Rather in different languages

Rather in Different Languages

Discover 'Rather' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'rather' is a small but powerful part of the English language. It has a significant role in expressing preferences, comparisons, and making polite requests. Its cultural importance is evident in how it subtly shapes our communication, allowing us to soften our language and be more diplomatic.

For language enthusiasts and travelers, understanding the translation of 'rather' in different languages can open up new avenues of cultural exploration. For instance, in Spanish, 'rather' translates to 'más bien' (pronounced mahs bee-ehn), while in French, it's 'plutôt' (proonced plew-tay). In German, 'rather' is translated as 'stattdessen' (pronounced shtat-de-zen).

Did you know that 'rather' has been used in English literature since the 14th century? Its historical context and evolution add to its intrigue. So, whether you're learning a new language, delving into literature, or simply appreciate the richness of language, exploring the translations of 'rater' can be a fascinating journey.

Rather


Rather in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanseerder
The Afrikaans word "eerder" is derived from the Dutch word "eerder" but also means "earlier" or "before" rather than "rather" like in English.
Amharicይልቅስ
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".
Hausamaimakon haka
The word "maimakon haka" in Hausa can also mean "in this way" or "in this manner."
Igbokama
Igbo "kama" also means "almost" or "more or less" depending on the context of its usage.
Malagasykosa
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.
Nyanja (Chichewa)kani
The word "kani" in Nyanja (Chichewa) also means "hard" or "difficult".
Shonaasi
The word "asi" can also mean "rather not" or "I don't care" in Shona.
Somalihalkii
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."
Sesothoho ena le hoo
The word "ho ena le hoo" in Sesotho can also mean "to love" or "to be fond of".
Swahilibadala
The Swahili word 'badala' is derived from the Arabic 'badal', meaning 'exchange' or 'alternative'.
Xhosakunokuba
The word "kunokuba" in Xhosa has alternate meanings including "even though" and "although".
Yorubadipo
Dipo is also used to indicate a comparison of preference or superiority, and means 'than' or 'more than'.
Zulukunalokho
The word 'kunalokho' in Zulu is a contraction of the words 'kunala lokho,' which translates to 'rather than that.'
Bambarafisa
Eweboŋ
Kinyarwandaahubwo
Lingalaolie
Lugandawadde
Sepedieupša
Twi (Akan)mmom

Rather in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicبدلا
The word بدلا can also mean "instead of" or "in exchange for"
Hebrewאלא
Though pronounced identically, the Hebrew words "אלה" ("those") and "אלא" ("rather") come from two different root words.
Pashtoبلکه
In Pashto, the word "بلکه" also means "but" or "however".
Arabicبدلا
The word بدلا can also mean "instead of" or "in exchange for"

Rather in Western European Languages

Albanianpërkundrazi
While traditionally a conjunction meaning "rather", it can also be used as an interjection indicating surprise or astonishment.
Basquehobeto esanda
The Basque word "hobeto esanda" may also mean "better said" or "more precisely".
Catalanmés aviat
The Catalan word "més aviat" can also mean "earlier" or "sooner".
Croatiandapače
"Dapače" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "dъ pače", meaning "even more so".
Danishhellere
The word 'hellere' has historical links to the word 'hell', as both derive from a Proto-Germanic word for sloping or sloping down.
Dutchliever
The word "liever" can also mean "dearer" or "more beloved" in Dutch.
Englishrather
Rather, from OE rathor 'earlier, sooner,' is related to OE rathe 'quickly, early,' and to the words 'read' and 'ride'.
Frenchplutôt
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.
Frisianleaver
The Frisian word "leaver" also means "to believe".}
Galicianmáis ben
The word "máis ben" comes from the Latin "magis bene," which means "more well"
Germanlieber
The word 'lieber' has another meaning of 'dear' or 'beloved', similar to its Dutch cognate 'liever'.
Icelandicfrekar
Frekar ('rather') is etymologically related to words like 'frequent' and 'fretful,' suggesting a sense of repeated or ongoing action.
Irishin áit
In Irish, "in áit" can also refer to a place, position, or direction.
Italianpiuttosto
The word "piuttosto" can also mean "moreover" or "instead" in Italian, and it derives from the Latin word "potius," meaning "rather" or "more."
Luxembourgishéischter
The word "éischter" comes from the Old High German "êrist," meaning "first". It can also mean "before" or "earlier."
Malteseanzi
"Anzi" originates from the Latin conjunction "antius", meaning "in front" or "on the contrary".
Norwegianheller
The word "heller" in Norwegian also means "more" or "rather" and is related to the verb "helle" which means "to slope" or "to tilt".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)em vez
Portuguese "em vez" derives from the latin "vice versā" meaning "in the opposite way"
Scots Gaelican àite
The word 'an àite' also means 'the place' in Scots Gaelic, derived from the Gaelic root 'àit' meaning 'place'.
Spanishmás bien
Más bien means "more so" in Spanish, as in "es más bien un problema de percepción que de realidad."}
Swedishsnarare
The Swedish word "snarare" can also mean "all the more" or "rather quickly".
Welshyn hytrach
"Yn hytrach" also means "instead" or "on the contrary" in certain contexts.

