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哇 (wā) — exclamation of surprise or delight (wow); sound of a child crying; sound of retching or vomiting

Definition

哇 (wā) is the everyday 'wow!' of surprise or delight, but it is also the natural written sound a crying child or vomiting person makes. Unlike 嘿 (hēi), which only expresses surprise/admiration, 哇 doubles as onomatopoeia for unpleasant sounds.

onomatopoeia
exclamation of surprise or delight (wow)sound of a child cryingsound of retching or vomiting
Easily confused

Examples

  • 哇，！
    wā, Zhè ge lǐ wù tài ràng rén jīng xǐ le!
    Wow, this gift is such a pleasant surprise!
  • 哇。
    Hái zi wā dì kū le qǐ lái.
    The child started crying with a 'wa' sound.
  • 哇。
    Tā wā dì bǎ gāng chī de dōng xī quán tǔ le.
    He made a retching sound and threw up everything he just ate.
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 61000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsEmotions & Feelings2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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