
| Hausa | sosai | ||
| Sosai means 'quite' but the word sosai in Hausa is sometimes used to mean 'very'. | |||
| Igbo | ezi | ||
| 'Ezi' is derived from the verb 'ezi' meaning 'to be sufficient/enough'. | |||
| Malagasy | tena | ||
| Originally used to indicate a small quantity or distance, "tena" now means "quite". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ndithu | ||
| The word "ndithu" can also mean "indeed" or "certainly" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | chaizvo | ||
| The word "chaizvo" in Shona, meaning "quite", is derived from the verb "chaka", meaning "to be so". | |||
| Somali | ilaa xad | ||
| The word "ilaa xad" in Somali can also indicate a boundary, limit or extent. | |||
| Sesotho | haholo | ||
| The word "haholo" in Sesotho has alternate meanings such as "too much" and "very." | |||
| Swahili | kabisa | ||
| The Swahili word "kabisa" derives from the root *-bis-, meaning "completely" or "totally." | |||
| Xhosa | kakhulu | ||
| The Xhosa term "kakhulu" also means "very much" or "excessively". | |||
| Yoruba | oyimbo | ||
| "Oyimbo," meaning "very much" or "quite a lot" in Yoruba, is related to the word "oyin" (honey) and the suffix "-bo" (full). | |||
| Zulu | impela | ||
| The Zulu word “impela” also means “in abundance”. | |||
| Bambara | bɛrɛ t'a jɛ | ||
| Ewe | abe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | rwose | ||
| Lingala | mwa mingi | ||
| Luganda | to kisembayo | ||
| Sepedi | kudu | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ara | ||
Quite in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الى حد كبير | ||
| الى حد كبير is a loanword from English and literally means “to a large extent”, but in Arabic its meaning shifted to be closer to the English word “quite”. | |||
| Hebrew | דַי | ||
| The word "דַי" ("quite") also means "enough" in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | ډېر | ||
| The word ډېر "quite" derives from Proto-Indo-Aryan *dirgha "long," from PIE root *dērg- "long" | |||
| Arabic | الى حد كبير | ||
| الى حد كبير is a loanword from English and literally means “to a large extent”, but in Arabic its meaning shifted to be closer to the English word “quite”. | |||
Quite in Western European Languages
| Albanian | krejt | ||
| The word 'krejt' is derived from the Proto-Albanian word 'kreitë', which meant both 'all' and 'quite'. | |||
| Basque | nahiko | ||
| "Nahiko" can also mean "enough" in the sense of "sufficient" or "adequate". | |||
| Catalan | bastant | ||
| The word "bastant" in Catalan shares its etymology with "bastante" in Spanish and "bastante" in Portuguese, all ultimately derived from Late Latin "bastare" (to suffice). | |||
| Croatian | dosta | ||
| The word 'dosta' derives from the Serbo-Croatian 'dostati', meaning 'to receive' or 'to have enough'. | |||
| Danish | temmelig | ||
| The word "temmelig" in Danish likely originates from the Old High German "zimilich," which also means "quite". | |||
| Dutch | heel | ||
| The Dutch word "heel" can also mean "very" or "completely". | |||
| English | quite | ||
| The word "quite" derives from the Middle English "quit," meaning "free from burden" and "fully." | |||
| French | assez | ||
| French "assez" derives from Latin "ad satis" (meaning "to satisfaction") and shares an etymology with English "enough" and "satisfaction" | |||
| Frisian | frij | ||
| The word "frij" in Frisian can also refer to "exceedingly" or "excessively." | |||
| Galician | bastante | ||
| The word "bastante" in Galician comes from the Latin "bastare," meaning "to suffice" or "to be enough." | |||
| German | ziemlich | ||
| In German the word "ziemlich" has a strong connotation with decency, modesty, or mediocrity and can be understood as a synonym to "so-so." | |||
| Icelandic | alveg | ||
| In Old Norse, "alveg" meant "all ways", but later came to mean "almost" or "nearly" | |||
| Irish | go leor | ||
| In Irish, "go leor" can mean both "quite" and "very much". | |||
| Italian | abbastanza | ||
| The word "abbastanza" comes from the Latin "ab ad stante," meaning "from the beginning". | |||
| Luxembourgish | ganz | ||
| The word 'ganz' can also mean 'goose' or 'goose meat' in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | pjuttost | ||
| The Maltese word "pjuttost" is derived from the Sicilian "piuttostu" and the Italian "piuttosto" and means "rather" or "fairly" in English. | |||
| Norwegian | ganske | ||
| The Norwegian word "ganske" originates from the Old Norse word "gáski", meaning "sufficient" or "adequate". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | bastante | ||
| The word "bastante" in Portuguese derives from the Latin "bastare", meaning "to be sufficient", and can also mean "quite enough" or "more than enough." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gu math | ||
