y

head

y (lower case, upper case Y, plural ys or y's)

The twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, called wy or wye and written in the Latin script.

this letter was sometimes used to approximate þ


can

en-verb

can (third-person singular simple present can, present participle (by suppletion) able, simple past could, past participle (obsolete except in adjectival use) couth)

can (present singular third-person)
able (participle present suppletive)
could (past)
couth (obsolete participle past)
can (first-person present singular)
could (first-person past singular)
coulde (archaic first-person past singular)
can (present second-person singular)
canst (archaic present second-person singular)
canest (archaic present second-person singular)
cannest (archaic present second-person singular)
could (past second-person singular)
couldst (archaic past second-person singular)
couldest (archaic past second-person singular)
could'st (archaic past second-person singular)
can (present singular third-person)
canneth (present singular third-person)
could (past singular third-person)
coulde (archaic past singular third-person)
can (plural present)
could (past plural)
coulde (archaic past plural)
can (present subjunctive)
could (past subjunctive)
coulde (archaic past subjunctive)
can (archaic imperative present)
canning (archaic participle present)
could (dialectal participle past)
coulde (archaic participle past)
canne (alternative obsolete)
kin (alternative pronunciation-spelling)

From Middle English can, first and third person singular of connen, cunnen (“to be able, know how”), from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (whence also know). Doublet of con. See also: canny, cunning.

the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must

She can speak English, French, and German.

I can play football.

prouyng which eny clerk can or woel or mai make bi eny maner euydence of resoun or of Scripture, and namelich of resoun into the contrarie.

1449, Reginald Pecock, Represser of over-much weeting [blaming] of the Clergie:

If thou canst awake by four o' the clock, / I prithee call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly.

1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

(auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to.

(the ability/inability to achieve a result is expressed with various verb complements, e.g. 得了 (-deliǎo)/不了 (-buliǎo))

-られる (-rareru) (expressed with the potential form of the verb)

Importance of Identifying Leaf: Identify Plants: If we can able to identify leaf, we can easily able to identify plants.

2011 November 29, Tai-hoon Kim, Hojjat Adeli, Carlos Ramos, Byeong-Ho Kang, Signal Processing, Image Processing and Pattern Recognition: International Conferences, SIP 2011, Held as Part of the Future Generation Information Technology Conference, FGIT 2011, in Conjunction with GDC 2011, Jeju Island, Korea, December 8-10, 2011. Proceedings, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 114:

Children in need of care and protection can allowed to be placed in foster care based on the orders of the CWC. The selection of the foster family is based on the family's ability, intent, capacity, and prior experience of taking care[…]

2018 February 15, Asha Bajpai, Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

It can possible to design the ruleset refreshes that allow them to subsequently run at precise interludes and these keep informed.

2020 May 22, Pardeep Kumar, Vasaki Ponnusamy, Vishal Jain, Industrial Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems: Transforming the Conventional to Digital: Transforming the Conventional to Digital, IGI Global, →ISBN, page 226:

(India, nonstandard, proscribed) To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed). third-person singular simple present indicative of can

Can anot?

(Manglish, Singlish, auxiliary or intransitive) To be able to or know how to (do something); an accompanying verb is not required if it is already inferable from context.

Can liao, don’t need to use so much glue.

We have been doing this for 50 years, we have shown you what we can do. If I say can, means can. […]

2015 September 5, Derrick Ho, Chew Hui Min, Lee Min Kok, Shea Driscoll, Nilanjana Sengupta, Melissa Heng, Ong Hwee Hwee, quoting Lee Hsien Loong, “GE2015: 5 things about the third night of rallies on Sept 4”, in The Straits Times:

It’s further exacerbated by well-intentioned but misguided relatives who say, “you’re from School X, can one lah”, or worse, those who associate the very identity of being a student in an elite academy into a label analogous with expectations of high achievements.

2021 August 5, Zat Astha, “The Lessons We’re Still Learning Too Slowly About Mental Health and Suicide”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-12-11:

When controversial KOL Sylvia Chan resurfaced in March as a life coach, the general online sentiment was, “Huh, can meh?”

2024 June 10, Kimberly Lim, “What’s With Singapore’s Surge in Self-Proclaimed Life Coaches?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-09-19:

(Manglish, Singlish, intransitive) To be fine or acceptable; to be possible; (with liao or already) to be enough. Often used in conjunction with a variety of clause-final particles, e.g., lah, meh or one, to express different attitudes towards the subject matter.


can

canne (alternative obsolete)
kin (alternative pronunciation-spelling)

I cut this wire, can?

Can you go collect them or not? The shop is at Jalan Sultan. I’m not free, otherwise I’ll do it myself. Can?

1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 8, lines 1–3:

It feels like a cheap gimmick to attract environmentalist types, when I don’t see any concrete policies to address that. If you don’t care, then don’t pretend to care leh. If you care, then make sure you got details to back you up, can?

2020 June 29, Poh Yong Han, “A Regular Singaporean’s Guide To Each Party’s Vision For The Economy”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-05-23:

(Manglish, Singlish, interrogative) OK?; used at the end of a question when seeking approval or acknowledgment.


o

I lift my soule to thee o Lord
mee, o Iehovah, heare
In thee, o Lord, I put my trust

2007, The Bay Psalm Book, Cosimo Classics, published 1640, p.37, 41 & 46:

(nonstandard) alternative form of O (vocative particle)


one

PIE word
 *h₁óynos
From Middle English oon, on, oan, an, from Old English ān (“one”), from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos (“single, one”).
Cognate with Scots ae, ane, wan, yin (“one”); North Frisian ån (“one”); Saterland Frisian aan (“one”); West Frisian ien (“one”); Dutch een, één (“one”); German Low German een; German ein, eins (“one”); Danish en (“one”); Swedish en (“one”); Norwegian Nynorsk ein (“one”), Icelandic einn (“one”); Latin ūnus (“one”) (Old Latin oinos); Russian оди́н (odín), Spanish uno. Doublet of a, an, and Uno.
The use as an indefinite personal pronoun may have been influenced by unrelated French on, although the Germanic languages widely use cognates for the same sense (usually in non-subject function, but also in subject function, e.g. Luxembourgish een).
Verb form from Middle English onen.

inh

wone (alternative obsolete)
I (alternative)

One day the prince set forth to kill the dragon that had brought terror to his father’s kingdom for centuries.

One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:


lol

Are you really that bad lol?

(Internet slang, text messaging) Neutralises the tone of a message; denotes that a message is light-hearted or casual.


um

Me be Injun. Him um Growling Bear. Him um heap big chief.

“me heap brave—me talk to um white man so[…] me good injun, like um white man, mebbe so, ugh!”

