Suddenly in Different Languages
Discover 'Suddenly' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word suddenly is a common term in many languages, denoting a quick and unexpected occurrence. Its significance lies in its ability to capture the essence of surprise and spontaneity, making it a culturally important word across the globe.
Throughout history, the word suddenly has been used in literature and everyday speech to convey a sense of urgency and unexpectedness. From Shakespeare's plays to modern-day novels, this word has stood the test of time and remains a staple in our vocabulary.
But have you ever wondered how to say suddenly in different languages? Knowing the translation can help you better communicate with people from different cultures and backgrounds, and even give you a deeper appreciation for the nuances of different languages.
For example, in Spanish, suddenly is translated to de repente. In French, it's tout à coup. And in German, it's plötzlich.
Explore the many translations of suddenly and discover the beauty and diversity of languages and cultures from around the world.
Suddenly
Suddenly in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | skielik | ||
| The word "skielik" in Afrikaans originates from the Dutch word "schielyk", which itself comes from the Middle Dutch word "scielike" meaning "swift" or "sudden". | |||
| Amharic | በድንገት | ||
| Hausa | kwatsam | ||
| 'Kwatsam' also means 'quickly' or 'at once' in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | na mberede | ||
| "Nà mberede" can also mean "on the spot" and relates to the act of doing something spontaneously. | |||
| Malagasy | tampoka | ||
| "Tampoka" is borrowed from the Swahili word "ghafla" and is related to the Arabic word "ghaflah" meaning "heedlessness, inadvertence, carelessness." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mwadzidzidzi | ||
| "Mwadzidzidzi" can also refer to a sudden turn of events or an unexpected surprise. | |||
| Shona | pakarepo | ||
| The word "pakarepo" derives from the verb "kupaka", meaning "to break". The -re affix indicates a sudden or abrupt action, making the meaning "to break suddenly" or "abruptly". | |||
| Somali | lama filaan ah | ||
| The Somali word "lama filaan ah" also means "immediately" or "without delay". | |||
| Sesotho | ka tšohanyetso | ||
| The word "ka tšohanyetso" can also mean "by accident" or "unexpectedly". | |||
| Swahili | ghafla | ||
| "Ghafla" derives from the Arabic word "ghafla", which also means "carelessness" or "unawareness". | |||
| Xhosa | ngequbuliso | ||
| The word "ngequbuliso" in Xhosa can also mean "as though" or "unexpectedly". | |||
| Yoruba | lojiji | ||
| The word "lojiji" in Yoruba can also mean "by surprise" or "unexpectedly". | |||
| Zulu | ngokuzumayo | ||
| "Ngokuzumayo" also refers to a Zulu traditional dance that involves stamping the feet and clapping the hands. | |||
| Bambara | yɔrɔni kelen | ||
| Ewe | tete | ||
| Kinyarwanda | mu buryo butunguranye | ||
| Lingala | na mbala moko | ||
| Luganda | kibwatukira | ||
| Sepedi | ka potlako | ||
| Twi (Akan) | prɛko pɛ | ||
Suddenly in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | فجأة | ||
| The word "فجأة" is derived from the root "ف ج ئ" which means "to break" or "to cleave". | |||
| Hebrew | פִּתְאוֹם | ||
| The word "פתאום" (suddenly) in Hebrew is related to the word "פתח" (to open), suggesting an unexpected event that opens up a new situation. | |||
| Pashto | ناڅاپه | ||
| ناڅاپه can mean "unexpectedly" or "suddenly" but also "all of a sudden". | |||
| Arabic | فجأة | ||
| The word "فجأة" is derived from the root "ف ج ئ" which means "to break" or "to cleave". | |||
Suddenly in Western European Languages
| Albanian | papritur | ||
| The word "papritur" is derived from the Latin phrase "papulum iterare", meaning "to repeat a blow". | |||
| Basque | bat-batean | ||
| The word "bat-batean" in Basque also refers to a "flap" or "flick". | |||
| Catalan | de sobte | ||
