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
| Afrikaans | verskeie | ||
| “Verskeie” is derived from the Dutch word “verscheiden,” meaning "diverse" or "varied." | |||
| Amharic | በርካታ | ||
| The word በርካታ can also mean "many" or "a lot" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | da yawa | ||
| The word "da yawa" also means "many" or "a lot". | |||
| Igbo | ọtụtụ | ||
| Ọtụtụ can also mean 'multitude' or 'crowd' in Igbo, depending on the context. | |||
| Malagasy | maro | ||
| 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." | |||
| Shona | akati wandei | ||
| The word "akati" can also mean "a few" or "some" in Shona. | |||
| Somali | dhowr ah | ||
| In Somali, the word 'dhowr ah' can mean either 'several' or 'more than two'. | |||
| Sesotho | maloa | ||
| The word "maloa" also serves as the root of the word "malome", meaning "uncle" | |||
| Swahili | kadhaa | ||
| Xhosa | ezininzi | ||
| Ezinesi is an irregular form, with the 'z' replacing an expected 'n'. | |||
| Yoruba | pupọ | ||
| Pupọ is often used to express abundance or excessiveness | |||
| Zulu | eziningana | ||
| The word 'eziningana' is derived from the Zulu word 'iningi' which means 'many'. | |||
| Bambara | damadɔ | ||
| Ewe | geɖe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | byinshi | ||
| Lingala | ebele | ||
| Luganda | -ngi | ||
| Sepedi | mmalwa | ||
| Twi (Akan) | pii | ||
Several in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | العديد من | ||
| العديد من، تعني "ما تبقى"، وتُستعمل لجمع ما كان اثنين فأكثر. | |||
| Hebrew | כַּמָה | ||
| "כמה" derives from the root "קום" (to rise, stand up) and also means "how many" and "how much". | |||
| Pashto | څو | ||
| While its more common meaning is "several," "څو" can also mean "until," "before," or "even if." | |||
| Arabic | العديد من | ||
| العديد من، تعني "ما تبقى"، وتُستعمل لجمع ما كان اثنين فأكثر. | |||
Several in Western European Languages
| Albanian | disa | ||
| 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). | |||
| Basque | hainbat | ||
| The Basque word hainbat derives from the Proto-Basque *ane-bat, meaning 'as many as one'. | |||
| Catalan | diverses | ||
| "Diversos" in Catalan has its origins in the Latin word "diversus" meaning "different" or "varied". | |||
| Croatian | nekoliko | ||
| 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'. | |||
| Danish | flere | ||
| "flere" is derived from the Old Norse word "fleiri", which also means "more". | |||
| Dutch | meerdere | ||
| The word "meerdere" derives from the Middle Dutch word "mere" meaning "more" and is cognate with the English word "more". | |||
| English | several | ||
| The word "several" is derived from the Middle English word "seueral" meaning "apart" or "distinct." | |||
| French | nombreuses | ||
| The French word "nombreuses" has the same etymology as the Spanish word "numerosas" ("numerous"). | |||
| Frisian | ferskate | ||
| The word "ferskate" derives from the Middle Dutch word "verscheden" and the Old Frisian word "ferskiedlik". | |||
| Galician | varios | ||
| In Galician, "varios" is plural for "various" but can also refer to one item that is "multicolored" | |||
| German | mehrere | ||
| "Mehrere" derives from the Old High German "meriro," meaning "more," and is related to the Latin "maior," also meaning "more." | |||
| Icelandic | nokkrir | ||
| The word "nokkrir" also means "some" or "a few" in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | roinnt | ||
| The Irish word "roinnt" is derived from the Old Irish "roinn", meaning "part", and can also refer to a "number" or "quantity". | |||
| Italian | parecchi | ||
| The word "parecchi" can also mean "a lot" or "many" in Italian. | |||
| Luxembourgish | verschidden | ||
| In older forms of Luxembourgish, 'verschidden' also had the meaning of 'various', which is still preserved in some fixed phrases. | |||
| Maltese | diversi | ||
| Diversi is related to the root 'divers', found in the French word 'diverse' and the Latin word 'diversus', meaning 'different' or 'turning away'. | |||
| Norwegian | flere | ||
| "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 Gaelic | grunnan | ||
| The word "grunnan" can also mean "a bunch of flowers" or "a flock of birds" in Scots Gaelic. | |||
| Spanish | varios | ||
| The Spanish word "varios" can also refer to "different" or "diverse" and comes from the Latin word "varius" which means "changing" or "diverse". | |||
| Swedish | flera | ||
| The word "flera" can also mean "more than one" or "a few". | |||
| Welsh | sawl un | ||
| Possibly cognate with Cornish 'sawe', Cornish 'sow', Breton 'seu' and Latin 'semel', all meaning 'one' | |||
Several in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | некалькі | ||
| Bosnian | nekoliko | ||
| The word "nekoliko" is most likely derived from either the Proto-Slavic word *několĭko* or the Old Church Slavonic word нѣколко (několĭko). | |||
| Bulgarian | няколко | ||
| This word originally derives from Greek meaning "some" or "certain". | |||
| Czech | několik | ||
| Několik could derive from the Old Czech word нѣколико (několiko) "some" and the negation particle ne-, thus meaning "not some" (i.e. "several"). | |||
| Estonian | mitu | ||
| The word "mitu" can also refer to "many" or "a multitude", depending on the context. | |||
| Finnish | useita | ||
| The word "useita" comes from the Proto-Finnic word "ušeida", meaning "many, much". | |||
| Hungarian | számos | ||
| The word "számos" has two etymologies, one meaning "having several" and another meaning "having a mark, signature" | |||
| Latvian | vairāki | ||
| 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). | |||
| Lithuanian | keli | ||
| The word | |||
| Macedonian | неколку | ||
| The word "неколку" can also mean "some" or "a few". | |||
| Polish | kilka | ||
| In Polish, "kilka" can also refer to a type of fish or a small amount (of something uncountable). | |||
| Romanian | mai multe | ||
| The Romanian word "mai multe" not only means "several", but also "more" or "most", depending on the context and intonation. | |||
| Russian | несколько | ||
| The Russian word "несколько" can also be translated as "some" or "a few" depending on the context. | |||
| Serbian | неколико | ||
| The word "неколико" can also mean "a few" or "not many". | |||
| Slovak | niekoľko | ||
| The word "niekoľko" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "několьko", meaning "a few". | |||
| Slovenian | več | ||
| The word 'več' is probably derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'vьśь', which also meant 'several', 'many' or 'all'. | |||
| Ukrainian | кілька | ||
| The word "кілька" also refers to a type of small fish, similar to sprats or sardines. | |||
Several in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বেশ কয়েকটি | ||
| বেশ কয়েকটি is derived from Sanskrit "विशेष" and "कति", meaning "special" and "quantity" respectively. | |||
| Gujarati | ઘણા | ||
| 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'. | |||
| Hindi | कई | ||
| The word "कई" can also mean "many" or "numerous" and is derived from the Sanskrit word "कति" (kati), meaning "how many". | |||
| Kannada | ಹಲವಾರು | ||
| "ಹಲವಾರು" is derived from the Sanskrit root "हल" (hal), meaning "part, portion, or group". | |||
| Malayalam | നിരവധി | ||
| The word 'നിരവധി' can also mean 'many' or 'numerous' in Malayalam, depending on the context. | |||
| Marathi | अनेक | ||
| The Marathi word "अनेक" derives from the Sanskrit word "अनेक" meaning "manifold, numerous, several" and also relates to the Latin word "unus" meaning "one". | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| Nepali word 'धेरै' can also mean 'much' in English. | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਈ | ||
| ਕਈ could also refer to multiple objects or entities. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කිහිපයක් | ||
| Tamil | பல | ||
| The Tamil word "பல" can also mean "many" or "various" and is cognate with the Sanskrit word "bahu". | |||
| Telugu | అనేక | ||
