ah

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ah"

English

Etymology

mid-1400s Old Frankish (replacing English la).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Interjection

ah

1. An expression of relief, relaxation, comfort, confusion, understanding, wonder, awe, etc. according to uttered inflection.

   Ah, I understand now.

   Ah! It's good to be back home!

   Ah, the flowers of spring.

2. A syllable used to fill space, particularly in music.
   • 2008, Britney Spears, Womanizer (song)

     Boy don't try to front, uh, I
     Know just, just, what you are, ah, ah.

Related terms

Terms related to ah

• aah
• aha

• ha
• oh

• uh

Translations

an expression

• Arabic: آه‎‎ (ʾāh)

  Egyptian Arabic: آه‎‎ (aaah), أها‎‎ (ʔahaa)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 哦 (zh) (ò)

• Dutch: ah (nl)
• Esperanto: ha, ah
• Estonian: aa (et), ah (et), ee (et), oi (et), oo
• Finnish: aa (fi)
• French: ah (fr)
• Greek: α (el) (a)
• Hungarian: ah (hu)
• Ido: ah (io)
• Irish: á

• Japanese: ああ (ja) (ā), あ (ja) (a), 嗚呼 (ja) (ああ, ā)
• Korean: 아 (ko) (a)
• Malay: ah (ms)
• Persian: آها‎‎ (âhâ)
• Polish: ach (pl)
• Portuguese: ah (pt)
• Russian: а (ru) (a), ага́ (ru) (agá), о (ru) (o)
• Slovak: ach
• Swedish: ah (sv)
• Thai: อ้อ (th) (ɔ̂ɔ)
• Vietnamese: à (vi)
• Welsh: a (cy)

word to fill space

• Estonian: ee (et)

• Greek: α (el) (a), ω (el) (o)

word used for drama

• Estonian: ah (et)
• Greek: α (el) (a)

• Hebrew: אבוי‎‎ (avoy)
• Swedish: ack (sv)

Noun

ah (plural ahs)

1. An instance of the interjection ah.

   the crowd's oohs and ahs at the fireworks

Verb

ah (third-person singular simple present ahs, present participle ahing, simple past and past participle ahed)

1. To give a cry of "ah".
   • 2005, T. R. Rhoads, Sinner, Sailor: A Memoir (page 221)

     Mother and dad oohed and ahed over Cindy. She was only two months old but already was developing her personality.

Pronoun

ah (personal pronoun, plural we, possessive adjective mah)

1. Eye dialect spelling of I., most often indicating that the speaker is using a Scottish or American (particularly Southern) accent.

References

• “ah” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “ah” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• HA, Ha, ha, ha'

---

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *aksa, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃esko ‘ash’ (compare Greek οξιά (oxiá, “beech”), Armenian հածի (haci), English ash).

Noun

ah m (indefinite plural ahe, definite singular ahu, definite plural ahet)

1. beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Hyponyms

• ah i bardhë ‘white hornbeam’ (Carpinus betulus)

---

Chickasaw

Adverb

ah

1. yes

   Synonym: hohmi

---

Esperanto

Interjection

ah

1. ah, oh

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Interjection

ah

1. ah

---

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aː

Interjection

ah

1. expressing understanding
2. expressing contentment

Further reading

• ah in Duden online

---

Hungarian

Etymology

Involuntary expression of emotions: surprise, impatience, desire, sadness, refusal.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɒx]

Interjection

ah

1. ah
   • 1599-1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 1 [1]

     Ah jó uram, mit láttam én az éjjel!

     Ah, my good lord, what have I seen to-night!

---

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ah/

Interjection

ah

1. ah

References

• ah in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ah in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

---

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aχ/

Conjunction

ah

1. (Anglian) but

---

Palikur

Noun

ah n, f

1. (neuter) wood
2. (feminine) tree

References

• Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN

---

Pohnpeian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɐː/
• Rhymes: -ɐː

Etymology 1

Noun

ah

1. The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.

Etymology 2

Noun

ah

1. shark mullet (Rhinomugil nasutus), at a growth stage of approximately twelve inches

Etymology 3

Conjunction

ah

1. however, and, then

   I sukuhl, ah e doadoahk.

   I went to school, and he worked.

   Ma Soulik pahn iang, ah I sohte pahn iang.

   If Soulik goes, then I won't.

Etymology 4

Alternative forms

• e
• eh

Determiner

ah

1. his, her, hers, its, third person singular possessive pronoun

   Liho iang ah pwoud.

   The woman joined her husband.

Etymology 5

Interjection

ah

1. Oh!; commonly used as an expression of approval.

   Ah, ke inenen mai.

   Oh, you are really good.

---

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /a/
• Homophone: há

Interjection

ah!

1. ah! (expression of relief, realization, awe)
2. ah! (expression of woe, grief)

Quotations

For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:ah.

---

Somali

Verb

ah

1. (intransitive) To be

   Bariis oo macaan ah. ― Rice that is sweet.

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/
• Homophones: a, ha

Interjection

ah

1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
2. ah (expression of woe, grief)

Related terms

• ay
• eh
• ey
• hey
• oh
• hala

Further reading

• “ah” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

---

Swedish

Interjection

ah

1. ah; an expression of relief

---

Tulu-Bohuai

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ah/

Noun

ah

1. coral lime (for chewing/eating with betelnut)

Further reading

• Bohuai
• Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)

---

Vilamovian

Interjection

ah

1. oh: expressing of surprise
2. oh: expressing wonder, amazement, or awe
3. oh: expressing understanding, recognition, or realization
4. oh: preceding an offhand or annoyed remark
5. oh: an invocation or address