Several in different languages

Several in Different Languages

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

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'several' is a common term in English, used to describe a number of things that is not specifically defined but is generally more than a few. Its significance lies in its ability to convey a vague yet somewhat precise quantity, making it a versatile addition to our vocabulary. The term has been used in various cultural contexts, including literature and music, often to imply a group or collection of unspecified yet related items.

Moreover, the concept of 'several' is not exclusive to English-speaking cultures. In fact, many languages have their own equivalent term to express this idea. For instance, in Spanish, 'several' translates to 'varios' or 'unos cuantos', while in German, it is 'einige'. In French, 'plusieurs' is the term used to convey the same meaning, and in Mandarin Chinese, '几个' (jĭ gè) is the appropriate phrase.

Understanding the translation of 'several' in different languages can be beneficial for those looking to expand their linguistic abilities or connect with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. By learning these translations, you can enhance your communication skills and gain a deeper appreciation for the nuances of various languages.

Several


Several in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansverskeie
“Verskeie” is derived from the Dutch word “verscheiden,” meaning "diverse" or "varied."
Amharicበርካታ
The word በርካታ can also mean "many" or "a lot" in Amharic.
Hausada yawa
The word "da yawa" also means "many" or "a lot".
Igboọtụtụ
Ọtụtụ can also mean 'multitude' or 'crowd' in Igbo, depending on the context.
Malagasymaro
Malagasy "maro" is likely derived from the Portuguese "muito" through the Bantu language Swahili, also meaning "several".
Nyanja (Chichewa)zingapo
"Zingapo" is thought to derive from the Proto-Bantu word *linga* which also meant "several."
Shonaakati wandei
The word "akati" can also mean "a few" or "some" in Shona.
Somalidhowr ah
In Somali, the word 'dhowr ah' can mean either 'several' or 'more than two'.
Sesothomaloa
The word "maloa" also serves as the root of the word "malome", meaning "uncle"
Swahilikadhaa
Xhosaezininzi
Ezinesi is an irregular form, with the 'z' replacing an expected 'n'.
Yorubapupọ
Pupọ is often used to express abundance or excessiveness
Zulueziningana
The word 'eziningana' is derived from the Zulu word 'iningi' which means 'many'.
Bambaradamadɔ
Ewegeɖe
Kinyarwandabyinshi
Lingalaebele
Luganda-ngi
Sepedimmalwa
Twi (Akan)pii

Several in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicالعديد من
العديد من، تعني "ما تبقى"، وتُستعمل لجمع ما كان اثنين فأكثر.
Hebrewכַּמָה
"כמה" derives from the root "קום" (to rise, stand up) and also means "how many" and "how much".
Pashtoڅو
While its more common meaning is "several," "څو" can also mean "until," "before," or "even if."
Arabicالعديد من
العديد من، تعني "ما تبقى"، وتُستعمل لجمع ما كان اثنين فأكثر.

Several in Western European Languages

Albaniandisa
The word "disa" in Albanian comes from the Proto-Albanian *dejsa, which is itself related to the Latin "centum" (hundred), ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European *deḱm (ten).
Basquehainbat
The Basque word hainbat derives from the Proto-Basque *ane-bat, meaning 'as many as one'.
Catalandiverses
"Diversos" in Catalan has its origins in the Latin word "diversus" meaning "different" or "varied".
Croatiannekoliko
The Croatian word 'nekoliko' is cognate with the Russian word 'neskol'ko', the Polish word 'kilka', and the Czech word 'několik', all of which mean 'several'.
Danishflere
"flere" is derived from the Old Norse word "fleiri", which also means "more".
Dutchmeerdere
The word "meerdere" derives from the Middle Dutch word "mere" meaning "more" and is cognate with the English word "more".
Englishseveral
The word "several" is derived from the Middle English word "seueral" meaning "apart" or "distinct."
Frenchnombreuses
The French word "nombreuses" has the same etymology as the Spanish word "numerosas" ("numerous").
Frisianferskate
The word "ferskate" derives from the Middle Dutch word "verscheden" and the Old Frisian word "ferskiedlik".
Galicianvarios
In Galician, "varios" is plural for "various" but can also refer to one item that is "multicolored"
Germanmehrere
"Mehrere" derives from the Old High German "meriro," meaning "more," and is related to the Latin "maior," also meaning "more."
Icelandicnokkrir
The word "nokkrir" also means "some" or "a few" in Icelandic.
Irishroinnt
The Irish word "roinnt" is derived from the Old Irish "roinn", meaning "part", and can also refer to a "number" or "quantity".
Italianparecchi
The word "parecchi" can also mean "a lot" or "many" in Italian.
Luxembourgishverschidden
In older forms of Luxembourgish, 'verschidden' also had the meaning of 'various', which is still preserved in some fixed phrases.
Maltesediversi
Diversi is related to the root 'divers', found in the French word 'diverse' and the Latin word 'diversus', meaning 'different' or 'turning away'.
Norwegianflere
"Flera" is the Swedish spelling of "flere" and can also mean "more" in English.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)de várias
"De várias" is sometimes used as an expression to mean "many" or "a lot of" in Brazil, as in "De várias pessoas" (Many people).
Scots Gaelicgrunnan
The word "grunnan" can also mean "a bunch of flowers" or "a flock of birds" in Scots Gaelic.
Spanishvarios
The Spanish word "varios" can also refer to "different" or "diverse" and comes from the Latin word "varius" which means "changing" or "diverse".
Swedishflera
The word "flera" can also mean "more than one" or "a few".
Welshsawl un
Possibly cognate with Cornish 'sawe', Cornish 'sow', Breton 'seu' and Latin 'semel', all meaning 'one'

Several in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianнекалькі
Bosniannekoliko
The word "nekoliko" is most likely derived from either the Proto-Slavic word *několĭko* or the Old Church Slavonic word нѣколко (několĭko).
Bulgarianняколко
This word originally derives from Greek meaning "some" or "certain".
Czechněkolik
Několik could derive from the Old Czech word нѣколико (několiko) "some" and the negation particle ne-, thus meaning "not some" (i.e. "several").
Estonianmitu
The word "mitu" can also refer to "many" or "a multitude", depending on the context.
Finnishuseita
The word "useita" comes from the Proto-Finnic word "ušeida", meaning "many, much".
Hungarianszámos
The word "számos" has two etymologies, one meaning "having several" and another meaning "having a mark, signature"
Latvianvairāki
Latvian "vairāki" is a loanword from the Old Prussian "weirickey", which means "two" or "a pair". It is a cognate of the Latin "vir" (man) and the Sanskrit "vira" (hero).
Lithuaniankeli
The word
Macedonianнеколку
The word "неколку" can also mean "some" or "a few".
Polishkilka
In Polish, "kilka" can also refer to a type of fish or a small amount (of something uncountable).
Romanianmai multe
The Romanian word "mai multe" not only means "several", but also "more" or "most", depending on the context and intonation.
Russianнесколько
The Russian word "несколько" can also be translated as "some" or "a few" depending on the context.
Serbianнеколико
The word "неколико" can also mean "a few" or "not many".
Slovakniekoľko
The word "niekoľko" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "několьko", meaning "a few".
Slovenianveč
The word 'več' is probably derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'vьśь', which also meant 'several', 'many' or 'all'.
Ukrainianкілька
The word "кілька" also refers to a type of small fish, similar to sprats or sardines.

Several in South Asian Languages

Bengaliবেশ কয়েকটি
বেশ কয়েকটি is derived from Sanskrit "विशेष" and "कति", meaning "special" and "quantity" respectively.
Gujaratiઘણા
The word 'ઘણા' ('ghana') in Gujarati originates from Sanskrit and has alternate meanings like 'thick', 'dense', or 'solid'. It can also be used in a metaphorical sense to mean 'numerous' or 'a large quantity'.
Hindiकई
The word "कई" can also mean "many" or "numerous" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "कति" (kati), meaning "how many".
Kannadaಹಲವಾರು
"ಹಲವಾರು" is derived from the Sanskrit root "हल" (hal), meaning "part, portion, or group".
Malayalamനിരവധി
The word 'നിരവധി' can also mean 'many' or 'numerous' in Malayalam, depending on the context.
Marathiअनेक
The Marathi word "अनेक" derives from the Sanskrit word "अनेक" meaning "manifold, numerous, several" and also relates to the Latin word "unus" meaning "one".
Nepaliधेरै
Nepali word 'धेरै' can also mean 'much' in English.
Punjabiਕਈ
ਕਈ could also refer to multiple objects or entities.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)කිහිපයක්
Tamilபல
The Tamil word "பல" can also mean "many" or "various" and is cognate with the Sanskrit word "bahu".
Teluguఅనేక
The word "అనేక" in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word "अनेक" meaning "many" or "numerous".
Urduکئی
The word "کئی" in Urdu derives from the Persian word "چند" (chand), which also means "several" and is often used in the plural form to mean "many".

