su

See also: Appendix:Variations of "su"

Languages (68)

Translingual • English

---

Ahtna • Akan • Alemannic German • Aromanian • Avau • Awa-Cuaiquer • Azerbaijani • Basque • Central Bikol • Chavacano • Chungli Ao • Chuukese • Czech • Estonian • Fala • Finnish • French • Gagauz • Greenlandic • Hausa • Hokkien • Ido • Ili Turki • Indo-Portuguese • Interlingua • Inupiaq • Isoko • Italian • Italiot Greek • Japanese • Kamkata-viri • Koro (India) • Ladino • Lithuanian • Lombard • Lower Sorbian • Macanese • Mandarin • Middle French • Middle Low German • Mizo • Norman • Northern Sami • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Pali • Paraguayan Guarani • Pawaia • Salar • Sardinian • Serbo-Croatian • Sicilian • Spanish • Sumerian • Tarifit • Tashelhit • Tocharian B • Tok Pisin • Turkish • Upper Sorbian • Uyghur • Veps • Vietnamese • Welsh • Western Yugur • White Hmong

---

Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Sundanese, from Sundanese ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ (sunda).

Symbol

su

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Sundanese.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Sundanese terms

English

Etymology

See xu.

Noun

su (plural su)

1. Alternative form of xu (“former Vietnamese currency”).
   • 1970, Bernard John Hurren, Airports of the World, page 105:

     100 su = 1 Vietnam dong

   • 2015, Kim Huynh, Vietnam as if...: Tales of youth, love and destiny, page 4:

     Old people pine for the days when a serving of rice cost a 100 su coin.

Ahtna

Enclitic

su

1. An emphatic enclitic that adds emphasis to the preceding word.

Related terms

• cʼasu (“perhaps”)

References

• Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 468

Akan

Noun

su (Twi)

1. nature; character
2. condition

   Synonym: tebea

Verb

su

1. (of donkeys, mules) to bray

References

• LearnAkan (2018–present), “bray”, in LearnAkanDictionary.com (overall work in English)

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

• ŝchu

Etymology

From Middle High German sun, from Old High German sunu, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz. Cognate with German Sohn, Dutch zoon, English son, Icelandic sonur.

Noun

su m

1. (Issime, Formazza) son

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Aromanian

Preposition

su

1. alternative form of sum

Avau

Numeral

su

1. two

References

• Sara Van Cott et al., A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Avau Language Area: West New Britain Province (2015), SIL Journal of Language Survey Reports

Awa-Cuaiquer

Noun

su

1. land, earth, ground

References

• Caracterización del pueblo Awa - Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia

Azerbaijani

Other scripts

Cyrillic		су
Arabic		سو

Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish صو, from Proto-Turkic *sub..

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [su]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

su (definite accusative suyu, plural sular) (countable, uncountable)

1. water

   stəkana su tökmək ― to pour water into a glass

   Bəzi ölkərdə əhalinin təmiz içməli suyu yoxdur.

   In some countries, the population doesn't have clean drinking water.

2. juice

   armud suyu ― pear juice.

   Pomidorun suyu buxarlanıb yalnız “əti” qalmalıdır. ― The juice of the tomato should vaporize and only the "meat" remain.

Declension

The words nə, su and mənşə (and sometimes mövqe) are the only ones in Azerbaijani to take a y in the singular accusative, genitive, and dative cases, and in the singular possessive forms.

Declension of su

	singular	plural
nominative	su	sular
definite accusative	suyu	suları
dative	suya	sulara
locative	suda	sularda
ablative	sudan	sulardan
definite genitive	suyun	suların

Possessive forms of su

	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	suyum	sularım
sənin (“your”)	suyun	suların
onun (“his/her/its”)	suyu	suları
bizim (“our”)	suyumuz	sularımız
sizin (“your”)	suyunuz	sularınız
onların (“their”)	suyu or suları	suları
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	suyumu	sularımı
sənin (“your”)	suyunu	sularını
onun (“his/her/its”)	suyunu	sularını
bizim (“our”)	suyumuzu	sularımızı
sizin (“your”)	suyunuzu	sularınızı
onların (“their”)	suyunu or sularını	sularını
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	suyuma	sularıma
sənin (“your”)	suyuna	sularına
onun (“his/her/its”)	suyuna	sularına
bizim (“our”)	suyumuza	sularımıza
sizin (“your”)	suyunuza	sularınıza
onların (“their”)	suyuna or sularına	sularına
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	suyumda	sularımda
sənin (“your”)	suyunda	sularında
onun (“his/her/its”)	suyunda	sularında
bizim (“our”)	suyumuzda	sularımızda
sizin (“your”)	suyunuzda	sularınızda
onların (“their”)	suyunda or sularında	sularında
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	suyumdan	sularımdan
sənin (“your”)	suyundan	sularından
onun (“his/her/its”)	suyundan	sularından
bizim (“our”)	suyumuzdan	sularımızdan
sizin (“your”)	suyunuzdan	sularınızdan
onların (“their”)	suyundan or sularından	sularından
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	suyumun	sularımın
sənin (“your”)	suyunun	sularının
onun (“his/her/its”)	suyunun	sularının
bizim (“our”)	suyumuzun	sularımızın
sizin (“your”)	suyunuzun	sularınızın
onların (“their”)	suyunun or sularının	sularının

