Aw or awh?
aw is an interjection meaning “Used to express disappointment or dismay”; awh is an interjection meaning “Alternative form of aw”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) aw is about 25 times as common as awh.
What is the difference between aw and awh?
| aw | awh | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | interjection, noun | interjection |
| Meaning | Used to express disappointment or dismay Used to express mild protest, entreaty, consternation, or disapproval An instance of aw | Alternative form of aw |
| Example | Aw, that's too bad.. | none recorded |
| Forms | aww, awh | none |
| Pronunciation | /ɔː/ [ɔ̃ː ~ ɒ̃ː] /ɑ/ | not recorded |
| In writing | 13 times per million words | about once in every 2 million words |
Sources: aw and awh in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of aw and awh
aw
- 1
Used to express disappointment or dismay
Aw, that's too bad..
- 2
An instance of aw
- 3
Initialism of autumn/winter; often followed by a year
AW23 collection
- 4
Used to express mild protest, entreaty, consternation, or disapproval
Aw, dad, why can't we go to Legoland?
- 5
Used to express affection
Aw, you've got such a cute baby bird!
- 6
Used to anticipate reporting to a person in authority that the listener has done something wrong
Aww, you said a bad word!
awh
- 1
Alternative form of aw
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, aw or awh?
aw appears 13 times per million words; awh about once in every 2 million words.
aw 13 times per million wordsawh about once in every 2 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).