hah

See also: häh and hąh

Translingual

Symbol

hah

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Hahon.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Hahon terms

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: hä, IPA^(key): /hɑː/, [ha(ː)]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Etymology 1

Interjection

hah

1. Alternative form of ha.
2. Alternative form of huh.
   • 1994, Milton Teichman, Sharon Leder, Truth and Lamentation: Stories and Poems on the Holocaust, page 58:

     Shut up, buddy, you've forgotten that I can't run. Now you're the wise guy, hah?

   • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:

     Isaac Sachs makes a 'Hah?' noise. 'You're not Sixsmith's niece?'

Etymology 2

Noun

hah (plural hahs)

1. Alternative form of heh (“Semitic letter”).

See also

• hem and hah

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Hokkien 哈 (hâⁿ).

Alternative forms

• har

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /hɑː˨/, [-˧˨]
  • Particle, sense 2: IPA^(key): /hɑː˨˦/
  • Interjection, sense 2: IPA^(key): [hɑː˨˦˨]
  • Often nasalized.

Particle

hah (Manglish, Singlish)

2. Synonym of ah (sense 1); used to form tag questions prompting the listener to confirm something.
   • 1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 5, lines 23–31:

     Mother: Just wait awhile, Susan. Jack said he’d be a little late. […] What would you like to drink, some Coca Cola?
     Susan: That’s alright Aunty. We’re going out to dinner.
     Mother: Or you prefer Pepsi, hah? We don’t drink Pepsi ourself, I always keep a few bottles just in case. Some people are so fussy.

4. (after lah or ah) Used to form a tag question, either to invite acknowledgment, or to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.

   Synonym: hor (sense 1)

   So, just make sure you don’t accidentally mix the two together lah, hah?

5. Tagged at the end of a confirmation-seeking sentence to express subtle surprise or realisation.

Interjection

hah (Manglish, Singlish)

1. Huh!; used to express subtle surprise or amusement in a conversation.
2. Expression of discontent when one is faced with a rude awakening.

Related terms

Discourse particles in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English
⟵ More assertiveLess assertive ⟶
Objection	what	Assertive emphasis	lah1–14	Self-evident answer	lor2–3	Resignation	lor1, ah6	Uncertainty	leh1–2
Self-evident reason	mah	Declarative emphasis	leh3–6, one1–3, hor1, know, nia, only	Discontent; shock; coarseness	sia	Agreement-seeking	hor2	Confirmation-seeking	ah1–3, hah1–3
Skepticism	meh			Confident speculation	ba2	Tentative judgment	leh7–11, ba1
Non-pragmatic
Aspectual					liao, already
References Gupta, A. F. (1992), “The pragmatic particles of Singapore colloquial English”, in Journal of Pragmatics, volume 18, number 1, →DOI

Anagrams

• ahh

Cora

Noun

hah

1. water

References

• Eugene H. Casad, From Space to Time: A cognitive analysis of the Cora locative system (2012)

Finnish

Etymology

Variant of ha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɑh/, [ˈhɑ̝h]
• Rhymes: -ɑh
• Syllabification^(key): hah
• Hyphenation^(key): hah

Interjection

hah

1. ha

Further reading

• “hah”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhɒh]
• Rhymes: -ɒx

Interjection

hah

1. (poetic) ah! oh!

Further reading

• hah 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.

Ingrian

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑh/, [ˈhɑh]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑh/, [ˈhɑɣ̥]
• Rhymes: -ɑh
• Hyphenation: hah

Interjection

hah

1. Used to reinforce a question: eh?

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 40

Navajo

Adverb

hah

1. quickly, rapidly, fast, swiftly
2. immediately, promptly

Synonyms

• tsį́į́ł

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish هاه (hah).

Interjection

hah

1. aha

   Hah! Bu olur işte.

   Aha! This will work.

Zazaki

Interjection

hah

1. aha

   Hah! mı zi wıni va.

   Aha! I said like this.