Though in Different Languages
Discover 'Though' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'though' is a small but powerful part of the English language, often used to express complex ideas and emotions in a single word. It's a conjunction that connects contrasting ideas, allowing us to express nuanced thoughts and feelings. Though has cultural importance in literature and everyday speech, and its use can be traced back to Old English. Its flexibility and range of meanings make it a fascinating word to study and translate.
For those interested in language and culture, understanding the translations of though in different languages can provide insight into how other cultures express contrasting ideas. For example, in Spanish, though translates to 'aunque,' while in French, it's 'bien que.' In German, the translation is 'obwohl,' and in Japanese, it's 'ただし ('tada shi').
Below, you'll find a list of translations of though in various languages, along with interesting facts and historical contexts associated with the word. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a student of linguistics, or simply curious about the world around you, this list is sure to inspire and educate.
Though
Though in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | wel | ||
| The Afrikaans word "wel" is a conjunction used to express concession. It can also be used as an adverb or interjection to express surprise or disappointment. | |||
| Amharic | ቢሆንም | ||
| The word "ቢሆንም" derives from the verb "ሆነ" ("to be"), and is used to emphasize the uncertainty or improbability of a situation. | |||
| Hausa | ko da yake | ||
| The word 'ko da yake' can also mean 'even if' or 'even though' in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | ọ bụ ezie | ||
| Malagasy | aza | ||
| The word "aza" is a cognate of the Proto-Austronesian word *jaha, which means "and, but, or". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ngakhale | ||
| Ngakhale is derived from the root word "khala" (to fail) and implies that an action was unsuccessful despite the existence of another condition. | |||
| Shona | kunyange zvakadaro | ||
| Somali | in kastoo | ||
| The word "in kastoo" (though) also has the alternate meaning of "yet". | |||
| Sesotho | leha ho le joalo | ||
| "Leha ho le joalo" (though) literally means "if it is so that". It can also mean "even if" or "although." | |||
| Swahili | ingawa | ||
| Ingawa' is a conjunction in Swahili that can also mean 'but' or 'however'. | |||
| Xhosa | nangona | ||
| In some dialects of Xhosa the word "nangona" can mean "and" or "because". | |||
| Yoruba | botilẹjẹpe | ||
| The Yoruba word 'boti' means 'to be true'; 'le' means 'to know' and 'jepe' means 'because'; 'botilẹjẹpe' therefore means 'though' because it implies a situation where something is true though another thing has happened. | |||
| Zulu | noma kunjalo | ||
| The word "noma kunjalo" can also mean "just because" or "at least" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | nka | ||
| Ewe | togbɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | nubwo | ||
| Lingala | atako | ||
| Luganda | naye | ||
| Sepedi | le ge | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɛwom | ||
Though in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | على أية حال | ||
| The phrase "على أية حال" literally means "on any case," but is used in Arabic to mean "though" or "anyway." | |||
| Hebrew | אף על פי כן | ||
| The phrase "אף על פי כן" literally means "in spite of this fact" and can also be used to indicate a contrast or concession. | |||
| Pashto | که څه هم | ||
| The word “که څه هم” is derived from the Persian word “که چی” (“if what”), and it can also mean “even if” or “although”. | |||
| Arabic | على أية حال | ||
| The phrase "على أية حال" literally means "on any case," but is used in Arabic to mean "though" or "anyway." | |||
Though in Western European Languages
| Albanian | megjithëse | ||
| The word "megjithëse" comes from the Turkish "meğer ki", which means "unless". | |||
| Basque | hala ere | ||
| "Hala ere" originates from "hala ta ere", "still and already", and has the same meaning as "hala ere" in everyday use. | |||
| Catalan | però | ||
| The Catalan word "però" is derived from the Latin "porro". It can also mean "however" or "yet" in other contexts. | |||
| Croatian | iako | ||
| The word "iako" in Croatian has two etymological roots: the Old Church Slavonic word "jako" (meaning "firmly") and the Proto-Slavic word "*jek" (meaning "if"). | |||
| Danish | selvom | ||
| "Selvom" derives from the Old Norse "sjalfr", meaning "self" and "með", meaning "with" or "by". | |||
| Dutch | wel | ||
| The word "wel" in Dutch shares an etymological root with "well" in English, both meaning "good" or "favorable". | |||
| English | though | ||
| The word 'though' can also mean 'however' or 'nevertheless'. | |||
| French | bien que | ||
| The French word "bien que" comes from the Latin phrase "bene quod" meaning "well that". | |||
| Frisian | lykwols | ||
| The word 'lykwols' can also be used as a conjunction implying concession (similar to the English words 'however' or 'nonetheless'). | |||
| Galician | aínda que | ||
| "Aínda que" in Galician may also mean "yet" or "still", depending on context and use. | |||
| German | obwohl | ||
| The word "obwohl" is a compound of "ob" ("off" or "against") and "wohl" ("well") and originally meant "in spite of." | |||
| Icelandic | þótt | ||
| Þótt can also mean 'because' or 'although', and is related to the words 'því' and 'þótti'. | |||
| Irish | cé | ||
| The word "cé" in Irish can also mean "why" or "that," and is cognate with the Latin word "quid," meaning "what." | |||
| Italian | anche se | ||
| In Tuscan the word "anche" can mean "also". In the expression "anche se" "anche" is not used as an adverb meaning "also" but as a conjunction, which was originally an apocope of "anco se" | |||
| Luxembourgish | awer | ||
| The word "awer" in Luxembourgish has the same origin as the German word "aber" and the English word "however". | |||
| Maltese | għalkemm | ||
| The word "għalkemm" is derived from the Arabic word "gha-la-kam", which means "for what purpose". | |||
| Norwegian | selv om | ||
| The word "selv om" in Norwegian also means "even if". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | apesar | ||
| Despite its Spanish-like spelling, "Apesar" is purely Portuguese and comes from the adverbial form of the verb "despeitar" ("to despise"). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ged | ||
| Alternate meaning of 'ged': the point of a knife or dagger | |||
| Spanish | aunque | ||
| The Spanish word "aunque" derives from the Arabic phrase "wa in kāna", meaning "and if it were". | |||
| Swedish | fastän | ||
| "Fastän" is cognate with the German "fest" and can also mean "firm" or "solid" in Swedish. | |||
| Welsh | ond | ||
| The word ond is a homograph that can also mean "wave", "wave like motion", or "rippled".} | |||
Though in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | хаця | ||
| "Хаця" is the Belarusian equivalent of the Russian word "хотя", which has the same meaning of "though" and "although" in English. | |||
| Bosnian | ipak | ||
| The word "ipak" can also mean "silk" in Bosnian, and it is ultimately derived from the Persian word "abrisham" meaning "silk." | |||
| Bulgarian | все пак | ||
| В старославянском языке «всѣ пакы» означало «снова», «опять», «вновь». | |||
| Czech | ačkoli | ||
| The word "ačkoli" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *ęčьli, which originally meant "although" or "even if". | |||
| Estonian | küll | ||
| Estonian word "küll" can also mean "yes" (often used in a sense of "I really will!") or "enough" (often used idiomatically, e.g. "mul on küllast"). | |||
| Finnish | vaikka | ||
| The word "vaikka" is cognate with the Hungarian "vagy" and the Livonian "vai", meaning "or" or "either" | |||
| Hungarian | bár | ||
| The word "bár" also has the meanings "bar" (as in an establishment that serves alcohol) and "mine" (the possessive pronoun). | |||
| Latvian | gan | ||
| Derived from the Old Prussian word "gannos", meaning "and". Also used as a conjunction in Latvian dialects. | |||
| Lithuanian | vis dėlto | ||
| Vis dėlto is composed of vis (all, whole) and dėlto (therefore, for that reason), meaning "in spite of everything", or "notwithstanding". | |||
| Macedonian | иако | ||
| "Иако" also means "because" in Macedonian, as is the case with the Bulgarian and Russian cognate "иако". | |||
| Polish | chociaż | ||
| Despite its meaning, the Polish word "chociaż" is not related to the word "choć" ("although"), but rather to "chcieć" ("to want"), and its original meaning was "even if". | |||
| Romanian | deşi | ||
| The word "deşi" has the alternative meaning of "although" and derives from Old Slavonic "deže". | |||
| Russian | хотя | ||
| The word "хотя" ("though") in Russian can also mean "at least" or "even if". | |||
| Serbian | ипак | ||
| The word 'ипак' also means 'yet' or 'however' in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | predsa | ||
| The word "predsa" in Slovak originates from the Proto-Slavic word "*predь" meaning "before". It can also mean "anyway", "still", or "after all". | |||
| Slovenian | čeprav | ||
| The word “čeprav” originally comes from “čepre” or “čepr”, which meant “if only” in Old Church Slavonic. | |||
| Ukrainian | хоча | ||
| The term "хоча" has also been adopted into Belarusian, where it serves as the equivalent of the Ukrainian word, conveying a concessive meaning. | |||
Though in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | যদিও | ||
| যদিও (যদি + ও) শব্দের আরেকটি অর্থ হল 'সঙ্গে'। | |||
| Gujarati | છતાં | ||
| The Gujarati word "છતાં" can also mean "even so". | |||
| Hindi | हालांकि | ||
| Though 'हालांकि' often means 'though' in English, it can also mean 'in the circumstances' or 'however' in other Indian languages | |||
| Kannada | ಆದರೂ | ||
| The word "ಆದರೂ" in Kannada can also mean "even though" or "nevertheless". | |||
| Malayalam | എന്നിരുന്നാലും | ||
| Marathi | तरी | ||
| "तरी" can also mean "still" or "nevertheless" in Marathi, denoting continuation or perseverance despite obstacles. | |||
| Nepali | यद्यपि | ||
| यद्यपि (yadyapi) means "though" and is ultimately derived from a combination of the Sanskrit words यत् (yat, "that which") and अपि (api, "also, even"). | |||
| Punjabi | ਪਰ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਪਰ" (par) can also mean "but", "despite", or "however". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | නමුත් | ||
| The word "නමුත්" can also mean "but" or "however" in Sinhala. | |||
| Tamil | என்றாலும் | ||
| The word 'என்றாலும்' originally meant 'despite', but in modern usage it has come to mean 'though'. | |||
| Telugu | అయితే | ||
| The word "అయితే" derives from the verbal root word "అగు" and the suffix "తే" and means "that is it" | |||
| Urdu | اگرچہ | ||
| Although its literal meaning is if-although and it's used in situations where a negative is followed by an affirmative | |||
Though in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 虽然 | ||
| The word "虽然", aside from its typical meaning of "though", can also mean "in spite of". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 雖然 | ||
| The word "雖然" can also be translated as "even though" or "although" in English. | |||
| Japanese | でも | ||
| The word "でも" can also mean "but" or "however" in certain contexts. | |||
| Korean | 그러나 | ||
| The word "그러나" can also mean "however" or "yet". | |||
| Mongolian | гэхдээ | ||
| The Mongolian word | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သော်လည်း | ||
Though in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | meskipun | ||
| The word | |||
| Javanese | sanadyan | ||
| "Sanadyan" shares the same root word as "sandhang", meaning clothes, as both originated from the same Proto-Austronesian root word meaning "covering" | |||
| Khmer | ទោះបីជា | ||
| The Khmer word "ទោះបីជា" (though) derives from the Sanskrit word "tathāpi", meaning "even so" or "nonetheless." | |||
| Lao | ເຖິງແມ່ນວ່າ | ||
| Malay | walaupun | ||
| The word "walaupun" is derived from the Sanskrit word "yadyapi" and also means "even if" or "although". | |||
| Thai | แม้ว่า | ||
| "แม้ว่า" has a homophone with the same spelling and pronunciation but meaning "even though". | |||
| Vietnamese | tuy nhiên | ||
| Tuy nhiên is a Sino-Vietnamese word meaning "however" and derived from the Chinese word 然而. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bagaman | ||
Though in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | baxmayaraq | ||
| The word "baxmayaraq" is derived from the Persian word "ba-kmayaraq" which means "in spite of" or "despite". | |||
| Kazakh | дегенмен | ||
| The Kazakh word "дегенмен" also translates to "however" in English. | |||
| Kyrgyz | бирок | ||
| The word | |||
| Tajik | ҳарчанд | ||
| The word "ҳарчанд" is also used in Tajik for "although" and "even if". | |||
| Turkmen | garamazdan | ||
| Uzbek | garchi | ||
| Uzbek «garçik» (though) is also used in the meanings of «but» or «however» in negative sentences. | |||
| Uyghur | ھالبۇكى | ||
Though in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻoiai | ||
| 'Ōiai' (though) can also mean 'until' or 'even if'. | |||
| Maori | ahakoa | ||
| Etymology: 'aha' is light, 'koa' is dark, thus 'despite'. | |||
| Samoan | e ui lava | ||
| The phrase "e ui lava" literally translates to "it's a long time now". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kahit na | ||
| "Kahit na" is commonly used to mean "though" or "even though" but it can also mean "even if" or "even when". | |||
Though in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | sipansa | ||
| Guarani | jepe | ||
Though in International Languages
| Esperanto | tamen | ||
| "tamen" comes from Proto-Indo-European "tamen", meaning "nevertheless, notwithstanding, still, anyhow, at any rate, anyway, in any case, under any circumstances, after all, at the same time, at the same place" | |||
| Latin | quamquam | ||
| In classical Latin, quamquam also means "but yet,'' while in late Latin it can mean "and yet.'' | |||
Though in Others Languages
| Greek | αν και | ||
| In ancient Greek, "αν και" meant "if and", but over time the meaning shifted to "though". | |||
| Hmong | txawm hais tias | ||
| "Txawm hais tias" means "though" in Hmong, and is also used in the sense of "even if" or "no matter what". | |||
| Kurdish | çira | ||
| The word "çira" can also mean "lamp" or "light" in Kurdish, reflecting its connection to illumination and clarity. | |||
| Turkish | rağmen | ||
| In Old Turkish it meant "to prevent", then started to be used in the meaning of "though" in Modern Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | nangona | ||
| In some dialects of Xhosa the word "nangona" can mean "and" or "because". | |||
| Yiddish | כאָטש | ||
| The Yiddish word "כאָטש" derives from the Proto-Germanic "hwateu", meaning "however" or "at least." | |||
| Zulu | noma kunjalo | ||
| The word "noma kunjalo" can also mean "just because" or "at least" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | যদিও | ||
| Aymara | sipansa | ||
| Bhojpuri | मगर | ||
| Dhivehi | އެހެންވިޔަސް | ||
| Dogri | भाएं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bagaman | ||
| Guarani | jepe | ||
| Ilocano | nupay | ||
| Krio | pan ɔl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گەرچی | ||
| Maithili | यद्यपि | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯗꯨ ꯑꯣꯏꯔꯕꯁꯨ | ||
| Mizo | pawh nise | ||
| Oromo | garuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଯଦିଓ | ||
| Quechua | hinapas | ||
| Sanskrit | यद्यपि | ||
| Tatar | булса да | ||
| Tigrinya | እኳ | ||
| Tsonga | hambi | ||