Universal in Malayalam
The word on offer is പൊതു (pothu), which means common, general or public, and it covers universal only where English means something that applies to everyone, as in universal suffrage or a universal rule. For universal in the cosmic sense, belonging to the whole universe, Malayalam uses adjectives built on its words for world and cosmos, and those are not in this entry. പൊതു (pothu) itself is short, plain and used dozens of times a day.
Common, general, public, universal.
ഇത് എല്ലാവർക്കും ഉള്ള പൊതു സ്ഥലമാണ്.
ith ellaavarkkum ulla pothu sthalamaan.
This is a public place for everyone.
All Malayalam words for “universal”
- പൊതു (pothu) — Common, general, public, universal.
- അക്ഷയന് (akshayan) — Poor person, ascetic, homeless person, siva, universal soul.
- പരമാത്മാവ് (paramaathmaav) — The Supreme Being, the universal soul.
- ലോകഭാഷ (lokabhaasha) — World language, universal language.
ലോകഭാഷ (lokabhaasha) is a universal language and പരമാത്മാവ് (paramaathmaav) is the universal soul of philosophy, so both are fixed senses rather than general translations.
Common questions
How do you say universal in Malayalam?
For universal meaning common to all, പൊതു (pothu).
Is pothu the same as public?
Largely yes. One word covers public and common, which is why it appears in the names of public institutions.