phew

English

Alternative forms

• whew, pew

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fjuː/, [ɸj̊u̥˥˩], /fɪu̯/
• Rhymes: -uː

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Homophone: few

Interjection

phew

1. Used to express relief of tension, fatigue, or surprise.

   Phew, that took a long time to cook!

2. Used to show disgust.

   Phew, it stinks in here!

Synonyms

• (expressing relief of tension): whew
• (expressing disgust): See Thesaurus:yuck

Translations

Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: uf (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 喲 / 哟 (zh) (yo)

• Czech: uf
• Dutch: oef (nl), hehe,
• Finnish: huh (fi), huhhuh, huh huh
• French: pfou, ouf (fr) (relief)
• German: puh (de), pfoah
• Greek: ουφ (el) (ouf), φου (fou)

  Ancient: φεῦ (pheû)

• Hebrew: פיו (fyu)
• Hungarian: püh
• Italian: uff, uffa (it) (heat, tiredness), uh (relief, surprise)
• Japanese: ふぅ (fū)
• Korean: 후유 (huyu), 휴 (ko) (hyu), 어휴 (eohyu), 에휴 (ehyu)
• Latin: ufa
• Maori: kaitoa
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: фу-у (fu-u)

• Navajo: hwááh
• Polish: uff (pl)
• Portuguese: ufa (pt)
• Russian: уф! (uf!), фуф (fuf), фух (ru) (fux)
• Spanish: ¡fíu!, ¡menos mal! (es)
• Swedish: puh (sv), pust (sv)
• Vietnamese: phù (vi)

Used to show disgust

• Catalan: ecs (ca)
• Czech: fuj (cs)
• Finnish: hyh (fi), hyi (fi), yh (fi), yäk (fi)
• French: pouah (fr)
• German: pfui (de)
• Hebrew: איכס (he) (ikhs), פיכס (fikhs), פויה (he) (fúya)
• Hungarian: pfuj (hu)
• Lushootseed: sʔm
• Spanish: puaj (es)
• Swedish: usch (sv), fy (sv)

See also

• whew, whewee
• phewee

Khasi

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *pʰəw. Compare Pnar phaw, Lyngngam phu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʰew/

Numeral

phew

1. a ten (generally used in combination, such as shiphew)

References

• Singh, U Nissor (1906) Khasi-English dictionary‎^[1], Shillong: Eastern Bengal and Assam Secretariat Press, page 156. Searchable online at SEAlang.net.