mah

M3A1H4
Malaysia, Singapore/mɑː˧/Malaysia, Singapore/mɑː˦/

particle

Asserts that there is a straightforward or self-evident reason for something.

“— The plants are all dying already. — No one here to water them mah...”

Similar
CommonScrabble 8

Meanings

mah1

determiner
  1. Southern USpronunciation spellingAfrican-American VernacularPronunciation spelling of my.

    Adventurer: 'AFTER YEARS OF ADVENTURING... I HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE STREETPASS ARENA. ONCE I REST MAH HOOFS, I'M GOING TO RECORD MY SECRET BATTLE TECHNIQUE.'

    2014 June 26, Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, Nintendo 3DS, level/area: Streetpass Arena

mah2

particle

alternative ma

  1. ManglishSinglishAsserts that there is a straightforward or self-evident reason for something.

    — The plants are all dying already. — No one here to water them mah...

    4 more examples

    […] Alternatively train SBS bus drivers to become pilots also since they are already bus captains. Anyone can become a pilot mah. Its so easy. Everybody should give it try-but not with me on board.

    2003, ANGELL, “SIA PILOT ISSUE”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

    Especially today—we holiday, mah, so don’t bring them to town until tomorrow.

    2014, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Singapore Noir, Akashic Books, →ISBN, page 89

    In response, I ask if he thinks that his future child would be embarrassed about the online reputation that he has built for himself after all these years. “Why? All of this is just acting mah, I got nothing to be ashamed about.”

    2018 July 13, Shaun Tan, quoting Kurt Tay, “Does Someone Like Kurt Tay Deserve To Be A Father?”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 09 Aug 2024

    If I’m running around for errands, I want to look cute also mah. I used to wear shorts, but now I’d rather not. It’ll look like I’ve got thousands of cat scratches.

    2024 March 28, Benjamin Tan, quoting Ursula Soh, “In Their Own Skin: Portraits of Eczema in Singapore”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2024

    Synonyms: what

mah3

particle

alternative ma

  1. colloquialUsed at the end of an affirmative declarative sentence to change it into a yes–no question.

    Coz must charge daily lei

    2024 December 8, endlssorrow, “U guys bring smart watch oversea mah”, in HardwareZone Forums

Mah4

proper nounMah (plural Mahs)

plural Mahs

proper noun
  1. IndiaabbreviationinitialismInitialism of Maharashtra.

Synonyms & antonyms

particleAsserts that there is a straightforward or self-evident reason for something.

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Also see

Origin

mah · particle

  1. Hokkien嘛
  2. Cantonese嘛
  3. Englishmah

From Cantonese 嘛 (maa³) or Singaporean Hokkien 嘛 (--ma).

Full word history & related roots →

mah · particle

From Mandarin 嗎/吗 (ma) or Cantonese 嗎/吗 (maa⁵).

Full word history & related roots →

Mah · proper noun, proper noun

From Chinese 馬/马 (Cantonese: maa⁵, Hokkien: Má, Mandarin: Mǎ), or other sources.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

mah. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mah

MLA

“mah.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mah. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mah,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mah.

Source: mah on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.