ja

Clipping of English Japanese.

ja

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

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Japanese terms

Borrowed from Afrikaans ja (“yes”), from Dutch ja (“yes”). More at yea.

• ya

ja (not comparable)

1. (chiefly South Africa, informal) Yes.
   • 1940, Penguin Parade (issue 7, page 25)

     Ja, he had been fooled and it was not pleasant for a man to go home and tell his wife that he been verneuked.

• ja well no fine

From the Revised Romanization of Korean 자 (ja).

• cha

ja (plural jas or ja)

1. (Korean units of measure) Synonym of Korean foot: a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 30.3 cm.

• AJ

• (Myanmar) /dʒa˧/

ja

1. kind, type, sort

   oeng dvja

   a kind of fish

   oeng xing ja

   a kind of long fish

• Inglis, Douglas; Sampu, Nasaw; Jaseng, Wilai; Jana, Thocha (2005), A preliminary Ngochang–Kachin–English Lexicon‎^[2], Payap University, page 44

From Dutch ja.

• IPA^(key): /jaː/

• Audio:

  (file)

ja

1. yes

• → English: ja
• → Portuguese: iá, yá, ya

• jaa, jòò, jä

From Old High German ja, jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja. Cognate with German ja, Dutch ja, English yea, Swedish ja.

ja

1. (Uri) yes

• Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 13.

Inherited from Proto-Yeniseian *axʷ (“I”). Compare Kott ai (“I”), Pumpokol ad (“I”), and Arin aj.

ja

1. I (first-person singular subjective)

• aj

• ajun

Cognate with Garo ja (“moon, month”).

ja

1. month
2. moon

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

Inherited from Latin iam.

• (Eastern) IPA^(key): [ʒa], [ja]
• (Western) IPA^(key): [ja], [d͡ʒa]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a

ja

1. already, (in negative sentences) any more

   El va conèixer quan ja era casat. ― She met him when he was already married.

2. (before a verb in the present tense) now, immediately, at once

   Ja arribem a casa. ― We'll be right home.

3. (before a verb in the future tense) confidence in the outcome

   Ja veuràs com guanyarem. ― You will see how we'll win.

4. (before a verb) affirmative concession or ponderance

   Entesos, ja ho entenc. ― Understood, I do understand

   Ja m’agradaria que fos així. ― I would like it to be like that.

• ÉsAdir accepts both [ʒa] and [ja] in Central Catalan and both [d͡ʒa] and [ja] in Northwestern Catalan. The same applies to jo.
• DNV accepts [ja] in Valencian.

• ja que

• “ja”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “ja”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “ja” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ja” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• ÉsAdir - Fonètica: les paraules "jo" i "ja"

Central Melanau cardinal numbers

<  0	1	2  >
Cardinal : ja

• je-

ja

1. one

• satu

• jaque

Inherited from Old French jai, from Late Latin gaius.

• IPA^(key): /ʒɑ/

ja m (plural jas)

1. jay

• Daunay, Jean (1998), Parlers de Champagne : Pour un classement thématique du vocabulaire des anciens parlers de Champagne (Aube - Marne - Haute-Marne)‎^[3] (in French), Rumilly-lés-Vaudes
• Baudoin, Alphonse (1885), Glossaire de la forêt de Clairvaux‎^[4] (in French), Troyes

From Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā, from Proto-West Germanic *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja. Cognate with German ja, English yea.

ja

1. (Sette Comuni) yes

• “ja” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974), Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

From Arabic جَاءَ (jāʔa).

ja I (present pijí)

1. to come, to arrive at
2. to derive from
3. to turn out

• Borg, Alexander (2004), A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic–English) (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.70), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 192

From Old Norse já (“yes”).

• IPA^(key): /ja/, [jɛ]
• IPA^(key): /jar/, [jæɐ̯]
• Rhymes: -a

ja

1. yes

• nej

• jo

ja n (singular definite jaet, plural indefinite jaer)

1. yes

já

1. foot

• jaga

• (obsolete) jae

From Middle Dutch ja, from Old Dutch *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /jaː/

ja

1. yes

   Synonym: jep

   Antonyms: nee, neen

   Wil je met ons meegaan? — Ja, graag! ― Would you like to come with us? — Yes, I'd love to!

ja m or n (plural ja's, diminutive jaatje n)

1. yes

   Synonym: jawoord

   Antonym: nee

   Nee heb je al, ja kan je krijgen. ― The only way to find out if someone agrees (with/to something) is to ask. (literally, “You already have "no", but you may still get "yes".”)

   Het begon met een ja... ― It began with a yes...

ja

1. yes!

   Synonym: yes

   "Ja!" riep hij luid toen er een doelpunt viel. ― Yes! he screamed loudly when they scored a goal.

2. (Suriname, informal) A casual greeting acknowledging the presence of a person; hey, hi, what's up
3. (Suriname, informal) Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly; say again, what's that

• Afrikaans: ja
  • → English: ja
  • → Portuguese: iá, yá, ya
• Berbice Creole Dutch: ja
• Jersey Dutch: jâ
• Negerhollands: ja, ju
• Skepi Creole Dutch: ja
• → Indonesian: ya (probably)
• → Malay: ya (probably)
• → Saramaccan: jahái, jaái

Borrowed from German ja. Compare Polish jo, Yiddish יאָ (yo), English yea. Related to jes.

• IPA^(key): /ja/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ja

ja

1. emphatic particle; indeed, certainly, surely, after all
   • 2012, Plato, translated by Donald Broadribb, La Respubliko (Traduko al Esperanto) [The Republic (Translation into Esperanto)], 2nd corrected edition (paperback), New York: Mondial, →ISBN, page 18:

     "Nu, Kefalo," mi diris, "mi ja ĝuas konversacii kun maljunuloj. Mi opinias ke ni devus lerni de personoj kiuj jam laŭiris la vojon laŭ kiu ankaŭ ni mem devos iri."

     "Well, Cephalus," I said, "I certainly enjoy conversing with old people. I have the opinion that we should learn from people who already went along the path along which we ourselves will also have to go."

   • 2015, Kalle Kniivilä, “Sopiro al Sovetio [Yearning for the Soviet Union]”, in Krimeo estas nia [Crimea is ours]:

     Sed la bona soveta tempo neniam revenos. Ĝi ja neniam ekzistis.

     But the good Soviet times will never return. After all, they never existed.

     (literally, “But the good Soviet time will never come again. It indeed never existed.”)

The word ja emphasizes the entire sentence or a specific word or phrase, stressing the reality of it. It is most often placed before or after the sentence's main verb, or before an adverb modifying the main verb. Otherwise, it is usually placed in front of a word or phrase that it emphasizes.

It is also commonly used for emphatic negation, combined with ne or a correlative starting in neni-, usually with ja placed in front of it.

• jes ja (“yes indeed”)

From Proto-Finnic *ja, from Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”); compare Gothic 𐌾𐌰𐌷 (jah), Old High German ja, joh.

ja

1. and

• ning

From Old Norse já, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

• IPA^(key): /jɛaː/
• Rhymes: -ɛaː

ja

1. yes

• nei, neiggj

• jú, júgv

ja n (genitive singular jas, plural ja)

1. yes

From Proto-Finnic *ja (compare Estonian ja, Ingrian ja, Livonian ja, Votic ja), borrowed from Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”) (compare Gothic 𐌾𐌰𐌷 (jah), Old High German ja, joh). Attested since the time of Mikael Agricola (output c. 1543–1552).^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ̝]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ja
• Hyphenation^(key): ja

ja

1. (coordinating) and

   Siellä oli poikia ja tyttöjä. ― There were boys and girls there.

   Menin kotiin ja aloin soittaa pianoa. ― I went home and started playing the piano.

   Iltapalaksi on leipää, juustoa, kinkkua, tomaattia ja maitoa. ― For supper we have bread, cheese, ham, tomato and milk.

   Mies juoksee ja juoksee. ― The man runs and runs.

   Ja sitten alkoi sataa. ― And then it started raining.

   Mene ja tiedä. ― Go figure. (literally, “Go and know.”)

   viisi ja puoli ― five and a half

   ensimmäisen ja viimeisen kerran ― for the first and the last time

• On the differences between ja and sekä:
  • ja can be used more widely than sekä. As an example, sekä may not be used to join two independent clauses.

    Vaahdota voi sekä sokeri ja sekoita joukkoon kuivat aineet. ― Cream the butter and sugar, and mix in the dry ingredients.

