jo

See also: Appendix:Variations of "jo"

Languages (48)

English

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Albanian • Basque • Bavarian • Catalan • Czech • Dalmatian • Danish • Dutch • Esperanto • Finnish • Friulian • German • Ingrian • Italian • Japanese • Karelian • Kashubian • Konabéré • Latvian • Lithuanian • Livonian • Lower Sorbian • Lower Tanana • Luxembourgish • Ma'di • Murui Huitoto • North Frisian • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Numèè • Occitan • Old French • Old Frisian • Plautdietsch • Polabian • Polish • Saterland Frisian • Slovincian • Spanish • Swahili • Swedish • Veps • Votic • West Frisian • Ye'kwana • Yoruba

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Page categories

English

Pronunciation

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒoː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oː

Etymology 1

From Scots jo (“joy”), from Middle English joye, from Old French joie, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (mistaken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium (“joy”), from gaudēre (“to be glad, rejoice”). Doublet of joy and gaudy (“Oxford college reunion”).

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.

Alternative forms

• joe

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese 杖.

Noun

jo (plural jo)

1. The staff used in the Japanese martial art of jodo or jojutsu.

See also

• jo-jeezly

Anagrams

• OJ

Albanian

Etymology

Likely a babble word, compare Turkish yok (“no”), and its derivates in other Balkanic languages such as Romanian ioc, Macedonian јок (jok). Comparison with German ja (“yes”) is semantically hard to explain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Determiner

jo

1. negates non-verbal phrases: no, not

Synonyms

• nauk (Tetova)
• nouk (Gostivar)

See also

• mos
• nuk
• s'

Further reading

• “jo”, in FMGJSH: Fjalor i madh i gjuhës shqipe (in Albanian), 2026

Basque

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): (Navarro-Lapurdian) /ɟo/ [ɟo]

 

• IPA^(key): (Southern) /xo/ [xo]

• IPA^(key): (Gipuzkoan) /xo/ [xo]
• IPA^(key): (Biscayan) /d͡ʒo/ [d͡ʒo]
• IPA^(key): (Navarrese) /jo/ [jo]

• Rhymes: -o
• Hyphenation: jo

Verb

jo du (imperfect participle jotzen, future participle joko, short form jo, verbal noun jotze)

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. to blow (the wind)

   Synonym: ibili

Further reading

• “jo”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “jo”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Bavarian

Etymology

Cognate with Icelandic jú, Swedish jo. Equivalent to standard High German doch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /joː/

Particle

jo

1. yes (in response to a negative question).

   Woids es ned na fuat heid? Jo, owa's wedda is a weng schlecht.

   Wolltet ihr nicht noch heute furt? Doch, aber das Wetter is etwas schlecht.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan jo~io~yo, from Vulgar Latin eō (attested from the sixth century), 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. Compare Occitan jo, Spanish yo, French je, Italian io, Sicilian eu ~ ju.

Pronunciation

• (Central) IPA^(key): [ʒɔ], [jɔ]
• (Balearic) IPA^(key): [ʒɔ]
• (Northwestern) IPA^(key): [jo], [d͡ʒo], [jɔ]
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): [jo], [jɔ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• 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
				proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
singular	1st person	standard	jo, mi3	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
		majestic1	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
	2nd person	standard	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
		formal1	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
		very formal2	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
	3rd person	m	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
		f	ella	la, l’4	-la	li	-li	seu
		n		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
plural
	1st person		nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
	2nd person	standard	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
		formal2	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
	3rd person	m	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
		f	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

Usage notes

• ÉsAdir accepts both [ʒɔ] and [jɔ] in Central Catalan and both [d͡ʒo] and [jo] in Northwestern Catalan. The same applies to ja.
• DNV accepts both [jo] and [jɔ] in Valencian.
• The formal pronunciation [ʒɔ] predominates in Girona, Mallorca, and Menorca. It can alternate with [jɔ] in relaxed or syntactic pronunciation due to vowel contact.
• The pronunciation [jɔ] predominates in Central Catalan below Girona, as in Barcelona, and also in Northern Valencian and Ibiza. It can alternate with [ʒɔ] in emphatic pronunciation or in formal registers.
• The pronunciation [jo] predominates in southern Valencian and in La Franja in Aragon.

References

• “jo”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “jo”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “jo” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “jo”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• ÉsAdir - Fonètica: les paraules "jo" i "ja"

Czech

Etymology

Compare Polish jo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjo]

• Audio:

  (file)

Particle

jo

1. (colloquial) yeah, yep, yup

   Synonyms: ano, jj

   Antonym: ne

Further reading

• “jo”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “jo”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• io

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 (adverb) / je (conjunction).

