Etymology
edit
From some + how.
Pronunciation
edit
somehow (not comparable)
- In one way or another; in a way not yet known or explained; by some means
This problem has to be tackled somehow.
We don't know how he's still alive after the accident, but somehow he is.
- December 1, 2016, Tom Donaghy writing in The New York Times, Tender Side of Edward Albee
- It’s not by accident Edward wrote “The Goat,” “The Zoo Story” or “Seascape,” with its two lizards, Sarah and Leslie. In fact, in all of his plays the animal is pretty prominent, somehow or other.
1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.
1895, William Dean Howells, Mortality:Have I not loathed to live again and said
It would have been far better to be dead,
And yet somehow, I know not why,
Remained afraid to die!
1817, Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy[1]:Although youngest of the family, he has somehow or other got the entire management of all the others.
Usage notes
edit
The indefiniteness of somehow is emphasized by the addition of or other, or another or or the other.
Synonyms
edit
Derived terms
edit
Translations
edit
in one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated
- Assamese: কেনেবাকৈ (kenebakoi), কিবা প্ৰকাৰে (kiba prokare)
- Belarusian: я́ка-сь (jáka-sʹ), не́як (njéjak), як-не́будзь (jak-njébudzʹ)
- Bulgarian: някакси (njakaksi)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: (no equivalent exists; literally) 以某種方式/以某种方式 (yǐ mǒu zhǒng fāngshì), 不知何故 (bùzhī hégù)
- Cornish: war neb kor
- Czech: nějak (cs)
- Dutch: op een of andere manier, eenderhoe
- Esperanto: iel (eo)
- Finnish: jotenkin (fi), jotenkuten (fi); jollakin tavalla (by some means, emphasized)
- French: d’une façon ou d’une autre, quelque part (fr) (colloquial)
- German: irgendwie (de)
- Greek: κάπως (el) (kápos)
- Ancient: πώς (pṓs)
- Hungarian: valahogy (hu), valahogyan (hu)
- Icelandic: einhvern veginn
- Irish: ar chuma éigin
- Italian: in qualche modo
- Japanese: なぜか (ja) (nazeka), 何とか (なんとか, nantoka), なぜなのか (nazenanoka)
- Kapampangan: agyang pakananu, andyang pakananu
- Korean: 왠지 (ko) (waenji)
- Latgalian: nazkai, kai naviņ, kazyn kai
- Latin: aliquā
- Latvian: kaut kā
- Norwegian: eikorleis
- Old English: āwiht, in ōþer wīsan
- Polish: jakoś (pl)
- Portuguese: de alguma forma, de alguma maneira, de algum jeito, por algum meio
- Romanian: cumva (ro)
- Russian: ка́к-то (ru) (kák-to), ка́к-нибу́дь (ru) (kák-nibúdʹ), почему́-то (ru) (počemú-to) (for some reason), отчего́-то (ru) (otčevó-to)
- Sanskrit: समह (sa) (samaha)
- Serbo-Croatian: nekako (sh), некако
- Slovak: nejako
- Spanish: de algún modo, de alguna manera, de alguna forma
- Swedish: på något sätt, på ett eller annat sätt
- Tagalog: kahit na papaano, kahit papaano
- Telugu: ఎలాగోలా (elāgōlā), ఏదోరకంగా (ēdōrakaṅgā)
- Turkish: bir şekilde
- Ukrainian: я́кось (uk) (jákosʹ), як-не́будь (uk) (jak-nébudʹ)
- Welsh: rhywsut
|