  • sekä has a nuance of the things being more separate than with ja. If both words are used, ja ties things closer together than sekä.

    mansikka- ja vadelmahillo sekä muut hedelmäsäilykkeet ― strawberry and raspberry jam as well as other fruit preserves

  • In legal language, ja and sekä are distinguished more clearly. sekä is considered "stronger" than ja. For example, an attribute specified before a list will apply to every item with ja, but not with sekä.

    paineella tyhjennettävät ja täytettävät säiliöt ― containers that can be filled and emptied under pressure = containers that are both filled and emptied under pressure

    paineella tyhjennettävät sekä täytettävät säiliöt ― containers that can be filled and emptied under pressure = containers that are emptied under pressure, and which can be filled either under pressure or not

• sekä (see the above usage notes)

ja

1. (dialectal) also, as well (primarily Southwest Finnish, Satakunta, Tavastia, Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, South Karelia)

   Synonyms: -kin, myös

ja

1. AND (logic gate or connector)

Rarely inflected; if inflection is necessary, it is used as a first component in a compound, such as JA-portti ("AND gate").

• “ja”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[5] (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

Inherited from Latin iam.

ja (ORB, broad)

1. already

• déjà in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• ja in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

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

ja

1. month

• mas

From Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā (“yes”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes”). Cognate with Yiddish יאָ (yo).

• IPA^(key): [jäː] (Standard, overall more common)
• IPA^(key): [ʝäː] (standard, overall less common)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): [jɑː] (Austrian German)
• IPA^(key): [jɒ~jɔ] (Austrian German, common in casual speech as an influence of the Austro-Bavarian language)
• Rhymes: -aː
• Homophone: Jahr (according to a widespread pronunciation of this word)

ja

1. (intensifier) obviously; certainly; of course; really; just; as you know; as is generally known (indicates and emphasises that one is expressing a known fact)

   Synonyms: doch, bekanntlich

   Es kann ja nicht immer so bleiben. ― It obviously cannot always remain so.

   Der Peter war ja gestern krank. ― Peter was sick yesterday, as you know.

• (yes): Ja is used to indicate agreement with a positive statement. To contradict a negative statement (where English would use “yes”), doch is used instead.
• (obviously): Ja means roughly the same as English obviously or as you know, but given its shortness it is used much more frequently. In colloquial German, ja is used in most statements of facts already known to the one addressed.

• bejahen
• Ja
• jap
• jein

ja

1. yes; yea; yeah; aye

   Synonym: jawohl

   Antonym: nein

   Willst du das? Ja. ― Do you want that? Yes.

   Aber ja! ― Yes, of course!

• “ja” in Duden online
• “ja” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

ja

1. romanization of 𐌾𐌰

ja

1. heavy

ja

1. I

• IPA^(key): /jaː/, [jɑː]

From Old Norse ek. Compare Swedish jag.

• jag (Fårö and Lau dialects)

ja

1. I (first-person singular pronoun)

	inflection of "ja"
subject	ja
object	mi
possessive	min, mein, mitt, meine

From Old Norse já.

ja

1. yes

Uncertain or stalling answer; jo is used for yes-no questions

• (used for yes-no questions) jo, jå (Lau dialect)

ja

1. yes

• "ja" in Gutamålgildes Årdliste
• "ja in Gustavson, H. (red.). 1972-1986. Ordbok över Laumålet på Gotland. Uppsala: AB Lundequistska Bokhandeln.

• IPA^(key): /(d)ʒáː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒáː]

jā (feminine jā, plural jājā̀yē)

1. red

• IPA^(key): [ˈjɒ], [ˈjɒː] (the long pronunciation is used in case of great surprise)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -jɒ

ja

1. (informal) yep (indicates agreement, approval, or understanding)

   Synonyms: aha, ühüm, jaja

   Jössz holnap a meccsre? – Ja.

   “Are you coming to the game tomorrow?” “Yep.”

2. (informal) oh (indicates understanding something finally after a misunderstanding or confusion)

   Este nem jár a vonat. – Ja, hát akkor menjünk busszal!

   “No train is leaving in the evening.” “Oh, well then let's travel by bus!”

   Ezt nem is Miki küldte! – Ja, lehet, hogy én értettem félre.

   “This was not sent by Miki!” “Oh, then I must have misunderstood it.”

• (yep, oh): ja 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.
• (indeed, actually, as a matter of fact): ja 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.

Borrowed from French déjà, Italian già, Spanish ya, from Latin iam, replacing Esperanto jam which is cognate. Decision no. 987, Progreso VI.

• IPA^(key): /ʒa/, /d͡ʒa/

ja

1. already

   Lu ja dormeskis.

   He/she has already fallen asleep.

• ne ja (“not yet; not even”)

• ya

• Progreso III (in Ido), 1910–1911, page 557, 691
• Progreso VI (in Ido), 1913–1914, page 164

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-gɪ̀a.

-ja (infinitive ukuja)

1. to go

• Walker, John B. (2017), Ikizu-Sizaki - Swahili - English Dictionary.‎^[6], SIL International

From Proto-Finnic *ja. Cognates include Finnish ja and Estonian ja.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Hyphenation: ja

ja

1. and
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 25:

     Kiko ja Miko jo uijuut.

     Kiko and Miko are already swimming.

• i, da

ja

1. also, too
   • 1936, D. I. Efimov, Lukukirja: Inkeroisia alkușkouluja vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 3:

     On meil hyvät mașinistat -
     paravozat ollaa ja.

     We have good engine drivers -
     we have steam locomotives, too.

• kera, tože, i

Ultimately from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *ja (compare Swedish ja and German ja). Cognates include Finnish jaa and Estonian jah, jaa.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Hyphenation: ja

ja

1. yes
   • 1936, V. I. Junus, N. A. Iljin, Inkeroisin keelen oppikirja alkuşkouluja vart (toine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 42:

     Onok se maa teil?
     - Ja, ono.

     Is that your land?
     Yes, it is.

• niin

• ei

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 99
• Olga I. Konkova; Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014), Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку‎^[7], →ISBN, page 79

ja

1. The hiragana syllable じゃ (ja) or the katakana syllable ジャ (ja) in Hepburn romanization.
2. The hiragana syllable ぢゃ (ja) or the katakana syllable ヂャ (ja) in Hepburn romanization.

Borrowed from German ja.

• IPA^(key): /ˈja/
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ja

ja

1. (Canada, United States, New Zealand) yes

   Synonym: (United States) szur

• Stanislow Frymark (2020), “ja”, in Kashubian Language in Canada, the USA and New Zealand; Lexical Interferences in Kashubian Language in Canada, the USA and New Zealand, Zómk Zôbòrsczi, →ISBN

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-gɪ̀a (“to go”).

ja

1. to go

• G.W.R. Tobias, M.C., M.A; B.H.C. Turvey, M.A. (1965), English-Kwanyama Dictionary‎^[8], Witwatersrand University Press Johannesburg, page 78

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

ja

1. if
2. in case

ja f

1. third-person singular instrumental of ji

From Proto-Finnic *ja.

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈjɑ]

ja

1. and

   Synonym: un

• Tiit-Rein Viitso; Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), “ja”, in Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[9] (in Estonian and Latvian), Tartu, Rīga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra

From Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ, from Proto-Indo-European *eǵh₂óm.

ja sg

1. I

From Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”).

ja

1. and

• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[10], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

From Arabic يَا (yā).

• IPA^(key): /jaː/
• Usually unstressed and then automatically shortened to /ja/.

ja

1. vocative particle; oh!; you!

   Ja Mulejja! ― Oh my Lord!

   Ja iblah! ― You idiot!

   • 1998, Anton Buttigieg, “Lill-Qamar”, in Żibeġ u Boċċi:

     Stagħnejt, ja Qamar,
     dal-lejl bil-poeżija
     tar-realtà.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• While not obligatory even in standard Arabic, the vocative particle is predominantly omitted in Maltese. It does remain a common word, however, especially when equivalent to English “you”.

ja

1. drought, famine

• LePage, Sarah Gloria (2020), "The phonology of Mbati"‎^[11], University of North Dakota

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒa/

ja

1. A causative verbaliser

• Westerlund, T. (2007). A grammatical sketch of Ngarla: A language of Western Australia. Uppsala University.

Compare West Frisian hja.

• IPA^(key): [ja]

ja

1. third-person plural personal pronoun
   1. (Mooring, Sylt) they (subject case)
   2. (Mooring) them, themselves (object case)

• 's (reduced form)
• (them): jam (Sylt, also Mooring alternatively)
• jo (Föhr-Amrum)
• djo (Heligoland), jä (Halligen, Wiedingharde, Hoorning)

From Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”).

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈja/

ja

1. and

• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[12], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

From Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a.

ja

1. to eat

From Old Norse já.

• IPA^(key): /jɑː/

• Audio:

  (file)

ja

1. yes

• nei

• jo
• jaja
• jada

ja

1. yes

ja n (definite singular jaet, indefinite plural ja or jaer, definite plural jaa or jaene)

1. yes

• “ja” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse já.

• IPA^(key): /jɑː/

• Audio:

  (file)

  (juxtaposed with ingressive)

ja

1. yes

• nei

• jo

ja

1. yes

Depending on context, may be pronounced by some speakers through inhaling, like Northern Swedish inhaling jo (although not making the same sound as the Swedish one).

ja n (definite singular jaet, indefinite plural ja, definite plural jaa)

1. yes

• “ja” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Latin iam.

• (classical) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒa/
• (late) IPA^(key): /ˈʒa/

ja

1. already
2. as soon as possible
3. quickly
4. (with "ne") never

• Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “ja”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /jaː/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /jɒ/

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)ãzъ.. First attested in the 13th century.

ja

1. first-person pronoun; I

• jaz

• Polish: ja
• Silesian: jŏ

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

ja

1. (reduplicated) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
   1. the name of some idol

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “ja”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “ja”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

• ia
• gia

from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes”).

ja

1. yes
   • 9th c. Heliand, verse 1522-1523

     ...queđe iā, gef it sī, [geha] thes thār wār is, queđe nēn, af it nis, [lāta] im genōg an thiu;...

     ...say yes, if it be, confess of that where the truth is, say no, if it is not, let enough (for) him in that;...

• nen

Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch‎^[13] (in German), 5th edition

• ya

Compare German ja, Dutch ja, Swedish ja.

ja

1. yes, yeah

From Proto-Germanic *jahw (“and”).

ja

1. and

• ja in Bidumsáme Báhkogirrje (“Pite Sami word list”)
• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[14], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

From Proto-Khasian *ʤaː. Cognate with Khasi ja.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒa/

ja

1. cooked rice

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Audio 3:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ja

Inherited from Old Polish ja. Doublet of ego.

ja

1. first-person pronoun; I

   Ja chcę mieć przyjaciół. ― I want to have friends.

The mute forms mię and mi cannot be used in accented positions in the sentence. Mię is considered dated in standard Polish but can still be heard commonly in some dialects or in colloquial speech.

• Appendix:Polish pronouns

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), ja is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 16 times in scientific texts, 2 times in news, 84 times in essays, 892 times in fiction, and 2034 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 3028 times, making it the 15th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[1]

See jo.

ja

1. (Żywiec) alternative form of jo

• ja in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• ja in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “ja”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “JA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 4 September 2019
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “ja”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “ja”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “ja”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 119
• Leon Rzeszowski (1891), “ja”, in “Spis wyrazów ludowych z okolic Żywca”, in Sprawozdania Komisyi Językowej Akademii Umiejętności‎^[15], volume 4, Krakow: Drukarnia Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, page 356

ja (not comparable)

1. obsolete spelling of já

From Russian я (ja). May also be a Russianized form of Danish jeg or Swedish jag.

ja

1. I (pronoun)

• moja

• Ingvild Broch; Ernst H. Jahr (1984), Russenorsk: Et pidginspråk i Norge [Russenorsk: A pidgin language in Norway], 2 edition, Oslo: Novus Forlag

• -jya (Rwanda)

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-gɪ̀a.

-ja (infinitive kuja, perfective -gīye)

1. (Kirundi) to go to

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ēź-, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

• IPA^(key): /jâː/

• Audio (Central Serbia):

  (file)

jȃ ? (Cyrillic spelling ја̑)

1. I

   Ja sam učio. ― I have studied.

Borrowed from German ja.

• IPA^(key): /jâ/

jȁ (Cyrillic spelling ја̏)

1. (colloquial, regional) yes, yeah

ja

1. archaic form of jao
   • 1891, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Srpske narodne pjesme:

     Ja Ivane, mio pobratime!

     O woe, Ivan, dear blood-brother!

Borrowed from German ja.

