wa

wa

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

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Walloon terms

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

wa

1. A traditional proa-style outrigger canoe of the Caroline Islands.

From Thai วา (waa).

wa (plural wa)

1. A Thai unit of length, traditionally comparable to a fathom, and now officially equal to two metres.

From Japanese 和 (wa).

wa (uncountable)

1. In Japanese society, the favouring of a harmonious community over one's personal interests.

wa

1. (Stenoscript) Abbreviation of where.

• aw

From Dutch wagen.

• IPA^(key): /vɑː/

• Audio:

  (file)

wa (plural waens, diminutive waentjie)

1. wagon
2. cart
3. automobile, car

• (car): kar

wa

1. water

• John R. Roberts, Amele Organised Phonology Data (1998)

wa

1. (Mpakwithi) grey hair

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 189

From French roi.

wa

1. king

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sV-wa. Cognate with Garo wa (“tooth, tusk”), Jingpho wa (“tooth”), Burmese သွား (swa:), and Tibetan སོ (so).

wa

1. tooth, tusk

• van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): [wà]

wa

1. final interrogative particle on a yes/no question

wa

1. here

• IPA^(key): [wā]

wa

1. they, them

wa

1. to break

• Bassa-English Dictionary
• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

wa

1. water

• Hans van der Meer, Bau Organized Phonology Data

wa

1. water

• Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

• IPA^(key): /ʋa/

wa

1. third-person of xwa

• IPA^(key): /wa/

From u- +‎ a or Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á- but used as a particle. Compare Swahili wa.

wa

1. Class 1 inflected form of -a.

From u- +‎ a or Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á- but used as a particle.

wa

1. Class 3 inflected form of -a.

From u- +‎ a or Proto-Bantu *bʊ́á- but used as a particle.

1. Class 14 inflected form of -a.

wa

1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of wꜥ.

wā

1. drink

   ḿ wēnî — I drink water

   ḿ wēnī — I drank water

• Rose-Juliet Anyanwu, Fundamentals of Phonetics, Phonology and Tonology (2008)

• wagam

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sV-wa. Cognate with Jingpho wa (“tooth”), Burmese သွား (swa:), and Tibetan སོ (so).

wa

1. tooth

wa

1. water

Clipping of nicht wahr? (“(is it) not true?”).

• IPA^(key): /va/
  • (Berlin) IPA^(key): [vɐ̠]

wa

1. (colloquial, regional, parts of northern and central Germany) right?; is it?; is it not?

   Synonyms: ne, oder, gell; see also Thesaurus:nicht wahr

   Wir müssen da lang, wa?

   We need to go this way, don't we?

• IPA^(key): /vah/, /vhah/
  • IPA^(key): [ʋæh], [ʋhæh] (parts of northern Germany)

wa

1. (colloquial, potentially rude) what, huh (expresses that something was extremely hard to understand acoustically or outlandish in content)

   Synonyms: hä, hüä; was

• Also spelled wat. Especially common in Hamburg and western Holstein, where dialects traditionally drop final /t/ (especially after fricatives).

wa

1. (colloquial) pronunciation spelling of wir

wa

1. pirogue

Stemming from the possible Proto-Gbe *bá, *vá, *wá or *ɓá.^[1] Cognates include Fon wá, Saxwe Gbe va, Adja va, Ewe va. Possibly also cognates with Yoruba wá, Itsekiri wá, Olukumi wá

• IPA^(key): /wá/

wá

1. to come

• rwa

From French roi (“king”).

• IPA^(key): /wa/

wa

1. king

• rèn

• وَ

cognate with Yoruba wá

wa (wá)

1. come

Derived from English what.

• IPA^(key): /wa/

wa

1. what

   Wa yu se?

   What did you say?

• wa at majstro.com

wa

1. The hiragana syllable わ (wa) or the katakana syllable ワ (wa) in Hepburn romanization.
2. The hiragana syllable は (wa) or the katakana syllable ハ (wa) in Hepburn romanization. (as particle)
3. The katakana syllable ウァ (wa) in Hepburn-like romanization.

wa

1. alternative spelling of ua

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *va.

• IPA^(key): /ˈva/
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: wa

wa

1. second-person plural pronoun; you

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “wy”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[1]
• “wa”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

wa

1. to hear

wa

1. house

Probably from Moroccan Arabic ايوه (iwa).

wa

1. (Haketia) so (used to introduce a new conversation or topic)

• (Waingmaw) IPA^(key): [wa˧˧]
• Hyphenation: wa

wa

1. Used to mark the preceding verb for the future tense.
   • 2005, “Apoem ayang꞉ 3:13 [Genesis 3:13]”, in Jhoem꞉ mougsougˮ [The Book of the Bible]‎^[2], page 5:

     Lhangmyu gi hau꞉ shiˮ ri zoo꞉ wa shid reˮ ngoo ri jhuˮ phyoʼ.

     The snake decieved me to eat that fruit.

• Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎^[3], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis), page 38

wa

1. to die

wa

1. water

wa (wa⁵ / wa⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄨㄚ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 哇

wa

1. nonstandard spelling of wā
2. nonstandard spelling of wá
3. nonstandard spelling of wǎ
4. nonstandard spelling of wà

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

From Proto-Micronesian *waxa, from Proto-Oceanic *waga, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waŋka, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waŋka. Cognate with Maori waka, Tongan vaka, Hawaiian waʻa.

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [wɑ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /wæɰ/
• Bender phonemes: {wah}

wa

1. canoe, ship, boat
2. vehicle

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

wa

1. to carry

• wahdo
• wahla

From Chinese 花 (MC xwae). Cognate with Vietnamese hoa.

• IPA^(key): /waː¹/, [waː¹ ~ βaː¹]

wa

1. (Mường Bi) flower

   Synonym: pông

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

-wa

1. to fall

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

wa

1. to fall

wa

1. pea, bean

• wei, wǣ

From Proto-West Germanic *wai, from Proto-Germanic *wai, from Proto-Indo-European *wai.

• IPA^(key): /wɑː/

wā

1. woe! alas! (expression of grief or anguish)

• wā lā wā

wā

1. woe, ill

• wāwa
• wēa

• Middle English: wa, wo, woo
  • English: woe
  • Scots: wa, wae

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baʀah.

wa

1. ember, glowing coal

wa anim sg (plural niwi, obviative giwi)

1. that

• Jerry Randolph Valentine (2001) Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, University of Toronto, page 123

• IPA^(key): /wæ/

wa

1. water

• Panim Talking Dictionary

Borrowed from Chinese Hokkien 我 (óa, “I, me, my”).

wa

1. I; me; my (first person pronoun)

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

-wa

1. to fall

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *va.

• (Masovia):
  • (Near Masovian) IPA^(key): /ˈva/

wa

1. first-person dual pronoun; we

• Zygmunt Wasilewski (1889) “wa”, in Jagodne: wieś w powiecie łukowskim, gminie Dąbie: zarys etnograficzny (in Polish), Warsaw: M. Arct, page 248

wa

1. water

wa

1. water

• waa, waw

Inherited from Middle English wal, from Old English weall, from Proto-West Germanic *wall, from Latin vallum.

wa (plural was)

1. wall

• “wa, n., v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

wa

1. water

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *va.

• IPA^(key): /ˈva/
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: wa

wa

1. second person dual pronoun you two

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1912) “vã”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[4] (in German), volume 2, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 1253

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

wa

1. to fall

Borrowed from English wow.

• IPA^(key): /ˈwa/ [ˈwa]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: wa

wa

1. (Panama, Venezuela) wow

   Synonyms: wow, guao

• “¡wa!”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

wa

1. romanization of 𒉿 (wa)

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Other scripts
Ajami	ـوَ

From Proto-Bantu *-báa (“to become”). The original copula was -li, which survives in relative forms. The form ni was a focus marker, while si appears to have been a general negative marker. In modern standard Swahili, these all came together into one paradigm.^[1]

-wa (infinitive kuwa)

1. to be

   Wewe ni nani? ― Who are you?

   • 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[5], stanza 13:

     اَوُرَكِيْبُوُ جُوَ نِمَاسِ ، كَكُلَ خَسَرَ اُخَسِرِيِ

     Aurakibuo jua ni-mwasi, kwa-kula khasara ukhasiriye.

     The one who rides it, know you are a rebel; you harm yourself.

2. (in positive present) to become

   Inakuwa baridi. ― It is getting cold.

3. (auxiliary) dummy verb that takes tense marking while the main verb takes aspect marking

   nilikuwa ninaandika ― I was writing

4. (with specified location) stem of -wapo, -wako, or -wamo
5. (with na or a form thereof) stem of -wa na

The copula is often omitted in colloquial speech in the present tense, for example:

• 1870, Edward Steere, “Kisa cha Hassibu karim ad dini na Sultani wa nyoka”, in Swahili Tales:

  Yule mtoto akamwambia mamaye, jina langu nini?

  And the child asked his mother, "What is my name?"

