ah

[ˈa]

/[ˈa]/ intj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“ah” is in the everyday core of Spanish, ranked #699 in Spanish word frequency and used as an interjection.

#699
frequency rank, Spanish
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Denota tristeza o decepción.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ah vs al
50% similar
ah vs ay
50% similar
ah vs as
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ah
PropertyValue
Headwordah
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA[ˈa]
Letters2
Frequency rank#699
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ah” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ah lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for ah is 2 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈa]. Corpus data places it at rank #699 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

ah has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "al", "ay", "as", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is ah, spelled A-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Denota tristeza o decepción.
  2. 2
    Indica admiración, sorpresa, o emociones similares.
  3. 3
    Indica que se ha comprendido algo.
  4. 4
    Se emplea para interrogar, cuando no se ha entendido algo.
  5. 5
    Indica disgusto por una acción cometida por otra persona

Synonyms

ehcómoqué

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ah"?
"ah" is spelled A-H. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈa].
What does "ah" mean?
As an interjection, "ah" means: Denota tristeza o decepción.
What words are commonly confused with "ah"?
"ah" is commonly confused with "al", "ay", "as". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ah"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ah" is [ˈa]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ah" come from?
"ah" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “ah”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is A-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈa] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “al” - see the side-by-side comparison. ah vs al
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list