eh - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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

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.

(tag question, request for repetition, ascertaining continued attention):

• (Canada, England) enPR: ā, IPA(key): /eɪ/
• (Scotland) IPA(key): /e/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

(apathy or lack of enthusiasm, unremarkable):

• (Canada, UK, US) enPR: ĕ, â, IPA(key): /ɛ/, [ɛː]
• Rhymes: -ɛ

eh

1. (informal, chiefly Canada, Upper Midwestern US, New Zealand, Australia, UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Commonwealth) Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said.
   These hot dogs are pretty good, eh?
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick 16:
     Well, what dost thou think then of seeing the world? Do ye wish to go round Cape Horn to see any more of it, eh? Can’t ye see the world where you stand?
2. In isolation, a request for repetition or clarification of what has just been said.
   Synonyms: what, pardon, sorry, come again; see also Thesaurus:say again
   —I've been studying Graphiurus murinus. —Eh? Studying what?
3. In isolation, expressing surprise or confusion
   Synonyms: what, wha, huh, za, sorry, come again
   —You're going to be a dad! —Eh? You're joking!
4. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (chiefly Canada) An interjection used to ascertain the continued attention of someone addressed by the speaker.
   Synonym: y'know
   I went to the restaurant, eh, but my friends didn't show up.
5. Expressing apathy or lack of enthusiasm; meh.
   —Do you feel like going out tonight?
   —Eh, I don't know.
6. (Philippines) Expressing apprehension following or preceding a reasoning or excuse; uh.
   —Why is it like this?
   —Eh, It's like that eh.

• In North America, the word is stereotypically associated with Canada and can sometimes convey that the speaker is trying to sound (sarcastically) Canadian outside the country.[1] However, it is in widespread use in many other parts of the English-speaking world, including the northern United States, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Malaysia, Philippines, Scotland, Wales, Singapore, South Africa, India, Hong Kong and Commonwealth of Nations.

used as a tag question

• Ashkun: ne
• Catalan: eh (ca), oi (ca)
• Czech: hm (cs)
• Dutch: hè (nl)
• Esperanto: ĉu ne
• Estonian: eh (et)
• Finnish: vai mitä
• French: hein (fr), tu sais, n'est-ce pas (fr)
• German: gell (de), oder (de), ne (de), nicht wahr
• Italian: eh (it)
• Japanese: ね (ja) (ne), だろ (ja) (daro)
• Kamkata-viri: ne
• Korean: 지 (ko) (ji), 죠 (jo)
• Māori: nē
• Mon: ဏး (mnw) (ṇá)
• Norwegian: eller hva, ikke sant (no)
• Okinawan: なー (nā)
• Old English: cwist þu la?
• Persian: نه؟ (fa) (na?)
• Polish: hę (pl), nie (pl), co (pl), prawda (pl)
• Portuguese: hein (pt), né (pt)
• Prasuni: nā
• Russian: правда (ru) (pravda); не так ли (ne tak li) (more emphasis), а (ru) (a), да (ru) (da)
• Serbo-Croatian: ha? (sh), ха̏
• Spanish: no (es), ah (es), eh (es)
• Swedish: va (sv)
• Thai: นะ (th) (ná), เนอะ (nə́)
• Tok Pisin: a (tpi)
• Ukrainian: га (uk) (ha), еге ж (ehe ž), чи не так (čy ne tak), правда (uk) (pravda), так (uk) (tak)
• Vietnamese: nhỉ (vi), nhé (vi)
• Waigali: nā

request for repetition or clarification

• Catalan: eh (ca)
• Esperanto: ĉu (eo)

used to mean “What?”

• Catalan: eh (ca)
• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 欸 (zh) (ế, éi)
• Dutch: hè (nl)
• Finnish: hä (fi)
• French: hein (fr)
• Icelandic: ha (is)
• Italian: eh (it)
• Japanese: えっ (ja) (e)
• Norwegian: hva (no), hæ (no), hæh
• Persian: ها (fa) (hâ)
• Portuguese: hein (pt)
• Russian: м (ru) (m), эм (ru) (em), а (ru) (a)
• Spanish: qué (es), cómo (es), eh (es), ah (es)
• Tagalog: ha
• Thai: หา (th) (hǎa)
• Ukrainian: га (uk) (ha)
• Vietnamese: hả (vi)

eh (third-person singular simple present ehs, present participle ehing, simple past and past participle ehed)

1. To use the interjection eh.

eh (not comparable)

1. (informal, predicative only) Of mediocre quality; unremarkable.
   My French fries were eh.

• eh up (possibly etymologically related)

1. ^ Nosowitz, Dan (10 January 2017), “Why Do Canadians Say ‘Eh’?”, in Atlas Obscura‎[1], retrieved 1 April 2025

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Eh”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

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

• ay
• (Singapore)
  • IPA(key): (Sense 1) [ˈe˦˧], [ˈe˧]
  • IPA(key): (Sense 2) [eɪ˧˨]
  • IPA(key): (Sense 3) [eɪ˩˦]

eh (Singapore)

1. (Singlish, usually impolite) Hey, oi; said to get someone's attention.
2. An interjection expressing disapproval.
   Eh, please don’t say that...
3. (with rising pitch) Huh?; expresses confusion.

• eh eh eh (interjection, possibly related to the above)

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

• IPA(key): /eɪ/
• Homophone: A

eh

1. (MLE, MTE, regional African-American Vernacular, Chicano) an attention grabber
   Synonyms: hey, oi, I say
   Eh, come here!
   Eh, what do you have?
   • 2017, Dirty Heads, Vacation:
     E-, e-, eh, I'm on vacation / Every single day 'cause I love my occupation
2. (informal, Internet slang) A greeting between friends (typically male) or display of approval.

• aye (misspelling)

A reduced form of ain't.[1]

eh (not comparable)

1. (Caribbean, chiefly Trinidad and Tobago) Used to negate the following verb; (am/are/is/do/does) not.
   • 1972, Harold Sonny Ladoo, No Pain Like This Body, Toronto, Ont.: Anansi, →ISBN, page 73:
     And she: "Ay man, watch you one foot ass. Wen I want a man, I want a good man. Me eh want man like you."

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

eh

1. (Manglish, Singlish) Alternative form of leh.

2. ^ “eh, adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

• H&E, H.E., HE, He, he, he-

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

eh (aorist eha, participle ehur) (transitive)

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

	A user suggests that this Albanian entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “manual inflection table should be moved to a template”.
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• preh
• mpreh
• ehull
• teh
• ath
• athët
• thua

eh

1. er, uh (confusion; space filling)
   Synonyms: uh, um, ehm

• enne, enneh

• IPA(key): /e/, /ɛ/

eh

1. signifying indifference or surprise

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

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

• IPA(key): /ʔeː/
• Rhymes: -eː
• Homophones: Ä (one pronunciation), E

eh

1. (colloquial) before
   Lass uns gehn, eh wir den Bus verpassen!
   Let's go before we miss the bus!

• eh und je

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[2], 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[3]:
     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, Bavaria) 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.
3. (colloquial, Austria, Bavaria) intensifier in suggestive questions
   Da ist eh kein Zucker drin, oder? ― There's no sugar in it, is there?

• “eh”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[4] (in German)
• Rhymes: -ɛx

eh

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

• ej

• eh 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.

• 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 2026).

eh

1. (informal, nonstandard) abbreviation of einhver

See einhver § Usage notes.

• The murmured vowel IPA(key): /e̤/

eh (upper case Eh)

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

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

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.

eh

1. yes

eh

1. uh

• øh
• IPA(key): /ex/, [eç]

eh m or n

1. alternative form of eoh

eh

1. The name of the Latin script letter E/e.

• e
• ah

eh

1. his, her, hers, its, third person possessive pronoun
   Liho iang eh pwoud.
   The woman joined her husband.

From Proto-Micronesian *ate (“liver”), from Proto-Oceanic *qate (“liver”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qatay (“liver”), from Proto-Austronesian *qaCay (“liver”).

eh

1. liver

eh

1. a particle used after names of people when calling them

eh

1. an interjection signifying understanding
2. a response used when answering a call in a feast

• Rehg, Kenneth L.; Sohl, Damian G. (1979), Ponapean-English Dictionary, Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, →ISBN, page 8

eh

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

eh

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

• “eh”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “eh”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Onomatopoeic.

eh

1. expresses dissatisfaction or sadness

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

Dialectal representation of ee.

eh (plural een or ehs)

1. (Dundee) eye

eh

1. gray ground squirrel

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

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
3. huh?
   Synonym: qué
4. okay?
   Synonym: sí
5. eh? huh? right? innit?

• ah

• hala

• oh

• “eh”, 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

eh

1. romanization of 𒄴 (eḫ)

eh (Baybayin spelling ᜁ)

1. alternative spelling of e

• he

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔeek. Cognate with Mizo êek.

• IPA(key): [ʔēːʔ]
• Hyphenation: eh

êh

1. dung

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔek.

• IPA(key): [ʔēʔ]

eh (stem II [please provide])

1. (transitive) to split
2. (transitive) to tear

• Philip Thangliènmâng (2010), Minimal dictionary and Self-tutor Functional Grammar in Zo-English-Hindi, New Delhi: Zoculsin, →ISBN, page 50; 82
• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou (PhD thesis), Canchipur: Manipur University, page 41