Variety in Different Languages
Discover 'Variety' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Variety, the spice of life, is a concept that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries. It represents the rich tapestry of differences and similarities that make up our world, and is a key component of any thriving community or ecosystem. The word 'variety' itself comes from the Old French 'varieté', meaning 'diversity, variety, motley', which in turn comes from the Latin 'varietas', meaning 'diversity, difference, a varied assortment'.
Understanding the translation of 'variety' in different languages can open up new avenues of communication and cultural exchange. For example, in Spanish, 'variety' is 'variedad', while in German it is 'Vielfalt'. In Mandarin Chinese, the word for variety is '多样性' (duōyàngxìng), and in Japanese it is '多様性' (tasōsei).
By learning these translations, we not only expand our vocabulary, but also gain a deeper appreciation for the diversity of human experience and expression. So whether you're a language learner, a cultural enthusiast, or simply someone who values the richness of life, exploring the many translations of 'variety' is a fascinating and rewarding journey.
Variety
Variety in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | verskeidenheid | ||
| Amharic | የተለያዩ | ||
| Hausa | iri-iri | ||
| The expression 'iri-iri' can also mean 'anything at all'. | |||
| Igbo | iche iche | ||
| The word "iche iche" can also refer to a masquerade performed by several people with similar attire. | |||
| Malagasy | isan-karazany | ||
| The Malagasy word "isan-karazany" is derived from the verb "isan" (to scatter) and the noun "karazany" (diversity), suggesting a sense of diversity and multiplicity. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zosiyanasiyana | ||
| 'Zosiyanasiyana' might originally have meant 'to divide', 'to separate'. Today its meaning has broadened to include 'different', 'diverse' and 'to distinguish'. | |||
| Shona | zvakasiyana-siyana | ||
| Somali | kala duwan | ||
| In Somali, "kala duwan" can be used not only for varieties but also for changes and differences. | |||
| Sesotho | mefuta-futa | ||
| Swahili | tofauti | ||
| The word "tofauti" also means "difference" or "contrast" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | ezahlukeneyo | ||
| The Xhosa word "ezahlukeneyo" also means "diverse" and "various". | |||
| Yoruba | orisirisi | ||
| In some contexts, | |||
| Zulu | ukuhlukahluka | ||
| "Ukuhlukahluka" can also refer to a type of traditional dance performed by Zulu women. | |||
| Bambara | suguya | ||
| Ewe | vovovowo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | zitandukanye | ||
| Lingala | ekeseni | ||
| Luganda | eby'enjawulo | ||
| Sepedi | fapafapana | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sonobi-sonobi | ||
Variety in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | تشكيلة | ||
| Hebrew | מגוון | ||
| The word “מגוון” (variety) also means “shield” in Hebrew, suggesting a protective or diverse nature. | |||
| Pashto | ډول | ||
| ډول can also mean "fashion" or "style" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | تشكيلة | ||
Variety in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shumëllojshmëri | ||
| Basque | barietatea | ||
| Barietatea, meaning 'change of fortune', 'variation', is related to 'berri' ('new', 'again'). | |||
| Catalan | varietat | ||
| The Catalan word "varietat" comes from the Latin "varietas", meaning "diversity". It can also refer to a collection of related items or ideas. | |||
| Croatian | raznolikost | ||
| Meaning "diversity" in Bulgarian and "variety" in Russian, "raznolikost" finds its roots in the Slavic "raznъ" (different). | |||
| Danish | bred vifte | ||
| The Danish word "bred vifte" is literally translated to "wide fan" in English. | |||
| Dutch | verscheidenheid | ||
