wås

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• wos

Etymology

From Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod. Cognate with German was, Silesian East Central German woas (was), Dutch wat, English what, Danish hvad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɔːs/, [-ɔ-], [-o-], [-oː-]

Pronoun

wås

1. (interrogative) what

   Wås gibts'n heid z'Mittåg? ― What's for lunch today?

2. (relative) which (referring to the entire preceding clause)

   Sie is a guade Tänzerin, wås er bewundert. ― She is a good dancer, which he admires.

3. (relative) that, which (referring to des, ois, ollas, wos/wås, nix, and neuter substantival adjectives)

   Des is nix, wås ma ned repariern ko. ― This is nothing that you can't fix.

   Er håd ois gsågt, wås er waß. ― He has told everything that he knows.

4. (relative, chiefly East Central Bavarian) that, which, who (referring to any term in the preceding clause)

   Synonym: (West Central) wo

   Des is de Frau, wås i gsehn håb. ― This is the woman who I saw.

   Koatn gibt's åm Schoiter, wås då hintn is. ― Tickets are available at the counter which is back there.

5. (relative, East Central Bavarian) (inserted after the relative pronouns der, de, des, dem, den, dena, dera

   Synonym: (West Central) wo

   Des is de Frau, de wås i gsehn håb. ― This is the woman who I saw.

   Koatn gibt's åm Schoiter, der wås då hintn is. ― Tickets are available at the counter which is back there.

6. (indefinite) something, anything

   I håb wås gfunden. ― I've found something.

7. (interrogative) why (with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval)

   Wås håst des gmåcht? ― Why on earth did you do that?