aber

See also: Aber and åber

Aragonese

Verb

aber

1. superseded spelling of haber

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *aber.

Noun

aber m or f (plural aberioù)

1. ria, estuary, mouth of a river

Descendants

• → French: aber

Verb

aber

1. present of aberiñ

Further reading

• Henry, Victor (1900), “aber”, in Lexique étymologique des termes les plus usuels du breton moderne (Bibliothèque bretonne armoricaine; III) (in French), Rennes: J. Plihon et L. Hervé

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish a ver, short form of the phrase vamos a ver (“let's see”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaˈbeɾ/ [ʔɐˈbiɾ̪]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Hyphenation: a‧ber

Interjection

abér (Badlit spelling ᜀᜊᜒᜇ᜔)

1. let me see; let's see

Cornish

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *aber, from Proto-Celtic *adberos. Cognate with Breton aber and Welsh aber.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈabɛr/

Noun

aber m (plural aberyow)

1. river mouth, estuary

   Synonym: heyl

Danish

Noun

aber c

1. indefinite plural of abe

Verb

aber

1. present of abe

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Breton aber.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.bɛʁ/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

aber m (plural abers)

1. (geography) a ria, especially one in Brittany

Further reading

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

German

Etymology

From Middle High German aber, aver, from Old High German aber, ābar, abur, aver, avur, afur, from Proto-Germanic *aferą (“behind”). Compare Bavarian owa (“but”), Luxembourgish awer (“but”), Saterland Frisian oaber (“but”), Middle Low German āver, German Low German aver (“but”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaːbɐ/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /ˈabɐ/ (colloquial; when unstressed by regular shortening, but also used when stressed)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

Conjunction

aber (coordinating)

1. but; however; though

   Ich mag keine Orangen, aber ich mag Äpfel. ― I don't like oranges, but I like apples.

Usage notes

• Unlike most other conjunctions, aber doesn't need to be the first word of a clause and can thereby emphasize the preceding word(s): Ich bin dafür, er aber lehnt es ab. — “I’m in favour, but he has rejected it.” In such a construction, aber can be considered an adverb, though the usual interpretation is that it is still a conjunction.
• After a negative, sondern is used to announce a reinforcing specification of the negative statement, while aber announces a correction to its suggestion. Compare:

Wir haben keine Pizza gekauft, sondern Zutaten, um eine selbst zu machen. ― We didn't buy a pizza but (look here, we bought) ingredients to make one ourselves.

Wir haben keine Pizza gekauft, aber Zutaten, um eine selbst zu machen. ― We didn't buy a pizza but (don't worry, we did buy) ingredients to make one ourselves.

Wir haben die Pizza nicht selbst gemacht, aber haben auch Zutaten gekauft, um sie zu verbessern. ― We didn't make the pizza ourselves but (do not or do worry) also bought ingredients to improve it.

• It's usually better or less dated English to not translate sondern with but:

Er ist nicht genial, sondern dumm. ― He isn’t brilliant; in fact he's stupid. / He isn’t brilliant, (damnit) he's stupid.

Er ist nicht genial, aber ziemlich klug. ― He isn’t brilliant but quite intelligent.

Derived terms

• aber hallo
• aber, aber

Adverb

aber

1. (obsolete, except in compounds) again
2. (qualifier) rather; quite; unusually; used with adjectives to express a surprising degree, whether this surprise be real or for effect

   Das ist aber teuer. ― That's rather expensive. ≈ That's more expensive than I would’ve thought.

   Du bist aber groß geworden! ― Look how tall you’ve become! (said to a child)

3. (conjunctive) nonetheless, nevertheless

   Die Wohnung ist zwar klein, ich würde sie aber gerne nehmen.

   The apartment is small, nevertheless I would like to take it.

Derived terms

• abermals
• abertausend

Further reading

• “aber” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1883), “aber”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Indonesian

Etymology

From Javanese ꦲꦧꦼꦂ (aber), from Old Javanese abĕr (“to slow”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈabər/ [ˈa.bər]
• Rhymes: -abər
• Syllabification: a‧ber

Adjective

abêr (comparative lebih aber, superlative paling aber)

1. (dialectal) lost, exhausted

Further reading

• “aber”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Kholosi

Etymology

From Persian ابر (abr).

Noun

aber ?

1. cloud

Further reading

• Arora, Aryaman; Etebari, Ahmed (2021), “aber”, in Kholosi Dictionary‎^[2]

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From German Aber (“objection”), a substantivization of German aber (“but, however, though”) (as in "no buts and no ifs"), from Middle High German aber, aver, from Old High German aber, abur, aver, avur, afur (“however, but”), either from Proto-Germanic *afar, *abar, *abur (“after, following”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away, from”), or from Proto-Germanic *aferą (“behind”), from pre-Germanic *h₂ép-erom, accusative/allative to an adjective *h₂éperos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑːbər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːbər
• Hyphenation: ab‧er

Noun

aber n (definite singular aberet, indefinite plural aber or abere, definite plural abera or aberne)

1. a problem, an obstacle, a difficulty

   Det er et aber med det.

   There is a problem with it.

