ko

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ko" and کوه

Languages (58)

Afar • Äiwoo • Bambara • Bikol Central • Boko • Buginese • Cebuano • Danish • Esperanto • Ewe • Finnish • French • Fula • Guanano • Guaraní • Hawaiian • Hokkien • Indonesian • Ingrian • Japanese • Kalasha • Kamta • Karelian • Kirikiri • Latvian • Lithuanian • Maaka • Maori • Mapudungun • Norman • Nyishi • Old Javanese • Old Norse • Pali • Rapa Nui • Rawa • Serbo-Croatian • Slovene • Swahili • Swedish • Tagalog • Talysh • Taworta • Tocharian A • Tokelauan • Tuvaluan • Vietnamese • Volapük • Votic • West Frisian • West Makian • White Hmong • Wolof • Xhosa • Yoruba • Zazaki

Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

ko

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

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

ko

Wikipedia

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 劫 (kō).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈkəʊ/
Rhymes: -əʊ
Homophone: Co.

Noun

ko (plural ko)

(go) A local shape to which the ko rule applies; a ko shape.
Black gets an easy game by just filling the ko.
(go) ko fight
Black wins the ko easily.
(go) a stone in a ko in atari, a ko stone
Black recaptures the ko and white has to find another ko threat.

Derived terms

Translations

Chinese:
Mandarin: 劫 (zh) (jié)
Japanese: コウ (ja) (kō), 劫 (ja) (kō)
Korean: 패 (ko) (pae)

Anagrams

O. K., OK, OK., Ok, Ok., ok

Afar

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈko/ [ˈkɔ]

Pronoun

kó

thee, you
- Saytun Qhuraan kee kay maqnah tarjamaty Qafar afal tani [The clear Qur'an and its explanation translated into the Afar language]‎^[1], Suurat Al-Faatica, verse 5:
  Diggah nanu Ni Rabbow koo inkittosnaah Qibaada dibuk koo caglisna, nanu ni-caagiidah inkih cato koo esserra.
  Our God, with strength we make you whole, only you we give [our] adoration, we as one ask you for help with our afairs.

Usage notes

The form kóo is used when the pronoun isn't followed by a clitic.

References

E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “ko”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN

Äiwoo

Verb

ko

to lie down

References

Ross, M. & Næss, Å. (2007) “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 46, number 2. Cited in: "Äiwoo" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Bambara

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kò]

Verb

ko

to say

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kó]

Verb

ko

to wash

References

2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Bikol Central

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ko/

Pronoun

ko

by me
Sinalo ko an bola. ― The ball was caught by me.
of me
An harong ko. ― My house.
me
Sa taas ko. ― Above me.

Boko

Etymology

Cognate with Bokobaru koo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kō/

Noun

ko

chicken

Derived terms

koda (“hen”)
kosa (“rooster”)

Buginese

Pronoun

ko

(Sinjai) you, your, yours (casual)

Cebuano

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ko/ [ko]

Etymology 1

Clipping of ako.

Pronoun

ko (Badlit spelling ᜃᜓ)

short form of ako (“1st person singular subject”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *-ku, from Proto-Austronesian *-ku.

Pronoun

ko (Badlit spelling ᜃᜓ)

(uncommon, literary) my, mine, by me (object of verb; possessive marker)
Synonyms: nako, akò

Usage notes

In colloquial Cebuano, ko is generally used and understood as a subject (direct) marked pronoun, as a clipping of ako. Its use as the object (indirect) is virtually limited to literary works such as the Bible and in some dialects where there is some influence from Tagalog, which solely uses its ko in the object (indirect) position and as a possessive pronoun.
(general, colloquial): anak ko ― I am a child

(literary, dialectal): anak ko ― my child

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse *kōʀ (east), kýr (west), from Proto-Germanic *kōz.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /koːˀ/, [ˈkʰoˀ]

Noun

ko c (singular definite koen, plural indefinite køer)

cow

Declension

Declension of ko

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ko	koen	køer	køerne
genitive	kos	koens	køers	køernes

References

“ko” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ko]
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: ko

Noun

ko (accusative singular ko-on, plural ko-oj, accusative plural ko-ojn)

The name of the Latin-script letter K/k.