• IPA^(key): /ˈja/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ja

ja

1. yes

   Antonym: niy

• ja in silling.org

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)a, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

• IPA^(key): /ja/, [ˈja]
• Rhymes: -a

• Audio:

  (file)

ja

1. I

• Following prepositions, ma and mi are replaced by mňa and mne respectively.

• “ja”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

• aj

Borrowed from German ja.

• IPA^(key): /jàː/, /jáː/

jā

1. (informal) yes

   Synonym: dȁ

   Antonym: nȅ

ja

1. (dialectal) alternative form of jȁz

   Ja sem Slovenec. ― I am Slovenian.

• “ja”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

From Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a.

ja

1. to eat

• IPA^(key): /ˈxa/ [ˈxa]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ja

ja

1. representation of laughter, ha

   Also used repeatedly: jaja, jajaja

• “ja”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-jìja. Compare Zulu -za.

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

-ja (infinitive kuja)

1. to come
2. going to (followed by an infinitive, future, or subjunctive verb)

Conjugation of -ja
Positive present -nakuja Subjunctive -je Negative -ji Imperative singular njoo
Infinitives
Positive kuja Negative kutokuja
Imperatives
Singular njoo Plural njooni
Tensed forms
Habitual huja Positive past positive subject concord + -likuja Negative past negative subject concord + -kuja
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nakuja) Singular Plural 1st person ninakuja/nakuja tunakuja 2nd person unakuja mnakuja 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anakuja wanakuja other classes positive subject concord + -nakuja
Negative present (negative subject concord + -ji) Singular Plural 1st person siji hatuji 2nd person huji hamji 3rd person m-wa(I/II) haji hawaji other classes negative subject concord + -ji
Positive future positive subject concord + -takuja Negative future negative subject concord + -takuja
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -je) Singular Plural 1st person nije tuje 2nd person uje mje 3rd person m-wa(I/II) aje waje other classes positive subject concord + -je
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sije Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngekuja Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singekuja Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalikuja Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalikuja
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -aja) Singular Plural 1st person naja twaja 2nd person waja mwaja 3rd person m-wa(I/II) aja waja m-mi(III/IV) waja yaja ji-ma(V/VI) laja yaja ki-vi(VII/VIII) chaja vyaja n(IX/X) yaja zaja u(XI) waja see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwaja pa(XVI) paja mu(XVIII) mwaja
Perfect positive subject concord + -mekuja "Already" positive subject concord + -meshakuja "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jaja "If/When" positive subject concord + -kija "If not" positive subject concord + -sipokuja Consecutive kaja / positive subject concord + -kaja Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kaje Object concord —
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + -ja- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -jaye -jao m-mi(III/IV) -jao -jayo ji-ma(V/VI) -jalo -jayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -jacho -javyo n(IX/X) -jayo -jazo u(XI) -jao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -jako pa(XVI) -japo mu(XVIII) -jamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + -kuja) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yekuja -okuja m-mi(III/IV) -okuja -yokuja ji-ma(V/VI) -lokuja -yokuja ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chokuja -vyokuja n(IX/X) -yokuja -zokuja u(XI) -okuja see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kokuja pa(XVI) -pokuja mu(XVIII) -mokuja
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

• Verbal derivations:
  • Applicative: -jia

• Nominal derivations:
  • mja (“comer, visitor; male servant”)
  • ujaji (“arrival”)

From Old Norse já, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

Interjection

• IPA^(key): /jɑː/, (Scania) /jaː/, /ja/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

• IPA^(key): /jɑː/, (Scania) /jaː/

ja (not comparable)

1. yes

   Synonyms: japp, jo, sjup

   Antonym: nej

   • (Can we date this quote?), traditional, “I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen [Last Year I Went With the Men in the Pasture]”, in Skillingtryck [Broadside ballads]‎^[16], performed by Hootenanny Singers:

     I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen. Ja, ja, med herrarna i hagen. Ja, med herrarna i hagen. I år har jag något som sparkar i magen. Aj, aj, som sparkar i magen. Aj, som sparkar i magen.

     Last year I went with the men in the pasture. Yes, yes, with the men in the pasture. Yes, with the men in the pasture. This year I have something that kicks in my belly. Ow, ow, that kicks in my belly. Ow, that kicks in my belly.

• aa, nja, tja, jadå, jaha, jaja

ja n

1. a yes, an aye; a positive answer or vote

See jag.

