ouch

O1U1C3H4
/aʊt͡ʃ/

interjection

An expression of one's own physical pain.

“Ouch. How could you say that?”

Similar
oofowowieyouchyowyowchooch
OriginGerman autsch ← Pennsylvania German outch →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

ouch1

interjection
  1. An expression of one's own physical pain.

    Ouch! You stepped on my toe! That hurt!

    Synonyms: oof, ow, owie, youch, yow, yowch

  2. An expression in sympathy at another's pain.

    Ouch! Her sunburn looks awful.

  3. A reply to an insult seen as savage (frequently one that is tongue-in-cheek or joking).

    Ouch. How could you say that?

  4. An expression of disappointment.

    Ouch, I really wanted to do that.

  5. slangExpressing surprise at the high price of something.

    Ouch, one hundred thousand dollars for a car! I could never afford that!

nounouch (plural ouches)

plural ouches

  1. informalSomething that causes discomfort or pain.

    RhuliGel soothes the itches and ouches of summer.

    1986 June, “RhuliGel Soothes the Itches and Ouches of Summer [advertisement]”, in Myrna Blyth, editor, Ladies’ Home Journal, volume CIII, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Meredith Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 161, column 2

    Synonyms: ooch

verbouch (third-person singular simple present ouches, present participle ouching, simple past and past participle ouched)

present singular third person ouches · participle present ouching · participle past ouched · past ouched

  1. intransitiveTo exclaim "ouch!" in discomfort or pain.

    Imperturbability your skill, not mine / I ouch out loud and clear / Your forgiveness, like Pope's divine / I'm just an angry queer

    1984 April 21, “Mousie Mousie Wildflower”, in Gay Community News, page 18

ouch2

nounouch (plural ouches)

plural ouches

  1. alternativeAlternative form of ouche.

Ouch3

proper nounOuch (plural Ouches)

plural Ouches

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

interjectionAn expression of one's own physical pain.

Similar
oofowowieyouchyowyowch

nounSomething that causes discomfort or pain.

Similar
ooch
Also see
oofowyouchyowyowch

Origin

ouch · interjection, noun, verb

  1. Pennsylvania Germanoutch“cry of pain”
  2. Germanautsch
  3. Englishouch

Uncertain. Some sources say the interjection is attested since 1838 (and specifically in American English) and derives ultimately from German autsch, perhaps specifically via Pennsylvania German outch (“cry of pain”), as early attestations of the interjection are from Pennsylvania. However, others say the interjection is a "mere" or "natural" exclamation attested since the mid 1600s, and the 1933 OED cites one instance of a verb "ouch" in 1654, "Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse".

More words from German, Pennsylvania German

Full word history & related roots →

ouch · noun

Variant forms.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans eina
  • einaexpression of one’s own physical pain
Arabic أَحّ, حِلْيَة
  • أَحّ (ʔaḥḥ)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • حِلْيَة (ḥilya)expression of one’s own physical pain
Bulgarian ох
  • ох (oh)expression of one’s own physical pain
Catalan au, ai
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aiexpression of one’s own physical pain
Chinese Mandarin 哎喲 /哎哟, 哎呀
  • 哎喲 /哎哟 (āiyō)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • 哎呀 (āiyā)expression of one’s own physical pain
Czech au
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
Danish av
  • avexpression of one’s own physical pain
Dutch au, auw
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auwexpression of one’s own physical pain
Esperanto aj, uj
  • ajexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ujexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aŭexpression of one’s own physical pain
Finnish ai, au
  • aiexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • autsexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auh!expression of one’s own physical pain
  • aijaiexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auhexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • autsexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • auhexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • oi voiexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • oijoiexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • voi voiexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • autsreply to an insult
French aïe, ouille
  • aïeexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ouilleexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aïeexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • aïereply to an insult
German au, aua
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auaexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • autschexpression of one’s own physical pain
Greek αχ, ωχ
  • αχ (ach)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • ωχ (och)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • άουτς (áouts)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • αχ (ach)expression in sympathy at another’s pain
Hebrew אח, אוי
  • אחexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • אויexpression of one’s own physical pain
Hungarian jaj
  • jajexpression of one’s own physical pain
Icelandic ái
  • áiexpression of one’s own physical pain
Indonesian aduh
  • aduhexpression of one’s own physical pain
Italian ahi, ahia
  • ahiexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ahiaexpression of one’s own physical pain
Japanese 痛い, いて
  • 痛い (itai)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • いて (ite)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • いてて (itete)expression of one’s own physical pain
Korean 아야
  • 아야 (aya)expression of one’s own physical pain
Latin au, hau
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • hauexpression of one’s own physical pain
Lithuanian ai
  • aiexpression of one’s own physical pain
Malay ادوه, aduh
  • ادوهexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aduhexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ادوهexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • ادويexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • وادوهexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • aduhexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • adoiexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • waduhexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • ادوهreply to an insult
  • ادويreply to an insult
  • وادوهreply to an insult
  • aduhreply to an insult
Māori taukahore
  • taukahoreexpression of one’s own physical pain
Norwegian au, au da
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • au daexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • uff daexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
Persian آخ, آی
  • آخ (âx)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • آی (ây)expression of one’s own physical pain
Polish aua, au
  • auaexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aućexpression of one’s own physical pain
Portuguese ai, au
  • aiexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
Romanian ai, au
  • aiexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ahexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • vaiexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aoleuexpression of one’s own physical pain
Russian ой, ай
  • ой (oj)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • ай (aj)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • ох (ox)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • а́уч (áuč)expression of one’s own physical pain
Scottish Gaelic oich, oit
  • oichexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • oitexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aobhexpression of one’s own physical pain
Spanish ay, uy
  • ayexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • uyexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • awexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • auchexpression of one’s own physical pain
Swedish aj, aj
  • ajexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ajexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • aj aj ajexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • aj dåexpression in sympathy at another’s pain
  • ajreply to an insult
Tagalog aray, aruy
  • arayexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aruyexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • aguyexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ayexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • umarayto exclaim “ouch!” in discomfort or pain
Tamil ஐயோ
  • ஐயோ (aiyō)expression of one’s own physical pain
Thai อุ๊ย, อุ๊ยตาย
  • อุ๊ย (úi)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • อุ๊ยตาย (úi-dtaai)expression of one’s own physical pain
  • โอ๊ย (ói)expression of one’s own physical pain
Vietnamese úi da, ai da
  • úi daexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ai daexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • ui daexpression of one’s own physical pain
  • đauexpression of one’s own physical pain

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ouch

couchcrouchvouchslouchgrouchavouchoochoucheyowch
All rhymes →

Anagrams

chou
Cite this entry
APA

ouch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ouch

MLA

“ouch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ouch. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ouch,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ouch.

Source: ouch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.