chat

See also: CHAT, Chat, chất, chắt, chặt, and chật

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃæt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æt

Etymology 1

Abbreviation of chatter. The bird sense refers to the sound of its call.

Verb

chat (third-person singular simple present chats, present participle chatting, simple past and past participle chatted)

Two people chatting. (1) (2)

1. To be engaged in informal conversation.

   She chatted with her friend in the cafe.

   I like to chat over a coffee with a friend.

2. To talk more than a few words.

   I met my old friend in the street, so we chatted for a while.

3. (transitive) To talk of; to discuss.

   They chatted politics for a while.

   • 2014, Lenny Smith, Choices, page 43:

     We would get totally stoned and usually drunk too and chat a load of nonsense into the small hours.

4. To exchange text or voice messages in real time through a computer network, as if having a face-to-face conversation.

   Do you want to chat online later?

Derived terms

• chatline (chat line)
• chat shit
• chat show
• chat up
• chat-up line

 

Translations

be engaged in informal conversation

• Afrikaans: gesels
• Arabic: ثَرْثَرَ‎ (ṯarṯara)

  Egyptian Arabic: دردش‎ (dardiš)

• Belarusian: гута́рыць impf (hutárycʹ)
• Bulgarian: бъ́бря (bg) impf (bǎ́brja)
• Catalan: xerrar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聊天 (zh) (liáotiān), 攀談／攀谈 (zh) (pāntán), 談天／谈天 (zh) (tántiān), 閑談／闲谈 (zh) (xiántán), 閑聊／闲聊 (zh) (xiánliáo)

• Czech: povídat (cs) impf, povídat si (cs) impf
• Danish: snakke, sludre
• Dutch: kletsen (nl), babbelen (nl)
• Esperanto: babili (eo)
• Finnish: jutella (fi), rupatella, turista (fi), horista (fi), lörpötellä (fi)
• French: jaser (fr), placoter (fr), bavarder (fr), papoter (fr)
• Galician: laretar (gl), parolar (gl), charlar (gl)
• German: (formal) sich unterhalten (de), (informal) plaudern (de), (dialectal) schwatzen (de), klönen (de)
• Greek: ψιλοκουβεντιάζω (el) (psilokouventiázo), συνομιλώ (el) (synomiló)
• Hungarian: beszélget (hu), cseveg (hu), diskurál (hu)
• Icelandic: spjalla (is)
• Indonesian: mengobrol (id), kongko (id), obrol (id)
• Italian: chiacchierare (it)
• Japanese: 喋る (ja) (しゃべる, shaberu)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 잡담하다 (ko) (japdamhada), 한담하다 (handamhada), 지껄이다 (ko) (jikkeorida), 재잘거리다 (ko) (jaejalgeorida), 수다떨다 (sudatteolda)
• Ladino: echar lashon
• Lao: ຄຸຍ (lo) (khuy)
• Latin: fabulor
• Malay: bersembang, berbual
• Maltese: tpaċpiċ
• Meänkieli: praatata
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sludre, småprate, snakke (no)

• Oromo: haasa'uu
• Persian: گپیدن‎ (gapidan), گپ زدن‎ (fa) (gap zadan)
• Polish: gawędzić (pl) impf, gadać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: papear (pt), bater papo (pt), conversar (pt)
• Russian: разгова́ривать (ru) impf (razgovárivatʹ), болта́ть (ru) impf (boltátʹ)
• Sichuan Yi: ꌧꈿ (syp mgep)
• Slovak: rozprávať sa impf
• Spanish: charlar (es), platicar (es), yuyear, chamuyar (es)
• Swedish: småprata (sv), konversera (sv), tjatta (sv), snacka (sv)
• Tagalog: makipagchat, makipag-usap
• Thai: คุย (th) (kui)
• Turkish: sohbet (tr), kasavan (tr)
• Ukrainian: бала́кати (uk) impf (balákaty)
• Vietnamese: tán gẫu (vi), tám (vi), nói chuyện phiếm
• Walloon: berdeler (wa), tchafter (wa)
• Welsh: sgwrsio (cy)
• Wolof: waxtaan (wo)

talk more than a few words

• Afrikaans: gesels
• Bulgarian: разговарям (bg) (razgovarjam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聊天 (zh) (liáotiān)