Conjugation of -wa (irregular)
Positive present -nakuwa Gnomic ni Subjunctive -we Negative si Imperative singular kuwa
Infinitives
Positive kuwa Negative kutokuwa
Imperatives
Singular kuwa Plural kuweni
Tensed forms
Habitual huwa Positive past positive subject concord + -likuwa Negative past negative subject concord + -kuwa
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nakuwa) Singular Plural 1st person ninakuwa/nakuwa tunakuwa 2nd person unakuwa mnakuwa 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anakuwa wanakuwa other classes positive subject concord + -nakuwa
Negative present si Positive future positive subject concord + -takuwa Negative future negative subject concord + -takuwa
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -we) Singular Plural 1st person niwe tuwe 2nd person uwe muwe 3rd person m-wa(I/II) awe wawe other classes positive subject concord + -we
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -siwe Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngekuwa Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singekuwa Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalikuwa Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalikuwa Gnomic ni Perfect positive subject concord + -mekuwa "Already" positive subject concord + -meshakuwa "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jawa "If/When" positive subject concord + -kiwa "If not" positive subject concord + -sipokuwa Consecutive kawa / positive subject concord + -kawa Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kawe Object concord —
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + -li- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -liye -lio m-mi(III/IV) -lio -liyo ji-ma(V/VI) -lilo -liyo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -licho -livyo n(IX/X) -liyo -lizo u(XI) -lio see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -liko pa(XVI) -lipo mu(XVIII) -limo General negative (positive subject concord + -si- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -siye -sio m-mi(III/IV) -sio -siyo ji-ma(V/VI) -silo -siyo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -sicho -sivyo n(IX/X) -siyo -sizo u(XI) -sio see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -siko pa(XVI) -sipo mu(XVIII) -simo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker[sw-conj 1] + relative marker + -kuwa) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yekuwa -okuwa m-mi(III/IV) -okuwa -yokuwa ji-ma(V/VI) -lokuwa -yokuwa ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chokuwa -vyokuwa n(IX/X) -yokuwa -zokuwa u(XI) -okuwa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kokuwa pa(XVI) -pokuwa mu(XVIII) -mokuwa ^ Only past tense -li- or future tense -taka-. For the present, use general positive.
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

Other scripts
Ajami	وَـ

wa

1. m-wa class_(I/II)/m class_(III)/u class_(XI) inflected form of -a
   • 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[6], stanza 14:

     نِكَمَ كِسِمَ كِسِگُ وُمْبِّ ، كِنْيِ مْتَپَاءَ مَانَ وَغُمْبِ

     Ni-kama kisima kisicho ombe, chenye mta-paa mwana wa-ng'ombe,

     It is like a shallow well where charges a young bull;

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /wa/ [wɐ]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: wa

wa (Baybayin spelling ᜏ)

1. shoo; used to drive away pigs and other animals
2. used to express surprise, dismay, or sometimes a joke

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈwaʔ/ [ˈwaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: wa

wâ (Baybayin spelling ᜏ)

1. said to make small children and babies laugh (usually said when playing peekaboo)

Influenced by Baybayin character ᜏ (wa).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /wa/ [wɐ]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: wa

wa (Baybayin spelling ᜏ)

1. the name of the Latin-script letter W/w, in the Abakada alphabet

   Synonym: (in the Filipino alphabet) dobolyu

• “wa”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

• aw

From Proto-Northern Jê *ba (“I”) < Proto-Cerrado *waj’ (“I”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈwa]

wa

1. I (nominative case)

From Proto-Northern Jê *mba (“liver”) < Proto-Cerrado *mba (“liver”) < Proto-Jê *mba (“liver”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈw̃a]

wa

1. liver

Shortening of the negation particle ua.

• IPA^(key): [ˈwa]

wa

1. sentence-final confirmation particle; isn't it?

   Bira moi rai, wa? ― The rice is already finished, right?

2. sentence-final that indicates the speaker knows or should know what is being said

   Ngori tonyodi kolano ua, wa. ― I did not see the king, as you know.

   Piring ma riha, wa; ngomi ino misibela romodidi se ngomi.

   We divide the plates (red, as you know) between the two of us.

   (literally, “The plates that are red as you know; we here divided them into two for us.”)

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

wa

1. yes

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

wa

1. to fall

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

wa

1. to fall

• IPA^(key): [wa]

wa

1. this (animate)

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

wa

1. to fall

From Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod.

wa

1. (interrogative) what

From Old Frisian hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ.

• IPA^(key): /vaː/

wa

1. who (interrogative)

   Wa binne jo?

   Who are you?

• wa't

• “wa (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

• IPA^(key): /wa/

wa

1. (intransitive) to stay

• IPA^(key): /wa/

wa

1. also

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[7], Pacific linguistics

Cognate with Mokilese war (“canoe”)

wa

1. canoe

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

-wa

1. (intransitive) to fall

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-kúa.

-wa (infinitive kuwa)

1. to die

• ciwa

• وَ

Cognate with Igala wa

• IPA^(key): /wā/

wa

1. our (first-person plural possessive pronoun)

• IPA^(key): /wà/

wà

1. to be (have a location in space)

From Proto-Edekiri *wá compare with the Proto-Gbe *bá, Proto-Gbe *vá, Proto-Gbe *wá, or Proto-Gbe *ɓá. Cognates include Fon wá, Gun wá, Adja vá, Saxwe Gbe va, Ewe va from the Gbe languages, in addition to Akan bra, Akan ba, Nkonya ba

• IPA^(key): /wá/

wá

1. come

   Synonym: bọ̀

Yoruba varieties and languages: wá (“to come”)
view map; edit data
Language family	Variety group	Variety/language	Subdialect	Location	Words
Proto-Itsekiri-SEY	Southeast Yoruba	Ào		Ìdóàní	yá
		Eastern Àkókó	Ìkàrẹ́	Ìkàrẹ́ Àkókó (Ùkàrẹ́)	wá
			Àkùngbá	Àkùngbá Àkókó	wá
			Ṣúpárè	Ṣúpárè Àkókó	wá
			Ọ̀bà	Ọ̀bà Àkókó	wá
		Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè)		Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè)	wá
		Ìjẹ̀bú	Ìjẹ̀bú	Ìjẹ̀bú Òde	wá
			Rẹ́mọ	Ẹ̀pẹ́	wá
				Ìkòròdú	wá
				Ṣágámù	wá
		Ìkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀)		Òkìtìpupa	wá
		Ìlàjẹ (Ùlàjẹ)		Mahin	wá
		Oǹdó		Oǹdó	wá
		Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀)		Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀)	wá, ghá
		Usẹn		Usẹn	wá
	Ìtsẹkírì			Ìwẹrẹ	wá
	Olùkùmi			Ugbódù	wá
Proto-Yoruba	Central Yoruba	Èkìtì	Èkìtì	Àdó Èkìtì	á
				Òdè Èkìtì	á
				Awó Èkìtì	á
				Ìfàkì Èkìtì	á
			Àkúrẹ́	Àkúrẹ́	á
			Mọ̀bà	Ọ̀tùn Èkìtì	ghá, á
		Ifẹ̀ (Ufẹ̀)		Ilé Ifẹ̀ (Ulé Ufẹ̀)	á, ghá
		Ìjẹ̀ṣà (Ùjẹ̀ṣà)		Iléṣà (Uléṣà)	á
	Northwest Yoruba	Àwórì		Èbúté Mẹ́tà	wá
		Ẹ̀gbá		Abẹ́òkúta	wá
		Ẹ̀gbádò		Ìjàká	wá
		Èkó		Èkó	wá
		Ìbàdàn		Ìbàdàn	wá
		Ìbàràpá		Igbó Òrà	wá
		Ìbọ̀lọ́		Òṣogbo (Òsogbo)	wá
		Ìgbómìnà		Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún	wá
		Ìlọrin		Ìlọrin	wá
		Oǹkó		Òtù	wá
				Ìwéré Ilé	wá
				Òkèhò	wá
				Ìsẹ́yìn	wá
				Ṣakí	wá
				Tedé	wá
				Ìgbẹ́tì	wá
		Ọ̀yọ́		Ọ̀yọ́	wá
		Standard Yorùbá		Nàìjíríà	wá
				Bɛ̀nɛ̀	wá
	Northeast Yoruba/Okun	Ìyàgbà		Ìsánlú Ìtẹ̀dó	ghá
		Owé		Kabba	ghá
	Ede languages/Southwest Yoruba	Ana		Sokode	wá
		Cábɛ̀ɛ́		Cábɛ̀ɛ́ (Ìdàdú)	wá
				Tchaourou	wá
		Ǹcà (Ìcà, Ìncà)		Baàtɛ	wá
		Ìdàácà	Benin	Igbó Ìdàácà (Dasa Zunmɛ̀)	wá
		Ọ̀họ̀rí/Ɔ̀hɔ̀rí-Ìjè	Ọ̀họ̀rí/Ɔ̀hɔ̀rí/Ìjè	Ìkpòbɛ́	wá
				Onigbolo	wá
			Kétu/Ànàgó	Kétu	wá
		Ifɛ̀		Akpáré	wá
				Atakpamɛ	wá
				Boko	wá
				Moretan	wá
				Tchetti (Tsɛti, Cɛti)	wá
		Kura		Aledjo-Koura	wá
				Awotébi	wá
				Partago	wá
		Mɔ̄kɔ́lé		Kandi	nàá
		Northern Nago		Kambole	wá
				Manigri	wá
	Overseas Yoruba	Lucumí		Havana	gua
Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo.

• IPA^(key): /wá/

wá

1. to look for

• IPA^(key): /wà/

wà

1. to drive

wa

1. we (exclusive)

wa

1. milk

Cognate to Silt'e [script needed] (-wa:).

wa

1. and

• Initial SLLE Survey of the Zway Area by Klaus Wedekind and Charlotte Wedekind

wa

1. rain

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

-wa

1. (intransitive) to fall, to drop

• iwa

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “wa”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “wa”