Derived terms

• sulamaq
• sulu
• susuz
• suyadavamlı

Related terms

• suvamaq
• suvarmaq

Basque

su

Alternative forms

• sü (Soule)

Etymology

Uncertain. Most likely from Proto-Basque *sur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s̺u/ [s̺u]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: su

Noun

su inan

1. fire

Declension

Declension of su (inan V-stem)

	indefinite	singular	plural	proximal plural
absolutive	su	sua	suak	suok
ergative	suk	suak	suek	suok
dative	suri	suari	suei	suoi
genitive	suren	suaren	suen	suon
comitative	surekin	suarekin	suekin	suokin
causative	surengatik	suarengatik	suengatik	suongatik
benefactive	surentzat	suarentzat	suentzat	suontzat
instrumental	suz	suaz	suez	suotaz
inessive	sutan	suan	suetan	suotan
locative	sutako	suko	suetako	suotako
allative	sutara	sura	suetara	suotara
terminative	sutaraino	suraino	suetaraino	suotaraino
directive	sutarantz	surantz	suetarantz	suotarantz
destinative	sutarako	surako	suetarako	suotarako
ablative	sutatik	sutik	suetatik	suotatik
partitive	surik	—	—	—
prolative	sutzat	—	—	—

Derived terms

• sukalde

Descendants

• Catalan: socarrat
  • Spanish: socarrat

Further reading

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

Central Bikol

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsu/ [ˈsu]
• Hyphenation: su

Article

su (Basahan spelling ᜐᜓ)

1. (Partido, Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon) direct marker placed before common nouns

   Synonym: si

   Kinua ko na su pakete.

   I already got the package

See also

• an

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish su.

Adjective

su

1. (formal, before a noun) his; her; its

   Synonym: de suyo

Chungli Ao

Noun

su

1. plate, dish

Further reading

• Clark, Mary M. (1893), Ao Naga grammar with illustrative phrases and vocabulary, Molung: Assam Secretariat Printing Office, page 148

Chuukese

Verb

su

1. to depart (on a journey)
2. to go

Czech

Alternative forms

• jsu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsu]

Verb

su

1. (dialect, Moravia) first-person singular present of být

Usage notes

• Only used in grammatical contexts where být (“to be”) is used as a main verb; where it is an auxiliary verb the standard form jsem is used. The same speaker would, for example, say "su doma" (= I'm at home) but "dorazil jsem" (= I (have) arrived).

Synonyms

• jsem

Estonian

Pronoun

su

1. genitive singular of sa

Usage notes

• Used unstressed in a sentence. When the pronoun is stressed, sinu (genitive of sina) is used.

Fala

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsu/
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: su

Determiner

su f sg

1. (Lagarteiru) apocopic form of súa (“his, her, its, their”)

Usage notes

• Used in Lagarteiru before a feminine singular noun as part of a noun phrase.

See also

Fala possessive determiners and pronouns

			possessee
			singular		plural
			masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
possessor	first person	singular	mei	miña	meis	miñas
		plural	nosu	nosa	nosus	nosas
	second person	singular	tei	túa, tu1	teis	túas, tus1
		plural	vosu	vosa	vosus	vosas
	third person		sei	súa, su1	seis	súas, sus1

¹ Determiner forms used in Lagarteiru before a noun.

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021), Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web), 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN, page 256

Finnish

Noun

su

1. abbreviation of sunnuntai (“Sunday”)

Anagrams

• -us, us.

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French sceu, from Old French seu, from Late Latin *sapūtum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sy/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: sue, suent, sues, sus, sut, sût
• Rhymes: -y

Participle

su (feminine sue, masculine plural sus, feminine plural sues)

1. past participle of savoir: known

   J'avais su qu'elle mentait.

   I had known that she was lying.

