# lu
## Translingual
### Symbol

lu
* (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Luba-Katanga.

## English
### Etymology 1
#### Noun

lu (uncountable)
* Archaic form of loo (“card game”).

#### Verb

lu (third-person singular simple present lus, present participle luing, simple past and past participle lued)
* Archaic form of loo (“beat at card game”).

### Etymology 2

A romanization of Chinese 路 (lù, “route”)

#### Noun

lu (usually uncountable, plural lus)
* (historical) Synonym of route or circuit: an administrative division of imperial China.

### References

* “lu”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* UL, Ul, ul

## Äiwoo
### Noun

lu
* life

### References

* Ross, M. & Næss, Å. (2007) “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 46, number 2. Cited in: "Äiwoo" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

## Asturian
### Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *illu, from Latin illum, accusative of ille. Compare Spanish lo.

### Pronoun

lu, la f, lo n
* Third-person singular direct object; him, it

## Bakung
### Etymology

From Proto-Kenyah *lu, from Proto-North Sarawak, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qahəlu, from Proto-Austronesian *qaSəlu (“pestle”).

### Noun

lu
* pestle for pounding rice

### References

* Smith, A. (2017) The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

## Basque
### Etymology

Unknown. Potentially compare Iberian lu (“deep”)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/, [lu]

### Noun

lu inan
* pussy, vagina

#### Declension
## Betawi
### Alternative forms

* elu (extended form)
* eluh (extended form)
* lo
* luh

### Etymology

from Hokkien 汝 (lú).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/
** Audio:(file)
* IPA: /luh/
* IPA: /əˈlu/ (extended form)
** Audio:(file)
* IPA: /əˈluh/ (extended form)
* Hyphenation: lu

### Pronoun

lu
* you (personal pronoun)
* you (direct object of a verb)
* you (object of a preposition)
* you (indirect object of a verb)
* your (belonging to me)

#### Usage notes

* Used mainly in a common situation, especially between friends or by someone older in terms of speaking to a younger person. As for the usage by a younger person speaking with an older person, there is no agreement whether it is appropriate to do so or not: some would regard it as inappropriate, some other would not. Grijns (1991) noted that some Batavians use this pronoun when speaking to God.

#### Synonyms

* énté

### References

* Grijns, C.D. (1991) Jakarta Malay, volume 2, Leiden: KITLV Press, page 122.

## Chinese

* For pronunciation and definitions of lu – see 嚕 (“Cantonese particle”). (This term is a variant form of 嚕).

## Cornish
### Etymology

From Old Cornish luu, from Proto-Brythonic *llʉɣ, from Proto-Celtic *slougos.

### Noun

lu m (plural luyow)
* army, troop, fleet

## Corsican
### Etymology

From Latin ille (“that”), from Old Latin olle (“that”). Cognates include Italian lo (“him”), il (“the”) and French le (“the, him”).

### Article

lu
* Archaic form of u.

### Pronoun

lu
* Archaic form of u.

#### References

* “lu” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa
* “u, lu” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa

## Danish
### Verb

lu
* imperative of lue

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ly/
* Audio:(file)
* Homophones: lue, lues, lus, lut, lût

### Participle

lu (feminine lue, masculine plural lus, feminine plural lues)
* past participle of lire

## Friulian
### Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *illu, from Latin illum. Compare Italian lo.

### Pronoun

lu (third person masculine direct object)
* him

#### Related terms

* lui
* i

## Hausa
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lûː/
** (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA: [lûː]

### Ideophone

lû
* swinging motion

## Iberian

* A user has added this entry to requests for verification
* If it cannot be verified that this term meets our attestation criteria, it will be deleted. Feel free to edit this entry as normal, but do not remove {{rfv}} until the request has been resolved.

### Etymology

Unknown. Possibly compare Basque lu (“vagina”)

### Adjective

lu
* deep
    tekeŕ lu keś irA deep votive action

### References

* Villamor, Fernando (2020) A basic dictionary and grammar of the Iberian language

## Ido
### Etymology

Back-formation of ilu (“he, him”), elu (“she, her”) and olu (“it”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/

### Pronoun

lu (plural li)
* Third-person singular pronoun for referents of any gender; he/him, she/her, it or that
    Me ne savas ka lu es viro o muliero.I don't know if he/she is a man or a woman.

#### Usage notes

Lu is widely used in Ido, and not exclusively when a gendered possessive determiner is inappropriate, but also in order to avoid repetition depending on the user's preferences.

#### Derived terms

* li (“they, them”)
* lua

#### Related terms

* ilu (“he, him”) (masculine)
* elu (“she, her”) (feminine)
* olu (“it”) (neuter)

### See also

* The possessive plurals are seldom used.
* The shortened forms are preferred.
* The pangendered forms are preferred to the gendered or neuter forms in most scenarios.

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Betawi Udik lo (“you”), from Hokkien 汝 (lú). Doublet of lo.

### Pronoun

lu
* (chiefly Jakarta, slang) Second-person singular pronoun: you, your, yours

#### Synonyms

Indonesian informal second-person pronouns:
* anta (informal, mainly used by Muslim community)
* antum (informal, mainly used by Muslim community)
* coen (slang, East Java)
* ente (informal, mainly used by Betawi ethnic group)
* kamu (intimate)
* ko, kowe (informal, Java)
* kon, koen (colloquial, East Java)
* lu, lo, loe, elu (informal, mainly used by Betawi ethnic group)
* mika, mike (informal, Eastern Sumatra)

## Iranun
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *luheq.

### Noun

lu
* tear

## Japanese
### Romanization

lu
* Rōmaji transcription of る゚
* Rōmaji transcription of ル゚

## Jingpho
### Etymology

Borrowed from Burmese လှူ (hlu).

### Verb

lu
* to offer
* to donate

### References

* Kurabe, Keita (2016 December 31) “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research‎, volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

## Linngithigh
### Pronoun

lu
* he/she/it (third-person singular nominative pronoun)

#### See also

| Person | Number (and clusivity) | Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative |
| First | Singular | ayong | ninh | thom | thon |
| First | Dual inclusive | linggay | linh | linam | lingg |
| First | Non-singular exclusive | nan | nanh | nanam | nangg |
| First | Plural inclusive | puy | punh | punam | pungg |
| Second | Singular | tru | nanh | kom | kon |
| Second | Dual | poy | ponh | ponam | pongg |
| Second | Plural | irae | iraenh | iraenam | iraengg |
| Third | Singular | lu | ngonh | ngom | ngon |
| Third | Dual | lawuy | lawunh/lanh | lawunam | lawungg |
| Third | Plural | 'ar | 'anh | 'anam | 'angg |

## Lutuv
### Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *law, from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *low.

### Noun

lu
* farm, field
    Lu ca ina thlu pa.
       He tills the field for me.

### References

* ↑ Kenneth VanBik (2009) Proto-Kuki-Chin: A Reconstructed Ancestor of the Kuki-Chin Languages (STEDT Monograph Series), volume 8, →ISBN
* ↑ Amanda Bohnert (2025) “The Lutuv (Lautu) Verbal Agreement System”, in Indiana Working Papers in South Asian Languages and Cultures‎, volume 4, number 1

## Malay
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/
* Rhymes: -u

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hokkien 汝 (lú).

#### Pronoun

lu (Jawi spelling لو)
* you
    Synonyms: kamu, engkau, kau, awak, anda, hang

##### Derived terms

* lu orang

##### See also
### Etymology 2

Clipping of dulu.

#### Adverb

lu (Jawi spelling لو)
* (colloquial) Alternative form of dulu.
    Aku gerak lu.I'm going first.

### Further reading

* “lu” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

## Mandarin
### Romanization

lu (lu$^5$ / lu$^0$, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄨ)
* Hanyu Pinyin reading of 氌 / 氇
lu
* Nonstandard spelling of lū.
* Nonstandard spelling of lú.
* Nonstandard spelling of lǔ.
* Nonstandard spelling of lù.
* Nonstandard spelling of lǖ.
* Nonstandard spelling of lǘ.
* Nonstandard spelling of lǚ.
* Nonstandard spelling of lǜ.

