olâ

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ola"

Macanese

Alternative forms

• olá

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese aollar. By surface analysis, ólo +‎ -â.

Verb

olâ

1. to see

   Synonym: vê

   oclo pa olâ ― glasses to see with

   Já olâ? ― Did you see? Understood?

2. to look

   Synonym: vê

   feo olâ ― it doesn't look good (literally, “ugly to look”)

   Olâ bêm-fêto!

   Take a good look! Look well!

   Olâ olâ sabe ia

   One look and you'll know right away

3. to watch

   olâ pintura ― to watch a movie

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with óla (“palm leaf”) or olá (“hello”).
• Seemingly much more commonly used than vê.
• feo olâ may be a partial derivation from Cantonese 難睇／难睇 (naan⁴ tai²).

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm