Somewhere in Different Languages
Discover 'Somewhere' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'somewhere' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, signifying a location that's not here or there, but just out of immediate sight. It's a word that captures the imagination, invoking images of far-off lands, hidden treasures, or cozy corners. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, music, and film, where it's used to evoke mystery, longing, and discovery.
Given its romantic connotations and universal appeal, it's no surprise that many languages have their own translation for 'somewhere'. For instance, in Spanish, 'somewhere' is 'en algún lugar', while in French, it's 'quelque part'. In German, it's 'irgendwo', and in Japanese, it's 'どこか' (dkk).
Understanding the translation of 'somewhere' in different languages can enrich your cultural knowledge and language skills. It can also help you navigate foreign lands, connect with diverse communities, and appreciate the beauty of linguistic diversity.
Somewhere
Somewhere in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | êrens | ||
| The word "êrens" in Afrikaans, meaning "somewhere", is derived from the Dutch word "ergens" with the same meaning. | |||
| Amharic | የሆነ ቦታ | ||
| The word 'የሆነ ቦታ' ('somewhere') in Amharic could also refer to an unspecified location that has not yet been determined or is not known in detail. | |||
| Hausa | wani wuri | ||
| The word “wani wuri” has a deeper meaning of “at some certain location” or “at some particular place”. | |||
| Igbo | ebe | ||
| The word "ebe" in Igbo can also mean "place," "region," or "area." | |||
| Malagasy | any ho any | ||
| The word "any ho any" is derived from the Malagasy word "any" meaning "place" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kwinakwake | ||
| The word "kwinakwake" can also mean "at some point" or "at a certain time". | |||
| Shona | kumwe kunhu | ||
| The Shona phrase "kumwe kunhu" can also mean "in a certain place" or "at a particular place". | |||
| Somali | meel | ||
| The Somali word 'meel' comes from the Proto-Somali word *meel, meaning 'place, location' | |||
| Sesotho | kae kae | ||
| Other meanings are 'in order that' and 'so that'. | |||
| Swahili | mahali fulani | ||
| The word 'mahali fulani' is derived from the Arabic word 'mahall' meaning 'place' or 'location'. | |||
| Xhosa | kwenye indawo | ||
| "Kwabantu" is an archaism that is synonymous with "Kwabantu indawo" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | ibikan | ||
| Ibikan connotes "place" and is used to express "location" as well as "someplace." | |||
| Zulu | endaweni ethile | ||
| This phrase may be more literally translated as "somewhere in the place," where "place" is understood to be a specific and enclosed area. | |||
| Bambara | yɔrɔ dɔ la | ||
| Ewe | le afi aɖe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ahantu runaka | ||
| Lingala | esika moko boye | ||
| Luganda | awalala wonna | ||
| Sepedi | felotsoko | ||
| Twi (Akan) | baabi | ||
Somewhere in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | مكان ما | ||
| The word مكان ما "somewhere" literally means "a place of what?" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | אי שם | ||
| אי שם can also refer to a particular location that is unknown or unspecified | |||
| Pashto | چیرې | ||
| The Pashto word "چیرې" also means "anywhere" and "wherever" and derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "*kʷer-," meaning "to turn. | |||
| Arabic | مكان ما | ||
| The word مكان ما "somewhere" literally means "a place of what?" in Arabic. | |||
Somewhere in Western European Languages
| Albanian | diku | ||
| The word "diku" in Albanian, meaning "somewhere," is derived from the Proto-Albanian word "dik" meaning "place, spot, location." | |||
| Basque | nonbait | ||
| The word "nonbait" is derived from the Basque words "non" (place) and "bait" (direction), meaning "in that direction" | |||
| Catalan | en algun lloc | ||
| The word "en algun lloc" in Catalan can also mean "anywhere" or "in some places." | |||
