# The exclamation "ow" - is it English-only? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786 "2013-04-04T00:24:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/21 "2013-04-05T13:39:09Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > In Japan it’s “itai!” Which isn’t just a noise, you’re actually saying “that hurts!” If you burn yourself, you would say “atsui” (or just “ats–”), which means “hot!” I wonder whether any other languages use an actual word for their “ow” sound… ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/22 "2013-04-05T14:24:43Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > This is a good test of a person’s first language. My roommate in college learned both Spanish and English as an infant/toddler, but it was hard to tell which one was his first language (barely), until he hit his thumb with a hammer and said something like “allí!”. If he was bilingual he wouldn’t have a first language, he would have two first languages. He just happened to say “allí” that time. Of course, I don’t know if he was bilingual, but if he was raised with two languages and you couldn’t tell which he spoke better then he probably was. Despite the intense & inexplicable resistance people seem to have to the concept, bilingualism is pretty common. I say all kinds of things when I hurt myself, I’m sure you could decide Japanese was my first language based on some of the sounds I make when hurt, but I still won’t speak a word of it. I was raised bilingually in Dutch and English, I’ll pick one to swear in privately, I’ll pick one to dream in randomly and scream in which ever one comes out at any particular moment. It differs, and says nothing about which one is my “first” language, as I don’t have a “first” language. I also said “ai” when I lived in Brazil, so it’s certainly not an indicator of “first” language. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/23 "2013-04-05T14:44:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > “Aiya!” is what I heard in China. That’s what Koreans say as well. I am bilingual but for some reason I tend to use Korean exclamations for things like pain and surprise. Maybe because I learned Korean first. ---
**Author:** ![KayLovesPurple](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylovespurple/32/6114_2.png) [@KayLovesPurple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KayLovesPurple)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/24 "2013-04-05T20:43:51Z")
In Romanian it’s “au” (different spelling, but the same pronunciation as “ow”). ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/25 "2013-04-06T06:23:30Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > … > > The questioning goes on at length, and the spy is keeping up his guise expertly. That is, until the officer drops something on the man’s foot, and he exclaims “Ouch!” instead of “Aii!” His cover is blown and off he goes to… somewhere unpleasant. I doubt that. ‘Autsch’ is one possible German exclamation of (mild) pain, and is pronounced ‘ouch’. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/26 "2013-04-06T09:22:28Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > I doubt that. ‘Autsch’ is one possible German exclamation of (mild) pain, and is pronounced ‘ouch’. I would doubt it anyway. Would you have anyone arrested over the sound they make when expressing pain? Not swearing, or an actual word, just the guttural sound. Try to hear each of the following sounds as a genuine expression of pain in English: - Aaah! - Uuuuf! - Aaaii! - Yow! - Ffffuuuu! None are the expression you would write in a comic book, but all _could_ be considered a perfectly normal sounds when you are hurt. All you really do is contort your face and sound out. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/27 "2013-04-06T12:49:15Z")
Indonesians say “Aduh!” Vietnamese say “Dau!” ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/28 "2013-04-06T15:35:49Z")
I always loved hearing my ex-boyfriend say “Aiyah!” for his expression of pain. So much better that “Ow!” (Chinese was his first language) That being said, the most universal expression of human pain is just a scream. Everybody screams in the same language, more or less, but you have to be in a LOT of pain (or very scared) before you reach that level. Most people experiencing everyday pain still have enough cognitive power left to use whatever expression they learned from their cultural upbringing, but with enough pain and fear, any human is going to cry out in more or less the same sound. ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/29 "2013-04-07T23:18:47Z")
I’ve always uttered a shrill Aaaaaaarrrrrhhhhh noise that ends in a screech. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/30 "2013-04-08T01:05:56Z")
I sustained multiple gardening injuries today, including a pruning saw slip that got me on the arm, and having needle-sharp prickly pear glochids get stuck in my fingers. I tried to remember to say “alors!” but instead came out with the usual "ow!’, or more precisely “#_&@!_)#$&\_!!” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/31 "2013-04-11T11:41:34Z")
In Afrikaans (and, by osmosis, in South African English) it’s Eina, which is Khoisan in origin. SA English also has the normal “ouch” and “ow”. Cape Flats Afrikaans, specifically, also has “alla”, which ISTM _possibly_ comes from “Allah” as there’s a strong Malay influence there. In Xhosa it’s Hayi! (which is actually more like the English “Oh”) or “shuu”. Zulus, of course, have no word for pain. ---
**Author:** ![the\_O](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@the\_O](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_O)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/32 "2013-04-12T04:12:47Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > In Japan it’s “itai!” Cite please!!?? That’s not even \*written \*in Japanese! /runs like hell ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786/33 "2013-04-12T10:53:44Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > If he was bilingual he wouldn’t have a first language, he would have two first languages. He just happened to say “allí” that time. > > Of course, I don’t know if he was bilingual, but if he was raised with two languages and you couldn’t tell which he spoke better then he probably was. Despite the intense & inexplicable resistance people seem to have to the concept, bilingualism is pretty common. It used to make me crazy when I had to check off a box for “first language” on official Canadian government forms. I learned French and English together and spoke both all my life, and if they’re going to compile statistics on “first language”, I want both of mine to be counted. They finally changed some to allow a “both” selection, so I can’t have been alone in my irritation. As to my language choice “outing” me, I really do flip back and forth enough in my exclamations that I’d probably confuse someone watching me. After going to school mostly in English and moving to the States, I’ve ended up more on the English side for most of my language, but I’ll still toss out an “ayoye!” for a stubbed toe now and then. Then again, it’s sometimes a nice English “sonofabitch!!” for a funnybone hit. It varies a lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-exclamation-ow-is-it-english-only/654786.md?page=1)