huh
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Attested from circa 1600. Compare Dutch hè (“huh”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /hʌ/, [hʌ̃]
- (General American) IPA(key): /hə/, [hə̃]
Audio (US, California) (file)
- Rhymes: -ʌ
Audio (Southern England, rising pitch) (file) Audio (Southern England, falling pitch) (file) Audio (Southern England, martial arts) (file)
Interjection edit
huh
- (with rising pitch) Used to express doubt or confusion.
- Huh? Where did they go?
- (with falling pitch) Used to express amusement or subtle surprise.
- Huh! I'm sure I locked it when I left.
- (with rising pitch) Used to reinforce a question.
- Where were you last night? Huh?
- (slang, with falling pitch) Used either to belittle the issuer of a statement/question, or sarcastically to indicate utter agreement, and that the statement being responded to is an extreme understatement. The intonation is changed to distinguish between the two meanings - implied dullness for belittlement, and feigned surprise for utter agreement.
- (belittlement) A: "We should go to an amusement park, it would be fun." B: "Huh."
- (agreement) A: "Murder is bad." B: "Huh!"
- (informal, with rising pitch) Used to indicate that one did not hear what was said.
- Synonyms: come again, pardon, what; see also Thesaurus:say again
- Huh? Could you speak up?
- (informal, with falling pitch) Used to create a tag question.
- It's getting kind of late, huh?
- (onomatopoeia) Representing the sound of heavy breathing.
- 1980, Donald McCaig, The Butte Polka: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Rawson, Wade Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 251:
- He broke into a dogtrot and ran by us. I don't think he saw us. His voice was coming in little puffs, huh, huh, huh, but he probably didn't notice that either.
- 2019 May 15, Robert Purchese, quoting Marcin Iwiński, “Seeing Red: The story of CD Projekt”, in Eurogamer[1], archived from the original on 15 September 2023:
- It was up so many flights of stairs that people would arrive for meetings drenched in sweat: "They were like huh huh huh [panting] - where the hell are you?!"
- (onomatopoeia) Representing a chuckling sound.
- 2010 December 7, Katherine Knorr, “Lambert Wilson: A Man of New Faith”, in The New York Times[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 December 2016:
- Mr. [Lambert] Wilson says this with a soft chuckle, sounding a bit like huh huh huh.
- (martial arts) A kiai, shouted as a limb is swung in attack.
- 1995 October 5, Neal Pollack, quoting David Nelson, “King of the Creature Feature”, in Chicago Reader[3], Chicago, I.L.: Chicago Reader, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 September 2023:
- He gets out of the chair, whips off his jacket, and starts closing in on the camera, punching rapidly as he moves. A left hook, a right jab. "Hey, I'm a boxer and a marine! So don't mess with me, man! Semper fi! Marine Corps! They better not mess with me! My critics better not mess with me, man, 'cause I'm gonna beat you up. Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh. Hmm, hmmm, hmm, hmmmm, heeeyah, huh, huh. Hmmm, yeah!"
- 2014, Larry Swartz, Dramathemes: Classroom Literacy that Will Excite, Surprise, and Stimulate Learning, Markham, Ont.: Pembroke Publishers Limited, →ISBN, pages 130-131:
- Student A has both arms outstretched in a karate motion and shouts out "HUH". Student B receives the sound by putting both arms straight in the air and yelling "HUH". Students on either side of B give B a karate chop by miming a sideways karate chop — without any touching.
- 2023, Dwayne Reed, Simon B. Rhymin' Gets in the Game, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN, unnumbered page:
- HUH-HUH, HI-YAH!
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
to express amusement or subtle surprise
|
expressing doubt or confusion
|
to reinforce a question
|
"I know, huh" what huh
to indicate that one didn't hear
|
tag question
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
References edit
- “huh”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
Anagrams edit
Central Franconian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old High German hōh, from Proto-West Germanic *hauh, from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
huh (masculine huhe, feminine huh, comparative hüher or hühter or hieher, superlative et hühste or hüchste or hühtste or hiehtste)
- (Ripuarian, eastern Moselle Franconian) high; tall
Usage notes edit
- The comparation forms with -ü- are Ripuarian, those with -ie- are Moselle Franconian.
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
huh
- huh (an exclamation indicating puzzlement)
- Huh? Hoe kan dat?
- Huh? How is that possible?
See also edit
Finnish edit
Etymology edit
Probably natural or onomatopoeic.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
huh
- phew (used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise)
Derived terms edit
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “huh”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][4] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
Yucatec Maya edit
Noun edit
huh