тьху

Ukrainian

Alternative forms

• тьфу (tʹfu)

Etymology

Onomatopoeic, mimics the sound of spitting.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tʲxu]

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

тьху • (tʹxu)

1. Mimics the sound of spitting.
2. fie!; for shame!; nuts!; damn it!, dammit! (expresses strong disgust or disappointment)

Further reading

• Hrinchenko, Borys, editor (1907–1909), “тьху”, in Словарь украинского языка [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Russian), Kyiv: Kievskaya starina
• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “тьху”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka