Universe in Different Languages
Discover 'Universe' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 5, 2024
The universe, a term that evokes awe and wonder, is the vast expanse of space that contains everything we know to exist. It's the stage for all of existence, the canvas upon which the story of life is painted. The universe is not just a scientific concept, but also a cultural and philosophical one, representing the infinite and the unknown.
Throughout history, different cultures have given the universe their own unique interpretations. The ancient Greeks saw it as a series of concentric spheres, while many Indigenous cultures view the universe as a living entity interconnected with all life. Understanding the universe in different languages can provide a glimpse into these cultural perspectives.
For instance, in Spanish, the universe is 'el universo', in French, it's 'l'univers', and in German, it's 'das Universum'. Each language offers a unique translation, reflecting the rich diversity of human thought and language.
Delving into the translations of the universe in different languages not only expands our vocabulary but also our worldview. It's a journey that takes us beyond words, into the heart of what it means to be human in this vast, mysterious universe.
Universe
Universe in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | heelal | ||
| The Afrikaans word "heelal" derives from the Dutch word "heelal", which in turn derives from the Latin word "totum", meaning "everything". Thus, the Afrikaans word "heelal" retains the original meaning of "everything", encompassing all of space and time. | |||
| Amharic | አጽናፈ ሰማይ | ||
| In Ge'ez, the word "አጽናፈ ሰማይ" refers to "the heavens" or "sky overhead". | |||
| Hausa | duniya | ||
| "Duniya" also means "world", "earth" and "life" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | eluigwe na ala | ||
| The Igbo word "eluigwe na ala" translates to "the sky and the earth" and is derived from the words "eluigwe" (sky) and "ala" (earth). | |||
| Malagasy | izao rehetra izao | ||
| The Malagasy word "izao rehetra izao" also conveys the concept of "everything that exists," embodying the totality of all things. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chilengedwe chonse | ||
| The word "chilengedwe chonse" literally means "everything that has been created" in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | zvakasikwa | ||
| "Zvakasikwa" is a Shona word that shares the same etymological root with "kusika", meaning "to create", and "sika", meaning "something created". It can also mean "nature" or "the world". | |||
| Somali | caalamka | ||
| "Caalamka" stems from the Arabic word "`ālam", which also means "world" or "realm". | |||
| Sesotho | bokahohle | ||
| Boholo means big, and bophelo means life. | |||
| Swahili | ulimwengu | ||
| The word "ulimwengu" has the alternate meanings of "all matters" and "the inhabited world". | |||
| Xhosa | iphela | ||
| "Ipela" also encompasses meanings like space, outer space, the sky, the ether, the cosmos and the void in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | agbaye | ||
| 'Àgbáyé', meaning 'universe', has an additional connotation signifying 'the gathering of all that was born' | |||
| Zulu | indawo yonke | ||
| The Zulu word 'indawo yonke' means 'place of everything' and is sometimes translated as 'cosmos' in English. | |||
| Bambara | diɲɛ bɛɛ kɔnɔ | ||
| Ewe | xexeame katã | ||
| Kinyarwanda | isanzure | ||
| Lingala | molɔ́ngɔ́ mobimba | ||
| Luganda | obutonde bwonna | ||
| Sepedi | legohle | ||
| Twi (Akan) | amansan no mu | ||
Universe in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | كون | ||
| The Arabic word "كون" also means "being" or "existence" and is derived from the root word "كان" meaning "to be." | |||
| Hebrew | עוֹלָם | ||
| The Hebrew word "עוֹלָם" (olam) can also mean "hidden" or "eternal". | |||
| Pashto | کائنات | ||
| The word "کائنات" in Pashto can also refer to "nature" or "environment". | |||
| Arabic | كون | ||
| The Arabic word "كون" also means "being" or "existence" and is derived from the root word "كان" meaning "to be." | |||
Universe in Western European Languages
| Albanian | universi | ||
| In Albanian, "universi" shares its etymology with "univers" in Latin, which meant "the whole world" or "everything". | |||
| Basque | unibertsoa | ||
| This term is coined from Latin terms 'unus' and 'versus' meaning 'one' and 'turning' respectively, hence 'a single verse' or 'a single turning'. | |||
| Catalan | univers | ||
| In Catalan, "univers" also means "university". | |||
| Croatian | svemir | ||
| The word 'svemir' can also refer to 'outer space' or the 'cosmos' | |||
| Danish | univers | ||
| In Danish, the word "univers" can also mean "world" or "cosmos". | |||
| Dutch | universum | ||
| 'Universum' in Dutch can also mean 'university', which is a loanword from the French word 'université', which itself originates from the Latin word 'universitas'. | |||
| English | universe | ||
| The term 'universe' can refer to the entirety of space and time or to a specific, smaller, world or realm. | |||
| French | univers | ||
| The French word "univers" originally meant "all that exists" and was used to refer to both the physical world and the realm of ideas. | |||
| Frisian | hielal | ||
| "Hielal" may have originated from proto-Germanic, but it also appears in Old English and Old Norse, where it refers to a "hidden" world or the underworld. | |||
| Galician | universo | ||
| The Galician word "universo" derives from the Latin "universus", meaning "the whole" or "all things." | |||
| German | universum | ||
| In Latin, "Universum" means the sum or totality, and may also refer to the entire world as a single place. | |||
| Icelandic | alheimsins | ||
| It literally means "all the worlds", from "heimr" ("world") and "all". | |||
| Irish | cruinne | ||
| The Irish word "cruinne" can also refer to a circle, globe, or sphere. | |||
| Italian | universo | ||
| The Italian word "universo" is derived from the Latin word "universus", meaning "all things turned into one" or "the whole world". | |||
| Luxembourgish | universum | ||
| In Luxembourgish, the word "Universum" can also mean "all-encompassing whole", referring to a universal concept or idea. | |||
| Maltese | univers | ||
| The Maltese word "univers" derives from the Latin "universus" and originally meant "entire" or "complete". | |||
| Norwegian | univers | ||
| The Norwegian word "univers" originated from the Latin word "universus," meaning "turned into one" or "everything together." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | universo | ||
| "Universo": Originated from the Latin, "universum," which means "a totality". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | leth-chruinne | ||
| "Leth-chruinne" can also mean "half of the world" or "the world in general." | |||
| Spanish | universo | ||
| The word "universo" can also mean "everything" or "the whole world" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | universum | ||
| The Swedish word "universum" originally meant "the entirety of all things that are" and was used to describe the material and spiritual world. | |||
| Welsh | bydysawd | ||
| The word "bydysawd" may also refer to the "world", the "cosmos", or the "natural order". | |||
Universe in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сусвет | ||
| "Сусвет" originally meant only "light" or "world of light" in Old Belarusian, and its meaning gradually expanded in the 15th century. | |||
| Bosnian | svemir | ||
| The word "svemir" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *světъ, meaning "light" or "world". | |||
| Bulgarian | вселена | ||
| Вселена comes from the Slavic word for "all" and "world" and is sometimes used to refer to a person's personal space. | |||
| Czech | vesmír | ||
| The word "vesmír" (universe) is also used in the sense of "all things", or "the whole of something" | |||
| Estonian | universum | ||
| "Universum" in Estonian comes from the Latin word "universitas", meaning "a whole", "totality", or "set of all things." | |||
| Finnish | maailmankaikkeus | ||
| "Maailmankaikkeus" is a compound of "maailma" (world) and "kaikkeus" (allness), so it literally means "all-world", or "all that is". | |||
| Hungarian | világegyetem | ||
| The word "világegyetem" is a compound word consisting of "világ" (world) and "egyetem" (unit), conveying the sense of a single, all-encompassing unit that contains everything that exists. | |||
| Latvian | visums | ||
| The word "Visums" can also mean "all things" or "the whole world" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | visata | ||
| "Visata" is derived from the verb "vysti," meaning "to unfold" or "to open up," suggesting the idea of the universe as an expanding or unfolding entity. | |||
| Macedonian | универзум | ||