Ewe

Verb

ko

to laugh

Finnish

Alternative forms

ku
kö

Etymology

Related to kuka, kun, kuin.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈko/, [ˈko̞]
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation^(key): ko

Conjunction

ko (dialectal)

Alternative form of kun.
Alternative form of kuin.
Synonym of koska.

Usage notes

In some dialects, ko has become unstressed, subjecting it to vowel harmony and leading to the form kö after front-vowelic words.

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ki.lo.ɔk.tɛ/
Audio: (file)

Noun

ko m (plural ko)

Abbreviation of kilooctet (kilobyte)

Fula

Suffix

ko

Noun class indicator for nouns (singular)

Usage notes

Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Article

ko

(definite) the (when it follows the noun)
ñayko ko ― the thatch

Usage notes

Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Determiner

ko

(used in indicating something)
ko ñayko ― this/that thatch

Usage notes

Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Guanano

Noun

ko

References

Kristine Stenzel, A Reference Grammar of Kotiria (Wanano)

Guaraní

Determiner

ko

this

Hawaiian

Alternative forms

kō

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ko/

Preposition

ko

of, belonging to first part of possessive constructions, o-type
ko mākou hale ― our house

ko ke kumu kaʻa ― the teacher's car

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of ko – see 高 (“tall; high; of high level; above average; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 高).

For pronunciation and definitions of ko – see 膏 (“fat; grease; oil; fatty; oily; rich; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 膏).

Indonesian

Pronoun

ko

(Java, informal) Second-person singular pronoun: you, your, yours

Synonyms

Indonesian informal second-person pronouns:

anta (informal, mainly used by Muslim community)
antum (informal, mainly used by Muslim community)
coen (slang, East Java)
ente (informal, mainly used by Betawi ethnic group)
kamu (intimate)
ko, kowe (informal, Java)
kon, koen (colloquial, East Java)
lu, lo, loe, elu (informal, mainly used by Betawi ethnic group)
mika, mike (informal, Eastern Sumatra)

Ingrian

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈko/, [ˈko̞]
(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈko/, [ˈko̞]
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation: ko

Conjunction

ko

Alternative form of ku
- 2008, “Läkkäämmä omal viisii [We're speaking [our] own way]”, in Inkeri‎^[2], volume 4, number 69, St. Petersburg, page 12:
  Se oli ko hää ei mahtant vennäheks läätä.
  That was how she couldn't speak Russian.

References

Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 178

Japanese

Romanization

ko

The hiragana syllable こ (ko) or the katakana syllable コ (ko) in Hepburn romanization.

Kalasha

Adverb

ko

why

Interjection

ko

why

Noun

ko

why

Kamta

Etymology

From Sanskrit কথযতি (katháyati). Cognate with Assamese ক (ko), Sylheti ꠇꠅꠀ (xooa), Bengali কওয়া (koōẇa), Hindustani कहना (kahnā) / کہنا (kahnā).

Verb

ko

say
tell
Oĩ mök koisil. ― He told me
speak
kotha ko ― speak

Conjugation

impersonal forms of ko

Stem	ko
Gerund	koöa
Conjugative	koia
Infinitive	koibar
Agentive	koure
Converb	koite
Progressive participle	koite koite
Reason	koöat
Conditional participle	koile
Perfect participle	koia
Habitual participle	koia koia

Conjugation forms of ko

Person	First person		Second person			Third person
	First person		informal		formal	informal		formal
	singular	plural	singular	plural	formal	singular	plural	formal
	muĩ	amra	tuĩ	tömra		oĩ	umra
Present
Imperfective	koṅ	koi	koiṣ	kon		koe
Continuous	koia asoṅ	koia asi	koia asiṣ	koia asen		koia ase
Perfective	koisoṅ	koisi	kosiṣ	koisen		koise
Past
Recent	koluṅ	koiloṅ	kolu	koilen		koil ~ koilek
Distant & Habitual	kosiluṅ	koisiloṅ	kosilu	koisilen		koisil ~ koisilek
Continuous	koia asluṅ	koia aisloṅ	koia aslu	koi aislen		koia asil ~ koia aislek
Future
Indicative	koim	komö	kobu	koiben		koibe
Continuous	koia thakim	koia thakmö	koia thakpu	koia thaikpen		koia thaikpe
Others
Imperative	—		ko	kon		kouk

Karelian

Particle

ko

like, as

Kirikiri

Noun

ko

woman

Latvian

Pronoun

ko (interrogative)

accusative of kas: what, who
ko tu gribi apskatīt? ― what would you like to see?

ko (relative)

accusative of kas: that
teksts, ko tu lasi ― the text that you're reading
accusative of kas: what, who
tas ir tas, ko es domāju ― that is what I mean
accusative of kas: which

Interjection

ko

Lithuanian

Pronoun

ko

genitive of kas
Ko tu nori? ― What do you want?

Usage notes

The word ko is the non-possessive genitive.

For the possessive genitive ("whose?") of kas, see kieno.

Maaka

Noun

ko

head

References

Russell G. Schuh, Maka Wordlist, p. 6

Maori

Particle

ko

Placed at the beginning of nominative phrases to signify that they are declarative

Mapudungun

Noun

ko (Raguileo spelling)

water

References

Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.
Estudios de lengua y cultura amerindias II (1998) (spells it có)

Norman

Alternative forms

co (Jersey, Guernsey, Normandy)

Etymology

From Old French col, from Latin collum (“neck”).

Noun

ko m (plural kos)

(Sark, anatomy) neck

Nyishi

Alternative forms

ku

Etymology

From Proto-Tani *koː.

Noun

ko

child
son

References

P. T. Abraham (2005) A Grammar of Nyishi Language‎^[3], Delhi: Farsight Publishers and Distributors

Old Javanese

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kahu, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)kaSu.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ko/
Rhymes: -ko
Hyphenation: ko

Pronoun

ko

you

Alternative forms

kwa

References

"ko" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Old Norse

Etymology

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

Noun

ko ?

(East dialect) cow

References

Wikipedia article Old Norse language

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

𑀓𑁄 (Brahmi script)
को (Devanagari script)
কো (Bengali script)
කො (Sinhalese script)
ကော or ၵေႃ (Burmese script)
โก (Thai script)
ᨠᩮᩣ (Tai Tham script)
ໂກ (Lao script)
កោ (Khmer script)
𑄇𑄮 (Chakma script)

Pronoun

ko

masculine nominative singular of ka

Rapa Nui

Interjection

ko

exclamation suggesting a personal reaction

Usage notes

For non-personal judgment, consider using ka.

Particle

ko

particle prefixed to names as a determinative

Rawa

Adverb

ko

again

References

Norma Toland, Donald Toland, Reference Grammar of the Karo/Rawa Language (1991)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kъto, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷid, (compare *kʷis).

Alternative forms

tkȍ (Croatia)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kô/

Pronoun

kȍ (Cyrillic spelling ко̏)

(Bosnia, Serbia, interrogatively) who
ko si ti? ― who are you?
(Bosnia, Serbia, relative and indefinite pronoun)
bilo ko ― anybody, anyone

malo ko ― very few people

onaj ko ― he who, whoever

Declension

Declension of ko

	singular/plural
nominative	tkȍ, kȍ
genitive	kȍg, kòga
dative	kȍm, kòmu, kòme
accusative	kȍg, kòga
vocative	—
locative	kòm, kòme
instrumental	kȋm, kíme

Synonyms

kdo (Kajkavian)
gdo (Kajkavian)

Etymology 2

From kȁo.

Contraction

ko (Cyrillic spelling ко)

contraction of kȁo

Related terms

kȁo

References

“ko”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024
“ko”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *jako (“how, in which way”). Cognate with Serbo-Croatian ako.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɔ/

Conjunction

ko

when (at the time that)
pride dan, ko nimas energije - there comes a day when you have no energy

Etymology 2

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

Conjunction

ko

(colloquial) Alternative form of kot

Swahili

Pronunciation

Audio (Kenya): (file)

Verb

-ko

present stem of -wako (“to be (at an indefinite place)”)
yuko ― he/she is (there)

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

ko

Wikipedia ^sv

Etymology

From Old Norse ko, from East Old Norse ko, from Proto-Germanic *kōz.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kuː/
Audio: (file)

Noun

ko c

cow; female cattle
Många kor bor i stall under vinterhalvåret.
Many cows live in stables during the winter.
a female member of a number of other species, such as elk
Jag såg en älgko och hennes kalv när jag var i skogen.
I saw an elk cow and her calf when I was in the forest.

Declension

Declension of ko

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	ko	kos
singular	definite	kon	kons
plural	indefinite	kor	kors
plural	definite	korna	kornas

Related terms

References

Anagrams

OK, ok

Tagalog

Alternative forms

co — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography
k, q — text messaging slang

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *-ku, from Proto-Austronesian *-ku.

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ko/ [ko]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: ko
Homophones: Co, Kho, Ko

Pronoun

ko (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓ) (postpositive)

my; mine
Synonym: (prepositive) akin

ang bahay ko ― my house

sa taas ko ― above me (literally, “my above”)
I; me (indirect)
Synonym: (prepositive) akin

Ang bola ay sinalo ko.
I caught the ball.
(literally, “The ball was caught by me.”)

Talysh

Etymology

Cognate with Persian (kâr).

Noun

ko

work

Taworta

Noun

ko

egg

Tocharian A

Etymology

From Proto-Tocharian, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). Compare Tocharian B keu, English cow.

Noun

ko

cow

Tokelauan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *ko. Cognates include Hawaiian ʻo and Samoan ʻo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ko]
Hyphenation: ko

Particle

ko

Marks an equational sentence.
Marks the topic of the sentence.
- 1948, Tūlāfono fakavae a Tokelau [Constitution of Tokelau]‎^[5], page 1:
  Ko kimatou, ia tagata o Tokelau, e takutino
  We, the people of Tokelau, say openly
Marks the succeeding noun as in apposition of the preceding noun.
Placed after the conjunctions pe or ka.

References

R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[6], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 163

Tuvaluan

Particle

ko

present perfect tense marker, inserted immediately before the relevant verb

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

k°

Adverb

ko

(informal) Abbreviation of không.

Anagrams

OK

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish con (“with”).

Preposition

ko

with
- 1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: I:
  Ekö! jivirgan ogrodikof, ed omotof soni, keli onemoy eli ‚Emmanuel’, kela tradutod binon: God binom ko obs.
  Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means „God-is-with-us”.

Votic

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

(Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈko/, [ˈko]
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation: ko

Adverb

ko

when (at what time; in the case that)
than (in comparisons)
as, because

Adverb

ko

how (in what way)

References

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

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian kū, from Proto-West Germanic *kō (“cows”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /koː/

Noun

ko c (plural kij, diminutive koke)

cow

Derived terms

West Makian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ko/

Verb

ko

(transitive) to carry on one's back

Conjugation

Conjugation of ko (action verb)
		singular	plural
		singular	inclusive	exclusive
1st person		toko	moko	ako
2nd person		noko	foko
3rd person	inanimate	iko	doko
3rd person	animate	iko	doko
imperative		noko, ko	foko, ko

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[7], Pacific linguistics

White Hmong

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɒ˧/

Etymology 1

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Borrowed from some other language? Possible candidates include Chinese 莖／茎 (jīng, “stem, stalk”). Or native Hmongic?”

Noun

ko (classifier: tus)

a handle (of any hand tool or implement, etc.)
ko taus ― axe handle
used in ko taw (“foot”) and ko tw (“tail”)

Etymology 2

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Related to Chinese 乎 (hū, “in, on; (archaic) sentence-final particle”)?”

Particle

ko

a final completive particle
Koj hais li ko... ― Speaking as you do...

Txhob ua li ko. ― Don't do that.

References

Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[8], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 85.

Wolof

Pronoun

ko

him/her/it (third-person singular object pronoun)

Xhosa

Pronoun

-ko

Combining stem of kona.

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

ò (frequently used after personal pronouns)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kò/

Particle

kò

not (placed before a verb to negate it)

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

tó

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kō/

Conjunction

ko

(Ekiti) that

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kó/

Verb

kó

to pack
Ẹ bá mi kó ẹrù yìí sẹ́yìn ọkọ̀ ― Help me pack this load into the boot
to collect
to capture
Wọ́n kó wọn lẹ́rú ― They captured them as slaves

Derived terms

ìkówójẹ (“embezzlement”)
akódọ̀tí (“garbage collector”)
akólẹ́tà (“courier”)
àkójọ (“collection”)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kò/

Verb

kò

to touch
to meet

Derived terms

fẹnu kò (“to kiss”)
gbéjà kò (“to besiege; to attack”)
foríkorí (“to brainstorm”)

Zazaki

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *káwfš.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈko]
Hyphenation: ko

Noun

ko m

(geography) mountain

		1st person	2nd person	3rd person m	3rd person f
Subject	Singular	anú	atú	úsuk	ís
Subject	Plural	nanú	isín	úsun
Object	Singular	yó	kó	ká	tét
Object	Plural	né	sín	kén

Person	Number	Direct		Indirect (postposed)		Indirect (preposed)		Oblique
Length		Full	Short*	Full	Short**	Base	Suffixed -a	Full	Short
First	singular	akó	ko	nakò***	ko***	akò	akoa	kanakò	nakò
	plural inclusive	kitá	ta	natò	ta	atò	atoa	kanatò	natò
	plural exclusive	kamí	mi	namò		amò	amoa	kanamò	namò
Second	singular	ikáw	ka	nimo	mo	imo	imoha	kanimo	nimo
Second	plural	kamó	mo	ninyo		inyo	inyoha	kaninyo	ninyo
Third	singular	siyá		niya		iya	iyaha	kaniya	niya
Third	plural	silá		nila		ila	ilaha	kanila	nila
Forms under this column are placed after the verb or predicate they modify, and never used at the start of sentences Forms under this column are literary and rarely used colloquially. *Ta is used over nako* or ko where the object is a second-person singular pronoun.

	singular	dual	plural
The o-type forms are used for possessions that are inherited, out of personal control, and for things that can be got into (houses, clothes, cars). The a-type forms are used for acquired possessions.
1st person	koʻu, kaʻu kuʻu (affectionate, o- and a-type)	ko māua, kā māua (exclusive) ko kāua, kā kāua (inclusive)	ko mākou, kā mākou (exclusive) ko kākou, kā kākou (inclusive)
2nd person	kou, kāu kō (affectionate, o- and a-type)	ko ʻolua, kā ʻolua	ko ʻoukou, kā ʻoukou
3rd person	kona, kāna	ko lāua, kā lāua	ko lākou, kā lākou

Person	Number	Direct (ang)	Indirect (ng)	Oblique (sa)
First	singular	ako	ko	akin
	dual¹	kita, kata	nita, nata, ta	kanita, kanata, ata
	plural inclusive	tayo	natin	atin
	plural exclusive	kami	namin	amin
First & Second	singular	kita²
Second	singular	ikaw, ka	mo	iyo
Second	plural	kayo, kamo	ninyo, niyo	inyo
Third	singular	siya	niya	kaniya
Third	plural	sila	nila	kanila
¹ First person dual pronouns are not commonly used in Standard Tagalog. ² Replaces ko ikaw.