哇

wā, wa

口 + 圭

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

wā (interjection) wow!; whoa!

wā (onomatopoeia) sound of crying

wa (particle) (particle used after words ending in 'u' or 'ao')

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 圭 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 圭

About

哇 is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic component 口 'mouth' indicates vocalization, and the phonetic component 圭 provides the pronunciation. Historically, it was used for sounds like vomiting, the loud crying of children, or an exclamation of surprise. In contemporary Chinese, while it occasionally still represents crying, it most commonly functions as an exclamation similar to 'wow' to express astonishment or admiration, or as a sentence-final particle that softens the tone of statements and questions.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

哇，今天天气真好！

Wā, jīntiān tiānqì zhēn hǎo!

Wow, the weather is really nice today!

哇，你唱歌真好听！

Wā, nǐ chànggē zhēn hǎotīng!

Wow, you sing really well!

哇，这部电影太精彩了！

Wā, zhè bù diànyǐng tài jīngcǎi le!

Wow, this movie is so exciting!

看到礼物，她哇的一声叫出来。

Kàn dào lǐwù, tā wā de yī shēng jiào chūlai.

Seeing the gift, she let out a wow and cried out.

孩子们哇哇地哭个不停。

Háizimen wāwā de kū gè bù tíng.

The children kept crying loudly.

听到这个好消息，他忍不住哇地欢呼起来。

Tīng dào zhège hǎo xiāoxi, tā rěnbùzhù wā de huānhū qǐlai.

Hearing this good news, he couldn't help but cheer with a wow.

如果你看到那片花海，一定会哇地惊叹。

Rúguǒ nǐ kàn dào nà piàn huā hǎi, yídìng huì wā de jīngtàn.

If you see that sea of flowers, you will definitely exclaim with a wow.

尽管他努力保持镇静，但看到最终成绩时还是哇了出来。

Jǐnguǎn tā nǔlì bǎochí zhènjìng, dàn kàn dào zuìzhōng chéngjì shí háishì wā le chūlai.

Although he tried to stay calm, he still let out a wow when he saw the final result.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 圭

哇