1871, “Grand camp meeting on Bear River”, in The Keepapitchinin, volume III, page 3:

(dated, sometimes humorous, often offensive) An undifferentiated determiner or article; a miscellaneous linking word, or filler with nonspecific meaning; representation of broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans.


yes

From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea.

ya

expression of pleasure, joy or great excitement — see also yay

dí

response that asks for more information about a request

Response that confirms that the user is paying attention.


fuck

en-noun

fuck (countable and uncountable, plural fucks)

fucks (plural)
f##k (alternative)
f#$k (alternative)
f#%k (alternative)
f#*k (alternative)
f*** (alternative)
f**k (alternative)
f*ck (alternative)
f--k (alternative)
fck (alternative)
fk (alternative)
fsck (alternative)
fu#k (alternative)
fu$k (alternative)
fu*k (alternative)
fu-k (alternative)
fu...k (alternative)
fu©k (alternative)
fvck (alternative)
f—k (alternative)
f&!k (alternative)
f...k (alternative)
f…k (alternative)
fu…k (alternative)
fuxk (alternative)
F-bomb (alternative euphemistic)
F-word (alternative euphemistic)
fuk (alternative)
fuq (alternative)
phuck (alternative)
uckfay (alternative)

Flen flyys
Slate.com
University of Minnesota Press

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-
Proto-Germanic *fukkōną
Old English *fuccian
Middle English *fukken
English fuck
From Middle English *fukken, probably of Germanic origin: either from Old English *fuccian or Old Norse *fukka, both from Proto-Germanic *fukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to strike, punch, stab”). Compare windfucker and its debated etymology.
Possibly attested in a 772 C.E. charter that mentions a place called Fuccerham, which may mean "ham (“home”) of the fucker" or "hamm (“pasture”) of the fucker"; a John le Fucker in a record from 1278 may just be a variant of Fulcher; compare Fucher, Foker, etc. The earliest unambiguous use of the word in a clearly sexual context, in any stage of English, appears to be in court documents from Cheshire, England, which mention a man called Roger Fuckebythenavele (possibly tongue-in-cheek or directly suggestive of a depraved sexual act) on 8 December 1310. It was first listed in a dictionary in 1598. Scots fuk or fuck is attested slightly earlier, probably reinforcing the Northern Germanic/Scandinavian origin theory. From 1500 onward, the word has been in continual use, superseding jape and sard and largely displacing swive. See windfucker and fuckwind for more information.
A range of folk-etymological backronyms, such as "fornication under consent of the king" and "for unlawful carnal knowledge", are all demonstrably false.
Sense 10 from related sense feck.

der

Let me ask you something, Rocky, man to man. I think she's the fuck of the century, what do you think?

1999, Joe Eszterhas, Basic Instinct (motion picture), spoken by Nick Curran (Michael Douglas):

In his mind, she was probably just another fuck, but in hers it had meant so much more than that.

2005, Jaid Black, Strictly Taboo, Berkley Sensations, published 2005, →ISBN:

If he's a lousy fuck, I can at least say I had a lousy fuck, and if he's a great fuck, well that's even better...

“He'd rather have his favorite fuck with him on the greatest adventure of his life than pay money to lie with ugly strangers. […]

2008, Nicole Galland, Crossed, Harper, published 2008, →ISBN, page 32:

(countable) A sexual partner, especially a casual one.

Finally he gets up his courage, crosses over to her and says in her ear, "Hello, Beautiful. Whaddya say to a little fuck?" She measures him coolly with her eyes. "Hello, little fuck."

1965, Gershon Legman, Rationale of the Dirty Joke: An Analysis of Sexual Humor:

She used to be a secretary but then she realized that she could run a business a hell of a lot better than those stupid fucks could.

You sick fuck. Tear my pants off, prick. See what I got. I'll knock your fucking teeth out with my swinging dick! Last chance... you force yourself into that woman... and I'll force this knife into your dick hole!

2016, Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Vol.26: Call to Arms:

(countable) A highly contemptible person.


know

en-verb

know (third-person singular simple present knows, present participle knowing, simple past knew or (nonstandard) knowed, past participle known or (colloquial and nonstandard) knew)

knows (present singular third-person)
knowing (participle present)
knew (past)
knowed (nonstandard past)
known (participle past)
knew (colloquial nonstandard participle past)
know (infinitive)
know (first-person present singular)
knew (first-person past singular)
know (present second-person singular)
knowest (archaic present second-person singular)
knew (past second-person singular)
knewest (archaic past second-person singular)
knows (present singular third-person)
knoweth (archaic present singular third-person)
knew (past singular third-person)
know (plural present)
knew (past plural)
know (present subjunctive)
knew (past subjunctive)
know (imperative present)
knowing (participle present)
known (participle past)
knowe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English knowen, from Old English cnāwan (“to know, perceive, recognise”), from Proto-West Germanic *knāan, from Proto-Germanic *knēaną (“to know”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).
Cognates
from Indo-European: Latin gnoscō, Latin cognoscō (Spanish conocer, French connaître, Italian conoscere, Portuguese conhecer), Ancient Greek γνωρίζω (gnōrízō, “I know”) and γνῶσις (gnôsis, “knowledge”), Albanian njoh (“I know, recognise”), Russian знать (znatʹ, “to know”), Lithuanian žinoti (“to know”), and Persian شناختن (šenâxtan, “to know”).
from Proto-Germanic: Scots knaw (“to know, recognise”), Icelandic knega (“to know, know how to, be able”), Old High German knājan (“to know, recognise”), Old Norse kná (“to know how”). Remotely related also Dutch and German kennen, West Frisian kenne (see English ken).

col

Cognates

...に精通している

...にせいつうしている

better the devil you know

than the devil you don't (know); than the one you don't (know)

know one's ass from a hole in the ground

know one's head from a hole in the ground

know the difference between one's ass and a hole in the ground

know the difference between one's ass and one's elbow

know which side one's bread is buttered on

that's for me to know and you to find out

the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know

the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know

the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know

the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

you don't know what you're talking about

you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

you never know what you've got till it's gone

AFterwarde the man knewe Heuáh his wife, which cõceiued & bare Káin, & ſaid, I haue obteined a man by yͤ Lord.

1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Genesis IIII:1, folio 2, verso:

Now Gerald had never thought of her having a mother. Then there must have been a father, too, some time. And Miss Wilmarth existed because two people once had loved and known. It was not a thought to dwell upon.

1939, Dorothy Parker, “Horsie,”, in Here lies: The collected stories of Dorothy Parker:

Wait a second. Are you… attempting to know me?

2003 May 11, Garland Testa, 19:37 from the start, in Gary McCarver, director, Night and Deity (King of the Hill), season 7, episode 21, spoken by Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick), 20th Century Fox:

know someone in the biblical sense
know someone in the biblical sense

(transitive) To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered.

(transitive, archaic, biblical, euphemistic) To have sexual relations with. This meaning normally specified in modern English as e.g. to 'know someone in the biblical sense' or to 'know biblically'.


ass

en-noun

ass (countable and uncountable, plural asses)

Variant of arse; used chiefly in North America. Ultimately from Middle English ars, ers, from Old English ærs, ears, from Proto-West Germanic *ars, from Proto-Germanic *arsaz (compare Old High German ars (German Arsch), Old Norse ars, Old Frisian ers), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁órsos (compare Ancient Greek ὄρρος (órrhos)).
Etymological notes
Contrary to the widespread belief of this being a euphemism, it arose as a pronunciation spelling (of the older form arse still used in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) that shows the assimilation of /ɹ/ before coronal consonants (especially /s/), a phenomenon that has been present in nonstandard speech from the Middle English period onwards; this is distinct from the later phenomenon of non-rhoticity as /ɹ/ was lost before it could modify the preceding vowel. Other instances of this phenomenon (some of which retained both spellings with different meanings) include cuss from curse, gash from garsh, bass (“fish”) from barse, bust from burst, passel from parcel; see :Category:English terms with assimilation of historic /ɹ/ for a more extensive list.

find one's ass with both hands and a flashlight

think the sun shines out of someone's ass

I'm going to go down to the bar and try to get me some ass.

piece of ass

Acid, booze, and ass / Needles, guns, and grass

(synecdochically, uncountable) Sex; a person to have sex with; with vulgar emphasis on their corporeality (their body) over their personhood.


for

fa (alternative)
fo (alternative)
fo' (alternative)
fur (alternative)
fuh (alternative)
fer (alternative)

From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-.
Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language descendants (e.g. Spanish para (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Slovak pre (“for”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

cog

I've lived here for three years.

They fought for days over a silly pencil.

The store is closed for the day.

To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day.

-a/-e/-ja/-je (e.g. egy órája, as in "s/he has/had been waiting for an hour")

-ig (e.g. egy óráig, as in "s/he waited / waits / will wait for an hour")

use the accusative case with no preposition


to

I am to so bored right now.

