oh

See also: OH, óh, öh, он, өн, and 애

English

From Middle English o, oo, oa (“oh”).

oh

Expression of surprise.
Oh! I didn't see you there.
Expression of wonder, amazement, or awe.
Oh, wow! That's amazing.
Expression of understanding, affirmation, recognition, or realization.
Oh, so that's how it works.
A word to precede an offhand or annoyed remark.
Oh, leave me alone.
A word to precede an added comment or afterthought.
Oh, and don't forget your coat.
An invocation or address (similar to the vocative in languages with noun declension), often with a term of endearment.
Oh, gosh

Oh, baby
Exclamation for drama or emphasis (often poetic).
Oh, when will it end?
- Sir Walter Raleigh
  Oh, by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions, imprisonments, tortures, poisonings, and under what reasons of state and politic subtilty, have these forenamed kings […] pulled the vengeance of God upon themselves […]
Expression of pain. See ouch.
Oh! That hurt.
- 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], OCLC 731622352:
  "Oh! . . . oh! . . . I can't bear it . . . It is too much . . . I die . . . I am going . . ." were Polly's expressions of extasy
Space filler or extra syllable, especially in (popular) music.
oh, oh, oh
(interrogative) Expression of mild scepticism.
"You should watch where you're going!" "Oh?"

Particularly in the context of internet conversations, "oh" is sometimes written with additional Os or Hs - for example, oooh or ohhh.

expression of surprise

Arabic: وَا‎ (wā), يَا‎ (ar) (yā), أُوه‎ (ʾūh), أُوه‎ (ʾūh)
Egyptian Arabic: لاااا‎ (laaa), ياااا‎ (yaaa)
Armenian: ահ (hy) (ah), օհ (hy) (ōh)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 哎呀 (zh) (āiyā), 哎哟 (zh) (āiyō), (different tone expresses different level of surprise) 哦 (zh) (o, ò, ó), 呵 (zh) (hē), 嗯 (zh) (ēn)
Czech: ach (cs)
Dutch: o (nl)
Esperanto: ho (eo), aĥ (eo)
Finnish: oi (fi)
French: oh (fr), ah (fr)
Georgian: ოჰ (oh), ახ (ax)
German: ach (de), oh (de)
Greek: ω (el) (o), α (el) (a)
Hiligaynon: abáo
Hindi: अरे (hi) (are), हे (hi) (he), ओ (hi) (o)
Hungarian: aj (hu)
Icelandic: ó (is)
Japanese: あら (ja) (ara), おや (ja) (oya), まあ (maa), ああ (ja) (aa), へえ (hee), お (ja) (o), あ (ja) (a)
Korean: 아 (ko) (a), 오 (ko) (o), 어 (ko) (eo)
Latgalian: oi, ai, ek, a
Latin: eheu

Latvian: ak
Malay: oh
Manx: ugh
Maori: hā
Norwegian: oi, å (no), ai (no)
Persian: اه‎ (fa) (oh), آه‎ (fa), آه‎ (fa)
Polish: och (pl), ach (pl)
Portuguese: ó (pt)
Romanian: please add this translation if you can
Russian: о (ru) (o), ой (ru) (oj), ах (ru) (ax), ох (ru) (ox), ого́ (ru) (ohó), ого́ (ru) (ogó)
Sanskrit: अहो (sa) (aho) (for joyful or painful surprise), हा (sa) (hā), ओ (sa) (o) (in common speech, informally)
Serbo-Croatian: oj (sh)
Spanish: oh (es), ai (es)
Swedish: åh (sv), å (sv), oj (sv)
Tagalog: ay (tl)
Turkish: please add this translation if you can
Urdu: آہ‎ (ur)
Urdu: آہ‎ (ur)
Venetian: vèrceghe (vec), pòrco can
Vietnamese: ồ (vi), ôi (vi), ối (vi)
Welsh: o
Yiddish: אָ!‎ (o!)

expression of understanding

oh (plural ohs)

An utterance of oh; a spoken expression of surprise, acknowledgement, etc.
- Seabert Parsons, The Lost Codex of Palenque (page 240)
  There were ohs and ahs, and the people twisted about as they looked for her. Then they began to applaud.

oh (third-person singular simple present ohs, present participle ohing, simple past and past participle ohed)

(intransitive) To utter the interjection oh; to express surprise, etc.
- 1852, Merry's museum and Parley's magazine (volumes 23-24, page 46)
  A quarter of an hour elapsed, and then, after several rings at the door-bell, a smothered laugh, and a good deal of ohing and ahing, the door was thrown open, and one by one, as they were announced, in came the expected characters.