aha

aha

See also: Appendix:Variations of "aha"

English

Alternative forms

• a-ha

Etymology

From Middle English a ha, aha.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɑːhɑː/
• (General American) enPR: ä-häʹ, IPA^(key): [ɑˈhɑ], [əˈhɑ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Interjection

aha

1. An exclamation of understanding, realization, invention, or recognition.

   Aha! That will work.

2. An exclamation of surprise, exaltation, or contempt.

   Aha! Now I've got you!

Derived terms

• aha effect
• aha experience
• aha moment

 

Translations

exclamation of understanding, realization, invention, or recognition

Arabic: Gulf Arabic: آها‎ (āhā) Chinese: Mandarin: 嗯 (zh) (ǹg), 啊 (zh) (à), 啊哈 (zh) (ahā) Czech: aha (cs) Dutch: aha (nl) Esperanto: aha (eo), ha (eo) Finnish: ahaa (fi) French: aha (fr), tiens donc (fr) German: aha (de) Greek: αχά (el) (achá) Hungarian: aha (hu) Interlingua: aha Japanese: ああ (ja) (ā), なるほど (ja) (naruhodo) Korean: 아하 (ko) (aha) Latin: aha Norwegian: aha (no) Nepali: ए (e) Polish: aha (pl) Portuguese: ahá Russian: ага́ (ru) (agá), а (ru) (a) Serbo-Croatian: aha, аха Slovak: aha Spanish: ajá (es) Swedish: aha (sv), jaha (sv) Turkish: aha (tr) Ukrainian: ага́ (uk) (ahá)

See also

• ah
• ha
• eureka

Anagrams

• aah

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Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaɦa]

Interjection

aha

1. aha, I see (expresion of understanding, realization, invention or recognition)

Noun

aha f

1. (colloquial, obsolete) toilet

   Synonyms: záchod, toaleta

Declension

Declension of aha

	singular	plural
nominative	aha	aha
genitive	aha	aha
dative	aha	aha
accusative	aha	aha
vocative	aha	aha
locative	aha	aha
instrumental	aha	aha

Further reading

• aha in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• aha in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

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Esperanto

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): [ˈaha]
• Rhymes: -aha
• Hyphenation: a‧ha

Interjection

aha

1. aha

   Synonym: oho

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Ewe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æhæ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

aha (plural ahawo)

1. alcohol

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Finnish

Etymology

Like ah (to which it is somehow related), tracing an exact origin is impossible. Probably ultimately natural.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑhɑ(ˣ)/, [ˈɑɦɑ(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -ɑhɑ
• Syllabification^(key): a‧ha

Interjection

aha

1. uh-huh (indicates that the speaker agrees or is simply still listening)

Usage notes

Depending on the context and intonation (especially with rising intonation), the interjection may instead be interpreted as dismissing or disagreeing with an opinion.

See also

• ahaa

Anagrams

• aah, haa

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaˈha/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː

Interjection

aha

1. aha

Further reading

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

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Gothic

Romanization

aha

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌷𐌰

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Hadza

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaɦa/

Noun

aha m (masc. plural ahabii, fem. ahako, fem. plural ahabee)

1. tooth (fem. = molar, fem. pl. = adult teeth, masc. pl. = baby teeth)
2. red velvet mite (Trombidiid)

Usage notes

The form after a determiner is aha.

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Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *afa. Cognates include Maori aha and Rapa Nui aha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.ha/, [ˈɐhə]
• Hyphenation: a‧ha

Pronoun

aha

1. what?

   He aha kēlā? ― What is that?

References

• “aha” in the Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition, University of Hawaii Press, 1986

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒhɒ] or [ɒˈhɒ] (only as an exclamation)
• Rhymes: -hɒ

Interjection

aha

1. (colloquial) aha (an exclamation of sudden understanding, realization, or recognition)

   Aha, itt a hiba! ― Aha, here’s the problem!

2. (colloquial) uh-huh (used informally in place of a “yes”)

Further reading

• (exclamation of sudden understanding, realization, or recognition): aha in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• (used informally in place of a “yes”): aha in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• aha in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (’A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2023)

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Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *afa, from Proto-Oceanic *apa, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *apa, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *apa, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *apa.

Pronoun

aha

1. what (interrogative pronoun)

References

• “aha” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori-English, English-Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

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Old Polish

Etymology

Natural exepression. First attested in the second half of the 15th century.

Interjection

aha

1. aha (showing surprise)

Descendants

• Polish: aha

References

• K. Nitsch, editor (1953), “aha”, in Słownik staropolski (in Old Polish), volume 1, Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 21

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Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ahwō (“waters, river”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water”).

Noun

aha f

1. water
2. running water, river, stream

Declension

Declension of aha (feminine a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	aha	aha
accusative	aha	aha
genitive	ahō	ahanō
dative	ahu	ahum
instrumental	—	—

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Polish

Alternative forms

• acha

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish aha, ultimately a natural expression. First attested in the second half of the 15th century.[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈxa/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -axa
• Syllabification: a‧ha

Interjection

aha

1. aha! (showing confirmation) [from 1546][2]
2. aha! (showing understanding) [second half of the 15th century][1]
3. aha! (showing that the speaker suddenly remembered something)
4. (Middle Polish) ah! (showing pain) [17 c.][3]

References

1. K. Nitsch, editor (1953), “aha”, in Słownik staropolski (in Old Polish), volume 1, Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 21
2. “aha”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish], 2010-2022
3. Krystyna Siekierska (04.08.2009), “AHA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]

Further reading

• aha in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• aha in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *hafa. Cognates include Hawaiian aha and Maori aha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.ha/
• Hyphenation: a‧ha

Pronoun

aha

1. what?

Usage notes

• aha is always preceded by an article (either he or te).

References

• Veronica Du Feu (1996) Rapanui (Descriptive Grammars), Routledge, →ISBN, page 21
• Paulus Kieviet (2017) A grammar of Rapa Nui‎, Berlin: Language Science Press, →ISBN, page 404

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Romanian

Interjection

aha

1. Obsolete form of a.

References

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

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Sotho

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-jáka, a variant of Proto-Bantu *-jíbaka.

Verb

aha

1. to build

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Tahitian

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *afa, from Proto-Oceanic *apa, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *apa, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *apa, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *apa.

Pronoun

aha

1. what (interrogative pronoun)

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Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈa.ha]

Noun

aha

1. a sago plantation

References

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

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Toba

Particle

aha

1. yes

References

• 2012, María Belén Carpio and Marisa Censabella, Clauses as noun modifiers in Toba, in Relative Clauses in Languages of the Americas (edited by Bernard Comrie and Zarina Estrada Fernández; →ISBN

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Yoruba

Ahá

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.há/

Noun

ahá

1. drinking calabash; a small cup carved out of a calabash used to drink palm wine and feed babies.