uh

\ə\

/\ə\/ intj

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

The verdict

“uh” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #26,571 in French word frequency and used as an interjection.

#26,571
frequency rank, French
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Euh.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

uh vs un
50% similar
uh vs up
50% similar
uh vs UK
0% similar

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

Key facts for uh
PropertyValue
Headworduh
LanguageFrench
Part of speechInterjection
IPA\ə\
Letters2
Frequency rank#26,571
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “uh” sits in French 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). uh 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 French entry for uh is 2 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ə\. Corpus data places it at rank #26,571 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Euh.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for uh, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "un", "up", "UK", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is uh, spelled U-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Euh.

Synonyms

um

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "uh"?
"uh" is spelled U-H. The IPA pronunciation is \ə\.
What does "uh" mean?
As an interjection, "uh" means: Euh.
What words are commonly confused with "uh"?
"uh" is commonly confused with "un", "up", "UK". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "uh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "uh" is \ə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "uh" come from?
"uh" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “uh”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is U-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ə\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “un” - see the side-by-side comparison. uh vs un
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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