eh

Alternative forms

• ay (NZ)
• ehh, ehhh, etc. to indicate length

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

From Hokkien 欸 (--eh) and Mandarin 欸 (ê̄ / ế / ê̌, interjection).

Etymology 3

Probably of multiple motivations, the sounds having been chosen for functional reasons.

Etymology 4

A reduced form of ain't.^[1]

Etymology 5

From Hokkien 咧 (--leh), with the l dropped.

References

Anagrams

• H&E, H.E., HE, He, he, he-

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *akˢka, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”).

Verb

eh (aorist eha, participle ehur)

1. to sharpen
2. to whet
3. to hone (metal-edged tools)

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

eh

1. er, uh (confusion; space filling)

   Synonyms: uh, um, ehm

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e/

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

eh

1. signifying indifference or surprise

Further reading

• “eh”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• hé

Etymology

From Middle High German ē (“earlier, ere”), originally ēr. Modern Standard German uses the lengthened form ehe (only as a conjunction).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔeː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eː
• Homophones: Ä (one pronunciation), E

Conjunction

eh

1. (colloquial) before

   Lass uns gehn, eh wir den Bus verpassen!

   Let's go before we miss the bus!

Adverb

eh

1. (colloquial) anyway, in any case

   Synonyms: sowieso, ohnehin, ohnedies

   Du brauchst nicht laufen. Du kriegst die Bahn eh nicht.

   No need to run. You won’t catch the tram anyways.

   • 2020, Joachim Kretschmer, “Unmittelbares Ansetzen (§ 22 StGB) bei mittelbarer Täterschaft und bei Mittäterschaft”, in Juristische Arbeitsblätter‎, number 8, pages 588–589:

     Nach der Einzellösung ist § 22 StGB für jeden Mittäter gesondert und individuell zu betrachten. Nur wer selbst unmittelbar ansetzt bzw. wer im Gesamtversuchsstadium seinen eigenen Tatbeitrag erbringt, kann wegen einer versuchten mittäterschaftlichen Tat bestraft werden. Bei der versuchten Mittäterschaft soll danach nicht die wechselseitige Zurechnung der Gesamtlösung gelten. Diese enge Ansicht beruht vor allem auf der Annahme, dass man eh nur Mittäter sein kann, wenn man einen tatherrschaftlichen Beitrag in der Ausführungsphase erbringt.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2023 July 5, “Kritik von Grünen in Bielefeld: Wieder Streit um Johannisbachaue”, in Radio Bielefeld‎:

     Aus Sicht der Grünen ginge es CDU und FDP nicht um einen Badesee, der eh nicht möglich wäre, sondern um die teuren Grundstücke an einem Untersee.

     From the view of the Greens, CDU and FDP are not about a swimming lake, which would not be feasible anyway, but rather the expensive estates adjacent to a Lower Sea [planned to possibly complement the present Upper Sea].

2. (colloquial, Austria) well, admittedly (for which in Germany only schon is used)

   Ich hab eh drüber nachgedacht, aber es wär nicht gegangen.

   I did well consider it, but it wouldn't have worked out.

Further reading

• “eh” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛx

Interjection

eh

1. indicates indifference, usually used as a reply alone: meh
2. indicates an obvious mistake: oh, no

Further reading

• eh in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• eh in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Pronoun

eh

1. (informal, nonstandard) Abbreviation of einhver.

Pronunciation

• The murmured vowel IPA^(key): /e̤/

Letter

eh (upper case Eh)

1. A letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology

From Old Irish é (“he, they”), from Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Irish é and Scottish Gaelic e.

Pronoun

eh (emphatic eshyn)

1. he, him

   Cha vel breagerey dy ve credjit ga dy vel eh ginsh yn irriney.

   A liar is not to be believed even if he tells the truth.

   Cur meer da’n feeagh as hig eh reesht.

   Give the raven a bit and he’ll come again.

   Cur lhiat magh eh.

   Bring him out.

2. it

   Skeeal eddyr troor, t’eh ersooyl.

   A story between three, it’s gone.

Particle

eh

1. yes

Interjection

eh

1. uh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ex/, [eç]

Noun

eh m or n

1. Alternative form of eoh

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

From Proto-Oceanic *qatay (“liver”), from Proto-Austronesian *qaCay (“liver”)

Etymology 4

Etymology 5

Verb

eh

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative spelling of é (“is”)

Interjection

eh

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative spelling of é (“yeah”)

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

eh

1. expresses dissatisfaction or sadness

References

• eh in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Etymology

Dialectal representation of ee.

Noun

eh (plural ehs)

1. (Dundee) eye

Noun

eh

1. gray ground squirrel

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe/ [ˈe]
• Rhymes: -e
• Homophones: e, he

Interjection

eh

1. hey! (used to call, draw attention, warn or reprehend)

   Synonyms: hey, ey

2. uh, um (space filler in a conversation, expression of hesitation or pause in speech)

   Synonym: este

Further reading

• “eh”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Romanization

eh

1. Romanization of 𒄴 (eḫ)

Interjection

eh (Baybayin spelling ᜁ)

1. Alternative spelling of e

Anagrams

• he

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ēʔ/
• Hyphenation: eh

Noun

eh

1. tear

References

• Philip Thanglienmang (2014) “Zou Tonology”, in Indian Linguistics, volume 75, numbers 1-2, →ISSN