anu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "anu"

Languages (27)

Translingual

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Afar • Anguthimri • Asturian • Aymara • Chibcha • Darumbal • Esperanto • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Hawaiian • Iban • Indonesian • Kabuverdianu • Latin • Makasar • Malay • Māori • Matal • Old Welsh • Pitjantjatjara • Polish • Portuguese • Sranan Tongo • Sundanese • Tarifit • Tashelhit • Volapük

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

anu

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Anuak.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Anuak terms

Afar

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Cushitic *ʔani, from Proto-Afroasiatic *ʔanāku. Cognates include Oromo ani, Saho anu, Somali áan and Arabic أَنَا (ʔanā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈnu/ [ʔʌˈnʊ]
• Hyphenation: a‧nu

Pronoun

anú

1. I

   Anú tuffác akmé. ― I'm eating apples.

See also

Afar personal pronouns

		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
				m	f
subject	singular	anú	atú	úsuk	ís
	plural	nanú	isín	úsun
object	singular	yó	kó	ká	tét
	plural	né	sín	kén

References

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “anu”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[1], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Anguthimri

Noun

anu

1. (Mpakwithi) hip

References

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 184

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin anus.

Noun

anu m (plural anos)

1. (anatomy) anus (lower opening of the digestive tract)
2. (Western) alternative form of añu

Related terms

• anal

Aymara

Noun

anu

1. dog

Chibcha

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anu/

Noun

anu

1. medium house, house smaller than the main one.

References

• Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.

Darumbal

Noun

anu

1. chin

References

• Angela Terrill (2002), Dharumbal: the language of Rockhampton, Australia (Pacific Linguistics; 525), Canberra: Australian National University Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, →ISBN, page 54.

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈanu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -anu
• Syllabification: a‧nu

Verb

anu

1. imperative of ani

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese ano. Cognate with Kabuverdianu ánu.

Noun

anu

1. year
2. birthday

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *qanu. Cognates include Māori anu and Tahitian anu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.nu/, [ˈɐ.nu]

Verb

anu

1. (stative) to be cold

Derived terms

• anuanu
• Keanu

Iban

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anuʔ/
• Rhymes: -anu, -nu, -u

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *a-nu.

Pronoun

anu

1. something whose name is unknown or left unmentioned, typically as a filler word.

Etymology 2

Verb

anu

1. to scold; to express anger
2. to kill

Indonesian

Etymology

Compare Iban anu.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈanu/ [ˈa.nu]
• Rhymes: -anu
• Syllabification: a‧nu

Noun

anu

1. something or someone whose name is unknown or left unmentioned, thingamajig
2. (slang) genital organ

References

• “anu”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Kabuverdianu

Alternative forms

• óne (Barlavento)

Etymology

From Portuguese ano.

Noun

anu

1. (Sotavento) year

References

• Gonçalves, Manuel (2015), Capeverdean Creole-English dictionary (overall work in English), Mili Mila, →ISBN
• Veiga, Manuel (2012), Dicionário Caboverdiano-Português, Instituto da Biblioteca Nacional e do Livro

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈa.nuː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.nu]

Noun

anū

1. ablative singular of anus

Makasar

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *a-nu, from Proto-Austronesian *-nu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈanu/, [ˈã.nũ]
• Hyphenation: a‧nu

Pronoun

anu (Lontara spelling ᨕᨊᨘ or 𑻱𑻨𑻴)

1. a certain someone; so-and-so

   I Anu ― Mr./Ms. So-and-so.

   Daeng Anu rianu ― Mr. So-and-so in such-and-such a land.

Noun

anu (Lontara spelling ᨕᨊᨘ or 𑻱𑻨𑻴, definite anua)

1. a certain something; thing; whatchamacallit

   Anu jeko ― Something crooked.

   Anu nangaia sareangi ― Give him something that he likes.

2. a possession; something belonging to someone (often with possessive suffixes: anungku (mine), anunnu (yours), anunna (his/hers), anunta (ours/yours))

   Anungku anunna anunna anungku, seʼreamami takuruài

   Mine is his, his is mine, there is only one thing (the wife) that we do not share (figurative: to express close unity; I.H.Spr. II 265).

   Punna anunta anunna na punna anunna apantai ikatte

   If what is ours is his, but what is his, what is it to us (figurative: said of someone who freely disposes of what we own, but gets angry when we take something of his; I.H.Spr. I 106).

Derived terms

affixations

• annganu
• anuang
• pannganuang

Further reading

• Cense, A. A. (1979), Makassaars-Nederlands woordenboek [Makasar-Dutch dictionary], 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *a-nu, from Proto-Austronesian *-nu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anu/
• Rhymes: -nu, -u

Noun

anu (Jawi spelling انو, plural anu-anu or anu²)

1. Someone or something whose name is not mentioned (on purpose, due to forgetting, etc.).

   si anu ― the (unknown) person

   hajat anu ― an unknown wish

2. (mathematics) An unknown quantity or variable; an unknown.

   Dalam kiraan ini, 't' merupakan sebuah anu yang mewakili tinggi seorang pelajar.

   In this calculation, 't' is an unknown that stands for a student's height.

Pronoun

anu (Jawi spelling انو)

1. (obsolete) synonym of itu

Related terms

• itu
• nu (Kedah)

Further reading

• "anu" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "anu" at PRPM first version)
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*-nu₁”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Māori

Etymology

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *qanu. Cognates include Hawaiian anu and Tahitian anu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈanu/ [ˈɐnʉ]

Noun

anu

1. cold

Derived terms

• anuanu

Further reading

• John C. Moorfield (2011), “anu”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Matal

Pronoun

anu

1. we, us (first-person plural pronoun)

   Sufəl gulo, delga kà anu la abanay (Mark 9:5).

   My Lord, [it is] good that we [are] here(Mark 9:5)

   Musa atsetsèr à anu mapəhay uwanay (Luka 20:28).

   Moses wrote to us saying this (Luke 20:28)

Old Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *anw, from Proto-Celtic *anman, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥.

Noun

anu (plural enuein)

1. name

Descendants

• Middle Welsh: enw, enu
  • Welsh: enw

Pitjantjatjara

Verb

anu

1. past of ananyi (“go”): went, left

Polish

Pronunciation

• (Masovia):
  • (Łowicz) IPA^(key): [ˈa.nu]

Interjection

anu

1. (Łowicz) alternative form of ano

Further reading

• Halina Świderska (1929), “anu”, in Dialekt Księstwa Łowickiego (in Polish), Warsaw, →ISBN, page 88

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• anum, ani
• anú (1931-prescribed spelling)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Tupi anu.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aˈnu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐˈnu/

• Rhymes: -u
• Homophone: Anu
• Hyphenation: a‧nu

Noun

anu m (plural anus)

1. ani (any bird of the genus Crotophaga)

Derived terms

• anu-branco
• anu-coroca
• anu-preto

Descendants

• →? English: ani
• → Hunsrik: Anuh

Further reading

• “anum”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “anu”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “anu”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “anu”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Sranan Tongo

Picture dictionary

anu

1= ede 2= fesi 3= neki 4= skowru 5= borsu 6= kumba 7= ondrobere 8= mindrifutu 9= manpresi 10–14= futu 11= kindi 13= aifutu 15–19= anu 16= baka-anu 18= pòls

Etymology

From English hand. Compare Maroon Spirit Language anu, Jamaican Creole an, Krio an.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anu/, [a̠nu], [ɑ̟nu]

Noun

anu

1. hand
2. arm
3. handful
4. money that is paid out to the participants of a kasmoni

Derived terms

• baka-anu (“elbow”)
• ini-anu (“palm”)
• ondro-anu (“armpit”)

Descendants

• >? Aukan: ana

References

• Wilner, John, editor (2003-2007), “anu”, in Languages of Suriname, 5th edition, SIL International, Sranan-English Dictionary

Sundanese

Alternative forms

• nu

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *a-nu, from *nu. Cognate with Indonesian anu (“thingamajig, genitals”), Javanese anu (“uh, umm”), Tagalog ano (“what”).

Article

anu (Sundanese script ᮃᮔᮥ)

1. An article that denotes a noun.

   anu maot ― the deceased

2. An article that denotes ownership

   Anu urang mah lain nu ieu.

   This one's not mine

Pronoun

anu (Sundanese script ᮃᮔᮥ)

1. that, which

   Anu ieu ― This one

Tarifit

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Berber. Cognate with Tashelhit anu.

Pronunciation

• (Nador) IPA^(key): [ɛ.nʊ]
• Syllabification: a‧nu
• Rhymes: -ʊ

Noun

anu m (plural anuten, feminine equivalent tanut, Tifinagh spelling ⴰⵏⵓ)

1. well

Inflection

Inflection of anu

	singular	plural
free state	anu	anuten
annexed state	wanu	wanuten

References

• Serhoual (2002)
• Abarrou (2024)

Tashelhit

(etymology 1 sense 1)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anu/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Berber.

Noun

anu m (plural una, feminine equivalent tanut, Tifinagh spelling ⴰⵏⵓ, Arabic spelling آنو)

2. well

Inflection

Inflection of anu

	singular	plural
free state	anu	una
annexed state	wanu	una

See also

• agʷm (“to draw water”)
• aman (“water”)

Etymology 2

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

Verb

anu (perfective una, imperfective ttanu, Tifinagh spelling ⴰⵏⵓ, Arabic spelling آنو)

1. (transitive) to macerate (skin in ash)

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

Volapük

Adverb

anu

1. At this moment (now).