What in Different Languages
Discover 'What' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
What
Afrikaans wat | ||
Albanian çfarë | ||
Amharic ምንድን | ||
Arabic ماذا | ||
Armenian ինչ | ||
Assamese কি | ||
Aymara kuna | ||
Azerbaijani nə | ||
Bambara mun | ||
Basque zer | ||
Belarusian што | ||
Bengali কি | ||
Bhojpuri का | ||
Bosnian šta | ||
Bulgarian какво | ||
Catalan què | ||
Cebuano unsa | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 什么 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 什麼 | ||
Corsican chì | ||
Croatian što | ||
Czech co | ||
Danish hvad | ||
Dhivehi ކޯއްޗެއް | ||
Dogri केह् | ||
Dutch wat | ||
English what | ||
Esperanto kio | ||
Estonian mida | ||
Ewe nu ka | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) ano | ||
Finnish mitä | ||
French quoi | ||
Frisian wat | ||
Galician que | ||
Georgian რა | ||
German was | ||
Greek τι | ||
Guarani mba'épa | ||
Gujarati શું | ||
Haitian Creole kisa | ||
Hausa menene | ||
Hawaiian he aha | ||
Hebrew מה | ||
Hindi क्या | ||
Hmong dab tsi | ||
Hungarian mit | ||
Icelandic hvað | ||
Igbo kedu | ||
Ilocano ania | ||
Indonesian apa | ||
Irish cad | ||
Italian che cosa | ||
Japanese 何 | ||
Javanese apa | ||
Kannada ಏನು | ||
Kazakh не | ||
Khmer អ្វី | ||
Kinyarwanda iki | ||
Konkani किदें | ||
Korean 뭐 | ||
Krio wetin | ||
Kurdish çi | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) چی | ||
Kyrgyz эмне | ||
Lao ແມ່ນຫຍັງ | ||
Latin quid | ||
Latvian kas | ||
Lingala nini | ||
Lithuanian ką | ||
Luganda kiki | ||
Luxembourgish waat | ||
Macedonian што | ||
Maithili की | ||
Malagasy inona | ||
Malay apa | ||
Malayalam എന്ത് | ||
Maltese xiex | ||
Maori he aha | ||
Marathi काय | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯀꯔꯤꯅꯣ | ||
Mizo engnge | ||
Mongolian юу вэ | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဘာ | ||
Nepali के | ||
Norwegian hva | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chani | ||
Odia (Oriya) କଣ | ||
Oromo maal | ||
Pashto څه | ||
Persian چی | ||
Polish co | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) o que | ||
Punjabi ਕੀ | ||
Quechua ima | ||
Romanian ce | ||
Russian какие | ||
Samoan a | ||
Sanskrit किम् | ||
Scots Gaelic dè | ||
Sepedi eng | ||
Serbian шта | ||
Sesotho eng | ||
Shona chii | ||
Sindhi ڇا | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මොනවාද | ||
Slovak čo | ||
Slovenian kaj | ||
Somali waa maxay | ||
Spanish qué | ||
Sundanese naon | ||
Swahili nini | ||
Swedish vad | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) ano | ||
Tajik чӣ | ||
Tamil என்ன | ||
Tatar нәрсә | ||
Telugu ఏమిటి | ||
Thai อะไร | ||
Tigrinya እንታይ | ||
Tsonga yini | ||
Turkish ne | ||
Turkmen näme | ||
Twi (Akan) dɛn | ||
Ukrainian що | ||
Urdu کیا | ||
Uyghur نېمە | ||
Uzbek nima | ||
Vietnamese gì | ||
Welsh beth | ||
Xhosa intoni | ||
Yiddish וואס | ||
Yoruba kini | ||
Zulu ini |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "wat" also means "how" and can be used to express surprise or disbelief. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word "çfarë" is derived from the Proto-Albanian word *kʷæ, which also means "who". |
| Amharic | The word "ምንድን" can also mean "why" or "for what reason" in Amharic. |
| Arabic | "ماذا" is also used as an interrogative word in Modern Standard Arabic, meaning "how" or "in what way". |
| Armenian | "Ինչ" can mean "what" in Armenian, "why" in Persian, and "how" in Sanskrit. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "nə" can also mean "why" in Azerbaijani and is related to the Persian word "na". |
| Basque | The word "zer" derives from the Proto-Basque word "*tser" and also means "nothing" in some dialects. |
| Belarusian | The word "што" in Belarusian originates from the Proto-Slavic root *čьto, meaning 'question'. It has the same origin as the English word 'what' |
| Bengali | The word "কি" (ki) in Bengali can also mean "to do" or "to work", as in the phrase "আমি কি করি" (ami ki kori, "what do I do"). |
| Bosnian | "Šta" in Bosnian can also refer to a surprise or a difficult situation. |
| Bulgarian | Bulgarian "Какво" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *kakъvo, formed from the root *kak- "how" + the suffix *-vo. |
| Catalan | Catalan 'què' comes from Latin 'quīd', meaning 'what thing', and is related to English 'what', 'why' and 'which' |
| Cebuano | "Unsa" likely comes from the proto-Austronesian word *sa-*, meaning "who" or "what". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character "什么" can also mean "anything" or "everything" and is composed of the characters "申" (extend) and "么" (particle). |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The Chinese character 什麼 means "what" and was originally composed of three distinct characters, each with its own meaning and pronunciation, that were later combined into a single unit. |
| Corsican | Corsican "chì" derives from Latin "quī", also meaning "who". |
| Croatian | The word "što" in Croatian can also mean "why" or "because". |
| Czech | Co is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *čьto, which also means 'why' and 'how'. |
| Danish | Hvad likely originates from the Old Norse word "hvat", meaning "sharp, keen, or quick." |
| Dutch | "Wat" in Dutch can also mean "something" or "a thing". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "kio" also means "the thing that" in English. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "mida" is a shortened form of the Proto-Finnic "mitä", which has cognates in other Uralic languages. |
| Finnish | Cognate with Estonian "mida", and related to English "meet" and German "mit". Alternate translation "why". |
| French | French "quoi" comes from Latin "quid" but also evokes Latin "quod". It can also be an interjection expressing astonishment or a question. |
| Frisian | The word "wat" in Frisian can also mean "how" in informal speech. |
| Galician | 'Qu' é a contracción da preposición 'a' con o artigo determinado masculino singular 'el' |
| Georgian | The Georgian word "რა" can also mean "why" or "how". |
| German | The German word "Was" has historical connections to the Latin "quid" and "quis". |
| Greek | The word 'τι' in Greek can also mean 'why' or 'for what reason'. |
| Gujarati | The word "શું" can also mean "why" or "how" in Gujarati, depending on the context. |
| Haitian Creole | Kisa derives from the West African word "kisa", meaning a thing, matter or question. |
| Hausa | According to the Hausa-English Dictionary by Abraham's Roger, "menene" can mean "what", "how", or "why". |
| Hawaiian | "He aha" also means "What's the matter with you" and is sometimes used to show concern or surprise. |
| Hebrew | The word 'מה' ('what') in Hebrew can also mean 'why', 'when', 'where', or 'how', depending on the context. |
| Hindi | "क्या" is cognate to the English word "qua". |
| Hmong | The term "dab tsi" in Hmong can also be translated as "which" or "what kind" depending on the context. |
| Hungarian | The word "mit" is also used to express indignation or surprise, similar to "what the heck?" |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "hvað" can also mean "why" or "how" depending on context. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "Kedu" can also translate to "How"} |
| Indonesian | In Indonesian, "apa" can mean "what," "how," or "why," depending on the context. |
| Irish | The Irish word 'cad' is also used to ask 'why' or 'how', or to express surprise, indignation, or doubt. |
| Italian | "Che cosa" in Italian can also mean "how come" or "why." |
| Japanese | The kanji 何 can also mean 'how many' or 'how much', and its original meaning was 'interrogative particle'. |
| Javanese | Apa is also a name for a Javanese traditional cake made of glutinous rice flour and coconut milk. |
| Kannada | In modern Kannada, |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "не" can also mean "why" or "how" in some contexts, expanding its range of meanings beyond the simple "what". |
| Khmer | The Khmer word 'អ្វី' ('what') is also used in Thai, where it has a similar meaning. |
| Korean | “뭐” can also be used as an exclamation to indicate surprise, or to express confusion or uncertainty. |
| Kurdish | Çi also means "who" and "why" in Sorani Kurdish. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "эмне" can also refer to "thing" or "affair". |
| Latin | The Latin word quid (meaning "what") is also a homonym meaning "piece", "small part" or "something", and a noun meaning "small amount". The latter is the origin of the English word "quid" (money, cash). |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "kas" also means "if" and comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷo-. |
| Lithuanian | The word "ką" can also be used as an interjection to express surprise or amazement. |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, the word "waat" can also mean "why" or "how". |
| Macedonian | In the Torlakian dialect, "што" can also mean "why". |
| Malagasy | The word "inona" in Malagasy is a question word, but it can also be used to express surprise or interest. |
| Malay | The word "apa" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "apa" and also means "how" or "why". |
| Malayalam | എന്ത് ( |
| Maltese | The word "xiex" likely derives from the Semitic word "shu'al", meaning "to ask," and can also refer to a riddle or puzzle. |