• Danish: snakke
• Dutch: kletsen (nl), babbelen (nl)
• Finnish: puhella (fi)
• French: discuter (fr), parler (fr), converser (fr)
• German: sich unterhalten (de), plaudern (de), schwatzen (de), klönen (de)
• Greek: ψιλοκουβεντιάζω (el) (psilokouventiázo), συνομιλώ (el) (synomiló)
• Hungarian: elbeszélget (hu), eldiskurál
• Italian: parlare (it), conversare (it)
• Latin: fabulor
• Malay: bersembang, berbual
• Persian: گپیدن‎ (gapidan)
• Portuguese: conversar (pt)
• Swedish: prata (sv)
• Vietnamese: tán gẫu (vi), tám (vi)
• Walloon: ramter (wa), tchafyî (wa), plaidî (wa)
• Welsh: sgwrsio (cy)

exchange messages in real time

• Afrikaans: gesels
• Bulgarian: чатя (čatja)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聊天 (zh) (liáotiān)

• Czech: chatovat, četovat (cs)
• Danish: chatte (da)
• Dutch: chatten (nl)
• Finnish: tsättäillä (fi), chatata
• French: tchatter (fr), chatter (fr), (Quebec) clavarder (fr)
• German: chatten (de)
• Greek: τηλεσυνδιασκέπτομαι (tilesyndiasképtomai)
• Hungarian: cseveg (hu), csetel (hu), chatel
• Italian: chattare (it), chiacchierare (it)
• Latin: fabulor
• Malay: bersembang, berbual
• Norwegian: chatte (no)
• Persian: گپیدن‎ (gapidan)
• Portuguese: bater papo (pt), conversar (pt)
• Russian: ча́титься (ru) impf (čátitʹsja)
• Spanish: chatear (es)
• Swedish: chatta (sv), tjatta (sv)
• Tagalog: makipagchat
• Walloon: tchater, berdeler (wa) (with complement "so les fyis")
• Welsh: sgwrsio (cy)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} discuter (fr), ^{(please verify)} converser (fr) (1, 3); ^{(please verify)} clavarder (fr), ^{(please verify)} chatter (fr) (4), ^{(please verify)} bavarder (fr)
• Guaraní: ^{(please verify)} mongeta (interlocutor explicit) (1); ^{(please verify)} ñemongeta (interlocutor implicit) (1); ^{(please verify)} ñomongeta (to each other) (1)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} conversar, ^{(please verify)} confabular (1); ^{(please verify)} chattar (4)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} conversa (ro), ^{(please verify)} discuta (ro)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} platicar (es), ^{(please verify)} charlar (es); (Internet) ^{(please verify)} chatear (es)
• Tupinambá: ^{(please verify)} mongetá (interlocutor explicit) (1); ^{(please verify)} nhemongetá (interlocutor implicit) (1); ^{(please verify)} nhomongetá (to each other) (1)

Noun

chat (countable and uncountable, plural chats)

1. (countable, uncountable) Informal conversation.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess‎^[1]:

     Reg liked a chat about old times and we used to go and have a chinwag in the pub.

   It'd be cool to meet up again soon and have a quick chat.

   1. A conversation to stop an argument or settle a situation.
2. An exchange of text or voice messages in real time through a computer network, resembling a face-to-face conversation.
3. (Internet) A chat room.
   • 1997, Meg Booker, The Insider's Guide to America Online, page 256:

     While there are chats for various interest groups (games, Internet, sports), you can also […]

4. (metonymically, typically with definite article, video games) The entirety of users in a chat room or a single member thereof.

   The Chat just made a joke about my poor skillz.

5. Any of various small Old World passerine birds in the muscicapid tribe Saxicolini or subfamily Saxicolinae that feed on insects.
6. Any of several small Australian honeyeaters in the genus Epthianura.