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

jo

2. 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

2. the

   Jo mere jeg løber, desto trættere bliver jeg.

   The more I run, the more tired I become.

Usage notes

• jo ... desto ... and jo ... des ... are common constructions.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse jaur, compare Swedish jo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjɔʊ̯ˀ]

Interjection

jo

2. yes (used to contradict a negative statement or negatively phrased question)

   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

• Often followed by "I do", "he is", or another fitting expression when translated into English to indicate contradiction rather than affirmation.
• Contrasts with ja (“yes”), which confirms positive statements or positively phrased questions. Negatively phrased questions like Kommer du ikke? ("Are you not coming?"), Du kommer ikke, vel? ("You're not coming, are you?"), and Du kommer ikke? ("You're not coming?") must be answered with jo to indicate that the speaker is, in fact, coming; they cannot be answered with ja.
• This term is identical in usage to the French si (“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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jo/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o
• Syllabification: jo

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

Further reading

• “jo”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “jo”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo (compare Estonian ju, Ingrian jo, Karelian jo, Livonian jo, Veps jo, Votic jo), probably borrowed from Proto-Balto-Slavic *jau (*iou) (compare Latvian jau, Lithuanian jaũ). Theories about a Germanic origin, often repeated in earlier sources, have issues; see the Proto-Finnic entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈjo̞]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o
• Syllabification^(key): jo
• Hyphenation^(key): jo

Adverb

jo

1. already (prior to some time; so soon)

   Luin kirjan jo loppuun.

   I already finished (reading) the book.

   (literally, “I already read the book to the end.”)

   Nytkö jo lähdet?

   You're already leaving?

2. now, already (emphasizer)

   Tule jo! (impatiently)

   Come now!

Derived terms

• johan
• joko
• jopa

Further reading

• “jo”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Friulian

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

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. Compare English yo, Swedish jo.

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, Middle English yo (> English yo).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /joː/

Interjection

jo

1. (colloquial) yes; expresses firm agreement.

Derived terms

• johlen

Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo. Cognates include Finnish jo and Estonian ju.

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

jo

1. already
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 25:

     Kiko ja Miko jo uijuut.

     Kiko and Miko are already swimming.

2. Emphasises the sentence.
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 64:

     Jo nyt mahan lukkia.

     Now I can read.

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 105

Italian

Pronoun

jo

1. (obsolete) alternative form of io

Japanese

Romanization

jo

1. The hiragana syllable じょ (jo) or the katakana syllable ジョ (jo) in Hepburn romanization.
2. The hiragana syllable ぢょ (jo) or the katakana syllable ヂョ (jo) in Hepburn romanization.

Karelian

Regional variants of jo

North Karelian (Viena)	jo
South Karelian (Tver)	jo

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo. Cognates include Finnish jo and Veps jo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjo/
• Hyphenation: jo

Adverb

jo

1. already

Interjection

jo

1. (North Karelian) yes

Synonyms

• (yes): (North Karelian) kyllä, (South Karelian) da

References

• A. V. Punzhina (1994), “jo”, in Словарь карельского языка (тверские говоры) [Dictionary of the Karelian language (Tver dialects)], →ISBN
• Pertti Virtaranta; Raija Koponen (2009), “jo”, in Marja Torikka, editor, Karjalan kielen sanakirja‎^[3], Helsinki: Kotus, →ISSN
• P. M. Zaykov et al. (2015), Venäjä-Viena Šanakirja [Russian-Viena Karelian Dictionary], →ISBN

Kashubian

Etymology

Borrowed from German jo. Compare Slovincian jo (“yes”), Silesian ja (“yes”), regional Polish ja (“yes”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɔ/
• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: jo

Particle

jo

1. yes

   Synonym: tak

   Jo, mògã to zrobic. ― Yes, I can do it.

   Jo, jô jem tam béł. ― Yes, I have been there.

Further reading

• “jo”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “tak”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[4]

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

Conjunction

jo

1. because
2. for

Particle

jo

1. the... the...

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

Lithuanian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [²ˈjo̟ː]
• Rhymes: -o̟ː
• Syllabification: jõ

Determiner

jõ

1. his (3rd person singular masculine possessive)

   Jõ ãkys yrà mė́lynos.

   His eyes are blue.