| The Catalan word "de sobte" can also mean "unawares" or "coincidentally". | |||
| Croatian | iznenada | ||
| Iznenada comes from the word "nenadan" which means "unexpected" or "sudden". | |||
| Danish | pludselig | ||
| The word "pludselig" in Danish means "suddenly" and is derived from the German word "plötzlich," which has the same meaning. | |||
| Dutch | plotseling | ||
| The Dutch word "plotseling" is derived from the Old English word "plotselīċe", meaning "immediately". | |||
| English | suddenly | ||
| "Suddenly" derives from Middle English "sodenli," from Old English "sodenlice," which means "quickly, soon, at once". | |||
| French | soudainement | ||
| Soudainement is derived from the Latin word "subitaneus," meaning "unexpected" or "occurring without warning." | |||
| Frisian | ynienen | ||
| "Ynienen" is also the Frisian word for "onions" or a "bundle of onions". | |||
| Galician | de súpeto | ||
| "De súpeto" derives from the Latin "super" which means "on top of" or "above". | |||
| German | plötzlich | ||
| "Plötzlich" is derived from the Middle High German "plotzen," meaning "to burst" or "to explode" | |||
| Icelandic | skyndilega | ||
| The word "skyndilega" is derived from the Old Norse word "skynda" meaning "to hurry". | |||
| Irish | go tobann | ||
| "Go tobann" also means "without leave or ceremony". | |||
| Italian | ad un tratto | ||
| "Ad un tratto" in Italian, like "tout à coup" in French, also means "at a stretch" or "in one stretch." | |||
| Luxembourgish | op eemol | ||
| Maltese | f'daqqa waħda | ||
| Norwegian | plutselig | ||
| The word "plutselig" is derived from the Old Norse word "plótlegr," meaning "unforeseen" or "abrupt." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | de repente | ||
| "De repente" means "from suddenly" in Latin, but is sometimes used in Portuguese to mean "by the way" or "incidentally". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gu h-obann | ||
| "Gu h-obann" appears to be formed from "gu" (to) and "obann" (strange, odd) and has also been used with the meaning "unexpectedly or accidentally". | |||
| Spanish | repentinamente | ||
| The word "repentinamente" derives from the Latin "repens", meaning "sudden" or "unexpected". | |||
| Swedish | plötsligt | ||
| The word 'plötsligt' is derived from the Old Swedish word 'plutselig', which meant 'immediately' or 'without delay'. | |||
| Welsh | yn sydyn | ||
| The phrase "yn sydyn" is a mutation of the Welsh phrase "yn sydynnu," meaning "to be suddenly surprised; flustered; startled." | |||
Suddenly in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | раптам | ||
| The word "раптам" also means "suddenly" in Russian and comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*rapъtь". | |||
| Bosnian | odjednom | ||
| "Odjednom" literally translates to "from one time" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | внезапно | ||
| The word "внезапно" in Bulgarian is derived from the Proto-Slavic root "*nezapъ"," meaning “unawares, unexpectedly”. | |||
| Czech | najednou | ||
| The word "najednou" is derived from the Old Czech word "najedn", meaning "at once" or "all at once". | |||
| Estonian | äkki | ||
| The word "äkki" in Estonian can also mean "maybe" or "perhaps". | |||
| Finnish | yhtäkkiä | ||
| The Finnish word "yhtäkkiä" has obscure etymological origins, with no clear connection to other words in the language. | |||
| Hungarian | hirtelen | ||
| "Hirtelen" also refers to "impetuously" or "rashly" and derives ultimately from the Indo-European root "*keri-" which also gives "heart" | |||
| Latvian | pēkšņi | ||
| From the verb *pekt,* which also means "to hit" and "to arrive". | |||
| Lithuanian | staiga | ||
| The word "staiga" can also mean "instantly" or "abruptly" in Lithuanian. | |||
| Macedonian | одеднаш | ||
| The word "одеднаш" likely derives from the Proto-Slavic term '*jedinъ'", meaning "one", referring to the suddenness of a single occurrence. | |||
| Polish | nagle | ||
| "Nagłe" originated in Old Polish "nagle", meaning "bent" and in the 14th century has taken the additional meaning of "fast, urgent, quick, prompt, immediately, without delay, abruptly" | |||
| Romanian | brusc | ||
| Brusc also means "rough" or "coarse". | |||
| Russian | вдруг, внезапно | ||
| "Вдруг" and "внезапно" share the same etymology, tracing back to the Old Church Slavonic root "vrĭgъ", meaning "moment, instant", and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European root "*werg-", meaning "to turn, to change". | |||
| Serbian | одједном | ||
| "Одједном" derives from Proto-Slavic *jedinъ, meaning "single, one," but it can also mean "at once" or "immediately." | |||
| Slovak | zrazu | ||
| In Slovak, "zrazu" can also mean "in this case," "consequently," or "therefore." | |||
| Slovenian | nenadoma | ||
| Derived from "nad na" (over and over), referring to something occuring without delay; a variant of "namah ma" was recorded in 1550. | |||
| Ukrainian | раптово | ||
| The word "раптово" derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root as the English word "rapine" | |||
Suddenly in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | হঠাৎ | ||
| In old Bengali, 'হঠাৎ' also meant 'to be in a hurry'. | |||
| Gujarati | અચાનક | ||
| The word 'અચાનક' ('suddenly') is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अचानक' ('unexpectedly'). It also has an alternate meaning of 'without warning'. | |||
| Hindi | अचानक से | ||
| "अचानक से" is derived from Sanskrit, "achaanak", meaning "all at once" or "in an instant". | |||
| Kannada | ಇದ್ದಕ್ಕಿದ್ದಂತೆ | ||
| Malayalam | പെട്ടെന്ന് | ||
| The word "പെട്ടെന്ന്" (pette(n)nu) in Malayalam is derived from the Tamil word "பத்" (pad) meaning "to jump" or "to leap", indicating a sudden or unexpected occurrence. | |||
| Marathi | अचानक | ||
| The word “अचानक” in Marathi originally meant | |||
| Nepali | अचानक | ||
| The word "अचानक" (acānak) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आकस्मिक" (ākasmika), meaning 'unexpected', 'chance', or 'sudden'. In Nepali, it is also used to express the meaning of 'abruptly', 'all of a sudden', or 'out of the blue'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਅਚਾਨਕ | ||
| The word 'ਅਚਾਨਕ' derives from the Sanskrit word 'acanakam', which also means 'unexpectedly' or 'abruptly'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හදිසියේ | ||
| The word “හදිසියේ” in Sinhala is the equivalent of the English word “suddenly”, but it can also mean “at once” or “without delay”. | |||
| Tamil | திடீரென்று | ||
| "திடீரென்று" also means "solid" in Tamil and is derived from the Sanskrit word "द्रढ" (dradha), meaning "firm" or "solid". | |||
| Telugu | అకస్మాత్తుగా | ||
| Urdu | اچانک | ||
| The word "اچانک" is derived from the Sanskrit word "आचानक" (ācānak), meaning "unexpected" or "instantaneous". | |||
Suddenly in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 突然 | ||
| The term “突然” can mean “abruptly” or “unexpectedly”, but it also means “instantaneously” or “spontaneously” in Chinese philosophy. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 突然 | ||
| "突然" also means "to drop in without warning", which is used in "突然袭击" ("a surprise attack"). | |||
| Japanese | 突然 | ||
| "突然" means 'suddenly' or 'at once' and is used to describe something that happens unexpectedly or without warning. | |||
| Korean | 갑자기 | ||
| 갑자기 comes from the Sino-Korean words 갑 (갑작스럽다) and 자기 (자신의 기운). | |||
| Mongolian | гэнэт | ||
| The word гэнэт derives from Proto-Mongolic *γe-ne, meaning "unexpectedly." The modern spelling and meaning likely developed after the Middle Mongolian period. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရုတ်တရက် | ||
Suddenly in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | mendadak | ||
| The word "mendadak" can also mean "unexpected" or "impromptu" in Indonesian. | |||
| Javanese | dumadakan | ||
| The word "dumadakan" likely originates from the Old Javanese term "dadakan" meaning "instantaneously" or "spontaneously." | |||
| Khmer | ភ្លាមៗ | ||
| The word ភ្លាមៗ (phliam phliam) may also refer to a loud and sudden noise. | |||
| Lao | ທັນທີທັນໃດ | ||
| ທັນທີທັນໃດ (ทันทีทันใด) shares an etymology with the Thai word "ทันใดนั้น" (tan-dai-nan), both originating from the Sanskrit word "तत्क्षणः" (tat-ksanaḥ) meaning "that moment" or "instantly." | |||
| Malay | secara tiba-tiba | ||
| "Secara tiba-tiba" means "with no forewarning" in Malay. | |||
| Thai | ทันใดนั้น | ||
| Although "ทันใดนั้น" is commonly translated as "suddenly," it derives from the Sanskrit "tat kṣaṇa" meaning "that moment." | |||
| Vietnamese | đột ngột | ||
| The word "đột ngột" is derived from the Chinese characters " đột " (meaning "to break") and "ngột" (meaning "to suffocate"). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bigla | ||
Suddenly in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | birdən | ||
| The word "birdən" may also refer to a type of bird, possibly a partridge or a quail. | |||
| Kazakh | кенеттен | ||
| The Kazakh word "кенеттен" also serves as a verb meaning "to suddenly do something." | |||
| Kyrgyz | күтүлбөгөн жерден | ||
| Tajik | ногаҳон | ||
| The word "ногаҳон" comes from the Persian "نوگاها" (nowgāh) meaning "unexpectedly" or "suddenly". | |||
| Turkmen | birden | ||
| Uzbek | to'satdan | ||
| “To'satdan” is also used to mean “abruptly” or “unexpectedly”. | |||
| Uyghur | تۇيۇقسىز | ||
Suddenly in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hikiwawe | ||
| In Hawaiian, "hikiwawe" also means "to become dizzy due to hunger." | |||
| Maori | ohorere | ||
| "Oho" is an interjection with several meanings, among them "oh!", "indeed" and "really!". | |||
| Samoan | faafuaseʻi | ||
| The word "faafuaseʻi" in Samoan is also used to mean "to be taken aback" or "to be surprised." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bigla | ||
| The term is rooted from the word “bigla”, which also signifies “quick, fast, immediately, and without hesitation.” | |||
Suddenly in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | akatjamata | ||
| Guarani | peichahágui | ||
Suddenly in International Languages
| Esperanto | subite | ||
| The root word 'subit' has the additional meaning of "suddenly" in French and Latin. | |||
| Latin | subito | ||
| The Latin word "subito" also means "unexpectedly" and "suddenly" in the sense of "swiftly" or "rapidly". | |||
Suddenly in Others Languages
| Greek | ξαφνικά | ||
| The word "ξαφνικά" derives from the ancient Greek word "ξαφνής," meaning "unexpectedly," and is related to the verb "σφάλλω," meaning "to trip or stumble." | |||
| Hmong | dheev | ||
| The word "dheev" can also be translated as "rapidly" or "quickly". | |||
| Kurdish | nişkê | ||
| The etymology of the word "nişkê" in Kurdish is uncertain, but it may be related to the Persian word "nagah" or the Arabic word "naja'ah", both of which mean "suddenly". | |||
| Turkish | aniden | ||
| The word "aniden" (suddenly) evolved from the Old Turkic word "anitan" (instantaneously). | |||
| Xhosa | ngequbuliso | ||
| The word "ngequbuliso" in Xhosa can also mean "as though" or "unexpectedly". | |||
| Yiddish | פּלוצלינג | ||
| The Yiddish word "פּלוצלינג" also means "suddenly" in German, as does the English word "abruptly." | |||
| Zulu | ngokuzumayo | ||
| "Ngokuzumayo" also refers to a Zulu traditional dance that involves stamping the feet and clapping the hands. | |||
| Assamese | হঠাতে | ||
| Aymara | akatjamata | ||
| Bhojpuri | अचके | ||
| Dhivehi | ހަމަ އެވަގުތު | ||
| Dogri | चानक | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bigla | ||
| Guarani | peichahágui | ||
| Ilocano | apagkanito | ||
| Krio | wantɛm wantɛm | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لەناکاو | ||
| Maithili | अचानक | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯈꯡꯍꯧꯗꯅ | ||
| Mizo | thawklehkhatah | ||
| Oromo | battaluma sana | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ହଠାତ୍ | ||
| Quechua | qunqaymanta | ||
| Sanskrit | सहसा | ||
| Tatar | кинәт | ||
| Tigrinya | ብድንገት | ||
| Tsonga | xihatla | ||