Whether in different languages

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

Afrikaansof
Afrikaans 'of' is derived from Dutch 'of' and can also mean 'or' or 'either'.
Amharicእንደሆነ
The word "whether" in Amharic, "እንደሆነ," is a derivative of the verb "to be," "ሆነ," and literally means "as it is."
Hausako
In Hausa, the word "ko" can also mean "if" or "or".
Igboma
Igbo
Malagasyna
"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".
Shonakana
In Shona, "kana" has different etymological origins and meanings, including its use as a conjunction and as an interrogative marker.
Somalihaddii
Haddii can also mean "if" or "in case that".
Sesothohore na
Swahiliikiwa
"Ikiwa" also means "if"
Xhosanokuba
The word 'nokuba' is often used to express a concessive relationship, with a meaning similar to 'even if' or 'although'.
Yorubaboya
"Boya," meaning "whether" in Yoruba, is an interrogative conjunction indicating an element of doubt or uncertainty.
Zulungabe
The word 'ngabe' can also mean 'if', 'whether', 'even if' or 'even though' in Zulu.
Bambarani
Eweɖe
Kinyarwandaniba
Lingalaezala
Lugandaoba
Sepedie ka ba
Twi (Akan)

Whether in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicسواء
In addition to meaning “whether,” "سواء" can also mean “both” or “equal.”
Hebrewהאם
"אם" - גם אם שמו של אמן המזמורים
Pashtoکه
The Pashto word "که" can refer to both conjunctions ("whether") and interrogative pronouns ("who").
Arabicسواء
In addition to meaning “whether,” "سواء" can also mean “both” or “equal.”

Whether in Western European Languages

Albaniannëse
In the Gheg dialect of Albanian, the word "nëse" can also mean "if".
Basqueea
"Ea" is derived from the Proto-Basque *iya and can mean either "or" or "either" depending on context.
Catalansi
The Catalan word "si" derives from Latin "sic", meaning "in this way," and was originally used as an affirmative phrase.
Croatianda li
In Chakavian dialect, 'da li' also means 'why' or 'because'.
Danishom
The word "om" in Danish is also used as a conjunction meaning "if" or "when".
Dutchof
In Dutch, "of" can also be used to indicate possession, as in "het huis van mijn moeder" (my mother's house).
Englishwhether
"Whether" can also refer to the weather, as in the phrase "foul weather."
Frenchqu'il s'agisse
The French expression "qu'il s'agisse" also means "whether it be" or "as to whether" in English.
Frisianof
The Frisian "of" is cognate with English "or" and "if" and German "ob".
Galicianse
The word "se" in Galician can also mean "if", "although" and "or".
Germanob
In modern German, "ob" is also used after verbs expressing an uncertain expectation, such as "glauben" (to believe) and "hoffen" (to hope).
Icelandichvort
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".
Irishcibé acu
The Irish word "cibé acu" ultimately derives from Old Irish "ciuib", meaning "though", and "acu", meaning "perhaps".
Italianse
The word "se" in Italian also means "if" and can be used as a conjunction or a pronoun, depending on the context.
Luxembourgishob
"Ob" (whether) is an abbreviated form of "obwuel" (if), but is also an independent conjunction.
Maltesejekk
In Maltese, "jekk" is borrowed from Sicilian "si", and shares its other meaning "if" with Italian "se".
Norwegianom
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 Gaelicco dhiubh
Co dhiubh can also mean both "if" and "whether" or "or" (in the sense of "either A or B") depending on context.
Spanishsi
The word "si" in Spanish can also mean "yes" or "if."
Swedishhuruvida
In the 16th and 17th centuries, "huruvida" was also used to mean "because" and "in any case".
Welshp'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

Belarusianці ёсць
Bosnianda li
The word "da li" can also mean "because" or "since" in Bosnian.
Bulgarianдали
The word "дали" in Bulgarian also means "because" and "if".
Czechzda
The word "zda" also means "it seems" in Czech.
Estoniankas
"Kas" is the first person singular form of the verb "to be" and is also used to form questions.
Finnishonko
Also found in words like onkoma (existence) and onneton (unlucky), 'onko' is derived from the Proto-Finnic *onke, meaning 'is'
Hungarianhogy
The word "hogy" in Hungarian can also mean "how" or "why" depending on the context.
Latvianvai
Latvian "vai" also translates as "or" and originally meant "either."
Lithuanianar
The form "ar\” likely derives from the word in the Slavic languages for "yet" and "if"
Macedonianдали
The word "дали" also means "but" and "probably" and derives from the Old Church Slavonic word "дали" meaning "after that" or "besides".
Polishczy
The word "czy" in Polish is also used as a conjunction meaning "or".
Romaniandacă
The word "dacă" in Romanian is derived from the Latin "dubium", meaning "in doubt" or "uncertain".
Russianбудь то
The phrase “будь то” has been used in Russian since the 19th century, but its origins are uncertain.
Serbianда ли је
The Serbian word 'da li je' can also mean 'is it true' or 'is that so'.
Slovakči
The Slovak word "či" also means "or", "either" and "if".
Slovenianali
The word "ali" also means "but" and was originally used as "or" in 16th century Slovenian literature.
Ukrainianчи
The word "чи" can also mean "or".

Whether in South Asian Languages

Bengaliকিনা
'কিনা' in Bengali can also mean 'or not' or 'if' depending on the context.
Gujaratiકે નહીં
The Sanskrit word "kim" is the origin of the Gujarati word for "whether," which is spelled as "કે" and "નહિ."
Hindiया
Kannadaಎಂದು
The word "ಎಂದು" (endu) can also mean "since" or "until" in Kannada.
Malayalamഎന്നത്
เอ้ว่า could also mean “or” when written with “ไม่ว่า.”
Marathiकी 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.
Nepaliकि
The Nepali conjunction कि derives from the Sanskrit interrogative particle किम् and can also mean "who", "what" or "which".
Punjabiਕੀ
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.}
Tamilஎன்பதை
Teluguఉందొ లేదో అని
Urduچاہے

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
Korean인지 어떤지
Mongolianэсэх
In colloquial Mongolian, эсэх can also mean "or" or "if".
Myanmar (Burmese)ဟုတ်လား

Whether in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianapakah
"Apa" in "apakah" is an interrogative particle meaning "what" or "which," while "kah" is a particle that turns a statement into a question.
Javaneseapa
The Javanese word "apa" can also mean "maybe, perhaps".
Khmerថាតើ
ា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)
Laoບໍ່ວ່າຈະ
Malayadakah
"Adakah" derives from the Sanskrit "adha" (then, therefore) and has the alternate meaning of "so"}
Thaiไม่ว่า
"ไม่ว่า" can be used to mean "no matter" or "regardless" in English.
Vietnameseliệu
In colloquial Vietnamese, "liệu" can also mean "perhaps" or "possibly."
Filipino (Tagalog)kung

Whether in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniolub
"Olub" in Old Azerbaijani meant only "if"
Kazakhма
The Kazakh word "ма" comes from the Old Turkic word "bar", which also means "this" or "that".
Kyrgyzжокпу
In certain dialects, "жокпу" also means "or".
Tajikки оё
The Tajik word "ки оё" is a contraction of the Persian phrase "اگر او" (agar ū), meaning "if he/she/it."
Turkmenbolsun
Uzbekyo'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."
Uyghurمەيلى

Whether in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianinā paha
Inā paha can also mean 'maybe' or 'perhaps' in Hawaiian, indicating a level of uncertainty or supposition.
Maoriahakoa
The word
Samoanpe
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

Aymarajïsa
Guaranitaha'e

Whether in International Languages

Esperantoĉu
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?"
Latinan
In Latin, "an" can also mean "if" or "or".

Whether in Others Languages

Greekαν
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"}
Hmongseb puas
The word "seb puas" can also mean "which" or "who" in Hmong.
Kurdishgelo
The word "gelo" in Kurdish can also mean "if" or "or".
Turkisholup olmadığı
"Olup olmadığı" can also be used to indicate existence, similar to "varlık veya yokluk".
Xhosanokuba
The word 'nokuba' is often used to express a concessive relationship, with a meaning similar to 'even if' or 'although'.
Yiddishצי
The Yiddish word "צי" is also used in the sense of "if".
Zulungabe
The word 'ngabe' can also mean 'if', 'whether', 'even if' or 'even though' in Zulu.
Assameseহয় নে নহয়
Aymarajïsa
Bhojpuriकौनो
Dhivehiވިޔަސް
Dogriभाएं
Filipino (Tagalog)kung
Guaranitaha'e
Ilocanono
Krioilɛksɛf
Kurdish (Sorani)کامە
Maithiliचाहे
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯅꯠꯔꯒꯥ...
Mizoemaw
Oromo-moo
Odia (Oriya)କି ନୁହେଁ
Quechuasichus
Sanskritकतरः
Tatarбуламы
Tigrinya
Tsongaloko

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