Esperanto

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Alternative forms

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  • chu (H-system spelling)
  • cxu (X-system spelling)

Etymology

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From Polish czy, Ukrainian чи (čy) or the related Yiddish צי (tsi).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [t͡ʃu]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ĉu

Particle

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ĉu

  1. (interrogative particle) introduces a yes-no question
    Ĉu neĝas hodiaŭ?
    Is it snowing today?
  2. whether, if
    Mi ne certas, ĉu li amas min.
    I'm not sure if he loves me.
  3. Transforms a sentence into a tag question or similar when added to the end of a sentence
    Vi ne manĝas viandon, ĉu.
    Oh, so I see you don't eat meat, do you.
  4. (ĉu ... ĉu) whether ... or
  5. (ĉu ... aŭ ne) whether ... or not

Usage notes

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Ĉu as a tag question marker is a shortening of the sentence ender ĉu ne, but carries a slightly different connotation and seems to be a relatively new invention, from the 1990s onwards.