Derived terms

• backchat (back-chat, back chat)
• chatbox
• chat group
• chatroom (chat-room)
• chat site
• chatteration
• chatterer
• chatterish
• chattily
• chattiness
• chatty
• chat-tyrant
• chitchat (chit-chat, chit chat)
• cyberchat
• e-chat
• fireside chat
• group chat
• hot chat
• robin-chat
• rufous bush chat
• stonechat
• video chat
• web chat
• whinchat
• yellow-breasted chat

 

Translations

informal conversation

• Afrikaans: geselsie
• Arabic: مُحَادَثَّة‎ f (muḥādaṯṯa), ثَرْثَرَة‎ f (ṯarṯara)
• Azerbaijani: söhbət (az)
• Belarusian: размо́ва f (razmóva), гу́тарка f (hútarka)
• Bulgarian: ра́зговор (bg) m (rázgovor)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聊天 (zh) (liáotiān)

• Danish: snak (da) c, snakken
• Dutch: gebabbel (nl) n, geklets (nl) n, kletspraat (nl) m
• Esperanto: babilo, babilado
• Finnish: juttelu (fi), rupattelu (fi)
• German: Schwatz m, Geplauder (de) n, Schwätzchen (de) n
• Greek: κουβεντούλα (el) f (kouventoúla), ψιλοκουβέντα (el) f (psilokouvénta)
• Hungarian: beszélgetés (hu), csevegés (hu), csevej, diskurálás
• Indonesian: obrolan (id)
• Italian: chiacchiera (it) f
• Japanese: 会話 (ja) (かいわ, kaiwa), 話し (ja) (はなし, hanashi), おしゃべり (ja) (oshaberi)
• Korean: 잡담(雜談) (ko) (japdam), 이야기 (ko) (iyagi), 수다 (ko) (suda)
• Malay: sembang, bual
• Norwegian: prat (no) m

  Bokmål: samtale (no) m

  Nynorsk: samtale m or f

• Persian: گپ‎ (fa) (gap)
• Polish: pogawędka (pl)
• Portuguese: papo (pt) m, conversa (pt) f
• Russian: разгово́р (ru) m (razgovór), бесе́да (ru) f (beséda), болтовня́ (ru) f (boltovnjá)
• Scottish Gaelic: seanchas m
• Spanish: cháchara (es) f, charla (es) f, chamuyo (es) m, lata (es) f
• Swedish: småprat (sv), konversation (sv), snack (sv) n
• Turkish: konuşma (tr), sohbet (tr)
• Ukrainian: розмо́ва f (rozmóva), бе́сіда (uk) f (bésida)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: sgwrs (cy) f

conversation to stop an argument or settle situations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 談話／谈话 (zh) (tánhuà)

• Dutch: gesprek (nl) n, babbel (nl) m
• Finnish: keskustelu (fi)
• French: discussion (fr) f
• German: Gespräch (de) n
• Norwegian: prat (no) m
• Portuguese: conversa (pt) f
• Russian: разгово́р (ru) m (razgovór), бесе́да (ru) f (beséda)
• Swedish: samtal (sv)

exchange of text or voice messages in real time

• Arabic: دَرْدَشَة‎ f (dardaša)
• Azerbaijani: çat (az)
• Belarusian: чат m (čat)
• Bulgarian: чат (bg) m (čat)
• Catalan: xat (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聊天 (zh) (liáotiān)

• Czech: chat (cs) m
• Dutch: chat (nl) c
• Finnish: tsätti (fi), chatti (fi)
• French: clavardage (fr) m, chat (fr) m
• Georgian: ჩატი (čaṭi)
• German: Chat (de) m
• Greek: τηλεσυνδιάσκεψη (el) f (tilesyndiáskepsi)
• Hebrew: צ׳אט‎ m (chat)
• Hindi: चैट (caiṭ)
• Hungarian: chat (hu), cset
• Indonesian: obrolan (id)
• Japanese: チャット (chatto)
• Korean: 채팅 (ko) (chaeting)
• Macedonian: чет m (čet)
• Norwegian: chat (no) m
• Polish: czat (pl) m
• Portuguese: chat (pt) m, bate-papo (pt) m
• Russian: чат (ru) m (čat)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: чат m

  Roman: chat (sh) m, čat (sh) m

• Slovak: chat (sk) m
• Slovene: chat (sl) m
• Spanish: chat (es) m
• Swedish: tjatt, chatt (sv) c
• Ukrainian: чат m (čat)

entirety of users in a chat room

• Turkish: çet

bird in the subfamily Saxicolini

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: tapuit (nl) m
• Finnish: pensastasku (fi)
• German: Schmätzer f
• Greek: ικτερίς f (ikterís)
• Irish: caislín m
• Russian: чека́н (ru) m (čekán)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Guaraní: ^{(please verify)} ñomongeta (1)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} conversation, ^{(please verify)} confabulation (1); chat (2)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} conversație (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} discuție (ro) f
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} charla (es) f
• Tupinambá: ^{(please verify)} nhomongetá (1)

Etymology 2

Compare chit (“small piece of paper”), and chad.

