Meanings
interjection
- The cry of a cat; meow, miaow.
I'd Be The Family Kitty Cat! Nyao! Heehee! :::lies down on a rug and purrs:::
2001 March 25, Aylakitty [username], “Re: If AFD was a family...”, in alt.fan.digimon (Usenet)2 more examples
Scorpion's body dropped to the ground as Felicia turned back into a cat. With a barely audible "nyao," she then began to lick and clean herself off.
1994 December 13, Mark Maestas, “Dream Tournament 3: Round 1 Results, Part 2”, in rec.games.video.arcade (Usenet)Luna looked at me with a very skeptical face, "Nyao?!" It must have been a cat's way of saying, 'You've got to be kidding!'
1997 August 16, Terra, “[XOver] [FanFic] Star98 - Episode 2: The Lost Senshi”, in rec.arts.anime.fandom (Usenet)
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From the Japanese onomatopoeia にゃお (nyao).
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
nyao. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nyao
MLA
“nyao.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nyao. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nyao,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nyao.
Source: nyao on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.