Several in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)一些
“一些”在现代汉语中指少量,但在古代汉语中还有“片刻、一会儿”的意思。
Chinese (Traditional)一些
The term '一些' can also refer to a small amount or quantity.
Japaneseいくつか
いくつか can mean 'some' in a positive sense, unlike 'いくつか' which has a negative connotation.
Korean몇몇의
"몇 (some) + 몇 (some)의 (of)", meaning "several".
Mongolianхэд хэдэн
The Mongolian word "хэд хэдэн" can also mean "a few" or "some" in English.
Myanmar (Burmese)အများအပြား

Several in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianbeberapa
The word "beberapa" can also be used to refer to "some" or "a few".
Javanesepirang-pirang
The word "pirang-pirang" is derived from the Sanskrit word "pra-iraṇa" meaning "a variety" or "a group".
Khmerជាច្រើន
ជាច្រើន (cha chroun) is also used to refer to a large number or amount of something.
Laoຫຼາຍ
In a Buddhist context, it also means “many” in reference to incarnations or rebirths and is used in the phrase ຫຼາຍຊາດ (lany shad) (“many existences”).
Malaybeberapa
The word "beberapa" can also mean "some" or "a number of" in Indonesian and Malay.
Thaiหลาย
The word "หลาย" can also mean "many" or "various"
Vietnamesemột số
"Một số" in Vietnamese means "some", or, in the context of counting, it can mean "several or more", and is a more formal way to express "some".
Filipino (Tagalog)ilang

Several in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanibir neçə
The word "bir neçə" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Persian phrase "yek chand" meaning "a few" or "some".
Kazakhбірнеше
The word "бірнеше" also means "a handful" in Kazakh, reflecting its usage in counting small objects.
Kyrgyzбир нече
Tajikякчанд
The word “якчанд” is also used to mean “a little,” “a few,” or “some”.
Turkmenbirnäçe
Uzbekbir nechta
The word "bir nechta" can also mean "a couple" or "some" in colloquial Uzbek.
Uyghurبىر قانچە

Several in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankekahi
The Hawaiian word "kekahi" can also be used as an indefinite pronoun meaning "some" or "a certain one."
Maorimaha
In Maori, the word "maha" can also refer to a large number or quantity of something.
Samoantele
Tele is a noun in Samoan that refers to a few or several people or things, but can also mean 'to cut' in the context of cutting wood.
Tagalog (Filipino)maraming
Maraming is a reduplicated form of the Tagalog word dami, which means "quantity" or "amount."

Several in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarajuk'ampinaka
Guaranihetaichagua

Several in International Languages

Esperantopluraj
"Pluraj" is a cognate of "several": it derives from French "plusieurs," from Old French "pluisors," from Late Latin "pluriores"
Latinaliquot
Aliquot is often confused with aliquotus (“nourished”), from the verb alo, alis, alere (“to nourish”).

Several in Others Languages

Greekαρκετά
"Αρκετά" also means "enough" in Greek but that meaning does not apply in this context.
Hmongob peb
The word "ob peb" in Hmong can also mean "all" or "every".
Kurdishpiran
The word "piran" in Kurdish derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- meaning "to pass through" or "beyond".
Turkishbirkaç
"Birkaç" is a Turkish word that also means "a few".
Xhosaezininzi
Ezinesi is an irregular form, with the 'z' replacing an expected 'n'.
Yiddishעטלעכע
The word "עטלעכע" can also be used to mean "a few" or "some".
Zulueziningana
The word 'eziningana' is derived from the Zulu word 'iningi' which means 'many'.
Assameseকেইবাটাও
Aymarajuk'ampinaka
Bhojpuriकई गो
Dhivehiބައިވަރު
Dogriकेईं
Filipino (Tagalog)ilang
Guaranihetaichagua
Ilocanoagduduma
Kriobɔku
Kurdish (Sorani)چەندین
Maithiliकएकटा
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯀꯌꯥꯃꯔꯨꯝ
Mizothenkhat
Oromobaay'ee
Odia (Oriya)ଅନେକ
Quechuaachka
Sanskritइतरेतर
Tatarберничә
Tigrinyaቡዙሓት
Tsongaswo tala

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