äp-päp

Finnish

Etymology

Compare English bup bup bup, up bup bup; possibly a natural expression.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [æ(ː)p˩˥.pæp˥˧]

Interjection

äp-päp (colloquial)

1. bup bup bup (wait! not yet! don't do that!)

Usage notes

• Usually used with children or some animals.
• Rarely used in written text.

Alternative forms

• The päp may be repeated any arbitrary number of times, usually once or twice. (The tone usually falls slowly over all of the repeats.)
• The vowel in the initial äp may be lengthened or even over-long.
• Spelling variations exist, including space instead of a hyphen or writing as one word, or äp-äp.
• Sometimes back vowels are used (ap-pap).