adj · adv · intj · name · noun · particle · symbol · verb · 19 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Canada, England:ā
Canada, England:/eɪ/
Scotland:/e/
Canada:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪ
Canada, UK, US:ĕ
Canada, UK, US:â
Canada, UK, US:/ɛ/
Canada, UK, US:[ɛː]
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛ
[ˈe˦˧]Sense 1
[ˈe˧]
[eɪ˧˨]Sense 2
[eɪ˩˦]Sense 3
/eɪ/
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
17
particle
Meaning 17
Alternative form of leh.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Manglish, Singapore, Singlish, alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
18
symbol
Meaning 18
redox potential (in volts).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
19
verb
Meaning 19
To use the interjection eh.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Natural exclamation; first recorded mid-16th century. Perhaps an unstressed variant of aye (“yes, yeah”). The Philippine sense is possibly influenced by Tagalog e and/or Spanish eh.
A reduced form of ain't.
From Hokkien 欸 (--eh) and Mandarin 欸 (ê̄ / ế / ê̌, interjection).
Probably of multiple motivations, the sounds having been chosen for functional reasons.
From Hokkien 咧 (--leh), with the l dropped.
Across languages
Translations
88 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Ashkun:
ne
— used as a tag question
Catalan:
eh
— used as a tag question
Catalan:
oi
— used as a tag question
Czech:
hm
— used as a tag question
Dutch:
hè
— used as a tag question
Esperanto:
ĉu ne
— used as a tag question
Estonian:
eh
— used as a tag question
Finnish:
vai mitä
— used as a tag question
French:
hein
— used as a tag question
French:
tu sais
— used as a tag question
French:
n'est-ce pas
— used as a tag question
German:
gell
— used as a tag question
German:
oder
— used as a tag question
German:
ne
— used as a tag question
German:
nicht wahr
— used as a tag question
Italian:
eh
— used as a tag question
Japanese:
ね
(ne)
— used as a tag question
Japanese:
だろ
(daro)
— used as a tag question
Kamkata-viri:
ne
— used as a tag question
Korean:
지
(ji)
— used as a tag question
Korean:
죠
(jo)
— used as a tag question
Māori:
nē
— used as a tag question
Mon:
ဏး
(ṇá)
— used as a tag question
Norwegian:
eller hva
— used as a tag question
Norwegian:
ikke sant
— used as a tag question
Okinawan:
なー
(nā)
— used as a tag question
Old English:
cwist þu la?
— used as a tag question
Persian:
نه؟
(na?)
— used as a tag question
Polish:
hę
— used as a tag question
Polish:
nie
— used as a tag question
Polish:
co
— used as a tag question
Polish:
prawda
— used as a tag question
Portuguese:
hein
— used as a tag question
Portuguese:
né
— used as a tag question
Prasuni:
nā
— used as a tag question
Russian:
правда
(pravda)
— used as a tag question
Russian:
не так ли
(ne tak li)
— used as a tag question
Russian:
а
(a)
— used as a tag question
Russian:
да
(da)
— used as a tag question
Serbo-Croatian:
ha?
— used as a tag question
Serbo-Croatian:
ха̏
— used as a tag question
Spanish:
no
— used as a tag question
Spanish:
ah
— used as a tag question
Spanish:
eh
— used as a tag question
Swedish:
va
— used as a tag question
Thai:
นะ
(ná)
— used as a tag question
Thai:
เนอะ
(nə́)
— used as a tag question
Tok Pisin:
a
— used as a tag question
Ukrainian:
га
(ha)
— used as a tag question
Ukrainian:
еге ж
(ehe ž)
— used as a tag question
Ukrainian:
чи не так
(čy ne tak)
— used as a tag question
Ukrainian:
правда
(pravda)
— used as a tag question
Ukrainian:
так
(tak)
— used as a tag question
Vietnamese:
nhỉ
— used as a tag question
Vietnamese:
nhé
— used as a tag question
Waigali:
nā
— used as a tag question
Catalan:
eh
— request for repetition or clarification
Esperanto:
ĉu
— request for repetition or clarification
Catalan:
eh
— used to mean “What?”
Chinese Mandarin:
欸
(ế, éi)
— used to mean “What?”
Dutch:
hè
— used to mean “What?”
Finnish:
hä
— used to mean “What?”
French:
hein
— used to mean “What?”
Icelandic:
ha
— used to mean “What?”
Italian:
eh
— used to mean “What?”
Japanese:
えっ
(e)
— used to mean “What?”
Norwegian:
hva
— used to mean “What?”
Norwegian:
hæ
— used to mean “What?”
Norwegian:
hæh
— used to mean “What?”
Persian:
ها
(hâ)
— used to mean “What?”
Portuguese:
hein
— used to mean “What?”
Russian:
м
— used to mean “What?”
Russian:
эм
(em)
— used to mean “What?”
Russian:
а
(a)
— used to mean “What?”
Spanish:
qué
— used to mean “What?”
Spanish:
cómo
— used to mean “What?”
Spanish:
eh
— used to mean “What?”
Spanish:
ah
— used to mean “What?”
Tagalog:
ha
— used to mean “What?”
Thai:
หา
(hǎa)
— used to mean “What?”
Ukrainian:
га
(ha)
— used to mean “What?”
Vietnamese:
hả
— used to mean “What?”
Catalan:
eh
— (Canada) interjection used to ascertain continued attention
Dutch:
hè
— (Canada) interjection used to ascertain continued attention
French:
hein
— (Canada) interjection used to ascertain continued attention
German:
ne
— (Canada) interjection used to ascertain continued attention
German:
nicht
— (Canada) interjection used to ascertain continued attention
Spanish:
eh
— (Canada) interjection used to ascertain continued attention