Very in Different Languages
Discover 'Very' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'very' is a small but powerful term in the English language, used to add emphasis and intensity to an adjective, adverb, or other parts of speech. Its significance lies in its ability to amplify the meaning of a word, making it a crucial component in expressing the depth of one's feelings, thoughts, and opinions.
Throughout history, 'very' has played a vital role in literature and communication, making it a culturally important term that has transcended time and geographical boundaries. Its usage can be traced back to the Old English period, where it was used to convey a strong sense of certainty or truth.
Understanding the translation of 'very' in different languages can provide valuable insights into the nuances of a culture's language and communication style. For instance, in Spanish, 'muy' is used to convey the same meaning as 'very', while in French, 'très' is the term of choice. Meanwhile, in Japanese, 'とても' (totemo) is used to add emphasis to a word.
In the following list, you'll find the translations of 'very' in various languages, providing you with a unique perspective on the cultural significance of this simple yet powerful word.
Very
Very in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | baie | ||
| The word "baie" is derived from the Dutch word "bij" meaning "near". | |||
| Amharic | በጣም | ||
| Derived from the root word "ጣመ" (to finish, to complete), "በጣም" can mean "thoroughly" or "completely" as well as "very". | |||
| Hausa | sosai | ||
| Sosai can also be used to express a sense of sarcasm or surprise. | |||
| Igbo | ukwu | ||
| The etymology of "ukwu" traces back to the Proto-Igbo '*kpɔ̀' meaning "much" or "great." | |||
| Malagasy | tena | ||
| "Tena" can also mean "too much" or "excessive" in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kwambiri | ||
| The word 'kwambiri' is also used to denote 'excessive' or 'extreme'. | |||
| Shona | chaizvo | ||
| "Chaizvo" is a loanword that originated in the Afrikaans word "te veel" meaning "too much". | |||
| Somali | aad | ||
| The Somali word "aad" can also be used as a noun meaning "the beginning" or "the root". | |||
| Sesotho | haholo | ||
| The Sesotho word "haholo" also means "very great" or "exceedingly". | |||
| Swahili | sana | ||
| Sana can also be an exclamation meaning 'wow!' or 'that is great!', and can also mean 'very much'. | |||
| Xhosa | kakhulu | ||
| The term "kakhulu" also appears in the Zulu and Ndebele languages. | |||
| Yoruba | pupọ | ||
| The word 'pupọ' can also mean 'many' or 'more,' depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Zulu | kakhulu | ||
| The word "kakhulu" in Zulu can also refer to a type of basket woven from grass or reeds. | |||
| Bambara | kɔsɛbɛ | ||
| Ewe | ŋtᴐ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | cyane | ||
| Lingala | mpenza | ||
| Luganda | nyo | ||
| Sepedi | kudu | ||
| Twi (Akan) | pa ara | ||
Very in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | للغاية | ||
| The word "للغاية" in Arabic has multiple meanings including "extremity", "purpose", and "goal." | |||
| Hebrew | מאוד | ||
| The word "מאוד" (meod) in Hebrew is cognate with the Arabic word "مائة" (mi'a), meaning "hundred", indicating a large quantity and hence intensifying the adjective or adverb it modifies. | |||
| Pashto | ډېر | ||
| ډېر means "more" in Pashto, and can be used to compare two things, or to intensify an adjective. | |||
| Arabic | للغاية | ||
| The word "للغاية" in Arabic has multiple meanings including "extremity", "purpose", and "goal." | |||
Very in Western European Languages
| Albanian | shumë | ||
| The Albanian word "shumë" can also mean "much" or "many" and is derived from the Proto-Albanian word "*shumni" meaning "abundance". | |||
| Basque | oso | ||
| Catalan | molt | ||
| The word "molt" in Catalan can also refer to a change in appearance or condition | |||
| Croatian | vrlo | ||
| The word "vrlo" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vьrlo, meaning "extremely". It can also be used to mean "very much" or "greatly". | |||
| Danish | meget | ||
| The word "meget" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "mikilaz", meaning "great" or "much". | |||
| Dutch | heel | ||
| The Dutch word "heel" can also mean "all" or "entire", similar to the English word "whole". This is a common use of the word in compounds, such as "heelal" (the universe) and "heelkunde" (surgery). | |||
| English | very | ||
| The word "very" comes from the Old French word "verray," which also means "true." | |||
| French | très | ||
| The word | |||
| Frisian | hiel | ||
| The word "hiel" in Frisian is derived from the Old Frisian word "hela," meaning "whole" or "complete." | |||
| Galician | moi | ||
| In Galician, "moi" can also mean "a lot of" or "a great deal of". | |||
| German | sehr | ||
| The word "sehr" in German is cognate with the English word "sore" and originally meant "painful" or "grievous". | |||
| Icelandic | mjög | ||
| The word mjög is cognate with the German word mögen, "to like," and the Dutch word mogen, "may," indicating a former sense of "appropriateness" or "fittingness.". | |||
| Irish | an- | ||
| In Irish, 'an-' can also mean 'in' or 'on,' and is used as a prefix to change a noun into an adjective. | |||
| Italian | molto | ||
| Molte is also a contraction of the Italian phrase 'molte persone', which means 'many people' | |||
| Luxembourgish | ganz | ||
| "Ganz" can also be used to mean "at all" in Luxembourgish. | |||
| Maltese | ħafna | ||
| The Maltese word 'ħafna' can also mean 'many', 'much' or 'a lot' depending on context. | |||
| Norwegian | veldig | ||
| The word "veldig" in Norwegian is derived from the Old Norse word "veldigr", meaning "mighty" or "powerful". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | muito | ||
| "Muito" is derived from the Latin "multus", hence its cognate relationship with English "much" and similar words in other Romance languages. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | glè | ||
| "Glè" is cognate with Irish glíoch meaning "great, very" and glíos "greatness, abundance," from an obsolete verb glís "abound, swell." | |||
| Spanish | muy | ||
| In Portuguese, "muy" means "very", while in Spanish it is a verb meaning "to milk" and in French an adverb meaning "very little". | |||
| Swedish | mycket | ||
| "Mycket" comes from the Middle Low German "mikel," (big) which in turn derives ultimately from Latin *magnus. | |||
| Welsh | iawn | ||
| The word "iawn" is derived from the Welsh word "iawnh", meaning "complete" or "entire", and is also cognate with the Breton word "iaouank", meaning "young". | |||
Very in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | вельмі | ||
| "Вельмі" is an archaic word in Belarusian with the same root as "велічны", meaning "important", "solemn", or "great". | |||
| Bosnian | vrlo | ||
| In Slavic languages such as Serbian, Croatian, and Bulgarian, 'vrlo' can also refer to 'hot'. | |||
| Bulgarian | много | ||
| In addition to meaning "very" and being cognate with the English "much", "много" can also function as the Bulgarian cognate of the English "many". | |||
| Czech | velmi | ||
| The word "velmi" can be traced back to the Sanskrit word "valmiki" meaning "heap" or "large quantity". | |||
| Estonian | väga | ||
| The Estonian word | |||
| Finnish | erittäin | ||
| The word "erittäin" is derived from the same root as "ear" and "earring"} | |||
| Hungarian | nagyon | ||
| The word "nagyon" (meaning "very" in Hungarian) is derived from the Old Turkish word "nağır", which means "loudly". | |||
| Latvian | ļoti | ||
| "Ļoti" also means "very much" or "very many" in Latvian. | |||
| Lithuanian | labai | ||
| The word "labai" in Lithuanian has roots in an extinct Baltic language and has a similar origin to the Slavic word "liubo" meaning "love". | |||
| Macedonian | многу | ||
| "Много" can mean either "very", or large quantity or number. | |||
| Polish | bardzo | ||
| There's an interesting theory that "bardzo" derives from the Old Polish word for "rapid". | |||
| Romanian | foarte | ||
| The Romanian word "foarte" originates from the Latin word "fortis", meaning "strong" or "brave". | |||
| Russian | очень | ||
| "Очень" comes from Old Church Slavonic, where it meant "extremely" or "exceedingly". | |||
| Serbian | врло | ||
| 'Врло' is related to 'врело' which means 'warm', so it connotes high temperature and warmth. | |||
| Slovak | veľmi | ||
| The word "veľmi" is also used in Slovak to express "very much" or "greatly". | |||
| Slovenian | zelo | ||
| Besides 'very', 'zelo' can also mean 'venom', stemming from the Slavic 'želьe', meaning 'sting'. | |||
| Ukrainian | дуже | ||
| The Ukrainian word “дуже” (“very”) can also be translated as “too” or “excessively” in English, depending on the context. | |||
Very in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | খুব | ||
| The word "খুব" (khub) is derived from the Sanskrit word "kubera," originally meaning "hump" or "heap" and later "great" or "abundant." | |||
| Gujarati | ખૂબ | ||
| The word "ખૂબ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "kūpa" meaning "well" or "pit". | |||
| Hindi | बहुत | ||
| The word 'बहुत' comes from the Sanskrit word 'भूयस्,' which means 'more' or 'abundant'. | |||
| Kannada | ತುಂಬಾ | ||
| The word "ತುಂಬಾ" (very) in Kannada is derived from the Proto-Dravidian root "*tumpa" meaning "big" or "large" | |||
| Malayalam | വളരെ | ||
| In Malayalam, 'വളരെ' is also used as a noun meaning 'growth' or 'development'. | |||
| Marathi | खूप | ||
| The word "खूप" in Marathi is derived from "kup" meaning "heap" or "excess". | |||
| Nepali | धेरै | ||
| "धेरै" is a Nepali word derived from Sanskrit "धृ", meaning "to hold" or "to be firm." | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਹੁਤ | ||