Pronoun

jo m

1. third-person singular genitive of jis
2. alternative form of juo

Etymology 2

From Middle High German ja, possibly via Yiddish יאָ (yo). Compare Latvian jā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [¹ˈjo̟ː]
• Rhymes: -o̟ː
• Syllabification: jó

Particle

jó

1. (colloquial) yeah

   Synonym: (standard term) taip

Usage notes

• Formerly considered obsolete, but seems to have been revived, possibly by influence of English yeah.
• Usage discouraged by the VLKK.

References

• “jo”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2026

Livonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈjo]

Etymology 1

Either borrowed from Latvian jo (“because, yet (more)”) /juo/, or otherwise an extended use of jo (“yet”) (etymology 2) inspired by the Latvian word; a direct borrowing from Latvian is more likely.

Preposition

jo

1. more; used with adjectives to form comparatives
   • 2012–2013, “jo”, in Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits, editors, Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[5], Tartu, Riga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra:

     pitkā, jo pitkā

     long, longer

Alternative forms

• juo

Etymology 2

Probably from Proto-Finnic *jo (compare Finnish jo (“already”)), although the phonetic development is not entirely regular, so either influence or direct borrowing from Latvian jau (“yet, already, after all”) is possible. At least semantic influence from Latvian is likely, as the original Finnic word only means “already”.

Preposition

jo

1. yet, already, after all
   • 2012–2013, “jo”, in Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits, editors, Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[6], Tartu, Riga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra:

     mōnigļikizt, ne jo lǟbõd mōzõ

     bumblebees, they are already migrating to their burrows

     (literally, “...going inside of earth”)

   • 2012–2013, “jo”, in Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits, editors, Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[7], Tartu, Riga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra:

     amād jo ītist äb peļļõt

     not everyone makes the same [amount of money]

     (literally, “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.

References

• Tiit-Rein Viitso; Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), “jo”, in Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[8] (in Estonian and Latvian), Tartu, Rīga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra

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)

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “jo”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999), “jo”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Lower Tanana

Alternative forms

• jonh
• njo (Chena)

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *gaˑ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʒɔ/

Demonstrative

jo

1. here
2. this, these

Derived terms

• joga' (“right here”)
• jonh, jonenh (“this person”)
• joni, njoni (“this thing”)
• jot (“this place”)

References

• Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 230

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

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

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

jo

1. yes

See also

• dach

Verb

jo

1. second-person singular imperative of joen

Ma'di

Etymology

Cognate with Lugbara dzɔ́.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɔ́]
• Hyphenation: jo

Noun

jó (plural jó)

1. house

References

• Mairi Blackings; Nigel Fabb (2003), A Grammar of Ma'di, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, page 44

Murui Huitoto

Etymology

Cognates include Minica Huitoto jo and Nüpode Huitoto jo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhɔ]
• Hyphenation: jo

Root

jo

1. house

Derived terms

• jofo

References

• Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017), A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[9], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 127

North Frisian

Etymology

Compare West Frisian hja.

Pronoun

jo (Föhr-Amrum)

1. third-person plural personal pronoun
   1. they (subject case)
   2. them, themselves (object case)

Alternative forms

• 's (reduced form)
• ja, jam (Mooring, Sylt)
• djo (Heligoland), jä (Halligen, Wiedingharde, Hoorning)

See also

Personal and possessive pronouns (Föhr-Amrum dialect)

			personal					possessive
			subject case		object case			masculine referent	feminine / neuter referent	plural referent
			full	reduced	full	reduced				attributive	independent
singular	1st		ik	'k	mi			man	min		minen
	2nd		dü	–	di			dan	din		dinen
	3rd	m	hi	'r	ham	'n		san	sin		sinen
		f or n	hat	at, 't		at, 't
plural	1st		wi	'f	üs			üüs			üüsen
								üsens
	2nd		jam	'm	jam			jau			jauen
								jamens
	3rd		jo	's	jo	's		hör			hören
								hörens

• The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
• At is not enclitic; it can stand in any unstressed position and refers mostly to things. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
• Dual forms wat / onk and jat / jonk are obsolete, as is feminine jü / hör.
• Independent possessives are distinguished from attributive ones only with plural referents.
• The forms üsens, jamens, hörens are used optionally (and decreasingly) when the possessor is a larger community, such as a village, city or nation.

Northern Sami

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/

Adverb

jo

1. already
2. now

Further reading

• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[10], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

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 jór, from Proto-Germanic *ehwaz.

Noun

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

1. a horse (only used in given names)

Related terms

Male given names:

• Jo
• Joalv
• Joar
• Jobjørn
• Jofast
• Jofrød
• Jofrøy
• Jogeir
• Jogrim
• Johamar
• Jokjell
• Jole
• Jolv, Julv
• Jomar
• Jorek
• Jostein

Female given names:

• Jo
• Jodis
• Jofrid, Jorid
• Jogjerd
• Joreid

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gjóðr.

