啊哟 (āyō): oh!

Meanings

1 oh!
2 ow!
3 oh dear!
4 (interjection of surprise, mild pain or admiration)

Characters

啊

oh; (exclamatory particle)

Examples

啊哟，我把钥匙忘在家里了！

Āyō, wǒ bǎ yàoshi wàng zài jiā lǐ le!

Oh no, I left the keys at home!

啊哟，这道菜真辣！

Āyō, zhè dào cài zhēn là!

Wow, this dish is really spicy!

Tips

register

Conversational and emotional — sits between mild surprise ('oh!'), small pain ('ouch'), and admiration ('wow'). The 哟 part is the same one that ends some Chinese pop song lyrics as a filler syllable. Variant spellings: 哎哟, 哎呀, 啊呀.

Stroke Order

啊 a

哟 yō

Related Words

啊啊 āā #8,800

aah; ahh (exclamation of surprise, pain, or realization) / (interjection expressing a prolonged cry or scream)

啊 a HSK 4 #38

ah (exclamation) / sentence-final particle expressing surprise, emphasis, or softening

哟 yō #2,271

oh! / wow! / hey! (expressing surprise)

哎哟 āiyō #7,865

ouch! / oh dear! / oh my!

啊呀 āyā #15,398

oh my! / oh dear! / goodness!

嗨哟 hāiyō #35,347

heave-ho! / yo-heave-ho (collective exertion shout) / the cry workers make when pulling or lifting together

家人们谁懂啊 jiārénmenshéidǒng'a

'Fam, does anyone get it?!' / 'Guys, you won't believe this!' (internet opener)

冲啊 chōnga

charge! / let's go! / go for it!

天啊 tiāna

good heavens! / oh my God! / my goodness!

哎 āi HSK 7 #2,416

hey! (used to attract attention) / interjection expressing surprise or disapproval