ej

See also: EJ, éj, -ej, and -ej-

Albanian

Interjection

ej

1. a call for attention. hey!, oi!

   Synonyms: hej, o

   Ej ti, ku shkon? ― Hey you, where are you going?

2. (archaic) yes

   Synonym: po

   • 1592, Luca Matranga, chapter 2, in E Mbësuame e Krështerë [The Albanian Christian Doctrine], page 8, lines 10–11:

     éei pǽr chíjr tǽ chríxtit Zótit tínæ

     éj për hír të kríshtit Zótit tínë

     Yes, for the grace of Christ our Lord.

References

• “ej”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1], 1980

Antigua and Barbuda Creole English

Noun

ej

1. edge

Danish

Etymology 1

See eje (“to own”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aj/, [ɑjˀ]

Verb

ej

1. imperative of eje

Etymology 2

From Old Norse eigi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aj/, [ɑjˀ]

Adverb

ej

1. (literary or poetic) not

Synonyms

• ikke

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aj/, [ɑjˀ], [ɑj]

Interjection

ej

1. (colloquial) used to express surprise, irritation, reproach, annoyance and other emotions

   Ej, hvor er den nuttet!

   Aw, how cute it is!

   Ej, det mener du ikke!

   Urgh, you cannot be serious!

French

Etymology

Through metathesis of je (“I”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əʒ/
• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): [əʒ], [əh]

Pronoun

ej (first person singular)

1. (North America, colloquial) alternative form of je (“I”)

   Ej t'ai pas bien fait.

   I didn't treat you right.

   • 2023, “Ej m'en fus”‎^[2]performed by P'tit Belliveau:

     J'm'en irai / (Où est-c'que tu vas y'aller?) / Ej m'en va / (Dis-moi voir où est-c'que tu vas) / Ej m'en fus / (As-tu pensé au futur?)

     I will go away / (Where will you go?) / I'm leaving / (Please tell me where you're going) / I don't care / (Have you thought of the future?)

See also

• em, et, es, el

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛj]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj

Interjection

ej

1. indicates anger, like when telling someone off
2. indicates surprise

Related terms

• eh
• ejnye
• hej

Further reading

• ej in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• ej in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).

Latvian

Verb

ej

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

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛj/, [ej]

Noun

ej m inan

1. The name of the Latin script letter e/E.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čet, ćej, dej, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot, ka, eł, el, em, en, ejn, o, pej, er, ejŕ, es, eš, śej, tej, u, wej, y, zet, žet, źej

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *ejь

Polish ej

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ejь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛj/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj
• Syllabification: ej

Interjection

ej

1. expresses annoyance or displeasure
2. (informal) used to call someone's attention; hey

Further reading

• “ej”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “ej”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From hej through elision of the voiceless glottal fricative (h-dropping).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛj/

Interjection

ej

1. Expresses annoyance or displeasure
2. (informal) Used to call someone's attention; hey!, oi!

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse eigi. Cognate with Icelandic ei. Not related to Finnish ei.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj

Adverb

ej (not comparable)

1. (often formal or poetic outside certain expressions) not

   Tro det eller ej.

   Believe it or not.

   (Jag) Vet ej.

   (I) Don't know.

   Gäller ej.

   Does not apply.

Usage notes

May also be used over longer synonym inte in informal chatting online because of its shortness.

Synonyms

• inte
• icke

References

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

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies

ALIV	ej
Brazilian standard	ej
New Tribes	ej

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [eh]

Interjection

ej

1. whoops

References

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011), “eh”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[5], Lyon

Zhuang

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /ʔe˥/
• Tone numbers: e³
• Hyphenation: ej

Verb

ej (Sawndip forms ⿰韋倚 or ⿱丄一, 1957–1982 spelling eз)

1. to have sex; to copulate