Related terms

• insu m

Etymology 2

contraction of sur

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sy/

Contraction

su

1. (colloquial, Quebec) sur

Related terms

• s'a
• su'l

Further reading

• “su”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• us

Gagauz

Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish صُو (su), from Proto-Turkic *sub. Compare Turkish su, Azerbaijani su, Turkmen suw, Crimean Tatar suv

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/

Noun

su (definite accusative suyu, plural sular)

1. water

   çöşmä suyu ― tap water

   saa olmaa deyni lääzım su içäsin

   you should drink water to be healthy

2. body of water
3. juice

   limon suyu ― lemon juice

4. essence

   gül suyu ― rose essence

Declension

Declension of su

	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	su	sular
definite accusative (belirtme)	suyu	suları
dative (yönelme)	suya	sulara
locative (bulunma)	suda	sularda
ablative (çıkma)	sudan	sulardan
genitive (tamlayan)	suyun	suların

Derived terms

• sucaaz
• sulak
• sulamaa
• sulu
• susak
• susamaa
• susuz
• susuzluk
• tatlı su

Related terms

• solucan
• yıslamaa

Further reading

• Mavrodi M. F., editor (2019), “su”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 1-4, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 72
• Kopuşçu M. İ., Todorova S. A., Kiräkova T.İ., editors (2019), “su”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 5-12, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 146
• N. A Baskakov, editor (1972), “su”, in Gagauzsko-Russko-Moldavskij Slovarʹ [Gagauz-Russian-Moldovan Dictionary], Moskva: Izdatelʹstvo Sovetskaja Enciklopedija, →ISBN, pages 435, 436
• İsmail Ulutaş, Relative Clauses in Gagauz Syntax (2004)

Greenlandic

Pronunciation

• (Nuuk) IPA^(key): /su/, [sʊ]

Root

su

1. Usually has interrogative meaning.

Usage notes

Like pi, su is not used on its own, but must be supplied with affixes or inflectional endings.

Hausa

Etymology 1

Pronoun

sū

1. they (third person plural independent subject pronoun)

See also

• músù (3rd person plural indirect object enclitic pronoun)
• sú (3rd person plural independent object pronoun)
• -sù (3rd person plural possessive enclitic pronoun)

Hausa personal pronouns

independent pronouns
		singular	plural
1st person		nī	mū
2nd person	m	kai	kū
	f	kē
3rd person	m	shī	sū
	f	ita
direct object pronouns*
		singular	plural
1st person		ni	mu
2nd person	m	ka	ku
	f	ki
3rd person	m	shi	su
	f	ta
indirect object pronouns
		singular	plural
1st person		minì	manà
2nd person	m	makà	mukù
	f	mikì
3rd person	m	masà	musù
	f	matà

* The default tone of the direct object pronouns is high, but it usually changes to low immediately after a high tone, unless that high tone is part of a verb with a high-low-high pattern.

---

See also the Hausa possessive pronouns.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sùː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [sùː]

Ideophone

sū̀

1. slithering, sliding

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of su – see 軀 (“human body; body; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 軀).

Ido

Etymology

From Esperanto si, from French se, Italian sé, Spanish se, ultimately from Latin sē, from Proto-Indo-European *swé +‎ -u (“personal pronoun ending”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/

Pronoun

su (reflexive, possessive sua, possessive plural sui)

1. self, oneself, himself, herself, itself, themselves (reflexive pronoun, 3rd person, singular or plural)

   La soldati defensis su brave.

   The soldiers defended themselves bravely.

See also

Personal pronouns in Ido

		singular			plural
		nominative	possessive		nominative	possessive
			singular	plural		singular	plural
first person		me	mea	mei	ni	nia	nii
second person	formal	vu	vua	vui	vi	via	vii
	familiar	tu	tua	tui
third person	masculine	ilu, il	ilua	ilui	ili	ilia	ilii
	feminine	elu, el	elua	elui	eli	elia	elii
	neuter	olu, ol	olua	olui	oli	olia	olii
	common	lu	lua	lui	li	lia	lii
	reflexive	su	sua	sui	su	sua	sui
indefinite		onu, on	onua	onui	onu, on	onua	onui

• The possessive plurals are seldom used.
• The shortened forms are preferred.
• The pangendered forms are preferred to the gendered or neuter forms in most scenarios.

Ili Turki

Noun

su

1. water

References

• Zhào Xiāngrú and Reinhard F. Hahn (1989). "The Ili Turk People and Their Language". Central Asiatic Journal.

Indo-Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese seu, from Latin suus, from Old Latin *sovos, from Proto-Indo-European *swoyos.

Pronoun

su

1. (Diu) third-person possessive pronoun; his; her; its
   • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:

     Já fallou par su pai aquêl mais piquin, […]

     The youngest one told his father […]

Descendants

• Macanese: su

Interlingua

Determiner

su (possessive)

1. his
2. her
3. its

Usage notes

• Does not decline on the basis of gender or number.

Inupiaq

Alternative forms

• sua
• su

Pronoun

su

1. what

   Su??

