Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionUsed to express relief of tension, fatigue, or surprise.
Similar
interjectionUsed to show disgust.
Similar
Origin
Attested since the early 17th century. An onomatopoeia for rapid exhalation, as one may make when a trying situation is over, or in order to get rid of an unpleasant odour. Compare Scots feuch, Spanish fu, Czech fuj, and many more such forms.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek φεῦ
- φεῦ (pheû)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Catalan ecs, uf
- ecsUsed to show disgust
- ufUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Chinese Mandarin 喲 /哟
- 喲 /哟 (yo)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Czech fuj, uf
- fujUsed to show disgust
- ufUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Dutch oef, hehe
- oefUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- heheUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Finnish hyh, hyi
- hyhUsed to show disgust
- hyiUsed to show disgust
- yhUsed to show disgust
- yäkUsed to show disgust
- huhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- huhhuhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- huh huhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
French pouah, pfou
- pouahUsed to show disgust
- pfouUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- oufUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
German pfui, puh
- pfuiUsed to show disgust
- puhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- pfoahUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Greek ουφ, φου
- ουφ (ouf)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- φου (fou)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Hebrew איכס, פיכס
- איכס (ikhs)Used to show disgust
- פיכס (fikhs)Used to show disgust
- פויה (fúya)Used to show disgust
- פיו (fyu)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Hungarian pfuj, püh
- pfujUsed to show disgust
- pühUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Italian uff, uffa
- uffUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- uffaUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- uhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Japanese ふぅ
- ふぅ (fū)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Korean 후유, 휴
- 후유 (huyu)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- 휴 (hyu)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- 어휴 (eohyu)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- 에휴 (ehyu)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Latin ufa
- ufaUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Malay fuh, kus, semangat!
- fuhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- kus, semangat!Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- kurus semangatUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- lemah semangatUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Māori kaitoa
- kaitoaUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Polish uff
- uffUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Portuguese ufa
- ufaUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Russian уф!, фуф
- уф! (uf!)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- фуф (fuf)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- фух (fux)Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Spanish puaj, fíu
- puajUsed to show disgust
- fíuUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- menos malUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Swedish usch, fy
- uschUsed to show disgust
- fyUsed to show disgust
- puhUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- pustUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Tagalog hays, hayst
- haysUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
- haystUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Vietnamese phù
- phùUsed to show relief, fatigue, or surprise
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with phew
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
APA
phew. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phew
MLA
“phew.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phew. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phew,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phew.
Source: phew on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.