(mild intensifier, colloquial, chiefly North India) a filler word common amongst urban Indians.


yeah

Colloquial form of yea or yes. Compare nah.

—You wanna get pizza for dinner? —Yeah, all right.


what

From Middle English what, from Old English hwæt (“what”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), neuter form of *kʷós (“who”).
Cognate with Scots what, whit (“what”), North Frisian wat (“what”), Saterland Frisian wat (“what”), West Frisian wat (“what”), Dutch wat (“what”), Low German wat (“what”), German was (“what”), Danish hvad (“what”), Norwegian Bokmål hva (“what”), Swedish vad (“what”), Norwegian Nynorsk kva (“what”), Icelandic hvað (“what”), Latin quod (“what, which”).

This shows what beauty there is in nature.

You know what nonsense she talks.

I found out what a liar he is.

Emphasises that something is noteworthy or remarkable in quality or degree, in either a good or bad way; may be used in combination with certain other determiners, especially 'a', less often 'some'.

What nonsense!

Wow! What a speech.

What beautiful children you have.

With what passion she sings!

Little Red Riding Hood, traditional folk tale
“Oh Granny, what big eyes you have,” said Little Red Riding Hood.

(exclamative) Used to form exclamations indicating that something is remarkable, in either a good or bad way.


what

Hammer in that nail —What with? I didn't bring my set of tools.

What is your name?

My kids set the neighbor's cat on fire. —They did what?

Ask them what they want.

What d’you say that made him so angry?

I’ve broken the exhaust manifold gasket. - You’ve broken the what?

The gym is across from … what? — The gym is across from the lounge. — Across from the lounge. Right. Thanks!

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

(interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.


what

In short; what by the indiscretion of people here, what by the rebound which came often back from London, what by the private interests and ambitious views of persons in the French court, and what by other causes unnecessary to be examined now, the most private transactions came to light [...]

1787, Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, Letters on the Study and Use of History: A Letter to Sir William Windham, page 83:

The Chinese of all ranks, and in every place, received my books gladly, and listened with patience to what I had to say about the true God.—So that what from opportunities of attending to the object of my Mission among the Chinese—what from seasons of religious instruction to Dutch and English—what from intercourse with gentlemen of education and knowledge of the world—what from occasions of stating clearly the object of Missions, and of endeavouring to remove prejudices against them—and what from the view of a highly cultivated country, happy under an enlightened and liberal government, I have much reason to be satisfied with this journey …

1815, Rev. Mr. Milne, letter reprinted in The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle, Volume 23, page 82. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EPE6AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA82&dq=%22what+from%22

Used before a prepositional phrase to emphasise that something is taken into consideration as a cause or reason; usually used in combination with 'with' (see what with), and much less commonly with other prepositions.


ba

The townsmen played ba often and clearly knew what they were doing.

(historical) A medieval football game played in parts of Scotland around Christmas and New Year.


bo

(Singlish, interrogative) Final interrogative particle, forming a yes-no question from a declarative statement.


ah

[äː˨˦ ~ ʌ̈ː˨˦]

From Hokkien 啊 (--a), Teochew 啊 (a⁷), Mandarin 啊 (a); Tamil -ஆ (-ā, sense 1).

You’re dyslexic ah?

So how are you Jackson? Very busy, ah? Never come around to see me these days.

1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 3, lines 49–50:

Cannot talk-ah? God give you mouth for what? No courtesy-ah? Kanneena!

2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 80:

Only 2 ft apart considered safe ah?

2020 December 4, Notdumb, “Liddat is safe distance ah?”, in SG Talk, archived from the original on 2020-04-18:

Marks a tag question prompting the listener to clarify or confirm something.

The drilling upstairs ah, non-stop leh.

These fish, ah, anything also eat one.

2014, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Singapore Noir, Akashic Books, →ISBN, page 89:

A filler word separating the topic of a sentence and its comment.

A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.

Hello? Joey ah?

Susie ah, Emily here ah. This afternoon I'm going to town, anything that you're needing?

1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 3:

A vocative particle, now mostly used by Chinese elders for direct address (over telephone calls, or if the addressee is far away).


ah

Used condescendingly, somewhat like "see?" or "I told you so".


hah

Alternative form of heh (“Semitic letter”).


hah

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.

1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 5, lines 23–31:

(Manglish, Singlish) Synonym of ah (Sense 1); used to form tag questions prompting the listener to confirm something.

ah

(Manglish, Singlish) Tagged at the end of a sentence to express subtle surprise or realisation.


hah

(Manglish, Singlish) Huh!; used to express subtle surprise or amusement at something said by another speaker.


ar

→ Malay: ar

→ Tagalog: ar

From Middle English *ar, arres pl, from earlier *er.

All the ars in the inscription.

I have drunk en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar from the ef-ell-oh-doubleyou-ee-ar-ess in his gee-ay-ar-dee-ee-en many a time.

2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

RV [is spoken] as "ar-vee" instead of "I SPELL Romeo Victor".

2016 CCEB, Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures: ACP125 (G), p. 3-5

The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.


la

From Glover's solmization, from Middle English la (“sixth degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales”), Italian la in the solmization of Guido of Arezzo, from the first syllable of Latin labiī (“lip's”) in the lyrics of the scale-ascending hymn Ut queant laxis by Paulus Deacon.

inh

And now Mrs Waters (for we must confess she was in the same bed), being, I suppose, awakened from her sleep, and seeing two men fighting in her bedchamber, began to scream in the most violent manner, crying out murder! robbery! and more frequently rape! which last, some, perhaps, may wonder she should mention, who do not consider that these words of exclamation are used by ladies in a fright, as fa, la, la, ra, da, &c., are in music, only as the vehicles of sound, and without any fixed ideas.

1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.


la

Sound used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā (a common exclamation), Ancient Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”).

"La la la la, I can't hear you!" Jimmy said, sticking his fingers in his ears.

The only part Lucy had to sing was the interlude, which was a bunch of la la la's, and the last verse of the song, which was only four lines, and the chorus, which was just as short.

2019, Keira Brown, Between the Lines: Never in Plain Sight:

Represents the sound of music or singing.


la

From Cantonese 啦 (laa¹). Doublet of lah.

Sleep la!

Eat shit la you!

Placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order.


tu

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

Pronunciation spelling of to, representing African-American Vernacular English.


question mark

Do you see this curious-looking mark in the margin? It is a little crooked mark with a dot at the bottom of it. It is a question mark. It always comes at the end of questions.

1856, Jacob Abbott, “Lesson V. Questions.”, in Learning to Read. […] (Harper’s Picture Books for the Nursery; The Little Learner), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, part III (Hard Reading Lessons), page 132:

When you come to a question mark, you must stop and rest. If the question may be answered by yes or no, your voice must rise on the last word before the question mark.

1857, Richard Greene Parker [i.e., Richard Green Parker], J[ames] Madison Watson, “Lesson II. The Interrogation Point.”, in The National Second Reader: […], revised edition, New York, N.Y.: A[lfred] S[mith] Barnes & Co., […], →OCLC, part I (Marks and Pauses), paragraph 4, page 14:

As the relation of the faulted lamprophyre dike to faults 1 to 3 is not known, the intersection of the dike with these faults is shown on plate 13 with question marks.

1954, George C. Hardin, Jr., “[Moore Hill Fault System, Crittenden and Livingston Counties.] Geology.”, in William R. Thurston, George C. Hardin, Jr., Harry J. Klepser, Fluorspar Deposits in Western Kentucky: Part 3 (Geographical Survey Bulletin; 1012-E), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 96:

Fortunately, then, this text in which the play is preserved to us is, in general, substantively good. The quarto's punctuation and lineation, however, are much less reliable than its language. The pointing is not in most respects notably worse than that in comparable publications; but the text is peppered with question marks, the printers either having spilled these among the other marks or run out of periods.

1966, Lawrence J. Ross, “Introduction”, in Cyril Tourneur [now thought to be by Thomas Middleton], edited by Lawrence J. Ross, The Revenger’s Tragedy (Regents Renaissance Drama), Lincoln, Neb., London: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page xxxi:

I would like to comment only on the question mark in the topic – and raise several questions for our discussion hidden within that question mark, questions integral to the ongoing debates since [John] Calvin, integral to the "historically extended and socially embedded argument within the Reformed tradition about the very goods that constitute that tradition" (adapting Alasdair MacIntyre's description of a living tradition).

2009, Dirk J. Smit, “On Self-love: Impulses from Calvin and Calvinism on Life in Society?”, in Robert Vosloo, editor, Essays on Being Reformed: Collected Essays 3, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa: SUN MeDIA Stellenbosch, →ISBN, part 4 (Contemporary Challenges), page 493:

The waitress, [...] places my coffee beside my notebook then stops to gawp at what I've written and a deep frown forms between her unplucked eyebrows. She stares at the initials, the connecting lines, the question marks, the circles. I see them as she sees them: a load of rubbish, fanciful nonsense from a person who has watched one too many cop shows.

2015, Dorothy Koomson, “Smitty”, in That Girl from Nowhere, London: Arrow Books, Penguin Random House, published 2016, →ISBN, page 415:

(typography) The punctuation mark "?", used at the end of a sentence to indicate a question.

ܫܘܼܘܕܵܥܵܐ ܕܫܘܼܐܵܠܵܐ

šuwdāʿā d-šuʾālā

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis). Preferred host plants are elms (Ulmus spp.), hackberry (Celtis spp.), hops (Humulus spp.), nettle (Urtica spp.), and false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica).

1990, Wendy Potter-Springer, “List of Host Plants for Caterpillars”, in Heather Clemow, editor, Grow a Butterfly Garden (A Storey County Wisdom Bulletin; A-114), North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 7:

Commas (Polygonia comma) and Question Marks (Polygonia interrogationis) occur from the Gulf Coast to Canada and west to the Rockies. [...] Question Marks and Commas are handsome butterflies with burnt orange and black markings. [...] On the underside of each hind wing of the Comma is a small, distinctive silver hook that resembles a comma. The Question Mark has a small silver dot just below the hook—a question mark. Any other name just wouldn't do.

2004, Scott Shalaway, “Close-ups”, in Butterflies in the Backyard, Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 18:

Other members of this genus that are frequently encountered in the park are the eastern comma (P. comma) and question mark (P. interrogationis).

2013, Ann Simpson, Rob Simpson, “Butterflies and Moths”, in Nature Guide to Shenandoah National Park (Falcon Pocket Guide), Guilford, Conn., Helena, Mont.: Falcon Guides, Globe Pequot Press, →ISBN, page 91:

Polygonia interrogationis, a North American nymphalid butterfly with a silver mark on the underside of its hindwing resembling a question mark (sense 1).


question mark

All real discovery comes from the ?, the basic curiosity and acceptance of, “Well, we think subatomic particles might exist, at least they have a tendency to exist, but we really don’t know for sure, you know, question mark?”

1983, Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy, volumes 19–20, Albany, New York: American Academy of Psychotherapists, page 12:

So I see one movement towards a new kind of society, a new kind of mobility. So am I right, question mark?

2014 October 8, Mirosław Grochowski, “Supporting mobility: Development of bikepaths in Warsaw Metropolitan Area”, in Proceedings: METREX Brussels Autumn Conference, Brussels, page 85:

And is it like open? Can like anybody join, question mark?

2022 November 11, Amal Hussein, “A very !important lesson” (13:00 from the start), in JS Party, episode 251, spoken by Amal Hussein, Changelog, retrieved 2024-09-21:

(colloquial) Final interrogative particle, expressing second-guessing, usually in an exaggerated, rising tone.


lah

From Malay lah, Cantonese 啦 (laa1) and Hokkien 啦 (--la). Doublet of la.

Pitch contour: low-mid [lɑ(ː)˨], mid-falling [lɑː˧˨]

Don’t do it lah, it’s not worth it.

Hurry up, lah!

Don’t know lah […] this is very hard to say.

1978, Leong Choon Cheong, Youth in the Army, Singapore: Federal Publications, →OCLC, page 75:

Even if you don't know, just pretend as if you know-lah Mike. You are embarrassing me you know.

2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 47:

Please lah, you want to save me, save me the headache.

2020, Stephanie Street, Dragonflies, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act 2, scene 2, page 110:

In a few months that have been both dispiriting and heartening with regard to public art […] is it any wonder that one of the most earnest things one can say to Singapore right now is: “Stop complaining, lah”?

2024 July 16, Clement Yong, “Theatre review: National Day Charade mimes familiar criticisms of NDP but doles out a lesson or two”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited:

Placed at the end of a sentence to accentuate the mood or attitude of the speaker.

Pitch contour: falling [lɑ(ː)˦˨]

Get a whiteboard marker and write over it lah.

They’re not wrong lah... But they’re only taking themselves into consideration.

Mud you can clean up. Cobwebs you can sweep away. Stains, use bleach lah!

2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene v, page 30:

Nadirah: You never told me Sally was leaving. I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye.
Sahirah: You visit her lah when you go to KL.

2009, Alfian Sa'at, “Nadirah”, in Collected Plays Three, Singapore, →ISBN, Scene ii, page 57:

Asserts that something is clear, obvious or straightforward.


ter

"Jesus Christ! Was my folks refined. My mam she wouldn't think-a lettin' us young'uns call a pee pot a pee pot. A chamber's what she called it... And by God! Us young'uns had ter call the pee pot a chamber or git our God damn necks wrang."

1946, Elizabeth Metzger Howard, Before the Sun Goes Down, page 31:

‘Do you mean ter tell me,’ he growled at the Dursleys, ‘that this boy – this boy! – knows nothin’ abou’ – about ANYTHING?’

1997, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, section IV:


ter

"But he never speaks ter anybody, child—he hain't for years, I guess, except when he just has to, for business, and all that."

1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 8, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC:

‘What about that tea then, eh?’ he said, rubbing his hands together. ‘I’d not say no ter summat stronger if yeh’ve got it, mind.’


né

so I saw this girl né, and I wanted to talk to her...


lo

Ayo, send me your lo.

(African-American Vernacular) Clipping of location.


lo

Borrowed from Hokkien 囉 /啰 (--lo͘). Doublet of lor.

(Singlish, Manglish, rare or in set phrases) Sentence-final particle denoting finality or completion.


like

Adjective from Middle English lik, lyk, lich, like, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr, glíkr; both from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar, same”). Related to alike; more distantly, with lich and -ly. Cognate with West Frisian like (“like; as”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”) Swedish lik (“like, similar”)
Adverb from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, from Old English ġelīċe (“likewise, also, as, in like manner, similarly”) and Old Norse líka (“also, likewise”); both from Proto-Germanic *galīkê, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“same, like, similar”).
Conjunction from Middle English like, lyke, lik, lyk, from the adverb Middle English like.
Preposition from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, lijc, liih (“similar to, like, equal to, comparable with”), from Middle English like (adjective) and like (adverb).

der

Popcorn costs something like 10 dollars at the movies.


ma

(Manglish, Singlish) Alternative form of mah.


ma

(Chinese Malaysian and Singaporean) Alternative spelling of mah.


nia

Don't so kiam siap can anot? That one only five cents nia.

Come on, don't be so stingy. That costs only five cents.

