じゃ

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Japanese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Syllable

じゃ (romaji ja)

  1. The hiragana syllable じゃ (ja). Its equivalent in katakana is ジャ (ja).

Etymology 2

Contraction of particles (de, form of copula, referring to preceding statement) + (wa, topic marker).

Alternative forms

Conjunction

じゃ (jaぢや (dya)?

  1. (colloquial) so, then—used for connecting to a reasonable conclusion, supposition

Interjection

じゃ (jaぢや (dya)?

  1. well; then; so
  2. by extension from the "so then" meaning: bye, goodbye

Etymology 3

Contraction of (de, form of copula) + ある (aru, to be, to exist).

Verb

じゃ (jaぢや (dya)?

  1. to be
    わしはわしじゃ
    Washi wa washi ja.
    I am me.
Usage notes

Variation on the Japanese copula (da) used in western Japan, such as in Chūgoku, Shikoku, or Kyūshū; particularly common in Hiroshima. The use of じゃ (ja) is also common in fictional dialogue attributed to archaic characters.

Etymology 4

Kanji reading.

Noun

じゃ (ja

  1. : generic name for a large snake; a heavy drinker
  2. : a moral wrong; a bad attitude; maliciousness, wickedness; such a person
  3. : short for 麝香 (jakō, musk); short for 麝香鹿 (jakōjika, musk deer)