يا

See also: یا and ئا

Arabic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jaː/

Particle

يَا • (yā)

1. O; hey; you; vocative particle preceding a noun used in direct address, only rarely omitted in such contexts

   يَا كَرِيم... ― yā karīm... ― (Hey) Kareem, ...

   يَا حِمار! ― yā ḥimār! ― You idiot!

   • 1971, “زَهْرَةُ المَدَائِن (zahratu l-madāʔin) [The Flower of [All] Cities]”, in Said Akl (lyrics), The Rahbani Brothers (music), القُدْسْ فِي البَال (al-quds fī l-bāl) [Jerusalem in My Heart], performed by Fairuz:

     يَا قُدْسُ يَا قُدْسُ يَا قُدْسُ يَا مَدِينَةَ الصَّلَاة أُصَلِّي

     yā qudsu yā qudsu yā qudsu yā madīnata ṣ-ṣalāh ʾuṣallī

     O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, O city of prayer... I pray

Usage notes

• يَا governs the nominative case of an indefinite noun, and the accusative case of a noun in the construct state. This is demonstrated by the quotation above.
• In Qur'anic and to some degree Classical orthography, يَا (yā) was written يَٰـ and joined to the following word. Compare the following verse (Surat al-Baqara 55, translation Muhammad Asad).

  (original orthography) وَإِذۡ قُلۡتُمۡ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نُّؤۡمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرى ٱللَّهَ جَهۡرَةࣰ فَأَخَذَتۡكُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمۡ تَنظُرُونَ

  (modernized orthography) وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَى لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى نَرَى ٱللّٰه جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ ٱلصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ

  And [remember] when you said, "O Moses indeed we shall not believe thee unto we see God face to face!" - whereupon the thunderbolt of punishment overtook you before your very eyes.

Synonyms

• أَيَا (ʔayā), أَ (ʔa), أَيْ (ʔay), هَيَا (hayā)

Derived terms

• يااللّٰه (ya-llāh)

Descendants

• → Hebrew: יא
• → Hindi: या (yā)

See also

• أَيُّهَا (ʔayyuhā), أَيَّتُهَا (ʔayyatuhā)
• نَكِرَة مَقْصُودَة (nakira(t) maqṣūda)
• نَكِرَة غَيْرُ مَقْصُودَةٍ (nakira(t) ḡayru maqṣūdatin)
• مُنَادًى (munādan)
• تَرْخِيم (tarḵīm)
• لُغَةُ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ (luḡatu man yantaẓiru)
• لُغَةُ مَنْ لَا يَنْتَظِرُ (luḡatu man lā yantaẓiru)

References

• Fischer, Wolfdietrich (2006) Grammatik des Klassischen Arabisch (in German), 4^th edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, § 157

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Gujarati

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Persian یا (yâ)

Conjunction

يا • (yā) (Standard Gujarati યા)

1. (Lisan ud-Dawat) or

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic يَا (yā)

Interjection

يا • (yā) (Standard Gujarati યા)

1. (Lisan ud-Dawat) O!

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Gulf Arabic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jaː/

Etymology 1

From Arabic يَا (yā).

Particle

يا • (ya)

1. vocative particle

   يا غريب كون اديب

   yā ḡərīb kūn ədīb

   O stranger be respectful

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Persian یا (yâ, “or”).

Conjunction

يا • (ya)

1. either ... or

   يَا هَذَا يَا هَذَا.

   yā hāḏa yā hāḏa.

   Either this or that.