Rarely in Different Languages
Discover 'Rarely' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'rarely' holds a unique significance in our vocabulary, denoting something that happens infrequently or on rare occasions. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, music, and everyday conversations, where it adds nuance and depth to our expressions. For instance, Shakespeare used 'rarely' to describe something that is unusually fine or excellent, as seen in A Midsummer Night's Dream: 'I am aweary of this moon. Would he would change!' 'O, she is changeable as the moon!' 'Then should I look upon him when he is not changed.' 'But when he is changed, I cannot look upon him.' 'Alas! then he is changed when I look upon him, and I am not changed when I look upon him. And so he is changed, and I am not changed!'
Understanding the translation of 'rarely' in different languages can enrich our communication with people from various cultural backgrounds. For example, in Spanish, 'rarely' translates to 'rara vez' (pronounced: rah-rah vehs), while in French, it becomes 'rarement' (pronounced: rah-mahn). In German, 'rarely' is expressed as 'selten' (pronounced: zel-ten), and in Japanese, it is '稀に' (pronounced: mijikai ni).
Rarely
Rarely in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | selde | ||
| The Afrikaans word "selde" is derived from the Dutch word "zelden", which also means "rarely". | |||
| Amharic | አልፎ አልፎ | ||
| The word "አልፎ አልፎ" is derived from the root "አልፎ" (to go) and "አልፎ" (to go) and originally meant "going and going," implying a frequent occurrence. | |||
| Hausa | da wuya | ||
| "Da wuya" can also mean "in an unusual way" | |||
| Igbo | adịkarịghị | ||
| The Igbo word "adịkarịghị" literally translates to "not being frequent, common, or normal". It carries the connotation of unusual occurrence or absence | |||
| Malagasy | zara raha | ||
| The Malagasy word "zara raha" derives from the Malay word "jara", meaning "distantly spaced" or "spread out". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kawirikawiri | ||
| The word "kawirikawiri" is derived from the root word "kawiri", meaning "two", and is used to express the idea of something happening "twice over" or "on two occasions". | |||
| Shona | kashoma | ||
| Shona "kashoma" is an archaic word also meaning "secretly" or "clandestinely". | |||
| Somali | dhif ah | ||
| The word "dhif ah" is derived from the Arabic word "dhif", meaning "guest". | |||
| Sesotho | ka seoelo | ||
| The word "ka seoelo" is derived from the word "seoelo", which means "seldom" or "infrequently". | |||
| Swahili | nadra | ||
| The word "nadra" also means "uncommonly" or "seldom" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | kunqabile | ||
| The Xhosa word "kunqabile" is also an alternate form of "iqhile", meaning "ashes". | |||
| Yoruba | ṣọwọn | ||
| The word "ṣọwọn" has an alternate meaning, "scarcity." | |||
| Zulu | kuyaqabukela | ||
| "Kuyaqabukela" can also be used to refer to a "little bit," "slightly," or "a few." | |||
| Bambara | a man ca | ||
| Ewe | medzᴐna zi geɖe o | ||
| Kinyarwanda | gake | ||
| Lingala | mbala mingi te | ||
| Luganda | lumu na lumu | ||
| Sepedi | ka sewelo | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ntaa nsi | ||
Rarely in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نادرا | ||
| نادرا derives from the root "ندر," meaning "to be scarce or uncommon," and also refers to "vowing" or "making a pledge." | |||
| Hebrew | לעתים רחוקות | ||
| לעתים רחוקות, "a long time," "a moment," later transformed into its current sense "rarely" | |||
| Pashto | نادره | ||
| The word نادره "rarely" can also mean "beautiful" or "unique". It derives from the Arabic word "nadir" which means "precious" or "valuable". | |||
| Arabic | نادرا | ||
| نادرا derives from the root "ندر," meaning "to be scarce or uncommon," and also refers to "vowing" or "making a pledge." | |||