Rather in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianхутчэй
The Belarusian word “хутчэй” (“rather”) comes, via the Old East Slavic word “скорѣѥ”, from the Proto-Slavic word “*skorojь”, meaning “quick” or “fast”.
Bosnianradije
The word "radije" in Bosnian can also mean "because" or "in order to".
Bulgarianпо-скоро
The Bulgarian word "по-скоро" (rather) originates from the comparative degree of the adjective "скоро" (soon).
Czechspíše
"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).
Estonianpigem
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".
Finnishpikemminkin
The word 'pikemminkin' is thought to be derived from the word 'piki', meaning 'edge', or 'pointed end'.
Hungarianinkább
The word 'Inkább' derives from a Proto-Hungarian word meaning 'beyond'.
Latviandrīzāk
Latvian "drīzāk" has additional meanings, including "more likely" and "sooner than later".
Lithuanianveikiau
"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.
Macedonianпопрво
The word "попрво" in Macedonian is derived from the Proto-Slavic adjective "pьrvь", which meant "first" or "primary."
Polishraczej
"Raczej" has the secondary meaning of "almost" or "very nearly. "
Romanianmai degraba
The Romanian word "mai degrabă" originally meant "more swiftly" and is unrelated to the English word "rather" despite the similar meaning.
Russianскорее
The word "скорее" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "skoro" meaning "quickly".
Serbianрадије
The Serbian word "радије" can also mean "prefer" or "willingly."
Slovakskôr
The word skôr in Slovak is a derivative of the word skoro, which in medieval times meant
Slovenianprecej
The word 'precej' derives from the Proto-Slavic word 'prědь', meaning 'before' or 'in front of'.
Ukrainianскоріше
The word "скоріше" in Ukrainian also means "faster" or "sooner".

Rather in South Asian Languages

Bengaliবরং
The word "বরং" also means "choice" or "option" in Bengali.
Gujaratiબદલે
બદલે can also mean "instead of" in some Gujarati idioms.
Hindiबल्कि
बल्कि (balki), derived from the Sanskrit बहुल (bahula), originally meant "abundant" or "numerous" but later acquired its modern meaning "rather".
Kannadaಬದಲಿಗೆ
The word 'ಬದಲಿಗೆ' can mean 'in exchange for' or 'because of', depending on the context.
Malayalamപകരം
The word "പകരം" also means "in return" or "as compensation".
Marathiत्याऐवजी
त्याऐवजी is derived from the Sanskrit phrase 'tad-eva-iha' meaning 'that-very-here' and can also mean 'instead'.
Nepaliबरु
In Nepali,
Punjabiਨਾ ਕਿ
The word "ਨਾ ਕਿ" can also mean "instead" or "in exchange for".
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ඒ වෙනුවට
Tamilமாறாக
In Tamil, "மாறாக" can also be used to indicate "in contrast" or "on the contrary".
Teluguబదులుగా
Urduبلکہ
"بلکہ" is derived from "بَلْ" (but) and "که" (that). It is sometimes used to express emphasis or contrast.

Rather in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)宁可
In Buddhist scriptures, 宁可 originally meant "would rather give up". In modern Chinese, it also means "would rather do".
Chinese (Traditional)寧可
"寧" means calm or peace; "可" means allowable or possible.
Japaneseむしろ
"むしろ" can also mean "straw mat" or "rushes" in Japanese.
Korean차라리
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).
Mongolianхарин ч
In Mongolian 'харин ч' can also be used to mean 'but' and 'however'.
Myanmar (Burmese)အစား
အစား can also mean "to take the place of" or "to be in substitution for".

Rather in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianagak
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'.
Javaneseluwih becik
The word "luwih becik" in Javanese can also mean "better" or "more suitable" in certain contexts.
Khmerជា
In the Khmer language, 'ជា' can mean 'to be', 'to act as', or 'to become' depending on the context.
Laoແທນທີ່ຈະ
Malaysebaliknya
It also means in the opposite way, on the other hand, or in comparison.
Thaiค่อนข้าง
'ค่อนข้าง' is derived from 'ข้าง' (side), meaning 'on one side' or 'to some extent'.
Vietnamesehơn
In the Vietnamese language, the term "hơn" can also be used to compare and quantify objects.
Filipino (Tagalog)sa halip

Rather in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanidaha doğrusu
"Daha doğrusu" is a compound word formed by combining "daha" (more) and "doğrusu" (correct). It is often used to indicate a correction or clarification.
Kazakhкерісінше
The word is formed by adding the word "көп" meaning "many" and "ретен" meaning "times" and it also means "much".
Kyrgyzтескерисинче
The word "тескерисинче" also means "reverse" or "opposite" in Kyrgyz.
Tajikбалки
The word "балки" is derived from the Persian word "بلكه" (balkeh), which means "perhaps" or "on the contrary".
Turkmendäl-de, eýsem
Uzbekaksincha
"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".
Uyghurبەلكى

Rather in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianakā,
"Akā" can also mean "not yet" or "more or less".
Maoriengari
Engari can also mean 'but' or 'however' when used in a negative sense.
Samoanae
While "ae" does often translate to the English "rather," it can also mean "more or less" in some situations.
Tagalog (Filipino)sa halip
The word "sa halip" is derived from the root word "palit" which means "to change" or "to replace".

Rather in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarauksipanxa
Guaranirãngue

Rather in International Languages

Esperantoprefere
Esperanto "prefere" derives from a French word often used to mean "exquisite, excellent" and unrelated to English "prefer".
Latinmagis
In Latin, "magis" can also mean "more" or "much" and derives from the Proto-Indo-European *mag- "great, strong".

Rather in Others Languages

Greekμάλλον
The word "μάλλον" can also mean "more" or "rather than" in Greek.
Hmonges
In addition to the common meaning of 'rather', 'es' can also mean 'a little' or 'slightly'.
Kurdishgellek
The Kurdish word "gellek" can also mean "perhaps" or "maybe".
Turkishdaha doğrusu
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."
Xhosakunokuba
The word "kunokuba" in Xhosa has alternate meanings including "even though" and "although".
Yiddishליבערשט
"ליבערשט" can also mean "preferably" or "best of all".
Zulukunalokho
The word 'kunalokho' in Zulu is a contraction of the words 'kunala lokho,' which translates to 'rather than that.'
Assameseবৰঞ্চ
Aymarauksipanxa
Bhojpuriबल्कि
Dhivehiބަދަލުގައި
Dogriबल्के
Filipino (Tagalog)sa halip
Guaranirãngue
Ilocanobassit
Kriobifo dat
Kurdish (Sorani)جیا
Maithiliबल्कि
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯗꯨꯒꯤ ꯃꯍꯨꯠꯇ
Mizochutiang ni lovin
Oromo-irra
Odia (Oriya)ବରଂ
Quechuaaswanqa
Sanskritउत
Tatarкиресенчә
Tigrinyaይመርፅ
Tsongakumbe

Click on a letter to browse words starting with that letter