Skip to content

"however" in seven languages

Meaninghowever

Spanish

sin embargo

/sin emˈbaɾgo/

other source · Spanish 'without hindrance' (embargo, from embargar, Vulgar Latin *IMBARRICĀRE)

French

cependant

/səpɑ̃dɑ̃/

other source · French ce + pendant 'this (being) pending', from Latin PENDĒRE

Italian

tuttavia

/tuttaˈvia/

other source · Italian tutta via 'all the way' (Latin TŌTAM + VIAM)

Portuguese

no entanto

/nu ẽˈtɐ̃tu/

other source · no + entanto 'meanwhile' (Latin IN TANTUM)

Romanian

totuși

/ˈtotuʃi/

other source · tot 'all' (Latin TŌTUM) + și 'and, also' (Latin SĪC)

Catalan

tanmateix

/tamməˈteʃ/

other source · tan 'so' (Latin TAM) + mateix 'same' (spoken Latin *METIPSUM)

English

however

/haʊˈɛvɚ/

native English · Middle English how + ever

English → ItalianhowevertuttaviaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: embargo (es); pending, pendant (fr); via (it).What English and Italian share

The story

Three unrelated idioms: Spanish 'without hindrance', French 'this pending', Italian 'all the way'. Spanish embargo also means a seizure of goods, the sense English borrowed.

English relatives: embargo (es); pending, pendant (fr); via (it)

Learn it

Practice the Little words deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esEs caro. Sin embargo, merece la pena.
  • frC'est cher. Cependant, ça en vaut la peine.
  • itÈ caro. Tuttavia, ne vale la pena.
  • ptÉ caro. No entanto, vale a pena.
  • roE scump. Totuși, merită.
  • caÉs car. Tanmateix, val la pena.
  • enIt's expensive. However, it's worth it.

More in Little words

All Little words words