Really in Different Languages
Discover 'Really' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'really' is a small but mighty part of the English language. It's a versatile word that can be used to express surprise, emphasis, or certainty. But have you ever wondered how 'really' is translated in different languages? Understanding the translation of this word can give you a unique insight into different cultures and ways of expressing oneself.
For example, in Spanish, 'really' can be translated to 'realmente.' In French, it's 'réellement.' And in German, it's 'wirklich.' These translations not only give you a better understanding of the word 'really,' but they also offer a glimpse into the cultural context of these languages.
Moreover, the word 'really' has a rich history. It originated from the Middle English word 'really,' which means 'actually' or 'genuinely.' Over time, the word has evolved to take on a variety of meanings and uses in the English language.
So, why should you care about the translation of 'really' in different languages? Understanding this word in different languages can help you better communicate with people from different cultures, expand your vocabulary, and gain a deeper appreciation for the richness and diversity of language and culture.
Really
Really in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | regtig | ||
| The Afrikaans word "regtig" is derived from the Dutch "rechte" and originally meant "straight" or "correct". | |||
| Amharic | በእውነት | ||
| The word "በእውነት" (really) in Amharic comes from the root word "እውነት" (truth), and can also mean "indeed" or "in fact". | |||
| Hausa | gaske | ||
| Gaske, a Hausa word for "really," also refers to "truth" or "certainty." | |||
| Igbo | n'ezie | ||
| Igbo word “n’ezie” can also be used to say “the real deal”, “authentic”, “legit”, “undiluted” or “true/actual”. | |||
| Malagasy | tena | ||
| The word "tena" is also used to mean "yes" and "OK" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kwenikweni | ||
| Kwenikweni, meaning 'really,' may derive from the verb kwena 'to say' or the noun kwene 'truth'. | |||
| Shona | chaizvo | ||
| The word "chaizvo" in Shona can also be used to mean "certainly" or "definitely". | |||
| Somali | runti | ||
| The word "runti" in Somali also means "to exist". | |||
| Sesotho | ka 'nete | ||
| "Ka 'nete" is also the infinitive form of the verb "to agree". | |||
| Swahili | kweli | ||
| Kweli derives from the Arabic word "qadi," which also means "judge." | |||
| Xhosa | ngokwenene | ||
| The word "ngokwenene" can also mean "truth" or "in accordance with the facts" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | looto | ||
| The word "looto" is derived from the Yoruba word "lo", which means "to do", and "oto", which means "truly" or "really". Therefore, "looto" literally means "to do truly". | |||
| Zulu | ngempela | ||
| Ngempela can also mean 'very' or 'extremely' and is sometimes used intensitively to indicate a high degree of something. | |||
| Bambara | lakika | ||
| Ewe | nyateƒea | ||
| Kinyarwanda | mubyukuri | ||
| Lingala | mpenza | ||
| Luganda | kituufu | ||
| Sepedi | ka kgonthe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | pa ara | ||
Really in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | هل حقا | ||
| The word هل حقا (“really”) has alternate spellings, and its etymology has been debated. | |||
| Hebrew | בֶּאֱמֶת | ||
| בֶּאֱמֶת is also used to say 'truly' or 'indeed'. | |||
| Pashto | واقعیا | ||
| The word "واقعیا" also means "true" or "correct" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | هل حقا | ||
| The word هل حقا (“really”) has alternate spellings, and its etymology has been debated. | |||
Really in Western European Languages
| Albanian | me të vërtetë | ||
| Basque | benetan | ||
| The Basque word "benetan" (really) may also refer to the "truth" or a "real thing". | |||
| Catalan | realment | ||
| "Realment" (really) comes from the Latin "realiter" (in reality) and is also used to mean "indeed" or "truly". | |||
