嗚呼
ああ
ah!; oh!; alas!
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
嗚呼、疲れた。
ああ、つかれた。
Ah, I'm worn out.
嗚呼、悲しい。
ああ、かなしい。
Oh, how sad.
嗚呼、あの頃に戻りたい。
ああ、あのころにもどりたい。
Ah, how I'd like to go back to those days.
嗚呼と嘆いてみても、もう取り返しはつかない。
ああとなげいてみても、もうとりかえしはつかない。
Sigh all you like — there is no undoing it now.
Common patterns
- 嗚呼と嘆く
- to cry out in lament
- 嗚呼、無情
- "Ah, Cruel Fate" (Japanese title of Les Misérables)
- 嗚呼、懐かしい
- ah, how nostalgic
Memory tip
Ateji: the characters were picked for sound, not meaning. Modern writing uses plain ああ; 嗚呼 turns up in literary prose, song lyrics and titles, where it signals heavy emotion.
Kanji in this word
- 嗚Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists
- 呼call, summon, breathe outコ・よぶ
Quick check
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What does 嗚呼 mean?