# What's the best way to type a sigh? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691 "2005-08-12T05:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/1 "2005-08-12T05:37:44Z")
While talking on AIM, I often want to “sigh” to the person with whom I’m talking. The problem is, I have no idea how to do this. I don’t like using _sigh_, so what can I use? I’m looking for something along the lines of “ugh” being used to show disgust, or “grr” for anger. Something quick and snappy. Got anything? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/2 "2005-08-12T05:39:46Z")
Nope. I always end up saying \. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/3 "2005-08-12T05:45:48Z")
/agree I use \ also. Pretty much any emote-type thing I either use **/** or **\<\>**. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/4 "2005-08-12T06:19:03Z")
When I emote online I always use asterisks. That way it won’t accidentally be parsed as some kind of code, like if I had used one of the various brackets available. Back when I used to write by hand, I used little lines, kind of like a combination of these: =sigh= and \>sigh\< ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/5 "2005-08-12T06:26:23Z")
Hmm. Can’t think of anything… I always use _sigh_. Maybe **😕** ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/6 "2005-08-12T09:51:25Z")
What’s wrong with _sigh_? Just out of curiosity. Pretty standard and reconizable, and what else do you need it to be? Although I admit \ seems to convey a certain wistfullness that \* is lacking, I couldn’t say why. ---
**Author:** ![SnootQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@SnootQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnootQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/7 "2005-08-12T10:46:33Z")
Harummmmphhhhhhhhh! You have to stress the H’s at the end or it won’t be as effective. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/8 "2005-08-12T12:04:55Z")
“Harrumph” and “sigh” aren’t interchangeable – “harrumph” is disgruntled, “sigh” is resigned. (And of course there’s “hmph,” which I also use, for skepticism.) I personally just type them in, no tags at all. ---
**Author:** ![SnootQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@SnootQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnootQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/9 "2005-08-12T12:22:53Z")
Oh… that is OPINION… personal interpretation…not fact! silly billy. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/10 "2005-08-12T12:26:49Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > “Harrumph” and “sigh” aren’t interchangeable – “harrumph” is disgruntled, “sigh” is resigned. (And of course there’s “hmph,” which I also use, for skepticism.) > > I personally just type them in, no tags at all. Is thgis the most whooshed whoosh of all time? ---
**Author:** ![SnootQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@SnootQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnootQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/11 "2005-08-12T12:38:10Z")
Yeah and because I made up that because of the amount of extra h’s involved… how could someone determine an interchangeable difference with that and something else… what if I added two more h’s for a dramatic effect… would that change any factual definition? mr. smarty pants? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/12 "2005-08-12T13:23:26Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Is thgis the most whooshed whoosh of all time? Apparently. I’m still looking up in the sky figuring out what the whoosh is. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/13 "2005-08-12T13:58:33Z")
I did _sigh_ long before I typed stuff online … it’s the way the Peanuts kids sigh, and I started reading it as “star - SIGH - star” as a child. Since then I’ve been hooked. Another pressing question is: how do you represent a shudder of disgust? (as in, picture the offspring of Tucker Carlson and Ann Coulter … okay, what sound did you just make?) ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/14 "2005-08-12T15:10:54Z")
**cowgirl.** _:: shudder ::_ or Oog. or Glorfp! _Sigh._ ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/15 "2005-08-12T16:52:10Z")
How about: Ooooyyyyyyyy… ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/16 "2005-08-12T17:57:53Z")
I use :: sigh :: instead of _sigh_ because I interpret stars as bolded (emphasised) text, not as action notifiers. And now “sigh” is at that point where it looks like an incomprehensible glob of letters instead of a recognizable word. sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/17 "2005-08-12T18:37:22Z")
Asterisks are my “doing” signs. So: _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/18 "2005-08-12T19:00:09Z")
I go Pepe Lepew; Le Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/19 "2005-08-12T21:17:35Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > Another pressing question is: how do you represent a shudder of disgust? (as in, picture the offspring of Tucker Carlson and Ann Coulter … okay, what sound did you just make?) _Sideshow Bob Rake Shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Emerald\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Emerald\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emerald_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691/20 "2005-08-12T21:29:53Z")
I don’t have this problem, since when I sigh in real life I actually say the word “sigh” instead of just exhaling loudly. Yes, people think I’m weird. But you should try it! It’s fun, and condescending. **Girlfriend** : Hey, you need to come clothes shopping with me this weekend. **Me** : Sigh. **Girlfriend** : What did you just say? Did you just say the word sigh? What is wrong with you? **Me** : Nothing! I love clothes shopping! Sarcasm! **Girlfriend** : You are so weird. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-type-a-sigh/316691.md?page=2)