# Ow! Or, Ouch! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2000, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269 "2000-07-12T04:03:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/1 "2000-07-12T04:03:50Z")
As soon as we humans become verbal, we say one of these two words when we experience sudden, sharp pain. (And, yes, even if a string of profanity is uttered after stubbing that toe in the dark, invariably, it is preceded by either Ow or Ouch.) Are these learned terms, or do they come naturally? Are they said for sudden pain in non-English speaking countries? If they are words, what do they mean? If they aren’t words, why those sounds? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/2 "2000-07-12T04:56:30Z")
When I busted my foot (again) the other night, that wasn’t the first word to come out of my mouth, although it was similar. If I see trouble coming, like that crashing Russian rocket, I tend to hiss a fairly common expletive. When it hits me, I utter another well known term. And when I don’t know what shit just fucking hit me, I groan. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/3 "2000-07-12T05:01:28Z")
I believe “Ouch” actually has a German origin. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/4 "2000-07-12T05:28:22Z")
I had always assumed that ow or ouch were universal insinctive sounds that we utter. I learned from a spanish-speaking coworker that in spanish they say ai. I’m not sure about the spelling but it is pronounced ah-ee. I was surprised. So my guess (based on just two languages) is that the basic exclamation for pain would be mostly a vowel sound and that the sounds are learned. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/5 "2000-07-12T05:34:36Z")
I don’t make any vocalized sounds at all when injuried- at most, a small grunt. It always seems strange to me when someone actually goes to the trouble of saying “ouch”. It seems like it would take some effort to actually vocalize an entire word (“ouch” or some expletive), but I guess it becomes automatic for most people, which indicates to me that it’s learned. Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/6 "2000-07-12T08:12:18Z")
I never say “Ow” or “Ouch”. It’s more of an “Aaaaah”. Just a meaningless burst of breath. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/7 "2000-07-12T09:19:46Z")
Apparently the French say “aie!” for ouch, “pan-pan” for bang-bang and “hi, hi” for “boo-hoo”. I also know that the sounds that other languages use to imitate animal noises (arf or cockadoodledoo) are very different than the English versions. And for the record, banging my toe is usually accompanied by a long stream of rather vulgar curse words. ---
**Author:** ![Kiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@Kiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiva)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/8 "2000-07-12T09:30:23Z")
When I’m alone, and I get hurt, I just gasp. No special words. But when someone’s around, and I think they should know that I’ve been injured (especially if it’s their fault), I’ll say “OWW!” So for me, “oww” is primarily a way to communicate pain to others. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/9 "2000-07-12T09:30:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\*I never say “Ow” or “Ouch”. It’s more of an “Aaaaah”. Just a meaningless burst of breath. \*\* I agree. I have heard people of various nationalities yell in pain. I yell in pain when necessary. At the time of the initial shock, “Aaaaaaah” is what comes out. It is not a word, it is a primal sound. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/10 "2000-07-12T09:38:46Z")
For the record, in Hebrew we often say “Ow-a” or “Ai-a” in addition to the ever-popular “Ow”. Gaining in popularity over the recent years - obviouly due to running-dog american capitalist intervention - is the word “shit” (pronounced “sheet”). Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/11 "2000-07-12T12:26:40Z")
I always say, Thank you, Mistress, may I have another whack? ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ow-or-ouch/25269/12 "2000-07-12T18:18:54Z")
Is there some biological purpose or evolutionary reason for hollering when you experience pain? All creatures seem to do it.