#### Usage notes

* Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

## Muong
### Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *m-luː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *bluuʔ.
A great number of Muong lects, as well as Vietnamese, had replaced this native etymology with Sinitic 腿 (tuǐ).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu¹/

### Noun

lu
* (Mường Bi) thigh
    Synonym: tùi

## Neapolitan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/

### Pronoun

lu
* Alternative form of 'u

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Noun

lu m
* (dialectal) alternative form of lur (“lur, trumpet”)

### References

* Ivar Aasen (1850) “Lu”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog‎ (in Danish), Oslo: Samlaget, published 2000

## Old French
### Alternative forms

* lou, leu

### Etymology

Reduced form of Latin lupus.

### Noun

lu oblique singular, m (oblique plural lus, nominative singular lus, nominative plural lu)
* wolf

## Sassarese
### Alternative forms

* l' (apocopic, before a vowel sound)
* -llu (pronoun, enclitic)
* -ru (pronoun, enclitic)

### Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *(il)lu, from Latin illum, accusative of ille (“that”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/, (after a vowel) /ru/

### Article

lu m sg (plural li, feminine la)
* the (masculine singular)

#### Usage notes

* Becomes l' before a vowel.

#### Inflection
### Pronoun

lu m (plural li, feminine la)
* (followed by chi) that
    Di curori vi ni so umbè. Ca è lu chi tu priferi?There are lots of colors. Which one do you prefer?(literally, “Of colors there are a lot. Which one is that which you prefer?”)
* him (accusative)
    Lu cunnosci? ― Do you know him?
* it (accusative)
    Abà ti lu diggu ― Now I'll tell you (literally, “Now I tell it to you”)

### References

* Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

## Sicilian
### Etymology 1

From the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illu, from Latin illum, from ille.

#### Alternative forms

* u

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/ (stressed)
* IPA: /lu/ (unstressed)

#### Article

lu m sg (f la, plural li)
* (masculine singular definite article) the
    Synonym: u

##### Usage notes

* This article is nowadays an obsolete variant, unlike its illiquid counterpart u. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
* Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
* Its use is however almost undisputed before nouns (or nominalized forms of other parts of speech, most often adjectives) that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'. Otherwise, illiquid definite articles are phonetically absorbed by the following noun. I.e: l'arancinu (liquid) and ârancinu (illiquid).

##### Inflection
### Etymology 2

From the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illu, from Latin illum, from ille.

#### Alternative forms

* -lu (enclitic)
* u (illiquid form)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu/ (stressed)
* IPA: /lu/ (unstressed)

#### Pronoun

lu m sg (plural li, female la)
* (accusative) him
    Synonym: u
    Lu canusci? ― Do you know him?
* (accusative) it, this or that thing
    Synonym: u
    Quannu ti lu desi. ― When I gave it to you.

##### Usage notes

* This pronoun is now an obsolete variant. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
* Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
* Its use is however almost undisputed before words that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'.

## Sumerian
### Romanization

lu
* Romanization of 𒇻 (lu)

## Tocharian A
### Etymology

From Proto-Tocharian *luwā-, from Proto-Indo-European *luh₂eh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂w- (“to seize, gain”). Compare Tocharian B luwo. Related to Old Church Slavonic ловъ (lovŭ, “hunt”), Serbo-Croatian lȏv (“chase; game animal”); compare also Ancient Greek λέων (léōn, “lion”).

### Noun

lu
* animal

## Veps
### Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *luu, from Proto-Uralic *luwe.

### Noun

lu
* bone

#### Derived terms

* hambazlu
* kül'glu
* melalu
* rindazlu
* ristlu

### References

* Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “кость”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎, Petrozavodsk: Periodika

## Vietnamese
### Etymology

Compare Khmer លូ (luu, “large jar”).

### Pronunciation

* (Hà Nội) IPA: [lu˧˧]
* (Huế) IPA: [lʊw˧˧]
* (Saigon) IPA: [lʊw˧˧]
* Audio (Hà Nội):(file)

### Noun

(classifier cái) lu
* big vase used to contain water

## Welsh
### Pronunciation

* (North Wales) IPA: /lɨː/
* (South Wales) IPA: /liː/

### Noun

lu
* Soft mutation of llu.

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

## Zazaki
### Alternative forms

* lû

### Noun

lu
* fox (Vulpes vulpes)

## Zou
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lu˧/

### Noun

lu
* head

### References

* Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 42