| The word "универзум" in Macedonian comes from the Latin word "universus", meaning "the whole world". | |||
| Polish | wszechświat | ||
| The word "wszechświat" is derived from the Old Slavonic "vьsь" ("all") and "svět" ("light", "world"), meaning "all light" or "all the world". It can also mean "the whole world" | |||
| Romanian | univers | ||
| In Romanian, "univers" also means "university" or "whole world" in some contexts. | |||
| Russian | вселенная | ||
| The word "вселенная" originally referred to the totality of all things, including humans and their environment. | |||
| Serbian | универзум | ||
| The word "универзум" is derived from the Latin word "universum", which means "all things" or "the whole world". | |||
| Slovak | vesmír | ||
| The Slovak word "vesmír" also means "cosmos" or "space". | |||
| Slovenian | vesolje | ||
| The word "vesolje" comes from the Proto-Slavic word "vьsъ", meaning "all", and the Proto-Slavic suffix "-je", meaning "place". | |||
| Ukrainian | всесвіт | ||
| The word "Всесвіт" is derived from the Slavic root "свет" (svět), meaning "light" or "world", and the prefix "все" (vse), meaning "all". | |||
Universe in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বিশ্বব্রহ্মাণ্ড | ||
| The word "বিশ্বব্রহ্মাণ্ড" is derived from Sanskrit and literally means "all-expansive" or "cosmic egg". | |||
| Gujarati | બ્રહ્માંડ | ||
| The word "બ્રહ્માંડ" comes from the Sanskrit words "ब्रह्म्" (Brahm) meaning "all" and "आण्ड" (Aand) meaning "the egg of existence" or "cosmic egg". The term "cosmic egg" refers to the Hindu mythology in which the universe is believed to have originated from a "golden egg" of Prajapati, the creator deity. | |||
| Hindi | ब्रम्हांड | ||
| Kannada | ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡ | ||
| ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡ' refers to the cosmic egg or the womb of the creator god Brahma in Hindu cosmology. | |||
| Malayalam | പ്രപഞ്ചം | ||
| In Malayalam, the word "പ്രപഞ്ചം" is a combination of "പ്ര" (pra), meaning "forward" or "before," and "പഞ്च" (pancha), meaning "five," referring to the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether) believed to make up the universe in ancient Indian philosophy. | |||
| Marathi | विश्व | ||
| Nepali | ब्रह्माण्ड | ||
| The word 'ब्रह्माण्ड' (universe) in Nepali derives from the Sanskrit word 'ब्रह्माण्ड' (universe) and is composed of the words 'ब्रह्मा' (Brahma, the creator god in Hinduism) and 'अण्ड' (egg), thus conveying the concept of the universe as an 'egg' created by Brahma. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬ੍ਰਹਿਮੰਡ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විශ්වය | ||
| The word "Vishvaya" (විශ්වය) is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word "Visva" (विश्व), which means "all", "entire", or "whole". | |||
| Tamil | பிரபஞ்சம் | ||
| Telugu | విశ్వం | ||
| The word "విశ్వం" (visvam) is derived from the Sanskrit word "Vish", meaning "all" or "everything". | |||
| Urdu | کائنات | ||
| "کائنات" means 'universe' but may also refer to various levels of existence. In Persian mythology, it is the name of a mythical land. | |||
Universe in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 宇宙 | ||
| In Chinese, the word "宇宙" ("universe") originally meant "everything under the sky" and later came to mean the entire cosmos. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 宇宙 | ||
| “宇宙” means both “universe” and, in its original meaning, referring to the four directions: 東(east), 西(west), 南(south), and 北(north). | |||
| Japanese | 宇宙 | ||
| "宇宙" also means "outer space" in Japanese. | |||
| Korean | 우주 | ||
| "우주" originally meant a house or room, which later came to mean the universe as the place where everything exists. | |||
| Mongolian | орчлон ертөнц | ||
| The Mongolian word "орчлон ертөнц" literally translates to "surrounding world" or "the whole world". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | စကြဝာ | ||
| The word "စကြဝါ" can also mean "horizon" or "the edge of the world" in Myanmar (Burmese). | |||
Universe in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | alam semesta | ||
| The term 'alam semesta' is literally translated as 'the spread-out world' and implies the totality of existence. | |||
| Javanese | jagad raya | ||
| "Jagad raya" in Javanese also means "everything" | |||
| Khmer | សកលលោក | ||
| សកលលោក, the Khmer word for 'universe,' comes from Sanskrit and literally means 'all-world' or 'all-things.' | |||
| Lao | ຈັກກະວານ | ||
| The word จักกะวัน is also used by Laotian astronomers with the meaning of "horizon", as a synonym for the technical Lao phrase ขอบฟ้า. | |||
| Malay | alam semesta | ||
| In Malay, "Alam semesta" translates to "universe," but its constituent words "alam" (world) and "semesta" (all) can also refer to a collection or system of objects that form a whole. | |||
| Thai | จักรวาล | ||
| "จักรวาล" (universe) derives from "จักร" (wheel) and "วาล" (a cycle); it means a "continuously rotating wheel" or "cycle of existence." | |||
| Vietnamese | vũ trụ | ||
| "Vũ trụ" refers to a single thread of cosmic energy and also to the cosmos in general. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sansinukob | ||
Universe in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | kainat | ||
| The word "kainat" in Azerbaijani is derived from Arabic, and can also refer to the "order" or "system" of the world. | |||
| Kazakh | ғалам | ||
| "Ғалам," meaning universe, originally meant "a large room." Similarly, its Arabic and Persian cognates refer to both "room" and world. | |||
| Kyrgyz | аалам | ||
| The word "аалам" in Kyrgyz language is also used to refer to the world or the environment. | |||
| Tajik | коинот | ||
| The word “коинōт” is of Greek origin and means “common”. | |||
| Turkmen | älem | ||
| Uzbek | koinot | ||
| In Uzbek, "koinot" also means "community" or "village". | |||
| Uyghur | كائىنات | ||
Universe in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ke ao holoʻokoʻa | ||
| In Hawaiian, the term "ke ao holoʻokoʻa" not only encompasses the physical universe, but also represents the totality of existence, including the spiritual and ancestral realms. | |||
| Maori | ao | ||
| "Ao" in Maori can also mean "space, time, light, life, or the visible world." | |||
| Samoan | atulaulau | ||
| The word 'atulaulau' may also refer to the 'whole earth' | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | sansinukob | ||
| The word "sansinukob" in Tagalog is derived from the root word "sinukob", which means "enclosure" or "container". | |||
Universe in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | universo ukax mä jach’a uñacht’äwiwa | ||
| Guarani | universo rehegua | ||
Universe in International Languages
| Esperanto | universo | ||
| "Universo" derives from the Latin word "universus" which means "turned into one" or "everything together". | |||
| Latin | universum | ||
| In Latin, the word "universum" encompasses not only the physical cosmos but also all things existing as a singular, unified entity. | |||
Universe in Others Languages
| Greek | σύμπαν | ||
| The word "σύμπαν" in Greek stems from "συν" (together) and "πας" (all), forming "συμπας" and then "σύμπαν", referring to the totality of all that exists. | |||
| Hmong | ntug | ||
| The word "ntug" derives from the Proto-Hmong-Mien word "*ntuk" meaning "world". | |||
| Kurdish | ezman | ||
| As a noun, 'ezman' can mean either 'time' or 'universe' depending on context. | |||
| Turkish | evren | ||
| The word "Evren" also means "complete" or "whole" in Turkish, indicating the totality of existence. | |||
| Xhosa | iphela | ||
| "Ipela" also encompasses meanings like space, outer space, the sky, the ether, the cosmos and the void in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | אַלוועלט | ||
| In Yiddish, “אַלוועלט” is sometimes used in a wider sense, such as the entirety of creation. | |||
| Zulu | indawo yonke | ||
| The Zulu word 'indawo yonke' means 'place of everything' and is sometimes translated as 'cosmos' in English. | |||
| Assamese | বিশ্বব্ৰহ্মাণ্ড | ||
| Aymara | universo ukax mä jach’a uñacht’äwiwa | ||
| Bhojpuri | ब्रह्मांड के बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ކައުނެވެ | ||
| Dogri | ब्रह्मांड दा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | sansinukob | ||
| Guarani | universo rehegua | ||
| Ilocano | uniberso | ||
| Krio | yunivas we de na di wɔl | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | گەردوون | ||
| Maithili | ब्रह्माण्ड | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯨꯅꯤꯚꯔꯁ ꯑꯁꯤꯅꯤ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | universe a ni | ||
| Oromo | yuunivarsiitii | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବ୍ରହ୍ମାଣ୍ଡ | ||
| Quechua | universo nisqa | ||
| Sanskrit | विश्वम् | ||
| Tatar | галәм | ||
| Tigrinya | ኣድማስ ምዃኑ’ዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | vuako hinkwabyo | ||