| Croatian | stvarno | ||
| Stvarno is derived from the word "stvar" meaning "thing" and originally meant "true to the facts" or "in accordance with reality". | |||
| Danish | virkelig | ||
| Virkelig is derived from the Old Norse "verkelikr," meaning "active," "effective," or "real." | |||
| Dutch | werkelijk | ||
| The Dutch word "werkelijk" originally meant "working", and is related to the German "wirken" and English "work." | |||
| English | really | ||
| The word 'really' derives from the Old English word 'rædlice', meaning 'in accordance with reason or advice'. | |||
| French | vraiment | ||
| "Vraiment" originated from "verum," meaning "true" in Latin. | |||
| Frisian | werklik | ||
| The word "wurklik" in Frisian means "actually" or "indeed" and is derived from the Old Frisian word "wirklik", meaning "working" or "effective". | |||
| Galician | de verdade | ||
| The etymology of the Galician word "de verdade" is unclear, but it may be related to the Portuguese word "verdade", which likely traces back to the Latin "veritas" (truth). | |||
| German | ja wirklich | ||
| Ja wirklich literally translates to "yes, really" but also can be used ironically to mean "oh, really?" | |||
| Icelandic | í alvöru | ||
| Í Álvöru is an Icelandic phrase that literally means "in the elven realm". | |||
| Irish | i ndáiríre | ||
| The word 'i ndáiríre' can also mean 'in truth', 'indeed', or 'in fact' in Irish. | |||
| Italian | veramente | ||
| "Veramente" can also mean "actually" or "in fact". | |||
| Luxembourgish | wierklech | ||
| The word "wierklech" derives from the German word "wirklich" and retains its German meaning of "actual" or "true". | |||
| Maltese | tassew | ||
| "Tas-sew" may derive from "Tassew", an exclamation for astonishment or approval, or derive from an Arabic phrase meaning "by God". | |||
| Norwegian | egentlig | ||
| Egentlig derives from the Old Norse word "eiginlegr", meaning "real" or "actual". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | realmente | ||
| In Portuguese, "realmente" derives from the Latin "realis," meaning "pertaining to things," and can also mean "actually" or "in fact." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dha-rìribh | ||
| The term 'dha-rìribh' in Scots Gaelic comes from the Old Irish word 'doiribh', meaning 'indeed' or 'truly'. It can also be used as an intensive particle to emphasize a statement. | |||
| Spanish | de verdad | ||
| When someone emphasizes an idea in Spanish by saying "De Verdad," it can sometimes be a subtle request for others to be careful about what they say or do around them. | |||
| Swedish | verkligen | ||
| "Verkligen" also means "indeed" or "in fact" in Swedish, and derives from "verk" (work), indicating that something is done or true. | |||
| Welsh | a dweud y gwir | ||
| The phrase "a dweud y gwir" has more literal meaning of "to tell the truth" or "in truth." | |||
Really in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сапраўды | ||
| In some contexts and dialects, "сапраўды" can also function as a quotative, introducing indirect speech. | |||
| Bosnian | stvarno | ||
| Stvarno comes from the root word "stvar" (thing), implying the tangible or real nature of something. | |||
| Bulgarian | наистина ли | ||
| The word can also be used as a polite way to ask for confirmation or to show surprise. | |||
| Czech | opravdu | ||
| „Opravdu“ is short for a very old Slavic phrase expressing surprise “o prav da!” (“it is true in deed!”)} | |||
| Estonian | tõesti | ||
| The word "tõesti" originally meant "in truth" and was related to the concept of "oath" or "promise." | |||
| Finnish | todella | ||
| Todella is also used to emphasize a question, e.g. 'Todellako olet nähnyt sen?' ('Have you really seen it?'). | |||
| Hungarian | igazán | ||
| Igazán, a Hungarian word, is used to express authenticity, genuineness, and often refers to something that is truly characteristic of the Hungarian experience and culture. | |||
| Latvian | tiešām | ||
| Etymology: from Sanskrit "tattvam" (being, essence, truth). | |||
