Whatever in Different Languages
Discover 'Whatever' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Whatever
Afrikaans wat ook al | ||
Albanian cfaredo | ||
Amharic ምንአገባኝ | ||
Arabic ايا كان | ||
Armenian ինչ էլ որ լինի | ||
Assamese যিয়েই নহওক | ||
Aymara kunapasay | ||
Azerbaijani nə olursa olsun | ||
Bambara fɛn o fɛn | ||
Basque edozein dela ere | ||
Belarusian што заўгодна | ||
Bengali যাই হোক | ||
Bhojpuri जवन भी | ||
Bosnian kako god | ||
Bulgarian както и да е | ||
Catalan el que sigui | ||
Cebuano unsa man | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 随你 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 隨你 | ||
Corsican qualunque | ||
Croatian što god | ||
Czech to je jedno | ||
Danish uanset hvad | ||
Dhivehi ކޮންމެގޮތެއްވިޔަސް | ||
Dogri जो बी | ||
Dutch wat dan ook | ||
English whatever | ||
Esperanto kio ajn | ||
Estonian mida iganes | ||
Ewe esi wònye ko | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kahit ano | ||
Finnish aivan sama | ||
French peu importe | ||
Frisian wat dan ek | ||
Galician o que sexa | ||
Georgian სულ ერთია | ||
German wie auch immer | ||
Greek οτιδήποτε | ||
Guarani taha'éva | ||
Gujarati ગમે તે | ||
Haitian Creole kèlkeswa sa | ||
Hausa komai | ||
Hawaiian he aha | ||
Hebrew מה שתגיד | ||
Hindi जो कुछ | ||
Hmong xijpeem | ||
Hungarian tök mindegy | ||
Icelandic hvað sem er | ||
Igbo ihe obula | ||
Ilocano uray ania | ||
Indonesian masa bodo | ||
Irish cibé | ||
Italian qualunque cosa | ||
Japanese なんでも | ||
Javanese apa wae | ||
Kannada ಏನಾದರೂ | ||
Kazakh бәрі бір | ||
Khmer ស្អីក៏ដោយ | ||
Kinyarwanda icyaricyo cyose | ||
Konkani किदेंय | ||
Korean 도대체 무엇이 | ||
Krio ilɛk | ||
Kurdish çibe jî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) هەرچیەک بێت | ||
Kyrgyz эмне болсо дагы | ||
Lao ສິ່ງໃດກໍ່ຕາມ | ||
Latin quae semper | ||
Latvian neatkarīgi no tā | ||
Lingala nyonso | ||
Lithuanian nesvarbu | ||
Luganda -nna -nna | ||
Luxembourgish wat och ëmmer | ||
Macedonian како и да е | ||
Maithili जे किछु | ||
Malagasy na inona na inona | ||
Malay apa-apa sahajalah | ||
Malayalam എന്തുതന്നെയായാലും | ||
Maltese mhux xorta | ||
Maori ahakoa he aha | ||
Marathi जे काही | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯃ ꯍꯦꯛꯇ ꯑꯣꯏꯔꯕꯁꯨ | ||
Mizo engpawhnise | ||
Mongolian юу ч байсан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ဘာပဲဖြစ်ဖြစ် | ||
Nepali जे सुकै होस् | ||
Norwegian samme det | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mulimonse | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଯାହା ହେଉ | ||
Oromo waan fedhe | ||
Pashto هر څه چې | ||
Persian هر چه | ||
Polish cokolwiek | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) tanto faz | ||
Punjabi ਜੋ ਵੀ | ||
Quechua mayqinpas | ||
Romanian indiferent de | ||
Russian без разницы | ||
Samoan soʻo se mea | ||
Sanskrit यत्किमपि | ||
Scots Gaelic ge bith dè | ||
Sepedi eng le eng | ||
Serbian шта год | ||
Sesotho eng kapa eng | ||
Shona chero | ||
Sindhi ڪو به | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) කුමක් වුවත් | ||
Slovak hocičo | ||
Slovenian karkoli | ||
Somali wax kastoo | ||
Spanish lo que sea | ||
Sundanese naon waé | ||
Swahili vyovyote | ||
Swedish vad som helst | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kahit ano | ||
Tajik да ман чӣ | ||
Tamil எதுவாக | ||
Tatar кайчан да булса | ||
Telugu ఏదో ఒకటి | ||
Thai อะไรก็ได้ | ||
Tigrinya ዝኾነ ይኹን | ||
Tsonga xihi na xihi | ||
Turkish her neyse | ||
Turkmen näme bolsa-da | ||
Twi (Akan) ebiara | ||
Ukrainian що завгодно | ||
Urdu جو بھی | ||
Uyghur قانداقلا بولمىسۇن | ||
Uzbek nima bo'lsa ham | ||
Vietnamese bất cứ điều gì | ||
Welsh beth bynnag | ||
Xhosa noba yintoni | ||
Yiddish וואס א חילוק | ||
Yoruba ohunkohun ti | ||
Zulu noma yini |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Wat ook al" is a contraction of "wat ook" ("whatever") and "al" ("already"), and is typically used in a context where the speaker is already familiar with the subject. |
| Albanian | The word **cfaredo** is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷer-*, meaning "to turn, to wind, to curve". |
| Amharic | The word ምንአገባኝ (mənaggəbaɲɲ) in Amharic can also mean "all the same" or "nevertheless". |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "ايا كان" (ʾayya kāna) is cognate with the Hebrew word "איכה" (ʾēkā) meaning "how," "in what way," and was originally used in Arabic as an interrogative phrase. |
| Azerbaijani | "Nə olursa olsun" means "no matter what" or "come what may" in English. |
| Basque | Though literally meaning 'what will be will be', edozein dela ere is often used to imply indifference or acceptance. |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "што заўгодна" literally translates to "what for anything", likely owing to its origin as a calque on the Russian "что угодно." |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "যাই হোক" (pronounced "jai hok") is derived from the Sanskrit phrase "yathā api" meaning "in any case" or "however". It is often used to indicate indifference or resignation in everyday speech. |
| Bosnian | The phrase kako god is also used to express indifference or unwillingness to do something. |
| Bulgarian | The phrase "както и да е" literally means "as it is", but it is often used to express a sense of resignation or indifference similar to the English word "whatever." |
| Catalan | The Catalan phrase "el que sigui" not only means "whatever," but it is also used to express uncertainty or indifference. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "随你"在台湾、香港等地区也可能被用于表示"听凭你的安排"、"听你差遣"的意思 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | In Mandarin, the phrase “隨你” can also mean “as you wish” or “it’s up to you”. |
| Corsican | "Qualunque" in Corsican also means "at all" or "every". |
| Croatian | Što god in Croatian derives from "što god hoćeš" meaning "whatever you want". |
| Czech | The Czech expression "To je jedno" literally translates to "that is one" and originally meant "that is the same" or "that is equal." |
| Danish | The word uanset hvad literally means "regardless of what" in Danish |
| Dutch | The Dutch "wat dan ook" also means "and what else", "and what's more", and "and so on". |
| Esperanto | The word "kio ajn" can also be used to mean "anything", "something" or "someone" |
| Estonian | The word "mida iganes" has been suggested to be an abbreviation of "mida te iganes tahate", meaning "whatever you want" or "whatever you like." |
| Finnish | Aivan sama translates directly to 'completely the same', implying a complete lack of any preference. |
| French | Peu importe's 'peu' literally translates to 'little,' indicating a small amount of importance. |
| Frisian | Derived from archaic Frisian phrase "wat de ien ek, dat de oar ek", meaning "what one has, the other has". |
| German | The German word "wie auch immer" can also be used to indicate "how", "by whatever means" or "in any event." |
| Greek | Some claim "οτιδήποτε" is an ancient Greek form of "ὅ,τι δὴ ποτ' ἂν" ("whatever"), but many reject this view. |
| Gujarati | "ગમે તે" is derived from "ગમે" (to like) and "તે" (it) and used in Gujarati to refer to anything or any situation. |
| Haitian Creole | "Kèlkeswa sa" is a Haitian Creole word derived from the French phrase "quel que soit," meaning "whatever" or "regardless." |
| Hausa | The word "komai" in Hausa also means "anything", "at all", or "something", depending on the context. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian phrase 'he aha' is derived from the word 'aha' which means 'to know' or 'to perceive' |
| Hebrew | "מה שתגיד" also means "that's what you say" and "how about you" |
| Hindi | The word "जो कुछ" also means "all that" or "everything" in Hindi, and is often used similarly to "all" or "the whole" in English. |
| Hmong | Hmong "xijpeem" can carry the dual meaning of "whatever" or "it doesn't matter."} |
| Hungarian | "Tök mindegy" literally means "pumpkin is all the same". |
| Icelandic | The Icelandic word "hvað sem er" can also mean "anything" or "everything". |
| Igbo | Igbo people are often using the phrase 'Ihe obula' which mean any type of thing (good or bad) |
| Irish | In the Irish language, "cibé" is also used as a way of agreeing with someone enthusiastically, akin to the English "sure" or "of course". |
| Italian | "Qualunque cosa" (lit. any thing) dates back to the Latin phrase "quale un que," which literally means "such a thing which." |
| Japanese | なんでも (nanto demo) can also mean 'anything' or 'everything'. |
| Javanese | Although the word "apa wae" is commonly translated as "whatever," in the original Javanese it is more similar to "what is it?" |
| Kannada | "ಏನಾದರೂ" can also be used as a rhetorical question or to express surprise or disappointment. |
| Kazakh | "Бәрі бір" is a homonym that can either mean "whatever" or "everyone" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | The word ស្អីក៏ដោយ can also be used to refer to a very large amount or a very small amount, depending on the context. |
| Korean | 도대체 무엇이 is a Korean phrase that also means "what on earth" or "what the heck". |
| Latin | The Latin phrase "quae semper" ("whatever") also means "who always" and "which always". |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "neatkarīgi no tā" has a literal meaning of "no matter what" or "regardless". |
| Lithuanian | "Nesvarbu" is thought to derive from "nesvãrus" ("weightless", "insignificant") or, less likely, "несвербеть" ("not to itch") in Russian. |
| Macedonian | "Како и да е" derives from the expression "како и да" which means "in whatever way" and has also the extended meaning "nevertheless, however, still, all the same, anyhow". |
| Malagasy | The phrase "na inona na inona" literally translates to "it's whatever it is." |
| Malay | Apa-apa sahajalah is a Malay phrase which can also mean "come what may" or "take things as they come." |
| Maori | The phrase 'ahakoa he aha' (literally 'although it is anything') is often used to express a sense of indifference or resignation. |
| Marathi | In Marathi, "जे काही" ("whatever") can also mean "one thing". |
| Mongolian | The word "юу ч байсан" in Mongolian is derived from the words "юу" (what) and "байсан" (was) in the past tense, expressing the idea of "whatever it may have been". |
| Norwegian | The phrase "samme det" is actually two words, "samme" meaning "same" and "det" meaning "it". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "mulimonse" is derived from the morphemes "muli" (all) and "-onse" (every), meaning "everything" or "every kind." |
| Pashto | The word "هر څه چې" in Pashto can also mean "each" or "every". |
| Persian | The word "هر چه" ("har cheh") in Persian can also mean "all that" or "as much as". |
| Polish | The word "cokolwiek" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "kolko" meaning "how much" or "how many". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "tanto faz" can also mean "the same thing" or "it doesn't matter". |
| Punjabi | The full phrase ‘ਜੋ ਵੀ’ is used to say ‘whoever’ or ‘whenever’ |
| Romanian | The word "indiferent de" in Romanian is a calque of the French phrase "indifférent de," which means "regardless of." |
| Russian | The idiom "без разницы" ("whatever") literally translates to "without difference". |
| Samoan | In Samoan, the plural or generic singular is often conveyed by adding "feese" to the singular root word (the same in some other Polynesian languagues), thus the literal meaning of "soʻo se mea" ("whatever") is "any one thing". |
| Scots Gaelic | The term 'ge bith dè' is Gaelic for 'whatever' and literally means 'what will be' or 'whatever may come'. |
| Sesotho | "Eng kapa eng" can also mean "every time" or "every which way" in Sesotho. |
| Shona | The word "chero" in Shona can also refer to "the act of doing something". Example: "Ndinoita chero", meaning "I am doing something", "I am busy", or "I am working." |
| Sindhi | The word "ڪو به" can also be used to describe an unspecified quantity or a thing that is of no consequence. |
| Slovak | In Slovak, 'hocičo' can also mean 'anything', 'something', or 'whoever', depending on the context. |
| Slovenian | "Karkoli" can also mean "any" or "whoever", depending on the context. |
| Somali | In Southern Somali, 'wax kastoo' can also mean 'everyone.' |
| Spanish | The phrase "lo que sea" literally translates to "the thing that is" or "the thing that might be," implying a broadness of possibilities. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese phrase "naon waé" can also express "anything," "whoever," or "whomever." |
| Swahili | Vyovyote commonly appears at the start of a statement to imply a lack of enthusiasm or resignation. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "vad som helst" literally translates to "what as anything," revealing its original meaning as "anything whatsoever." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Kahit ano" is derived from the Tagalog words "kahi't" (although, even though) and "anó" (what), and it can also be used to express the idea of "anything at all" or "no matter what". |
| Tajik | Although 'да ман чӣ' means 'whatever' in Tajik, it also refers to a state of indifference or carelessness. |
| Tamil | எதுவாக, pronounced ethuvaaga, has alternate meanings, such as "by what means" and "for whatever reason." |
| Telugu | ఏదో ఒకటి is used in Telugu to express uncertainty or to substitute an unknown or unspecified thing. |
| Thai | The Thai word "อะไรก็ได้" literally translates to "what would be good" but is used to express indifference, like an English speaker might say "anything would be fine." |
| Turkish | In Turkish, her neyse also means "well then" and "okay" which it borrowed from Persian. |
| Ukrainian | The Ukrainian phrase "що завгодно" (pronounced "shcho zavhodno") literally translates to "what is desired" or "what you want" and can be used to express a wide range of meanings, from "anything you want" to "whatever you please." |
| Urdu | The word "جو بھی" (jo bhi) has similar connotations to "whichever" or "whomever" but is most often translated into English as "whatever." |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek phrase "nima bo'lsa ham" literally means "what will be, will be". |
| Vietnamese | "Bất cứ điều gì" is the translation of Latin "quidquid" in a Catholic prayer in which it means "everything that". |
| Welsh | "Beth bynnag" can refer to the whole of creation in addition to meaning "whatever". |
| Xhosa | The word "noba yintoni" can also be used to express indifference or dismissiveness. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish idiom "וואס א חילוק" ("whatever") originates from the question "What's the difference?" suggesting indifference. |
| Yoruba | Ohunkohun ti may have originally meant something else, perhaps "the things of the earth" or "earthly possessions." |
| Zulu | The phrase "noma yini" can also carry meanings of defiance or indifference when uttered with appropriate tone of voice and body language. |
| English | The word "whatever" can be used as a pronoun, an adjective, an adverb, or an interjection. |