what

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What

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[edit] English

Most common English words: up « your « any « #59: what » do » has » could

[edit] Pronunciation

(Aus) IPA: /wɔt/, SAMPA: /wOt/
(UK) IPA: /ʍɒt/, /wɒt/, SAMPA: /WQt/, /wQt/

Rhymes: -ɒt
(US) IPA: /wʌt/, /ʍʌt/, SAMPA: /wVt/, /WVt/

Audio (US)^{help, file}
Homophones: Watt, watt, wot (all only in accents with the wine-whine merger)

[edit] Etymology

Middle English < Old English hwæt < Proto-Germanic *hwa- < Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷod (which also gave us who).

[edit] Pronoun

what

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

What is your address?

You told them what?

(UK) (colloquial) It's rather late, what?
(relative, nonstandard) that; which
- 1902, J. M. Barrie, The Admirable Crichton
  
  That’s her; that’s the thing what has stole his heart from me.

[edit] Translations

interrogative pronoun

Albanian: çfarë sq(sq), ç' sq(sq)
American Sign Language: Claw5@SideTrunkhigh-PalmUp-Claw5@SideTrunkhigh-PalmUp Sidetoside-Sidetoside
Arabic: ماذا ar(ar) (māðā), ما ar(ar) (mā)

Egyptian: ايه (eeh)

Moroccan: اشنو ('ašnū)

Palestinian: إيش (ʔeeš)

Syrian: شو (šū)
Armenian: ինչ hy(hy) (inč)
Balinese: apa
Basque: zer
Belarusian: што be(be) (što)
Bengali: কি (ki)
Bikol: ano
Breton: petra
Bulgarian: какво bg(bg) (kakvo)
Butuanon: ngan
Catalan: què cs(cs)
Cebuano: unsa
Chinese:

Cantonese: 乜嘢 (mātyẹ́, mīyẹ́), 咩 (mẹ́)

Mandarin: 什麼, 什么 (shénme), 啥 (shá) (Northern dialect), 何 (hé)
Croatian: šta hr(hr), što hr(hr)
Czech: co cs(cs)
Danish: hvad da(da)
Dutch: wat nl(nl)
Esperanto: kio eo(eo)
Estonian: mis et(et), mida et(et)
Filipino: ano
Finnish: mikä fi(fi), mitä fi(fi)
French: quoi fr(fr)
Gamilaraay: minya
German: was de(de)
Greek: τί el(el) (ti)
Hawaiian: aha
Hebrew: מה (ma)
Hiligaynon: ano
Hindi: क्या (kyā)
Hungarian: mi hu(hu)

Ibanag: anni
Icelandic: hvað is(is)
Ido: quo, quon io(io)
Ilocano: ania
Indonesian: apa id(id)
Irish: cad ga(ga), céard ga(ga)
Italian: che cosa it(it), cosa it(it)
Japanese: 何 ja(ja) (なに, náni [when used alone]; なん nan [when used with another word])
Kapampangan: nanu
Korean: 무엇 (mueot)
Kurdish: چی ku(ku)
Latin: quid la(la)
Maori: aha mi(mi)
Navajo: haʼátʼíísh
Norwegian: hva no(no)
Old Irish: cid
Pangasinan: anto
Persian: چِه (če), چی (či)
Polish: co pl(pl)
Portuguese: o que pt(pt)
Romanian: ce ro(ro)
Russian: что ru(ru) (čto) (read: što)
Scots: whit
Scottish Gaelic: dè
Slovak: čo sk(sk)
Slovene: kaj sl(sl)
Spanish: qué es(es), cuál es(es)
Swedish: vad sv(sv)
Tagalog: ano
Taos: híli
Tausug: unu
Telugu: ఏమిటి (aemiTi)
Turkish: ne tr(tr)
Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎅 (mh)
Ukrainian: що uk(uk) (ščo)
Urdu: كيا (kyā)
Waray-Waray: ano
Welsh: beth cy(cy)

relative pronoun

Dutch: dat nl(nl), wat nl(nl)
German: der de(de) m., die de(de) f., das de(de) n.
Hungarian: mi hu(hu), ami hu(hu), mit hu(hu) accusative, amit hu(hu) accusative

Russian: который ru(ru) (kotóryj), что ru(ru) (što)
Swedish: som sv(sv)
Ukrainian: який uk(uk) (jakyj), що uk(uk) (ščo)

[edit] Adverb

what (not comparable)

Positive
what

Comparative
not comparable

Superlative
none (absolute)

in some manner or degree; in part; partly; usually followed by with.

What with singing and joking, the time passed quickly.
Such; this is; that is.

What a pity.

What a beautiful day!
(obsolete) Why?
(now rare) Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both...and.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book III:
  
  and so they rode fresshly with grete royalte, what by water and what by land, tyl that they came nyghe vnto london.

[edit] Synonyms

such

[edit] Translations

in some manner

such

Czech: jaký cs(cs)
French: quel fr(fr) m.
Hebrew: איזה he(he) (éize) m.
Japanese: 何と (nanto)

Russian: какой/какая/какое (kakój/kakája/kakóje) m/f/n, что за (što za)
Slovene: kako sl(sl)
Swedish: vad, så (uncountable), en sådan/ett sådant/sådana (countable)

why

See translations at why.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Cantonese: 咁 (gam), 真係/真系 (jān hai), 的確係/的确系 (dīkkok hai), 真正係/真正系 (jānjing hai)
Estonian: kui, milline, selline
German: was für, wie, so
Hungarian: micsoda, milyen
Indonesian: apa
Italian: che

Polish: co
Portuguese: que
Spanish: qué

[edit] Conjunction

what

that which; those which; the thing that

He knows what he wants.

[edit] Translations

that which; those which; the thing that

Armenian: ինչ (inč)
Bulgarian: какво (kakvo)
Czech: co cs(cs)
Dutch: wat nl(nl)
Esperanto: ke eo(eo), kiu eo(eo)
Estonian: mida et(et)
Filipino: ano
Finnish: mikä fi(fi)
French: ce que fr(fr), ce qui fr(fr)
German: was de(de)
Hiligaynon: ano
Hungarian: mi, mit accusative
Italian: ciò che, quello che, cosa

Japanese: (no relative pronouns)
Norwegian: hva no(no)
Polish: to co
Portuguese: o que pt(pt)
Romanian: care ro(ro)
Russian: что (što); то, что (to, što)
Scots: whit
Scottish Gaelic: dè
Slovene: kaj sl(sl)
Spanish: lo que
Swedish: vad sv(sv)
Tagalog: ano

[edit] Interjection

what

an expression of surprise or disbelief.

What! That’s amazing.
(UK) (colloquial) is that not true?

It’s a nice day, what? (sometimes repeated, e.g.: What-what?)
(UK) (colloquial) greeting (archaic).

What ho, Frobisher!

[edit] Translations

Translations

Bulgarian: какво! (kakvo)
Czech: cože?
Dutch: wat!
Estonian: mida?, mis?, misasja?, kuidas?
Filipino: ano, ha
Finnish: mitä! (1)
French: quoi !, comment !
German: was!
Greek: τι;
Hebrew: מה? (ma)
Hungarian: mi? (1)

Icelandic: ha? is(is)
Indonesian: apa id(id)
Italian: cosa it(it)
Japanese: 何 (なに, náni)
Polish: co!
Portuguese: o quê?
Russian: как! (kak); что ли? (što li)
Slovak: čo sk(sk)
Spanish: ¡qué! ¿no?
Swedish: va! sv(sv)
Tagalog: ano tl(tl), ha tl(tl)

[edit] Determiner

what

which; which kind of.

What shirt are you going to wear?

What time is it?

What kind of car is that?
how much; how great (used in an exclamation)

What talent he has!

What a talent!

[edit] Translations

which

Armenian: ինչ hy(hy) (inč), որ hy(hy) (or)
Czech: jaký cs(cs)
Estonian: mis et(et)
Filipino: alin, ano
Finnish: mikä fi(fi)
French: quel fr(fr) m.
German: welche(r,s)
Haitian Creole: ki
Hungarian: milyen hu(hu), melyik hu(hu)
Italian: che it(it)
Latin: qui la(la) m., quae la(la) f., quod la(la) n.

Polish: który pl(pl) m., która pl(pl) f., które pl(pl) n. (which of certain choices); jaki pl(pl) m., jaka pl(pl) f., jakie pl(pl) n. (which kind of)
Russian: который/которая/которое (kotóryj/kotóraja/kotóroje) m/f/n, какой/какая/какое (kakój/kakája/kakóje) m/f/n
Scots: whit
Scottish Gaelic: dè (+definite article)
Spanish: qué es(es), cuál es(es)
Swedish: vilken/vilket/vilka, (which of, which kind of), vad för (which kind of)
Tagalog: alin tl(tl), ano tl(tl)

how much

Armenian: ինչպիսի hy(hy) (inčpisi)
Czech: jaký cs(cs)
Filipino: ano
Finnish: mikä fi(fi), millainen fi(fi)
French: quel fr(fr) m.
Hiligaynon: ano

Hungarian: milyen hu(hu), micsoda hu(hu), mekkora hu(hu)
Italian: quanto it(it)
Russian: какой/какая/какое (kakój/kakája/kakóje) m/f/n
Spanish: menudo es(es)
Swedish: vilken/vilket/vilka, en sådan/ett sådant/sådana
Tagalog: ano tl(tl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: welk
Esperanto: kiu
Estonian: milline
Hindi: (kyun)
Norwegian: hvilken

Oriya: କନ (kana)
Portuguese: qual, que
Romanian: ce
Slovak: čo
Telugu: ఏ (ae)

what

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology

[edit] Pronoun

[edit] Translations

[edit] Adverb

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Translations

[edit] Conjunction

[edit] Translations

[edit] Interjection

[edit] Translations

[edit] Determiner

[edit] Translations

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