ga

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ga"

Languages (43)

Translingual

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Aeka • Anguthimri • Ashkun • Bisu • Djambarrpuyngu • Drung • Dutch • Ewe • Fijian • Haitian Creole • Hiw • Indonesian • Irish • Japanese • Kaingang • Lombard • Lower Sorbian • Mandarin • Manx • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Mwotlap • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Bokmål • Old English • Phalura • Romanian • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Slovincian • Sumerian • Tagalog • Teribe • Venetan • Vietnamese • Welsh • Western Apache • Wutunhua • Yola • Yoruba • Zazaki • Zhuang

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of Irish Gaeilge

Symbol

ga

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

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of Irish terms

Aeka

Noun

ga

1. rain

Further reading

• transnewguinea.org, citing both Wilson (1969) and McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970)
• James Farr, Robert Larson, A Selective Word List in Ten Different Binandere Languages
• Papers in New Guinea Linguistics (1971), issues 8-9, pages 80-81, using a wordlist furnished by Capell

Anguthimri

Noun

ga

1. (Mpakwithi) mouth

Verb

ga

1. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to poke
2. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to peel

References

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 185

Ashkun

Etymology

From Proto-Nuristani *gāwā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡa/

Noun

ga (Sanu)

1. cow

Bisu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Pronoun

ga (Thai spelling กงา)

1. I

Djambarrpuyngu

Conjunction

ga

1. and

References

• M.P. Wilkinson, Djambarrpuyŋu: A Yolŋu Variety of Northern Australia (1991), p. 393
• Margit Bowler and Vanya Kapitonov, Towards a typology of quantification in Australian languages (2018), p. 17

Drung

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ga.

Noun

ga

1. saddle

References

• Ross Perlin (2019) A Grammar of Trung‎^[2], Santa Barbara: University of California

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː
• IPA^(key): /ɣaː/

Verb

ga

1. inflection of gaan:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative
   4. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive

   ga! ― go!

Ewe

Noun

ga

1. metal
2. money

Fijian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ŋaː/

Adverb

ga

1. only

Conjunction

ga

1. but

Synonyms

• ia

Noun

ga

1. duck

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French gare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Noun

ga

1. station, terminal

Hiw

Etymology

From Proto-Torres-Banks *ɣaya, an irregular reflex of Proto-Oceanic *kawaʀ, metathesis of *wakaʀ (“root”). Cognate with Mwotlap ga and Lo-Toga gi, and also with Proto-Polynesian *kawa (whence Tongan kava).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣa/

Noun

ga

1. kava plant, Piper methysticum
2. kava, an intoxicating beverage made from the kava plant.

References

• p.507 of: Alexandre François (2010), Pragmatic demotion and clause dependency: On two atypical subordinating strategies in the Lo-Toga and Hiw (Torres, Vanuatu), in Isabelle Bril (ed.), Clause Linking and Clause Hierarchy (Studies in Language Companion Series 121), 499–548. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Indonesian

Adverb

ga

1. Alternative form of (eng)gak

Irish

Alternative forms

• gae, gath

Etymology

Apparently a conflation of Old Irish gath, goth (“spear”) with the synonymous gae (“spear”), from Proto-Celtic *gaisos (“spear”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰays- (“spear”). Cognate with Welsh gwayw and Latin gaesum (a Gaulish loanword) as well as Old English gār.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɞhə/
• (Cois Fharraige) IPA^(key): /ɡaː/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ɡah/

Noun

ga m (genitive singular ga or gaoi, nominative plural gathanna or gaoi or gaoithe)

1. spear (long stick with a sharp tip), dart
2. dart, sting

   Chuir an cat a gha ann. ― The cat clawed him.

3. ray (beam of light or radiation)
4. (geometry) radius (line segment between any point on the circumference of a circle and its center; length of this segment)
5. (medicine) suppository
6. (fishing) gaff

Declension

Declension of ga

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative ga gathanna Vocative a gha a ghathanna Genitive ga gathanna Dative ga gathanna

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an ga na gathanna Genitive an gha na ngathanna Dative leis an nga don gha leis na gathanna

• Alternative genitive singular: gaoi
• Alternative plural forms: gaoi, gaoithe

Derived terms

• alfa-gha m (“alpha ray”)
• béitea-gha (“beta ray”)
• ga-chatóideach (“cathode-ray”, adjective)
• ga-shiméadrach (“radially symmetrical”, adjective)
• ga-shiméadracht f (“radial symmetry”)
• gáma-gha m (“gamma ray”)
• X-gha m (“X-ray”)

