啦
Meanings · la1
- now
- for now
- up to now
- right now
Meanings · laa3
- now
- for now
- up to now
- right now
Meanings · la5
- now
- for now
- up to now
- right now
Meanings · laa1
- sentence-final particle, contraction of 了啊, indicating exclamation
- assertion
- particle placed after each item in a list of examples
- descriptive of certain sounds
Meanings · laa4
- “now”, with an connotation of doubt
- surprise
- disapproval
Meanings · la5
- “now”, with an connotation of doubt
- surprise
- disapproval
About these definitions
Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.
Reading & tones
Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.
Reading difference from Unihan
- 啦 has the reading la1 here; Unihan’s citation reading is laa1. Different syllable across these source readings. CC-Canto also lists 啦 la1 as its own entry.
Computed by zimai: each syllable of the CC-Canto word reading is compared with Unihan 17.0.0 kCantonese for its character. The comparison does not say why a reading differs (a changed tone, 變音, a reading tied to one meaning, or a source variant).
Written characters
Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.
Mandarin comparison · separate source entries
CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:
- 啦 lā CC-CEDICT · Mandarin(onom.) sound of singing, cheering etc; (phonetic); (dialect) to chat
- 啦 la CC-CEDICT · Mandarinsentence-final particle, contraction of 了啊, indicating exclamation; particle placed after each item in a list of examples
A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.
CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: la5. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.
Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 2 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
la1 · laa1
Cantonese word readings for 啦. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- (Mandarin, colloquial) contraction of 了啊 (le a) — Used at the end of a sentence to indicate a change of state with a strong emotion.
- (Mandarin, colloquial) contraction of 了啊 (le a) — Used at the end of a sentence to inform the beginning of an action with a strong emotion.
character · Etymology 3
- (Cantonese) Placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order.
- (onomatopoeia) cheering sound
character · Etymology 4
- (Hokkien) Used as a final particle to indicate, focus on, or exclaim a topic, subject, declaration.
- (Hokkien) Used as a final particle to express exhortation.
- (Xiamen and Taiwanese Hokkien) already; now (Used as a final perfective particle to denote completion.)
- (Taiwanese Hokkien) Used as a final perfunctory particle to denote displeasure, unwillingness, and perfunctoriness.
character · Etymology 5
- Placed on the end of a sentence to indicate a yes-no question.
character · Etymology 6
- Used to indicate a persistent questioning tone
- Used to indicate berating tone
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack