# Always/never



## mietagosia

Hey! I find it extremely interesting to compare different nations' perceptions of abstract things by investigating a given word in various languages. This time I'm asking you:
What is the word for "always" and "never" in your language? What is their etymology, what does it imply? I'll give you an example of Polish, my native language. 

Always = zawsze ("za" +  "wsze" where "za" means "for" and "wsze" is the old Polish way of saying "all", therefore "always" means "for all"). 

Never = nigdy ("ni" + "gdy" with "ni" meaning "not even, not, nor" and "gdy" meaning "when, if", hence "never" means "not even when"). 

Thanks in advance for your contributions, I'm looking forward to getting your replies!


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## federicoft

Hi,
in *Italian* is:

always -> _sempre_ (from Latin 'semper', meaning the same, cognate to Sanscrit 'sam', meaning "once").

never -> _giammai_ or _mai _(from Latin 'jam magis' meaning "from now on")_. _


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## jazyk

In Portuguese:
always - sempre (see Italian above)
never - nunca (from Latin nunquam)/jamais (see Italian above)


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## madshov

In Danish:

always = _altid _(_al _means all and _tid _means time, hence alltime)
never = _aldrig_. I don't know the origin of this word. I will try to find out, or maybe another person knows.


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## ThomasK

Dutch : 
- altijd (all the time)
- nooit (niet ooit, not even once)

In a West Flemish dialect I hear 'alsan', which reminds me of the 'sam' mentioned above, but it seems too unlikely --- or could be it an ingweonism (brought along by the Danes/ Normans/... ???) ?


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## ThomasK

French : 
- jamais : see Italian, above
 - toujours : every day, all the days


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## ThomasK

'Immer' is also used in Dutch, but not as often as in German... Origin ???


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## Demurral

In catalan;

sempre, always. (see italian above)
mai, never. (see italian above)


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## Kanes

In Bulgarian:

_vinagi _- aways (no idea, but it doesn't seem to be a compound word)

_nikoga_ - never (_ni_ = not even/not/nor, _koga_ = when)

I like looking in the grammer of languages for the same reason. How you make sence of things gives idea of outlook.


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## Encolpius

Hungarian

always = *mindig *(etymology: Hungarian ancient word)

never = *soha *(also a very ancient Hungarian word)


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## ThomasK

But would it not be based on other words, Encolpius ? Can't we get help from Finnish people here ? ;-)


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## Encolpius

ThomasK said:


> But would it not be based on other words, Encolpius ? Can't we get help from Finnish people here ? ;-)



mindig < the basic word is *mi* (what?) + -ig (temporal suffix)
soha < sëmha < sem (neither) + ha (when?) < nem (no)


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## ThomasK

(Wow, what a quick reaction !) 

It is not the same as the question word _when_ (in Hungarian), or is it ?


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## Encolpius

ThomasK said:


> (Wow, what a quick reaction !)
> 
> It is not the same as the question word _when_ (in Hungarian), or is it ?




Hungarian when is mikor < mikoron < mi (what?) + koron (time) [what time]
yes, the similar origin


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## ThomasK

Thanks, E, but in fact I mean to ask: where else do you use that temporal suffix ? (We in Dutch would have to make a compound, do not have a suffix, I think) 

And is it general (_all the time_) somehow ?


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## kusurija

In Czech:
always = vždy (probably vše(all) + kdy(when))
newer = nikdy ( (absolute) antonymous to kdy) (not simply _no_ or _not_)

In Lithuanian:
always = visada (probably visas(all) + kada(when))
newer = niekada ( (absolute) antonymous to kada)

(in this aspect Lithuanian and Czech are similar)


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## Black4blue

Turkish: 
*Always=Daima*
*Never=Asla*

But we usually use *her zaman* (everytime) and *hiçbir zaman* (notime).


