bah
/bæ/interjection, noun, particle
bah is spelled B-A-H: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an interjection, bah means “Expressing contempt, disgust, or bad temper” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bah?
| Letters | 3: B-A-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bah?
Bah appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bah?
- UK /bæ/
- UK /bɑː/
As a noun (“Alternative spelling of baa”): /bɑː/.
Bah has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bah.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bah
Also written: baa.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bah?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bah from its last stressed vowel (/æ/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hab.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bah
- bahs plural
- baa
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bah mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
Expressing contempt, disgust, or bad temper.
- 2
Alternative spelling of baa.
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of baa.
particle
- 1
Alternative spelling of ba.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bah in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense expressing contempt:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bah come from?
Early 19th century, probably borrowed from French bah.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).