| ਬਹੁਤ derives from Sanskrit "bahu" (much) and has the alternate meanings of "many" and "excessive" | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉතාම | ||
| Tamil | மிகவும் | ||
| மிகவும் can mean either "very" or "exceedingly" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | చాలా | ||
| The Telugu word "చాలా" can also mean "enough" or "sufficient." | |||
| Urdu | بہت | ||
| Derived from Sanskrit 'bahuta', meaning 'great' or 'excessive', 'bahut' has also expanded to mean 'several' or 'many' in Urdu. | |||
Very in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 非常 | ||
| The character 非常 can also mean 'abnormal' or 'emergency'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 非常 | ||
| 非常 (chángfēi) also means 'abnormal' or 'extraordinary' and is sometimes used as an adverb. | |||
| Japanese | 非常に | ||
| Originally, the kanji composing "非常に" mean "an exceptional event", and the word can still imply a sense of extraordinary circumstances or extreme conditions | |||
| Korean | 대단히 | ||
| The Korean word "대단히" can also mean "greatly" or "considerably." | |||
| Mongolian | маш их | ||
| The Mongolian word "маш их" derives from the classical Mongolian word "мах ш" meaning "great" or "much". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အရမ်း | ||
Very in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | sangat | ||
| The word "sangat" comes from the Sanskrit word "samadhi", meaning "concentration" or "deep absorption". | |||
| Javanese | banget | ||
| The Javanese word "banget" can also mean "too much" or "excessively", as in "Jangan banget nanti keasinan" (Don't add too much or it will be too salty). | |||
| Khmer | ខ្លាំងណាស់ | ||
| Lao | ຫຼາຍ | ||
| The word "ຫຼາຍ" can also mean "many" or "much". | |||
| Malay | sangat | ||
| "Sangat" can also mean "very much" or "greatly" in other contexts. | |||
| Thai | มาก | ||
| มาก can also mean 'heavy' and 'many' and derives from an old Khmer word for 'a lot' that also appears in Sanskrit. | |||
| Vietnamese | rất | ||
| The word 'rất' can also mean 'moist; damp', or 'dense'. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | napaka | ||
Very in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çox | ||
| "Çox" in Azerbaijani also has the alternate meaning of "many". | |||
| Kazakh | өте | ||
| The word | |||
| Kyrgyz | абдан | ||
| "Абдан" can also mean "excessively" or "extremely." | |||
| Tajik | хеле | ||
| The word "хеле" can also mean "especially" or "particularly" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | gaty gowy | ||
| Uzbek | juda | ||
| The word "juda" in Uzbek is a borrowing from Persian and is cognate with the Persian word "juz" meaning "apart" or "separate". | |||
| Uyghur | بەك | ||
Very in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | loa | ||
| The word loa also means "long" in Hawaiian, as in "loa’a’ole," or "exceedingly long." | |||
| Maori | rawa | ||
| The word "rawa" can also be used to mean "raw" in Maori. | |||
| Samoan | lava | ||
| The Samoan word 'lava' comes from the Polynesian root word 'lafa' meaning 'to exceed' or 'to overflow'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | napaka | ||
| The Tagalog word "napaka" can also mean "too much" or "excessive". | |||
Very in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | wali | ||
| Guarani | eterei | ||
Very in International Languages
| Esperanto | tre | ||
| In Esperanto, "tre" can also mean "much", "extremely", or "exceedingly." | |||
| Latin | ipsum | ||
| The word "ipsum" can also refer to a person of the highest integrity who adheres to the highest ethical standards. | |||
Very in Others Languages
| Greek | πολύ | ||
| In Greek, "πολύ" doesn't only mean "very," it can also refer to "many" or "a lot of." | |||
| Hmong | heev | ||
| The word "heev" in Hmong is also used to express surprise or excitement. | |||
| Kurdish | gellek | ||
| The word 'gellek' can also be translated as 'abundantly', a meaning derived from the verb 'gelin', which means 'to be abundant'. | |||
| Turkish | çok | ||
| The word "çok" in Turkish originally meant "very"; however, it has also taken on the meaning of "many" in some contexts. | |||
| Xhosa | kakhulu | ||
| The term "kakhulu" also appears in the Zulu and Ndebele languages. | |||
| Yiddish | זייער | ||
| Zulu | kakhulu | ||
| The word "kakhulu" in Zulu can also refer to a type of basket woven from grass or reeds. | |||
| Assamese | অতি | ||
| Aymara | wali | ||
| Bhojpuri | बहुते | ||
| Dhivehi | ވަރަށް | ||
| Dogri | बड़ा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | napaka | ||
| Guarani | eterei | ||
| Ilocano | unay | ||
| Krio | rili | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | زۆر | ||
| Maithili | बहुत | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯥꯝꯅ | ||
| Mizo | lutuk | ||
| Oromo | baay'ee | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବହୁତ | ||
| Quechua | aswan | ||
| Sanskrit | अतीव | ||
| Tatar | бик | ||
| Tigrinya | ብጣዕሚ | ||
| Tsonga | swinene | ||