nou

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nou"

Languages (21)

Translingual • English

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Afrikaans • Äiwoo • Antillean Creole • Aragonese • Aromanian • Catalan • Dutch • Guianese Creole • Haitian Creole • Hawaiian • Louisiana Creole • Mandarin • Mauritian Creole • Middle English • Réunion Creole French • Romanian • Sardinian • Scots • Zhuang

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

nou

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

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Ewage-Notu terms

English

Noun

nou (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of noh (“classical Japanese music drama”).

Anagrams

• Nuo, ONU, UNO, Uno

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nœu/

Etymology 1

From Dutch nou, variant of nu.

Adverb

nou

1. now (at this time)

Derived terms

• nou-nou

Etymology 2

From Dutch nauw, from Middle Dutch nauwe, from Proto-Germanic *hnawwaz.

Adjective

nou (attributive nou or noue, comparative nouer, superlative nouste)

1. narrow

Inflection

Inflection of nou

	predicative	attributive	independent		partitive
			singular	plural
positive	nou	nou, noue	noue	noues	nous
comparative	nouer		nouere	noueres	nouers
superlative	nouste			noustes	—

Derived terms

• noute
• vernou

Äiwoo

Etymology

From Proto-Reefs-Santa Cruz *na u, from earlier *na kulu, from Proto-Oceanic *na kutu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kutu, from Proto-Austronesian *kuCux.

Noun

nou

1. louse

   Gilâ nou enge ngä nyiluu nuwotaamu.

   Take the louse out of your hair.

References

• Næss, Åshild (2017), “nou”, in A short dictionary of Äiwoo (Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia; A-PL 35)‎^[1], Canberra, ACT: Asia-Pacific Linguistics, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, page 86
• Ross, Malcolm; Næss, Åshild (December 2007), “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics‎^[2], volume 46, number 2, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, →DOI, pages 456–98
• Lackey, William James; Boerger, Brenda H. (December 2021), “Reexamining the Phonological History of Oceanic's Temotu subgroup”, in Oceanic Linguistics‎^[3], volume 60, number 2, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →JSTOR, pages 367–411

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French nous.

Pronoun

nou

1. we
2. us

Aragonese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnou̯/
• Rhymes: -ou̯
• Syllabification: nou

Numeral

nou

1. alternative form of nueu

References

• Juan Pablo Martínez Cortés et al. (2021), Gramatica basica de l'aragonés, Zaragoza: University of Zaragoza Press, page 121
• Martínez Tur, Feliciano; Rodés Orquín, Francho (2022), “nueu / nou, nueve”, in Diccionario aragonés-castellano-catalán‎^[4], Zaragoza, Spain: Estudio de Filolochía Aragonesa, Edicions Dichitals de l’Academia de l’Aragonés, published April 2025, →ISSN, page 513

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• nãu, não

Etymology

From Latin novus. Compare Romanian nou.

Adjective

nou m (feminine noauã, masculine plural noi, feminine plural noauã or nali/nale)

1. new

Antonyms

• veclju

Derived terms

• noauã

Related terms

• nãutati

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈno̞w]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈnɔw]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nou
• Rhymes: -ɔw

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Catalan nou, from Latin novus, from Proto-Italic *nowos, from Proto-Indo-European *néwos. Compare Occitan nòu, French neuf, Spanish nuevo.

Adjective

nou (feminine nova, masculine plural nous, feminine plural noves)

1. new

   Antonym: vell

Derived terms

• bon vent i barca nova
• de nou
• nou de trinca
• Nou Ordre Mundial
• Nou Testament
• noucasat
• nounat
• nouvingut
• novament

Related terms

• innovar
• novell
• novel·la
• novetat
• renovar

Etymology 2

Catalan numbers ^(edit)

	90
[a], [b] ←  8	9	10  →
Cardinal: nou     Ordinal (Central): novè     Ordinal (Valencian): nové     Ordinal abbreviation (Central): 9è     Ordinal abbreviation (Valencian): 9é     Multiplier: nònuple
Catalan Wikipedia article on 9

Inherited from Latin novem (“nine”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥. Compare Occitan nòu.

Numeral

nou m or f

1. (cardinal number) nine

Noun

nou m (plural nous)

1. nine

Related terms

• noranta
• novè

Etymology 3

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *nŏcem, alteration of Latin nucem. Compare Occitan nòtz, Spanish nuez, Portuguese noz.

Noun

nou f (plural nous)

1. nut (a hard-shelled seed)
2. walnut

Derived terms

• nou moscada

Related terms

• noguera, noguer

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

nou

1. inflection of noure:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

References

• “nou”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “nou”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “nou” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “nou”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch nou, a variant of nu, from Old Dutch nu, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɑu̯/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑu̯

Adverb

nou (Northern)

1. come on; modal particle indicating a certain degree of urgency or impatience on behalf of the speaker.

   Ga nou! Straks kom je nog te laat! ― Come on now! Or you'll be late!

2. modal particle expressing a certain contrast or disjuncture

   Dat is nou ook weer overdreven! ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. (informal) alternative form of nu: now, at the present time

   Wat is er nou weer dan? ― What is it now then?

Usage notes

• Not used in Belgium. In the (northern) Netherlands there is to a large extent a functional split between the forms nou (modal particle and interjection) vs. nu (temporal adverb). Temporal nou is informal and not used by all speakers.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: nou
• Berbice Creole Dutch: nau
• Negerhollands: noe, nou, nu
• Skepi Creole Dutch: nou
• → Caribbean Javanese: na

Interjection

nou (Northern)

1. so, well; when pressing someone

   Nou, vertel me de waarheid dan! ― So tell me the truth then!

2. well; indicates a certain degree of doubt.

   Nou, ik weet het nog niet zo zeker. ― Well, I'm not so sure about that.

3. wow; indicates amazement or surprise.

   Nou, het waait toch wel hard hoor! ― Wow, it's still pretty windy!

Derived terms

• nou ja
• nou nou

Guianese Creole

Etymology

From French nous.

Pronoun

nou

1. we; us (first-person plural subject and object pronoun)

References

• Barthelemi, Georges (1995), Dictionnaire pratique créole guyanais - français [Practical Guianese Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Cayenne: Ibis Rouge Éditions, →ISBN, pages 25, 147

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French nous (“we”), from Latin nōs (“we”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nu/

Pronoun

nou (contracted form n)

1. we
2. us
3. you pl

References

• Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[5], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 137

Hawaiian

Pronoun

nou

1. yours, for you (second person singular)

Usage notes

• Applied to o-type possessions.

Related terms

• kou

Verb

nou

1. (transitive) to throw, pitch

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Probably from French "nous" or a clipping of Louisiana Creole "nouzòt" and/or French "nous autres".”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nu/
• Rhymes: -u

Pronoun

nou

1. alternative form of nouzòt (“we, us; our”)

Mandarin

Romanization

nou

1. nonstandard spelling of nóu
2. nonstandard spelling of nǒu
3. nonstandard spelling of nòu

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.

Mauritian Creole

Alternative forms

• nu

Etymology

From French nous.

Pronoun

nou

1. we; us (first-person plural personal pronoun)

See also

Mauritian Creole personal pronouns

	singular	plural
1st person	mo mwa (objective)	nou
2nd person	to (informal), ou (formal) twa (objective)	zot
3rd person	li	zot, bann-la

References

• Carpooran, Arnaud (2011), Diksioner Morisien [Mauritian Dictionary] (in Mauritian Creole), second edition, Éditions Le Printemps, →ISBN, page 747

Middle English

Alternative forms

• noue, nowe, nu, no, neue, niu, noug, nough, nuge

Etymology

From Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nuː/

Adverb

nou

1. now

Descendants

• English: now
• Geordie: noo
• Scots: nou, noo
• Yola: neow, nowe, now

References

• “nǒu, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Réunion Creole French

Etymology

From French nous.

Pronoun

nou

1. we (first-person plural subject pronoun)

   Synonyms: ni, na

2. us (first-person singular object pronoun)

   Synonym: anou

3. as for us (emphatic first-person plural marker)

   Synonym: anou

Usage notes

• The subject pronoun is used before an auxiliary verb or the copula in any tense.
• The object pronoun is only used after a preposition. Otherwise anou is used.

References

• Armand, Alain (1987), Dictionnaire Kréol rénioné/Français [Reunionese Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Océan Éditions, →ISBN, page 247, XII

Romanian

Alternative forms

• ноу (nou) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *nu

Proto-Indo-European *néwos

Proto-Italic *nowos

Latin novus

Romanian nou

Inherited from Latin novus, from Proto-Italic *nowos, from Proto-Indo-European *néwos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /now/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ow
• Hyphenation: nou

Adjective

nou m or n (feminine singular nouă, plural noi)

1. new

   Antonym: vechi

Usage notes

Nou is one of the adjectives which, following the French model, are often preposited to nouns instead of the usual Romanian postposition. This is typical of more literary language.

It is possible, but not necessary, for this to introduce subtle distinctions in meaning. For example, o nouă carte could mean “a newly published book”, while o carte nouă would be “a newly bought or newly printed book”.

Declension

Declension of nou

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	nou		nouă	noi	noi
	definite	noul		noua	noii	noile
genitive- dative	indefinite	nou		noi	noi	noi
	definite	noului		noii	noilor	noilor

Derived terms

• din nou
• înnoi
• mai nou

Related terms

• inova
• noutate
• nova
• renova

References

• “nou”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Sardinian

Alternative forms

• novu, nobu (Nuorese)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin novus.

Adjective

nou

1. (Campidanese, Logudorese) new

Scots

Adverb

nou (not comparable)

1. alternative spelling of noo (“now”)

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *ʰnuːᴬ (“mouse; rat”). Cognate with Thai หนู (nǔu), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨶᩪ, Lao ໜູ (nū), Lü ᦐᦴ (ṅuu), Tai Dam ꪘꪴ, Shan ၼူ (nǔu), Saek หนู่.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /nou˨˦/
• Tone numbers: nou¹
• Hyphenation: nou

Noun

nou (Sawndip forms 狃 or 𮮬 or 𧉭, 1957–1982 spelling nou)

1. mouse; rat

   Synonym: duznou

Derived terms

• aennou
• baeznou
• binghnou
• gorwznou
• hoznou
• lwngqnou
• nouceij
• noucij
• noucim
• noucoengz
• noudauh
• nouduz
• nouguk
• nouhaz
• noumbin
• nounaz
• nouraq
• nouraeg
• ngaihrwznou
• uknou