hah
Translingual
Symbol
hah
See also
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Hahon terms
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: hä, IPA(key): /hɑː/, [ha(ː)]
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː
Etymology 1
Interjection
hah
- Alternative form of ha.
- Alternative form of huh.
- 1994, Milton Teichman, Sharon Leder, Truth and Lamentation: Stories and Poems on the Holocaust, page 58:
- Shut up, buddy, you've forgotten that I can't run. Now you're the wise guy, hah?
- 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:
- Isaac Sachs makes a 'Hah?' noise. 'You're not Sixsmith's niece?'
Etymology 2
Noun
hah (plural hahs)
- Alternative form of heh (“Semitic letter”).
See also
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Hokkien 哈 (hâⁿ).
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (Singapore) IPA(key): /hɑː˨/, [-˧˨]
- Particle, sense 2: IPA(key): /hɑː˨˦/
- Interjection, sense 2: IPA(key): [hɑː˨˦˨]
- Often nasalized.
Particle
- Synonym of ah (sense 1); used to form tag questions prompting the listener to confirm something.
- 1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 5, lines 23–31:
- Mother: Just wait awhile, Susan. Jack said he’d be a little late. […] What would you like to drink, some Coca Cola?
Susan: That’s alright Aunty. We’re going out to dinner.
Mother: Or you prefer Pepsi, hah? We don’t drink Pepsi ourself, I always keep a few bottles just in case. Some people are so fussy.
- (after lah) Used to form a tag question, either to invite acknowledgment, or to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.
- Synonym: hor (sense 1)
- So, just make sure you don’t accidentally mix the two together lah, hah?
- Tagged at the end of a confirmation-seeking sentence to express subtle surprise or realisation.
Interjection
- Huh!; used to express subtle surprise or amusement in a conversation.
- Expression of discontent when one is faced with a rude awakening.
Related terms
| Discourse particles in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⟵ More assertiveLess assertive ⟶ | |||||||||
| Expressing objection | what | Characterizing | one1–3 | Expressing inevitability | lor2–3 | Expressing resignation | lor1 | Expressing uncertainty | leh1–2 |
| Explanatory | mah | Assertive | lah1–14 | Intensifying | sia | Agreement-seeking | hor2 | Confirmation-seeking | ah1–3, hah1–3 |
| Expressing skepticism | meh | Declarative | leh3–6, hor1, know, nia | Speculative | ba2 | Conveying tentativeness | leh7–11, ba1 | ||
| Non-pragmatic | |||||||||
| Aspect-marking | liao, already | ||||||||
Anagrams
Cora
Noun
hah
References
- Eugene H. Casad, From Space to Time: A cognitive analysis of the Cora locative system (2012)
Finnish
Etymology
Variant of ha.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhɑh/, [ˈhɑ̝h]
- Rhymes: -ɑh
- Syllabification(key): hah
- Hyphenation(key): hah
Interjection
hah
Further reading
- “hah”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhɒh]
- Rhymes: -ɒx
Interjection
hah
Further reading
- hah in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
Ingrian
Pronunciation
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈhɑh/, [ˈhɑh]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈhɑh/, [ˈhɑh]
- Rhymes: -ɑh
- Hyphenation: hah
Interjection
hah
- Used to reinforce a question: eh?
References
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 40
Navajo
Adverb
hah
Synonyms
Turkish
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish هاه (hah).
Interjection
hah
- aha
- Hah! Bu olur işte.
- Aha! This will work.
Zazaki
Interjection
hah
- aha
- Hah! mı zi wıni va.
- Aha! I said like this.