acaba

See also: Acaba, acabá, and acabà

Asturian

Verb

acaba

1. third-person singular present indicative of acabar
2. second-person singular imperative of acabar

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [əˈka.βə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [əˈka.bə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [aˈka.ba]
• Hyphenation: a‧ca‧ba

Verb

acaba

1. inflection of acabar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Galician

Verb

acaba

1. inflection of acabar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aˈka.bɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aˈka.bɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /aˈka.ba/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐˈka.bɐ/ [ɐˈka.βɐ]

• Rhymes: -abɐ
• Homophone: Acaba
• Hyphenation: a‧ca‧ba

Verb

acaba

1. inflection of acabar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /aˈkaba/ [aˈka.β̞a]
• Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: a‧ca‧ba

Verb

acaba

1. inflection of acabar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Turkish

Alternative forms

• acab, acap, acep (colloquial)

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish عجبا (ʿacaba), from Arabic عَجَبًا (ʕajaban), adverbial accusative of عَجَب (ʕajab, “astonishment, wonder, amazement”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.d͡ʒɑ.bɑː/
• Hyphenation: a‧ca‧ba

Adverb

acaba

1. Used to add a meaning of curiosity, indecision or doubt, and sometimes courtesy. Roughly equivalent to “I wonder (if/whether)”, “Would you please...”, “May I...”, "by any chance".

   Bana ne hediye aldı acaba? (curiosity) ― I wonder what did he/she buy me as a present?

   Bu sınavı acaba geçebilir miyim? (doubt) ― I wonder if I could pass this exam?/Could I pass this exam?

   Acaba hangi ayakkabıyı alsam? (indecision) ― (I wonder,) which shoe should I buy?

   Acaba şu çantaya da bakabilir miyim? (courtesy) ― Could I see that bag, too, by any chance?

Related terms

• acayip
• taaccüp
• ucube

 

Further reading

• “acaba”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “acaba”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 88