jo

See also: Appendix:Variations of "jo"

Contents

English

Etymology

From Scots jo (“joy”).

Pronunciation

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /dʒoː/

Noun

jo (plural jos)

1. (Scotland) Darling, sweetheart.
   • 1711, traditional, published by James Watson, Old Long Syne:

     On Old long syne my Jo,
     on Old long syne,
     That thou canst never once reflect,
     on Old long syne.

   • My Jo Janet (traditional Scottish song)

     Keek into the draw-well, Janet, Janet;
     There ye'll see your bonnie sel',
     My jo, Janet.

Anagrams

• OJ

---

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *nio (“not, no”), from Proto-Indo-European *nĕ, *nē (“negative particle”). Compare Latin ne, Welsh neu, Old English na, Lithuanian ne (“not”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

Determiner

jo

1. no, not

Related terms

• nuk

---

Basque

Verb

jo

1. to hit, strike, punch
2. (music) to play

   Gitarra jo nahi dut. - I want to play the guitar.

3. to knock, rap

   Gizon itsusi batek etxeko atea jo du. - An ugly man knocked on the door.

4. to crash
5. to head, go
6. (wind) to blow

Conjugation

  jo ― Non-finite forms

perfect stem	jo
imperfect stem	jotzen
future stem	joko
short stem	jo
verbal noun	jotze

Synonyms

• (to blow): ibili

---

Bavarian

Adverb

jo

1. yes

---

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Occitan eu, from Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego, from Proto-Italic *egō, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂; akin to Greek εγώ (egó), Sanskrit अहम् (aham), all from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronunciation

• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈʒɔ/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, /ˈjɔ/
• Rhymes: -o, -ɔ

Pronoun

jo (strong)

1. I
2. (after certain prepositions) me

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics

	strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
singular		proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
1st person	jo, mi3	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
1st person majestic1	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
2nd person formal1	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person very formal2	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person masculine	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person feminine	ella	la, l’4	-la	li	-li	seu
3rd person neuter		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
plural
1st person	nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person formal2	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person masculine	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person feminine	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive		en, n’	-ne, ’n
locative		hi	-hi
1) Behaves grammatically as plural. 2) Behaves grammatically as third person.			3) Only as object of a preposition. 4) Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Synonyms

• mi (after most prepositions)

Noun

jo m (uncountable)

1. ego (the self)

   Synonym: ego

Further reading

• “jo” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

---

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjo]

• Audio

  (file)

Particle

jo

1. (colloquial) yeah, yep

Synonyms

• ano

Antonyms

• ne

---

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin ubi. Compare Romanian iuo, Italian ove, French où, Old Spanish o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jo/

Adverb

jo

1. where

---

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle Low German jo. Used like Swedish ju, German ja.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jo] (unstressed in context)

Adverb

jo

1. as you know or should know; sometimes vaguely translatable as after all or obviously
   • 2015, Henriette E. Møller, Jelne, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN

     Jeg ved ikke, hvad de talte om, hendes sind blev så mørkt, jeg kunne jo ikke rigtigt snakke med hende.

     I do not know of what they spoke, her mind became so dark, I could not really talk with her, as you should be able to see.

   • 2009, Sven Arvid Birkeland, I krigens kølvand: danske skæbner efter 2. verdenskrig, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN, page 479

     Han gik jo ikke i krig i håb om, at det skulle blive den store sejr

     After all, he did not go to war in the hopes of achieving great victory.

   • 2016, Anita Krumbach, Dorte Lilmose, Hanne Kvist, Helle Perrier, Iben Mondrup, Louis Jensen, Ronnie Andersen, Sissel Bergfjord, Svend Åge Madsen, Tomas Lagermand Lundme, Det du ikke ved: Noveller for unge, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN

     Jeg mener, at selv ens eget navn eller alder KAN man jo ikke være 100 procent sikker på er Dennis/17, vel?

     I mean, one obviously cannot even be 100% sure that one's own name or age are Dennis and 17, can one?

Conjunction

jo

1. the

   Jo mere jeg løber, desto trættere bliver jeg.

   The more I run, the more tired I become.

Usage notes

jo ... desto ..., jo ... des ... are common constructions.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjɔʊ̯ˀ]

Interjection

jo

1. yes (used to contradict a negative statement or negatively phrased question) (often followed by I do, he is, etc. in English to indicate contradiction rather than affirmation); identical in usage to the French si. Contrasts with ja which confirms positive statements or positively phrased questions.

   Du elsker mig ikke, gør du vel? — Jo!

   You don't love me, do you? — Yes, I do!

   Jeg har ikke gjort noget! — Jo!

   I didn't do anything! — Yes, you did!

Usage notes

Negatively phrased questions like Kommer du ikke?, Du kommer ikke, vel?, Du kommer ikke? ("Are you not coming?", "You are not coming, are you?", "You are not coming?") must be answered with jo to indicate that the speaker is, in fact, coming; they cannot be answered with ja ("yes").

References

• “jo” in Den Danske Ordbog

---

Dutch

Etymology

From English yo.

Interjection

jo

1. hi

   Ey! - Jo! - Hey! - Hi!

2. bye

   Later! - Jo! - Later! - Bye!

3. you too

   Fijn weekend! - Jo! - Have a nice weekend! - You too!

---

Esperanto

Noun

jo (accusative singular jo-on, plural jo-oj, accusative plural jo-ojn)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter J/j.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) litero; a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo, go, ĝo, ho, ĥo, i, jo, ĵo, ko, lo, mo, no, o, po, ro, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, vo, zo

---

Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *ju, compare Gothic 𐌾𐌿 (ju, “already”), Old High German ju (“already”). Cognates include Estonian ju, Votic jo, Veps jo, Ingrian jo, Karelian jo. (EES)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈjo̞]
• Rhymes: -o
• Hyphenation: jo

Adverb

jo

1. already

   Luin kirjan jo loppuun.

   I already finished the book.

2. now (emphasizing word)

   (impatiently) Tule jo!

   Come now!

See also

• jopa

---

Friulian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego.; akin to Greek εγώ (egó), Sanskrit अहम् (aham), all from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronoun

jo

1. I

See also

Friulian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		jo	nô
2nd person	familiar	tu	vô
	polite	lui, jê	lôr
3rd person	m	lui,	lôr
	f	jê	lôr

---

German

Alternative forms

• joa, jö

Etymology 1

Alteration of ja (“yes”) or the respective dialectal cognates.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɔː/

Interjection

jo

1. (colloquial, dialectal) yes, yeah, well; expresses agreement in a hesitant or ponderous manner.

Etymology 2

From the respective dialectal words for yes in about half of Northern and Central Germany and all of Western Germany (compare Low German ja, jo). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”), possibly from an unrecorded root. The form with /oː/ must have existed in the Middle Ages already, since the word often partakes in the same sound shifts as words with /oː/ from other sources, cf. Swedish jo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /joː/

Interjection

jo

1. (colloquial) yes; expresses firm agreement.

---

Ingrian

Adverb

jo

1. already

---

Italian

Pronoun

jo

1. Obsolete form of io.

---

Japanese

Romanization

jo

1. Rōmaji transcription of じょ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ジョ
3. Rōmaji transcription of ぢょ
4. Rōmaji transcription of ヂョ

---

Karelian

Adverb

jo

1. already

---

Kashubian

Interjection

jo

1. yes

---

Konabéré

Pronunciation

• (Kouka) IPA^(key): /ɟō/
• (Tansilla Toma) IPA^(key): /ɟû/

Noun

jo

1. water

Alternative forms

• zo

Further reading

• Beatrice Tiendrébéogo, Rapport Sociolinguistique sur la Langue Bobo Madaré (SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2007-005: 55), page 44
• Chiara Alfieri, Bernard Taverne, Ethnophysiologie, règles et précautions chez les Bobo Madare et les Mossi

---

Latvian

Pronunciation

Conjunction

jo

1. because
2. for

Particle

jo

1. the... the...

   jo vairāk naudas, jo labāk ― the more money the better

---

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jo]

Determiner

jo

1. his (3rd person singular masculine possessive)

Pronoun

jo m

1. (third-person singular) genitive form of jis.

Particle

jo

1. (colloquial) yes

---

Livonian

Alternative forms

• juo

Etymology 1

Perhaps borrowed from Latvian jo (“because, yet (more)”), /juo/.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jo/

Preposition

jo

1. more; used with adjectives to form comparatives
   • Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA

     pitkā, jo pitkā

     long, longer

Etymology 2

Perhaps borrowed from Latvian jau (“yet, already, after all”). However, compare also Finnish jo (“already”), thus ultimately a common Finnic borrowing from Proto-Germanic [Term?] that has likely been contaminated by the more figurative senses of Latvian jau, with the latter ultimately a distant cognate of the initial Germanic borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jo/

Preposition

jo

1. yet, already, after all
   • Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA

     mōnigļikizt, ne jo lǟbõd mōzõ

     bumblebees, they are already migrating to their burrows (lit. "going inside of earth")

     amād jo ītist äb peļļõt

     not everyone makes the same [amount of money] (lit. "everyone after all doesn't earn the same")

Usage notes

• LĒL only lists jo without listing any instances of juo. Livonian-Latvian-Livonian dictionary, in turn, only lists juo for the comparative forming preposition sense.
• LĒL doesn't explicitly list the second sense that seems to exactly mirror Latvian jau (including the more figurative applications.) Such a function, however, is inferred from the many usage examples available in the dictionary. As a translation of Latvian jau (strictly in its temporal sense) LĒL lists jõbā (“already”), cf. Estonian juba.

---

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [jɔ]

Particle

jo

1. yes (word used to show agreement or acceptance)

Verb

jo

1. third-person singular present of byś

Pronoun

jo

1. accusative of wóno

Alternative forms

• njo (after preposition)

---

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jo/, [joː]
• Rhymes: -oː
• Homophone: Jo

Adverb

jo

1. yes

See also

• dach

Verb

jo

1. second-person singular imperative of joen

---

North Frisian

Etymology

Compare with West Frisian hja.

Alternative forms

• djo (Helgoland)
• ja (Sylt and Mooring)

Pronoun

jo

1. they

---

Northern Sami

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

jo

1. already
2. now

Further reading

• Álgu database

---

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse jaur.

Adverb

jo

1. yes; in disagreement with the last speaker's negative statement.

   Du har ikke pusset tennene vel? - Jo, det har jeg.

   You haven't brushed your teeth, have you? - Yes, I have.

2. yes or no; expressing doubt. (colloquial)

   Vil du være med? - Jo...

   Do you want to join? - I'm not sure...

Usage notes

Ja can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. Jo is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In example 1, agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually did brush the teeth. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jo removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker.

Related terms

• jojo
• joda

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gjóðr

Noun

jo m (definite singular joen, indefinite plural joer, definite plural joene)

1. a skua, seabird of family Stercorariidae.

Derived terms

• storjo

References

• “jo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “jo_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “jo_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse jaur.

Alternative forms

• jau

Adverb

jo

1. yes; in disagreement with the last speaker's negative statement.
2. yes or no; expressing doubt. (colloquial)

Usage notes

As for Bokmål above.

Related terms

• jojo

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gjóðr

Noun

jo m (definite singular joen, indefinite plural joar, definite plural joane)

1. a skua, seabird of family Stercorariidae.

Derived terms

• storjo

References

• “jo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Occitan

Alternative forms

• ieu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒu/, /ju/

Etymology 1

From Old Occitan eu, from Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego. Compare Catalan jo, Old French jeo.

Pronoun

jo

1. (Gascony) I

Etymology 2

From Old Occitan (compare Catalan jou), from Latin jugum, iugum (compare French joug, Italian giogo), from Proto-Italic *jugom, from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm.

Noun

jo m

1. yoke

---

Old French

Pronoun

jo

1. Alternative form of je

---

Old Frisian

Pronoun

jō

1. Alternative form of jū, accusative and dative form of jī

Declension

Old Frisian personal pronoun declensions

	singular					plural
	1st	2nd	3rd m	3rd f	3rd n	1st	2nd	3rd
nominative	ik	thū	hī	hiū, hiō	hit	wī	jī	hiā
accusative	mī	thī	hine	hiā	hit	ūs	jū, jō	hiā
dative	mī	thī	him	hire, hiāre	him	ūs	jū, jō	him, hirem, hiārem
genitive	mīn	thīn	sīn	hire, hiāre	sīn	ūser	jūwer	hira, hiāra

---

Plautdietsch

Adverb

jo

1. yes

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xo/

Etymology 1

Interjection

¡jo!

1. stop, woah (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof)

Etymology 2

Euphemistic clipping of joder.

Interjection

¡jo!

1. Used to express surprise, amazement, or confusion.

   ¡Jo!

   I never heard anything like that before.

   ¡Jo!

   Are you serious?

   ¡Jo!

   Boy!

Further reading

• “jo” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

---

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /juː/

Interjection

jo

1. yes; used as a disagreement to a negative statement or a negatively phrased question.

   Du har inte borstat tänderna, eller hur? - Jo, det har jag.

   "You haven't brushed your teeth, have you? - Yes, I have."

Usage notes

Ja (yes) can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. Jo is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In the example above agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually did brush the teeth. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jo removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker.

In Swedish dialects spoken in northern Sweden and Finland, it is however not uncommon for the word jo to be used in place of ja in all cases, at least in spoken language.

Anagrams

• oj

---

Veps

Etymology

Related to Finnish jo.

Adverb

jo

1. already

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “уж, уже”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

---

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian jū, from Proto-Germanic *izwiz, dative/accusative of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. Compare English you, Dutch jou, u, Low German jo, ju, German euch.

Pronoun

jo

1. you (polite)
2. your (polite)

Usage notes

Though it is a singular pronoun, jo takes the plural conjugation of verbs.