lah

Plural: lahs

Noun

• the syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization
• Alternative spelling of la.

Particle

• Placed at the end of a sentence to accentuate the mood or attitude of the speaker.
• Placed at the end of a sentence to convey reassurance or express solidarity.
• Indicates an attempt at expressing sympathy, being sincere, conveying informality or establishing a rapport with the listener.
• Placed at the end of an assertive statement to express denial or dismissiveness.
• Used after an assertive statement to reinforce its authoritativeness, or to show that the speaker is confident with what they are saying.
• Asserts that something is clear, obvious or straightforward.
• Used to tone down an imperative sentence, so it sounds more like a request or suggestion.
• Indicates strong persuasion at the end of an imperative sentence.
• Indicates a retrospective remark, a reassessment of one’s opinion, or an attempt at finding a middle ground.
• Reinforces a suggestion with the implication that it is the more practical option.
• Indicates confirmation-seeking at the end of an inferential statement.
• Used to express realisation, or vexation when something is already obvious.
• Reinforces the factuality of an assertive statement made to correct an inaccurate, underlying assumption.
• Used to convey a slight sense of dissatisfaction or irritation.
• Used for enumeration.
• An assertive separator, used to reverse the order of the usual topic–comment structure of a sentence.
• Used sarcastically.

Examples

• "Do it yourself lah! Always need me to help is it?"
• "Don’t do it lah, it’s not worth it."
• "Don’t waste your time there lah."
• "Get a whiteboard marker and write over it lah."
• "Hurry up, lah!"
• "In other words, you’re the one who started it lah!"
• "Just try your best lah, and don’t think too much about it."
• "No fun lah, you."
• "No lah, no lah."
• "No need to count lah. I’m sure the number is right."
• "Oh wait it’s not today, lah. It’s on Sunday."
• "So in the end it wasn’t my fault lah!"
• "The nearest train station is 15 minutes away. I think we take the bus lah, hor?"
• "These shoes are too small lah."
• "They’re not wrong lah... But they’re only taking themselves into consideration."
• "Use the mittens lah."
• "You won’t drown one lah. The water is very shallow."
• "— I don’t think you should be cutting corners, at least put in some effort and make it look legit. — They won’t care one lah... I don’t have all day..."
• "— Not many people would think of using a pressure cooker. — I mean, it’s pretty unconventional lah, I have to admit."

Synonyms

la

Related Words

A. F. (1992), ah1–3, already, ba1, ba2, Gupta, hah1–3, hor1, hor2, in, know, lah1–14, leh1–2, leh3–6, leh7–11, liao, lor1, lor2–3, mah, meh, nia, number 1, one1–3, sia, volume 18, what, →DOI