| Croatian | negdje | ||
| The word "negdje" can also mean "anywhere" or "sometime". | |||
| Danish | et eller andet sted | ||
| The word "et eller andet sted" is a compound word made up of "et" (an indefinite article), "eller" (or), and "sted" (a place), and its literal translation is "a or some place." | |||
| Dutch | ergens | ||
| The word "ergens" derives from Old Dutch "ar" (meaning "point, place, location") and the suffix "-gins" (meaning "towards, in the direction of"). | |||
| English | somewhere | ||
| The word "somewhere" can also refer to a state of being, meaning to be lost or disoriented. | |||
| French | quelque part | ||
| The word 'quelque part' can also mean 'any part', 'a little bit' or 'at some point' depending on the context. | |||
| Frisian | earne | ||
| "Earne" in Frisian might also refer to an "earth" or "ear". | |||
| Galician | nalgures | ||
| The word "nalgures" in Galician is probably a contraction of the Latin phrase "non alibi ergo" (literally "not anywhere else") originally used to refer to the place of origin of something. | |||
| German | irgendwo | ||
| The German word "irgendwo" is a compound of "irgend" ("any") and "wo" ("where"), and can also mean "anywhere" or "someplace" | |||
| Icelandic | einhvers staðar | ||
| The word "einhvers staðar" appears to have originally meant "at someone's place", with the "ein" referring to a person.} | |||
| Irish | áit éigin | ||
| "Áit éigin" is the standard Irish translation of "somewhere" and the "somewhere" in "the somewhere over the rainbow," as well as the "somewheres" in the Irish language version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." | |||
| Italian | da qualche parte | ||
| In Tuscany, "da qualche parte" means both "somewhere" and "from someone" or "from oneself." | |||
| Luxembourgish | iergendwou | ||
| The word "iergendwou" is derived from the Old High German word "irgendwo", which means "somewhere" or "anywhere". | |||
| Maltese | x'imkien | ||
| The word "x'imkien" in Maltese can also mean "nowhere". | |||
| Norwegian | et sted | ||
| The Norwegian word "et sted" is etymologically related to the English "steading". It can also refer to a specific place, like the site of a former farm. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | algum lugar | ||
| Despite the similar spelling, "algum lugar" is unrelated to the English "some lugar" which refers to a type of horse | |||
| Scots Gaelic | am badeigin | ||
| Am badeigin is also used as a noun meaning 'the hereafter' or 'the next world'. | |||
| Spanish | algun lado | ||
| The word "algun lado" is literally "some side" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | någonstans | ||
| The word "någonstans" is a combination of "någon" (someone) and "stans" (place), thus literally meaning "someone's place". | |||
| Welsh | rhywle | ||
| The word "rhywle" means both "somewhere" and "at some point in time". | |||
Somewhere in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | недзе | ||
| The word "недзе" is also used in the sense of "nowhere." | |||
| Bosnian | negde | ||
| Negde shares its root with the verb "negati", "to deny". | |||
| Bulgarian | някъде | ||
| In Bulgarian dialects "някъде" could also mean "at some time", e.g. "някъде по-късно" ("some time later") | |||
| Czech | někde | ||
| ."někde" se také používá k označení určitého místa, ale neznámého | |||
| Estonian | kusagil | ||
| "Kusagil" is similar to Finnish "kuusagil", which probably derives from "kuus" (six) and "agil" (direction). | |||
| Finnish | jonnekin | ||
| "Jonnekin" is a colloquial Finnish word for "somewhere" derived from the phrase "jollakin seuduin" meaning "in some area or region." | |||
| Hungarian | valahol | ||
| The word 'valahol' is most likely derived from the Proto-Finno-Ugric word '*wala-*' meaning 'far'. | |||
| Latvian | kaut kur | ||
| The phrase “kaut kur” originally meant “some kind of place”, it then became “some place” and only later “somewhere”. | |||
| Lithuanian | kažkur | ||
