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quelê. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
quelê, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
quelê in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
quelê you have here. The definition of the word
quelê will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
quelê, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Macanese
Etymology
Univerbation of Portuguese que laia (“what way”), where laia was pronounced as if spelt *leia in early Macanese.[1] Doublet of qui laia.
Pronunciation
Determiner
quelê
- which
- Synonym: qui
Derived terms
Adverb
quelê
- very, well
- Êle já ficâ quelê afinado ― He became very angry
Usage notes
- Like qui, quelê can be used to connect a noun with an adjective, similarly to Portuguese bem, for example:
- Irmandade quelê unido ― close-knit siblings (literally, “siblings well connected”)
- fruta quelê maduro ― ripe fruit (literally, “well-ripe fruit”)
References
- ^ Batalha, Graciete Nogueira (1988) “quelê”, in Glossário do dialecto macaense: notas linguísticas, etnográficas e folclóricas [Glossary of the Macanese dialect: linguistic, ethnographic and folkloric notes], Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, page 62
Further reading