wah
/wæː/interjection, noun
wah is spelled W-A-H: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an interjection, wah means “A cry of fright, distress, etc. (especially of an infant or young child)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wah?
| Letters | 3: W-A-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 wah?
Wah appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th 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 wah?
- /wæː/
- /wɑː/
- [wa(ːː)]
As a noun (“The red panda”): /wɑː/, [wa(ːː)], [wæ(ːː)].
As a noun (“wah-wah”): /wɑː/, /wɑː/, [wa(ːː)].
Wah 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-wah.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with wah
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with wah?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as wah.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wha, haw, awh.
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 wah
- wahs plural
- weh
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wah mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
A cry of fright, distress, etc. (especially of an infant or young child)
- 2
A cry of amazement, delight, etc.
- 3
Wow!; whoa! (expressing surprise, gratification, exhaustion or exasperation)
noun
- 1
wah-wah.
- 2
archaicslangThe red panda.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does wah come from?
Imitative.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).