 

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
ga	gha	nga
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “ga”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “ga”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 341
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “ga”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “ga”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Japanese

Romanization

ga

1. The hiragana syllable が (ga) or the katakana syllable ガ (ga) in Hepburn romanization.

Kaingang

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈⁿɡa/

Noun

ga

1. earth; land

Lombard

Adverb

ga

1. (Eastern Lombard) there (in the expression of "there be")

Synonyms

• (Western Lombard): ghe

Pronoun

ga m or f

1. (Eastern Lombard) him; her/it (dative case)
2. (Eastern Lombard) them (dative case)

Synonyms

• (Western Lombard): ghe

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Adverb

ga

1. when

Synonyms

• gdy

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “ga”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “ga”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Mandarin

Romanization

ga (ga⁵／ga⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄍㄚ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 價／价

ga

1. Nonstandard spelling of gā.
2. Nonstandard spelling of gá.
3. Nonstandard spelling of gǎ.
4. Nonstandard spelling of gà.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Manx

Conjunction

ga

1. though, although
   • V'eh yn fer toshee dy feer, ga nagh row yn ennym er. He was leader in deed though not in name.
2. albeit

Middle Dutch

Verb

gâ

1. inflection of gâen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive

Middle English

Verb

ga

1. (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of gon (“to go”)

Mwotlap

Etymology

From Proto-Torres-Banks *ɣaya, an irregular reflex of Proto-Oceanic *kawaʀ, metathesis of *wakaʀ (“root”). Cognate with Hiw ga and Lo-Toga gi, and also with Proto-Polynesian *kawa (whence Tongan kava).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣa/

Noun

ga (determinate naga)

1. kava plant, Piper methysticum
2. kava, an intoxicating beverage made from the kava plant.

References

• François, Alexandre. 2024. Online Mwotlap–English–French cultural dictionary. Electronic files. Paris: CNRS. (Pdf version) – entry ga.

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws. Related to Persian گاو (gâv).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Noun

ga ?

1. ox
2. bull

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• gav

Verb

ga

1. simple past of gi

Old English

Verb

gā

1. inflection of gān:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. singular present subjunctive

Phalura

Etymology 1

From Sanskrit किम् (kim, “what? why? (interrogative particle)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Determiner

ga (indefinite, Perso-Arabic spelling گہ)

1. any
2. what (kind), which

References

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ga”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[3], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “ga”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Pronoun

ga (indefinite, Perso-Arabic spelling گہ)

1. what
2. that

References

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ga”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[4], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 3

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Conjunction

ga (conjunction, Perso-Arabic spelling گہ)

1. Complementizer/relativizer
2. that
3. which
4. who
5. where

References

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ga”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[5], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 4

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa/

Particle

ga (modal, Perso-Arabic spelling گہ)

1. Marker of inferred, assumed or presumed knowledge

References

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ga”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[6], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Romanian

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

ga

1. sound made by geese

Scottish Gaelic

Pronoun

ga

1. him, it (direct object)

   Bha sinn ga thuigsinn. ― We understood it.

2. her, it (direct object)

   Cha bhi mi ga tachairt. ― I won't be meeting her.

Usage notes

• As him/it lenites the following word.
• As her/it adds the prefix h- to the following word if it begins with a vowel.

  An robh thu ga h-ithe? ― Did you eat it?

Related terms

Related terms

• gad
• gam
• gan
• gar
• gur
• e
• i

Serbo-Croatian

Pronoun

ga (Cyrillic spelling га)

1. of him (clitic genitive singular of ȏn (“he”))
2. him (clitic accusative singular of ȏn (“he”))
3. of it (clitic genitive singular of òno (“it”))
4. it (clitic accusative singular of òno (“it”))

Declension

    Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns

	Singular			Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	ȏn	òna	òno	òni	òne	òna
genitive	njȅga, ga	njȇ, je	njȅga, ga	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
dative	njȅmu, mu	njȏj, joj	njȅmu, mu	njȉma, im	njȉma, im	njȉma, im
accusative	njȅga, ga, nj	njȗ, ju, je	njȅga, ga, nj	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
vocative	—	—	—	—	—	—
locative	njȅm, njȅmu	njȏj	njȅm, njȅmu	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma
instrumental	njȋm, njíme	njȏm, njóme	njȋm, njíme	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma

Slovincian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kogъda.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡa/
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ga

Pronoun

ga

1. introduces either a dependent or interrogative clause in reference to time; when

Conjunction

ga

1. when, as; while (at the time that)
2. when; if (under the condition that)
3. when; because

Adverb

ga (not comparable)

1. sometime (at some undetermined time)

Further reading

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908) Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[7] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 253

Sumerian

Romanization

ga

1. Romanization of 𒂵 (ga)

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ɡa/ [ɡɐ]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ga

Etymology 1

Possibly a shortened form of baga, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ba. Cognate with Cebuano ba and Malagasy va.

