🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
あー・あ・やー : aa · a · yaa | define meaning
aa · a · yaa
Definition
Suffix or ending
- A suffix or ending 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:
- ないち naichi "mainland" ⇒ ないちゃー naichaa "mainlander"
- でぃきらん (< *ぬ) dikiran (< *nu) "unable" ⇒ でぃきらんぬー dikirannuu "person who can't do anything", "idiot"
- たんち tanchi "quick temper" ⇒ たんちゃー tanchaa "quick-tempered person"
- いふーな ifuuna "odd, suspicious" ⇒ いふーなー ifuunaa "odd or suspicious person"
- てーふ teefu "joke" ⇒ てーふぁー teefaa "jokester, joker, humorist"
- Used to indicate the provenance of a person:
- 糸満 ichuman "Itoman" ⇒ いちゅまなー ichumanaa "a person from Itoman"
- アメリカ amerika "United States" ⇒ アメリカー amerikaa "an American"
- 山原 yanbaru "Yanbaru" ⇒ やんばらー yanbaraa "someone from the Yanbaru region"
- Used to denote fanatics, adepts or devotees of a certain product, artist, fashion style or famous person:
- Chanel ⇒ シャネラー shaneraa (someone who likes to use Chanel products)
- 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 や【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.
意味：ひと・じん・にん・と【人】、しゃ【者】