喔 (ō) · oh, I see

Meanings

1 oh
2 I see

Characters

喔

ō

oh; I see

Examples

HSK 1

喔，我知道了。

Ō, wǒ zhīdào le.

Oh, I see.

HSK 4

喔，原来是这样。

Ō, yuánlái shì zhèyàng.

Oh, so that's how it is.

Tips

usage

喔 expresses mild realization or acknowledgment - the moment something clicks. Compare with 哦 (ó/ò), which leans toward surprise or doubt, and 噢, which is nearly identical to 喔 in use.

register

Two other readings exist. Toneless 喔 is a Taiwan-flavored sentence-final particle that softens a correction or gentle admonishment (小心一点喔 = 'do be careful, ok?'). And 喔 (first tone) is onomatopoeia for a rooster's crow, almost always reduplicated as 喔喔 - the Chinese equivalent of 'cock-a-doodle-doo'.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Mouth radical on the left - the indexing radical for nearly all interjections, exclamations, and onomatopoeia in Chinese. 喔 is a noise made with the mouth, hence the natural radical. Family: 啊 (ah), 哦 (oh), 哎 (alas), 呀 (ya), 嗨 (hi), 哈 (ha).

phonetic

屋 wū

house; room (here phonetic)

Right 屋 supplies the sound - wū drifted to ō. Same phonetic in 握 (grip). Pure phonetic loan; the 'house' meaning of 屋 contributes nothing - 喔 is just a sound. 屋 itself is 尸 (canopy) over 至 (arrive), originally 'a place to arrive at' i.e. dwelling.