sia

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sia"

English

Alternative forms

• siah, sial, siol

Etymology

From Malay sial.

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /sjɑː˧/, /-˨˧/, /sjɐ/, /sjə/

Particle

sia

1. (Singlish, Manglish) Tagged at the end of a sentence to express discontent, shock, exhaustion or exasperation.

   — If you can’t find your pencils, maybe someone stole them.
   — For what sia?

   • 2004, joshley, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

     […] Really disappointed siah […] The damage is done and no explanation will be accepted...... damn stupid!

   • 2015 May 14, @lawyizhuan, Twitter‎^[1]:

     Wah. Really damn shag [exhausting] sia, everyday. But I'm really glad to be able to contribute😄

   • 2020 January 14, Justin Vanderstraaten, quoting Moon, “Drugs, Cash, and Prison. When Does Enough Become Enough?”, in ricemedia.co‎^[2], archived from the original on 26 February 2024:

     As soon as the sentence was handed down, I saw my Mum crying. I was given 5 minutes to talk to them and after that, I thought to myself what the fuck am I going to do sia! […]

   • 2023, Kristian-Marc James Paul, Myle Yan Tay, Mysara Aljaru, Brown is Redacted: Reflecting on Race in Singapore, Ethos Books, →ISBN:

     And we fucking panic sia. We kept saying, "No no no!" And they kept shouting […]

See also

• sial ah (interjection, sometimes used at the start of sentences)
• sia suay (unrelated, from Hokkien 瀉衰／泻衰)

• (Singlish particles): ah, hor, know, lah, leh, liao, lor, mah, meh, one, what
• sia lah

References

• Soh, Ying Qi, Lee, Junwen, Tan, Ying-Ying (2022) “Ethnicity and Tone Production on Singlish Particles”, in Languages, volume 7, number 3, →DOI

Anagrams

• ais, A.S.I., Asi, AIS, a-Si, is-a, Ais, sai, Isa, A.I.s, Isa., IAS, ISA, ASI, IAs, AIs, A. S. I.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈsi.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈsi.a]

Verb

sia

1. (archaic) inflection of ser:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

   Synonyms: sigui, siga

Derived terms

• o sia

Conjunction

sia

1. whether it be; be it

   Synonym: siga

   • 1961, Joan Lluís, El meu Pallars: El Pallars Sobirà:

     Degotalls que s'estimballen des dels cingles fins al riu, i calmosament davallen, sia hivern o sia estiu.

     Stalactites that fling themselves from the cliffs into the river, and calmly descend, be it winter or be it summer.

   • 1975, Narcís Xifra i Riera, Montserrat, juliol de 1936:

     El cas és que posaren altre cop en pràctica allò de destruir tot el que havien fet els altres, ja sia bo o dolent, i es complagueren amb la revenja […]

     The thing is that they reimplemented that destruction of everything that others had made, whether it be good or bad, and they were pleased with revenge […]

Further reading

• “sia” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sia”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “sia” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sia” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chuukese

Pronoun

sia

1. we (inclusive)

Adjective

sia

1. we are (inclusive)

Related terms

			present and past tense	negative tense	future	negative future	distant future	negative determinate
singular	first person		ua	use	upwe	usap	upwap	ute
	second person		ka ke	kose kese	kopwe kepwe	kosap kesap	kopwap kepwap	kote kete
	third person		a	ese	epwe	esap	epwap	ete
plural	first person	exclusive	aua	ause	aupwe	ausap	aupwap	aute
		inclusive	sia	sise	sipwe	sisap	sipwap	site
	second person		oua	ouse	oupwe	ousap	oupwap	oute
	third person		ra re	rese	repwe	resap	repwap	rete

Eritai

Noun

sia

1. water
2. river

References

• Duane A. Clouse, 1997, Toward a reconstruction and reclassification of the Lakes Plain languages of Irian Jaya, In Karl J. Franklin (ed.), Papers in Papuan linguistics No. 2, 133-236. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, page 172
• C. L. Voorhoeve, 1975. Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, p.108

Esperanto

Etymology

si +‎ -a. Possibly under influence of Slavic (Polish swój, Russian свой (svoj), Belarusian свой (svoj)) and Germanic (German sein).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): [ˈsia]
• Rhymes: -ia
• Hyphenation: si‧a

Pronoun

sia (accusative singular sian, plural siaj, accusative plural siajn)

1. belonging to the subject of the sentence

   Johano donis al Alfredo sian kukon.

   John gave Alfred his (John's) cake.

   • 1910, L. L. Zamenhof, Proverbaro Esperanta:

     Sia estas kara pli ol la najbara.

     One's own is dearer than the neighbor's.

See also

Personal pronouns in Esperanto

		Singular			Plural
		Nominative	Accusative	Possessive	Nominative	Accusative	Possessive
First person		mi	min	mia	ni	nin	nia
Second person	Formal	vi	vin	via	vi	vin	via
	Familiar1	ci	cin	cia
Third person	Masculine	li	lin	lia	ili iŝi3	ilin iŝin3	ilia iŝia3
	Feminine	ŝi	ŝin	ŝia
	Neuter	ĝi	ĝin	ĝia
	Gender-neutral2	ri ŝli	rin ŝlin	ria ŝlia
	Reflexive	si	sin	sia	si	sin	sia
Indefinite		oni	onin	onia	oni	onin	onia
Notes
1 The second person familiar pronouns are archaic. 2 The proposed gender-neutral third-person singular pronouns ri (rin, ria) and ŝli (ŝlin, ŝlia) are not widely used. 3 The proposed third-person feminine plural pronoun iŝi (iŝin, iŝia) is not widely used.

Finnish

Noun

sia

1. Archaic spelling of sija.

Declension

Inflection of sia (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		sia	siat
genitive		sian	siojen
partitive		siaa	sioja
illative		siaan	sioihin
		singular	plural
nominative		sia	siat
accusative	nom.	sia	siat
	gen.	sian
genitive		sian	siojen siain rare
partitive		siaa	sioja
inessive		siassa	sioissa
elative		siasta	sioista
illative		siaan	sioihin
adessive		sialla	sioilla
ablative		sialta	sioilta
allative		sialle	sioille
essive		siana	sioina
translative		siaksi	sioiksi
abessive		siatta	sioitta
instructive		—	sioin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of sia (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative siani siani accusative nom. siani siani gen. siani genitive siani siojeni siaini rare partitive siaani siojani inessive siassani sioissani elative siastani sioistani illative siaani sioihini adessive siallani sioillani ablative sialtani sioiltani allative sialleni sioilleni essive sianani sioinani translative siakseni sioikseni abessive siattani sioittani instructive — — comitative — sioineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative siasi siasi accusative nom. siasi siasi gen. siasi genitive siasi siojesi siaisi rare partitive siaasi siojasi inessive siassasi sioissasi elative siastasi sioistasi illative siaasi sioihisi adessive siallasi sioillasi ablative sialtasi sioiltasi allative siallesi sioillesi essive sianasi sioinasi translative siaksesi sioiksesi abessive siattasi sioittasi instructive — — comitative — sioinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative siamme siamme accusative nom. siamme siamme gen. siamme genitive siamme siojemme siaimme rare partitive siaamme siojamme inessive siassamme sioissamme elative siastamme sioistamme illative siaamme sioihimme adessive siallamme sioillamme ablative sialtamme sioiltamme allative siallemme sioillemme essive sianamme sioinamme translative siaksemme sioiksemme abessive siattamme sioittamme instructive — — comitative — sioinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative sianne sianne accusative nom. sianne sianne gen. sianne genitive sianne siojenne siainne rare partitive siaanne siojanne inessive siassanne sioissanne elative siastanne sioistanne illative siaanne sioihinne adessive siallanne sioillanne ablative sialtanne sioiltanne allative siallenne sioillenne essive siananne sioinanne translative siaksenne sioiksenne abessive siattanne sioittanne instructive — — comitative — sioinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative siansa siansa accusative nom. siansa siansa gen. siansa genitive siansa siojensa siainsa rare partitive siaansa siojaan siojansa inessive siassaan siassansa sioissaan sioissansa elative siastaan siastansa sioistaan sioistansa illative siaansa sioihinsa adessive siallaan siallansa sioillaan sioillansa ablative sialtaan sialtansa sioiltaan sioiltansa allative sialleen siallensa sioilleen sioillensa essive sianaan sianansa sioinaan sioinansa translative siakseen siaksensa sioikseen sioiksensa abessive siattaan siattansa sioittaan sioittansa instructive — — comitative — sioineen sioinensa

Garo

Verb

sia

1. to die

Interlingua

Verb

sia

1. imperative of esser

Conjunction

sia

1. whether (used the first time in a sentence)
2. or (used the second time in a sentence)

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish sír.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʃiə]

Adjective

sia

1. longer
2. further

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “sia”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 sía”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsi.a/
• Rhymes: -ia
• Hyphenation: sì‧a

Verb

sia

1. inflection of essere:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Conjunction

sia ... sia ...

1. both ... and ..
2. either ... or ..

Synonyms

• sia ... che ...

Anagrams

• -asi, sai

Kanakanabu

Kanakanabu cardinal numbers

<  8	9	10  >
Cardinal : sia

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *Siwa.

Numeral

sia

1. nine

Latin

Noun

sia

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of sion

References

• "sia", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “sia”, in Richard Stillwell et al., editor (1976), The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press

Mambae

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *siwa.

Numeral

sia

1. nine

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• siie (Mooring)
• See (Sylt)

Etymology

From Old Frisian sē, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi. The distinction between “sea” (feminine) and “lake” (masculine) is based on German See, where it developed through mixing of Low and High German usages. Older North Frisian, like Middle Low German, had only the feminine. There may have been another word for “lake”, although the North Frisian region has no natural lakes of dimensions that would necessitate to distinguish them from ponds etc.

Noun

sia m (plural sian)

1. (Föhr-Amrum) lake

Noun

sia f (plural sian)

1. (Föhr-Amrum) sea

Usage notes

• The reduced article a may still be used with the feminine; cf. at for notes. This blurs the gender distinction. Some speakers therefore go a step further and use the Germanized form see for the masculine.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Norwegian dialectal sia, from Old Norse síðan. Compare Norwegian Nynorsk sidan.

Adverb

sia

1. Alternative form of siden

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²siːɑ/

Adverb

sia

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of sidan

Old Dutch

Etymology 1

Along with siu (“she”), from Proto-Germanic *iz and *hiz.

Pronoun

sia

2. they

Declension

Old Dutch personal pronouns

1st person	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ik, ic, ih	wī, wīr
Accusative	mī, mik, *mic	uns, unsig
Genitive	mīn	unsa, *unser
Dative	mī	uns, unsig
2nd person	Singular	Plural
Nominative	thu, tu	gī, ir
Accusative	thī, thik, *thic	iu,
Genitive	thīn	iuwa, *iuwer
Dative	thī	iu

3rd person	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	hē, hie	sia	it
Accusative	imo	sia	it
Genitive	sīn, is	iro	is
Dative	imo	iro	imo
		Plural
Nominative		sia, sie (masc. plur.)
Accusative		sia, sie (masc. plur.)
Genitive		iro
Dative		im

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: si, sie
  • Dutch: zij
  • Limburgish: zie

References

• “sia (II)”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *sehwā, from Proto-Germanic *sehwǭ.

Noun

sia f

2. sight

Inflection

Declension of sia (feminine ō/ōn-stem noun)

case	singular	plural
nominative	sia	sia, sion
accusative	sia, sion	sia, sion
genitive	sion	siono
dative	sion	sion

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: sie

References

• “sia (I)”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• sie

Etymology

Along with siu (“she”), from Proto-Germanic *iz and *hiz.

Pronoun

sia m or f

1. she (accusative)
2. they

Declension

Old Saxon personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
singular	1st person		ik	mī, me, mik	mī	mīn
	2nd person		thū	thī, thik	thī	thīn
	3rd person	m	hē	ina	imu	is
		f	siu	sia	iru	ira
		n	it		it	is
dual	1st person		wit	unk		unkero, unka
	2nd person		git	ink		inker, inka
plural	1st person		wī, we	ūs, unsik	ūs	ūser
	2nd person		gī, ge	eu, iu, iuu		euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera
	3rd person	m	sia		im	iro
		f	sia
		n	siu

Descendants

• Middle Low German: sê, su, sia
  • Dutch Low Saxon: zee
  • German Low German: se
  • Plautdietsch: see

Scottish Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic numbers ^(edit)

	60[a], [b]
←  5	6	7  →
Cardinal: sia     Standalone: a sia     Ordinal: siathamh     Ordinal abbreviation: 6mh     Personal: sianar     Multiplier: sia-fillte

Alternative forms

• (Islay, South Argyll) sè

Etymology

From Old Irish sé, from Proto-Celtic *swexs, from Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs. Compare Irish sé, Manx shey.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʃia/

Numeral

sia

1. six

Derived terms

• seasgad
• sianar
• siathamh

Mutation

Mutation of sia

radical	lenition
sia	shia after "an", t-sia

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “sia”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[3], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 sé”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Sotho

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-tíga.

Verb

sia

1. to leave

Sundanese

Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(si-)ia, from Proto-Austronesian *(si-)ia. Doublet of dia.

Pronoun

sia (Sundanese script ᮞᮤᮃ)

1. (cohag) you

   "Tah! Deuleu éta ku sia sorangan!"

   There! You take a look at it yourself!

See also

Sundanese personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person exclusive	lemes	abdi1, simkuring2	abdi sadayana1, simkuring sadayana2
	loma	urang1, kuring2, kami3, 4	kuring sareréa
	cohag	aing	aing kabéhan
1st person inclusive	lemes	-	urang samudayana
	loma	-	arurang, urang
2nd person	lemes	anjeun, hidep5	aranjeun, haridep5
	loma	manéh, silaing	maranéh
	cohag	sia, dia4	saria, sararia
3rd person	lemes	mantenna6, anjeunna	aranjeunna
	loma	manéhna, inya4, nyana4, inyana4	maranéhna
	cohag	si éta	-

¹ Informal.
² Formal.
³ Expressing speaker's superiority.
⁴ Dialectal form.
⁵ Toward younger.
⁶ Respectful.

Notes:

• The personal pronouns may vary depending on the dialect.
• The second person pronouns maybe replaced by kinship terms, titles, or the like.
• The second and third person singular pronouns maybe used plurally.

See each entry for more information.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish sīa, sēa, from Old Norse sjá, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną.

Verb

sia (present siar, preterite siade, supine siat, imperative sia)

1. to foretell; to tell the future

Conjugation

Conjugation of sia (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	sia		sias
supine	siat		siats
imperative	sia		—
imper. plural1	sien		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	siar	siade	sias	siades
ind. plural1	sia	siade	sias	siades
subjunctive2	sie	siade	sies	siades
present participle		siande
past participle		—

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Synonyms

• spå

Related terms

• siare
• sierska

Further reading

• siare in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Anagrams

• Isa

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsi.a]

Verb

sia

1. (transitive) to draw water (from a well, etc.)
2. (transitive) to drag

Conjugation

Conjugation of sia

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		tosia	fosia	misia
2nd person		nosia	nisia
3rd person	masculine	osia	isia yosia (archaic)
	feminine	mosia
	neuter	isia

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tetum

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *siwa, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *siwa, from Proto-Austronesian *Siwa.

Numeral

sia

1. nine

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English chair.

Noun

sia

1. chair

Venetan

Verb

sia

1. inflection of èser:
   1. first-person singular, third-person singular and third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular and plural imperative

White Hmong

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʂiə̯˧/

Etymology 1

Verb

sia

1. to wrap around the waist

   sia siv ― to put on a sash

Etymology 2

Noun

sia (classifier: txoj)

1. life
2. breath
3. living being

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[4], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 295.

Yámana

Noun

sia

1. foam

Yami

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *si-da. Compare Tagalog sila (“they, them”)

Pronoun

sia

1. they
2. he, she, it