Whether in Different Languages
Discover 'Whether' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'whether' is a small but powerful part of many languages, indicating a choice between two possibilities. Its significance goes beyond grammar, as it reflects the human ability to weigh options and make decisions. This ability, in turn, has shaped cultures and societies throughout history.
For instance, in Latin, 'whether' translates to 'utrum' or 'an,' reflecting the language's influence on Western thought and culture. In Japanese, 'whether' is 'whether' ( Soratobi), showcasing the language's unique phonetic and written systems.
Understanding the translation of 'whether' in different languages can provide insight into cultural nuances and historical contexts. For example, in some languages, the word for 'whether' may have multiple meanings or uses, reflecting the language's complexity and richness.
So, whether you're a language enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or simply curious, exploring the translations of 'whether' can be a fascinating journey into the world of language and culture.
Whether
Whether in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | of | ||
| Afrikaans 'of' is derived from Dutch 'of' and can also mean 'or' or 'either'. | |||
| Amharic | እንደሆነ | ||
| The word "whether" in Amharic, "እንደሆነ," is a derivative of the verb "to be," "ሆነ," and literally means "as it is." | |||
| Hausa | ko | ||
| In Hausa, the word "ko" can also mean "if" or "or". | |||
| Igbo | ma | ||
| Igbo | |||
| Malagasy | na | ||
| "Na" in Malagasy can also mean "than" or "about". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kaya | ||
| The word "kaya" in Nyanja (Chichewa) also means "or" in the sense of "this or that or something else". | |||
| Shona | kana | ||
| In Shona, "kana" has different etymological origins and meanings, including its use as a conjunction and as an interrogative marker. | |||
| Somali | haddii | ||
| Haddii can also mean "if" or "in case that". | |||
| Sesotho | hore na | ||
| Swahili | ikiwa | ||
| "Ikiwa" also means "if" | |||
| Xhosa | nokuba | ||
| The word 'nokuba' is often used to express a concessive relationship, with a meaning similar to 'even if' or 'although'. | |||
| Yoruba | boya | ||
| "Boya," meaning "whether" in Yoruba, is an interrogative conjunction indicating an element of doubt or uncertainty. | |||
| Zulu | ngabe | ||
| The word 'ngabe' can also mean 'if', 'whether', 'even if' or 'even though' in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | ni | ||
| Ewe | ɖe | ||
| Kinyarwanda | niba | ||
| Lingala | ezala | ||
| Luganda | oba | ||
| Sepedi | e ka ba | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sɛ | ||
Whether in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | سواء | ||
| In addition to meaning “whether,” "سواء" can also mean “both” or “equal.” | |||
| Hebrew | האם | ||
| "אם" - גם אם שמו של אמן המזמורים | |||
| Pashto | که | ||
| The Pashto word "که" can refer to both conjunctions ("whether") and interrogative pronouns ("who"). | |||
| Arabic | سواء | ||
| In addition to meaning “whether,” "سواء" can also mean “both” or “equal.” | |||
Whether in Western European Languages
| Albanian | nëse | ||
| In the Gheg dialect of Albanian, the word "nëse" can also mean "if". | |||
| Basque | ea | ||
| "Ea" is derived from the Proto-Basque *iya and can mean either "or" or "either" depending on context. | |||
| Catalan | si | ||
| The Catalan word "si" derives from Latin "sic", meaning "in this way," and was originally used as an affirmative phrase. | |||
| Croatian | da li | ||
| In Chakavian dialect, 'da li' also means 'why' or 'because'. | |||
| Danish | om | ||
| The word "om" in Danish is also used as a conjunction meaning "if" or "when". | |||
| Dutch | of | ||
| In Dutch, "of" can also be used to indicate possession, as in "het huis van mijn moeder" (my mother's house). | |||
| English | whether | ||
| "Whether" can also refer to the weather, as in the phrase "foul weather." | |||
| French | qu'il s'agisse | ||
| The French expression "qu'il s'agisse" also means "whether it be" or "as to whether" in English. | |||
| Frisian | of | ||
| The Frisian "of" is cognate with English "or" and "if" and German "ob". | |||
| Galician | se | ||
| The word "se" in Galician can also mean "if", "although" and "or". | |||
| German | ob | ||
| In modern German, "ob" is also used after verbs expressing an uncertain expectation, such as "glauben" (to believe) and "hoffen" (to hope). | |||
| Icelandic | hvort | ||
| The Old Norse word "hvárt" meant both "whether" and "which" and shares common roots with the Latin "uter" meaning "which of two" and the Greek "póteros" meaning "which of two alternatives". | |||
| Irish | cibé acu | ||
| The Irish word "cibé acu" ultimately derives from Old Irish "ciuib", meaning "though", and "acu", meaning "perhaps". | |||
| Italian | se | ||
| The word "se" in Italian also means "if" and can be used as a conjunction or a pronoun, depending on the context. | |||
| Luxembourgish | ob | ||
| "Ob" (whether) is an abbreviated form of "obwuel" (if), but is also an independent conjunction. | |||
| Maltese | jekk | ||
| In Maltese, "jekk" is borrowed from Sicilian "si", and shares its other meaning "if" with Italian "se". | |||
| Norwegian | om | ||
| The word "om" in Norwegian has an alternate meaning of "around" or "about". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | se | ||
| Se can mean "if" or "whether", depending on the context. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | co dhiubh | ||
| Co dhiubh can also mean both "if" and "whether" or "or" (in the sense of "either A or B") depending on context. | |||
| Spanish | si | ||
| The word "si" in Spanish can also mean "yes" or "if." | |||
| Swedish | huruvida | ||
| In the 16th and 17th centuries, "huruvida" was also used to mean "because" and "in any case". | |||
| Welsh | p'un ai | ||
| The word “p'un ai” is sometimes used in colloquial speech as a question tag equivalent to “isn't it” in English. | |||
Whether in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | ці ёсць | ||
| Bosnian | da li | ||
| The word "da li" can also mean "because" or "since" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | дали | ||
| The word "дали" in Bulgarian also means "because" and "if". | |||
| Czech | zda | ||
| The word "zda" also means "it seems" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | kas | ||
| "Kas" is the first person singular form of the verb "to be" and is also used to form questions. | |||
| Finnish | onko | ||
| Also found in words like onkoma (existence) and onneton (unlucky), 'onko' is derived from the Proto-Finnic *onke, meaning 'is' | |||
| Hungarian | hogy | ||
| The word "hogy" in Hungarian can also mean "how" or "why" depending on the context. | |||
| Latvian | vai | ||
| Latvian "vai" also translates as "or" and originally meant "either." | |||
| Lithuanian | ar | ||
| The form "ar\” likely derives from the word in the Slavic languages for "yet" and "if" | |||
| Macedonian | дали | ||
| The word "дали" also means "but" and "probably" and derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "дали" meaning "after that" or "besides". | |||
| Polish | czy | ||
| The word "czy" in Polish is also used as a conjunction meaning "or". | |||
| Romanian | dacă | ||
| The word "dacă" in Romanian is derived from the Latin "dubium", meaning "in doubt" or "uncertain". | |||
| Russian | будь то | ||
| The phrase “будь то” has been used in Russian since the 19th century, but its origins are uncertain. | |||
| Serbian | да ли је | ||
| The Serbian word 'da li je' can also mean 'is it true' or 'is that so'. | |||
| Slovak | či | ||
| The Slovak word "či" also means "or", "either" and "if". | |||
| Slovenian | ali | ||
| The word "ali" also means "but" and was originally used as "or" in 16th century Slovenian literature. | |||
| Ukrainian | чи | ||
| The word "чи" can also mean "or". | |||
Whether in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কিনা | ||
| 'কিনা' in Bengali can also mean 'or not' or 'if' depending on the context. | |||
| Gujarati | કે નહીં | ||
| The Sanskrit word "kim" is the origin of the Gujarati word for "whether," which is spelled as "કે" and "નહિ." | |||
| Hindi | या | ||
| Kannada | ಎಂದು | ||
| The word "ಎಂದು" (endu) can also mean "since" or "until" in Kannada. | |||
| Malayalam | എന്നത് | ||
| เอ้ว่า could also mean “or” when written with “ไม่ว่า.” | |||
| Marathi | की नाही | ||
| The Marathi word "की नाही" ("whether") derives from the Sanskrit word "कुतः न" ("whence") and also means "or not" when used in a question. | |||
| Nepali | कि | ||
| The Nepali conjunction कि derives from the Sanskrit interrogative particle किम् and can also mean "who", "what" or "which". | |||
| Punjabi | ਕੀ | ||
| The word "ਕੀ" can also mean "which" or "what" in Punjabi. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වේවා | ||
| The word "වේවා" is derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian root *wē- meaning "to turn" or "to wind" and is cognate with Sanskrit यत् (yat) and Old Persian yadiy.} | |||
| Tamil | என்பதை | ||
| Telugu | ఉందొ లేదో అని | ||
| Urdu | چاہے | ||
Whether in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 是否 | ||
| 在古漢語中，「是否」指代的是「是」或「否」兩個選項，而並非表示「選擇」之意。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 是否 | ||
| "是" in "否" originally means "right", and "非" in "否" originally means "wrong". In ancient usage, "否" was used like a question word meaning "which is right". | |||
| Japanese | かどうか | ||
| Korean | 인지 어떤지 | ||
| Mongolian | эсэх | ||
| In colloquial Mongolian, эсэх can also mean "or" or "if". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဟုတ်လား | ||
Whether in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | apakah | ||
| "Apa" in "apakah" is an interrogative particle meaning "what" or "which," while "kah" is a particle that turns a statement into a question. | |||
| Javanese | apa | ||
| The Javanese word "apa" can also mean "maybe, perhaps". | |||
| Khmer | ថាតើ | ||
| ាស្នា ិន់ង French of Dutch Meaning a la sellerier S.M. (Churchshil Manchu and SM Frid of French Nu Collins i Khmer Rough of Mal Da M Du Co M Van) | |||
| Lao | ບໍ່ວ່າຈະ | ||
| Malay | adakah | ||
| "Adakah" derives from the Sanskrit "adha" (then, therefore) and has the alternate meaning of "so"} | |||
| Thai | ไม่ว่า | ||
| "ไม่ว่า" can be used to mean "no matter" or "regardless" in English. | |||
| Vietnamese | liệu | ||
| In colloquial Vietnamese, "liệu" can also mean "perhaps" or "possibly." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kung | ||
Whether in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | olub | ||
| "Olub" in Old Azerbaijani meant only "if" | |||
| Kazakh | ма | ||
| The Kazakh word "ма" comes from the Old Turkic word "bar", which also means "this" or "that". | |||
| Kyrgyz | жокпу | ||
| In certain dialects, "жокпу" also means "or". | |||
| Tajik | ки оё | ||
| The Tajik word "ки оё" is a contraction of the Persian phrase "اگر او" (agar ū), meaning "if he/she/it." | |||
| Turkmen | bolsun | ||
| Uzbek | yo'qmi | ||
| Derived from the root word "yo'q" meaning "nonexistence" or "absence," "yo'qmi" also holds the connotation of "is it the case that" or "is there (something) that." | |||
| Uyghur | مەيلى | ||
Whether in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | inā paha | ||
| Inā paha can also mean 'maybe' or 'perhaps' in Hawaiian, indicating a level of uncertainty or supposition. | |||
| Maori | ahakoa | ||
| The word | |||
| Samoan | pe | ||
| The word "pe" can also mean "what" or "which" in Samoan, depending on the context. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kung | ||
| Kung is a Filipino word that can also mean "if" or "whether or not." | |||
Whether in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jïsa | ||
| Guarani | taha'e | ||
Whether in International Languages
| Esperanto | ĉu | ||
| The root word of "Ĉu" is "Ĉi", meaning "this", and it is used to form questions, much like "this" is used in English questions like "Is this a dog?" | |||
| Latin | an | ||
| In Latin, "an" can also mean "if" or "or". | |||
Whether in Others Languages
| Greek | αν | ||
| The word "αν" ("whether") in Greek is a contraction of the word "εάν" from the Ancient Greek "εἰ ἄν," which literally translates to "if perhaps"} | |||
| Hmong | seb puas | ||
| The word "seb puas" can also mean "which" or "who" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | gelo | ||
| The word "gelo" in Kurdish can also mean "if" or "or". | |||
| Turkish | olup olmadığı | ||
| "Olup olmadığı" can also be used to indicate existence, similar to "varlık veya yokluk". | |||
| Xhosa | nokuba | ||
| The word 'nokuba' is often used to express a concessive relationship, with a meaning similar to 'even if' or 'although'. | |||
| Yiddish | צי | ||
| The Yiddish word "צי" is also used in the sense of "if". | |||
| Zulu | ngabe | ||
| The word 'ngabe' can also mean 'if', 'whether', 'even if' or 'even though' in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | হয় নে নহয় | ||
| Aymara | jïsa | ||
| Bhojpuri | कौनो | ||
| Dhivehi | ވިޔަސް | ||
| Dogri | भाएं | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kung | ||
| Guarani | taha'e | ||
| Ilocano | no | ||
| Krio | ilɛksɛf | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کامە | ||
| Maithili | चाहे | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯅꯠꯔꯒꯥ... | ||
| Mizo | emaw | ||
| Oromo | -moo | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କି ନୁହେଁ | ||
| Quechua | sichus | ||
| Sanskrit | कतरः | ||
| Tatar | буламы | ||
| Tigrinya | ዶ | ||
| Tsonga | loko | ||