jau

See also: Jaú

Bourguignon

Etymology

From Late Latin gallus.

Noun

jau m (plural jaus, feminine geleigne)

1. rooster

Related terms

• geleigne

Catalan

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aw

Verb

jau

1. third-person singular present indicative form of jaure
2. second-person singular imperative form of jaure

Gothic

Romanization

jau

1. Romanization of 𐌾𐌰𐌿

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *jau, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁yów, from the stem *éy (“that; he”) (whence also Latvian it, q.v.). Cognates include Lithuanian jaũ (“already”), Old Prussian iau (“ever”), Old Church Slavonic уже (uže), юже (juže), Russian уже́ (užé, “already”), Gothic 𐌾𐌿 (ju, “already”), Old High German ju (“already”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jàw]

(file)

Adverb

jau

1. used to indicate that an action or event has started, happened before the time of speaking; already

   saule jau aust ― the sun is already up

   viņš jau atnāca ― he has already arrived

   es šo grāmatu jau esmu lasījis ― I have already read this book

   viņi jau bija izbraukuši no pilsētas, kad tēvocis atkal ierunājās ― they had already left the city when (their) uncle spoke again

2. used to indicate that an action or event is happening before its due time, earlier than expected or planned; already

   plāns jānodod jau šodien ― the plan must be carried out already today

   jau rīt viņš aizceļos ― he will set off tomorrow already

   jau pēc stundas ― already in an hour (earlier than expected)

Particle

jau

1. used to reinforce the meaning of a word, phrase or sentence; really, indeed

   žēl jau bija, ka tā iznāca ― it is really a pity that it came out like that

   tas jau tāpat saprotams ― that is really self-evident

   tā jau ir ― it is indeed so

   tā jau viņš neteica ― that he didn't say

   labi jau tas nebija ― good that was not

   tā jau nu ir ― that is true... (said when reluctantly agreeing)

2. (usually with kā) used to reinforce what is affirmed in a sentence, to give it more credibility, more generality

   viņš bija naivs, kā jau bērns ― he was naive, like a child

   bija jautri, kā jau viesībās ― it was fun, like in a party

   gandrīz katru dienu līst, kā jau rudenī ― almost every day it rains, as if it were autumn

Lithuanian

Etymology

• From Proto-Balto-Slavic *jau. Cognate with Latvian jau and Polish już.

Adverb

jaũ

1. already

   Jau grįžo. - He/she has already returned.

Antonyms

• dar

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• jo

Etymology

From Old Norse jaur. Similar to Swedish jo (dialectal Swedish jau)

Adverb

jau

1. yes, in disagreement with the last speaker's negative statement; on the contrary

   Kjem du ikkje? – Jau, eg kjem.

   Aren’t you coming? Yes, I am.

2. (colloquial) yes or no; expressing doubt

Usage notes

Ja can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. Jau is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In the example, agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually is coming. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jau removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker.

References

• “jau” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʒaw/ [ˈʒaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʒaw/

Noun

jau m or f by sense (plural jaus)

1. Javanese (person from Java)

   Synonym: javanês

Further reading

• “jau” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romansch

Alternative forms

• jeu (Sursilvan)
• jou (Sutsilvan)
• ia (Surmiran)
• eau (Puter)
• eu (Vallader)

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin eo, from Latin ego, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronoun

jau

1. (Rumantsch Grischun) I

Scanian

Pronoun

jau

1. I