ay background

ay

/aɪ/ /eɪ/

Illustration ay - Image 1

interjection

Ah! Hélas!

Examples :

"Ay, my bus just left and now I'll be late for school! "

Ah, mon bus vient de partir et maintenant je vais être en retard à l'école !

emotion exclamation suffering language

Illustration ay - Image 1

noun

Vote affirmatif, pour

An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative.

Examples :

""To call for the ayes and nays;" "The ayes have it.""

« Appeler les pour et les contre » ; « Les pour l'ont emporté. »

politics government

Illustration ay - Image 1

interjection

Oui

Yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question.

Examples :

""Do you understand the instructions, class?" "Ay, teacher, we do!" "

« Comprenez-vous les instructions, classe ? » « Oui, professeur, nous comprenons ! »

language communication

Illustration ay - Image 1

adverb

Toujours, constamment

Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time.

Examples :

"My grandmother says the price of bread is ay increasing. "

Ma grand-mère dit que le prix du pain augmente toujours.

Illustration ay - Image 1

interjection

N'est-ce pas? Hein?

Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said.

Examples :

"These hot dogs are pretty good, eh?"

Ces hot-dogs sont plutôt bons, n'est-ce pas ?

language grammar communication linguistics word exclamation

Illustration ay - Image 1

interjection

Hein?, Pardon?

In isolation, a request for repetition or clarification of what has just been said. Compare what, pardon.

Examples :

""I need to bring what to school tomorrow? Ay?" "

« Je dois apporter quoi à l'école demain ? Hein ? »

communication linguistics phonetics exclamation word

Illustration ay - Image 1

interjection

Hé, dis donc

An interjection used to ascertain the continued attention of an individual addressed by the speaker

Examples :

""The homework is due tomorrow, ay, are you listening?" "

« Hé, dis donc, tu écoutes ? Les devoirs sont pour demain. »

language communication linguistics exclamation

Illustration ay - Image 1

interjection

Bof, pff

Expressing apathy or lack of enthusiasm; meh.

Examples :

""My mom made meatloaf again for dinner." Ay, I guess I'll eat it." "

« Ma mère a encore fait du pain de viande pour le dîner. » Bof, je suppose que je vais le manger.

attitude emotion language