Meanings
alternative ai yah · alternative aiyah · alternative aya
- AustralianChinaChineseHong KongSingaporeTaiwaninformalChinese Filipinoah; oh; exclamation of surprise, blame, dismay, shock, or fear.
Aiyah, dun ask me why their name all so funny, can or not? You ask me, I ask who?
2023 September 8, Devyani Sharma, From Deficit to Dialect: The Evolution of English in India and Singapore, Oxford University Press, →ISBN2 more examples
“I don’t need to hear any idle gossip.” “Aiyah, it’s not idle gossip! These are important details I’ve learned just from being around them, and from what Mr. Wong found out—”
2015, Kevin Kwan, chapter 3, in China Rich Girlfriend, Doubleday, →ISBNOthers think I'm too loud and crazy, like our downstairs neighbor, who shouts "Aiya!" at me and slams his window.
2022, Kelly Yang, New From Here, page 23Synonyms: haiya
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionah; oh; exclamation of surprise, blame, dismay, shock, or fear.
Origin
From Chinese 哎呀 (āiyā).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
aiya. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aiya
“aiya.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aiya. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aiya,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aiya.
Source: aiya on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.