ja - synonyms, antonyms, definitions

ja

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of ja in English

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

Translingual

Symbol

(international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Japanese.

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Afrikaans ja (“yes”), from Dutch ja (“yes”). More at yea.

Alternative forms

Adverb

ja (not comparable)

(chiefly South Africa, informal) Yes.
- 1940, Penguin Parade (issue 7, page 25)
  Ja, he had been fooled and it was not pleasant for a man to go home and tell his wife that he been verneuked.

Derived terms

ja well no fine

Etymology 2

From the Revised Romanization of Korean 자 (ja).

Alternative forms

Noun

ja (plural jas or ja)

(Korean units of measure) Synonym of Korean foot: a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 30.3 cm.

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jaː/

Adverb

Descendants

→ English: ja
→ Portuguese: iá, yá, ya

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

jaa, jòò, jä

Etymology

From Old High German ja, jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja. Cognate with German ja, Dutch ja, English yea, Swedish ja.

Adverb

(Uri) yes

References

Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 13.

Assan

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Yeniseian *axʷ (“I”). Compare Kott ai (“I”), Pumpokol ad (“I”), and Arin aj.

Pronoun

I (first-person singular subjective)

Synonyms

Related terms

ajun

Atong (India)

Etymology

Cognate with Garo ja (“moon, month”).

Noun

month
moon

References

van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

Bavarian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Cognate with German ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɒː/

Interjection

yes
Antonym: naa

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin iam.

Pronunciation

(Central) IPA^(key): /ˈʒa/
(Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈja/
Rhymes: -a

Adverb

already, (in negative sentences) any more
now, immediately, at once

Derived terms

ja que

Central Melanau

Alternative forms

Numeral

Synonyms

satu

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā, from Proto-West Germanic *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja. Cognate with German ja, English yea.

Particle

(Sette Comuni) yes

References

“ja” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse já (“yes”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ja/, [jɛ]
IPA^(key): /jar/, [jæɐ̯]
Rhymes: -a

Interjection

Antonyms

Related terms

Noun

ja n (singular definite jaet, plural indefinite jaer)

Inflection

Dimasa

Noun

já

foot

Derived terms

jaga

Dutch

Alternative forms

(obsolete) jae

Etymology

From Middle Dutch ja, from Old Dutch *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jaː/

Adverb

yes
Wil je met ons meegaan? — Ja, graag!
Would you like to come with us? — Yes, I'd love to!

Synonyms

Antonyms

nee, neen

Derived terms

ja toch
jawel

Noun

ja m or n (plural ja's, diminutive jaatje n)

yes
Een ja kan je krijgen, een nee heb je al.
A yes you can get, a no you already have.

Het begon met een ja...
It began with a yes...

Synonyms

jawoord

Antonyms

Interjection

yes!
Synonym: yes
(Suriname, informal) A casual greeting acknowledging the presence of a person; hey, hi, what's up
(Suriname, informal) Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly; say again, what's that

Descendants

Afrikaans: ja
- → English: ja
- → Portuguese: iá, yá, ya
Indonesian: ya
Berbice Creole Dutch: ja
Jersey Dutch: jâ
Negerhollands: ja, ju
Skepi Creole Dutch: ja
→ Saramaccan: jahái, jaái

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from German ja. Compare Polish jo, Yiddish יאָ‎ (yo), English yea. Related to jes.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ja]
Audio:
Hyphenation: ja

Adverb

indeed

Related terms

do (“therefore, indeed, so”)
ekzakte (“exactly”)
fakte (“factually”)
ĝuste (“just, right, exactly”)
jese (“yes, exactly”)
reale (“really, actually”)
vere (“truly”)

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ja, from Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”); compare Gothic 𐌾𐌰𐌷 (jah), Old High German ja, joh.

Conjunction

Synonyms

ning

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse já, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɛaː/

Adverb

Antonyms

nei, neiggj

Related terms

jú, júgv

Noun

ja n (genitive singular jas, plural ja)

Declension

Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ja (compare Estonian ja, Ingrian ja, Livonian ja, Votic ja), borrowed from Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”) (compare Gothic 𐌾𐌰𐌷 (jah), Old High German ja, joh).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ̝]
Rhymes: -ɑ
Syllabification^(key): ja