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
Always: «Πάντοτε» ('pandote, _adv._) deriving from the Classical «πάντοτε» ('păntŏtĕ) compound formed with the joining together of the pronoun «πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν» (pās _m._, 'pāsă _f._, pān _n.__)-->all, the whole, everyone + _enclitic particle «τε» (tĕ)
Never: «Ποτέ» (po'te, _adv._) deriving from the Classical «ποτὲ» (pŏ'tĕ) compound formed with the joining together of the interrogative pronominal root «πὸ-» (pŏ-, _*stressed*_) or indefinite pronominal «πο-» (pŏ-, *unstressed*), from PIE base *kʷo-, _what_ + enclitic particle «τε» (tĕ)


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## merquiades

No one has mentioned Spanish
Sempre (always) from "semper" (always) in Latin (see Italian description)
Nunca (never) from "nunquam".  It too already meant "never" in Latin.  Maybe it's formed of the particles "nunc + quam".  Sorry my Latin is not so good anymore. Someone else help?


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*: _aina <> ei koskaan (ei ikinä)_

'Ei' is the negation verb.

But how do you say "ever" in your languages? _Have you ever done this/that...?_ In Italian they use 'mai', in Dutch 'ooit', in Finnish 'koskaan', so the negation part is simply omitted.


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## ThomasK

'Ever' in German : 'je' (which might resemble 'nie', but is pronounced differently (English transcription: /nee/ vs. /yay/ (no diphthong though))
'


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## Istriano

*Spanish*: 

_always_: siempre
_never_: nunca _or _jamás



*Malayalam*:

_always_:  എപ്പോഴും  eetə neeravum
_never_: ഒരിക്കലുമില്ല *
(* it means ''not even once'' and is used only when isolated, in a sentence 
the normal usage is:  orikkaalum (''even a single time'') plus a verb in the negative conjugation  )


*Vèneto*:

_always_: sènpre
_never_: mai
*

Cape Verdean Creole (Sotavento/Leeward variety):*

_always_: sénpri
_never_: nunka


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## miss.meri91

In Afrikaans (South African derivative of Dutch):
Always: altyd
Never: nooit (n- being the prefix that negates the word -ooit which means ever)

isiZulu (most-spoken native language in South Africa, as well as most-spoken language in South Africa): 
Never: phinde (although this does depend on context)
Always: njalo


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## jana.bo99

Croatian: Uvijek/Nikada

Slovenian: Vedno/Nikoli

B.


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## Awwal12

In *Russian*:
always - всегда (vsegd*a*)
never - никогда (nikogd*a*)
- "always" contains the root "vse"/"ves" (expressing the idea of "all", "whole", "every" - just like in English: "al-ways"), while "gda" has unclear etymology;
- "never" is actually "ni-" (negative prefix) + "kogda" ("when"). Something like "nowhen".


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## Saluton

*Всегда* seems to consist of vse (all) + kogda (when), i.e. follow the pattern of Czech and Lithuanian.

It seems that the Slavic equivalents of *never* all follow the same pattern: no + when. It's the same in Ukrainian: *ніколи* (nikol*y*, no + when). The Ukrainian word for *always* is *завжди* (zavzhd*y*).


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## nimak

Macedonian:

always = *секогаш* (sékogaš); *сè* _"all", "whole", "everything"_ + *кога* _"when" _+ *-ш*
never = *никогаш* (níkogaš); *ни* _"neither", "nor"_ + *кога* _"when" _+ *-ш

некогаш* (nékogaš); *не-* _"~some"_ + *кога* _"when"_+ *-ш*; = sometime, sometimes, occasionally, formerly...
*не-* (ne-) =  a prefix used to derive indefinite forms of interrogative  adverbs, determiners, and pronouns.


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## Olaszinhok

federicoft said:


> never -> _giammai_


Nowadays _giammai_ sounds emphatic or literary, while _mai_ is the common form, actually it should be* non mai *- never
_*Non *vado *mai *dal macellai_o - I never go to the butcher's or in a more emphatic way:
Mai vado dal macellaio...- never do I go to...


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