Alternative forms

• gjod (alternative spelling)

Noun

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

1. a skua, seabird of family Stercorariidae.

Derived terms

• storjo

Etymology 3

From Norwegian Bokmål jo, from Danish jo.

Adverb

jo

1. alternative form of jau

Etymology 4

Compare Swedish ju.

Adverb

jo

1. Used to indicate an expectation of common understanding, or that what is said is an obvious fact – “as you well know,” “of course.”

   Synonym: no

   Han kom jo aldri

   But he never came though

   Ikkje rart at du fekk ølskummet over heile golvet. Ein skal jo ikkje slå på ølboksen fyri ein opnar den!

   It’s not weird that you’ve got the beer foam all-over the floor. You shouldn’t punch the beer can before you open it, y’know!

References

• “jo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Numèè

Noun

jo

1. water

References

• Jean-Claude Rivierre, Clément Vandegou (2020), Dictionnaire numèè-français‎^[11], page 52

Occitan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒu/, /ju/

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

Pronoun

jo (Gascony)

1. I

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin iugum.

Noun

jo m

1. yoke

Old French

Pronoun

jo

1. (Old Northern French) alternative form of je
   • c. 1170, Wace, Le Roman de Rou:

     Jo di e dirai ke jo sui

     I say and will say that I am

Old Frisian

Pronoun

jō

1. alternative form of jū, accusative/dative of jī

Inflection

Old Frisian personal pronoun declensions

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

Plautdietsch

Adverb

jo

1. yes

Polabian

Alternative forms

• joz

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ.

Pronoun

jo

1. first-person pronoun; I

References

• Polański, Kazimierz (1971), “jo”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka Drzewian połabskich [Etymological Dictionary of the Polabian Drevani Language] (in Polish), number 2 (ďüzd – ľotü), Wrocław; Warszawa etc.: Ossolineum, page 225
• Polański, Kazimierz; James Allen Sehnert (1967), “jo”, in Polabian-English Dictionary, The Hague, Paris: Mouton & Co, page 75
• Olesch, Reinhold (1962), “Je”, in Thesaurus Linguae Dravaenopolabicae [Thesaurus of the Drevani language] (in German), volumes 1: A – O, Cologne, Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, →ISBN, page 374

Polish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɔ/

• (Greater Poland):
  • (Chełmno-Dobrzyń) IPA^(key): [ˈjɔ]

• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: jo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ.

Pronoun

jo

1. (dialectal) alternative form of ja (“I”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German jo.

Particle

jo

1. (colloquial or dialectal, Chełmno-Dobrzyń) yeah, yep

   Synonyms: tak, ano, no, hej

   Antonym: nie

Alternative forms

• ja (Żywiec)

Further reading

• “jo”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[12] (in Polish)
• Antoni Krasnowolski (1879), “jo”, in Album uczącéj się młodzieży polskiéj poświęcone Józefowi Ignacemu Kraszewskiemu z powodu jubileuszu jego pięćdziesięcioletniéj działalności literackiéj (in Polish), Lviv: Czytelni Akademickiéj Lwowskiéj; "Gaz. Narod." J. Dobrzańskiego i K. Gromana, Słowniczek prowincjalizmów zebranych w ziemi chełmińskiej i świeckiej, page 303

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian hiā. Cognates include West Frisian hja and North Frisian jo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /joː/
• Hyphenation: jo
• Rhymes: -oː

Pronoun

jo (oblique hier)

1. they

See also

Saterland Frisian personal pronouns

			subject case		object case
			stressed	unstressed
singular	1st		iek		mie
	2nd		du		die
	3rd	m	hie	er	him
		f	ju	ze	hier
		n	dät	et	dät
plural	1st		wie		uus
	2nd		jie		jou
	3rd		jo	ze	hier

References

• Marron C. Fort (2015), “jo”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Slovincian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɔ/
• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: jo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)ãzъ.

Pronoun

jo

1. I (first-person pronoun)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *ja

Old High German ja

Middle High German ja

German jabor.

Slovincian jo

Borrowed from German ja. Compare Kashubian jo (“yes”), Silesian ja (“yes”), regional Polish ja (“yes”).

Particle

jo

1. yes

References

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “jǻu̯”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[13] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 389
• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “jǻu̯!”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[14] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 389

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxo/ [ˈxo]
• Rhymes: -o
• Syllabification: jo

Etymology 1

Interjection

¡jo!

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

Derived terms

• jo, jo, jo

Etymology 2

Euphemistic clipping of joder (“fuck”).