Conjunction

(coordinating) and

Usage notes

On the differences between ja and sekä:
- ja can be used more widely than sekä. As an example, sekä may not be used to join two independent clauses.
- sekä has a nuance of the things being more separate than with ja. If both words are used, ja ties things closer together than sekä.
  mansikka- ja vadelmahillo sekä muut hedelmäsäilykkeet ― strawberry and raspberry jam as well as other fruit preserves
  
  Vaahdota voi sekä sokeri ja sekoita joukkoon kuivat aineet. ― Cream the butter and sugar, and mix in the dry ingredients.
- In legal language, ja and sekä are distinguished more clearly. sekä is considered "stronger" than ja. For example, an attribute specified before a list will apply to every item with ja, but not with sekä.
  paineella tyhjennettävät ja täytettävät säiliöt ― containers that can be filled and emptied under pressure = containers that are both filled and emptied under pressure
  
  paineella tyhjennettävät sekä täytettävät säiliöt ― containers that can be filled and emptied under pressure = containers that are emptied under pressure, and which can be filled either under pressure or not

Synonyms

sekä (see the above usage notes)

Noun

AND (logic gate or connector)

Declension

Rarely inflected; if inflection is necessary, it is used as a first component in a compound, such as JA-portti ("AND gate").

References

Garo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

month

Synonyms

German

Etymology

From Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā (“yes”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes”), from Proto-Indo-European *yē (“already”). Cognate with Dutch ja (“yes”), English yea (“yes, yea”), Spanish ya (“already”), and Latin iam (“already”). More at yes.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [jäː] (Standard, overall more common)
IPA^(key): [ʝäː] (standard, overall less common)
IPA^(key): [jɑː] (Austrian German)
IPA^(key): [jɒ~jɔ] (Austrian German, common in casual speech as an influence of the Austro-Bavarian language)
Rhymes: -aː
Homophone: Jahr (according to a widespread pronunciation of this word)

Adverb

yes; yea, yeah, aye
Synonym: jawohl

Willst du das? Ja. ― Do you want that? Yes.

Aber ja! ― Yes, of course!
(intensifier) obviously; certainly; of course; really; just; as you know; as is generally known (indicates and emphasises that one is expressing a known fact)
Synonyms: doch, bekanntlich

Es kann ja nicht immer so bleiben. ― It obviously cannot always remain so.

Der Peter war ja gestern krank. ― Peter was sick yesterday, as you know.

Usage notes

(yes): Ja is used to indicate agreement with a positive statement. To contradict a negative statement (where English would use “yes”), doch is used instead.
(obviously): Ja means roughly the same as English obviously or as you know, but given its shortness it is used much more frequently. In colloquial German, ja is used in most statements of facts already known to the one addressed.

Antonyms

nein

Derived terms

bejahen
Ja
jein

Interjection

yes
Synonym: jawohl

Antonym: nein

Gothic

Romanization

Romanization of 𐌾𐌰

Guerrero Amuzgo

Adjective

heavy

Pronoun

Gutnish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jaː/, [jɑː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse ek. Compare Swedish jag.

Alternative forms

jag (Fårö and Lau dialects)

Pronoun

I (first-person singular pronoun)

Inflection

Etymology 2

From Old Norse já.

Adverb

Usage notes

Uncertain or stalling answer; jo is used for yes-no questions

Related terms

(used for yes-no questions) jo, jå (Lau dialect)

Interjection

References

"ja" in Gutamålgildes Årdliste
"ja in Gustavson, H. (red.). 1972-1986. Ordbok över Laumålet på Gotland. Uppsala: AB Lundequistska Bokhandeln.

Hausa

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /(d)ʒáː/
- (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒáː]

Adjective

jā (feminine jā, plural jājā̀yē)

Hungarian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈjɒ], [ˈjɒː] (the long pronunciation is used in case of great surprise)
Rhymes: -jɒ

Interjection

(informal) yep (indicates agreement, approval, or understanding)
Synonyms: aha, ühüm, jaja
(informal) oh (indicates understanding something finally after a misunderstanding or confusion)

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from French déjà, Italian già, Spanish ya, from Latin iam, replacing Esperanto jam which is cognate. Decision no. 987, Progreso VI.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʒa/, /d͡ʒa/

Adverb

already

Derived terms

ne ja (“not yet; not even”)

Related terms

References

Progreso III (in Ido), 1910–1911, pages 557, 691
Progreso VI (in Ido), 1913–1914, page 164

Ingrian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *ja. Cognates include Finnish ja and Estonian ja.

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
Rhymes: -ɑ
Hyphenation: ja

Conjunction

Synonyms

i, da

Adverb

also, too

Synonyms

kera, i

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Ultimately from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *ja (compare Swedish ja and German ja). Cognates include Finnish jaa and Estonian jah, jaa.

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
Rhymes: -ɑ
Hyphenation: ja

Particle

Synonyms

niin

Antonyms

References

Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 99
Olga I. Konkova; Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014) Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку‎^[1], →ISBN, page 79

Japanese

Romanization

Rōmaji transcription of じゃ
Rōmaji transcription of ジャ
Rōmaji transcription of ぢゃ
Rōmaji transcription of ヂャ

Latvian

Pronunciation

Conjunction

if
in case

Lithuanian

Pronoun

ja f

third-person singular instrumental of ji

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *(j)a, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronoun

ja sg

Declension

Lule Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”).

Conjunction

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic يَا‎ (yā).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jaː/
Usually unstressed and then automatically shortened to /ja/.

Particle

vocative particle; oh!; you!
Ja Mulejja! ― Oh my Lord!

Ja iblah! ― You idiot!

Usage notes

While not obligatory even in standard Arabic, the vocative particle is predominantly omitted in Maltese. It does remain a common word, however, especially when equivalent to English “you”.

Maquiritari

Etymology

From Proto-Cariban *pa (“grandchild”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [hʷa]

Noun

ja (obligatorily possessed; possessed jadü)

grandchild
sibling’s grandchild; grandnephew or grandniece

References

Cáceres, Natalia (2011), “ja”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana, Lyon
Hall, Katherine Lee (1988), “ha:dü”, in The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volume I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University, page 289
Hall, Katherine (2007), “hādɨ”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎^[3], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
Monterrey, Nalúa Rosa Silva (2012) Hombres de curiara y mujeres de conuco. Etnografía de los indigenas Ye’kwana de Venezuela, Ciudad Bolívar: Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, page 62–65, 71, 75

Mbati

Noun

drought, famine

References

LePage, Sarah Gloria (2020) "The phonology of Mbati"‎^[4], University of North Dakota

North Frisian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ja/

Pronoun

(Sylt and Mooring) they

Synonyms

djo (Heligolandic)
jo (Amrum and Fering)
jä (Halligen, Hoorning and Wiedingharde)

Northern Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”).

Pronunciation

(Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈja/

Conjunction

Northern Sotho

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a.

Verb

to eat

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse já.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɑː/

Adverb

Antonyms

Related terms

jo
jaja
jada

Interjection

Noun

ja n (definite singular jaet, indefinite plural ja or jaer, definite plural jaa or jaene)

References

“ja” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse já.

Adverb

Antonyms

Related terms

Interjection

Noun

ja n (definite singular jaet, indefinite plural ja, definite plural jaa)

References

“ja” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Etymology

From Latin iam.

Pronunciation

(classical) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒa/
(late) IPA^(key): /ˈʒa/

Adverb

already
as soon as possible
quickly
(with "ne") never

References

Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (ja)

Old Polish

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /jaː/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /jɒ/

Etymology 1

Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. First attested in the 13th century.

Pronoun

first-person pronoun; I

Declension

Descendants

Polish: ja
Silesian: jŏ

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Interjection

(reduplicated) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
1. the name of some idol

References

B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “ja”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “ja”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Pennsylvania German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Compare German ja, Dutch ja, Swedish ja.

Interjection

yes, yeah

Pite Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”).

Conjunction

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *ʤaː. Cognate with Khasi ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d͡ʒa/

Noun

cooked rice

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish ja, from Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Doublet of ego.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ja/
(Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈjɒ/
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: ja

Pronoun

first-person pronoun; I
Ja chcę mieć przyjaciół. ― I want to have friends.

Usage notes

Mute forms ("mię", "mi") cannot be used in accented positions in the sentence. "Mię" is considered dated in standard Polish, but can still be heard commonly in some dialects or in colloquial speech.

Declension

Derived terms

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), ja is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 16 times in scientific texts, 2 times in news, 84 times in essays, 892 times in fiction, and 2034 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 3028 times, making it the 15th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

References

Portuguese

Adverb

ja (not comparable)

Obsolete spelling of já

Russenorsk

Etymology

From Russian я (ja). May also be a Russianized form of Danish jeg or Swedish jag.

