How to say “oh!” in Chinese
oh! (surprise)
“Oh!” in Chinese is 呀, yā: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
呀 is read yā. 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, 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 “呀”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 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 characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
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!” in Chinese?
“Oh!” in Chinese is 呀, pinyin yā.
What does 呀 mean?
呀 (yā) means “oh! (surprise)”.
How do you write 呀?
呀 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 呀?
呀 is read yā. Tones: yā — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“oh!” 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.
Start for free