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🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)

あー・あ・やー

aa · a · yaa

Pronunciation: [-a(ː)], [-u(ː)]

Definition

Suffix

  1. A suffix used to indicate the subject of an adjective, noun or nominalized verb, akin to "-man", "-er" or "person" in English. Note that this suffix may coalesce or replace the vowel of the preceding term:
    1. ないち naichi "mainland"  ⇒ ないちゃー naichaa "mainlander"
    2. でぃきらん (< *ぬ) dikiran (< *nu) "unable" ⇒ でぃきらんぬー dikirannuu "person who can't do anything", "idiot"
    3. たんち tanchi "quick temper" ⇒ たんちゃー tanchaa "quick-tempered person"
    4. いふーな ifuuna "odd, suspicious" ⇒ いふーなー ifuunaa "odd or suspicious person"
    5. てーふ teefu "joke" ⇒ てーふぁー teefaa "jokester, joker, humorist"
    6. もーい mooi "a dance" ⇒ もーやー mooyaa "dancer"
  2. Used to indicate the provenance of a person:
    1. 糸満 ichuman "Itoman" ⇒ いちゅまなー ichumanaa "a person from Itoman"
    2. アメリカ amerika "United States" ⇒ アメリカー amerikaa "an American"
    3. 山原 yanbaru "Yanbaru" ⇒ やんばらー yanbaraa "someone from the Yanbaru region"
    4. 大和 yamatu "Yamato (Japan)" ⇒ やまとぅー yamatuu "a person from Yamato (Japan), a Japanese person"
  3. (Colloquial) Used to denote fanatics, adepts or devotees of a certain product, artist, fashion style or famous person:
    1. Chanel ⇒ シャネラー shaneraa (someone who likes to use Chanel products)
    2. Namie Amuro ⇒ アムラー amuraa (a fan of Namie Amuro, of her style)

Etymology

Unclear. Of multiple possible origins:

  • From the Hokkien diminutive suffix 仔 á, pervasively used with nouns (e.g. 囡仔 gín-á "child", 錶仔 pió-á "watch", 鴨仔 ah-á "duck"), as well as with verbs and adjectives to turn them into nouns (e.g. 矮仔 é-á "short person", 抿仔 bín-á "brush").
  • From a fused morpheme cognate with standard Japanese 【屋・家】 ya, generally meaning "shop", "place of (something)", "person who works (at a shop)", "person who works (as something)", "person with a certain trait".
  • From a fused topic particle (や ya in modern Okinawan).
  • In the case of sense 3, from the English suffix -er (as in teacher, loafer and northerner), assimilated into Japanese and Okinawan as あー aa.

Notes

Some sources consider this suffix to have historically carried a derogatory connotation.

This suffix is likely the same as the diminutive ending –a(a) observed with many animal names in Okinawan, especially those ending in the vowel -i. Examples include あたびち atabichi and あたびちゃー atabichaa "frog", なみむし namimushi and なみむさー namimusaa "slug", あがち agachi and あがちゃー agachaa "Okinawa rail bird", etc.

Spelling

OrthographyForm
Kanaあー

やー
Romanizationaa
a
yaa
Pronunciation (IPA)[-a(ː)], [-u(ː)]

意味:ひと・じん・にん・と【人】、しゃ【者】

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あー
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2024, July 3). あー・あ・やー : aa · a · yaa | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2024, December 3, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/135/aa-a-yaa/.