| The word "అనేక" in Telugu is derived from the Sanskrit word "अनेक" meaning "many" or "numerous". | |||
| Urdu | کئی | ||
| 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. | |||
| Korean | 몇몇의 | ||
| "몇 (some) + 몇 (some)의 (of)", meaning "several". | |||
| Mongolian | хэд хэдэн | ||
| The Mongolian word "хэд хэдэн" can also mean "a few" or "some" in English. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အများအပြား | ||
Several in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | beberapa | ||
| The word "beberapa" can also be used to refer to "some" or "a few". | |||
| Javanese | pirang-pirang | ||
| The word "pirang-pirang" is derived from the Sanskrit word "pra-iraṇa" meaning "a variety" or "a group". | |||
| Khmer | ជាច្រើន | ||
| ជាច្រើន (cha chroun) is also used to refer to a large number or amount of something. | |||
| Lao | ຫຼາຍ | ||
| 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”). | |||
| Malay | beberapa | ||
| The word "beberapa" can also mean "some" or "a number of" in Indonesian and Malay. | |||
| Thai | หลาย | ||
| The word "หลาย" can also mean "many" or "various" | |||
| Vietnamese | một 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
| Azerbaijani | bir neçə | ||
| The word "bir neçə" in Azerbaijani is derived from the Persian phrase "yek chand" meaning "a few" or "some". | |||
| Kazakh | бірнеше | ||
| The word "бірнеше" also means "a handful" in Kazakh, reflecting its usage in counting small objects. | |||
| Kyrgyz | бир нече | ||
| Tajik | якчанд | ||
| The word “якчанд” is also used to mean “a little,” “a few,” or “some”. | |||
| Turkmen | birnäçe | ||
| Uzbek | bir nechta | ||
| The word "bir nechta" can also mean "a couple" or "some" in colloquial Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | بىر قانچە | ||
Several in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | kekahi | ||
| The Hawaiian word "kekahi" can also be used as an indefinite pronoun meaning "some" or "a certain one." | |||
| Maori | maha | ||
| In Maori, the word "maha" can also refer to a large number or quantity of something. | |||
| Samoan | tele | ||
| 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
| Aymara | juk'ampinaka | ||
| Guarani | hetaichagua | ||
Several in International Languages
| Esperanto | pluraj | ||
| "Pluraj" is a cognate of "several": it derives from French "plusieurs," from Old French "pluisors," from Late Latin "pluriores" | |||
| Latin | aliquot | ||
| Aliquot is often confused with aliquotus (“nourished”), from the verb alo, alis, alere (“to nourish”). | |||
Several in Others Languages
| Greek | αρκετά | ||
| "Αρκετά" also means "enough" in Greek but that meaning does not apply in this context. | |||
| Hmong | ob peb | ||
| The word "ob peb" in Hmong can also mean "all" or "every". | |||
| Kurdish | piran | ||
| The word "piran" in Kurdish derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *per- meaning "to pass through" or "beyond". | |||
| Turkish | birkaç | ||
| "Birkaç" is a Turkish word that also means "a few". | |||
| Xhosa | ezininzi | ||
| Ezinesi is an irregular form, with the 'z' replacing an expected 'n'. | |||
| Yiddish | עטלעכע | ||
| The word "עטלעכע" can also be used to mean "a few" or "some". | |||
| Zulu | eziningana | ||
| The word 'eziningana' is derived from the Zulu word 'iningi' which means 'many'. | |||
| Assamese | কেইবাটাও | ||
| Aymara | juk'ampinaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | कई गो | ||
| Dhivehi | ބައިވަރު | ||
| Dogri | केईं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | ilang | ||
| Guarani | hetaichagua | ||
| Ilocano | agduduma | ||
| Krio | bɔku | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | چەندین | ||
| Maithili | कएकटा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯀꯌꯥꯃꯔꯨꯝ | ||
| Mizo | thenkhat | ||
| Oromo | baay'ee | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅନେକ | ||
| Quechua | achka | ||
| Sanskrit | इतरेतर | ||
| Tatar | берничә | ||
| Tigrinya | ቡዙሓት | ||
| Tsonga | swo tala | ||