gotta

See also: gôtta

English

Alternative forms

• gotsta

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɒtə/, [ˈɡɒʔə]
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑtə/, [ˈɡɑɾə]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Boston, New England) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌtə/, /ˈɡɒtə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑtə, -ɒtə, -ʌtə

Etymology 1

Contraction of got +‎ to.

Verb

gotta (third-person singular simple present gotta, no present participle, simple past had to, no past participle)

1. (colloquial) Synonym of have got to, have to

   I gotta learn this for my exam.

   If there's beer, dude, you don't even gotta ask.

   • 2016, Yuu Kamiya, translated by Daniel Komen, No Game No Life, volume 4:

     “All right, let’s go. They must have sake, eh? Oh, Izuna, will you come along?”
     “If they have fish or meat, you don’t gotta ask, please.”

   • 2026 February 13, Joseph Bernstein, “Handsome at Any Cost”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 February 2026:

     Clavicular, characteristically, attributed his good luck with the criminal justice system to his looks. “You just gotta mog,” he posted on X, above a screenshot of a news headline.

Derived terms

• I gotta love you and leave you

Etymology 2

Verb

gotta

1. (colloquial) Contraction of got +‎ a.
   • 2009, The Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling:

     I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:gotta.

See also

• gotcha
• gtg
• hafta
• got-to

Anagrams

• got at

Finnish

Noun

gotta

1. abessive singular of go

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin gutta.

Noun

gotta f (plural gotte)

1. gout

Derived terms

• ingottito

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

gotta

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

Anagrams

• Gatto, gatto

Portuguese

Noun

gotta f (plural gottas)

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of gota

See also

• gotteira

Romansh

Alternative forms

• gutta (Rumantsch Grischun)
• guota (Sursilvan)
• guta (Sutsilvan)
• guotta (Puter, Vallader)
• aguotta (Puter)

Etymology

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

Noun

gotta f (plural gottas)

1. (carpentry, Surmiran) nail

Swedish

Verb

gotta (present gottar, preterite gottade, supine gottat, imperative gotta)

1. (reflexive) to enjoy oneself (often in a gloating manner)

   Han gottade sig åt rivalens dundertabbe

   He gloated over his rivals' massive blunder

Conjugation

Conjugation of gotta (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	gotta		—
supine	gottat		—
imperative	gotta		—
imper. plural1	gotten		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	gottar	gottade	—	—
ind. plural1	gotta	gottade	—	—
subjunctive2	gotte	gottade	—	—
present participle		gottande
past participle		—

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

References

• “gotta”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)