# Bosnian: eki to



## theqwerty

Hello! I'd be very grateful if someone could explain what does the phrase "*eki to*" mean in bosnian language.


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## Duya

Since it is completely unknown to me, who lived in Bosnia until 1990 and still has fair contacts, it is either a recent slang invention, or a mishearing/mispronunciation; of what, hard to tell without context.


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## theqwerty

It's rather informal phrase and I've seen it used alone - just quick answer/reply "eki to"


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## Duya

Seems like a piece of slang... There's a YouTube video titled like that, but it's just uploader-given title. Googling... Got it:


			
				http://www.ringeraja.ba/forum/m_371044/mpage_41/key_/tm.htm said:
			
		

> ''eki'' je tesko objasnit...kao izraz čuđenja i iznenađenja..u smislu ''čuj to''..
> 
> eki... zar ih ima da ne znaju... da, ni ja nisam dugo cula...
> 
> U sa[rajevu] je to jedno vrijeme bila cesta uzrecica. Sad je vjerovatno drukcije


Need translation?


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## theqwerty

Thank you, so it looks like it's a rare expression of surprise or wonder. But it was also compared to "cuj to", which means "listen". So actually, what do you think, which word (English or Bosnian) could be used instead of "eki to"?


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## Vanja

"Look at that!" 
"Listen to this!"
or just "Hey,.."

or put it like you want to, the word is of no great importance.


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## glupson

It is a slang word, the imperative form of the verb "look".

Sometimes, it used to be said as "ekši", so I wonder if it is not some Turkish word, missused or deformed.
Just looked for it on Google translate: http://translate.google.com/#auto/en/ekşi


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## Duya

Ah, I realize now. In my area (Bosnian Posavina), the equivalent exclamation reads _ake [to]_! _ike [to]_ or _ikeš_, presumably from the same source. It is rather _mahalski_ and a bit archaic by now, I can't even attest it on web forums. I'm not sure what was the original, presumably Turkish, word. It's too short or deformed to easily tell.


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## Zampy

it's like a mocking/sarcastic way to say "see that!" or "look at that."

When you say, for example "eki njega", (njega meaning "him"), it doesn't mean literally "look at him", but "look at him making a fool of himself". It's more or less what it means x)


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