| Etymology of "kažkur": from Old Lithuanian "kazkur", comparative cognate with Latvian "kazkur", Old Prussian "kascurs", Proto-Indo-European "*ke-sk-u"} | |||
| Macedonian | некаде | ||
| The word "некаде" can also mean "not here" or "not there" in Macedonian. | |||
| Polish | gdzieś | ||
| The word "gdzieś" in Polish is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "gъdě", which also means "where" or "wherever". | |||
| Romanian | undeva | ||
| The Romanian word "undeva" can also mean "somewhere else" or "elsewhere". | |||
| Russian | где-то | ||
| The word "где-то" comes from the Old Russian "гъде", meaning "where", and the suffix "-то", which indicates uncertainty or indefiniteness. | |||
| Serbian | негде | ||
| The word "негде" derives from the Proto-Slavic form "*nekъde" and also means "in no way/nowhere". | |||
| Slovak | niekde | ||
| The Slovak word "niekde" also means "nearby" or "in a place that is not far away". | |||
| Slovenian | nekje | ||
| The word "nekje" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "někъ", meaning "a certain place" or "a place that is not specified". It is related to the words "nekdo" (someone) and "nekaj" (something), which also indicate an unspecified person or thing. | |||
| Ukrainian | десь | ||
| 'Десь' is derived from the Old Ukrainian 'де' ('where'), and is related to the Russian 'где' and Polish 'gdzie', all meaning 'where'. | |||
Somewhere in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কোথাও | ||
| The word "কোথাও" can also mean "anywhere" or "to some place." | |||
| Gujarati | ક્યાંક | ||
| Hindi | कहीं | ||
| "कहीं" is a contraction of "कह + इन्हीं" (say + these). | |||
| Kannada | ಎಲ್ಲೋ | ||
| ಎಲ್ಲೋ (ellō) is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root *ē- "existence" and means "any place, somewhere". | |||
| Malayalam | എവിടെയോ | ||
| In Malayalam, the word "എവിടെയോ" ("somewhere") can also mean "to some extent". | |||
| Marathi | कुठेतरी | ||
| "कुठेतरी" derives from the Sanskrit words "कुत्रचित्" meaning "somewhere" and "त्र" meaning "three", which refers to the three directions: north, south, and east. | |||
| Nepali | कहीं | ||
| The word "कहीं" can also mean "maybe" or "somehow". | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਿਤੇ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කොහේ හරි | ||
| The word "කොහේ හරි" is a compound word that literally means "at some place". | |||
| Tamil | எங்கோ | ||
| Telugu | ఎక్కడో | ||
| The word "ఎక్కడో" (pronounced ekkaḍō) means "somewhere" and is related to the word "ఏక" (pronounced ēka) meaning "one." | |||
| Urdu | کہیں | ||
| Besides meaning "somewhere," the word **کہیں** can also be used adverbially to indicate probability or possibility. | |||
Somewhere in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 某处 | ||
| 某处 is a Chinese word that can also mean "a certain place" or "a specific place." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 某處 | ||
| 某處 can also mean 'a certain place' or 'a particular place'. | |||
| Japanese | どこか | ||
| どこ (doko) means "place" and か (ka) expresses uncertainty, together forming "somewhere" | |||
| Korean | 어딘가에 | ||
| The word "어딘가에" is derived from the Old Korean word "어디에가", meaning "in what place". | |||
| Mongolian | хаа нэг газар | ||
| In addition to meaning "somewhere," the word "хаа нэг газар" can also mean "somewhere or other." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တစ်နေရာရာမှာ | ||
Somewhere in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | di suatu tempat | ||
| "Di" means "to" or "at" while "tempat" means "place." | |||
| Javanese | nang endi wae | ||
| The word "nang endi wae" in Javanese can also mean "anywhere" or "nowhere" depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Khmer | កន្លែងណាមួយ | ||
| Lao | ບາງບ່ອນ | ||
| Malay | di suatu tempat | ||
| The Indonesian verb "di" means "at", and "suatu tempat", "a particular place" | |||
| Thai | ที่ไหนสักแห่ง | ||
| The word "ที่ไหนสักแห่ง" in Thai has a similar structure to "somewhere" in English, with "ที่ไหน" being a question word for place and "สักแห่ง" meaning "some place" or "a certain place". | |||