Pronoun

I (pronoun)

Synonyms

moja

References

Ingvild Broch; Ernst H. Jahr (1984) Russenorsk: Et pidginspråk i Norge [Russenorsk: The pidgin language in Norway], 2 edition, Oslo: Novus Forlag

Rwanda-Rundi

Alternative forms

-jya (Rwanda)

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gɪ̀a.

Verb

-ja (infinitive kuja, perfective -gīye)

(Kirundi) to go to

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ēź-, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jâː/

Pronoun

jȃ (Cyrillic spelling ја̑)

I
Ja sam učio. ― I have studied.

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jâ/

Adverb

jȁ (Cyrillic spelling ја̏)

(colloquial, regional) yes, yeah

Etymology 3

Interjection

Archaic form of jao.

Silesian

Etymology

Borrowed from German ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈja/
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: ja

Particle

yes
Antonym: niy

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)a, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ja]

Pronoun

I (first person singular)

Usage notes

Following prepositions, ma and mi are replaced by mňa and mne respectively.

Declension

Related terms

References

ja in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk

Anagrams

Slovene

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German ja.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jàː/, /jáː/

Particle

jā

(informal) yes
Synonym: dȁ

Antonym: nȅ

Etymology 2

Pronoun

(dialectal) Alternative form of jȁz
Ja sem Slovenec. ― I am Slovenian.

Sotho

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a.

Verb

to eat

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈxa/ [ˈxa]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: ja

Interjection

representation of laughter, ha
Also used repeatedly: jaja, jajaja

Derived terms

Swahili

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-jìja. Compare Zulu -za.

Pronunciation

Verb

-ja (infinitive kuja)

to come
going to (followed by an infinitive, future, or subjunctive verb)

Conjugation

Derived terms

Verbal derivations:
- Applicative: -jia

Nominal derivations:
- mja (“comer, visitor; male servant”)
- ujaji (“arrival”)

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse já, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

Pronunciation

Interjection

IPA^(key): /jɑː/, (Scania) /jaː/, /ja/

Noun

IPA^(key): /jɑː/, (Scania) /jaː/

Adverb

ja (not comparable)

yes
Synonyms: japp, jo

Antonym: nej

Related terms

nja
tja
jadå
jaha
jaja

Noun

ja n

a yes, an aye; a positive answer or vote

Declension

Etymology 2

See jag.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɑː/

Pronoun

(colloquial, text messaging) .

Anagrams

Tswana

Etymology

From .

Pronunciation

Verb

to eat

Re jele bogobe maabane - We ate bogobe yesterday.

Tz'utujil

Alternative forms

Article

Upper Sorbian

Etymology

From , from .

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Declension

Votic

Etymology

From .

Pronunciation

Conjunction

References

V. Hallap, E. Adler, S. Grünberg, M. Leppik (2012), ”, in [], 2nd edition, Tallinn

West Frisian

Pronunciation

Interjection

Derived terms

West Makian

Pronunciation

Verb

to cry

Conjugation

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) ‎^[7], Pacific linguistics

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Cognate with

Pronunciation

Verb

to fight, to wrestle, to struggle
to occur, to take place, to break out (as in a war or disease)

Usage notes

ja before a direct object

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Verb

to snap, to break off, to break loose

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Verb

to occur, to take place, to begin suddenly (to break out)

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Verb

to ring out like a bell

Derived terms

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

Verb

to fall off (from some height)

Derived terms

Etymology 6

Pronunciation

Verb

to shine brightly

Etymology 7

Pronunciation

Verb

to become aware, to come to full realization

Derived terms

Etymology 8

Pronunciation

Verb

to become punctured

Etymology 9

Pronunciation

Verb

to become saturated or oversaturated with something; to become too much of something

Derived terms

Etymology 10

Likely cognate with

Pronunciation

Verb

to pluck off (usually referring to fruit or leaves)

Derived terms

Zialo

Noun

water

References

Kirill Vladimirovich Babaev, Zialo: the newly-discovered Mande language of Guinea (2010), page 213

ja

ja

Translingual

Symbol

English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Adverb

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Noun

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Descendants

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Adverb

References

Assan

Etymology

Pronoun

Synonyms

Related terms

Atong (India)

Etymology

Noun

References

Bavarian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Derived terms

Further reading

Central Melanau

Alternative forms

Numeral

Synonyms

Cimbrian

Etymology

Particle

References

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Antonyms

Related terms

Noun

Inflection

Dimasa

Noun

Derived terms

Dutch

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Noun

Synonyms

Antonyms

Interjection

Descendants

Esperanto

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Related terms