   • 1908, Kristian F. Biller, Lys og Skygge:

     – Nei, virkelig, har De ikke spist. Det var et aber: vi kunde jo ha stukket indom en restaurant

     - No, really, you have not eaten. It was a difficulty: we could have stopped by a restaurant

   • 1927, Tidens Tegn:

     det er bare den aber at staten eier den

     it is only the catch that the state owns it

   • 1921, Jonas Lie, Samlede Digterverker VII, page 87:

     [det] kunde være enkelte abere at notere

     [it] could be individual difficulties to note

   • 1907, Alexander L. Kielland, Samlede værker I (Mindeutgave), page 78:

     [hun hadde] været forlovet – riktignok bare ni uger – men det var dog et lidet aber

     [she had] been engaged - admittedly only nine weeks - but it was still a suffering difficulty

   • 1879-1895, Knut Hamsun, Knut Hamsuns brev I, page 238:

     det har vel sine aber det ogsaa

     it probably has its difficulties too

   • 2010, Lars Saabye Christensen, Bernhard Hvals forsnakkelser:

     det eneste som måtte være et aber er at når jeg biter kjevene sammen og knusper, kjenner jeg bare de bløte gommene gli mot hverandre

     the only thing that may be a difficulty is that when I bite my jaws together and crush, I only feel the soft palates slide against each other

Synonyms

• hake (“catch”), ulempe (“disadvantage”), vanskelighet (“difficulty”), men (“damage, injury”)

Further reading

• “aber” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “aber” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “aber” in Store norske leksikon

Anagrams

• bare

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑːˈber/

Verb

āber

1. singular imperative of āberan

Osing

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ˈbər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: aber
• Rhymes: -ər

Adjective

aber

1. lost, exhausted

Further reading

• Ali, Hasan (2002), “aber”, in Kamus Bahasa Daerah Using-Indonesia [Osingese-Indonesian Dictionary]‎^[3], 1st edition (in Indonesian), Banyuwangi: Pemerintah Kabupaten Banyuwangi, page 1

Scots

Alternative forms

• aaber

Etymology

From Old Norse apr (“sharp, hard, bad”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ(ː)bər/

Adjective

aber (Shetland)

1. sharp, keen
   • 2010, John Cumming, “Whin a man turns aald”, in White below: poems and stories from Shetland's fishing industry, Orkney: Hansel Cooperative Press, page 50:

     He luikit at da younger man, fresh faced and aaber in his best Fair Isle gansey. O a sudden a heaviness caam ower him, and he booed his haed.

     He looked at the younger man, fresh faced and keen in his best Fair Isle jersey. Suddenly a heaviness came over him, and he bowed his head.

2. clear, distinct, with sharp outlines
3. sharp-sighted, observant, watchful
4. eager
   • 1987, John Graham, Shadowed Valley, page 86:

     Dis is Hakki Hunter fae Upper Weisdale. I got wird you wir needin a boy an I ken Hakki is aaber for wark.

     This is Hakki Hunter from Upper Weisdale. I heard that you need to hire someone, and I know that Hakki is eager for work.

5. greedy

   aber heart cake

   greedy heart piece (a lead charm meant to cure excessive appetite)

Verb

aber (Shetland)

1. to sharpen
2. to poke a fire in order to brighten it (often with up)

Derived terms

• aaberness
• aber knot

Further reading

• “aber”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
• Eagle, Andy, editor (2026), “aber”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎^[4]

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• hàber

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish خبر (haber), from Arabic خَبَر (ḵabar).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ǎber/
• Hyphenation: a‧ber

Noun

àber m inan (Cyrillic spelling а̀бер) (regional, Bosnia)

1. news
2. message, information
3. sensation, feeling

Further reading

• Isaković, Alija (1993), “aber”, in Rječnik karakteristične leksike u bosanskome jeziku [Dictionary of characteristic words of the Bosnian language] (in Serbo-Croatian), Wuppertal: Bambi, →ISBN, page 44

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from German aber (“but”), turned into a noun (as in "no buts and no ifs").

Noun

aber n

1. a problem, an obstacle, a difficulty

Declension

The plural is the same, but definite forms do not apply.

Further reading

• “aber”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “aber”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “aber”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• bare

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish a ver.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔaˈbeɾ/ [ʔɐˈbɛɾ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: a‧ber

Interjection

abér (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜊᜒᜇ᜔)

1. let's see; let me see

   Synonyms: tingnan, patingin, (dialectal, Cavite, Batangas) idaw

2. okay; all right

Related terms

• keber

Anagrams

• abre

Tarifit

Noun

aber m (plural abriwen, diminutive tabert, Tifinagh spelling ⴰⴱⴻⵔ)

1. alternative spelling of abeř: eyelash

Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *aber, from Proto-Celtic *adberos.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈabɛr/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈa(ː)bɛr/
• Rhymes: -abɛr

Noun

aber m or f (plural aberoedd or ebyr)

1. estuary, mouth of a river
2. confluence, joining of two or more rivers

   Synonym: cydlifiad

Mutation

Mutated forms of aber

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
aber	unchanged	unchanged	haber

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Zipser German

Conjunction

aber

1. alternative form of åber