• IPA^(key): /jɑː/

ja

1. (colloquial, text messaging) pronunciation spelling of jag

• ja in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ja in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• ja in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• aj

From Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a.

• IPA^(key): /dʒa/

ja (past jelê)

1. to eat

Re jele bogobe maabane - We ate bogobe yesterday.

• jar

ja

1. the

From Proto-Slavic *(j)a, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

• IPA^(key): /ˈja/

ja

1. I

• “ja” in Soblex

From Proto-Finnic *ja.

• (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈʝɑ]
• (Jõgõperä) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑ/, [ˈʝɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Hyphenation: ja

ja

1. and

   Synonym: i

• Hallap, V.; Adler, E.; Grünberg, S.; Leppik, M. (2012), “ja”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Inherited from Middle Dutch ja, from Old Dutch *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja.

ja

1. yes

Contracted forms of ja with a following personal pronoun are common in West Flemish; thus ja ik contracts to joak. See English Wikipedia and West Flemish Wikipedia for more information.

Contractions with personal pronoun

	singular	plural
1st-person	joak	jaaw, jow
2nd-person	joag, joaj	joj
3rd-person	joan, joas, joat	joas

• IPA^(key): /ja/, /jaː/

ja

1. yes

• jawis

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

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒa/

ja

1. (intransitive) to cry

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[17], Pacific linguistics

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-gɪ̀a.

-ja (infinitive kuja, perfective -jile)

1. to go

• -jawula (“to go”)

• Ciyawo - English Dictionary: Dikishonale ja Ŵakulijiganya
• Padre Pedro Dupeyron (1880), Pequeno Vademecum da Lingua Bantu na Provincia de Moçambique ou Breve Estudo da Lingua Chi-Yao ou Adjaua‎^[18], Administração do Novo Mensageiro do Coraçao de Jesus, page 152

From Proto-Cariban *pa (“grandchild”).

• IPA^(key): [hʷa]

ja (obligatorily possessed; possessed jadü)

1. grandchild
2. sibling’s grandchild; grandnephew or grandniece

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011), “ja, jaadi”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[19], Lyon
• Hall, Katherine Lee (1988), The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University, pages 219, 289, 389: “ha:dü 'grandson' […] ----- -ha: -dü 'grandchild' […] ha:dü - grandchild”
• Hall, Katherine (2007), “hādɨ”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎^[20], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
• Monterrey, Nalúa Rosa Silva (2012), Hombres de curiara y mujeres de conuco. Etnografía de los indigenas Ye’kwana de Venezuela, Ciudad Bolívar: Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, pages 62–65, 71, 75: “jaadü, jaa'dü, jua'de”

Cognate with Igala jà (“to fight”)

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒà/

jà

1. (intransitive, reciprocal) to fight, to wrestle, to struggle
2. (intransitive) to occur, to take place, to break out (as in a war or disease)

   Synonym: já

   ogún jà ― War broke out

• ja before a direct object

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (intransitive, transitive) to snap, to break off, to break loose

• ìjá

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (intransitive) to occur, to take place, to begin suddenly (to break out)

   Synonym: jà

   gudugbẹ̀ẹ́ já ― Calamity has broken out

• ajáàmù
• ìjá

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (intransitive) to ring out like a bell

   etí rẹ̀ ń já ― His ears were ringing out

• ìjá

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (heading, intransitive) to fall off (from some height)

• ìjá
• jábọ́ (“to fall down”)

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. to shine brightly

   Synonyms: là, bẹ, ha

   òṣùpá já tòò bí ọ̀sán ― The moon shined brightly like the afternoon (sun)

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. to become aware, to come to full realization

• já sí

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (intransitive) to become punctured

   àpò rẹ̀ẹ́ já ― His pocket has become punctured

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (intransitive) to become saturated or oversaturated with something; to become too much of something

   iyọ̀ ọ́ já ọbẹ̀ yìí ― Salt has saturated this stew

• ìjá

Likely cognate with Igala já (“to harvest”)

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá/

já

1. (transitive) to pluck off (usually referring to fruit or leaves)

   Synonym: wọ́

• ìjá
• jáwé
• jáwó
• jérèé

ja

1. water

• Kirill Vladimirovich Babaev, Zialo: the newly-discovered Mande language of Guinea (2010), page 213

ja

1. hear

• Chungkham Yashawanta Singh; Lukram Himmat (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University