eh

• 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 eh and/or Spanish eh.

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

• (Canada, UK) enPR: ā, IPA^(key): /eɪ/

• Audio (Canadian)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ

(apathy or lack of enthusiasm, unremarkable):

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ɛ/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /e/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

eh

1. (informal, UK, Australia, chiefly Canada, MTE, New Zealand, US) 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; compare what, pardon.
3. In isolation, expressing surprise or confusion; compare wha, huh, za.
4. (chiefly Canada) An interjection used to ascertain the continued attention of an individual addressed by the speaker.

   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.

   • 2010, Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, director, Despicable Me:

     "Look, Mom; I made the real rocket, based on the macaroni prototype!" "...Eh."

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. However, it is in widespread use in many other parts of the English-speaking world, including the northern United States, Australia, New Zealand, England, Malaysia, the Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa and Nigeria.

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

1. To use the interjection eh.

eh

1. (informal, predicative only) Of mediocre quality; unremarkable.

   My French fries were eh.

• eh up (possibly etymologically related)

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

• H&E, H.E., HE, He, he, he-

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

eh (first-person singular past tense eha, participle ehur)

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

• preh
• mpreh
• ehull
• teh

• ath
• athët
• thua

• IPA^(key): /e/

• Audio

  (file)

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/

• Audio

  (file)

• 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

1. (chiefly Austria, Bavaria, Southern German, colloquial) anyway, in any case

   Wozu soll ich mich anstrengen? Ich kann's eh nicht.

   Why should I make an effort? I can't do it anyway.

   Synonyms: sowieso, ohnehin, ohnedies

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.

• “eh” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

• Rhymes: -ɛx

eh

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

• eh 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
• eh 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)

eh

1. (informal, nonstandard) abbreviation of einhver.

See einhver § Usage notes.

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
• ah

eh

1. his, her, hers, its, third person possessive pronoun

   Liho iang eh pwoud.

   The woman joined her husband.

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

eh

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

eh

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

Onomatopoeic.

eh

1. expresses dissatisfaction or sadness

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

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

• ah
• oh
• hala

• “eh”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

eh

1. Romanization of 𒄴 (eḫ)

• IPA^(key): /ēʔ/
• Hyphenation: eh

eh

1. tear

• Philip Thanglienmang (2014), “Zou Tonology”, in Indian Linguistics, volume 75, issue 1-2, ISSN 0378-0759