Learn Romanian › ba
ba
no, actually (a particle used to contradict what was just said) /ba/
particle#353 most common
Also: yes it is (in "ba da"), on the contrary, moreover (in "ba mai mult")
Example sentences
— Nu-i frumos. — Ba da!
"It's not pretty." "Yes, it is!"
Ba eu am dreptate, nu tu.
No, I'm the one who's right, not you.
— Nu vii la petrecere? — Ba vin!
"Aren't you coming to the party?" "Yes, I am!"
Ba nu cred că a spus adevărul.
No, actually, I don't think he told the truth.
Copilul ba plânge, ba râde, nu știi ce vrea.
The child cries one moment and laughs the next; you can't tell what he wants.
Ba mai mult, directorul a refuzat chiar să discute problema.
What's more, the director even refused to discuss the problem.
Word family
ba dayes it is (contradicts a negative statement)
ba nuno it isn't (contradicts a positive statement)
ba mai multwhat's more, moreover
ba bine că nuof course not, good thing not
ba... ba...now... now... (alternating states)
Etymology
The origin of "ba" is not firmly established. Romanian dictionaries generally list it as a native expressive particle rather than a Latin inheritance, used to reverse the polarity of a prior statement. Because of its short, exclamatory shape, some linguists treat it as an old interjection rather than a word with a clear descent line. No reliable Indo-European root has been traced for it.
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