Particle

ga (Baybayin spelling ᜄ) (dialectal, Batangas, Quezon, Mindoro, Marinduque)

1. marks a sentence as interrogative

   Synonyms: ba, (dialectal) baga

Etymology 2

Influenced by Baybayin character ᜄ (ga).

Noun

ga (Baybayin spelling ᜄ)

1. the name of the Latin-script letter G/g, in the Abakada alphabet

   Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) dyi, (in the Abecedario) ge

See also

• gaga

 

Further reading

• “ga”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ba₅”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Teribe

Noun

ga

1. skunk

References

• Gamarra A., Enrique, Villagra S., Inocencio (1980) Llëbo ñaglo lok kibokwogo ëre e lanyo = Vocabulario ilustrado teribe-español‎^[8] (overall work in Teribe and Spanish), Instituto Nacional de Cultura & Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 9

Venetan

Verb

ga

1. third-person singular present indicative of gaver

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣaː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣaː˧˧]

Etymology 1

From French gare.

Noun

ga (𥩤)

1. train station

Etymology 2

From French gaz (“gas”), from Dutch gas.

Noun

ga (𪵤)

1. gas, such as propane and/or butane, used for a gas stove; compare khí (“gas as a chemical substance”)

   bình ga ― a gas tank

2. carbon dioxide used for a carbonated drink

   nước ngọt có ga ― a sweet carbonated drink

3. lighter fluid

   Bật lửa này hết ga rồi.

   This lighter's run out of fluid.

4. (automotive) the ignited mixture of fuel and air that powers an engine; not to be confused with xăng (“gasoline”)

   xe bị rồ/oà ga ― a motorcycle with a broken throttle that accelerates while the twistgrip is released

   Nổ nãy giờ mà chẳng có ga gì hết !

   I've been trying to start my bike for hours and it's still not working!

   chạy tẹt ga ― to step on it/on the gas; to floor it; to put your foot down; to run full throttle

Derived terms

• rú ga
• thả ga

 

Etymology 3

Noun

ga

1. (Southern Vietnam, especially Mekong Delta) Pronunciation spelling of ra (“bed sheet”).

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaː/

Verb

ga

1. Soft mutation of ca.

Mutation

Mutated forms of ca

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
ca	ga	ngha	cha

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Western Apache

Noun

ga

1. jackrabbit

Wutunhua

Etymology

From Mandarin 尕 (gǎ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka]

Adjective

ga

1. small (in size, number, etc.)

   je-ge jjhakai zhungo kan-la xaige ga-li.

   This country is much smaller than China.

   (Quoted in Sandman, p. 146)

   dangga gejhai-mu ga-de shai-la ha xaitang-li da gu qhi-de yi-zek ra mi-li.

   None of our schoolchildren goes to Chinese school [i.e. schools where the medium of education is Mandarin] at the very young age.

   (Quoted in Sandman, p. 355)

References

• Juha Janhunen, Marja Peltomaa, Erika Sandman, Xiawu Dongzhou (2008) Wutun (LINCOM's Descriptive Grammar Series), volume 466, LINCOM Europa, →ISBN
• Erika Sandman (2016) A Grammar of Wutun‎^[9], University of Helsinki (PhD), →ISBN

Yola

Verb

ga

1. Alternative form of gae
   • 1927, “PAUDEEN FOUGHLAAN'S WEDDEEN”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 133, line 8:

     An Paudeen hay ga her a mighty smugal.

     And Paddy, he gave her a mighty smack.

References

• Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 133

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡà/

Verb

gà

1. to set up a collapsible device; to open out; to spread out

   Bá mi ga agbòjò yìí ― Help me open this umbrella

2. to gape open

   Ilẹ̀ á gà jù ọ́ lọ ― The ground shall open and swallow you up

Usage notes

• ga before a direct object

Derived terms

• ẹṣin ń lekó, òròmọ adìẹ ń gàdí
• gàga
• gbólóhùn gígà (“cleft sentence”)

 

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡà/

1. to set someone up for a joke; (literally) to make someone believe what may not be true of themselves in a joking manner

   mo ń gà ẹ́ ni ― I am only setting you up for a joke

2. (transitive) to tickle

   Synonyms: rìn, rìn ní ìgàkè, gà léèégìnnì, rìn léèégìnnì

Derived terms

• gà léèégìnnì (“to tickle someone with a tickle”)

