wa
wa is an obscure particle used as an interjection to express awe or amazement.
| Pronunciation | /wa/ |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Obscure4, Rare6 (17% ↗︎ ) Most speakers don't use this word.2022: Rare (13%)
|
| Book and era | nimi ku lili (post-pu) |
| Part of speech | Content word |
Etymology
The word wa was based on an exclamation used by jan Lakuse's Cantonese-speaking grandmother and repeated by them in 2020 in the ma pona pi toki pona community.[1][2] It is supposedly derived from Cantonese 嘩 / 哗 (Jyutping: waa3).
Definitions
The word wa is used to express awe, amazement, or surprise. It is analogous to English "wow", "whoa", and similar interjections. Equivalent phrases in Toki Pona include a, wawa a ("impressive"), and pona a ("great").
ku
For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as wa:[3]
whoa2, wow1
sitelen pona
The sitelen pona glyph for wa (wa) is derived from the punctuation stem radical with the Latin letter W below, inspired by other glyphs for interjections, such as a, kin, n, and o. The W is typically written rounder rather than angular, similar to the glyph for wile.
References
- ↑ jan Lakuse [@raacz106]. (4 August 2020). [Message posted in the
#tomo-toki-pini-antechannel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 9 December 2023. "i use wa as an exclamation but that comes from my cantonese speaking grandmother and nobody understands it when i say it". - ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 24. "wa: mama mama pi jan Lakuse"
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 282.
Further reading
- "wa" on lipu Linku