| Vietnamese | một vài nơi | ||
| The word "một vài nơi" can also mean "some places" or "a few places". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa isang lugar | ||
Somewhere in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | haradasa | ||
| It may derive from Persian and Arabic words for "a place with an elevated position". | |||
| Kazakh | бір жерде | ||
| The word "бір жерде" (somewhere) in Kazakh is a compound noun consisting of "бір" (one) and "жер" (place), hence literally meaning "in one place". | |||
| Kyrgyz | бир жерде | ||
| In Kyrgyz, "бир жерде" can also refer to a specific location or place, rather than a general sense of "somewhere." | |||
| Tajik | дар ҷое | ||
| The Tajik word "дар ҷое" can also mean "in any place" or "in some place" depending on the context. | |||
| Turkmen | bir ýerde | ||
| Uzbek | biron bir joyda | ||
| “Biron bir joyda” (somewhere) is thought to have originated from the Persian expression “birun az yak” (outside of the place). | |||
| Uyghur | بىر يەردە | ||
Somewhere in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ma kauwahi | ||
| The word "ma kauwahi" can also mean "at length" or "finally" depending on the context. | |||
| Maori | i tetahi wahi | ||
| The term "i tetahi wahi" can also be used to refer to a specific place or location. | |||
| Samoan | i se mea | ||
| The Samoan word "i se mea" (somewhere) is formed from "i" (in, at) and "se mea" (thing, place) | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kahit saan | ||
| The word "kahit saan" is a combination of the words "kahit" (meaning "even" or "even if") and "saan" (meaning "where"). | |||
Somewhere in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kawkhansa | ||
| Guarani | peteĩ hendápe | ||
Somewhere in International Languages
| Esperanto | ie | ||
| In early Esperanto, "ie" was used as a genitive-ablative singular, as opposed to the accusative "on". This usage has now fallen out of favor. | |||
| Latin | somewhere | ||
| The Latin "alicubi" can mean both "somewhere" and "anywhere". | |||
Somewhere in Others Languages
| Greek | κάπου | ||
| The word 'κάπου' can also be used to mean 'a bit' or 'somewhat', as in 'κάπου ζεστό' (a bit warm). | |||
| Hmong | qhov twg | ||
| The word "qhov twg" also means "any place" or "anywhere" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | li derna | ||
| The Kurdish word "li derna" is an idiomatic expression that literally means "to the door of" or "to the gate of," indicating a place nearby or within reach. | |||
| Turkish | bir yerde | ||
| "Bir yerde" means "on one place" rather than "in one place" in Turkish. For this reason, it is used figuratively, such as "bir yerde okudum" or "bir yerde duydum", instead of "bir şeyin içinde okudum" and "bir şeyin içinden duydum". | |||
| Xhosa | kwenye indawo | ||
| "Kwabantu" is an archaism that is synonymous with "Kwabantu indawo" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | ערגעץ | ||
| The word "ערגעץ" originates from the Middle High German word "ergens", meaning "at some place". | |||
| Zulu | endaweni ethile | ||
| This phrase may be more literally translated as "somewhere in the place," where "place" is understood to be a specific and enclosed area. | |||
| Assamese | কৰবাত | ||
| Aymara | kawkhansa | ||
| Bhojpuri | कहीं ना कहीं | ||
| Dhivehi | ކޮންމެވެސް ތަނެއްގައެވެ | ||
| Dogri | कहीं कहीं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sa isang lugar | ||
| Guarani | peteĩ hendápe | ||
| Ilocano | sadinoman | ||
| Krio | sɔmsay | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لە شوێنێک | ||
| Maithili | कतहु | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯐꯝ ꯑꯃꯗꯥ ꯂꯩ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | khawi emaw laiah | ||
| Oromo | bakka tokkotti | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କ ewhere ଣସି ସ୍ଥାନରେ | | ||
| Quechua | maypipas | ||
| Sanskrit | क्वचित् | ||
| Tatar | каядыр | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣብ ገለ ቦታ | ||
| Tsonga | kun’wana | ||