| Maori | "He aha" can also mean 'why' and 'how' in Maori. |
| Marathi | "काय" can also refer to a thing or an object in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | Юу вэ is related to "үг", meaning "word", which in turn may connect to "иньг" "to speak" or "юг" "to explain". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဘာ derives from the Old Burmese word ဗာ (ba), which could take the meanings "what" in a question or "thing". |
| Nepali | के also can be used to express astonishment or disbelief |
| Norwegian | In Norwegian, "hva" can refer to "which" or "why" as well as "what". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word 'chani' can also mean 'who' in Chichewa. |
| Pashto | "څه" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*kʷid-", meaning "who" or "what". |
| Persian | The Persian word "چی" can also mean "a person who does something", as in "نانواچی" (baker). |
| Polish | The word "co" in Polish may also be used colloquially to express surprise or disbelief, such as "Co ty mówisz?" (What are you saying?). |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, 'o que' can also mean 'the one who' or 'the one that'. |
| Punjabi | The word 'kī' can also be used to refer to the number 5 in some contexts. |
| Romanian | The word "ce" can also mean "which" or "that". |
| Russian | The word "какие" can also mean "which" or "what kind of" in Russian. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaeilge word 'dè' (pronounced "jay") is cognate with Welsh 'beth' meaning "thing". In Ulster Scots, 'dè' means "to do". |
| Serbian | Шта, apart from meaning "what", is also the short form of the word "štaka", a traditional Serbian shepherd's hat. |
| Sesotho | The word "eng" in Sesotho can mean "what," "which," or "where." |
| Shona | Curiously, "chii" is also the name of a type of beer brewed in Zimbabwe |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ڇا" is derived from "ڇو" meaning "why" and is used to form questions inquiring about reason or cause. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "මොනවාද" can also mean "which" or "who" in Sinhala, depending on the context. |
| Slovak | Besides meaning "what," "čo" can also mean "why" or "why not" in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | The word 'kaj' in Slovenian, a relative pronoun meaning 'what', is derived from the Proto-Slavic base 'kai' or 'koji' (relative pronoun) or 'kai' (interrogative pronoun) |
| Somali | Somali 'waa maxay?' ('what') derives from 'waa maxa?', which itself is built on 'waa' (an emphatic copula) and 'maxa' (a question word). |
| Spanish | The word "qué" in Spanish can have several meanings, including "how" and "why." |
| Sundanese | Aside from meaning what, naon can also mean something to indicate time, or an utterance of surprise |
| Swahili | Nini can additionally mean "why" or "how." |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "vad" (what) is also used in the phrase "vad gäller" (what concerns) to inquire about a specific topic. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | In Ilocano, 'ano' is typically an interrogative pronoun; 'what' in English. |
| Tajik | In Persian, "چی" commonly means "thing," but in Tajiki, it can also mean "what" or "which." |
| Tamil | என்ன is also used at the beginning of sentences to express surprise, anger, or disbelief. |
| Telugu | The Telugu word "ఏమిటి" can also refer to "that which" or "the thing that" |
| Thai | In addition to "what," "อะไร" can also mean "anything," "anything at all," or "anything else." |
| Turkish | Turkish "ne" is cognate to Mongolian "na" meaning "thing." |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian word "що" can also mean "that" or "because". |
| Urdu | The Urdu word "کیا" is derived from the Sanskrit word "किम्", which also means "what". |
| Uzbek | "Nima" also means a small part or trace in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | In Vietnamese, |
| Welsh | This word, when written 'peth', also means 'thing' ('beth' being the singular form and 'petha' the plural). |
| Xhosa | "Intoni" derives from "into" (something) and refers to something specific rather than general. |
| Yiddish | Also a diminutive of "Waser', which means "water" in Yiddish, "Was" is sometimes used as "a little bit", e.g. "Just a *little* bit of sugar" |
| Yoruba | The word "kini" in Yoruba can also mean "how" or "why" in certain contexts. |
| Zulu | Inisi (ini), also refers to something being the beginning |
| English | The word "what" originates from the Old English word "hwæt," meaning "who" or "how." |