   What??

Isoko

Alternative forms

• sụ

Verb

su

1. (transitive) to sing

Usage notes

The verb is normally accompanied by "ole" (song).

Italian

Alternative forms

• suso, soso (archaic)
• sù (misspelling)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin sūsum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsu/^*

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: sù

Adverb

su

1. up, upstairs

   Antonym: giù

Derived terms

• in su
• lassù
• più su
• su di giri
• su e giù
• su per giù
• tiramisù

Interjection

su

1. come on!

Preposition

su

1. on, upon, onto, on top

   Lezione d'inglese numero 1: Il libro è sulla tavola.

   English lesson number 1: The book is on the table.

2. over

   L'orologio sul polsino della camicia era il marchio di fabbrica di Gianni Agnelli.

   The watch over the shirt cuff was Gianni Agnelli's trademark.

3. about, on

   Gli italiani non sono d'accordo su molte cose sul come cucinare la pasta e soprattutto sul condimento.

   Italians don't agree on many things about how to cook pasta and especially on the sauce.

4. above

   La Paz, che sorge a circa 3600 metri sul livello del mare, è la più alta capitale del mondo.

   La Paz, which lies about 3600 metres above sea level, is the world's highest capital city.

5. in, out of

   Un europeo su cinque avrà più di 65 anni entro il 2025.

   One in five Europeans will be more than 65 years old by year 2025.

6. on (a website)

   su Twitter ― on Twitter

7. in (a video game)

   su Fortnite ― in Fortnite

Usage notes

• When followed by the definite article, su combines with the article to produce the following combined forms:

su + article	Combined form
su + il	sul
su + lo	sullo
su + l'	sull'
su + i	sui
su + gli	sugli
su + la	sulla
su + le	sulle

Derived terms

• su due piedi
• su misura
• su richiesta

References

• su in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Italiot Greek

Pronoun

su (Greek spelling σού, strong personal pronoun)

1. contraction of esù (“you”)

Related terms

Second person pronoun forms

Number (style)	singular (familiar)		plural (formal)
	strong	weak	strong	weak
nominative	esù / isù	—	esì / isì	—
genitive	(e)sena	su†	esà	sas†
accusative	(e)sena	se	esà	sas

† These terms double as possessive pronouns.
All personal pronoun forms are displayed at evò (“I”).

Japanese

Romanization

su

1. The hiragana syllable す (su) or the katakana syllable ス (su) in Hepburn romanization.

Kamkata-viri

Etymology

From Proto-Nuristani *swayya, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *suHaryáH, from *súHar, from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥.

Noun

su f (Western, Northeastern, Southeastern)

1. sun

Koro (India)

Etymology

Cognate with Apatani sü, Hruso fu, Idu sà, Miji ʃu, Khumi Chin si.

Noun

su

1. mithun

Ladino

Adjective

su (plural sus)

1. his, her, its
2. (often in the plural) their

Usage notes

For many speakers, su agrees with the antecedent in number, rather than with the noun being described.

Lithuanian

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *śun, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm, or from Proto-Indo-European *som-. Cognate with Proto-Slavic *sъ(n).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsʊ]
• Rhymes: -ʊ
• Syllabification: sù

Preposition

sù (with instrumental)

1. with
   1. identifies the object of a reciprocal action

      kalbėtis su draugu ― to talk with a friend

   2. identifies accompanying people or objects

      mama su vaikais ― mom with [her] children

      gerti arbatą su pienu ― to drink tea with milk

   3. identifies an ingredient, feature, or contents

      dėžutė su dokumentais ― a box of documents

      pyragas su braškėmis ― pie with strawberries

   4. identifies time by means of a simultaneous event

      keltis su saule ― to rise with the sun

   5. compares two things that are similar/identical

      Aš panašus su tėčiu. ― I'm similar to [my] father.

   6. identifies the state of a subject during an action

      kalbėti su šypsena ― to speak with a smile

   7. identifies an instrument (equivalent to using the instrumental without su)

      valgyti su šakute ― to eat with a fork

Usage notes

"Su" can also be used to greet a person on a festival, akin to с (s) in Russian and з (z) in Ukrainian. For example: "Su nepriklausomybės diena" (Happy Independence Day) and "Su Kalėdom" (Happy Christmas).

Antonyms

• be

Further reading

• Vytautas Ambrazas (2006), “3. Morphology § 8.29”, in Lithuanian Grammar, 2nd revised edition, page 419

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian su, from Latin sursum.

Adverb

su

1. up

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsu/
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: su

Verb

su

1. third-person plural present of byś
   • 1998, Erwin Hannusch, chapter 1, in Niedersorbisch praktisch und verständlich, Bautzen: Domowina Verlag, →ISBN, page 20:

     Tšochu dalej su Stare wiki.

     Somewhat further on is the Old Market.

   • 2011 September 28, I. Neumannojc, “Sadowe bomy za derjeměśe luźa a natury [Fruit trees for the benefit of people and nature]”, in Nowy Casnik‎^[2], number 39:

     Sadowe bomy w burskich gumnach a teke na dwórach su typiske za naš region.

     Fruit trees in farmers’ gardens and even in courtyards are typical for our region.

Macanese

Etymology

From Indo-Portuguese su, from Old Galician-Portuguese seu.

Pronoun

su

1. third-person reflexive possessive pronoun: his (own), her (own), its (own), their (own)

   Cad'unga co su telado ― Everyone with their own roof

   Atúto qui boniteza, ja dâ unga ucho pa su mai

   Atúto is so sweet, he kissed his mother

   Quiánca ta virá ficá nhum, nina azinha têm su sium.

   A boy is growing into a young man, a girl quickly has her mister.

Usage notes

• While êle-sa can be used in a somewhat similar manner as the third-person possessive pronoun, su in particular carries a reflexive sense, as in "his own", "her own", etc. This is akin to the Balto-Slavic usage of savo, swój, свой (svoj), and so on, albeit usually only for the third person, rarely extending to the second person.
• Essentially functionally equivalent to onçóm-sa, although this latter formation is less common.

Related terms

• sa, sua

See also

Macanese personal pronouns and possessives

	person	pronoun	possessive
singular	first	iou, io, mi*, ieu*	iou-sa, iou-sua#, minha, io-sa, io-sua#
	second	vôs	vôs-sa, vôsso, su, vôs-sua#
	third	êle, êla*	êle-sa, su, êle-sua#
plural	first	nôs, nosôtro*	nôs-sa, nôsso, nôs-sua#
	second	vosôtro	vosôtro-sa, su, vosôtro-sua#
	third	ilôtro, elôtro*, olôtro*, ulôtro*	ilôtro-sa, su, ilôtro-sua#
reflexive (all persons)		onçóm	su, onçóm-sa*, onçóm-sua#

# Dated.   * Rare.

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm

Mandarin

Romanization

su

1. nonstandard spelling of sū
2. nonstandard spelling of sú
3. nonstandard spelling of sù

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle French

Alternative forms

• sud

Noun

su m

1. south

Middle Low German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syː/

Pronoun

sü̂

1. alternative form of sê (“she”)

Verb

sü̂

1. imperative singular of sên (“to see”)

Mizo

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *suu.

Verb

su (stem II sûk)

1. to wash

Further reading

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “su”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

Norman

Etymology 1

From Old French sud, su (“south”), from Old English sūþ, from Proto-Germanic *sunþrą.

Noun

su m (uncountable)

1. (continental) south

Alternative forms

• sud (Jersey, Guernsey)
• süük (Sark)

Etymology 2

From Old French sur (“sour, bitter”), from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour, acidic, salty, damp”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūro- (“sour, salty, bitter”).

Adjective

su

1. (Jersey) sour

Northern Sami

Pronoun

su

1. accusative/genitive of son

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse sú, accusative singular indefinite of sýr f, from Proto-Germanic *sūz, from Proto-Indo-European *suH-.

Noun

su f (definite singular sua, indefinite plural suer, definite plural suene)

1. a sow, especially used for breeding

   Synonyms: purke, sugge

Etymology 2

From Old Norse súð.

Noun

su f (definite singular sua, indefinite plural suer, definite plural suene)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Related terms

• sy (“to sew”)
• syl m
• saum m (“seam”)

Etymology 3

Noun

su f (definite singular sua, indefinite plural suer, definite plural suene)

1. (dialectal) flow of waves at a beach
2. (dialectal) a slipstream

Synonyms

• (flow of waves): bølgegang, båregang

Related terms

• syda, syde (“to seethe”)

References

• “su” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *sū, from Proto-Germanic *sūz, from Proto-Indo-European *suH-. Germanic cognates include Old Saxon sū, Old High German sū (whence German Sau), Old Norse sýr (whence Swedish so). Other Indo-European cognates: Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Latin sus, Russian свинья́ (svinʹjá).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suː/
• Rhymes: -uː

Noun

sū f

1. sow (female pig)

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	sū	sȳ
accusative	sū	sȳ
genitive	sȳ, sūe, sūwe	sūa, sūwa
dative	sȳ	sūm, sūum, sūwum

See also

• sugu

Pali

Etymology 1

Inherited from Sanskrit श्‍रु (ś‍ru).

Root

su

1. to hear
   • c. 500 AD, Dhatumañjusa; republished in Dines Andersen & Helmer Smith, The Pāli Dhātupāṭha and the Dhātumañjūsā, Copenhagen: Andr. Fred. Host & son, 1921, page 46:

     121. Su savane saka sattimhi
     khi khayamhi gi saddane
     apa sambhu ca pāpuṇane
     hi gatimhi vu saṃvare.

     121. Su for listening, sak for strength, / khī for dimunition, ge for sound / ap for progeny and attainment / hi for gone, var for restraint.

Derived terms

Verbs

• anussāvayati
• anussāveti
• sāvayati
• sāveti
• suṇāti

Non-present participles, gerundives, absolutives and infinitives

• suta
• sutavant
• sutvā

Nouns

• savana
• sāvaka

Pali terms belonging to the root su (hear) (0 c, 11 e)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Sanskrit स्रु (sru).

Root

su

1. to flow
   • c. 500 AD, Dhatumañjusa; republished in Dines Andersen & Helmer Smith, The Pāli Dhātupāṭha and the Dhātumañjūsā, Copenhagen: Andr. Fred. Host & son, 1921, page 39:

     83. su hiṃsā-kulasandhāna-
     yātrādisu su passave
     su sadde su pasavane
     si save ca si sevane.

     83. su for hurting, uniting clans, / travelling, etc., su for hearing, / su for making sound, su for flowing, / si for lying down and si for associating.

Usage notes

The initial consonant tends to geminate after prefixes.

Derived terms

Verbs

• anvassavati
• anvāssavati
• assavati
• āsavati
• savati

Nouns

• savana

Pali terms belonging to the root su (flow) (0 c, 8 e)

Paraguayan Guarani

Etymology

From guasu (“big”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/
• Rhymes: -u

Number

su

1. thousand

References

• Canese, Natalia Krivoshein de; Alcaraz, Feliciano Acosta (2016), “su”, in Ñe’ẽryru [Dictionary] (overall work in Spanish), Asunción: Instituto Superior de Lenguas, →ISBN, page 101, column 2

Pawaia

Noun

su

1. tooth

References

• Andrew Pawley et al., "The Trans New Guinea family", in The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide (2018, →ISBN)
• ASJP citing Z'graggen (1975), Comparative wordlists of the Gulf District and adjacent areas, in Richard Loving (ed.), Comparative wordlists I (Workpapers in Papua New Guinea Languages 14)

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *sub.

Noun

su (3rd person possessive [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. water

References

Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “su”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow: Nauka

Sardinian

Alternative forms

• s' (apocopated, used before vowels)

Etymology

From Latin ipsum, accusative singular of ipse (“himself”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/

Article

su m (plural (Logudorese, Nuorese) sos or (Campidanese) is, feminine sa)

1. (Logudorese, Campidanese, Nuorese) the (masculine singular definite article)

References

• Rubattu, Antoninu (2006), Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes
• Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964), “ísse”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

su (Cyrillic spelling су)

1. third-person plural present of bȉti

Sicilian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *ipsu, from Latin ipsum, from ipse.

Article

su m sg (f sa, plural si)

1. alternative form of lu (rare)

Related terms

Sicilian articles

		singular		plural
		masculine	feminine
indefinite article		nu, un, 'n	na	—
definite article	liquid	lu	la	li
	illiquid	u, û	a, â	i, î

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin suum, from Proto-Italic *sowos, from Proto-Indo-European *sewos, from *swé.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/ [su]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: su

Determiner

su (third person possessive of singular, plural sus)

1. (before the noun) apocopic form of suyo

   Vino con su amigo.

   He came with his friend.

   Habló a sus hijas.

   She spoke to her daughters.

   1. used to express an approximate number: about, approximately

      Pesa sus dos kilogramos.

      It weighs about two kilograms.

      (literally, “It weighs its two kilograms.”)

Usage notes

• The forms su and sus are only used before and within the noun phrase of the modified noun. In other positions, a form of suyo is used instead:

Son sus libros. — “[They] are his books.”

Son los libros suyos. — “[They] are his books.” (“...the books of him.”)

Son los suyos. — "[They] are his."

Besides being a pronoun, because su occurs in a noun phrase and expresses reference, it also grammatically classifies as a determiner (specifically a possessive/genitive determiner).

Derived terms

• que su

See also

Spanish possessive determiners

Possessor		Preposed		Postposed or standalone
		Singular possessee	Plural possessee	Singular possessee		Plural possessee
				masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
First-person	Singular	mi	mis	mío	mía	míos	mías
	Plural	(same as postposed/standalone)		nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras
Second-person	Singular	tu	tus	tuyo	tuya	tuyos	tuyas
	Plural	(same as postposed/standalone)		vuestro	vuestra	vuestros	vuestras
Third-person		su	sus	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas

Further reading

• “su”, 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

Sumerian

Romanization

su

1. romanization of 𒋢 (su)

Tarifit

Root
s-w
2 terms

Alternative forms

• sew

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Afroasiatic?

Proto-Berber *ăswəʔ

Tarifit su

Inherited from Proto-Berber *ăswəʔ.

Pronunciation

• (Nador) IPA^(key): [sʊ]
• Syllabification: su
• Rhymes: -ʊ

Verb

su (verbal noun tissi, Tifinagh spelling ⵙⵓ) (intransitive, transitive)

1. to drink

   Yeswa aman-enni marra. ― He drank all that water.

2. (by extension) to drink alcohol

   Isess. ― He drinks (alcohol).

3. to soak up
4. to smoke (tobacco, cannabis)

   Synonyms: keyyef, bewweɛ, kma, jbed

Conjugation

Conjugation of su

aorist perfective negative perfective imperfective negative imperfective participle yeswen yeswin yeswin isessen isessen singular plural 1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person aorist m sweɣ teswed isu nsu teswem swen f tsu teswent swent perfective m swiɣ teswid yeswa neswa teswim swin f teswa teswint swint negative perfective m swiɣ teswid yeswi neswi teswim swin f teswi teswint swint imperfective m sesseɣ tsessed isess nsess tsessem sessen f tsess tsessent sessent negative imperfective m sesseɣ tsessed isess nsess tsessem sessen f tsess tsessent sessent aorist imperative m su swem, swet f swent imperfective imperative m sess sessem, sesset f sessent injunctive m neswet f neswent

References

• Serhoual (2002)
• Abarrou (2024)

Tashelhit

Alternative forms

• sw, ssu

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Afroasiatic?

Proto-Berber *ăswəʔ

Tashelhit su

Inherited from Proto-Berber *ăswəʔ, possibly from Proto-Afroasiatic. Compare Hausa sha (“to drink”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/

Verb

su (verbal noun tissi, Tifinagh spelling ⵙⵓ, Arabic spelling سو)

1. to drink
2. to smoke
3. to irrigate, to water
4. to absorb
5. to lose oneself, to be overwhelmed
6. (figuratively) to score (a goal)

Derived terms

• imswi (“drinker”)
• imswi n waggu (“smoker”)
• isswi (“irrigation”)
• sessu (“to water”)
• tissi (“drinks, beverages”)

References

• Stroomer, Harry (2025), Dictionnaire berbère tachelḥiyt-français — Tome 1 A–E (Handbook of Oriental Studies – Handbuch der Orientalistik; 188/1) (in French), Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, →DOI, →ISBN, page 2108b

Tocharian B

Pronoun

su

1. he, she, it

See also

• ñaś
• tuwe
• wes
• yes

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English shoe.

Noun

su

1. shoe

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su/, [sʊ]
• Hyphenation: su

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish صو, from Old Anatolian Turkish صو, from Proto-Turkic *sub.

Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰽𐰆𐰉 (sub).

Noun

su (definite accusative suyu, plural sular)

1. water; H₂O

   Synonym: (obsolete) ab

2. a body of water such as a lake or an ocean
3. water supplied for drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc.

   Sular kesildi.

   The water supply was cut off.

4. juice
5. the fragrant, distilled liquid obtained from flowers or the leaves of certain plants
6. the liquid part of a food or dish
7. (dialectal, used with 'yıkamak' (to wash) and a numeral) a time, an occurence

   Meyveleri iki su yıka.

   Wash the fruits two times.

8. the temper or hardness imparted to a metal tool by heating and then quenching it in water
9. a decorative border or ornamental band along the edge of a carpet, fabric, miniature or other similar object
10. (of wood) the grain, the direction of the fibers

Declension

The declension of su is irregular: the genitive form of the singular is suyun and not sunun; also, the third-person-singular possessive is suyu and not susu.

Female given name Su and all other words that end in "-su" such as pusu have regular declension.

Declension of su

singular plural nominative su sular definite accusative suyu suları dative suya sulara locative suda sularda ablative sudan sulardan genitive suyun suların Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular suyum sularım 2nd singular suyun suların 3rd singular suyu suları 1st plural suyumuz sularımız 2nd plural suyunuz sularınız 3rd plural suları suları definite accusative singular plural 1st singular suyumu sularımı 2nd singular suyunu sularını 3rd singular suyunu sularını 1st plural suyumuzu sularımızı 2nd plural suyunuzu sularınızı 3rd plural sularını sularını dative singular plural 1st singular suyuma sularıma 2nd singular suyuna sularına 3rd singular suyuna sularına 1st plural suyumuza sularımıza 2nd plural suyunuza sularınıza 3rd plural sularına sularına locative singular plural 1st singular suyumda sularımda 2nd singular suyunda sularında 3rd singular suyunda sularında 1st plural suyumuzda sularımızda 2nd plural suyunuzda sularınızda 3rd plural sularında sularında ablative singular plural 1st singular suyumdan sularımdan 2nd singular suyundan sularından 3rd singular suyundan sularından 1st plural suyumuzdan sularımızdan 2nd plural suyunuzdan sularınızdan 3rd plural sularından sularından genitive singular plural 1st singular suyumun sularımın 2nd singular suyunun sularının 3rd singular suyunun sularının 1st plural suyumuzun sularımızın 2nd plural suyunuzun sularınızın 3rd plural sularının sularının Predicative forms singular plural 1st singular suyum sularım 2nd singular susun sularsın 3rd singular su sudur sular sulardır 1st plural suyuz sularız 2nd plural susunuz sularsınız 3rd plural sular sulardır

Derived terms

• aksu
• su baldıranı
• su biti
• su böceği
• su çiçeği
• su çulluğu
• su karanfili
• su mercimeği
• su nanesi
• su piresi
• su rezenesi
• su tavuğu
• su teresi
• su yatağı
• su yılanı
• su yoncası
• sucu
• sulamak
• sulu
• suluk
• susuz

water

• altın suyu
• katran suyu
• kireç suyu
• su değirmeni
• su mermeri
• su yolu
• yağmur suyu

juice

• çay suyu
• domates suyu
• elma suyu
• et suyu
• kenevir suyu
• portakal suyu
• şalgam suyu
• turşu suyu

proper nouns

• Gümüşsuyu
• Sudere

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish صو (su), from Proto-Turkic *sü (“army”).

Noun

su

1. only used in su uyur, düşman uyumaz

Derived terms

• subaşı
• Süer

Etymology 3

From French soutache, from Hungarian sujtás (“ribbon, braid”).

Noun

su (definite accusative suyu, plural sular)

1. (rare) clipping of sutaş (“soutache”).

Further reading

• “su”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu

Upper Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsu/
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: su

Verb

su

1. third-person plural present of być

   Woni su na pućowanjach.

   They are traveling.

Uyghur

Noun

su

1. Latin spelling of سۇ (su)

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *suu.

Noun

su

1. mouth

Inflection

Inflection of su (inflection type 13/ma)
nominative sing.	su
genitive sing.	sun
partitive sing.	sud
partitive plur.	suid
	singular	plural
nominative	su	sud
accusative	sun	sud
genitive	sun	suiden
partitive	sud	suid
essive-instructive	sun	suin
translative	suks	suikš
inessive	sus	suiš
elative	suspäi	suišpäi
illative	suhu	suihe
adessive	sul	suil
ablative	sulpäi	suilpäi
allative	sule	suile
abessive	suta	suita
comitative	sunke	suidenke
prolative	sudme	suidme
approximative I	sunno	suidenno
approximative II	sunnoks	suidennoks
egressive	sunnopäi	suidennopäi
terminative I	suhusai	suihesai
terminative II	sulesai	suilesai
terminative III	sussai	—
additive I	suhupäi	suihepäi
additive II	sulepäi	suilepäi

Derived terms

• azegensu
• avoinsu
• hijamsu
• magedsu
• oružjsu
• sulagi
• sunkibu

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “пасть, рот, устье”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[3], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Vinh) IPA^(key): [ʂu˧˥]

Adjective

su

1. North Central Vietnam form of sâu (“deep”)

   nác su ― deep water

Welsh

Noun

su m (plural suon, not mutable)

1. alternative form of si

Western Yugur

Etymology

Inherited from Old Uyghur 𐽻𐽳𐽱 (swv /⁠suv⁠/), itself from Proto-Turkic *sub.

Noun

su

1. water

Compound terms

• su ahqba (“canal”)
• su alma (“pear”)
• su duŋ (“culvert, waterway”)
• su ojna- (“to swim”)
• su oŋɢahrdʐa (“sink, lavatory”)
• su telək (“puddle”)
• su tuŋ (“water bucket”)

References

• Léi, Xuǎnchūn (雷选春) (1992), “su”, in 西部裕固汉词典 [Xībù Yùgù-Hàn cídiǎn], Chengdu: Sichuan Minority Publishing House, pages 331-332

White Hmong

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʂu˧/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Hmongic *sjɛŋᶜ (“midday meal”),

Noun

su

1. noon
2. the noon meal, midday meal

Derived terms

• noj su (“to eat lunch”)
• tav su (“noon”)

Etymology 2

Verb

su

1. to swell, rise
2. (of bread, cakes, etc.) to increase in volume

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979), White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[4], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 299.