ah
Language: English
Part of speech: particle
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɑː/
rhymes: -ɑː
ipa: /ɑ(ː)/
ipa: [ä(ː)~ɐ(ː)]
ipa: /ɑː/
rhymes: -ɑː
Forms: form: ar
form: arh
Etymology: From Hokkien 啊 (--a, a) and Teochew 啊 (a⁷). For Tamil speakers, its use as a particle is possibly reinforced by Tamil -ஆ (-ā, sense 1).
Senses: examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/, [ä˨]
text: You’re dyslexic ah?
translation: So you’re dyslexic?
english: So you’re dyslexic?
text: So how are you Jackson? Very busy, ah? Never come around to see me these days.
ref: 1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 3, lines 49–50:
text: Cannot talk-ah? God give you mouth for what? No courtesy-ah? Kanneena!
ref: 2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 80:
text: Only 2 ft apart considered safe ah?
ref: 2020 December 4, Notdumb, “Liddat is safe distance ah?”, in SG Talk, archived from the original on 18 Apr 2020:
synonyms: word: hah
word: is it
word: izzit
glosses: Marks a yes–no tag question prompting the listener to clarify or confirm something.
examples: text: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
text: How do you delete this row ah?
text: See how lor. Who’s going ar?
ref: 2011 October 23, Rachel Chang, “LifeStyle”, in The Sunday Times, page 15:
glosses: Reinforces a short, non-rhetorical wh-question.
examples: text: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
text: Don’t drink and drive ah...
text: Sure, ah? Thanks, man, pai seh.
ref: 2010 April 18, Colin Goh, “LifeStyle”, in The Sunday Times, page 24:
synonyms: word: hor
english: more assertive, non-interrogative
translation: more assertive, non-interrogative
glosses: Emphasizes the need for absolute confirmation, permission or acknowledgment.
examples: text: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
text: The drilling upstairs ah, non-stop leh.
text: These fish, ah, anything also eat one.
ref: 2014, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Singapore Noir, Akashic Books, →ISBN, page 89:
glosses: A particle indicating the topic of a sentence from its comment.
examples: text: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
text: Near-synonym: right
text: You know, arh, Isaac—I’ve liked you from the very start, he said. I consider myself very lucky to be your manager.
ref: 2021, Daryl Qilin Yam, Lovelier, Lonelier, Epigram Books, →ISBN:
glosses: A confirmative final particle used in the middle of a sentence to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/
text: I got tell them ah, guys.
translation: I did tell them.
english: I did tell them.
text: Fail already ah.
translation: Looks like we’ve failed. (often sarcastic)
english: Looks like we’ve failed. (often sarcastic)
glosses: Tagged at the end of non-interrogative sentence to convey a sense of informality or resignation.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/, mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/
text: Just AWOL ah.
glosses: Reinforces a short, sarcastic suggestion.
examples: text: Pitch contour: low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/
text: Hello? Joey ah?
translation: Hello? Is this Joey?
english: Hello? Is this Joey?
bold_translation_offsets: 7
14
text: Susie ah, Emily here ah. This afternoon I'm going to town, anything that you're needing?
ref: 1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 3:
glosses: A vocative particle, now mostly used by Chinese elders for direct address (over telephone calls, or if the addressee is far away).
examples: text: Pitch contour: mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/, low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/
text: Heng ah...
translation: Phew!
english: Phew!
glosses: Used as an intensifier in fixed expressions, sometimes exhortative in meaning.