Interjection

¡jo!

1. (euphemistic) Used to express surprise, amazement, or confusion

   ¡Jo! ― I never heard anything like that before. / Are you serious? / Boy!

Further reading

• “jo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swahili

Etymology

Possibly from English yo.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Interjection

jo

1. (Sheng) added for emphasis to the end of a sentence

   Manze jo! ― Oh man!

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish iū, from Old Norse jaur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /juː/

• Audio (Kronoberg); “sense 1, disagreement” /ˈjuːˌuː/:

  (file)

• Audio (Kronoberg); “sense 2, agreement” /juː/:

  (file)

• Audio (generally northern); “sense 2, agreement” /ɕʉːp↓/:

  (file)

• Audio (Kronoberg); “sense 3, insight”:

  (file)

Interjection

jo

2. yes; used as a disagreement to a negative statement or a negatively phrased question (has no English equivalent, but equivalent to French si and German doch)

   –Du gillar ju inte pizza.
   –Jo.

   –But you don't like pizza.
   –Yes, I do.

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

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

4. yes (more generally, in a similar vein to jodå – see its usage notes)

   – Är det du som är han? – Jo, det är jag.

   – Are you that guy? – Yep, that's me.

   1. yeah

      Ah, jo, det stämmer nog när jag tänker efter

      Ah, yeah, that's probably correct when I think about it

6. (with an excited, rising tone) Expresses having an insight; oh

   Jo(ooo)! Nu kom jag på hur man löser pusslet.

   O(ooo)h! I figured out how to solve the puzzle now.

8. A filler, at the start of an utterance (to get someone's attention); listen, so, hey, etc. (compare "yeah")

   Jo, det är så att det är en grej som jag måste berätta för er

   So, there is something that I have to tell you ("So, it is such that there is a thing that I have to tell you," with some common stalling wording)

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.

Related terms

• inandnings-jo
• jodå
• jojo
• jovars

References

• “jo”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “jo”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “jo”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• oj

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *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]‎^[15], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Votic

Alternative forms

• joo

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo.

Pronunciation

• (Luutsa, Liivčülä) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈʝo]
• (Jõgõperä) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈʝo]
• (Central Votic) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈʝo]
• (Eastern Votic) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈʝo]
• Rhymes: -o
• Hyphenation: jo

Adverb

jo

1. already
2. (with negative) any more

Particle

jo

1. An emphatic intensifying particle.

References

• Hallap, V.; Adler, E.; Grünberg, S.; Leppik, M. (2012), “jo”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language]‎^[16], 2nd edition, Tallinn

West Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /joː/
• (unstressed) IPA^(key): /jə/

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian jū, from Proto-West Germanic *iwwiz, from Proto-Germanic *izwiz, dative/accusative of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yúHs.

Pronoun

jo

1. you (second person singular nominative formal pronoun)

Usage notes

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

Inflection

West Frisian personal pronouns and possessives

			personal				possessive
			subject case	object case			determiner	pronoun
				normal	reflexive
singular	1st		ik	my	mysels		myn	mines
	2nd	informal	do, dû1	dy	dysels		dyn	dines
		formal	jo	jo	josels		jo	jowes
	3rd	m	hy	him	himsels		syn	sines
		f	sy, hja1	har	harsels		har	harres
		n	it	it	himsels		syn	sines
plural	1st		wy	ús	ússels		ús	uzes
	2nd		jim(me)	jim(me)	jimsels, jinsels		jim(me)	jimmes
	3rd		sy, hja1	har(ren)	harsels		har(ren)	harres

¹ Now mostly archaic and unused.

Further reading

• “jo”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Determiner

jo

1. your (second-person singular formal possessive determiner)

Further reading

• “jo”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Ye'kwana

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hʷo]

Postposition

jo

1. (with following directional suffix -nno) indicates a point of origin

Usage notes

This postposition also infrequently occurs without -nno, in which case it is not clear whether it inflects at all and its meaning is difficult to determine.

References

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011), Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[17], Lyon, pages 277–278

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *jó, compare with Igala jó

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒó/

Verb

jó

1. (intransitive) to dance

Derived terms

• ijó (“dance”)
• jójó (“to dance [a dance]”)
• àlùjó

Etymology 2

Possibly from Proto-Yoruboid *jó, cognate with Igala jó

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒó/

Verb

jó

1. (ergative) to burn
2. (transitive) to sting; to irritate

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒò/

Verb

jò

1. to drip

Derived terms

• jíjò (“leaking”)
• ìjòdànù (“leakage”)
• òjò (“rain”)