| Lithuanian | tikrai | ||
| The word "tikrai" can also mean "certainly" or "indeed" and ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *tik-, meaning "to point". | |||
| Macedonian | навистина | ||
| Навистина can also mean `of course`, `of necessity`, `surely`, or `really.` | |||
| Polish | naprawdę | ||
| "Naprawdę" is a Polish word that means "really" but also literally translates to "in truth". | |||
| Romanian | într-adevăr | ||
| The Romanian word for "really" is "într-adevăr" and comes from the phrase "în adevăr", which means "into the truth". This phrase has been shortened over time to become the single word "într-adevăr". | |||
| Russian | действительно | ||
| Действительно is also used to express agreement or confirm something, similar to English 'indeed'. | |||
| Serbian | стварно | ||
| The word "стварно" (stvarno) in Serbian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *stьvьrъ, meaning "thing" or "matter". It can also be used to mean "actual", "true", or "genuine". | |||
| Slovak | naozaj | ||
| The word "naozaj" derives from Proto-Slavic *no jestъ "no it is" or *na jistь "indeed, truly" and is cognate with Czech "nazejt", Polish "na pewno", and Serbo-Croatian "naistinu" | |||
| Slovenian | res | ||
| The word "res" in Slovenian also has other meanings such as "serious" or "solemn". | |||
| Ukrainian | справді | ||
| The word "справді" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъpravdь, meaning "according to law" or "in truth". | |||
Really in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | সত্যিই | ||
| The word 'সত্যিই' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'सत्य' (satya), meaning 'truth'. | |||
| Gujarati | ખરેખર | ||
| 'ખરેખર' is a combination of the words 'ખર' and 'એકર', meaning 'truly', 'actually', or 'in reality' in Gujarati, and can also be used to express agreement or confirmation. | |||
| Hindi | वास्तव में | ||
| "वास्तव में" is a compound noun that literally means "in reality" or "actually". | |||
| Kannada | ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ | ||
| Malayalam | ശരിക്കും | ||
| Marathi | खरोखर | ||
| The word 'खरोखर' is derived from the Persian word 'khar' meaning 'true' and 'kar' meaning 'business'. | |||
| Nepali | साँच्चै | ||
| साँच्चै (Saanchai) comes from the Sanskrit word 'Sach', meaning 'truth' or 'reality'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਸਚਮੁਚ | ||
| The word "sachmuch" is also used as an exclamation to express surprise or excitement. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඇත්තටම | ||
| Tamil | உண்மையில் | ||
| உண்மையில்'s second meaning, 'in fact', is similar to its English cognate 'really'. | |||
| Telugu | నిజంగా | ||
| The word 'నిజంగా' can also mean 'indeed', 'truly', or 'in fact' in Telugu. | |||
| Urdu | واقعی | ||
| "واقعی" means "reality" in Arabic, but in Urdu it means "really". | |||
Really in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 真 | ||
| 真 used to mean 'correct' and 'sincere' and was only later used as an intensifier, which is also seen in Japanese, where it is pronounced ma. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 真 | ||
| "真" was originally used to describe what is correct and proper, later it was extended to mean what is true. | |||
| Japanese | 本当に | ||
| 本当 "(hontou)" derives from 本 ("moto") meaning "origin," and 当 ("tou") meaning "hit."} | |||
| Korean | 정말 | ||
| '정말(jeongmal)' contains '정(jeong)' meaning 'true' and '말(mal)' meaning 'word'. | |||
| Mongolian | үнэхээр | ||
| The word "үнэхээр" can also mean "truly", "indeed", or "in fact". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တကယ် | ||
| In some cases, တကယ် (pronounced 'dagae') can be used to ask about the veracity, reality, or authenticity of a situation. | |||
Really in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | betulkah | ||
| The word "Betulkah" can also be an exclamation meaning "My gosh!" | |||
| Javanese | tenan | ||
| In Javanese, "tenan" means "truly, certainly, verily," and is related to the word "antek" (firm, strong). | |||