| 'Gu math' can also mean 'indeed' (especially in the Scottish Gaelic Bible), but it can also be used as an exclamation, such as in the expressions 'gu math an saoghal!' (how wonderful is the world!) and 'gu math tha thu dol!' (you are doing well!) | |||
| Spanish | bastante | ||
| The word "bastante" in Spanish derives from the Latin infinitive "bastare," meaning "to be enough" or "to suffice." | |||
| Swedish | ganska | ||
| "Ganska" also means "pretty" which is a synonym for "quite". | |||
| Welsh | eithaf | ||
| The etymology of the Welsh "eithaf" is unclear, however the word was originally a noun meaning "exceedingly", and it has been suggested that the modern meaning may derive from a figurative use of the word in the sense "sufficiently exceedingly" (i.e., "quite"). | |||
Quite in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | цалкам | ||
| The etymology of the word "цалкам" suggests that it originally meant "completely, totally" in Old East Slavic. | |||
| Bosnian | sasvim | ||
| The word “sasvim” is also used to express “complete” or “total” without the implication of being “quite”. | |||
| Bulgarian | съвсем | ||
| The word "съвсем" in Bulgarian not only means "quite" but can also mean "completely" or "at all". | |||
| Czech | docela | ||
| The word "docela" in Czech can also mean "quite a lot" or "fairly", and derives from the Old Slavonic word "docila", meaning "sufficient". | |||
| Estonian | üsna | ||
| Üsna is also a place name, referring to the village Üsna in Pärnu County, Estonia. | |||
| Finnish | melko | ||
| The word "melko" can also mean "soft" or "tender" in Finnish. | |||
| Hungarian | egészen | ||
| The Hungarian word "egészen" can be used to express "completely" as well as "until" and has a connection to the word "egész" (meaning "whole"). | |||
| Latvian | diezgan | ||
| The word “diezgan” has its origin in the Proto-Indo-European root “*deik-“ (to show) | |||
| Lithuanian | gana | ||
| The word "gana" in Lithuanian, meaning "quite," comes from the Proto-Baltic word "gonjā," meaning "enough" or "satisfactory." | |||
| Macedonian | доста | ||
| The word "доста" can also mean "enough" or "sufficient". | |||
| Polish | całkiem | ||
| "Całkiem" derives from the Proto-Slavic term "cělъ", meaning "whole" or "entire", and is cognate with the Russian word "целый" (celyi). | |||
| Romanian | destul de | ||
| "Destul de" is Romanian for "enough of", "not quite", or "more than enough". | |||
| Russian | вполне | ||
| The word "вполне" derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "въплънъ", meaning "entirely", and is related to the word "полный" (full). | |||
| Serbian | прилично | ||
| The word "прилично" is derived from the old Slavic word "приличество" meaning "propriety". It can also mean "suitably" or "properly" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | celkom | ||
| The word "celkom" also means "completely, entirely, as a whole, quite a bit" | |||
| Slovenian | čisto | ||
| The phrase "Čisto sem ga sfriziral" translates to "I completely messed it up" or "I totally screwed up". | |||
| Ukrainian | цілком | ||
| The word "цілком" in Ukrainian originates from the Proto-Slavic word "*cěly" meaning "whole" or "complete". | |||
Quite in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বেশ | ||
| The word "বেশ" can mean "plenty" or "a long time" in addition to "quite." | |||
| Gujarati | તદ્દન | ||
| "તદ્દન" can also refer to "completely","entirely" and even "very much". | |||
| Hindi | काफी | ||
| The Hindi word "काफी" can also mean "enough" or "sufficient," and is derived from the Sanskrit word "कफ," meaning "phlegm" or "humor." | |||
| Kannada | ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು | ||
| The word 'ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು' derives from the Sanskrit word 'sacetas', meaning 'sufficient' or 'enough'. | |||
| Malayalam | തികച്ചും | ||
| "തികച്ചും" comes from the root "തിക്" (thick, solid), and also means "thoroughly", "completely", and "exactly". | |||
| Marathi | जोरदार | ||
| The word "जोरदार" can also mean "powerful" or "forceful" in Marathi, and is derived from the Sanskrit word "ज्वलित" meaning "bright" or "flaming". | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| Nepali धेरै comes from Sanskrit धुरा, meaning ‘a lot’, and is cognate with Marathi धुर, Hindi ढेर, Konkani धार, Gujrathi ધાર, and Sinhala දහර | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਾਫ਼ੀ | ||
| The Punjabi word 'ਕਾਫ਼ੀ' is derived from the Persian 'kāfē,' meaning 'enough' or 'sufficient'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තරමක් | ||
| In Sinhala, "තරමක්" can also mean "to some extent" or "moderate". | |||
| Tamil | மிகவும் | ||
| In 13thC, மிகவும் meant 'much' which evolved to 'over, above, extreme' and later began to denote 'very much' or 'quite'. | |||
| Telugu | చాలా | ||
| The word "చాలా" can also mean "very much" or "enough" in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | کافی | ||
| Though 'kāfī' most commonly means 'quite' in Urdu, it can also mean 'enough' or 'sufficient'. | |||
Quite in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 相当 | ||
| 相当 (zĭdāng) in Chinese originally meant “facing each other” but later came to mean “quite” or “very”. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 相當 | ||
| 相當在古文裡也指稱「應當、適宜」的含義。 | |||
| Japanese | かなり | ||
| "かなり" is also a Buddhist term meaning "temple" or "Buddhist monastery". | |||
| Korean | 아주 | ||
| "아주" is derived from the noun "아지" meaning "knowledge" or "understanding." | |||
| Mongolian | нэлээд | ||
| 'Нэлээд' may also be used to express ideas like 'fairly' or 'moderately'. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အတော်လေး | ||
Quite in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | cukup | ||
| The Indonesian word "cukup" (roughly meaning "quite" or "enough") is the result of the assimilation of "chukup" after a merger between Proto-Austronesian *ku/*ka- (which is the root for the words "enough", "complete", "finish") and the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian suffix *-up-. | |||
| Javanese | cukup | ||
| In Javanese, "cukup" can refer to either "enough" (of a quantity) or a level of excellence | |||
| Khmer | ណាស់ | ||
| The word "ណាស់" is derived from the Sanskrit word "naasti", meaning "none". It can also mean "very" or "completely." | |||
| Lao | ຂ້ອນຂ້າງ | ||
| Malay | agak | ||
| Agak is also synonymous to the root word "agah", which connotes to a quality of being careful, thoughtful or considerate. | |||
| Thai | ค่อนข้าง | ||
| The word "ค่อนข้าง" can also be used to mean "fairly", "moderately", or "relatively". | |||
| Vietnamese | khá | ||
| The word "khá" in Vietnamese can also mean "fairly" or "moderately", and is derived from the Chinese word "恰", meaning "just right" or "proper". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | medyo | ||
Quite in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | olduqca | ||
| Ol-duqca is formed by suffixing the | |||
| Kazakh | өте | ||
| The word "өте" comes from the Turkic verb "ötmek" meaning "to pass", and can also mean "very much" or "exceedingly" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | абдан | ||
| The word "абдан" in Kyrgyz can also mean "exceedingly", "very much", or "greatly." | |||
| Tajik | хеле | ||
| The word "хеле" in Tajik can also refer to "a lot" or "very much". | |||
| Turkmen | gaty gowy | ||
| Uzbek | juda | ||
| It is also used in expressions like "juda yaxshi" ("very good") and "juda baland" ("very high"). | |||
| Uyghur | خېلى | ||
Quite in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | loa | ||
| The word "loa" in Hawaiian also means "long" or "tall". | |||
| Maori | tino | ||
| In Maori, the word "tino" can also mean "very" or "exceedingly". | |||
| Samoan | fai lava | ||
| The word "fai lava" can also be used to mean "do well" or "succeed" in Samoan. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | medyo | ||
| The word "medyo" in Tagalog (Filipino) originally meant "middle" or "halfway" but has since evolved to also mean "quite" or "moderately." | |||
Quite in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | wastanti | ||
| Guarani | rasa | ||
Quite in International Languages
| Esperanto | tute | ||
| The Esperanto word "tute" also means "completely" or "thoroughly" in English. | |||
| Latin | satis | ||
| Ancient Greek σάτις (sátis), "sufficiency, plenty," is the root of Latin satis ("quite"). | |||
Quite in Others Languages
| Greek | αρκετά | ||
| In Greek, "αρκετά" is a homonym of the word for "bear" and a cognate of the Latin "ursus". | |||
| Hmong | kuj | ||
| The Hmong word "kuj" can also mean "very" or "a lot". | |||
| Kurdish | hemû | ||
| The word "hemû" can also mean "totally" or "all" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | epeyce | ||
| "Epeyce" comes from the Persian word "pey", meaning "measurement", and is related to the word "pay" in English. | |||
| Xhosa | kakhulu | ||
| The Xhosa term "kakhulu" also means "very much" or "excessively". | |||
| Yiddish | גאַנץ | ||
| In Yiddish, "גאַנץ" can also mean "whole" or "complete." | |||
| Zulu | impela | ||
| The Zulu word “impela” also means “in abundance”. | |||
| Assamese | যথেষ্ট | ||
| Aymara | wastanti | ||
| Bhojpuri | बिल्कुल | ||
| Dhivehi | ފުދޭ ވަރަކަށް | ||
| Dogri | बिलकुल | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | medyo | ||
| Guarani | rasa | ||
| Ilocano | medyo | ||
| Krio | plɛnti | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | تەواو | ||
| Maithili | शांत | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯄꯨꯡ ꯐꯥꯕ | ||
| Mizo | engemaw chen | ||
| Oromo | gahaadhumatti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଯଥେଷ୍ଟ | ||
| Quechua | llunpay | ||
| Sanskrit | नितान्तम् | ||
| Tatar | шактый | ||
| Tigrinya | ፀጥ ዝበለ | ||
| Tsonga | miyerile | ||