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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:50 PM
Original message
How does Ouch! translate into other languages?
Edited on Tue Oct-14-03 11:51 PM by BurtWorm
When an Arab hits his or her finger with a hammer, what do they say? I think most of the world says something like "Ayyyyy!" How did English speakers turn this into "Fu--" or, more to the point, "OWWWWWWWWWW!"

PS: Props to NaMeaHou for inspiring this post.
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WindRavenX Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:52 PM
Response to Original message
1. Japanese: "Itai"
"it hurts"
Ex: ha ga itai- the tooth hurts.
Beats me on the "ow" part. :shrug:
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:53 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. That's even weirder than "Ouch!"
If you ask me.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:59 PM
Response to Reply #3
11. In practice,
"itai" as spoken by a person in pain turns into a string of "itai-tai-tai-tai..."

Similarly, a Japanese person at a public bath steps who steps into a tub that's too hot will exclaim "atch-atch-atch," which probably comes from "atsui" or "hot."
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:13 AM
Response to Reply #11
19. The NPR piece White Rider cited below
mentions the usefulness of having sounds that can be rapidly repeated for people in pain.
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Art_from_Ark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:43 AM
Response to Reply #11
22. Of course, people in Osaka often say
"Mecha mecha ITAI gana!", which translates loosely to "That really smarts!"

And if you're REALLY in pain, you can say "Chi-ku-SHOOOOOOOOOOOW

ちくしょーーーーーーーーーーーう！
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Maple Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:53 PM
Response to Original message
2. Dogs don't say
bow-wow either.

It's a convention.
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:54 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. But bow-wow is not a reflexive interjection
like ouch is. Or is it?
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Maple Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:58 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Nope...just a linguistic
convention. No one actually says 'ouch' either, unless they have the cultural conditioning.

It's not a natural response.
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:01 AM
Response to Reply #8
13. What do you say when you close your hand in a door?
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Throckmorton Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 06:25 AM
Response to Reply #13
30. @#$%^%$@##, or roughly translated as,
Son of a Female Dog, that hurts.
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leftofthedial Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:54 PM
Response to Original message
4. In Kelifownya-ese
it's pronounced "Autsch!"
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OldEurope Donating Member (654 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 02:34 AM
Response to Reply #4
27. "Autsch" is German. "Aua" , too
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:54 PM
Response to Original message
6. In Chicago they yell out...

"GOAT!!"
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:55 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. Geddoudaheah!
Is this some Cubs reference?
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whirlygigspin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:59 PM
Response to Reply #6
10. similarities
ayo! (chinese)

ayoye! (french/canada)

aye! (spanish)

aye papi! (PR)

oy (Leiberman) lol
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xJlM Donating Member (955 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-14-03 11:58 PM
Response to Original message
9. In Spanish you would say, "AAAIIIII!"
Pronounced the same as your Ayyyyy of course. Then again, you could say, "Hijo de puta!" or "Madre de Dios!" or numerous other expressions. Depends on how badly you wish to offend your friends and family.
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whirlygigspin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:00 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. PS
chinese dogs say "wang wang"

(I never understood "arf arf" either)
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:01 AM
Response to Reply #12
14. in French, ducks supposedly say "Coin coin!!"

I never understood that one.
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:09 AM
Response to Reply #14
17. It's pronounced kweh kweh
It's just quack quack without the final "ck."
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Paschall Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:15 AM
Response to Reply #14
20. In the US roosters supposedly say "cock-a-doodle-do"
I never understood that one.

French roosters say, "cocorico!"

P.S. "Ouch" in French is "ae!" Not to be confused with a virtual homonym "ail" (garlic).
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BigMcLargehuge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:02 AM
Response to Original message
15. the common Portuguese expression from New Bedford is...
"corisco" sounds like KOO DEESH!

Portuguese grandmothers slap you when you say it.
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Pale_Rider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:03 AM
Response to Original message
16. NPR's Ouch! Language of Pain ...
News story on the language of pain ... with an excellent audio recording of various spoken version of 'Ouch'

http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1385022.html

Aug. 4, 2003

One of NPR's summer interns, Josh Kim, set out to answer this burning question: Why do people from different countries express pain differently? Most Americans might say "Ouch!" when they stub their toe or touch a hot stove. But other people in other countries say something else. Kim brings us this exploration of the curious similarities and idiosyncrasies of language.

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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:10 AM
Response to Reply #16
18. That was great!
Thanks!
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SOteric Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 01:27 AM
Response to Reply #16
25. In Italian
Uh!
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Ellen Forradalom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:23 AM
Response to Original message
21. French
AﾏE!
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Friar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 12:51 AM
Response to Original message
23. Oog!
Edited on Wed Oct-15-03 12:52 AM by Friar
Okefenokee Swamp---re: Pogo by Walt Kelly
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HEyHEY Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 01:20 AM
Response to Original message
24. Quebecois French
Edited on Wed Oct-15-03 01:20 AM by HEyHEY
Oye yoy..spelling is more than likey wrong
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Ignoramus Donating Member (610 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 02:30 AM
Response to Original message
26. In pig latin
wee wee wee wee
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trigz Donating Member (679 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 02:50 AM
Response to Original message
28. Norwegian: "AU!" or "ﾆVV!" (or "AU! FAEN!" [ouch! Shit!]) (n/t)
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REP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 05:00 AM
Response to Original message
29. Wah! Iyo! In Mandarin
Wah! is kind of an all-purpose syllable of surprise. No idea what Iyo! means, but again, all-purpose surprise/pain.
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WillParkinson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-15-03 08:15 AM
Response to Original message
31. In Willasia...
It's OW FUDGEDARNIT!
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