ya

¹ American  

[yuh] / yə /

pronoun

Informal.

1. you.

   Give me a hand, will ya?

2. your.

   Where's ya brother?

---

ya ² American  

[yah] / yɑ /

interjection

Informal.

1. a variant of yeah.

---

yā ³ American  

[yah] / yɑ /

noun

1. the 28th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

---

YA ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. young adult.

---

Etymology

Origin of ya¹

First recorded in 1820–25; a phonetic spelling representing the pronunciation of you and your in continuous rapid speech

Origin of yā³

From Arabic

Example Sentences

But the agent checking me in said little beyond, “Where ya going?”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

One activist wore a Donald Trump mask and held a sign that read: "It's capitalism, ya eejits".

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

It was nonetheless immortalized in Lightfoot’s lyrics: “At 7 p.m., a main hatchway caved in, he said, ‘Fellas, it’s been good to know ya.’

From Slate • Nov. 10, 2025

El sábado, por supuesto, las circunstancias serán completamente diferentes, ya que será el primer séptimo partido de una Serie Mundial desde 2019.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2025

“They don’t tell ya anything around here, eh?”

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon