How to say “oh! ah!” in Chinese
oh! ah! (surprise, annoyance)
“Oh! ah!” in Chinese is 哎呀, āi yā: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
哎呀 is read āi yā: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 口 “mouth”; on the right, 艾 ài hints at the sound.
On the left, 口 “mouth”; on the right, 牙 yá “tooth” hints at the reading. After words it often takes the neutral tone: ya.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “哎呀”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 哎呀. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 哎呀，你怎么来了？āiyā,nǐzěnmeláileOh, what are you doing here?
- 哎呀，你踩到我的脚了！āiyā,nǐcǎidàowǒdejiǎoleOuch, you stepped on my foot!
More words from the lesson “A surprise”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “oh! ah!” in Chinese?
“Oh! ah!” in Chinese is 哎呀, pinyin āiyā.
What does 哎呀 mean?
哎呀 (āiyā) means “oh! ah! (surprise, annoyance)”.
How do you write 哎呀?
哎呀 is 2 characters: 哎 (āi) — hey, oh (exclamation); 呀 (yā) — oh! (surprise). The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 哎呀?
哎呀 is read āiyā. Tones: āi — first tone, yā — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“oh! ah!” in the lesson “A surprise”
This word is from the topic “Feelings” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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