Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ayah

/ˈaɪ.ə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.28 in modern English

Syllables: ayah
IPA: /ˈaɪ.ə/

10

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A South Asian female servant, maid or nanny, historically, often one working for Europeans in South Asia.

noun

A verse in the Quran.

Example Sentences

"She manufactured the Station scandal, and talked to her ayah."
"[…] a cot of iron had to be manufactured for [Bhim] after he had demolished two wooden cribs with a lusty kick of his foot; and a succession of bruised ayahs had finally to be replaced by a male attendant, a former Hastinapur all-in wrestling champion."

Etymology

From various Indian languages (e.g. Hindi आया (āyā, “dry nurse, nanny”)), from Portuguese aia (“nurse, governess”), from Latin avia (“grandmother”).

Origin

Source language: Hindi

Word Breakdown

Root: आया, aia, avia, آيَة

Inflected Forms

ayahs (plural) ayat (plural) ayat (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

amah

Homonyms

aya aja

Questions

How do you pronounce ayah?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈaɪ.ə/.
What does ayah mean?: A South Asian female servant, maid or nanny, historically, often one working for Europeans in South Asia.
Where does ayah come from?: It is traced to Hindi.

How to pronounce ayah

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ayah”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈaɪ.ə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ayah”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ayah” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.