(Singlish) Used to downplay the intensity of something that has been overestimated. Might indicate a slight belittling tone.


sial

(Singlish, Manglish) Alternative form of sia.


nope

→ Italian: nop

→ Portuguese: nop

→ Spanish: nop

Representing no pronounced with the mouth snapped closed at the end. Compare yep, welp, ope, and yup.

"Is my son here, Clarence?" asked Roger Oakley. "Nope. The whistle ain't blowed yet."

1856, Sidney George Fisher, Charles Edward Fisher, Kanzas and the Constitution, page 97:

"No," from Tom, ending the word with so decided a pressure of the lips that it sounded like "nope."

“Aunt Kat? And was Aunt Kat your only relation? Have you no father nor mother?” “Nope. Never had none ‘cept Aunt Kat. Her hull name was Katrina. She wuz Dutch she wuz."

1890, Werner's Readings and Recitations, E.S. Werner, page 50:

1: I will not dishonour my country's speech by leaving off the last syllables of words, 2: I will say a good American "yes" and "no" in place of an Indian grunt "um-hum" and "nup-um" or a foreign "ya" or "yeh" and "nope"[…]

c. 1930, The Detroit Educational Bulletin, Detroit (Michigan) Board of Education, page 13:

Nope. Don't know as I do.

2006, Charlotte Hudson Ewing, Red Land, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 54:


bah

Early 19th century, probably borrowed from French bah.

"To the doctor's? Bah!" said the sorceress, and spat upon the floor.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 301:

“Bah!” cried the woman. “My husband will know!”

1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantyne Books, published 1963, page 19:

Templeton looked over the assembled servants speculatively, then shrugged. "Bah!" he said. "They're of no use to me. Come, Andrew, a word with you upstairs."

1992, April Kihlstrom, Dangerous Masquerade:

(sometimes humorous) Expressing contempt, disgust, or bad temper.


sia

siah (alternative)
sial (alternative)
siol (alternative)

— If you can’t find your pencils, maybe someone stole them.
— For what sia?

[…] Really disappointed siah […] The damage is done and no explanation will be accepted...... damn stupid!

2004, joshley, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

Wah. Really damn shag [exhausting] sia, everyday. But I'm really glad to be able to contribute😄

As soon as the sentence was handed down, I saw my Mum crying. I was given 5 minutes to talk to them and after that, I thought to myself what the fuck am I going to do sia! […]

2020 January 14, Justin Vanderstraaten, quoting Moon, “Drugs, Cash, and Prison. When Does Enough Become Enough?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-02-26:

And we fucking panic sia. We kept saying, "No no no!" And they kept shouting […]

2023, Kristian-Marc James Paul, Myle Yan Tay, Mysara Aljaru, Brown is Redacted: Reflecting on Race in Singapore, Ethos Books, →ISBN:

(Singlish, Manglish) Tagged at the end of a sentence to express discontent, shock, exhaustion or exasperation.


eh

Natural exclamation; first recorded mid-16th century. Perhaps an unstressed variant of aye (“yes, yeah”).
The Philippine sense is possibly influenced by Tagalog e and/or Spanish eh.

onomatopoeic

exclamation

ay (alternative)
ehh (alternative)
ehhh (alternative)

These hot dogs are pretty good, eh?

Well, what dost thou think then of seeing the world? Do ye wish to go round Cape Horn to see any more of it, eh? Can’t ye see the world where you stand?

(informal, chiefly Canada, Northern US, New Zealand, Australia, UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Commonwealth) Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said.

—I've been studying Graphiurus murinus. —Eh? Studying what?

In isolation, a request for repetition or clarification of what has just been said.

—You're going to be a dad! —Eh? You're joking!

In isolation, expressing surprise or confusion


meh

Really meh?

This one your one meh?

You got send [e-mail] meh? I never receive leh.

2010 August 22, Fiona Chan, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 13:

“Nice meh?” I would think sourly.

2013 October 7, Tee Hun Ching, The Sunday Times, Singapore, page 12:

"Huh? At this hour? Really meh?" He couldn't believe his own ears.

2020, Yasser Khan, Property Agent Secrets: The Underground Playbook For Growing Your Property Agent Business in 2021 & Beyond, →ISBN, page 123:

Not pain, meh. When you have eczema and do tattoos?

2024 March 28, Benjamin Tan, “In Their Own Skin: Portraits of Eczema in Singapore”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-11-26:

(interrogative) Final question particle expressing skepticism.


'a

(archaic) Alternative form of a (“he, she, they”).


ya

From Malay ya, from Dutch ja (and ultimately Proto-Germanic *ja). Reinforced by informal variants of yes in English (e.g., yeah). Doublet of yes.

yeah (alternative)
yea (alternative)
yah (alternative)

What about yourself Mr Chee, never look a day older, you'll see the rest of us six feet under… Really you look very well. I heard you went for new treatment in Switzerland ya?…

1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 21:

(Singlish, Manglish) Used to form a confirmation-seeking tag question, expecting an affirmative response.


steady

en-adj

steady (comparative steadier, superlative steadiest)

steadier (comparative)
steadiest (superlative)
steddy (alternative)
stedy (alternative)

From Middle English stedy, studi, stidiȝ, perhaps continuing Old English stæþþiġ, ġestæþþiġ (“steadfast, stable, firm, staid”), equivalent to stead + -y; or calquing Middle Low German or Middle Dutch stēdig. Cognate with Saterland Frisian stoadig (“constant, continual”), West Frisian stadich (“slow”), Danish stedig, stadig, steeg, Swedish stadig, Icelandic stöðugur, German stätig, stetig.
Compare also Old English ġestedegian (“to bring to a standstill”).
Sense 8 of the adjective is a semantic loan from Hokkien 在 (chāi, “steady, confident”).

sl

I have been trying to remember what other porn movies I've seen. I know that I should be able to recall many a title as, When I was eighteen, my steady girlfriend and I would go to drive-in theatres and half-watch them all the time.

1979 August 25, Pat M. Kuras, “Post Card Sex”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 6, page 12:

(informal, dated) With whom one is going steady.


a

James was going with his mother to attend the ceremonies at which his oldest sister in the convent would make perpetual vows. Being asked where he was going, he answered, “I’m goin’ a see my sister make percapital vowels.”

1923 January, “The Sunshine of Childhood (Contributed)”, in Benedict Brown, editor, The Grail, volume 4, number 9, St. Meinrad, Ind.: The Abbey Press, page 284, column 2:

The man walks toward me. “I met that asshole. He’s tryin’ a sell us a bag a bullshit.”

2007, BK Loren, “Got Tape?”, in Barry Lopez, editor, The Future of Nature: Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine, Minneapolis, Minn.: Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 43:

Don’tcha try deny it, / ’Cause Hose knows you dyin’ a try it— […] Knows you out tryin’ a buy it, / But Hose only gives it free

2012 October 23, Tom Wolfe, Back to Blood: A Novel, Large Print edition, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 66:


Abu

There were harsher comments from Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas: "The negotiations are in a state of paralysis, and the result of Israel's intransigence and America's backpedalling is that there is no hope of negotiations on the horizon."

2009 November 2, Ian Black, “Arab anger as Hillary Clinton backs Israel on settlements”, in The Guardian:

A common part of Arabic-derived names, meaning "father of" in Arabic.


O

From Middle English O, o, from Old English o, from Latin o and Ancient Greek ὦ (ô, interjection). Featured prominently in William Tyndale's 1525 translation of the New Testament.

O Death! O Death! Won't you spare me over till another year? - part of the refrain from the American folk song "A Conversation with Death".

Therfore arte thou inexcuſable o man whoſoever thou be that iudgeſt. For in that ſame where in thou iudgeſt another / thou cõdemneſt thy ſilfe. For thou that iudgeſt doest evẽ the ſame ſilfe thynges. […] Thynkeſt thou O man that iudgeſt them which do ſoche thyngꝭ and yet doſt evẽ the very ſame / that thou ſhalt eſcape the iudgemẽt of God?

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Romans ij:[1, 3], folio cc, verso:

c. 1810-1820?, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Notes on Macbeth
O! the affecting beauty of the death of Cawdor, and the presentimental speech of the king: […]

The vocative particle, used for direct address.


har

(Manglish, Singlish) Alternative form of ah (interrogative particle).


cha

One–two–cha–cha–cha
Three–four–cha–cha–cha

(dance) Used to count out steps, particularly involving the hip-shaking sections of rhythmic Latin dances


Received Pronunciation, General American, weak vowel distinction

Jesus' disciples

Chris' cake recipe

Robin Williams’ ghost has apparently stuck around and is haunting the California home the actor died in.

2014 August 29, Minyvonne Burke, “Robin Williams Death: Actor’s Ghost Haunting Home He Died In, Playing Practical Jokes?”, in HNGN Headlines & Global News:

GOP donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow paid thousands of dollars in tuition for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ grandnephew, who he served as the legal guardian for, ProPublica reports, without the justice disclosing it, the latest in a series of controversies involving Thomas’ financial relationship with Crow that have sparked ethics concerns and calls for Thomas to resign.

2023 May 4, 0:09 from the start, in GOP Megadonor Harlan Crow Paid Tuition For Clarence Thomas’ Relative, Report Says, Forbes:

Possessive marker sometimes used on singular names which end in s, indicating than an object belongs to the noun bearing the marker.


hor

From Hokkien 乎 (--hohⁿ / --hôⁿ, mood particle) and Cantonese 嗬 (ho², interrogative particle).

bor

Don’t anyhow say sia, this one not my fault hor.

Don’t sprout nonsense, it wasn’t my fault, OK?

Oh. That’s me. I see you later, hor, Jackson. You got my number right?

1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, pages 3–4, lines 55–56:

sorry, i have to drill hor. the filling will cost $300.

2005, Der Zählmeister, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

[…] except it is slightly more hostile ("This is mine hor, don't touch it!").

2001 September 19, destrius', Everything2:

Emphasizes the need for acknowledgment from the listener.

Quite boring, hor?

Wah, you quite brave hor...

2005 October 30, Wong Kim Hoh, The Sunday Times:

An invariant question tag used to invite agreement.

....then hor...

But hor, i prefer sleeping pills leh.

2005, Tan Kok Beng, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

Can email me or not?........if can hor.... […]

2007, yansimon52, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.


desu

Borrowed from Japanese です (desu, “be”), the polite form of the Japanese copula, found most often at the end of a sentence. Know Your Meme attributes its spread to 4chan memes of the Rozen Maiden character Suiseiseki who ends every sentence with desu (see also キャラ語尾).

this desu

My contribution desu.

2002 March 20, Mahoronyan [username], “Re: I was wrong about Kokoro Library...”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

Freaky desu.

2003 January 30, Ethan Hammond, “Re: Nuku Nuku DVD Impressions”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

Awww, but it was just getting fun, desu.

2006 February 22, sanjian [username], “Re: FMA 47 - Sealing the Homunculus”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

(slang, humorous, chiefly fandom slang) Used at the end of a sentence as an assertive particle.


lor

From Hokkien 囉 /啰 (--lo͘) and Cantonese 囉 /啰 (lo1).

loh (alternative)
lorh (alternative)
lo (alternative)

At my house lor.

It’s true for me, at least. Friends under interrogation insist that ‘Have You Eaten?’ is very much alive, but when asked to recall their last encounter, answers invariably skew towards inter-generational anecdotes. “Relatives lor” is the top reply, and “Small-talk with taxi drivers” emerged as a runner-up because many feel compelled to make conversation after the initial “PIE or CTE?” decision.

2018 September 17, Pan Jie, “Why Do We Greet Each Other By Asking, ‘Have You Eaten?’”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-10-02:

As a facilitator, I often ask the participants: how are you feeling now? And often, the replies I get are: "Okay lor", "Like that lor".

2024 February 6, Carrie Tan, “Advancing Mental Health”, in Parliamentary Debates: Official Report (Parliament of Singapore), volume 95:

Suggests that the reply given is the obvious or expected one.


yus

Yus, to live in dirt, I feel is a `orrid degradation; but one thing I'd like to know, is it wus than living on it?

1892, Punch, or The London Charivari, from:

Wych Street? Yus, of course I knoo Wych Street. Used to go there with some of the boys -- when I was Covent Garden way.

1922, Edward J. O'Brien and John Cournos, compilers and editors, The Best British Short Stories of 1922


no

Inherited from Middle English no, na, from Old English nā, nō (“no, not, not ever, never”), from Proto-West Germanic *naiwō, from Proto-Germanic *naiwô (“never”), *ne (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle), equivalent to Old English ne (“not”) + ā, ō (“ever, always”). Cognate with Scots na (“no”), Saterland Frisian noa (“no”), West Frisian né (“no”), nea (“never”), Dutch nee (“no”), Low German nee (“no”), German nie (“never”), dialectal German nö (“no”), Danish nej (“no”), Swedish nej (“no”), Icelandic nei (“no”). More at nay.

nah (alternative)
nope (alternative)
nay (alternative)

I just want to find out whether she's coming or no.

Can ye no help me?

AS the Devil is not so Black as he is Painted, so neither does he appear in so many Shapes as we make for him; we Dress him up in more Suits of Cloaths, and more Masquerade Habits, than ever he wore; and I question much, if he was to see the Pictures and Figures which we call Devil, whether he would know himself by some of them or no.

1725, Daniel Defoe, An essay on the history and reality of apparitions:

(without adjective, now Scotland, informal) Not.


liao

Borrowed from Hokkien 了 (liáu) or Teochew 了 (liao²). Tone and spelling influenced by Mandarin liǎo.

leow (alternative)
lo (alternative)
loh (alternative)

It’s going to rain liao.

Reach liao, give me a call.

Damn shag liao, need to go back and sleep.

I’m really tired now, I need to go back and sleep.

(Singlish, Manglish) Marks a change in state (inchoative aspect).


ô

O all you hoſt of heauen, ô earth, what els, / And ſhall I coupple hell, ô fie, hold, hold my hart, […]

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], signature D3, verso:


mou

From Cantonese 冇 (mou5), also influenced by Malay mau variant of mahu (“to want”).

Kopitiam mou?

Day trip mou?

Hiking tomorrow. Onz mou?

I/We are going on a hike tomorrow. Are you coming?

(Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial, mainly Cantonese speakers) Sentence-final particle, forms a tag question.


mah

— The plants are all dying already.
— No one here to water them mah...

[…] Alternatively train SBS bus drivers to become pilots also since they are already bus captains. Anyone can become a pilot mah. Its so easy. Everybody should give it try-but not with me on board.

2003, ANGELL, “SIA PILOT ISSUE”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

Especially today—we holiday, mah, so don’t bring them to town until tomorrow.

2014, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Singapore Noir, Akashic Books, →ISBN, page 89:

In response, I ask if he thinks that his future child would be embarrassed about the online reputation that he has built for himself after all these years. “Why? All of this is just acting mah, I got nothing to be ashamed about.”

2018 July 13, Shaun Tan, quoting Kurt Tay, “Does Someone Like Kurt Tay Deserve To Be A Father?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-08-09:

If I’m running around for errands, I want to look cute also mah. I used to wear shorts, but now I’d rather not. It’ll look like I’ve got thousands of cat scratches.

2024 March 28, Benjamin Tan, quoting Ursula Soh, “In Their Own Skin: Portraits of Eczema in Singapore”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 2024-11-26:

Asserts that there is a straightforward or self-evident reason for something.


anot

Partial calque of Hokkien 抑無 /抑无 (a̍h bô / á bô, “or not; or no; or none”). See also Hokkien 抑是 (a̍h-sī / á-sǐ, “or”), 是抑毋是 (sī á-m̄-sī / sǐ á-m̄-sǐ, “isn't?”, literally “is it? or is it not?”).

pclq

Your computer got virus anot?

(Singapore, colloquial, Singlish) Alternative form of or not.


f**k

en-verb

f**k (third-person singular simple present f**ks, present participle f**king or f*****g, simple past and past participle f**ked or f****d)

f**ks (present singular third-person)
f**king (participle present)
f*****g (participle present)
f**ked (participle past)
f**ked (past)
f****d (participle past)
f****d (past)

Crump referenced what Grayson said – “I’ll f**king shoot you in the f**king face” – before Massey was shot.

2024 July 24, Emma Tucker and Bill Kirkos, “What we know about the deputy charged with killing Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911 for help”, in CNN:

(transitive, intransitive) Censored spelling of fuck.


noop

There are people right here in Disneyland who have gone to California by rail. They never saw Utah. Kansas, yes. Idaho, O.K., Nebraska, mabe. But Utah? Uh-uh! Noop! Negative! Nope! No! It's just not there.

1961, Connecticut State Prison (Somers, Conn.), The Bridge, volume 1, Connecticut State Prison, page 27:

when writing a message hmmmms..., aaahhhs, woos & ehs yip, yeap, yeah, yap, yup, yupe nope, noop & noope... are all nuance musts piping thru' the mail passage to carry a voice to understand signals

1997 December 4, Hsin Hsin Lin, “VOICES THRU' THE TUNNEL”, in In Bytes We Travel, World Scientific, →ISBN, page 30:

Lana (on phone): “Noop.” “Lana? Listen I--” “Noop.” “--need you to--” “Noop.” “--stop saying noop!” “Noop, Archer. Noop. And it's going to sound like I'm hanging up, but--” [dial tone]

2013 February 7, Adam Reed, Tesha Kondrat, “Midnight Ron” (4:31 from the start), in Archer, season 4, episode 4, spoken by Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler):

“HEY BROOKS, YOU EVER SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE?” “NOOP. USUALLY GUNSHOTS OR STABBINGS. NOTHING LIKE THIS. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE DRUG-DEAL-GONE-BAD?” “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT'S NOT?”

2021 April 14, Paul Jenkins, Christina Z., The Complete Witchblade Vol. 2, volume 2, Image Comics, →ISBN:


fuk

(vulgar) Deliberate misspelling of fuck.


nup

I've suggested many jobs she could do but nup no way. She just was happy getting her freeloading money. I realised what a freeloader she really was when she started ranting about losing money when she got married to a guy with a job.

2013 December 4, u/singloud, “Did anyone else have chronically unemployed parents or even parents who were just always at home?”, in Reddit, r/raisedbynarcissists, archived from the original on 2023-09-28:

(colloquial, originally US, now chiefly Australia, New Zealand) No, nope.


ornot

(Singapore, colloquial) Alternative form of or not.


is it

issit (alternative)
izit (alternative)
izzit (alternative)

You forgot, is it?

Fame gone to your head, is it?

2010, Neil Humphreys, chapter 10, in Match Fixer, Marshall Cavendish International, →ISBN, page 112:

So short-lah, the chopstick. For children is it?

2012, Tan Twan Eng, chapter 1, in The Garden of Evening Mists, Hachette, →ISBN, page 15:

(Singapore, Malaysia, Wales) Final interrogative particle forming a tag question.


leh

Pitch contour: low-mid [lɛ˨]

You all damn noisy leh how to sleep?

We put all the poetry packets in a bag and let people rummage through it and pick one at random when they left the house. […] “Amazing leh, I can’t believe it was a random pick,” he texted me later, “This is better than ang pow!”

2015 March 1, Corrie Tan, “We filled our hongbao with poetry, not cash”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 2022-12-05:

“They asked me to do the striptease. I said no,” confessed Bachelor #1. / “Why not? You’re from NDU leh,” I remarked, surprised that even someone from the Naval Diving Unit would be shy about showing his body.

2015 April 19, Yeo Sam Jo, “Hello, I'm Eligible Bachelor #43”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 2016-06-08:

(declarative) Tagged at the end of a declarative remark for emphasis.


yass

Yass. I never got above the rank of shavetail. We were the dogfaces who gave ’em hell at Chateau Thierry.

1962, Joseph Commings, “The X Street Murders”, in The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes & Impossible Mysteries, published 2006:

(US, dialectal, Scotland) Pronunciation spelling of yes.


ye-es

Pronunciation spelling of yes, indicating hesitance: used to show hesitant agreement or acceptance.


ngay

Yes ngay.

Used to agree with what the listener has said.


I mean

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-I mean.wav

They were filth, utter filth. I mean, and this tops it. She even bought the video of her sister dying, or at least the sex act that killed her.

Q. … To rush for 306 yards against that group, how did you accomplish that?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, look, I mean, I could stand up here and BS you guys all day and tell you we're the second coming of the Green Bay Packers rushing attack.

2019 October 13, Jack Freeman (interviewer), “Everything Brian Kelly said after Notre Dame's win over USC”, 247Sports, IrishIllustrated.com


naur

australians be like yeahr but naur

2021 October 18, Hameda Nafiz, “Twitter Is Roasting Australians About How They Speak And They're Not Wrong TBH”, in BuzzFeed:

Even Season 10 winner Aquaria weighed in on who Down Under’s first-ever Drag Race superstar should be, commenting on Scarlet Adams image with a simple but very effective “naur” to show her distaste for the show’s frontrunner.

2021 June 15, Michelle rennex, “Kita Mean Is The Only Worthy Winner Of ‘Drag Race Down Under’”, in Junkee:

naur literally bc it’s the only show i’ve watched that has realistic texting esp w charlie and darcy’s auto capitalization turned off

2022 May 6, Manorath Thacker, ““Its just so me”: Fans Laud Netflix’s ‘Heartstopper’ for the Most Accurate and Relatable Representation of the Texting Generation”, in Netflix Junkie:

(Internet slang) Pronunciation spelling of no, representing Australian English.


neeny

(rare) A nonsense word, often repeated along with other similar nonsense words, such as nyah or na-na.


rhatid

ratid (alternative)
raatid (alternative)
rhaatid (alternative)

Traditionally taken to be a Jamaican form of wrathed or wrothed, or possibly from or reinforced by rotted, but other origins have also been proposed.
Some other people think, that the origin of the word is from an old welsh novel “Rahtid mi blimey” as it was one of the few books that made it across the pond.

"This married man told me his name was Graham Jefferson," she went on, "but his real name is Alan Clayton and he's Bren Hunter's brother-in-law." "But kiss me neck back to rhatid," Sarah cussed, in what was, to her, uncustomary usage of the Caribbean lingo. "They're related?" "Yes," Latisha confirmed.

2004, Sonia Icilyn, One More Chance, →ISBN, page 112:

"Let him talk to your rhatid backside tonight!”

2005, Beresford McLean, Providence Pond, →ISBN, page 236:

'No, but dih addah day dem did catch one big rhatid snake doh!' Jackman interjected.

2016, H M Hanlan, Sunset on the Horizon The Story of a Rebel Woman, Rebellion and the Jamaica Maroon Treaties, →ISBN:

As yet another example for that, Cyaah Gwaan To Rhatid (Lutan Fyah, 2015b) shows Lutan Fyah judging wit di Bible inna mi hand in regard to structural enforcements of gay liberation – cause Christ never make such law: (...) Things are changing And a lot a things that papa, mama preached against / Dem a force mi fi tolerate it (...) / Say that cyaah gwaan to rhatid' / Mi a judge wit di Bible inna mi hand (...)

