Rather in Different Languages
Discover 'Rather' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Rather
Afrikaans eerder | ||
Albanian përkundrazi | ||
Amharic ይልቅስ | ||
Arabic بدلا | ||
Armenian ավելի շուտ | ||
Assamese বৰঞ্চ | ||
Aymara uksipanxa | ||
Azerbaijani daha doğrusu | ||
Bambara fisa | ||
Basque hobeto esanda | ||
Belarusian хутчэй | ||
Bengali বরং | ||
Bhojpuri बल्कि | ||
Bosnian radije | ||
Bulgarian по-скоро | ||
Catalan més aviat | ||
Cebuano hinoon | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 宁可 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 寧可 | ||
Corsican piuttostu | ||
Croatian dapače | ||
Czech spíše | ||
Danish hellere | ||
Dhivehi ބަދަލުގައި | ||
Dogri बल्के | ||
Dutch liever | ||
English rather | ||
Esperanto prefere | ||
Estonian pigem | ||
Ewe boŋ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) sa halip | ||
Finnish pikemminkin | ||
French plutôt | ||
Frisian leaver | ||
Galician máis ben | ||
Georgian უფრო სწორად | ||
German lieber | ||
Greek μάλλον | ||
Guarani rãngue | ||
Gujarati બદલે | ||
Haitian Creole olye | ||
Hausa maimakon haka | ||
Hawaiian akā, | ||
Hebrew אלא | ||
Hindi बल्कि | ||
Hmong es | ||
Hungarian inkább | ||
Icelandic frekar | ||
Igbo kama | ||
Ilocano bassit | ||
Indonesian agak | ||
Irish in áit | ||
Italian piuttosto | ||
Japanese むしろ | ||
Javanese luwih becik | ||
Kannada ಬದಲಿಗೆ | ||
Kazakh керісінше | ||
Khmer ជា | ||
Kinyarwanda ahubwo | ||
Konkani खरें सांगचें जाल्यार | ||
Korean 차라리 | ||
Krio bifo dat | ||
Kurdish gellek | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) جیا | ||
Kyrgyz тескерисинче | ||
Lao ແທນທີ່ຈະ | ||
Latin magis | ||
Latvian drīzāk | ||
Lingala olie | ||
Lithuanian veikiau | ||
Luganda wadde | ||
Luxembourgish éischter | ||
Macedonian попрво | ||
Maithili बल्कि | ||
Malagasy kosa | ||
Malay sebaliknya | ||
Malayalam പകരം | ||
Maltese anzi | ||
Maori engari | ||
Marathi त्याऐवजी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯗꯨꯒꯤ ꯃꯍꯨꯠꯇ | ||
Mizo chutiang ni lovin | ||
Mongolian харин ч | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အစား | ||
Nepali बरु | ||
Norwegian heller | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kani | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବରଂ | ||
Oromo -irra | ||
Pashto بلکه | ||
Persian نسبتا | ||
Polish raczej | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) em vez | ||
Punjabi ਨਾ ਕਿ | ||
Quechua aswanqa | ||
Romanian mai degraba | ||
Russian скорее | ||
Samoan ae | ||
Sanskrit उत | ||
Scots Gaelic an àite | ||
Sepedi eupša | ||
Serbian радије | ||
Sesotho ho ena le hoo | ||
Shona asi | ||
Sindhi بلڪه | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ඒ වෙනුවට | ||
Slovak skôr | ||
Slovenian precej | ||
Somali halkii | ||
Spanish más bien | ||
Sundanese rada | ||
Swahili badala | ||
Swedish snarare | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) sa halip | ||
Tajik балки | ||
Tamil மாறாக | ||
Tatar киресенчә | ||
Telugu బదులుగా | ||
Thai ค่อนข้าง | ||
Tigrinya ይመርፅ | ||
Tsonga kumbe | ||
Turkish daha doğrusu | ||
Turkmen däl-de, eýsem | ||
Twi (Akan) mmom | ||
Ukrainian скоріше | ||
Urdu بلکہ | ||
Uyghur بەلكى | ||
Uzbek aksincha | ||
Vietnamese hơn | ||
Welsh yn hytrach | ||
Xhosa kunokuba | ||
Yiddish ליבערשט | ||
Yoruba dipo | ||
Zulu kunalokho |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "eerder" is derived from the Dutch word "eerder" but also means "earlier" or "before" rather than "rather" like in English. |
| Albanian | While traditionally a conjunction meaning "rather", it can also be used as an interjection indicating surprise or astonishment. |
| Amharic | The word "ይልቅስ" is derived from the Ge'ez word "ልቅስ" meaning "to leave" or "to abandon", implying a choice between two options, thus it came to mean "rather". |
| Arabic | The word بدلا can also mean "instead of" or "in exchange for" |
| Azerbaijani | "Daha doğrusu" is a compound word formed by combining "daha" (more) and "doğrusu" (correct). It is often used to indicate a correction or clarification. |
| Basque | The Basque word "hobeto esanda" may also mean "better said" or "more precisely". |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word “хутчэй” (“rather”) comes, via the Old East Slavic word “скорѣѥ”, from the Proto-Slavic word “*skorojь”, meaning “quick” or “fast”. |
| Bengali | The word "বরং" also means "choice" or "option" in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | The word "radije" in Bosnian can also mean "because" or "in order to". |
| Bulgarian | The Bulgarian word "по-скоро" (rather) originates from the comparative degree of the adjective "скоро" (soon). |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "més aviat" can also mean "earlier" or "sooner". |
| Cebuano | The word "hinoon" can also refer to "indeed", "at once" and "already" in Cebuano. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In Buddhist scriptures, 宁可 originally meant "would rather give up". In modern Chinese, it also means "would rather do". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "寧" means calm or peace; "可" means allowable or possible. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "piuttostu" is derived from the Italian word "piuttosto" which means "more". This meaning is still retained in modern Corsican, so "piuttostu" can also mean "more" or "excessively". |
| Croatian | "Dapače" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "dъ pače", meaning "even more so". |
| Czech | "Spíše" originates from Slavic *po-čь-, from Proto-Indo-European *po- "strong, much", but it's also used in the meaning of "maybe", cognate with Serbian and Bulgarian "po-še" (more). |
| Danish | The word 'hellere' has historical links to the word 'hell', as both derive from a Proto-Germanic word for sloping or sloping down. |
| Dutch | The word "liever" can also mean "dearer" or "more beloved" in Dutch. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto "prefere" derives from a French word often used to mean "exquisite, excellent" and unrelated to English "prefer". |
| Estonian | The word "pigem" in Estonian is ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic word *batiz" with the meaning "better" that is also the source of the English word "better". |
| Finnish | The word 'pikemminkin' is thought to be derived from the word 'piki', meaning 'edge', or 'pointed end'. |
| French | In its original form, "plutôt" was composed of "plus tôt" ("more quickly") which led to the meaning of "earlier, sooner, faster," and not necessarily a choice between two options. |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "leaver" also means "to believe".} |
| Galician | The word "máis ben" comes from the Latin "magis bene," which means "more well" |
| German | The word 'lieber' has another meaning of 'dear' or 'beloved', similar to its Dutch cognate 'liever'. |
| Greek | The word "μάλλον" can also mean "more" or "rather than" in Greek. |
| Gujarati | બદલે can also mean "instead of" in some Gujarati idioms. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "olye" in Haitian Creole can also mean "already" or "too much". |
| Hausa | The word "maimakon haka" in Hausa can also mean "in this way" or "in this manner." |
| Hawaiian | "Akā" can also mean "not yet" or "more or less". |
| Hebrew | Though pronounced identically, the Hebrew words "אלה" ("those") and "אלא" ("rather") come from two different root words. |
| Hindi | बल्कि (balki), derived from the Sanskrit बहुल (bahula), originally meant "abundant" or "numerous" but later acquired its modern meaning "rather". |
| Hmong | In addition to the common meaning of 'rather', 'es' can also mean 'a little' or 'slightly'. |
| Hungarian | The word 'Inkább' derives from a Proto-Hungarian word meaning 'beyond'. |
| Icelandic | Frekar ('rather') is etymologically related to words like 'frequent' and 'fretful,' suggesting a sense of repeated or ongoing action. |
| Igbo | Igbo "kama" also means "almost" or "more or less" depending on the context of its usage. |
| Indonesian | The word 'agak' (rather) in Indonesian is derived from the Dutch word 'agathisch', meaning 'rather' or 'sufficient', and can also mean 'kinda' or 'sort of'. |
| Irish | In Irish, "in áit" can also refer to a place, position, or direction. |
| Italian | The word "piuttosto" can also mean "moreover" or "instead" in Italian, and it derives from the Latin word "potius," meaning "rather" or "more." |
| Japanese | "むしろ" can also mean "straw mat" or "rushes" in Japanese. |
| Javanese | The word "luwih becik" in Javanese can also mean "better" or "more suitable" in certain contexts. |
| Kannada | The word 'ಬದಲಿಗೆ' can mean 'in exchange for' or 'because of', depending on the context. |
| Kazakh | The word is formed by adding the word "көп" meaning "many" and "ретен" meaning "times" and it also means "much". |
| Khmer | In the Khmer language, 'ជា' can mean 'to be', 'to act as', or 'to become' depending on the context. |
| Korean | Though most commonly interpreted as a contraction of "차(라) + 리" (literally "that way/manner + then"), it has been argued that "차(라)리" may also originate from "차리다" (to arrange/to put/to prepare). |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "gellek" can also mean "perhaps" or "maybe". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "тескерисинче" also means "reverse" or "opposite" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | In Latin, "magis" can also mean "more" or "much" and derives from the Proto-Indo-European *mag- "great, strong". |
| Latvian | Latvian "drīzāk" has additional meanings, including "more likely" and "sooner than later". |
| Lithuanian | "Veikiau" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*weik-/, meaning "to separate, to leave". It also has the alternate meaning of "more correctly" or "more accurately" in Lithuanian. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "éischter" comes from the Old High German "êrist," meaning "first". It can also mean "before" or "earlier." |
| Macedonian | The word "попрво" in Macedonian is derived from the Proto-Slavic adjective "pьrvь", which meant "first" or "primary." |
| Malagasy | The word "kosa" can also be derived from the Arabic word "qasa" which means "to narrate" and is often used in a metaphorical sense to refer to someone who likes to gossip. |
| Malay | It also means in the opposite way, on the other hand, or in comparison. |
| Malayalam | The word "പകരം" also means "in return" or "as compensation". |
| Maltese | "Anzi" originates from the Latin conjunction "antius", meaning "in front" or "on the contrary". |
| Maori | Engari can also mean 'but' or 'however' when used in a negative sense. |
| Marathi | त्याऐवजी is derived from the Sanskrit phrase 'tad-eva-iha' meaning 'that-very-here' and can also mean 'instead'. |
| Mongolian | In Mongolian 'харин ч' can also be used to mean 'but' and 'however'. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အစား can also mean "to take the place of" or "to be in substitution for". |
| Nepali | In Nepali, |
| Norwegian | The word "heller" in Norwegian also means "more" or "rather" and is related to the verb "helle" which means "to slope" or "to tilt". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "kani" in Nyanja (Chichewa) also means "hard" or "difficult". |
| Pashto | In Pashto, the word "بلکه" also means "but" or "however". |
| Persian | The word "نسبتا" in Persian can also mean "proportionally" or "relative to something else". |
| Polish | "Raczej" has the secondary meaning of "almost" or "very nearly. " |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Portuguese "em vez" derives from the latin "vice versā" meaning "in the opposite way" |
| Punjabi | The word "ਨਾ ਕਿ" can also mean "instead" or "in exchange for". |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "mai degrabă" originally meant "more swiftly" and is unrelated to the English word "rather" despite the similar meaning. |
| Russian | The word "скорее" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "skoro" meaning "quickly". |
| Samoan | While "ae" does often translate to the English "rather," it can also mean "more or less" in some situations. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word 'an àite' also means 'the place' in Scots Gaelic, derived from the Gaelic root 'àit' meaning 'place'. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "радије" can also mean "prefer" or "willingly." |
| Sesotho | The word "ho ena le hoo" in Sesotho can also mean "to love" or "to be fond of". |
| Shona | The word "asi" can also mean "rather not" or "I don't care" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | بلڪه is also used in Sindhi with the meanings 'indeed', 'rather', or 'even' (in a sentence that is already negative). |
| Slovak | The word skôr in Slovak is a derivative of the word skoro, which in medieval times meant |
| Slovenian | The word 'precej' derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'prědь', meaning 'before' or 'in front of'. |
| Somali | Halku is originally from Arabic meaning "condition," "circumstance," or "matter, state of affairs," "business" or "affair," "a thing" or "something," as well as "something necessary for a certain purpose." |
| Spanish | Más bien means "more so" in Spanish, as in "es más bien un problema de percepción que de realidad."} |
| Sundanese | The word "rada" in Sundanese can also mean "quite", "fairly", or "somewhat". |
| Swahili | The Swahili word 'badala' is derived from the Arabic 'badal', meaning 'exchange' or 'alternative'. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "snarare" can also mean "all the more" or "rather quickly". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "sa halip" is derived from the root word "palit" which means "to change" or "to replace". |
| Tajik | The word "балки" is derived from the Persian word "بلكه" (balkeh), which means "perhaps" or "on the contrary". |
| Tamil | In Tamil, "மாறாக" can also be used to indicate "in contrast" or "on the contrary". |
| Thai | 'ค่อนข้าง' is derived from 'ข้าง' (side), meaning 'on one side' or 'to some extent'. |
| Turkish | The word "daha doğrusu" in Turkish is a compound phrase consisting of "daha" (meaning "more") and "doğrusu" (meaning "the truth"), hence its overall meaning of "more correctly" or "rather." |
| Ukrainian | The word "скоріше" in Ukrainian also means "faster" or "sooner". |
| Urdu | "بلکہ" is derived from "بَلْ" (but) and "که" (that). It is sometimes used to express emphasis or contrast. |
| Uzbek | "Aksincha" in Uzbek originates from the Persian word "aksan" meaning "echo" and "-cha" meaning "like", hence denoting "to echo" or "to say the same thing". |
| Vietnamese | In the Vietnamese language, the term "hơn" can also be used to compare and quantify objects. |
| Welsh | "Yn hytrach" also means "instead" or "on the contrary" in certain contexts. |
| Xhosa | The word "kunokuba" in Xhosa has alternate meanings including "even though" and "although". |
| Yiddish | "ליבערשט" can also mean "preferably" or "best of all". |
| Yoruba | Dipo is also used to indicate a comparison of preference or superiority, and means 'than' or 'more than'. |
| Zulu | The word 'kunalokho' in Zulu is a contraction of the words 'kunala lokho,' which translates to 'rather than that.' |
| English | Rather, from OE rathor 'earlier, sooner,' is related to OE rathe 'quickly, early,' and to the words 'read' and 'ride'. |