Rarely in Western European Languages
| Albanian | rrallë | ||
| The Albanian word "rrallë" is the same word as the Greek word "araion" (απαιον), which also means "rarely". | |||
| Basque | gutxitan | ||
| The word "gutxitan" also means "seldom," "few," and "scarcely." | |||
| Catalan | poques vegades | ||
| "Poques vegades", meaning "rarely", is derived from the Latin "pauca vice" meaning "few times". | |||
| Croatian | rijetko | ||
| The word "rijetko" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*redьkъ", which also means "thin" or "sparse." | |||
| Danish | sjældent | ||
| The word "sjældent" is derived from the Old Norse word "sjaldan", meaning "scarcely" or "infrequently". | |||
| Dutch | zelden | ||
| The Dutch word "zelden" is derived from the Old Dutch "seldom, meaning "unusual" or "infrequent". | |||
| English | rarely | ||
| The word "rarely" originates from the Old English word "rære," meaning "rarely, seldom, occasionally, or infrequently." | |||
| French | rarement | ||
| In French, "rarement" can also mean "unusually" or "hardly ever". | |||
| Frisian | komselden | ||
| Komselden is also used to describe something that is difficult to find or obtain, or something that is not common or usual. | |||
| Galician | poucas veces | ||
| Poucas veces deriva do latín paucas vices, que significa 'poucas vezes'. | |||
| German | selten | ||
| The word "selten" is also used in the sense of "wonderful" or "exquisite" in archaic or poetic speech, derived from its Old High German root "sëltēni" meaning "excellence". | |||
| Icelandic | sjaldan | ||
| The word 'sjaldan' is a doublet of 'sjaldan' meaning 'seldom' and 'sjaldan' meaning 'a good while'. | |||
| Irish | annamh | ||
| From Middle Irish annam 'infrequent', literally "without honour". | |||
| Italian | raramente | ||
| The word "raramente" is derived from the Latin word "rarus" meaning "thin" or "scattered". | |||
| Luxembourgish | selten | ||
| "Selten" in Luxembourgish comes from Old High German "seltan" and also means "infrequently" or "occasionally". | |||
| Maltese | rarament | ||
| The word "rarament" in Maltese is derived from the Latin word "rarus", which means "thin" or "scattered". | |||
| Norwegian | sjelden | ||
| "Sjelden" in Norwegian also means "soul" or "spirit" | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | raramente | ||
| "Raramente" comes from the Latin "raro" and also means "thin" or "loose" | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ainneamh | ||
| Historically, "ainneamh" referred to the "infrequent" visits by a priest, as the people lived far away from the churches. | |||
| Spanish | raramente | ||
| "Raramente" also means "strange" or "unique". | |||
| Swedish | sällan | ||
| "Sällan" is cognate with the German "selten". Less commonly it can be used in the sense of "seldomly, seldom". | |||
| Welsh | anaml | ||
| "Anam" is an archaic form of "an" (a), which is a mutation of "un" (not)" | |||
Rarely in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | рэдка | ||
| The word "рэдка" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *rědъkъ, meaning "thin" or "sparse". | |||
| Bosnian | rijetko | ||
| The word "rijetko" in Bosnian comes from the Proto-Slavic word "rědъkъ", which also means "thin" or "sparse". | |||
| Bulgarian | рядко | ||
| The Russian word "редко" for "rarely" is also used in Bulgarian, where it means "infrequently". | |||
| Czech | zřídka | ||
| The word "zřídka" originally meant "at times, occasionally" | |||
| Estonian | harva | ||
| The word "harva" in Estonian can also mean "distant" or "sparse" in the sense of distribution or occurrence. | |||
| Finnish | harvoin | ||
| The word "harvoin" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *harwa, meaning "sparse" or "open". | |||
| Hungarian | ritkán | ||
| The word "ritkán" is a derivative of the word "ritka," which means "sparse" or "porous." | |||
| Latvian | reti | ||
| Reti can also refer to a net, screen, or grid. | |||
| Lithuanian | retai | ||
| The word "retai" in Lithuanian also means "sparsely" or "thinly." | |||
| Macedonian | ретко | ||
| The word "ретко" in Macedonian can also mean "infrequently" or "seldom". | |||
| Polish | rzadko | ||
| The word "rzadko" in Polish has a Proto-Slavic root "*rědъkъ" meaning "sparse, thin". It can also mean "infrequent, not often" or "unusual, uncommon". | |||
| Romanian | rareori | ||
| The word "rareori" is derived from the Latin "raro," meaning "seldom," and the suffix "-ori," meaning "from time to time." | |||
| Russian | редко | ||
| The word "редко" can also mean "infrequently" or "sparsely" in Russian. | |||
| Serbian | ретко | ||
| The word 'ретко' also means 'infrequently' or 'seldom' in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | zriedka | ||
| Zriedka can also mean 'thin' or 'sparse' when describing people or things. | |||
| Slovenian | redko | ||
| Both 'red' ('red') and 'redko' ('rarely') in Slovenian derive from the Slavic root 'red' ('order'). | |||
| Ukrainian | рідко | ||
| The word "рідко" also means "liquid" in Ukrainian, derived from the Proto-Slavic word *ridъkъ, meaning "thin" or "liquid." | |||
Rarely in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | খুব কমই | ||
| উল্লেখ্য, 'খুব কমই' এর অপর একটি অর্থ হল 'খুব ক্ষুদ্র আকারের'। | |||
| Gujarati | ભાગ્યે જ | ||
| Hindi | शायद ही कभी | ||
| The word "शायद ही कभी" can also be used to mean "hardly ever" or "almost never". | |||
| Kannada | ವಿರಳವಾಗಿ | ||
| The word ವಿರಳವಾಗಿ (viralaavagi) in Kannada also means 'infrequently', 'seldom', and 'occasionally'. | |||
| Malayalam | അപൂർവ്വമായി | ||
| Marathi | क्वचितच | ||
| क्वचितच (kvaccitac) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kvacid', meaning 'sometimes, on occasions' and the suffix 'it', denoting diminution, hence meaning 'rarely'. | |||
| Nepali | विरलै | ||
| The Nepali word “विरलै” ("rarely") comes from the Sanskrit word “विरल” ("thin") and also means "sparsley." | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਹੁਤ ਘੱਟ | ||
| The word "ਬਹੁਤ ਘੱਟ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "बहुत" (bahut), meaning "much" or "very," and is used to denote a lack of abundance. In English, it is typically translated as "seldom" or "rarely." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කලාතුරකින් | ||
| Tamil | அரிதாக | ||
| 'அரிதாக' is a Tamil word originated from the word 'அரிது' which means 'difficult' or 'hard to get'. | |||
| Telugu | అరుదుగా | ||
| The word "అరుదుగా" is derived from the Sanskrit word "アルパ" meaning "few" or "little". | |||
| Urdu | شاذ و نادر ہی | ||
Rarely in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 很少 | ||
| The word '很少' ('rarely') was originally written as '稍禾' and meant 'sparsely planted rice'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 很少 | ||
| In classical Chinese, it also meant to have few people, or a small population. | |||
| Japanese | めったに | ||
| "めったに" (rarely) derives from "滅多", a term used to describe something that seldom happens or exists. | |||
| Korean | 드물게 | ||
| The word "드물게" is derived from the Middle Korean word "드믈다", meaning "to be few". The word is also related to the Japanese word "まれ" (rare), and the Chinese word "稀" (rare). | |||
| Mongolian | ховор | ||
| Ховор shares a root with ховорсон (a wanderer), and in Old Mongolian it meant "a few". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ခဲသည် | ||
Rarely in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | jarang | ||
| "Jarung" also refers to an object with uneven surfaces, a gap or opening between two objects or even the gap between teeth. | |||
| Javanese | arang banget | ||
| The idiom 'arang banget' is literally translated to 'not hot', implying an event's rarity and specialness. | |||
| Khmer | កម្រណាស់ | ||
| In the 16th century, the word កម្រណាស់ was used to mean "not yet" or "has not yet happened," and it was not until the 19th century that it began to be used to mean "rarely." | |||
| Lao | ບໍ່ຄ່ອຍ | ||
| The word "ບໍ່ຄ່ອຍ" can also mean "not very" or "not so much" when used in a comparative sense. | |||
| Malay | jarang | ||
| "Jarung" in Old Javanese and "jarum" in Malay both mean "rare" or "uncommon." | |||
| Thai | นาน ๆ ครั้ง | ||
| In Thai, "นาน ๆ ครั้ง" (naan naan khrang) literally means "once in a long while" or "from time to time." | |||
| Vietnamese | ít khi | ||
| The word "ít khi" can also mean "seldom" or "infrequently". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bihira | ||
Rarely in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | nadir hallarda | ||
| Nadir hallarda, also means "at all times" in Azeri, and derives from the Arabic "nadiran". | |||
| Kazakh | сирек | ||
| The word "сирек" in Kazakh does have the meaning "rarely", but it can also mean "however" or "nevertheless." | |||
| Kyrgyz | сейрек | ||
| Сейрек is also used as a measurement of time, especially in the context of how often something happens. | |||
| Tajik | кам | ||
| The word "кам" can also mean "just" or "only" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | seýrek | ||
| Uzbek | kamdan-kam hollarda | ||
| "Kamdan-kam hollarda" (rarely) comes from the Persian phrase "kam az kam", which literally means "at least" or "no less than". | |||
| Uyghur | ناھايىتى ئاز ئۇچرايدۇ | ||
Rarely in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kākaʻikahi | ||
| The word "kākaʻikahi" also means "one by one" or "one at a time". | |||
| Maori | varavara | ||
| The word "varavara" derives from the Maori word "vara" meaning "separation" or "distance". | |||
| Samoan | seasea | ||
| The Samoan word "seasea" is a reduplication of the word "sea", which means "one" or "a few". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bihira | ||
| "Bihira" is derived from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word *bi(h)iʀ, meaning "few" or "scarce." | |||
Rarely in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | juk'apachaki | ||
| Guarani | sapy'aguáva | ||
Rarely in International Languages
| Esperanto | malofte | ||
| The word "malofte" is a compound of the negative prefix "mal-" and the noun "ofte" (often), thus meaning "not often" or "rarely" | |||
| Latin | raro | ||
| The word "raro" in Latin also means "to steal" or "to take away." | |||
Rarely in Others Languages
| Greek | σπανίως | ||
| The word 'σπανίως' is derived from the Greek word 'σπάνις', meaning 'scarcity'. | |||
| Hmong | tsis tshua muaj | ||
| The Hmong word "tsis tshua muaj" can also have connotations of "seldom", "infrequently", and "uncommonly", emphasizing a low frequency of occurrence. | |||
| Kurdish | kêm caran | ||
| The word "kêm caran" in Kurdish is literally translated as "less time". | |||
| Turkish | seyrek | ||
| In Turkish, "seyrek" can also mean "sparse" or "thin". | |||
| Xhosa | kunqabile | ||
| The Xhosa word "kunqabile" is also an alternate form of "iqhile", meaning "ashes". | |||
| Yiddish | ראַרעלי | ||
| The word "ראַרעלי" is a Yiddish borrowing from the Hebrew word "רארה," meaning "moment" or "rare." | |||
| Zulu | kuyaqabukela | ||
| "Kuyaqabukela" can also be used to refer to a "little bit," "slightly," or "a few." | |||
| Assamese | কাচিত্ | ||
| Aymara | juk'apachaki | ||
| Bhojpuri | शायदे कब्बो | ||
| Dhivehi | ވަރަށްމަދުން | ||
| Dogri | कदें-कदाएं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bihira | ||
| Guarani | sapy'aguáva | ||
| Ilocano | manmano | ||
| Krio | at fɔ si | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بە دەگمەن | ||
| Maithili | शायदे कहियो | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯍꯥꯅ | ||
| Mizo | khat | ||
| Oromo | darbee darbee | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କ୍ଵଚିତ | ||
| Quechua | mana riqsisqa | ||
| Sanskrit | दुर्लभतः | ||
| Tatar | сирәк | ||
| Tigrinya | ሓልሓሊፉ | ||
| Tsonga | talangi | ||