哇
wa
HSK 6
#2,428 most
frequent character
Wow!, sound of child's crying
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
哇 has 口, mouth, as the meaning part and 圭 guī as the sound part, though the sound link is not clear in Mandarin. The mouth points to the first meaning, to spit out or vomit. That grew to the exclamation 'Wah!'; read wa, it also stands in for 啊 after u or ao.
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Example Sentences
哇，真漂亮的花！
wā ， zhēn piàoliàng de huā ！
Wow, what a beautiful flower!
小孩看到新玩具，哇，太好玩了！
xiǎohái kàndào xīn wánjù ， wā ， tài hǎowán le ！
The child saw the new toy and said, wow, it’s so fun!
哇，这个蛋糕看起来很好吃！
wā ， zhègè dàngāo kànqǐlái hěnhǎo chī ！
Wow, this cake looks delicious!
Same Characters, Different Readings
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