ouch

See also: Ouch

English

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Some sources say the interjection is attested since 1838^[1] (and specifically in American English) and derives ultimately from German autsch,^[2]^[3] perhaps specifically via Pennsylvania German outch (“cry of pain”), as early attestations of the interjection are from Pennsylvania.^[3] However, others say the interjection is a "mere"^[4] or "natural" exclamation attested since the mid 1600s,^[5] and the 1933 OED^[3] cites one instance of a verb "ouch" in 1654, "Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse".^[6]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈaʊt͡ʃ/
Rhymes: -aʊtʃ
Audio (US, Inland Northern American): (file)

Interjection

ouch

An expression of one's own physical pain.
Ouch! You stepped on my toe! That hurt!
An expression in sympathy at another's pain.
Ouch! Her sunburn looks awful.
A reply to an insult seen as savage (frequently one that is tongue-in-cheek or joking).
Ouch. How could you say that?
An expression of disappointment.
Ouch, I really wanted to do that.
(slang) Expressing surprise at the high price of something.
Ouch, one hundred thousand dollars for a car! I could never afford that!

Synonyms

(in all of the above senses): oof, ow, owie, youch, yow, yowch

Translations

expression of one’s own physical pain

Afrikaans: eina (af)
Arabic: أَحّ (ar) (ʔaḥḥ), حِلْيَة (ḥilya)
Hijazi Arabic: أي (ʔayy), أح (ʔaḥḥ), آخ (ʔāḵ)
Armenian: ախ (hy) (ax), վախ (hy) (vax)
Bikol Central: aray
Breton: aiou (br)
Bulgarian: ох (oh)
Catalan: au (ca)
Cherokee: ᎠᏲ (ayo)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 哎喲／哎哟 (zh) (āiyō), 哎呀 (zh) (āiyā)
Czech: au (cs)
Danish: av (da)
Dutch: au (nl), auw (nl)
Esperanto: aj (eo), uj (eo), aŭ (eo)
Finnish: ai (fi), au (fi), auts (fi), auh!, aijai, auh
French: aïe (fr), ouille (fr)
German: au (de), aua (de), autsch (de)
Greek: αχ (el) (ach), ωχ (el) (och)
Hebrew: אח (he), אוי (he)
Hungarian: jaj (hu)
Icelandic: ái
Ido: aye (io)
Indonesian: aduh (id)
Italian: ahi, ahia
Japanese: 痛い (ja) (itai), いて (ite), いてて (itete)
Kapampangan: aray, aw
Kimaragang: odoi
Korean: 아야 (ko) (aya)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: ax (ku)
Lakota: yúŋ
Latin: au (la), hau
Lithuanian: au (lt)
Malay:
Jawi: ادوه (ms)

Rumi: aduh (ms)
Maltese: aħħ
Maori: taukahore
Navajo: ayáo, ayáh
Norwegian: au (no)
Ojibwe: iyoo
Pashto: وخ (wax), وئ (wëy)
Persian: آخ (fa) (âx), آی (fa) (ây)
Polish: aua (pl), au (pl), auć (pl)
Portuguese: ai (pt), au (pt)
Romanian: ai (ro), au (ro), ah (ro), vai (ro), aoleu (ro)
Russian: ой (ru) (oj), ай (ru) (aj), ох (ru) (ox), а́уч (ru) (áuč) (neologism)
Scottish Gaelic: oich, oit, aobh
Serbo-Croatian: au (sh), auć, joj (sh), jao (sh)
Spanish: ay (es), uy (es)
Swedish: aj (sv)
Tagalog: aray, aruy, aguy, ay (tl)
Tamil: ஐயோ (ta) (aiyō)
Telugu: అభా (abhā)
Thai: อุ๊ย (th) (úi), อุ๊ยตาย (úi-dtaai), โอ๊ย (th) (ói)
Tibetan: ཨ་ར (a ra) (general pain), ཨ་ཚ (a tsha) (heat), ཨ་ཆུ (a chu) (cold)
Vietnamese: úi da, ai da, ui da, đau (vi)
Yoruba: yéè
Yup'ik: akekataki
Zealandic: ai

expression in sympathy at another’s pain

Finnish: auts (fi), auh, oi voi, oijoi, voi voi
French: aïe (fr)
Greek: αχ (el) (ach)
Malay:
Jawi: ادوه (ms), ادوي, وادوه

Rumi: aduh (ms), adoi, waduh
Norwegian: au da, uff da
Pashto: وخ (wax), وئ (wëy)
Swedish: aj (sv), aj aj aj, aj då
Tibetan: སྙིང་རྗེ (snying rje)
Yoruba: yéè

reply to an insult

Finnish: auts (fi), auh
French: aïe (fr)
Malay:
Jawi: ادوه (ms), ادوي, وادوه

Rumi: aduh (ms), adoi, waduh
Pashto: وخ (wax), وئ (wëy)
Swedish: aj (sv)

Noun

ouch (plural ouches)

(informal) Something that causes discomfort or pain.
Synonym: ooch
- 1986 June, “RhuliGel Soothes the Itches and Ouches of Summer [advertisement]”, in Myrna Blyth, editor, Ladies’ Home Journal, volume CIII, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Meredith Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 161, column 2:
  RhuliGel soothes the itches and ouches of summer.

Translations

something that causes discomfort or pain

Verb

ouch (third-person singular simple present ouches, present participle ouching, simple past and past participle ouched)

(intransitive) To exclaim "ouch!" in discomfort or pain.
- 1984 April 21, “Mousie Mousie Wildflower”, in Gay Community News, page 18:
  Imperturbability your skill, not mine / I ouch out loud and clear / Your forgiveness, like Pope's divine / I'm just an angry queer

Translations

to exclaim “ouch!” in discomfort or pain

Etymology 2

Variant forms.

Noun

ouch (plural ouches)

Alternative form of ouche

References

^ “ouch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
^ “ouch”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933. ("ouch")
^ “ouch”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
^ “ouch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ 1654, Gayton, Pleas. Notes IV. ii. 176, "But harke Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse, Braying for's Company.

Anagrams

Chou, Chūō, chou

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /uʃ/
Audio: (file)

Interjection

ouch

interjection expressing a sharp pain: ouch!

Synonyms

(expression of pain): aïe, ahi, ouille, ayoye (Quebec)

[1] “ouch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

[DC-2] “ouch”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

[OED1933-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933. ("ouch")

[4] “ouch”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

[5] “ouch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[6] 1654, Gayton, Pleas. Notes IV. ii. 176, "But harke Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse, Braying for's Company.

[1]