lah

See also: LAH, -lah, and lah-

English

WOTD – 9 August 2015

Etymology 1

An anglicised spelling of la.

Noun

lah (uncountable)

1. (music) Alternative spelling of la

Etymology 2

From Malay lah or Mandarin 啦 (la) and 了 (le)

Particle

lah

1. (Manglish, Singlish) Placed at the end of a phrase or sentence either for emphasis or reassurance.

   Don’t think so much lah! ― Don’t overanalyze.

   It’s okay lah. ― It’s all right; don’t worry about it.

   • 1978, Leong Choon Cheong, Youth in the Army, Singapore: Federal Publications, OCLC 6144357, page 75:

     Don’t know lah […] this is very hard to say.

   • 1994, C. S. Chong, NS: An Air-Level Story, Singapore: Times Books International, ISBN 978-981-204-312-2, page 58:

     Oh well, it was xiong, but overall OK, lah.

   • 2000 April 2, Tee Hun Ching, The Sunday Times (Singapore), page 14:

     ‘No, lah!’ he says with a wave of his hand. […] ‘No need, lah! People in the industry know me. […] ’

   • 2001 February 23, Susan Long, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”, in The Straits Times (Singapore), page H12:

     His says his attitude then, as it still is, was: ‘Try lah, won’t go wrong one lah.’

Anagrams

• Ahl, HAL, HLA, Hal, LHA

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Malay

Etymology

From Mandarin 啦 (la).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lah/

Particle

lah

1. Final particle indicating an imperative, reassurance or emphasis.

   Saya ada di sini lah. ― I'm here.

   Kau ni bodoh betul lah! ― You are so stupid!

   Diam lah! ― Shut up!

   Pergi sana lah! ― Go there!

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *lēgaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɑːx/

Adjective

lāh

1. low

Declension

Weak							Strong
case	singular			plural			case	singular			plural
	m	n	f					m	n	f	m	n	f
nominative	lāga	lāge	lāge	lāgan			nom.	lāh	lāh	lāgu	lāge	lāgu, -e	lāga, -e
accusative	lāgan	lāge	lāgan				acc.	lāgne	lāh	lāge	lāge	lāgu, -e	lāga, -e
genitive	lāgan			lāgra, lāgena			gen.	lāges	lāges	lāgre	lāgra
dative	lāgan			lāgum			dat.	lāgum	lāgum	lāgre	lāgum
							instrumental	lāge