Noun

chat

1. A small potato, such as is given to swine.

Etymology 3

Unknown.

Noun

chat (plural chats)

1. (mining, local use) Mining waste from lead and zinc mines.
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 441:

     Frank had been looking at calcite crystals for a while now [...] among the chats or zinc tailings of the Lake County mines, down here in the silver lodes of the Vita Madre and so forth.

Translations

mining waste

• Finnish: rikastusjäte

Etymology 4

From thieves' cant.

Alternative forms

• chatt

Noun

chat (plural chats)

1. (Britain, Australia, New Zealand, World War I military slang) A louse (small, parasitic insect).
   • 1977, Mary Emily Pearce, Apple Tree Lean Down, page 520:

     'Do officers have chats, then, the same as us?'

     'Not the same, no. The chats they got is bigger and better, with pips on their shoulders and Sam Browne belts.'

   • 2007, How Can I Sleep when the Seagull Calls?, →ISBN, page 18:

     May a thousand chats from Belgium crawl under their fingers as they write.

   • 2013, Graham Seal, The Soldiers' Press: Trench Journals in the First World War, →ISBN, page 149:

     Trench foot was a nasty and potentially fatal foot disease commonly caused by these conditions, in which chats or body lice were the bane of all.

Etymology 5

Noun

chat (plural chats)

1. Alternative form of chaat

Anagrams

• ACTH, Cath, cath, cath., tach

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French chat.

Noun

chat

1. cat

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃɛt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: chat
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English chat.

Noun

chat m (plural chats, diminutive chatje n)

1. chat (online conversation)
2. chat (online conversation platform)

Derived terms

• chatten

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

chat

1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of chatten
2. imperative of chatten

Anagrams

• acht

French

Un chat.

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French chat, from Old French chat, from Late Latin cattus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

chat m (plural chats, feminine chatte)

1. cat (feline)
   • 1910, Henry-D. Davray & B. Kozakiewicz (tr.), La Guerre dans les airs, translation of The War in the Air by H. G. Wells, page 335:

     Soudain, d’un seul élan, cela se précipita sur lui, avec un miaulement plaintif et la queue droite. C’était un jeune chat, menu et décharné, qui frottait sa tête contre les jambes de Bert, en ronronnant.

     It advanced suddenly upon him with a rush, with a little meawling cry and tail erect. It rubbed its head against him and purred. It was a tiny, skinny little kitten.

2. (male) cat, tom, tomcat
   • 1896, Paul Margueritte, “Une flaque”, in L’eau qui dort, Paris: Armand Colin et c^ie, […], section II, pages 102–103:

     — Est-ce un chat ou une chatte ? » demanda Jean. / Sophie ne se prononça point, Alice devint rouge et dit en riant : / « C’est un chat ! / — En êtes-vous sûre ? demanda Jean. / — Ah bien! fit Alice, pour sûr ! »

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

3. tag, tig (children’s game)

Derived terms

• à bon chat, bon rat
• à ne pas mettre un chat dehors
• absent le chat, les souris dansent
• acheter chat en poche
• appeler un chat un chat
• arbre à chat
• avoir d'autres chats à fouetter
• avoir un chat dans la gorge
• c'est le chat qui se mord la queue
• chat à neuf queues
• chat bai
• chat de gouttière
• chat de jungle
• chat des marais
• chat domestique
• chat échaudé craint l'eau froide
• chat forestier
• chat forestier européen
• chat haret
• chat perché
• chat sauvage
• chat sauvage d'Europe
• chat sauvage européen
• chat sylvestre
• chat-huant
• chat-tigre
• chataire
• chatière
• chaton
• chatonner
• chatte
• chattemite
• chatterie
• comme chien et chat
• donner sa langue au chat
• donner sa langue au chat
• il ne faut pas réveiller le chat qui dort
• il n'y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat
• il n'y a pas un chat
• jeu du chat et de la souris
• jouer au chat et à la souris
• la nuit, tous les chats sont gris
• langue de chat
• langue-de-chat
• le chat parti, les souris dansent
• les chats ne font pas des chiens
• les chiens ne font pas des chats
• mousse du chat
• pas de chat
• pied de chat
• quand le chat n'est pas là, les souris dansent
• syndrome du cri du chat

