eh

English Online Dictionary. What means eh‎? What does eh mean?

English

Alternative forms

• ay (NZ)
• ehh, ehhh, etc. to indicate length

Etymology 1

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.

Pronunciation

(tag question, request for repetition, ascertaining continued attention):

• (Canada, UK) enPR: ā, IPA^(key): /eɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

(apathy or lack of enthusiasm, unremarkable):

• (Canada, UK, US) enPR: ĕ, â, IPA^(key): /ɛ/, [ɛː]
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /e/

Interjection

eh

1. (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.
2. In isolation, a request for repetition or clarification of what has just been said.

   Synonyms: what, pardon, sorry, come again; see also Thesaurus:say again

3. In isolation, expressing surprise or confusion

   Synonyms: what, wha, huh, za, sorry, come again

4. (chiefly Canada) An interjection used to ascertain the continued attention of someone addressed by the speaker.

   Synonym: yeah

5. Expressing apathy or lack of enthusiasm; meh.
6. (Philippines) Expressing apprehension following or preceding a reasoning or excuse; uh.

Usage notes

• In North America, the word is stereotypically associated with Canada and can sometimes convey that the speaker is trying to sound (sarcastically) Canadian outside the country. However, it is in widespread use in many other parts of the English-speaking world, including the northern United States, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Malaysia, Philippines, Scotland, Wales, Singapore, South Africa, India, Hong Kong and Commonwealth of Nations.

Translations

Verb

eh (third-person singular simple present ehs, present participle ehing, simple past and past participle ehed)

1. To use the interjection eh.

Adjective

eh (not comparable)

1. (informal, predicative only) Of mediocre quality; unremarkable.

See also

• eh up (possibly etymologically related)

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Etymology 2

From Hokkien 欸 (--eh) and Mandarin 欸 (ê̄ / ế / ê̌, interjection).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore)
  • IPA^(key): (Sense 1) [ˈe˦˧], [ˈe˧]
  • IPA^(key): (Sense 2) [eɪ˧˨]
  • IPA^(key): (Sense 3) [eɪ˩˦]

Interjection

eh (Singapore)

1. (Singlish, usually impolite) Hey, oi; said to get someone's attention.
2. (uncommon) An interjection expressing disapproval.

3. (with rising pitch) Huh?; expresses confusion.

See also

• eh eh eh (interjection, possibly related to the above)

Etymology 3

Probably of multiple motivations, the sounds having been chosen for functional reasons.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɪ/

Interjection

eh

1. (MLE, MTE, regional African-American Vernacular, Chicano) an attention grabber

   Synonyms: hey, oi, I say
2. (informal, Internet slang) A greeting between friends (typically male) or display of approval.

Alternative forms

• aye (misspelling)

Etymology 4

A reduced form of ain't.

Adverb

eh (not comparable)

1. (Caribbean, chiefly Trinidad and Tobago) Used to negate the following verb; (am/are/is/do/does) not.

Etymology 5

From Hokkien 咧 (--leh), with the l dropped.

Particle

eh

1. (Manglish, Singlish, after certain consonants) Alternative form of leh

References

Anagrams

• H&E, H.E., HE, He, he, he-

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *akˢka, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”).

Verb

eh (aorist eha, participle ehur)

1. to sharpen
2. to whet
3. to hone (metal-edged tools)

Conjugation

Derived terms

• preh
• mpreh
• ehull
• teh

Related terms

• ath
• athët
• thua

Dutch

Pronunciation

Interjection

eh

1. er, uh (confusion; space filling)

   Synonyms: uh, um, ehm

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e/

Interjection

eh

1. signifying indifference or surprise

Derived terms

• eh bien

Further reading

• “eh”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• hé

German

Etymology

From Middle High German ē (“earlier, ere”), originally ēr. Modern Standard German uses the lengthened form ehe (only as a conjunction).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔeː/
• Rhymes: -eː
• Homophones: Ä (one pronunciation), E

Conjunction

eh

1. (colloquial) before

Derived terms

• eh und je

Adverb

eh

1. (colloquial) anyway, in any case

   Synonyms: sowieso, ohnehin, ohnedies
2. (colloquial, Austria) well, admittedly (for which in Germany only schon is used)

Further reading

• “eh” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛx

Interjection

eh

1. indicates indifference, usually used as a reply alone: meh
2. indicates an obvious mistake: oh, no

Related terms

Further reading

• eh in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• eh in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Icelandic

Pronoun

eh

1. (informal, nonstandard) Abbreviation of einhver.

Usage notes

See einhver § Usage notes.

Juǀ'hoan

Pronunciation

• The murmured vowel IPA^(key): /e̤/

Letter

eh (upper case Eh)

1. A letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish é (“he, they”), from Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Irish é and Scottish Gaelic e.

Pronoun

eh (emphatic eshyn)

1. he, him

2. it

Nauruan

Particle

eh

1. yes

Norwegian

Interjection

eh

1. uh

Synonyms

• øh

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ex/, [eç]

Noun

eh m or n

1. Alternative form of eoh

Pohnpeian

Etymology 1

Noun

eh

1. The name of the Latin-script letter E/e.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• e
• ah

Determiner

eh

1. his, her, hers, its, third person possessive pronoun

Etymology 3

From Proto-Oceanic *qatay (“liver”), from Proto-Austronesian *qaCay (“liver”)

Noun

eh

1. liver

Etymology 4

Interjection

eh

1. a particle used after names of people when calling them

Etymology 5

Interjection

eh

1. an interjection signifying understanding
2. a response used when answering a call in a feast

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: eh

Verb

eh

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of é (“is”)

Interjection

eh

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of é (“yeah”)

Romanian

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

eh

1. expresses dissatisfaction or sadness

References

• eh in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Scots

Etymology

Dialectal representation of ee.

Noun

eh (plural ehs)

1. (Dundee) eye

Southern Ohlone

Noun

eh

1. gray ground squirrel

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe/ [ˈe]
• Rhymes: -e
• Homophones: e, he

Interjection

eh

1. hey! (used to call, draw attention, warn or reprehend)

   Synonyms: hey, ey

2. uh, um (space filler in a conversation, expression of hesitation or pause in speech)

   Synonym: este

Related terms

Further reading

• “eh”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Sumerian

Romanization

eh

1. Romanization of 𒄴 (eḫ)

Tagalog

Interjection

eh (Baybayin spelling ᜁ)

1. Alternative spelling of e

Anagrams

• he

Zou

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ēʔ/
• Hyphenation: eh

Noun

eh

1. tear

References

• Philip Thanglienmang (2014) “Zou Tonology”, in Indian Linguistics, volume 75, numbers 1-2, →ISSN