| The Dutch word "verscheidenheid" is derived from the Latin "varietas" and shares its root with the word "divers". | |||
| English | variety | ||
| The word "variety" ultimately derives from the Latin "variare", meaning "to change." | |||
| French | variété | ||
| In French, 'variété' can also refer to a type of performance or entertainment featuring a range of acts, such as singing, dancing, and comedy. | |||
| Frisian | fariaasje | ||
| Galician | variedade | ||
| In Galician, the word "variedade" can also refer to a type of traditional Galician music. | |||
| German | vielfalt | ||
| The word "Vielfalt" is derived from the Middle High German word "vilevalt", meaning "many times". In modern German, it can also refer to diversity or richness, especially in terms of culture or ideas. | |||
| Icelandic | fjölbreytni | ||
| The Icelandic word "fjölbreytni" is derived from Old Norse "fjolbreytt", which also meant "change, transformation, mutation, variety". | |||
| Irish | éagsúlacht | ||
| Italian | varietà | ||
| The Italian word "varietà" derives from the Latin "varietas," meaning "diversity," "difference," or "change." | |||
| Luxembourgish | varietéit | ||
| "Varietéit" derives from the Old French "varieté", itself stemming from the Latin "varietas" meaning "diversity" or "difference". | |||
| Maltese | varjetà | ||
| The word “varjetà” in Maltese derives from the Italian “varietà” and also retains some of its original meaning, indicating a performance involving entertainment of different kinds in a single show, such as singing, dancing, comedy, and even magic tricks." | |||
| Norwegian | variasjon | ||
| The word «variasjon» also means «variation» in music. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | variedade | ||
| The Portuguese word "variedade" has an alternate meaning of "diversity," and is etymologically derived from the Latin word "varietas," which also means "diversity." | |||
| Scots Gaelic | measgachadh | ||
| Measgachadh also refers to variation between groups of living organisms, particularly in botany and biology. | |||
| Spanish | variedad | ||
| "Variedad" también designa cada una de las clases en que se divide cada género | |||
| Swedish | mängd | ||
| The word "mängd" also means "amount" or "quantity". | |||
| Welsh | amrywiaeth | ||
| The word 'amrywiaeth' is cognate with the Irish word 'imeacht', meaning 'change' or 'journey'. | |||
Variety in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | разнастайнасць | ||
| Bosnian | raznolikost | ||
| The Bosnian word 'raznolikost' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'različьnъ', meaning 'different'. | |||
| Bulgarian | разнообразие | ||
| The word "разнообразие" also means "diversity" and is related to the word "разен" meaning "different". | |||
| Czech | odrůda | ||
| The word "odrůda" can also mean "strain" (of bacteria or virus) or "breed" (of animal). | |||
| Estonian | mitmekesisus | ||
| The word "mitmekesisus" in Estonian originates from the word "mitmesugune" ("diverse") and the suffix "-sus" ("ness"). Therefore, it literally means "the state of being diverse". | |||
| Finnish | lajike | ||
| In Finland "lajike" can also refer to a variety of berry or fruit. | |||
| Hungarian | fajta | ||
| In Hungarian, the word "fajta" has additional meanings such as "race" or "strain" when referring to animals and plants. | |||
| Latvian | šķirne | ||
| Etymology: Indo-European root *sker- (“to cut, divide”) via Greek σκείρω (“to cut, cleave”) | |||
| Lithuanian | įvairovė | ||
| Lithuanian word "įvairovė" comes from the verb "įvairoti", which means "to diversify". | |||
| Macedonian | разновидност | ||
| The word "разновидност" in Macedonian comes from the Old Church Slavonic word "разновидъ", meaning "of different kinds". | |||
| Polish | różnorodność | ||
| The Polish word "różnorodność" comes from the Slavic root "razn-" meaning "different" and the suffix "-ość" meaning "quality or state", and it can also refer to "diversity" or "heterogeneity". | |||
| Romanian | varietate | ||
| The Romanian word "varietate" has its origin in the Latin "varietas" and it can also mean "difference" or "distinction". | |||
| Russian | разнообразие | ||
| Serbian | разноликост | ||
| The word "разноликост" (variety) in Serbian is derived from the word "лик" (face), and thus originally meant "having many faces". | |||
| Slovak | rozmanitosť | ||
| 'Rozmanitosť' comes from the verb 'rozmať' ('to crush, grind'), with the suffix '-osť', denoting abstract states and properties. | |||
| Slovenian | raznolikost | ||
| The stem "razn-" also appears in the words "različek" ("difference"), "raznolik" ("diverse"), and "raznoličen" ("varied"). | |||
| Ukrainian | різноманітність | ||
| The word "різноманітність" can also mean "diversity" or "heterogeneity" in Ukrainian. | |||
Variety in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বিভিন্ন | ||
| The word "বিভিন্ন" in Bengali means "different" or "various" and is also used in the phrase "বিভিন্নতায় একতা" which means "unity in diversity." | |||
| Gujarati | વિવિધતા | ||
| વિવિધતા, from Sanskrit विविध (vividha), meaning "various, diverse, manifold," also refers to "variation, dissimilarity, differentiation," and "diversity, heterogeneity." | |||
| Hindi | वैराइटी | ||
| The word "वैराइटी" (variety) in Hindi originates from the Sanskrit word "विरुति" (difference) and also means "contradiction". | |||
| Kannada | ವೈವಿಧ್ಯ | ||
| The Kannada word "ವೈವಿಧ್ಯ" (variety) originates from the Sanskrit word "विविधता" (vividhatā), meaning "diversity" or "difference". | |||
| Malayalam | വൈവിധ്യമാർന്നത് | ||
| Marathi | विविधता | ||
| The alternate meaning of "विविधता" in Marathi is "the state of being diverse". | |||
| Nepali | विविधता | ||
| विविधता (variety) is derived from the Sanskrit word विविध (different) and can also refer to "diversity" or "miscellaneous" in some contexts. | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਿਸਮ | ||
| The Punjabi word "ਕਿਸਮ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कृषि" (farming), referring to the diverse crops grown in agriculture. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | විවිධත්වය | ||
| Tamil | பல்வேறு | ||
| Telugu | రకం | ||
| "రకం" is a cognate of the Sanskrit word "वर्ग" (Varga), "group", "assemblage", "class". In Telugu and other Dravidian languages, "-కం" generally denotes nouns of a collective nature. | |||
| Urdu | قسم | ||
| In Urdu, "قسم" can also mean "oath" or "vow", or when used with other words, can modify their semantic meaning. | |||
Variety in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 品种 | ||
| "品种"源自"品"和"种",表示按品质分类的物种或类型。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 品種 | ||
| 品種 (pǐnzhǒng) is a compound Chinese word composed of the characters 品 (pǐn) meaning 'type, kind, grade' and 種 (zhǒng) meaning 'species' or 'variety' | |||
| Japanese | バラエティ | ||
| バラエティ can also be used to describe a range, a collection, or a difference, originating from the Portuguese word "variedade". | |||
| Korean | 종류 | ||
| "종류" is also a Sino-Korean word referring to the Four Noble Types of plants; bamboo, orchid, plum, and chrysanthemum. | |||
| Mongolian | олон янз байдал | ||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အမျိုးမျိုး | ||
Variety in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | variasi | ||
| The Indonesian word "variasi" is derived from the Dutch word "variatie", which means "variation" or "diversity". | |||
| Javanese | macem-macem | ||
| The word | |||
| Khmer | ភាពខុសគ្នា | ||
| Lao | ແນວພັນ | ||
| Malay | pelbagai | ||
| "Pelbagai" in Malay is derived from the Sanskrit word "pra-vidha", meaning "many ways" or "various forms". | |||
| Thai | ความหลากหลาย | ||
| The term "khwaam lak lang waai" is also applied to refer to genetic or linguistic variety. | |||
| Vietnamese | đa dạng | ||
| Đa dạng comes from the Chinese 繁多 (繁多), meaning “plutiful”. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | iba't-ibang | ||
Variety in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | müxtəliflik | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "müxtəliflik" shares a common Proto-Turkic root ("müŋgü") with words like "mövçud" ("existent") in Turkish, and "muxtasar" in Arabic, sharing a broader sense of "different" or "diverse". | |||
| Kazakh | әртүрлілік | ||
| The Kazakh word "әртүрлілік" (variety) originates from the Old Turkic word "örtü", meaning "collection, combination". | |||
| Kyrgyz | ар түрдүүлүк | ||
| The word "ар түрдүүлүк" ("variety") in Kyrgyz can also refer to diversity or a wide range of something. | |||
| Tajik | навъ | ||
| The Tajik word "навъ" can also refer to species, type, or sort. | |||
| Turkmen | dürlüligi | ||
| Uzbek | xilma-xillik | ||
| The word “xilma-xillik” comes from the Arabic word “khilaf,” meaning “difference.” | |||
| Uyghur | كۆپ خىل | ||
Variety in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻano | ||
| ʻAno means 'species' but also means 'to separate', 'to set apart', 'to distinguish', 'to differ' and 'to divide'. | |||
| Maori | momo | ||
| Momo can also mean "all" or "every" in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | ituaiga | ||
| Itu also means 'kind' or 'sort' and is found in the related Oceanic languages of Tonga, Tokelau, Niue, and Rarotonga as a root word with a similar meaning. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pagkakaiba-iba | ||
| "Pagkakaiba-iba" also refers to the diversity of a group of people or things, and can be used to describe the range of differences between them. | |||
Variety in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | mayjanaka | ||
| Guarani | hetaháicha | ||
Variety in International Languages
| Esperanto | vario | ||
| "Vario" also means "variable" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | varietate | ||
| "Varietate" stems from Latin "varius" ("various"), related to "vario" ("to diversify"). | |||
Variety in Others Languages
| Greek | ποικιλία | ||
| The word "ποικιλία" can also refer to a mosaic or a collection of different things. | |||
| Hmong | ntau yam | ||
| The word "ntau yam" is a compound noun consisting of the words "ntau" and "yam". "Ntau" means "different" and "yam" is a suffix used to form nouns from verbs. So "ntau yam" literally means "being different" or "the state of being different". | |||
| Kurdish | pirrengî | ||
| The word | |||
| Turkish | çeşitlilik | ||
| "Çeşitlilik" also means diversity and comes from "çeşit" (kind) + "-lilik" (suffix forming abstract nouns) | |||
| Xhosa | ezahlukeneyo | ||
| The Xhosa word "ezahlukeneyo" also means "diverse" and "various". | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרשיידנקייַט | ||
| The word 'פאַרשיידנקייַט' ('variety') in Yiddish can also refer to a 'distinction' or 'difference', and derives from the German 'verschiedenheit' with similar meanings. | |||
| Zulu | ukuhlukahluka | ||
| "Ukuhlukahluka" can also refer to a type of traditional dance performed by Zulu women. | |||
| Assamese | বৈচিত্ৰ্য | ||
| Aymara | mayjanaka | ||
| Bhojpuri | किसिम | ||
| Dhivehi | ތަފާތު ވައްތަރު | ||
| Dogri | बन्न-सबन्नता | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | iba't-ibang | ||
| Guarani | hetaháicha | ||
| Ilocano | adu a kita | ||
| Krio | difrɛn | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | هەمەچەشنی | ||
| Maithili | विविधता | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯈꯜ ꯃꯊꯦꯜ | ||
| Mizo | danglamna | ||
| Oromo | akaakuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବିଭିନ୍ନତା | | ||
| Quechua | tukuy rikchaq | ||
| Sanskrit | विविधता | ||
| Tatar | төрлелеге | ||
| Tigrinya | ፍልልይ | ||
| Tsonga | hambana | ||