oh

See also OH, óh, and öh

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /əʊ/
• (US) IPA: /oʊ/

• Audio (US) (surprise)

  (file)

• Audio (US) (realization)

  (file)

• Homophones: o, owe
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Interjection

oh

1. Expression of surprise.

   Oh! I didn't see you there.

2. Expression of wonder, amazement, or awe.

   Oh, wow! That's amazing.

3. Expression of understanding, recognition, or realization.

   Oh, so that's how it works.

4. A word to precede an offhand or annoyed remark.

   Oh, leave me alone.

5. A word to precede an added or comment or afterthought.

   Oh, and don't forget your coat.

6. An invocation or address (similar to the vocative in languages with noun declension).

   Oh, gosh

7. Exclamation for drama or emphasis (often poetic).

   Oh, when will it end?

8. Expression of pain. See ouch.

   Oh! That hurt.

   • 1749, John Cleland, Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure Part 2

     "Oh! . . . oh! . . . I can't bear it . . . It is too much . . . I die . . . I am going . . ." were Polly's expressions of extasy

9. Space filler or extra syllable, especially in (popular) music.

   oh, oh, oh

10. Used with a term of endearment.

    Oh, baby

11. (interrogative) Expression of mild scepticism

    "You should learn to play hockey." "Oh?"

Alternative forms

Particularly in the context of internet conversations, "oh" is sometimes written with additional Os or Hs - for example, oooh or ohhh.

Related terms

• ah
• o
• oh no
• ooh
• uh-oh
• oh my

Translations

expression of surprise

Arabic: وا (ar) (waa), يا (ar) (yaa) Armenian: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin:哎呀 (cmn) (āiyā), 哎哟 (cmn) (āiyō), (different tone expresses different level of surprise) 哦 (zh) (o, ò, ó) Dutch: o (nl) Esperanto: ho (eo) French: oh (fr), ah (fr) Georgian: ოჰ (ka) (oh), ახ (ka) (ax) German: ach (de) Greek: ω (el) (o)

Hiligaynon: abáo Hindi: अरे (hi) (are), हे (hi) (he), ओ (hi) (o) Japanese: あら (ja) (ara), おや (ja) (oya), まあ (ja) (mā), ああ (ja) (ā), へえ (ja) (hē) Korean: please add this translation if you can Persian: به (fa) (ba) Romanian: please add this translation if you can Russian: о (ru) (o), ой (ru) (oj), ах (ru) (ax), ох (ru) (ox) Swedish: åh (sv), å (sv) Tagalog: ay (tl) Turkish: please add this translation if you can Vietnamese: ồ (vi)

Noun

oh (plural ohs)

1. letter o, O
2. digit 0

Anagrams

• ho , Ho, HO

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /o/

Interjection

oh

1. oh

---

Hungarian

Interjection

oh

1. oh!