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While trying to write a plugin to (unofficially fan-)translate this website to Japanese, I've been noticing that "all" has multiple different translations.

What exactly is the difference between 全部（の）, すべて（の）, あらゆる and 全体（の）?

These are the translations I've currently come up with, but I don't know if they're correct:

  • "all tags »"/"all badges »" links on the right panel of the "Top Questions" page:
    すべてのタグ »/すべてのバッジ »
  • "All Questions" page:
    すべての質問
  • The "all sites" tab in the Stack Exchange popup (in the top left corner):
    すべてのサイト

What would be the difference between 全部のサイト, あらゆるサイト, すべてのサイト and 全体のサイト?

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  • Don't forget 一切【いっさい】!
    – istrasci
    Jan 13, 2012 at 4:16
  • Hmm, 一切 sounds a bit bookish to me, and I think it's more likely to be followed by a negative verb, like 一切知りません./一切責任を負いません。
    – user1016
    Jan 13, 2012 at 6:04
  • I also remembered 何もかも and ことごとく. They also mean "all" in some way or another. Maybe @Chocolate or fefe could update their answer to include these.
    – istrasci
    Feb 9, 2012 at 20:26
  • @istrasci san, Ah yes these two also mean 'all/everything'. And... they're adverbs...?
    – user1016
    Feb 10, 2012 at 9:33

2 Answers 2

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According to goo dictionary, すべて and 全部 are interchangeable in a lot of situations. However, すべて may be used more in articles, and 全部 more in conversations (「すべて」は文章語的で、「みな」「全部」は口語的である。).

あらゆる may be more like "every" instead of "all".

全体のサイト is a wrong expression in my opinion. 全体 means the "entire entity", but not a collection. E.g. その旅行全体にわたって (during the entire trip/all through the trip).

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  • ah, I see! When I searched for すべてのサイト and 全部のサイト they both had lots of results, but 全部のサイト was indeed almost always used informally. I thought that was the case for あらゆる and 全体, but my dictionary (Kodansha's Furigana dictionary) listed them all together under the subheader "totality" so I thought I'd check.
    – cypher
    Jan 13, 2012 at 6:21
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    I thought that Sino-Japanese words (like 全部) are normally more likely to be used in writing? Perhaps it's just a misconception on my part.
    – Flaw ♦
    Jan 13, 2012 at 6:22
  • @Flaw san, Ahh! Yes 全部 is more colloquial than 全て, while 全部 looks Sino-Japanese and 全て Japanese-origin... didn't notice that, how curious...
    – user1016
    Jan 13, 2012 at 6:54
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  • "all tags »"/"all badges »"
    すべてのタグ »/すべてのバッジ »
  • "All Questions" page:
    すべての質問
  • The "all sites"
    すべてのサイト

I think all these are the best translations.

As fefe said, 全部の sounds more colloquial and less formal than 全ての.
あらゆる is more like 'every~/every single~' than 'all.'
全体 is like 'the whole ~', like 「このページ全体」= 'this whole page'.

Maybe you could write it in kanji (全ての), btw.

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    Thank you very much! Maybe something for another question, but I wonder what the difference between 全て, 凡て, 総て and 総べて is? I've been noticing the different Kanji when searching.
    – cypher
    Jan 13, 2012 at 6:40
  • @cypher Definitely an interesting question, but I think it merits its own question.
    – atlantiza
    Jan 13, 2012 at 6:46
  • Lol, what a tough question. I'll have to check some Japanese dictionaries at home.
    – user1016
    Jan 13, 2012 at 8:15
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    @Chocolate: Thank you, I couldn't figure out how to word あらゆる do I didn't post an answer. But you said what I was wanting to say.
    – istrasci
    Jan 13, 2012 at 15:14
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    Thank you so much for your help. I wish I could accept both of your answers!
    – cypher
    Jan 13, 2012 at 23:23

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