yaya

From Tagalog yaya, from Philippine Spanish yaya.

yaya (plural yayas)

1. (Philippines, Hong Kong) A nanny; female caregiver; nursemaid
   • 2020 June 3, William Meny, “Witches” (4:25 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows‎^[1], season 2, episode 9, spoken by Nadja (Natasia Demetriou):

     “Can you not make this carriage move faster? You're moving slower than when my yaya tried to ride a snail to the next village.”

Unknown.

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈjɑjɑ/

yaya (invariable)

1. (Singlish) To show off or behave in an egocentric or self-important manner.

   Synonyms: flex, preen, swagger; see also Thesaurus:show off

yaya (comparative more yaya, superlative most yaya)

1. (Singlish) Arrogant, stuck-up.

• yaya papaya

• Lee, Jack Tsen-Ta (2004), “yaya”, in A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English

yaya

1. star

Unknown.

• Hyphenation: ya‧ya
• IPA^(key): /ˈjaʔjaʔ/ [ˈjaʔ.jɐʔ]

yaya

1. slow
2. clumsy
3. stretched out

Borrowed from Spanish yaya (“granny”). Compare Catalan iaia.

• Hyphenation: ya‧ya
• IPA^(key): /ˈjaja/ [ˈja.jɐ]

yaya

1. (sometimes derogatory) a nanny
   • 2013 — Barrita, Eddie O., Minimum Wage sa mga Katabang sa Panimalay (30 January), Tipik sa Balaod, SuperBalita, Cebu

     Mokabat sa tulo ka mil­yon ka mga “kasambahay” ang nakapahimulos ning maong balaod kay naglatid kini sa ilang minimum wage. Ang kasambahay Tinagalog sa katabang sa panimalay, maid o mga binatonan. Naglakip kini sa tanang mga katabang sa panimalay sama sa yaya, kusinera, hardinero ug labandera. (Sec. 4 (d), R.A. 10361).

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. an address to one's nanny

yaya

1. to work or act as a nanny

Unknown.

yaya

1. a tree, Gonocaryum calleryanum

• Hyphenation: ya‧ya
• IPA^(key): /ˈjaja/ [ˈja.ja]

yaya

1. a weak feeling in the limbs

yaya

1. to cry

yaya

1. he; she

yaya

1. Rōmaji transcription of やや

yaya

1. romanization of ᠶᠠᠶᠠ

yaya

1. nursemaid; babysitter

• IPA^(key): /jà.já/

yàyá

1. senior
2. elder cousin

yaya

1. as if

• IPA^(key): /ˈja.ja/

yaya

1. father

   Synonyms: tayta, tata

   Coordinate term: mama (“mother”)

2. chief, elder
3. priest
4. (archaic) God

Perhaps from Modern Greek γιαγιά (giagiá, “grandmother”). Or more likely simply a feminine of yayo (see there for further etymology).

• Rhymes: -aʝa
• Syllabification: ya‧ya

yaya f (plural yayas)

1. granny, gran
2. (Philippines) female caregiver; nursemaid; nanny (girl or woman employed to take care of children)

• “yaya”, 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
• “yaya”, 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

Uncertain, but possibly from Portuguese aia (“maid”)^[1] or an Indian language, such as Hindi आया (āyā, “dry nurse, nanny”).^[2][3]

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

yaya class V (plural mayaya class VI)

1. nanny, babysitter, ayah

Borrowed from Philippine Spanish yaya (“nanny; nursemaid”), from Spanish yaya (“granny”). Compare with Cebuano yaya, Catalan iaia.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈjaja/ [ˈjaː.jɐ]
• Rhymes: -aja
• Syllabification: ya‧ya

yaya (masculine yayo, Baybayin spelling ᜌᜌ)

1. nanny; nursemaid; female caregiver/caretaker; amah (girl or woman employed to take care of children)

   Synonym: ama

2. wet nurse

   Synonyms: sisiwa, mamay

3. (by extension) helper; maid

   Synonyms: katulong, kasambahay, utusan, kriyada

Compare anyaya (“invitation”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈjajaʔ/ [ˈjaː.jɐʔ]
• Rhymes: -ajaʔ
• Syllabification: ya‧ya

yayà (Baybayin spelling ᜌᜌ)

1. invitation; request; persuasion; inducement

   Synonyms: pagyaya, anyaya, imbitasyon, kayag, kumbida, yakag

2. person invited (to come to a certain place or to help do something)

• aya

• anyaya

yayà (Baybayin spelling ᜌᜌ)

1. invited personally to help do certain work

   Synonyms: yakag, niyakag

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /jaˈja/ [jɐˈja]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ya‧ya

yayá (Baybayin spelling ᜌᜌ) (obsolete)

1. driving away or shooing maya birds

   Synonyms: bugaw, wasiwas, hiyaw, sibok

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /jaˈjaʔ/ [jɐˈjaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ya‧ya

yayâ (Baybayin spelling ᜌᜌ) (obsolete)

1. name of the Baybayin letter ᜌ, corresponding to "ya"

• “yaya”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613), Vocabulario de lengua tagala. El romance castellano puesto primero. Primera, y segunda parte.‎^[2] (overall work in Early Modern Spanish and Classical Tagalog), as directed by Gov. Gen. Juan de Silva, Pila, Laguna: La noble Villa de Pila, por Tomás Pinpin y Domingo Loag.
  • page 171: “Combidar) Yaya (pp) llamando ꝑa combite fieſta o otra coſa”
  • page 396: “Llamar) Yaya (pp) combidando ꝑa algo”
  • page 437: “Munir) Yaya (pp) juntando la gente”
  • page 605: “Y) Yaya (pc) letra de la eſcritura tagala .|. yaya yaon .|. ᜌ . aba ſuſulat aco nang yaya ? quieres q̃ eſcriua vna .y. de Indio? [yba din] ang yaya dito nang ſa Manila, vna y es [la de] aqui u otra đ M.”

• IPA^(key): [ˈja.ja]

yaya

1. mother

   Synonym: hera

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

• IPA^(key): /jaja/

• Audio:

  (file)

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish یایا (yaya).

yaya (definite accusative yayayı, plural yayalar)

1. pedestrian; someone walking, instead of using a vehicle
2. (military, historical) foot soldier

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

yaya

1. dative singular of yay

• yayan

• Robert Avery et al., editors (2013), The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN

Together with the polite baba (“father”), likely borrowed from Ternate yaya (“mother”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈja.ja/

yaya

1. mother

The term yaya is used for addressing one's mother, whereas the terms mama and mamu are used for referring to a mother.

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[3], Pacific linguistics