Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ya

/ˈjɑː/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.67 in modern English

Syllables: ya
IPA: /ˈjɑː/

5

Scrabble Score

2

Letters

1

Syllables

2

Unique Chars

Meaning

pron

Nonstandard spelling of you.

intj

Informal

adv

British usage

intj

Go. (Spoken to horses and cattle.)

Informal

det

Nonstandard spelling of your.

noun

A letter of the Cyrillic alphabet: Я, я.

intj

Yes, yeah (used to express affirmation)

Informal

particle

Used to form a confirmation-seeking tag question, expecting an affirmative response.

Example Sentences

"But you don't really care for music, do ya?"
"Lola got a shocked look on her face then said, “Ya need to stop actin' jealous if ya aint, and ya can't control what I do. Ya aint my daddy and ya aint my man. I'll see ya tomorrah after work if ya want. Just give me a call, ya have my number”."
"'Ya, wilt thou!' said Wallace, 'then tak thee that, […]'"
"Ya, auld man, ye ken fine ye wad like me."
"Ya, bur 'ee did, […]"
"What about yourself Mr Chee, never look a day older, you'll see the rest of us six feet under… Really you look very well. I heard you went for new treatment in Switzerland ya?…"

Etymology

Reduced form of you. Compare Dutch je, reduced/unstressed form of jij (“you”).

Origin

Source language: German

Word Breakdown

Root: ja, ya, ġēa, я, *ja, யா

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈjɑː/

Usage

Informal
British usage

Inflected Forms

yaa (alternative) yaw (alternative) yah (alternative) yha (alternative) yas (plural) yeah (alternative) yea (alternative)

Derived Forms

hiya whaddaya

Phrases

-cha get it in ya hey ya -ja love ya smell ya later there ya go ya think?

Frequently Paired Words

yer is it ah

Rhymes With

la ma ah ha da raw pa na nah sa ha-ha wa

Questions

How do you pronounce ya?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈjɑː/.
What does ya mean?: Nonstandard spelling of you.
Where does ya come from?: It is traced to German.

How to pronounce ya

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