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

1. An expression of one's own physical pain.

   Ouch! You stepped on my toe! That hurt!

2. An expression in sympathy at another's pain.

   Ouch! Her sunburn looks awful.

3. A reply to an insult seen as savage (frequently one that is tongue-in-cheek or joking).

   Ouch. How could you say that?

4. An expression of disappointment.

   Ouch, I really wanted to do that.

5. (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)

1. (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)

1. (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)

1. Alternative form of ouche

References

1. “ouch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
2. “ouch”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
3. 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.

Anagrams

• Chou, Chūō, chou

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /uʃ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

ouch

1. interjection expressing a sharp pain: ouch!

Synonyms

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