| Khmer | ពិតជា | ||
| Lao | ແທ້ | ||
| The word "ແທ້" derives from the Proto-Tai word *tæːk̚, meaning "true" or "correct". | |||
| Malay | sungguh | ||
| "Sungguh" also means "swear" or "pledge" in Malay, derived from the Sanskrit word "satya" meaning "true". | |||
| Thai | จริงๆ | ||
| จริงๆ can be used to refer to the present time or to indicate that the speaker is certain about something. | |||
| Vietnamese | có thật không | ||
| The word "có thật không" can also mean "is it true?" or "are you serious?" | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | talaga | ||
Really in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | həqiqətən | ||
| The word "həqiqətən" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Arabic word "ḥaqq" (حق), meaning "truth" or "right". | |||
| Kazakh | шынымен | ||
| The word "шынымен" in Kazakh also means "to be real" or "to be true." | |||
| Kyrgyz | чындыгында | ||
| The word “чындыгында” also means “in fact” and “indeed” in Kyrgyz, conveying a sense of certainty and emphasis. | |||
| Tajik | дар ҳақиқат | ||
| The Persian loanword "дар ҳақиқат" ("really") is used in formal speech to emphasize a fact; when pronounced in a sarcastic tone, it means the opposite. | |||
| Turkmen | hakykatdanam | ||
| Uzbek | haqiqatan ham | ||
| The word "haqiqatan ham" can also mean "surely, certainly" or "in fact". | |||
| Uyghur | ھەقىقەتەن | ||
Really in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | maoli | ||
| "Maoli" is also the Hawaiian name for the native Hawaiian people, and is often used in a term of endearment. | |||
| Maori | tino | ||
| Tino was originally a Māori word meaning 'very' or 'supreme', but is now exclusively used to mean 'really' or 'truly'. | |||
| Samoan | moni lava | ||
| The term "moni lava" in Samoan was originally used to refer to a type of banana that was considered to be exceptionally sweet and flavorful. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | talaga | ||
| The Tagalog word "Talaga" can also mean "truly", "indeed", or "certainly". | |||
Really in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | chiqpachansa | ||
| Guarani | añetehápe | ||
Really in International Languages
| Esperanto | vere | ||
| The word "vere" is derived from the Latin word "verus", meaning "true" or "correct". | |||
| Latin | rem | ||
| The Latin word “rem” can also mean “thing” or an “object”. | |||
Really in Others Languages
| Greek | πραγματικά | ||
| Πραγματικά is the Greek adverbial form of πραγματικός "actual, real", ultimately deriving from πρᾶγμα "thing". | |||
| Hmong | tiag tiag | ||
| 'Tiag tiag' is derived from 'tiak tiak,' meaning 'very,' 'truly.' | |||
| Kurdish | bicî | ||
| The word "bicî" in Kurdish is derived from the Persian word "bizi", meaning "us" or "ours", and has also been used to express emphasis or intensity. | |||
| Turkish | gerçekten mi | ||
| 'Gerçekten mi' is derived from Arabic 'gereken', meaning 'required' or 'necessary', hence implying a sense of certainty. | |||
| Xhosa | ngokwenene | ||
| The word "ngokwenene" can also mean "truth" or "in accordance with the facts" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | טאַקע | ||
| The word "טאַקע" is also used in Yiddish to express emphasis or certainty. | |||
| Zulu | ngempela | ||
| Ngempela can also mean 'very' or 'extremely' and is sometimes used intensitively to indicate a high degree of something. | |||
| Assamese | সঁচাকৈ | ||
| Aymara | chiqpachansa | ||
| Bhojpuri | सच्चो | ||
| Dhivehi | ހަޤީޤަތުގައި | ||
| Dogri | सच्चें | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | talaga | ||
| Guarani | añetehápe | ||
| Ilocano | talaga | ||
| Krio | rili | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەڕاستی | ||
| Maithili | सत्ते | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯁꯦꯡꯅ | ||
| Mizo | takzet | ||
| Oromo | dhugaadhumatti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ପ୍ରକୃତରେ | ||
| Quechua | chaynam | ||
| Sanskrit | यथार्थत | ||
| Tatar | чыннан да | ||
| Tigrinya | ናይ ብሓቂ | ||
| Tsonga | himpela | ||