Whom in Different Languages
Discover 'Whom' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'whom' is a crucial part of the English language, used to indicate the object of a sentence. While it might seem like a simple word, its significance lies in its ability to add precision and clarity to our speech and writing. Its usage is not only limited to formal contexts but also adds a touch of sophistication to our language, making it culturally important.
Moreover, the word 'whom' has an interesting history. It was once commonly used in everyday conversation, but its usage has declined in recent times. Despite this, it remains an essential part of the English language, and understanding it can enhance our communication skills.
For those interested in language and culture, knowing the translation of 'whom' in different languages can be fascinating. For instance, in Spanish, 'whom' is 'a quien,' while in French, it is 'qui' or 'que' depending on the context. In German, 'whom' is 'wem,' and in Japanese, it is '誰' (dare).
In the following list, you will find the translations of 'whom' in various languages, shedding light on the cultural and linguistic diversity of the world.
Whom
Whom in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | wie | ||
| In Afrikaans, 'wie' can also mean 'who', 'whose' or 'which'. | |||
| Amharic | ማን | ||
| The word "ማን" "man" can also mean "who" depending on the context. | |||
| Hausa | waye | ||
| The Hausa word "waye" can also mean "who" in a question, or "he/she" in a statement. | |||
| Igbo | onye | ||
| Igbo word "onye" can refer to a specific individual ("person") or to a group of people ("people, persons, individuals, folks, human being, beings, body, or bodies") depending on the context. | |||
| Malagasy | izay | ||
| In the Malagasy language, the word "izay" can be an interrogative pronoun meaning "who" and a relative pronoun meaning "whom" or "which". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | amene | ||
| Amene can also mean 'who', especially when used at the beginning of a question. | |||
| Shona | ani | ||
| In the context of praise poetry, "ani" may also mean "so and so," especially referring to a famous person. | |||
| Somali | yaa | ||
| 'Yaa' (whom) can also mean 'he/she/it' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | mang | ||
| While "mang" always means "whom" in Sesotho, there is a related word, "e-mang", which means "to whom". | |||
| Swahili | nani | ||
| The Swahili word 'nani' can also mean 'what' or 'which' depending on the context. | |||
| Xhosa | ngubani | ||
| The word "ngubani" can also mean "who" or "whose" in Xhosa, depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Yoruba | tani | ||
| In some contexts, "tani" can imply "which of". | |||
| Zulu | ubani | ||
| "Ubani" also means "what", and it can be used in questions asking for clarification or more information. | |||
| Bambara | min | ||
| Ewe | ame si | ||
| Kinyarwanda | nde | ||
| Lingala | nani | ||
| Luganda | ani | ||
| Sepedi | go yena | ||
| Twi (Akan) | hwan | ||
Whom in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | من | ||
| The Arabic word "من" ("whom") also means "from" or "of" depending on the context | |||
| Hebrew | מִי | ||
| The Hebrew word "mi" can also refer to the first-person possessive pronoun "my". | |||
| Pashto | څوک | ||
| In Pashto, "څوک" can also refer to "everyone" or "anybody." | |||
| Arabic | من | ||
| The Arabic word "من" ("whom") also means "from" or "of" depending on the context | |||
Whom in Western European Languages
| Albanian | kujt | ||
| The word "kujt" in Albanian originally meant "who" but has since acquired the meaning of "whom". | |||
| Basque | norena | ||
| The Basque word "norena" can also mean "who" or "whose". | |||
| Catalan | a qui | ||
| In Catalan, "a qui" also means "to whom" or "who" in indirect object or interrogative contexts. | |||
| Croatian | kome | ||
| The word 'kome' also means 'to whom' and is the dative form of the masculine/feminine pronoun 'ko', meaning 'who'. | |||
| Danish | hvem | ||
| Danish "hvem" can also mean "who", but it often implies the person's identity is unknown or needs to be clarified. | |||
| Dutch | wie | ||
| The word "wie" in Dutch can also mean "how" or "as" in English. | |||
| English | whom | ||
| ‘Whom’ is an objective case personal pronoun, used after prepositions or as the object of a verb or clause. | |||
| French | qui | ||
| The French word "qui" can also be used as a relative pronoun, meaning "who" or "that" | |||
| Frisian | wa | ||
| In Frisian, "wa" also means "who" and "whose" | |||
| Galician | quen | ||
| In Galician, "quen" can also be used as an interrogative pronoun meaning "who" or "which". | |||
| German | wem | ||
| The German word "wem" is a contraction of the dative personal pronoun "wer" (who) and the preposition "an" (to). | |||
| Icelandic | hverjum | ||
| The word "hverjum" has alternate meanings depending on how the verb is conjugated, the subject, and the tense. | |||
| Irish | cé | ||
| The word "cé" in Irish can also mean "who" in the nominative case, or "what" when used as an interrogative pronoun. | |||
| Italian | chi | ||
| "Chi" can also mean "key" and originates from the Late Latin "clavis", from Greek "kleis", from the Proto-Indo-European "*klei" (hook, key). | |||
| Luxembourgish | wiem | ||
| In certain dialects, the word "wiem" may also refer to the second person plural possessive pronoun, meaning "your" (equivalent to English "y'all"). | |||
| Maltese | min | ||
| Min derives from the word “myself” as when used by slaves referring to themselves. | |||
| Norwegian | hvem | ||
| The word 'hvem' is cognate with the English 'who', and its older meaning was 'who' rather than 'whom', which developed later. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | o qual | ||
| Portuguese "o qual" derives from Latin "qualis", meaning "what kind of". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | cò | ||
| Cò's homophone 'co' means 'for whom' and has an additional meaning 'since'. | |||
| Spanish | quién | ||
| "Quién" is the singular masculine form, while "quiénes" is the plural or feminine form. | |||
| Swedish | vem | ||
| Vem can refer to an unknown or unspecified person or object that has been previously mentioned. | |||
| Welsh | pwy | ||
| The word 'pwy' in Welsh also means 'who', and is derived from the Proto-Celtic word *kʷi-. | |||
Whom in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | каго | ||
| Bosnian | koga | ||
| Koga is a relative pronoun used to refer to both animate and inanimate objects and can be used in place of the genitive case. | |||
| Bulgarian | на когото | ||
| In Bulgarian, the phrase "на когото" can also mean "whose". | |||
| Czech | koho | ||
| The word "koho" in Czech can also refer to the relative pronoun "whose" or the possessive pronoun "his" in certain contexts. | |||
| Estonian | kellele | ||
| Kellele can also mean "to whom", "for whom" or "whose" in Estonian. | |||
| Finnish | kenelle | ||
| The Finnish word "kenelle" can also mean "to whom" or "for whom". | |||
| Hungarian | kit | ||
| The Hungarian word "kit" can also mean "who" when used in the accusative case. | |||
| Latvian | kam | ||
| The word "kam" in Latvian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "*kʷem". It is cognate with the English word "whom" and also means "to whom" or "for whom". | |||
| Lithuanian | kam | ||
| The word "kam" in Lithuanian can also mean "to whom" and is used in questions referring to a recipient. | |||
| Macedonian | кого | ||
| The word "кого" derives from the Old Church Slavonic "къто" (kto), meaning "who," and is used in formal or literary contexts. | |||
| Polish | kogo | ||
| The word "kogo" in Polish is derived from the Old Slavonic word "kogo", which also means "whom" and is related to the Latin word "quem". | |||
| Romanian | pe cine | ||
| "Pe cine" (whom) in Romanian also means "on who/what" in other contexts | |||
| Russian | кого | ||
| "Кого" in Russian can have other meanings besides "whom", such as "to whom" (in dative case) or "of whom" (in genitive case). | |||
| Serbian | кога | ||
| The word "кога" (''koga'') in Serbian derives from the Proto-Slavic word *kogo and is related to the Latin word ''quem'' and the Greek word ''τινα''. | |||
| Slovak | koho | ||
| 'Koho' can also be a surname which literally means 'rooster'. | |||
| Slovenian | koga | ||
| The word 'koga' is a dative and accusative form of the interrogative pronoun 'kdo'. | |||
| Ukrainian | кого | ||
| In Ukrainian, "кого" means "whom", but it can also mean "what" or "which", depending on the context. | |||
Whom in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কাকে | ||
| The word "কাকে" can also be used to refer to a person or animal that is unknown or unspecified. | |||
| Gujarati | જેમને | ||
| "જેમને" (whóm) can also mean "which" or "that". | |||
| Hindi | किसको | ||
| किसको | |||
| Kannada | ಯಾರನ್ನು | ||
| In Kannada, ಯಾರನ್ನು ("whom") is also used for inanimate objects and animals. | |||
| Malayalam | ആരെയാണ് | ||
| In Malayalam, ആരെയാണ് is also used to address someone politely, similar to the English "sir" or "madam." | |||
| Marathi | ज्या | ||
| Nepali | जसलाई | ||
| The Nepali word "जसलाई" is derived from the Sanskrit word "यस्मै," meaning "to whom, to which." | |||
| Punjabi | ਜਿਸ ਨੂੰ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කවුද | ||
| "කවුද" is also used in Sinhala to refer to a person of low social status or a servant. | |||
| Tamil | யாரை | ||
| Telugu | ఎవరిని | ||
| Urdu | کسے؟ | ||
| The word "کسے" in Urdu can also mean "to whom" or "for whom". | |||
Whom in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 谁 | ||
| "谁" also means "to be" or "is" in interrogative sentences | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 誰 | ||
| In Chinese, 「誰」 also means "who," "which," or "what" depending on the context or grammar. | |||
| Japanese | 誰 | ||
| The character "誰" can also mean "who" or "whose" in certain contexts, but its primary meaning is "whom". | |||
| Korean | 누구 | ||
| "누구" also carries the same connotation as English "somebody" in the sentence "누구도 없었어": there wasn't anybody there. | |||
| Mongolian | хэн | ||
| In Old Mongolian, 'хэн' meant 'what', and 'хэний' meant 'whose' instead of 'whom' and 'whose' like today. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဘယ်သူလဲ | ||
Whom in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | siapa | ||
| The word "siapa" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*sihapa" meaning "who". | |||
| Javanese | sapa | ||
| The word "sapa" in Javanese can also mean "who" or "whoever" | |||
| Khmer | អ្នកណា | ||
| Lao | ໃຜ | ||
| ໃຜ also means 'who' in Lao, and is used when the pronoun is the subject of a sentence. | |||
| Malay | siapa | ||
| Malay's word "siapa" also refers to the "passive recipient of an action" or the "patient" of a sentence. | |||
| Thai | ใคร | ||
| The term 'ใคร' can also be used to inquire about something unknown, such as a name or an object. | |||
| Vietnamese | ai | ||
| In Vietnamese, "ai" also means "who" in a casual context, and can be used to form rhetorical questions. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kanino | ||
Whom in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | kimdir | ||
| Kazakh | кім | ||
| The word "кім" also means "who" in Kazakh, depending on the context. | |||
| Kyrgyz | ким | ||
| The root of the word "ким" ("whom") in Kyrgyz is "ким" ("who"), from the Old Turkic "kim" ("who, whom"). | |||
| Tajik | кӣ | ||
| The Persian word "kā" can also refer to a relative pronoun meaning "who" or "that" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | kim | ||
| Uzbek | kim | ||
| In Uzbek, "kim" also means "who" when used as the subject of a sentence. | |||
| Uyghur | كىم | ||
Whom in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻo wai lā | ||
| The Hawaiian word "ʻo wai lā" ("whom") can also mean "who" in some contexts, similar to the English "who did you see?" and "whom did you see?" | |||
| Maori | ko wai | ||
| The Maori word | |||
| Samoan | o ai | ||
| "O ai" is derived from the Proto-Polynesian pronouns *ai* (who) and *oi* (they). | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kanino | ||
| The Tagalog word "kanino" is also used to refer to "which one" or "what" in a group or list of items. | |||
Whom in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | khitiru | ||
| Guarani | máva | ||
Whom in International Languages
| Esperanto | kiun | ||
| The Esperanto word "kiun" derives from the Latin word "quem". | |||
| Latin | quibus | ||
| The word "quibus" can also mean "by which," "with which," "from which," or "on account of which." | |||
Whom in Others Languages
| Greek | ποιόν | ||
| The word "ποιόν" in Greek can also mean "of what kind" or "which". | |||
| Hmong | leej twg | ||
| The Hmong word "leej twg" can also refer to "who" when asking about the identity of a person. | |||
| Kurdish | kê | ||
| Kê is a Persian word that can also be found in the Kurdish language, and its usage is mostly limited to the literary or colloquial register. | |||
| Turkish | kime | ||
| Kime is rooted in the Old Turkic word 'kim', and also shares the meaning of 'what' with it | |||
| Xhosa | ngubani | ||
| The word "ngubani" can also mean "who" or "whose" in Xhosa, depending on the context in which it is used. | |||
| Yiddish | וועמען | ||
| The Yiddish word "וועמען" is similar to the German word "Wen," both meaning "whom," and is commonly used as an indirect object pronoun. | |||
| Zulu | ubani | ||
| "Ubani" also means "what", and it can be used in questions asking for clarification or more information. | |||
| Assamese | কাক | ||
| Aymara | khitiru | ||
| Bhojpuri | केकरा के | ||
| Dhivehi | އެމީހެއްގެ | ||
| Dogri | कुसी | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kanino | ||
| Guarani | máva | ||
| Ilocano | asinno | ||
| Krio | udat | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کێ | ||
| Maithili | जकर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯀꯅꯥꯒꯤꯅꯣ | ||
| Mizo | tunge | ||
| Oromo | eenyu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କାହାକୁ | ||
| Quechua | pi | ||
| Sanskrit | कस्मै | ||
| Tatar | кем | ||
| Tigrinya | መን | ||
| Tsonga | loyi | ||