 

Related terms

• ìgàkè (“tickle”)
• èégìnnì (“tickle”)
• ẹ̀fẹ̀ (“joke”)
• àwàdà (“comedy”)

Usage notes

• ga before a direct object

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡā/

Verb

ga

1. to be tall

   Antonym: kúrú

2. (idiomatic) to be beyond that which can be tolerated or described

Synonyms

Yoruba Varieties and Languages - ga (“to be tall”)
view map; edit data
Language Family	Variety Group	Variety/Language	Location	Words
Proto-Itsekiri-SEY	Southeast Yoruba	Eastern Àkókó	Àkùngbá Àkókó	gùn
		Ìjẹ̀bú	Ìjẹ̀bú Òde	gọn
			Ìkòròdú	gọn
			Ṣágámù	gọn
			Ẹ̀pẹ́	gọn
		Ìkálẹ̀	Òkìtìpupa	go
		Oǹdó	Oǹdó	go
		Usẹn	Usẹn	gùn
	Ìtsẹkírì		Ìwẹrẹ	go
Proto-Yoruba	Central Yoruba	Èkìtì	Àdó Èkìtì	ga
			Àkúrẹ́	ga
			Ọ̀tùn Èkìtì	ga
		Ifẹ̀	Ilé Ifẹ̀	go
		Òkè Igbó	Òkè Igbó	go
	Northwest Yoruba	Àwórì	Èbúté Mẹ́tà	ga
		Èkó	Èkó	ga
		Ìbàdàn	Ìbàdàn	ga
		Ìbàràpá	Igbó Òrà	ga
		Ìbọ̀lọ́	Òṣogbo	ga
		Ìlọrin	Ìlọrin	ga
		Oǹkó	Ìtẹ̀síwájú LGA	ga
			Ìwàjówà LGA	ga
			Kájọlà LGA	ga
			Ìsẹ́yìn LGA	ga
			Ṣakí West LGA	ga
			Atisbo LGA	ga
			Ọlọ́runṣògo LGA	ga
		Ọ̀yọ́	Ọ̀yọ́	ga
		Standard Yorùbá	Nàìjíríà	ga
			Bɛ̀nɛ̀	ga
	Northeast Yoruba/Okun	Ìyàgbà	Yàgbà East LGA	ga
		Owé	Kabba	ga
	Ede Languages/Southwest Yoruba	Cábɛ̀ɛ́	Cábɛ̀ɛ́	gù
			Tchaourou	gù, ga
		Ìcà	Agoua	gù, ga
		Ìdàácà	Igbó Ìdàácà	gù
		Ọ̀họ̀rí/Ɔ̀hɔ̀rí-Ìjè	Ìkpòbɛ́	ga
			Kétu	gù
			Onigbolo	ga
			Yewa	ga
		Ifɛ̀	Akpáré	ga, gù
			Atakpamé	ga, gù
			Boko	ga
			Tchetti	ga, gù
		Northern Nago	Kambole	ɡã
			Manigri	gù

Derived terms

• gíga (“tallness; height”)
• ó ga! (“this is beyond description!”)

 

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡá/

Verb

gá

1. to stand aloof
2. to become tired or fed up

   Synonym: gọ́

   ọ̀rọ̀ náàá gá mi ― This matter has caused me to be fed up

Derived terms

• agá (“one who stands aloof, one who is fed up”)
• gígá
• ìgá

 

Zazaki

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws. Related to Persian گاو (gâv).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡɑ]
• Hyphenation: ga

Noun

ga

1. ox
2. bull
3. (astronomy, astrology) Taurus

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *p.qaːᴬ (“leg”). Cognate with Thai ขา (kǎa), Northern Thai ᨡᩣ, Lao ຂາ (khā), Lü ᦃᦱ (ẋaa), Shan ၶႃ (khǎa), Tai Nüa ᥑᥣᥴ (xáa), Ahom 𑜁𑜡 (khā), Bouyei gal.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /ka˨˦/
• Tone numbers: ga¹
• Hyphenation: ga

Noun

ga (Sawndip forms 𮛑 or 胩 or 跏 or 軻, 1957–1982 spelling ga)

1. (anatomy) leg
2. leg (of a chair, table, etc.)

Classifier

ga (1957–1982 spelling ga)

1. quarter of (a butchered four-legged animal)
2. one of a pair of long, thin objects (shoes, socks, gloves, chopsticks, etc.)