 

Related terms

• cataire

See also

• haret
• matou
• minet
• minou
• mistigri

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English chat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃat/

Noun

chat m (plural chats)

1. (Internet) chat (online discussion)

   Synonym: tchat

Derived terms

• chatter
• chater
• chatteur
• chateur

Further reading

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

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French chat, chatte.

Noun

chat

1. cat
2. (colloquial) thief
3. pussy (genitals)

Iban

Etymology

From Min Nan 漆 (chhat).

Noun

chat

1. paint (substance)

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xat̪ˠ/

Noun

chat m

1. Lenited form of cat.

Italian

Etymology 1

Unadapted borrowing from English chat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃat/
• Rhymes: -at
• Hyphenation: chàt

Noun

chat f (invariable)

1. chat (informal conversation via computer)

Derived terms

• chattare

See also

• chiacchierata

Etymology 2

From Somali [Term?].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkat/
• Rhymes: -at
• Hyphenation: chàt

Noun

chat m (invariable)

1. chat (leaf chewed by people in North Africa and the Middle East)

   Synonym: khat

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French chat, from Late Latin cattus.

Noun

chat m (plural chats or chatz, feminine singular chatte, feminine plural chattes)

1. cat (animal)

Descendants

• French: chat

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• chatt

Etymology

Borrowed from English chat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃætː/

Noun

chat m (definite singular chaten, indefinite plural chatar, definite plural chatane)

1. (Internet) a chat

References

• “chat” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Alternative forms

• cat, kat (Picardy, Anglo-Norman)

Etymology

From Late Latin cattus.

Pronunciation

• (classical) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃat/, (northern) /ˈkat/

Noun

chat m (oblique plural chaz or chatz, nominative singular chaz or chatz, nominative plural chat)

1. cat (animal)

Related terms

• chate

Descendants

• Middle French: chat
  • French: chat
• Norman: cat
• Walloon: tchet
• Picard: cat
• Lorrain: tchat

Polish

Etymology 1

Unadapted borrowing from English chat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʂat/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: chat
• Homophones: czad, Czad, czat

Noun

chat m inan

1. (Internet) Alternative spelling of czat

Declension

Declension of chat

	singular	plural
nominative	chat	chaty
genitive	chatu	chatów
dative	chatowi	chatom
accusative	chat	chaty
instrumental	chatem	chatami
locative	chacie	chatach
vocative	chacie	chaty

Derived terms

adjective

• chatowy

 

verb

• chatować

 

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xat/
• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: chat

Noun

chat f

1. genitive plural of chata

Further reading

• chat in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• chat in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English chat.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃat(ʃ)(i)/, /ˈʃɛt(ʃ)(i)/

Noun

chat m (plural chats)

1. (Internet) chat room

   Synonym: (chiefly Brazil) bate-papo

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English chat.

Noun

chat n (uncountable)

1. chat (online)

Declension

declension of chat (singular only)

	singular
n gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) chat	chatul
genitive/dative	(unui) chat	chatului
vocative	chatule

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English chat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃat/ [ˈt͡ʃat̪]
• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: chat

Noun

chat m (plural chats)

1. chat (exchange of text or voice messages in real time through a computer network)
2. chat, chat room

Derived terms

• chatear
• sala de chat

 

Further reading

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

Tagalog

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English chat.

Noun

chat

1. chat (usually an exchange of text or voice messages in real time through a computer network)

Derived terms

• ichat
• kachat
• makipagchat
• pakikipagchat

 

Turkish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English chat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃet/

Noun

chat (definite accusative chati, plural chatler)

1. chat (exchange of text or voice messages in real time through a computer network)
2. chat room

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	chat
Definite accusative	chati
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	chat	chatler
Definite accusative	chati	chatleri
Dative	chate	chatlere
Locative	chatte	chatlerde
Ablative	chatten	chatlerden
Genitive	chatin	chatlerin

Derived terms

• chatleşmek