2017, Martin A. M. Gansinger, Radical religious thought in Black popular music. Five Percenters and Bobo Shanti in Rap and Reggae, →ISBN, page 93:

(Jamaica) A swear word, like damn or hell.


nopey

"Nopey, nopey! I wouldn't just even think of such a thing."

1919, Wallace Irwin, The Blooming Angel, page 98:

“Nopey-nope-nope.” “Are you related to them? Are they family members?” “No way!” “So help me out, Lily. Tell me all about these people and how you came to be living with them. Okay?” “Okay.”

2013, James Patterson, Maxine Paetro, 12th of Never, Little, Brown, →ISBN:


siol

(Singlish, Manglish) Alternative form of sia.


or not

Calque of Hokkien 抑無 /抑无 (a̍h-bô / á-bô, literally “or not; or no; or none”). See also Hokkien 是毋是 (sī-m̄-sī / sǐ-m̄-sǐ, “whether or not”), 是抑毋是 (sī á-m̄-sī / sǐ á-m̄-sǐ, “isn't?”, literally “is it? or is it not?”), Mandarin 是不是 (shìbùshì, “whether or not”), forming a question, and similar interrogative expressions with 不, 無 /无, 唔 and other dialectal synonyms.

ncog

anot (alternative Singapore)
ornot (alternative Singapore)

You want to go see snow or not, Ma?

2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:

Can or not ?

2020 January 26, JustGreat, “I ordered Pizza Hut”, in SG Talk:

(Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial) Final interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement.


tuh

A derisive interjection, onomatopoetic of spitting


yh

Yh I can understand that.[…]Yh I agree with you on this, although links don't really kill it for me.

2010 December 1, Adam Rowney, “Why no real forum?!”, in rec.juggling (Usenet):

There is no point in me uploading this, since it is practically last minute, but yh....[…]So yh..

2014, Anastasios Maragiannis, Multidisciplinary Design Processes, 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 150:

Yh, I see.

2021, Roger Francis, Thank God For Atheism, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:

(UK, Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of yeah.


very yes

Compound of very + yes. Popularized by Strong Bad Email, an animated Internet cartoon associated with Homestar Runner.

Computer over? Virus = very yes? That's not a good prize!

2004 November 15, Michael Chapman; Matthew Chapman, “Strong Bad Email #118: virus”, in Homestar Runner, spoken by Strong Bad:

(Internet, slang) An affirmative response, much more serious than a simple yes.


lorh

(Manglish, Singlish) Alternative spelling of lor.


nopesies

> BTW pinging is neither new, or a breech of ng nettiquite, besides, it's
> gives everyone else something to reply to :-)
nopesies, i did't think it was, i was just tyrin to hep, like the girl who made shakenbake

2000 August 6, seeke...@my-deja.com, “Ping....Ellison...”, in alt.religion.angels (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-05-26:

Nopesies. Now, you HAVE been given all the pertinent data about the murder.

2015 January 5, Karen S. Cole, The Rainbow Horizon: A Tale of Goofy Chaos, Ghost Writer, Inc. | Rainbow Writing, Inc., →ISBN:

I said, “hi, I’d like to schedule a massage with Jill.” She says (using a perky high-pitched voice) “Okay, how about seven, this evening?” “Perfect” I said. “That’s with Jill, right?” “Nopesies,” with Angie, she squeaked.

2019, Deb Meyer, Momma Needs a Break: A Monologue, Columbus, Wis., via Playwrights’ Center, page 2:

“Patrol the city with the rest. If there’s anyone suspicious, throw them into the slammer.” / “Martial law, huh? Gotcha, gotcha!” / “I don’t need to remind you what happens if you screw this up, do I…?” / “Nopesies. I’m just going to work for my pay…[…]”

2021 November 16, Kurone Kanzaki, translated by Adam Seacord, “Fireworks”, in Demon Lord, Retry!, volume 7 (Chapter 9: The Capital Burns), [San Antonio, Tex.]: J-Novel Club, →ISBN:

‘Ooh, like that guy in Van der Valk, the blond guy with the leather jacket – an older version of that? He’s a bit tasty!’ / Ruaridh shook his head. ‘What’s that thing we sometimes watch on Netflix when the boys have gone to bed, D? The comedian guy in the house. The neighbour that slides in the door.’ / ‘Seinfeld?’ suggested Dina after a moment’s thought. / ‘That’s the one.’ / ‘The neighbour? The big lanky guy? Kramer?’ / ‘Nopesies.’

2025 April 3, Elayne Grimes, chapter 4, in Escape to the Highland Retreat, [London]: Storm Publishing, →ISBN:

I say, “Are you sure this isn’t weird? Being…” I point to Mom. “You know?” / “Nopesies. It’s nice to be someone else,” Lola says. “For a bit.”

2025 April 29, John Vurro, chapter 11, in Play, Rewind, [Chicago, Ill.]: Tortoise Books, →ISBN:


nopesy

Ms. Meredig had her dream Everywoman doll modeled on—whom do you think? Herself? Her next door neighbor? Nopesy. It is based on the dimensions of the Venus de Milo!

1991 August 19, “Doll wars: Everywoman gets a doll of her own, but will kids care?”, in Henry M. Freeman, editor, The News Journal, 113th year, number 147, Wilmington, Del.: The News Journal Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page A 10, column 1:

> From where I sit Akram cannot be classified as an all-rounder. All-rounders
>do not average 20 with the bat. When was Akram's last reasonable effort
>with the bat. His hundred against Australia.?
>
Nopesy. That was way back in '90 and probably marked the beginning of Akram's discovery of his batting talents. I suspect since that point in time Akram has been averaging 27ish or more with the bat (dunno where the 27 figure popped into my head).

1993 August 11, Vaibhav A. Diwadkar, “Ind/SL Update 2T3D at 17:15 Hrs(IST)”, in rec.sport.cricket (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-05-26:

While David Johnson certainly does not
>have any place in a colts XI. I am not sure about his age, but he certainly is
>over 25/26. So I guess it has to be I Siddiqui in place of David J.
>
Nopesy. Johnson had an outstanding season last year, while Siddiqui (much to my personal dismay) did not. And David Johnson was born on 16/10/1971 (at least officially :-) - which makes him 23 (or maybe 24 by the time the game is played ? :-) Young enough to be a contender in the future, I think.

1995 August 9, Sadiq Yusuf, “Playing Selector - fc matches, NZ in India”, in rec.sport.cricket (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-05-26:

i too installed the 23.12 from win update....nopesy......it doesnt work...gave me a blue screen right after i rebooted...damn!

2002 February 24, Phoenix AG, “nVidia with XP Poll”, in alt.os.windows-xp (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-05-26:

Well I actually did not get inspire winspire Yaar, nopesy, not at all.

2014 October 16, Ramit Gulati, Ludhiana Diaries, →ISBN:

But alas, he always came up empty. That’s right, not a single sale. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Negative. Nopesy. The big ol’ goose egg. The only thing Joe hated more than his prospects saying “no” to his pitch, was going home each night to hear his wife ask: “Did you get a sale today, Joe?”

2016 September 2, Kelvin Dorsey, “Day 2: Struggling Young Arizonan Salesman Goes from Zero-to-Hero in Less Than a Year!”, in 81 Days to Becoming an Online Sales Machine, →ISBN, “Sales and Marketing” section:

Nopesy. Not recognising or worshipping a god is what atheism is. It doesn't have to be a fundamental commitment, either. I am quite a casual atheist.

2016 December 19, Robert Carnegie, “ATTENTION NEWBIES AND LURKERS”, in alt.atheism (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-05-26: