reply

English

Etymology

From Middle English replyen, replien, borrowed from Old French replier (“to reply”), from the Latin replicō, replicāre (“I fold back”) (in Late or Medieval Latin "to reply, repeat"), from re + plicō (“I fold”); the noun derives from the verb by nominalisation. Doublet of replicate and replica.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈplaɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Hyphenation: re‧ply

Verb

reply (third-person singular simple present replies, present participle replying, simple past and past participle replied)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To give a written or spoken response, especially to a question, request, accusation or criticism; to answer.

   (intransitive) Please reply to my letter.

   (transitive) "Sorry I'm late," replied the student.

   (transitive) He replied that he was not sure.

2. (intransitive) To act or gesture in response.

   Joanne replied to Pete's insult with a slap to his face.

   • 1988, Emmanuel Doe Ziorklui, Ghana: Nkrumah to Rawlings:

     It is a sound to be dreaded until you ascertain that it is being made by friendly forces; even then, your welcome to it must be tempered with some caution, because gunfire usually leads to replying gunfire […]

   • 2012, Steve Cowens, Steel City Rivals:

     […] bulged the onion bag for the Blades, and Downes and Prendergast replied for the Owls.

3. (intransitive) To repeat something back; to echo.

Synonyms

• respond, answer, retort, answer back, react, rejoin, counter, return, revert, follow up, get back to

Translations

to give a written or spoken response

• Arabic: أَجَابَ (ʔajāba), رَدَّ (ar) (radda)

  Egyptian Arabic: رد (radd)

• Armenian: պատասխանել (hy) (patasxanel)
• Azerbaijani: cavab vermək, cavablandırmaq (transitive)
• Bengali: জবাব দেওয়া (jobab deōẇa), উত্তর দেওয়া (uttor deōẇa)
• Bulgarian: отговарям (bg) (otgovarjam)
• Catalan: respondre (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎦᏬᎯᎵᏴᎠ (gawohiliyva)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 回答 (zh) (huídá), 答應／答应 (zh) (dāying), 答覆 (zh) (dáfù)

• Czech: odpovědět (cs), (in letter) odepsat
• Danish: svare (da), besvare
• Dutch: antwoorden (nl), beantwoorden (nl)
• Esperanto: respondi (eo)
• Finnish: vastata (fi)
• French: répondre (fr)
• Friulian: rispuindi
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: antworten (de), erwidern (de)
• Greek: απαντώ (el) (apantó)

  Ancient: ἀποκρίνομαι (apokrínomai)

• Hindi: जवाब (hi) (javāb), जवाब देना (javāb denā), उत्तर देना (uttar denā)
• Hungarian: felel (hu), válaszol (hu)
• Indonesian: jawab (id)
• Ingrian: vassata
• Irish: freagair
• Italian: rispondere (it), replicare (it)
• Japanese: 返事する (ja) (へんじする, henji-suru), 返信する (ja) (へんしんする, henshin-suru), (answer) 答える (ja) (こたえる, kotaeru)
• Khmer: ឆ្លើយ (km) (claəy), តប (km) (tɑɑp)
• Korean: 대답하다 (ko) (daedaphada)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: وەڵام دان (wellam dan)

• Ladin: respuender
• Latin: respondeō, resequor
• Macedonian: одговара (odgovara)
• Malayalam: മറുപടി നൽകുക (maṟupaṭi nalkuka), പ്രതികരിക്കുക (ml) (pratikarikkuka)
• Manx: freggyr
• Maori: urupare
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: rêpondre
• Norwegian: svare (no)
• Persian: جواب دادن (fa) (javâb dâdan), پاسخانیدن (pâsoxânidan)
• Plautdietsch: auntwuate
• Polish: odpowiadać (pl) impf, odpowiedzieć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: responder (pt)
• Romanian: răspunde (ro)
• Russian: отвеча́ть (ru) impf (otvečátʹ), отве́тить (ru) pf (otvétitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: freagair
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: odgovoriti (sh)

• Somali: jawaabid
• Spanish: responder (es)
• Swedish: svara (sv), besvara (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tok Pisin: bekim tok
• Ukrainian: розповіда́ти (uk) impf (rozpovidáty), розпові́сти (uk) pf (rozpovísty)
• Urdu: جواب دینا (javāb denā)
• Vietnamese: trả lời (vi), hồi đáp, hồi âm (vi)
• Welsh: ateb (cy)
• Zazaki: cewab

to act or gesture in response

• Bulgarian: отвръщам (bg) (otvrǎštam)
• Danish: svare (da), genmæle
• Dutch: beantwoorden (nl)
• Finnish: vastata (fi)
• Ingrian: vassata
• Japanese: 返事する (ja) (へんじする, henji-suru)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: وەڵام دان (wellam dan)

• Macedonian: одговара (odgovara)
• Malayalam: മറുപടി നൽകുക (maṟupaṭi nalkuka)
• Portuguese: responder (pt)
• Russian: отвеча́ть (ru) impf (otvečátʹ), отве́тить (ru) pf (otvétitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: freagair
• Spanish: responder (es)

to repeat something back

• Finnish: palauttaa (fi)
• Italian: ripetere (it)
• Japanese: 返事する (ja) (へんじする, henji-suru)
• Malayalam: മറുപടി നൽകുക (maṟupaṭi nalkuka)
• Portuguese: repetir (pt)
• Spanish: repetir (es)
• Tok Pisin: bekim tok

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} antwoorden (nl)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 대답하다 (ko) (daedaphada)
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} oncweþan
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} responder (es)

Noun

reply (plural replies)

1. A written or spoken response; part of a conversation.
2. Something given in reply.
3. A counterattack.
4. (music) The answer of a figure.
5. (US, law) A document written by a party specifically replying to a responsive declaration and in some cases an answer.

Synonyms

• answer, comeback, response, retort, return, account, rejoinder, riposte, reaction

Translations

written or spoken response

• Albanian: përgjigje (sq) f
• Arabic: إِجَابَة f (ʔijāba), جَوَاب m (jawāb), رَدّ (ar) m (radd)
• Armenian: պատասխան (hy) (patasxan)
• Asturian: rempuesta, rimpuesta, resposta, respuesta
• Azerbaijani: cavab (az)
• Bashkir: яуап (yawap)
• Belarusian: адка́з m (adkáz)
• Bengali: জবাব (bn) (jobab), উত্তর (bn) (uttor)
• Bulgarian: о́тговор (bg) m (ótgovor)
• Catalan: resposta (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 回答 (wui⁴ daap³)

  Mandarin: 回答 (zh) (huídá)

• Czech: odpověď (cs) f
• Danish: svar (da) n, besvarelse c
• Dutch: antwoord (nl) n, respons (nl) f or n
• Erzya: каршовал (karšoval)
• Estonian: vastus
• Finnish: vastaus (fi)
• French: réponse (fr) f

  Old French: response f

• Georgian: პასუხი (ṗasuxi)
• German: Antwort (de) f, Entgegnung (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌷𐌰𐍆𐍄𐍃 f (andahafts)
• Greek: απάντηση (el) f (apántisi)

  Ancient: ὑπόκρισις f (hupókrisis)

• Hebrew: תְּשׁוּבָה (he) f (t'shuvá)
• Hindi: जवाब (hi) m (javāb), उत्तर (hi) m (uttar)
• Hungarian: válasz (hu), felelet (hu)
• Irish: freagairt f
• Italian: risposta (it) f, replica (it) f
• Japanese: 返事 (ja) (へんじ, henji), 返答 (ja) (へんとう, hentō), 答え (ja) (こたえ, kotae), (written) 返信 (ja) (へんしん, henshin), 回答 (ja) (かいとう, kaitō), リプライ (ripurai), リプ (ripu)
• Kazakh: жауап (jauap)
• Khmer: ពាក្យឆ្លើយ (piək chlaəy)
• Korean: 대답(對答) (ko) (daedap), 답변(答辯) (ko) (dapbyeon), 회답(回答) (hoedap)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: وەڵام (wellam)

• Kyrgyz: жооп (ky) (joop)
• Latin: responsum n
• Latvian: atbilde f
• Lithuanian: atsakymas (lt) m
• Macedonian: одговор m (odgovor)
• Malayalam: മറുപടി (ml) (maṟupaṭi), പ്രതികരണം (ml) (pratikaraṇaṁ)
• Manx: freggyrt m
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: вашмут (vašmut)

• Norman: rêponse f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: svar (no) n

  Nynorsk: svar n

• Old English: ġeġncwide m
• Persian:

  Dari: جَوَاب (fa) (jawāb), پَاسُخ (fa) (pāsux)

  Iranian Persian: جَواب (fa) (javâb), پاسُخ (fa) (pâsox)

• Plautdietsch: Auntwuat (nds) f
• Polish: odpowiedź (pl) f
• Portuguese: resposta (pt) f
• Romanian: răspuns (ro) n
• Russian: отве́т (ru) m (otvét)
• Scottish Gaelic: freagairt f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: о̏дгово̄р m

  Roman: ȍdgovōr (sh) m

• Slovak: odpoveď f
• Slovene: odgovor (sl) m
• Spanish: respuesta (es) f
• Swedish: svar (sv) n
• Tagalog: sagot, buwelta
• Tajik: жавоб (žavob), посух (posux)
• Tatar: җавап (tt) (cawap)
• Thai: คำตอบ (th) (kam-dtɔ̀ɔp)
• Turkish: yanıt (tr), cevap (tr)
• Turkmen: jogap (tk)
• Ukrainian: ві́дповідь (uk) f (vídpovidʹ)
• Urdu: جَواب m (javāb)
• Uyghur: جاۋاب (jawab)
• Uzbek: javob (uz)
• Vietnamese: trả lời (vi)
• Welsh: ateb (cy) m
• Zazaki: cewab

something given in reply

• Armenian: պատասխան (hy) (patasxan)
• Danish: svar (da) n
• Finnish: vastaus (fi)
• French: réponse (fr) f
• German: Antwort (de)
• Japanese: お返し (おかえし, okaeshi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: وەڵام (wellam)

• Macedonian: одговор m (odgovor)
• Malayalam: മറുപടി (ml) (maṟupaṭi)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: вашмут (vašmut)

• Portuguese: resposta (pt) f
• Russian: отве́т (ru) m (otvét)
• Spanish: respuesta (es) f

Derived terms

• auto-reply
• business reply
• international reply coupon
• replyallpocalypse
• reply all storm
• reply device
• reply girl
• reply guy
• reply-ping
• reply vehicle

 

Anagrams

• lepry, plyer