おう

See also: おお

Japanese

Etymology 1

Interjection

おう • (ō) 

1. An informal greeting similar to hey. See also よう.

   おう、久(ひさ)しぶりだね。

   Ō, hisashiburi da ne.

   Hey, it's been a long time, hasn't it?

2. An informal interjection similar to oh or oops.

   おう、しまった！

   Ō, shimatta!

   Oh, no!

3. An informal affirmative response.

   「わかった？」「おう。」

   “Wakatta?” “Ō.”

   "You see?" "Got it."

   お、おう…

   O, ō…

   Uh, sure...

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of おう – see the following entries.

【王】1 [noun] a king, especially one who is not East Asian or was East Asian in pre-imperial times; in China and Vietnam, generally a king before Qin Shi Huangdi who invented the title 皇帝 (kōtei, “huangdi; emperor”); in Korea, one of the many kings before the Korean Empire which was modeled after Japan's; in Japan, one of the rulers before Emperor Jinmu [noun] an East Asian queen regnant [noun] a nobility title for a Chinese or Vietnamese prince, bestowed on one of the 皇帝 (kōtei, “huangdi; emperor”)'s adult sons, brothers, or nephews, especially as a coming-of-age title, generally comes with an estate ("principality"); compare 皇子 (ōji, “imperial princes”, especially pre-adult ones) and 公 (kō, “dukes”, an alternative used by certain dynasties) [noun] a Japanese prince's son (such princes include 親王 (shinnō) or 王 (ō) themselves) [affix] king

【黄】2 [affix] yellow

【央】3 [affix] centre, middle [affix] (US) Short for 央州 (“Oregon (a state of the United States)”). [proper noun] a male given name

【横】3 [affix] sideways, horizontal [affix] self-willed; arbitrary; unrestrained and aggressive [affix] sudden; unexpected [affix] brimming

【応】5 [affix] respond, reply, answer (a question, call, etc.) [affix] accept, admit, agree, consent [affix] in accordance with [affix] adequate, balanced, fitting, suitable [noun] (rare) an acceptance, admittance, agreement, consent [proper noun] a surname

【往】5 [affix] to go to, to head for [affix] past, previous

【桜】5 [affix] cherry tree [affix] cherry tree that bears edible fruit [affix] (US) Short for サクラメント／桜府 (Sakuramento, “Sacramento (a city in California, United States)”).

【皇】6 [affix] emperor, mikado, tenno

【凹】S [affix] concave

【押】S [affix] to push; to press

【旺】S [affix] prosperous; vigorous

【欧】S [affix] Short for ヨーロッパ／欧羅巴 (Yōroppa, “Europe (a continent)”). [proper noun] Short for ヨーロッパ／欧羅巴 (Yōroppa, “Europe (a continent)”).

【翁】S [affix] old man [noun] old man; venerable gentleman [suffix] (honorific) venerable; old; father [pronoun] (humble, used by elderly men) I; me

【墺】H [affix] Short for オーストリア／墺太利 (Ōsutoria, “Austria (a country)”).

(This term, おう, is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as おう, see Category:Japanese kanji read as おう.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 殴, 奥, 鷗, 媼, 嘔, 懊, 謳, 鶯.)

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of おう – see the following entries.

【追う】 [verb] to chase (after something) [verb] to drive (force into an area) [verb] to oust, to drive out, to exile, to expel [verb] to be pressed, to be put under pressure [verb] to pursue, to aspire to [verb] to follow in order, to follow a trend

【負う】 [verb] to bear, to carry on one's back [verb] to assume or take a responsibility [verb] to be in a debt of gratitude [verb] to suffer an injury

【生ふ】 [verb] (of plants or trees, archaic) to grow large, spring up

(This term, おう, is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as おう, see Category:Japanese kanji read as おう.)